PARTISAN EXTREMISTS WANT TO KEEP US DIVIDED!

Monday, July 31^st, 2023

Baton Rouge, Louisiana

 

PARTISAN EXTREMISTS WANT TO KEEP US DIVIDED!

 

     Is this never going to end?  Both left and right wingers continue to lash out with charges filled with rumors and innuendo on issues that seem pretty reasonable to me. I don’t know about you, but I’m getting sick and tired of politicians, and some columnists in the news media stirring up controversy that goes beyond what reasonable people believe. Isn’t it about time that we quit thinking about every little disagreement having two sides where you are supposed to agree or disagree? Life is more complicated.  It’s not always black and white. (Oops, can I still use that phrase?) Sometimes the color should be red, white, and blue.

     This time, it’s the right-wing conspirators who are up in arms. What has stirred up Let me give you a few examples of how one side of the political spectrum can go way overboard. In my column last week, I wrote about country singer Jason Aldean’s new song, “Try That in a Small Town” that has critics unhinged. Liberal voices charge that the song is a violent retribution against outsiders. That’s ridiculous. To me, it’s simply about taking care of our neighbors, respecting our country, being loyal and patriotic. Anything other than that is way off the mark.

     So what do we have this week?  their dander?  It’s a movie. Not just any movie, but the film that is breaking all records for box office success. It’s Barbie that is causing all the backlash. That’s right! A film about a doll has many right wingers shaking in their boots over the damage this film may cause to millions of Americans.  That’s what they were saying. I kid you not.

     Here's what reviewer Sarah Vine says in the Daily Mail.  “It’s a deeply anti-man movie.  Every male character is either an idiot, a bigot, or a sad, rather pathetic loser.”  I don’t know about this. The Ken doll seems pretty content in his dealings with Barbie.

     Then there is a conservative Texas Senator Ted Cruz, who has charged that the Barbie film is pushing Chinese propaganda. There is a map in one of the scenes, that some like Cruz say the background pictures show disputed territory in the south China Sea.  I looked at it, and all it shows is squiggles and dotted lines that, using Shakespeare’s words, “All signify nothing.”  But that has not stopped Cruz from running to one media outlet after the other with this conspiracy theory.

     And we have right wing congressman Matt Getz, who expressed concern that Barbie “neglects to address any notion of faith or family.” Hey Matt! If you haven’t noticed, she’s a doll.  And the congressman’s trepidations did not stop him from dressing up in pink and taking along his wife to attend a Barbie party at the British Embassy in Washington.

     The film also received the wrath of conservative radio commentators such as Ben Shapiro, who burned Barbie dolls in a YouTube video.  He then called Barbie a “flaming garbage heap of a film” and “one of the most woke movies I have ever seen.”  But then he went to see the film and dressed up like the costar of the movie. Hey Ben. It’s just a MOVIE!

      So just what has all of his criticism done at the box office for Barbie?  It grossed more than $200 million at the U.S.  box offices in its first five days in theaters, shattering the record for biggest opening for a film, and has headed towards $500 million in ticket sales worldwide.  I’m sure the producers of the film are cheering on their critics who are keeping the film in the news and giving it massive publicity.

     Here's the bottom line. These partisan extremists on both of the left and the right want to keep America divided. They feed on division and dysfunction.  We should be able to have a difference of opinion without the extreme exaggerations that we see in our country today.  Listen to the country song one more time and go see the movie. I liked them both without even thinking about any political interpretations. I hope you do to.

Peace and Justice

Jim Brown

Jim Brown’s syndicated column appears each week in numerous newspapers throughout the nation and on websites worldwide. You can read all his past columns and see continuing updates at http://www.jimbrownusa.com. You can also listen to his regular podcast at www.datelinelouisiana.com.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“TRY THAT IN A SMALL TOWN” HAS CRITICS UNHINGED!

Monday, July 24^th, 2023

Baton Rouge, Louisiana

CRITICS OF SMALL TOWN LIVING!

I grew up listening to classical music. That’s all I played in my truck when I was living in the small town of Ferriday. You know what I mean. My list of classical masterpieces were by Louisiana singers included melodies from the likes of Jerry Lee Lewis, Mickey Gilley, Lainey Wilson, and Tim McGraw.  They all came from my part of the state in Northeast, Louisiana. Yep, I Iove country music.

I’ve also listened for a good while to Jason Aldean, a Georgia native who wrote one of my favorites, “Dirt Road Anthem,” about small town livin’ and the joy of driving backwoods dirt roads.  But he sure has stirred up a hornet’s nest with his latest song “Try that in a Small Town.”  The reaction from city dwelling columnists has been farcical and ridiculous.

The song “is a fantasy of violent retribution against outsiders” says The Washington Post.  Variety Magazine chimed in by calling the song close to being the most cynical song ever written about the implicit moral superiority of having a limited number of neighbors.”  A liberal Tennessee legislator demanded that “We have an obligation to condemn Jason Aldean’s heinous song calling for racist violence. What a shameful vision of gun extremism and vigilantism.”

Wow!  Pretty heavy criticism. Let’s take a look at the lyrics to see what all this outrage is about.

Sucker punch somebody on a sidewalk
Carjack an old lady at a red light
Pull a gun on the owner of a liquor store
Ya think it’s cool, well, act a fool if ya like

Cuss out a cop, spit in his face
Stomp on the flag and light it up
Yeah, ya think you’re tough

Well, try that in a small town
See how far ya make it down the road
Around here, we take care of our own
You cross that line, it won’t take long
For you to find out, I recommend you don’t
Try that in a small town.

 What’s all the fuss about?  Are those who are outraged by the song in favor of sucker punches, carjacking and stomping on the flag?  And where is all this outrage over thousands of hip-hop lyrics that are laced with four letter words and calls for outright criminal violence?  Apparently these same critics of Aldean are OK with an exaggerated imagery of rappers being violent and proudly degenerate.

So what has been the effect of Aldean’s headline-making hit?  As of last week, the song occupied the No. 1 spot on iTunes’ Top Songs and Music Videos charts.  The song, which was released May 19, has over 3.8 million Spotify streams.  Over on YouTube, the music video, which dropped just two weeks ago, has over 1.8 million views. It also holds the No. 4 spot on the site’s trending music videos.  All the criticism has done is shoot the song to the top of the charts.

Here is what Jason Aldean says the song means to him.  “‘Try That in a Small Town,’ for me, refers to the feeling of a community that I had growing up, where we took care of our neighbors, regardless of differences of background or belief. Because they were our neighbors, and that was above any differences.”

When I listen to the words, I hear thoughts of looking out for one another, respecting our country, loyalty, patriotism, and decent moral values.  And I ask myself, what could be wrong with a song like that?

Peace and Justice

Jim Brown

Jim Brown’s syndicated column appears each week in numerous newspapers throughout the nation and on websites worldwide. You can read all his past columns and see continuing updates at http://www.jimbrownusa.com. You can also listen to his regular podcast at www.datelinelouisiana.com.

 

 

 

 

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LOUISIANA PROPERTY OWNERS BEGGING FOR RELIEF!

Monday, July 17^th, 2023

Baton Rouge, Louisiana

 LOUISIANA PROPERTY OWNERS BEGGING FOR RELIEF!

Can you afford your property insurance in Louisiana?  Rates across the state continue to go up. The legislature just finished its regular session, and no viable solutions were offered.  Headlines in national publications blurted out: “Louisiana insurance market is collapsing!” All the insurance department has come up with is to give grants to a number of smaller insurance companies.  Our U.S. Senator John Kennedy was right on the mark when he said “We tried that one. It blew up in our face.” 

The state-run insurance company, Citizens Property Insurance Company, now charges as much as an 83% increase. Citizens was proposed some years back by the insurance department and created by the Louisiana legislature.  It has proven to be a disaster from the get-go.

If anyone could find any wiggle room to keep property rates from rising, it would be me. After all, I was insurance commissioner for 12 years.  So how are my rates affected?  My office is located above the floodplain on one of the highest points in Baton Rouge, the building is only several years old and in excellent condition, and I’ve never had a claim.  My property insurance bill rose by 25% from last year.

NBC news recently did an expose’ on the Louisiana crisis, quoting critics as saying many companies failed to buy enough reinsurance, and that the state Department of Insurance should have prevented those mistakes from happening.  “This is not a fluke of statistical bad luck. This was very clearly a political decision that the Department of Insurance made to undercapitalized insurance companies to allow them to make more profit on the front end and with the state taking the risk on the back end,” said Jesse Keenan, a real estate professor at Tulane University who studies climate change and the economy. “This is about politics,” he said.

Insurance companies operating in Louisiana argue that they need these high rates because of all the lawsuits. But a series of laws were passed by the legislature three years ago that put limits on a policyholder’s right to sue their insurance company. The end result? Policyholders suffered, and insurance rates continued to rise.

Insurance companies do have a legitimate claim that the cost of buying reinsurance has risen dramatically. Let me tell you why reinsurance is so important. When an insurance company has sold too many policies that might jeopardize their financial standing, they buy insurance just like you and I do. The insurance company goes to a “wholesaler” or a reinsurer to cover a portion of their losses. Kind of like the bookie laying off part of his bet.  The insurance company gives up a portion of the premium to buy their own insurance coverage in case the losses potentially get too high.  

The problem is that no one Is keeping an eye on the reinsurers.  Most of the major reinsurers backing up American insurance companies are located in England, Switzerland, Germany, and Italy.  They pretty much can charge whatever they want, and their prices are going up and up.

Here’s what needs to be done. The United States is a major market for reinsurers operating out of Europe. Insurance commissioners should make it clear that they will not allow reinsurers to sell in their states unless they are examined to protect policy holders.  They should be treated just like US insurance companies that are regulated by states throughout the country.

Louisiana by the way is a huge market for reinsurers. Look at all the major risks that need to be re-insured. Chemical plants and oil companies up and down the Mississippi River, several nuclear power plants, as well as five of the largest ports in the US.  These reinsurers want to do business in Louisiana, but they need to be regulated by the Department of Insurance.

In addition, as this column has been arguing for years, congress should create a national reinsurance backstop similar to the terrorism insurance program, which guarantees that the government will step in and help cover catastrophic losses once they reach a certain dollar amount.

These suggestions will not force insurance rates to take a major drop. But they will stabilize a volatile insurance market that has made the cost of property insurance unaffordable for thousands of Louisiana homeowners. The issue of insurance reform should, hopefully, be a major point of discussion in this year’s gubernatorial elections.

Jim Brown

Jim Brown’s syndicated column appears each week in numerous newspapers throughout the nation and on websites worldwide. You can read all his past columns and see continuing updates at http://www.jimbrownusa.com. You can also listen to his regular podcast at www.datelinelouisiana.com.

 

 

 

 

ARE WE LOSING AM RADIO?

Monday, July 10^th, 2023

Baton Rouge, Louisiana

ARE WE LOSING AM RADIO?

 I’ve been a regular AM radio listener for most of my life.  And now I am terribly disappointed that AM radio stations are under siege.  We are learning that a number of major auto companies are giving up on AM radio. They will not include access to these hundreds of stations in their new vehicles coming off the assembly line. And the reasons for doing so seem quite weak.

I cannot recall a time in my 83 years where AM radio wasn’t both available and an active part in my daily living.  As a young kid before TV was available, my family would go to church on Sunday evening, then stop off at the local ice cream store for a quart of chocolate chip ice cream. We headed home to gather around the radio and listen to the weekly episode of Blondie and Dagwood.  There were also Saturday morning cowboy radio shows. Many younger readers may not have had that wonderful experience pre- television, but I remember those programs well.

During my teenage years, Rock ‘n’ Roll was in its early stages, and we regularly gathered around the radio to listen to Bill Haley and the Comets, Bo Diddley, Ray Charles and other great musicians.  We never missed listening to Casey Kasem, the smooth-voiced radio broadcaster who became the king of the top 40 countdown. In my 20s during my early years in politics, AM radio was my way of communicating with voters throughout my senatorial district.  As I ran for several statewide offices, my first stop as I toured the state making speeches was the local AM radio station.

In my 30s, I discovered how much I loved opera, and rarely missed a Saturday afternoon presentation by the Metropolitan Opera Company in New York, regularly broadcast on AM radio. And how far away could the signal carry? I remember being in Williamsburg, Virginia on a National Guard training mission, and listened on a Saturday night to LSU football being broadcast on WWL AM radio over 1000 miles away.

Up until recently, I hosted a nationally syndicated radio program on the Genesis Radio Network to hundreds of stations all across the US.  Many listeners, particularly in mountainous regions throughout the country, wrote in to tell me that their television signals were often quite weak, and my program on A&M radio was their means of staying in touch with news and entertainment.  During a number of hurricanes, I broadcast throughout the night to flood victims, who had no electricity.  In many instances, as the flood waters were rising, the portable AM radio was often the only source for a listener to find out information about the weather, and where to turn to for emergency help.

Now, this means of listening for millions of Americans will be a thing of the past.   A number of European car makers, including Audi, BMW, Porsche, Volkswagen, and Volvo have stopped including AM radio in their vehicles. Tesla no longer offers AM radio and Ford has announced it will drop it from electric pick-up trucks.

The reasoning is that hybrids and EVs supposedly have electrical systems that interfere with an AM radio signal. But technicians tell me that this is for cost savings, and that barely moving a few parts around or shielding the radios could solve the problem. Over 47 million listeners now tune in to AM radio, but this choice may well be fading away.

If the worst scenario comes about and AM radio continues to diminish, I suppose I’ll be able to live without it.  But the medium of AM radio has been an important part of my life, both as a listener and a broadcaster, and many listeners out there no doubt feel the same way.  Future generations, at least in my opinion, will have missed something quite special.Peace and Justice

Jim Brown

Jim Brown’s syndicated column appears each week in numerous newspapers throughout the nation and on websites worldwide. You can read all his past columns and see continuing updates at http://www.jimbrownusa.com. You can also listen to his regular podcast at www.datelinelouisiana.com.

 

 

KENNEDY -STOP MEXICAN DRUG FLOW!

Monday, July 3^rd, 2023

Baton Rouge, Louisiana

 

KENNEDY -STOP MEXICAN DRUG FLOW!

 

     U.S. Senator John Kennedy owes the Mexican people an apology. That is, according to the Mexican ambassador to the United States as well as the Baton Rouge Morning Advocate. The reason? Well because our Louisiana Senator is being too verbally tough on Mexico.  So is he? 

 

     Here’s the background.  At a recent hearing of the Senate Appropriations subcommittee that was reviewing the drug enforcement administration budget, the Senator had some choice words to say about Mexican drug cartels making and smuggling fentanyl, a synthetic opioid into the United States. Kennedy rightly pointed out that fentanyl coming into the US from Mexico has killed hundreds of thousands of Americans in recent years.  

 

     Now we can agree that the Senator often uses colorful language.  After pointing out the vast difference in the economies of Mexico and the US, he went on to say that “Without the people of America, Mexico figurately speaking, would be eating cat food out of a can and living in a tent behind an Outback.”  Kennedy then told the DEA Director that she should get the President to join her in “getting on the phone and calling Mexican president Lopez Obrador and make him a deal he can’t refuse to allow our military and our law-enforcement officials to go into Mexico and work with them to stop the cartels.”

 

     Sounds like a pretty reasonable proposal. After all, the US has vast technical resources and law-enforcement expertise that would certainly be a great help in weeding out these drug dealers that have killed so many Americans.  But from the reaction of Mexico as well as with some press outlets in the US, you would have thought that the Louisiana Senator was calling for an all-out invasion. The Mexican ambassador to the United States went bonkers.

 

     “I don’t think the people of Louisiana feel represented by the vulgar and racist words you used,” stated the ambassador. (Hmmm. Since when does eating cat food out of a can signify being a racist?)  He went on to say, “You are obliged to offer an apology to your citizens because what you asserted is not worthy of the state of Louisiana, known for being a cultural melting pot.”  

 

     One of our state newspapers, The Morning Advocate, was chopping to jump in. “It seems the Senator has embarrassed us once again, by launching into an over- the-top rant against Mexico while deploying his phony ‘Foghorn Leghorn’ accent.” The paper went on to say that Kennedy has “caused an international incident.”  Wow! Actually, I’m pretty impressed that the Senator has the power to stir up search “international” outrage.

 

     Here are the facts. The United States has been flooded with illegal drugs flowing in from Mexico.  Fentanyl is the new popular drug that killed some 72,000 people in our nation last year alone. And the number of deaths is dramatically increasing. Again, these drugs are pouring in from Mexico, and the Mexican government seems to be unable or unwilling to put in place some harsh procedures to curtail such influx.

 

     When three thousand Americans were killed in the 9/11 attacks, our citizens demanded that our government rise up to the occasion, and take whatever means necessary to catch the perpetrators and see that it did not happen again. So without asking, our country sent troops into Pakistan, Afghanistan, another Middle East nations. We now have over 70,000 Americans that have been killed, not with bombs, but with illegal drugs.  Do we expect our country to stand around and not take decisive action?

 

     Kennedy is not suggesting that the American military invade Mexico. He specifically said they our officials should work with the Mexican government to put a stop to the cartels. What reasonable person could object to that?

 

     Louisiana’s US senator has gained notoriety for his aggressive and lively commentary.  Some say it’s a big corn pone, particularly from a highly educated public official. But that’s his style, and voters in Louisiana, who have elected him repeatedly by big margins, don’t seem to have a problem with his aggressive and sometimes off beat bravura. 

 

      If Mexican officials want to quiet down Kennedy, they might begin by becoming much more aggressive in stopping the flow of drugs from Mexico and the U.S. That’s the best way to get the Senator to turn his Southern barbs in a different direction.

 

Peace and Justice

 

Jim Brown

 

Jim Brown’s syndicated column appears each week in numerous newspapers throughout the nation and on websites worldwide. You can read all his past columns and see continuing updates at http://www.jimbrownusa.com. You can also listen to his regular podcast at www.datelinelouisiana.com.