Edwards imprint fading fast to oblivion soon

Democrat Gov. John Bel Edwards’ influence in Louisiana government is fading quickly, with the chances of anybody in power emulating his policies in the future evaporating even more rapidly.

With fewer than six months remaining in his terms. Edwards got a taste of how ephemeral his reach has become when Louisiana’s Board of Pardons and Committee on Parole rebuffed over 50 applicants – essentially the entirety of death row – for clemency this reduction of sentence to life earlier than usual. Normally, the Board requires a time-consuming review of cases but can waive that, which in this instance would have expedited case consideration for resolution prior to year’s end.

This avalanche of requests Edwards triggered when, after dodging the question for his whole political career because of the electoral blowback his answer would invite, earlier this year he proclaimed opposition to capital punishment, noting its finality and calling it contrary to his religious faith (while he professes a belief in Roman Catholicism, at the same time he selectively ignores others of its imperatives, such opposition to abortion for any reason). In turn, this begat an effort by legal services supporting appeals to capital cases to organize inmates under capital sentences to make clemency requests to Edwards, in the hopes of having him grant clemency in mass before leaving office early next year.

Whiny Magee needn't let door hit him upon exit

Let’s break out the handkerchiefs and violins for poor old Republican state Rep. Tanner Magee, who says too many people are holding him accountable for him doing his job for him to do his job.

After the veto session concluded, Magee revealed he would not seek reelection. Magee at present serves as speaker pro tempore, the second-ranked position in the House of Representatives. Last year he ran for an appellate judgeship and lost convincingly. This resounding defeat plus that a new governor, almost certainly a Republican and likely GOP Atty. Gen. Jeff Landry who has clashed with House leaders on some issues, where governors typically have influence in legislative chamber leadership selection when of the same party, also loom as factors that may have played into Magee’s decision.

His publicly articulated reason for letting go is that, he says, “[State legislative politics is] moving more in a direction of a D.C. style and I don’t want to spend the next four years missing my kids and being away from family and not really enjoying the process.” This very much echoes a recurring theme from Democrat Gov. John Bel Edwards, who in his two terms typified dissent to his agenda as a divisive “Washington” politics while agreement with it denoted a desire to “unify” and make progress.

LSU firing idiot appropriate, but changes little

Not just on philosophical grounds, but more relevantly on practical grounds Louisiana State University was correct in terminating a graduate student’s assistantship for levying a direct threat of harm against a state lawmaker – and dramatically increasing his employment chances down the road.

Last week, LSU sociology graduate student Marcus Venable, who must have an excitable nature, lost it upon learning Republican state Sen. “Big” Mike Fesi had voted to overturn Democrat Gov. John Bel Edwards’ veto of HB 648, which prohibits (from the start of next year) surgical or chemical sex alterations of minors, legislation that correctly understands research shows a significant proportion of children who do this express regrets and that a significant proportion have underlying psychiatric issues that don’t improve even after these interventions or non-medical interventions. The outright ban equips parents to safeguard their children better from attempts outside the family to play to children’s transitory thinking, which because their typically underdeveloped emotional and intellectual capacity is suspect, if not goad them to embark upon irreversible interventions.

The successful override so unhinged Venable that he left, from his campus office phone, a profane message to Fesi full of emotion and absent of any facts. While incredibly boorish, most of it, even a part about celebrating Fesi’s death, legally was harmless – until his last sentence, where he declared the celebration would be resulting from “when we put you in the ground.”

Failed overrides leave kids, families at risk

While Louisianans should celebrate the Legislature’s overturning Democrat Gov. John Bel Edwards’ veto of HB 648 that protects children from unwarranted medical interventions, they should mourn the fact that legislators failed in their responsibilities to uphold parents’ constitutional rights to protect children from harm potentially brought about by ideologue educators and politicians.

HB 648 prohibits (from the start of next year) surgical or chemical sex alterations of minors, correctly understanding research shows a significant proportion of children who do this express regrets and that a significant proportion have underlying psychiatric issues that don’t improve even after these interventions or non-medical interventions. The outright ban equips parents to safeguard their children better from attempts outside the family to play to children’s transitory thinking, which because their typically underdeveloped emotional and intellectual capacity is suspect, if not goad them to embark upon irreversible interventions.

HB 466 and HB 81, also vetoed by Edwards, would have afforded other kinds of parental protections to children. HB 466 would have prevented school employees from psychological coaching of students about their gender identity in ways inconsistent with state instructional standards and protect school employees and students from confusion over pronoun use of students, while HB 81 would have covered pronoun usage like HB 466.

Edwards wrong again, LA remap not coming soon

As has so often been the case with the governorship of Democrat John Bel Edwards, wrong again, yet again on reapportionment.

Edwards’ native pomposity and arrogance came out when he commented on his becoming the first governor in the state’s history to have a veto overridden from a regular session in a veto session. HB 648 prohibits (from the start of next year) surgical or chemical sex alterations of minors, and similar bills the highest court to date to have dealt with these has ruled that, because of demonstrated irreversible adverse effects these have on individuals that haven’t developed emotionally or intellectually enough to decide about these, states do show a sufficient burden of proof to be able to regulate such medical interventions.

About the override he said, “The first time I was overridden, on the Congressional district map, I said the bill was illegal and I expected the courts would throw it out. The courts have done so …. I expect the courts to throw out this unconstitutional bill, as well.”