.... the gathering gloom.
Plenty of people -- including obviously the stock market and its commentators -- believe everything will b...
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
.... the gathering gloom.
Plenty of people -- including obviously the stock market and its commentators -- believe everything will b...
Yesterday, Boasso wrote, “Baton Rouge: In an act of political acrobatics impressive even for the first district Congressman, Bobby Jindal today followed the will of President Bush and the Republicans in Congress and voted against a bill that included his own amendment.bayou buzz asked for and received a response from the piyush scam and this is what trey williams, the communications director for the piyush scam said:
The bill, HR 2643 an appropriations measure for the interior, environment and related agencies passed yesterday on a vote of 272-155. Jindal's amendment, which doubled the $2.5 million for studies into the environmental "dead zone" currently threatening sea-life in the Gulf of Mexico, was accepted and added to the measure.
And yet, after President Bush declared his opposition to the bill and even after Bobby Jindal sent out a press release touting the addition to the amendment, the Congressman voted against it.
"This is just a despicable display of political weakness," State Senator Walter Boasso (D-Arabi), Democratic candidate for Governor said, "It really says it all when it comes to the Congressman's lack of sincerity and strength to stand up, speak for himself and do as he believes.
"This is just like last week when he voted against needed funds for port security, first responders and improvements to the security at our state's oil refineries and chemical plants," Boasso said. "Once again, Bobby Jindal is putting the whims of the President over the needs of our state.
“There is an epidemic right now of unbridled and out of control government spending, both in Baton Rogue and Washington. No family in America can act this way, no small business in Louisiana can act this way, and government should not act this way either. Bobby and the majority of the Louisiana delegation continue to take a stand and vote against this irresponsible and reckless disregard for the hard earned money of Louisiana taxpayers. Congress can and should fund our Interior and environmental needs without wasting billions of taxpayer dollars.do you see how the piyush scam operates? heres a bill that piyush attached an amendment to and had already sent out a press release touting, then when his lord and master george w. bush comes out against it -- the piyush scam like the bush boot licker he is threw all this out the window and voted against the bill.
on 20 june 2007 local attorney and blogger gregory aymond put out a request to concerned citizens in response to alexandria, la. mayor jacques roy call for "city residents to lead the charge in demanding an investigation of the City Council..." regarding, in part, an apparent violation of louisiana open meetings laws.
today, wst... obtained a copy of the cover letter mr. aymond has sent to louisiana's attorney general charles c. foti asking for an investigation of same.
if you are a concerned citizen (you dont have to be a resident of alexandria, louisiana) and you desire to write a.g. foti about this matter, on your own, then feel free to use this letter as a template to go by:
hb765, starting at page eleven "contain appropriations in the total amount of Thirty-Two Million Dollars, be it more or less..." this bill lists all the house and senate bills filed to pay court judgments against the state "if such judgments are final, and notwithstanding the provisions of R.S. 49:112..."
T. The sum of Ninety-Seven Thousand Five Hundred and No/100 ($97,500.00) Dollars is hereby appropriated out of the General Fund of the state of Louisiana for Fiscal Year 2006-2007 to be used to pay the consent judgment in the suit entitled "Gheorghe Olar and Lisa Olar v. State, of Louisiana, through the Department of Transportation and Development", bearing Number 56,521 on the docket of the Eighteenth Judicial District Court, parish of Iberville, state of Louisiana.
.mp3 here
4.3 MB
length 10m39s
Jun 28, 6:16 PM (ET)click here to read more
By JULIE HIRSCHFELD DAVIS
WASHINGTON (AP) - President Bush's immigration plan to legalize as many as 12 million unlawful immigrants while fortifying the border collapsed in the Senate on Thursday, crushing both parties' hopes of addressing the volatile issue before the 2008 elections.
The Senate vote that drove a stake through the delicate compromise was a stinging setback for Bush, who had made reshaping immigration laws a central element of his domestic agenda. It could carry heavy political consequences for Republicans and Democrats, many of whom were eager to show they could act on a complex issue of great interest to the public.
"Legal immigration is one of the top concerns of the American people and Congress' failure to act on it is a disappointment," a grim-faced president said after an appearance in Newport, R.I. "A lot of us worked hard to see if we couldn't find common ground. It didn't work."
Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, D-Mass., his party's lead negotiator, called the defeat "enormously disappointing for Congress and for the country." But, he added: "We will be back. This issue is not going away."
*updated* the mp3's appear to be streaming properly now.
francis thompson .mp3 here
9.75 MB
length 25m43s
charlie dewitt .mp3 here
12 MB
length 29m46s
to view the archived video from the legislature's video on demand website click here and scroll down to june 27 2007, day 36, chamber, pm session. you can then slide the real player timer bar over to francis thompson's farewell remarks which begin around 4 hours 30 minutes. charlie dewitt's farewell remarks come immediately after rep. thompson's or around time 4 hours 56 minutes.
"i want to tell you whenever my first trip i always think of this whenever i come here to baton rouge, i didnt even know how you got to the capitol. carl gunter, a lot of you dont know him, some of you do. that little ol red pick-up truck. he said 'dewitt, c'mon go with me i'am going to take you to the capitol' oh we come busting up here like the hooligans, i'd come to town you hear me? carl brought me right through those doors right there and did two things, he said 'dewitt you see that mic down there?' i said yes sir, he said 'you can say anything you want on it ' and said 'they got to sue the state they cant sue you' i've often thought about that and you know what he was pretty right i aint never seen anybody else get sued up here. he was a dear friend of mine and a heck of a good fellow.
then he led me out that other door right over there and he took me right to those doors and we stood on those steps and he said 'dewitt i'am going to show you something else' he said 'whenever you think this state cant operate and this body cant operate as long as you're a representative' he said 'you see that statue down there?' i said yeah hell i didnt know it was huey long he said 'thats where huey long's buried' he said 'whenever he died they thought this state was gonna fall in a hole and ever thing was gonna be the worst in the world; he said 'it's still working' he said 'you remember that, this state will work without you.''
this video is a 3m40s clip from a march 2007 alexandria, la city council community development committee meeting. the one in which city councilman louis marshall introduces his resolution captioned "public information on city activities and important constituent matters." a city attorney read the resolution and said that "mr. marshall asked that staff prepare a resolution concerning the public information and how that information can be made available to the public particularly considering the new changes in the information sources such as the internet..." then the city attorney goes some examples about what the resolution is talking about such as special notices, changes in garbage pickup schedules, utility matters, places of interest and city governmental business "including but not limited to expanded use of the government access channel..." as shown in the video the city attorney then reads the entire resolution...
now contrast councilman marshall's actions then to his actions in a recent city council meeting (see following video) when he refused to second a motion to broadcast a recent special city council meeting, effectively censoring his constituents. so what happened with mr. marshall between then and now?
the administration doesnt appear to be entirely blameless here either because if mayor roy would have went ahead and drafted the resolution (mayor roy says at the end of the video "mr marshall we understand the directive and we'll proceed accordingly"} for the council and it would have been passed by the city council already -- then the city council wouldnt have had a leg to stand on in the recent special city council meeting public access broadcast they banned.
schedler & romero.mp3 here
13.6MB length 34:01
term-limited senators have been taking turns under their personal privilege rule to say their goodbyes to their fellow senators...sniff
today, senator tom schedler and senator craig romero had their say...
friday 22 june 2007 was the 200th day of the jacques roy administration. on monday 25 june 2007 mayor roy gave a 'state of the city' address which was broadcast live over public access channel 4. at 9:00 am on tuesday 26 june 2007 the speech was rebroadcast on channel 4, so we recorded it and posted it to the public domain via google video.
6:41 pm cdt monday 25 june 2007 louisiana senate votes to concur with the house of representatives amendments to sb221 a bill by sen.art lentini relative to gambling or wagering at any cockfight.
Joseph Frederick was 18 when he displayed his huge banner just outside the school grounds at Juneau, Alaska in front of television cameras as the Olympic flame passed in front of a crowd.click here to read more
Principal Deborah Morse was not amused by Frederick's linkage between Jesus and a bong, a pipe used to smoke marijuana. She took away the banner and suspended Frederick from school for 10 days.
Frederick took his case to court, arguing that his free-speech rights, protected under the First Amendment, had been violated, and demanding damages from Morse.
The case drew heavy hitters on Frederick's side including the American Civil Liberties Union and the American Center for Law and Justice. Some religious groups also backed Frederick, putting President George W. Bush's conservative base at odds with the administration, which sided with the school.
For his part, Frederick, now 23, said he had unfurled the banner as a "free-speech experiment."
In the national debate about a serious issue, it is the expression of the minority’s viewpoint that most demands the protection of the First Amendment. Whatever the better policy may be, a full and frank discussion of the costs and benefits of the attempt to prohibit the use of marijuana is far wiser than suppression of speech because it is unpopular.
I respectfully dissent.
====message from JOHN KENNEDYThe House once again deferred consideration on SB 14 this morning. On a technical note, if the bill is not heard by 6:00 PM today, it will require a 2/3rd vote to even bring up for debate after 6:00 PM. We'll keep you posted. Thanks! JK
--END--
message from JOHN KENNEDY
SB14 will sit on the calendar until the end of the session, so it could come up at any time...
--END--====only about 100 hours remain in what is one of the worst legislatures in louisiana's history...then its onward to the fall elections...louisiana's jungle primary is on saturday 20 october 2007 and the runoff will be on saturday 17 november 2007.====
EDITORIAL: Revenge isn't sweet
House members should reject a bill that would water down the authority of the state treasurer over the State Bond Commission, thereby making it easier for lawmakers to push boondoggles and pet projects.
Senate Bill 14 would create an executive committee of the Bond Commission, consisting of the Senate president, House speaker and state treasurer. That panel would set the agenda for the commission, a power that the treasurer, as chairman, now enjoys. It would also allow a majority of the full commission to put items on the agenda via written requests.
Senate President Donald Hines, sponsor of the bill, has reason to be unhappy with Mr. Kennedy. The treasurer fought efforts to use state bonds to build a syrup mill in Sen. Hines' district -- a mill that would have benefited the senator's son-in-law, who is a sugar cane farmer.
Sen. Hines has insisted that this bill has nothing to do with the syrup mill and is simply a matter of good public policy. But no one should be fooled. This is a political maneuver, and Mr. Kennedy shouldn't be punished for defeating an ill-conceived project. Moreover, his hands shouldn't be tied so that he can't fight the next one.
There was talk of amending this bill to require a unanimous vote of the executive committee -- an effort to prevent the two legislative members of the executive committee from ganging up on the treasurer. But it would be far better to kill this measure than try to make it slightly less deplorable.
If the House doesn't have the good sense to reject it, Gov. Kathleen Blanco should veto it.
link
message from JOHN KENNEDYwst... note: the louisiana house of representatives convemes at
Its been passed over on the house calendar, meaning the votes weren’t there. But its not over till its over.
--END--
6. Senate Bills on Third Reading and Final Passage
Regular
SB14 HINES BONDS - Provides for the chairmanship and an executive committee of the State Bond Commission. (1/14/08)
message from JOHN KENNEDY
SB 14 HAS BEEN DEFERRED FOR TODAY
But it is still technically alive and on the calendar...
…still can be brought up at any time.
--END--
message from JOHN KENNEDY
SB 14, (the Hines Bond Commission bill) may be voted on by the House within the next few hours.
--END--
billy chandler - constituent office 318.992.0887 - telephone
israel curtis - 318.487.5417 - telephone
charlie dewitt - 318.484.2216 - macarthur drive office
rick farrar - 318.484.2210 - telephone
see also legislative alert!!! by treasury sec'y john kennedy
and also central la politics blog: state treasurer asks for your help
kudos to town talk editor cynthia jardon who's new blog "Cynla" has linked to an online true and unedited copy of a Special 'Banned By The Alexandria, La. City Council' Meeting Video 12 June 2007. the complete copy was first posted online by bloggers a week ago today...
click here to view cynla's very first blog post and give her some love.
more later...
central la politics blog has the video of the 19 june 2007 economic development committee meeting in which council president hobbs explains his apparent illegal polling of a majority of the council members.
from central la politics blog:The Town Talk quotes Alexandria Mayor, Jacques Roy, as calling for: "city residents to lead the charge in demanding an investigation of the City Council..."( Town Talk, supra.) So here is your chance to do something for your community, and not just sit around and gripe or gossip about it.
click link to read more
SEND ME AN EMAIL OR LETTER:
Simply cut and paste this:
Mr. Aymond, please notify the Louisiana Attorney General and the Rapides District Attorney, on my behalf, of the apparant violation of the State's Open Meeting Law, which was discussed at the Alexandria City Council's June 19, 2007, Economic Development Committee meeting, and keep me advised of what action has been taken.
Send To:
gralaw@kricket.net
- or mail to -
Gregory R. Aymond
Attorney at Law
Post Office Box 5503
Alexandria, Louisiana 71307
Please put your name and snail mail address in your email. Your information will not be used for any purpose other than reporting this matter, and reporting back to you. While you must be at least 18 years of age, you do not have to be a citizen of Alexandria.
in an article in todays paper "Roy calls for probe of City Council 'meeting'" (see link) the town talk mentions that kalb has an edited version of the city council meeting, yet they still fail to inform their readers of the existence of the full unedited version that since friday 15 june 2007 has been available online. the town talk has known about the existence of this unedited city council video for at least two days prior to publishing the article. why is the town talk refusing to give their readers the whole story?
telephone the town talk switchboard: (318) 487-6397 or 1-800-523-8391 and/or email "reporter" tom bonnette at tbonnette@thetowntalk.com or town talk online contact form and demand they tell their readers about the online existence of the complete 12 june 2007 special city council meeting which is currently banned from the public view by the alexandria city council.
perhaps more importantly call or visit the town talk's advertisers and let them know that they are advertising in a paper that is not giving complete information.