bogalusa!

Rain at last!

2009-06-28T13:24:00.001-07:00

Ending weeks of drought at our home in Washington Parish.

Hey, doofuses, there's a burn ban on!

2009-06-27T08:38:00.000-07:00

So quit burning already.

Don't be like the major doofus who almost burned down my friend's house last year.

Of course, we can be reasonably certain that nobody will be issued citations unless they're come-heres. The born-heres don't seem to get in trouble with the law much...

Online ad alert

2009-06-12T19:23:00.000-07:00

Seems like everywhere on the interwebs these days are ads about a mom's tooth whitening discovery.

Click through, and you'll get a page telling you that for a mere four bucks, you'll receive two products that will whiten your teeth.

Read the fine print for Dazzle White:

When you order today you'll be signed up as a member of our exclusive preferred customer club. You will be billed $4.95 for the shipping of your 14-day day trial, then once you choose to continue whitening with the DazzleWhite Pro System the low member price of only $58.76 per month for every month.

And for Smile Brite:

After ten days we will charge you at a discounted price with a 18% savings of $19.95 off the regular price, for the low price of $85.37.

I think I'll pass, and I recommend you do the same.

The kids' camp kerfluffle

2009-06-12T07:57:00.000-07:00

A Camp Fire volunteer named O'Berry was arrested after firing a gun in the vicinity of a busload of kids heading to camp.

He had been arrested three times since February on other charges, including arson, automobile burglary and home burglary.

The most distressing part of the incident is this:

Camp Fire officials said this week that O’Berry was a volunteer and the organization does not do background checks on volunteers. [Emphasis mine - Ed.]

“He was always under the supervision of an adult,” said Traci Collins, Towazi’s board president. Volunteers are required to work in pairs, and never be alone with a child, she added.

Pedophiles and abusers always work alone, huh? So having them "never be alone" is some kind of a safeguard?

I. Think. Not.

It would have been possible to learn something about this volunteer's background by searching The Daily News archives, but only if you misspelled O'Berry's name by leaving out the apostrophe and putting a space instead. I don't know if that was deliberate obfuscation or more of the same.

Considering that Camp Fire accepted O'Berry because he was vouched for by a relative, and nepotism is a primary consideration in Bogalusa, I'm leaning toward the former.

Who knew summer camp was held at the OK Corral?

2009-06-06T07:29:00.000-07:00

Irate camp counselor fires gun near school bus, police say.

This is what happens when you hire your relatives and friends without doing a thorough background check. Or when you hire based on what church someone attends.

Wake up, people! There are plenty of resources out there to help you make an informed decision. Nepotism and favoritism are no way to run a business OR a volunteer organization.
**************

Our sister blog covered the original headline problem.

Chrysler dealership closings

2009-05-30T20:06:00.001-07:00

Curious coincidence being noted on the 'net. Apparently it's far more likely that a Chrysler dealership owned by a Republican donor will be closed than one owned by a Democratic supporter. This isn't a surprise to me. The President came out of the Chicago political machine, which makes Louisiana's corruption look young and amateurish.

Google "dealergate" and read.

Seems that John Furey Motors is closing; their website is defunct. Wonder who he contributed to?

Juvenile sentencing

2009-05-30T16:27:00.000-07:00

Received this from a good friend:

My son got in trouble at Bogalusa Middle School for fighting and calling the bus driver "the B-word." He said he cursed at her because he had not been fighting; she wrongly accused him. Neither he nor the other boy involved had any visible marks or bruises.

I had to go to the principal's office with my son. The principal talked about how awful it was to call the bus driver a bad name and then made a phone call to the Bogalusa Police Department. He said I was to take my son to the PD where they would arrest him for disturbing the peace.

I drove him to the PD, and the officers there said they wouldn't arrest a minor for disturbing the peace.

I took my son back to school and confronted the principal. I accused him of wasting two hours of my time and lying. He said he lied, "To your (my) son." My son was later arrested over the incident. I never saw the bus driver's report about the fight; only about calling her a name.

I was fired from my job for absenteeism, even though the only work I missed, with advance notice, was the court dates and some doctors' appointments.

He's on probation for an entire year. We have to pay $120 in fees for this. He was invited to go to a camp with other kids, and couldn't. He has to ask permission to go out of state and visit his 80-year-old grandmother. We have a social worker at our house twice a week. This is for a misdemeanor.

We have suffered a 40% reduction in income, and maybe more when my unemployment runs out if I don't get a decent job.

Now we read this in the Daily News:

Judge A.J. Hand sentenced Bogalusa City Councilman Danny Stogner a $50 fine for the battery charge and another $50 fine for the resisting an officer charge, plus court costs. The total amount comes to $299.50, which Stogner must pay by July 23.

The District Attorney’s office asked Hand to give Stogner jail time, but the judge did not, said Rick Wood, spokesperson for District Attorney Walter Reed. No probation was issued, Wood said.

I guess if you're feeling nasty and want to stay out of serious trouble, commit battery on an adult and resist the arresting officer. The punishment is less than cursing at a school bus driver and supposedly fighting with another kid - a fight the mother says left no marks.

Is it some kind of "tough love" to punish kids more severely than adults that do more serious crimes? Must be "tough love" on the whole family. According to my friend, they went from being self-sufficient to food stamps and unemployment.

Good going. That's keep the little delinquent in line! He's sure to behave when the family can't keep their lights on or their car insured!

Note: I make no claims as to the veracity of the indented, quoted material above, I am simply reporting what I was told by the frantic mother.

UPDATE: As a matter of interest about the judge, see also this page.

Boston PD will report zombie invasion

2009-05-24T13:33:00.000-07:00

See Consumerist.

Who knew Twitter was so useful?

Wrong, wrong, wrong

2009-05-19T09:09:00.000-07:00

At The Daily News:

When Sylvester Stallone rumbles across the screen in the movie he’s now filming in New Orleans, “The Dispicables,”... [emphasis mine - Ed.]

According to IMDB, the name of the film is "The Expendables."

The Dispicables is a punk band.

OMG they moved the city!

2009-04-29T04:38:00.000-07:00

Missing girls:

On Tuesday, April 28th the U.S. Marshals office notified Amarillo Police that the two girls and their father were located in a trailer home in Bogalusa, Alabama [emphasis mine-Ed.].

Not the first time the city's been shifted to another state.

Great video

2009-04-11T19:34:00.000-07:00

Seen at Neatorama. Caution: earthy language.
via videosift.com

Three light poles down

2009-01-18T13:59:00.000-08:00

At the Avenue B ball park. Looks like they were cut with a saw. Vandalism?

UPDATE: Apparently the Avenue F ball park is no more.

Bogalusa represents at the Inauguration!

2009-01-16T04:53:00.000-08:00

We've been told that one of the Color Guard (from the Air Force) is a graduate of Bogalusa High School.

More info as it becomes available.

Medical mystery

2008-12-30T17:41:00.001-08:00

At Fox News:

World's Smallest Boy? ... His family and doctors struggle to solve the mystery of his small size. Link

I'm not a doctor - and don't play one on TV, heh - but I betcha the little guy's a primordial dwarf.

Disturbance at "Christmas in the Park"

2008-12-21T17:29:00.000-08:00

There was a loud argument (?) at Christmas in the Park, Cassidy Park, Friday night around 8:00 p.m.

Multiple law enforcement units responded; one parking lot attendant counted eight cars.

Outcome unknown.

Vote!

2008-11-04T05:18:00.000-08:00

Our rural polling place had lines for ID check and voting machines at 7 a.m.

Counterfeiting funds terrorism

2008-11-01T08:15:00.000-07:00

Law enforcement officials on Capitol Hill Wednesday told a House panel that the booming international trade in phony consumer goods is funding terrorism. Link

So, Bogalusa PD, this was not your best idea:

"We decided to just take the items off the street,” Culpepper said, adding both business are legitimate with the proper licenses. “It’s what they were doing that was the problem.” Link

Gee, Capt. Culpepper, I trust this isn't the way you approach drug dealing? Just take the drugs away, let the perps go? How 'bout armed robbery? Victim gets his money back, bad guy stays on the street?

I. Didn't. Think. So.

Counterfeiting funds terrorism. The Fox News article linked above is from 2003. This ain't nothin' new.

Friday's Daily News has a front-page article about a couple guys arrested while selling counterfeit items. Their names sound, oh, Middle-Eastern to me.

I wonder if their profits were staying in the USA - or if they were going overseas to buy explosives for IEDs to kill our soldiers and Iraqi citizens.

I'm sure it's difficult being a cop in a small town, where you've got to arrest your cousin or your in-laws. But you swore an oath of office; do your job, and leave the judging to the court and jury. Arrest the bad guys, including the store owners, because unless they unwittingly purchased fake goods from their regular supplier (doesn't sound like it), they're just as guilty as the ones driving the truck.

In the latest case, you might want to alert the FBI, in case the scoundrels have terrorist connections.

Motorcycle accident?

2008-10-11T16:50:00.000-07:00

Apparent motorcycle wreck tonight on Avenue F.

Many police cars, a fire truck and an ambulance were pulled off the road just south of the AA meeting place. We saw a damaged lime-green bike.

We're praying no one was badly hurt.

So tell us who they are!

2008-10-07T19:46:00.000-07:00

In this Daily News article, we learn great stuff:

An eight-agency task force, led by the Washington Parish Sheriff’s Office, hit the streets before daylight Tuesday in a series of parish wide raids whose purpose was to round uo drug suspects. [...] By the time it ended, 15 suspects had been apprehended and taken to the Washington Parish Jail. And case detectives still had nine people to locate and bring into custody.

Seven comments, so far, from people wanting to know the names of the arrestees.

C'mon, Daily Snooze. It's public record.

Some good citizen might want to report a drug dealer who was missed - but they won't because, hey, hard to tell if somebody bonded out or got overlooked by law enforcement if you don't even know who was arrested.

So how 'bout giving us the information we need?

Fire

2008-07-15T21:11:00.000-07:00

Looked like it was on Avenue F/1075 a few blocks north of the dance studio.

I didn't drive closer so as not to impede the firefighters.

Did we have a safe fourth?

2008-07-07T05:37:00.000-07:00

Perhaps we'll read about it in the Daily News. Perhaps not.

There was a bad accident in front of the Texaco on Highway 21 around the end of last week, the result (we understand) of holiday drinkin' & drivin'.

When will people learn?

Daniel's Big Trip

2008-06-08T07:15:00.000-07:00

Daniel, a wounded vet in med school, is driving around the country with his wacky Boxer Rocky and blogging it.

Cool stuff! Read it, and donate. Least we can do for one of America's heroes.

Gas

2008-06-08T05:29:00.000-07:00

Can't live with the price, but can't live without it. And there are no easy answers.

Unfortunately, the time to economize on gas was before the price rose. Nowadays, you can't give away that nice big pickup truck or other guzzler you've been cruising in. So unless you've got an income or resources that will enable you to buy an economical car without trading in your dually, you're outta luck.

How many weeks will pass before you can organize a carpool to work? Maybe you should've done that sooner, huh?

My daddy used to say, "Do the math." In this case, it shows a no-brainer. Most of us don't need to carry seven passengers or a roomful of furniture every day. Therefore, we can drive a little Honda, and rent a truck for the occasions when we need one.

The math:

30 mpg, 1200 miles per month = 40 gallons, at $3.89 = $155.60

15 mpg, 1200 miles per month = 80 gallons, at double the cost.

You can rent a pickup truck for a day for the difference. Every single month.

Note to looney lefty liberals: We didn't invade Iraq to steal their oil, or it'd be cheaper.

Motorcyclist killed?

2008-06-08T05:13:00.000-07:00

Still at the rumor stage, we heard that a local motorcyclist was killed by a young person driving on a learner's permit - with no accompanying licensed adult.

Local store busted

2008-06-08T04:57:00.000-07:00

According to one of our sources, the Texaco at Avenue F and Highway 60 had a spot of trouble with ATF the other day for selling alcohol to a minor. Apparently the cashier didn't card the kid.

Real simple, idiots. Check ID or don't sell the booze.

I think I'll patronize a business with more respect for the law.

RIP, Justin Mixon

2008-06-02T22:21:00.000-07:00

From wwltv.com [requires login]:

A soldier from Bogalusa died in Iraq Sunday from wounds suffered when his vehicle came into contact with an improvised explosive device, the Department of Defense announced Monday.

Spc. Justin R. Mixon, 22, was assigned to the 1st Squadron, 2nd Stryker Cavalry Regiment.

Godspeed.

UPDATE:

More here.
Family?

Tornado?

2008-05-04T05:34:00.000-07:00

Looks like strong winds, maybe a twister, hit the area near Highway 21 just south of Double D.

I couldn't see any structures damaged, but there were a lot of trees down and debris blown all the way into the median.

Alleged beating in front of Wal-Mart

2008-04-05T18:06:00.000-07:00

A co-worker told us that one night last week, a person was badly beaten by a man wielding an aluminum baseball bat in front of Wal-Mart.

Anyone know anything? Leave a comment.

EpiPen debacle solved

2008-04-05T17:51:00.002-07:00

We've been told by the mother of the allergic student that s/he will be allowed to keep the medication at hand during the school day.

Bogalusa City Schools; - attend at your own risk!

2008-03-09T20:13:00.000-07:00

The following was sent to us by a close friend whose child attends a public Bogalusa school. While we haven't researched this and therefore can't vouch for its accuracy, similar things have taken place in other school districts. I've added links where appropriate to aid understanding.

My son was recently diagnosed with a severe allergy to stings (wasp, hornet, bee) and was told by his pediatrician to carry an EpiPen at all times in case of a future sting. Minutes count.

Bogalusa Middle School claims that my child's EpiPen will need to be left with the nurse - who isn't always at the school. They also claim that the medication will be available because someone else has a key, but they didn't elaborate on what their procedure will be. They don't want him to carry it because it's sharp. Gee, so are pencils, pens and scissors, all standard school supplies.

I talked to a woman at the Bogalusa School Board also. She claims that she is also allergic to stings and carries an EpiPen. She said as long as my child gets the shot within 15 minutes, everything is fine. Ha! 15 minutes passes pretty quickly if he'll need to leave to find the right teacher, or go to the health center (which isn't always open). What if he's stopped by a teacher on the way? What if the nurse is out and the person with the key can't be located immediately?

She had no good answers.

I asked her if they could assure me that the EpiPen would be available within 15 minutes. She said they could not. Nice of them to treat his life so cavalierly! I asked her if she was aware that there is a diabetic student who carries all her supplies with her, including syringes with needles. She was not.

I don't think my son should go to school without guaranteed quick access to his EpiPen, and that means he ought to be allowed to carry it.

Catherine Seipp wrote possibly the definitive article on children who need to carry asthma inhalers and the stupidity of school boards. Excerpt [emphasis ours]:

...Nancy Sander referred to the 1991 death of a New Orleans high school student, Catrina Lewis, who was delayed by security guards before being allowed to get her inhaler from the office. When it didn't help, she asked school staff to call an ambulance; instead they spent a half-hour trying to call her mother first. Catrina's sister, another student, finally called 911 herself, but emergency help arrived too late. In 1996, a New Orleans judge ordered Lawless High School's acting principal, a school counselor, and the school board to pay $1 million in damages to Catrina's family.

I wonder about several things:

1. Was the woman at the Bogalusa school board office a doctor? Or was she practicing medicine without a license?

2. Is she aware that the Louisiana State Board of Education's standard forms have a space for the prescribing physician to allow the student to carry their own medication?

3. Are they aware that public schools are required to accommodate a student with a medical condition, or pay tuition if necessary for the student to attend a school that can accommodate them?

And that's just for starters. I'm sure they aren't aware of much except the pleasure they get out of playing with children's lives and saying No. Dumbasses.

Virus goin' 'round

2008-02-13T20:00:00.000-08:00

Sudden vomiting, uncontrollable diarrhea, chills. It's nasty, but over with quick.

Drink plenty of fluids. I know of one young adult who was hospitalized for dehydration.

High school lockdown

2008-02-13T00:05:00.000-08:00

We've been told that Bogalusa High School was under lockdown Tuesday, Feb. 12, because a student brought a gun to school.

Developing...

Quit driving like idiots!

2008-01-27T21:10:00.000-08:00

When I work late and come home on 21, I drive the limit or sometimes - shock! - 5 mph over.

Every single night, I'm passed.

Which means there are a hell of a lot of speeders out there.

Tonight a vehicle went off the road heading north on 21, just south of Sun.

Quit driving like you've got crap for brains. Obey the law. Slow down.

Why was Dr. LaRavia fired?

2007-12-26T21:34:00.000-08:00

Folks are talking on the Hard Copy board about Dr. Dennis LaRavia's firing from the Bogalusa LSU Rural Residency Program. Wednesday's Daily News had an editorial about the "outrage."

We suspect it had something to do with this formal complaint (about one-third of the way down the page):

Dennis A. LaRavia, M.D...... L4514........... 6/4/07...... Unprofessional conduct; violation of state or federal law; violation of board rule regarding Physician in Training permits.

Please note that these are allegations, not yet proven.

The matter is set for hearing by the Texas State Office of Administrative Hearings, Texas Medical Board in April 2008 - PDF file of the docket here. See page 37.

Accident?

2007-11-23T23:28:00.000-08:00

Looked like cleanup of a bad accident, possibly involving a cop, at the intersection of West 21st and South Tyler in Covington about 12:30 a.m.

Hope nobody was badly hurt.

Iraq is a quagmire - for al Qaida

2007-11-19T00:40:00.000-08:00

From the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, seen at Gulf Coast Pundit:

Jihadis, money and weapons were poured into Iraq. All for naught. Al-Qaida has been driven from every neighborhood in Baghdad, Maj. Gen. Joseph Fil, the U.S. commander there, said Nov. 7. This follows the expulsion of al-Qaida from two previous “capitals” of its Islamic Republic of Iraq, Ramadi and Baquba.[...]
Al-Qaida’s support in the Muslim world has plummeted, partly because of the terror group’s lack of success in Iraq, more because al-Qaida’s attacks have mostly killed Muslim civilians.[...]“The situation has changed so unmistakably and so swiftly that we should be reading proud headlines daily,” said Ralph Peters, a retired Army lieutenant colonel. “Where are they?”

Read the whole thing. Then ask yourself if journalists deserve any respect for the lying, twisting, and obfuscation they've done about the war.

Recall the themes of nearly all the news about Iraq and our troops, according to most reporters: Our soldiers are savages, Iraqis hate us, the world hates us, 9/11 was our own fault, Iraq is another Vietnam, we'll never win, blah blah blah. Barely a word about the defeat of al Qaida in Bakuba, Ramadi and Baghdad, or the deaths of terrorists over there. Thousands of words about the few atrocities committed by a tiny number of our troops, and deaths of civilians and our soldiers.

I spit on you, Mainstream Media.

Site of the day

2007-11-15T13:11:00.001-08:00

Pimp My Bookcart!

seen at Gulf Coast Pundit

Seriously injured

2007-11-12T18:18:00.000-08:00

We've heard that a local teacher was seriously injured in an automobile accident this a.m., and will post more info when we have confirmation.

Or, I pray, we'll be back with an apology that it was a misunderstanding.

Trial delayed in St. Bernard pet killings

2007-11-11T19:07:00.000-08:00

Excerpt:

A St. Bernard Parish sheriff’s deputy and a former deputy are set to stand trial separately early next year on felony aggravated cruelty to animals charges stemming from the alleged fatal shooting of dogs on the streets of St. Bernard in the days immediately following Hurricane Katrina.

Clifford “Chip’’ Englande, a sergeant assigned to administrative duties, and Michael Minton, who is no longer working for the Sheriff’s Office, pleaded innocent in February and were scheduled to be tried together this week.

As it stands now, Minton will be tried Jan. 29 by a jury in state District Judge Robert Buckley’s courtroom and Englande will be tried Feb. 14 by the judge, a spokeswoman for state Attorney General Charles Foti said Wednesday. Link

Let's hope justice prevails.

Also see: Trial date set for [alleged] dog shooters

Lines run amok!

2007-11-11T03:44:00.000-08:00

I dunno what happened, but the lines between posts have grown. Please disregard while I try to figure out how to truncate them :-).

Support our troops

2007-11-11T02:17:00.001-08:00

Buy their books: House to House

Must-read at Blackfive

2007-11-11T01:58:00.001-08:00

Islamic Army turns against al Qaeda - at Blackfive:

It was not a forgone conclusion that the population would rise up against these foreign ass-hats that want to not only kill us, but to enslave and kill them too. [...]The throat cutters from Asscrackistan, or where ever they came from are in trouble, big trouble.

Hollywood is clueless.

2007-11-10T14:07:00.001-08:00

Rendition bombs.

Hollywood blames us stupid moviegoers.

412 (and counting) readers set 'em straight. Heh.

Thursday night fun site

2007-11-10T13:36:00.001-08:00

Bob Truby's Brand Name Pencils

"Rescuer" = hoarder

2007-11-08T04:44:00.000-08:00

WTAE-TV4, Pittsburgh:

CENTERVILLE, Pa. -- Police and humane officers raided a kennel at a home in Centerville, Washington County, and said they found dozens of dead dogs on Tuesday evening. Animal control officers said there were dogs in cages inside and outside Calico Creek Critters Rescue, and even in a nearby incinerator.

Wouldn't be the first time a so-called "rescue" was actually the sick manifestation of an animal hoarder or collector.

From the Tufts site, links about hoarding in the media.

Killer Bees!

2007-11-06T07:58:00.000-08:00

According to a post at the Hard Copy board, Africanized bees have moved as far north as Rio.

Be careful out there.

Pray for solution to invasive species?

2007-11-06T06:37:00.000-08:00

At Invasive Species Blog:

There's an interesting little piece in today's Christian Science Monitor about an invasive species control method that I must admit I have never considered: prayer. The author of the article notes that global efforts to manage invasive species are stalled by politics and by social issues, and goes on to suggest praying as something that can be done right now and that could inspire folks to come up with potential solutions and lead to greater cooperation.

Hey, why not? What with local nurseries selling invasive Ligustrum (privet), there's a lot of material to pray about.

Dear Lord,

I never thought I'd ask you
To strike the shrubbery dead
And brown the foreign fescue
Which fills my heart with dread.

While you're on this killing spree
Please smite the nasty tallow tree.
If you're inclined to really hustle,
Zap to death the zebra mussel.

Formosan termites need a blast,
As does that thug called Johnson grass.
Fire ants, kudzu, Ligustrum vulgare,
A list too long for this brief prayer.

Take no prisoners, leave no seed,
Thanks for helping in my hour of need.
Amen.

Winning ways?

2007-11-06T05:50:00.000-08:00

We're glad Franklinton High School has a winning football team. Maybe they oughtta crack the books more.

SPRING 2006 GEE SCORES, GRADE 11: link

Franklinton High School (scores well below statewide average):

Advanced,Mastery,Basic,Approaching Basic,Unsatisfactory

English - 0, 7, 43, 28, 22
Math - 3, 12, 38, 17, 30
Science - 3, 5, 37, 32, 24
Social Studies - 0, 1, 43, 28, 27

Bogalusa High School:

English - 1, 13, 39, 31, 16
Math - 3, 8, 44, 22, 24
Science - 1, 3, 24, 32, 40
Social Studies - 0, 2, 41, 26, 31

No enormous differences here.

Guess it must be the parents of football players who're busing their kids to the "better" high school in Franklinton...

Terrorism news

2007-11-06T05:28:00.000-08:00

20 arrested in Italy

Children recruited, groomed for terrorist attacks

Pass the boiled peanuts

2007-10-27T09:19:00.000-07:00

They help protect against disease:

Boiled nuts help protect against illness

Fri Oct 26, 3:45 PM ET

For lovers of boiled peanuts, there's some good news from the health front. A new study by a group of Huntsville researchers found that boiled peanuts bring out up to four times more chemicals that help protect against disease than raw, dry or oil-roasted nuts.

Lloyd Walker, chair of Alabama A&M University's Department of Food and Animal Sciences who co-authored the study, said these phytochemicals have antioxidant qualities that protect cells against the risk of degenerative diseases, including cancers, diabetes and heart disease.

"Boiling is a better method of preparing peanuts in order to preserve these phytochemicals," Walker said.

The study will appear in Wednesday's edition of the American Chemical Society's Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry. The other co-authors in the study are A&M researchers Yvonne Chukwumah and Martha Verghese, as well as University of Alabama in Huntsville researcher Bernhard Vogler.

Walker said peanuts and other plants use phytochemicals for things such as helping avoid disease and insect attacks.

"These things are not nutrients; at the same time they have health benefits to humans," he told The Birmingham News. "The trick is to keep those health benefits, not to process them out of the foods."

According to Walker, water and heat penetrate the nuts, releasing beneficial chemicals to a certain point. Overcooking the nuts destroys the useful elements.

Alabama is third in the nation in the amount of peanuts produced with a crop valued at more than $67 million last year.

___

Information from: The Birmingham News

-------------------------
Note: Entire article copied here because Yahoo's news archives disappear.

Progress in the war

2007-10-27T04:17:00.001-07:00

From Countercolumn: Zero casualties in Al Anbar last week - for the first time since 2003.

Guess these guys were wrong: Anbar province "politically lost", 9/11/2006. Heh.

Anbar background

Al Qaeda arrests around the world [from Long War Journal]:

Six in Spain
Seven in France

Best. News. Ever. - "The darkness has become pitch black" - Osama runnin' scared, lol.

Troops unite to save soldier knifed in head

2007-10-27T03:00:00.000-07:00

Seen at Grunt Doc:

His survival relied on the Army’s top vascular neurosurgeon guiding Iraq-based U.S. military physicians via laptop, the Air Force’s third nonstop medical evacuation from Central Command to America, and the best physicians Bethesda National Naval Medical Center in Maryland could offer.

Read the whole thing at Army Times. Wow.

On horses

2007-10-27T01:50:00.001-07:00

We've been hearing scuttlebutt about some horses that may not be well maintained - possibly inadequate shelter, poor nutrition (visible ribs), etc. So here, links to the basics on what you're lookin' at and who to call to make a complaint.

The horse's body condition is scored on a scale developed by Dr. Don Henneke, called, unsurprisingly, the Henneke Scale. This is an MS Word doc that will download and open, so you can easily save it for future reference or printing. If that bugs ya, google the phrase "Henneke Scale" for a different format.

Here are some photos of horses, rated by the author of the page. Not for the faint of heart. In a nutshell, you shouldn't be seein' ribs, overgrown hooves, wounds attracting flies, or too much fat.

Who to call? We've heard that humane enforcement by Bogalusa Police Department and the Washington Parish Sheriff's Office is spotty and inconsistent.

We recommend phoning Humane Society of Louisiana, 1.888.6 HUMANE, or fill out their online form, which can be done anonymously. They were prompt and effective at getting care for the animals at Cassidy Park.

You can also contact the Louisiana Livestock Brand Commission Crimestoppers at 1.800.558.9741.

Yon on Beauchamp

2007-10-27T01:29:00.000-07:00

Required reading:

Some months ago, a soldier in Baghdad wrote a piece on the way war can degrade the morals and affect the judgment of combat soldiers. His story was published at face-value in The New Republic magazine. In it the soldier wrote terrible things about his unit, making the article sensational.

I was in Iraq when it first hit the stands and someone asked me about the plausibility of the events described in the article. I skimmed the story but it did not even pass a simple sniff-test. With a shooting war going on, there is no time for trivial pursuits, so my only comment was something like, “It sounds like a bunch of garbage.” Turned out it was.

The soldier’s name was Beauchamp. He’d tried to hide his identity, but poor Beauchamp had no idea that the blog world would get on his trail and tree him like a coon. Beauchamp crawled up to the top of that tree, looked down into the snarling spotlight, and suddenly knew he was caught.

Also Michelle Malkin: The New Republic Comes Out From Under Its Desk.

Oriana Fallaci, 1929-2006

2007-10-27T01:05:00.000-07:00

Who was she? Via Wikipedia:

A former partisan during World War II, she had a long and successful journalistic career.

She has interviewed many internationally known leaders and celebrities such as the Dalai Lama, Henry Kissinger, the Shah of Iran, Ayatollah Khomeini, Willy Brandt, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, Walter Cronkite, Omar Khadafi, Federico Fellini, Sammy Davis Jr, Nguyen Cao Ky, Yasir Arafat, Indira Gandhi, Alexandros Panagoulis, Archbishop Makarios III, Golda Meir, Nguyen Van Thieu, Haile Selassie and Sean Connery.

After retirement, she returned to the spotlight after writing a series of articles and books critical of Islam and Arabs that aroused substantial support, controversy and accusations of racism and Islamophobia.

Probably 10 percent of my readers have heard of her. And here I am trying to entice y'all to purchase one of her books via Amazon.

Michelle Malkin has an article:

She refused to candycoat her criticisms of Islam. She refused to submit to jihadi thugs. Her books, her life, her rage and her reason serve as fiery inspirations in an era of flinching dhimmitude.*

Buy her books if you haven’t yet to see why the jihadists wanted her put in jail for “insulting Islam:”

More.
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*dhimmitude: see here.

One mo' time: Buckle up!

2007-10-27T00:00:00.000-07:00

And put those babies in car seats.

Infant dies after accident ejected him from vehicle

I dunno what year 4Runner they were driving, but the 2008 model was made to hold SEVEN. They were carrying EIGHT.

The driver oughtta be charged.

Animal neglect by the City of Bogalusa

2007-10-15T06:01:00.001-07:00

Visitors to Cassidy Park noticed that one of the goats could barely walk - it ambulated mostly on its front knees. Its front hooves were at least six inches overgrown. Then there was the donkey with a fly-blown wound on its neck.

Some people posted about it on the Washington Parish Hard Copy board; someone else posted the video above on Youtube. One of the volunteers for Humane Society of Louisiana arrived at the discussion and promised to sort out what was happening at the park. He returned to the board on Monday, Oct. 8, to inform us that a vet had been out to care for those animals and there would be regular vet visits going forward.

In my opinion, someone at the City should be charged with neglect. This was inexcusable.

Today's must-read

2007-10-05T17:25:00.000-07:00

Having volunteered for Iraq, Mark Daily was killed in January by an I.E.D. Dismayed to learn that his pro-war articles helped persuade Daily to enlist, the author measures his words against a family's grief and a young man's sacrifice. Link.

via Gulf Coast Pundit

Much ado about almost nothin'

2007-09-14T06:21:00.000-07:00

There was a uniform crackdown at Bogalusa Middle the other day. Big deal in the city schools, wearing the uniform and wearing it properly. Bunch of kids were pulled out of class to be written up for such minutiae as wearing socks that didn't show over their shoes.

I'm all for discipline, but with poor academic performance, it doesn't make sense to further lower kids' instructional time over what they're wearing.

How 'bout a sign around their neck labeled "violator" instead, and send a note home?

Graft and corruption, waste and cheating.

2007-09-01T10:29:00.000-07:00

From The Hill:

“The amount of money that has been wasted on these so-called ‘recovery’ efforts has been mind-boggling,” said Tancredo... Citing administration figures, the lawmaker said that $114 billion has been spent on the effort... The lawmaker criticized in particular the amount that has been wasted through fraud and abuse, estimated at $1 billion.

$1 billion lost to fraud out of $114 billion is less than 1.0%. Guess I've been in Louisiana too long; doesn't seem like a lot to me.

Great news in the blogosphere!

2007-08-31T12:44:00.000-07:00

The Diplomad is back!

Mortgage lender implosion

2007-08-31T07:38:00.000-07:00

144 lenders down the tubes since late 2006.

Message for friends...

2007-08-31T07:20:00.000-07:00

Oh, you can't scare me, I'm sticking to the union,
I'm sticking to the union, I'm sticking to the union.
You can't scare me, I'm sticking to the union.
I'm sticking to the union, 'til the day I die.

From Union Maid, by Woody Guthrie

Why you need a union.

Update on accident

2007-08-31T06:32:00.001-07:00

Her friends say the injured teen is recovering.

Media bias

2007-08-31T06:06:00.000-07:00

An outstanding article about media bias in reporting on the war.

Obviously, we can't expect Big Media to police itself. They're too busy publishing forged documents as true, ditto using faked photos, and hiring liars.

All to advance their America-hating, jihadi-loving agenda. Older readers will recall the similarity with coverage of Vietnam.

UPDATE: The Daily News also a bit truth-challenged.

Local accident - developing

2007-08-27T19:57:00.000-07:00

We have heard that several area young people were injured in a car accident, one of them seriously.

Keep them in your thoughts and prayers.

Justice at long last

2007-08-27T06:35:00.000-07:00

James Ford Seale.

Is this ethical journalism?

2007-06-28T06:58:00.000-07:00

On July 25 there's a terse correction (click to enlarge and read):

The original article was here. Click it now and see this:

Are we to believe that the Daily News never makes mistakes? lol. They're rewriting their own online history.

I expect the disclaimer to fade away, too.

You can't find the old article online through internet archives, either. The Snooze prevents their site from being crawled.

Ethical? You decide.

Parish council meeting

2007-06-08T05:16:00.000-07:00

We were unable to attend the last parish council meeting and must rely on reports from friends.

Citizens asked questions, and the theme of the replies was mostly, "The law doesn't say what you think it says." Pray tell, then, why don't they rewrite it?

One landowner south of town asked why large farming properties were included in the map as Suburban Residential. She was told that she lived near town, so she's suburban - doesn't explain the "residential," does it? And that the map was drawn to include in that designation properties with city water. However, the area in question does not have city water; they have parish water, I discovered via a phone call.

The council members and planning commission had no current map at the meeting.

A comment equating the zoning law with communism got applause from the audience. The room was packed to overflowing.

There was a comment made by somebody on the council - maybe Toye? - that the parish is expecting a huge amount of growth. I disagree. Like many others, I believe the post-Katrina boom is over.

I, too, am in an area apparently designated "Suburban Residential" by the zoning map. No, it doesn't affect me now. But it will very effectively limit the number of buyers for my property if I decide to sell. On suburban residential, you cannot have horses or livestock. One of the reasons to move out of the city and into the country is to have horses, a few chickens, maybe raise a pig every year - activities that are prohibited in the SR district.

This is a bad law.

Go to this page and email the council members to vote No.

Looks like another land grab to me.

2007-06-03T20:11:00.000-07:00

From the dead-tree version of Sunday's Daily News:

Washington Parish residents wanting clarification of the proposed Land Use plan - which is 381 pages in its current state - have one more opportunity to try and get their questions answered.[...]Opponents of the plan, who have become more and more vocal in the criticisms of the plan and their call to take more time to fine-tune it, are expected to turn out in force.

Get thee to the Parish Council meeting Tuesday, June 5 at 6:00 p.m. They say they're gonna vote on this crap on June 11. Yes, crap.

The Washington Parish Model Land Use Management Code is online here [PDF file].

The proposed map of the new zones is online here, at the Washington Parish Planning Commission website.

I don't understand why the Planning Commission couldn't put a better, larger, more detailed map online. I had to download the thing and open it with another map of the parish next to it to see that they seem to be trying to designate a bunch of rural property south of Bogalusa as Suburban Residential - meaning:

Day care centers serving no more than 17 persons - PROHIBITED. Guess you'll have to drive even farther to have 3-year-old Suzie cared for while you work.

Greenhouses, non-commercial, as accessory to residential use - CONDITIONAL. No protection for tender potted plants or growing of winter salad greens, huh? Unless you beg the Planning Commission and pay a hefty fee, I'll betcha.

Horse stables, non-commercial - PROHIBITED. People have bought and built on acreage outside city limits to be told what to do like this??? Doubt it.

Churches, temples, synagogues, and places of worship, including cemeteries as accessory uses - CONDITIONAL. This oughtta get people riled. No more little neighborhood churches without a special permit or whatever the procedure is gonna be.

Here's another prime cut, from the Executive Summary [my comments interspersed in brackets and italics]:

It is found that non-agricultural uses when contiguous to farmland can affect how an agricultural use can be operated, which can lead to the conversion of agricultural land to urban, suburban, or other non-agricultural use. [You buy property outside city limits and there's a farm across the street, it's glaringly obvious. And you shouldn't be able to make the farmer shut off his tractor or quit fertilizing.] It is a goal of the Parish Comprehensive Plan to preserve agricultural land in the jurisdiction that is not otherwise identified in the Comprehensive Plan as necessary for development.

It is the policy of the Parish to preserve and encourage agricultural land use and operation within the jurisdiction, and to reduce the occurrence of conflicts between agricultural and non-agricultural land uses and to protect public health, safety, and welfare. [Why are you trying to designate a bunch of land used in agriculture as Suburban Residential, then? One of your pals wanna put up a subdivision?]

It is the policy of the Parish to notify applicants for building permits for buildings or land use permits for uses on non-agricultural land abutting agricultural land or operations with notice about the Parish’s support of the preservation of agricultural lands and operations. An additional purpose of the notification requirement is to promote a good neighbor policy by informing prospective builders and occupants of non-agricultural land adjacent to agricultural lands and operations of the effects associated with residing or operating activities close to agricultural land and operations. [Because they can't look next door or across the street and notice the cows and horses? Sheesh.] Another purpose of this Ordinance is to reduce the loss of agricultural resources in the jurisdiction by limiting the circumstances under which agricultural operations on agricultural lands may be deemed a nuisance. [Yeah, you're gonna limit that by calling a bunch of agricultural land "Suburban Residential" and driving out the farmers.]

It is further the policy of the Parish to require all new developments adjacent to agricultural land or operations to provide a buffer to reduce the potential conflicts between agricultural and non-agricultural land uses. By requiring a minimum 150-foot agricultural buffer on abutting non-agricultural lands, the Parish finds it will be helping to ensure prime farmland remains an agricultural use. Buffer requirements are further outlined in subsections of section 4-3.

It's gotta be all about the money. Call a big area Suburban Residential, and before you know it, it'll be incorporated into the city of Bogalusa. Then the city gets a nice windfall in the form of their share of state property taxes.

Get to the Parish Council meeting Tuesday at 6.

Floating houses

2007-06-03T20:07:00.000-07:00

I've been sayin' for about 14 months now that you couldn't get me to live in most parts of New Orleans unless my house was on pontoons.

Now somebody else has the right idea:

There are existing precedents of cost-effective amphibious houses, or houses that normally rest on the ground but float on buoyant foundations during a flood, both abroad in the Netherlands and at home along the rivers and bayous of South Louisiana. Why not capitalize on the advantages of buoyant foundations in the rebuilding of New Orleans and flood-prone areas throughout South Louisiana?

Why not, indeed?

Indoctrinate U

2007-06-03T19:59:00.000-07:00

Speech codes. Censorship. Enforced political conformity. Hostility to diversity of opinion. Sensitivity training. We usually associate such things with the worst excesses of fascism and communism, not with the American universities that nurtured the free speech movement. But American higher education bears a disturbing resemblance to the totalitarian societies that are anathema to our nation’s ideal of liberty. Evan Coyne Maloney’s documentary film, Indoctrinate U, reveals the breathtaking institutional intolerance you won't read about in the glossy marketing brochures of Harvard, Berkeley, Michigan, Yale, and hundreds of other American colleges and universities.

Put your name on the list to get a screening in our area here. Bogalusa will be on the map as soon as they count my vote ;-).

Via Gates of Vienna, a Very Important Blog.

Bless our troops

2007-05-27T07:41:00.000-07:00

America's Finest:

Hue, South Vietnam, February, 1968: A U.S. Marine carries a wounded Vietnamese child, wrapped in a blanket, to an ambulance for evacuation from the war-torn city. John Olson, Stars & Stripes.

Submitted by Maj. Nancy Torres, 113th Medical Co., Iraq Sgt. Ramon Melocarela, a mental health specialist with the 113th Medical Co., gives a blanket to an Iraqi woman and her child at the Civil Military Operations Center. From Stars & Stripes.

Never forget:

1, 2, 3, what're we fightin' for...

2007-05-26T20:37:00.000-07:00

Here's a hint:

Freedom of religion
Freedom of speech

Etc.

Contrary to what the mainstream media, the Left, and CAIR are continually screeching, the islamofascists aren't going to leave us alone if we exit Iraq, exit the Middle East, or any of that other nonsense.

Radical Islam has spoken. The U.S. is the enemy, and they intend to wipe us out. Their goal is to kill all unbelievers. We are to convert or die. No ifs, ands or buts. No discussion.

People who have lived under tyranny understand:

I have a friend at work, a Vietnamese guy named Do... He's pushing into his 50's, came over with the boat people.[...]When we talk about the GWOT and Iraq he shakes his head. He cant believe that Americans cant understand who they are fighting against. "These people no different than the communists. If you dont do what they say, they kill you, kill your family. You cant talk them away or make them like you. You have to kill them, Kill them all untill they stop. People in America have it real good. They dont know there are evil people like that. They think you can talk everything away."

Sing it, Brother Do. Sing it loud.

Regarding Sicko

2007-05-20T07:12:00.001-07:00

Michael Moore's made another crockumentary, this one trying to convince us that the U.S. healthcare system is broken and we should emulate Cuba's. Free healthcare for the masses, better than in the U.S., Moore says.

There are two, possibly three, healthcare systems in Castro's communist sh*thole:

One for the citizens.
One for Castro's favored elite (although even he flew doctors in when he needed surgery).
And one for foreign visitors.

The care that the vast majority of Cuban citizens receive is inadequate and appalling [caution - kinda gross pictures].

Michael Moore is a liar.

Need help!

2007-05-20T07:06:00.000-07:00

We need to network with other parents who have kids at Bogalusa Middle School and are unhappy with the way a particular course was taught in the spring '07 semester.

Please leave a comment or send an email.

This is important stuff, folks. Let's get together and help each other out, and make a positive change.

Breaking news.

2007-04-17T08:18:00.000-07:00

We have just received a text message that BHS has received a bomb threat and the school is on lockdown.

More as we know it.

UPDATE: Not to worry. Read about it at Nola-dot-com [this is an editorial].

Yup. The crime rate.

2007-04-10T21:33:00.000-07:00

The Daily News has finally caught up with topics we think are important. First quarter crime stats alarming, it says:

A council district-by-district breakdown shows 323 "serious" crimes reported through the first quarter - including two murders, six rapes, 10 robberies, 60 burglaries, 148 thefts, nine auto thefts, 17 aggravated batteries, 56 simple batteries, 11 aggravated assaults and four simple assaults.

Yeah,that's alarming. As I posted back in July of '06, referencing 2004 numbers, the city already had a hellacious crime rate. My crime post was paired with "Just Go Home" written on the same date, referencing this op-ed which was unsigned in the online version.

The author blamed the crime problem at that time on thugs from out of town - also known as come-heres, in the local parlance. And my crime post pointed out that Bogalusa was a hotbed of crime, higher than the national average in many areas, before the Katrina evacuees arrived.

Here, the crime numbers from 2005, compared to Oxford, Mississippi, a town slightly larger than Bogalusa (click to enlarge):

Depressing.

I agree with the article that Neighborhood Watch will help. I've seen that program work very well in other cities.

Once NW gets rolling, perhaps a "Court Watch" group can be formed. People can rotate on and off and go to criminal court and observe. Is there a lax judge? Is the DA not prosecuting criminals with the zeal we'd like? Showing favoritism?

Part of reducing crime is arresting your way out of the problem, a/k/a lockin' up the bad guys, or my personal favorite, takin' out the trash. Neighborhood Watch puts criminals on notice and helps the cops (all nine of them). Court monitoring tells the judge(s) and DA that we care what's happening in the courtroom.

One more thing. Nobody's going to get arrested for a crime that isn't reported. I can't tell you how many times I've heard people say they didn't bother to call the cops and report their shed break-in because "They won't find out who did it anyway," blah blah blah.

What if the crime rate is higher than even the above numbers indicate? Report, report, report. Every. Single. Incident.

If Bogalusa needs more cops - which it surely does - we'll need to know the true figures to influence the City Council into budgeting for and hiring them.

Links:

Court Watch
Citizens Court Monitoring - New York
Watch - Minnesota. Good resource page.

Global warming?

2007-04-08T03:57:00.000-07:00

That's what must be to blame for this unseasonably cool weather, huh? LOL.

Possibility of sleet was predicted, but I didn't see any - though we weren't up all night. Gentle rain falling on the hacienda now.

We spent a lot of time spreading mulch over the newly sprouted beans and such, to save them from being beaten to death by falling ice. I'm glad it wasn't needed, although the kids sure would like to see weather weirdness.

NWS screen shot this a.m. - click to enlarge:

Fifty lenders have gone bust.

2007-04-08T03:53:00.000-07:00

That's right. Fifty. Read it and weep.

Michael Yon

2007-04-02T18:49:00.000-07:00

An extraordinary journalist.

If you aren't familiar with his site, g'wan over there now.

Nice preview with pics here [PDF].

The heat is on!

2007-04-02T17:33:00.000-07:00

Suffocating temps are on the way, and we get a sneak previous of that in April.

Check your air conditioning filter. Change it or wash it.

For the window units, best thing is if you can remove them, take off the outer housing, spray with water and brush the dirt off the coils. Let dry in the sun, reassemble and slide back into place. Dirty coils can be one reason they'll "freeze up" with ice and/or leak water into your room.

The cost of electricity only goes up, so it makes sense to keep your a/c operating as efficiently as it can, by cleaning it yearly, and changing/washing the filter monthly.*
---------------

* Clean/change filter more often if your equipment is exposed to a lot of dust.

Mortgage lender implosion

2007-03-31T06:36:00.000-07:00

The number of defunct mortgage lenders has risen to forty-four.

Bogalusa city audit

2007-03-31T06:23:00.000-07:00

Federal violations detailed:

"...the City did not comply with requirements regarding procurements that are applicable to its Disaster Grants-Public Assistance Program, nor with requirements regarding allowable costs, Davis-Bacon Act, and procurement that are applicable to its Airport Improvement Program."[...]In his report, Seal wrote, "Most, or all, of the 2005 findings could have been avoided if effective internal controls had been maintained. Most of the noted weaknesses in internal control and findings were not hurricane related."

Will somebody please make the necessary arrests?

Jindal talks, but says nothing.

2007-03-31T05:50:00.000-07:00

At WWL online:*

Public housing should be made available for working class families and the elderly, not a haven for the criminal element of society, Rep. Bobby Jindal (R) said Friday...

The law already prohibits drug convicts from living in public housing in New Orleans. Plenty of public housing residents were working poor and the elderly before Katrina. Duh, Bobby.

Further into the article, he says:

“Let’s make sure we don’t allow the drug dealers, the gang members, the sex offenders, those that have committed acts of domestic violence, let’s not them back,” Jindal said.

I appreciate the sentiment behind this. Recidivism being as high as it is, chances are that allowing convicted criminals into subsidized housing means there will be a whole lotta criminal activity goin' on there. I hate druggies, and I hate living near 'em, and many people in public housing share my sentiments.

I guess you could change the law to keep out other convicted criminals. I don't see how you'll extend the ban to "gang members," unless they're ex-cons, though. And I hardly think you can ban people who don't work. What about the disabled, and people receiving welfare?

The banned people will end up living in poor neighborhoods, most likely. In low-rent districts - many of which are adjacent to the housing projects. We'll move the problem a few blocks, is all.

We punish sex offenders forever, by making them register and other requirements. I don't think we should add restrictions to other ex-cons. We want them to go straight and integrate back into society. They already have a tough time getting jobs and education - drug offenders are prohibited from federal educational aid. I don't think the potential of a ban from public housing in future will be a deterrent that keeps people from dealing or using drugs. But it might discourage them from going straight after they've served their time.

* Registration required. Use Bug me not.

My eyes! My eyes!

2007-03-24T06:32:00.000-07:00

I can tell every year when spring is well underway; the populous areas of Washington Parish turn a screaming, bilious hot pink.

Azaleas. They're everywhere. The South is overloaded with 'em, along with crape myrtle (more pink!) and Loropetalum (even more pink!). I won't get into those dang Bradford or Callery pears, which should all be torn out (they're invasive). Thank goodness they aren't pink, y'know?

We have many charming native shrubs which are waaaay underused.

If you've gotta go with azaleas, choose native cultivars. They are a shy but lovely ballerina next to the big, blowsy hot pink things that hurt my eyes. And they're often fragrant.

MSU Extension Service published a nice page with pics detailing 30 native shrubs for your landscape. Some are fragrant; many provide wildlife food.

And they don't hurt my eyes ;-).

Coming soon: A rant on invasive plants.

Sunspots or what?

2007-03-23T04:59:00.000-07:00

We've been having connectivity problems, hence the paucity of new posts.

Some folks with the same ISP claim that the problem originates at the uplink; others say it's caused by solar flares.

Regardless, it's been making the connection time out. Plenty of problems surfing, and much worse when doing something interactive like filling in forms for blog posts.

We're very much looking forward to DSL by the end of this year :-).

Cathy Seipp - In Hospital

2007-03-20T12:17:00.000-07:00

From her blog:

I'm at her bedside now, holding her hand. I tell her she has 292 comments on the latest blog post..her last but she just squeezes my hand. She was very happy with this blog. In honor of her, if you can...support the American Lung Cancer Society and or adopt stray dogs and cats from the pound. Those were her causes.

UPDATE: Thanks to everyone who posted. As of 7:45am this morning she is still breathing and pulsing but is passing peacefully.

She was a wonderful writer and a very brave woman. If you pray, say a prayer.

If you've never heard of her - start reading.

UPDATE: Link fixed.

Black and white and read all over

2007-03-16T18:36:00.000-07:00

We heard today that a teacher at one of the public schools read aloud an opinion piece from the Daily News as an example of bigotry.

I agree, wholeheartedly, enthusiastically, in spades, and with bells on. So the opinion piece is gonna receive a fisking.

By Lou Major:

It's bad enough we have horrid academic achievement in the Bogalusa school system, but hand-in-hand with the despicable safety and security problems, we have that age-old menace: Racial Divide.

This promises to be exciting, doesn't it? Danger, failure and "Racial Divide" all at once! Capitalized, even!

There have been many meetings over the past year and-a-half about the fast deterioration of the quality of education in the local school system. School Board members, some parents, teachers and politicians have all joined the quest for improvement. We have been told over and over that this will take time; it cannot be achieved in just one year.

It took more than a year for the problems to develop and become serious, and surely it'll take more than a year to solve them. That makes sense.

If you are going to claim that the deterioration was "fast," I want to see that backed up with stats. The problems have existed for the several years we've been here.

"Zero tolerance" of fighting, insolence and threats has been put into place, presumably as the best thing so far to try to solve those problems. Various thrusts at academic improvement have been introduced at every level.

Sounds pretty good so far. Give "zero tolerance" time to work.

And all the while, very, very few people have wanted to face up to the "racial divide" problem. It is there. Less than a handful of people at all these meetings have dared to talk openly about one of the serious problems that leads to so many of the other problems. They talk in numbers, for the most part. The numbers show that all of the students leaving the Bogalusa schools are white kids. Nobody knows for sure where they are all going and from what I can determine, nobody is zeroing in on finding out.

"The word" is that they are going to Franklinton, Pine, Bowling Green, St. Tammany and Mississippi.

I know that some of them are going to the Franklinton school district, where the parents I spoke to are claiming that the high school is "better." If they think it's academically better, I shot that down in "Dishonest or dumb?".

It's white flight, is all it is. Considering the parish's history, my conclusion is logical.

C'mon, you guys voted for David Duke. And you're surprised there's white flight? The irony has overtopped my hip waders.

Immediately following Hurricane Katrina, Bogalusa students were allowed to go to other schools, presumably until the local school system got up and running again. Hordes of them did just that. The only problem is, they have not come back, and almost all of them are white kids. After the immediate shock of Katrina ended, displaced students were supposed to "go home" to their normal schools. It didn't happen. At one of the meetings recently, it was stated that schools which allowed the Bogalusa students in following the hurricane were supposed to send them back; it was a matter of honoring school boundaries.

That has all added to the growing "racial divide" in the Bogalusa schools.

I thought students were supposed to go to their district schools, unless they were enrolled in a private school - which, naturally, might be outside the district lines. In some places, attending an out-of-district school is illegal.

If anybody's breakin' the law, maybe the DA oughtta get involved, hmmm?

Two years ago, there were 1,270 white students in Bogalusa schools. This year, the number is down to 806. Two years ago, there were 1,595 black students in Bogalusa schools. This year, the number is 1,604. So while there are 450 fewer white students, there are the same number of black students.

As the trend has continued, this means that five years ago there was a 50/50 ratio of white to black students in the Bogalusa schools. Today, the ratio is 65 percent black to 35 percent white.

If we want our kids to grow up to be able to work with people of other ethnic backgrounds, we need to quit caring about this. Yes, just quit caring. Don't see color, see people, and you'll teach your kids to do the same.

That's the only way to stop the "Racial Divide" if by that phrase you mean bigotry.

Sadly, as I read on, it appears that you mean something else.

This growing preponderance of black students is manifesting itself in ways that most people don't even realize.

What? The nearest store sells less Prell, more Hair-Gro?

Forgive me, I couldn't resist. Hang on, it gets much better.

The Bogalusa High Paper Dolls illustrates the point. In 1970, there were 27 Paper Dolls, the dancing group which struts at football games, parades, etc. Of the 27, only 2 were black girls; 25 were white. By 1992, of 23 Paper Dolls, 21 were white and 2 were black, still about the same as 20 years earlier. However, by 1997, the numbers changed to 21 white girls and 6 black girls. In just the next three years, the numbers had gone to 15 white girls and 7 black girls.

Continuing the quickening trend, the next year there were 22 white girls and 11 black girls.

This year, the "racial divide" was glaring. There are 11 Paper Dolls at BHS; not one of them is white.

Additionally, the varsity cheerleading squad this year is made up of 12 girls. Only one is white.

A look at the BHS Band tells the same story.

All this tells me is that the white kids either aren't trying out for the Paper Dolls and varsity cheerleading, or they aren't making the grade. Apparently the white kids aren't choosing band as an activity, either.

Why don't you do some research and find out why this is? And publish what the black/white ratio is at the high school, too. If white students are a small minority, it shouldn't shock you that some extracurricular activities are all black.

Now your editorial sounds like the whine of a white supremacist.

"Waaaah! The blacks have everything! They locked us out! Waaaaah!"

At most of the "curative" meetings, I recall one person willing to stand up and recognize there is a problem: Rev. Coleman Moses, one of the school system's Task Force members who has continued to be active with the group initially appointed by School Supt. Jerry Payne. Rev. Moses has repeatedly spoken out about the need for all of the school disciplinary problems to be attacked first at home. That is the obvious starting place, but getting that accomplished is another thing.

Getting down to the nuts and bolts, how do you get into the homes of the most unruly kids and get their parents, many of them only the mother, to make their kids obey the rules, be polite, study hard, cause no trouble? I sure don't have the answer and it seems like nobody else has, either.

The problems are more than readin', writin' and 'rithmetic.

I definitely believe that "zero tolerance" needs several years to show results.

However, I am dismayed at this juxtaposition of "the blacks have it all," a bunch of white kids left, and discipline problems in the editorial. There's a very unpleasant implication floating between the lines, there.

Elementary school kids are still staying in the Bogalusa school system. Even the discipline nightmare at the Bogalusa Middle School (junior high) has not sent white students running elsewhere. But the trend at Bogalusa High is alarming. The numbers prove the point. Something has to be done or the enrollment of white students will continue to dwindle until "racial divide" will be almost complete.

This won't be PC, Lou, but I can and will explain it to you.

We ain't from here. But we have had the distasteful experience of being told by white "born-heres" that we should send our kids to another high school, out of the district, because otherwise those boys will try to date our girls.

They weren't talkin' 'bout white boys.

You may recall from a previous post that back in the 60s, the FBI considered Washington Parish to have the highest per-capita membership in the KKK of any county in the nation. Do the math. It's those klukkers' grandkids that are being pulled out of Bogalusa High and sent elsewhere.

You think attitudes like that change in one or two generations? I know better. Judging from how I've been warned of the "dangers" of BHS, those attitudes are alive and kickin'. Kickin' hard, Lou.

I've never been anywhere else in this whole wide world where so many whites were so willing to be upfront and vocal about their racism. Anywhere else, the majority of the white population would shun them.

"Run, run! They'll rape your daughters!" Sheesh.

Gee, maybe the black parents are the ones who should be worried. There's a lot more historical precedent about white boys raping black girls, isn't there?

Let the bigots pack their sheets and leave the system. From what I've seen, the kids that remain at Bogalusa High - of all races - get along across racial lines and have a decent, open-minded attitude. I applaud them. They are our future; perhaps this is the generation that will bury the sorry past.

Y'all definitely need fresh blood, y'know? More come-heres, to dilute out this nonsense.

Daily News watch

2007-03-16T18:29:00.000-07:00

Oops, they did it again. Looks like an unrelated photo and article are paired in the online Daily News. I think this lady's picture probably belongs with an obit (click to enlarged):

New blogs!

2007-03-15T07:00:00.000-07:00

New to me, that is, and they're cool, so I added 'em to the blogroll.

First is The Answer Bird. Marvin the African parrot gives advice - keyboarded by his human, Steve Graham. Set down yer coffee, or lose yer monitor, lol.

Mostly Cajun blogs from southwest Louisiana. Today's post, Critters and electricity, is a hoot :-).

New stuff

2007-03-15T05:49:00.000-07:00

In the left-hand sidebar, I've added a current weather sticker from Weather Underground.

Global warming?

2007-03-14T10:15:00.000-07:00

Wishing ain't gonna make it so:

Entergy said this winter has been colder than any since 2003-04...Link.

Insensitivities

2007-03-13T12:11:00.000-07:00

Usually I am more likely to gripe about the nuttiness that is political correctness, but this is givin' me a real "duh!" moment.

Via Lou Minatti:

Boeing is studying the 737 replacement. The Times understands that two early prototypes have been drawn up: a wider, twin-aisle version and a shorter, single-aisle jet. These have been dubbed Fat Boy and Little Boy. Link

For the young 'uns who don't get it: Fat Man and Little Boy.

Mortgage lender implosion, again

2007-03-10T04:33:00.000-08:00

The number gone kerplunkt is now THIRTY-SIX.

You'll never look at a burger the same way. Heh.

2007-03-09T19:59:00.000-08:00

Cows with guns

Mortgage lender implosion

2007-03-09T08:21:00.000-08:00

THIRTY-FOUR mortgage lenders have gone bust.

Previous:

If I had any extra money... -- posted Sunday, March 4, 2007. Three more MLs down the tubes since this post.

Hello again!

2007-03-09T07:29:00.000-08:00

So many visitors from interesting places. I'd love it if you posted in the comments where you're from, and how ya got here.

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So busy [sigh]. It's spring, and that means extra chores, what with stuff growin'. There aren't enough hours in the day to get everything done sometimes, know what I mean?

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At the Hard Copy board, all the old posts on the page disappeared and it started over with a clean slate. That's a Very Good Thing; it was getting quite difficult to sort wheat from chaff.

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Gorgeous weather. Enjoy it! I'll be making a couple posts later on with news, opinion and gossip.

If I had any extra money...

2007-03-04T21:11:00.000-08:00

... I'd probably buy silver coins and bury them in Mason jars in the backyard.

Stock market shenanigans. Subprime lenders going bust. Housing prices and the bubble. It's all there at Housing Panic, and it ain't goin' away.

Read the posts, the links and the comments, and plan accordingly.

UPDATE: Thirty-one mortgage lenders have gone bust since late 2006.

Garden planning

2007-03-04T20:34:00.000-08:00

I usually spend my "seed money" at Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds.

They ship promptly. Their prices are decent.

And they've got the most interesting stuff!

Cassabanana or Melocoton:

The fruit are brilliant, flaming red and are about 2' long, one of the most beautiful things I had ever seen! They have bright orange flesh that is sweet and is used in drinks, jellies and other desserts, it has a unique tropical fruit taste. The fruit are so fragrant and keep for a long period, like squash, making this a hot item for fall sales for pumpkin growers. Huge vines can grow to 50' and are quite ornamental, but they do require a long season.

Guess I'll need to put up one heck of an arbor, for a 50-foot vine. Yikes.

49 varieties of heirloom tomatoes - and that's just the red ones!

We'll be canning white tomato sauce this year.

They also have gardening forums.

Note: I am not connected with nor an affiliate of Baker Creek. Just a satisfied customer.