Louisiana Voice

It was just a month ago almost to the day (May 21) that a headline in the New Orleans Advocate proclaimed, “Archdiocese of New Orleans reaches landmark settlement with abuse survivors.”

But wait. It turns out that that announcement of a $180 million settlement (abuse survivors had demanded $1 billion) that would be distributed once the diocese emerged from bankruptcy may have been just a bit premature.

In court documents filed last Thursday (June 19) by two insurance companies indicate that the tentative agreement announced last month may not hold.

U.S. Fire Insurance Co. and International Insurance Co. jointly filed a response and reservation of rights to abuse survivors’ motion to conduct a Rule 2004 examination of Archbishop Gregory Aymond.

A Rule 2004 examination is a bankruptcy discovery tool that allows any party of interest to examine an entity (in this case, the archdiocese) about matters related to the bankruptcy case. Specifically, it allows for the gathering of information about the debtor’s financial affairs, assets and conduct.

Last Thursday’s filing said that neither insurance carrier takes a position on the merits of abuse survivors’ April 30 motion to dismiss and Rule 2004 motion but instead, each is requesting that they be given notice of any depositions noticed and that they be given an opportunity “to attend any such deposition and [to] cross-examine any witnesses.”

“The same day that the motion to dismiss was filed, the certain abuse survivors filed the Rule 2004 Motion. Through the Rule 2004 Motion, the certain abuse survivors seek to take depositions in connection with the motion to dismiss,” the companies’ filing said. “The certain abuse survivors also reiterate several of the arguments made in the motion to dismiss, including the argument that the archdiocese has “conceal[ed] their criminal misconduct inside the bankruptcy.”

That would seem to indicate that the insurance companies, who would normally be expected to provide much of the money to settle the abuse cases, may not be ready to write checks just yet.

Most liability polices specifically state that coverage can be denied in cases of subterfuge or criminal activity.

“…[I]t is essential that the parties have a level information playing field so that all parties-in-interest, including the insurers, can meaningfully participate in this bankruptcy case and can otherwise ensure that their rights are not impaired,” the insurers’ filing said, adding that “nothing contained herein is intended to be or shall be construed as (a) an admission as to the amount of, basis for, or validity of any claim of the archdiocese or certain abuse survivors against U.S. Fire and International under the Bankruptcy Code or other applicable non-bankruptcy law; (b) a waiver of U.S. Fire’s or International’s or any party in interest’s rights to dispute any claim or interest on any grounds; or (c) a waiver of U.S. Fire’s or International’s or any other party in interest’s rights under the Bankruptcy Code or any other applicable law.”

In pure legalese, it was a way of the insurance companies saying they were not committing their companies to any payout, pending a determination of whether or not there was any intent to conceal any criminal activity.

As the College World Series opens in Omaha this week with the LSU Tigers a prohibitive favorite to capture the school’s eighth national title – with their opening game against Arkansas Saturday at 6:00 p.m. being key (and as my beloved Boston Red Sox sink further and further in the AL East), it might be time to turn our attention to the ol’ ballgame.

That’s because there seems to be a furtive move afoot by Cadet Bone Spurs to take down major league baseball.

It’s true. Why, just this morning, there was THIS HEADLINE from Associated Press.

So, you ask, what’s Tub-A-Lardo’s notification of Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans that their temporary permission to live and work in the U.S. has been revoked and that they should leave pronto got to do with major league baseball?

The answer is plenty.

There are at least 12 Cubans, 10 Venezuelans, two Nicaraguans and at least one Haitian who are currently toiling away for various major league teams.

That’s just a cursory count and by no means a complete list. And to even attempt the number of former players from those countries would probe overwhelming. And if Frump is consistent (and when has he ever been that?), they must surely be in his crosshairs.

But now, with Agent Orange coming after them, can’t you just picture those plains-clothes, facemask-wearing jack-booted thugs swooping into the outfields, pitchers’ mounds and dugouts of stadiums across the country to snatch these players up for deportation? Of course, for those playing for the Toronto Blue Jays, they’ll have to wait until they play road games in this country; they don’t have any jurisdiction in Canada. At least, I guess IMPOTUS knows that.

Anyway, here’s what I found after a quick search:

CUBANS:

• Aroldis Chapmen, Boston Red Sox;
• Jose Abreu, free agent;
• Randy Arozarena, Seattle Mariners;
• Adolis Garcia, Texas Rangers;
• Yordan Alvarez, Houston Astros;
• Lourdes Gurriel, Jr., Arizona Diamondbacks;
• Jorge Carlos Soler Castillo, Los Angeles Dodgers;
• Luis Robert, Chicago White Sox;
• Yandy Diaz, Tampa Bay Rays;
• Nestor Cortes, Jr., Milwaukee Brewers;
• Raisel Iglesias, Atlanta Braves
• Jorge Soler, Los Angeles Anges

VENEZUELANS:

• Jose Altuve, Houston Astros;
• Eugenio Suarez, Arizona Diamondbacks;
• Pablo Lopez, Minnesota Twins;
• Ronald Acuna, Jr., Atlanta Braves;
• Salvador Perez, Kansas City Royals;
• Jose Alvarado, Philadelphia Phillies;
• Gleyber Torres, Detroit Tigers;
• Andres Gimenez, Toronto Blue Jays
• Luis Arraez, San Diego Padres;
• Avisail Garcia, free agent.

NICARAGUANS:

• Erasmo Ramirez, Minnesota Twins;
• Jonathan Loaisiga, New York Yankees

HAITIAN:

• Dany Gilbert Toussaint, Los Angeles Angels

And just for lagniappe:

MEXICANS:

• Andres Munoz, Seattle Mariners;
• Jonathan Aranda, Tampa Bay Rays;
• Giovanny Gallegos, Los Angeles Dodgers;
• Joey Meneses, New York Mets;
• Isaac Paredes, Houston Astros.

Let’s not overlook players from Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, Colombia and Brazil who also export players to the U.S.

So, yeah, Trump and the terror of hunting dogs everywhere, Kristi Noem are coming after major league baseball for harboring all those players from below our southern border.

Or maybe he’ll just impose a tariff on them.

Oh, there’re also players from Canada, Japan, China and South Korea, but it’s a pretty safe bet they’re safe from any purge by Don the Con.

Let’s face it, U.S. Sen. John N. Kennedy just ain’t too good at figgurin.’

Back in 1999 (that’s 26 years ago if you’re using Kennedy math), when he first ran for Louisiana state treasurer, the then-secretary of the Department of Revenue boasted in a TV ad that during his tenure as the head of the Revenue Department, costs to small businesses had decreased by about 150 percent.

Of course, most people who have even a passing familiarity with numbers know that when you reduce anything by 100 percent, you’re at baseline zero. Ergo, while it’s possible to increase something like say, expenses to small businesses, by just about any percentage, it is impossible to reduce said number by more than 100 percent – unless we decide to start paying some sort of freaky bonuses to businesses.

When his 1999 campaign was informed of that gaffe, the ad was quickly pulled but it couldn’t erase the fact that this was the guy who wanted to be in charge of the state’s finances.

Fast forward to 2025 and we find that ol’ weed killer-drinker still hasn’t boned up on his math.

Oh, he’s skilled at grabbing TV camera face time with his homilies and aw-shucks Will Rogers wannabe word salad. Truth is, he reminds me more of actor Pat Buttram, who played Mr. Haney on Green Acres, than a latter-day Will Rogers.

“Mr. Douglas…” (Pat Buttram as Mr. Haney on Green Acres)

But a reader forwarded me a story from THE SHREVEPORT TIMES. the former Ewing family publication (which did a first-rate job in its investigation of the JIM LESLIE MURDER 50 years ago only to be subsequently sold in 1976 to Gannett which promptly gutted the newsroom staff and left the paper a shell of its former self).

The Times story’s hook was particularly interesting in that it illustrated that Kennedy hasn’t taken any remedial math courses in the past quarter-century.

The story said that last Tuesday (June 3) “Secretary of Education Linda McMahon tested (sic) before the Senate on behalf of Trump’s 2026 budget.”

Okay, with McMahon, a wrestling promoter, you have a disaster-in-waiting, but let’s not dwell on her lack of qualification for now but instead, focus on the exchange between her and Kennedy.

When McMahon confirmed to Kennedy that the government spent about $1.58 billion per year for the past ten years on a program to encourage low-income kids to attend college, the junior senator from Louisiana did some quick computing in that Foghorn Leghorn head of his and said (aloud, so everyone could hear), “So, that’s over a trillion dollars that we’ve spent on this program.”

Oblivious to his error, Kennedy then went on to imply that colleges and universities have been stealing that grant money from the government for their own purposes. McMahon likewise failed to catch Kennedy’s inflated number but Sen John Reed (D-Rhode Island) did.

“I’m not a great mathematician, but I think you were talking about a trillion dollars? I believe $1.5 billion times 10 is $15 billion, and that’s a little bit off from a trillion dollars,” The Times quoted Reed a saying.

McMahon then said that the budget actually cuts $1.2 billion, to which Reed said, “Well that would be $12 billion, not a trillion dollars.”

Oh, did I mention that for 16 years, Kennedy was in charge of the state’s finances?

You just can’t make this kind of stuff up.

“It’s better to be silent and appear dumb than to speak and remove all doubt” is a familiar quote often attributed to Abraham Lincoln. Then, there is the Mark Twain version, ‘It’s better to keep your mouth shut and let people think you are a fool than to open it and remove all doubt.’

It really just depends on which source one prefers but here’s the kicker: No one really knows the exact origin of the quote, but boy is it relevant today!

The examples abound.

Take Cadet Bonespurs, for example. He actually said to German Chancellor Friedrich Merz that June 6 (D-Day) “WAS NOT A PLEASANT DAY FOR YOU.”

Bear in mind, if you will, that the man who uttered that nonsense is the supposed leader of the most powerful nation on Earth. But Merz replied, “In the long run, Mr. President, this was the liberation of my country from a Nazi dictator.” Merz – 1, Tub-A-Lardo – 0 (or 15-love, if you’re scoring in tennis).

That’s (liberating a nation from Nazi influence, that is) something that Agent Orange appears incapable of accomplishing in this country.

Here’s another: David Richardson, the acting head (and acting is a generous description) of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), now claims (or at least his mouthpiece does) that he was “joking” when he allowed that he DID NOT KNOW there was a hurricane season which those of us along the Gulf (of Mexico) coast know all too well runs from June 1 through Nov. 30 every year.

With no background in crisis management, he appears about as qualified as another notorious head of FEMA, Michael D. Brown who came to the agency from his previous post as a rules enforcer for the INTERNATIONAL ARABIAN HORSE ASSOCIATION. Brown had been appointed by another Repugnantcan president, Geore W. (“You’re doing a heckuva job, Brownie”) Bush and quickly turned the management of the Hurricane Katrina aftermath into its own disaster, though by no means a “natural” one.

It was Brown, you may remember, who whined that he needed to find a DOG-SITTER even as tens of thousands of Katrina victims were going without shelter, food or water.

And now we have the most recent outbreak of foot-in-mouth disease.

U.S. Rep. MARY MILLER (R-Illinois) induced nearly everyone’s gag reflex when she crammed her foot into her mouth all the way to her kneecap (at least) by posting (and then quickly correcting and finally deleting altogether) her criticism of permitting Giani Singh, a Sikh Granthi from southern New Jersey to deliver the Hous’s morning prayer.

First of all, this judgmental “Christian” incorrectly identified Singh as a Muslim before someone must have enlightened her about the difference between the Sikh and Islamic faiths and she corrected her blunder with yet another blunder before then deleting her post altogether (oops! Too late, you’re already made a complete ass of yourself, Mary).

She also erroneously claimed in her post that “America was founded as a Christian nation…” before saying she found it “deeply troubling” and said that the opening prayer by someone of that faith offering the opening prayer “should never have been allowed.”

Somewhere in the Bible is something about letting the one without sin cast the first stone (John 8:7, to be precise) but the tolerance practiced by many of the evangelical right these days isn’t so easily recognized or acknowledged these days. So much for the Golden Rule.

It’s just this kind of “Christian tolerance” that led to the 2012 MASSACRE of seven Sikh worshipers who were gunned down by a white supremacist in a Sikh temple has they held Sunday religious services in Wisconsin in 2012.

But here’s a novel idea that I believe would go a long way to ease the tensions and strife that seems to have a strangle-hold on America, especially among our elected leaders:

If you can’t justify your thoughts and beliefs, if you can back up your words with facts and data and if your words don’t result in a productive exchange of ideas, then by all means, KEEP YOUR MOUTH SHUT AND YOUR JUDGMENTS TO YOURSELF.

(And yes, that goes for yours truly, as well. I’m not exempt to letting my alligator mouth overload my jaybird butt and neither are most of you. We could all benefit from toning down the rhetoric.)

Today, I caught an interesting story on The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit online news publication that partners with Pro Publica and more than a dozen other similar state publication, a story that, it seems, was picked up by no other news organizations in Louisiana – except LouisianaVoice.

The Texas legislature has for the second time pulled millions of dollars in STATE FUNDING for child identification kids meant to help find missing kids but actually proved ineffective.

So, why is that relative to Louisiana?

Well, two years ago, LOUISIANA VOICE had a story about how then-Attorney General and gubernatorial candidate Jeff Landry got sucked in on the program.

Fooled long with Landry were savvy Texas political honchos Gov. Greg Abbott, Attorney General Ken Paxton, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz (Repugnantcans one and all), along with the Louisiana Sheriffs Association, Ochsner Health, Our Lady of the Lake Health and American Electric Power (which services customers in 11 states, including Louisiana and Texas).

But wait. It seems that if you failed to get your free kit, courtesy of one of the above sponsors of the program, you can still order a 25-pack kit from AMAZON for a mere $79.95. Or you can order them from the VFW for considerably less.

The Louisiana Sheriffs Association was so sold on the kits’ value that it held a PRESS CONFERENCE at which the kits were hawked with Landry and a host of Louisiana sheriffs looking on as if the dude in the black cowboy hat produced added credibility. Just for good measure, Landry also weighed in with his two cents’ worth which, as it has turned out, may not have really been worth even that much.

But all was not as it appeared to be, according to this 2023 story that was a collaborative venture of THE TEXAS TRIBUNE AND PROPUBLICA.

Two years before that, Landry convinced the Republican Attorneys General Association (RAGA) to set up a cash for influence nonprofit operation by selling member attorneys general and their staff access to corporate funders.

THE NATIONAL CHILD IDENTIFICATION PROGRAM was initially linked to the RAGA nonprofit and supposed to provide $100,000 in funding but never did.

Even though the Louisiana program was established with an array of corporate sponsors and did not receive any taxpayer funding as did Texas, it is still worth noting that our governor could be taken in so easily by an organization set up ostensibly to protect vulnerable children.

It’s understandable how well-meaning corporate CEOs, looking for a high-profile cause, could be so fooled but Landry was the state’s chief legal officer at the time and was supposedly dedicated to fighting fraud.