Free Republic

Incumbent Democrat Mary Landrieu now has a narrow edge over Republican Congressman Bill Cassidy in Louisiana’s U.S. Senate race. Landrieu picks up 46% of the vote to Cassidy’s 43%, according to a new Rasmussen Reports statewide telephone survey of Likely Louisiana Voters. Five percent (5%) like some other candidate in the race, while six percent (6%) are undecided.

The Environmental Protection Agency’s attempt to quietly assume power to garnishing paychecks of accused polluters ran into firm opposition Thursday from top Senate Republicans. The senators objected to the new rule proposed by EPA, saying it would put too much power in the hands of “an agency prone to regulatory abuses.” “While we recognize the government’s legitimate interest in efficiently and effectively pursuing delinquent debt, EPA’s new wage garnishment procedures provide an agency prone to regulatory abuses with even more power over individual Americans,” wrote Sen. David Vitter, Louisiana Republican and ranking member of the Senate Environment and Public Works...

BATON ROUGE, LA (WAFB) - BESE submitted a compromise to Governor Jindal regarding next year’s standardized testing. The hope is to reach an agreement in an ongoing dispute regarding Common Core testing. Louisiana Board of Elementary and Secondary Education President Chas Roemer, Vice President Jim Garvey and Secretary-Treasurer Holly Boffy conducted a call for members of the media to discuss the resolution. [Link to PDF - the compromise is on page 3] https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B9eTEUJnljUqcjB1YWxHT0Ztc3c/edit?pli=1 And another link to the letter from another site (in case that one doesn't work: http://c.ymcdn.com/sites/www.apeleducators.org/resource/resmgr/News_Files/Letter_to_Governor_from_BESE.pdf

Louisiana spent about $1.3 million on food stamps for people who were already dead between July 1, 2009 and June 30, 2013, according to a report issued by the Louisiana Legislative Auditor Monday (July 7). In all, state benefits went out to 3,938 deceased people over the four-year period examined by the auditor. The Louisiana auditor only reviewed records concerning single people who had died. The total amount of money spent on food stamps for single people in Louisiana during this time was $1.08 billion.

NEW ORLEANS — C. Ray Nagin, the former mayor of New Orleans who was convicted in February on corruption charges, was sentenced to 10 years in prison on Wednesday in federal court in New Orleans. Mr. Nagin was found guilty in February on 20 counts, most relating to kickbacks from contractors looking for city work. The sentence was imposed by Judge Ginger Berrigan of United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana. Mr. Nagin, a Democrat, was arrested in January 2013, nearly three years after he left office. He was charged with taking kickbacks in the form of...

Former New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin was sentenced Wednesday to 10 years in prison for bribery, money laundering and other corruption that spanned his two terms as mayor — including the chaotic years after Hurricane Katrina hit in 2005. U.S. District Judge Helen Berrigan handed down the sentence Wednesday morning. Nagin was convicted Feb. 12 of accepting hundreds of thousands of dollars from businessmen who wanted work from the city or Nagin's support for various projects. The bribes came in the form of money, free vacations and truckloads of free granite for his family business. The 58-year-old Democrat had defiantly...

Former New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison Wednesday. Nagin, 58, the two-term mayor who was the face of the city during Hurricane Katrina, joins a list of Louisiana elected officials convicted of misdeeds committed while in office. But he is New Orleans' first mayor to be convicted and sent to prison for public corruption.

Louisiana spent about $1.3 million on food stamps for people who were already dead between 2009 and 2013, the Times-Picayune reports. A report issued by the Louisiana Legislative Auditor Monday revealed the government waste: In all, state benefits went out to 3,938 deceased people over the four-year period examined by the auditor. The Louisiana auditor only reviewed records concerning single people who had died. The total amount of money spent on food stamps for single people in Louisiana during this time was $1.08 billion. Much of the money — $556,000 — was spent on people who had been dead for...

Many observers misunderstood the Hobby Lobby dispute and others like it as a First Amendment case, but it wasn’t. It primarily related to the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA), with an indirect reference to the constitutional freedom of religious expression. A case in Louisiana may be the real McCoy, though. The Louisiana Supreme Court has ruled that a priest must testify in a case about what he heard in a confessional — an order that would result in automatic excommunication and damnation, according to the doctrine and canon law of the Catholic Church: The state high court’s decision, rendered...

New research takes a look at decades of corruption convictions to find the crookedest states in the union. When we think of government corruption (as one tends to do), our biased minds often gravitate to thoughts of military juntas and third world governments. But, of course, corruption is everywhere, in one form or another. And it’s costing U.S. citizens big time. A new study from researchers at the University of Hong Kong and Indiana University estimates that corruption on the state level is costing Americans in the 10 most corrupt states an average of $1,308 per year, or 5.2% of...

GOP Rep. Bill Cassidy, who is challenging Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-La.) in one of this year’s most competitive Senate races, revealed late Thursday that his 17-year-old daughter became pregnant out of wedlock and is due later this summer. Cassidy’s campaign revealed the news with a one-paragraph statement to the New Orleans Times-Picayune, published late Thursday afternoon as the July Fourth holiday weekend began. “Earlier this year, Laura and I learned we will become grandparents this summer,” Cassidy, 56, said in the statement. “Our children have been the greatest blessing of our lives and we welcome our grandchild as a joyous...

A pizza-delivery driver was beaten by a man with a baseball bat early Tuesday morning in the former B.W. Cooper housing projects, New Orleans Police said. The driver was taking a delivery to the 1300 block of South Prieur Street shortly before 2 a.m., and saw a man waiting outside when he arrived, said NOPD Detective Sgt. David Barnes on Tuesday afternoon at the weekly meeting of Sixth District ranking officers. The driver asked the man if he was the person who placed the order, and when the man said yes, the driver turned back to the car to get...

With a few nods and a clear-voiced "yes, ma'am," Stacey Jackson on Wednesday ended her year-long resistance against accusations that she orchestrated an elaborate kickback scheme to rob a federally financed anti-blight program during now-disgraced Mayor Ray Nagin's tenure in City Hall. She struck a plea deal with prosecutors and admitted to U.S. District Judge Mary Ann Vial Lemmon that she was guilty of one count of conspiracy to receive kickbacks involving federal money. She faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison and three years probation, although such a harsh sentence would be rare for first-time federal offenders....

Louisiana Republican Rep. Vance McAllister — known as the “Kissing Congressman” — has decided to seek a full term after announcing his retirement earlier this year. McAllister had hinted for weeks he was considering running for reelection, but he confirmed it in an interview with the Monroe News-Star this morning. He later confirmed the news at a press conference at a park in Monroe, where he was greeted with “enthusiastic applause” by upwards of 75 supporters, the newspaper reported. “I wanted to make sure everything was good with our family,” McAllister told The News-Star earlier in the day.

Rep. Vance McAllister, R-Swartz, will run for re-election. He told NOLA.com/Times-Picayune Monday that he'll leave it up to the voters to decide whether he stays or goes. He has scheduled a "special press conference" Monday in Monroe to formally announce his decision to run for re-election this fall in the 5th Congressional District. McAllister said he spent the weekend with his family making sure "they were on board," and that they are. He said he and they decided to leave it up to voters whether "he stays or goes." After surveillance video from last December was leaked in April showing...

After the release of the latest Landrieu campaign commercial, the critics are raving. What an incredible performance from a talented actress! Louisiana Senator Mary Landrieu has done it again. Elections bring out the best acting from the state’s 18 year incumbent. Every six years, Mary Landrieu adopts the sympathetic character of a “fighter for Louisiana.” In reality, she is a liberal Democrat who votes with President Obama and Majority Leader Harry Reid, but, during campaigns, Senator Landrieu convinces voters she is constantly opposing leaders in her own party. The result is that Senator Landrieu wins another term in office, quite...

<p>New Orleans Police say nine people have been injured during a shooting on Bourbon Street.</p> <p>Police spokesman Frank Robertson says in a statement that the incident happened about 2:45am Sunday in the 700 block of Bourbon Street. He says the unidentified victims were taken to a hospital, where seven were listed in stable condition and a female was listed in critical condition.</p>

         Update from Mississippi Patriots, I am sorry it has taken me so long to give you an update, but things in Mississippi have been fluid and there is a lot to dig through. What we know right now is nefarious campaign tactics, employed by incumbent Senator Thad Cochran's campaign, were undeniably responsible for Cochran's victory Tuesday night. This includes using race-baiting that encourages liberal Democrats to swing a Republican Primary election- but that's just the start of it. As our friend Chris McDaniel has said, "There is nothing they won't do to hold onto power." It's true....

While speaking at the Faith and Freedom Coalition’s “Road to Majority” conference in Washington, D.C. Saturday night, Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, a Republican, said President Obama and other Democrats are waging a war against religious liberty and warned that a rebellion is brewing as angry Americans are ready for what he called a "hostile takeover" of the nation's capital, the Associated Press reported. "I can sense right now a rebellion brewing amongst these United States," he said, "where people are ready for a hostile takeover of Washington, D.C., to preserve the American Dream for our children and grandchildren." According to...

Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal on Saturday night accused President Barack Obama and other Democrats of waging wars against religious liberty and education and said that a rebellion is brewing in the U.S. with people ready for "a hostile takeover" of the nation's capital. Jindal spoke at the annual conference hosted by the Faith and Freedom Coalition, a group led by longtime Christian activist Ralph Reed. Organizers said more than 1,000 evangelical leaders attended the three-day gathering. Republican officials across the political spectrum concede that evangelical voters continue to play a critical role in GOP politics. "I can sense right now...