Cain deludes self concerning audit allegations

It’s entirely conceivable that former Louisiana State Penitentiary Warden Burl Cain thinks what he did was not wrong. If so, that only goes to show the kind of entitlement bubble in which these people live, blind to what folks without delusions see.

A recent report issued by the Louisiana Legislative Auditor faulted Cain on several accounts in the latter years of his tenure, where he retired abruptly early last year after critical reports appeared in the media that prompted the audit. It alleges he benefitted to the tune of about $20,000 in free materials and services, as well as enjoying an unspecified amount of free labor.

To which, Cain replied via talk radio, was much ado about nothing, at least concerning he and his family members. He said the supposed free labor – provided by Angola employees on his house off premises – occurred if state employees he contracted to failed to report they took time off from their state duties, absolving him of any responsibility. He argued that any unauthorized purchases to furnish his on-premises abode remained state property. And as far as family members employed by the Department of Corrections utilizing living quarters at Angola even though the state offered to or did subsidize their housing elsewhere, he claimed the space was vacant in any event, so what was the difference in where they were on any given day if the state committed to subsidizing them anyway?

Yenni becoming Jefferson Parish's version of Weiner

If you haven’t seen the movie Weiner, to get the gist of it just follow around Jefferson Parish Pres. Mike Yenni.

The film profiles the hapless former Rep. Anthony Weiner, who resigned from Congress after it emerged he had sexted, pictures included, with various women not his wife. He then made a comeback attempt, running for mayor of New York City, which became derailed when more texts and pictures occurring after his resignation came to public light. The third time proved the charm upon revelation of a yet another batch months involving a minor before last year’s election – just before releasing the film – when his wife, Huma Abedin, served as a top aide to Democrat presidential candidate Hillary Clinton. Abedin announced their separation and Weiner went into rehab.

Filmmakers happened to document the mayor’s race, starting out chronicling what they thought would turn out as an interesting story of redemption that mutated into farce. Throughout, Weiner seems offended whenever any interviewer, questioner, or fellow candidate brings up his behavior of the past and then-present, replying combatively and insisting the only relevant criteria on which to judge him are political issue preferences of the day.

Convention unnecessary to fix LA fiscal problems

Although some, principal among them Gov. John Bel Edwards, think a constitutional convention in order for Louisiana, conditions simply don’t warrant that.

Certainly, the fiscal straitjacket into which Louisiana has amended and legislated itself needs unbinding. Almost seven out of every eight dollars generated by the state by law or the Constitution go to a specified purpose (which includes self-generated revenues such as user fees and tuition at state institutions of higher learning). Most of the remainder ends up funding higher education, health care, or corrections. This hyper-inflexibility hampers budgeting and makes past a certain point addressing mid-year budget deficits almost impossible.

Those arguing for a convention believe this as the best way to sweep aside locked-in spending. By loosening dedications and protections of funds that receive these proceeds, better matching of money to need could happen, rather than enduring government-on-autopilot.

Judicial gymnastics won't change charter school funding

Even if the Louisiana Supreme Court decides to make another foray into rewriting the Constitution, the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education and Legislature can insure funding for some Louisiana charter schools should encounter nothing more than a speed bump.

Recently, the First Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that about a fifth of the state’s charter schools, categorized as “new Type 2,” could not draw appropriations from the Minimum Foundation Program. A 3-2 majority agreed with the plaintiffs, school districts and teacher unions, that any charter school granted that status by the state did not qualify as a “public” school, creating a novel category for them. Thus, any monies they would receive under the MFP formula instead would pass to the educational agency with jurisdiction over the school’s geographic location.

The withholding of funds from the schools and diversion of them to the relevant school district would have begun this week, but this court put a stay on the order. The Supreme Court is expected to take up the matter in the near future.

The Advocate column, Jan. 22, 2017

Jet-setting officials cost Louisiana plenty
http://www.theadvocate.com/baton_rouge/opinion/jeff_sadow/article_1364706e-ddd9-11e6-b55d-2b27acec3491.html

Links:
http://www.theadvocate.com/baton_rouge/news/politics/article_717a9880-d9cf-11e6-a868-1b49f4d852b9.html
http://www.nola.com/politics/index.ssf/2015/03/bobby_jindal_london_state_poli.html
http://www.nola.com/politics/index.ssf/2016/12/john_bel_edwards_cuba_1.html
http://metanoia-inc.org/
http://www.legis.la.gov/legis/ViewDocument.aspx?d=950693
http://www.legis.la.gov/legis/ViewDocument.aspx?d=950392
http://www.theadvocate.com/baton_rouge/news/politics/article_e6965950-d9b7-11e6-93ca-6f30cc167e93.html
http://www.nola.com/politics/index.ssf/2015/04/fbi_john_alario_louisiana_purc.html

Bossier City finds competitor to most apathetic electorate

As far as 2017 local elections go in Louisiana, it looks as if Bossier City may have to hand over its crown for king of apathy to a region just west of Lafayette.

The city that has grown up around Barksdale Air Force Base in the shadow of Shreveport, pockmarked with casinos, has become infamous over the decades for its sclerotic government. In the last four regular elections dating back to 2005, for a total of eight offices – seven on the city council and the mayoralty – these 32 positions have drawn precisely 42 candidates, an average of just over one contested election per cycle.

This year held to form. Republican Mayor Lo Walker, who will turn 84 this year, qualified unopposed for a fourth term, despite a flurry of indications he would not skate (with injudicious past behavior likely keeping out one potential contender). Six of the seven members of the City Council escaped challenge, with only one of its less useful members from a panel of mediocrities having to work for reelection, District 1’s Scott Irwin, who also faced a challenger in 2013.

Expulsion only punishment for LA Senate miscreant

Should Democrat state Sen. Troy Brown stay or should he go from the chamber, after another no contest pleading to a misdemeanor use of violence on a woman? Answering this requires thoughtful understanding of the purpose and role of a legislator.

Past policy-makers had written into law a value judgment about such matters: legislators convicted of a felony cannot continue to serve. The severity of felonious behavior, it would seem, presupposes that the official (this applies to all state government officeholders, elected or not, although not judicial or not civil service) in question does not have the sufficient trustworthiness to govern in the interest of the people. Suspension from office occurs until the conviction reaches finality, i.e. exhaustion of appeals through the judicial system.

None of this applies to Brown, but the Constitution provides for removal of a state official through impeachment for “gross misconduct” while in office. While some senators have raised this possibility, other seem hesitant, such as state Sen. Yvonne Dorsey Colomb, who wants to rewrite the law to allow for “suspension.”

Associations to play big role in HD 8 election

Associations past and present will play an important role determining the victor of the Louisiana House of Representatives District 8 contest this spring.

On Mar. 25, voters in northern Bossier Parish will head to the polls for the special election to replace Republican Rep. Mike Johnson after his recent win. With just a shade under half of the district’s registrants signed up as Republicans, this may be the most conservative House seat in the state. A Democrat has not even tried to run since 1995.

But that doesn’t mean fellow travelers of that party have not made an attempt in the past two decades. In 2003, lawyer Ryan Gatti came up way short against former Rep. Jane Smith. A dozen years later, Gatti narrowly won the state Senate post from the area, in the process openly aiding Democrat Gov. John Bel Edwards in his upset victory.

Mayoral politics intrudes on NO good govt measure

Defending a fast-and-easy system that permits transfer of taxpayer wealth to questionable organizations seems the first order of business in the nascent mayoral campaign of New Orleans City Councilor LaToya Cantrell.

At a recent City Council committee meeting, City Councilor Stacy Head made the reasonable suggestion that the city charge discounted rates to organizations claiming nonprofit status for city involvement with special events. Until now, the chronically cash-strapped city has waived all such fees, and still would waive it in some cases under the new fee structure.

That notion generated little controversy, but sparked heated argument when it came to what qualified groups as nonprofits. Head wanted to count groups only with Internal Revenue Service charitable status. Until recently, this procedure, which costs $400 to obtain, required a detailed application, typically dozens of pages long, spelling out clearly the governance structure, decision-making rules, and purposes to which donated funds would go.

The Advocate column, Jan. 15, 2017

Governor, state health department leader's obsession with Medicaid expansion distracts from budgetary problems
http://www.theadvocate.com/baton_rouge/opinion/jeff_sadow/article_d08a82dc-d8f7-11e6-a7ee-1fc60d589ad8.html

Links:
http://www.nola.com/politics/index.ssf/2017/01/obamacare_repeal_advocacy_aca.html
http://www.theadvocate.com/baton_rouge/news/politics/article_9c597028-d478-11e6-8928-173f02e9b646.html
http://www.legis.la.gov/legis/ViewDocument.aspx?d=915902
http://www.legis.la.gov/Legis/ViewDocument.aspx?d=911313
https://www.heartland.org/_template-assets/documents/publications/mdcdexpntnimpct_mrch13.pdf
https://thefga.org/download/ObamaCare-Expansion-is-Shattering-Projections.PDF
https://cei.org/blog/obamacare-shrinks-economy-through-medicaid-expansion-and-tax-credit-cliffs
http://www.cnsnews.com/news/article/medicaid-estimate-renews-cost-concerns-over-obamacare
http://www.nber.org/oregon/