Liberty and Justice for All!

That’s right, after all of his grandstanding on how government needs to be more transparent, about how there needs to be increased disclosure and stronger ethics laws in the state of Louisiana… Governor Jindal’s office ranks dead last nationwide when it comes to transparency.

S.B. 363, a bill about the Louisiana Youth Advisory, includes an amendment to exclude any records in Jindal’s hands from the open records law.

Let me repeat this for all the Jindal supporters who still are grasping on to the hope that Jindal is a reform candidate. Bobby Jindal, the person who said:

Today, we embark on the single most important endeavor for the future of Louisiana - bringing comprehensive ethics reform and transparency to our state

will now only have to give you his records if he feels like it. You cannot make a public records request for them. You cannot do anything. Our Governor’s office now operates in secrecy. Of course, remember the words of Jimmy Faircloth on why the Governor needs to operate in secrecy.

… the governor’s office opposed the bill because it would create problems for the governor to freely receive ideas, policy recommendations and communications from legislators and others. He also said it would create problems with investors who want to privately negotiate with the state.

It is really hard to orchastrate bribes in the form of campaign donations when you are under public scrutiny after all.  

So now Jindal has his own propaganda machine, can operate in secret without anyone knowing what he is doing, and has a Press Secretary and the rest of his handlers who will make sure that you cannot even talk to him unless they want you to. This is the exciting change that Bobby Jindal was talking about? Seems to me that the “die hard Jindal supporters” where duped! I wonder when they will finally admit it! Seems one one of them already has. Ironically, Trotsky was one of the biggest Jindal supporters who attacked me constantly (and pathetically so I might add) for daring to challenge Jindal’s sincerity on reform. What is also interesting is that the real Trotsky also started a little magazine called “Pravda”. It all comes full circle.

A Believe in Louisiana propaganda piece was supposed to run on Moon Griffon’s show that was supposed to praise Jindal for leading the effort to cut income taxes. Griffon rejected the ad and returned the money spent on it, refusing to play it on his show.

Moon said:

Gov. Jindal led the charge to cut the income taxes? That’s an outright lie,”

Rolfe, former Jindal campaign treasurer and head of Jindal’s propaganda machine replied by saying:

Moon Griffon was the only person to refuse the spot. I believe he let his personal feelings affect his judgment

However, the Advocate reports that Moon was one of Jindal’s biggest Conservative supporters. Perhaps Moon is just more principled than the other stations running the spot.

Believe in Louisiana has posted previous radio ads on its website. However, I don’t see this one posted on their website.

I also don’t see the promised disclosure of who is supporting them.

All contributions and expenditures will be publicly disclosed. Believe in Louisiana knows that complete transparency is very important to us, just as it should be in government.

Good thing I didn’t hold my breath.

Karen Carter is going to have a press conference today to respond to attacks made by “Believe In Louisiana“, Jindal’s own personal propaganda service All Children Matter. (Update from Cheron Brylski corrected who was paying for the ad. Believe in Louisiana is still a problem though).

Believe in Louisiana states:

All contributions and expenditures will be publicly disclosed. Believe in Louisiana knows that complete transparency is very important to us, just as it should be in government.

I wonder when that will happen. I won’t be holding my breath. Of course, the existence of Believe in Louisiana is to distort the actual record and make people believe that Jindal’s reforms are meaningful and will bring positive change to our state.  

When I can find audio of the ad that is being run against Carter I will post it here. I am sure it will be filled with half truths if Carter is actually doing things against the wishes of Republicans (especially Jindal). This would be a refreshing change for Carter, especially since she backed Jim Tucker for Speaker previously.

Ironically, I got this message from the “Krewe of Truth” mailing list by Cheron Brylski. Cheron is reported to have said:

“Bobby Jindal is striking a chord with Democrats. They’re saying, ‘I love Bobby Jindal and I am so glad he’s our governor’,”

She also calls Jindal “Louisiana’s last hope” and states “There is also an overwhelming pride about having a minority governor,”. Yet she is critical of Jindal’s home-schooled homeboy Timmy Teepell by stating, “The ads were supposedly ordered by Teepell to “punish” the Speaker Pro Tem for opposing the Administration’s voucher bill”.

I wonder if Brylski will continue to hold Jindal in such high esteem after his propaganda outlet attacked Karen Carter  even though his chief of staff is supposedly calling for retribution. Or will she just put the blame on Teepell only?

Update: I crossed out some of the information that was corrected on the Krewe Of Truth website. Even though it is a group from outside Louisiana pushing for the legislation and calling for Carter to support it, Krewe of Truth is still claiming that Teepell called for the ads as political retribution.

Update 2: Oyster followed the money and found some interesting information about “All Children Matter”. It is a must read.  

Recent ads have aired on TV telling people to support Bobby Jindal’s special economic session and touting Jindal’s ethics session as a success. They selectively quote some articles in the media saying that Jindal’s bills got passed but ignored the others that happened to be critical of his double standards.

The ads have the look, and smell, of a Bobby Jindal propaganda machine and it has caused me (and others) to need to dig deeper.

Looking at the “about us” page on the “Believe in Louisiana” website, they are a non-profit Corporation:

Believe in Louisiana is a nonprofit organization incorporated in the state of Louisiana, and registered as a 527 political organization under the Internal Revenue Code. All contributions and expenditures will be publicly disclosed. Believe in Louisiana knows that complete transparency is very important to us, just as it should be in government.

If you look at the entry for “Believe in Louisiana” in the Louisiana Corporation Database, you will see that the Director of it is Rolfe McCollister. Rolfe was the chair of Jindal’s transition team and was also Bobby Jindal’s treasurer for his recent campaign for Governor. He is also the publisher of the Greater Baton Rouge Business Report, a newspaper that has a conservative slant and has been shown to produce several peices of Jindal apologia.

In an article on the Believe in Louisiana 527 group, Jindal is said to have named Julio Melara (President of the Baton Rouge Business Report) to a political appointment after the creation of the group (a little quid pro quo perhaps?). It also says that Jindal is very happy that the group exists (I’m sure he is).

So, it seems to me that Believe in Louisiana is clearly the propaganda wing of the Jindal administration. Much like Pravda of the old Soviet Union, it will likely be used push the agenda of the Jindal administration and to prop up the public opinion of Jindal by only sharing the twisted truths that Jindal will have you believe. It will probably be supported by the same people who supported the LCRM. They claim that they will be “transparent”, even though 527’s do not have the same disclosure requirements as a PAC. I will believe their claims of transparency when I see them.

And I am sure that people will rush to attack those who question the motives of “Believe in Louisiana”. But just as opposing aspects of the “Patriot Act” does not imply a lack of patriotism, questioning the motives behind “Believe in Louisiana” does not imply that one does not believe in Louisiana either.