Thursday, May 24th, 2012 New Orleans, Louisiana NEW ORLEANS CRIMINAL JUSTICE- THE EVIL EMPIRE? In the movie about New Orleans called Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans, Nicolas Cage plays a corrupt New Orleans cop, and tells a fellow cop to “Shoot him again.”Â  “What for?” says his companion. Cage casually observes:  “His...Read More

Thursday, May 17, 2012 Baton Rouge, Louisiana WE’RE TOO BIG TO FAIL- SO LET THE TAXPAYERS COVER OUR LOSING BETS! I drive each day by my local bank.  It’s a Chase branch of J.P. Morgan.  I don’t have much to save, but I count on my bank to invest my money.  Not bet my hard...Read More

  Thursday, May 5th, 2012 New Orleans, Louisiana  IS IT SAFE TO WEAR MY HOODIE?  With summer approaching, I re-arranged my closet last week and put away winter clothes.  In the mix was my hoodie.  This garment has recently become one on of the most controversial pieces of outerwear in the nation.  I wear mine when...Read More

  Thursday, May 3rd, 2012 Baton Rouge, Louisiana SO THIS TERRORIST WALKS INTO A  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, April 26th, 2012 Baton Rouge, Louisiana THE COMPLICATIONS OF RELIGION AND POLITICS! I have a request of all of our pontificating politicians.  Leave God and me alone to work out our relationship.  I consider myself a religious person, but I don’t wear my faith on my sleeve or preach to my neighbors.  I...Read More

  Thursday, April 11th, 2012 Baton Rouge, Louisiana LOUISIANA’S “GIVE THE CRIMINALS PLENTY OF NOTICE” LAW! There’s a great new edict that’s about to become law in my home state of Louisiana.  It’s called   the GTCPTG statute.  Short for, “Give the Criminals plenty of time to get away.”Â  Louisiana legislators and the state’s insurance department...Read More

Thursday, April 5, 2012 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 I 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 out...Read More

  March 29th, 2012 New Orleans, Louisiana  THE DEBATE IS OVER A LOT MORE THAN HEALTHCARE! For three days this week, the national news focus was on the U.S. Supreme Court’s hearing concerning the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act, better known as Obamacare.  To most Republicans, the new law is a massive stretch of...Read More

  Thursday, March 22nd, 2012 New Orleans, Louisiana STOP THE PROSECUTORIAL  MISCONDUCT! It seems to be spreading like a communicable disease. And apparently there is no cure. Week after week, there are new reports of prosecutors, on both the federal and state level, engaging in premeditated acts of prosecutorial misconduct. Coaching witnesses to lie. Hiding...Read More

  Thursday, March 15th, 2012 Baton Rouge, Louisiana  LOUISIANA — WHERE BEING NUMBER ONE IS BAD NEWS! My home state of Louisiana again has the distinction of having the most expensive auto insurance rates in the nation.  Forbes magazine just released national figures indicating that not only do Louisiana’s drivers pay more than drivers in...Read More

          Thursday, March 8th, 2012 Tampa, Florida IS IT BASEBALL OR POLITICS?  Just what is America’s favorite pastime?  Is it baseball or politics? The past few years have offered interesting comparisons. On one hand, the country is enmeshed in a full-blown presidential campaign with deep divisions over how to stimulate the...Read More

  Thursday, March 1st, 2012 Baton Rouge, Louisiana CONGRESS SHOULD CLEAN UP THE MESS IT CREATED! Two time presidential contender Adlai Stevenson had a quote concerning two-faced public officials. “A hypocrite is the kind of politician who would cut down a redwood tree, then mount the stump and make a speech for conservation.”Â  Well said,...Read More

  Thursday, February 23rd, 2012 New Orleans, Louisiana A MAJOR SHAKE UP NEEDED IN CONGRESS! The approval rate for members of Congress seems to be in free call.  Few constitutients approve of the  dysfunction taking place in the nation’s capitol.  Just 10 years ago, Congress had an approval rating of 65%.  But no more.  The...Read More

  Thursday, February 16th, 2012 Baton Rouge, Louisiana THE SLIPPERY SLOPE OF RELIGIOUS FREEDOM! I’m confused about the controversy surrounding the debate over the President’s new birth control rule.  Some religious leaders, especially U.S. Catholic Bishops, as well as a litany of republican politicians, have criticized the White House proposal that all health insurance plans...Read More

Thursday, February 9th, 2012 Tucson, Arizona SO WHO’S GOING TO BUY THE NEW FACEBOOK STOCK? NOT ME! The announcement has captivated business news publications all over the world. Facebook is going public. It could be America’s greatest business success story — especially for a start up. Facebook has turned into a huge cash cow.  Why...Read More

   Thursday, February 2nd, 2012 Baton Rouge, Louisiana WHICH REPUBLICANS ARE NOT ENDORSING  IN THE PRESIDENTIAL RACE? Endorsements are coming right and left from major party officials in the Republican primary presidential race.  Even so, The Wall Street Journal ran an opinion page column last week that concluded endorsements don’t make all that much difference...Read More

   Thursday, January 26th, 2012 Baton Rouge, Louisiana SOME OCCASIONAL COMMON SENSE FROM THE SUPREME COURT Is privacy dead in America?  Many of us thought it was after a disastrous year of almost total usurpation of both freedom and privacy by the federal government. Since the founding of our country more than 200 hundred years...Read More

Thursday, January 19th, 2012 Baton Rouge, Louisiana FEDS AND STATE REGULATION CAUSE HIGH INSURANCE RATES! A headline in several regional newspapers caught my eye. “Homeowners Insurance Rate Increases Have Slowed,” said one front page banner. I guess that’s supposed to be good news. But in my home state of Louisiana, rates have skyrocketed since 2005...Read More

  Thursday, January 12th, 2012 Baton Rouge, Louisiana NICK SABAN AND MITT ROMNEY- FOOTBALL AND POLITICS!  After his team soundly trounced arch rival LSU in the BCS Championship game this week, Alabama Coach Nick Saban took the podium to comment on his team’s huge victory.  The press was no doubt looking for nuggets of quotes...Read More

(Visiting with republican  presidential front runner Mitt Romney in New York recently.) Governor Mitt Romney’s Iowa caucus victory this week drew nothing more than a few yawns down in Louisiana.  Not much interest over a former east coast governor who, as best they know, has not stepped foot in the state.  Romney seems to be...Read More

        Thursday, January 5th, 2012 New Orleans, Louisiana LOUISIANA AND PRESIDENTIAL POLITICS Governor Mitt Romney’s Iowa caucus victory this week drew nothing more than a few yawns down in Louisiana.  For several reasons.  First, presidential politics is not a front burner issue right now. For many Louisianans, there are more important priorities. ...Read More

  December 29, 2011 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 22nd, 2011 Baton Rouge, Louisiana  LOUISIANA PROPERTY OWNERS FACE ANOTHER STATE CREATED FINANCIAL DISASTER!  Merry Christmas Louisiana.  Here’s your present from the public officials you sent to the state capitol.  A big boost in your property insurance premiums!  All from the same folks who have been sticking you with higher rates for...Read More

Thursday, December 8th, 2011 Baton Rouge, Louisiana  IN LOUISIANA, NO MORE HORSEMEAT IN MY GUMBO?  Louisiana has been called the culinary Mecca of America.  Folks in this part of the country can take just about anything edible and make it, not just good, but quite exceptional.  And when we say anything, we mean anything.  There...Read More

Thursday, December 1st, 2o Baton Rouge, Louisiana REPUBLICANS FLIP, DEMOCRATS FLOP ON HEALTHCARE! Here’s our plot line. You’ve been in a coma for the past four years and just regained consciousness. You are concerned about your medical expenses, so you check to see what the President and congress have done to make healthcare more affordable....Read More

            Thursday, November 24th, 2011 Baton Rouge, Louisiana PROSECUTORS GONE WILD! Over the past few months, there has been a rash of reports and charges of widespread and intentional withholding of evidence on the part of federal prosecutors in a number of high profile criminal cases.  Intentional is the key...Read More

  Thursday, November 17th, 2011 Baton Rouge, Louisiana YOU ARE GOING TO VOTE — OR ELSE! Why don’t more people show up to vote on Election Day?  In elections all over America, fewer voters are turning out at the polls than ever before. The New York Times ran an op-ed piece last week decrying this...Read More

Friday, November 11th, 2011 (11/11/11) New Orleans, Louisiana VETERANS HONORED AROUND THE WORLD! Many soothsayers are excited about what may happen on 11/11/11.  They consider the number 11 to be a Master Number. According to those believers, on this special day, you can use mind power to actualize what you want in your life. For...Read More

     Thursday, November 3rd, 2011 New Orleans, Louisiana MAJOR POLITICAL SHAKEUP  ON THE LOUISIANA HORIZON? In my home state of Louisiana, voters are about to witness a high stakes political game of musical chairs on both the state and national level.  This could lead to new faces in the top three Louisiana political offices. ...Read More

             Thursday, October 20th, 2011 Baton Rouge, Louisiana THE COST OF BEING UNHEALTHY! Americans continue to become less healthy and less productive, mainly because of lifestyle.  That’s the conclusion of a new Gallup study released this week.  More than 30% of American workers are overweight and have one or more...Read More

     Thursday, October 13th, 2011 Baton Rouge, Louisiana CAN THE GOVERNMENT LEGALLY KILL YOU WITHOUT A TRIAL? By any measure, Anwar Awlaki was a bad apple.  In speeches, and over the internet, he preached hate and violence against his country, the United States.  He was a well know terrorist who, for years, has been...Read More

           Thursday, September 29th, 20011 Baton Rouge, Louisiana THERE ARE BIG BUCKS IN COLLEGE SPORTS! BUT WHO’S GETTING THEM? With TV income at an all time high, and with attendance breaking records nationwide, the college football season is off to the most successful start in its history. Football in my home...Read More

       Friday, September 16th, 2011 Perdido Key, Florida ARE WE BETTER OFF 10 YEARS LATER POST 9/11? The world around us has changed dramatically in the past 10 years. When the 9/11 attacks blindsided America, two billion people — one third of the world’s population —  were glued to television and computer screens, watching the...Read More

        Friday, September 9th, 2011 Baton Rouge, Louisiana  OUR LIVES WERE CHANGED BY 9/11  I have watched through a window a world that has fallen.                                                                                                 W. H. Auden This Sunday’s date, 9/11, turned into the frantic dialing of 911 ten years ago. . A surreal feeling of shock and helplessness enveloped all...Read More

            Thursday, September 1st, 2011 Dallas, Texas  WHAT HAPPENED TO LONG VACATIONS?  Does anyone take a real vacation anymore? In the good old days, school didn’t start again until the Monday after Labor Day. The last two weeks in August used to be a popular time for families to get away to...Read More

  Tuesday, August 23nd, 2011 Baton Rouge, Louisiana  RUNNING FOR THE WHITE HOUSE- IS IT “GOVERNOR IN CHIEF?”  How much more bleak can the mood of the country get?  Several new polls out this week show that only 15% of likely voters in next year’s presidential election say the U.S. is heading in the right...Read More

Sunday, August 14th, 2011 Baton Rouge, Louisiana THE BERLIN WALL STOPPED ME COLD FIFTY YEARS AGO! Fifty years ago his weekend, the Berlin Wall was erected by the puppet soviet state of East Germany.  Unless you are over sixty five or are a history buff, you may not understand the tensions that existed then that...Read More

I’m Out of here for the Summer Many naysayers have predicted that the family summer vacation, a venerable American tradition for over a century, has now passed away quietly after a lengthy illness. Supposedly, the final coup de grace was the recent rise in gas prices. But I say they protest a bit too much....Read More

LSU AND THE FEDS LOOK BAD IN CASE HANDLING This whole Anthrax debacle on the part of the FBI gets even murkier, since we now find out that the latest guy fingered as the culprit apparently did not have the ability to even create anthrax in his laboratory.  Columnist Justin Raimondo wrote an in depth...Read More

Thursday, July 7th, 2011 Baton Rouge, Louisiana A RUSH TO JUDGMENT IN THE  ANTHONY AND STRAUSS-KAHN CASES? The press told us that both high profile cases were slam dunks for the prosecutors.   In the Casey Anthony case, a dysfunctional young mother parties for a month while her young daughter is missing.  In the Strauss-Kahn criminal...Read More

Thursday, June 30th, 2011 Baton Rouge, Louisiana WHAT’S HAPPENED TO FREEDOM ON THIS 4TH OF JULY? Independence Day to most Americans means a three day weekend with gatherings of family and friends, barbecues, parties, games, food, parades, baseball games and fireworks.  Traditionally, most of us know that July 4th is the recognition and celebration of...Read More

Thursday, June 23rd, 201 New Orleans, Louisiana THE GOP DOG AND PONY SHOW COMES TO NEW ORLEANS! The circus comes to town quite often in New Orleans.  It’s always Mardi Gras, Jazz Fest, frolicking in the French Quarter, and weekly festivals where zany antics take place, few restrictions apply, and the good times continue to...Read More

Thursday, June 16th, 2011 Baton Rouge, Louisiana ARE REPUBLICANS FLIP FLOPPING ON HEALTH INSURANCE  MANDATES? Remember the old knock on presidential candidate John Kerry back in the 2004 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 presidential candidate is...Read More

Thursday, June 9th, 2011 New Orleans, Louisiana JOHN EDWARDS- IS IT A FEDERAL CRIME TO BE A SLEAZE? He was once the fair haired boy of the Democratic Party, and a major contender for the presidential nomination.  In December of 2006, I was working in New Orleans hosting a daily radio program on Clear Channel’s...Read More

Thursday, June 2nd, 2011 Baton Rouge, Louisiana CONGRESS BETRAYS BASIC AMERICAN FREEDOMS! Since the founding of our country more than 200 hundred years ago, Americans have enjoyed core rights and liberties that made our country not just unique, but exceptional in protecting our basic freedoms. But no more.  Just last week, The Congress of the...Read More

Thursday, May 26th, 2011 Baton Rouge, Louisiana HOW CAN  STATES LIKE LOUISIANA BECOME PLAYERS IN THE PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION? Last week, this column analyzed how only a handful of states will be both relevant and make any substantive difference in next year’s presidential election.  Under the present system, it’s a “winner take all” contest, where the...Read More

Thursday, May 19th, 2011 Baton Rouge, Louisiana IN THE COMING PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION THE MAJORITY OF VOTERS ARE IRRELEVANT The jockeying for the 2012 republican presidential nomination is rapidly picking up speed with candidates coming and going almost daily.  Arkansas’s former Gov. Mike Huckabee and Donald Trump, both the leaders in most recent polls, are out...Read More

Thursday, May 12th, 2011 New Orleans, Louisiana LOUISIANA AND THE SOUTH UNDER SIEGE BY MISSISSIPPI RIVER! Randy Newman’s song, Louisiana 1927, hit home to many residents up and down the Mississippi river this week. He was singing about the 1927 flood, where more than 23,000 square miles were inundated, hundreds of people died, and hundreds...Read More

Thursday, May 5th, 2011 Baton Rouge, Louisiana WILL OSAMA BIN LADEN CONTINUE TO HAUNT US? The most wanted war criminal in the world is now dead.  And it is for good reason that Americans are enthralled over his death. So do we now go back to our life before 9/11?  Or will we find that...Read More

Thursday, April 28, 2011 Baton Rouge, Louisiana 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, April 21, 2011 Baton Rouge, Louisiana BARRY BONDS AND THE GREAT AMERICAN WITCH HUNT! Now let me try to understand. Bankers, investment brokers and insurance magnates , whose greed and fraud reached into every household in America, don’t even get as much as a slap on the wrist.  But home run champ Barry Bonds...Read More

Thursday, April 14, 2011 Port Hudson Battlefield, Louisiana WAS THE CIVIL WAR REALLY NECESSARY? One Hundred and Fifty years ago this week, the first shots of the Civil War were fired at Fort Sumter in South Carolina.  During the next four years, carnage, mayhem and death were the order of day after day.  By the...Read More

Thursday, April 7th, 2011 New Orleans, Louisiana DEATH ROW, NEW ORLEANS, AND THE SUPREME COURT’S  BETRAYAL OF JUSTICE. There is an aura of myth that surrounds Lady Justice, who is pictured standing tall with the balanced scales of justice in her hands.  She is blindfolded to assure impartiality and fairness.  But if she read the...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 Monday night.  My North Carolina Tar Heels came close in an effort to win its second national title...Read More

Thursday, March 24, 2011 Pensacola, Florida AND LIBYA WOULD BE”¦. WHERE EXACTLY?   My morning coffee group can solve just about any domestic problem, and it generally offers better solutions than the folks up in Washington.  But all of a sudden, our daily rants about Wall Street bailouts, corporate welfare, the bumbling educational system, and...Read More

Thursday, March 17, 2011 Baton Rouge, Louisiana BIG BROTHER HAS YOU UNDER CLOSE WATCH THANKS TO THE PATRIOT ACT! When Tea party candidates throughout the country ran for office last fall, most members offered soaring campaign promises to defend liberty of ordinary Americans, and fight governmental intrusions on basic freedoms. But whatever hopes there were...Read More

Thursday, March 10, 2011 New Orleans, Louisiana A LOUISIANA GUY THEY COULD CALL MR. PRESIDENT? Here’s your question for the day!  Name a Louisiana resident who seriously considered running for President?   Here are a few hints to round out his profile.  His resume’ shows that he was well educated and intelligent, was a member of...Read More

Thursday, March 3, 2011 Tampa, Florida ARE BASEBALL AND POLITICS INTERTWINED? Just what is America’s favorite pastime? Is it baseball or politics? The past few years offered interesting contrasts. On one hand, we went from a full-blown presidential campaign right into a major political controversy of how to “stimulate” the economy. Certainly in the past...Read More

Thursday, February 24th, 2011 New Orleans, Louisiana GET THE POLITICIANS OUT OF REAPPORTIONMENT It’s redistricting time for legislators, both in Louisiana and throughout the country. Criticism that decisions are being shaped behind closed doors is raining down on this politically sensitive process.  Lawmakers in my home state have scheduled a number of meetings to discuss...Read More

  Wednesday, February 9th, 2011 Washington, D.C.  JFK AND HIS LOVE AFFAIR WITH LOUISIANA!  The 34th President of the United States took office 50 years ago last week, with tributes and remembrances flowing from all over the world.  Republicans look to Ronald Regan as their ideal. But to Republicans and Democrats alike, John Kennedy seemed...Read More

Thursday, February 3rd, 2011 Baton Rouge, Louisiana WHY  LOUISIANA SHOULD BE FOR THE GREEN BAY PACKERS! So who ya’ rootin’ for in the Super Bowl game on Sunday?  It’s an easy choice for me living down here in Louisiana.  The Packers are one of the best examples of how a sports franchise should operate. They...Read More

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