Inquiring minds want to know

31st October 2011   ·   0 Comments

It’s Halloween and there are some things that a lot more frightening than witches, warlocks, goblins, vampires and werewolves. To start with, everyone who are about truth, justice, democracy and equal protection under the law should be very concerned and cautious of local and state elected officials who are willing to do whatever it takes to move their agendas forward. That includes selling seats on state boards and commissions, buying elections, playing puppetmaster politics, refusing to adhere to transparency laws, making up the rules as they go and employing the kind of machiavellian moves to get what they want that would have made the late, great Huey P. Long blush.

When it comes to open, transparent government that administers the law with fairness, equity and democratic principles, both City Hall and the Governor’s Mansion leave a lot to be desired. It is our right, privilege and responsibility as taxpayers and citizens of this republic to call out those we elect to lead and represent us whenever necessary. It is also important that we talk about disturbing trends in the media, popular culture and the daily lives of us all.

In that spirit, let’s talk about some of the things on the minds of the people of this city, state and nation as millions around the nation continue to struggle to secure the blessings of liberty for themselves and their posterity. Here goes:

• Would anybody really be upset if Louisiana Governor Piyush Jindal broke his promise and jumped ship to take a position in a Republican White House?

• Isn’t it a little hard to take Gov. Piyush Jindal seriously after he turned down $60 million in federal funding that could have been used to boost early childhood education in Louisiana?

• Why is it that Mayor Mitch Landrieu paused last week to mark the centennial of legendary gospel singer Mahalia Jackson’s birth in New Orleans but couldn’t muster the will or courage to acknowledge in any way the 200th anniversary of the historic 1811 slave revolt, the largest uprising of enslaved Africans in U.S. history?

• With 20 more NOPD officers under investigation for taking cash payments for off-duty details, do you see any light at the end of the proverbial tunnel with regard to implementing police reforms and doing away with corruption and the sense of entitlement that some officers have?

• How much more time, focus and energy could be spent fighting crime and solving murders if so many of New Orleans’ finest weren’t consumed with chasing lucrative off-duty details instead?

• If we elected a new mayor more than a year ago and everything is supposed to be hunky-dory, why can so many residents still be heard whispering that the emperor has no clothes and no clue?

• Was it just me or did the Tangipahoa Parish Sheriff’s Office’s efforts to capture the wiley Kaunda Magee sound an awful lot like the hunt for Bigger Thomas in Richard Wright’s Native Son?

• Why is New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg interested in the outcome of a BESE runoff race in New Orleans and why write a check for $100,000 to support a group formed to strengthen support for charter schools in Louisiana?

• If charter schools are the cure-all that supporters of the charter-school movement say they are, why does it take so much money from sources outside of Louisiana to increase support for charter schools? Why can’t charter-school proponents simply appeal to the hearts and minds of parents with school-age children?

• Why are so many people with children who never have and never will attend charter or public schools writing checks to support the charter-school movement?

• Why doesn’t Louisiana Gov. Piyush Jindal want to release the names or the number of people who have applied for seats on the board of the Louisiana Housing Corporation, which will be assigned the task of running all state housing assistance programs?

• What would college football’s BCS standings look like if the Honey Badger, Tyrann Mathieu (LSU), Barkevious Mingo (LSU) LaMichael James (Oregon), Trent Richardson (Alabama), Robert Griffin III (Baylor) and Ryan Broyles (Oklahoma), Dont’a Hightower and Keola Antolin (Oklahoma State) and Tajh Boyd (Clemson) had all decided to enroll at Southern University-Baton Rouge?

• Which is scarier, another four years of Piyush Jindal as governor of Louisiana or a major political party that takes people like Michelle Bachmann, Donald Trump, Sarah Palin and Herman Cain seriously?

This article was originally published in the October 31, 2011 print edition of The Louisiana Weekly newspaper