Louisiana Voice

A final exam is tomorrow and you haven’t studied for it. You need a high B or low A to even pass and worse, you’re headed to class in your underwear.

It’s a stupid recurring dream that haunts many people long after their college careers are over. I guess it’s testimony to just how traumatic college life can really be.

My personal nightmare is having to read Herman Melville’s Moby Dick over and over in preparation for a test. That is the single most difficult book I’ve ever read. Even the Cliff Notes were too much for me to absorb. I remember precisely one sentence from Moby Dick – the very first one, if my memory hasn’t failed me: “Call me Ishmael.” Everything after that is a complete blank, sort of like some self-imposed amnesia.

But Melville had another classic, one that wasn’t published until 1924, fully 33 years after his death.

Billy Budd is the story about a popular sailor aboard a British ship HMS Bellipotent during the Napoleonic wars. Falsely charged with conspiracy to mutiny by the ship’s master-at-arms John Claggart. When confronted with his charges, the astounded Billy strikes out at Claggart, killing him. A court-martial is convened by the ship’s captain, Edward Fairfax Vere who acts as the convening authority, the prosecutor and defense counsel as well as the sole witness (other than Billy).

No one wants to convict Billy because no one believes the conspiracy to mutiny charge, but the rules say someone has to be punished for Claggart’s death. “Struck dead by an angel of God! Yet the angel must hang!” proclaims Vere. And so it is that Billy Budd is hanged but not before saying, “God bless Captain Vere!”

And so it is with the ongoing saga at Louisiana State Police in the aftermath of the May 2019 death of Ronald Greene, an African American barber, at the hands of several State Troopers from LSP Troop F, aka F-Troop in homage to the inept calvary unit of TV-sitcom fame.

Faye Morrison was nowhere near the scene when troopers finally caught Greene in Union Parish after a chase of several miles (it’s still unclear why he fled; he had no drugs or alcohol in his vehicle or in his system, nor was he wanted for any crimes). Yet, she is the LSP equivalent to Billy Budd.

Faye Morrison is an attorney. More specifically, she was (past tense) the chief legal counsel for LSP and as such was necessarily involved in official reactions to Greene’s death and LSP administration’s attempt at smoothing over the incident.

But, to be clear, she did not make the final decisions on what course to pursue. Her role was to lend legal advice. LSP administration’s role was to accept or ignore her advice. As of now, we don’t know what her advice was, specifically, but what is known is that the high command at LSP took no action in the matter for 16 months – and then only after embarrassing details started to leak out.

For example, troopers involved in the chase and subsequent beating and tasing of Greene said he died as the result of his vehicle leaving the road and hitting a tree. We now know that was a lie. The damage to his car was minimal and he was very much alive post-accident. He even can be heard on video telling officers, “I’m sorry, I’m sorry” and “I’m scared.” But officers, apparently pissed at having to pursue him from Ouachita into Union Parish, were in no conciliatory mood.

When it was determined that Greene was indeed dead, his body was not turned over to a coroner in Louisiana where records might have been more accessible to inquiring minds. Instead, he was transported to Arkansas for the autopsy. If not an attempt to conceal details of his death, then why Arkansas?

State Police Lt. John Clary, one of those involved (he actually arrived after the fracas was well underway), at first denied having body camera video. That, too, was a lie. His own body cam was made available to and released by Associated Press in May 2021, precisely two years after Greene’s death. Would that not constitute obstruction of justice on Clary’s part?

And why take 16 months to finally suspend Trooper Christopher Hollingsworth, the only one to be disciplined as of last September? Hollingsworth was subsequently notified that he was being terminated and soon after died as the result of a single-vehicle accident on I-20. His death is believed to have been by suicide.

Only one Trooper, Kory York, HAS BEEN FIRED thus far, more than two years after Greene’s death and well after Derek Chauvin had been arrested, tried and convicted in the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis – a death that occurred a full year after Greene’s death. Another trooper involved in the Greene stop, John Clary, has also been fired, but for other reasons other than Greene, LSP officials said.

Then-State Police Superintendent Col. Kevin Reeves was first notified of details surrounding Greene’s death as he participated in a golf tournament. That he was informed of the incident while playing golf was bad enough, but it was months after Greene’s death that he was even told. Why wasn’t he informed sooner?

His response? Their actions were “AWFUL BUT LAWFUL,” according to a Baton Rouge Advocate story by reporters John Simerman and Lea Skene.

As the heat was gradually turned up on the event, Reeves abruptly retired. His Chief of Staff at the time, Col. Mike Noel, was named by Gov. John Bel Edwards to head up the State Gaming Control Board to succeed Ronnie Jones. But learning that he would be grilled over the Greene matter during his Senate confirmation hearing on the last day of the 2021 legislative session, he, too, opted for RETIREMENT.

With the top two men gone, that left Faye Morrison exposed as the only vulnerable Assistant Secretary of the Department of Public Safety and Corrections still standing over at LSP.

And just as with the fictional Billy Budd, someone had to take the fall, And, like Billy Budd, she was expendable.

But, as any political observer will tell you, the cover-up is always worse than the crime and at LSP, they’ve begun to circle the wagons, prompting one former State Trooper to tell LouisianaVoice, “I have never in my life been so ashamed to have been affiliated with Louisiana State Police.”

As a postscript to all this, the role of John Belton cannot be overlooked. Belton is the district attorney for the 3^rd Judicial District, which encompasses Lincoln and Union parishes. Greene’s death occurred in Union. A female inmate was also raped several years back in the Union Parish jail. Both occurrences fell within the Belton’s purview for prosecution.

He did nothing in either case. Zero. Now, Belton’s presence is popping up on Facebook as he launches his campaign to become Louisiana’s next attorney general. By all accounts, he is a good and decent man, having served as President of the Louisiana District Attorney’s Association form 2019-2020, and as a board member for the National District Attorney’s Association.

But those honorary positions speak little to his qualifications to become the state’s top attorney and his silence in the two aforementioned cases is deafening.

Voters should keep that in mind in 2023.

“I haven’t even looked at what all she’s done. Travel in this weather it’s been a little rough looking at any news or whatever.”

—Sen Tommy Tuberville (R-Alabama), explaining why he doesn’t know anything about Marjorie Taylor Greene. (Yes, they really do walk among us.)

By Bob Mhoon, guest columnist

The fact is that we are being betrayed and savagely abused by those who swore to support and defend. . . Frump’s response to the lawsuit against the company and W-burg screams he is being targeted. How ironic, coming from an ass who was an expert at that.

I was born in New Iberia and my families were early settlers, and I’m a descendant of those who were victims of Le Grand Dérangement or Déportation des Acadiens. Growing up I had glimpses of the local politics through my dad and grandfather.

In my civics class in high school I remember what was not taught and to this day don’t know why. Democrat and Republican were mentioned, but never elaborated on. Left, Right, Hawk, Dove, Conservative, or Liberal didn’t seem to exist. . . As I matured, I was never partisan in any manner. My vote was for the individual I thought was the best candidate for the job. I married a rancher’s daughter from the Sawtooth Mountains of Idaho some 53 years ago. We vote independently and often canceled each other’s votes. Once frump and party went to work, we had heated arguments over politics. We agree on certain things and if an argument is brewing one of us retreats to the other side of the house. 

During my 30-year career in the Submarine Service, political discussions were nonexistent – even during 68-day missions submerged and trailing Russian submarines. The first unexpected political thumb-in-the-eye was wielded by Richard Nixon. I held a position of trust and was sent to the sub tender to get the crew’s paychecks. Always a happy day in the life of a broke sailor. Party expenses were huge! I Went below to turn them over to the Executive Officer for distribution and got a shock. I don’t know how connected, but Nixon issued Executive Order 11615 (pursuant to the Economic Stabilization Act of 1970), imposing a 90-day freeze on wages and prices in order to counter inflation. This was the first time the U.S. government had enacted wage and price controls since World War II. I was told to reverse course and return the checks to the disbursing office on the tender. Let’s just say that crew reaction was expletive-rich! It was three more days before we were paid.

My next political flail was when I was a senior manager for a Fortune 100 company’s Dallas data center. I learned about PACs when a memo from Chicago corporate arrived highlighting the great benefits of employee participation (read: donations) allowing the company to fund efforts favorable to the company and therefore beneficial to us. I dutifully passed the information on to my engineering department, allowing them to choose to attend the briefing if interested. The Chicago manipulator arrived, and the briefing was about to begin. The director, my boss, was out, and I was in charge of everyone.

Suddenly the HR Director comes into my office asking why no one (staff of about 30) was awaiting the presentation. He insisted I take action and was chagrined when I took a stand and said NO; this was an individual choice. I didn’t believe in PACs and gathered that the staff had the same opinion. He ranted and mentioned that a plant manager had been fired for that. It ended with me telling him to do whatever he wanted. The director supported me and the situation died peacefully. Not a peep for my remaining nine years with the company. 

Mitch McConnell is mentally ill and has no clue that he works for us and not the party. His brainwashed followers are absolutely worthless.

I Bet you didn’t know that after hours, you cannot leave a voicemail for his minions in the D.C. office! I learned that his Kentucky office is more receptive, and for grins I left him a nasty message that included my name and phone number if he wished to discuss things. Ted Cruz has to be intelligent, but he certainly ain’t smart. I left a similar message for him. Collectively, too many congressional idiots must think the American public flunked out of kindergarten. 

Perhaps the solution is to employ the methods used to rid Hawaiian homes of termites. The entire home is encased in a Tarp and sealed. Then the eradicator is pumped into the enclosure, that remains for a week to ensure success. For those who haven’t lived in Hawaii, the homes have tongue and grove planking nailed to the timber frame. This is both the inside and outside wall. My dad built homes and wondered how the kitchen cabinets were attached. It took him awhile, and then he went outside and found out they were put in place inside and nailed from the outside. 

In my case, I’ve no idea how to get the country back to some degree of normal. The one positive I see is that Trump will evaporate from the scene in the next few years. Of course, I’d hope he is diminished to a worm when the courts get through with the Frump Company prosecution. Maybe he can be assigned to the cell previously occupied by Bernie Madoff.

(Editor’s note: Bob Mhoon is a regular LouisianaVoice reader. He is a native of New Iberia who now lives in Texas. He is retired from the US Navy. He is in a group that regularly exchanges mostly political emails. Mr. Mhoon generally restricts his topics to law enforcement shortcomings in his native Iberia Parish but recently sent the above message to the others in our group. One of our members – he knows who he is – suggested that it should be a LouisianaVoice post and Mr. Mhoon graciously consented.) 

“The political Witch Hunt by the Radical Left Democrats, with New York now taking over the assignment, continues. It is dividing our Country like never before!”

—The former guy, responding in (yawn) the same old tired way to indictments handed down against his company this week.

“He’s a decrepit, sick, vile old man. I hope he burns in the hottest place in hell.”

—Janice Baker-Kinney, a Bill Cosby accuser who says he raped her in 1982.

“The act of throwing tortillas at a predominately Latino team is unacceptable and warrants sanctions.”

—California Interscholastic Federation news release in announcing that a high school basketball team was being stripped of its regional title after members of the mostly white team threw tortillas at a predominantly Latino opposing team following their game two weeks ago. (Just an extension of the Stephen Miller mentality, folks, and what of the coach who allowed this kind of behavior to take place?)

“Bill Cosby’s release is exactly why rape survivors don’t come forward.”

—Moira Donegan, writing for The Guardian.

“These joint projects of church and state were hotspots for child abuse and sexual assault carried out by priests and school administrators, most of whom have escaped justice for their crimes. Canada was built on genocide.”

—Mumilaaq Qaqqaq, member of Canadian Parliament, reflecting on the genocide of the Inuit of Nunavut Territory, as Canada Day is observed. (So soon after the graves of more than 700 Cowessess First Nation children were discovered at a Catholic Church-run school site.

“The governor told everybody to go fly a kite and see you in the veto session. I think it is probably already going to happen.”

—Repugnantcan House Speaker Pro-Tem Tanner Magee of Houma, on the likelihood of Louisiana’s first veto override session. (And of course, one of the key issues would be for the right of every John Wayne wannabe to be able to pack heat without proper training requirements to obtain a concealed handgun permit. Just what we need: more weapons on the street when Baton Rouge already has one of the highest homicide rates in the country.)