Jeromy Alford: My Hero
Ok, well maybe that is going overboard. However, he is quickly becoming one of my favorite Journalists. In his most recent article, “Too Many Secrets“, he points out many of the flaws of the current administration.
Louisiana’s got ethics now, yada, yada, yada. It’s a new day, blah, blah, blah.
That is how he starts. Gotta love it!
For instance, the governor’s star-studded transition team, which is still in action in many respects, escaped scrutiny altogether. As a result, its members remain a gang of political shadows operating under flimsy guidelines. Additionally, the Republican administration continues to dodge any proposals that would bring more of its own records into public view in a substantial way. Efforts to extend “reform” to the governor’s office have been avoided like a case of scurvy, which is why good government groups place Louisiana on the bottom of their lists when it comes to openness in the governor’s office.
Preach on!
Shreveport Rep. Wayne Waddell, a Republican, is making his own push for transparency with House Bill 1100, which would open more records in the executive branch to public view. This isn’t Waddell’s first rodeo; he presented the same bill during Jindal’s February special session, but the administration’s allies shot it down.
It is good to hear Waddel is going for this again. The problem is that whenever anyone tries to shine the light of transparency towards the administration, they scatter like the roaches they are.
But it is good that Alford is speaking out against the hypocrisy and double standards of the administration. Let’s hope people listen.
April 16th, 2008 at 5:10 pm
You know, I’m beginning to feel as though complaining about Jindal is like being a weatherman and complaining about the weather. The Advocate published an article yesterday saying that Jindal has a 77% approval rating. For the foreseeable future, he is an unstoppable force.
That guy who comments is right– get in his way and you’re probably road kill. He can do what he wants. The guys with big guts, wearing sans a belts with their pagers and cell phones strapped thereon are with him. So are the pinstripes. Jindal\’s the guy in favor of binnisss and lowering taxes and reducing government waste (huh? on the last two).
That said, we still need a weatherman. Somebody to tell us how to dress (”It’s about to rain $h!t all over you, so bring your umbrella!”). Nevertheless, this whole Jindal modus operandi is going to have to run its course before people quit drinking his Kool Aid.
Watching Louisianians elect people to public office gives some understanding of why Plato did not trust the democratic process. Unfortunately, our philosopher king looks more like a king than a philosopher. Once again, political expediency rules the day.