You may have learned recently that the state has a new design for its flag and seal (see below). It’s basically the same image of a brown pelican feeding its young with droplets of blood; just now it’s three drops, plus a few other minor enhancements. Lawmakers approved the swap in 2007, and the Secretary of State’s Office released the updated design this winter.
The entire effort was inspired by research conducted by Joseph Louviere, a student at Vandebilt Catholic High in Houma who noticed that some designs included only two droplets of blood, which is inconsistent with original intentions. The updated design, though, and the related transition process begged a handful of follow-up questions: How much did it all cost? Do all state agencies need to buy new flags and update all seals? Who is making and selling the flags?
Jacques Berry, press secretary for the Louisiana Secretary of State’s Office, was quick on the draw. He said two philanthropic Louisianians, a historian and a wildlife artist all donated their time to the research and redesign. So that was free. “The only costs associated with this project so far have been a few hours of work on my part and the wholesale cost of a new flag for Joseph Louviere, though we haven’t been able to present it to him yet,” Berry said.
Nothing in the law mandates that agencies use the updated design. It’s more of a policy decision on the part of each agency. “Our recommendation was to replace old designs by attrition, so to speak,” Berry says. “For example, when it’s time to re-order stationery they could then replace the seal. That way it wouldn’t cost anything. And there are some usages that could be switched immediately, such as images on Web sites.”
The New Jersey-based Annin & Co., among the world’s oldest flag manufacturers, is making the new flags, he adds, and several vendors are selling them, ranging from the House and Senate to the Pennant Shop in Metairie.
JUNE 19 Former Saint Steve Gleason, who is paralyzed by ALS, released a statement Tuesday in response to the Atlanta radio station's skit making fun of him and the disease, this Picayune post reports. What did he say? He said he'd accepted the apology of the DJs who did it, notes that at least the incident has got people talking about ALS, and asks anyone who is burning to take action about it to do so -- by helping him fight ALS.
JUNE 19 Blogger Ian McGibboney takes a look at the Gleason incident in this post. He makes a good argument about the difference between having free speech and being free from consequences for your speech (which none of us is). He also admits that many of us got upset before we listened to the skit -- but lets us know that the reality is far worse than we can imagine. It was the incredibly bad judgment, even more than the actual speech, that probably got those DJs fired, he opines.
JUNE 19 Washington Post blogger Aaron Blake writes about Sen. Guillory's switch to the GOP in this post. He writes what most political watchers in Louisiana know: Guillory was a Republican before he decided to run for the senate seat in a mostly-D St. Landry district, and has switched back now that he plans to run for Lt. Gov. in a mostly-R state. But how come Blake missed Guillory's appearance on a TLC pageant show? Now that is a video we'd like to see. (Again).
JUNE 19 Here's another Washington Post blog post about a Louisiana politician, and it's just plain scathing. Ezra Klein says Jindal's Politico post was "insulting" to the intelligence of voters, and adds that Jindal is personifying the "stupid" he's railed against, by being an "elite" who convinces GOP activists of "things that aren't true." Me-ow.
JUNE 19 Here's Gov. Jindal's post in Politico, in which he asks the GOP to get over losing to Obama (again) and stop "the bedwetting." (Uh, what?) He gives his Republican buddies what is probably a nerd's idea of a coach's motivational talk, which starts with a list of accomplishments that they can't seem to exploit and ending with an absurd description of liberals that sounds like a character treatment for a Fox "News" movie scripted by Gordon Liddy. Sure, he's preaching to the choir, but even the choir's not this gullible.
JUNE 19 Lamar Parmentel read Gov. Jindal's post on Politico, but thinks it was so dumb it probably was published in the wrong paper. This post by Lamar on the Daily Kingfish opines that possibly Jindal's post was destined for the Onion -- because the governor couldn't possibly be serious here. If you listen closely, you can hear the staff of the Kingfish giggling.
JUNE 19 Blogger Robert Mann posts from Turkey, a country he has visited several times in the past few years. Mann gives an interesting overview of the current political and societal climate of the country, which -- if you're living under a rock and don't know -- is experiencing protests and turmoil these days. Mann promises to post as much as he can during his trip, which should be fascinating reading.
JUNE 19 Blogger CB Forgotston says the legislature is keeping the vicious cycle going with its funding of new buildings for the community college/technical college system. Universities across the state need maintenance and improvement on existing buildings, and the solution is to build new buildings at other schools? By the time the bonds are paid off, those buildings will be falling down, too, CB says.
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