Louisiana Voice

The Republican party has its collective drawers in a wad over those predator Democrats and their grooming of children. If you don’t believe it, all you have to do is google “Republicans, grooming” to see for yourself. They’re beside themselves: Marjorie Green Taylor and Matt Gaetz, side-by-side (and that, friends, is the best illustration of Republicans being “beside” themselves). I mean, who better to speak against pedophilia than those two?

But I digress. News broke (perhaps “news oozed” would be more accurate) late Wednesday that PragerU had been ACCEPTED to show “edu-tainment” videos to Louisiana public school children.

Talk about grooming! Are you kidding me?

To view one of the “edu-tainment” videos offered by PragerU, go  HERE.(You’ll need to click on the speaker icon in the top left corner to hear the garbage this spokesperson spews out as if it were gospel. The name of this particular clip is “The Inconvenient Truth About the Democratic party.” The lady, in all apparent sincerity, ties today’s Democratic party to the Democratic party of the mid-19^th Century and paints the Republicans (of that same era) as the good guys who wanted only what was best for America’s slaves. That, of course, is accurate – again, for that time period. But she neglects to point out that the roles have reversed dramatically in the last 160 years – especially since the Republicans adopted the so-called “SOUTHERN STRATEGY,” which dates back to passage of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, and the Lewis Powell MEMORANDUM to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce five years later.

But don’t stop there. On the right side of that video clip is a menu of other “edu-tainment” video clips that offer a decidedly politically-biased take on American history. That, folks, is what real grooming looks like and it’s got nothing to do with drag queens.

The headline in the Baton Rouge Advocate said it all: “Louisiana will let public schools show right-wing group’s ‘edu-tainment’ videos, sparking outcry.”

Outcry my butt. This decision by Superintendent of Education Cade Brumley (and I’m certain, endorsed by Gov. Jeff Landry) makes Louisiana the sixth state to link up with PragerU, which, despite the clever name, is not a university at all, but a content provider.

But PragerU boasted in its own news release that its deal with Louisiana is “more expansive” than in other states because the Louisiana Department of Education has approved an “extensive list” of PragerU videos for social studies. The link provider earlier provides a sampling of those social studies videos which are nothing but propaganda tools with which Republicans may “groom” impressionable children.

Here are two sentences from the Advocate story today: “Founded in 2009 by conservative radio host Dennis Prager, the nonprofit produces slick online videos that the group says have been viewed billions of times and are hosted by conservative media figures, including Tucker Carlson and Candace Owens. Geared for young adults, its videos frequently attack liberal causes, including gender-affirming care for transgender youth, climate change, the Democratic party and teachers’ unions.”

Again, quoting from The Advocate story, here’s what PragerU’s 2023 annua report said: “PragerU Kids is serving families, schools, and young Americans through edu-taining, pro-American content and undoing the damage of leftist teachers’ unions.”

Other states that have accepted PragerU programs on history, civics, financial literacy, the Bible and other topics for public school children are Florida (the first to do so), Oklahoma, Montana, New Hampshire and Arizona. It should come as no surprise that the other five states have adopted propagandized programs from this outfit. The only outlier would appear at first blush to be New Hampshire until we realize that Republican Trump supporter Chris Sununu is governor there. And while Arizona’s governor is a Democrat, the rest of the state is of a deep red hue.

Now, the question must be asked: just who is really doing the grooming here?

Folks, that’s real cojones when you can claim with a straight face that your opposition is grooming kids even as you’re infusing pure political propaganda into public classrooms.

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Nineteenth Judicial District Judge Beau Higginbotham fell back on the classic legal maneuver of “splitting the baby” in his decision over the LSU-Shreveport committee’s illegal decision to conduct the TERMINATION HEARING of Dr. Brian Salvatore in closed session.

Salvatore attorney J. Arthur Smith slapped LSU with a lawsuit over the open meetings violation and the good judge did indeed rule that LSU had violated the law in closing the doors but in doing so, he failed to assess any damages against LSU, a move certain to gain political favor in the eyes of dictator Gov. Jeff Landry who has successfully gutted the State Ethics Commission for its sin of finding a campaign violation against him.

Without any penalty being imposed, the judge’s decision renders the Open Meetings Law meaningless and makes any attempt to enforce ethics on Louisiana political figures nothing more than a running joke. Hell, they don’t even let expired auto inspection stickers off that easily.

What’s next, a “tsk-tsk” should the governor wander astray of the Public Records Law? Probably. After all, Landry has already tried unsuccessfully to shield “public” records from public scrutiny. What’s to stop him from simply ignoring the law knowing that there will be no significant penalty imposed as a deterrent?

At the risk of pissing off a judge, his milquetoast decision reduces the law to a piece of paper devoid of any real meaning.

But, were armed guards really necessary at the LSU committee hearing on the ouster of Dr. Brian Salvatore? Well, when you’re violating the law, do so with an appropriate show of force.

Dr. Salvatore, you may remember, had requested that his hearing be conducted in open meeting, as is his right under Louisiana law. But an ad hoc faculty committee, hand-picked by LSUS Chancellor Robert Smith, had other ideas, much like that ignoble hearing of four fired professors at Southern University.in which a similar scenario played out with the public – and the four professors – being barred from a hearing on their fate.

In the SOUTHERN UNIVERSITY case, the four professors and LouisianaVoice sued over the blatant violation of the state’s open meeting laws. Southern’s brilliant legal team argued to no avail that the committee was not a public body and the four professors and LouisianaVoice were awarded $1,000 each – an award yet to be paid five years post-ruling.

The LSUS rubber-stamp committee issued a recommendation that Salvatore be terminated. Smith has already made the recommendation for termination leaving the only remaining step is the decision by LSU system President William Tate who has long since shown his propensity to knuckle under to political pressure to the detriment of the university. Tate himself has violated the open meetings law in the past, including a closed meeting in Shreveport in 2022 to discuss the fate of the LSUS campus.

Of course, Salvatore’s unforgivable sin was to speak out loud, clearly and often against pollution of northwest Louisiana air, land and water by corporate and university interests. That kind of rhetoric is verboten in the eyes of university administrators terrified of losing grant money and of Republicans who have taken over every phase of government in the years since 1980.

Don’t believe me? HERE, HERE and HERE are three takeover stories just from today.

The dots aren’t really that difficult to connect.

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Those who have experienced near-death experiences have described rising above operating room tables and observing doctors and nurses as they worked on their physical bodies.

If true, they’re truly inspiring stories and it’s a pity legislators and members of Congress can’t rise above chamber floors and actually watch themselves make utter fools of themselves as they pass yet another asinine law or resolution as a kneejerk reaction to some perceived crisis.

Take efforts being led by House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) to amend the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 to require proof of CITIZENSHIP as a qualification to vote in federal elections.

The only problem with that is ALREADY A LAW – and has been for some time now. But hey, a little grandstanding never hurts. Even passing redundant laws can be an effective dog whistle for a targeted constituency.

As of late, we’ve had a lot of hoopla over the content of publications offered by public libraries – and the controversy is far from settled as more and more, certain elements exhibit a dogged determination to dictate tastes and morals – and yes, even history itself – to the rest of society.

The latest infringement on the populace is the Louisiana Legislature’s passage of do-gooder Rep. Dodie Horton’s (R-Haughton) H.B. 122, more commonly known (thanks to Ronda Santis) as the “Don’t Say Gay” bill.

Her bill follows by a couple of years an interesting legislative effort to limit the teaching in public schools to only the positive aspects of AMERICAN HISTORY, including, of course, the absurd claim that SLAVERY was actually a good thing in that it taught slaves a trade.

Such is the ambition of Republicans to seize total control of every aspect of our daily lives that they’re even pushing S.B 313 by Sen. Rick Edmunds (R-Baton Rouge) that would funnel TAXPAYER MONEY into private schools.

By accepting state money, of course, all schools, public and private, would be required to post copies of the TEN COMMANDMENTS in every classroom as per yet another unthinking law just passed, courtesy of…Dodie Horton.

Republicans on both the state and federal level have already climbed into every woman’s uterus and now, having taken control of the bedroom, they want to expand to the CLASSROOM. Keep in mind, this is the party that insists that it wants LESS GOVERNMENT INTRUSION in our daily lives.

These examples only scratch the surface of the mindset of lawmakers as they fall all over themselves in a mad rush to enact the latest designer law intended to adhere to some vague, inane political agenda.

It got so out of hand that the Arizona Supreme Court recently fell back on an archaic 19^th century law that was still on the books to render a judicial OPINION upholding a near total abortion ban.

If we’re going to play that game, here are a few laws that are still on the books in various states that make it illegal to:

• give obedience training to your dog in Hartford, Conn.
• push a moose out of an airplane in Alaska.
• give a lighted cigar to your pet in Illinois.
• shine your shoes after 1 p.m. on Sunday in New York.
• have a sheep in the cab of your truck without s chaperone in Montana (which, of course, makes all manner of bestiality jokes fair game).
• make an ugly face at a dog in Oklahoma.
• eat fried chicken by any means than with your hands in Georgia.
• tie a giraffe to a telephone pole or street lamp in Georgia.
• tie a crocodile or alligator to a fire hydrant in both Alabama and Michigan.
• eat ice cream at a counter on Sunday in Winona Lake, Wisc.
• order a slice of cherry pie a la mode in Kansas on Sunday.
• eat a frog in California if it died during a frog-jumping competition.
• eat an orange while taking a bath in California.
• drive while blindfolded in Alabama.
• pretend to be a religious figure in Alabama (which conceivably could adversely affect a lot of evangelicals).
• wear a bulletproof vest while committing a crime in New Jersey (talk about redundancy!).
• talk to students in Tennessee about hand-holding (“Don’t Say Gay” must surely be etched in stone there).
• Erect billboards in Hawaii (now that law makes sense).
• throw urine out of your car in Oregon (another law that makes perfect sense, but you have to wonder what necessitated such a law).
• allow your donkey to sleep in your bathtub after 7 p.m. in Arizona.
• live on a boat for more than 90 days in Georgia (that’d never work in South Louisiana).
• for unmarried couples to live together in West Virginia (but it’s still legal for 12-year-olds there to marry).
• Restaurant wait staff in Utah are required to stand by your table and observe as you consume any alcoholic beverage you may have ordered.
• to fall asleep under a hair dryer in a salon.
• sky-dive on Sundays if you are a single woman in Florida (or course, Rhonda Santis would probably have no problem with either of these).
• wear patent leather shoes in public in Cleveland, Ohio, if you are a woman (because shiny footwear could inadvertently give some man a quick peep show).
• adjust your stockings in public, subject to up to 12 months in the state penitentiary, if you are a woman in Dennison, Texas, or Bristo, Tenn.
• eat raw onions after 6 p.m. for women in Nacodoches, Texas.
• drive a car while wearing a housecoat if you’re a woman in California.
• wear false teeth in Vermont, if you’re a woman, without first obtaining your husband’s permission.

FEDERAL LAWS are little better. Here are a few that can land you in federal court:

• Using a falconry bird in a movie that’s not about falconry;
• Selling runny ketchup (anyone checked out Mar-a-Lago for this?);
• Leaving the country with too many nickels in your pocket (uh… how many is too many?);
• Selling wine with a label that insults the competition;
• Writing checks for less than $1;
• Making “unreasonable” gestures to passing horses;
• Selling oversized or undersized noodles;
• Making it rain with lasers without first informing the government;
• Selling Swiss cheese without holes;
• Having “disruptively” bad hygiene in the Library of Congress;

Go HERE to take a look at additional stupid laws each state still has on the books.

Think such laws only exist in other states? Think again. Here are from Louisiana laws that are still hanging around on the books:

• Goatees are illegal unless you first pay a special licensing fee.
• Biting someone with your natural teeth is “simple assault,” while biting them with your false teeth constitutes “aggravated assault.”
• Don’t get caught gargling in public (not sure what the penalty is, but don’t get caught).
• In Lafayette, it’s illegal to play a musical instrument without a license in order to gain attention.
• Mourners at a wake are limited to three sandwiches.
• In New Orleans, you’re in violation of the law if you tie your alligator to a fire hydrant (was this ever a problem?).
• For some unknown reason, it’s illegal to send food to an “unwitting participant” (Who know there were “unwitting participants” in eating good food in Louisiana?)
• Snakes are not allowed near a Mardi Gras parade.
• Women, it’s illegal to drive a car unless your husband is waving a flag in front of it (no word on unmarried women driving a car).

Louisiana’s latest addition to this list of absurdities? How about mandating the posting of a single version of the Ten Commandments (to the exclusion of at least four others) and our very own “Don’t Say Gay” law?

All of which goes to underscore a rather depressing point: legislators and members of Congress are never so bored that they can’t dream up some useless bit of legislation to throw up against the wall to see if it’ll stick. It’s kinda their way of entertaining themselves between making those pesky but oh-so-necessary telephone calls to solicit campaign donations.

Some explanation is in order after our web page went dark for several days. It seems my subscription to the page had expired and I never received notice because our email address was changed and the folks who needed to know that didn’t.

Restoring the page took some doing – mainly by the person who set the page up in the first place. Without him, I’m lost because creating web pages is way above my pay grade.

But, bottom line, we’re finally up and running again. Thanks for your patience.

Also, as the days of May dwindle away, so do the days of our Spring fundraiser. We have only the rest of the month so if you have not given and are able to do so, please click on the yellow DONATE button below and to the right and contribute by credit card. Your help in keeping us going with stories like the one below is greatly appreciated.