Campbell finds way to mitigate past controversies

Louisiana District 5 Public Service Commissioner Foster Campbell reversed what they might believe around the National Football League: the best defense is a good offense.

Yesterday, Campbell led the charge of his fellow commissioners against alleged extravagance practiced by board members and employees of electric cooperatives. The PSC regulates these ten customer-owned nonprofits that provide power mainly in rural areas across the states.

The PSC reviewed rates and granted some increases, but only after receiving information about their finances. Some coops paid out a large portion of their retained earnings to board members, whose roles are supposed to be part-time, and in high salaries to their executives.

Poll suggests electoral peril for LA govt elites

A recent poll of upcoming statewide elections provides one surprise and two grimmer confirmations.

The Hayride website commissioned a survey on a variety of issues and contests, including this fall’s secretary of state contest and next year’s governor and lieutenant governor races. It was done over two nights last week with 1,615 likely voters responding.

MacAoidh has reviewed the results thoroughly here, but some points need amplification. While Republican incumbent Kyle Ardoin expectedly leads in an SOS field at 13 percent with Democrat former SOS administrator Renee Free expectedly running second at 10 percent with about half the respondents expectedly undecided, the surprise comes in the form of (tied for) third placing GOP Turkey Creek Mayor Heather Cloud at 8 percent.

NW LA controversies call for prudence

In north Louisiana it’s a different arena, but the same questionable dynamic, regarding battles over display of religious belief in the public schools into which Republican state Sen. Ryan Gatti has thrust himself.

For a couple of years the Bossier Parish School Board has battled a lawsuit that the district allows impermissible transmission of religious messages. It steadily closed in on trying to settle the case where it would admit fault and mandate changes of practices concerning a case that consumed taxpayer resources with no real chance of winning.

However, that all appeared to change last week, over a related incident. A local business by the name of Christ Fit Gym had paid for a sponsorship logo, which also contained a Biblical reference, on the Benton High School football field. In fact, it had done so the previous year without incident.

Court evolution prompts confirmation histrionics

Constitution Day is a good time to review the evolution of the U.S. Supreme Court’s place in American government, as illustrated by remarks made by Republican Sen. John Kennedy.

Louisiana’s junior senator appeared on Fox News Channel yesterday to offer his assessment of the Judge Brett Kavanaugh confirmation hearings. A member of the Senate Judiciary Committee vetting the promotion of Kavanaugh from the appellate court level to the Supreme Court, Kennedy offered as good as a summation as anybody: “an intergalactic freak show,” adding that many Americans watching the spectacle would think “Congress has hit rock bottom and started to dig.”

Perhaps Kennedy’s sense of valor made him obscure the real reason why people might think so: antics by his Democrat colleagues that, during the hearings, ranged from absurd fakery to absolute genuine fictional political theater. One might expect such posturing from individuals starting presidential campaigns who realize they cannot win on the actual issues so either must manufacture fake ones or distract from their agendas that lose on the merits.

The Advocate column, Sep. 16, 2018

LSU regents should save taxpayer dollars by striking down 'holistic admissions' 
https://www.theadvocate.com/baton_rouge/opinion/jeff_sadow/article_afd416a8-b6c1-11e8-8718-6310b3099f91.html

Links:
https://www.theadvocate.com/baton_rouge/news/education/article_83ef315c-ae34-11e8-9367-2fd713ed37ae.html
https://www.theadvocate.com/baton_rouge/news/education/article_1b29d1de-b2b9-11e8-b0cd-9faec1488766.html
https://www.theadvocate.com/baton_rouge/news/education/article_8951578e-b2ed-11e8-9573-57895d6aaf48.html
https://www.theadvocate.com/baton_rouge/news/education/article_1b805e18-b06c-11e8-8e21-8fec99aa852c.html
https://www.theadvocate.com/baton_rouge/opinion/letters/article_b19f3154-b205-11e8-8aa4-8bb436f9c02f.html
http://www.lsusports.net/src/data/lsu/assets/docs/ad/policymanual/pdf/502B.pdf?DB_OEM_ID=5200
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2017/07/17/easy-a-nearly-half-hs-seniors-graduate-average/485787001/
https://www.act.org/content/dam/act/unsecured/documents/5931-research-report-2016-7-examining-the-validity-of-act-composite-score-and-hs-gpa.pdf
https://adaa.org/living-with-anxiety/children/test-anxiety