FREEDOMS ON 4TH OF JULY

Monday, June 29th, 2026

Baton Rouge, Louisiana

 

FREEDOMS ON 4^TH OF JULY

 

        Independence Day to most Americans means a three-day weekend with gatherings of family and friends, barbecues, parties, games, food, parades, baseball games and fireworks.  Traditionally, most of us know that July 4^th is the recognition and celebration of our country’s independence from an oppressive government.  But this mid-summer special day is really only about one thing.  Freedom.

 

Most Americans agree on the importance of safeguarding basic freedoms protected by the Constitution.  But here’s where it gets a little murky.  Do we have to give up certain of these freedoms to be safe and secure? The current and past presidents, one Democrat and one Republican, think that there are tradeoffs, and that individual freedoms have to be compromised for the sake of security. In order to combat crime and terrorism, they say, it is necessary for the government to take away certain freedoms and civil rights. In the realities of the 21^st century, is our Constitution “out of date?” Both parties in Washington would have you believe so.

 

In the opinion of a majority of both Democrats and Republicans, freedom has to make way for safety concerns.  That disturbing view manifested itself in the recent passage of the so-called Patriot Act.  In the name of fighting terrorism, members of Congress drove a stake through the heart of the Bill of Rights.

 

Here is what members of Congress did in their Patriot Act vote.  As listed by Constitutional scholar Judge Andrew Napolitano, they authorized and empowered federal agents on their own, “in violation of the Constitution, and without you knowing it, to obtain records about you from your accountant, bank, boat dealer, bodega, book store, car dealer, casino, computer server, credit union, dentist, HMO, hospital, hotel manager, insurance company, jewelry store, lawyer, library, pawn broker, pharmacist, physician, postman, real estate agent, supermarket, tax collectors, telephone company, travel agency, and trust company, and use the evidence thus obtained in any criminal prosecution against you.”

 

So here’s the tragic irony.  On this special 4th of July weekend, when we celebrate our independence and our right to be free, we are being told by our leaders in Washington that, yes, America fought a war with the British, and over the past 250 years continued to fight wars to protect our freedom from foreign governments.  But nevertheless, now, we have no choice but to let our own government compromise these same freedoms that we have sacrificed so much to maintain and protect.

 

Judge Napolitano hit the nail on the head when he said on Fox News that our Congress frequently and forcefully argue that their first job is to keep us safe.  They are wrong.  The Constitution tells us that the sole job of our nation’s leadership is to enforce the Constitution:  and that means keeping us free.  “Free from tyrants who sought and claimed power from thin air:  free from prince-like federal agents who could behave without constitutional or legal restraint:  free to live with a government that obeyed its own laws.  Any president who keeps us safe but unfree is rejecting his oath to the American people.”

 

Lenin’s words concerning freedom would apparently find solace with a majority of members of Congress.  “It is true that liberty is precious, so precious that it must be carefully rationed.” And that’s the rub.  Our politicians want to control our basic liberties in the name of security.  The more security the bureaucrats in Washington try to impose, the more freedoms are taken away.  You see, freedom and security are not the same.  The most secure citizens in America are in jail.  That’s why it’s called “maximum security.”

 

When we hear all this talk of our members of Congress fighting to protect American freedoms, a paraphrase of George Carlin’s observations comes to mind. “Crime fighters fight crime, fire fighters fight fire, so what do our supposed government freedom fighters fight?”

 

Your congressman will no doubt protest that he or she is seeking the worthy goal of keeping you safe.  The reply of the true patriot is, “Yes, but at what cost?”  Is the benefit of some perceived (but often unproven) measure of safety worth, in this constitutional tug of war, the sacrifice of the basic liberties that American citizens have enjoyed for the past two centuries?  Thomas Jefferson would argue no. Principals matter.  The Bill of Rights matter.  The Constitution matters.

 

The best way to keep us safe is to keep us free.  That’s the message on this Independence Day.  And for every other day of the year.

 

“Those who would give up an essential liberty for temporary security deserve neither liberty or security.”

- Benjamin Franklin

 

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

 

 

PRIDE-MAYBE YOU START WITH THE HOTDOGS!

Monday, June 22^nd, 2026

Baton Rouge, Louisiana

 

PRIDE-MAYBE YOU START WITH THE HOTDOGS!

 

One of the biggest challenges facing Louisiana’s newly elected Governor Jeff Landry is the task of re-instilling pride in the attitudes of many Louisianians. Government can only do so much. But a governor can be a catalyst in raising the public’s expectations.

 

The whole focus of public accountability and local pride came to mind this past weekend as I was receiving some medical help in Charlotte, North Carolina. Now I do admit a bit of favorable prejudice towards the Tar Heel State, having graduated from Chapel Hill back in the 60s. And 50 years ago, many observers linked North Carolina and Louisiana as the two southern states with the greatest potential for economic growth and a higher quality of life in the South.

 

Both states had a strong agricultural base, with tobacco being king in Carolina and both cotton and sugar cane offering farmers a good living in Louisiana. It was textiles in Carolina and oil in Louisiana. The two great university presses in the South were located at Chapel Hill and Baton Rouge with major American literary figures concentrated around the two prodigious state universities.

 

But an economic downturn hit both states in the late 1970s. North Carolina quickly diversified and centered its future economic development on an innovative research triangle that attracted startup businesses all over the state. High oil prices enticed Louisiana to keep the status quo. And things haven’t changed much.

 

Several Louisiana cities have recently sent groups of business leaders and public officials around the country to observe what seems to be working in other cities. They would do well to make a pilgrimage to Charlotte. Here is what they would find.

 

One of the first things you notice is the cleanliness, not just in Charlotte, but throughout much of the state. There are exceptions. But by and large, you just don’t see the litter that seems to cover Louisiana.

 

A few years ago, former Louisiana State Senator Robert Barham was a guest on my nationally syndicated radio show. He told the story of his efforts to bring a Japanese automobile plant to Northeast Louisiana. The Senator had picked up the Japanese officials in Shreveport and drove them to the plant site some 20 miles east of Monroe. He and his group made what they thought was a first-rate presentation, but the Japanese decided to go elsewhere. When he followed up the visit to find out why Louisiana was turned down, he was given two reasons. First was the lack of a trained workforce. But just as important, was the litter along highways. He was told: “Your people do not seem to take much pride in keeping their state clean.”

 

A brand-new monorail system has just opened in Charlotte, traveling throughout the downtown area and linking all the major hotels to the convention center. Congestion throughout the inner city has been greatly reduced, and I found it to be a quick and easy way to travel from my hotel to the sports arena. An idea well worth considering by the city of New Orleans.

 

Charlotte, as well as a number of other North Carolina cities, is in the process of becoming “wired.” Even midsize cities like Winston Salem are installing wireless broadband networks. As one city official told me: “We are trying to differentiate our North Carolina cities from other locations as we are competing for those knowledge — based companies. If your city is not wired up, you’re just not going to be competitive. Louisiana is only partially "wired." More than 20% of the state—especially rural areas—lacks traditional wired connections. 

 

And what’s all this about hotdogs? Let me confess that I love a tasty, grilled all beef hotdog with chili, mustard and relish on a warm bun. And that’s just what I got at several stops in Charlotte. Now I’m a regular in Tiger Stadium, the LSU Maravich Center, and the Superdome. And let me tell you, the hotdog comparison is like night and day. At these locations, you get a boiled, shriveled weenie on a cold, often stale bun. Certainly no pride here.

 

The bottom line, Governor, is that in setting out your new agenda, you don’t have to reinvent the wheel. There are a number of progressive ideas emanating from cities and states all over the country. Many of these ideas will require a major financial investment. But others, like keeping our roadways clean, are simply a matter of instilling a sense of personal responsibility. That’s where pride begins.

 

And Governor, you will particularly make me proud of your efforts if you make it your personal mission to do something about those lousy hotdogs at Tiger Stadium.

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

 

 

 

Monday, June 15^th, 2026

Baton Rouge, Louisiana

                   MAKE LOUISIANA A PROTECTORATE!

 

          Have you heard the cries that Louisiana is unable to take care of its problems and should be treated differently than other states? Some even say, OK, then — make it a protectorate of the federal government.  And you know what?  Maybe that isn’t too bad of an idea.

 

The proposal took legs recently when Froma Harrop, a nationally syndicated columnist, broached the idea in print. “Louisiana has had more than its share of tragedies in recent years, and some, such as hurricane Katrina, could be deemed an act of nature.  But whatever the cause, every calamity that befalls Louisiana is made worse by a corrupt civic nature. A protectorate could provide the structure of government people need.”

 

CNN travel editor Chuck Thompson drove the dagger in deeper in his recently released book, Better Off without ‘Em: A Northern Manifesto for Southern Succession.”  He summed up his, and purportedly other Yankee feelings, by calling the leadership down here in the deep South “a coalition of bought-and-paid for political swamp scum from the most uneducated, morbidly obese, racist, morally indigent, xenophobic, socially stunted, and generally ass-backwards part of the country.”

 

So if that is a growing northern attitude towards us poor lost souls in the Bayou state, maybe we should consider seceding and let the U.S. make us a protectorate like Harrop and others above the Mason-Dixon Line suggest. Anyone who does a bit of research will find that, right now, Louisiana is contributing more significantly to the national economy than the federal dollars the state is getting back. As a general rule, so-called protectorates receive much more in financial aid from their respective overseers than the country or state being protected contributes.  Not so in Louisiana. Yes, you will read about all the federal dollars that have been flowing into the Bayou State, particularly post Katrina.  But whatever federal sums have been allocated is a drop in the bucket when you add up the massive mineral resources that have been drained from Louisiana.

 

How about this!  Louisiana becomes an independent protectorate of the U.S., with Washington providing all the international protection like they do for Canada and Mexico. Sure the U.S. can continue to use the port of New Orleans (largest port in the nation), as well as Baton Rouge (third largest in tonnage) and Lake Charles (5^th largest in tonnage), but of course there would be fees similar to those charged in other international ports. The oil and gas would continue to flow to the rest of the country, but with adequate severance and processing fees for the quite reasonable sum of $7 billion to $10 billion. This is much less than the importation charges that the U.S. is paying OPEC countries now.  No more groveling for a small share of offshore oil payouts.

 

Mississippi might also want to join in the protectorate effort. The two states might even agree to create a “coastal nation of Louisissippi.”  The French would be appalled, but who cares.

So who is going to run this new protectorate?  The test?  Who knows how to get results. Walking the walk rather than talking the talk.  There really are only two candidates for the job.  One is former Army General Russell Honoré.  He’s the “John Wayne dude” who blew into New Orleans post Katrina and took charge of the disastrous recovery efforts.  He lives in New Roads and seems to be well rested and ready. And right there in contention is the chicken-lickin guy Todd Graves, who took a one horse chicken shack by the gates of LSU into a net worth of $20 billion.

 

The Ambassador to Washington? The “Ragin’ Cajun” James Carville is the man to demand fair respect for the Bayou State in the nation’s capital. And it would have been an easy choice before he died to pick a state treasurer.  New Orleans Saints owner Tom Benson would have been, hands down, the best guy to go after the foreign aid.  He was Louisiana’s greatest robber baron, having talked the Louisiana Legislature out of $500 million dollars.  Remember that no other NFL team has received a penny from their respective states. He definitely would have been the man to go after to get the money.

 

The state flag would be a combination of black, purple and gold.  And of course, native-born Randy Newman (Louisiana-They’re Tryin’ to Wash Us Away.”) should write the national anthem.

 

Maybe the columnist is right, and we should give it a try. Let the feds protect Louisiana’s borders, and let us keep all our minerals.  If you look at the numbers, I have a hunch that any redneck or Cajun would jump at such a deal.

 

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

 

 

 

 

BEING POLITICALLY CORRECT!

Monday, June 8^th, 2026

Baton Rouge, Louisiana

 

 

 BEING POLITICALLY CORRECT!

 

Political correctness continues to be on the march in the Bayou State from Shreveport to New Orleans. Just about everywhere a Civil War commemoration or monument is located, there seems to be some local group calling for a re-writing of history by eliminating such testaments to the past. Poor ole’ Robert E. Lee and Jefferson Davis can barely draw a pigeon to give them the time of day.

 

And the war on past tributes is not just limited to southern states wanting to hold on to some remnant of antiquity. Recently the faculty at Brown University, an Ivy League school located in Providence, Rhode Island, voted to eliminate any celebration of Columbus Day. The Italian explorer has been commemorated with a federal holiday on the second Monday in October since

 

To the faculty at Brown, Christopher Columbus deserves no special honor in American history because of his enslavement of American Indians. Instead, Columbus Day at Brown will be changed to celebrate Indigenous People’s Day so as to “recognize the contributions of Indigenous People/Native Americans to our community and our culture and foster a more inclusive community,” according to the faculty motion.

 

Fortunately for Brown, America was not named Columbusia, as the designated honor was bestowed on another Italian explorer Amerigo Vespucci, even though he landed on the American continent seven years after Columbus. The faculty has no problem with Vespucci and the nation being called America. But wait! Wasn’t Vespucci also deeply mired in the slave trade? Weren’t he and Columbus close friends and both involved in capturing and selling American Indians? Should not the Brown University faculty undertake an effort to wipe out any reference to the name America? You can see how absurd all this can become.

 

So what should Louisiana do about Robert E. Lee, the respected Confederate general, and Confederate President Jefferson Davis? Take down their statutes in New Orleans and other locations throughout the state? I have a better idea. We live in a new period in history with the ability to create virtual reality and 3-D memorials. So how about leaving the present guys alone, but add other famous individuals with Louisiana ties?

 

Along with Robert E. Lee, let’s add former Sheriff Harry Lee who would be visited by presidents when they came to New Orleans. Spike Lee’s most famous movie was about the Katrina disaster in the Crescent City. Remember Gypsy Rose Lee who made several movies about New Orleans? So did Bruce Lee before he died. Rocker Jerry Lee Louis and famous Louisiana author James Lee Burke also carry on the Lee legacy.

 

How about Jefferson Davis? Well, we could surround him by former Governor Jimmy Davis along with civil rights leader A.L. Davis. Bette Davis made a number of memorable movies in Louisiana. Remember “Hush Hush Sweet Charlotte?” Emmy and Oscar award winner Viola Davis has filmed and spent a lot of time in Louisiana. Sammy Davis, Jr. loved performing at the Superdome.

 

It’s a tough sell to find any other famous Beauregards. General P.G.T. Beauregard is the only native Louisianan commemorated with a major New Orleans monument at the entrance of City Park. He led the Confederate forces when the first shot of the Civil War was fired at Fort Sumter. But with no other famous Beauregard’s to join his cause, his supporters will have a real fight on their hands to save this famous warrior’s observance.

 

Perhaps I’m being a bit flippant here and a little tongue in cheek. Of course there are monuments involving white supremacy that ought to come down. There is no place for Confederate flags to be flying above state capitols. Parts of American history are unsavory in both the north and the south. Louisiana and the nation are better served by remembering and learning from history. Not trying to rewrite or obliterate it.

 

“A people without the knowledge of their past history, origin and culture is like a tree without roots.”

- Marcus Garvey

__________

 

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

 

 

READING A GOOD BOOK!

Monday, June 1st, 2026

Baton Rouge, Louisiana

 

 

READING A GOOD BOOK!

 

     June has always been my special month to read extensively. No how to, general information, politics, or any other type of practical knowledge reading. It’s always been fiction. Off to summer digs at Gulf Shores, with nothing more to do than fishing, swimming in the ocean (before the sharks came), and going through a stack full of novels I had saved  in the previous months.

 

     Americans are reading less and less, and it has become a disturbing trend. The average reader claims to have read only two books this past year. One in four adults say they have read no books at all. Book sales are flat throughout the country, and with some exceptions, independent bookstores are becoming more and more a thing of the past.

 

There was some good news in a new poll released last week. People in the south read a little more than those from other regions, mostly religious books and romance novels. Democrats read a little more than Republicans but not by much. And surprisingly, surveys show that those who say they never attend religious services read now twice as many books as those who attend frequently.

 

I guess you can blame both television and the Internet. But we also do not seem to get away enough. I am surprised at the number of my own friends who don’t take off with their family for several weeks like we traditionally did in the past. And when we do, there are the proverbial companions including our cell phone, iPad, and laptop. Distractions galore that do not lend oneself to curl up with a good book.

 

I will give it my best shot on a number of hot June nights, and hope to  complete my eight novels specifically set aside. Next on my list is James Lee Burke’s, “The Tin Roof Blowdown,” that my friends who have read it say was the first important novel to come out of the ruins of Hurricane Katrina. Burke has always been a reliable witness in the maelstrom of the modern American South.  Most of his works are located in New Orleans and south Louisiana. He says plaintively that “the New Orleans I knew is gone forever, and its destruction is a harbinger of what’s ahead for the nation. If they want to see the future of this country, come visit Louisiana.” Disturbing. Really disturbing. It’s at the top of my list on my nightstand.

.

Another in my stack is “Fly Fishing Through the Midlife Crisis.” I’ve read it before. But it is a book I reread every few years. Author Howell Raines gives his own middle age experiences that will resonate to any guy who is aging, been through a divorce, deals with the growth of his children and the death of friends, mentors and relatives. I’ve lost a number of friends and mentors in the past year. I passed my midlife crisis (on several occasions) but there are lessons remembered here.

 

And finally, “Little Cowboy Poetry.” I used to want to have a ranch with horses and plenty of cows. I never did, but I’ve always enjoyed a number of irreverent cowboy poets like Baxter Black and Ross Knox. Poets who write about cowboys generally focus on the ordinary stuff of life, but there are some genuine truths here with some poems that are primitive and funny that intersperse truths that are no less eternal.

 

The vacation thing has got to be revisited. For me at least, the days spent on the seashore, looking through a box of books have always been as pleasant and fulfilling, if not more so, than most of the better things that I have experienced. And there are more good books to add to my list that seem to come out every week.

 

As an accommodation to making a living, I will always throw a laptop in the car and have a cell phone somewhere around. But I will do my best to make these items secondary to the fiction and other works I’ve enjoyed for so many years in the past and hopefully, for many years to come.  Let me end with a quote from popular science fiction writer Ray Bradbury

 

“You don’t have to burn books to destroy a culture.
Just get people to stop reading them.”

 

_____

 

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

 

 

 

 

TIME TO HUNT AND EAT GATORS!

Monday, May 25th, 2026

Baton Rouge, Louisiana

TIME TO HUNT AND EAT GATORS!

 Big news from the Louisiana Legislature. A new law has been passed that will allow a season for the recreational hunting of alligators. In the past, you could only get a commercial license. But now, all you hunters can go after a gator just for the fun of it. Now don’t dismiss the opportunity. If it’s cooked right, alligator can be quite tasty. Something like chicken although a little less tender. I have hunted and I’ve cooked alligators for many years.

Alligators were in short supply up until a few years ago. If you go back 50 years, there were fewer than 100,000 alligators in the state. Today the population is upwards of some 3 million. So we must add this scaly critter to our list of game eatables. Alligator stew and alligator sauce piquant are staples in Cajun Country.  And by the way, for my Yankee friends, sauce piquant slight rusty color.

“So how do you catch an alligator?” you might ask. Good question. I’ve gone alligator hunting on a number of occasions, so I know the drill well.  I would always look for a lake or stream where alligators were known to habitat. Then late in the afternoon or evening, I would look for a tree with branches that overhung the water. Then, I would throw a fairly thick rope over the tree limb, but first put a 6-inch grappling hook tied to the rope.  A good size raw chicken was placed on the hook, and the hook with the chicken was hung out over the stream about 2 feet off the water. Then I left for the day, to come back the next morning.

When I returned, if the rope was taut and straight into the water, I knew the alligator had reached out, swallowed the chicken, and had that hook lodged in its stomach.  So how to proceed?  Under Louisiana law, it’s illegal to shoot a female alligator less than 5 feet long.  The reason being that catching alligators is big business, and the law protects the younger female so that she can procreate. “All right,” you say. “But how do you tell?”

It takes two people to run the test. You drag the alligator out of the water and into your boat. Then one person ties the alligator’s mouth shut so that it does not bite. Then the other person reaches down between the alligator’s legs and feels to see whether it’s a male or female.

Sounds like fun, doesn’t it? But that’s the only way I know as to how you find out whether it’s a male or female, and whether you can take the gator or not. It may sound coarse, but I’ve done it a number of times. Then the person who is doing the checking takes a 22 rifle, dangles the gator over the side of the boat, and shoots it in the head. Wow, what sport, right?

A wild gator that is 7 feet or longer can sell for around $15 a foot. A 10-foot gator, considered to be trophy sized, can bring $40 dollars a foot, or up to $400. That ain’t chump change. The processor who buys the alligator can sell the skin to boot or clothing manufacturers, and the meat to food wholesalers. So catching these gators has turned into quite a big business.

So do I have a special saying in my Gator quest? Of course. How about this.

I was going to cook alligator for dinner

But realized that I only have a crock

………. 

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

 

DON’T BE CIVIL IN POLITICS !

Monday, May 18^th, 2026

Baton Rouge, Louisiana

 

DON’T BE CIVIL IN POLITICS!

 

 

        Here’s what we learned from the first U.S. Senate primary last week where incumbent Senator Bill Cassidy was defeated.  If you want to be successful, continually attack your opponent.  Make no effort to be at all positive.  And if a candidate is successful  in winning, make no effort to get along with the opposing party.

 

Former Vice President Joe Biden was roasted for talking about trying to find common ground with conservative southern senators when he served in the U.S. Senate. “At least there was some civility” Biden said about working with segregationists like former Mississippi Senator James Eastland. He should not have been so “civil” say a number of other democratic candidates.

 

I’ll tell you this. These out-of-staters have never spent time around the Louisiana legislature. When I was elected to the Louisiana State Senate back in 1972, I sat in the Senate chambers shrouded by older senators who had served in that body for a number of years. They included Harvey Peltier from Thibodaux, Jackson Davis from Shreveport, Jesse Knowles, who survived the Bataan Death March in World War II, and J.E. “Boysie” Jumonville from New Roads.  They all were quite conservative, more so than me.

 

Many of these senators had served through the segregation era and had opposed any legislation involving civil rights. When I took office, we often disagreed and I did my best to bring them around to my point of view.  But we were always civil and we often socialized and shared a meal when the legislative day was done.

 

Should I have scorned those who disagreed with me as Joe Biden is accused of not doing.  Of course not.  The whole focus of a democracy is to confect workable solutions where a consensus can come together.  Failing to confer with those you disagree with is, in my opinion, a dereliction of one’s oath of office.

 

I was affectionately referred to by these elder senators, as “the new kid” and “young Brown.” Boysie Jumonville, who sat right next to me, often called me son or boy.  I never took offense, nor did I think his term of “boy” had any racial connotations.  A far cry from the onslaught of criticism Biden is facing today.

 

Let me tell you how bad the racial tension could have become.  With much humor and gusto, Louisiana’s first black representative, Dutch Morial from New Orleans, relished telling of his first day at the state capitol in Baton Rouge as a new legislator.  Representatives have seat-mates, with their two desks sitting side by side.  As chance would have it, Dutch sat right next to Representative Jesse McLain, who represented an archconservative district in southeast Louisiana that had been a hotbed of Ku Klux Klan activity.  Now Dutch was from a Creole background and quite light skinned.

 

Dutch told me that when he took his seat, Jesse leaned over and whispered: “Where’s that N…..? (Yes, the N word.)  Dutch said he just smiled, looked around the room for a minute, then leaned over to Jesse, got right up in his face, and said: “You’re looking at him.” Then he burst out laughing.  A flustered McClain excused himself from the legislature for the rest of the day.

 

McClain came back the next day and apologized.  Dutch told me that they became friends, and that he worked on McClain for the next four years to make him more enlightened on several social issues.

 

Of course you have to reach out when you are in public office.  We will never agree on all matters, but there is a middle ground for many social and economic issues that both make sense and serve the public interest. For some current candidates running for federal office to argue otherwise is bad policy and bad governing. 

 

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