BOBBY JINDAL'S RUBBISH

Now that the dust has settled and Louisiana is implementing Governor Jindal’s new state operating budget that he was able to push through both legislative houses relatively intact, let’s see how things are stacking up:

Education:  When Bobby Jindal first ran for governor one of his main talking points throughout the campaign was how he was going to stem the flow of Louisiana’s brightest and talented students leaving our state to attend other universities throughout the nation and not returning to Louisiana upon graduation.

He has addressed this issue succinctly by cutting aid to education so drastically that now we rank behind one of the poorest countries in the world, Haiti, in the percent of our state budget spent on higher education.

Haiti spends 13% of its budget on higher education while Louisiana now spends less than 11%.  And don’t think that old Mississippi will save the day for us because they devote 17.7% of their budget to that area.

As one editorial columnist, Dayne Sherman, recently put it, “Ole Miss might not be able to beat the Tigers in football, but they’re beating us in academics like a crazed farmer whipping a rented plow horse.”

This year’s budget which began July 1^st has cut another $66 million from colleges and universities. This is in addition to the cuts imposed in previous fiscal years.

For example, over the last four years, Southeastern Louisiana University alone has been cut roughly $40 million or nearly 50% of its state funding.  This fiscal year, the LSU system was cut an additional $29 million, with the Baton Rouge campus taking a $19 million hit.  Let's not even talk about the cuts at the smaller colleges like Nicholls, UNO, ULL and Southern.

This raping of educational funding occurring at a time when an affiliate of the U. S. Chamber of Commerce, the Institute for a Competitive Workforce, issued a report giving Louisiana, an ‘F’ for its four year colleges and universities in their ability to retain and graduate their students within a reasonable time. The report says that Louisiana’s four year schools rank in the BOTTOM 10 states in the nation in student retention and completion.

Overall, in the state, funding to colleges and universities has been cut $420 million dollars or 26% during Bobby Jindal’s reign as governor.

And we weren’t spending that much to begin with!

Medical Services:  The hypocrisy of Bobby Jindal really shines through in this area.  During the past legislative session when a group of fiscally conservative legislators tried to prevent Bobby and his crew from using one time monies in the next fiscal year’s proposed budget that began July 1st, they were bombarded by emails and TV infomercials put in place by Bobby’s hatchet men scaring the public about how devastating the cuts would be to the care of the mentally ill and sick in our state.  They professed that any health care services provided to these groups would be non-existent if these legislators pursued their budgetary plans.

Bobby won and the legislators backed off and approved his initial budget.

However, when word of a cut of $860 million to Louisiana’s health care system (more than ten times what our state legislators were considering) arose due to proposed budgetary cuts to Medicaid at the federal level, Jindal was urged by both Republican and Democratic leaders in the state, and our representatives in Congress to personally intervene by calling some of the highest ranking leaders in the U.S. Congress to reconsider this action. 

Jindal’s response was total silence!  He made no such call because he didn’t want to hurt his chances of a V.P. nod by pushing back against his own party’s highest ranking congressional leaders.  Both Senators Vitter and Landrieu were outrage by his complacency.

Congress approved the cuts and Bobby addressed the issue by releasing the following statement, “At the end of the day, Louisiana will have a balanced budget that doesn’t raise taxes on families or businesses.”

Please remember that Jindal was one of a handful of governors that had already refused the additional Medicaid funds that would be available in 2014 under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.

Well, as Jindal claims his budget doesn’t raise taxes but it produces disastrous results for Louisiana’s 750,000 uninsured residents. 

Apparently, Louisianians who suffer from mental illness or other health conditions, and are too poor or infirm to get help are not worth a damn according to Governor Jindal.

One can measure a people, a state, or a nation by how it treats its poor and elderly, its sick and dying, and its homeless and broken souls.

Thanks to Governor Bobby Jindal and his legislative puppets, for the present, Louisiana is failing at all levels in these areas of human decency.

And unfortunately there appears to be no hope in the foreseeable future for Louisiana that Bobby might leave us soon for a V.P. bid.  His college dabbling in exorcism along with his recent TV interview comparing Obamacare to Mardi Gras and his infamous rambling response to Obama’s State of the Union Address in 2009 have permanently closed that gate.

Well, I’ve only looked at two of the major areas affected by King Bobby’s new state budget.  I could look at some additional ones, but I don't want this to be so long that you stop reading.

I will close with this fact.  If for one minute you think that none of this affects you, for you're neither in need of seeking an education, nor poor and sickly, I can assure you that all citizens of Louisiana at some level will sooner or later have a personal experience with Jindal’s fiscal atrocities. 

Violence in Colorado

I was originally going to address the Colorado movie theater killings but was hesitant because I didn't want to hear all the NRA rhetoric and those who interpret any kind of gun control (the key word here being 'control' rather than a ban) as a violation of their constitutional rights.   And let's not forget the infamous line "Guns don't kill people, people kill people."

Then I read what my son, Patrick, thought about the whole mess on Facebook and was so impressed with his response, that I thought it deserved to be shared with all.  It was in reponse to some of his friends giving the standard jargon about their right to own AR-15 guns.

§      I bet if you guys were watching batman in that theatre and he came in there spraying bullets at YOU and YOUR family you'd wish it wasn't from the barrel of an AR-15...Sure everyone has the right to bear arms to protect themselves from a home invader and what not, but I don't know many people that get robbed by 50 people at a time and have to mow em all down with an AR-15 to survive. Sure its "fun" to own one and 99% of people that do are responsible with it, but lets keep it real. The gun is made for killing multiple targets in a quick and effective manner. All political bullshit aside I'd rather the psycho's lose the option of using this type of weapon in exchange for all the "responsible owners" losing their fun factor. Let's face it, no one owns an AR-15 unless they are just trying to have fun with it/show off to their friends/are a gun collector/think the zombie apocalypse is coming/ or in this case, trying to carry out a mass murder.

             Way to go Pat, couldn't have said it better myself !

Bobby Jindal the Exorcist

Today, I learned from the Baton Rouge “Advocate" that Bobby Jindal, our esteemed governor, has a side job; that of an EXORCIST.  It seems that old 'Bobby' use to dabble in the occult when he attended the prestigious Ivy League school Brown University. You can view a parody of his participation at:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HFiu-KrwdXI

While the video is a spoof, the narrative in the background is 'Reverend' Bobby's actual written account of the proceedings he witnessed. His very presence there makes him a participant in this bizarre occurrence.

It's time for 'Bobby' to pack up his touring bags and head back home to Louisiana, for his chances of a V.P. nod have completely evaporated due his own demented behavior.

No one wants him except for the majority of the citizens in Louisiana.

Once again, we, in this great state are the laughing stock of the entire nation thanks to Bobby Jindal; remember his creationism in schools legislation, his infamous, televised, rambling State of the Union response in 2009 and his most recent comparison of Obamacare to Mardi Gras? 

For further entertainment Google "Bobby Jindal Exorcism"

'Made in USA' label hard to find

The stupidity of our congressional leaders never ceases to amaze me. House Speaker John Boehner, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, and House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi are all upset about where the U.S. Olympic Team's uniforms are made. 

I’ve got news for them, they best check where the suits, shirts, ties, pants, blouses, skirts, belts,  socks, shoes, stockings and under ware were made that they wore on TV while making their criticisms.   They also better check where the American flags posted throughout the Olympic Village were made.

They need to come into the real world and stop their hypocrisy, for if they and their colleagues had done their job over the years, this issue would be non-existant. 

Today, in order to abide by their decree, our athletes would have to go naked.

Jindal's Strategy Aligned with Country

Shame on the media for reinforcing the cunningness of Bobby Jindal in his attempt to portray himself as some kind of benevolent, moral individual vs. everyone else who doesn’t agree with his policies as evil, no good people.

No one will question our governor’s intelligence, but the media refuses to acknowledge the cunningness, intolerance, and dictatorial approach with which he ‘rules’ this state.

The present political arena in this country has done nothing except to succinctly divide all its population into two groups, bad guys and bad guys.

According to those whose views are aligned with the Right, any policy or belief proposed by those on the Left is un-American, socialistic, pro government regulation, fiscally irresponsible, and totally evil.

Conversely, those aligned with the Left portray those on the Right as out of touch, uncaring individuals only out to help big business and rich folks, obsessed with trickle down economics with little or no government interference or regulation.

In today's American there exists no desire, by either of these groups, to find a middle ground, or to work towards a beneficial compromise for the good of the country.

Bobby Jindal uses this same approach. 

 When he made cuts to the mental health care system in Louisiana, he portrayed the Louisiana State University Administrative Boards as the ‘bad’ guys incapable of properly handling their budgets. 

When his plan to reorganize how aid to the elderly would be provided was questioned, instead of having open dialogue about his proposal, he portrayed the department's senior administrative staff member who challenged it during the legislative committee meeting as some kind of malcontent ‘bad’ guy and fired her.

Additionally, more recently, he set up the teachers so that they would look like the ‘bad’ guys when he wanted to rush his educational plan through the legislature knowing very well it was during LEAP preparation in the schools. 

He figured, and rightfully so, that any teachers or school district who dared to protest his railroading of this plan through the legislature during its opening week could easily be made to look like 'bad' guys for what he termed "abandoning the children" in their time of need during LEAP preparation.

And there was the media giving full support to this deception.  The point being that King Bobby has never held any kind of honest open dialogue about his education plan. Some meetings were held about pieces of the plan with carefully selected educators who had already sold their souls, so to speak, to Governor Jindal, but honest dialogues among those that truly represented the educational community were never held.  And I’m not talking just about union leaders, but instead superintendents, teachers, and board members from successful districts.  

He used his cunningness to ‘bait’ the teachers, and since he pushed them into a corner they were forced to take the ‘bait.’  They never had an opportunity to express their opinions and felt like they were in a desperate situation because of the fast track that Jindal put in place.  Have we learned nothing from what happens when you fast track a major legislative package?  The Universal Health Care plan should serve as a great example.

Personally, I don’t care what your political persuasion is, Republican or Democrat, but I do know that history will support the fact that a DIVIDED COUNTRY WILL NOT SURVIVE and the media needs to stop supporting the divisive tactics used by both parties.

Realities the New Orleans Sewerage and Water Board Wants Kept Secret

Having spent most of my professional career in the field of statistics, I can assure the citizens of New Orleans that the latest rate increases proposed by the Sewerage and Water Board will NEVER result in any state of the art improvements in the sewerage or water system.  The system has been so mismanaged and neglected over the years, along with Katrina damage, that the costs to repair it properly are astronomical.

In 2011, by the board’s own estimates of the water delivery system,  over 1,400 miles of pipe must be replaced on the east bank alone plus manholes, valves, meters, mains and booster pumps that blast purified water to customers.  And that doesn’t even address the needs on the west bank.
 
Pre-Katrina cost estimates to repair the water system alone were 3.2 billion dollars and would take 20 years.  During the twenty years, due to inflation, the repair costs would continue to rise at a faster rate than the money taken in even with the rate increase.  The sewerage system estimated repairs were even higher.

FEMA gave the city over 190 million dollars (68 immediately following Katrina plus 125 more in 2010) to repair Katrina damage to the sewerage and water systems.  Have you noted any vast improvements?

It amounts to trying to put out a forest fire with a garden hose.

The present Sewerage and Water Board proposed increases may result in a new electrical system for the pumps, and some new pumps, but the main infra-structure that delivers the clean water to your home and removes the sewer water, namely the pipes themselves, won’t see any improvement.  According to the Sewerage and Water Board over 50% of the purified water pumped to homes daily is lost to leaks in the  water system pipes.  And all of us are aware of the increased street flooding  and sewer backups that now occur.

The system does  need repair, but the present plan of attempting to do it totally on the backs of the customers is not only fiscally irresponsible, but fiscally impossible.  The money will never be used for its intent because there won’t be enough of it.  The monies will just be used for continuing system  patch work  repairs.

It’s time for the New Orleans Sewerage and Water Board to level with the citizens of New Orleans. They cannot supply some state of the art water and sewerage system,  and the monies they are requesting is simply an attempt to stem off the Federal Government from leveling tremendous fines if they don’t appear to give the impression that they trying to fix a broken system.

The citizens of New Orleans also need to be aware of the fact that most of the managers and administrators of the Sewerage and Water Board are the same individuals that are responsible for its demise over the years.  Do you really want to trust your monies to the same individuals who lacked the vision and foresight to develop a viable fiscal plan to stem off this present calamity?  It’s time for a total change starting with top management, before implementing any rate increases.

Lousiana's BESE is not about education

The Board of Elementary and Secondary Education is NOT about the business of educational reform in Louisiana, but, instead, about educational control.  Govenor “Bobby” wanted a BESE Board that would rubber stamp his proposals, some of which included the teaching of creationism in our schools, the expansion of the voucher system, the steering of school management to companies that contributed heavily to elected officials’ campaigns, and the elimination of unions and collective bargaining.

 And contrary to the myth which served as the major campaign talking point upon which these  Jindal candidates were elected, and continues to grow by leaps and bounds in our nation, namely, charter schools are  good, and non-charter schools are bad, education is about how a school is run.  It doesn’t require a charter model to effectively run a school.  It’s all about the school leadership and staff.

As presently implemented in New Orleans, charters for the most part are still about exclusion.  Exclusion upon admission, and exclusion after discipline problems occur.  The present charter system denies both these accusations, but they still exist as the best kept secret, and the population that charters serve encounters this everyday at some level.

I am not condemning the charter approach in general, just that when academic success comparisons are made between charters and non-charters, a level playing field for comparison still doesn’t exist.

But since it is the desire of our re-elected governor to make ALL schools in this state, and particularly in New Orleans, charters, and  he has successfully put all his people in place, soon the data will exist to see if this approach really does work better for there will be nowhere else for the excluded population to go.

It is important for the citizens of the New Orleans community to remember that the non-charter paradigm in this city failed because of a corrupt school board  which mirrored the standard operating model for most entities in this state and New Orleans in particular: the levee board, the judiciary system, the New Orleans Police Department, the security cameras, N.O. police detail work, the bail bonds system, the renovation of Armstrong Park, the Road Home Program, the house elevation program,  etc.

Sadly, the election of the so called Jindal reform candidates for BESE is just a continuance of this practice.

When will John White walk? 7/1/2012

When John White, our present State Superintendant of Education, was initially hired by the Department of Education as Superintendant of the RSD, I couldn’t believe that somehow they had finally found an honest, innovative, hard working educator, unlike his predecessor, who was more concerned about furthering his own career than actually implementing sound educational reforms.

 Mr. White seemed to actually care about solving the Louisiana educational woes and appeared to possess the skills to do so.

However, now I am beginning to worry about him as he sinks further into the dismal abyss known as Jindal politics.

 The Jindal School Voucher System could be his undoing.  He’s smart enough to know that the plan as implemented, without any accountability, is seriously flawed.  He is also aware of the fact that eventually it will lead to tremendous financial hardships for the public school system in Louisiana.  Furthermore, I’m sure he also questions the legality of the entire plan.

 But he is also aware of the reality that exists within the governor’s mansion, ‘it’s Bobby’s way or the highway’.

 However, I still have faith in Mr. White for I feel that he will come to the realization that if he continues down the Jindal path, he will end up selling his soul and joining the ranks of the educational do-nothings that are so abundant in our society.

 Mr. White’s past accomplishments serve as evidence that he will not allow this to occur, consequently, I predict he will soon leave Louisiana and never look back.  It’s only a matter of time until he has had enough of Louisiana (Jindal) politics.