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, 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

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, March 5th, 2015 Baton Rouge, Louisiana  IN LOUISIANA THEY’RE ASKING “” WHO’S IN CHARGE?  In his quixotic quest to run for president, Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal has been out of the state 50% of the time in recent months. He’s rarely been visible in his home state, but voters are getting to know him...Read More

Thursday, January 22nd, l2014 Baton Rouge, Louisiana  FOR BOBBY JINDAL- FIRST THE MUSLIMS, THEN THE WORLD!  Louisiana’s feisty absentee Governor Bobby Jindal sure knows how some things that are not politically correct, so brace yourselves.” So naturally, I held onto my desk, took a deep breath, assumed the worst, and braced myself.  The Republican presidential...Read More

Friday, December 2nd, 2014 Baton Rouge, Louisiana  DUTCH MORIAL-A SPECIAL LOUISIANA POLITICIAN! I drove down to New Orleans for a funeral service last week. I find myself attending a growing number of funerals each year as I get older and as and long time friends pass away. I’ll turn 75 in May of this New...Read More

Thursday, December 11th, 2014 Baton Rouge, Louisiana LANDRIEU FORGOT THE LESSON THAT ALL POLITICS IS LOCAL! Former U.S. House speaker Tip O’Neill said it time and time again. All politics is local. I interviewed Tip on a New Orleans television show I hosted back in the 1990s. He went on for sometime that you have...Read More

Thursday, October 13th, 2014 Baton Rouge, Louisiana  NO MORE RETAIL POLITICS IN LOUISIANA! Remember the days when candidates for U.S Senator or Governor would speak to thousands of supporters at weekend rallies all over Louisiana? Huey Long was the master, mainly because he promised he’d give voters just about anything they wanted. A long line...Read More

Thursday, October 30th, 2014 Baton Rouge, Louisiana  LOUISIANA VOTERS — WON’T GET FOOLED AGAIN! To many electoral observers across the country, Louisiana is the synergy of the political universe. Nowhere is there such a concentration of political interest ““ right? Wasn’t it a Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives who said if you want...Read More

Thursday, June 5th, 2014 Baton Rouge, Louisiana  JOHN McKEITHEN ““ LOUISIANA’S TRANSITION GOVERNOR A popular Louisiana Governor died 15 years ago this week. John McKeithen was the first Governor I ever met.  When he was elected as chief executive in 1963, Louisiana was still a 19th century state struggling to operate in the 20th century. ...Read More

Thursday, March 13th, 2014 Baton Rouge, Louisiana  THE PUZZLING RISE AND FALL OF BOBBY JINDAL Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal threw a hissy fit in front of the White House earlier this month. He joined other governors in having a non-partisan luncheon with the president, then walked out on the lawn and began blasting away at...Read More

Thursday, March 6th, 2014 Baton Rouge, Louisiana  GOVERNOR JIMMIE DAVIS BROUGHT US SUNSHINE! It could be the most recognized American song worldwide. Go to a small Asian community were little or no English is spoken.  Start humming, You Are My Sunshine.  More likely than not, the locals will join in singing the song in English. ...Read More

Thursday, October 10th, 2013 Baton Rouge, Louisiana  IN LOUISIANA, JUST TELL EM’ I LIED! The rancor and animosity of both political parties in Washington seem to be at an all-time high.  Both sides are calling their opponents “liars,” and there are reports of tension building to the point where fistfights have nearly broken out within...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, 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

Last week, The Congress of the United States sent a strong message to the American people that infringement on the Bill of Rights and the Constitution itself is just all part of the price we pay for “Big Government” to protect us.  Thomas Paine warned us at the birth of our nation that “it is...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

Red states, Blue states, the country is full of a number of states that overwhelming support one party or the other.  Louisiana has become solidly Republican while states like California and New York are firmly in the democratic column.  This is certainly one of the most important elections in modern history.  But if you live...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, 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

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

  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 star. There was the kind of media coverage and public fascination generally reserved for a President...Read More

   We are winding down the old and bringing in the new.  I’m taking a bit of time to think back over some memorable past New Years.  Some go back more than four decades.  Join me on memory lane by reading over my new column.  You can get it now by Clicking Here.   Happy New...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