Top 10 Redstick Stories Monday, Dec 21 2009

Update:  #8 indicates drops in sales tax revenue for East Baton Rouge Parish.  The Advocate released information that sales tax revenues for 2009 decreased by 6%, less than $2.7 million from the previous year.  Will Mayor-President Kip Holden adjust the city-parish budget now, or continue to be a spendthrift?

2009 is coming to a close, and it seems everyone is choosing their Top 10 Stories in East Baton Rouge Parish.  Unfortunately, at least from my perspective, it doesn’t seem that those stories are truly representative of what happened in the Red Stick.  So, I thought I would share my personal take on what impacted us as a community including the Good, the Bad and the Ugly.

1. GOOD:  The swearing-in of new Metro Council members that are actively engaged and more representative of our community.  One example is Councilman Joel Boe’ who defied odds by leading the charge to include the entire parish in Mayor Holden’s proposed bond issue/tax increase.  This resulted in verbal attacks against Boe’ from the Mayor, but won the respect of voters and citizens in the Red Stick. 
2. BAD:  An apparent escalation in violent crime in the Red Stick is definitely the tip of the iceberg in our community.  As 2009 approaches the same number of murders as 2010, it is painful at best to watch the daily news.  By August 1, murders were already 48% higher than the previous year.  UPDATE:  The Advocate reported a record high for murders in East Baton Rouge Parish of 86 murders (75 in the city limits and 11 outside the city limits) .  What happened to Mayor Holden’s no tolerance for crime in the Red Stick?
3. UGLY:  Mayor Kip Holden is accused of having an affair, and turns on his alleged accusers by demanding a federal investigation.  After Holden claims he knows who is behind the expose’, he names numerous parties one at a time to no avail in a desperate attempt to put the focus on others.  The only thing Holden accomplishes is showing his character and consistent tendency to attack others.
4. GOOD:  For the first time that I can remember, more citizens in East Baton Rouge Parish engaged in a proposed bond issue/tax increase.  With standing room only, EBRP Metro Council meetings took on hundreds of voters both for and against the bond issue.  Seeing our community become actively engaged in a critical issue that could have affected our parish over the next 30 years was refreshing and exciting!
5. BAD:  Learning that Mayor Kip Holden and his entourage withheld critical information from the Metro Council and voters regarding his proposed tax increase/bond issue.  No doubt, it was the kiss of death to an untimely plan to build a “Holden Legacy” that our children would pay for over the next 30 years.  It was a huge blunder to build a campaign with dishonest intentions.
6. UGLY:  The personal attack on Lee Domingue, candidate for Senate District 16′s beloved seat in the Red Stick.  Domingue laid his past failures open for all to read about in his book Pearls of the King.  His faith was attacked, and so was his church, Healing Place, and Pastor, Dino Rizzo.  To add insult to injury, the Pennington’s power and money reached down to the front page of The Advocate in an attempt to discredit Domingue about a seven-year old business disagreement.  It proved the point that Baton Rouge still has a small town mentality.
7. GOOD:  Thousands of voters paid a visit to the Louisiana State Capitol to voice their disdain for the national stimulus package.  Made possible by the Red Stick Tea Party, citizens once again made the argument that wasteful government spending must end. 
8. BAD:   Sales tax revenues continued to drop in the Red Stick resulting in a 4.64 decrease as of October, 2009.  Instead of paying attention to the Mayor and BRAC’s elusive reports of how the economy has not touched the Red Stick, the facts say otherwise.  Though Holden claims services will not be cut, it is inevitable that you cannot experience a reduction in income without a consideration in spending cuts.
9. UGLY:  In a small downtown office in the Red Stick, a Ponzi scheme was birthed which took hundreds of trusting people to the cleaners.  Today, Stanford is a name that brings even the strongest of our citizens to their knees.  An estimated $8 billion scheme confiscated life savings and retirement funds from a large Baton Rouge contingency. Offshore banks, international funds and prospectus reports that were highly inflated devastated far too many of our Red Stick citizens.  Perhaps it is more proof that when it seems to good to be true, perhaps it is?
10. GOOD:  LSU baseball Coach Paul Mainieri brought back the gold by clinching the 2009 College World Series title.  Mainieri also was honored as National Coach of the Year and Southeastern Coach of the Year for 2009.  Tiger fans retained the prestigious position of #1 in attendance in the nation, and enjoyed a luxurious new Tiger Box Stadium that rivals the best in the country.

Although life contains the good, the bad and the ugly, it is truly my hope that 2010 will bring more of the good and that we will learn from the bad and ugly of this year. 

Those things considered to be bad or ugly in the Red Stick surround the misuse of power in ethics, moral and criminal behavior.  Anytime someone takes the position that they can exercise power over others with no regard for their life or well-being, suffering is imminent.

The good things in our community were all made possible by the gathering together of citizens that care about our community and were willing to engage in what is important in the Red Stick. 

If we continue to invest in the greater good, surely we will have a fruitful year in 2010. 

Until next time,

Red Stick Republican

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Day 6 of the Hostage Situation Friday, Apr 10 2009

Today is Friday, April 10th, Day 6 of the Red Stick Hostage Situation.  

What began as a protest by a handful of belligerent reporters and political pundits has turned into a hostage situation in the capital city of Louisiana, known as the Red Stick.

As we understand the facts, fuel was added to the protest by a couple of disgruntled attorneys and a dysfunctional family, creating what is now commonly referred to as ‘the ‘hunting dog siege’.   (The name was donned when certain individuals were not properly ‘rewarded’, as hunting dogs are, when they stalk their prey.)

The first hostage that was taken was Governor Bobby Jindal when he evidently refused to play politics in a manner they were accustomed to in certain circles.  Jindal’s stand against abortion and same sex marriage, as well as his promotion of sexual castration of sex offenders and the teaching of intelligent design in the classroom immediately set him on the opposite side of these ‘political terrorists’.

The second hostage to be taken was Rolfe McCollister, Jr., publisher of the Baton Rouge Business Report.  McCollister served as Jindal’s finance chairman, and uses the opinion page of his news publication to discuss his personal political views, which are often at odds with the disgruntled group.

The third hostage was Lee Domingue, a candidate in the District 16 Senate race.  Domingue is a successful businessman who authored a book openly sharing his past, a message of hope and forgiveness – all of which angered the group vehemently.

The temperature rose when the capturers discovered that all of these men, including Pastor Dino Rizzo of Healing Place Church and Julio Melara, president of the BR Business Report (also hostages) chose to support Domingue for Senate.  Obviously, this did not set well with the group of protesters, and they set out to ‘teach these men a lesson’ by attempting a coup d’etat.

According to confidential sources, requests were made by the hostage-takers to ‘do as we say, but not as we do’.  When these men did not respond as requested, the protesters became perplexed, frustrated, and struck out in a plan that made Hillary Clinton’s ‘vast right wing conspiracy’ look like child’s play.  This is when the hostage situation elevated to a code red.

(Allow me to lower my voice to a whisper so the hostage-takers cannot hear me.)  

Perhaps the most interesting facet of this hostage situation is that the hostages are not being held hostage at all, but evidently the protesters are blind to this fact!

Just yesterday, all of the hostages were seen going about their merry ways doing what they are committed to doing in life.  McCollister was evidently running his publication, Jindal was serving as Governor as well as traveling freely about the country in fundraising efforts, Rizzo was ’caught’ pastoring his church and reaching out to his congregation, and Domingue was actually back at work in his successful business. 

All to the unseeing eyes of the hostage-takers, who are convinced they are ‘in control’.  (snicker)

It seems unfortunate that they are under the false assumption that any of these men really care about their demands.  More so, how on earth can they not realize that the only hostages are their own selves?

Nevertheless, we will continue to cover the unfolding story of the Hostage Situation in the Red Stick.  If nothing more, it’s good banter for us, and keeps our minds off of any progress their ‘invisible candidate’ may, or may not, be making on our behalf.

Until next time,

Red Stick Republican

 

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The Pearls of Politics Wednesday, Apr 8 2009

Pastor Dino Rizzo and the Healing Place took enormous heat for Rizzo’s personal support of candidate Lee Domingue.  This is baffling given the history of church and pastoral involvement in politics in the Red Stick.

It’s no secret that pastors and churches in the Red Stick have been actively involved in political races through the years. 

As one Baptist pastor said, “If you read the scriptures, Jesus was involved in the politics of Palestine”.  Another pastor said, “There is a working relationship between pastors and politicians that’s often not talked about”.  No truer words were spoken.

For years, it has been common knowledge that the doors of churches in the Red Stick have flung open for political forums.  These actions have often been followed by the support of pastors for particular candidates based on their faith and common beliefs in what is right for the community they pastor.

Some names of churches that come to mind, that are easily verifiable through The Advocate archives, are Jefferson Baptist Church, Mt Pilgrim Baptist Church, New Gideon Baptist Church, Woodlawn Baptist Church, and Shiloh Missionary Baptist Church – all listed in past articles of The Advocate for their political involvement in the Red Stick.

No one seemed to take issue with the barage of letters written for or against specific candidates by Pastor Tommy French.  Neither has anyone criticized the list of black pastors that supported Mayor Kip Holden, including Reverand Raymond Jetson.  Sheriff Sid Gautreaux was endorsed publicly by several pastors during his political race.  None of these pastors or churches were criticized, even though the personal lifestyles of their candidates have been questioned sorely for lacking christian character.

Faith-based organizations in the Red Stick have also hosted forums and wound up working ‘behind the scenes’ with specific candidates running for political office.  WIN (Working Interfaith Network), and the Interfaith Federation of Baton Rouge, a 60-congregation membership of Christian and Jewish churches in the Red Stick,  have been very active politically through writing letters, and inviting politicians to speak to their congregations.  Flyers are often generated and passed out as members exit church on Sunday encouraging them to support candidates.  Oops, maybe I shouldn’t have mentioned that? 

The Greater Baton Rouge Federation of Churches and Synagogues is well known as an active political machine in the Red Stick.  Members of all of these organizations have donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to political candidates, though the organization itself is dissallowed by the IRS from making church contributions. 

They are many politically-savvy ministers – involved, in touch, and actively working with and for politicians and candidates.  In fact, election day activities are often run out of church annexes with members being paid for hauling getting out the vote.

To date, I have not seen any of these faith-based organizations, pastors or churches called out for these hands-on political activities. 

Yet, Dino Rizzo and Healing Place Church were targeted numerous times during the Senate District 16 race.  The truth is, this is the ultimate discrimination by political pundits.  It’s the politics of old we abhor. 

I do not know Dino Rizzo, but I have watched his service on TV numerous Sunday mornings.  He is, obviously, a man of faith that is grounded in the word of God and has been active in the Red Stick community for over a decade.   

Why shouldn’t Rizzo stand behind someone he personally knows and believes in for political office?  

Why discriminate against one pastor, but turn your head when other men of God are deeply involved in Red Stick politics?

Dino Rizzo and Healing Place Church has all the ‘gravitas’ they need in this community, and supporting someone he believes in, for political office, will not affect his standing in the Red Stick.  His pearls of wisdom are needed and wanted in our community.  That is, unless you consider yourself swine?

Until next time,

Red Stick Republican

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