Many in our area are disappointed dat our new governor hasn’t appointed anyone from our area to any boards. De slogan uf “Louisiana First” iz one dat lots uf folks in our area believed in, an’ dat’s why they voted for Edwards.
My buddy Dan sez we should wait an’ dat good tings will come our way in de way uf appointments an’ money for projects. Me, I call dat bringin’ home de bacon; my fran Max calls dat sometin’ we can’t print in a family publication.
Money Is Top Issue. What A Shock!
Ever notice how politicians promise to address money issues when dar runnin’, an’ den az soon az de election iz over, day start sayin’ day didn’t realize de situation wuz az bad az it iz?
It’s de same in de state administration, wit’ de new commissioner uf administration, Jay Dardenne, who was makin’ a statement about money de same week he wuz appointed by Edwards. Dat week, it wuz reported he would be makin’ $243,000 a year.
An’ for some reason, dem politicians can’t let us enjoy lower gaz prices for a few monts. Every time we turn on de TV or pick up a newspaper, some so-called expert iz givin’ reasons we should increase de gaz tax in our area az a way uf gettin’ outta de financial pickle we’re in.
De question iz, will dis gaz tax go away when de price uf gaz goes back up? An’ de answer iz: have you ever seen a political body drop a tax?
Wal-Mart Closin’ Stores
Big companies get into trouble when day start gettin’ in bidnesses day know little or nuttin’ about. Dat’s what happened to Wal-Mart, which fount out de convenience store bidness ain’t de same az de dry goods an’ grocery bidness.
Recently, de big boys in Bentonville, Ark., sed day wuz closin’ some uf dem small stores in Lake Arthur an’ Iowa in our area. Several udder stores are closin’ in our state.
De big chain promised to give de 240 folks who lost dar jobs a chance to find a job at a Super Wal-Mart or help wit’ trainin’. Now, dat’s mo dan what stores usually do when day shut it down. We don’t recall Macy’s or udder mall stores doin’ anyting like dat.
Not Already
When President Obama came to Baton Rouge, he was driven to McKinley High School in a motorcade dat included Gov. Edwards and Baton Rouge mayor Kip Holden. Edwards claims he pointed out to de president de poor stretch uf interstate near de merger uf I-10 and I-12. Holden says he’s de one who did it.
Who iz tellin’ de truth? An’ what about de West Point code uf honor?
A Little Early Power Play
When state Rep. Chuck Kleckley ran for Speaker uf de House, he had hiz ducks in a row when de Legislature opened its session. Tings were not so orderly dis time around. De new governor wanted someone different dan de Republicans, an’ de firs’ scuffle uf de war dat iz legislative politics wuz on.
Trouble iz, unlike wit’ Kleckley, needer side had de votes, an darfore a compromise candidate by de name uf Taylor Barras from New Iberia iz now de new House Speaker. Now, Barras will make a whole lot uf House committee appointments in comin’ days. De question iz, who will actually be makin’ de appointments … de Republicans, de Democrats or de gubner. Ain’t politics in Louisiana wonderful?
Presidential Race Comin’
Afta watchin’ de Democratic debate, me, I’m convinced all dem Republicans an’ Democrats would have to change dar tactics if day wanted to win in our state. Dar would have to be a lot mo personal attacks. Hillary would tell Trump dat if hiz hair wuz real, he should get a haircut. Trump would tell Hillary he’s seen less loose skin on a bloodhound dan under her neck. Cruz would be compaired to Pat Buchanan an’ Joseph McCarthy. Rubio would be singled out for missin’ so much time in de Senate while campaigning. Bernie Sanders would talk about how Wall Street caused de collapse uf oil prices.
Folks, you’ll probably be seein’ dis an’ much more befo de primary in dis state on March 5. Some uf de candidates have already named state chairmen to help with dar campaigns. In party politics, dat means de folks what have given de mos’ money to de campaign have been named. It will get interestin’ when dem guys hit de air waves in our state.
Speakin’ Uf Which …
Right afta dem presidential primary races in our state, we’ll start seein’ ads for de U.S. Senate seat David Vitter sez he ain’t runnin for no mo. From our area, we have our congressman Charles Boustany. All sorts uf Republican heavyweights have announced. No real strong Democrats have announced yet, but many are tinkin’ New Awlins Mayor Mitch Landrieu may very well jump in de race. [Editor’s note: as of press time, Landrieu was on record as saying he would not run for the office.] Hiz little sister Mary served in de Senate for quite a few years.
Wit’ Boustany runnin’ for Senate, dat brings up de race for de U.S. rep’s seat. Dat boils down to a race wit’ someone from Lafayette an’ someone from Lake Charles. Dar are still mo votes in de Lafayette area, makin’ it almos’ impossible for someone from dis area to win. But stranger tings have happened.
Back To How It Wuz
In 2013, de high school football playoffs wuz split. So when de schools went to de Dome for de state championships, you had de public schools an’ private schools. De split occurred afta de public school principals complained for years about private schools like John Curtis havin’ an unfair advantage in competition for state titles.
LHSAA principals voted, and for de last two years, you had a public school and private school champs in each division 1a-5a. Well, jus’ recently de executive director Eddie Bonine announced dat splittin’ de schools wuz illegal and playoffs would go back to de old format.
Now, we all know de big Catholic schools in New Awlins have all sorts uf state trophies public schools uf de same size could only dream uf havin’. But at leas’ some uf dem LHSAA principals got dar wishes for two years. Ain’t high school athletic politics wonderful?
De Floodin’ Seminars
Recently, we sawed large crowds attend floodin’ seminars in Moss Bluff, Lake Charles an’ Sulphur. De presentations, put on by de Go Group and Police Jury, highlighted what wuz bein’ done to keep floodin’ from gettin’ worser in our parish.
De group axed for public comment, an’ we can tell you de large crowds dat attended each uf dem seminars wuz quick to point out day wuzn’t at all pleased wit’ what wuz goin’ on.
Again, az we commented in de las’ issue, developers continue to put up buildins an’ natural drainage continues to be interrupted. We say tax de developers to get de funds to fix de drainage problems dat plague our area.
N.O. Boys Still Get Dar Way
My fran Max gets mad at me when I start talkin’ about gradin’ our legislators based on if dar bringin’ home de bacon. He sez we should grade dem on de number uf good gubment bills day help pass.
I remind him I’ll do dat when de N.O. bunch starts workin’ on good gubment bills an’ quits backin’ up to de public trough to take mo bacon back to Chalmette, Kenner, New Awlins, etc.
An dar ain’t any indication uf dat change comin’ about soon. De kingpin uf bacon, John Alario, wuz jus re-elected President uf de Senate; so for at lease four more years, we’ll see de N.O. area get an unfair share uf bacon.
SWLA, We Have A Problem
Az you’ve seen in recent months, folks don’t want man camps built in dar area. An’ we’ve just learned da one in east Lake Charles dat wuz going to be de largest uf its kind in de world haz been scratched.
Az we’ve yelled for over a year: housin’ an’ infrastructure. All we’ve seen is one man camp bein’ built near de airport in Sulphur.
De Police Jury needs to address de problems and now, because by de end uf de year, we’ll see a big mess if we don’t act now.
Deep Taughts While Watchin’ TV
10) What ever happed to Occupy Wall Street?
9) How long will Sulphur drag its feet on de lights at de corner uf
Hazel an’ Maplewood?
8) Where’s dem specs Anthony promised me?
7) Ain’t dis Ben Simmons kid from LSU fun to watch?
6) Why do de cops come every time we have a porch party at my friend Jim’s?
5) Instead uf taxin’ us some mo, why doesn’t Edwards tax cars over $50 some mo?
4) Where iz Johnny Football goin’ to end up?
3) Iz T-Claude’s wife gonna let him outta de house to join us for
Mardi Gras in Mamou?
2) Why am I not allowed at my fran Jack’s Super Bowl parties any mo?
1) Will Sean Penn interview Burl Cain?
‘Til next time, lache pas la patate.
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