Friday's Blogs from the Bog!
Friday's Blogs from the Bog!
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Brown: Are student athletes being shortchanged?
APR 4 In the midst of March Madness, Jim Brown blogs on the idea of student athletes sharing in the billions earned by their schools on their backs. He gives some figures and asks a tough question for fans: are these kids being exploited? And since this (possible) exploitation is being done by their mentors, coaches, leaders -- doesn't that make it worse?
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Landowners' money disappears with land
APR 4 This is fascinating piece in Al Jazeera America with a new take on coastal loss. Once a landowner's property has disappeared, the state can come in to lay claim to mineral rights that now lay underwater -- and it does, the story reports. This is a money-making operation for the state, and has a chilling effect on any state urgency toward coastal restoration, the landowners argue. Hmmm...
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Aguillard apologizes for his comments
APR 4 Louisiana College President Joe Aguillard apparently has apologized to a top state Baptist official regarding comments he made back two years ago, TownHall.com reports here. In this apology, Aguillard writes that he is so sorry and remorseful, and prays that the official will forgive him. One wonders if Aguillard is sorry for making the statements, or sorry that audio of them was released. After all, he said this stuff in 2012. He could have apologized at any time since then, and in private, couldn't he?
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Buzz discussion on Jindal, Vitter and leadership
APR 4 Here's a new Google Hangout session featuring Stephen Sabludowsky, Jim Brown and Tyler Bridges talking about leadership in Louisiana. Jindal may be destined for a cabinet post, but he'll never be on a Presidential ticket, Brown says. Sabludowsky doesn't think Vitter's chances for the governor's office are any better, because he just can't get along with anybody, and he's not going to be able to conceal that.
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APR 4 Man, those Koch brothers can dish it out, but they sure can't take it! After a Super PAC on the other side of the aisle shelled out some coin to pull back the curtain and expose them for trying to "buy" a Senate seat for Bill Cassidy, the Koch brothers have been firing back. The level of indignation is matched only by the level of hypocrisy -- and turns out at least one claim is just plain false, this post by PolitiFact tells us.
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Beam: Jindal budget a crazy quilt full of holes
APR 4 Morale at the Capitol is not bright, columnist Jim Beam tells us in this post. Most of that gloomy mood is attributable to the budget habits of Gov. Jindal, he adds, quoting one Republican lege as saying the holes in the budget are so big he "almost" doesn't want to come back next year. But legislators should keep quiet about it until they've found the guts to create and enforce their own ideas on the budget, Beam says.
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Deshotels on a 'disappointing vote'
APR 4 Blogger Mike Deshotels writes about the failure of a bill that would repeal Louisiana's involvement in Common Core in this post. Not surprisingly, Superintendent John White testified against it, using the same rhetoric he always uses in his ongoing attempt to destroy public education in favor of privatization, Deshotels says.
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'indelible stain' not coming out any time soon
APR 4 Conditions at the Orleans Parish Prison are nightmarish, and no improvement is on the horizon, Michael Avery writes here on the Lens. There's some good information here, if you can make it past the personal descriptions of the players in the game (Check out how Avery describes their hair). The bottom line? All the legal maneuvering means it will be some time before conditions improve.