Day: January 23, 2015

Jim Brown: For Bobby Jindal – First the Muslims, then the world

Thursday, January 22nd, 2014
Baton Rouge, Louisiana

FOR BOBBY JINDAL – FIRST THE MUSLIMS, THEN THE WORLD!

Louisiana’s feisty absentee Governor Bobby Jindal sure knows how some things that are not politically correct, so brace yourselves.” So naturally, I held onto my desk, took a deep breath, assumed the worst, and braced myself.

The Republican presidential wannabe was on the political warpath. He didn’t mince words in firmly stating: “Let’s be honest here. Islam has a problem.” He went on to elaborate that Muslims should reject terrorism and should strongly speak out saying “acts of terror in the name of Islam is in fact not practicing Islam at all. If they refuse to say this, they are condoning these acts of barbarism.”

So far, so good for Jindal. But he then muddied his message by claiming that Europe was full of “no-go” zones where Muslim communities are enforcing sharia law on residents, ignoring the laws of the country in which they are living. His speech was given in London, and the Times Picayune reported that British Prime Minister David Cameron’s reaction was swift and blunt: “When I heard this, I frankly choked on my porridge and I thought it must be an April fools day.” Cameron and numerous other commentators rebuffed Jindal’s assertions, saying that no such “no-go” zones existed anywhere in Britain or Europe.

So Jindal stumbled on the “no-go” zone issue. But on the separate anxieties of rejecting terrorism among one’s cluster, the Louisiana Governor was right on. Most all of us would agree. Jindal’s problem is that he micro focuses on those who believe in Islam, and seems to conclude that not all Muslims are terrorists, but all terrorists seem to be Muslims. Is he right? Continue Reading……………

Looks like we have a family feud not seen on Slabbed since the Kern fiasco (Updated)

By now everyone has certainly heard of the Benson family feud and I’m not gonna rehash it much. I will say that through time, I’ve developed dossiers of sorts on the entire gang and indeed once invited ol’ Tom out to play on these pages. This type of institutional knowledge comes in handy when the fur begins to fly so this has potential.

I can attest first hand that Tom Benson and his lovely wife Gayle do adore the fairgrounds and the old guy has enough loot where he could pass gas and own the whole thing in a few seconds but NFL rules prohibit gambling related businesses so we’ll will give Mr. B and Mrs B. the benefit of the doubt on that one, especially since Benson’s staff of seasoned lawyers and CPAs keep him out of such mudholes.

If only the Saints front office could produce similar results in the NFL draft. In any event stories of Granddaughter Rita being a spoiled brat have been circulating since 2012 in the national media.

Finally I once again recommend the Grand Master for those seeking comedic relief via twitter:

As for the chances of success in this suit all I can say is if there is one thing Slabbed has seen time and again is the impact of star-power on civil litigation. Here is what Jimmy Graham had to say to NOLA.com:

Gayle Benson is one of the sweetest ladies I’ve ever met in my entire life. Every day she comes to practice and gives me a smile and a big hug. She emulates everything that Tom Benson has done with the franchise, and I’m excited for her.

Looks like we may need to purchase some popcorn futures on the Merk to insure against popcorn shortages as we follow this and other stories.

Updated for terrible editing.

Guest post: Bay Superintendent Responds to Bryant’s State of the State Address

Bay St. Louis Superintendent of Education, Rebecca Ladner responded to Governor Phil Bryant’s State of the State Address last night.

Two of the things she cited the Republicans for were underfunded schools and underpaid workers.

These two points are interesting coming from her when I reflect back on 2010 in her second year as Superintendent in the Bay-Waveland School District. There was a district wide pay cut for all certified employees, and while some long standing employees took as much as 12% to 16% pay cuts on salaries that never exceeded the $30,000 range, she took a 10% cut on her $110,000.00. I don’t remember her complaining about the sad state of her faithful employees then, and how that was going to affect their retirement. So, while she is familiar with underpaid employees, she makes sure administrators are never in that mix. In a community where 78% of the families live at poverty level, some in her administrative staff (including her) make more than some state level elected officials.

As far as underfunded schools, she seems to have lots of local tax dollars to spend in Bay St. Louis. She just doesn’t have any interest in spending it in the classrooms. While teachers have always dug into their own pockets to make sure their classrooms have what they need, Ms. Ladner did manage to find somewhere near a cool million dollars (no one can seem to obtain totals) to spend on field turf for the football stadium.

Yes, the Republicans leave a lot to be desired when it comes to producing an effective educational system in our state, but don’t hold your breath waiting for it to be corrected by Democrats like Rebecca Ladner.

Lana Noonan, Chairman
Hancock County Alliance for Good Government

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