Louisiana Voice

In the post immediately beneath this one, you can see how Donald John Trump duped his loyal followers into giving not a single campaign contribution, but multiple “donations,” all without their notice.

He literally bled dry the bank accounts of people who believed in him. It was a deliberate ploy to extract more money from his supporters than they intended to give. He even inserted a “money bomb” clause in his solicitations that, unbeknownst to his supporters, not only had them giving six, seven or eight times, but actually doubled their “donations,” all without their knowledge or consent.

It was the classic shell game by the classic con man.

One thing we won’t do here at LouisianaVoice: we won’t extract contributions from you without your full knowledge and consent and we will NEVER slip in a provision that would double what you intended to give.

What we do twice a year, in April and September, is ask humbly and appreciatively that you contribute what you honestly feel you can afford – and not a cent more. And if you feel you can’t afford to give anything, that’s o.k., too. You can still read LouisianaVoice without a subscription and without our loading the site down with a bunch of advertisements (other than what the platform host inserts without my knowledge or consent).

If you can, please click on the yellow DONATE button to the right of this post. It will take you to my PayPal site where you can give by credit card. You DO NOT have to have a PayPal account to accomplish this. If you’d rather, you can mail a check to LouisianaVoice, P.O. Box 922, Denham Springs, Louisiana 70727.

You will NOT be double- or triple-billed. But those who give $125 or more will received a signed copy of one of my two newest books: Louisiana’s Rogue Sheriffs: A Culture of Corruption, or Bordello on the Bayou, a novel loosely based on the true story of the Baton Rouge madam. Be sure to specify your preference and to provide your mailing address.

What we WILL do, however, is continue to bring you stories that no one else will do – like the manner in which LSU tries to desperately protect its institutional reputation over the wellbeing of female students who are victimized by coaches and athletes, over the interests of outspoken but honest faculty members who try to call attention to wrongs like faulty dental implants and faulty Corps of Engineer pilings.

We will call out legislators who sit out virtually an entire legislative session but still collect their $161 per diem payments for all of those days they were no-shows.

We will identify by names the sheriffs and state troopers who are doing a disservice to their brothers in law enforcement by selling drugs, having sexual affairs while on duty, abusing prisoners and not adhering to the same standards they demand of the rest of us.

Thank you for following LouisianaVoice in this our 10th birthday month!

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When it comes to compiling a laundry list of why I detest Donald Trump, there are so many places to start:

• Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi was all about investigating the fraudulent Trump University – until she got the bright idea of soliciting a campaign contribution from the Former Guy himself. He ponied up a $25,000 contribution and suddenly the investigation was dropped.
• Former U.S. Attorney for Southern Florida let Jeffrey Epstein off on a secret work-release sentence for sex crimes against underage girls was later appointed by Trump as U.S. Labor Secretary, proving once and for all, that birds of a feather…
• During the 2016 presidential campaign, Trump ridiculed Gold Star parents, Mr. and Mrs. Khizr Khan and he also mocked disabled news reporter Serge Kovaleski during the campaign – both reprehensible acts in every sense of the word.

I could go on…and on…and on, but why bother? Everything I could say about him has already been said and many probably would rather just move on. His claims of having the election stolen were made with zero proof – as evidenced by about 50 court challenges he lost.

But just when you think there can’t be any more this moron can do to humiliate himself, there is.

The New York Times on Saturday had a story that should send the Tangerine Toddler straight to federal prison.

(I know there are millions of his followers who will refuse to believe the story, even in the face of overwhelming evidence of its validity. It reminds me of a sermon I heard Easter Sunday in which my pastor noted that atheists would deny the Resurrection even in the face of what he considered conclusive evidence. Even as he said that, I could not help thinking of the dedicated Trumpsters out there who will go to their graves believing anything the Former Guy says is gospel of an equivalent truth.)

But back to our story. You may remember my writing about all the solicitations I was receiving from Trump and the Repugnantcan Party for weeks on end after the election had shown a convincing 7-million vote win for Joe Biden. It wasn’t just a single email per day, it was several – from Trump, the Repugnantcan Party and from each of Trump’s adult children.

It was a scam. First of all, Trump tried to convince us it was for his legal fight to overturn the election results when in fact, it was money for any damned purpose he wanted. That’s right. Walking around money. And the scam was that much of those post-election contributions were used not for a legal defense, but to repay more than $64 million in fraudulent pre-election “contributions.”

But most egregious of all, it turns out that the way the solicitations were set up, you didn’t give just a single contribution the way Stacy Blatt, dying of cancer in hospice care, thought. No, it was multiple contributions, unbeknownst to the donors. In Blatt’s case, he gave $500 that he probably couldn’t afford, given his monthly income of just $1,000. But as soon as he clicked that button to give his $500, a second $500 “contribution” disappeared from his bank account the very next day into the Trump fund. Then another $500 the next week and again every week after than through mid-October until his bank account had been emptied, causing his utility and rent payment checks to bounce.

In all, Trump robbed a dying man of $3,000.

It was the same story for Victor Amelino, 78, of California, who made a $990 on donation to Trump in September via WinRed, the for-profit company that processed Trump contributions. They came back seven more times, relieving Amelino of nearly $8,000.

It gets worse.

The Trump campaign, not satisfied with such paltry sums, later inserted a little thing called a “money bomb” that doubled a donor’s contribution – all without the donor’s knowledge.

After the election, Trump launched that “legal defense” fund that, in reality, was used to repay the money taken earlier by deception.

Where I come from, they call that a Ponzi scheme and they’re illegal. Just ask Bernie Madoff.

The New York Times is by subscription only so many of you cannot read the story online. But for those of you with subscriptions, you can read the entire story HERE.

For all of Trump’s cheating, lying, manipulation, chiseling, scheming and thievery, this is the very worst.

If there is any scintilla of justice remaining on this planet, he should spend the rest of his life in prison.

There is no low to which he is unwilling to stoop. And for the John Kennedys, Steve Scalises and Garret Graves who continue to spew their B.S. about a “stolen election,” you’re no better than your mentor.

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Our twice annual fundraiser at LouisianaVoice is now underway. Unlike some online news services, we don’t beg for money year-round. Just during April and September. We figure that’s about all you can stand of the begging for your hard-earned money.

But the truth is, we don’t allow advertisements (except those the platform hosts sneaks in without our permission; we have no control over those and we don’t get a cent from them) and we don’t have a paywall because we want as many people as possible to have access to the stories and perspectives we offer.

But there are costs and we do come to you twice a year to asked for your support. We don’t demand that you give what you can’t afford like some shameless televangelist. If you cannot afford to help, please don’t. We understand. But if you can, anything you can contribute will be appreciated.

Those giving $125 or more will get a signed copy one my newest books: Louisiana’s Rogue Sheriffs: A Culture of Corruption, or Bordello on the Bayou, based on the true story of the Baton Rouge Madam of a few years back. Please include your mailing address and your book preference when participating.

Just click on the yellow DONATE button to the right of this column to pay by credit card. You don’t have to have a PayPal account of your own to access my account for payment. Or, if you prefer, you can sent a check to: LouisianaVoice, P.O. Box 922, Denham Springs, Louisiana 70727.

As always, thank you for your continued support of LouisianaVoice for these past 10 years.

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The LSU administration, responding in typically timely fashion, is tackling the burgeoning on-campus sexual harassment scandal head-on by forming a special blue-ribbon committee to address the problem, according to an announcement by the school’s Board of Supervisors.

A committee will be appointed to conduct a no-holds-barred investigation, according to the board’s legal counsel, I. Ken Fleecem-Moore, whose law firm, Cheatham Tillet Hertz, was retained by the board under a $2 million contract (plus expenses) to be paid by the Tiger Athletic Foundation, which also pays more than 70 percent of Ed Orgeron’s $7 million per year compensation package.

“We will draw on well-established expertise from the area of sexual harassment in forming the committee,” Fleecem-Moore said. “At LSU, we take such charges seriously and we will do everything possible to see that no one may harass any of our students and be reported for it ever again,” he said, as he stifled a giggle at the pronunciation of the word harass. He said anyone found guilty of reporting harassment in the future “will be exiled to Uranus,” again breaking into laughter.

“We consider this a serious issue,” he said, regaining his composure. The Committee to Halt Aggressive Retribution by Avaricious, Selfish Students (HARASS), “will conduct private disciplinary hearings with female students who have complained of being on-campus victims of sexual attacks and will offer them anger management counseling in lieu of their filing all these complaints and lawsuits,” he said.

“Foremost among our objectives,” Fleecem-Moore said, “is seeing to it that former Gov. Bobby Jindal and the current coaching staff are shielded from exposure in this unfortunate flurry of bad PR incidents. Gov. Jindal is a leading proponent of family values in the Republican Party and linking him to in any way to these allegations, including the remote possibility of his having knowledge of the so-called problem while he was governor, could be devastating to his political career, such as it is.

“The fact that as governor he appointed the LSU Board of Supervisors does not necessarily translate to placing at his feet any responsibility in the board’s decision to veto the firing of the previous coach despite the board’s – and possibly the governor’s – awareness of the charges. And I don’t have to explain to you what a national championship coaching staff, both then and now, means to this university or how critical it is that former board members refrain from interjecting their personal conspiracy theories about who knew what when into this ongoing investigation. Speculation on such matters is counterproductive at best and cheap politics at worst.”

In the spirit of full transparency, he passed out copies of a letter which he said proves conclusively that there was never any attempt to cover up problems at LSU:

“No collusion, no quid pro quo,” he repeated over and over as he passed out the document.

The committee will be chaired by former LSU President F. KING ALEXADER, who has just resigned as president of Oregon State University so he could devote full-time to this project. Other members will be former head football coach LES MILES and former standout football players CECIL COLLINS, DRAKE DAVIS and DERRIUS GUICE.

“F. King, that name’s a hoot,” said Fleecem-Moore, “ –  And Oregon State. F-King, Organ, get it? Now, that’s funny.”

Special advisers to the committee will be former president DONALD TRUMP, New York Gov. ANDREW CUOMO, GHISLAINE MAXWELL, BILL COSBY, HARVEY WEINSTEIN, former U.S. Rep. ANTHONY WEINER and BILL O’REILLY. “That name Weiner always cracks me up,” Fleecem said, again laughing.

PAT MAGEE, formerly of the Louisiana Attorney General’s office, STEPHEN RUSSO, executive counsel for the Louisiana Department of Hospitals, and LDH attorney supervisor WELDON HILL, will serve as special co-legal counsels to the committee.

“As you can see from the diverse makeup of the committee and its advisers, we are attempting to bring together a wide range of viewpoints to address the growing problem of accusations against these individuals who represent LSU so well on the playing field,” Fleecem said. “Our objective, of course, will be to determine why these women are so bent on wrecking the careers and reputations of these fine young men just because they have normal, strong desires and needs.”

F. King Alexander, sometimes referred to as F—king President, said he was deeply concerned about the accusations. “It’s a good thing these charges weren’t brought up during the 2019 national championship year,” he said. “That would have been devastating to fundraising activities and to recruiting. There has to be a balance in our concerns here.”

Fleecem said the committee, reinforced by the best legal minds available in this particular field of law, would make “every effort” to go through the motions of conducting a serious investigation and that it would issue the standard whitewash, er, that is, white paper report after emotions have had time to cool down. “Hopefully, we can get this put behind us in time for the Tigers’ spring football game or, at the latest, by the opening of fall practice,” he said.

“The fraternity rush parties and binge-drinking bashes will be cranking up right after that. We have to get back to normal at LSU, ” he said.

“We’re convinced that LSU can maintain its reputation of being able to quietly smooth this crisis over and make it go away just as it did with the Ivor van Heerden and Steven Hatfill matters – not to mention the Drs. Roxanne Townsend and Fred Cerise…or the Raymond Lamonica…or the Teresa Buchanan firings or that unfortunate matter of those faulty TMJ implants that cost the LSU Dental School millions to settle,” Fleecem-Moore said. “All those were simply unfortunate errors in judgment that, in hindsight, could have been handled differently by those individuals.”

“We’re certain that by bringing these emerging developments under control quickly, quietly and without having to sacrifice a single athletic scholarship, we can demonstrate the kind of straightforward thinking that makes LSU the great flagship football university it is and an institution Louisiana can be proud of,” he said, adding for emphasis, the standard Ed Orgeron guttural, “Go Tigers!”

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