SEARCHING TO FIND THE GOOD LORD AND MY LEGACY!

Wednesday September 27^th8, 2023

Jerusalem, Israel

 

SEARCHING TO FIND THE GOOD LORD AND MY LEGACY!

 

     Regular readers of my weekly columns know that I write about a cross-section of issues, from politics to good eating, insurance issues, heroes, the joys of living in the country, and even who I think killed JFK. I don’t often write about spiritual issues.  But hey, give me a little leeway here. I’m eighty-three and maybe it’s time to get right with the Lord. Remember the song by Beatles’ George Harrison who wrote:

 

My sweet Lord
Hm, my Lord
I really want to see you
Really want to be with you
Really want to see you, Lord
But it takes so long, my Lord

 

     Maybe it’s taken so long, but it’s time I take a look at my spiritually.  Firm up just what I religiously believe. 

 

      Elle Wiesel is a Holocaust survivor and a Nobel Prize winning author. Our grandchildren attended the same school in New York, and we had visited about his writings before his recent death. He tells the story about Adam in the Book of Genesis, fleeing after biting into the forbidden fruit. The Lord asks him: “Ayekha, where are you?”  Of course, the creator knew where Adam was hiding.  What he was really asking was, just what have you done with your life Adam? What will your legacy be? What have you accomplished? Ayekha? 

 

     I am asking the same question of myself.  To undertake this quest, this spiritual journey if you will, I left Louisiana a few days ago and as you read this column, I’m exploring specific sites in Jerusalem.  I’m here in the Holy Land alone, and I do not consider myself a tourist.  I have a specific agenda of locations to explore, and a few people to meet and share with them just why I traveled halfway around the world to come to this complicated city. Yes, Jerusalem is complicated.  All three major religions, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, claim Jerusalem as their founding location.

 

     My base is St. George College, situated just a 10-minute walk from the Damascus Gate in the heart of the Holy City. St. George is a 100-year-old Anglican pilgrimage center that welcomes pilgrims such as myself from all around the world. I was allowed to stay there after being recommended by Rev. Randy Hollerith who is currently the Dean of Washington National Cathedral in the nation’s capital.  I have known Rev. Hollerith for several years during his visits to the North Carolina mountains where I stay a part of each summer.

 

     From my base at St. George, I will travel each day to specific locations on my agenda. At first will be a site on the Jordan River where Christ was baptized by John the Baptist.  This is where Christ’s mission on earth, at least in my opinion, really began.  Then on to the Mount of Beatitudes, a hill in Northern Israel where Christ delivered the Sermon on the Mount. I believe it was there that he no longer was observed as an obscure Rabbi, but immerged as not only a teacher, but the prophet for ages to come. Then back to Jerusalem to walk the Villa Dolorosa, following the steps of Christ in his final path to his crucifixion and his burial site.

 

     I cannot go to Jerusalem without a mandatory stop at the Holocaust Museum. And on Sunday, I will go to the Church of St. Mark where services are held in Aramaic, the original language of Jesus.

 

     What do I hope to find in my journey?  Will the Lord speak to me? Probably not, but there surely is no better place in the world to search out and explore my faith.  I will certainly meditate a good bit.  And write. To write about my past and my hopes about the future.  All in an effort to keep alive and answer the first question in the Bible.  Ayekha.  Where are you?

 

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.jimbrownla.com. You can also listen to his regular podcast at www.datelinelouisiana.com.

 

 

 

 

 

 

SHOULD TRUMP’S TRIALS BE TELEVISED? OF COURSE!

Baton Rouge, Louisiana

Monday, September 18^th, 2023

 

SHOULD TRUMP’S TRIALS BE TELEVISED?  OF COURSE!

 

President Donald Trump faces four different criminal trials in the coming months. Should each of these trials be televised for the public to watch and judge? The Supreme Court has stood steadfastly against letting the public watch the cases argued before them, even though the court’s decisions can often have major implications for every American. The Constitution guarantees that trials are public and open to everyone. So what could be more public than televising the former president’s criminal trials for the whole world to see?

The criminal justice system could use some help. A majority of Americans feel that justice often does not prevail. A nationwide poll by the respected Rasmussen Reports found that 45% of Americans feel that the justice system is unfair.   Only 34% felt that the system is unbiased.  That’s a lot of cynicism. Maybe more public trials would help skeptics gain more confidence in a system where many feel over half the time that justice is not served.

America has a strong tradition of public trials. In early colonial America, courthouses were the centers of community life, and most citizens regularly attended criminal trials. In fact, trials frequently became community events. Citizens were knowledgeable about trials, and there was wide participation in the process, especially in rural America where prosecutions were often scheduled on market day, when local farmers came to town for supplies. Many courtrooms were built to accommodate 300 or more observers.

Back then, citizens closely observed the defendants, knew when judges issued ridiculous rulings, and saw firsthand whenever justice was perverted. Whatever happened, the citizens were there, watching.  The court system belonged to them. The televising of criminal trials would merely be an extension of this direct review by the average citizen.

Would televising criminal trials create a circus atmosphere? There’s no reason to think that they would. In fact, many of our most sacred ceremonies, including church services and inaugurations, are televised without dignity being lost. Judge Burton Katz said it well: “We should bring pressure to bear on all judges to open up their courtrooms to public scrutiny. Members of the judiciary enjoy great entitlements and wield enormous power. They bear close watching by an informed public. I guarantee that the public would be amazed at what goes on in some court rooms.”

 

The trials of the former President would garner huge TV ratings, just like the Watergate Hearings and the O.J. Simpson trial. Over 150 million viewers, 57 % of the country, watched the live verdict of the Simpson trial.

 

Back in 1997 when I was a practicing attorney in Louisiana, I participated in the state’s first televised trial before the Louisiana Supreme Court. A state senator was opposing my authority to impound the automobiles of uninsured drivers.  I was the elected state Insurance Commissioner at the time, and represented the state in our effort to uphold the impoundment law. The issue was important to the vast majority of Louisianans, and I strongly felt that the public was entitled to hear the arguments and watch the trial in progress.  No one pandered to the cameras, and the entire courtroom procedure was straightforward and dignified Despite a strongly emotional and controversial issue at stake, the proceedings were televised without a hitch.

Harvard law professor and criminal defense attorney Alan Dershowitz put it this way: “Live television coverage may magnify the faults in the legal system and show it warts and all. But in a democracy, the public has the right to see its institutions in operation, close-up.  Moreover, live television coverage generally brings out the best, not the worst in judges, lawyers, and other participants.  The video camera helps to keep the system honest by keeping it open.”

 

America prides itself in being an open society that protects and encourages the public’s right to know. Too often, courtrooms have become bastions of secrecy where the public has little understanding of how the system works and how verdicts are reached.

The video camera serves as a check and balance.  We can better keep the system honest by keeping it open and easily available to the public. It’s time to turn on the cameras.

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.jimbrownla.com. You can also listen to his regular podcast at www.datelinelouisiana.com.

 

 

 

 

IT'S ALL ABOUT FOOTBALL AT LSU!

Monday, September 11^th, 2023

Baton Rouge, Louisiana

 

IT'S ALL ABOUT FOOTBALL AT LSU!

 

     I was paying my bill at the local supermarket here in Baton Rouge when the lady at the cash register asked me, “Are you going to the game in Tiger Stadium Saturday night?”  I paused for a minute, then told her: “I think my days going to Tiger Stadium are over.”  She looked disappointed and told me, “Yeah, they sure are off to a terrible start. That Florida State game was embarrassing.”

     It just wasn’t the loss that turned me off.  Yes, like so many other Tiger fans, I had such great expectations. You have this coach that is paid $10 million a year, and recruits that have been brought in from all over America.  No, it’s not the loss to Florida State.  It’s my recognition that LSU football has evolved into a professional, curated, revenue-generating activity, and we are all forced to admit that football in the Bayou State has become a professional sport.  It’s pay to play at the state’s flagship university, where every angle is used to bring in the big bucks. 

      LSU has dived headfirst into vice attractions including alcohol sales at home football games and wide-open sports betting.  In fact, the state’s major university was openly soliciting students to gamble online. Even though it’s against the law for someone in Louisiana to gamble who is under 21, LSU had been illegally soliciting students to sign up for an online account and gamble on any number of sports.  Soliciting underage students only stopped when this column pointed out this illegal effort.  So we have alcohol and gambling as cash generators at LSU.  Is cannabis next?

     The college transfer portal has allowed players to jump from school to school at will.  Thirteen new transfer players are on the LSU roster this year, with many racking up on big bucks from NIL (name, image and likeness) dollars.  There are seven football players who are bringing in as much as $700,000 based on their NIL valuation. Many of these transfers come and go, and are out the door and out of state the minute they’re eligibility is over, or they become unhappy with how much playing time they receive.

     Remember the old days when we watched Louisiana high school football players excel with their hopes of playing at LSU? And if they were lucky enough to get a scholarship and come, they stayed for four years. And for the rest their lives they considered LSU a highlight in their aging experience.  How about all American Bert Jones from Ruston, three time all American Tommy Casanova from Crowley, all American running back Kevin Faulk from Carencro, and of course everybody’s all American Billy Cannon.  All Louisiana guys who we followed from high school to their stardom at LSU, and all who went on to live and work in Louisiana. With the transfer portal in play, those days are gone.

     Every athlete on scholarship at LSU receives a baseline deal of $25,000.  Better players collect much more, and many even have agents representing them. Players are no longer college kids but are considered employees of the university.

     I understand that athletes are told there are three priorities at LSU.  Number one is football, number two is football, and number three?  Why football of course. The Wall Street Journal released it’s ranking of colleges across the United States this week.  LSU academically came in at 199^th.

      Head football coach Brian Kelly summed up the university’s thinking when he talked about his former coaching job at Notre Dame. Kelly told ESPN that “the whole landscape there is different than it is here. It just is. There are priorities at Notre Dame. The architectural building needed to get built first. They ain’t building the architect building here first. We’re building the athletic training facility first.”  Well put Coach. To hell with academics. It’s all about football.

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.jimbrownla.com. You can also listen to his regular podcast at www.datelinelouisiana.com.

 

 

 

 

SINGER OLIVER ANTHONY-RESPECTING WORKERS AND DISRESPECTING POLITICIANS!

Monday, September 4^th, 2023

Baton Rouge, Louisiana

 

SINGER OLIVER ANTHONY-RESPECTING WORKERS AND DISRESPECTING POLITICIANS!

 

I am really confused about what’s going on in this country today.  At one time, the conventional wisdom was that the Democrats were for the blue-collar workingman, and the Republicans were for upper crust elites.  Now country music songs have entered the philosophical fray, and it’s hard to tell who is for what.

 

I wrote a column a few weeks ago about country music star Jason Aldean’s smash hit, “Try That in a Small Town.” The reaction from city dwelling columnists, particularly on the East Coast, was simply farcical and ridiculous. Now a new country hit that has also stirred up both widespread support as well and criticism has created another political divide.

 

Until a few weeks ago, Oliver Anthony was just a high school dropout who was living in his camper with a tarp over the roof.  But his self-written song, “Rich Men North of Richmond,” has come out of nowhere to be the number one song on the Billboard hot 100 chart.  This song has a pretty simple message.  The average working guy is getting screwed over by the system, while corporate heads are making off like bandits with huge salary packages.

 

 

 

I’ve been sellin’ my soul, workin’ all day
Overtime hours for bullsh– pay
So I can sit out here and waste my life away
Drag back home and drown my troubles away

It’s a damn shame what’s the worlds gotten to

For people like me and people like you

 

Sounds like the long-standing mantra of the Democratic Party going back to FDR who spoke about “the forgotten man,” or Robert Kennedy’s lament for “the shattered dreams of others.”  But wait!  Democratic publications are labeling the song right wing propaganda and “racist trash,” while Republicans are calling the song the “anthem of forgotten Americans.” Fox News even began their recent presidential debate with the song and asked all the candidates to weigh in on it.

 

Anthony may be on to something when he talks about the lousy pay that average blue-collar workers are receiving. The Bureau of Labor Statistics has reported that blue-collar earnings were higher in 1969, adjusted for inflation, then they are today.  We talk a lot in this country today about race, but few politicians seem upset about class. In fact, many in the more liberal press label the white working class, particularly in the south, as little more than bigots. Harvard professor Michael Sandel, in his book “What’s Become of the Common Good?” argues that we live in an age of winners and losers, where the odds are stacked in favor of the already fortunate. The American credo that “you can make it if you try,” just doesn’t seem to work anymore.

 

Anthony rejects any political labels and considers himself “just some idiot and his guitar.”  He says that his song is meant to blast politicians on both sides of the political spectrum.  He’s very vocal in lamenting that “people talk about epidemics in this country, and the homelessness, and the drug use and the lack of skilled labor and the suicide rates. Those aren’t problems; those are symptoms of a bigger, universal problem…. We don’t talk about it enough.”

 

He picks up on a theme I wrote about some weeks back about the fact that fentanyl imported from Mexico kills over 70,000 Americans a year, yet we just don’t get that excited about such a crisis.  Losing hope and self-medicating has created a social great depression.  Columnist Nicholas Kristof points out that we lose more Americans to “deaths of despair” every 10 days than the total of all the service members killed in two decades of war in Afghanistan in Iraq.

 

The singer is apparently hitting a responsive note.  Internet sales of “Anthony for President” T-shirts are booming. His simple premise makes a lot of sense. Quit scorning our workers and give them a little respect.  Seems to make a lot of common sense for politicians in both parties to latch on 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.jimbrownla.com. You can also listen to his regular podcast at www.datelinelouisiana.com.