Thursday, January 27th, 2011 New Orleans, Louisiana BOB DYLAN AND THE MURDERS IN NEW ORLEANS! New Orleans is off to a fast start in this New Year to maintain its perennial title of being the murder capital of America.  When the city celebrated Martin Luther King Day last week, five people were shot down.  Just...Read More

      Thursday, January 20th, 2011 Baton Rouge, Louisiana EDWIN EDWARDS-THE PRODICAL SON COMES HOME!   After eight and a half years in a federal prison, Louisiana’s prodigal son has come home.  And far from quietly slipping back into home confinement, the former Louisiana governor was greeted with the attraction  generally reserved for a rock...Read More

    Thursday, January 13th, 2011 Baton Rouge, Louisiana HOW TO EXPLAIN THE SHOOTER IN TUCSON! Are there political lessons to be learned from Saturday’s tragic shootings in Tucson? The talk show pundits on both the left and right would have us believe that the other side’s hyper-partisanship has been the catalyst for a growing...Read More

  Thursday, January 6, 2011 Baton Rouge, Louisiana A HAPPY NEW YEAR FOR INSURANCE RATES ALONG THE GULF COAST? NOT REALLY! So happy New Year! And by the way, get ready for higher property insurance rates along the Gulf Coast, particularly in Louisiana.  One would think that if anything, homeowner’s rates would be going down. ...Read More

   December 30, 2010 Baton Rouge, Louisiana NEW YEAR THOUGHTS FROM THE BAYOU STATE Did you make a New Year’s resolution yet? I always do. Hope and foreboding are at the top of my list and have been these past few years. The New Year always brings a promise of uncertainty. More so for most...Read More

Thursday, December 23, 2010 Baton Rouge, Louisiana GET THE POLITICIANS OUT OF REAPPORTIONMENT It’s getting close to redistricting time for legislators, and the criticism that decisions are being shaped behind closed doors is already raining down on this politically sensitive process. Lawmakers in my home state of Louisiana have scheduled a special session of its...Read More

Thursday, December 16th, 2010 Baton Rouge, Louisiana IN WASHINGTON AND BATON ROUGE, THEY’RE SPENDING LIKE DRUNKIN’ SAILORS! It’s the holiday season, and we always talk a good bit about watching our weight and curtailing our appetite.  We just cannot pass up all the tempting finger food at holiday parties, washed down with too much to...Read More

   Thursday, December 9, 2010 Baton Rouge, Louisiana ARE TEA PARTIERS, ESPECIALLY IN LOUISIANA, SELLING OUT FOR CAMPAIGN MONEY? It was just a few months ago when we listened to Tea Party candidates across the country declaring that they were going to Washington in order to shake up the political establishment.  No more “politics as...Read More

Thursday, December 2nd, 2010 Baton Rouge, Louisiana WHO DOES SARAH PALIN THINK SHE IS — BOBBY JINDAL? Sarah Palin brought her indomitable road show to my hometown of Baton Rouge this week with the flair and the chutzpah of a larger than life personality, which she just might be.  Security was tight at the local...Read More

Wednesday, November 24th, 2010 Baton Rouge, Louisiana GET OFF BOBBY JINDAL’S BACK ABOUT TAKING A SABBATICAL! So what’s with all the criticism about taking a sabbatical?  It’s become a big issue in my home state of Louisiana with educators, legislators, and good government groups debating the value versus the cost of taking a little time...Read More

Thursday, November 18, 2010 New Orleans, Louisiana JINDAL ONE OF MANY NATIONAL WANNABES FROM THE SOUTH   Last year, before the President’s State of the Union address, Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal was the fair haired boy of the national Republican Party.  He had even been considered as a vice presidential candidate on the McCain ticket...Read More

Thursday, November 11th, 2010 New Orleans, Louisiana THE RIGHT TO BE WRONG IN POLITICS! Abraham Lincoln was elected President 150 years ago this week.  Civil War buffs are looking back to these war years for lessons learned in the current debate over the stagnation of the American political process today.  Historians have written over 26,...Read More

Thursday, November 3, 2010 Baton Rouge, Louisiana DOES THE DEMOCRATIC COLLAPSE GIVE THE REPUBLICANS A MANDATE? The Republicans were big winners in last Tuesday’s national election, taking control of the House of Representatives, and coming close to a takeover of the Senate.  But is it enough to say that you are winning solely because the...Read More

Wednesday, October 27th, 2010 Linville, North Carolina WHAT TO EXPECT AFTER TUESDAY’S ELECTION Will the rolling tide of the Tea Party and a Republican onslaught really bring about major changes in Washington following this Tuesday’s election?  Don’t count on it. Let’s just say we are in for some fine tuning that should have taken place...Read More

Thursday, October 21st, 2010 Baton Rouge, Louisiana TOUGH QUESTIONS FOR LOUISIANA UNIVERSITIES Across the nation, colleges and universities are facing a major financial crisis.  Federal stimulus funds are running out, and state legislatures are facing a deep decline in revenues.  Are flagship universities so important to economic growth that they should maintain their present funding...Read More

Thursday, October 14th, 2010 Baton Rouge, Louisiana HOMEOWNERS INSURANCE MAY BECOME UNAFFORDABLE ALONG THE GULF COAST! Just when you thought the insurance crisis along the gulf coast, particularly in Louisiana, could not get any worse, along comes congress to really muck up the problems faced by property owners who are trying to protect the value...Read More

October 14, 2010Read More

  T  hursday, October 7th, 2010 Linville, North Carolina IS THE WHOLE COUNTRY GOING TO HELL IN A HAND BASKET? And I thought voters were distrustful, angry and confrontational, a few years back when I held public office.  My favorite author, Charles Dickens, would have said, “Hey Brown, you ain’t seen nothing yet.”Â  (Actually, I’m...Read More

Thursday, September 30, 2010 Linville, North Carolina EDUCATIONAL REFORM-ESSENTIAL TO OUR FUTURE BUT IGNORED IN LOUISIANA AND OTHER STATE ELECTIONS With a major national election just a month away, the stakes continue to get higher.  Will the republicans regain control of congress, and will the President have his hands tied on major policy decisions for...Read More

Thursday, September 22, 2010 Baton Rouge, Louisiana IT MUST BE WITCHCRAFT- WHY ELSE ARE REPUBLICANS ALL OVER THE MAP? The new rising political star in the Republican Party “has dabbled in witchcraft.” So maybe tea Party candidate Christine O’Donnell has cast a spell over her coverts.  That’s about the only logical reason to explain the...Read More

Thursday, September 16th, 2010 Baton Rouge, Louisiana SO REGGIE BUSH GIVES THE HEISMAN BACK? BIG DEAL! Reggie Bush gave up his Heisman trophy this week.  If you don’t know anything about him, Bush is the star running back for the NFL’s Superbowl Champion New Orleans Saints.  His press release, obviously written by the PR folks...Read More

September 9th, 2010 Baton Rouge, Louisiana LISTEN TO THE RAGIN’ CAJUN! Don’t be stupid! When Bill Clinton was on the defensive, back in his first presidential run in 1992, the Democratic message was all over the map. At a time when the country was stuck with staggering economic woes, Louisiana’s own national political commentator James...Read More

Thursday, August 19th, 2010 New York City, New York PANDERING AND HYPOCRISY OVER A MOSQUE The political pyromaniacs are on the loose in the nation’s capitol, with both parties pandering to their respective bases.  Neither democrats nor republicans could be accused of being “bathed in courage” on a litany of important national issues. Political demography...Read More

Thursday, August 11th, 2010 Baton Rouge, Louisiana SEAN O’KEEFE, SEN. TED STEVENS AND PERVERTED JUSTICE Former Senator Ted Stevens was able to weather a number of difficult challenges in his life, but the clock finally ran out on the 86 year old Alaskan.   He had survived an earlier plane crash in his home state that...Read More

    Thursday, August 5th, 2010 Redneck Country, Louisiana DON’T TELL ME TO SPEAK ENGLISH OR LEAVE! I was at a book fair recently hawking some of my Lisburn Press publications, and was asked to comment on the nation’s immigration problem. One fellow apparently didn’t like my response. “Oh, I know all about you writers...Read More

  Thursday, July 29th, 2010 New Orleans, Louisiana   THE SKY IS FALLING, THE SKY IS FALLING IN LOUISIANA AFTER OIL SPILL! The “Rally for Economic Survival,” organized and orchestrated by the oil industry drew thousands to the Cajundome in Lafayette, Louisiana last week.  “No Moratorium” and “Drill baby Drill” were the T-shirt slogans of...Read More

Thursday, July 22, 2010 Baton Rouge, Louisiana A LOUISIANA DISASTER MORE COSTLY THAN THE GULF OIL SPILL!  The present financial disaster in Louisiana has cost the Louisiana economy almost three billion dollars. Check this figure again.  Not three million, or 300 million, but three billion dollars. And the timing could not be worse.  The Bayou...Read More

Thursday, July 8th, 2010 Baton Rouge, Louisiana A NEW SUPREME COURT JUSTICE: WHO CARES? About the last thing on anyone’s mind right now, particularly in my home state of Louisiana, is whether or not Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan will be confirmed by the U.S. Senate.  It’s pretty much a “done deal,” right?  Whoever the...Read More

Thursday, July 1st, 2010 New Orleans, Louisiana LOUISIANA TAKES MEDIA HITS OVER OIL SPILL ISSUES! When the deep water Horizon well first began spurring thousands of gallons of oil into the Gulf, sympathy from around the nation poured into Louisiana.  The country and the world watched in horror as the Bayou State once again wrestled...Read More

     Thursday, June 24th, 2010 Baton Rouge, Louisiana SHOULD THE FEDS MAKE LOUISIANA A PROTECTORATE? HELL YES!  Roseanne Roseannadanna summed it up pretty well in trying to make sense out of the trials and tribulations of Louisiana.  “Well, it just goes to show you, it’s always something.” Now we are hearing cries that Louisiana...Read More

Thursday, June 17th, 2010 Baton Rouge, Louisiana RISK TAKERS STICK IT TO THE TAXPAYERS! And if thou stare long enough into an abyss, The abyss will also gaze into thee.” Nietzsche Melville’s Moby Dick is a popular semblance right now for our unquenchable search for oil, and, like Captain Ahab, the consequences that often lead...Read More

Thursday, June 10th, 2010 Grand Isle, Louisiana IS THERE ANYONE IN THE GOVERNMENT WE CAN TRUST? If one lesson can be learned from both the Gulf Oil spill and the Wall Street financial bailout debacle, it’s that oversight by competent regulators is critical to protect the public. At every level of the governmental process, elected...Read More

        `Thursday, June 3rd, 2010 Baton Rouge, Louisiana IF YOU DESTROY BRITISH PETROLEUM, THEN WHO IS THE REAL LOSER? British Petroleum, the overseas oil giant, is under siege from every direction as they struggle to cap the massive Gulf oil spill.  The BP stock price has plummeted 25% since the start of...Read More

Thursday, May 27th, 2010 Venice, Louisiana DID LOUISIANA MAKE A DEAL WITH THE DEVIL OVER OIL? The blame game is in full force as the Gulf catastrophe oil spill continues to directly attach the Louisiana coast.  BP, the giant British corporation that drilled the defective well, is taking the blunt of everyone’s criticism.  But BP...Read More

Thursday, May 20th, 2010 Baton Rouge, Louisiana IS THE GOVERNMENT TRYING TO SAVE US FROM OURSELVES? George Orwell’s novel 1984 paints a disturbing and chilling scenario where one can be accused of a crime, arrested and prosecuted merely for thoughts in the mind. “The thought police would get him just the same. He had committed”¦...Read More

Thursday, May 6th 2010 Venice, Louisiana IN LOUISIANA OIL SPILL DID STATE AND FEDERAL AGENCIES DROP THE BALL? It didn’t take long for the blame game to begin shortly after the tragic Gulf oil explosion.  State and Federal officials were in lock step in declaring that British Petroleum (BP), who had leased the gulf oil...Read More

Thursday, May 6th, 2010 Baton Rouge, Louisiana I’M SEVENTY? YOU’VE GOT TO BE KIDDING! I woke up this morning, 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 it down, checked my emails, walked out to glance over...Read More

  Thursday, April 29, 2010 Baton Rouge, Louisiana IMMIGRATION CONTROVERSY DIRECTLY AFFECTS LOUISIANA! What if by some magical occurrence, every illegal immigrant was removed from Louisiana?  Well, there would be few roofs replaced on houses, and most of the state’s golf courses would grow up in weeds. Take a good look around your local community,...Read More

  Thursday, March 31, 2010 Baton Rouge, Louisiana KILLER OF A LOUISIANA PRIEST SERVES NO TIME FOR THE MURDER? Father Hunter Horgan was a popular Episcopal priest in the small South Louisiana town of Thibodaux, Louisiana.  He was severely beaten and then stabbed to death in the office of St. John’s Episcopal Church where he...Read More

Wednesday, March 3, 2010 Baton Rouge, Louisiana TIME TO ASK SOME TOUGH QUESTIONS ABOUT LOUISIANA INSURANCE A number of Louisiana legislators are feeling increasing heat back in their districts about why Louisiana continues, year after year, to have the highest insurance rates in the nation.  A small deep southern state should be way down the...Read More

  Thursday, February 25, 2010 New Orleans, Louisiana COMMON SENSE IN LOUISIANA GOVERNMENT? COME ON MAN! There is no shortage of controversial and often puzzling happenings in Louisiana to write and comment about.  One of the more challenging things about writing only a weekly column is how to pick and choose.  No problem in Iowa...Read More

Thursday, February 18, 2010 Baton Rouge, Louisiana JUST THE LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR’S OFFICE? ABOLISH EM’ ALL BOBBY! A number two guy in Louisiana?  Lieutenant Governor! What Lieutenant Governor?  If Gov. Bobby Jindal has his way, the number two spot in the state hierarchy is a gone pecan.  But hey Governor, why stop there?  Do we really...Read More

  Thursday, February 11, 2010 New Orleans, Louisiana WHEN THE CHEERING STOPS IN NEW ORLEANS, WHAT WILL THE NEW MAYOR DO?  What a week for Mayor-elect Mitch Landrieu!  How could anyone create a better scenario to begin rebuilding and renewal in New Orleans?  An overwhelming first primary victory, the saints win the Super bowl, and...Read More

Thursday, February 4, 2010 Portland, Oregon THE SAINTS vs. STEVE JOBS AND THE iPAD Two different parts of the country and two different issues dominate the news. For obvious and understandable reasons, the “Who Dat” nation has captivated Louisiana. Other news stories fade to the inside pages as the success of the New Orleans Saints...Read More

Thursday, January 28, 2010 Baton Rouge, Louisiana OPEN SEASON IN LOUISIANA FOR OUT-OF-STATE CAMPAIGN MONEY? Last week’s Supreme Court decision declaring that corporations and unions can spend money on political advertising has unleashed a storm of controversy on both sides of the political spectrum. And some press reports predict that Louisiana will become “the wild,...Read More

  Thursday, January 21, 2009 Baton Rouge, Louisiana A LOUISIANA GAL JUST MIGHT HAVE WON THE SENATE RACE IN MASSACHUSETTS! It was supposed to be a slam dunk senate seat for the Democrats.  Obama had carried this bluest of blue states by 26 points just a year ago.  And the Democrats had led this seat...Read More

  Thursday, January 13, 2009 Baton Rouge, Louisiana NEW ORLEANS MAYOR’S RACE MIGHT DECIDE NEXT LOUISIANA GOVERNOR! In less than a month, the election for the next mayor of New Orleans will be held.  Current Lt. Governor Mitch Landrieu is far and away the front runner, and some are predicting he might win in the...Read More

  Thursday, January 7, 2009 Baton Rouge, Louisiana GET THE DRUNKS OFF THE ROAD IN LOUSIANA Louisiana has always been a “free and easy” state when it comes to drinking and driving.  Visitors are dumbfounded  when they see drive through Daiquiri shops across the state.  Just as prevalent are the drive through liquor stores that...Read More

Wednesday, December 30, 2009 Baton Rouge, Louisiana SO THIS TERRORIST WALKS INTO A LOUISIANA BAR I was in the New Orleans airport this week waiting as a family member made her way through airport security with two small babies   Boy, were these guys with the Transportation Security Agency on the job and up to the...Read More

  Thursday, December 16, 2009 Baton Rouge, Louisiana WHY ALL THE INTEREST IN EDWIN EDWARDS? The new authorized biography of former Louisiana Gov. Edwin Edwards went on sale this week.  In three days, the first run of 10,000 books was completely sold out.  And there are pre orders for 10,000 more.  People in the Louisiana...Read More

  Thursday, December 10, 2009 Baton Rouge, Louisiana THE WORST OF TIMES FOR LOUISIANA INSURANCE Remember ole’ Calypso Joe doing the limbo and singing in that deep voice”¦”How low can you go?”Â  Few would be surprised if they learned he was singing about that state of insurance affairs in Louisiana.   To many observers, 2009 cannot...Read More

  Thursday, December 3, 2009 Baton Rouge, Louisiana SARAH PALIN WOULD FIT IN WELL IN LOUISIANA! Did you actually read Sarah Palin’s new book, Going Rogue?  Sure it’s a national best seller.  I had no plans to buy it.   Nothing against Sarah.  I really liked the Newsweek cover with Sarah in her jogging shorts. (She’s...Read More

Thursday, November 25, 2009 Baton Rouge, Louisiana JINDAL AND INDIA A RARE OPPORTUNITY FOR LOUISIANA Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal was the token Republican at the Obama first State Dinner this week.  It would be pretty crass for the President to exclude Jindal, the first and only Indian American Governor, from a state dinner honoring the...Read More

Thursday, November 19, 2009 New Orleans, Louisiana WILL BOGUS CHARGES GIVE BILL JEFFERSON A NEW TRIAL? Former New Orleans Congressman Bill Jefferson got a thirteen year sentence and will soon be heading to jail.  Ninety thousand dollars in his freezer?  Has to be a “slam dunk” for the prosecutors, although Jefferson says he will appeal. ...Read More

Thursday, November 12,, 2009 New Orleans, Louisiana WHY AREN’T WE THE GREATEST GENERATION? Ten years ago, Tom Brokaw wrote a book about what he called “the greatest generation.” Now, there is a new best seller out calling America today “the dumbest generation.” And since Louisiana is at the bottom of the barrel on most comparative...Read More

  Thursday, November 5, 2009 Baton Rouge, Louisiana THE ONLY TRUE CONSERVATIVE GOVERNOR? DAVE TREEN!   The accolades for former Louisiana Governor Dave Treen have been pouring in, and rightly so.  He has been called a lot of nice names and everyone quoted has pegged him as a “good guy.”Â  He was “an inspiration,” said Governor...Read More

Thursday, October 29, 2009 Baton Rouge, Louisiana COUNTERFEITIN’ BILLY CANNON- THE TOAST OF LSU Even though it’s just a second rate game for the LSU Tigers this Saturday night against Tulane, the crowd noise in Tiger Stadium will be deafening, but not because the ninth ranked Tigers should make mincemeat out of my old Alma...Read More

Thursday, October 22, 2009 Linville, North Carolina LOUISIANA’S STREAMLINING COMMISSION WHERE’S THE FOCUS? The much ballyhooed Louisiana Governmental Streamlining Commission is under fire for getting off to a slow start and not considering immediate options to reduce state spending.  The legislatively created commission was charged to review the structure of state government and adopt ways...Read More

  Thursday, October 15, 2009 Baton Rouge, Louisiana BLEAK LOUISIANA INSURANCE CLIMATE IN MONTHS TO COME! There should be plenty of good news on the property insurance front, both in Louisiana and throughout the gulf south.  Hurricane season is over, the third year in a row without the threat of a major storm. One would...Read More

    Thursday, October 8, 2009 New Orleans, Louisiana OH MY GOD-  THE TERRORISTS ARE COMING TO LOUISIANA! There are 241 remaining detainees imprisoned at Guantanamo Bay, and the president says he will shut it down in early 2010.  So where do you send these suspected terrorists?  Other countries don’t want them. So do you...Read More

    Thursday, October 1, 2009 Shreveport, Louisiana GET THE POLITICIANS OUT OF REAPPORTIONMENT It’s getting close to redistricting time for legislators, and already criticism is raining down on this politically sensitive process that decisions are being shaped behind closed doors.  Lawmakers have scheduled a two day “educational workshop” in Alexandria next month to learn...Read More

  Thursday, September 24, 2009 Perdido Key, Florida LOUISIANA AND FLORIDA- NIGHT AND DAY ON PROPERTY INSURANCE! All this week, Florida’s largest newspaper, the Miami Herald, has been writing both feature articles and editorials about the problems facing Florida property owners in finding affordable insurance.  Day after day, headlines conveyed the intensity of the struggle: ...Read More

  Thursday, September 17, 2009 Perdido Key, Florida IN LOUISIANA, JUST TELL EM’ I LIED! When South Carolina Congressman Joe Wilson hollered out “You lie” as the President was addressing congress last week, even Louisiana republicans were aghast.  Northeast Louisiana congressman Rodney Alexander summed up the delegation’s response.  “I was embarrassed,” Alexander said after speaking...Read More

Thursday, September 10, 1009 Baton Rouge, Louisiana HEY, LAY OFF BOBBY JINDAL AND THE PRESIDENT! Let the Prez teach and Jindal preach. Remember old Capt. D.C. Boycott?  Sure you do.  He was the notorious Irish landlord who cut the wages of his tenant farmers and got ostracized.  Since then, we regularly hear of someone proposing...Read More

  Thursday, September 3, 2009 Baton Rouge, Louisiana STATE SPENDING UP- SERVICES DOWN Louisiana taxpayers just can’t get a break.  It’s bad enough that the economy continues to languish, unemployment rates are on the rise in the Bayou State, and home foreclosures are increasing.  Even the movie business in the hottest month of the year...Read More

  Thursday, August 26, 2009 Baton Rouge, Louisiana WHAT DO WE DO IN LOUISIANA ABOUT THE COST OF HEALTHCARE?  Riots at town hall meetings, threats for an abrupt ending to congressional careers, patrician political posturing and some of the most vitriol rhetoric in recent memory.  All this and more has been churning up continuing controversy...Read More

Thursday, August 19, 2009 Baton Rouge, Louisiana STANFORD REGULATORY SCREW UPS MAY COST LOUISIANA TAXPAYERS HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS Hundreds of irate Stanford investors converged on Baton Rouge this week to protest their financial losses from what they charge was a giant Ponzi scheme by this international investment firm.  Their wrath is directed both at the...Read More

Thursday, August 13, 2009 Baton Rouge, Louisiana WHY CAN’T I GET A LOUISIANA BAILOUT? At first, it was the big financial guys who were “too big to fail” that were getting all that bailout money.  Billions to banks, insurance companies, and then to auto makers.  If you are old enough to remember back to the...Read More

  Thursday, August 6, 2009 Baton Rouge, Louisiana INSURANCE DYSFUNCTION CONTINUES IN LOUISIANA Press reports, both nationally and at home, have confirmed what financial analysts and investigators have known for months.  Louisiana continues to have the most dysfunctional insurance system and the worst insurance climate in the country.  In almost every category, insurance rates are...Read More

Thursday, July 230, 2009 Baton Rouge, Louisiana OBAMA AND JINDAL ON HEALTHCARE ONE TO MUCH, ONE TOO LITTLE The President is facing an uphill fight in his quest to change the face of health care delivery in the United States.  Each day, more and more Americans are concluding that the billions being spent to shore...Read More

  Thursday, July 23, 2009 Baton Rouge, Louisiana LOUISIANA GOVERNOR MAKES BIG SPLASH AT NATIONAL GOVERNORS’ CONFERENCE BUT WHO? It was like old home week at the National Governors’ Conference in Biloxi, Mississippi this past weekend.  The Louisiana Governor seemed to be the center of attention, with other state governors coming up to greet, give...Read More

  Thursday, July 16, 2009 Baton Rouge, Louisiana SOTOMAYOR DOES NOT PASS THE FAIRNESS TEST   “Elections have consequences.” These were the words of South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham, as he questioned Judge Sonia Sotomayor on the first day of her Supreme Court confirmation hearings.  “Republicans lost the November election and President Obama won.  And that...Read More

  Thursday, July 9, 2009 Baton Rouge, Louisiana IS BOBBY JINDAL STILL VIABLE NATIONALLY? “Whatever happened to Bobby Jindal?”Â  That is the question posed in this month’s Economist Magazine.  “At one point he was the great hope of the GOP and now we hardly hear a word about him.”Â  So is it time to begin...Read More

  Thursday, July 2, 2009 Linville, North Carolina IS BOBBY JINDAL OUT OF THE NATIONAL POLITICAL PICTURE? That’s the question posed to me by a group of political consultants meeting in Charlotte this week as they tried to ferret out what Republican is a viable contender for the 2012 presidential nomination.  The group felt that...Read More

Thursday, June 18, 2009 Baton Rouge, Louisiana LOUISIANA A SECOND RATE STATE UNDER VOTING RIGHTS ACT! Are institutionalized acts of racism interwoven in the election procedures that regularly take place in Louisiana? Is there a concentrated effort on the part of Louisiana elections officials to put up barriers so that it is more difficult for...Read More

  Thursday June 11, 2009 New Orleans, Louisiana LOUISIANA HURRICANE SEASON DO YOU FEEL LUCKY?  WELL DO YA? A dangerous hurricane season this year?  Forecasters are predicting nine to 14 named tropical storms with four to seven of them expected to be hurricanes. And three could be major.  Or as Dirty Harry would say: 44...Read More

  Thursday, June 4, 2009 Baton Rouge, Louisiana THE RISE AND FALL 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 that “Huey stroked LSU as if he had been coddling a newborn pet elephant. ...Read More

  Thursday, May 28, 2009 Baton Rouge, Louisiana A SUPREME COURT APPOINTEE FROM LOUISIANA? FAT CHANCE! Before the President made his choice this week for a new nominee to fill the coming vacancy on the United States Supreme Court, the White House undertook a nationwide search.  There were parameters.  The pick was certain to be...Read More

Thursday, May 21, 2009 Baton Rouge, Louisiana STANFORD AND MADOFF HAD ACCOMPLICES: THEIR VICTIMS! There are three things you should learn early in life. Don’t play poker with a guy named Slim. Don’t buy a Rolex form a guy on the street who’s out of breath. And don’t put your money in some exotic investment...Read More

  Thursday, May 14, 2009 Baton Rouge, Louisiana FREEDOM OF CHOICE IN MOTORCYCLE HELMET DEBATE One of the hottest 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. ...Read More

  Thursday, May 7, 2009 Baton Rouge, Louisiana A HIGH PRICE TO KEEP THE SAINTS! The plan seems to be “Keep the Saints at any price.”Â  Proposals at Louisiana’s state capitol to give millions of dollars a year for decades to come is steamrolling through the legislature.  Governor Bobby Jindal says the deal will “save...Read More

  Thursday April 30, 2009 Baton Rouge, Louisiana KEEP YOUR HEAD DOWN THE LOUISIANA LEGISLATURE’S IN SESSION Every observer of Louisiana politics is aware of Mark Twain’s adage:  “No man’s life, liberty or property is safe while the Legislature is in session.”Â  Actually, it was New York Judge Gideon Tucker who first made the perceptive...Read More

  Thursday, April 23rd, 2009 Shreveport, Louisiana BRING LOCAL AND STATE GOVERNMENT IN LOUISIANA INTO THE TWENTY FIRST CENTURY!  Just how many boards, commissions, water districts, sewer districts, parish auditors, law enforcement offices, and a whole list of other special districts are spread throughout Louisiana? No one really seems to know.  Some estimates are as high as...Read More

Thursday, April 16, 2009 New York City, New York IT’S TIME TO END LEGAL IMMUNITY FOR PROSECUTORS If you have followed the criminal case of former US Sen. Ted Stevens from Alaska, a title of a future book or video could well be titled “prosecutors gone wild.” Stevens was convicted of accepting gifts from campaign...Read More

  Thursday, April 9, 2009 Baton Rouge, Louisiana MARCH MADNESS ARE ATHLETES BEING SHORT CHANGED? Millions of rabid college basketball fans have been glued to their TVs over the past month as March Madness reached its crescendo this past Monday night.  My North Carolina Tar Heels rose to the occasion to win its second national...Read More

  Thursday, April 2nd, 2009 Paris, France FRANCE, APRIL FOOL’S AND LOUISIANA After a week in Paris, four things are quite apparent.  The French despise George Bush, really like Barack Obama, love Louisiana, and delight in playing April fool’s jokes.  Seriousness was put aside yesterday as the French continued the traditional they believe they started...Read More

  Thursday, March 12th, 2009 Baton Rouge, Louisiana HEY BOBBY JINDAL IT’S INDIA NOT IOWA! Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal’s recent “speech to the nation” was panned by both Democrats and Republicans alike. It would not be fair to say that his national career has crashed and burned, but it certainly makes sense for him to...Read More

  Thursday, March 5, 2009 Tampa, Florida ARE BASEBALL AND POLITICS INTERTWINED? Just what is America’s favorite pastime? Is it baseball or politics? This past few weeks offers interesting contrasts. On the one hand, we went from a full-blown presidential campaign right into a major political controversy of how to “stimulate” the economy. Certainly in...Read More

Thursday, February 26th, 2009 Baton Rouge, Louisiana JINDAL A TOUGH SELL ON A NATIONAL STAGE Bobby Jindal had an uphill fight to begin with this past Tuesday evening when he was the Republican pick to give a response to the President’s State of the Union speech. He was thrown into the lion’s den to give...Read More

Thursday, February 19th, 2009 Baton Rouge, Louisiana JINDAL PUTS LEGISLATORS IN SPOT OVER STIMULUS FUNDING in state after state across the country, cash-starved governors from both parties are anxiously awaiting federal dollars from the stimulus package that Congress passed just last Friday. One governor though who seems less than enthusiastic over receiving such a windfall...Read More

    Thursday, February 12th, 2009 New Orleans, Louisiana SEN. DAVID VITTER AND THE STIMULUS PACKAGE Louisiana’s US Sen. David Vitter seems to be leading the charge of Republican opposition to the proposed stimulus package.  Let’s get things straight. We are talking here about the federal government stimulus package, not the stimulus being offered by...Read More

Thursday, February 5th, 2009 Baton Rouge, Louisiana TIME FOR SUPREME COURT TO GET TO WORK Thirty Seven words.  A pretty simple job to read a short paragraph from the U. S. Constitution.  In Article 11, Section 1, the oath given to the President says: “I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute...Read More

Thursday, January 29th, 2009 Washington, DC    COULD INDEPENDENT VOTERS BRING DOWN SENATOR  DAVID VITTER?  An ongoing battle within the ranks of the Louisiana Republican Party may well determine whether Louisiana US Sen. David Vitter receives his party’s nomination for the coming 2010 senatorial election. The question for the party faithful is whether or not...Read More

  Thursday, January 22nd, 2009 Baton Rouge, Louisiana WHY DIDN’T PRESIDENT GEORGE BUSH PARDON EDWIN EDWARDS?  For months, political insiders in both Louisiana and Washington had been predicting that former Louisiana Gov. Edwin Edwards would be pardoned by President George Bush in the final weeks of his term in office. There were a number of...Read More

Thursday, January 15th, 2008 New Orleans, Louisiana TAKING A YOUNG LIFE IN NEW ORLEANS  WHERE EVEN GOD CAN BE WRONG. Little Ja’Shawn Powell was two years old, and lived in New Orleans with his mother.  His father, a guy named Danny Platt, came to pick up Ja’Shawn for a visit last week.  The boy, according...Read More

Thursday, January 8th, 2008   Baton Rouge, Louisiana    LOUISIANA TAXPAYERS ARE  THE LOSERS IN PROPERTY INSURANCE SCHEME   In days of old, Robin Hood took from the rich and gave to the poor. When it comes to insurance, the Louisiana Legislature and the Insurance Department do just the reverse. They apparently think it is...Read More

Wednesday, December 31, 2008 Baton Rouge, Louisiana PERCEPTION AND REALITY IN LOUISIANA POLITICS In 2008, Louisiana rode the bubble.  A new Governor and a cadre of other new public officials were ready to put the Katrina mentality behind, and begin the process of bringing Louisiana fully into the 21st century.  There was a perception, stirred...Read More

Thursday, December 18th, 2008 Baton Rouge, Louisiana FEW SAINTS IN POLITICS NOT EVEN LINCOLN When the Governor of Illinois was arrested recently and charged with selling political favors to the highest bidder, the federal prosecutor in the case was incredulous. He stated that Abraham Lincoln” would rollover in his grave” if he were to know...Read More

Thursday, December 11th, 21008 Baton Rouge, Louisiana    LOUISIANA CITIZENS INSURANCE SCANDALS CONTINUE TO GROW A year ago, it would have been hard to imagine that conditions at Citizens Property Insurance Company could get any worse. The state created and state run company was in debt by over $1 billion.  The Rouge Business Report called...Read More

Thursday, December 3rd, 2008 Baton Rouge, Louisiana BOTTOM OF THE BARREL HEALTHWISE IN LOUISIANA  Louisiana has the dubious honor of being named this week as the least healthiest state in the nation.  The negative recognition was announced in the 2008 health rankings just released by United Health Foundation. It really wasn’t any surprise.  That’s because...Read More