Louisiana Voice

So, why do we need to have some standard of ethics, a bar below which no justice should ever stoop (or slither)?

I mean, why would anyone ever question the ethics of Justices Clarence Thomas or Samuel Alito? Free trips to exotic vacation destinations and public displays of controversial political leanings shouldn’t call their impartiality, their fairness, their objectivity into question, right?

Well, at least Louisiana’s junior U.S. senator agrees.

Yep, Mr. Self-Righteous his own self, John Neely Kennedy, joined other Sens. Wishy-washy Lendsey Graham (R-S.C.). Mike Lee (R-Utah) and others of the family values and apple pie party to BLOCK such tomfoolery, calling it “unconstitutional overreach.”

Funny, but I was taught in high school civics class that the judiciary, legislative and executive branches of government were to serve as “checks and balances” on each other. Guess my teachers back then misunderstood what our government was all about. Geez, you’d think they’d know better.

Graham, ever the statesman and diplomat, said the proposal by Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), said the bill would “undermine the court’s ability to operate effectively.”

I see. To require the justices to adhere to some standard of conduct that might place the highest court in the land above reproach, could conceivably hamstring the court in carrying out its duties of administering justice fairly and equitably for every single American – white, black, brown, red, yellow, gay, straight, male, female, rich or poor. Well, we just can’t have that now, can we?

Durbin was a tad more on the blunt side when he said, “The highest court in the land cannot and should not have the lowest ethical standards.”

The Dingler Wild Hog Roundup in Bienville Parish has higher ethical standards than the U.S. Supreme Court (that’s a story to be addressed in a later post).

But Kennedy had the most unique, most original (I suppose), most creative reasoning for objecting to Durbin’s proposal: “I do not think this bill is about ethics,” he sniffed. “This bill is about abortion.”

Huh? Double huh?

What in the name of green persimmons is Foghorn Leghorn talking about? (if you watch video of Leghorn pontificating, you’ll get the green persimmon reference; he looks as though he just ate one.).

Surely, Kennedy, Graham, et al, weren’t opposed to the implementation of ethics for the nine justices simply because the bill was proposed by a (gasp) Democrat! Surely not, for these honorable public servants would never place partisan politics above doing what’s best for the country.

Never mind that. Let’s take a look at a video from Wednesday’s subcommittee hearing on the freedom to travel for abortion care. Kennedy, who has a penchant for posing decidedly loaded questions, got his COME-UPPANCE from Jocelyn Frye of the National Partnership for Women and Families, who suggested that Mr. “I’d rather drink weed killer” made the critical mistake of asking a question without being fulling informed of the answer.

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That collection of clowns that descends upon Baton Rouge each Spring, along with Jeff Landry, already have egg on their collective faces – or at least those responsible for the passage of Senate Bill 276 do.

Here’s why.

On May 21, the HOUSE, by a vote of 65-31 (with nine not voting), gave its final approval to the BILL which classified mifepristone and misoprostol as controlled dangerous substances over the objections of more than 200 doctors who signed a letter to legislators warning that the proposed law could pose as a “barrier” to treatment of patients. The SENATE voted two days later 29-7 in favor with two members not voting. Landry, in his haste make sure that Louisiana would be the first to enact such a statute, SIGNED it into law the very next day, on May 24.

The bill was the brainchild of State Sen. Thomas Pressly (R-Shreveport).

Perhaps it should have been aborted before its ignoble birth.

Because, on Thursday (June 13), exactly three short weeks after Senate passage, BAM! The U.S. Supreme Court, in a rare show of unanimity, RULED the opponents of abortion lacked the legal right to sue over the federal Food and Drug Administration’s approval of mifepristone.

Nothing like trying to jump out in front of the parade only to learn it took a left turn about three blocks back.

It’s just one more example of how the Louisiana Legislature – and Jeff Landry – are so hell-bent on appeasing the far-right evangelicals that they’ll approve any kneejerk legislation if they think it will garner them votes. Congress long sense abandoned any pretense at trying to decide what was best for the country in favor of what is best for the individual parties and for lawmakers’ reelection. When a member of Congress openly declares that it is the intent to do nothing that would aid a sitting President, it’s only too obvious that our elected officials in Washington have lost their moral compass – if, indeed, they ever possessed one.

Now, we know in all certainty that that mentality has worked its way down to Baton Rouge and other statehouses.

The legislature’s silly eagerness to pass SB 276 – and Landry’s equally silly eagerness to sign it into law – evokes memories of more than 60 years ago when Leander Perez insisted on resisting the implementation of civil rights in Louisiana. Gov. Earl Long, not long before his celebrated mental breakdown but still in full possession of his biting wit, shouted at Perez from the halls of the legislature, “Whatcha gonna do now, Leander? The feds have the A-bomb!”

Well, to the Louisiana Legislature and Landry, I would say, “Whatcha gonna do now? The most conservative Supreme Court in this country’s history has spoken!”

The answer, I suppose, should be fairly obvious. Landry will direct his sock puppet attorney general, Liz Murrill, to hire some white-shoe law firm at something between $500 and $1,000 an hour to file meaningless litigation to preserve the state’s sacred laws.

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Well, that certainly didn’t take long.

Reporter Melinda Deslatte tells us that Jeff Landry, just six months into his 18 percent “mandate,” has asked the Louisiana Board of Regents to develop Scenarios for what cuts of $200 million to $250 million would do to higher education in case a .45 percent (that’s a little less than one-half of one percent, for the mathematically-challenged) state sales tax expires in June 2025 with no replacement revenue.

No replacement revenue?

How about not blowing $1,000 per hour to defend against an INVESTIGATION into Louisiana State Police by the U.S. Department of Justice when the Louisiana Attorney General’s office, Landry’s old job now held by his sock puppet Liz Murrill, should be assisting the probe? (by the way, it required two months and a lawsuit for The Lens, a New Orleans publication, to obtain a copy of that $1,000-an-hour contract which, I suppose, might be one of the reasons Landry wants to seal off public records from…the public.)

Of course, Landry has no problem pissing away a few million more for the PR purpose of sending Louisiana National Guard units to the TEXAS BORDER with Mexico. That’s for no reason other than to garner face time on television for Landry – at considerable cost to Louisiana taxpayers.

He’s also the single moving force behind SENATE BILL494 by Sen. Beth Mizell (R-Franklinton) which strips local governments of the authority to penalize companies of certain tax exemptions for not living up to deadlines or promised employment figures. That’s potentially going to cost the people of Louisiana untold millions of dollars. Not corporations, mind you, but every day Louisiana taxpayers who get in their pickup trucks and cars every morning, fight traffic congestion just so they can work to support CEOs who make on average 245-times their salaries. Oh, and just to make certain there are no hitches in catering to LABI, he’s also removed representation on the Louisiana Economic Development (LED) agency’s board of directors. Landry wasted no time, signing the bill into law on Tuesday of this week.

Along with all that, we now learn that the administration intends to pay the state’s 64 sheriffs to house juveniles caught up in the legal system. I know, juvenile crime is a problem and the state is woefully short on facilities to house them….but sheriffs? That’s a horrible idea of epic proportions.

Go back and read a few chapters of my book Louisiana’s Rogue Sheriffs: A Culture of Corruption to see what a mess jails operated under the guiding hands of sheriffs can be. (You can order a copy of the book by clicking on the yellow DONATE button to the left of this column and paying $30 by credit card. Except it’s not a donation, but a purchase).

If you don’t want to order the book, go to HERE to read about an example of just one such jail.

Yet, I can fully understand Landry’s thinking here. It’s a payoff, plain and simple, to the Louisiana Sheriffs’ Association for the organization’s ENDORSEMENT during last year’s gubernatorial election. And they’re acting like quid quo pro was something new up in Washington. How quaint.

The legislature, at Landry’s bidding voted to approve Senate Bill 313, which will funnel $260 million to $520 million (depending upon who’s figures you use: Landry’s – and you know politicians are consistently off by light years when it comes to spending your money – or the Public Affairs Research Council’s) for Landry’s much ballyhooed education savings account (ESA) through the state’s Student Scholarships for Educational Excellence Program. Designed to help parents pay tuition for private schools. Of course, once they reach college, they’ll be on their own.

And finally, there’s the one issue that no governor, Democrat or Republican, seems willing to fight for. Louisiana continues to lag near the bottom in teacher pay. You may or may not have kids in school but if you can read this, you went to school at some point in your life and because of a teacher – not a politician, a preacher or a rock or sports star – you have become a functional human being in society (or at least had the opportunity to do so).

Some of us were less than ideal students but because some teacher took an interest and helped to steer you in the proper direction, we emerged better persons. Yet, we continue to refuse to pay teachers a competitive salary. In 2021, we ranked 46^th in the nation in TEACHER PAY. Two years later, we still ranked 46^th. Arkansas is a notch ahead of Louisiana at 45^th. Who’s below us? Well, there’s Missouri (47^th), Florida (48^th), South Dakota (49^th), West Virginia (50^th) and Mississippi (51^st).

The median salary for Louisiana teachers (about $56,250 is well shy of the $69,500 national median. The bottom ten states in teacher pay all have Republican governors.

So, using the Bobby Jindal playbook, it looks early on as if Landry is going to give all the tax breaks to his corporate friends, spend lavishly on pet projects, cut higher education (forcing even higher tuitions onto students to make up for shortfalls), and continue to starve public school teachers.

This is what Jindal 2.0 is going to look like, folks, so get ready to bend over.

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If I may impose on my readers to allow me to move away from politics for just a bit, I’d like to invoke personal privilege to write something that I should’ve written a long time ago if for no other reason than to illustrate that there are still some wonderful people who walk among us. I hope you will indulge me as I pay a long overdue tribute to a great person and a wonderful friend. Plus, it’s important to let friends know how you feel about them.

I owned and coached an adult sandlot baseball team for about ten years. Well, I didn’t really coach because the players knew a lot more about baseball than I did. Basically, I made out the lineup and just let ‘em play.

When I reluctantly decided to finally give it up, I went to our last meeting of league coaches. I brought along with me the owner and coach of Ruston’s black baseball team, the Black Sox, comprised largely of Grambling University players. The purpose of having him attend as my guest was twofold: to submit my resignation and withdrawal from the league and to sponsor the Black Sox for membership. My motion to accept them met with crickets. My motion died a quiet death for lack of a second. But I consider those ten years to be among the richest of my life because of the friendships made and kept.

There were many: Dean Dick, Renny Howard, Glen Trammell, Randall Fallin, Gene Smith, Reg Cassibry, the three Barham brothers, Curt, Cecil and Steve, Woody Cooper, Gene Colvin, Gary Crawford, Bill Duncan and Wayne Baxter, to name only a few who wore the uniform of the Ruston Ramblers. There were others but those were the ones who made up the core, those who played for me the longest.

But one person stands out in terms of being one of the finest human beings I’ve ever had the privilege of knowing. Jack Thigpen, who now lives with wife Ann in Monroe, wasn’t a heavy hitter and he didn’t have the strongest arm but he was a smooth infielder, playing both second and shortstop, depending on who was available. He was one of several of the Ramblers who played for Louisiana Tech.

I remember so clearly the exhibition game we played against the Black Sox. They had a fireballer for a pitcher who threw what only sounded like strikes to us (I say “us” in the collective sense; certainly not as a player. I played only if we were shorthanded. I do still hold the league record of 17 consecutive strikeouts – as a hitter). But in that game, Jack stroked two opposite-field triples and drove all three of our runs and we somehow won, 3-2.

Jack also pulled off the most memorable play of my entire ten years “coaching” the team. I don’t even remember who we were playing but I know it was a tight game and the other team had runners on first and second with no outs. On the pitch, both runners broke on what I can only surmise was a double steal. With a left-handed hitter batting, Jack, playing short, came over to cover second in case the catcher tried to throw out the runner coming from first to second.

As he approached second, the batter, perhaps not seeing the steal sign didn’t take the pitch but instead, hit a screaming line drive right up the middle and over second base. Jack instinctively jumped up, caught the liner and landed on the bag. The startled runner from first, apparently unaware that the ball had been hit, came sliding into second and Jack reached down and tagged him and rolled the ball toward the pitcher’s mound and started running off the field.

And alert as always, I had not realized the runner going from second to third had been doubled off when Jack landed on second so I started screaming, “Jack! Jack! What’re you doing?”

Never missing a beat, he nonchalantly replied, “I don’t know what everybody else is doing, but I’m coming to bat. That’s three out.” He had pulled off an unassisted triple play, one of the rarest plays in baseball.

He would later coach his alma mater, the Ruston High School Bearcats to a state championship in basketball. In doing so, he would join the late Chick Childress as the only RHS alumni to win state titles as a player and later as a coach at the same school.

There was another memorable play that did not involve Jack but I’d like to share it. We were in the field and the other team was at bat. They had one particularly large and ill-tempered player who was at bat. They had runners on second and third with two out. This was his opportunity to tighten the game if he could get a hit or even better, take the pitcher, Cassibry, deep. Instead, he popped the ball straight up and as our second baseman camped under the ball, the batter (did I mention he was ill-tempered?) cursed and hurled the bat over his team’s dugout – and through the windshield of his own car. No one on either team dared to laugh.

Jack wasn’t – and isn’t – one to draw attention to himself. He’s just not one to seek the spotlight. I attended the wedding when he and Ann were married back somewhere around 1968 or 1969. I forget the precise year but one thing I’ll never forget. Sitting behind Betty and me at the wedding were Tech football players Larry Brewer and Terry Bradshaw (yes, that Terry Bradshaw). Midway through the ceremony I overheard Terry turn to Larry and ask, “Who did you say was getting married here?”

But his hits against the Black Sox and his unaided triple play and his state championships are not what Jack Thigpen was about.

How many of us can say that we know someone who has never been heard to say a negative word about anyone – ever?

That’s Jack Thigpen. In all the years I have known him – and that’s for more than 60 years, I have never once heard him utter a disparaging remark about anyone. That’s the greatest attribute anyone could ever possess. If you can’t say anything good, don’t say anything at all is much more than an empty slogan to Jack. He’s the consummate diplomat. And get this: he comes by it honestly. He’s like his dad that way. The two men were cast from the same mold.

The memories of having friends like Jack and his father have, in the words of Bob Seger, “made me a wealthy soul.”

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HB 173 by State Rep. Bryan Fontenot (R-Thibodaux) is now Act 259 after being signed into law by Jeff Landry and will take effect on Aug. 1.

That’s the bill that makes it a MISDEMEANOR to approach with 25 feet of a law enforcement officer who is “engaged in his law enforcement duties,” subject to fines of up to $500 or 60 days in the slammer – or both. Unfortunately, it’s just another knee-jerk reaction by the law and order party that, conversely, wants to defund law enforcement over Donald Trump’s myriad legal problems.

The vote was 27-12 in favor in the SENATE and 81-20 with four absentees in the HOUSE.

So, why would anyone in either chamber oppose the bill? For one, opponents say it could hamper one’s ability to take video of abuses, a tactic that has become critical in holding police accountable.

Fontenot countered by saying that the 25-foot buffer would inhibit anyone from spitting “in my face when I’m making an arrest.” (I wasn’t aware that in addition to being CEO of a land development company, Fontenot was also a police officer. (he’s not that was just me being snarky).

Okay, I’m willing to concede that officers need elbow room to swing their clubs and to properly aim their kicks at prone, handcuffed perps, but the vagueness of the law raises a couple of overriding questions:

Who determines if the 25-foot buffer has been violated and how is the buffer accurately measured in the heat of action?

In addition to Glock firearms, pepper spray, a taser, a radio, surgical gloves, a baton, a flashlight, body camera and handcuffs, are officers now going to be required to carry a measuring tape on their person at all time so as to take measurements of how far away spectators are?

Here’s another interesting question: if someone is outside the 25-foot boundary, say 26 or 27 feet away, but is arrested for encroaching on the buffer and contests the officer’s contention, ask yourself – and answer honestly – who do you think the judge will believe?

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