Commentary: America Can't Learn Some Basic Lessons
by Link Savoie

"The budget should be balanced, the Treasury should be refilled, public debt should be reduced, the arrogance of officialdom should be tempered and controlled, and the assistance to foreign lands should be curtailed, lest we become bankrupt and people must again learn to work, instead of living on public assistance."

The foregoing is not by Reagan, Clinton or Bush but by a guy 2,000 years ago. His name was Cicero, in 55 B.C.

When will Americans ever learn? First, Americans will not rest until we have "come out first" in either the good, bad or ugly. We have gone full circle by failing to remember that just a half-dozen years ago, a very young man was serving in the Illinois state Senate; then as a U.S. senator; and then a hoodwinked America rushed this person into the Oval Office for the sake of accomplishing another first.

Second, due to lack of experience he failed to surround himself with certified Americans who could have kept him out of trouble in and out of the United States.

Third, this man is so anti-military he refused to fire his appointed homeland security secretary, Janet Napolitano, for releasing a top-secret intelligence assessment to law enforcement that "veterans returning from Iraq or Afghanistan could be susceptible to right-wing recruiters or commit lone acts of violence."

Of course, there was an immediate uprising by some congressional leaders demanding she step down. That fizzled, and Congress went back to sleep.

President Barack Obama can only get some support from the military if he decides to stop firing highly trained generals who tell the truth about how the wars are being lost for "being politically correct" with the enemy. Obama must understand that the military will do their jobs because they are all volunteers and their allegiance is to God and country, and their paychecks originate from the faithful taxpayers of this great nation.

Link Savoie is a retired Army officer, a Korea-Vietnam veteran, past state commander of the VFW of Louisiana and recent recipient of the Jefferson Award for Public Service.

The Legacy of Robert Strange McNamara
by Warren Caudle – Daily Advertiser Right Blogger

Robert S. McNamara is best known for being Secretary of Defense under Presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon Baines Johnson died Monday July 6, 2009 in his sleep at his home in Washington, D. C.

There has already been much talk about McNamara although it has been mostly lost in the sea of reporting on the demise of Michael Jackson, some of it has been favorable but mostly people point out that he was the architect of the Vietnam War.

I shall attempt to be as kind as possible and that is an overwhelming challenge for me on this subject.

For the last forty years I have consistently said that the Vietnam War will never be completely over for me until we take William Westmoreland, Robert McNamara, and dig up Lyndon Johnson and shoot them on the White House lawn. All three have now departed this earth. They join 58,000 American military personnel in eternal rest who did not leave this world in old age and in their sleep.

The legacy of McNamara as I see it is that he ushered in the era of as President Eisenhower called the military industrial complex. McNamara was the chief of the defense department during it greatest transformation from an institution of leadership to the epitome of management. He introduced management by the numbers or quantitative management to the Pentagon through his programs of systems analysis.

Most will agree that Hitler’s biggest failure was that he did not trust his generals and refused to listen to them. The same can be said of McNamara. Through his programs of system analysis he placed much more emphasis on the opinions of the department civilian employees that the military brass.

I have said it before and will say it again that since we changed not only the name but also the mission of the War Department after World War II to the Department of Defense we have been at almost a constant state of war and have never won one. Prior to, and through, World War II we went to war seldom but when we did they were usually short in duration and we never lost one.

A friend of mine who is a retired Lt. Colonel from the Marine Corps and teaches military history at the Army War College at Leavenworth, Kansas told me that I had to read a book by H. R. McMaster titled “Dereliction of Duty: Johnson, McNamara, the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the Lies That Led to Vietnam”. I never finished the book because I literally had chest pains trying to read it.

No one will ever make me believe that those men did not thrive on pure evil in their pursuit of the Vietnam War policies and operations.

There was once a country that was the beacon to the world that said we lead be example. We will win the hearts and mind of the underdeveloped nations by being a good neighbor. We will help build road, hospitals, schools, implement modern farming practices and on and on, and the people of the world will look up to us. That was the United States of America.

The philosophy went on to mean that we would not force our will on other countries by military might. We would not install governments in countries that were brutal dictators just because we would get what we wanted from that country, no, that was the behavior of the truly evil forces of the world the Communist of the Soviet Union and China.

Robert McNamara and his ilk inside the military/industrial/congressional complex would change that, and change they did.

The United States of America may never fully recover from the actions of Robert Strange McNamara, William Childs Westmoreland, and Lyndon Baines Johnson.

58,000 American souls who lost their lives in Vietnam have cried out for justice from their graves. Their cried have been joined by millions of others in Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia and other areas in Southeast Asian countries.

The sub title says it all “Johnson, McNamara, the Joint Chiefs and the Lies That Led to Vietnam”.

Warren is a local businessman, long-time Republican and Vietnam veteran.

Realize Needless Spending in Our Own Backyard

The movement of tea party rallies has gained popularity in America since the passage of the Democrats' stimulus package, protesting against wasteful federal spending, although both parties have been derelict in managing our tax dollars. Although truth be told, this movement should have started immediately after the $700 billion financial bailout last Fall.

Recently, government spending on non-governmental organizations has rightfully drawn attention of voters in Louisiana. Why should taxpayer dollars go toward functions that are not the direct responsibility of government, such as nonprofits?

The literal meaning of Article VII, Sec. 14 of the Louisiana Constitution forbids appropriations to nonprofits, festivals and other non-government entities where a government project is not being performed. Yet, our state government continues to make these expenditures, almost as a re-election tool for legislators.

State Rep. John Schroder, R-Covington, has tried to gain support for eliminating NGO expenditures from state government. Unfortunately, his efforts have met little support from fellow legislators or the Jindal administration.

Last year, when Lafayette City-Parish Councilman William Theriot attempted to strip NGO appropriations from the parish budget, he was met with ridicule from local media and community leaders. In a region where the tea parties have received much positive response from local voters, why was Theriot chastised for trying to rein in non-government spending at home?

This month, Councilmen Theriot and Jared Bellard are attempting to pass an ordinance to phase out parish expenditures to NGOs over a three-year period and, once again, are being met with resistance.

Their plan is to take the savings, which Theriot estimates around $450k per year is appropriated to NGOs by the Lafayette Parish Government, and re-direct those monies to more urgent needs in the local police and fire departments.

If we are going to rally against wasteful government spending, we need to be willing to make reforms in our own backyard, or else we might as well hold the next tea party rally in a house of mirrors.

Maybe a good police juror in Acadia Parish can help spearhead such reforms in my parish, as well.

http://www.theadvertiser.com/article/20090703/OPINION/907030332/1014/NEWS17/Commentary--Independence-Day-a-good-day-to-cut-spending

Time for Sen. Landrieu to Show Her True Colors – Cap and Trade

This past Friday evening, the U.S. House voted 219-212 in favor of putting the screws to the petro-chemical industry, meaning my home state of Louisiana, by passing the Cap and Trade bill, H.R. 2454.

This bill is the biggest tax increase in American history, with draconian effects on Louisiana’s number one industry.

Now that this all out assault on our domestic petro-chemical industry has passed the House, it will move on into the Senate, where our recently re-elected Democrat Senator, Mary Landrieu, needs to be held accountable for this legislation’s fate.

Senator Landrieu was a supporter of and endorsed Barack Obama for President last year, though she abruptly had her name removed as a co-host of a fundraiser, but still attended.

That means despite receiving endorsements from many local Republicans and leaders in the Louisiana Oil and Gas industry, Mary Landrieu still endorsed a man for President who made clear his desire to go after the coal and oil & gas industries.

Now it is time for Senator Landrieu to step to the plate and own up to the fact that when she supported Barack Obama for President, she was supporting his major plans, one of which is Cap and Trade.

It is not enough for Senator Landrieu to simply vote against H.B. 2454, nor will it be enough for her to tell President Obama to “keep his hands of the oil & gas industry” while speaking in Lafayette, Louisiana.

She needs to say those things on the Senate floor and in private to President Obama and all his left-wing Pelosi soldiers.

These leftists, socialists, are specifically targeting an industry that has provided hundreds of thousands of good paying jobs for Louisiana residents, including many who did not have the opportunity to attend college, but were still able to make a good living in the workforce Day 1 out of high school. This is what the petro-chemical industry has provided in Louisiana, and the Gulf Coast as a whole.

But Senator Mary Landrieu’s best political allies want to take this away from our state.

NOW is time for Sen. Landrieu to stand up and be a real fighter for Louisiana. She touted her “seniority” as a reason for people to re-elect her. NOW is time for Sen. Landrieu to use that seniority to influence as many of her Democrat friends in the Senate as needed to kill this legislation; not amend it, but KILL it.

Or else, it will be accurate to label her as simply another politician looking to get re-elected last year, but not willing to truly stand up for the people and industry she claims to represent.

Sen. Landrieu can be reached at the following numbers:

Washington, D.C. (202) 224-5824
New Orleans (504) 589-2427
Baton Rouge (225) 389-0395
Shreveport (318) 676-3085
Lake Charles (337) 436-6650

Democrats: The Party Against Louisiana Working Class

Voters are constantly treated to the DNC talking point that the Democrat Party is the party fighting for the working, middle class.

But when it comes to working class in Louisiana, the Obama and Pelosi Democrats are trying to stick it to us.

The two biggest initiatives of national Democrats these days are: passing legislation specifically with the purpose of punishing and harming the petro-chemical industry, an industry that enables tens of thousands of working-class Louisiana residents to provide a good living for their families; then they want to increase taxes on working Louisiana taxpayers, even taxing employer provided health care benefits, to fund government health care for 50 million uninsured Americans.

This includes millions of Americans who can afford but CHOOSE not to purchase health insurance and millions more who CHOOSE not to work and have lived off taxpayer-funded welfare and subsidized housing for years.

Tens of thousands of working Louisiana families will be hit twice as hard by President Obama and national Democrats’ two proposals. The industry where they make a living is under assault, and then they’ll have to pay our more of their hard-earned income to pay for this new government health care plan.

How is that for representing the working class?

Senate Uses Weasel Tactics to Pass Tax Increase

They just can't stop trying to stick it to the taxpayers in Louisiana.After we all thought SB 335, a tax increase by delaying our already effective Stelly tax break, was dead, Senate President Joel Chaisson, who has been in the legislature too long, amended a non-related bill, HB 689, to enact the $118 million tax increase that SB 335 sought to impose.

http://www.nola.com/politics/index.ssf/2009/06/senate_revives_bill_to_freeze.html

As for Acadiana area Senators, remember these names:Butch Gautreaux (D-Morgan City); Elbert Guillory (D-Opelousas...the state GOP should have backed Link Savioe in March instead of Guillory behind the scenes); Troy Hebert (D-Jeanerette); Mike Michot (R-Lafayette...has he been promised a job within the university system after 2011?); and Dan "Blade" Morrish (R-Jennings...I tried to help Mark Abraham get elected instead 2 years ago)

Vote tally here:

http://www.legis.state.la.us/billdata/streamdocument.asp?did=663034

Not only is this the tax increase we fought hard to prevent, this is also the type of political BS that needs to stop now in Baton Rouge and in Washington D.C. HB 689 was supposed to have nothing to do with tax increases or decreases. However, 29 Senators felt is necessary to use this weasel tactic to get back at the taxpayers and House Reps. who stood strong against SB 335, which started out on UNCONSTITUTIONAL grounds.

All tax revenue bills are supposed to start in the HOUSE, according to state and federal Constitution. SB 335 was an ILLEGAL tax increase.

HB 689's Senate revisions should be Dead On Arrival in the House IF the 55 State Reps. who signed the letter composed by Reps. John Schroder (R-Covington) and Krik Talbot (R-River Ridge) keep to their WRITTEN word.

Those in the Lafayette area, please contact Reps. Joel Robideaux, Nancy Landry and Page Cortez. They signed the letter against this tax increase and have stood strong so far. However, they may need some extra positive encouragement. They are no doubt going to get pressured by Mike Michot, who helped them get elected, and the Higher Ed elites in the Lafayette area.

If Higher Ed funding is a real priority, then legislators will cut out their slush funds and withdraw the $9 million bailout of the golf course so their actions match their pro-higher ed rhetoric.

LA Senate Wants Taxpayers to Further Sacrifice in This Recession, Not Bureaucrats‏

They're trying to do it to the taxpayers again. Instead of telling Higher Ed to make much needed changes and scale-back its redundancy (i.e. too many 4 years universities for LA's population and college students; too many duplicate programs), our Senators voted 29-9 in favor of delaying roughly $118 million for itemized deductions for 3 years.

http://www.nola.com/politics/index.ssf/2009/06/senate_passes_freeze_on_person.html

Remember, this is the tax break that our legislators and Governor bragged about "giving" us tax breaks last summer.

Higher Ed funding has increased by 41% from 2000-2008, and while the argument is made that we've finally reached full funding of higher ed, not a single one of the proponents of this legislation is willing to tell the college system that we have too much redundancy in our state.

The tax revenues from businesses and individual taxpayers cannot support the number of state-funded 4 year universities currently operating.

Also, if Higher Ed was such a priority, our legislators would have found a way to fund that portion of government FIRST, before continuing funding of their pet Non-Governmental Organization projects. Nope.

Instead, we taxpayer, many of us making less money than last year do to the current economic state, have to give up relief that was promised to us 2 years ago. See the vote here tally here:

http://www.legis.state.la.us/billdata/streamdocument.asp?did=658377

Legislators Vote FOR Politicizing Hunting Regulations

HB 613, summed up a recent CCA-LA press release, has been approved by the State House Natural Resources Committee with 9-3 approval.

This legislation would give the state legislature oversight and veto power over the LDWF in regards to hunting seasons.

http://www.legis.state.la.us/billdata/streamdocument.asp?did=655701

The following committee members found it necessary to politicize Louisiana hunting regulations through the legislature.

Karen St. Germain, D-Plaquemine (co-author)
Bobby Badon, D-Carencro
Robert Billiot, D-Waggaman
Henry Burns, R-Haughton
Jerry Gisclair, D-Larose
Reed Henderson, D-Chalmette
Sam Jones, D-Franklin
Jack Montoucet, D-Crowley
Jim Morris, R-Oil City

With all the budget and reform legislation being proposed and needed in the state political process, our state legislature should not be in the business of regulating Louisiana wildlife and hunting regulations. This is better left for biologists and other professionals who study migration patterns and season effects full-time.

While I am not a hunter, I am an avid fisherman and lifetime member of Costal Conservation Association. They have issued a public statement AGAINST HB 613. Ducks Unlimited has not yet issued an official public statement that I am aware of, however, the elected DU officer in Acadia Parish is personally AGAINST this legislation.

Plus, if the legislature is able to pass this power grab in regards to regulation of hunting, it will not be long before the attempt to politicize fishing regulations gets going.

Please contact your state legislatures and tell them to follow the wishes of the LA sportsmen groups and vote AGAINST giving the state legislature power over the informed hunting regulations recommendations of LDWF.

HB 613 is scheduled for House floor debate on this Wednesday, June 3.

Remembering Our Prisoners of War
by Warren Caudle - Daily Advertiser Right Blogger

This Memorial Day and weekend was yet another time when the country was asked to stop for one day and observe with quite dignity the sacrifice of the men and women who have lost their lives in military service defending the rights, privileges’, and values of this great nation of ours.

The Memorial Day celebration has changed over the years. It was enacted in 1868 to honor the dead of the Union soldiers. It is no surprise that Memorial Day was not celebrated in the former States of the Confederacy until it was changed following World War I to honor all Americans who died in any war. Many people like me think often of the people who died in military service especially those we knew. But this Memorial Day, I was and am thinking of someone who has not lost their life in the military, but rather their freedom.

The POWs that I speak of are not the missing in action from the Vietnam War, although they are always in our hearts and minds, but rather the soldiers that are serving sentences in prison for their role in the Abu Ghraib prison scandal. Recently the television has been full of experts and talking heads discussing Guantanamo Bay and the practice of water boarding. Is water boarding torture or is it not is a question that everyone seems more than willing to try to answer. Water boarding is not the topic of today, but rather why are Americans in prison for torturing prisoners in Iraq.

Liz Cheney, the daughter of former Vice President Dick Cheney, was on a program debating the water boarding issue and pointed out several times that the soldiers who participated in the Abu Ghraib prison affair broke the laws and they are serving prison time for their actions.

They may have broken some law, but the fact that the only ones who are serving prison time are enlisted soldiers who were never trained for that role as a prison guard of Iraqis is a disgrace!

One of the Iraqi prisoners whose testimony was used to convict the American kids said he was tortured. He said he and others were striped naked and made to stay that way for thirty days. He went on to say that they were paraded naked in front of other prisoners and prison guards. That he said was torture to which the American military tribunals agreed.

The U. S. military, CIA, and other government contractors said no prisoners were tortured by them at Abu Ghraib and the soldiers acted solely on their own.

Here is where the real problem arises. The actions of the soldiers in question were indeed stupid and really stupid to take photos of their actions. However, they contended that they were under orders from superiors to put the prisoners “under stress” and the tactics used were ordered by their superiors.

This brings up some huge question and they are who were the superiors of those soldiers and whose orders were they to follow?

One of the first things a person learns when going into the military is that “you will go to jail for disobeying a lawful and direct order given by your superior”; by the same token you will go to jail if you obey an un-lawful order given by your superior or someone you think is a superior.

There is where the rubber meets the road. A private first class with a job as prison guard in a place like Guantanamo Bay or Abu Ghraib, where there are FBI, CIA, State Department, and various contractors running around giving orders, must be able to tell not only what is legal and what is not legal, but who has the authority to give him or her lawful orders.

One question comes to mind about Abu Ghraib, and that is if the soldiers acted totally on their own as the government contented, why weren’t there any military officers or other government officers charged with dereliction of duty it they went for a month without ever going into the prison cell area to check on the prisoners? After all, the prisoners were kept naked for thirty days at a time, which according to the American military courts and the Iraqi prisoners, was torture.

Where were all the expert lawyers and others coming to the defense of the soldiers like they have been coming to the defense of the water boarders?

The answer is simple. The fact that the soldier’s actions, whether ordered or not, embarrassed the US and someone had to be the scapegoat. The soldiers were the lowest on the totem pole and they were tagged. The water boarders do not have scapegoats so they rally to each other’s defense.

It is high time that we demand that our soldiers be released from prison.

Warren is a local businessman, Vietnam Veteran, and longtime Republican activist.

Link Savoie’s Memorial Day Column

The following Memorial Day column, written by Korean and Vietnam War veteran Link Savoie, appeared Saturday in the Daily Advertiser.

I had the pleasure of meeting Link this past February when reaching out to help him with his campaign in the recent State Senate District 24 race. Despite his long record of working with veterans’ groups and being the only Republican in the race, Link was unfortunately ignored by most local and state Republican officials.

However, despite being at a big disadvantage in finances, working with Link was a great learning experience, and he missed out on making the run-off by 8 or so percentage points, finishing third in a five candidate primary.

Please take the time to read the below piece, and remember those who have died fighting for our country.

Commentary: Keep Memory of Our Veterans' Sacrifice Alive

As we celebrate Memorial Day, the Veterans of Foreign Wars motto of "Honoring The Dead By Helping The Living" is even more appropriate for those of us who serve America's veterans.

Our veterans' leadership continues to carry our message to our representatives in Washington. During a meeting with the president, our VFW national commander, Glen Gardner, fervently indicated that third-party insurance for service-connected disabled veterans is unacceptable. Although the veterans’ organizations may disagree with the present administration on occasion, veterans fully appreciate the president's support on the VA budget.

Back to Memorial Day. Do most non-veterans really recognize the importance of the day honoring their fellow Americans killed in wars? Judging from what Memorial Day has become - simply another day off from work - the answer is a resounding no. We as leaders in the veterans community must remind all Americans how important it is to remember. All Americans, especially young Americans, must understand that freedom is not free and we owe our liberty to those who gave their all. Sacrifice is meaningless without remembrance.

It is refreshing to see that during our present wars, most Americans have been able to separate the war from the warrior.

This was something that wasn't done during the Vietnam War. Making that distinction is all-important to those in uniform.

As America's older war veterans, particularly those from World War II, quickly disappear from society's landscape, there are fewer standard-bearers left to carry the torch of remembrance. Such traditions will live on only if there is a vibrant movement to which that torch can be passed.

I strongly encourage every American to spend some time on Memorial Day actually commemorating that day as it was intended.

Link Savoie is a retired Army officer, a Korea and Vietnam veteran, and past state commander of the Louisiana Veterans of Foreign Wars. His e-mail is linkvfwla@aol.com.

Drink Up for Healthcare

Three years ago when I married my lovely wife, a couple buddies purchased the best wedding gift a man could ever ask for, a beer brewing kit. Thanks to members of the Senate Finance Committee, that gift may turn out to be more useful than the wife originally gave it credit for.

In seeking to expand taxpayer subsidized healthcare to uninsured Americans, Democrats in Congress are seeking to raise taxes on a 6-pack of beer by 48 cents per. If beer is not your choice of beverage, don’t worry, taxes will also be raised on wine, liquor and even sodas.

Now I need a cola brewing kit for the little woman.

During his State of the Union, President Obama said taxes would be raised only on the very richest of Americans, while 95 percent of Americans will receive a tax cut. Never mind that 43.4 percent of Americans pay no federal income taxes.

However, those that voted for President Obama and Democrats in Congress because they would take money from “evil rich people” and “give” Americans free healthcare will soon feel the pinch. If you smoke, drink alcohol, drink soda, and possibly even eat at fast food establishments, you will pay for your “free” healthcare.

One has to wonder, though, how much extra tax revenue will come from lawmakers if these new “sin” taxes are enacted. After all, legislation and actions that come from our legislators in Washington, D.C. and Baton Rouge makes you wonder if they’re drinking half the time.

Could that be the explanation for Republican Speaker of the House Jim Tucker (R-Terrytown) calling for a vote on a bill to override Gov. Jindal’s rejection of stimulus money, then turning around and asking an aide after the fact, “What does the amendment do?”

Hopefully the “free” government healthcare proponents and Obama voters will soon learn the old saying, “There is no free lunch”. In fact, to pay for your government healthcare, you may need to drink yourself to kidney disease or diabetes.

The Culture of Corruption
by Warren Caudle


The other night I watched two programs on C-Span; one was an interview with a gentleman named Richard Viguerie and the other was on political corruption in Washington, D. C.

Viguerie has apparently been reading my blogs because I wrote that the political philosophies of parties were governed more by who is in power than anything else. The party in power, if left there long enough, will become the more liberal of the two, because they see that growing government through expenditures of tax money is the best, quickest, and easiest way to maintain power. Therefore, the party not in power is by nature opposed to the actions, wishes, and programs of the party in power so they become the conservatives.

Mr. Viguerie was making the point that we have two parties in this country – the party in power and the party out of power.

He went on to say that corruption usually follows the party in power and went on to discuss that parties usually lose power through being conceived as either corrupt or incompetent by the voting public.

Lyndon Johnson was seen as corrupt, Nixon was brought down because of corruption, Carter from incompetency. The Democrats were taken out of power in 1994 because of their corruption and the Republicans were taken out in 2006 and 2008 because they were seen by the voting public as both corrupt and incompetent.

There was much discussion on that program about corruption and policies, but one thing stood out to me, and that is we are evolving political graft and corruption activities through different venues these days – non-profit organizations.

Many people keep using the term socialist when referring to the Obama administration use of “stimulus and bailout money” to control the economy. It certainly did not start with the current group but one cannot argue that they are not taking it to new heights.

We are turning many legitimate government functions over to private for profit corporations, i.e. law enforcement, military, prisons, housing, and the list goes on, even certain media like National Public Radio are government funded.

Add to that list that we are now making charity a chief government functions through non-profit organizations and they are getting huge in size and in numbers. Religious charities and functions have long been some of the biggest scam operations through out history. There is very little public oversight. They are tax free entities, thus making them the perfect place to laundry money, and everyone feels just a little bit uncomfortable questioning their motives and/or operations.

That may be about to change. We now have major funding written into federal law to go to non-profits groups who engage in political activity.

We have state laws that allow certain non-profit organizations to confiscate land and develop it for their special benefit.

Where will it end?

Add to that another major problem that the federal government is no stranger to and that is illegal drug activity.

Let’s examine a few recent events and see if there is any connection to public corruption.

Within days of the news of the Bernie Madoff scandal breaking a friend of mine said she would bet that laundering drug money was probably the main ingredient behind the Madoff’s enterprises. I think she is right. She reiterated the same statement with Allen Stanford when his empire crashed. Her theory was and is that their main business or investments were laundering drug money which is why they were able to offer and pay, for the most parts, such large interest on their client’s money.

The other day the federal government released information that Allen Stanford was indeed a target of drug money laundering operations and they had been working with and investigating his operation for some five or six years or more.

Now this brings up a huge question, if the federal government allowed a criminal enterprise to exist and in some ways work with them, are they, the feds, wholly or at least partly responsible for some of the money that people lost. It is my understanding that over 26,000 customers opened accounts while the feds were monitoring or working with Stanford’s operation.

Take that one step closer and ask if the government law enforcement agencies are guilty of being involved in the transportation, distribution, and use of illegal drugs when they carry on these drug investigations for years at a time. They knowing allow drugs into areas to be sold and consumed.

Are the rules of government changing or is it the consent of the governed being eradicated?

Warren is a local businessman, Vietnam Veteran and long-time Republican.

Victims’ Rights Upheld in Committee

While the more publicized reason for a packed room yesterday during the House Criminal Justice hearing was Rep. Ernest Wooten’s (R-Belle Chase) guns on campus bill, many other LA citizens piled in for the hearing on HB 715, a pro-violent criminal bill authored by Rep. Walt Leger (D-New Orleans).

The legislation, which would allow automatic eligibility for parole for any incarcerated criminal who committed their crime at the age of 15 or 16, had previously advanced to the House floor the last three years, and in ’07 and 08, fell just a few votes short of passage.

However, with a much better organized effort this time around, as well has help from a few legislators, HB 715 was killed in committee by an 11-3 vote.

Committee members John Schorder (R-Covington), John Perry (R-Abbeville), Chris Hazel (R-Pineville) and Rickey Templet (R-Gretna) spearheaded the defeat. Other members who sided with victims and justice were Elbert Guillory (D-Opelousas), Mickey Guillory (D-Eunice), Gregory Ernst (R-New Orleans), Frank Howard (R-Many), Joseph Lopinto (R-Metairie), Barbara Norton (D-Shreveport), and Mack White (R-Denham Springs).

The following three representatives continued their support for giving convicted murderers a chance at early release after serving only 15 years in prison: Damon Baldone (D-Houma), Roy Burrell (D-Shreveport) and Gary Smith (D-Norco).

Also instrumental in helping victims’ families, though not a member of the House Criminal Justice Committee, was Rep. Page Cortez (R-Lafayette). Last year, after the House vote, I exposed Cortez for voting in favor of this pro-violent criminal legislation after campaigning as a traditional values Republican.

Rep. Cortez displayed class for apologizing to my family for his vote last year, and aided us in meeting with the more conservative members of the committee yesterday before the bill was debated.

Another big key to this bill's defeat was the detailed testimony of my aunt, Jean Cantrell. She vividly described the nightmare she lives with due to my young cousin's murder and how some legislators and criminal rights groups seemed hell bent on taking away the only justice that was handed down by a unanimous jury five years ago.

To those Representatives who gave support for victims’ rights and justice, thank you.

Also, thank you to all who contacted legislators to voice opposition to HB 715, and thank you for various media outlets who helped in exposing this dangerous legislation, especially Chad Rogers at The Dead Pelican who highlighted many of my posts on the issue and advertised the Victims' Rights Rally in New Iberia three weeks ago.

Justice has prevailed.

The Reinvention of the Republican Party
by Warren Caudle

I recently watched a town hall type meeting between a handful of high profile Republicans, former Florida governor Jeb Bush, former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney and Republican congressional whip Eric Cantor. They are part of a group titled National Council for a New America (NCNA). They are going around the country talking to and listening to Americans, and I guess mostly Republicans, and try to figure out what went wrong with the Republican Party and how to get it back on track.

In the NCNA meeting I watched that was held in Cantor’s home state of Virginia, they talked about reconnecting with the voters and about offering solution to the national debt, healthcare, security etc. They often used the term “conservative” and “conservative values”.

A lot of what they said made sense, especially Jeb Bush when he said that the national debt will double within the next eight years under the Obama administration. I suppose he has been reading my articles and that is a good thing, but, he left two important things out and they are 1) it has doubled every eight to nine years since the 1960’s and 2) the Obama budget is on the exact same growth curve as every other budget has been the last forty years, give or take a couple of percentage points. In all fairness he did say that we have reached the point where we cannot sustain that deficit and total debt growth.

We are told over and over again that the first thing a person must do before undertaking any meaningful rehabilitation is to first admit to themselves, their loved ones, friends, and others that they have a problem and need help, usually this comes once they have hit bottom.

Last year I did a blog on what I thought was a good Republican Party twelve step program to get back to political and moral sobriety, the relevance of that piece still stands.

The first thing the NCNA needs to do is read a couple of books, one is Where the Right Went Wrong by Pat Buchanan, who by no means is my favorite politician and writer, the other is Imposter –How George W. Bush Bankrupted America and Betrayed the Reagan Legacy by Bruce Bartlett.

Joe Scarborough is another who has apparently been reading my articles because he has a new book coming out about what the Republican Party needs to do to right itself. He said on television the other day that the Republicans did not just loose their way but they took a radical agenda to the left over the last eight years.

This writer and former Republican Party official has said over and over that conservative values were not defeated at the polls in the 2006 and 2008 elections, leftist, far leftist actions and agenda were. The Bush administration and party backed policies and corrupt officials not only tried but did indeed “out democrated the democrats” and that was the agenda that was defeated.

They embraced a leftist agenda and corruption and they totally destroyed the term “conservative”.

After the 2006 drumming that the republicans took at the polls a survey was taken and in almost every incident the answers just reversed from what it was in the 70s and 80s. By large margins especially the young responded, which party is the party of big government – republican? Which party is the party of big spending – republican? Which party is the party of corruption- republican? And on and on it went to ad nauseam.

How could we have gone so wrong in such a short period of time?

It would be wonderful if the NCNA and the Republican Party would just come clean and admit that they went left. They went so far left that the democrats looked conservative in comparison and that is why we have this group of democrats totally in control in Washington today.

They can further state that the problems on Wall Street are criminal behavior and organized theft by some of their best friends and it needs to be investigated and cleaned up.

They can further admit that the war in Iraq was ill-conceived and just as the Vietnam War was badly managed.

They can further admit that we have American soldiers unjustly in prison today, namely the Abu Ghraib Prison guard and demand their release.

They can apologize to American citizens, the families of, and the Border Patrol agents who were sent to prison by a corrupt administration and only let free during the last days of the rein by the president.

And finally if they really want to help this great nation of ours they can go back to January 20, 1981 through January 19, 1989 and offer some solutions to our problems and perhaps use the statement “after all we are American and we can accomplish the mission before us.”

Warren is a local Lafayette businessman, long time Republican, Vietnam Veteran and Right Blogger for the Daily Advertiser.

Jeb Bush to Republicans: Time to Leave Regean Behind‏

Over the past few years, I had become very critical of former President George W. Bush and his brother, former FL Gov. Jeb Bush, especially with Jeb had been mentioned as a potential GOP leader for 2012 or 2016.

My views have drawn some criticism, but one only needs to read this article to understand that Jeb's ideas, like his brother, would be a far cry from the real Republican leadership that was brought to D.C. by Ronald Reagan.

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/may/03/gop-listens-in-drive-to-thrive/

One of George W. Bush's former speech writers, David Books, has now for years been on the media circuit declaring that Republicans should stop trying to promote the idea of small government conservatism and states' rights.

While former President Bush's Democrat opponents, Al Gore and John Kerry, were certainly not better options, we have watched W.'s tenure and big government Republicanism ruin the smaller government agenda set forth by Newt Gingrich's Contract with America.

Now his brother, who has been touted as one of the future GOP hopefuls, is telling us to forget about Reagan's policies. We would be better advised to tell the Bush family to forget about anymore leadership roles in the Republican Party.

To Rush Limbaugh and other GOP talking heads to wish for John McCain to leave the GOP with Arlen Spector, at least McCain pushed for fiscal restraint, some government reduction, and school choice through vouchers.

George Bush never even threatened a veto until 2006 when legislation that passed the House sought to lift the federal drilling moratorium off the coast of his brother’s state, and his education plan co-authored with Ted Kennedy grew the power of the Department of Government Education.