Louisiana Voice

LouisianaVoice is proud to announced that we have been chosen to reveal early entries for possible designs for the proposed “Trump Class” battleships being proposed by the administration. To date, four basic designs have been approved for consideration.

The Crown Jewel Gold Standard, with precious jewels inlaid on a basic golden deck and hull:

The classic Golden Imperial Eagle, set off by the unmistakable Red Square oniontop cabin:

The understated Milania Rules beauty of white pearls and gold trim:

And the early favorite:

What’s with these Buford T. Justice-wannabe redneck sheriffs and their ignorance/disregard of the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution?

What do they think gives them the authority to arbitrarily decide—and enforce—some obscure (actually, non-existent) law that makes it a criminal offense to exercise our freedom of speech laid out in the Bill of Rights very First Amendment?

Way back in August 2016, before the election of Ass-clown Trump, Terrebonne Parish Sheriff Jerry Larpenter had a local man arrested for daring criticize the sheriff on the man’s web blog.

Not only was he arrested, but the sheriff’s department, armed with a warrant, DISPATCHED SIX ARMED DEPUTIES TO THE BLOGGER’S HOME where he was arrested on the basis of Louisiana’s criminal defamation statute. Deputies seized two of his laptops in the process.

(The full story of this episode is covered in my book, Louisiana’s Rogue Sheriffs: A Culture of Corruption, available for $30 by contacting me at louisianavoice@outlook.com)

Four years later, St. Tammany Parish Sheriff Randy Smith did the same thing when another local man was critical of the lack of progress in the investigation of the murder of a St. Tammany Parish woman, Nanette Krentel, a murder, by the way, that still has not been solved.

The problem in both the Larpenter and Smith actions was the law on which they based their arrests had been declared unconstitutional in 1981, nearly four decades earlier. In Larpenter’s case, it cost the sheriff’s office about $250,000 in a court judgment and should have caused embarrassment to Judge Randal Bethancourt who had issued the warrant.

In Smith’s case, Assistant District Attorney Collin Sims ADVISED THE SHERIFF that the arrest of Jerry Rogers was unconstitutional. Smith, though, ignored the advice and had Rogers arrested, handcuffed and booked into parish prison where he was strip-searched, calling to mind Forrest Gump’s proclamation “Stupid is as stupid does” and handing Rogers a slam-dunk lawsuit in the process.

Fast forward to today and head up to Perry County, Tennessee, where Sheriff Nick Weems apparently thinks he is heir-apparent to another Buford (Pusser, in this case). His problem is, however, he picked on the wrong guy: a retired cop.

Larry Bushart, who spent more than three decades in law enforcement, was arrested in September on a charge of threatening mass violence at a school and was held for 37 days because he was unable to post $2 million bond. Only widespread media attention and public backlash got the charges dropped.

His specific offense? He re-posted a meme that featured a photo of Yam Tits Trump reacting to a school shooting at Perry High School in Iowa and Trump’s quote “We have to get over it.” Alongside that comment, Bushart posted, “This seems relevant today.”

NOT SO, SAID HIGH SHERIFF WEEMS who, confusing his geography, somehow managed to take the reference to the Perry, Iowa, shooting as a threat to Perry County, Tennessee High School and claiming that Bushart had thrown the Perry County residents into a panic.

Local police paid Bushart a visit at his home around 8 p.m. on September 21 to warn him about the post “insinuating violence.”

Bushart told sympathetic officers that he was not going to take his post down and officers left.

About three hours later, they returned, this time with an arrest warrant even as an officer acknowledged he’d done nothing illegal.

Weems said the arrest was justified because Bushart’s post caused “mass hysteria” in the community, though his office still has not responded to public records requests for evidence of such hysteria.

As a result of the sheriff’s b.s., Bushart says he lost his job, missed his wedding anniversary and the birth of a grandchild during the 37 days he spent behind bars.

Times like this I’d love to be a lawyer—specifically Bushart’s lawyer.

Folks, this is what we are beginning to encounter more and more frequently. From capitulation to Trump by major news networks, control of licensing, to approval of mergers and acquisitions, this administration is already flexing its muscle to get its way. There is no better illustration of this than Sunday’s spiking of a 60 MINUTES SEGMENT by Bari Weiss, the head of CBS News.

I mean, who needs Faux News now that Trump has The Washington Post, CBS and ABC eating out of his hand?

Now, if we wish to play by the rules of Sheriff Weems, then we are forbidden from saying anything negative about the dead lest we set off a public panic. Accordingly, Trump now must have his fat ass thrown into jail under a multi-billion-dollar bail (mere millions would hardly be a deterrent for him, given how much money he’s grifted in his one year back in the Oval Office) for disparaging the name of Rob Reiner.

Let’s keep the playing field level.

I’ll be the first to admit that I know precious little of the details of the alleged BID-RIGGING INDICTMENTS of two Baton Rouge officials and an Arizona company’s executive.

But I am going to stick my neck out and suggest that when the dust has settled, there will be no convictions or plea bargains in this little matter.

Why do I feel this way? Simple.

Attorney General Liz Murrill is the one bring the charges and if you remember, she once worked for one Bobby Jindal when Jindal attempted—and failed—to similarly prosecute then-commissioner of the Louisiana Office and Tobacco Control (ATC).

That was way back in 2013 when I PREDICTED that Jindal was attempting to frame Painter as a way of reprisals against Painter for not bending the rules of his agency to conform to the wishes of the governor and one of his major contributors, New Orleans Saints owner the late Tom Benson (gee, does that tactic sound familiar today).

Turns out I was correct. Not only was Painter subsequently FOUND NOT GUILTY on all counts, but the state had to pony up a couple hundred thousand dollars to pay his legal fees for the wrongful prosecution.

The Jindal administration not only blew that case, but the state completely mishandled another case involving a state contractor who won a $20 MILLION LAWSUIT against the state over attempted shakedowns by state employees only to have it overturned by a questionable ruling by an appeals court that would later come under a serious ethical cloud.

As I pointed out above, Murrill worked in the Jindal governor’s office before moving over to the attorney general’s office and eventually getting herself elected to succeed Jeff Landry as attorney general. It now seems that she is taking dead aim to be Landry’s successor a second time when his time is up as governor.

Look for history to repeat itself in the current legal soap opera. She’s even admitted she went after one of the local individuals only as a means of getting to Sustainability Partners’ Jason Hewitt. First of all, a good prosecutor should never admit such strategy openly. Second, it illustrates a weak case against the locals and a waste of state resources. Thirdly, and most important, if a prosecutor goes after a minor figure, aka a small fish, and if there is actually evidence of wrongdoing, that’s one thing. But if you, as a prosecutor, are simply grabbing headlines without tangible evidence, you’re just another political hack who doesn’t care who you hurt so long as it advances your career.

Time will determine which Murrill is.

One thing you have to say about Louisiana’s two US senators is that they are near perfect models of consistency.

In fact, when it comes to voting to confirm the Mango Mussolini’s 16 cabinet nominees, Bill Cassidy and John N. Kennedy each racked up perfect scores of voting “yea” on each one.

On 22 additional non-cabinet posts, Kennedy kept his string intact by voting “yea” on each of those. Cassidy also was perfect but for two occasions when he cast a “not voting” each time—for Navy Secretary John Phelan and National Security Advisor Mike Waltz. Both were confirmed, Phelan by a 62-30 vote and Waltz by a considerably closer vote of 47-43.

Perhaps Cassidy, by at least not voting against the two, he feels he still has a shot at securing Mar-A-Largo Fats’ endorsement for reelection next fall. Yeah, good luck with that after having voted to impeach PEDO-POTUS in 2021.

Regardless, the record for the two Louisiana senators is 72 yesses and two no-votes. That, my friends, is consistency.

It’s also big-time major, if shameful, sycophancy. One could justifiably be accused of loyalty to a person or a political party as opposed to a patriotic duty to an oath of office to put country first before all else.

The tightest confirmation votes involved those of Secretary of De Bottle Pete Hegseth (50-50, with Hillbilly Vance casting the deciding vote), the 48-47 vote in favor of confirmation of Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller and FBI head Kash Patel (51-49). Just think, by either of our senators’ switching votes on Hegseth, they might possibly have prevented his future conviction and sentencing for murder on the high seas.

Miller’s has just got to be the most controversial appointment in the history of mankind. And yet…yet, our two senators fell into line like the Repugnantcan robots they truly are and voted to confirm America’s foremost racist/bigot. (There’s something to be said for anyone who would support that monster but I try to keep it clean so I can’t print it here.)

Also of some interest is the number of wealthy (mostly billionaires) whom Agent Orange has appointed to cabinet and other key positions:

• Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick;
• Education Secretary Linda McMahon;
• Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent;
• Interior Secretary Doug Burgum
• Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) co-head (temporarily) Elon Musk;
• Uk Ambassador Warren Stephens
• Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff
• NASA Administrator Jaed Isaacman
• Social Security Administrator Frank Bisaganao;
• Ambassador to Turkey Thomas Barrack, Jr.;
• Ambassador to France Charles Kushner (son-in-law Jared Kushner’s father);
• DOGE co-head Vivek Ramaswamy;
• AI and Crypto Czar David Sacks;
• SBA Administrator Kelly Loeffler
• Administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Dr. Mehmet Oz.

With all that moneyed interest floating around, making decisions that affect Americans, whose interests do you really think they represent? Not working Americans, that’s for damned sure.

I mean, a wrestling promoter for education secretary? A host of Fox News personalities for secretary of defense? Transportation secretary? UN ambassador? Ambassador to Israel (Mike Huckabee)? Border czar? Ambassador to France? Seriously?

As for Patel, well, we’re still waiting for him to blink.