La La Land

Tuesday’s Blogs from the Bog

Maybe you should buy us dinner first.

#omgitsleges

#louisianalegislators were sent #valentines via #twitter during the #specialsession. Some offered #praise for @John_Bel_Edwards and scorn for @Bobby_Jindal in the form of #poems. My #favoritetwitter handle is @JohnJelEdwards who says he got pumped up for the session by #biting the head off a live #nutria and listening to @Dr. _John. He also offers a how-to guide for making a @John_Kennedy doll using a dried up apple. #cantmakethisstuffup #justdoenmyjob #hashtag #

TOP 28

Will TOPS survive this budget crisis? Hopefully, the answer is yes. If it does, it will likely undergo changes. Currently, students can maintain a C average and make a 20 on the ACT and get funded. That's too low. C grades are - by definition - average. Now, by allowing average students to get TOPS funding, we have sacrificed funding for the ones who deserve it. Next year, students may need to score a 28 for TOPS. Look TOPS is great, college is good. But both aren't for everyone - no matter what Bernie Sanders says. Trim TOPS to ensure it will continue. We need this for our future. If you don't qualify, there are other ways to pay for college. It involves planning and now.

A Bright LITE

It's not all bad news today, as the Advocate reports that technology jobs are giving a boost to the economy in Lafayette as the oil and gas jobs fizzle. In the long run, we could see more than a thousand jobs created here. But, who is going to fill them if TOPS goes ka-put?

Forget Jindal

Louisiana Voice is totally over Bobby Jindal (yeah, not really) and has moved on (but, not really) to blaming those legislators who signed a tax pledge. He’s also calling to remove Taylor Barras and demote Cameron Henry to the kiddie table (yeah, really).

LW2 4 JBE

Before, you could have argued that Lamar White, Jr. wasn’t necessarily a fan of John Bel Edwards. He was, however, decidedly anti-David Vitter. Now, he’s praising Edwards on his own merits, particularly his Sunday speech about the special session to fix the budget. He’s definitely not in John Kennedy’s camp, as he blasts Kennedy’s cut-the-budget plan as not enough and one that uses old figures. Maybe a selfie is in order.

Anyone But Roman

Budget woes aren't just for the legislature. The off-season will be about cutting and capping as the Saints try to stay under the league's salary cap and repair our broken team. This blog says free agent Roman Harper (recently cut from the Panthers) could come back to the saints. Um, no. Just no. Meanwhile, a part of the salary cap problem is in dead money. This post looks at the players we no longer have but have to pay.