Monday, July 20, 2009
Sunday, July 19, 2009
Maggie Lee Henson and a Father's Prayer
Maggie Lee Henson is one of the students from First Baptist Church in Shreveport who was injured in the terrible accident that took the life of fourteen year old Brandon Ugarte.
Maggie is suffering from severe brain injury and is being treated at the University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson.
Maggie's dad, John Henson, is associate pastor for emerging ministries at First Baptist Church. He has written in his blog about taking Maggie to the church that morning and about his prayer that the trip would be a safe one.
Rev. Henson and his wife Jinny, needless to say, are with Maggie in Jackson.
A page has been set up at Caring Bridge that allows you to check on Maggie Lee's progress and leave comments for the family.
The Baptist Press has an article about the response in Jackson.
Please take time to say a prayer for Maggie and her parents, and visit the Caring Bridge website and let them know you care.
Maggie is suffering from severe brain injury and is being treated at the University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson.
Maggie's dad, John Henson, is associate pastor for emerging ministries at First Baptist Church. He has written in his blog about taking Maggie to the church that morning and about his prayer that the trip would be a safe one.
Rev. Henson and his wife Jinny, needless to say, are with Maggie in Jackson.
A page has been set up at Caring Bridge that allows you to check on Maggie Lee's progress and leave comments for the family.
The Baptist Press has an article about the response in Jackson.
Please take time to say a prayer for Maggie and her parents, and visit the Caring Bridge website and let them know you care.
Bigfoot, Shreveport-Bossier Tea Party and The Huffington Post
Shreveport-Bossier Tea Party organizer Rob Gaudet received some attention from The Huffington Post this week in an article by Jason Linkins. Mr. Linkins seems to be upset that Mr. Gaudet apparently has a hobby – Sasquatch, or, in our part of the world, Bigfoot. He also is ‘outing’ Mr. Gaudet for being opposed to Cap and Trade legislation.
Linkins says: But this is where it gets more interesting. According to his registered address, he lists his business as "Discover Bigfoot." It seems that Mr. Gaudet is also an active member of a community of people searching for the whereabouts of Bigfoot (aka, the Sasquatch). Yes folks. THAT Bigfoot.
Okay, aha! He is interested in Bigfoot, so he’s a nut. He opposes Cap and Trade so that makes anyone who opposes Cap and Trade a nut. AND – he organized the Shreveport-Bossier Tea Party, so that make the Tea Party people nuts.
So Bigfoot is a hobby of his? So what. I went to his YouTube channel and found it entertaining.
Big woop. I had my concerns about the local Tea Party movement and expressed them here, along with my endorsement of what they are doing. My concern was that the local movement not turn into a cheering squad for one party over the other, that it truly remain non-partisan, and that it not turn into a forum for local politicians to gain votes. Gaudet has done a great job of keeping it party-neutral and has a policy of not inviting elected officials to speak. A lot of local Tea Party organizations have marginalized themselves by having politicians speak at their events. Gaudet has not made this mistake, and that is to his credit.
True, at the Shreveport-Bossier Tea Party website you can find some blogs containing some pretty extreme views. Again, so what? It is an open forum and members are free to post their views and opinions, and yes, even write blogs. I expressed my thoughts on the forum, as others have. The important point is that the direction of the local Tea Party events has been, so far, exemplary.
You will continue to find a link to Shreveport-Bossier Tea Party in my sidebar.
Sorry Mr. Linkins, to use a great southern expression, that dog don’t hunt.
Linkins says: But this is where it gets more interesting. According to his registered address, he lists his business as "Discover Bigfoot." It seems that Mr. Gaudet is also an active member of a community of people searching for the whereabouts of Bigfoot (aka, the Sasquatch). Yes folks. THAT Bigfoot.
Okay, aha! He is interested in Bigfoot, so he’s a nut. He opposes Cap and Trade so that makes anyone who opposes Cap and Trade a nut. AND – he organized the Shreveport-Bossier Tea Party, so that make the Tea Party people nuts.
So Bigfoot is a hobby of his? So what. I went to his YouTube channel and found it entertaining.
Big woop. I had my concerns about the local Tea Party movement and expressed them here, along with my endorsement of what they are doing. My concern was that the local movement not turn into a cheering squad for one party over the other, that it truly remain non-partisan, and that it not turn into a forum for local politicians to gain votes. Gaudet has done a great job of keeping it party-neutral and has a policy of not inviting elected officials to speak. A lot of local Tea Party organizations have marginalized themselves by having politicians speak at their events. Gaudet has not made this mistake, and that is to his credit.
True, at the Shreveport-Bossier Tea Party website you can find some blogs containing some pretty extreme views. Again, so what? It is an open forum and members are free to post their views and opinions, and yes, even write blogs. I expressed my thoughts on the forum, as others have. The important point is that the direction of the local Tea Party events has been, so far, exemplary.
You will continue to find a link to Shreveport-Bossier Tea Party in my sidebar.
Sorry Mr. Linkins, to use a great southern expression, that dog don’t hunt.
Saturday, July 18, 2009
Weekly Blog Roundup 7-18-09
Time for a weekly roundup of the blogosphere. From And so it Goes in Shreveport, Surprise, surprise – the Senate votes to exclude themselves from the Obama Health Care Plan.
Greg Aymond at Central La. Politics says that it’s time for a public option in healthcare.
Todd agrees with him.
Avman doesn’t think so at the Louisiana Conservative.
Neither does Red Stick Rant.
Alexandyr Kent at Louisiana Movies is blogging about, you guessed it, movies. If you are a movie buff, you don’t need to miss his blog.
Jeff Sadow has some thoughts about Mitch Landrieu’s ambitions and Bobby Jindal’s plans.
Sherri Talley is asking ‘Is it Y’all or Ya’ll?”
Appropriately, her colleague Gerry May is blogging on the death of Walter Cronkite, a giant in his field.
And that’s the way it is . . . .
Friday, July 17, 2009
Staff Sergeant First Class John C. Beale
Posted by Pat Austin on Twitter and also on her blog And So it Goes in Shreveport by way of Sarah Way Down South.
From the commentary on the YouTube channel where it was posted:
Killed in action the week before, the body of Sergeant First Class John C. Beale was returned to Falcon Field in Peachtree City , Georgia , just south of Atlanta , on June 11, 2009 . The Henry County Police Department escorted the procession to the funeral home in McDonough , Georgia . A simple notice in local papers indicated the road route to be taken and the approximate time.
From the commentary on the YouTube channel where it was posted:
Killed in action the week before, the body of Sergeant First Class John C. Beale was returned to Falcon Field in Peachtree City , Georgia , just south of Atlanta , on June 11, 2009 . The Henry County Police Department escorted the procession to the funeral home in McDonough , Georgia . A simple notice in local papers indicated the road route to be taken and the approximate time.
Thursday, July 16, 2009
Haynesville Shale: Alive and Well in North Louisiana
The Haynesville Shale is alive and well. From Tobin Newsletter - Vol. 19, June 2009 here are some interesting statistics on leasing activity so far this year.
New Leases Posted since December 2008
(By Parish)
Bienville - 607
Bossier - 6,851
Caddo - 6,881
Claiborne - 829
DeSoto - 1,445
Webster - 265
New Leases Posted since December 2008(By Parish)
Bienville - 607
Bossier - 6,851
Caddo - 6,881
Claiborne - 829
DeSoto - 1,445
Webster - 265
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Strange Fruit: Noose Jokes are Not Okay
Audra Shay, the new chair of the Young Republicans, has apologized for her noose remarks on Facebook. In an exchange on Facebook concerning the man who had Sarah Palin hanging in effigy in his yard, she commented ‘What, no Obama Noose?’. Since it came to light, she fears that some people may take that as a racist statement, although she says that is far from the truth.
Is it? I don’t believe that her remarks were hard core racism, but they were incredibly stupid.
We are all racist at some level - often the white people who are claiming 'I don't have a racist bone in my body' (usually to a black person), are the most guilty.
In the south, we’re just a generation away from Jim Crow. When I started school in 1953, the idea of whites and blacks attending school together was a pipe dream. When I graduated from high school in 1965, it was approaching, but not yet accomplished. I never sat in a classroom with a black person until my freshman year in college.
We’re just a couple of generations away from lynchings in Bossier Parish. My grandfather, who was born in 1883, knew of a spot on Linton Road where blacks were lynched during reconstruction. He knew of one particular tree, because his mother told her children not to play near there, and why.
I have no idea if there is any historical record of this happening here, but I know that it did.
When people in the south make noose ‘jokes’, they need to be aware of what they are doing and why it is so offensive to their black neighbors.
(Yes, I understand it's free speech, and that you have a right to say it. I would only encourage you not to.)
Strange Fruit
Southern trees bear strange fruit,
Blood on the leaves and blood at the root,
Black bodies swinging in the southern breeze,
Strange fruit hanging from the poplar trees.
Pastoral scene of the gallant south,
The bulging eyes and the twisted mouth,
Scent of magnolias, sweet and fresh,
Then the sudden smell of burning flesh.
Here is fruit for the crows to pluck,
For the rain to gather, for the wind to suck,
For the sun to rot, for the trees to drop,
Here is a strange and bitter crop.
Allen Lewis
Is it? I don’t believe that her remarks were hard core racism, but they were incredibly stupid.
We are all racist at some level - often the white people who are claiming 'I don't have a racist bone in my body' (usually to a black person), are the most guilty.
In the south, we’re just a generation away from Jim Crow. When I started school in 1953, the idea of whites and blacks attending school together was a pipe dream. When I graduated from high school in 1965, it was approaching, but not yet accomplished. I never sat in a classroom with a black person until my freshman year in college.
We’re just a couple of generations away from lynchings in Bossier Parish. My grandfather, who was born in 1883, knew of a spot on Linton Road where blacks were lynched during reconstruction. He knew of one particular tree, because his mother told her children not to play near there, and why.
I have no idea if there is any historical record of this happening here, but I know that it did.
When people in the south make noose ‘jokes’, they need to be aware of what they are doing and why it is so offensive to their black neighbors.
(Yes, I understand it's free speech, and that you have a right to say it. I would only encourage you not to.)
Strange Fruit
Southern trees bear strange fruit,
Blood on the leaves and blood at the root,
Black bodies swinging in the southern breeze,
Strange fruit hanging from the poplar trees.
Pastoral scene of the gallant south,
The bulging eyes and the twisted mouth,
Scent of magnolias, sweet and fresh,
Then the sudden smell of burning flesh.
Here is fruit for the crows to pluck,
For the rain to gather, for the wind to suck,
For the sun to rot, for the trees to drop,
Here is a strange and bitter crop.
Allen Lewis
Monday, July 13, 2009
From Bayou Chicot to Nashville: James Dupré hopes to hit it big
Louisiana, and more particularly Cajun Country, is about to introduce a major player to the country music world in the person of James Dupré.
I found James on YouTube a few months ago; at one point I posted a couple of his videos on the sidebar of the blog. The native of Evangeline Parish started his YouTube channel 2 years ago this week. He has 6,619 subscribers at this point and has had 276,830 channel views.
James is in Nashville this week completing his first album.
He has a number of videos of his covers of various country stars on his YouTube channel. Check it out, I promise you will find the visit enjoyable.
Below is a video of some of his original work, a song entitled ‘Memories of Heaven’.
Shreveport anti-tax attorney Tommy Cryer sued by IRS
Last week the IRS sued Shreveport attorney Tommy Cryer in Federal Court in Shreveport to enforce an IRS Summons against him. Cryer has gained national attention in the last couple of years for his stand against the IRS.
Cryer was indicted in 2006 for 2 counts of tax evasion. The IRS claimed that Cryer had dodged pay over $73,000 in income tax by setting up a trust to receive some payments. In July of 2007 the IRS reduced the charges to willful failure to pay income tax returns. In this case, Cryer claimed that he owed no taxes, and was acquitted on both counts.
In April of this year Cryer filed suit in the United States Tax Court. The government responded by saying that Cryer owed owes $848,806.00 in Federal income tax plus $615,384.37 in section 6651(f) penalties for fraudulent failure to file tax returns, $212,201.50 in section 6651(a)(2) penalties for failure to timely pay the taxes, and $43,044.84 in section 6654 penalties for failure to timely pay estimated taxes.
Again, Cryer disputed the amount, claiming that he owes no taxes at all.
Cryer has a website, Truth Attack, that fully explains his views on tax laws and their constitutionality.
Cryer was indicted in 2006 for 2 counts of tax evasion. The IRS claimed that Cryer had dodged pay over $73,000 in income tax by setting up a trust to receive some payments. In July of 2007 the IRS reduced the charges to willful failure to pay income tax returns. In this case, Cryer claimed that he owed no taxes, and was acquitted on both counts.
In April of this year Cryer filed suit in the United States Tax Court. The government responded by saying that Cryer owed owes $848,806.00 in Federal income tax plus $615,384.37 in section 6651(f) penalties for fraudulent failure to file tax returns, $212,201.50 in section 6651(a)(2) penalties for failure to timely pay the taxes, and $43,044.84 in section 6654 penalties for failure to timely pay estimated taxes.
Again, Cryer disputed the amount, claiming that he owes no taxes at all.
Cryer has a website, Truth Attack, that fully explains his views on tax laws and their constitutionality.
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