Louisiana Voice

The TV ad blitz thus far in the U.S. Senate race has come down to two things: which candidate can suck up the most to Donald Trump. One, Rep. Julia Letlow, has Dementia Don’s endorsement while incumbent Bill Cassidy touts his “working with Trump” for the benefit of humanity—but failing to mention the inflation-feeding war with Iran.

The second thing is Cassidy’s political action committee keeps hitting challenger Letlow with all those negative ads about her insider trading, a charge that may or may not have some merit.

Insider trading. It’s an ugly term that implies exactly what one would think it does: Those in key positions, i.e. elected officials, get a heads-up on what the market is going to do and they react accordingly, amassing sudden wealth in the process.

Google any given year and one will find scores, if not hundreds of members of Congress who were confirmed as having used their positions to conduct insider trading. The practice is illegal under federal law and the STOCK Act, but because of loopholes, enforcement is practically non-existent. What Martha Stewart went to prison for is pretty much common practice and business as usual for members of Congress.

It’s an advantage the average person does not have nor will he ever have—and it’s blatantly unfair. These people are elected to represent us, not to smirk at us as they reap a fortune as a result of our putting our trust in them to do the right thing.

Bobby Jindal, for example, entered Congress as a U.S. representative in 2005 as something of an average Joe, financially speaking. Three years later he left Congress to become governor, but with substantially greater wealth, millions, in fact.

Columnist Heather Cox Richardson, a history professor at Boston College who writes a daily newsletter, today quoted economist Paul Krugman who has called evidence of insider trading by those close to Trump “treason.”

Another online news service, DAILY KOS, also quoted Krugman: “…When officers of a company or people close to them exploit confidential information for personal financial gain, that’s insider trading — which is illegal. But we have another word for situations in which people with access to confidential information regarding national security — such as plans to bomb or not to bomb another country — exploit that information for profit. That word is “treason.”

Apologists for Trump, including some of the LouisianaVoice readers, have been quick to point out that Cankle Ankles takes no salary as president.

But when a series of trades worth about $800 million are made literally minutes before a Truth Social POST from Trump in which he announced he was extending the deadline and was postponing military strikes against Iranian power plants as a result of ongoing talks with Iran, then, KRUGMAN SAY, “People close to Trump are trading based on national secrets.”

There is no nice way to put this, so I’ll let Cox-Richardson say it: “The evidence for such a claim is the sudden and isolated jump in trading volume in S&P 500 and oil futures about 15 minutes before Trump suddenly announced that the U.S. and Iran were in negotiations to end the war—an announcement that turned out to be false.”

“I’d very much like to know exactly who was making those trades yesterday morning,” Krugman wrote.

Yeah, so would we.

“Were they people directly in the know, or billionaires/traders who paid people in the know for tips?” he asked.

It’s pretty much a certainty one won’t find Trump’s name directly involved, but you can bet that being the grifter he is, if there’s a nickel to be made, he’s profiting from it–and it ain’t chump change he’s pocketing.

“When officers of a company or people close to them exploit confidential information for personal financial gain, that’s insider trading — which is illegal. But we have another word for situations in which people with access to confidential information regarding national security — such as plans to bomb or not to bomb another country — exploit that information for profit. That word is ‘treason,’” KRUGMAN WROTE.

All of which kinda makes Letlow look like an afterthought in the grand scheme of things with her alleged insider trading—not that it would excuse her for one nano-second.

And while the ad does its best to tie Letlow to Nancy Pelosi (which is one helluva stretch, by anyone’s measure, considering their respective political philosophies), insider trading is a common thread that runs through both parties with equal aplomb and shamelessness—and even more so with this administration.

…the Dow’s below 50,000; can we talk about the Epstein files now?

Four years after the fact, the Louisiana State Police (LSP) Department has been ordered to surrender a video of LSP Trooper Matthew “No Neck” Clair as he laid one across the face of a handcuffed prisoner at the Avoyelles Parish Detention Center in Marksville.

For four long years, LSP DENIED Baton Rouge TV station WAFB access to the tape of Clair popping the prisoner, who had been booked into jail on a DUI charge. So, the TV station SUED for access to the video.

You’d think LSP would finally learn after losing so many public records requests from members of the media. But noooo, they have to keep going to the well and coming up empty.

Remember how it took three years for video of the Ronald Greene beating at the hands of half-a-dozen state troopers and a Union Parish sheriff’s deputy? Three years of lying about the existence of body cam video that existed all along and now LSP is apparently stupid enough to think it can pull the same coverup again. WAFB’s early requests were met with denials of the existence of video, a denial that sounds eerily familiar to the initial Ronald Greene denials.

This time, though 19^th Judicial District Court Judge William Jorden would have none of it. Today, he ordered LSP to surrender the video depicting what has been alleged as excessive force.

First to break the news of the judge’s order was Robert Burns, owner of the Sound Off Louisiana web blog. He has been following the incident since at least March 1.

Quick to follow with its own story was WAFB, which not only posted the story but also posted the video in question. It’s the third video down in the WAFB story. To watch it and to judge for yourself whether or not excessive force was used, go HERE.

The video was from the Avoyelles Sheriff’s Office because Clair did not have his body cam on (that seems to happen a lot with state police). Clair was initially suspended without pay for 40 hours in 2022 but that discipline was later overturned on appeal when State Police Commander Col. Robert Hodges assumed command. Instead, Clair received only a non-disciplinary letter of counseling—sort of an LSP participation trophy.

State police explained that Clair, who had been a state trooper since 2006, had not received updated training on current techniques prior to the slapping incident—16 years after joining LSP. Well, hell, these things take time.

Burns quoted an unnamed state trooper who called the LSP explanation “B.S.” He told Burns, “They (LSP) train on defensive tactics every year, without fail.”

People these days are gnashing hands and wringing teeth over the threat of AI because we can no longer believe what we see is real.

But wait.

Have you seen the latest TV ad campaign of Sen. Bill Cassidy?

If not, you’re missing out on some low-brow comedy. AI has nothing on him. The ad’s MESSAGE comes down hard on his efforts to work with Donald Trump in passing tax cuts that “put more money in our pocket” by working to “change” the high costs of goods and services.

It’s truly laughable if you like dark humor. Under Trump, prices have gone but one way: up. And Cassidy has been shunned by Trump like he was the Epstein files personified. In fact, he even endorsed one of his opponents in the upcoming GOP primary, Rep. Julia Letlow.

But the funniest part of the ad is at the end when four supposed voters take turns “thanking” Cassidy for his fine work on their behalf.

Except for one important little snag. They’re not actually voters and they’re most probably not even from Louisiana.

Like the so-called clients portrayed in so many of those personal injury attorney ads, they are actors, paid by some ad agency to stand or sit in front of a camera and try to convince your life will be somehow made better by voting for him.

The only thing missing is the candidate, in shirtsleeves, coat slung over his shoulder, as he greets hardworking plant workers emerging from a long day at work.

Just a gentle reminder that what you see ain’t necessarily what you are really seeing.

In my resolve not to appear hypocritical, I will refrain from criticizing Donald Trump’s comments on the death of Robert Mueller III.

That’s because if am still alive and in control of my faculties, I’m pretty sure what my own reaction will be when and if Cankle Ankles should assume room temperature.