Thursday, June 22nd, 2017 Baton Rouge, Louisiana A LOUISIANA KID AND THE BERLIN WALL! Thirty-one years ago this week, President Ronald Reagan traveled to West Berlin, and at the Brandenburg Gate admonished: “Mr.Gorbachev take down that wall.”Â Â The Berlin Wall had been erected by the puppet soviet state of East Germany. Unless you are over sixty five...Read More

Thursday, June 15th, 2017 New Orleans, Louisiana A CONGRESSMAN AND KILLINGS IN NEW ORLEANS! A New Orleans congressman tragically was shot while he was out playing baseball. He survived, but will need a number of operations in the months to come. Some of those who first heard the news assumed that he had been shot...Read More

Thursday, June 8th, 2017 Baton Rouge, Louisiana ARE WE ALL FEDERAL CRIMINALS IN LOUISIANA? Congress is going “new law” crazy. In the nation’s capitol, hundreds of proposed new laws are being introduced every month, creating numerous different regulations and crimes.  And Louisiana congressional members are joining right in this push for more federal intrusion into...Read More

Thursday, June 1st, 2017 Baton Rouge, Louisiana DELUSION OR COMMON SENSE IN THE MIDDLE EAST? President Trump has just returned form a whirlwind trip to the Middle East. And he has vowed to keep a continuing and aggressive U.S. presence where American soldiers are fighting in Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria, Kuwait, Bahrain, Turkey, and other states...Read More

Thursday, May 25th, 2017 Baton Rouge, Louisiana TRUMP GUTS LOUISIANA ON OIL INCOME! The new proposed budget just released by the Trump Administration guts past federal assurances that Louisiana will share in the billions of tax dollars that are derived from offshore oil development. The state was anticipating the receipt of some $140 million in...Read More

Thursday, My 18th, 2017 Baton Rouge, Louisiana LOUISIANA CATCHING UP TO THE 21st CENTURY? With tax dollars scarce in Louisiana, this should be the time to discuss streamlining on the state and local levels. Just how many boards, commissions, water districts, sewer districts, parish auditors, law enforcement offices, and other special districts are spread throughout...Read More

Thursday, May 11th, 2017 New Orleans, Louisiana MONUMENTS, THE PRESIDENT AND THE CIVIL WAR! As the battle over taking down Civil War monuments in New Orleans rages, President Trump has jumped into the debate by questioning why the conflict was even necessary. In a recent interview, Trump asked: “Why was there a Civil War? Why...Read More

Thursday, May 4th, 2017 Baton Rouge, Louisiana THE CHALLENGES AND CHARMS OF GETTING OLDER! I woke up earlier this week, followed my normal routine of walking the dogs, picking up the morning papers, pouring my large glass of orange juice half filled with water to dilute the sugar, checked my emails, walked out on the...Read More

Thursday, April 27th, 2017 Baton Rouge, Louisiana POLITICS BEING CRIMINALIZED BY PROSECUTORS? I have known former Alabama Governor Don Siegelman for a number of years. We both served our respective states as Secretary of State back in the mid 1980s. I consider him to be a good and decent former public official. Don Siegelman was...Read More

Thursday, April 20th, 2017 Baton Rouge, Louisiana THE CUBAN MISSILE CRISIS: LESSONS LEARNED TODAY? Is another Cuban Missile Crisis at hand between the U.S. and North Korea? A little history can tell us just how dangerous a nuclear confrontation can be. Fifty-four years ago, America faced another perilous moment and was on the brink of...Read More

Thursday, April 13th, 2017 Baton Rouge, Louisiana RICHARD NIXON AND LOUISIANA! There is a new book on a number of best selling lists about former President Richard Nixon by author John Farrell. Nixon became the first and only president to resign from office. Those of you too young to remember the events surrounding Watergate missed...Read More

Thursday, April 6th, 2017 Baton Rouge, Louisiana GOVERNOR JIMMIE DAVIS BROUGHT US SUNSHINE! It could be the most recognized American song worldwide. Go to a small Asian community where little or no English is spoken.  Start humming, “You Are My Sunshine.”Â  More likely than not, the locals will join in singing the song in English.  Everybody...Read More

March 30th, 2017 Baton Rouge, Louisiana MARCH MADNESS SHORT CHANGING ATHLETES! Millions of rabid college basketball fans have been glued to their TVs over the past month as March Madness reached its crescendo. And the big bucks have been rolling in.  With coaches getting bigger salaries and colleges splitting huge TV and admission revenue “”...Read More

March 23rd, 2017 Baton Rouge, Louisiana JFK AND HIS SPECIAL RELATIONSHIP WITH LOUISIANA! The 34th President of the United States was born 100 hundred years ago.  John F. Kennedy captured the hearts of the American people like no other president, before or since.  And from the first stirrings of his efforts to become president, to events...Read More

Thursday, March16th, 2017 New Orleans, Louisiana A MAJOR SHAKE UP NEEDED IN CONGRESS! The approval rate for members of Congress seems to be in free fall.  Few constituents approve of the dysfunction taking place in the nation’s capitol. Just 15 years ago, Congress had an approval rating of 65%.  But no more.  The most recent Harris and...Read More

Friday, March 10th, 2017 Baton Rouge, Louisiana THE CONTINUING INTEREST IN EDWIN EDWARDS! Former Louisiana Governor Edwin Edwards is approaching 90 years old and hasn’t seemed to slow down a bit. He remains active, still speaking throughout the state, often accompanied with his young wife and 4-year-old son. Last year, a Baton Rouge Advocate poll...Read More

Thursday, March 2nd, 2017 Baton Rouge, Louisiana  A LOUISIANA GUY THEY COULD CALL MR. PRESIDENT?  John Bel Edwards for president? The Louisiana governor is being touted as a Democratic Party contender on the national front. Just a little over a year in his present job, it may be a sign of the few future contenders...Read More

Thursday, February 23rd, 2017 Baton Rouge, Louisiana  A LITTLE LOUISIANA HISTORY GOVERNOR TREEN! Dave Treen was sworn in as Louisiana’s Governor 37 years ago. Anyone who knew him noted what a nice guy he was. But Treen’s legacy will not be based on his friendliness. History will treat him well and acknowledge that he was...Read More

Thursday, February 16th, 2017 Baton Rouge, Louisiana WHY AREN’T WE THE GREATEST GENERATION? Former NBC newscaster Tom Brokaw wrote a book a few years back about what he called “The Greatest Generation.” In contrast, there’s a recent best seller out calling America “the dumbest generation.” And since Louisiana is at the bottom of the barrel...Read More

February 9th, 2017 Baton Rouge, Louisiana  WHAT WOULD YOU ASK PRESIDENT TRUMP?  If you could sit down with our new president, what would questions would you ask him? What insights would you be looking for?  What knowledge would you expect him to have?  And just how much difference do you think he can really make?...Read More

Thursday, February 3rd, 2017 Baton Rouge, Louisiana NO CHANCE OF SUPREME COURT CHOICE FROM LOUISIANA! Before President Trump made his choice to fill the vacancy on the United States Supreme Court, the White House undertook a nationwide search. But by even the widest stretch of standards to be met by any nominee, one thing was...Read More

Thursday, January 26th, 2017 Baton Rouge, Louisiana  KEYSTONE PIPELINE: LOUISIANA’S ECONOMIC SAVIOR? One of the new President’s first actions announced this week is to support the building of the Keystone XL pipeline that the Obama administration had disapproved. Both Louisiana senators hailed the decision and talked about all the new jobs that will come to...Read More

Friday, January 20th, 2017 Baton Rouge, Louisiana  STRAIGHTENING OUT LOUISIANA’S FINANCIAL WOES! We hear from the national news that the country has become polarized over the election of Donald Trump. But if you want to see real division in government, just take a gander down South to the Bayou State. Republicans have been trying to...Read More

Friday, January 13th, 2017 Baton Rouge, Louisiana  NEW GIMMICK TO RAISE TAXES IN LOUISIANA!  You would think that in the New Year, following a year when the Louisiana legislature raised taxes by over one billion dollars, lawmakers would sense the public’s anti-tax fervor and be averse to mining every nook and cranny for more taxes. ...Read More

Thursday, January 5th, 2017 Linville, North Carolina IT’S CRUNCH TIME FOR JOHN BEL EDWARDS! The honeymoon may be just beginning for President-Elect Donald Trump, but any such love fest has come to an abrupt end for Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards. 2016 was a year the new governor would like to forget, but things don’t...Read More

December 29, 2016 Baton Rouge, Louisiana NEW YEAR THOUGHTS FROM THE BAYOU STATE!  Do you make New Year’s resolutions? I always do.  A New Year always brings with it promise and uncertainty, but this coming year brings with it a greater foreboding than we have experienced in the past.  The Chinese have a saying: “May...Read More

December 22nd, 2016 Baton Rouge, Louisiana  THE HOLIDAYS OFFER US A SECOND CHANCE! Most of us have been swept up in the momentum of the holiday season.  We have passed the Christmas milestone and are approaching New Year’s Day, the third in the trilogy of holidays that we celebrate during this time each year “”...Read More

December 15th, 2016 Baton Rouge, Louisiana ARE REPUBLICANS FLIP FLOPPING ON OBAMACARE? Remember the old knock on presidential candidate John Kerry back in the 2004 presidential election?  “I was for it before I was against it.”Â Â  Today, about the single worst charge that can be made against any conservative Republican politician is that they support...Read More

December 8th, 2016 Baton Rouge, Louisiana LOUISIANA HAS WORST DRIVERS IN AMERICA?  Say it isn’t so. The Bayou State, made up of docile souls who are law abiding, courteous and well-trained motorists, has just been tagged by several rating services as having the worst drivers in the nation. Look, the folks down here in the...Read More

Thursday, December 1st, 2016 New Orleans, Louisiana IS NEW ORLEANS UNDER SIEGE? The headlines resounded across the front page of both New Orleans’ daily newspapers. “AN UNCONSCIONABLE ACT” blared the New Orleans Advocate. “IT WAS PANIC,” shouted The Times Picayune. Bullets were flying all over Bourbon Street as a visiting Baton Rouge man was killed...Read More

Friday, November 25th, 2016 Baton Rouge, Louisiana MORE PRIDE IN LOUISIANA! One of the biggest tests facing Louisiana’s recently elected Governor John Bel Edwards is the challenge of re-instilling pride in the attitudes of many Louisianans. Government can only do so much. But a governor can be a catalyst in raising the public’s expectations. The...Read More

Thursday, November 17th, 2016 Baton Rouge, Louisiana TRUMP CAMPAIGN LIKE READING A NOVEL! Let me tell you just how Donald Trump became the nation’s president-elect. It’s really quite simple. He had a compelling story to tell that resonated with millions of Americans who have been browbeaten by the continuing and tiring clichés that have been...Read More

November 10th, 2016 Baton Rouge, Louisiana WAS THE ELECTION RIGGED? So was our recent presidential election rigged as winner Donald charged repeatedly throughout his campaign? Maybe there were no shenanigans on Election Day. But the election process itself was either unduly influenced or rigged from the get-go. Mainstream news organizations played a less than noble...Read More

November 3rd, 2016 Baton Rouge, Louisiana MEDDLING IN OUR ELECTIONS! One of the hallmarks of America’s democracy is the right to vote on who are leaders will be. And implicit in the process is the guarantee that elections will be run fairly without any hint of corrupting the process. That includes a voter’s confidence that...Read More

Thursday, October 27th, 2016 Baton Rouge, Louisiana LABOR OF LOVE TO VOTE!  People are early voting in record numbers all over America.  Here in my home state of Louisiana, election participation is up 25% over the presidential election just four years ago. Predictions are that as many of 40% of total voters will cast their ballots...Read More

October 20th, 2016 Baton Rouge, Louisiana  WHY YOUNG VOTERS ARE DISENGAGED FROM POLITICS! Do young voters really care about who runs their local, state and federal government?  Whatever buzz inspired younger voters to support Barack Obama has been severely diminished by the gridlock in Washington.  Voters under thirty (and the rest of us, for that...Read More

Thursday, October 13th, 2016 Baton Rouge, Louisiana  COST OF DRUGS NO ISSUE IN PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE!  If you watched the presidential debate last week, the only real winner was the guy who wore the red sweater and asked an intelligent policy question about energy. His Izod sweater has become a hot clothing item at stores all...Read More

Thursday, October 7th, 2016 Baton Rouge, Louisiana SENATE DEBATE ORGANIZERS DO DISSERVICE TO VOTERS! There are twenty-four candidates in the running for the open U.S. Senate seat in Louisiana. A televised debate has been set on the state’s public television network for October 18th, to give Louisiana voters a chance to size up the candidates....Read More

September 29th, 2016 Baton Rouge, Louisiana ALL ABOUT MONEY AT LSU! If you want to know what’s really important in Louisiana, just check out the front pages of newspapers across the state. There was a lot going on this past week, such as the presidential debate, the U.S. Senate race, climbing crime rates in several...Read More

We are all set for a lively radio weekend radio program, and we hope you will join us. Of course we will talk about the coming bizarre presidential election post debate. Then, what’s all this Wells Fargo scandal? We will learn about it with guest Professor William K. Black, Associate Professor of Economics and Law...Read More

September 22nd, 2016 Baton Rouge, Louisiana WHAT TO WATCH-THE SAINTS OR THE DEBATES? Every now and then, we all face a “Sophie’s Choice” moment, where we have to pick what to accept and what to give up. Folks down in the Bayou State soon will have to confront a real dilemma. It’s a decision that...Read More

September 15th, 2016 Baton Rouge, Louisiana THE DEMISE OF ENTERTAINING POLITICS IN LOUISIANA! I have a sad announcement to make. Politics is just no fun anymore in Louisiana. Reams of books have been written about the colorful characters that ran the Bayou state throughout its history. And the average citizen got involved, attended rallies and...Read More

Thursday, September 8th, 2016 Baton Rouge, Louisiana DOES VOTING MEAN ANYTHING IN LOUISIANA? Election Day is less than two months away. It’s Clinton and Trump neck and neck in the polls, with Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson polling 10% of the total vote. So the candidates are crisscrossing Louisiana trying to squeeze out enough votes to...Read More

September 1st, 2016 Baton Rouge, Louisiana PROPERTY INSURANCE RATES GOING UP? A local news reporter where I live posed the question this week as to whether insurance rates for property owners will begin to rise, following the recent South Louisiana flooding. My answer was simple. Of course they will go up. In fact, the cost...Read More

Thursday, August 25th, 2016 Baton Rouge, Louisiana NONSTOP TRAGEDIES IN LOUISIANA! An old out-of-state friend called to touch base, and asked, “how are y’all doing down there?” I told him we were hanging in there, in spite of what seems to be one confrontation and tragedy after another. Of course you have to be optimistic...Read More

Thursday, August 18th, 2016 Baton Rouge, Louisiana RAIN, RAIN, GO AWAY IN LOUISIANA! “What has happened down here is the winds have changed Clouds roll in from the north and it started to rain The river rose all day The river rose all night Louisiana, Louisiana They’re tryin’ to wash us away” Louisiana poet laureate...Read More

August 11th, 2016 Baton Rouge, Louisiana TRUMP OVER THE EDGE AGAIN? Whoooooa! He said what? If there were ever a poster child for continually sticking one’s foot in mouth, it would be Donald Trump. Rather than attack his Democratic opponent, Hillary Clinton, Trump can’t seem to help himself by going rogue and making outrageous statements...Read More

August 4th, 2016 Baton Rouge, Louisiana HE’S BAAAACK – DAVID DUKE!  No matter how hard Louisiana tries, it just cannot shake entanglements with David Duke. Some would call it a noose. But whatever, Duke is back gaining a lot of press as a candidate for U. S. Senator, as 24 candidates vie for the distinction...Read More

On our close at hand weekend radio program, Jim will talk about the dramatic slide downwards in the polls by Donald Trump. And what’s going on with David Duke? Is he a serious candidate? Oxford scholar Chris Kutarna will discuss his new book, “Age of Discovery: Navigating he Risks and Rewards of Our New Renaissance.”...Read More

Thursday, July 28th, 2016 Baton Rouge, Louisiana  FINAL FAREWELL DRAWS OFFICERS TO LOUISIANA FROM ALL OVER AMERICA! The turnout for a special funeral was a sight to see. Hundreds of motorcycles and police vehicles from all over the nation were lined up to honor a fallen hero in Baton Rouge. Police officer Montrell Jackson was...Read More

July 21st, 2016 Baton Rouge, Louisiana  THESE ARE TRYING TIMES IN BATON ROUGE!  Early Sunday mornings are a quiet time for me. I’m generally at a local coffee house in Baton Rouge looking over the morning papers for ideas to discuss on my mid-morning syndicated radio program. Several police officers dropped in for a coffee...Read More

Thursday, July 14th, 2016 Baton Rouge, Louisiana FORTY-EIGHT YEARS OF POLITICAL CONVENTIONS  Some 4000 Republican delegates and party officials are converging in Cleveland this week, with Democrats heading for Philadelphia the following week. The old process of picking national candidates in the proverbial smoke filled room has gone by the wayside in favor of party...Read More

July 8th, 2016 Baton Rouge, Louisiana A KILLING IN BATON ROUGE! There is a perception around the country that high profile shootings are considered the norm in Louisiana. Nine police officers were killed in the line of duty last year, more than in any other state in the nation. New Orleans regularly heads the list...Read More

June 30th, 2016 Baton Rouge, Louisiana  EDUCATIONAL REFORM IGNORED IN LOUISIANA!  With a major national election just a month away, the stakes continue to get higher.  A well-educated workforce is the key to pulling the country out of the present economic doldrums.  But in election contests nationwide, and particularly in my home state of Louisiana,...Read More

Thursday, June 23rd, 2016 Baton Rouge, Louisiana LOUISIANA BEHIND ON INTERNET ACCESS! Newspapers are in trouble all across America.  A recent ax to fall is in New Orleans where The Times-Picayune has cut back to publishing three days a week. The reason is simple economics.  Since Katrina in 2005, The Times-Picayune daily circulation has dropped...Read More

Thursday, June 16th, 2016 Baton Rouge, Louisiana LESSONS LEARNED: BASEBALL AND POLITICS!  Now that basketball is over, baseball season is in full swing. My college home team LSU just lost a heartbreaker that kept them from going to the college world series. I’m a die-hard Yankees fan and tune in to a number of their...Read More

Thursday, June 9th, 2016 Baton Rouge, Louisiana ARE PROSECUTORS ABOVE THE LAW IN LOUISIANA! Has prosecutorial misconduct become an epidemic in Louisiana? A number of national publications seem to think so. Nary a week goes by when there is not a story of some Louisiana prosecutor supposedly pursuing justice by breaking the law. Just this week, the...Read More

Thursday, June 2nd, 2016 Baton Rouge, Louisiana  ROLLING THE DICE ON HURRICANE SEASON! It’s the kickoff for hurricane season and forecasters are predicting 14 named storms with anywhere from 4 to 8 storms growing into major hurricanes. Here on the Gulf Coast, we certainly perk up when this time of year rolls around.  For years,...Read More

Friday, May 27Th, 2016 Baton Rouge, Louisiana TO GRADUATES “” THE WORLD ACCORDING TO ME!  Kids all over America graduated last week from kindergarten, grade school, high school, college and graduate schools. And there was always a commencement speaker. Most of you will never give a commencement address. But as a public official, I was called...Read More

May 19th, 2016 Baton Rouge, Louisiana  A MAJOR SHAKE UP NEEDED IN CONGRESS? With a national election only months away, the approval rate for members of Congress seems to be in free fall.  Few constituents approve of the dysfunction taking place in the nation’s capitol.  Just 10 years ago, Congress had an approval rating of 65%. ...Read More

Thursday, May 12th, 2016 Baton Rouge, Louisiana  TOO MUCH POLITICAL CORRECTNESS IN LOUISIANA! I don’t know about you, but I sure am confused about all this current debate over gender equity, gay rights, and transgenders. I keep reading in the newspaper about LGBT. I had to look up the lettering to even know what the...Read More

Thursday, May 5th, 2016 Baton Rouge, Louisiana HATE CRIMES IN LOUISIANA! There is a proposed new law that is roaring through the Louisiana legislature. Any physical attack on a law enforcement officer, firefighter or emergency services personnel will now be considered a hate crime. So what’s a hate crime you ask?  If someone is premeditatedly...Read More

Thursday, April 28th, 2016 Baton Rouge, Louisiana VOTER DISTRUST IN LOUISIANA AND ACROSS THE NATION! And I thought voters were distrustful, angry and confrontational a few years back when I held public office in Louisiana.  This coming federal election is viewed by many, including yours truly, as a herculean and rather grim battle between good...Read More

Thursday, April 21st, 2016 Baton Rouge, Louisiana THE KINGFISH, LOUISIANA, AND PRESIDENTIAL POLITICS!  Huey Long would have been right in the middle of the current presidential election if he were still alive. He began a legacy of a long list of Louisiana politicians who had national aspirations. Later governors John McKeithen, Edwin Edwards, Buddy Roemer...Read More

Thursday, April 14th, 2016 Baton Rouge, Louisiana FREEDOM OF CHOICE IN MOTORCYCLE HELMET DEBATE! One of the hot issues in the current session of the Louisiana Legislature, meeting at the state capitol in Baton Rouge, is the repeal of a law that currently mandates the wearing of a safety helmet when riding a motorcycle.  Proponents...Read More

Thursday, April 6th, 2016 Baton Rouge, Louisiana CHILD ABUSE IN LOUISIANA! Since the time of Charles Dickens, the plight of children in state custody has been the source of great public anxiety. In the almost 200 years since Oliver Twist was published, many of us think of starving children immortalized by young Oliver who received...Read More

Thursday, March 31st, 2016 Baton Rouge, Louisiana TRUMP AND LOUISIANA’S “CROOKED ELECTIONS”!  Donald Trump said he was stunned, shocked and livid about how elections are run way down in the Bayou State. He minced no words in giving his assessment of what happened in the recent Louisiana presidential primary. ” It tells you what a...Read More

Thursday, March 24th, 2016 Baton Rouge, Louisiana FROM CESSPOOL TO HOT TUB IN LOUISIANA POLITICS! Who cares about any budget crisis in Louisiana? After all, it’s important that the Bayou State’s new governor and legislature set priorities. And they apparently have. They were not able to balance the state budget in a recent special session....Read More

March 17th, 2016 Baton Rouge, Louisiana LSU SHOULD NOT BE A QUITTER! Is LSU a quitter? When the pressures mount, and things just don’t go as planned, are there too many instances where the state’s flagship university seems to walk away and pull the plug, with the hopes that the problem will just go away?...Read More

March 10th, 2016 Baton Rouge, Louisiana SHOULD FEDS HAVE RIGHT TO BREAK INTO YOUR IPHONE? It sounds like a pretty straightforward request. The FBI wants to open up a criminal’s iPhone to see if a future crime can be stopped. This is the scenario of the San Bernardino shooter, who certainly forfeited his privacy rights...Read More

Thursday, March 3rd, 2016 Baton Rouge, Louisiana LOUISIANA NEEDS MORE HEROES! Psychologist Carl Jung wrote that we are born to need heroes. Having a hero in our lives nurtures us, gives us hope, lifts us up, gives us reasons to dream and be inspired. Every kid has a special champion they admire and look up...Read More

Friday, February 26th, 2016 Baton Rouge, Louisiana  PUBLIC APATHY AND LOUISIANA POLITICS! When it comes to exceptional creative talent in America, Louisiana seems to always come out on top. I thought of the state’s remarkable musical virtuosos this week on the third anniversary of the death of concert pianist Van Cliburn, arguably one of the...Read More

Thursday, February 18th, 2016 Baton Rouge, Louisiana NEW LOUISIANA GOVERNOR FACING REALITY! New Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards has jumped head first into the abyss of state government’s seemingly endless financial problems, and his popularity is already taking hits. A recent Southern Media and Opinion Research poll has his popularity rating at a low 42%....Read More

February 11th, 2016 New Orleans, Louisiana BEING POLITICALLY CORRECT IN LOUISIANA! Political correctness continues to be on the march in the Bayou State from Shreveport to New Orleans. Just about everywhere a Civil War commemoration or monument is located, there seems to be some local group calling for a re-writing of history by eliminating such...Read More

February 4th, 2016 Baton Rouge, Louisiana LOUISIANA BIG LOSER IN IOWA CAUCUS! The biggest loser in the recent Iowa presidential caucuses was not Donald Trump or any of the other candidates who did not meet expectations in garnering voters. No, the title for the real loser was, hands down, the state of Louisiana. Because of...Read More

Thursday, January 28th, 2016 Baton Rouge, Louisiana ARE NEW LOUISIANA TAXES REALLY NECESSARY? Paraphrasing but updating former Louisiana Senator Russell Long’s famous saying about how to raise revenue, “We’re going tax you, we’re going tax me, we’ll even tax that guy behind the tree.” With only a few days in office, Louisiana’s new Governor John...Read More

January 21st, 2016 New Orleans, Louisiana WAS THE COURSE OF HISTORY CHANGED IN LOUISIANA? Two hundred years ago this month, Louisiana was the center of a major turning point in both American and world history. The War of 1812 was the first time in the short time of the nation’s history that the U.S. had...Read More

Thursday, January 14th, 2016 Baton Rouge, Louisiana UPHILL BATTLES FOR LOUISIANA’S NEW GOVERNOR! Louisiana’s newly elected governor began his inaugural day on a high note with religious services at St. Joseph Cathedral in downtown Baton Rouge. But before he could even begin his inaugural address, things got dicey. The Louisiana House of Representatives rejected his...Read More

January 7th, 2016 Baton Rouge, Louisiana ELECTIONS NEVER STOP IN LOUISIANA!  Less than two months ago, Louisiana voters were beaten to exhaustion with a barrage of mostly negative campaign commercials. Try as one might, it was impossible to dodge the onslaught of attack ads delivered by TV, radio, mailers, newspaper, and internet saturation. What a...Read More

January 1st, 2016 Baton Rouge, Louisiana FOOTBALL AND EDUCATIONAL REFORM IN LOUISIANA! It’s that time of year for college bowl games and NFL playoffs. And when you look at the winners, it’s all about the coach. Top college teams like Alabama and LSU don’t build winning programs by setting up boards and committees. The job...Read More

December 24th, 2015 Baton Rouge, Louisiana NEW YEAR THOUGHTS FROM THE BAYOU STATE!  Do you make New Year’s resolutions? I always do.  A New Year always brings with it promise and uncertainty, but the coming year brings with it a greater foreboding than we have experienced in the past.  I would rather be absorbed with...Read More

  Thursday, December 17, 2015 Baton Rouge, Louisiana  TOUGH QUESTIONS FOR LOUISIANA UNIVERSITIES! With a new governor about to take over the reins of state, LSU and other Louisiana colleges are making a full court press for more funding. They have a good argument to make. But what do taxpayers get in return? Have universities...Read More

Thursday, December 10th, 2015 Baton Rouge, Louisiana THE UNCERTAIN FUTURE OF LSU! Huey Long was the best friend and supporter LSU ever had.  He was called the father of the modern LSU by the Virginia Quarterly Review in commenting: “Huey stroked LSU as if he had been coddling a newborn pet elephant.  During fiscal stringency...Read More

Thursday, December 3, 2015 Baton Rouge, Louisiana ALL THAT MATTERS IS THE FOOTBALL COACH! With a new governor soon to take office in a state that is facing a massive government financial crisis, a litany of problems continues to mount. Higher education is on the ropes both financially and academically. Healthcare costs continue to spiral,...Read More

Friday, November 27th, 2015 Baton Rouge, Louisiana  LOSERS IN LOUISIANA GOVERNOR’S RACE!  Four months ago in the Louisiana governor’s race, Senator David Vitter was a slam-dunk. He seemed to have it all. Gobs of PAC money flowing in from all over the U.S., strong support from most of the Republican establishment including his GOP colleagues...Read More

Columnist and freedom fighter John Whitehead has been a guest on my syndicated radio program, and is one of the nations leading voices on government intrusion into our basic freedoms and right to privacy. Check out his engaging and cncerning vido below.Read More

Thursday, November 19th, 2015 Baton Rouge, Louisiana THE DEMISE OF BOBBY JINDAL! Former Louisiana state senator Sixty Rayburn was well know for his folksy sayings during legislative sessions. He often urged his colleagues to never forget the folks back home when deciding issues at the state capitol. Sixty put it this way. “Always dance with...Read More

Thursday, November 12th, 2015 Baton Rouge, Louisiana BETRAYING YOUR POLITICAL PARTY IN LOUISIANA  You may not have heard, but there is apparently a strict code of loyalty among Republican candidates in Louisiana. They follow the rule of never speaking ill about a fellow republican, and they always rally behind the parties’ choice against any democratic...Read More

November 5th, 2015 Baton Rouge, Louisiana  TURN PRISIONERS LOOSE IN LOUISIANA?  We have been hearing for years that Louisiana has the world’s highest incarceration rate. There are currently some 40,000 Bayou State residents behind bars, at a cost of $350 million a year. The conventional wisdom from numerous officials in Louisiana is that our prisons...Read More

October 29th, 2015 Baton Rouge, Louisiana LOUISIANA ELECTIONS? WHO CARES! Do a majority of folks in Louisiana even care about who governs them in the coming years? You wouldn’t think so based on election turnout in last week’s gubernatorial election. Election officials had projected just under 50% turnout. As a former head of elections during...Read More

October 22nd, 2015 Baton Rouge, Louisiana WHAT TO DO ABOUT LOUISIANA’S FISCAL MESS!  In the numerous gubernatorial debates that have taken place over the past year, candidates have been asked time and time again what they will do about the massive state debt that continues to grow. How will they fill the financial hole that...Read More

Thursday, October 15th, 2015 Baton Rouge, Louisiana IS ANYONE INTERESTED IN VOTING IN LOUISIANA? Remember the 1970 song by Chicago; “Does anybody know what time it is, does anybody really care?” Well it’s close to Election Day in Louisiana, and it would seem by early voting and general lack of interest that Louisianans are not...Read More

October 8th, 2015 Baton Rouge, Louisiana WHY HAVE AN ELECTED LT. GOVERNOR IN LOUISIANA? Leave it to a preacher to ask a serious and relevant question about ways to save money in a state that faces a huge financial crisis. At a recent forum of candidates running for Lt. Governor in Louisiana, Pastor Lewis Richerson...Read More

Thursday, October1st, 2015 Baton Rouge, Louisiana TIME FOR BOBBY JINDAL TO COME BACK HOME!  Former Dallas Cowboys quarterback Don Meredith spent 20 years in the broadcast booth with Howard Cosell on Monday night football. When the game became out of reach in the waning minutes for the team behind, Meredith was famous for singing: “Turn...Read More

Thursday, September 24th, 2015 New Orleans, Louisiana THE POPE AND LOUISIANA! The Pope is taking the country by storm having made visits to three American cities in the past week. His schedulers made one oversight in planning Pope Francis’ first trip to the U.S. He should have come to Louisiana. More than half the population...Read More

  September 17th, 2015 Baton Rouge, Louisiana LITTLE INTEREST IN COMING LOUISIANA ELECTION! According to national political pundits, there is a revolution going on all over America. Voters are in a rebellion mode with little confidence in the political leadership at both the national and state levels. Being an incumbent politician is no longer a...Read More

September 10th, 2015 Baton Rouge, Louisiana DON’T GIVE JUST ANY KID A SPORTS TROPHY? As far back as I can remember, Saturday mornings were spent at a playing field, or a basketball court, or at swimming pool, cheering on kids — and now grandkids — to participate and be a part of the team. Of...Read More

Thursday, September 3rd 2015 Baton Rouge, Louisiana Louisiana Has The Highest Insurance Rates And The Worst Drivers!  The results are in for 2015, and it comes as no surprise that Louisiana continues to lead the nation in having the highest automobile insurance rates. A new study, just released by the Bankrate Group “ranked all 50...Read More

August 27th, 2015 New Orleans, Louisiana  Ten Years Ago Katrina Tried To Wash Us Away! Just as most Americans remember where they were on 9/11, those of us living on the Gulf Coast remember the fear and concern that enveloped our region ten years ago this week. A lady named Katrina changed many of our...Read More