Louisiana House Speaker Taylor Barras is a piker when it comes to legislative obstruction — at least when compared to assemblies in the upper Midwest.
Saturday, December 15, 2018
For advocates of term limits for legislators, the situation in late 2018 isn’t exactly what they had in mind at the State Capitol.
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Saturday, December 15, 2018
Baton Rouge, look to Shreveport to see your electoral future.
When it comes to local tax elections, the State Bond Commission has a well-defined role. To quote from the commission’s website, it is supposed to review applications for “compliance with Constitutional and statutory requirements and feasibility, …
The driving force motivating the founding of our nation was based largely on the belief in the freedom of religion. Our nation's founding fathers brought to the new world a deeply rooted culture of individualism and personal responsibility. The id…
Friday, December 14, 2018
I noticed two articles in Sunday's paper that had a question as a headline. This struck me as a little odd; reminds me of a supermarket tabloid. I took the trouble to look it up and sure enough there is something called Betteridge's law that cover…
Early one recent morning, I was getting out of my truck in the parking lot at my office. I was in my usual ready-for-work mood, but a little annoyed by some crazy predawn tweet from you know who that the news show hosts were discussing on the radio.
As a New Orleans resident of the Edgewood Park neighborhood and a member of the neighborhood council, I am very troubled by the proposed ban on whole home Airbnb short-term rentals in the neighborhood. I moved to New Orleans two years ago with my …
Friday, December 14, 2018
For whatever the reasons, the East Baton Rouge Parish Metro Council recently, failed to approve a contract renewal for the Baton Rouge Red Light Camera Program. Whether the arguments concerned the benefits of the program, the political aspects of …
With Democrats poised to take control of the House of Representatives following last month’s electoral blowout, it was inevitable that U.S. Rep. Cedric Richmond of New Orleans, the only Democrat to represent Louisiana in Washington, would emerge w…
While the Trump administration in Washington lives in a seemingly permanent state of controversy, a positive outcome for policy should get more attention: The president and allies at the congressional and state level are working toward new version…
Thursday, December 13, 2018
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The voices are growing louder, as is the frustration, on a recurring theme that the City of New Orleans isn’t getting its fair share of tax dollars or losing out completely. Based on our significant infrastructure and public safety needs, I’m glad…
The tale of former St. Tammany Parish Sheriff Jack Strain just went from head-shaking to bone-chilling.
Thursday, December 13, 2018
Steve Scalise, as partisan a Republican as you’re likely to find in Washington, would surely never contradict the stated but unsupported suspicion by many of his colleagues that online search engines such as Google introduce liberal political bias…
Wednesday, December 12, 2018
There is probably no large government in America that does not have a need for juvenile beds. But Louisiana, courtesy of a veto by House Speaker Taylor Barras, has managed to be the jurisdiction to build a juvenile facility and not pay the money t…
Dan Fagan's hypocrisy is grotesque. In criticizing Gov. John Bel Edwards' calling John Kennedy’s decision not to run for governor a means of “focusing the spotlight on himself,” Fagan ignores the entirety of his own 700-plus-word article criticizi…
As I watched the funeral of George H.W. Bush, I reflected on how much society has changed from the time he was a young man until now. His generation was taught and respected the values this country was founded upon — the privilege of freedom we en…
When I read Ed Pratt’s Nov. 30 column, I wasn’t really surprised, based on his previously published left-wing opinions, by most of what he wrote. But I do confess to being amazed at some of his comments.
On big national issues and more localized ones, Louisiana’s two senators tend to march in lockstep. That’s not a big surprise. Both are Republicans, and Washington’s a party line sort of place these days.
As an early and enthusiastic backer of a little-known state representative who ran for governor in 2015, John Bel Edwards, it's not surprising that former Gov. Kathleen Blanco approves of much of what her protégé has done in office.
Tuesday, December 11, 2018
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Morally and ethically, former president George H.W. Bush represents the high while current President Donald Trump represents the low on character qualities such as decency, honesty, loyalty, leadership, self-discipline, devotion to family, love of…
In a building where political landmines abound, many state legislators are cautious about where they stand, and none in the State Capitol was more so than Sharon Weston Broome. In the House and Senate, she was the despair of lobbyists, who often d…
Watching quite a bit of coverage on the death and funeral of President George H.W. Bush, two things stood out in the commentaries. First, all of the news anchors on all of the networks I watched talked about Bush’s character, honesty, dignity, int…
Access to housing and quality of life impact so many residents throughout the country every day. From vacancy and abandonment, access to healthy food, and well maintained recreational opportunities, a city’s investment in its neighborhoods is a ke…
It's almost Christmas, and some politically themed presents might be just what's needed to fill the stockings.
Challenging an incumbent for reelection is not for the risk-averse. And as of this week, we can add Treasurer John Schroder to that category, along with Attorney General Jeff Landry.
Two of Baton Rouge’s big problems may be addressed with significant new initiatives approved by voters Saturday.
We congratulate Kyle Ardoin on his election Saturday to be Louisiana’s secretary of state. Ardoin’s first job must be to repair the stature of the office. He has his work cut out for him.
Monday, December 10, 2018
Kathleen Blanco isn’t remembered as one of the more compelling public speakers to serve as Louisiana governor, but a stranger dropping into the annual Council for a Better Louisiana meeting last week might have guessed otherwise.
The answer to any and every thing persons find disturbing these days is to pray. A message to pray concerning the matter of abortion was painted on a sign that I saw when driving home from church today. Pray for survivors and those who were killed…
There aren't enough trees to produce the newsprint required to report on the good works that the faithful Catholic priests and deacons have performed over the same time frame that the sexual abuse by bad priests and deacons have done. It would beh…
On the day The Advocate had a front page report that explained the BR flood of 2016, Cal Thomas had a column where he agreed with another commentator that the 400-page report was "a pile of crap."
It’s pretty complicated trying to keep track of all the Democrats who may or may not be running for president against Donald Trump in 2020. So here’s one handy tip: The Landrieu watch begins with the Biden watch.
Fair or not, a politician who builds things gets applause for it.
As it was formally announced during the Thanksgiving holiday season, perhaps some missed the huge investment by a Chinese company that is great news for its new home in St. James Parish and for the economy in southeastern Louisiana generally.
Sunday, December 09, 2018
Our U.S. senators, Bill Cassidy and John Kennedy, voted to confirm Kathy Kraninger, the president’s nominee for Director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Given the razor-thin margin of the vote, the senators are responsible for install…
LSU graduate Max Faget deserves a statue in his honor at a prominent place on the LSU campus. At the dawn of the space age, Faget served as NASA's director of engineering and development at the Space Center in Houston. In that role, he was the chi…
Probably most of us like the fact that gas at the pump is cheaper this holiday season, and the president of the United States, always prone to capitalization, calls lower oil prices “a big Tax Cut for America and the World.”
Saturday, December 08, 2018
Announcing the selection of Ghassan Korban as director of the New Orleans Sewerage & Water Board in July, Mayor LaToya Cantrell explained “what it boiled down to.”
Louisiana Senate President John Alario recalls a time when lawmakers huddled on the House floor to resolve budget debates by deciding the price of oil.
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There’s a big election on the ballot next year, for Louisiana governor.
Lauren Daigle was born in Lafayette, went to high school in Baton Rouge and is about as Louisiana as it gets. Her flamboyant personality, Cajun accent and raspy, deep, soulful singing voice has propelled her to the top of the Christian music recor…
It’s probably the first and only time Gov. John Bel Edwards will feel gratified that U.S. Sen. John Kennedy marches to the beat of his own drummer.
Friday, December 07, 2018
The climax of the state’s 2018 election cycle has finally been reached, with a runoff statewide for secretary of state and local offices also being settled in different parishes on the Dec. 8 ballot. We have taken a position on critical issues on …
Local economist Loren Scott recently painted a promising forecast for Louisiana, saying the state was poised to regain many of the jobs it lost during the recession. A big reason is a resurgence in the oil and gas sector and anticipated growth in …