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Jindal hints at opting out of GOP Presidential sweepstakes in Onion article; LouisianaVoice offers our own version of story

Posted in Governor's Office, Media on January 28, 2015| 5 Comments »

We received an email of a news story today (Wednesday) to the effect that Gov. Bobby Jindal is having second thoughts about committing his family to the “rigors” of a presidential campaign.

But when we attempted to google the headline, it turns out the story originated not from the mainstream media, but from our favorite online satirical news service, The Onion. If you are not familiar with The Onion, just know that it presents all its stories as a serious news item but, as Gov. Jindal is so fond of saying, at the end of the day, it’s all parody. Very good parody, but parody, nonetheless. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Onion

We have to admit we bought into the story ourselves until we did that google thing with the headline on the story and up popped the only version of that story—The Onion’s version.

The story quoted Jindal as saying he wasn’t sure if he wanted to put his family through the rigors of a “two-month presidential campaign.”

As is its style, The Onion wrote the story in such a straightforward manner as to be completely believable to anyone unfamiliar with the blog. http://www.theonion.com/articles/bobby-jindal-not-sure-he-willing-to-put-family-thr,37864/?utm_source=Twitter&utm_medium=SocialMarketing&utm_campaign=Pic:1:Default

Well, we like a good joke as well as the next guy and this indeed was a good one. But in reading the story, we decided The Onion did not have a true feel of the Jindal “campaign” the way that we in Louisiana do. We feel we can cut to the reality of why his campaign is an exercise in futility that more aptly captures the essence of a campaign doomed before it was ever born. Accordingly, here is LouisianaVoice’s version of the same story:

            Citing the monumental failure of his Baton Rouge Prayerpalooza rip-off of The Reponse, the prayer event put on by former Texas Gov. Rick Perry four years ago, Louisiana governor Bobby Jindal announced Tuesday that he’s “absolutely” not sure he wants to put his family through the rigors of a two-month presidential campaign.

            The event last Saturday in the Maravich Assembly Center was a total bust, attendance-wise (there were about 15,000 people disguised as empty seats in the 18,000-seat facility). Not only was attendance disappointing, but Jindal, a devout Catholic, sensing that those in attendance were evangelical Protestants, was conspicuous in neglecting to cross himself at the beginning and end of a seemingly endless procession of prayers to save our country from the godless hordes of homosexuals, abortionists, Islamics, Keystone Pipeline opponents, and anyone who desires health care—all of whom, apparently, contribute to the looming threat of killer hurricanes aimed directly at Louisiana as God’s punishment for our wanton ways.

            “This was absolutely not a political event,” Jindal insisted. “It was absolutely a religious gathering with political overtones and political undertones—with a dash of bash for Obamacare.”

            The 43-year-old governor in absentia told reporters that while his wife and three young children are absolutely  “tremendously supportive” of his political ambitions, he recognizes that a relentless six-to-eight-week run for the White House would be an exercise in complete and utter failure as well as providing comedic fodder for late night talk show hosts—as well as opening his record up to media scrutiny that he has thus far avoided from Louisiana news outlets.

            “If I were to declare my candidacy this June, I’d absolutely immediately have to start answering hard questions from the national media—that’s a sacrifice I absolutely am not ready to make,” Jindal said of a potential bid for the Republican Party’s 2016 presidential nomination. “We’re absolutely talking four, maybe five big town hall events in the early primary states, a handful of public rallies, and a few Sundays spent at meet-and-greets with the media. That’s multiple press conferences, and I’m absolutely not sure it would be fair to my finely-honed image as an all-knowing and wise leader of Louisiana’s economic and cultural resurgence. Given the option, I’d absolutely much rather reporters just read my ghost-written book, Leadership and Crisis and quit asking questions about sand berms, lawsuits against oil companies, budget deficits, appointments of supporters to important posts, acceptance of illegal campaign cash, the destruction of higher education, the disappearance of a quarter-billion surplus at Group Benefits, and my lack of concern for the health care of our citizens. That’s all absolutely irrelevant.”

            Jindal stressed that he hated the thought of subjecting his record to the harsh glare of the public spotlight for a couple of news cycles. According to Jindal, he would have to steel himself in preparation for a humiliating campaign that would absolutely make him a laughingstock all the way through Iowa, a fair amount of South Carolina, and maybe a couple counties in New Hampshire.

            “I could wind up missing most of the last year of my governorship, which is a lot to ask,” considering that I’ve already missed about a third of my term.” The second-term governor went on to say that if he seeks the GOP nomination, the Jindal family “absolutely might as well forget about” planning a victory party for his nomination and election.

            “Imagine what it’s like being 10 or 13 years old and dreaming of running for president—what would that do to your life?” said Jindal, who admitted that was the reason he adopted the name Bobby over his Indian name Piyush which, translated, means nectar of the gods or holy water. “And we absolutely could be in the thick of it right up until a few days after Easter, at least. If I hold, say, six fundraising dinners, that’s absolutely six meals I’m hitting supporters up for contributions and to tell the truth, I’m absolutely not really sure I even have six supporters left, other than Timmy and Kyle and Rolfe.”

            Even though he hinted broadly at withdrawing from the Republican Presidential Sweepstakes, Jindal nevertheless tried to put a positive spin on his chances that are disappearing faster than an armadillo’s odds of making it across a busy interstate highway. “Our campaign absolutely has been picking up momentum and we’re absolutely encouraged at the absolutely enthusiastic response we’ve been getting from Louisiana’s citizens.”

            A politic-speak expert provided us with a literal translation of that last statement: “Our campaign has been going downhill rapidly and Louisiana citizens are eagerly anticipating the forthcoming train wreck. Absolutely.”

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Timmy Teepell rides to rescue in growing flap over Jindal’s ‘no-go’ zone Muslim-baiting speech in London on Monday

Posted in Governor's Office, Media, PACs on January 21, 2015| 19 Comments »

Gov. Bobby Jindal and his advisers are clamoring for damage control in the wake of his idiotic speech in London on Monday but this one could be a tough hill to climb.

In case you’ve been in a cave the past few days, Jindal spoke to a conservative group, the Henry Jackson Society, claiming the existence of “no-go zones” throughout England and France into which non-Muslims are afraid to venture because of what are apparent roving gangs of Islamic thugs just itching to assault any non-believer.

The only problem with his histrionics is that they weren’t true and his source for the information, Faux News, had even retracted its original claim to that effect on four separate occasions prior to Jindal’s speech during what was billed as an industrial recruiting tour.

Never one to admit his error in the face of overwhelming evidence, Jindal repeated his claim to CNN’s Wolf Blitzer while standing outside Parliament.

A wave of public criticism quickly mounted here in Louisiana with much of the criticism pointing out that as governor of Louisiana, Jindal should be home tending the store instead of trying to interject himself into an international debate in which he is pitifully unqualified to participate. http://theadvocate.com/news/opinion/11384992-123/our-views-bobby-jindal-shows

But now Jindal’s supporters, which are considerably thinner in ranks than a mere three years ago, have come to his rescue.

Timmy Teepell, Jindal’s personal political guru, came charging in on his white horse this morning in an email blast on which we somehow managed to get included. (We don’t dare give our email address lest they delete us from their mailing list. Besides, we’d rather imagine them going through that email list in a frantic attempt to determine which address is ours.)

“No matter how desperate the liberal press appears, their assaults on Conservative leaders rarely shock me,” he said in the opening paragraph of his little missive. (Yep, he lower-cased liberal and capitalized conservative. That GED of his is really kicking ass.)

“But even I was taken aback when CNN disregarded its own reporting in an attempt to smear Bobby Jindal.” (Apparently Teepell thinks so highly of himself, he considers Bobby as some sort of subordinate and refuses to use the title of Governor when speaking or writing about him; it’s just “Bobby.”)

“We both know many members of the press have their own agenda—but this is beyond the pale,” he said.

“This came about after Bobby Jindal (there he goes again with the “Bobby”) spoke out about so-called “no-go” zones throughout Europe. The locals use this designation because non-Muslims know not to go there, or else they will be subject to harassment by groups of hardline Muslim thugs.”

Teepell said a CNN reporter (that would be Wolf Blitzer, Timmy) “blasted” Jindal and claimed the zones didn’t exist.

Well, we watched that interview and at no time did Blitzer claim the non-existence of the “no-go” zones; he merely noted that the claim (by Faux News) had been retracted and even discredited by the British prime minister. But then Teepell said this: He should have taken the time to watch this CNN report that Red State was able to find – the reporters own network reported on this problem more than a year ago.

Well, Timmy, we did. And while the report did indeed allude to roving groups of Muslim “morality police” who would set upon drunks or women who were wearing dresses deemed by the groups as inappropriate, it could hardly be said anyone could have felt physically threatened.

What we saw were what the CNN report specifically referred to on more than one occasion as “small groups” of Muslims doing little more than preaching their beliefs in much the same manner in which we have witnessed street preachers in downtown Baton Rouge or even on a busy street corner (actually the intersection of the two business thoroughfares, LA. 16 and U.S. 190) berating sinners and fornicators and warning them to repent or face eternal damnation. Between the street preachers right here at home and what we saw on that CNN report, we could discern very little difference in tactics.

In fact, what we saw the Muslim “thugs” doing was far less offensive than what we’ve heard and seen of the Westboro Baptist Church in Topeka, Kansas, or that Baptist preacher up in Alabama a few years ago who actually compiled a list (really, we’re not making this up) of the individuals in his county who were going to hell.

But what really puzzles us is that Teepell, in addition to being Jindal’s one-time campaign manager and later his chief of staff, eventually became head of the Southern office of OnMessage, the outfit from the Washington, D.C., area to which Jindal has paid some $5 million in campaign expenses.

In paying all that money to Teepell and his organization, one would think that Jindal would expect a little more than just pulling up some obscure report by Red State http://www.redstate.com/ to support his claim.

But Timmy wasn’t through. Oh, no.

After he posted the link to the CNN story which did more for Blitzer’s credibility than Jindal’s, he had this to say:

“Do me a favor—show your support for the Conservative (there’s that capital “C” again) movement by standing with the Stand up to Washington PAC. Your donation of $5 will go a long way in the fight to reclaim America.”

“P.S. After you donate, forward this message to your conservative friends—they need to know what is really going on.

“Timmy Teepell

Senior Advisor, Stand up to Washington PAC

About that last comment, Timmy: We couldn’t agree more. They do need to know what is “really going on” about the denial of equal pay for women, about generous tax breaks for the wealthy while the rest of us are required to pay our taxes, about the lucrative defense contracts for campaign contributors, privatizing governmental agencies and services to the enrichment of contributors, about removing the restrictions on Wall Street banks, thus paving the way for another economic collapse possibly worse than 2008, about an out of control Supreme Court, about Republican’s blocking an increase in the minimum wage while corporate CEOs reap tens of millions in salary and perks.

We could go on, but you get the idea, Timmy. Or maybe you don’t. But yes, your “Conservative friends” really do need to know what is going on.

And, Timmy, since you are a “senior advisor” to the Stand up for America PAC, perhaps you could explain this for us:

How is it that the Stand up for America PAC web page has the disclaimer at the bottom that says, “Not authorized by any candidate or candidate’s committee” when there is a photo (a very dominant one at that) of only one candidate—Gov. Bobby Jindal—smack dab in the middle of that page?

http://www.standuptowashington.com/

Could you explain that to us? Huh? Could you, please?

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As Rep. Steve Scalise story grows, sordid details emerge about dark underside of the white supremacy movement

Posted in Fraud, Governor's Office, House, Judges, Legislators, Legislature, Media, Politicians, Senate on January 2, 2015| 43 Comments »

U.S. Rep. Steve Scalise’s claim that he did not know who he was talking to when he spoke to that meeting of the Workshop on Civil Rights hosted by the European-American Unity and Rights Conference (EURO) back in May of 2002 is coming unraveled like a cheap suit.

And so too, are the cover stories concocted by participants of that meeting who are trying to pull Scalise’s fat out of the fire.

And those accounts, with their unsavory associations and bizarre twists, constitute some of the most sordid stories imaginable, complete with bombing plots, pornography, escort services, mailing lists and dozens of politicians who subsequently went into scramble mode.

Mark Twain once said, “If you tell the truth, you don’t have to remember anything” and because of conflicting memories of those involved, the coverups appear to be spinning out of control.

Thanks to stellar investigative reporting by blogger Lamar White, Scalise’s position as House Majority Whip could go the same way as that of former Sen. Trent Lott (R-MS) who resigned his post as Senate Majority Leader following his association with a similar white supremacy group, the Council of Conservative Citizens (CCC). Lott resigned from the Senate five years later and now works, along with former U.S. Sen. John Breaux (D-LA) in the powerful Washington lobbying firm Squire Patton Boggs.

CCC and EURO have cross-pollinated over the years to the point where it’s difficult to distinguish one from the other with certain individuals having been—and remaining—members of both organizations.

One of those with just such dual membership is Kenny Knight of Prairieville.

Knight has publicly taken credit for issuing the invitation to Scalise to speak to the Jefferson Heights Civic Association at the Landmark Hotel in Metairie 12 years ago, but not, he said, to EURO, which was scheduled to meet in the same room later that day.

There are several problems with that story.

One, Scalise himself has made no such claim, choosing instead to plead ignorance that he was addressing a white supremacy group in 2002 while he was a member of the Louisiana House of Representatives. He makes no mention of any such civic association. http://www.businessreport.com/article/scalise-defending-amid-rising-scandal-regarding-2002-speech-white-supremacist-event

But claiming ignorance is a pretty weak defense given his comment years ago to New Orleans Times-Picayune reporter Stephanie Grace that he was “like David Duke without the baggage.” http://www.theneworleansadvocate.com/news/state/11213737-123/stephanie-grace-scalises-pitch-to

Duke, of course, was—and is—President of EURO and also addressed the Landmark gathering via teleconference hookup from Europe.

The second inconvenient snag in the failure to communicate (with apologies to the late Strother Martin of Cool Hand Luke) occurred when Knight told the Times-Picayune that he was not a member of EURO http://www.nola.com/politics/index.ssf/2014/12/david_duke_adviser_kenny_knigh.html

Barbara Noble, whom the Times-Picayune  said “was dating Knight” at the time of Scalise’s address (the implication being they might no longer be dating), backed up his claim. “Neither of us were members of EURO,” she said.

But while technically, Knight may not have a member of EURO, a quick check of the Louisiana Secretary of State’s corporate records reveals that he was not only a member of the organization’s predecessor, the National Organization for European American Rights (NO FEAR), he was the organization’s treasurer. (Duke changed the name to EURO after being sued for trademark infringement by No Fear, Inc.)

And what would be Noble’s motivation in having his back if she is a former girlfriend?

A further check of the Secretary of State’s web page also reveals that she and Knight both were officers of or affiliated with five separate corporate entities, three of which are still in good standing with the Secretary of State’s office.

All-American Health & Life Insurance of Metairie is not in good standing for failure to file its annual report with the Secretary of State, records show but both were listed as officers. Knight was the firm’s president she was vice president.

Southeast Solar Distributors likewise is listed as inactive by the Secretary of State. She was the company’s president and Knight its vice president when it was active, records show.

While she is not listed as an officer of T-Mart, Inc. of Prairieville, a telephone call to the business by LouisianaVoice reached her voice mail. Other active businesses in which the two are involved include Axcess Medical Clinic, Inc., of Prairieville (Knight is Director and she is Secretary) and Louisiana Men’s Clinic, Inc. of Mandeville (both are directors).

Louisiana Men’s Clinic is a facility that specializes in the treatment of erectile dysfunction http://louisianamensclinic.com/ while Axcess Medical Clinic appears to be an office complex for physicians owned by the pair.

Two months following Scalise’s address to EURO, Knight was on the Mississippi Gulf Coast representing CCC in its celebration after the Gulfport City Council voted to keep flying the confederate flag.

KENNY KNIGHT

(That’s Kenny Knight in the middle with the white shirt, brown shorts and white beard.)

Accompanying Knight at that rally was Vincent Breeding, one-time resident of Duke’s home and keeper of the EURO flame as its president while Duke served a federal prison term for fraud and tax evasion.

VINCE BREEDING

(Vincent Breeding is on the right wearing the slacks and tie. Kenny Knight is at the far left. And as one reader pointed out, these aren’t Ole Miss frat boys waving the Rebel flag.)

But Breeding, it turns out, had a much darker side. In addition to espousing the virtues of white supremacy, Christian beliefs and conservative values, he hosted an internet website which, in addition to offering graphic pornography, also provided an escort service that catered to all tastes, including black women. That would seem rather difficult to square with the EURO philosophy.

But then Duke himself once published a sexual self-help book for women entitled Finders Keepers under the pseudonym Dorothy Vanderbilt.

In 2003, Breeding was ousted from his leadership role in EURO and was succeeded by Knight but four years later, on Aug. 2, 2007, both Knight and Breeding, along with Barbara Noble, would participate in ribbon-cutting ceremonies for the Ascension Parish Chamber of Commerce.

Breeding, in addition to his porn web page and escort service and his previous employment at a Tampa strip club, once shared an apartment with one Todd Vanbiber who authorities thwarted in his plot to place 14 bombs along two major highways, I-4, the major access route to Walt Disney World, and U.S. 441. The bombings were planned for April 19, 1997, the second anniversary of the Oklahoma City bombing.

Another Duke associate, Don Black, was once shot while attempting to steal the mailing list of the National States’ Rights Party. The man who shot him was Jerry Ray, brother of James Earl Ray. Ironically, Black not only survived the gunshot, but later worked closely with Duke through his web page Stormfront and along the way, married Duke’s ex-wife.

Mailing lists, it turns out, constitute the life blood of organizations such as EURO, CCC, and the KKK. It is those mailing lists that allow the leaders of the organizations to solicit funds from those of like minds and it was just such a list that supported Duke’s lavish lifestyle that finally caught up with him.

And it was that same list that was sold to then-gubernatorial candidate Mike Foster in 1995 for $150,000. Foster failed to report the purchase as a campaign expenditure and would become the first Louisiana governor to be fined for violating the state’s code of ethics for elected officials.

But Foster was not the first by any stretch—nor the last—to be linked to such white supremacy groups. Louisiana Congressman John Rarick and Georgia Gov. Lester Maddox both were members of the old White Citizens Council, forerunner to the CCC.

Former Mississippi Supreme Court Chief Justice Kay Cobb addressed CCC on two occasions and Trent Lott five times, once telling its members that they stood “for the right principles and the right philosophy,” only to later claim he had “no idea” what the organization stood for (we’re beginning to detect a trend here). As nice saves go, Senator, not so much.

Lott also spoke at the 100th birthday celebration of Sen. Strom Thurmond of South Carolina, proclaiming that if the rest of the country had followed Mississippi’s lead in voting for the segregationist “Dixiecrat” when he ran for president in 1943, “we wouldn’t have had all these problems over all these years…” When Lott later apologized for his remarks, the CCC labeled him as “little more than a political prostitute.”

Former Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour was elected largely on the strength of support from CCC and his photo even appeared with CCC officers on the organization’s website and former Georgia Congressman Bob Barr delivered the keynote speech at the CCC national convention in June of 1998.

Byron De La Beckwith, the man who in 1963 murdered civil rights activist Medgar Evers, was a CCC member as was Charles Sharpe. While serving as South Carolina’s Commissioner of Agriculture, Sharpe was arrested for accepting $20,000 in bribes to protect an illegal cockfighting ring.

And then there is Tony Perkins who, like Lott and Judge Cobb, addressed the Louisiana CCC. His appearance was on May 19, 2001 (almost exactly a year before Scalise’s appearance), when he was serving as a Republican state representative from Baton Rouge. Perkins currently serves as President of the Family Research Council in Washington, D.C.

These are only the more prominent public officials who have affiliated themselves with these groups. There are others. http://www.splcenter.org/get-informed/intelligence-report/browse-all-issues/2004/fall/communing-with-the-council

So we have the CCC, EURO, and the KKK, which are pretty much synonymous with their interchangeable memberships, rubbing shoulders with right-wing, family-values politicians who run for cover the moment the glare of public scrutiny is shone upon them. The only thing missing from the picture are the 30 pieces of silver.

All of which must, by necessity, raise this burning question: Is the price of political fraudulence worth the wear and tear on an elected official’s integrity?

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LouisianaVoice 2014 year in review Part Dieu; it just gets weirder and weirder as we barrel with abandon into 2015

Posted in ATC, Budget, Cartoons, Contract, Contracts, Courts, DHH, DOA, Elections, Ethics, Governor's Office, Health Care, Higher Education, House, Lawsuits, Layoffs, Legislators, Legislature, LSU, Media, Office of Group Benefits, Office of Risk Management, OGB, ORM, Privatization, Retirement, Senate, State Police, Veto, Vitter on December 31, 2014| 8 Comments »

In our lowlights review for the first six months of 2014, we were reminded by State Rep. Jerome “Dee” Richard (I-Thibodaux) that we had omitted a major low point in Louisiana politics.

Accordingly, we will preface our second half with the June veto by Gov. Bobby Jindal of HB 142 by Richard and Sens. Francis Thompson (D-Delhi) and Mack “Bodi” White (R-Central) which was pass unanimously by both the House (84-0) and Senate (37-0).

Called by Richard as the only “piece of legislation that would’ve done anything in the form of reform,” HB142 called for a reduction in consulting contracts. Richard said the bill also “would’ve provided transparency in the way the state hands out contracts” and would have provided savings that would have been dedicated to higher education.

“It just made too much sense to Bobby,” Richard said.

Jindal, on the other hand, said the bill would “hinder the state’s efforts to continue to provide its citizens with timely, high-quality services.”

Such high-quality services as paying $94,000 to a firm to assistant students to learn to play during recess; paying consulting fees to Hop 2 It Music Co. or to the Smile and Happiness Foundation.

Jindal also said the bill would “cause significant delays and introduce uncertainty to executing a contract” and would “discourage businesses from seeking opportunities to provide services to the people of Louisiana.”

Which now brings us to the second half of political news that could only occur in Louisiana.

JULY

Troy Hebert back in the news:

Three former ATC supervisors, all black, have filed a federal lawsuit in the Baton Rouge’s Middle District claiming a multitude of actions they say Hebert took in a deliberate attempt to force the three to resign or take early retirement and in fact, conducted a purge of virtually all black employees of ATC.

Baton Rouge attorney J. Arthur Smith, III filed the lawsuit on behalf of Charles Gilmore of Baton Rouge, Daimian T. McDowell of Bossier Parish, and Larry J. Hingle of Jefferson Parish.

The lawsuit said that all three plaintiffs have received the requisite “right to sue” notice from the U.S. Department of Justice pursuant to Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) complaints.

So, where are all those savings we were promised?

To probably no one’s surprise except a clueless Gov. Bobby Jindal, the takeover of the Louisiana Office of Group Benefits (OGB) by Blue Cross Blue Shield of Louisiana a scant 18 months ago has failed to produce the $20 million per year in savings to the state.

Quite the contrary, in fact. The OGB fund balance, which was a robust $500 million when BCBS took over as administrators of the Preferred Provider Organization (PPO) in January of 2013, now stands at slightly less than half that amount and could plummet as low as an anemic $5 million a year from now, according to figures provided by the Legislative Fiscal Office.

There is no tactful way to say it. This Jindal’s baby; he’s married to it. He was hell bent on privatizing OGB and putting 144 employees on the street for the sake of some hair-brained scheme that managed to go south before he could leave town for whatever future he has planned for himself that almost surely does not, thank goodness, include Louisiana.

So ill-advised and so uninformed was Jindal that he rushed into his privatization plan and now has found it necessary to have the consulting firm Alvarez and Marcel, as part of their $5 million contract to find state savings, to poke around OGB to try and pull the governor’s hand out of the fiscal fire. We can only speculate as to why that was necessary; Jindal, after all, had assured us up front that the privatization would save $20 million a year but now cannot make good on that promise.

We can save, but we have to let you go…

The Jindal administration announced plans to jettison 24 more positions at the Office of Group Benefits (OGB) as a cost cutting measure for the cash-strapped agency but is retaining the top two positions and an administrator hired only a month ago.

Affected by layoffs are eight Benefits Analyst positions, three Group Benefits Supervisory spots, one Group Benefits Administrator, seven Administrative Coordinators, an Administrative Assist, two Administrative Supervisors, one IT Application Programmer/Analyst and one Training Development Specialist.

All this takes place at a time whe OGB’s reserve fund has dwindled from $500 million at the time of the agency’s privatization in January 2013 to about half that amount today. Even more significant, the reserve fund is expected to dip as low as $5 million by 2016, just about the time Jindal leaves town for good.

Completing the trifecta of good news, we also have learned that health benefits for some 200,000 state employees, retirees and dependents will be slashed this year even as premiums increase.

Neil Riser helps Edmonson revoke the irrevocable:

One of the single biggest state political stories of the year was the surreptitious attempt of State Sen. Neil Riser to slip an amendment into an otherwise nondescript bill ostensibly addressing procedures in handling claims against police officers that would have given State Police Superintendent Mike Edmonson an illegal $55,000 per year retirement boost.

Events quickly began to spin out of control after Riser first denied, then admitted his part in the ruse and as retired state police opposed the move and public opinion mounted against the move, Edmonson, after first claiming he was entitled to the raise, finally relented and said he would not accept the increase.

Meanwhile, Jindal, who signed the bill, was eerily quiet on the issue despite speculation he was behind the attempt to slip the increase into the bill.

State Sen. Dan Claitor, just to make sure Edmonson didn’t go back on his word, filed suit to block the raise and a Baton Rouge judge agreed that the bill was unconstitutional.

The bill, which quickly became known as the Edmonson Amendment, along with the Office of Group Benefits fiasco, constituted the most embarrassing moments for a governor who wants desperately to run for president.

AUGUST

Selective—and hypocritical—moral judgments

Gov. Bobby Jindal weighed in early on the kissing congressman scandal up in Monroe. When rookie U.S. Rep. Vance McAllister was revealed on video exchanging amorous smooches with a female aide, Jindal was all over him like white on rice, calling for his immediate resignation.

Jindal’s judgmental tone was dictated more by the philosophical differences between the two (McAllister wanted the state to expand Medicaid, Jindal most assuredly did not) than any real issues based on morals as Jindal’s silence on the philandering of U.S. Sen. David Vitter who did a tad more than exchange affectionate kisses.

Edmonson Amendment spawns other state police stories:

LouisianaVoice, in its continuing investigation of the Department of Public Safety (DPS), learned that a number of DPS employees enjoy convenient political connections.

  • Dionne Alario, Senate President John Alario’s daughter-in-law, is a DPS Administrative Program Manager;
  • Alario’s son, John W. Alario, serves as a $95,000 per year director of the DPS Liquefied Petroleum Gas Commission.
  • DPS Undersecretary Jill Boudreaux retired on April 28 from her $92,000 per year salary but the day before, she double encumbered herself into the position and reported to work on April 30 in the higher position of Undersecretary. Commissioner of Administration Angéle Davis ordered her to repay the 300 hours of annual leave (about $46,000) for which she had been paid on her “retirement,” but Davis resigned shortly afterward and the matter was never pursued.
  • DPS issued a pair of contracts, hired the contractor as a state employee, paid her $437,000 to improve the Division of Motor Vehicles and ponied up $13,000 in airfare for trips to and from her home in South Carolina. The contractor, Kathleen Sill, heads up a company called CTQ but the company’s web page lists Sill as its only employee.
  • Boudreaux’s son-in-law Matthew Guthrie was simultaneously employed in an offshore job and was on the payroll for seven months of the State Police Oil Spill Commission.
  • Danielle Rainwater, daughter of former Commissioner of Administration Paul Rainwater was employed as a “specialist” for State Police.
  • Tammy Starnes was hired from another agency at a salary of $92,900 as an Audit Manager. Not only was her salary $11,700 more than state trooper Jason Starnes, but she is in charge of monitoring the agency’s financial transactions, including those of her husband.

Thanks, retirees; here’s your bill for medical coverage:

LouisianaVoice was first to break the news that the Jindal administration was planning to force retirees out of the Office of Group Benefits by raising premiums astronomically and slashing benefits.

The news sparked waves of protests from employees and retirees alike, prompted legislative hearings at which Commissioner of Administration Kristy Nichols looked more than foolish in their attempts to defend the ill-conceived plan.

The entire fiasco was the result of the Jindal administrations foolish decision to cut premiums, which allowed the state to be on the hook for lower contributions as well. The money the state saved on matching premiums went to help patch those recurring holes in the state budget. Meanwhile, because of the lower premiums, the $500 million OGB reserve fund shrank to about half that amount as OGB spent $15 million per month more than it received in premiums.

All this occurred just three years after then-Commissioner of Administration Paul Rainwater, in a letter on the eve of the privatization of OGB, promised the continuation of quality service, rates that would be “unaffected” with any increases to be “reflective of medical market rates.” More importantly, he emphatically promised that benefits “will NOT change.”

HHS_2013_SNPS_35_Day

OCTOBER

What premium decrease?

Contrary to the testimony of Commissioner of Administration Kristy Nichols that Buck Consultants recommended that the Office of Group Benefits reduce premiums for members, emails from Buck Consults said exactly the opposite. State Rep. John Bel Edwards (D-Amite) had asked Nichols during legislative committee hearings who recommended the decrease and she replied that the recommendation came from Buck. All witnesses before legislative committees are under oath when they testify.

Surplus, deficit, tomato, to-mah-to:

Nichols “discovered” a previously unknown “surplus” of $320 million in mystery money that set off a running dispute between her office and State Treasurer John Kennedy—an argument that eventually made its way before the Joint Legislative Committee on the Budget.

With a tip of our hat to cartoonist Bud Grace, we are able to show you how that surplus was discovered:

JINDAL SURPLUS SECRET

(CLICK ON IMAGE TO ENLARGE)

Murphy Painter vindicated, Jindal humiliated:

Jindal’s attempted prosecution persecution of fired Director of the Office of Alcohol and Tobacco Control Murphy Painter blew up in the governor’s face when Painter was first acquitted of criminal charges, costing the state nearly half a million dollars in reimbursement of Painter’s legal fees, but Painter subsequently won a defamation suit against his accuser.

Secret survey no longer a secret but “no one” more popular than Jindal:

A survey to measure state employee satisfaction in the Division of Administration (DOA) should be an eye opener for Commissioner of Administration Kristy Kreme Nichols and agency heads within DOA.

Meanwhile, LouisianaVoice has learned that Gov. Bobby Jindal (R-Iowa, R-New Hampshire, R-Anywhere but Louisiana) received some exciting news this week when a new poll revealed that no one was more popular among Republican contenders for the GOP presidential nomination.

The excitement was short-lived, however, when the actual meaning of the numbers was revealed.

It turns out that in a CNN poll of New Hampshire voters, Jindal tied with Rick Santorum with 3 percent, while “No one” polled 4 percent, prompting Comedy Central’s Stephen Colbert to joke that Jindal should adopt the slogan “Jindal 2016: No one is more popular.”

To shred or not to shred:

The controversy surrounding the sweeping changes being proposed for the Office of Group Benefits just got a little dicier with new information obtained by LouisianaVoice about the departure of Division of Administration executive counsel Liz Murrill and the possibly illegal destruction of public records from the Office of Group Benefits (OGB) and the involvement of at least two other state agencies.

While it was not immediately clear which OGB records were involved, information obtained by LouisianaVoice indicate that Murrill refused to sign off on written authorization to destroy documents from OGB.

We first reported her departure on Oct. 14 and then on Oct. 22, we followed up with a report that Murrill had confided to associates that she could no longer legally carry out some of the duties assigned to her as the DOA attorney.

But now we learn that the issue has spilled over into two other agencies besides OGB and DOA because of a state statute dealing with the retention of public documents for eventual delivery to State Archives, a division of Secretary of State Tom Schedler’s office.

Reports indicate that Schedler became furious when he learned of the destruction or planned destruction of the records because records should, according to R.S. 44:36, be retained for three years and then delivered to the state archivist and director of the division of Archives, records management and history.

NOVEMBER

Secret grand jury testimony of Greenstein made public:

The Louisiana Attorney General’s office, in an unprecedented move, released the 100-plus pages of testimony of Bruce Greenstein, former Secretary of the Department of Health and Hospitals but the testimony did little in revealing any smoking gun related to the state’s $180 million contract with CNSI. About the only thing to come out of his testimony was the indication of an incredible bad memory in matters related to his dealings with his former bosses at CNSI and a razor-sharp recall of other, more insignificant events.

Approval? We don’t need no stinkin’ approval:

The very first state agency privatized by Gov. Bobby Jindal was the Office of Risk Management (ORM) and after the state paid F.A. Richard and Associates (FARA) $68 million to take over ORM operations and then amended the contract to $75 million after only a few months, the agency was subsequently transferred three times to other firms. The only hitch was a specific clause in the original contract with FARA that no such transference was allowable without “prior written approval” from the Division of Administration. The problem? When LouisianaVoice made an FOIA request for that written approval, we were told no such document existed.

Edwards’ Last Hurrah:

Former Gov. Edwin Edwards, one of the most successful, colorful and charismatic politicians in Louisiana history, lost—decisively. Republican Graves Garrett rode the Republican tide to easily hand Edwards his first political defeat, dating back to his days on the Crowley City Council. Some may remember when Buddy Roemer led the field in 1987, forcing Edwards into a runoff. Technically, though, Edwards did not lose that election because he chose not to participate in the runoff, thus allowing Roemer to become governor. But he would return in 1991 to win his unprecedented fourth term.

DECEMBER

Friends of Bobby Jindal seeking donations:

A new web page popped up seeking donations for the Friends of Bobby Jindal, raising speculations of an attempt at a higher office (president?) since Jindal can’t run for governor again.

The new web page cited a speech by Jindal at a foreign policy forum at which he called for increased military spending.

Gimme the keys to the cars:

The Public Service Commission (PSC) became the second state agency (the State Treasurer’s office was the first) to openly defy Jindal when the administration demanded that the PSC relinquish possession of 13 vehicles as part of the administration’s cost-cutting measures.

We have already examined State Rep. Jerome “Dee” Richard’s attempt to cut consulting contracts which was passed unanimously by both the House and Senate but vetoed by Jindal.

But there was another veto that should be mentioned in context with Jindal’s penny wise but pound (dollar) foolish fire sale approach to state finances.

Earlier this year, State Sen. Jack Donahue (R-Mandeville) managed to get overwhelming passage of a bill that called for more oversight of the tax break programs by the state’s income-forecasting panel.

But Jindal, who never met a tax break he didn’t like, promptly vetoed the bill, saying it could effectively force a tax increase on businesses by limiting spending for the incentive programs.

Only he could twist the definition of removal of a tax break for business into a tax increase even while ignoring the fact that removal of those tax breaks could—and would—mean long-term relief for Louisiana citizens who are the ones shouldering the load. And for him to willingly ignore that fact borders on malfeasance.

Another (yawn) poor survey showing:

24/7 Wall Street, a financial news and opinion company, released a report which ranked Louisiana as the 11th worst-run state in America.

Louisiana, in ranking 40th in the nation, managed to fare better than New Jersey, which ranked 43rd, or eighth worst, something Jindal might use against Gov. Christ Christie if it comes down to a race between those two for the GOP nomination.

Louisiana had “one of the lowest median household incomes in the nation,” at just $44,164, the report said “and 10.7 percent of all households reported an income of less than $10,000, a higher rate than in any state except for Mississippi. Largely due to these low incomes, the poverty rate in Louisiana was nearly 20 percent (19.8 percent) and 17.2 percent of households used food stamps last year, both among the highest rates in the nation. The state’s GDP grew by 1.3 percent last year, less than the U.S. overall.

May we pray?

Meanwhile, Jindal prompted more controversy by having his favorite publisher and LSU Board of Supervisors member Rolfe McCollister run interference in securing the LSU Maravich Center for a political prayer event in January of 2015. The event will be sponsored by the controversial American Family Association and will not (wink, wink) be a political event, Jindal said.

And that, readers, is where we will leave you in 2014.

For 2015, we have an election campaign for governor to look forward to.

Just when you thought it couldn’t get any worse.

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Former Jindal staffer levels broadside at sponsorship of Prayer Rally by AFA organization dubbed as hate group

Posted in Ethics, Governor's Office, Higher Education, LSU, Media, Politicians, Public Records, Transparency on December 20, 2014| 22 Comments »

One day in early December, I received one of countless telephone calls pertaining to the upcoming Dec. 6 election. Normally, the calls are pre-recorded, or “robocalls” appealing for my vote for this or this candidate or telling me how horrible the opposing candidate would be for Mom, apple pie and America.

This one, however, was a live call from a woman claiming to be calling on behalf of AFA. Never having heard of the organization up to that point, I interrupted her spiel to ask who AFA was.

“American Family Association,” she said and without even pausing to take a breath, she launched into her pitch. “We’re not calling on behalf of any particular candidate,” she assured me. “We just want to remind you to be sure to vote for candidates who represent our Christian heritage and the Christian principles on which America was founded.”

(Well, first of all, America was not founded on Christianity—or by Christians. The Founding Fathers were, for the most part, Deists. Chief among the founders was one Thomas Jefferson, the man who re-wrote the Bible. Jefferson’s Bible omitted all references to miracles by Jesus, the Resurrection and other miracles as well as passages indicating Jesus was divine. Our very own Gov. Bobby Jindal, by the way, was named recipient of the American Legislative Exchange Council’s Thomas Jefferson Freedom Award at ALEC’s national meeting in New Orleans in 2011.)

When I heard that, I simply said, “I’m Jewish.” (Actually, I’m Methodist.)

End of conversation.

Now comes word that AFA is sponsoring Gov. Bobby Jindal’s prayer rally at the Maravich Assembly Center on the LSU campus Jan. 24.

So, what’s the big deal? The Gaithers have held gospel concerts in the same facility (I’ve attended two of them and they were great) and the Pope held a service at the University of New Orleans. Besides, the Prayer Rally will be strictly faith-based and will not be a forum for political discourse—because they say so. http://blogs.theadvocate.com/politicsblog/2014/12/19/prayer-rally-organizers-distance-event-from-afas-positions/

Yeah, right. With Jindal taking part, the absence of right-wing political rhetoric is about as likely as…well, as likely as a general denial of evolution or climate change at the event. After all, one of his political operatives, Baton Rouge Business Report publisher Rolfe McCollister (former Jindal campaign treasurer and later appointed by Jindal to the LSU Board of Supervisors), smoothed the way for securing the center for the event through…you guessed it, political channels. http://theadvocate.com/features/faith/11119534-123/documents-reveal-behind-the-scenes-details-of

The Southern Poverty Law Center lists AFA as a hate group, just as it does the Westboro Baptist Church, probably because both spew venom instead of the Christian tolerance taught by Christ when it comes to groups that think and act contrary to their rigid set of self-imposed standards of morality, namely gays.

Remember the story from the Bible when the woman was about to be stoned for adultery. Didn’t that quote, “Let he who is without sin among you cast the first stone” (John 8:7) come from the mouth of Jesus?

And then there was: “Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.” (Matthew 25:40). I can’t help but wonder if the fine Christians from Westboro Baptist Church and AFA have ever read those words or if so, did they gave even a passing thought to their meaning.

And no claim can be made that those quotes were lifted out of context; their meaning could not be plainer.

As might be expected, Jindal critics (and they’re growing in number with each passing day) have leveled criticism of the governor for participating in the event, which skeptics insist will  have political overtones. http://www.bayoubuzz.com/buzz/item/803216-lost-faith-in-lsu-prayer-rally-and-in-bobby-jindal

But the most interesting barrage was leveled by one Taylor Huckaby of Los Angeles, former Deputy Communications Director for the Louisiana Republican Party, a volunteer in Jindal’s election campaign and later, Jindal’s New Media Director.

Huckaby penned the following for LouisianaVoice:

Never have I been more embarrassed to be an alumnus of Louisiana State University. Yesterday, the LSU powers-that-be finally broke their silence on Gov. Bobby Jindal’s ostentatious prayer/politically pandering rally. “Rental of an LSU facility does not imply any endorsement,” wheedled director of media relations Eddie Ballard to the New Orleans Advocate.

I wonder if he said that before, or after he accepted the $18,500 from the American Family Association, agreeing to not only entertain them for a day but also to provide a baldly political platform from which Jindal intends to pander to his ultraconservative electorate.

I wonder if he knew extent to which Jindal-appointee to the LSU Board of Supervisors, Rolfe McCollister, prodded the University to give up the Pete Maravich Assembly Center for such use.

I wonder if he realizes that while technically correct and certainly legal, in practice people all over the country will now associate LSU with happily playing host to an organization that blames the Holocaust and the existence of the Nazi Party on gay people.  Yes, you read that correctly. From AFA spokesman Bryan Fischer in a web post from 2010 (and this is indeed a representative sample, so don’t you worry):

“Homosexuality gave us Adolph Hitler, and homosexuals in the military gave us the Brown Shirts, the Nazi war machine and six million dead Jews.”

Yes, this is the very same guy around whom Bobby Jindal has voluntarily decided to drape his arms around come January 24th.

Also appearing in the New Orleans Advocate story was a certain Clay Tufts, the current LSU student body president, who claims the AFA is “not reflective on the university in any way or its students.” Then, immediately after staking that claim, he goes on to explain how no action can possibly be taken on the issue via student government because, well, too many LSU students agree with the AFA’s positions.

“I’m sure a large group of students will go to the event.” Tufts said, “Student government itself won’t be going either way on anything.” 

Apparently condemning an organization that blames the Holocaust on gay people is a bridge too far. Such controversy!

Is this really the best LSU can do? Accept the AFA’s blood money and turn a blind eye? Proclaim that the university community supports its LGBT students while also simultaneously admitting helplessness in the face of so many anti-LGBT sentiments on campus? It seems to me that LSU’s “commitment” to LGBT people is less representative of a fighting tiger and more akin to the paper variety.

How incredibly embarrassing it is that LSU allows itself to be such a willing pawn in this political game, and how incredibly sad it is that the Louisiana LGBT community has to again endure false and patently ridiculous accusations of Nazism, child recruitment, equivocations to bestiality, and perversion. Why would anyone want to send their son or daughter to a university that so blithely resigns itself to such bigotry? I certainly wouldn’t.

 

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