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A look at Louisiana politics from Chaplain Hy McEnery and Christopher Tidmore
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Transcribed
25 APR 2025 · Hy and Christopher kick off with an interview with hospital activist Beth Pence. She reveals that only six Louisiana hospitals have been transparent with their pricing and cost for procedures, despite the law passed by U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidy which mandates hospitals must provide the pricing “openly and transparently”. We discuss how hard this byzantine economic burden places on so many families.
We then move to talking about our main subject, PortNOLA - more on that story below.
Our hosts also question the Orleans Parish Sheriff’s 2.46 Mills Renewal for 10 years, on the ballot May 3. The dysfunction in the Orleans Parish’s Sheriff’s Office has led to the construction of a jail complex, which the current Sheriff originally pledged not to use and has been— to put it politely— schizophrenic in the messaging of its eventual purpose. Staff attrition stand at record rates, morale is down, and recidivism is up.
Sheriff Susan Hutson still has time to turn things around, and she still can make that on some of her progressive promises whilst balancing the law-and-order responsibilities of her office. Her election is not until this autumn, but she needs to take qualitative steps in order to be worthy of the tax dollars for which she asks the electorate. Moreover, Hy and Christopher have long opposed elections where only one measure is on the ballot. Sheriff Hutson did not create this system, but she could’ve chosen to put this tax on the autumn ballot—when she herself was up for reelection. Perhaps, that’s too much of a political ask, but if an elected official believes in the revenue measure, he, or she should put their own political feature on the line for it.
Bayham Beats Goliath in Container Port Battle
By Christopher Tidmore
On Wednesday, April 23, State Rep. Michael Bayham (joined by the entire Council of Saint Bernard, the Parish President, DA, and Sheriff’s representatives) dealt the Port of New Orleans a sensation which the archons of the Dock Board rarely experience before a legislative committee—the taste of defeat.
House Bill 616 would have granted the Port of New Orleans unilateral expropriation power to build a highway-level road from a new container-port which they proposed to build. It would have run across the parish. The bill would have empowered PortNOLA to seize private property without the approval of the parish government, levy tolls (as well as exempt their own trucks & vehicles from those tolls), and contract with a private company to own the road, allowing the private firm to administer the seized property.
All of this to build a container-port which encounters majority opposition in St. Bernard Parish, to construct it on top of an historic African-American cemetery, and build in shadow of a Black community in Violet which likely would never be able to look upon the Mississippi River again.
Moreover, this container-port stands years overdue with its original budgetary cost of $1.8 billion soaring. to $3.9 billion. Some even argue that taxpayers will likely be on the hook if it’s allowed to proceed— despite promises that private dollars will underwrite the container-port infrastructure. (Unlike in Plaquemines, PortNOLA representatives have demurred from explaining whom exactly will fund the full cost of the new container-port.)
The victory of the St Bernard Parish citizens in the LA House Transportation Committee in deferring the legislation was immediately labeled ‘a blockade to economic progress’ in the Pelican State. PortNOLA officials have ignored, however, that the Plaquemines Port container terminal project (under construction directly across the river) achieves almost all of these economic goals, would be built on undeveloped land, enjoys wide public support, and would actually fund infrastructure bridges to connect lower Plaquemines to Jefferson by rail and road, improving evacuation routes, and underwriting the removal of a dangerous train right-of-way which bisects downtown Gretna next to a public park where children play. Jefferson and Plaquemines support their project as ardently at St. Bernard opposes PortNola’s “LIT” Project (as it is formally named).
Despite friendly articles in the daily paper, the lobbyist for Plaquemines terminal facility noted that while the Plaquemines project would require major infrastructure investment, “The LIT project in St. Bernard would actually require more infrastructure investment. Plus, the Plaquemines infrastructure projects are absolutely needed, irrespective of the container terminal being built — in fact, they're 15 years overdue based on congestion and safety issues. In contrast, the LIT-related infrastructure would only be built because of the proposed terminal there.”
He continues, “The LIT project would cost $1.8 billion. I know for a fact that its cost has now soared to $3.9 billion. This soaring cost would make it the most expensive U.S. container terminal ever built by far, all in order to produce very modest projected growth. Because private dollars could never be justified through a reasonable return on investment of this amount, a great portion of this would have to be public money. In contrast, the entire Plaquemine terminal facility (as opposed to transportation infrastructure) would be built with private investment. Industry giant Maersk/APM Terminals is committed to supply this.”
“Finally, the Plaquemines project is supported by a very strong expert market study, which shows it aggressively attacking the Dallas market, which LIT would not do, and that would be a game changer for Louisiana. As a result, the Plaquemines container port would produce five times the container business growth over 10 years than LIT would produce in the same time period.”
The arguments proved enough to convince the state House Transportation Committee to vote to table the legislation, yet the fight is hardly over. PortNOLA lobbyists pledged to bring it back up for consideration later in the legislative session, despite local opposition.
Transcribed
19 APR 2025 · Hy and Christopher begin this week’s program talking about the 2025 legislative session. We kick off ruminating about over the Port of New Orleans seeking to build a container terminal in St. Bernard Parish—an issue coming up in the State House Transportation Committee on Wednesday. The concept is deeply unpopular amongst the residemts of Violet and Chalmette, but Port Nola officials are undaunted. The catch is that Plaquemine Parish wants to build a container port right across the river, and it’s very popular there. Plaquemine’s port authority proposed to the Port of New Orleans to become 50-50 partners in that West Bank venture. So far their plea been rejected.
Then Hy and Christopher move on to one of the more controversial bills this year’s fiscal session, House Bill 609, which would impose a new stormwater fee on city properties. The fee would be regulated by the Public Service Commission, an elected body that oversees utilities around the state. The city’s Sewerage and Water Board funds its drainage operation chiefly through property taxes, but agency leaders have long said the taxes — which generate about $75 million annually — aren't enough.
State Rep. Mandie Landry, D-New Orleans, discussed the bill with both the S&WB and Gov. Landry, but said she is filing it independently. S&WB Executive Director Ghassan Korban has stumped for a drainage fee but also said this week he did not ask Landry to file the bill. “We need a functioning Sewerage and Water Board. It needs to be less political,” Landry said. Korban pledged to this radio show that no homeowner would receive a higher fee than they are currently paying in property taxes after the homestead exemption. Some disagree of this will ultimately be the case.
Interestingly, the service fee would allow S&WB to put a fee on city buildings, nonprofits, universities, churches, and (most interestingly) the federal government. If the bill passes in the current sessiom, the commission could enact a fee without City Council or voter approval, as the S&WB is a state agency. Landry said she’s still researching if the state can unilaterally impose the fee, but it “makes sense” to do so if possible. However, City Council President JP Morrell called the idea "completely silly," since, in his view, it violates a city charter provision designating the council as the city's sole utility regulator. “I don't know how you plan on, as a legislator, letting the PSC come into the city and begin to regulate us without getting the consent of citizens,” Morrell told the daily paper.. Since S&WB Is actually a state agency, the PSC would have primary authority, but it goes against over a 150 years of regulatory practice in the Crescent City.
We talk about originalism versus textualism in the Supreme Court looming review of “birthright citizenship”. The case might come down to the vote of Justice Amy Coney Barrett of Metairie, who cares less about original intent, and more about what the amendment actually says.
Finally, Hy and Christopher ask if a “VAT is the Tariff/Deficit Answer”.
Medicaid and Obamacare are both under siege thanks to a deficit situation that is (in part) because of bills coming due from the pandemic, and in part from the Republican congressional delegation’s determined to renew and expand the Trump tax cuts. At the same time, tariffs loom which are certain to boost prices by at least 15 percent, if not even higher.
Republicans refuse to back down on income tax cuts, as the recently passed budget blueprint mandates, reasoning that only a continued tax regime favorable to the markets will arrest the slide into recession. Meanwhile, Democrats refuse to acknowledge that even if Congress let every 2017 tax cut expire, the nation’s entitlement programs would still run into dangerous deficits. Not without justification, they accuse the GOP of wanting to cut benefits; however, Democrats do not offer a funding plan to shore up the programs – meaning that in order to protect social security and Medicare as well as Medicaid and ACA, an alternative revenue source must be sought.
Meanwhile, the tariffs threaten to raise prices on basic goods and foodstuffs. Trump argues that those revenues from those import tariffs would allow his elimination of tax on tips and perhaps even of taxes on the first $150,000 of income for married couples – as well as restoration of most State And Local Tax Deductions (SALT) – a Democratic priority since Trump’s first term.
Moreover, Democrats make troubled defenders of universal open and free trade. Many progressives had suggested tariffs similar to Trump’s for the last three decades. As a political strategy, suddenly becoming the party of Trump-lite and embracing tariffs in the style of Joe Biden would not reap many political benefits. Democrats are historically the party of free trade, after all, and financially-open borders are attractive policies to their (traditional) urban and (relatively new) suburban bases.
If Trump has stolen the tariff message from Democrats, it’s time for Democrats to steal a tax message from the president’s greatest in-party nemesis, Paul Ryan. Democrats should embrace a value added tax (VAT), which would allow them to support popular income tax cuts and insist on free trade with America’s allies – all while closing the deficit.
A VAT is not a tariff, as imported goods are taxed equally to domestic goods for the end user, yet it exempts exports from taxation. Therefore, while the tax does raise prices, it also helps solve America’s manufacturing deficit problem, while at the same time enjoying such a broad base of taxation that a VAT raises more revenue than almost any other type of tax. It’s a sales tax on steroids.
A VAT is a consumption tax assessed on the value added in each production stage of a good or service. Every business along the value chain receives a tax credit for the VAT already paid. The end consumer does not, making it a tax on final consumption. It was Andrew Yang who proposed a VAT of 10 percent to provide a $12,000 per year minimum basic income. The idea is not exactly alien to core Democratic voters.
No Democrat likes sales taxes, but do they like tariffs even less? Paul Ryan had proposed replacing the corporate income tax with a VAT of 15 percent. It would have not only paid for that tax abolishment, but almost all of the 2017 tax cuts.
It’s not too late. The proliferation of tariffs provides political cover for Democrats. Come to a deal on enacting the popular tax cuts and renewing the 2017 cuts, and in exchange, lower the tariff on America’s allies. A condition of the VAT could be repeal of the 1974 Trade Act which gives unilateral power to the president to levy tariffs as he sees fit. A brief window of political opportunity exists to close the deficit, cut taxes, and avert a trade war before it even happens. It’s up to a few Democrats to reach out to Mike Johnson to make a deal. Johnson has no more desire to cut Medicaid to allow the tax cuts than many Democrats, though he will if he has no choice. After all, 40 percent of the residents of his rural district received their healthcare coverage from the program.
Transcribed
11 APR 2025 · Hy and Christopher start the show by celebrating the 200th Anniversary of the visit of the https://www.nytimes.com/2024/08/15/arts/lafayatte-marquis-american-revolution.html to New Orleans on his 1825 Farewell Tour. We are joined by General Lafayette himself (as well as his alter ego, Mark Schneider) and the President of the https://friendsoflafayette.wildapricot.org/page-1804, Chuck Schwam.
We then talked to Trump tariffs and the potential deal to open 10% trade with 75 countries, and Christopher says the words you never expected, “Thank God for Benjamin Netanyahu and Elon Musk”. Could expanded free trade follow?
For our main local topic, Christopher argues, “LSU Must Invest in UNO”
State Sen. Jimmy Harris, D-New Orleans, filed a bill last week to transfer the University of New Orleans, which has operated deficit and plunging enrollment, from the University of Louisiana system to the LSU system.
From 1956 until 2011, UNO seemingly prospered under LSU’s aegis – boasting of tens of thousands of students and graduates. Senate President Cameron Henry and House Speaker Phillip DeVillier both believe it could be again, and the GOP leadership stands in bipartisan support of Harris‘ bill. The legislation to transfer administrative control of UNO (in the April 14 legislative session) comes after the Board of Regents unanimously voted in favor of returning administrative oversight to LSU. If Harris’ bill passes, the transfer process would happen before the fall semester begins, yet few have devoted much brain power into reasoning exactly how LSU would reverse the loss in student enrollment, now at just 6,500, nor how to cover a projected future debt over $30 million.
Mostly, though, the legislative discussion has ignored why UNO became successful in the first place. LSU-NO, as the former lakefront military base-turned-university was originally dubbed, enjoyed decades of success in large part due to the quality staff and academic programs and partnerships championed by its founding first chief executive, Dr. Homer Hitt,.
He led UNO from 1958 to 1980, and throughout his tenure as Chancellor, sought to create a university to which students would be drawn for more reasons than easy driving distance from Metairie or Gentilly.
Carol Gelderman, later the famed biographer of Henry Ford and Louis Auchincloss, was one of the young junior professors recruited by Chancellor Hitt in the early days of LSU-NO. As a relatively unknown female junior professor, she seemed a risky choice for most academic recruiters. Rarely did single, female professors from out-of-state usually win such posts. However, Hitt saw talent beyond her gender and youth, and students would clamor to win a spot in her class over the decades. In an interview with The Louisiana Weekly prior to her death, Gelderman noted the intellectual atmosphere and sense of excellence which Hitt engendered.
Gelderman lamented, “When UNO was taken away from LSU…many of the departments that made it special were gutted.” Yet, she also admitted that that process was underway even before the transfer from LSU, as the school no longer had the leadership it once enjoyed.
From the beginning, Hitt put a premium on talent, recruiting other young trendsetting professors like Nick Muller, Maurice Villere, John E. Altazan, Tim Ryan, Ellis Marsalis and, of course, Stephen Ambrose. Under Hitt’s watch, not only would the history department birth Ambrose’s Eisenhower Center, the intellectual forerunner of the National World War II Museum; theatre would spawn Marsalis’ award-winning jazz performance program; and Altazan’s business department would engender a world-renowned economic analysis group under Ryan and Villere.
Partnerships with notable local engineering firms would turn mechanical engineering into a national destination for aspiring engineers, and the naval architecture program reached international standing when it became a hot-house of development for Avondale and Bollinger shipyards.
Hitt achieved these academic triumphs despite meager fiscal resources thanks to strategic partnerships with industry and with the nonprofit sectors. Likewise, he stood by his professors, even when jealousy in academia resented bestselling authors or key research grants going to a small, supposedly “second rate” college.
In other words, Hitt’s vision and stable presence over decades played a huge role, as did his willingness to reach beyond the typical university boundaries to seek funding and academic excellence to enhance UNO. Without that kind of vision and focus, Gelderman noted that UNO might never have thrived in the first place. After all, New Orleans does currently have another public four-year university in SUNO, which fulfills many of the roles of a “commuter” campus education. Logic suggests that LSU should fund and support UNO to accentuate its distinctiveness, or UNO has no reason to exist.
Some of the proposed initial changes could involve restoring UNO’s historic academic relationships, particularly with the WWII Museum. Originally, the former D-Day Museum was supposed to serve as the nexus of a graduate American studies program specializing in 20th century military and political history, in direct partnership with UNO. The WWII Museum ultimately did create those academically accredited graduate programs, yet its staff opted partnered with the University of Arizona, due to UNO’s operational deterioration in recent years. Mechanical engineering has lost many of its strategic alliances with local industry, even as Tulane gave up that academic course of study post-Katrina, eliminating the academic competition. Naval architecture never really embraced the mergers of the local shipbuilding industry. Reaching out to the remaining players must stand as a priority to insure on-the-job, real-would experience for UNO students.
LSU, though, must resolve to treat UNO as fat more than as a satellite similar to LSU-Shreveport or LSU-Alexandria. Members of faculty at these schools have lamented to this newspaper that they often feel like “stepchildren” in academic planning. The LSU main campus in Baton Rouge is crowded and surging with out-of-state students – a sign of health. Some of its programs – perhaps even entire academic departments – could be transferred to New Orleans’ Lakefront campus, which has quite a lot of available space. Upper divisional and graduate students would follow.
Unless the LSU board commits to putting both financial AND academic resources into UNO, little chance exists that the university will be able to grapple with its substantial long-term debt, which Board of Regents officials said could be as high as $30 million. Nor will it be able to deal with an enrollment that has gone from 17,000 to 6500. More importantly, a city as dynamic as New Orleans deserves a research-oriented, public university of excellence.
Transcribed
7 APR 2025 · Hy and Christopher begin by talking about the impact of the Trump tariffs, and end the show highlighting the festivities this week celebrating the 200th Anniversary of the visit of the Marquis de Lafayette to New Orleans. Many of the events are free and open to the public, and Christopher will actually be playing then-Governor Henry Johnson on Thursday, April 10 at Chalmette Battlefield. More info at https://afl-louisiana.com
Most of today’s show, we talk about how high Democratic voter turnout gave a major defeat to Gov. Jeff Landry, and how it might negatively impact Landry’s agenda in looming legislative session, beginning April 14. Christopher’s column in The Louisiana Weekly explains how…
La. minority voter turnout created ‘Blue Wave’
An interesting phenomenon occurred in the March 29 election. Turnout was so strong in cities, and particularly amongst African Americans, that Louisiana became a “blue state” for one election.
Not only were the conservative-leaning state constitutional amendments all rejected, but a Democratic candidate also surged in a West Bank Jefferson Parish Council seat – enough so to edge a veteran politician out of the runoff.
All four constitutional amendments failed, with approximately 65 percent of the Louisiana electorate opposing. Despite Gov. Jeff Landry’s active support, opposition in GOP parishes tended to trend with the rest of the state. Republican Jefferson Parish shot down Amendment 2 with 66 percent voting against. Uber-Republican St. Tammany Parish only passed Amendment 2 by two percentage points, 51 to 49 percent.
Even Donald Trump Jr.’s active campaigning for the constitutional amendments made little difference. In these two parishes where his father won with 55 percent and 71 percent respectively, and Republicans had carried more than 70 percent of the vote in the gubernatorial contest in the year before, the amendments went down to defeat.
However, one could blame the hesitancy of enacting a bad law, if the surge of Democrats versus Republicans had not reflected itself in other races. Anecdotally, the Jefferson Parish 1st District council race was expected to be an all-Republican runoff. The West Bank council seat regularly turns out almost 75 percent for the GOP in statewide and federal elections. However, the total Republican vote added up to 64 percent, with Lafitte Mayor Tim Kerner Jr. earning 36 percent and former Parish Councilman Ricky Templet underperforming at 28 percent.
Put another way, Democrat Andrea Manuel had little name recognition, no money, and even less political support. Most prominent Democrats had lined up behind one of the two Republicans. She had no unusual platform ideas which would inspire crossover voters. Manuel stood as an African American and Democrat in a council district hostile to both, yet she massively over-performed.
This strong Democratic trend extended across the state. Small towns like Sorrento in Ascension Parish saw Democrats win 57 percent of the vote in councilmanic elections versus Republicans at 43 percent.
Some might argue the state constitutional amendments failed because church groups worried about the taxing potential on nonprofit properties inherent in a provision of Amendment 2, so conservative religious voters turned against them. Still, in “GOP Louisiana’s” 64 parishes, only 11 saw majorities vote “yes” on all amendments.
That does little to explain the other defeats, unless one looks at the disparities of turnout. Between March 15 and March 22, the early voting period, 99,000 Democrats voted whereas just 66,000 Republicans showed up to the polls. More critically, over 70,000 Black voters cast their ballots ahead of the election. According to pollster John Couvillon, in Orleans Parish, 31 percent of registered voters went to the polls – more than the 27 percent of Orleans voters in October of 2023 when Jeff Landry was elected governor. East Baton Rouge Parish also saw a higher voter turnout than the statewide average, with 26 percent of the parish's voters showing up. In contrast, only 23 percent of the electorate turned out in Jefferson Parish. In Landry’s home parish of St. Martin, only 17 percent of voters showed up at the polls. That contrasts with the 73 percent of the St. Martin electorate who backed Landry in 2023. Moreover, 50 percent of the parish’s voters said “no” to the amendments.
Put simply, Democrats came to the polls when Republicans did not. African Americans voted in a greater percentage of their population than Caucasians did. The power of turnout and the willingness to vote swung a critical constitutional vote in Louisiana, and for a day, the red state went blue.
Transcribed
29 MAR 2025 · Louisiana public schools have made major advances in reading and math, yet still lag behind other states in educational achievement. Could the International Baccalaureate (IB) program service as the solution?
Seven Louisiana schools, including the French Quarter-bound Lycée Francais use the IB, but the internationally-recognized, integrated educational system has a significantly small presence in Pelican State. Robert Kelty, the North American Head of Outreach and Development for https://www.ibo.org joins us to find out why the program may be the key to bettering our schools, and how his foundation is opening a pilot school to provide educational resources in Louisiana—to help acceptance of the IB program. For the Louisiana born and LSU-educated US & Canada Director of the International Baccalaureate Organization, the issue is deeply personal.
Hy and Christopher then chat with Ned Canty, the director of “Elixir of Love” premiering on April 4 & 6 at the Mahalia Jackson Theatre in the Armstrong Park. He tells us how a Chinese audience made him reinterpret the Donizetti comic opera into an “Old West” version, and how here in New Orleans, the Opera will take on a Cajun Cowboy theme. Fiddler and Acadian Country star Amanda Shaw will be appearing in the opera and headlining a Fais Do Do afterwards. A special date night package is available for $95.00 (for two) https://www.neworleansopera.org/fais-do-do
We then mention that Mississippi is phasing out its income tax even faster than anyone expected. The MS legislature was supposed to approve income tax cuts only when revenue increases meet at 85% threshold, thus phasing out the tax over years. A misprint in the final bill put it at .85%, though, which would mean that Mississippi loses its income tax by 2030–at the latest. With Texas, Florida, and Tennessee also having no income tax, will Louisiana have phase it out next just to remain competitive?
Hy and Christopher also talk about the legacy of US Rep. Mia Love and the impacts of the Signal scandal. It suffices to say that our hosts disagree.
Here are both Christopher’s columns in this coming edition of The Louisiana Weekly.
Love When It Counted
By Christopher Tidmore
The first Black woman Republican Congressman passed away last week at the age of 49. Mia Love began her public life a neighborhood activist who got involved in politics for all of the right reasons, just as she stood up as a voice of integrity against Donald Trump’s hijacking of the moral center of the GOP.
The daughter of Haitian immigrants, she understood—and articulated— the critical importance of those who come to this country seeking a better life. She took on the President when he denigrated immigrants— in particularly Haitians—who shared the same color of skin as she. Mia Love fearlessly pointed out the racist underpinnings of some of Donald Trump‘s rhetoric, and she paid a huge political price for her integrity.
Love started out as a community activist in Saratoga Springs, Utah, in an effort to persuade the developer of her neighborhood to spray against flies. Then, in 2003, she won a seat on the Saratoga Springs City Council. She was the first female Black elected official in Utah County, fixed a massive budget deficit, and went on to become Mayor of the town. She ran twice for Congress, winning on her second bid in 2014.
When Trump won the presidency, Love very openly questioned his rhetoric and policies. As a direct consequence of the hostility emanating from the Oval Office, she lost her reelection in 2018 to Salt Lake Democratic Mayor Ben McAdams by just 694 votes or razor thin margin of .258%—due to GOP defections. Following her defeat, President Trump mocked Love, saying, "Mia Love gave me no love, and she lost."
In her concession speech, Love hit back at Trump, saying that he and others in the Republican Party had not done enough for minority voters, arguing, "This election experience...shines a spotlight on the problems Washington politicians have with minorities and Black Americans — it's transactional. It's not personal. Because Republicans never take minority communities into their home and citizens into their homes and into their hearts, those voters stay with Democrats and bureaucrats in Washington because they do take them home, or at least make them feel like they have a home."
Congresswoman Love observed how far her party had come from Reagan’s “city upon a hill” inspirationalism as well as George W. Bush’s welcoming attitude towards immigrants by embracing MAGA and Trump. To the dismay of some liberals, she also observed that denigrating decent men like Reagan and the Bushes as ‘fonts of selfishness and malignancy on the republic’ made Democrats seem to be “crying Wolf “ when they used the same arguments against Donald Trump. At the historical moment when those warnings were most needed, few swing voters were willing to believe them since they had been so overused and abused by progressives.
Mia Love stood out as one of the only major Black politicians who could make that argument consistently, as both a supporter of both Reagan and Bush as well as a child of minority immigrants herself. The personification of American exceptionalism, her death at the age of 49 to brain cancer leaves the American body politic far poorer.
Not worthy to text from behind the Resolute Desk
Ronald Reagan and George HW Bush must be rolling in their graves so consistently—in horror to which their party’s national security apparatus has been reduced—that the shades of the former presidents must resemble perpetual motion machines at this point. Maybe that’s Donald Trump’s secret plan to revive the economy, tapping the free centripetal energy from the troubled souls of leaders past.
If any Democratic administration had shared critical intelligence information via a commercially available app, the calls for impeachment as well as termination of senior officials would be deafening from the GOP leadership. After all, the emails that were downloaded onto Hillary Clinton‘s personal computer constituted such a national security scandal in Donald Trump‘s mind that she deserved “to go to prison”.
Now, Trump will not even fire National Security Advisor Mike Waltz for including the Atlantic’s Jeffrey Goldberg in the group chat discussing the nation’s secrets on an unsecured Text chain…
http://www.louisianaweekly.com/category/opinion/
Transcribed
25 MAR 2025 · Hy and Christopher lament the loss of another local newspaper, and question if our society had become more crass and divided as local journalism outlets die? We then turned to Donald Trump and Ukraine. Christopher contends in a column of The Louisiana Weekly, which he talks about below, that when American needs a Churchill, it has a Chamberlain. Hy disagrees, to say the least.
Community newspapers unite us. Sometimes they highlight something as consequential as a crime wave or as simple as a pothole, but they emphasize what is best – as well as what is needful – in our neighborhoods. As national and international coverage pulls us apart, separating us into ideological tribes, local media reminds us what we have in common – for good or for ill. There is no Republican or Democratic way to pick up the trash, after all.
Local newspapers stand as a key element in the creation of a sense of community, hence the moniker, and with the death of The Clarion Herald, New Orleans becomes slightly less of one. After 63 years of covering everything from high school sports to parish fish fries, the local Roman Catholic newspaper will cease publication in its current form at the end of June.
The move comes after a committee of archdiocesan church clergy voted this past summer to eliminate two main sources of funding for the newspaper, both of which come directly from individual parish coffers: one percent of weekly collections and a $15 fee assessed to each Catholic school family. Collectively, those funding sources constitute roughly half of The Clarion Herald’s $1 million annual budget. Absent those monies, the publication – which has a circulation of 37,000 – can no longer afford to continue as a biweekly newspaper, according to longtime editor Peter Finney Jr.
The Clarion Herald, like The Louisiana Weekly, has often covered stories which could not and would not appear anywhere else. Its print aspect and its wide distribution in Catholic churches and coffee houses made it accessible for those caught iPhone-less in the digital divide. Despite a valiant effort being undertaken by the archdiocese to resurrect the publication in some quarterly or digital format, the loss of regular reporters covering parish-based or school-based beats cannot be replicated on an occasional schedule. A 2011 report by the Federal Communications Commission found that local newspapers serve as the best medium to provide the sort of public service journalism which shines a light on “the major issues confronting communities and gives residents the information they need to solve their problems.”
The United States has lost one-third of its newspapers and two-thirds of its newspaper journalists since 2005, an average of 2.5 newspapers closed each week in the last two years alone. Put another way, 3,000 newspapers have closed in the last two decades, and 43,000 newspaper journalists have lost their jobs. Some of the closures may have proven inevitable, yet the decision to allow corporate chains to buy out the competition and establish monopoly metropolitan dailies has had a chilling effect on the print advertising market – which has historically supported local newspapers. GE stands as the most famous case of becoming a parent company of news outlets despite many corporate interests which might conflict with unbiased news coverage.
The largest 25 newspaper chains own a third of all newspapers, including two-thirds of the country’s 1,200 dailies. Not surprisingly, the number of independent owners has declined significantly in recent years, as family-owned and community papers have thrown in the towel and sold to “the big guys.” Thanks to a lack of antitrust enforcement and economies of scale, the local advertising market has reached a tipping point where it cannot alone support local media. It is up to hometown stakeholders to subscribe, purchase advertising, and contribute financially to keep community newspapers alive.
This autumn, The Louisiana Weekly, the newspaper which Christopher proudly serves as Associate Editor, will celebrate his 100th anniversary. Nevertheless, our newspaper is not immune to the pressures visited upon our fellows. One of the oldest consistent voices of the African-American community, and for those who often find themselves without coverage in the mainstream media, the continued existence of newspapers like ours takes on a moral imperative. As The Clarion Herald closes its doors, so much parochial and parish news will find itself uncovered and untold, the loss will hollow out a part of New Orleans’ soul, just as it has in other communities dependent upon their unique newspaper source.
Many speculate as to the source of the divisions in our society in recent years, yet our editors postulate that the diminishing outlets for local news have played a large role in our greater social divisions. Keeping community newspapers alive is up to the subscribers and to the myriad of those who care about our neighborhoods and cultures. Losing local newspapers means America as a whole faces becoming more tribal and more divided than even now, even more than we can conceive.
http://www.louisianaweekly.com/where-is-americas-churchill/
By Christopher Tidmore
Contributing Writer
Once upon a time, a leader of a great nation wished to avoid war at all costs. He thought it was absurd to prepare armies for combat “because of a quarrel in a far away country between people of whom we know nothing.”
As one of the only UK Conservative MPs voicing opposition to his own party’s prime minister, Winston Churchill replied to these words uttered by Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain with a damning indictment: “You were given the choice between war and dishonor. You chose dishonor, and you will have war.”
The Munich Agreement was supposed to render to the English-speaking world what Chamberlain bragged of as “peace in our time.” It sought to satiate an aggressive dictator pursuing what he described as “minor” territorial changes. After all, Bohemia had been part of German-owned lands once upon a time, and all Adolf Hitler wanted were the border territories whose inhabitants spoke the same language as he and his countrymen. Surrendering the Sudetenland would end all danger of war. Less than a year later, however, Czechoslovakia was no more, and Nazi troops poured across the border into Poland.
History may not repeat itself, but it certainly rhymes, of late. Donetsk today and Poland tomorrow? Vladimir Putin makes empty promises to America’s Chamberlain as the Slavic autocrat’s own words in a manifesto published three years ago profess a desire to subsume Ukraine and Poland as historic territories of the Russian empire.
Naively, Donald Trump thought he had the beginnings of a peace agreement after he and Putin spoke on the phone for nearly three hours on Tuesday, March 18.
http://www.louisianaweekly.com/where-is-americas-churchill/
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15 MAR 2025 · Hy and Christopher kickoff this week show talking about a new production of Jersey Boys at Le Petit Theatre, running Thursday-Sunday through April 6. Joined in the conversation by Sebastian Rohn (Frankie Valli), Knox Van Horn (Nick DeVito and others), and Stephanie Abry (Lorraine and others), we talk about how the story of The Four Seasons particularly lends itself to a musical theater interpretation.
Jersey Boys follows the fascinating evolution of four blue-collar kids who became one of the greatest successes in pop music history. Winner of Best Musical at both the Tony Awards® and Olivier Awards®, we’ll take you behind the music of Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons to discover the secret of a 40-year friendship that goes from the streets of New Jersey to the heights of stardom. https://ci.ovationtix.com/36212/production/1200447
Hy and Christopher then flashback to a speech that Ronald Reagan gave siding the danger of tariffs. The two hosts debate if Trump has betrayed the conservative revolution? Many of the President’s choices have been spur of the moment. Hy defends the logic behind them, while Christopher notes that it’s not just tariffs that seem so haphazard; it’s extending to appointments as well
The 1st Black bank regulator to be replaced by white GOP insider
By Christopher Tidmore
Maybe it was always too good to be true. For a while, though, it seemed like President Trump had made a surprisingly strong and racially historic appointment for U.S. Comptroller of the Currency, which basically regulates America’s banks.
Rodney E. Hood had already made history in Trump’s first term, becoming the first African American to lead a federal financial regulator – as chairman of the National Credit Union Administration, where he served from 2019 until 2024. That actually constituted his second appointment as an NCUA regulator, also having held that position from 2005 to 2010.
Both there and throughout his career, Hood has stood as a strong supporter of community banking and perhaps the nation’s loudest Republican advocate for extending credit opportunities to disadvantaged communities. He also maintained a robust opposition to “debanking,” a supposed priority of the Trump administration in its first months back in office.
Therefore, when Hood was named “acting” comptroller on February 10, most observers widely expected that he would eventually be Trump's nominee to lead this critical independent bureau of the U.S. Treasury Department – which supervises all national banks and federal thrift institutions in the United States. Notably, Hood has twice been confirmed by the U.S. Senate without controversy.
But not so fast. Now, the Oval Office is proposing a Caucasian securities lawyer with less experience – yet perhaps possessed of a higher campaign contribution record – for the job.
Donald Trump has often declared that he seeks the best qualified person for each position. “The best people,” as he puts it, and the president certainly seemed satisfied with Hood as chair of the NCUA in his first term. However in a move which has gained little press attention, the Trump White House decided to submit a different candidate to the Senate for confirmation – a politically-connected securities lawyer with only a fraction of Hood’s regulatory experience.
Hood will remain in the job until the upper chamber of Congress accepts or rejects that candidate.
Considering the comptroller oversees pretty much the entire banking sector, the Senate might wish to consider whether to accept a replacement candidate over one who has better qualifications. After all, that defines the nature of its constitutional “advise and consent” power.
Unless, of course, President Trump has bigger things in mind for Rodney Hood. Currently, not much evidence exists to suggest such a happy outcome, yet these decisions often remain impenetrable to the average voter.
President Trump makes frequent mention that he increased his 2016 share of the Black vote to an historic level last year for a GOP contender. It has been surmised by some that the increase has more to do with Democrats having taken the African-American electorate for granted. Now, perhaps, Trump replicates that same mistake. The president often has predicated his rejection of DEI programs on the notion that the “best qualified” candidate should always get the job. Unless, one might be forgiven for suspecting, if that candidate happens to be the Black guy?
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7 MAR 2025 · State Rep. Ricky Templet faces off against activist Andrea Manuel in a debate for the (West Bank) District 1 Jefferson Parish Council seat. Hosted by the Crimefighters organization, the March 29 election is to fill the unexpired term of Marion Edwards. Hy and Christopher are joined in the questioning by Crimefighters President Irv Magri. The third candidate in the race, Mayor Timothy Kerner Jr., was invited to attend the debate and had committed to come, but did not show up. Early voting for the election starts March 15.
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1 MAR 2025 · It’s Carnival time all the time on this edition of The Founders Show, talking Mardi Gras traditions to the melodies of Armand St. Martin’s original musical compositions, heard exclusively on this week’s broadcast with Hy & Christopher.
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22 FEB 2025 · "Historian Jane" Delacour joins Hy and Christopher on this week’s show to talk about her book The Axe Woman Of Bourbon Street.
Bourbon Street in New Orleans was a glamorous place with a long-held reputation for a good time. While the rest of America was getting more conservative, Bourbon Street became more salacious. Burlesque dancers filled the stages as live bands played to entice tourists inside the darkened bars. Evangeline the Oyster Girl was already a headling act in 1949, rising seductively out of her oyster shell, her erotic ballet filled the seats. Evangeline's star continued to rise until a new act rolled into town. Divina the Aqua Tease also had a water theme to her act which was now going to take the spotlight off of Evangeline. Divina wanted to be the new headliner, but Evangeline had other plans.
New Orleans' own "Historian Jane" wrote this short read to showcase the amazing women who made Bourbon Street the place to be.
Delacour is a historian, tour guide, researcher, and author living in New Orleans where she shares the bad ass women who made New Orleans the cultural gem it has been for over 300 years.
A look at Louisiana politics from Chaplain Hy McEnery and Christopher Tidmore
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