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No public servant, and no legal entity of which such public servant is an officer, director, trustee, partner, or employee, or in which such public servant has a substantial economic interest, shall receive or agree to receive any thing of economic value for assisting a person in a transaction, or in an appearance in connection with a transaction, with the agency of such public servant. LA R.S. 42:1111(E)(1)

However, leges can accept campaign contributions from persons they assist in a transaction, etc. in circumvention of the above law.

The story in Sunday’s Baton Rouge paper shows how leges use campaign contributions as a loophole in the law big enough to drive a Mack truck through it. Story here.

For example, one needing the assistance of a lege cannot purchase a membership in a golf or country club for a lege. However, one can make a campaign contribution which the lege can then use to purchase the membership for himself or herself.

It’s not hard to figure out how this loophole came to exist. The leges write the law.

So much for the “gold standard” of ethics.

C.B.

1 CB 10:08 am

According to a story in the Daily Monopoly, Rep. John LaBruzzo, R-Metairie, was bitten by a constituent’s dog.  See story here.

The dog is fine.

The story indicates that LaBruzzo believes it was a partisan issue with the dog.   However, the Crack Mullet Research Team has made some inquiries and determined otherwise.

The dog claims to unaffiliated with any political party.  He was merely angry over LaBruzzo’s vote to give himself a massive pay raise.

First Amendment advocates are rallying behind the dog.  They say he was merely expressing how most people in LaBruzzo’s House district feel.

C.B.

1 CB 8:29 am

Tuesday’s political upset in the Massachusetts U.S. Senate was huge.  State Attorney General Martha Coakley, a Democrat was soundly trounced in a Democrat stronghold by Republican State Senator Scott Brown.

Elected officials of all political party affiliation should heed the message that was sent by the voters of Massachusetts on behalf of the rest of America.

Despite the commentary by the Republicans after the election results were announced, the message was not one of partisan politics nor one of liberal versus conservative views.

The message

The message was that the public is fed up with people we elect to represent us deciding what is best for us.

We don’t elect members of the lege branch of government at the local, state or federal level to be our parents. We elect them to represent OUR views on matters before them.

For an example of how we citizens are ignored one doesn’t have to look any further than the recent arrogant, contemptible, behavior of members of the LA Lege to grant themselves a massive pay raise.

Fortunately, the uproar was so loud that even Bobby Jindal heard it. In a bid to save his own political hide he was forced to veto the raise after having promised the Republican leges he would let it become the law.

We’re the boss!

Americans can only be pushed so far before they stand and fight back. It seems that those in other countries see that more clearly than the politicians in our own country.

It’s time for the politicians of all political persuasions and at all levels of government to shut up (that includes these press releases and media events about the MA election) and start listening to the people.

The citizens aren’t as dumb as the politicians seem to think, but even if we are we remain their bosses.

C.B.

1 CB 8:00 am