The buck stops with the voter

After the horrendous BP oil spill, BP ponied up $10.5 million to fund a seafood safety program that was administered by the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries to monitor the seafood caught off the Louisiana coast to ensure it was safe for consumption.

A recently completed state audit of that program focusing on 2010 through 2015 found that not only did the department fail to sufficiently sample fish for contamination, but it also made questionable purchases and engaged in “free-wheeling spending with no oversight.”

The BP money was spent on boats, fishing and sports equipment, vehicles, groceries, cameras and camera equipment.  The department officials spent over $18,000 on the camera supplies, although no photos were required for fish testing and no photos were ever taken of the fish.  iPads were also a favorite item.  The department spent $8,000 on them although none were used in the testing.

Additionally over $55,000 of fishing rods, reels, coolers, and other sporting equipment are missing.

This behavior simply reaffirms the 2014 Fortune magazine poll which listed Louisiana as the second most corrupt state nationally.

Ironically, all this buffoonery occurred during the Bobby Jindal tenure, a governor who pledged to end the corruption which previously existed within our state.

Sadly, this is not the only recent audit to further blacken our state’s eye.  The Angola prison mess involving the Cain family was also a disgrace. 

Apparently the “good old boys” just can’t resist the temptation of misappropriating public monies.  And why should they because most never go to jail for doing so.  The fix is in all the way up the line.

However, now we are in the need of financial assistance once again for the 2016 Flood and we want the U.S. Congress to help fund our recovery.  Objectively, based upon Louisiana’s previous track record would you vote to assist? 

If Louisiana doesn’t get the monies we have our esteemed leaders to thank, but Louisiana voters keep electing the same ones every four years.

This is not to imply that Louisiana voters are totally responsible for this continued cycle of corruption.  Sometimes, as in the case of the national election,  good candidates simply don’t choose to run for office and we must choose the lesser of two evils.

Nationally, we must choose between a liar, who has trust issues and a con artist who swindles individuals, tough choice.  Why is it honest, sincere individuals no longer seem to desire the field of politics, and what does that say about our political system and nation as a whole?

LSU Tigers are students first, and athletes second

As the academic side of Louisiana’s premier university, L.S.U, slips further and further behind other universities nationally in providing a quality education, it’s heart-warming to know that L.S.U fans were last weekend willing to spend collectively over $12.5 million on air fares alone to the Wisconsin away game to root for their Tigers.   And this figure doesn’t include those who drove, or the cost of lodging, local transportation, or food.

Since 2008, L.S.U has cut nearly 350 positions; both in faculty and staff, and several of these faculty members have taken their research grant monies with them.

Additionally when Gov. Bobby Jindal took office in 2008, the state funded 58 percent of L.S.U’s overall budget. Today that number has decreased by nearly 33 percent, a loss of $145.7 million.

To make up for the loss in state funding, the University raised tuition and fees from 42 percent of the total budget in 2008 to 74 percent of the total budget this year.  Class sizes have increased along with a decrease in the diversity of classes offered.  There is a continual demise of the university’s infrastructure, totaling over $520 million in needed repairs at the Baton Rouge campus alone.

Alumni contributions which would help solve some of the present financial problems at L.S.U are the lowest of all the SEC schools.

Yet when it comes to L.S.U football there is no reluctance for fans to reach into their pockets to attend and tailgate at games.

Maybe sooner or later these loyal LSU fans will awaken to the reality of what is occurring financially at L.S.U.  As F. King Alexander, Chancellor of L.S.U, so aptly put it, “Football players at L.S.U are Student Athletes.”  So goes L.S.U so goes the L.S.U Tigers.

Just think what $12.5 million plus could have done to further academic programs at L.S.U.

About those phot-ops

It’s sad that most Americans still don’t understand the mindset of politicians. All politicians love photo-opts, an occasion that lends itself to (or is deliberately arranged for) taking photographs that provide favorable publicity for those involved in the process. Unfortunately a national catastrophe is an ideal event for such an opportunity. The closer the photo-op is scheduled after such an event the greater the impact.

Our president recently held such an event after the shooting of young people in an Orlando, Florida nightclub.

Another such photo-opt occurred recently, in Baton Rouge, with Donald Trump and his entourage along with U.S. Rep. Steve Scalise, Lt. Governor Billy Nungesser, and Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry. While many might argue that Trump’s visit to our state was good because it lifted the spirits of those that suffered tragic loses, it seemed to serve as yet another example of what many politicians have become in our nation, insincere, partisan, self-fulfilling opportunists. They play on our emotions with the ultimate goal of grabbing media headlines, and sadly, many don’t really care about the sincerity of an act as long as they derive some benefit.

Sincerity is the quality of being free from pretense, deceit, or hypocrisy. It helps define the character of an individual. In our money-driven, high tech society, it is a trait that often gets lost.
Unfortunately quite often it takes a tragedy of the magnitude of the 2016 Flood to demonstrate true sincerity. Taylor Swift was one of the first to show it. No fanfares, no photo-opts, just a simple donation of $1 million given with love to Louisiana flood victims by a 27-year-old multi-Grammy award-winning American singer/songwriter.

Senators Bill Cassidy and David Vitter got it right; they didn’t have time to join the recent photo-op because they were busy with flood recovery efforts.

The residents of Louisiana showed it and continue to show it with their tremendous out- pouring of sincere help to those in need.

In this time of great tragedy let’s remember it’s those who give without expecting something in return that deserve our respect and praise, not those who simply want to grab the headlines.

Talk is cheap, sincerity is priceless.