Spinmeister n. Slang A spin doctor. A public relations person who tries to forestall negative publicity by publicizing a favorable interpretation of the words or actions of a company or political party or famous person. The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition [...]
Chief Justice of the Louisiana Supreme Court “Kitty” Kimball attempts to defend the integrity of judges in the New Orleans area against comments made by some U.S. Congressmen. ( Story here.) These “outsiders” seem to think that there is corruption in the New Orleans area. [...]
We keep hearing that state government in Louisiana is on the brink of going off of a financial “cliff.” Yet, The Rhodes Scholar-in-chief remains disengaged from the efforts to address what we are being told is looming budgetary revenue shortfall of $1 Billion for the fiscal [...]
Our state’s Rhodes Scholar-in-chief (a.k.a. “Roads Scholar”) has been spending a lot time out of the state raising campaign money for his reelection as governor. Despite The Scholar’s rhetoric about “transparency” when asked for details of the fundraisers, the media has been met with non-transparent “stone-walling.” [...]
Gov. Haley Barbour
Here’s some startling news. A governor is actually doing his job.
Gov. Haley Barbour, R-Mississippi, is proposing solutions to Mississippi’s revenue shortfalls without a streamlining commission. He is also suggesting that colleges be merged without a “Tucker Commission.” See story here.
Perhaps The Rhodes Scholar [...]
Yesterday, at a hearing by a sub-committee of the State Streamlining Commission, State Treasurer John Kennedy exposed another huge source of state earmarks/patronage that dwarfs the money spent by individual leges’ on their pet NGOs.
In the State Department of Education’s budget for FY 2008-09, alone, over [...]
On Tuesday ( Story here.), the State Streamlining Commission approved a recommendation to the governor and leges that they reduce expenditure in next fiscal year’s budget by 2% or $124 Million.
On Monday, Commissioner of Administration Angele Davis said that the state would have a revenue [...]
Under the guidance of The Rhodes Scholar and his ethically-challenged head of economic development, Stephen Moret, our state’s business climate is going in the wrong direction. It has dropped 3 notches. In 2008, Louisiana ranked 22nd and this year it ranks 25th. (See report here.)
Louisiana [...]
The State Streamlining Commission is looking for ways to trim state spending.
State Treasurer John Kennedy suggested eliminating funding “earmarks” for NGOs (private, non-governmental entities) as a way to help plug the state’s projected $1 Billion budget shortfall. The largest portion of the shortfall is for healthcare [...]
This is a true “man-bites-dog story.”
An existing Louisiana business actually got some help from the state to expand its operations.
After many broken promises by the Rhodes Scholar-in-chief and his ethically-challenged head of economic development Stephen Moret, it finally happened.
Si Brown, CEO of Bruce Foods, an 80 [...]
Two months ago, Si Brown, CEO of Bruce Foods, an 80 year old Louisiana business, appeared on the Moon Griffon statewide radio talk show. (See report here.) Brown explained that the state’s ethically-challenged head of economic development, Stephen Moret was underwriting an out of state [...]
Obviously, Louisiana’s Rhodes Scholar-in-chief doesn’t believe in leading by example.
When he was campaigning for governor in 2007, The Rhodes Scholar wrote:
We must demand an honest government that puts the residents of our state first and the special interests last. It is time we break free from [...]
Nose guard John Kennedy: “Not in our house!”
Thanks to the efforts of State Treasurer John Kennedy, the Louisiana Taxpayers’ team has a small victory.
A few weeks back, Kennedy suggested that a $100 Million state computer upgrade (with no known return on investment) was of less importance [...]
Another plant announced that it is closing in central LA. ( See story here.)
After-the-fact, The Rhodes Scholar held a press conference to announce the government benefits (at taxpayers’ expense) available to 230 souls who will lose their jobs just before Christmas. His efforts are the [...]
The politicians and their minions tell us that state government is facing a billion dollar “shortfall” in the upcoming fiscal year.
If true it’s time to admit what most of us know and throw in the towel on the “Streamlining” and “Tucker” commissions. They are a waste [...]
One of my long-time mentors once told me that even the worst of us can serve a useful purpose; we can always serve as a bad example.
The story in Saturday’s Baton Rouge paper ( read it here) reports that the leges have [...]
Often I have noted that the only consistency of LA’s Rhodes Scholar-in-chief is in his inconsistency. However, that inconsistency is limited to his rhetoric versus his action.
The Rhodes Scholar remains consistent with his political endorsements of candidates for elective office. Whether he endorses a Democrat over [...]
We’ve been told that the state government finances were about to go off of a “cliff.”
Yesterday, the State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE) blindly (without having all the figures) approved the State Department of Education’s $2 Billion operating budget for fiscal year 2010-11. [...]
Earlier this month, Louisiana’s ethically-challenged head of economic development, Stephen Moret, announced a $1.23 Million contract with a firm that he and The Rhodes Scholar have ties. The firm will conduct a “strategy study that would recommend specific industries and companies Louisiana should recruit most heavily.” [...]
In a column ( see here) about the state streamlining commission’s effort to reduce the size of state government, Sen. Mike Michot, R-Lafayette, criticizes his colleagues on the commission for working too hard.
Michot said:
[State Treasurer John] Kennedy’s “subcommittee just seems to have a meeting and [...]
Sen. Bob Kostelka, R-Monroe, is the chairman of the senate committee responsible for redrawing the district lines for the LA Congressional districts.
In a newspaper story today, Kostelka makes the following comment about LA’s 5th Congressional District:
“It’s already diluted by the fact that we have to go [...]
LA’s self-proclaimed healthcare expert and Rhodes Scholar-in-chief has been telling America how to fix the nation’s healthcare system.
In the latest national study ( see here) LA has dropped (negative) from 46th in 2007 in healthcare performance to 49th in 2009. That means the state’s healthcare [...]
First, there was “The Terminator” governor; now there is “The Intimidator.”
In her latest column ( read it here) Stephanie Riegel provides some very interesting revelations about the method of operation of LA’s Rhodes Scholar In Chief. It’s short and worth the read.
Despite all [...]
We elected a Rhodes Scholar as the governor of Louisiana. However, that’s just a title. What remains a mystery is exactly who is running our state on a day-in-day-out basis.
Recently, State Treasurer John Kennedy suggested that an expensive state computer software upgrade was less important than [...]
In an usually quick response, the man running our state has agreed to, at least, consider following the lead of State Treasurer John Kennedy.
According to a story in the Baton Rouge paper ( Story here.) “Governor” Timmy Teepell, the alter ego of the Rhodes Scholar-in-chief [...]
If your child came home from school and told you that he was now 44th out 50 in his class would you call all your friends and neighbors to tell them the “good news.”
That’s exactly what our ethically-challenged economic development guru, Stephen Moret just did. He [...]
Give yourself a well-deserved round of applause.
After being pounded by public outrage, late yesterday afternoon the leges relented and opened the redistricting meetings in Alexandria to the public. Thanks to follow-up media inquiries the time and place of the meetings were finally revealed. They will be [...]
Finally, at least one lege gets it!
Two committees of the LA Lege are meeting clandestinely on Thursday and Friday in Alexandria. The purpose of the meeting is to decide who will represent us in the lege and on other governmental bodies after the [...]
On October 1 and 2 certain privileged members of the LA House and Senate are holding a taxpayer-funded, meeting in Alexandria which us citizens (their bosses) and the media are not allowed to attend.
The purpose of the meeting is to plan who will represent us in [...]
You choose which is the most important; children or computers?
According to knowledgeable public servants, LA is about to fall off of a financial “cliff.” Apparently, the Rhodes Scholar-in-chief has been out in the hinterlands of our state regaling the masses with all that HE has accomplished, [...]
According to a story in Thursday’s Baton Rouge paper ( story here) some of our leges are planning to hold a two-day, secret meeting (where all expenses paid by us taxpayers) to discuss how to reapportion the districts by which they represent us.
The Clerk of [...]
When running for governor in 2007 our Rhodes Scholar-in-chief said the following:
We must reject the practices of the past and embrace a new Louisiana that has strong enforcement of a loophole-free ethics code that is second to none. Source: Jindal Campaign Brochure entitled: “Ethics Reform: Ending [...]
According to the latest report from the Tax Foundation, on the watch of our Rhodes Scholar-in-chief, Louisiana dropped two notches (a negative change) in State Business Tax Climate. Let me repeat. LA has dropped. (Report here.)
Louisiana remains far behind our two biggest economic competitors — [...]
It appears that our Rhodes Scholar-in-chief has solved a problem that didn’t exist.
Yesterday afternoon late the Governor’s Office of Propaganda issued a press release saying that Bobby had issued an Executive Order to terminate state funding and contracts with ACORN.
According to the media reports from the [...]
According to our public officials, the state of Louisiana is facing a financial “cliff” and a commission has been formed to “streamline” state government.
Despite all the gloom and doom, Bobby Jindal just created another bureaucracy to publicize the importance of the 2010 Census. I’m not making [...]
Bobby Jindal’s latest effort to avoid (his constitutional job) actually doing anything to reduce the size of state government was to create a “streamlining commission” to come up with specific ways to operate state government cheaper and more efficiently (not necessarily smaller).
In a story ( [...]
Frank Simoneaux, chairman of the state’s “Heh, Heh, Heh” Ethics Board, said that the charges brought against, Rep. Rick Gallot, D-Ruston, for violation of the state’s “Heh, Heh, Heh” Ethics Code was the “first real test” of Rhodes Scholar Bobby Jindal’s newly enacted ethics laws.
Simoneaux, a [...]
We are being told by some state politicians and bureaucrats that our state is about to fall off of a financial “cliff.” The amount of the drop-off is alleged to be between $1.3 Billion and $4 Billion depending on who is counting.
Apparently, most of our public [...]
As I read Jim Beam’s column in Sunday’s Lake Charles paper, I pondered the fact that 25% of LA’s population is Medicaid eligible; meaning poor whether working or not.
I’m beginning to wonder what role state government in LA plays in the ever-growing poverty situation. Clearly, [...]
We must protect the jobs we currently have and improve our ability to compete with other states to attract more high-paying jobs. Bobby Jindal in his 2007 campaign brochure entitled: “Economic Reform: Expanding Innovation, Investments, And Opportunities For All Louisianians”
Here is an excerpt from a Associated [...]
In his column in Thursday’s Lake Charles newspaper, Jim Beam writes about the growing trend in our state government of hiring outside and particularly out-of-state consultants to do all the heavy thinking for us. ( See column here.)
Louisiana native political consultant James Carville once quipped [...]
Sign outside of Moret’s office
In an article in today’s Lafayette newspaper, our ethically-challenged head of economic development Stephen Moret responds to the charge that he is supporting out-of-state competition to an existing Louisiana business. ( See story here.)
Moret was caught with his pants down [...]
