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Wednesday, Sept. 24, 2015: an extremely, bad day for GOP presidential wannabe, absentee/part time Gov. Bobby Jindal

Posted in Budget, Cartoon, Contract, Contracts, Economy, Elections, Governor's Office, Health Care, Higher Education, Politicians, Privatization, Revenue on September 24, 2015| 8 Comments »

JINDAL ON LIFE SUPPORT

We couldn’t resist this one from our favorite cartoonist. (CLICK ON IMAGE TO ENLARGE)

The timing could not have been better—or worse, depending upon your perspective.

But all things considered, Wednesday was a bad day for a certain Louisiana governor flailing away in a doomed quest for the Republican presidential nomination.

If he posed so much as a remote threat against any of his Republican opponents for the Republican presidential nomination, today’s events would surely be used against him in an campaign ad blitz. But he doesn’t and they won’t.

On the one hand, there was the survey released Wednesday (Sept. 24) by 24/7 Wall Street, the service that publishes all sorts of survey results from the best-selling cars to the worst-performing state governments. The latest survey shows Louisiana to be the fifth worst-educated state in the nation.

On the other, there was the story, also on Wednesday, that said Louisiana’s public colleges and universities have been told to “be prudent” with their current budgets—a not-so veiled way of saying get ready for more budget cuts.

The U.S., in case you haven’t been paying attention, has some of the most expensive college educations in the world—and the expenses have risen to record highs, the survey said. In fact, the cost of a college education has increased faster than the rate of inflation—24 percent just since 2012,

Only 22.9 percent of adults in Louisiana hold at least a bachelor’s degree, which ranks 46th in the nation and well below the national average of more than 30 percent. That puts the state two notches behind Alabama’s 23.5 percent and ranked higher than only Kentucky (22.2 percent), Arkansas (21.4 percent), Mississippi (21.1 percent), and West Virginia (19.2 percent). Massachusetts had the highest with 41.2 percent of its adults having attained at least a bachelor’s degree.

In fact, Louisiana ranks just ahead of our next door neighbor in so many surveys that rumor has it there may be a bill introduced in the next legislative session to change the state’s motto from “Union, Justice and Confidence” to “Hey, At Least We Aren’t Mississippi.”

Louisiana had the fourth lowest percentage (83.6 percent) of high school graduates.

Louisiana also ranked seventh lowest with a median household income of $44,555 in 2014 and even those among the 22.9 had the seventh lowest median earnings ($46,903) for bachelor degree holders. Even more depressing is the fact that the median income for holders of bachelor’s degrees managed to pull the overall median average up by less than $2,500 per year.

Nearly one in five Louisianians live below the poverty line, the third highest poverty rate in the nation. This, in a state with three of the 10 busiest ports in the nation (including the busiest, the Port of South Louisiana, and the 4th and 10th busiest, New Orleans and Baton Rouge) and three of the nation’s largest refineries (Marathon in Garyville, Exxon in Baton Rouge, and Citgo in Lake Charles).

Moreover, the state is embarrassingly rich in chemical plants, oil and gas reserves, sulfur, agriculture and seafood. But still we consistently lag behind the rest of the nation in every conceivable measure of progress and prosperity.

And yet, here we are, teetering at the edge of yet another midyear budget shortfall, or as State Treasurer John Kennedy said, “We have hit the trifecta, but not in a good way.” He was talking about the news that we have just learned that we’re going to have to make up for last fiscal year which ended June 30 with a deficit (though Bobby Jindal and Commissioner of Administration Kristy Nichols won’t say how much). Together, Kennedy said, the combined shortfalls for last fiscal year and the current year combine to paint a bleak picture for next year as well, as the combined deficit is expected to approach $1 billion.

(Note to Kristy: Don’t let the door hit you on the backside as you exit next month on the way to grab your golden parachute with Ochsner Health System.)

Though the Jindal administration isn’t saying much about the latest crisis (you have to wonder how Bobby will spin this in his fiscal responsibility message on the GOP presidential campaign trail), Kennedy at least doesn’t duck the issue. He estimates it to be more than $100 million.

This budgetary news comes on top of the Medicaid shortfall of more than $300 million, a TOPS fund which is projected to be $19 million short and word that Jindal’s ill-fated hospital privatization plan has hit yet another major setback.

LSU, citing a breach of the public purpose, terminated its cooperative endeavor agreement with the Biomedical Research Foundation of Northwest Louisiana (BRF) barely two years after the foundation took over operation of two north Louisiana hospitals.

Saying all avenues to resolve differences had been exhausted, LSU President F. King Alexander said that Academic Health of North Louisiana Hospital Management Co., Inc., will take over operation of University Health Shreveport and University Health Conway.

It was so bad for Jindal that he missed a golden opportunity when the Pope spoke to a joint session of Congress on Wednesday.

When President Obama visited New Orleans on the 10th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina last month, Jindal sent a message asking that the President not talk about climate change when he came here. But when he had the opportunity to offer that same advice to Pope Francis, Jindal, a Roman Catholic, remained mute.

Perhaps he was just too busy traveling around Iowa telling anyone who would listen (that would be Timmy Teepell and Kyle Plotkin) what a great job he has done as governor of Louisiana and how he is uniquely qualified to run the country.

We are reminded of the Winston Churchill quote about Clement Atlee that could be adapted so easily to our governor: An empty taxi pulled up in front of the Iowa caucus and Bobby Jindal got out.

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Jindalistas’ ploy to move appointees to protected classified positions facing several obstacles, according to Civil Service

Posted in Civil Service, Elections, Ethics, Governor's Office, Politicians, State Agencies on September 23, 2015| 9 Comments »

Furtive plans by some agency heads to move certain unclassified employees into Civil Service classified positions before Bobby Jindal leaves office could be thwarted by Civil Service rules designed expressly to prevent such maneuvers.

LouisianaVoice received reports on Wednesday (Sept. 23) of plans to move some of Jindal’s appointees from unclassified to classified positions as a means of protecting them from potential termination by the new governor when he takes office on Jan. 11.

“Since the clock is ticking on the Jindal administration,” wrote one state employee, “his department heads are converting…unclassified folks into classified positions. Only trouble is, those positions don’t pay that well. [I] overheard a conversation by some HR (Human Resources) folks that they don’t know how to make the slip switch and include a $30,000 add-on to the classified position.”

But former Civil Service Director Shannon Templet, in one of her last actions before accepting the position of director of human resources for the Louisiana House of Representatives, may have put the kibosh on any such plans—or at least made any such attempt considerably more difficult.

General Circular 2015-033, issued to heads of state agencies and human resource directors on Sept. 1, addresses that very scenario although there still may be a small window of opportunity to circumvent a prohibition against converting appointees to unclassified positions. CIVIL SERVICE CIRCULAR 2015-033

The circular alluded to Civil Service Rule 22.2 which says all appointing authorities shall obtain the Civil Service Director’s approval before making a permanent appointment to any job at specified pay grades.

But the policy governing such appointments is applicable only between the date of any election for a statewide elected office (Oct. 24, 2015) through Inauguration Day (Jan. 11, 2016).

There appear to be no restrictions to such transfers between now and Oct. 24, which is nearly a full month away and some movement may have already occurred.

“Unless the director grants permission, vacancies covered under this rule cannot be filled on a permanent basis through a probationary or permanent appointment into a regular ongoing position,” the circular says. “This also applies to promotions and transfers into an agency while on permanent status.

“The process will be handled as follows:

  • Vacancies affected by this rule shall not be announced without obtaining prior approval of the director by means of a letter which includes justification explaining why the vacancy needs to be filled.
  • Agencies are to send letters requesting approval to fill to the Staffing Division.
  • Agencies will be notified via email of the director’s decision.
  • Verification of approval must be attached to the exam plan…for audit purposes.

Even if an appointive (non-classified) position should be converted to a classified one, the additional task of adjusting the position’s salary poses yet another problem—unless the appointee would agree to a major pay cut.

Because Civil Service classifications govern pay scales for every classified position in state government—as opposed to unclassified positions, which have no such restrictions—appointive posts generally pay much higher salaries than civil service jobs. Converting from unclassified to classified necessarily would dictate significant reductions in pay.

But even if that wrinkle could somehow be worked out, there is one more deterrent to such an underhanded tactic. Any transfer, lateral or otherwise, or new appointment generally carries with it a six-month (180 days) probationary period during which the employee may be terminated without cause.

As of today (Sept. 23), there are exactly 110 days until a new governor takes office.

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Notable Quotables (in their own words)

Posted in Elections, Governor's Office, Notable Quotables on September 22, 2015| 11 Comments »

“If you can find me a Muslim candidate who is a Republican, who will fight hard to protect religious liberty, who will respect the Judeo-Christian heritage of America, who will be committed to destroying ISIS and radical Islam, who will condemn cultures that treat women as second class citizens and who will place their hand on the Bible and swear to uphold the Constitution, then yes, I will be happy to consider voting for him or her.”

—Bobby Jindal, in perhaps his most absurd utterance yet, in responding hypothetically to the question put to Dr. Ben Carson on whether or not he would vote for an Islamic candidate for president.

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Jindal finds winning tactic in heroic presidential nomination drive: challenge opponents to debate, do exorcism on Trump

Posted in Elections, Governor's Office, Health Care on September 22, 2015| 9 Comments »

Bobby Jindal, shut out of the big boy pants Republican stupid party debates, may have found just the ticket to catapult him past “none of the above” in the GOP presidential nomination mash-up: hold—or at least issue the challenge to hold—one-on-one debates with a pre-selected opponent.

It is the boldest of a series of stupid bold tactics employed recently by Jindal, who has languished somewhere around 238th among candidates and non-candidates from all recognized and unrecognized political parties.

It’s a lead pipe cinch to give him instant street creds in the bare knuckles food fight into which the Republican dialog has descended.

And as his ace in the hole, he also has reached out to the Islamic community for support by being the first—and only—candidate of any stripe to openly admit he would vote for a Muslim candidate for president….provided he or she is a Christian.

Here is what he actually said in response to the question posed to neurosurgeon Ben Carson on whether or not he would vote for a Muslim presidential candidate:

“If you can find me a Muslim candidate who is a Republican, who will fight hard to protect religious liberty, who will respect the Judeo-Christian heritage of America, who will be committed to destroying ISIS and radical Islam, who will condemn cultures that treat women as second class citizens and who will place their hand on the Bible and swear to uphold the Constitution, then yes, I will be happy to consider voting for him or her.” http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/bobby-jindal-vote-for-muslim_56002233e4b00310edf7c308

Cristian Farias, writing for The Huffington Post, wrote “It’s not clear exactly what the governor means by ‘respecting the Judeo-Christian heritage of America,’ especially since the framers of the Constitution specifically declined to establish a national religion. But between that and the Bible thing, Jindal’s ideal Muslim candidate kind of sounds like … a Christian, basically.”

Of course Jindal, always covering his bases, offered what he considered to be an alternative to finding a good Christian Muslim candidate. “If you can’t (find a candidate like that), I’ll settle for voting for a Christian Governor from Louisiana,” he said.

Next, according to information leaked to LouisianaVoice from his campaign headquarters in downtown Shongaloo, he will make the same offer to any potential candidate from the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender (LGBT) community….provided he or she subscribes to the one-man, one-woman marriage covenant—and so long as none attempt to apply for a marriage license in Rowan County, Kentucky.

There has been no word yet of whether he intends to extend a similar offer to the hordes of illegal immigrants invading the U.S. who refuse to assimilate and go to work.

But we digress. Back to the debates.

His debate ploy has already worked in thinning out the ranks of presidential wannabes.

It was on Aug. 22 that Jindal laid down the gauntlet in challenging Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker to appear with him on stage “anywhere, anytime” to debate the pair’s respective alternatives to the Affordable Care Act, aka ObamaCare.

And apparently Jindal’s latest ploy also serves to send out the message that old alliances mean nothing in the dog-eat-dog arena of presidential politics. You may remember that Jindal spent considerable time in 2011 and 2012 cavorting around Wisconsin in support of Walker in the latter’s successful efforts to fight a recall effort. http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/OTUS/declared-winner-wisconsin-recall-gov-scott-walker/story?id=16502469

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/the-scott-walker-hypothesis-faces-a-test-in-wisconsin/

http://wtvr.com/2012/06/06/walker-survives-recall-effort-in-wisconsin-cnn-projects/

“I have the backbone, the experience, and the bandwidth (bandwidth?) to get this job done,” Jindal said with all the confidence of a master debater. “I can’t speak for Scott (they’re on a first name basis, you know). Maybe he’s intimidated, maybe he’s not ready to debate, but we are.”

Apparently it was the backbone part (or perhaps that reference to the dreaded bandwidth) that intimidated Walker. Whatever, it appeared to work.

On Monday (September 21), as the summer of 2015 finally came to an official end, Walker dropped out of the Republican presidential sweepstakes, obviously choosing not to take on his one-time political ally in a mano a mano showdown. http://www.cnn.com/2015/09/21/politics/scott-walker-drops-out-2016-election/

One down.

Which raises the immediate question: can Hillary be far behind Walker?

Not content to thin out the Republican herd, Jindal on Monday saw an opportunity to destroy yet another opponent, Hillary Clinton, who just happened to be in Baton Rouge in a campaign stopover.

“Secretary Clinton’s first stop on her socialized medicine tour is in Louisiana, where Governor Bobby Jindal has rejected the expansion of Obamacare in the state because it would put more people on a poorly-run government healthcare system, take away freedom from people, and bust the budget,” trumpeted the Web page dedicated to Jindal’s election to the presidency. https://www.bobbyjindal.com/jindal-challenges-secretary-clinton-to-healthcare-debate/

The Web page, which just happens to have a convenient “donate” button, then went on to quote Bobby:

“I have a plan that repeals Obamacare and replaces it with something that preserves freedom, empowers patients, lowers costs and reduces the role of both the federal government and insurance company bureaucrats,” he said, being careful at the same time not to tip his hand as to just what his “plan” entails.

“Instead of battling through press releases though, I have an idea for Hillary Clinton. Let’s have a debate about healthcare. Instead of the carefully controlled campaign events that Secretary Clinton prefers,” said the pot to the kettle, “let’s give the American people a real live discussion.”

Anyone see a trend here?

Surely Hillary, seeing the handwriting on the wall, will wither under Jindal’s bandwidth and experience and in a few days will be announcing her withdrawal from the race and Jindal can then turn his attention to Dr. Ben Carson and challenge him to a debate on brain surgery.

After that the next step will be obvious: perform an exorcism on Donald Trump.

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Troop D personnel receive two directives informing them of active IA probe of irregularities reported by LouisianaVoice

Posted in Crime, Ethics, Fraud, State Police on September 21, 2015| 16 Comments »

Two separate directives, one from State Police Internal Affairs and the other from the Louisiana State Troopers Association (LSTA), have been sent to state troopers from State Police Troop D in Lake Charles relative to a multi-pronged investigation of reports of a series of irregularities in the troop.

A two-page memorandum from the Louisiana State Troopers Association (LSTA) was sent to Troop D state troopers in Lake Charles informing them that “eight or so” Troop D members have received letters indicating they are the targets of an Internal Affairs administrative investigation.

While the investigation was classified as administrative, it was made clear that the probe could become a criminal investigation.

The main thrust of the investigation appears to be related to time reported in driving to and from Baton Rouge to participate in firearms transition training. In that matter, some troopers reportedly charged more time than others for the same trip to qualify for firing of new weapons earlier this year. LouisianaVoice requested time sheets for those officers but state police attorneys denied our request because the matter was part of an official investigation—an investigation that was not initiated until we made our public records request.

Earlier, a single page communication from State Police Internal Affairs (IA) warning Troop D members to cooperate with the investigation either as witnesses or as targets.

LouisianaVoice was provided a copy of both letters, but is complying with requests that neither be reproduced here for fear that State Police investigators have some method of tracing the source of the leak because of special coloring or encoding on each copy sent out.

LouisianaVoice has learned that troopers in Troop D have been warned not to talk to anyone about the investigation, including LouisianaVoice. “They have put out a directive to intimidate the guys at Troop D so they won’t talk to you,” one source informed us on Saturday.

While neither memo mention LouisianaVoice by name, troopers were warned in the IA memorandum that all aspects of the probe are considered confidential and are to be discussed with no one.

The IA letter said, “As a Louisiana State Trooper, you are hereby advised of your rights related to an administrative investigation…

This administrative investigation is of potential violations of LSP and/or DPS policies and procedures including, but not limited to, irregularities regarding accrual of time, overtime, LACE details, escorts and other details, involving employees currently or formerly assigned to Troop D.

LACE, or Local Area Compensated Enforcement, is a program which is run by some district attorneys in the state to pay for traffic enforcement, including DWIs. District attorneys are willing to pay overtime to have state troopers monitor local traffic when there is insufficient local law enforcement. It became part of state law enforcement in the 1980s after state police suffered from a lack of state funding in an effort to put more troops on the roads when the state could not.

LACE was run sporadically in southwest Louisiana since its inception but has been a full time program only since 2008.

“…Your responsibility in this investigation is to cooperate fully with the investigation and to keep the substance of the investigation and the fact thereof confidential as outlined below.

  • Internal Affairs investigators or designated Administrative Investigators shall receive the full cooperation of any employee of the Department of Public Safety and Corrections, Public Safety Services, during the course of an administrative investigation. Employees shall obey any lawful order or directive given by the investigator during the investigation.
  • Ongoing administrative investigations are considered confidential and as such, officers shall not violate that confidentiality. Those in violation are subject to disciplinary action.
  • You are hereby ordered to refrain from destroying anything which might constitute evidence relevant to this investigation, including, but not limited to, department documents, electronic documents, electronic data, email communications, text message communications, communications on your MDT (mobile data terminals), radio logs, timesheets, and mobile video recordings.

The second, two-page communique from LSTA also said that “virtually other members of Troop D received letters notifying them that they are potential witnesses to one or more ongoing investigations.”

The LSTA memorandum was written in the first person and while the author is not identified, it appears to have originated from LSTA administrative offices.

Besides the time charged for firearms qualifying in Baton Rouge last spring, it specified six areas as possible subjects of investigation, including five previously cited by LouisianaVoice in its recent series of stories about Troop D. Those include:

  • Overtime/decline overtime;
  • Gift cards/ticket quotas;
  • Escort payments;
  • Payroll abuse;
  • Time off for DWI arrest;
  • LACE.

Of the six, only the LACE program was not reported on previously by LouisianaVoice, although allegations of irregularities in the program have recently come to our attention.

LouisianaVoice made public records requests for documents pertaining to overtime charged by certain troopers, excessive escort payments that were allegedly charged by a Troop D trooper, for radio logs and time sheets of yet another trooper, all of which were denied by LSP attorneys because the records were part of “ongoing investigations.”

And while no requests were made for public records involving gift cards, ticket quotas, or time off given troopers for DWI arrests, LouisianaVoice did publish a story about the practices in an earlier post. https://louisianavoice.com/2015/09/11/gift-cards-for-tickets-payroll-chicanery-quotas-short-shifts-the-norm-in-troop-d-troopers-express-dismay-at-problems/

Among other things, the LSTA memorandum said:

  • Troopers have a right to counsel and a right to consult with their LSTA representative provided the representative is not involved in the same investigation;
  • Eight or so Troop D members have received Target Letters indicating they are the subject of an investigation;
  • Virtually all members of Troop D have received letters notifying them that they are potential witnesses to one or more ongoing investigations;
  • Other troopers could become targets as the various investigations progress;
  • The stated purposed of the investigation relates to the “accrual and/or reporting” of time concerning the 2015 firearm transition training;
  • Other potential areas of investigation are ongoing, although few specifics were provided to LSTA;
  • All members of Troop D are required to cooperate fully in all investigations;
  • Some aspects of the ongoing investigations could have criminal ramifications but so far, the investigation is only an “administrative investigation.”
  • The confidentiality warning troopers received separately does not include troopers’ conferring with legal counsel;
  • Those cited as the subject of an IA interrogation and those who may be witnesses in an IA interview were cautioned to tell the truth;
  • Anyone interviewed is entitled to a copy of the interview upon request;
  • Likewise, those who are targets of the investigation are entitled to a copy of any written complaint leading to an interrogation upon request;
  • Anyone interviewed or interrogated is obligated to answer question but not obligated to engage in lengthy discussions, i.e. “tell us what you know. IA can ask a question. You should answer the question as directly and concisely as possible (and) then wait for the next question. Do not engage in a friendly conversation.”
  • Interview subjects were instructed to answer “I don’t know” to questions they do not know the answer to. “Do not speculate. Do not estimate. Do not just talk—answer the question directly and shut up while waiting for the next question.”
  • Interview subjects were told the most important thing they can do “is listen to the question carefully, answer the question as directly and concisely as possible and wait for the next question.”
  • Finally, they were told, “Remember, you have a right to counsel and a representative if you feel it necessary.”

The LSTA memorandum’s author said, “If I have learned anything over the last 7-8 years under the Edmonson administration, it is that the Colonel reacts badly if he believes a trooper lies or tries to obstruct an investigation.”

LouisianaVoice currently has additional public records requests pending that involve state troopers in other parts of the state.

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