Louisiana Voice

Butch Browning, back when he was the state fire marshal, got himself in something of a pickle by allowing himself to be photographed in full uniform – complete with a full array of military medals and decorations that he never earned.

Now, it seems, Gov. Jeff Landry may have committed the same faux pas one of his campaign ads during the 2023 election. The ad, shown here, depicts a photo of warrior Landry over which the text says, in part, “…Jeff became a decorated veteran of Desert Storm.”

The only problem with that is that he most probably was never in Iraq, Kuwaiti, or any other Mideast country.

The text of the ad also said, “He also received the Army Achievement Medal, the Army Commendation Medal, a National Defense Ribbon and the Louisiana War Cross.”

Well, bully. Those are generally awarded for meritorious service, but what defines “meritorious?” Well, it can be just about anything that’s outstanding in any way.

“I looked at Jeff Landry’s campaign page and one of the pages had his [and] it had a picture of him from the standard basic training photo,” an individual who actually was in Desert Storm from Louisiana. “[H]e had ‘MP’ (military police) stenciled on the front of his helmet. In the bio, it stated he was a ‘decorated veteran of Desert Storm.’

Desert Storm warrior (?) Jeff Landry

He may have been a veteran of the Desert Storm era. That’s far different than being an actual veteran of Desert Storm.

I was a Vietnam-era veteran but I never set foot in the country, so I was not a Vietnam veteran.

“In 1990, there were only two MP units in the entire state of Louisiana. One was the 239^th out of Baton Rouge, near the airport. The other MP unit was the 39^th in Jackson Barracks in New Orleans,” the person said.

“There around 115-120 MPs in the 39^th and they were activated for Desert Storm. Then needed more people so they took volunteers from the 239^th out of Baton Rouge. Sixteen people from the 239^th volunteered to join the 39^th. I was one of them,” she said. “Jeff Landry was not.”

He also was not in the 39^th. “I had a friend who still has our orders to double check and his name was not on our list,” she said. “When I looked at Landry’s listing of his medals, I saw that he received four. Conspicuously absent from his list of medals is the Kuwaiti Liberation Medal and/or the Southwest Asia medal. Those are two that he would definitely have received had he been ‘in country’ for Desert Storm.

“I don’t know what happened between basic training and Desert Storm,” she said. “Why did Landry start out as an MP but wind up elsewhere? He may have washed out of MP school, or changed units to be closer to Lafayette? I don’t know. I am fairly certain that when Desert Storm started, he was in an infantry unit from Lafayette that was activated for Desert Storm but only made it as far as Fort Hood (in Texas).”

“Technically he is a veteran – but it’s highly disingenuous to phrase it as ‘decorated veteran of Desert Storm.’ It implies that he somehow was awarded something for some sort of distinguishing service overseas – and he never left training in Texas. Its deceptive. But it’s par for the course as well,” she said.

Attempts to reach Landry for comment were unsuccessful. We received no answer when we twice called the governor’s office but we did leave a voice message asking for a call-back and we sent the governor an email asking for comment but never heard back.

I’m working on a major story I hope to break later today but first, I’m already a day late in announcing our annual April fund drive.

It’s only the blood that keeps the heart of LouisianaVoice pumping, folks, so please try to see it in your own hearts to support our efforts. I only come to you twice a year as opposed to some who hold monthly fund drives or erect pay walls to force your paid subscription.

We have a president, a governor and a Musk who have gone mad with their power grabs and it’s going to take grass roots action to overcome their wreckage of human rights, education and health care. When I say grass roots, I’m talking about people like you and like the efforts of this blog to do its part.

I don’t want to charge a subscription fee because I want LousianaVoice to be available to everyone in the hopes that those who have the means and desire will contribute to the efforts of this service. I am convinced that is a fair method.

Just as was done last October, a special prize is being offered to the individual who makes the largest single contribution. The prize this year will be a first-edition copy of Huey Long’s autobiography, Every Man a King, shown here:

You may contribute one of two ways: By check to Tom Aswell, 107 North College West, Denham Springs, LA. 70726 or by credit card by clicking on the yellow rectangular button at the upper right of ths post.

As always, I deeply appreciate the support given LouisianaVoice since its inception way back in 2011.

‘So? Call someone who cares’

‘Town hall meeting? Nope.‘

How do you like my John Wayne look?

The Louisiana Legislature will wait two weeks, until noon on April 14, to spring its April Fool’s joke on the citizens of Louisiana when it convenes for its odd-year 85-day session – 25 more days than in even years to inflict carnage with a gaggle of self-serving, sneaky or just plain silly bills and occasionally a few constitutional amendments for voters to defeat when put to a ballot.

Oh, there will be a state budget that won’t be adopted until the clock starts ticking toward adjournment and there will be the Capital Outlay budget to finance pet construction and maintenance in the districts of the more politically powerful members of the august body.

And, of course, both chambers, the rotunda and the various committee hearing rooms will be swarming with lobbyists, paid by big oil, big Pharma, nursing homes (can’t forget the nursing home industry) and other special interests to see that an adverse bill (i.e., an ethics or environmental protection bill with real punch) is killed either in committee or, should it somehow get reported out favorably, on the House or Senate floor.

There will be the usual trove of resolutions of congratulations to anyone who accomplished anything of note the previous year. So, if you, say, won a zipline competition (if there is such thing), won a pickle ball tournament or if you happened to live to 100 years, get in touch with your representative or senator.

And did I mention the bills? Oh, the bills.

A quick check of bills already pre-filed turned up a few interesting ones. HB 21, for instance, by Rep. Steven Jackson (D-Shreveport), was a bill providing for the broadcast and recordation of Board of Ethics meetings. It was pre-filed on Feb. 26 and withdrawn exactly a month later before it could be introduced. That could’ve sparked some interesting debate, seeing as how the Ethics Board operates in virtual secrecy and fully intends to keep it that way.

Here’s one that has not been pulled. Yet. Originating in the upper chamber, SB19 is a sweeping bill allowing that complies with requirements of the Department of Health that provides for the purchase of the controversial drug IVERMECTIN.

Ivermectin, if you don’t already know, came into vogue in the wake of the 2020 Covid pandemic.

Ivermectin is a treatment for parasites and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued a health advisory warning physicians and the public of the risk of severe illness caused by the drug.

Yet Sen. Michael “Big Mike” Fesi (R-Houma) not only wants to allow pharmacists to dispense ivermectin to persons 18 and older, he wants to grant immunity to pharmacists doing so. That means if the drug causes significant harm to an individual, he will have no legal recourse.

And remember, it’s all in compliance with a regulation passed down by Jeff Landry’s Department of Health and veterinarian/Surgeon General Ralph Abraham.

And right along with his Ivermectin bill, Big Mike wants to repeal the state’s water fluoridation program and to prohibit the fluoridation of any public water system.

SB 2, also by Fesi, would repeal the present law that requires the Department of Health from establishing water fluoridation program, which it presently does under existing law.

Hawaii is the only state that currently prohibits water fluoridation. Each of the remaining 49 states, Louisiana included, have some amount of fluoridation value, ranging from 10 percent in Texas 99.7 percent in Kentucky. Louisiana’s fluoridation value level is 38 percent.

FLUORIDATION has been shown to prevent tooth decay by strengthening tooth enamel and improve oral health. Moreover, it is cost-effective and safe. Grand Rapids, Michigan, was the first city to implement community water fluoridation in 1945, a project that has since been named by the CDC as one of the 10 great public health achievements of the 20^th century.

Fluoridation has been a BONE OF CONTENTION since as far back as the 1960s when libertarians, the John Birch Society and the Ku Klux Klan latched onto the contention that fluoridation was some sort of communist conspiracy. The latest to oppose fluoridation is none other than Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., secretary of Health and Human Services.

So, there you have two of the pre-filed bills. We will be featuring more as we continue to monitor the filings for even more exotic, imaginative and creative work of your legislators, so hang on tight for the non-stop joy ride to June 12.