I know many of you have been following the ongoing battle Lake Charles has been fighting with the V.A. health care system in Alexandria in order to get some good, solid health care for vets in SWLA.<\/p>\n
The latest dismal chapter is that the Alexandria V.A. finally picked a site for a permanent local clinic \u2014 a site that, according to Col. Jim Jackson, has none of the design or infrastructure a clinic requires.<\/p>\n
Jackson told the American Press that the site on West McNeese is “not set up for a clinic” and is “totally unacceptable.” Said Jackson, “I can’t fathom who makes these decisions.”<\/p>\n
It’s a thought we all have. I’m starting to wonder whether the Alexandria V.A. has some motive for making Lake Charles people mad. I mean, jeez; what did we ever do to Alexandria?<\/p>\n
There’s more to be mad about. At first, the Alexandria V.A. said the L.C. clinic would be open by November. Now they’ve cancelled that. Of course, they have. Who can turn a building that’s never been a clinic into a clinic in two months?<\/p>\n
Editor’s note: As of press time, a new permanent location had been announced. Unfortunately, some of the fundamental concerns about the location are the same.<\/p>\n
Maybe It’s Me?<\/strong><\/p>\n I’ll start off with the words of the Joe Pesci character in Goodfellas: “Let me understand this, ’cause maybe it’s me.” After that, he says a word I can’t quote here. But the general idea is that he wants to make sure he understands the matter correctly.<\/p>\n So … I think the story is that the L.C. Regional Airport would like those boarding planes at the airport to have two forms of picture ID. I spent some time trying to think of a second form and \u2014 I’m ashamed to admit \u2014 couldn’t.<\/p>\n But then I read that somebody around here had suggested passports. Riders at the L.C. airport could present passports. Problem solved!<\/p>\n Nope. Problem started. Does anyone believe that people who can’t muster the motivation to use turn signals, learn the difference between the plural and the possessive, and go to work on Friday afternoons are going to get motivated enough to get a passport just so that they can board a plane in Lake Charles?<\/p>\n I know the L.C. airport isn’t exactly bustling. But require riders to show a passport and you’ll see that airport get about as busy as a forgotten graveyard at midnight.<\/p>\n Why are we in this situation in the first place? The reason is that \u2014 as always \u2014 the leaders of Louisiana chose not to follow a federal requirement that every other state in the union followed. This particular federal requirement concerned the nature of ID after 9\/11. Now, Louisiana pays the inevitable consequences of pretending the feds can simply be ignored.<\/p>\n Louisiana should follow a federal guideline sometime. Just for a change of pace. Something good might happen. Won’t know ’til we try it.<\/p>\n LSU Parents On To Something<\/strong><\/p>\n Adults who feel that it’s extremely important to send their progeny to LSU may be on to something. College Scoreboard, a study from the U.S. Dept. of Education, just released data showing LSU grads earn significantly higher salaries than their counterparts at other schools.<\/p>\n The figures break down like this: 10 years after graduation, LSU alums earn $45,900 a year. That’s $10,000 a year more than the average salary for all college grads: $34,300. For high school grads, the salary drops to $25,000 a year.<\/p>\n If you have a child approaching college age, you might want to spend some time with this report. The Dept. of Ed. warns that “at some institutions, the earnings of students 10 years after enrollment are bleak.” And at half the colleges and universities in the U.S., says the dept., half the alums are still earning less than high school grads 10 years after their enrollment in college.<\/p>\n Just Trust Everybody<\/strong><\/p>\n The story you’re about to read may be old news for some of you. But something about the arrest of 10 people in Lake Arthur for a single murder got me thinking just a little bit. Here’s what I was pondering:<\/p>\n I’ve heard the old saying “Three people can keep a secret if two of them are dead.” But I’ve never yet heard the saying “Ten people can keep a secret if nine of them are dead.”<\/p>\n I have a hard time even imagining how 10 people could find a space large enough to allow them to conspire in privacy. And what sort of logic was used to reach the conclusion: “Hey, nobody’s going to talk. Besides, there’s only 10 of us”?<\/p>\n Curious Outside Of Louisiana<\/strong><\/p>\n The magnificent 600-page Gumbo Ya Ya, which was published way back in 1945, is probably the definitive book on Louisiana folklore, French lore and lore that’s secret even to many long-time rural residents.<\/p>\n But if you think you aren’t quite up to 600 pages of small print right now, you might consider the new book It Happens In Louisiana: Peculiar Tales, Traditions and Recipes from the Bayou, which is being published by Arcadia in mid-October.<\/p>\n Author Sam Irwin looks at such rituals as the chicken run; “pacuer” [the game of trying to crack an opponent’s egg] and “le turnoi,” which I think is a sort of traditional bayou jousting contest.<\/p>\n Irwin goes into more contemporary and public areas that Gumbo Ya Ya did, and he explores some popular Louisiana culture. He explains how Louisiana’s hurricane history was behind the creation of Pat O’Brien’s Hurricane and chronicles the adventures of Earl Long in mental institutions.<\/p>\n Irwin’s book seems to take an “only in Louisiana” approach. It weighs in at 160 pages and includes 110 photos. Irwin got his training in history at UL-L.<\/p>\n It Happens In Louisiana will be on the stands Oct. 19, with a retail price of $21.99. Need to know more? Visit arcadiapublishing.com.<\/p>\n On The Campaign Trail<\/strong><\/p>\n \u2014 Sept. 14: Jindal moves into the second half of September embroiled in a running battle with Trump that Jindal started and that Trump mainly refrains from participating in.<\/p>\n But what’s more interesting is that Jindal \u2014 or his people \u2014 continue to find it impossible to use the English language that Jindal requires all immigrants to use.<\/p>\n There were fine examples in an anti-Trump tirade Jindal sent out on Sept. 14. In it, Jindal says Trump has “a unique way to run for president of United States, but may be it makes sense.” Of course, “United States” should have a “the” in front of it. But we’ll let that slide. What’s really significant here is that “maybe” is broken into two words \u2014 “may be.”<\/p>\n “Now, Brad,” some reader is saying. “Aren’t you being a little hard on the fellow? Isn’t this, after all, maybe just a typo?”<\/p>\n I would accept that explanation if the exact same mistake weren’t made a second time in the tirade: “May be sending the nation’s leading expert in bankruptcy is a natural fit for Washington, DC.”<\/p>\n \u2014 Sept. 16: Jindal’s daily campaign email begins with the headline “Trump is a madman who must be stopped.” No way to deny it any longer. Jindal and I agree on something.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, Jindal’s tour of the exclusive, cosmopolitan watering holes of Iowa goes on. He appears at the Raccoon Valley Electric Co-op Town Hall in Glidden, the Keokuk County Meet and Greet at the Haines Dairy Farm, the Jefferson County Agri-Industrial Plastics Town Hall, the town hall in Keosauqua, and meet and greets at two \u2014 count ’em \u2014 two different Pizza Ranches, one in Mt. Pleasant and one in Washington.<\/p>\n \u2014 Sept. 18: Times-Picayune’s Robert Mann Tweets: “Jindal’s silence on Trump and his tolerance of anti-Muslim bigotry is demeaning. Lose your nerve, Bobby? Speak up!”<\/p>\n \u2014 Sept. 21: Jindal’s daily campaign email finds him once again inviting other candidates to engage in personal debates with Jindal. The governor writes: “I have an idea for Hillary Clinton, let\u2019s have a debate about healthcare.”<\/p>\n And once again, for some bizarre reason we’ll probably never know, Hillary declined to take Jindal up on the invite.<\/p>\n On the same day, Jindal hops on the “gotcha” train of Sarah Palin and Donald Trump. Jindal writes in his daily campaign email that any questions asked by anyone in the media about a hypothetical Muslim president of the U.S. constitute a “gotcha game.”<\/p>\n Jindal goes on to make it crystal clear that he is having no truck with the anti-Muslim bigotry expressed by some of the Republican candidates. His words flow like a sweet nectar of tolerance:<\/p>\n \u201cIf you can find me a Muslim candidate who is a Republican, who will fight hard to protect religious liberty, who will respect the Judeo-Christian heritage of America, who will be committed to destroying ISIS and radical Islam, who will condemn cultures that treat women as second-class citizens and who will place their hand on the Bible and swear to uphold the Constitution, then yes, I will be happy to consider voting for him or her. If you can’t, I\u2019ll settle for voting for a Christian Governor from Louisiana.\u201d<\/p>\n I wonder why Jindal capitalized “Governor” even though the word wasn’t in front of anyone’s name. I’ve heard that Jindal knows even more about English than he knows about Islam. Good thing for us, too. If you’re going to be president (not President, of course), you pretty much have to be an expert on everything. And sure enough, in one of his Sept. 21 emails, Shannon Dirman, Jindal’s press secretary, writes, “Governor Bobby Jindal is a health care expert.” That is\u00a0 extremely reassuring.<\/p>\n On the same day, Jindal Tweets “Hillary … is coming to LA to attack me for refusing to implement Obamacare.” Well, I’m sure we’ve all heard the saying: Just because you’re paranoid doesn’t mean people aren’t out to get you. (Editor’s follow-up: Jindal survived Hillary’s attack.)<\/p>\n The Toxic Candidate<\/strong><\/p>\n Jindal’s concern about Hillary’s great power might be a tad unwarranted, given that Democratic candidate for Louisiana governor Jon Bel Edwards didn’t even bother to show up for Hillary’s Baton Rouge visit.<\/p>\n I guess it was reasonable for reporters to ask why he couldn’t make it. Said an Edwards spokesman: \u201cWith less than five weeks till election day, Rep. Edwards has a completely booked schedule in order to keep up with his own campaign appearances and fund-raising.\u201d<\/p>\n Oh, so he was too busy to go. I guess that makes sense. But does he at least support Hillary? “John Bel is vetting all the candidates.” Common sense tells you you can’t expect a guy who’s still vetting to come out with a ringing endorsement.<\/p>\n Of course, as always, political commentators had to put in their two cents’ worth. UL-Monroe political scientist Joshua Stockley told Lafayette’s Advertiser it would be “politically toxic” for Edwards to appear with Clinton.<\/p>\n Why would he say that? Is it just because, after President Obama and Bobby Jindal, Hillary Clinton is the most-hated politician in Louisiana? Now, did I really need a professor to tell me that?<\/p>\n The News<\/strong><\/p>\n “‘Big Brother 17’ Spoilers: Was the Final 5 Power of Veto Used?”<\/p>\n \u2014 Buddy TV headline, which was No. 8 on Google News’ list of “Spotlight” stories on Sept. 18.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" I know many of you have been following the ongoing battle Lake Charles has been fighting with the V.A. health care system in Alexandria in order to get some good, solid health care for vets in SWLA. 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