New LA political party faces same old irrelevance

The nature of American politics is such that, despite history indicating otherwise, occasionally people think a meaningful party other that the two major parties will come along. The delusion continues in Louisiana, where some activists imagine they can create a significant third force.

Until a couple of years ago, state law prohibited any recognized political party with the name “Independent,” even as people registering to vote could put down that label for a party affiliation. When state law changed to lift that ban, over 50,000 registrants existed under that moniker (reflected in their registrations as “other”), but had no party to call home.

Now they do, sort of. A pair of individuals claiming refugee status from the major parties have petitioned for recognition of a new party under Louisiana law, termed “Independent.” Being as it takes only a thousand registrants under that label and $1,000 filing fee, its joining the two major parties and three minor parties as official seems inevitable, even as the founders disclaim they have formed a political party, preferring to call themselves “anti-party.”

LA should not enable EBRPSS special snowflakes

Looks like a blizzard has hit the East Baton Rouge Parish School System, as educators complain about heavy rain nearly six months ago making it too hard to do their jobs.

Some personnel from displaced schools as a result of record August flooding allege that their elementary school pupils remain traumatized long after the fact, freaking out whenever it rains. So scarred, in fact, that they deserve a pass from the state in taking online standardized tests. They also argue that less ability to get students familiar with the online format also contributes to the necessity of cancelling the testing.

Boo-hoo. In 1979, less than a month before classes began, my hometown Alvin, TX, suffered the greatest one-day rainfall amount in North American history, 43 inches in one part of town (it probably was only about 40 where we lived). Water reached 18 inches in my family's house, but we knew people whose houses went completely underwater.

Caddo Parish policy wins some, loses some

While one local media outlet rated Caddo Parish’s buyback of guns a “success,” by definition this effort failed for taxpayers.

Recently, the Caddo Parish District Attorney’s office, the Caddo Parish Commission and the Caddo Parish Sheriff’s office jointly sponsored such an event, which offered as much as $300 for the most lethal weapons and collected 41 weapons, consequently handing out 61 gift cards worth $3,050 in exchange. The no-questions-asked policy permits anonymous donations of firearms in an effort to get illegal guns off the streets, and the parish promises more of this to come.

Instead, authorities should drop the whole feel-good idea and save taxpayer dollars. For more than three decades, various jurisdictions have sponsored such events, allowing for numerous opportunities to evaluate this policy’s effectiveness. And the data conclude it does next-to-nothing to create positive critical outcomes.

Reaction to silly Edwards rumor provides real story

A recent non-story shed some light onto the growing bunker mentality of the Gov. John Bel Edwards Administration.

My colleagues at The Advocate took the bait when they witnessed exchanges between Richard Carbo, the Democrat governor’s spokesman, and the state’s Republican Party, over a rumor floated by a tabloid web site that attempts to cover Louisiana politics. The original “story” they referenced alleged that Edwards had put out feelers to switch to the GOP.

Republican state Chairman Roger Villere subsequently put out a statement eschewing any desire to have Edwards join the party. That went without saying: there’s no Republican politician in America, governor or otherwise, who has beat the drum consistently for bigger government, higher taxes, raising the minimum wage, and following the myth of pay disparity down the rabbit hole, among other things. It makes no sense why he would want to consort with people believing the opposite of these.

The Advocate column, Jan. 29, 2017

Cull questionable science from Coastal Master Plan, or reject it
http://www.theadvocate.com/baton_rouge/opinion/jeff_sadow/article_858332fc-e3d8-11e6-a910-9b774e3d973f.html

Links:
http://www.theadvocate.com/new_orleans/news/environment/article_78a423b2-de9b-11e6-a3f6-7bfd5d252633.html
http://www.legis.la.gov/legis/Law.aspx?d=672071
http://coastal.la.gov/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/2017-MP-Book_2-page-spread_Combined_01.05.2017.pdf
http://jeffsadow.blogspot.com/2017/01/wacko-alarmists-miss-real-la-cpra.html
http://coastal.la.gov/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Attachment_C2-1.pdf
https://wwwcfprd.doa.louisiana.gov/boardsandcommissions/viewMembers.cfm?board=432
http://www.theadvocate.com/baton_rouge/news/politics/article_8039e0da-7f91-11e6-879d-d3fd06250739.html
http://climatechangereconsidered.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/09-25-2013_-CCR-II-Summary-for-Policymakers.pdf
http://coastal.la.gov/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/DRAFT-FY-2018-Annual-Plan.pdf