The Value of a Student's Life

A reality check is definitely long overdue at our beloved premiere university in Louisiana.

LSU fans and alumni become outraged when the LSU Tigers’ performance on the football field fails to meet their expectations.  It results in condemnation of the head coach, and if the poor performance continues fans and alumni call for the coach’s head.  This was clearly evidenced by the recent Les Miles firing.

However, when it comes to injurious partying at LSU, apparently no one gives a damn.

A young man died at the hands of fraternity hazing and yet there is no outcry for anyone’s head in the LSU administration.

LSU has a designated office in its administration charged with the over-site of fraternities’ and sororities’ activities, including how pledging is conducted.

Apparently this exists in name only for over the years when serious violations occurred at these organizations it was usually the national chapter that imposed the punitive actions on the campus chapters, not LSU.

The LSU administration appears to have only gotten minimally involved when media outlets exposed the activities or some public display of deplorable events occurred.  If LSU did choose to do anything at all, it simply issued a slap on the wrist along with a media release stating that the violators would be required to attend some type of counseling; no big deal for LSU.

According to recent  media investigations, emails, letters and verbal warnings by alumni had little effect in creating a proactive, regulatory approach for the office charged with the over-site of these organizations.

Someone or some administrative office failed to do its job and holding those accountable in addition to the students themselves would certainly show that LSU is as concerned about the well being of its students as it is about its football performance.

What is equally disturbing is how the public continues to absolve the administration of any responsibility for these incidences. 

Guess the easy way out is to just blame it all on the kids, because we all know, “everyone just loves to party,” especially at LSU.

Sadly, I suspect the reason for this muted public outcry is the notion among many adults that drinking is just a part of the “college experience.”   Drunken behavior has always been acceptable in our society.  Some parents even facilitate teenage drinking in their homes with the excuse that they want their children’s first exposure to drinking to be among family so that they can prepare them for college life, or life in general.

However, the bottom line for all college drinking in Louisiana is the fact that the legal drinking age is 21, and 18-20 year olds may only consume alcohol in an alcoholic beverage outlet if they are accompanied by a parent, spouse, or legal guardian who is 21 years of age or older.  Yet drinking is continually permitted at university-sponsored frats and sororities. 

It’s the coach’s fault when the LSU students lose a football game, but it is totally the students’ fault when underage students binge drink at an LSU sanctioned frat or sorority house resulting in property damage, someone’s injury, or death.

Where is the LSU administrative effort to realistically regulate this irresponsible and often destructive behavior, and where is the alumni and publics’ demand to do so?

Trump Walking in Obama's Shoes

Although President Trump’s loyal supporters would be loathed to admit this, it is becoming more and more apparent that there is very little difference between the governing styles of Barrack Obama and President Trump.

Both presidents were frustrated with a balky Congress and shared a desire to take action when stalemated.   They both challenged lawmakers to step up and pass legislation even if they did not agree with them.

Mr. Trump has concluded that he cannot wait for a Republican Congress to act, so he is using his executive power to accomplish what lawmakers will not, in this case erasing most of the Mr. Obama’s legacy.

Why does this matter?   It matters because once again it shows the hypocrisy of Donald Trump.  Mr. Trump was a harsh critic of Mr. Obama for relying too much on executive power to enact his agenda.  In usual Trump style he cast Obama as some sort of out-of-control executive bypassing the Constitution and Congress to enact his liberal/socialistic agenda. 

However, our new President has now decided it’s okay to ignore both and like Obama is aggressively wielding his own executive pen.

On the campaign trail in February, 2016, Trump repeatedly said, "Obama goes around signing executive orders.  He can't even get along with the Democrats. He goes around signing all these executive orders. It's a basic disaster. You can't do it."

Just substitute the words “Trump” for “Obama” and “Republicans” for “Democrats” in his February quote and you will clearly see the hypocrisy of Trump in his adoption of the Obama-like approach for governing.

“What’s remarkable is how early in his administration President Trump is resorting to executive unilateralism,” said Mr. Galston, a scholar at the Brookings Institution.  “Mr. Obama, by contrast, did not turn to executive power so robustly until later in his eight-year presidency.”

Last Thursday, was the 49th executive order that Trump has signed since coming into office on January 20.  Barrack Obama signed a mere 26 by this time.

Obviously, Trump’s voracious use of executive orders will be heatedly defended by his supporters with the excuse always given, “Well, the previous administration did it, so what’s the big deal?”

The big deal is Donald Trump promised something different, to clean the swamp and govern in a new fashion.  Maybe it’s time to recall the famous Hans Christian Andersen’s story and tell the emperor and his supporters “that he doesn’t have on any clothes,” when it comes to how he governs.  He’s no better than his predecessor.

Tough Guy Rhetoric Plays into Game Plan

While many continually applaud Donald Trump for telling it like it is, sometimes his lack of diplomacy borders on pure buffoonery.  His threat about “totally destroying North Korea” with its 25 million inhabitants is total buffoonery because it could not be carried out without the total destruction of our ally South Korea.

For those unfamiliar with the geographic layout of South Korea, its capital city, Seoul, is located near the North Korea border with a population of over 12 million inhabitants; almost fifty percent of South Korea’s population reside in the area closely surrounding it. 

North Korea has the capability of destroying Seoul within 20 minutes with its latest missile technology.

I seriously doubt Donald Trump is going to sacrifice over 12 million plus people of one of our sworn allies to fulfill his tough guy testosterone rhetoric; for that’s all it really is, “tough guy rhetoric.”   It cannot be realistically acted upon and North Korea knows this.

However, Trump’s latest shoot from the hip remark does have an upside for North Korea.  It will provide that country with just the very thing they needed, the sound bite of the century.  That UN speech footage will be used time and time again by Kim’s regime to justify the necessity of its inhabitants’ suffering to “resist the United States’ aggressive imperialism and hostile policy leading to the eventual goal of the total destruction their country.”

Since the Korean War ended in an armistice in 1953, the Kim regime has portrayed the United States as an aggressive nation pursuing a course to once again destroy North Korea. To keep control of, and unify the populace, the regime has kept alive the memories of the Korean War, when the U.S. destroyed 80 percent of all the buildings in the North and killed as many as 20 percent of its population.

North Korea’s streets and airwaves are filled with calls to resist the American imperialists, and from a young age children watch cartoons showing squirrels and hedgehogs (North Koreans) fighting off evil wolves (the United States).

The regime tells its people that the “threat” from the United States is the justification for the development of nuclear weapons, while denying them access to a good quality of life.  They believe it is worth the sacrifices to protect themselves from the total destruction of their country.

Before Trump’s speech one could legitimately reassure the North Korea inhabitants that this was just unfounded North Korea propaganda and they need not worry.

However, Trump’s careless buffoonery has removed all doubt that such a destructive reality is being considered by the most powerful nation in the free world.  This plays right into the Kim Jon-un’s regime game plan for it now legitimizes his claim that only way he can protect North Korea from “the United States’ imperialist goal” of complete annihilation is by the development of nuclear weapons for protection.

Sadly, just like Barack Obama, we have yet another president who draws lines in the sand which can’t realistically be enforced. Both Donald Trump and Kim Jon-un need to  lower the testosterone level and get a grip.

This is a serious situation, not some school yard bully’s game of who will blink first

When will legislators take responsibility for fiscal mismanagement?

Just how dumb do our Baton Rouge legislators think we are?  Republican House speaker, Taylor Barras, is titillating the media with the claim that our legislators are going to propose some meaningful tax reforms that will permanently solve Louisiana’s budget crisis.

For eight years under Jindal and two more under Edwards these same legislators lacked the spine to enact any worthwhile tax reform.   They basically let the LABI, oil, chemical, and gas lobbyists, and the nursing home lobbyists run the legislative sessions without opposition.

Our Republican legislators created the fiscal mess and now we are to believe that they will suddenly shun all these large election campaign donors and work for the citizenry.   I repeat, how stupid do they think we are?

However, an example of their perception of our degree of stupidity was made quite evident in a recent meeting I attended with one of our state representatives.  Let me share it with you.

Apparently our legislators’ new media by-line is that Louisiana’s entire fiscal mess was the result of the Jindal administration, and is currently continuing under the Edward’s administration.  Our Republican legislators take no responsibility for the fiscal deficit.

Perhaps they all need to review the state constitution, for it clearly states that ALL revenue generating bills must originate in the Louisiana House. The governor can propose whatever he/she wants regarding such measures, but the legislators have the final say in proposing, and passing such bills for implementation.  Even  if the governor vetoes some of their fiscal legislation our Baton Rouge reps  have the power to over-ride that veto by calling a special session; a procedure which they have NEVER  implemented since the Louisiana constitution was adopted in 1974.

In the case of Bobby Jindal, our esteemed legislators allowed him to raid and deplete dedicated state-funded accounts for the elderly, handicapped, and retirees, privatize state hospitalization care, increase corporation tax breaks, give state police a 23% raise, and continually slash funding for education and health care.  They approved 99% of his agenda and never blinked an eye.

  

Likewise with Edwards, our legislators never voted to undo, what they now claim, are unjust revenue raising measures.  Why would they?  The Republican controlled  house acted upon some of his desires by creating legislative bills and voted to implement them.

Sadly, even the many editorials that appear in our various media outlets bashing our latest governor have bought into the smoke screen erected by our legislators.  Journalists have forgotten who is mandated by the state constitution as having the ultimate control over, and responsibility for revenue raising measures in Louisiana. 

Our Republican legislators created this fiscal mess and don’t be surprised if their only solution to solving it is simply to make all temporary tax measures, set to expire in July, permanent.  The highest combined local and state sales tax in the nation!

According to them, I guess this will all be the fault of our latest Democratic governor.  It is imperative that the public continually remind themselves and our Republican legislators who is truly responsible for the fiscal woes in our state and hold them accountable.  Don’t fall for the legislators’ PR!

Our Representatives Couldn't Care Less

After Thursday’s marathon political circus it is clear that Obamacare will still remain as this nation’s healthcare provider.  However whether you’re joyous or sad regarding this outcome is irrelevant because out of this dysfunctional episode called health care reform one glaring aspect of our political system stood out.

Basically many of our representatives couldn’t care less about the quality of life of the constituents they represent.  After Friday’s early morning vote media outlets reported the following, “Even some senators who voted for the ‘skinny bill’ conceded that its enactment could have been disastrous.”

One can only conclude from this reporting that although the measure failed by one vote, it was perceived by many senators that the bill would have been detrimental to those it served.  Apparently several Republican senators seemed relieved that it failed.  Three took the heat and had the courage to vote their conscience of what they thought was best for their constituents, given the alternative, rather than perform as spineless sheep, Louisiana’s two senators included in the latter group.

Even in the beginning of the healthcare reform movement, after the House passed by four votes its version to replace Obamacare, many Republican House members appeared to be glad punting the bill to the Senate, where they acknowledge it would be changed or stall.  One was quoted as saying, “We had a vote over here, but the Senate will fix whatever we did wrong,” again opting to follow as a sheep rather than assume any responsibility in clearly voting what he perceived would be best for this country.  After its passage President Trump, in his limited vocabulary, even called the House bill “mean,” expressing hope the Senate bill might have a bit more “heart.”

Republicans had seven years to devise a health care replacement or reform for The Affordable Care Act.   During that interval all they did was complain, and when the time came to produce their plan had none.   Consequently they were forced to rapidly throw one together in both the House and the Senate in less than a month without review or debate.  In the Senate the plan was developed by 13 Republican male senators in totally secrecy behind closed doors.  Six of those Senators’ largest campaign donors were health insurance providers or pharmaceutical corporations.  Talk is cheap, meaningful action is difficult.

Our Republican leaders claimed they wished to serve their constituents by repealing Obamacare, but when given the chance voted for something they doubted was any better and felt might be worse.  Yet, they voted for it anyway. Today’s Democrats are no better.  Clearly there is something morally wrong with this picture. 

However, if anyone had any doubts about whether or not our political system is broken, the healthcare reform attempt should resolve that question; it’s broken from the Congress up to the Commander- in- Chief.