Thanksgiving Day, 2017

This column publishes usually every Sunday through Thursday around  noon (sometimes even before; maybe even after sundown on busy days) U.S. Central Time except whenever a significant national holiday falls on the Monday through Friday associated with the otherwise-usual publication on the previous day (unless it is Independence Day or Christmas or New Year's when it is the day on which the holiday is observed by the U.S. government). In my opinion, there are six of these: New Year's Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Veterans' Day, Thanksgiving Day, and Christmas. My column for The Advocate will run on Easter Sunday.

With Thursday, Nov. 23 being Thanksgiving Day, I invite you to explore this link.

Maness at crossroads: contributor or joke?

Has Louisiana seen the last of now-perennial candidate Republican Rob Maness? His four years in public view would suggest not.

The third time was not the charm for Maness, who lost last week to Covington city council member Mark Wright, also of the GOP, for state representative House District 77. The special election came after its former occupant, incoming state Treasurer John Schroder, left his seat earlier to concentrate on his successful campaign.

Maness came onto the state’s radar when in 2013 he announced a run for U.S. Senate, challenging incumbent Democrat Mary Landrieu. This came despite the fact he had resided in the state for only about a year and that conservative Bill Cassidy, then in the U.S. House of Representatives, had signaled to the world he would take on Landrieu.

Bossier City chooses better on development

Deciding to be itself holds more promise as a development strategy for Bossier City than its many missteps of the past almost quarter-century.

This week brings the formal dedication of the city’s East Bank District, which runs roughly down Barksdale Boulevard from the river and consists of the only thing close to a traditional downtown within the municipality’s borders. The city spent a considerable sum to narrow the street and renovate it into a pedestrian- and bicycle-friendly avenue, hoping to anchor a district of food, drink, entertainment, and walk-in commercial establishments around the nexus of the East Bank Theatre, Flying Heart Brewery, and Li’l Italiano restaurant. Already it has brought back in Destiny Day Spa and Salon, which left years ago for the Louisiana Boardwalk.

The Boardwalk, which also will fall under new zoning regulations attached to the new district, was over a decade ago the city’s next try at importing something from the outside as a way to make itself more than just a bedroom neighborhood of Shreveport. Featuring now mainly chain stores from elsewhere, the outdoor mall has teetered on bankruptcy as the promise Bossier City politicians made, that if it offered enough items for sale then people would come to spend the city into prosperity, never panned out.

Times change, yellow dog Democrats stay same

Louisiana’s special election for treasurer surprised only in winning margin for incoming Treas. John Schroder, proving the state’s yellow dog Democrats are alive and well.

As expected, Republican Schroder defeated Democrat Derrick Edwards, but only by a margin of 56-44 percent. The statewide turnout of one-in-eight voters came after, through almost the end of October this year, Schroder had spent over $917,000 or about $4.40 per vote and Edwards $23,000 or around $0.14 per vote.

Schroder’s victory by just 12 percent despite outspending until recently Edwards over 300:1 came as a result of maniacal party discipline by Democrats – even though the state party refused to endorse him, an attorney who had run for U.S. Senate last year and received a pittance of the vote, until it became too politically inconvenient not to. Edwards did next to no campaigning and, when he did make rare statements about the office, never spoke of its duties.

The Advocate column, Nov. 19.2017

Despite new mayor, city council members, New Orleans short-term rental woes won't go away
http://www.theadvocate.com/baton_rouge/opinion/jeff_sadow/article_03293878-ca5b-11e7-b423-4faac2e66950.html

Links:
http://www.theadvocate.com/new_orleans/news/article_d889e0b2-c1dc-11e7-958e-27b55c136dfa.html
http://www.theadvocate.com/new_orleans/news/article_e8e96c00-c0e9-11e7-b886-cf6fbb846f57.html
http://www.theadvocate.com/new_orleans/news/politics/article_7fe3ce1a-9db9-11e7-bde0-132044a62bc5.html
https://www.nola.gov/short-term-rentals/

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