Propaganda turned into helpful resolution

With real life frustrating the preferred narrative of some, Louisiana legislators wisely didn’t sign on to the growing hysteria among some of their own regarding police behavior, but instead made a positive step forward.

Earlier this week, the House and Governmental Affairs Committee sent to the floor a resolution to have a House-sponsored committee study law enforcement and policing, presumably in the state. Typically, bills like HR 13 by Democrat state Rep. Ted James would zip through committee and the chamber.

It didn’t because originally in part it read like this:

Cancel culture threatens LA universities

Cancel culture is appears alive and well in Louisiana universities both public and private, calling into question whether they have a genuine commitment to nondiscrimination and free inquiry and expression.

In the north, the University of Louisiana at Monroe is investigating the social media posts of two veteran faculty members. A tenured professor, Dennis Bell, recently made social media posts about the narrative pushed by the political left in the protests over the death in police custody of alleged bad money passer George Floyd, a black man, at the hands of two white and two Asiatic officers.

Bell opined that the political left’s support of protesting of a reputed nationwide systemic police brutality against blacks – a demonstrably false proposition – was a strategy to “keep blacks on the democrat [sic] plantation.” Additionally, a longtime assistant professor, Mary Holmes, posted in a manner that implied Democrat former Pres. Barack Obama was a simian.

Get ready for new LA leftist news outlet

The political left isn’t happy about its eroding influence in Louisiana media, and has plans to fight back.

Nationally, the number of newsroom employees at newspapers has dropped a stunning 51 percent in the last decade. Increased hiring into digital platforms has curbed this a bit, although much of that went to outlets outside of newspaper publishing. Together, all newspapers have seen a roughly 40 percent drop in circulation since 2012, but only a few of the largest (with more than 200,000 Sunday circulation, a level twice that of any Louisiana paper) have been almost the only able to offset this partially with increases in digital subscriptions.

Smaller local papers have experienced the worst of this, with the highest percentage paring of newsrooms and revenue losses. They particularly have struggled to entice online readership. This means a cutback in their reporting of state and local news.

When "at least" doesn't mean "at least"

Louisiana’s elected district judges have a history of rendering poorly-reasoned decisions, and Republican 19^th District Judge Chip Moore didn’t disappoint last month with his argumentation about a case dealing with the state’s unclaimed property fund.

This year and last year, Republican Sec. of State John Schroder refused to hand over to state budgeters a portion of unclaimed property funds held by the state in escrow. Traditionally, the Legislature with gubernatorial assent had grabbed a portion of these funds sitting idly, which the state doesn’t own, in order to pay for current operations.

R.S. 9:162 and R.S. 9:165 spells out the treatment of this money. The former clearly abrogates any state claim to the funds involved, with exceptions granted in the latter: diversion of a portion to fund Interstate 49 construction debt and up to seven percent of annual gross collections in administrative fees. The remainder, the latter states, the treasurer “shall promptly deposit in the Bond Security and Redemption Fund of this state all funds received” this way, except that the treasurer “shall retain in a separate trust fund at least five hundred thousand dollars from which the administrator shall pay claims duly allowed.”

LA catches break on reduced protest violence

Compared to some parts of the country, Louisiana hasn’t seen any violence (besides the fruits of what New Orleans Police Chief Shaun Ferguson terms “outside instigators”) over protests in the state against the death of alleged passer of counterfeit currency George Floyd in the custody of Minneapolis police, which has brought the arrest of two white and two Asiatic policemen. The state’s political culture and national politics explains why.

Strong Second Amendment rights. Noticeable from the start, a pattern has emerged where states with restrictive guns laws, and particularly cities with these, are more likely to have protests turn to violence. The simple logic here (which too often even is beyond the brainpower of gun control advocates) is that the greater the ability to arm oneself to protect self, family, and property, the less chance someone will threaten those objects with violence. Louisiana has some of the best Second Amendment protections in the country and ones that local governments can’t override. Protesters know this and thereby don’t know that nobody’s health, home, or business they threaten with violence will be met with a defense of people and property by force of arms.

Policy-maker sympathy with radical policy goals of protesters/rioters. While some have spoken in ways that egg on mischief makers, with the exception of Democrat New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell (and perhaps not coincidentally New Orleans has seen the only instances of violence), politicians in Louisiana have restrained from publicly signing on to police defunding, belief in institutionalized police racist activity, and removing law enforcement from areas where rioting could occur, among others. Those places have seen violence, sometimes extensive, break out.

Brees right on protest view and desisting

New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees understands discretion is the better part of valor, even if by practicing that it empowers an ignorant and reductionist sports mob.

This week, a finance website highlighted comments Brees made about kneeling during the playing of the national anthem as a form of protest. He spoke consistently about that act he had criticized four years ago when a handful of National Football League players hopped on that trend, saying at the time

… there's plenty of other ways that you can do that in a peaceful manner that doesn't involve being disrespectful to the American flag.

The great thing about this country is that we have the freedoms that allow you to speak out openly about any issue. So, I’m not commenting on the issue itself because any person has the right to speak out on any issue they want. That’s the great thing about being an American. But the American flag is what represents those freedoms. It represents the very freedom that [gives such protesters] the opportunity to exercise by speaking out his opinion in a peaceful manner about that issue ….

GOP challenged to enact SB 418 now, fix later

It’s time to see whether Louisiana Republican legislative leaders, especially GOP House Speaker Clay Schexnayder, truly are serious about what they call a top legislative priority of this year and if they wish to supplant Democrat Gov. John Bel Edwards as the lead policy-maker in the state.

The fate of SB 418 by Republican state Sen. Kirk Talbot will answer both questions. The bill reforms the tort system in regards to vehicle insurance, making Louisiana look much more like other states with far lower insurance rates.

Described by Republican legislators as a leading issue of the session in light of the economically depressive impact of the Wuhan coronavirus pandemic, Edwards has threatened to veto the measure, and even after its passage in a watered-down form wouldn’t commit to desisting on that account. It passed the Senate, first in its original form then as part of a conference committee compromise, with more than enough votes to override any veto, but in the House while the version that went to conference passed with two more than the 70 votes required, the compromise version garnered only 66.

More history in offing at Edwards' expense

One historic session of the Louisiana Legislature down, one to go – and historic for more than one reason.

After enduring a regular session interrupted for about a month-and-a-half because of gubernatorial restrictions due to the Wuhan coronavirus pandemic, the Legislature launched itself into a special session potentially a month long. It’s only the second time it has done so, and the first time it hasn’t restricted itself to a narrow agenda.

Democrat Gov. John Bel Edwards did take issue with the generality of the call, implying that it tried to do too much, although his claim rings a bit hollow. Of the 41 items, 14 deal with budgeting matters, some of which the chambers resolved in the regular session but left most hanging because of the shortened nature of the session. Another nine address the impact of Edwards’ actions because of the pandemic. A dozen concern tax matters, which in this even-numbered year the body couldn’t address during the regular session. Outside of these areas that timing has prevented to date their resolutions, just a handful of issues remain, and one named – tort reform – the Legislature successfully completed in the regular session.

LA tort reform bills realize different outcomes

Two (or two-plus) bills essentially addressing the same subject, but with two different outcomes in the Louisiana Legislature; why?

SB 418 by Republican state Sen. Kirk Talbot passed both chambers three votes higher than a supermajority. The bill would reform extensively tort law dealing with vehicular accidents in a way that, if the history of similar laws in other states provides any guide, will reduce both insurance rates and the size of court-ordered judgments, which garnered opposition from the trial lawyer lobby.

Those opponents include Democrat Gov. John Bel Edwards, on whose behalf a political action committee devoted to opposing tort reform in all of its forms spent $13.5 million that resulted in his narrow reelection. Edwards is using every last bit of his leverage to dilute the bill in any way possible, by promising not to veto the measure even as he doesn’t stand much of a chance in having such a veto stick, in order to save face. An overridden veto will reduce his governorship going forward to a cipher and even the smallest change that he could cajole from a conference committee picked by legislative Republican leaders would allow him with a straight face to refuse conceding defeat and to sign the bill.

Tort reform vote to force Edwards gamble

Louisiana Democrat Gov. John Bel Edwards now faces the biggest gamble of his undistinguished career in the state’s top office.

Today, the House of Representatives passed HB 418 by Republican Sen. Kirk Talbot. The bill makes major changes to the state’s tort system as it pertains to vehicle insurance, containing features in the legal codes of many other states that have far lower personal vehicle rates.

Edwards, who before making it to the Governor’s Mansion worked as a trial lawyer, doesn’t want to see this threat to the wealth and livelihoods of his professional colleagues, not only out of comradeship, but because he owes his political life to them. Heavily backed by trial lawyers – who along with other beneficiaries to the current system gave to the special interest group Gumbo PAC $13.5 million from 2018-19 it spent on behalf of Edwards’ narrow reelection – he is considered by the special interests currently fleecing ratepayers as their guarantor that they can continue living the lifestyles to which they have become accustomed through vetoing bills like Talbot’s.