Writer's Email: wesawthat@gmail.com
Fone WST... +1318.717.9017 Twitter:@wesawthat “The more corrupt the state, the more numerous the laws.” ~ Gaius Cornelius Tacitus
Lousiana Bars Health Dept. from Promoting Vaccines
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Louisiana's health department has been barred from advertising or promoting
vaccines for flu, COVID-19, and mpox, according to reporting by NPR, KFF
Health...
Prison Aide Cops To Indiana Lasagna Smuggle
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Cocaine, pot was stashed inside frozen bowl of Italian delicacy
Nursing aide Regina Davis, 47, pleaded guilty to drug trafficking in
connection with an i...
France, Switzerland: Speed Camera Hammered
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[image: Knocked over French photo radar]An Italian vigilante was caught using
a hammer to smash the speed camera on the A2 highway near Moleno,
Switzerland...
Fluoridation Fails America, New Report Proves
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CNN Reports: "In more recent studies, fluoride in water was linked to a
difference of decay in only about a quarter of a tooth, on average,
according to ...
Abdur Biswas (Sep 1, 1926 - Nov 3, 2017)
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Bangladeshi Statesman. He served as the 11th President of Bangladesh from
October 10, 1991 to October 9, 1996. He was educated at Dhaka University
where he...
Thank You.
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I've never been much of a writer (let alone one of my father's caliber),
but I know that I must express my thanks to you all somehow.
The support that we h...
excerpt: Washington (CNN) -- The Pentagon is making detailed plans to send about 34,000 more U.S. troops to Afghanistan in anticipation of President Obama's decision on the future of the eight-year-old war, a defense official said Tuesday. ~ read more
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here's barky on the campaign trail in 2007 pledging his word that:
"i will promise you this, that if we have not gotten our troops out by the time i am president -- it is the first thing i will do -- i will get our troops home, we will bring an end to this war. you can take that to the bank."
it gets better. now there is a bill H.R. 4130 "share the sacrifice act of 2010." an additional tax to help pay for the war. these people are insane and anyone who supports this bunch of criminals is insane as well.
(1) JOINT RETURNS.—In the case of a joint return with net income tax liability, the tax imposed under this chapter shall be increased by the amount of the surtax determined in accordance with the following table:
If net income tax liability is: Not over $22,600 The surtax is: 1% of net income tax liability.
Over $22,600 but not over $36,400. $226, plus the applicable percentage of the excess over $22,600.
Over $36,400 $226, plus the applicable percentage of $13,800, plus twice the applicable percentage of the excess over $36,400.
(2) OTHER INDIVIDUALS, TRUSTS, AND ESTATES.—In the case of any individual, trust, or estate with net income tax liability (other than a joint return), the tax imposed under this chapter shall be increased by the amount of the surtax determined in accordance with the following table::
If net income tax liability is: Not over $11,300 .......................... The surtax is: 1% of net income tax liability.
Over $11,300 but not over $18,200. $113, plus the applicable percentage of the excess over $11,300.
Over $18,200 ................................. $113, plus the applicable percentage of $6,900, plus twice the applicable percentage of the excess over $18,200.
corporations get it too:
(3) CORPORATIONS.—In the case of any corporation with net income tax liability, the tax imposed under this chapter shall be increased by an amount equal to such net income tax liability multiplied by twice the applicable percentage.
==== "H.R. 4130--111th Congress: To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to establish a temporary surtax to offset the costs of the Afghanistan war." GovTrack.us (database of federal legislation). 2009. Nov 25, 2009 http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=h111-4130 ====
I'm pleased to announce that our Jan./Feb. issue of The Trumpet Magazine will spotlight CARROLLTON NEIGHBORHOOD!
If you live in Carrollton, please consider writing something for this issue. Email megan@npnnola.com for more details.
If you want to write something for this issue but don't live in Carrollton, we will be talking about the upcoming mayoral elections and other 2010 initiatives throughout the city and would love to get your stories and opinions!
carrollton, la. via google earth imagery date march 2006
As an impoverished child in Orrisa, India, Sudarsan Pattnaik would go to his local beach and build sand castles. His hobby eventually made him famous and wealthy. more
The whole country is talking about how a federal judge has ruled that our nation's federal Army Corps of Engineers let metro New Orleans residents down.
This is an important change in the course of history, and we must help give this new information some "legs."
But time is of the essence.
Please go to YouTube and watch our new 3-minute video about why all of us must resist saying that "Katrina flooded New Orleans." http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=28jPUWDX_bA
As author John McQuaid, author of Path of Destruction notes, using Katrina 'shorthand' is confusing because of its underlying associations of "natural disaster swamps city below sea level - what the heck are those people doing living down there?"
The more people who visit this video, the higher it goes in the YouTube rating!
Best if done by Tuesday November 24 by 2:00 pm CST.
Help launch Levees.Org to the top of the YouTube charts where our video can potentially be viewed by millions!!
Help spread the word. Send to your family and friends!
Want to do more? You could:
1. Register at YouTube to rate and comment on the video. 2. View and rate our other videos on YouTube.
Help show America that levee failure and flooding is a national issue!
Help show that all of us need to be engaged!
Thank you! Sandy Rosenthal Founder and national spokesperson levees.org http://www.levees.org
P.S. Each time you watch the video, it counts as a visit.
Click here for John McQuaid's discussion of the cruelty of Katrina shorthand.
Click here for Washington Post editorial today on Judge Duval's ruling.
Republican members of Congress and what masquerades as a "conservative" media are outraged that the Obama administration intends to try in federal court Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, the alleged mastermind of 9/11, and four alleged co-conspirators.
The Republican and right-wing rant that a trial is too good for these people proves what I have written for a number of years: Republicans and many Americans who think of themselves as conservatives have no regard for the US Constitution or for civil liberties.
They have no appreciation for the point made by Thomas Paine in his Dissertations on First Principles of Government (1790): "An avidity to punish is always dangerous to liberty. It leads men to stretch, to misinterpret, and to misapply even the best of laws. He that would make his own liberty secure must guard even his enemy from oppression; for if he violates this duty he establishes a precedent that will reach to himself."
Republicans and American conservatives regard civil liberties as coddling devices for criminals and terrorists. They assume that police and prosecutors are morally pure and, in addition, never make mistakes. An accused person is guilty or government wouldn’t have accused him. All of my life I have heard self-described conservatives disparage lawyers who defend criminals. Such "conservatives" live in an ideal, not real, world. They desperately need to read The Tyranny of Good Intentions.
Even some of those, such as Stuart Taylor in the National Journal, who defend giving Mohammed a court trial do so on the grounds that there are no risks as Mohammed is certain to be convicted and that "a civilian trial will show Americans and the rest of the world that our government is sure it can prove the 9/11 defendants guilty in the fairest of all courts." [No Need To Fear A Manhattan Terrorist Trial, November 21, 2009]
Taylor agrees that Mohammed deserves "summary execution," but that it is a good Machiavellian ploy to try Mohammed in civilian court, while dealing with cases that have "trickier evidentiary problems" in "more flexible military commissions, away from the brightest spotlights."
In other words, Stuart Taylor and the National Journal endorse Mohammed’s trial as a show trial that will prove both America’s honorable respect for fair trials and Muslim guilt for 9/11.
If, as Taylor writes, "the government’s evidence is so strong," why wasn’t Mohammed tried years ago? Why was he held for years and tortured—apparently water boarded 183 times—in violation of US law and the Geneva Conventions? How can the US government put a defendant on trial when its treatment of him violates US statutory law, international law, and every precept of the US legal code? Mohammed has been treated as if he were a captive of Hitler’s Gestapo or Stalin’s KGB. And now we are going to finish him off in a show trial.
If the barbaric treatment Mohammed has received during his captivity hasn’t driven him insane, how do we know he hasn’t decided to confess in order to obtain for himself for evermore the glory of the deed? How many people can claim to have outwitted the CIA, the National Security Agency and all 16 US intelligence agencies, NORAD, the Pentagon, the National Security Council, airport security (four times on one morning), US air traffic control, the US Air Force, the military Joint Chiefs of Staff, all the neocons, Mossad, and even the formidable Dick Cheney?
Considering that some Muslims will blow themselves up in order to take out a handful of Israelis or US and NATO occupation troops, the payoff that Mohammed will get out of a guilty verdict is enormous. Are we really sure we want to create a Muslim Superhero of such stature?
Originally, according to the US government, Osama bin Laden was the mastermind of 9/11. To get bin Laden is the excuse given for the US invasion of Afghanistan, which set up the invasion of Iraq. But after eight years of total failure to catch Osama bin Laden, it became absolutely necessary to convict some culprit, because the 9/11 Truth Movement is becoming too strong.
If Mohammed is really the mastermind who defeated the best that America has to offer, including the thousands of intelligence agents and strategic thinkers with the responsibility of protecting our country, Mohammed is a first class genius.
What a waste to execute him! Shouldn’t we first try to turn him? If we had a guy like Mohammed on our side running Homeland Security, we would forever be safe.
Allegedly, Arabs are corrupt and easily bribed. If we can pay the rulers of Egypt, Jordan, and Pakistan to operate in our interest against their own kind, how do we know we can’t sign up Mohammed? I can see this guy as a highly paid consultant to Homeland Security. In addition to money, we could make some other concessions, such as ceasing to persecute Muslim charities and the innocent people who contribute to them. Using Stuart Taylor’s reasoning, this would be a good "pragmatic" move.
Unfortunately, there will be no such sensible outcome. David Feige has told us what the outcome will be (The Real Price of Trying KSM, Slate, November 19, 2009.) The prosecution doesn’t need any evidence, because no judge and no jury is going to let the demonized "mastermind of 9/11" off. No judge or juror wants to be forever damned by the brainwashed American public or assassinated by right-wing crazies. Keep in mind that the kid, John Walker Lindh, termed "the American Taliban" by an ignorant and propagandistic US media, was guilty of nothing except being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Despite the complete trampling of his every right, he got 20 years on a coerced plea bargain.
The price that Mohammed will pay will be small compared to the price we Americans will pay. The outcome of Mohammed’s trial will complete the transformation of the US legal system from a shield of the people into a weapon in the hands of the state. Feige writes that Mohammed’s statements obtained by torture will not be suppressed, that witnesses against him will not be produced ("national security"), that documents that compromise the prosecution will be redacted.
At each stage of Mohammed’s appeals process, higher counts will enshrine into legal precedents the denial of the Constitutional right to a speedy trial, thus enshrining indefinite detention, the denial of the right against damning pretrial publicity, thus allowing demonization prior to trial, and the denial of the right to have witnesses and documents produced, thus eviscerating a defendant’s rights to exculpatory evidence and to confront adverse witnesses.
The twisted logic necessary to disentangle Mohammed’s torture from his confession will also be upheld and will "provide a blueprint for the government, giving them the prize they’ve been after all this time—a legal way both to torture and to prosecute."
It took Hitler a while to corrupt the German courts. Hitler first had to create new courts, like President George W. Bush’s military tribunals, that did not require evidence, using in place of evidence hearsay, secret charges, and self-incrimination obtained by torture.
Every American should be concerned that the Obama administration has decided to use Mohammed’s trial to complete the corruption of the American court system.
When Mohammed’s trial is over, an American Joe Stalin or Adolf Hitler will be able to convict America’s Founding Fathers on charges of treason and terrorism. No one will be safe.
Paul Craig Roberts [email him] was Assistant Secretary of the Treasury during President Reagan’s first term. He was Associate Editor of the Wall Street Journal. He has held numerous academic appointments, including the William E. Simon Chair, Center for Strategic and International Studies, Georgetown University, and Senior Research Fellow, Hoover Institution, Stanford University. He was awarded the Legion of Honor by French President Francois Mitterrand. He is the author of Supply-Side Revolution : An Insider's Account of Policymaking in Washington; Alienation and the Soviet Economy and Meltdown: Inside the Soviet Economy, and is the co-author with Lawrence M. Stratton of The Tyranny of Good Intentions : How Prosecutors and Bureaucrats Are Trampling the Constitution in the Name of Justice.
Click here for Peter Brimelow’s Forbes Magazine interview with Roberts about the recent epidemic of prosecutorial misconduct.
fourth district congressman john fleming on the moon griffon radio program this morning.
fleming: obama care: "an absolute humongous down payment on not only a socialistic society and economy for this country but i think down the road if you add it to card check and also amnesty which is coming up next year this is really a keep democrats in office in perpetuity deal and this is just one of the three methods that they are going to use to do that."
lori price at citizens for legitimate government has a list of links to news reports around the 05 november 2009 ft. hood shooting. one of ms. prices most recent links is to a news report about a box of hollow point bullets and a note found at ft. benning, georgia "threatening an incident like the one at fort hood" unless the charges against lee harvey hasan were dropped.
some other questions the pattern of news accounts raise to ms. price include:
Who (actually) shot Maj. Hasan?
CNN: Over one hundred shots were fired in the attack. (Logic dictates that 'over one hundred shots' were not fired by a single individual, surrounded by military personnel and special police forces.)
CNN: FBI was investigating Major Nidal Hasan six months ago.
The alleged shooter received his medical degree from the military’s Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences in Bethesda, Md., in 2001 and is a graduate of Virginia Tech.
Army refuses to identify Hasan prosecutors, chases away journalists
Congressman says Ft. Hood shooter had Pakistan 'connection'
I spent 10 years at Ft Hood. There is no way this 'official' story is legitimate. No way would a room full of combat vets allow this one shooter to get off over 100 rounds! ~ SFC Donald Buswell (Retired)
Early media accounts reported three or more shooters and shootings occurring simultaneously from several different locations on post.
Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (Amendment in Senate)
Vote Summary
Question: On the Cloture Motion (Motion to Invoke Cloture on the Motion to Proceed to H.R. 3590 )
Vote Number: 353 Vote Date: November 21, 2009, 07:55 PM
Required For Majority: 3/5 Vote Result: Cloture Motion Agreed to
Measure Number: H.R. 3590 (Service Members Home Ownership Tax Act of 2009 )
Measure Title: A bill to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to modify the first-time homebuyers credit in the case of members of the Armed Forces and certain other Federal employees, and for other purposes.
Vote Counts: YEAs------------------60 NAYs------------------39 Not Voting-------------1
click picture to enlargelouisiana state penitentiary via google earth
in this piece by sarah chacko, from the baton rouge morning advocate, we learn that it costs $54.50 per day to lock-up one state prisoner within angola penitentiary. angola has a population of some 5,108 inmates. more than half are in for life.
warden burl cain says that he has 200 prisoners he believes are rehabilitated, that he would like to release. cutting 200 loose would save the taxpayers around $4 million a year.
the warden has already cut out $12 million from his budget:
[B]y double-bunking inmates, replacing some guards with cameras, and cutting overtime for the 24-7 operation of the Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola.“Some of these things we can’t keep doing,” Cain said.
enter state rep. ernest wooton and the house administration of criminal justice committee which he chairs.
Cain said he cannot speak to the state Parole Board on behalf of inmates unless asked. He has seen bad inmates leave and good inmates stay, he said.
Cain said he has pursued legislation in the past to let a prison representative be a non-voting board member. Wooton and other legislators said they would work on legislation to make that happen.
“If you’re going to judge me by how many people come back, let me have a say in who goes out,” Cain said.
rapides parish district attorney jam downs discusses crime in the parish from this march 2009 long form interview.
[T]he Chief Justice of the Louisiana Supreme Court took offense Friday that two members of Congress think the state has a problem with crooked judges. [...] She called the comments Wednesday by Rep. Louie Gohmert, R-Texas, and Pedro Pierluisi, Puerto Rico's non-voting representative, about possible corruption in Metro New Orleans, a "slap in the face of these courageous and dedicated public servants in both the federal and state judiciary."
click here to download our copy 2,074 page .pdf [2.51 mb] or from the library of congress here
Library of Congress Note: H.R. 3590 is expected to be the vehicle for the Senate health care bill - the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. See the draft amendment from democrats.senate.gov.
this is the senate version of "national health care" or "obama care" that the bums, illegal aliens and somthing-for-nothing types are desperate to see passed.
for example one local "blogger" who has been shamelessly promoting obama care, once revealed to us that he didnt even pay income taxes. what he does every year, he told us, is fill out his tax return but leaves out the payment check.
as a consequence he said the irs is always after him for being delinquent but he told us that was no problem since he had previously transferred all his assets (home, car etc.) into someone else's name and that there is nothing the irs can do to him since he has no money and nothing in his own name.
he bragged about how a local banker friend of his once told him that his bank had received an irs inquiry letter asking if he had an account in that bank. of course he's never revealed this bit on his blog - these are the kind of people that support obama care.
the gannett/town talk is reporting that the city of alexandria, la. has elevated lee ann whitt to alexandria zoological park director.
mayor jacques roy made the announcement this morning from a press conference at the zoo. read more
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no...you're not looking in the mirror...this is a baby angolan colobus monkey born at the alexandria zoo on 25 july 2009 ~ see summer animal births 2009
"[T]here are more signs of economic distress in Rapides Parish. Records filed at the Court House show more of the negative trends. They are open Accounts, Judgements, Evictions, Promissory notes and seizure of Homes and property." ~ cenla news, steve coco, hard times in rapides parish
the 2010 session is not going to be an easy session. one billion dollars will have to be cut and the next year two billion. "that means that city governments throughout the state of louisiana will have to shift some priorities ... we need to be proactive looking at those circumstances now." ~ district 26 state rep herbert dixon
"The computerized voting machines used by many voters in the 23rd district had a computer virus - tainting the results." ~ nathan barker, upstate reporter, gouverneur times 'virus in the voting machines: tainted results in ny-23'
here we go with the jacques roy + ems + david pugh + sam sansing + cleco + conflict of interest + fraud + waste + abuse et al. meme again.
the thing about this three year old case, is that all the men on the city council are all men of means who have the resources as well as friends who know how to conduct an investigation. they have had over three years to put something together to show or even suggest that the mayor acted unethically.
yet in all this time they still cant even explain the basics. the legal committee had an agenda item
2. To discuss the Mayor’s potential conflict on the Cleco Case and ability to sign a contract involving the litigation and to discuss potential violation of Article 7.2 of the Charter.
but in all this time they still dont know dates, times, who was deposed (councilman johnson did inform us that he wasnt 'decomposed') definitions, or even the circumstances of the mysterious early 2007 trip mayor roy took to orlando, florida to meet with r.w. beck.
so all this tells us that they dont really want an investigation. they just want something to throw up in the air from time-to-time.
of course it doesnt help matters that the mayor and his crew seem to enjoy using a "former" klansman to constantly "do his dirty work for him," against the blacks on the council. especially, seeing how the mayor is always on about how much he loves black folks n' shit.
curiously, in all this time no one at the very least; out of an abundance of caution, has filed a complaint to the state bar. it would seem that if the office of disciplinary counsel found that the mayor did something wrong -- that would be all the evidence they would need to remove him.
the most that we can figure out they're saying here is that david pugh and sam sansing were energy traders in the employ of cleco. sometime during their employment they discovered that cleco was overcharging the city of alexandria for electricity.
so they ratted cleco out to the city and it gets confusing because the next thing that pugh or pugh and sansing did was incorporate a company called energy management services, l.l.c. (ems) which then got a contract with the city to get paid a percentage of whatever the city collected from cleco's overcharge. nice.
apparently, no one has thought to walk across the street to the parish courthouse and look in the the clerk's file at the court minutes and learn the name of the attorney's who have personally appeared before the bench and/or signed the pleadings.
as far as we know its never been reported who, after jacques roy withdrew, became mr. sansing's attorney. it could be the mayor's brother chris roy, jr. or the mayor's father chris roy but that wouldnt seem to pass the political smell test as people could reason that the mayor was passing along information to them -- after all blood is thicker than water.
anyway, in around june of 2005 the city of alexandria filed a fraud lawsuit against cleco. in september 2005 during hurricane rita, then alexandria, mayor ned randolph fired three of his top hands. some have asked if the mysterious firings were connected to the cleco litigation.
in 2006 jacques roy was elected mayor of alexandria on 07 november 2006 and was sent into that office on 04 december 2006. not 05 december as they say in the video. when someone cant remember important dates like that it makes us wonder what else they are sloppy about.
supposedly, the concern here is that the mayor still represented sam sansing while being privy to the cleco file. some of the cleco file (like the audit) was or is sealed.
then there was the mysterious trip the mayor took to orlando in early 2007 to meet with r.w. beck relative to the city's fraud suit. the legal committee seems to think that the mayor still represented mr. sansing then.
one thing is for sure -- the gannett/town talk is desperate to keep a lid on the whole thing. today they reported in "roy: lawson behind potential ethics probe." that story contains the line
Lawson denied leading the charge against Roy, saying Goins and Larvadain got wind of court testimony from Roy's attorney saying the mayor might have committed ethics violations in the Cleco case.
yet they dont bother to tell the reader the name of this attorney. or where is the written or audio transcript of this court testimony and what lawsuit and the date that it happened in. it would seem that a competent reporter would look all that up and either confirm it happened or report that it appears to be a rumor.
one other interesting tidbit that the liars over at gannett/the town talk as well as kalb have suppressed and refused to report was that one of the first acts that jacques roy's brother, state representative chris roy, jr. did after being sworn into office in january 2008 was to award a lucrative tulane legislative scholarship to sam sansing's daughter.
so yeah the whole matter needs investigating. in louisiana though the only group that does public corruption investigations much less prosecutions are the feds.
awhile back an emailer pointed out to us that you cant operate a speed trap unless you can control the police force. then kalb reported saturday night that citizens of the grant parish, louisiana town of colfax voted to quit electing their own police chief in favor of the position becoming an appointive one by the mayor and town council.
who in their right mind would vote to give up the right to elect their own police chief? what kind of leaders would think such a proposition was a good idea to put before the people?
now there is not even a semblance of separation of powers or balance of powers between those reserved to the people and those held by the town government. do you think that the mayor and town council are going to allow the police chief to investigate them for anything? its more likely that the mayor and town council will be having the police investigate you if you should get uppity enough to speak out against them.
its deer hunting season here in the bayou state. when this vid and photo's were taken (01 november 2009) it was bow season for deer.
there is a rather large hunting club in the neighborhood and looks like someone was stealthy enough to harvest a deer. we dont hunt deer but there is certainly nothing wrong with it; is there anything better than sitting around the campfire with your friends enjoying fresh venison backstrap breaded and fried together with onions, french fries, a nice garden salad, hot rolls and washing it all down with your favorite beverage?
or how about breakfast with deer sausage patties, eggs, toast or biscuits, jelly and a tall glass of orange juice.
like the old coonass said: "if the good lord made anything better he kept it for himself."
so what the hunters do is after they field dress their harvest they usually dump the bones, skins and entrails in the woods near one of the entrances to their club. there is nothing wrong with this either. they have to dump them somewhere and the hunters, besides providing the neighborhood dogs with a 'treasure trove' they are also helping to feed all the wild critters during their bleak days of winter - like the coyotes, buzzards and probably raccoons and who knows what other fascinating creatures that you will find lurking around in the swamps and bayou's of our gret state.
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our dog 'sha-nay-nay' is enjoying her prize.
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so what are you doing here? get yourself outside and enjoy these crisp days of fall.
leo honeycutt is the official biographer to former governor edwin edwards. in the above interview about his book "edwin edwards, governor of louisiana" out in december 2009, mr. honeycutt says that governor treen was adamant about including the part where he calls out by name u.s. district court judge frank polozola (carter nominee) and u.s. attorney jim letten for being corrupt in how they handled edwin edwards trial and sentencing. wow. we have to give the governor credit for that.
the path that governor treen chose to take with respect to his old rival edwin edwards certainly puzzled and caused many of his fellow "compassionate conservatives" to become exasperated with him. oh well.
ministering to a prisoner is certainly a christ-like attribute and something that authentic christians are required to do.
theres lots of problems and corruption just within the republican party that governor treen coulda, woulda, shoulda spoke out about. wouldnt it have been great if governor treen could have worked as hard speaking out against all the freaks, perverts and criminals who have infiltrated and taken over the republican party, running it into the ground -- as he did in trying to gain his old rivals release?
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By Governor David C. Treen
No one could be more diametrically opposed politically than Governor Edwards and me. He stood for what I considered too much government, too many taxes and too much dependency on the state. I, on the other hand as a Republican in the Ronald Reagan vein, always believed a man pulled himself up by his own bootstraps, relied little on others for help and that big government was generally a bad thing. Neither way is perfect and both ways have opportunities for people to reach their potential. It's just fortunate that we live in a great democracy where both ideas coexist peacefully.
But while Governor Edwards and I seldom agreed on principles, I always admired his genuine love of Louisiana and his uncanny ability to get many things done to provide for people what he believed they needed. His legislating skills were unmatched by anyone before or since and that's because, I believe, he had a sixth sense of what would sell and how to sell it so that by the time an issue came up, he knew better than anyone else how to make it work. In riding herd over 144 legislators, each with his own agenda, having that sixth sense is priceless. A governor simply does not have time to ponder each idea. I know. I burned a lot of midnight oil.
I admired Governor Edwards also for his coalition building. He always let the other side talk. But, more importantly, he listened. In the acrimonious politics of today, that's rare unfortunately. This was the cornerstone to his success because he built lasting friendships and strong alliances. In fact, in looking back, I don't think he ever legislated as much along party lines as on whether he personally thought someone else simply had a better idea. Like me, he didn't have to always get the credit. That's the mark of a great leader.
Now, truthfully, in the one great race where Governor Edwards and I met head-to-head, the Governor's Race of 1983, he got some digs in that hurt but they were great fun - for him. "Governor Treen is so slow it takes him an hour-and-a-half to watch 60 Minutes" was a classic. I laugh at it today but Dodie, my wife, didn't think it was funny at the time. But that's the price you pay if you have the stamina to be in politics. When I look at what his years in the mansion cost him in time lost with his family, in all those hard years of feast and famine in Louisiana's economy when a governor is consumed by unending problems, Governor Edwards made a major sacrifice indeed.
His wit was certainly unmatched and no one knows that better than I do. But I believe this ultimately made him a target. For whatever reason, Governor Edwards liked to poke fun and sometimes in frustration he said things people didn't easily forget. Being in politics for 50 years, anyone is going to create enemies but Governor Edwards attracted controversy with his tongue. This is partly the reason I reconnected with him after the sentencing in his 2000 trial.
I believe the federal government, and by that I mean Judge Frank Polozola and U.S. attorney Jim Letten, doubled his sentence from the prescribed five years purely out of vindictiveness. They didn't like him. That's not a good reason to double someone's sentence and is, I believe, a misuse of power.
Consequently, I engaged Presidents George W. Bush and George H.W. Bush in an effort to commute Governor Edwards' sentence. I and others worked for three years to correct this injustice because it was the right thing to do. Even if Governor Edwards were guilty of what he was convicted, he certainly never stole a dime from taxpayers. That's one of the few things he was never accused of. I'm not even saying he was guilty at all, because the investigation and trial were certainly dubious. So, for all these reasons, I felt his sentence was too long, let alone it just didn't make sense to keep him locked up at his age.
This tribulation for him, however, did have a silver lining. It made him settle down, think about what his life stood for and put it on paper. Leo Honeycutt has done a masterful job collating half a century of information into a picture of both the man and the state that will be studied and talked about for years. We have a rare gift now in this unvarnished, distilled picture that shows how we've evolved as a state, warts and all but with great potential.
Helping Governor Edwards also allowed old foes to reconnect and learn that forgiveness is a wonderful part of life. He and I still don't agree on some things but we completely agree that giving our lives in service to the state was all worth it. Both of us love Louisiana. It is our home and, as we approach the twilight, we rest assured, hearing the laughter of our children and grandchildren. They may leave Louisiana but Louisiana will never leave them.
David C. Treen Former governor State of Louisiana Mandeville, Louisiana July 10, 2009
Holiday cheer.
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*Happy Holidays field hands!*
Let's see what happens in the new year with this Elon Musk presidency. It
should be very interesting.
If you voted again...
Filing Schedule for the 02/15/25 Primary
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The election filing schedule for the 02/15/25 Primary. Note: **SPECIAL
ELECTION FOR STATE SENATOR, 14th and 23rd SENATORIAL DISTRICTS ONLY**
Police Jury meets Tuesday
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The Lincoln Parish Police Jury will meet Tuesday, June 13, Lincoln Parish
Court House, 100 West Texas, third floor. Here are the meeting times and
agendas....
What gets you through
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Maybe you knew Rick Tippie as a longtime chef at Arnaud's or more recently
at Killer Poboys or Liuzza's by the Track. Back in the day, he regularly
comment...
Welcome to the Alexandria Postcard Collection
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Postcards are an important medium in telling stories of the past. They are
historical masterpieces, showing life at points in time.
Greetings from Alexandr...
Rain Update, 1:10 p.m.
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Our OEP Director has been asked about the effect the rain from folks who
were concerned about it over topping. The pic below was taken today and
show 6-7″ ...
brief dashcam clip of alleged sex offender arrest
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brief dashcam clip of alleged sex offender arrest
some guy on a bicycle was allegedly looking at children through binoculars
across the street from the k...
Saying goodbye to our Old House
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I never thought this day would come. We had to say goodbye to the “Big
House”, the old house, the Hynson-Ringgold house (and many other names)….
We were tr...
57th presidential inauguration 21 january 2013
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57th presidential inauguration 21 january 2013
oath of office and speech + more.
From: wesawthat1
Views: 748
10 ratings
Time: 57:56 More in News & Politics
Part 83: It is Finished
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Description www.eaec.org
www.facebook.com/EuropeanAmericanEvangelisticCrusades Welcome to
Resurrection Life of Jesus Church. We are a Bible centered group ...
The Real Origins of Neocons
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*Russian Lies: Shadow of Jabotinksy*
by Joachim Martillo (ThorsProvoni@aol.com)
Philip Weiss reviews *They Knew They Were Right: The Rise of the Neocons, ...
Our Future Looks Glorious…if We Repent
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“The Lord will not let the righteous go hungry…” ~ Proverbs 10:3 I remember
how this text struck me as I read it for the first time as a young boy[...]
Last Days Lunacy and End Times Madness
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Podcast: LAST DAYS LUNACY and END TIMES MADNESS (The following commentary
is a reprint of the chapter Bible Basics 101: Last Days/End Times and The
Second ...
click here to download six page .pdf [169 kb]
click here to download seven page .pdf [162 kb]
carrollton, la. via google earth imagery date march 2006
click here to download 156 page .pdf [443 kb]
====This is an important change in the course of history, and we must help give this new information some "legs."
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roll call 353
louisiana state penitentiary via google earth
la. house administration of criminal justice committee
photo: lasers
no...you're not looking in the mirror...this is a baby angolan colobus monkey born at the alexandria zoo on 25 july 2009 ~ see summer animal births 2009
1 minute 45 second flash slide show vid around photos of antique alexandria, la.
keith olbermann "signs-off the way carrie prejean might."
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so what are you doing here? get yourself outside and enjoy these crisp days of fall.
