He looks a little like The Donald. And now he sounds like him too.
Tired of fielding what he says are “many inquiries concerning President Barack Obama’s citizenship and requests that the Secretary of State prevent his name from being place on the ballot in Louisiana’s Nov. 6 Congressional and Presidential elections,” SOS Tom Schedler is asking state Attorney General Buddy Caldwell for an opinion on the matter. Schedler’s plan was posted on his facebook page March 13 via a letter signed by “William E. Crawford, Attorney, Department of State.”
“We have received a huge amount of letters, faxes and emails on the subject,” Brandee Patrick, Schedler’s public information officer, told The Independent this morning.
The facebook post acknowledges that Schedler does not have federal or state authority or discretion to investigate, refuse to qualify a candidate or refuse to place a candidate on the ballot on the grounds he or she may not qualify.
Why Schedler’s office doesn’t just tell that to those making the “many inquiries” is unclear. It seems Shedler prefers to play the conspiracy theorists games.
The fringe has continued to promote this theory despite that Obama released his official birth certificate from Hawaii in 2008, the Hawaii Department of Health’s confirmation based on the original documents — and birth announcements published in August 1961 in two Hawaii newspapers. Wonder how someone could fabricate that? 
Last year the president played his own Trump card. He publicly released a certified copy of his original long-form Certificate of Live Birth, seeking to end once and for all the so-called “birther” issue after Donald Trump's double comb-over became a nauseating sideshow distraction in the presidential election and the country’s more pressing problems.
Patrick said she this morning she would forward to us Schedler’s letter to the AG and a letter he wrote to constituents, but we had not received them by 12:30. She also said Schedler would return our call, but we have not heard from him.
The AG’s office has yet to receive the letter as well. “You might want to contact the Secretary of State’s Office. To my knowledge, we have not received a request for an opinion,” says Amanda Larkins, Caldwell’s director of communications.
We were unable to find the post on Schedler’s facebook page this morning. View it below.
JUNE 16 This story in the Advocate tells us that the state Department of Education is taking a look at the Course Choice program. They're doing that because the legislature (probably responding to reporting by Tom Aswell, who does not work for the Advocate) ordered them to make sure that these private companies aren't signing six-year-olds up for high school Latin classes without their parents' knowledge or consent.
JUNE 17 Columnist James Gill writes about the recent complaint of death row inmates at Angola: it's hot as you-know-what in their cells, with the heat index topping 120 for months. Since we're not executing people anymore (Gill opines) then we should probably officially end the practice of putting people on death row. The prisoners, by the way, are not asking for cool breezes: they only ask for clean water and a temp that doesn't top 88.
JUNE 17 Here's blogger Ian McGibboney's take on the Baton Rouge plan to give bus tickets to homeless people who have a home with family who live far away. Taken from one point of view, it could be a good solution for some people. But McGibboney raises some good points here, including this one: Why not improve opportunities for everybody in Baton Rouge so these people can find the jobs they came to BR for?
JUNE 17 Picayune columnist Jarvis DeBerry talks here about the Zimmerman trial, but the real topic is the concept of a black man being more dangerous, somehow, than a white man in a fight. It is an interesting discussion, and one that may enlighten people who think that racism doesn't exist because nobody's keeping black folks from eating at the Woolworth lunch counter.
JUNE 17 Here's an interesting column from Baton Rouge Business Report's publisher, Rolfe McCollister, about anger against the government. It's brewing because of recent revelations about the IRS and the GSA, he says. It's readable, not just for the subject, but because of McCollister's collection of sources: Huffington Post, National Review and Wikipedia. That's a combo you don't see every day.
JUNE 17 In this American Press post, Jim Beam talks about the high school diploma track that lets kids who aren't interested in university get what they want and need out of high school. The diplomas get kids ready for technical school, Beam explains, and then he goes on to give some of the numbers. Some of these numbers might really surprise people who think technical school is second best. And, Beam adds, a college diploma does not guarantee anybody a job.
JUNE 17 The Washington Post reports here that OSHA is going to investigate the explosion that occurred last week in Donaldsonville, shortly after the other fatal accident in Geismar. As soon as the site is safe, State Police will be pulling out of the Donaldsonville plant to make way for OSHA investigators, the story reports. (Hey, here's an idea: why don't they go a couple miles down the road and figure out what happened when that massive sinkhole started sucking up land.)
JUNE 17 Robert Mann writes about the LSU Board of Supervisors in this post, taking a look at the many ways board members have served Gov. Jindal and not their university or their students. The board members are esteemed members of their fields, but can't seem to do anything but say "yes" to Jindal, regardless of the cost to LSU, Mann opines.
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St. Petah don't you call me for I can't go, I owe my soul to the company stoah.