Crybaby illegal alien not kind of citizen LA needs

Break out the violins for a criminal facing likely deportation from the U.S., who created his own problems and now hides out in a New Orleans church claiming victim status.

One Jose Torres has sought sanctuary in First Grace United Methodist Church. First illegally travelling through Mexico to get here, the citizen of El Salvador has lived in this country illegally for about a dozen years, a crime. Most of that time he has lived around New Orleans and started a family with his wife, also apparently illegally in the country, which produced two anchor babies. He says that his two American citizen daughters are unfortunate enough to have medical problems.

Despite having been here since 2005, Torres apparently never sought out American citizenship. He did, however, find enough time to get convicted on drunk driving charges in 2015, a crime, as well as to assist fellow criminals in organizing a method to flout their illegal status while selling their labor to another set of criminals, businesses who knowingly employ undocumented workers.

Change ticket policy to enhance LA academics

Louisiana State University athletic department leaders hyperventilating over a change in the tax code reminds us of the lack of seriousness behind providing quality higher education in the state.

As part of tax reform in Washington, Congress is considering whether to eliminate the tax deductibility of donations to collegiate charitable sports foundations, worth 80 percent off income. Interestingly, LSU pioneered the idea three decades ago and now rakes in tens of millions of dollars a year by having a surcharge for tickets to seats to contests for several of its athletic squads.

The effort to do so has sent LSU Athletic Director Joe Alleva into apoplexy, telling anyone who will listen that it would cost $50 million a year and send LSU athletics into the poorhouse. He and other flaks also remind anyone who will listen that athletics contributes millions a year to the academic side of the school.

LA higher education privatization moves desirable

With its announcement of two major gifts to establish an entrepreneurship program taking center stage, it might have been easy to overlook the salutary path taken by Louisiana State University’s E.J. Ourso College of Business towards privatization.

Years ago, prompted by efforts in Oregon to remove state oversight of the operations of the state’s eight public senior/graduate institutions, suggestions were made that Louisiana ought to do the same. As of two years ago, Oregon had set up each of its institutions with independent governing boards, with its three largest also taking over all organization maintenance functions and responsibility for capital outlay. Altogether, only about 10 percent of revenues now come from the state, with the proportion of state funds going to the schools that have gone the furthest in controlling their own business even lower. This compares to about three times that figure for Louisiana schools, not counting Taylor Opportunity Program for Students money that acts like a general fund contribution. 

The Ourso College plans something like that for itself, bolstered by the recent donations. Not counting TOPS money, only 20 percent of its revenues now come from the state. Theoretically, a combination of private giving, tuition increases, and efficiency savings from being able to run its own affairs could bridge that gap, following the path of some other universities’ business schools, some of whom accomplished this years ago.

LSU abstains from drama in accepting gift

Let’s hope Louisiana’s political left and its members ensconced at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge act maturely regarding a recent gift to the school’s E.J. Ourso College of Business.

The school will receive $5.6 million to launch hiring of faculty, staff, and graduate assistants for a program in entrepreneurship. The money will give it unprecedented authority in these personnel decisions. Officials praised their largesse and outlined for this area of study an exciting future, possible in part because of such generosity.

That reaction stands in great contrast to the one people in some places have given to awards from the Charles Koch Foundation. Yes, it was founded by that Koch, head of Koch Industries, worth about $100 billion now, assisted by his brother David whom together the left regards as evil incarnate for their willingness to put their money where their conservative public policy mouths are.

The Advocate column: Nov. 12, 2017

Louisiana pastors should help their churches by enacting concealed-carry security plan
http://www.theadvocate.com/baton_rouge/opinion/jeff_sadow/article_4eae780e-c59b-11e7-8824-4b6297195aa5.html

Links:
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_CHURCH_SHOOTING_TEXAS_HERO?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-texas-shooting/air-force-error-helped-texas-church-shooter-buy-guns-idUSKBN1D715Q
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2017/11/07/inside-the-texas-church-she-thought-it-was-her-turn-to-die-then-outside-a-man-appeared/
https://www.concealedcarry.com/law/concealed-carry-in-churches/
http://www.texastribune.org/2017/11/06/rep-matt-rinaldi-wrote-law-allows-churches-have-security-teams/
http://www.legis.la.gov/Legis/Law.aspx?d=97451
http://www.legis.la.gov/legis/ViewDocument.aspx?d=677669
http://www.legis.la.gov/legis/ViewDocument.aspx?d=704787
http://www.legis.la.gov/legis/ViewDocument.aspx?d=714253
http://www.ksla.com/story/36777996/caddo-deputies-stress-security-at-church-in-wake-of-tx-shootings