During a story on some clown who’s been arrested for DWI five times, WBRZ (who purports to be fair and balanced, but has a hard time balancing fair with their editorial bias) wrapped the story up with a quote from the executive director of MADD here in Louisiana. To paraphrase Ms. Donna Tate–I don’t know how someone with five DWI arrests can still be driving…

Well, Donna, how about an arrest isn’t a conviction. Let’s start there. In fact, we can stop right there too. MADD are actually a bunch of people who don’t give a rat’s tail about your Constitutional or civil rights–all they care about is their agenda, which is pretty much saying that if you drink you’re bad.

I’d pay money to see Ms. Tate to get gigged after leaving the bar room and blowing a 0.081.

http://www.2theadvocate.com/news/47970706.html?showAll=y&c=y

With the state facing some serious money issues, and our constitution being what is, higher education and health care are about the only two places to make budget cuts. Of course, the educators are howling and the rich hospital administrator lobby is lying on the airwaves. EVERYONE hates having the tit pulled out from their mouth.

That being said, some of the powers that be at Southern University are speaking a truth that’s been lost on the rest of the state–get rid of the administrators and keep the people who get the work done. In higher ed, this means faculty.

Granted, there will be some faculty cuts at Southern, but there is a recognition that it is administration that needs to be pruned.

This is a lesson that this state needs to take to heart….

Baseball is a cult in Baton Rouge. LSU Baseball, specifically (note the capital “B” in baseball). I really could give a rat’s ass less what happens in other LSU sports–but I pay close attention to baseball.

One of the things that is a MAJOR draw for LSU baseball is the fact that, for as long as damn near anyone can remember, it’s been a very classy group of young men. Year in and year out, the LSU baseball team has exhibited strong work ethic, great sportsmanship and, very regularly, a strong academic performance. On the field, they comport themselves VERY well — winning or losing (case in point–during the LSU/Southern U. game at the beginning of this season’s regional, the Southern starting pitcher put on a PERFORMANCE…he held LSU’s batters at bay and kept the game really close. When Roger Cador decided to pull him, he got a round of applause from the stands AND the LSU dugout). Being a sport is just expected.

Enter this week’s douche, Todd Oakes. Todd is the pitching coach for Minnesota and his little boy was a senior pitcher for the club this year. Apparently, nepotism is no big deal in the frigid north.

After a particularly bad call during the LSU/Minnesota final of the Baton Rouge regional, the Minnesota bench got their panties knotted up and started giving the umpire crew a hard time. Out goes the younger Oakes. Hey…it was a REALLY bad call–no one doubted that at all, and you’re entitled to make a little issue of it. But know when to say “when,” and get on with the game…and certainly…CERTAINLY…don’t hold that grudge past the close of the inning.

So, we’re down one Oakes (who was apparently going to make his last pitching appearance before being shown the door) and be damned if several innings later, while Minnesota is getting ass-raped, Daddy Oakes decides to give the home plate umpire the what-for for the bad call three or four innings ago. Apparently the douche doesn’t fall far from the vinegar bottle.

Out goes the elder Oakes.

Unbelievable.

Dear Minnesota Baseball–next time you come to play in a BR regional, please have your A game on–on the field and from the dugout. If there’s anything we don’t appreciate on our diamond, it’s a display of classlessness.

(Photo of Mr. Oakes linked from the Minnesota Athletics website)

http://www.rogersrants.com/blog/default.aspx?id=278&t=Jim-Bernhard-Selfless-Crusader-for-the

http://www.nola.com/news/t-p/capital/index.ssf?/base/news-7/1243142451109030.xml&coll=1

And certainly I’m very tardy in getting this post out the door…but, while Jim Bernhard is telling the legislature what they should do and implying that he knows better than the Gov…Shaw is quietly laying off. A few here, a few there…and, from what I’ve been able to find out, none in Louisiana. How convenient.

I personally don’t care if Shaw lays off or not…but, what I feel is totally disingenuous is the fact that Shaw is laying off at the same time Bernhard is wanting to “give back” bonus money the state has paid Shaw for early project completion. Two things jump out at me: Jim obviously doesn’t give a crack about his employees and where are the Shaw stockholders when it comes to returning profits? No one has heard from them.

There are other things at work here–Bernhard made a habit out of flying KBB and Coach around the planet on Shaw jets. He writes big checks to Dem causes and candidates. He’s going out of his way to make Jindal look stupid.

See Jim run–I don’t care what he said on “Tune In.”

http://www.2theadvocate.com/news/45885107.html

Watch out for the “aggressive” DWI enforcement here in Louisiana this weekend. But, come Tuesday, we’ll go back to only enforcing the limits on blood alcohol in a half-ass, haphazard manner.

This is dumb like “Click it or ticket,” and the gay “Feel the heat,” campaign. While I don’t have time to run the numbers right now–intuitively, you should know that if you decide to drive under the influence, drive sans seat belt or speed, your odds of getting away with it are far greater than the odds that a cop will accept a free doughnut. If I were one to wager, I’d call it a “sure thing.”

How about we do this–we aggressively enforce traffic laws that pertain to safety, we concentrate our efforts on areas where we will make the roads safest for the greatest number of people and we do it all the time. Not just on busy, holiday weekends.

And let’s CERTAINLY give up the two dumb ass practices of concentrating troopers and other law enforcement personnel at seat belt and sobriety checkpoints. If you want to get the most enforcement for your buck, putting all your pigs in one place is WAY, WAY dumb….

Have a safe Memorial Day weekend…and, if the opportunity presents itself, thank a member of our Armed Forces.

Until I have time to carry on about the likes of useless pieces of trash–such as Wanda Sykes (and our president and his press corps)–you four will have to amuse yourself with this little tidbit:

http://www.2theadvocate.com/news/police/44683872.html?showAll=y&c=y

Read the article and bear in mind that Jerry Denton RAN for this job–it wasn’t foisted upon him.

We discovered this when, kind of on a whim, we took him to the Sertoma Air Show in Lafayette in November of last year. Okay…daddy and his Papi really wanted to go, so we dragged mom and Ma’am along with us. That meant the that soon-to-be two-year-old was coming, like it or not.

And like it he did! He was infatuated with the planes, a little intimidated by the noise of the military hardware but really in to it. As each plane would taxi on to the runway, he’d wave to it and let everyone who cared to listen know that planes go “bye-bye.”

So, with a chance to take him to a real military airshow, I couldn’t resist.

The drive to New Orleans was well worth the show we got to see at the 2009 N’Awlins Airshow, held at NAS JRB New Orleans, in Belle Chasse. After we parked (like 200 meters from the flight line) and cleared security (which saw us in line for all of about 3 minutes), we set lawn chairs out at air show center (no kidding–we beat the Sunday crowd by going on Saturday…who’d have thought??) and immediately were treated to flyovers from a B-52 and a B-2 Spirit. Not that he’ll remember it, but the boy will probably never see a B-52 in the air again and the historical importance of that plane cannot be overstated.

The rest of the show was great! The Blue Angels were the headline performer but, and I hate to say this, the Air Force really snuck one in on ‘em. In addition to flying the two heavies over (the B-2 is otherworldly in appearance), the Air Force’s Viper East demo unit, flying the F-16, was killer!! But the real draw was the chance to see these guys in the air:

I probably would have driven a lot farther than New Orleans to see the Raptor fly…and I would have been rewarded for the time and mileage invested. To say that you can’t imagine a plane doing things that this one does is an understatement. The Laws of Physics really get back-burnered when this thing is in the air. As the boy so eloquently put it (in two-year-old speak), “loud planes go fast-fast!!”

Totally and completely a wonderful, enjoyable Saturday–I got to spend the day with my son and my mom and dad (the wife was contributing to the financial well-being of the American Left by attending Jazz Fest) and the boy got exposed to some of the men, women and material that have helped defend this country and guarantee our freedoms.

Which is where it gets pretty melancholy.

Because the current administration really doesn’t value our armed forces, the job they perform or the important place they occupy in securing our liberties, they’re getting their financial legs cut out from beneath them. Those of us not serving generally don’t see that and wouldn’t give it much thought otherwise, but it was made apparent when I found out that this could possibly be the last airshow at NAS New Orleans for some time.

It seems that the Navy, who’s dealing with a quickly shrinking budget, may have to curtail the number of airshows they host. In one of the best ways for the public to see what their tax dollars are buying and interact with the men and women serving them, the airshow is a no-brainer from an expense perspective…yet, the Obama clowns are basically saying screw the military. So, the military is going to be a in a crunch.

And the public, my son included, are losing out.

So from my perspective, what it relates to is mitigation. If you’re out in the middle of a field and someone sneezes, that’s one thing. If you’re in a closed aircraft, a closed container, closed car, a closed classroom, it’s a different thing.

Meet Joe the epidemiologist.

I’ve come up with a brilliant idea for Biden after his political career is over–he can rent himself out to people to make them look smart. All he has to do is stand around and periodically open his mouth and whoever is in his immediate vicinity looks brilliant. Instantly.

God save us all.

Reports of his demise…

Prior to the start of this session, many of Louisiana’s political “pundits” predicted that the Gov might have a hard time with legislature looking to reap a little revenge or exert a little authority on the Governor. Seems that these pundits think that there might be a spine hidden somewhere in the group of twits.

Given that we’re three days into the session now and Jimmy Faircloth marched his silver-maned, used-car-salesman looking ass right into the House and Governmental Affairs Committee and told them “no, you’re not going to do that…or that…or that either. And, you can do that, but this is HOW you’re going to do it,” and 70% of the legislators present voted exactly how Mr. Faircloth told them to vote….I’d say the body is still pretty afraid of the Gov. Pundits wrong about Louisiana politics again–imagine that.

Nobody said you had to be smart…

To win a seat in the Louisiana House. Take Karen Gaudet St. Germain, D-Pierre Part (I know, it sounds like the start of a bad joke). Mrs. Gaudet St. Germain’s contribution, so far this session–a ban on “gimmick” cigarette lighters. If the proverbial “they” catch you selling a “gimmick” cigarette lighter, your retail outlet could be fined $250. Apparently, they’re still legal to own, as there was nothing saying you’d have your white boots or trailer seized if found in possession of one.

After contemplating this particular bill, I wasn’t sure what scared me most–that this was worthy enough to be introduced in a “fiscal only” session or that it actually got out of committee. Overwhelmingly. When polled on the lineage of this bill, Mrs. Gaudet St. Germain replied “uh…like…you know…when I was little….like…my cousin’s friend burned herself with a lighter….or something.”

I like Jindal, but….

He has a tendency to come across as hypocritical, which really irks me. And it probably irks me more from him than some politicians because he did run on a “reform” platform and continues to push it today.

This has been a two year battle, but it’s time Jindal opens the books on the Governor’s Office. It’s not like we’re going to be exposing state secrets or something. Jimmy Faircloth’s assertion that it would intrude on executive privilege and stifle discussion at the stop is horsecrap. I applaud Wayne Waddell, R-Shreveport, for having the burls to introduce this legislation again this year.

Next year, buddy–third time’s a charm!