Bon Voyage Bobby

It’s almost time for Governor Bobby Jindal to leave the ivory towers of his Baton Rouge fantasy land and enter the real world once again.  He is however in need of an intervention to address his delusional thoughts about what a fine job he has done as our part-time governor.

Looking back on Jindal’s reign he seemed to possess the “Midas Touch” in reverse; everything he touched turned to manure.  His poisonous hand touched almost every entity in our state from life sustaining institutions all the way down to state museums and the offices of motor vehicles.

In eight years he never produced a balanced budget.  In the process, he raided several voter-dedicated state trust funds including one appropriated for the blind, and damaged the delivery of health care and educational services in our state.  Additionally, his national political aspirations drove most decisions he made as governor.

Bobby announced Friday that he will spend his final days as he has spent most of his term, avoiding his governing duties.  He will begin a tour of the state to meet and greet Louisianans spreading the message of his accomplishments these last eight years; first, his delusional behavior about becoming a presidential candidate, and now this.  Do you see why he needs the intervention?

However, I have to give Jindal credit where credit is due.  He governed in a solidly red state for eight years and became so loathed, by so many, that voters crossed party lines and elected a Democrat for governor.  While he may try and lay blame at the feet of Sen. David Vitter, certainly not the most personable, baggage free candidate Republicans might have put forth, it was Bobby Jindal’s ill-conceived actions while governor which caused this turn of events.

So Bobby I wish you fond adieu as you leave office delusional as ever in your self-perception.

You and your legislative minions have left a heck of a budgetary mountain for Louisiana to scale.

David Vitter's Soul Searching

If Academy Awards could be given for political ads, Senator David Vitter’s ad espousing, “I failed my family 15 years ago,” would certainly stand tall with “Gone with the Wind”.

The strange part about this recent turn of events is that on the day Vitter registered to run in the gubernatorial election he was stopped in a parking lot by a Baton Rouge TV station newscaster and asked a question about his dealings with prostitutes.  David Vitter refused to answer and allegedly had his campaign folks loudly complain to the station management threatening to pull all Vitter’s ads.  Coincidently, this individual was fired the next day accompanied with a denial by the station that the termination had anything to do with Vitter’s complaint.

Subsequently, David Vitter refused to participate in any future debates unless his staff could see the questions beforehand.  This policy resulted in a series of forums composed of only Scott Angelle, Jay Dardenne, and John Bel Edwards.  

However, as Dardenne and Angelle pointed out in their campaign messages, David Vitter will flip flop on issues just to get elected.  Apparently, that now includes the fact that it’s time for him to address “the ladies of the night issue” since he fears he’s lagging in the polls.  Tragically, this change of heart came too late for the Baton Rouge newscaster for one can only assume he would still be employed if he asked the same question today.  Then such questions were inappropriate, but now they’re OK.

I can’t help but ponder why Vitter uses almost the exact carefully scripted words he used June, 2007, when he first confessed, “I failed my family.”  Cleverly, he never admits to the public just what was “this most serious sin of my life.”  I have to wonder if he has yet internalized the words, ‘infidelity’ and ‘prostitute.’   Words are superficial, but soul cleansing is not.   It takes a great deal of introspection.

Is David Vitter truly sincere this time in his mouthing of words used eight years ago or is it just for political gain to elevate his chances of winning?

 

Some would probably consider all this fuss of little consequence believing Vitter’s personal life has no bearing on how he might govern our state.  Besides, if we live long enough we’ll all make mistakes.  But just maybe it’s symptomatic of a greater personality flaw, for it’s the way Vitter handled the new acknowledgement of his roguery. 

He initially refused to readdress his human failing by treating it as though it never really existed.  He could have just dealt with it when first questioned and moved on.  Instead he let it fester hoping it would go away because he egoistically felt he was above judgement by others.  Vitter also gave the impression that those who continued to accuse him of the questionable behavior should be punished.  All this changed only when his political poll numbers began tanking. 

Additionally,  when one questions some members of the U.S. Congress about the actions of David Vitter some appear to reinforce the notion that he operates with a vindictive code of superiority similar to a governor most Louisianans are glad to be rid of, Bobby Jindal.

Please pause and consider who you really want as governor of this state for the next four years.  Hopefully it’s someone we can be proud of.

Candidate or Party?

Recent comments by some in the media are disturbing.  They want Louisiana voters to ignore the integrity of the candidates and vote strict party lines in the upcoming gubernatorial runoff.  Such advice is an example of why our society is like it is today.

One of the candidates, Mr. David Vitter is a pro-life “family values” Republican, but a hypocrite.  He is an alleged adulterer; actually, more than alleged, because he admitted to committing, as he termed, “a very serious sin” over a three year period.

But being a male such behavior is most likely condoned because as one of my friends stated, “Vitter is just one of the boys,” and “we just kind of expect men to do those things.”  Bet if husbands asked their wives if this behavior is acceptable to them, they might get a different answer.  Also, when such behavior occurs among women it is unaccepted by males and labeled as ‘whoring.’

I also wonder where these commentators would draw the line on aberrant behavior.  Would they blindly follow allegiance to their declared party if the candidate were a known wife beater, a known alcoholic, a former embezzler, murderer or pedophile?  I fear they might as long as the term Democrat wasn’t part of the mix. Thank goodness we have laws that would prevent someone with some of these offenses from running in an election. 

Additionally, some commentators are big fans of stereotyping, another reason our society is slowly decaying.  It must be beyond their conception that there are conservative Democrats, moderate Democrats, and their greatest fear, liberal Democrats.  These terms also can be applied to Republicans.  There are registered Democrats that vote for Republicans.   There is no one standard that fits all.

With respect to the Republican candidate, Mr. David Vitter, I suggest you view the original video footage of the news conference in which Vitter confessed his sin and note how far away from him his wife was standing while holding his hand and the look of total contempt on her face.  Two things I will never forget.  Do you really believe this was Vitter’s first time at committing a “very serious sin?”   He just got caught.

I always thought leaders should serve as role models for our society.  Something that is rapidly evaporating thanks in part to the advice presently being espoused by some regarding the upcoming runoff election. 

The decision is yours, party or integrity, and some may not be happy with either choice.   Unfortunately, in the past, Louisiana has always put integrity on the back burner.  Let’s think about changing that.

Don't Blow It a Second Time

When it comes to elections, I feel it’s more important to vote for the person rather than the party with which the candidate is associated.  Sadly that is not how the majority of voters feel because most vote for leaders strictly by party affiliation.  However, I find it amusing that one of Sen. David Vitter’s new campaign messages attempts to reinforce this voting behavior by stating, “(Angelle and Dardenne voters) realize we need solid conservative Louisiana leadership to get out of the ditch we’re in.”

 

Gee, how much more conservative can you get than Bobby Jindal.  He is considered an ultra-conservative and the Louisiana legislature is composed almost totally of his conservative minions.  What planet does Vitter reside on?  How does he expect “solid conservative leadership to get us out of this ditch we’re in” when, in fact, that is what put Louisiana into the ditch and kept it there for eight years.  It was not Democrats, liberals, socialists, libertarians or even President Barrack Obama.

 

 It was Vitter-type folks and the present Baton Rouge legislative body that created the mess.  And thanks to low voter turnout, the legislature remains almost totally intact with the same individuals for an additional four years.

Obviously, it’s time for many to reconsider their voting habits and vote based upon a candidate’s personal integrity and personal ideology rather than political party stereotypes.

So this time around let’s not be fooled by political hogwash ads and let’s vote smartly.  However, that assumes that you do, in fact, vote.  This is Louisiana voters’ last chance to “get out of the ditch we’re in.”  Don’t blow it!

Test Scores Bogus?

Friday, the Louisiana Department of Education released the spring, 2015 test scores of the students tested with the controversial PARCC tests. The way in which these scores were released to the public calls into question the competency of the State Superintendent of Education, Mr. John White.

White and most of the media outlets have compared these results to those of 2013 and 2014.  In fact, various graphics have appeared in our local newspapers depicting each year’s test results, the percentage of students scoring in a category designated ‘At Mastery or Above’.

Graphics and statements comparing Louisiana students’ performance from 2013 through 2015 are totally bogus and just plain statistically incorrect.

Students in 2013 and 2014 were given the state-designed LEAP tests along with the iLEAP tests.  The performance matrix used to determine ’Mastery and Above’ is only valid within a specific test and in this case can only be compared for the years 2013 and 2014.  A different test, the PARCC, with a substantially different performance matrix was used to determine ‘Master and Above’ levels for 2015.  Any results from other years CANNOT even be remotely compared to the 2015 scores.

Such an error not only adds more misinformation about the Common Core Standards, but also provides additional fodder for the Core bashers.

For the Louisiana State Department of Education to release these test scores without a cautionary statement that the results are not comparable to previous years makes me suspect of their motives, and their competence. When will the repeated, intentional disinformation about these standards cease?