By Paul Spillman
In what has been the most surprising and uplifting sports story of the summer America discovered World Cup soccer and soccer fans discovered America. American cities have embraced foreign fans and their rituals as if diversity can be cool and fun. The American people have embraced those same foreigners like long lost friends as if inclusion can be cool and, well, fun. And foreign fans have fallen in love with America and Americans.
Social media is exploding with posts from fans the world over saying they had been lied to about America and Americans. Friendly, welcoming people they say. A fabulous country with landscapes you can’t believe. And the culture! The food, the stadiums, the size of everything, the air conditioning! And Ranch dressing. Foreign fans love Ranch dressing. The TSA had to issue an alert to travelers returning home not to pack bottles of it in carry-on luggage. Even yellow school buses delighted foreign visitors.
The most common remark? “America is like a movie! We only see this in movies. But it’s real!” And their experiences with individual Americans? Many were brought to tears trying to describe how friendly and welcoming Americans have been and how sorry they are to have to go home. It’s the kind of perfect “PR” you couldn’t buy if you were spending Elon’s money.
And then President Donald Trump made an appearance and took the shine right off. Trump called Gianni Infantino, the president of FIFA. FIFA is the governing body of soccer and shortly after that phone call FIFA modified the one-game suspension for star US striker Folarin Balogun, the team’s leading scorer and considered its best player, to a fine and a “one year probation,” making him eligible for all future matches. Balogun had earned the suspension on a late red card issued by the referee after the Bosnia and Herzegovina team complained in their elimination match with the US.
You don’t need to be a fan of soccer to know FIFA is arguably among the world’s most corrupt organizations and the integrity of officiating has long been an issue for international soccer. But to have the president of the United States so publicly intervene is just an open admission of favoritism and a flaunting of any concern for the integrity of the competition. It has cost America much of the goodwill we had earned by staging a world-class competition. And it reminds foreign fans how America earned that reputation from their country’s media.
Whether or not the call against Balogun was legitimate is a real debate, though the kind of dispute common in all sports. Nor is it any great surprise FIFA was willing to overrule the official on the field. It has done so before. But it was another national embarrassment for America that Trump stepped in. It can only be seen as favoritism, especially given how FIFA had already demonstrated its fealty and submission awarding Trump its inaugural “FIFA Peace Prize.”
Trump was proud of his interference, possibly because he could finally make the World Cup about himself, and took credit for the reversal. He said, “I saw the play, and I’m a person that loves sports … that wasn’t a foul. That wasn’t even an infraction … this referee, who is a little bit suspect if you check his past, he made a call that nobody could believe … he’s our best player, or one of our best players. And he gave him a red card. I didn’t know what that meant … yes, I asked for a review by FIFA.” Nothing like a little pressure from the president of the United States of America, who is just a person that loves sports.
Is this a good time to mention that Folarin Balogun is a birthright American citizen? If the Supreme Court had ruled differently Trump might have called Markwayne Mullin instead of Gianni Infantino. Balogun might have found himself in an ICE detention center awaiting deportation instead of leading the US World Cup team.
Or maybe not. Favoritism and cronyism are common practices with Trump and perfectly fine with his supporters. Perhaps Trump would have made an exception for Balogun and laid a heavy hand on FIFA anyway. Because he’s just a person that loves sports.
But it was all for naught as the US men’s team was eliminated by an elite, if aging, European squad in Belgium, 4-1. Balogun played, but did not score. Immediately following the match Belgium posted photos of their team celebrating, pretending to make a phone call, with the caption “Overturn this!”
In the America we all wished we lived in this would be a scandal, unethical meddling by an American president. But there is an utter void of morals and ethics among the elite in America today whether it’s politicians, corporate leaders, or the sports and entertainment world. “Rules” and “fair play” seem a quaint notion best left for children’s games. After all winning is winning. It doesn’t really matter how you get there. Just as long as you can call yourself a winner. No one exemplifies that better than Trump.
But like so much else with Trump one “scandal” isn’t that scandalous to MAGA voters and soon fades into the background as a new one emerges. And considering how many other issues there are facing America under Trump this one didn’t last beyond the 24-hour life cycle it had.
Still, the World Cup has given us something we didn’t know we needed – a fresh look at ourselves and our home without the yellowed lens of bitter political animosity. What foreign visitors and fans found were neighbors, proud of their communities and their regions, eager to share with strangers and make them feel welcome. Post after post on social media said, “What I love about America is the people are so friendly and helpful. They want to show you around, buy you lunch, pay for your drinks. They just say ‘Hi’ to you, complete strangers, on the sidewalk! This would never happen at home.”
It’s good to be reminded we’re better than our worse selves and that we all really do have something in common. We’re Americans. And the world thinks we’re pretty cool. Maybe, just maybe, we can learn to think that way about each other, too.
Posted in Politics | 2 Comments »
Well, it certainly didn’t take long for that Orleans Parish grand jury to prove me wrong when I said yesterday that I didn’t think the investigation of Liz Murrill would be anything more than lots of political smoke but no fire.
The grand jury, which launched its own investigation of Murrill’s heavy-handed May 13 LETTER to Mayor Helena Moreno, District Attorney Jason Williams, retired Judge Calvin Johnson and members of the New Orleans City Council threatening them with imprisonment, has produced a rapid response in the form of a 16-count indictment of Murrill.
Attorney General Liz Murrill
Included in the 16 counts are charges of malfeasance and intimidation.
An arrest warrant was issued for Murrill within minutes of the indictment and her bond was set at $16,000 per count, or $400,000 total.
The whole sordid mess stems from the running dispute over the abolishment of the position of criminal clerk of court for Orleans Parish despite the election of Calvin Duncan to the office.
Murrill, her former boss, Gov. Jeff Landry, and the largely Repugnantcan legislature approved a bill by a West Monroe legislator, Sen. JAY MORRIS, who espouses economy and streamlining government while appearing to use that same government to enrich himself.
The SENATE VOTE on final passage was 26-11 and the HOUSE VOTE was 63-28 in favor.
Murrill said on Wednesday she was UNAWARE of the grand jury investigation.
She’s probably pretty aware of it by now.
It’s uncertain if the indictment will result in a conviction of a sitting Louisiana attorney general, but it’s not unprecedented. Attorney General P.F. “JACK” GREMILLION was convicted in 1971 of perjury and sentenced to three years in federal prison.
Perhaps Landry should begin warming up his pardon-writing hand—just in case.
And almost before I could type that last paragraph, Landry tweeted on X that he planned to do just that: pardon her.
Posted in Politics | 3 Comments »
If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, then it’s only a matter of time before Jeff Landry moves to duplicate last week’s action by the Texas Board of Education.
We’ve seen the signs already. Both Louisiana and Texas passed legislation requiring the posting of the Ten Commandments in all public school classrooms. Last October, Oklahoma attempted, then rescinded a 2024 mandate that required teachers to have a Christian Bible in every classroom.
Now Texas has gone Oklahoma one better when last month the state education board approved a REQUIRED READING LIST that includes Bible passages, further blurring the lines separating church and state.
If allowed to stand, the new reading criteria will take effect in 2030 on a staggered basis, beginning with elementary students.
While the mandate appears to be the first of its kind in the nation, it will almost certainly not be the last as other Republican-controlled state legislatures will like follow suit with efforts of their own to force-feed Christian doctrines in U.S. classrooms to the exclusions of all other religions.
On its face, the new directive would appear to fly in the face of the First Amendment which says, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof…”
Again, if allowed to stand, you can expect that Texas will not stand alone for long. Sure to follow suit will be states like Florida, Mississippi, Alabama, Oklahoma, Arkansas and…Louisiana.
You can also be assured that only certain passages of the Bible will be included in the required reading list—stories like David and Goliath, Daniel in the lions’ den, Noah’s ark but certainly none of the more than two dozen references to killing women, children, non-Hebrews or non-virgin brides.
Also most likely excluded from selective reading lists:
It all follows the dictum by legislators in Louisiana and other states who said schools should teach only the positives about American history. The problem with that, of course, is the courses would no longer be history. Slavery, Native American genocide, taking land by force from Mexico, denying voting rights to women and Blacks, denying basic human rights for marginalized Americans—all these are as much a part of our history, like it or not, as the discovery of the polio vaccine and the Declaration of Independence itself.
To insist these uglier chapters or our history be deleted is not history; it’s censorship.
Posted in Politics | 3 Comments »
If Northwestern State University President Jimmy Genovese has learned anything—anything at all—it’s to not trust anything Jeff Landry of Alan Seabaugh tell him.
It’s a hard lesson to learn after he gave up a seat as a justice on the Louisiana Supreme Court but hey, hindsight is, as they say, 20/20.
Maybe before he stepped down from the bench to accept the NSU presidency, he should’ve checked with U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson.
Piper Hutchinson, writing for THE ILLUMINATOR, had a particularly insightful story about how Genovese saw his vision of a law school for north Louisiana dashed upon the hard rocks of political reality.
In typical journalistic professionalism, for which The Illuminator has become known, the saga of the political ménage à trois of Genovese, Seabaugh and Landry is the classic tale of backstabbing in true Louisiana tradition with the NSU campus serving as an unfortunate backdrop. “Nobody was more responsible for putting him (Genovese) there than me,” Seabaugh said with modesty befitting Donald Trump.
Seabaugh, Hutchinson wrote, is quick to take credit for removing former NSU President Marcus Jones and promoting Genovese as his successor with strong backing from Landry. Jones, meanwhile, was recycled back into the University of Louisiana System offices as executive vice president and chief operating officer under another recycled product, former State Senator and former Grambling State University President Rick Gallot, president of the UL System.
Genovese said Seabaugh “has been made at me from day one” because he refused to fire NSU employees designated by Seabaugh—again in a manner reminiscent of Taco Don’s way of doing business. Seabaugh, for his part, says it is untrue that he asked Genovese to fire employes but did say he warned the incoming president not to take advice from the same people who had Jones’s ear.
The sticking point at this juncture is Genovese’s assurances from both Seabaugh and Landry that NSU would be the home for a new law school for north Louisiana—a promise that hasn’t been fulfilled and probably won’t.
That’s because Landry has cooled on the idea considerably after drawing opposition for a fifth law school in the state (LSU, Southern, Tulane and Loyola, all in the southern part of the state, are the existing four).
“When I came on board there were discussions coming out of the governor’s office regarding a law school, so I just went with the flow,” Hutchinson quoted Genovese as saying.
But Landry, apparently sensitive to opposition to the idea from Senate President Cameron Henry (R-Metairie) and to the message it might send that he was partial to trial lawyers (he has received significant campaign contributions from trial lawyers), has put the project on the back burner.
Meanwhile, though, Genovese provided a copy of a law school proposal he drafted and submitted to the Board of Regents and to the UL System Board of Supervisors—a proposal the full UL System board has yet to see.
It’s probably way past the appropriate time, but perhaps Genovese should’ve consulted with Johnson about the concept of a new law school. The House Speaker probably could’ve given the NSU President an earful.
Johnson, you see, was once the dean of a NON-EXISTENT LAW SCHOOL that never opened its doors to the first student.
A project of Louisiana College, a Baptist college in Pineville (now called Louisiana Christian University), Johnson was hired in 2010 as the “inaugural dean” of the Judge Paul Pressler School of Law.
An initial fundraising gala was held in Houston and was attended by Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jinal and Pressler himself.
But you see, it was already off a bad start with the choosing of the name of the school to honor Pressler, a former Texas judge, legislator, Republican Party power broker and a shaker and mover in the Southern Baptist Convention.
Trouble was, he was also a SEXUAL PREDATOR who was sued by a male employee for sexual abuse. The lawsuit—as well as other suits alleging similar sexual abuse—was eventually settled out of court.
Not the best name to stick on the façade of your proposed law school, which was to have been located in the old federal courthouse building in Shreveport but which never admitted the first student.
The Pressler name was not the only obstacle. Charges of financial impropriety arose and the president of the school was forced out as a result of the infighting.
So now, Genovese, after giving up a plum job as State Supreme Court justice, is now faced with opposition from a legislator and a governor, both of whom helped put him there and now apparently are convinced they can take him out.
That, of course, would mean another appointment as a college head based on political connections rather than real qualifications for the job.
That wouldn’t exactly be a precedent, especially for this governor.
Posted in Politics | 2 Comments »
Louisiana Voice 