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
Friday Photo Fun Match Game
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Pair up mug shots with each suspect's alleged crime
Examine the booking photos of five arrested individuals and align the
defendants with their respectiv...
France: A Speed Camera Blinded
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[image: Spraypainted French camera]By Richard Diamond/Staff Reports
Anti-speed camera vigilantes in France took a break last week after a long
series of na...
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...
Open government is a tricky thing. Or at least it seems that way when you look at the governor's administration's newly-formed track record on transparent government issues.
It seems the governor's office only wants transparency when it does not affect their office or when it appears to be helping their public image.
In the three months Gov. Bobby Jindal has been in office and in the months leading up to his election, he repeatedly touted the need for transparency in government. The problem is he's not putting his pen where his mouth is.
Two measures have been submitted to the Legislature that would impact open government, and Jindal's position on each is not coherent with his rhetoric of open government.
I know it is not popular to criticize the governor, and many of his fans lashed out at me with personal attacks the last time I did
But the honeymoon is over. And if Jindal wants to talk about open government and ethics, his office and supporters should be willing to handle the whole package, including criticism.
The first measure that went before the Legislature during the first special session and received opposition from the governor's office was a bill that could have removed some exemptions from the public records law. This was not the first time lawmakers had tried to change the public records law. Currently the public records law exempts every record held by the governor's office.
This means that not only does the public not have access to records from Jindal's desk, but they also cannot see anything from the Governor's Program on Abstinence, the Oil Spills Coordinator Office, the Louisiana Human Rights Commission and a long list of other programs.
The inability to scrutinize how the GPA is spending money on the only sex education program in the state is troubling.
And when the bill hit the floor, Jindal and his Republican buddies in the Legislature killed it and any hope of opening up government on the 4th floor of the capitol.
The second measure is more recent. Rep. Hunter Greene, R-Baton Rouge, submitted House Bill 431, a constitutional amendment that would have the government stop printing newly passed laws in The Advocate at the end of sessions. The bill was approved by the House Committee and must gain support from the full House and Senate and appear as a referendum on a ballot in November.
Greene said the move is meant to save money - about $220,000 a year - and people will still be able to view newly passed laws on the legislative Web site and in printed forms at libraries distributed by the Secretary of State's Office. He added that only people in the Baton Rouge area read The Advocate, limiting their ability to really increase transparency by doing so.
"This has nothing to do with transparency," Greene said.
Greene said people who want to read laws will be able to find them, and that removing one location of the copies will not impact the ability of the public to gain access.
But Mike Nola, classifieds director at The Advocate, said it has everything to do with transparency and will not save the state much money.
Nola said The Advocate currently runs the laws as an insert, which he agreed only reaches a portion of the state. But while they are printing the form to run in the newspaper that will be eliminated, they also make an additional 600 copies that are distributed by the secretary of state.
Nola said while it costs little extra for them to make the extra copies, just printing 600 copies will cost about the same as printing enough to also insert.
"[Greene] proposed it as a good government bill," Nola said. "If it's good government, don't you think they would want it in the public?"
Rep. Rick Gallot, D-Ruston, spoke against the bill in committee last week and said he thinks it would reduce government openness, and the amount of money proposed to be saved is only a small drop in the state's budget.
"It seems even though we're saying we want transparency in our ethics laws, in this instance we're going to remove an area that our laws are published in," Gallot said.
Gallot said many people in his district depend on the newspaper as their only news source
Open government requires transparency at all levels. And legislation like changing the public records laws are necessary for that transparency. If we want to have open government, we need to make sure we are doing everything we can to keep government business in the open.
Jindal's office is not upholding one of his alleged campaign principles. And if we allow more doors to be closed, we will lose track of any hope of open government.
Jindal's Press Secretary Melissa Sellers did not return calls requesting a comment for this column.
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**
Behind The Lens episode 260: ‘Tough Transitions’
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[image: Behind The Lens podcast logo]
Marta Jewson on the annual December announcement of which charter schools
will close. Delaney Dryfoos on work to rev...
Transition train wreck.
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The election is over and MAGA is still angry. I guess owning the libs was
their only goal in life. For the life of me I can't understand where all
this ...
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
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Time: 57:56 More in News & Politics
Part 82: The Wrath of God
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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 ...