Non-profit, non-partisan organization Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America just issued the results of its comprehensive study into legislators' records on voting for or against measures that would support U.S. troops and veterans. It assigned each legislator a letter grade from A+ (best) to F (worst).
Lafayette Rep. Charles Boustany received a 'D.' Here are the complete results of Louisiana's delegation, in descending order:
William Jefferson, Democrat: A-
Mary Landrieu, Democrat: B+
Charlie Melancon, Democrat: B+
Rodney Alexander, Republican: B-
Jim McCrery, Republican: C
Richard Baker, Republican: C
Charles Boustany, Republican: D
Bobby Jindal, Republican: D
And coming in last, and the only legislator to receive a failing grade:
David Vitter, Republican: F
To view the complete state-by-state list and legislator grades, visit www.iavaaction.org. ' Scott Jordan
MORE SENSITIVITY FROM THE TIMES OF ACADIANA
From the same paper that said missing an episode of American Idol was worse than Hurricane Katrina's damage, The Times of Acadiana once again brings you another unbelievably offensive tidbit. Last week's The Times of Acadiana's featured a column from UL economics professor Rand Ressler on the death penalty as a deterrent to crime. Here's Ressler's conclusion:
"An honest debate regarding the pros and cons of capital punishment must acknowledge its effectiveness as a deterrent to murder. Furthermore, the more gruesome the method of execution, the greater its deterrent effect. So what'll it be, regular or extra crispy?"
The Times, with all its sensitivity and wisdom, of course used "Regular or extra crispy; the death penalty as a deterrent" for its headline on the story.
The Times aside, if this is the kind of "humor" Ressler uses in his classroom, I feel sorry for his UL students. ' SJ
OCS MONEY COULD EQUAL STATE DEBT
There may be a move afoot to squash the law that limits how much tax-supported debt the state can have ' at least in the way that it's applied to one area of conservation. The case for such a change has been building for months as Congress is inching toward approving an increase in the amount of money the state receives from oil and gas royalties. If that should happen, voters recently endorsed a constitutional amendment that requires the monies be spent on coastal protections. Additionally, Gov. Kathleen Blanco announced last week that the state has settled its lawsuit to halt federal oil and gas lease sales until an environmental study is conducted, which should link drilling to erosion. All of this leads toward one thing ' more money from the feds over a series of years. If history is any indication, the state will likely borrow against any future revenue streams, which could be billions, to make a big impact early on. "We are exploring all options, including that one," says Sydney Coffee, the governor's adviser on coastal activity.
If that's the case, the Legislature will need to change the state law that limits the issuance of tax-supported debt, a threshold established annually by the Louisiana Bond Commission. Whether borrowing against the increased stream of oil and gas revenues anticipated over a number of years would result in bonded debt or tax debt is a question the state Department of Natural Resources is expected to pose soon to the attorney general's office. ' Jeremy Alford
MEET GUYLAND LEDAY
Opelousas accordion wunderkind Guyland Leday is one of 20 finalists in the Oscar Mayer "Sing the Jingle, Be a Star" contest. Leday beat out thousands of other contestants across the nation who sang their hearts out in their own renditions of the "Oscar Mayer Wiener Jingle" or the "Oscar Mayer Bologna Song." (Leday went with the wiener jingle.)
Of all the contestants, there are only a few that actually play instruments in addition to singing. And only Leday, the great grandson of Delton Broussard, sports a single-row diatonic accordion and plays it left-handed. To view the finalists and to place your vote, visit www.singthejingle.com. Five grand prize winners will win $5,000 and the chance to appear on a nationally televised commercial.
The New York Times recently wrote of Guyland: "Guyland Leday, a 7-year-old Louisianan, plays zydeco accordion like a boy possessed." ' R. Reese Fuller
MAY 17 Here's a column from James Gill, this time in the Advocate. Gill, who has jumped ship from the Picayune, writes about the absurdity of dueling polls in this post. The numbers are so wildly different, it is obvious that both sides are "cooking the books," he writes. In particular, he looks at Sen. Mary Landrieu, and how her recent actions in DC have been received by those polled. Gill's acerbic, amusing prose is a welcome addition to a paper so conservative as to be occasionally lacking in personality.
MAY 17 Blogger Tom Aswell continues delivering bombshells about the state education department and Gov. Jindal's education "reform" efforts. In this post, he reports that students in the Shreveport area have been signed up for a charter school without their knowledge or consent. Most interesting to Aswell is how this Texas-based charter (with ties to GOP types) got the personal student information it has, if the students didn't give it.
MAY 17 This post by JR Ball in the Baton Rouge Business Report is an interesting tongue-in-cheek look at recent Baton Rouge economic development efforts. Among the items he examines is the idea that gaining a Costco makes BR a "world-class city." (Really? All you need is a different brand of Sam's? MK!) This effort, and other recent ones, are all built on the taxpayer's back, with tax zones, tax incentives and tax rebates, Ball writes.
MAY 17 Blogger CB Forgotston is critical of the legislature's reliance on a revenue-estimating committee's decision to include projected tax amnesty income in this year's forecast. That's a problem, CB posts, because the deadline for these people to pay their taxes is June 30, 2014. So when do you think these people who haven't paid taxes in years are going to pay their taxes? Surely not before June 30, and that means the money won't be there for this year's budget, he argues.
MAY 17 Here's an interesting blog out of California by a Hollywood writer, attorney and academic named Brian Alan Lane. He blogs about higher ed, and was a whistle-blower in a scandal over false credentials. In this post, he takes aim at LSU's new top dog, King Alexander. It's convoluted and a little confusing, but it sure makes Alexander a lot more interesting than he was yesterday.
MAY 17 Blogger Robert Mann writes about the LSU Board's refusal to allow Dr. Fred Cerise to testify before the legislature about Gov. Jindal's plan to close down all the state's charity hospitals and dump the poor on the private system. It's hard to imagine anyone more qualified than Cerise to testify about that, so why would anyone try to prevent him doing so? Mann thinks it is because the powers that be aren't interested in hearing any truth about the plan.
MAY 17 This post on the Louisiana Sinkhole Bugle, a blog that notes developments in the Bayou Corne and Jefferson Island salt domes, talks about a proposed expansion of the salt dome storage under Lake Peigneur in Iberia Parish. Residents are working against it for several reasons, including two biggies: the sinkhole disaster in Bayou Corne and the continuing, unexplained bubbling on the surface of the Lake.
MAY 17 NOLA police arrested more people Thursday accused of either being involved in the Mother's Day shooting or hiding the suspect afterward, this Gambit story reports. The NOLA police chief said he suspects the whole thing was gang-related and throws out a challenge to the gangs: he's got informants now, he says, and he knows a lot more than the gangs want him to know. The people who live in the neighborhoods terrorized by gangs are ready to talk, he says.
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