THURSDAY: Our Founding Fathers, Former Congressman Bob Livingston, and Governor Jindal and the Upcoming Elections

March 26, 2015 Show Producer

HOUR ONE:

Author Thomas Fleming shares his book The Great Divide. Fleming asserts that his book is relevant because Thomas Jefferson and George Washington disagreed heavily over the power of the president; something that is still disagreed upon today. Fleming says that John Madison envisioned a very commercial United States. "Jefferson did not think blacks were ready for freedom," Fleming tells a listener, "I call Washington the forgotten Emancipator."

Editor Stephanie Riegel joins us from The Baton Rouge Business Report. She comments on her career and her experience moving from New Orleans to Baton Rouge. "New Orleans is much more cosmopolitan; it is a world class city. Baton Rouge is a very middle-Americanized city."

She also comments on LSU's president and his relationship with Governor Jindal. "There are certainly valid arguments for making tweaks to the program," Riegel says of Common Core.

Riegel gives her opinion on the upcoming governor's election.

"The Westdale Junior High Class of 1969 held a lot of the key business players in Baton Rouge."

"I think the one thing that will hurt Vitter is that he is already acting a lot like Jindal," Stephanie says.

HOUR TWO:

Former Congressman Bob Livingston discusses the upcoming Governor's election. Livingston also gives his opinion on the Republican Nominee and the vast array of candidates. "I wouldn't discount any candidate right now," he says. He is the head of Governor Jindal's Super PAC. "I didn't leave the Democrat party, the Democrat Party left me."

Political Consultant Gus Weill spent four years as a counter intelligence agent in Germany. He comments on ISIS. "ISIS is winning the war they want to win... the propaganda war." He continues, praising America's advertising agencies and companies, "I think that we ought to tell our side of the story, what's good about America, hit them <ISIS> right smack in the head... Of all the wars that we could lose, we lose the propaganda war."

Weill discusses the German Wings Crash. "It could be an act of terrorism."

He also comments on the SAE fraternity scandal and the public's tolerance for forgiveness, using former President Bill Clinton as example.

WEDNESDAY: Obesity, Getting Into College, Mental Illness, Governor Jindal, and Controversial Strawberry Festival Poster

March 25, 2015 Show Producer

HOUR ONE:

Author Harriet Brown shares her book Body of Truth. "Every time you lose weight and then gain it, you are changing your metabolism in ways you don't understand," Brown begins, "it gets harder and harder." She continues, "Actually our metabolisms become more efficient, so you have to work harder and eat less." Brown condemns yo yo dieting, asserting its bad effects on blood pressure and potential type two diabetes. "The truth is we don't know how to make people thinner," Brown says. "Rather than get trapped in this cycle of dieting and exercising, we focus on health not the weight." She says, "We get this one message: black and white; fat is bad; thin is good." She asserts that women receive much more of the stigma. "It's okay to have breasts and a tush, but nothing else."

"One of the biggest risk factors in dieting is obesity."

Author Pria Chattergee shares her book The Dirty Little Secret of Getting Into a Top College. "Reach for your best potential... but be realistic about what that best self might be," Chattergee says. "College admissions is not some extraneous monster, but it follows the trends of life." She says, "It is more competitive because there are more students applying." She notes, "A lot of legacies come from high achieving households and high income households." She was born in India and went to Harvard. "I was the only Indian woman from India in my class in Harvard."

Associate Administrative Judge in Miami-Dade County Court Criminal Division and Special Advisor on Criminal Justice and Mental Health for the Supreme Court of Florida Steven Leifman comments on what happens when someone with a severe mental illness is released from jail after committing a small crime. "On medication, they are much less likely to be violent than the general population," Leifman says of mentally ill people. He comments on crisis intervention team policing.

HOUR TWO:

Jason Hebert of the Political Firm in Baton Rouge joins the show to discuss Governor Jindal. His firm has won 15 out of the past 18 campaigns they have run. He asserts that Common Core and education will be the largest issues in the governor's race. He suggests the probability of a David Vitter and John Bel Edwards run off. Hebert comments on the state officials he has worked with in the past. Jim asks who is the most powerful politician in the state. "The senator has spent a long time building the right kinds of relationships," Hebert says, praising his work ethic. "This is the first time I feel like we've got the right guy at the right time," Herbert says of Vitter. "More people follow politics than policy." He gives his professional opinion on those candidates running for governor. They comment on Governor Jindal's obsessive exercising.

President of the Tangipahoa Parish NAACP Branch Patricia Morris comments on the poster for The Strawberry Festival. "It's offensive because white kids were able to enroll in school, but we were not until the crops were finished in May," Morris says.

TUESDAY: Louisiana Cooking, The Gridiron Show, and Governor Jindal

March 24, 2015 Show Producer

HOUR ONE:

Author Maggie Richardson joins us to share her book Hungry for Louisiana. "A year long celebration of food with a specific to each season really makes us unique," Richardson says. The book has eighteen recipes through a food narrative with light history. Louisiana has 400 festivals, most are food centric. Maggie Richardson writes for the Baton Rouge Business Report.

Director Ronnie Stutes comments on The Gridiron Show. "We are the longest continually running show." It has been on 64 years. Tickets are at gridironshowbr@yahoo.com for $25. "Drew Brees will be played by Smiley Anders." Jim comments that Jeremy White looks "a lot like the portrait of Governor Jindal." "We want to make sure we are taking valid portrayals," Stutes says.

Red Shtick Publisher Jeremy White also joins us in studio to comment on The Gridiron Show in which he plays Governor Bobby Jindal. "We've got to have the only governor in America to deliver a baby and perform an exorcism," Jim comments. White asks, "Is there a Republican running for president using their real first name?" The prayer rally will be covered in The Gridiron Show.

HOUR TWO:

Associate Professor Jeff Sadow and Political Consultant Tom Aswell discuss the era of Governor Jindal. Sadow definitely thinks Governor Jindal is running for president, "All signs pointing in that direction right now." Sadow says, "I would say up for the first six and a half years... he's transformed the state more than any other governor." He compares them to Huey Long and Edwin Edwards.

"He's put this state decades behind the rest of the country," Aswell says, "There's nothing good about Louisiana... and this guy is at the helm of the ship." He comments, "We cannot allow Grover Norquist to have say in our state."

Louisiana has the third lowest cigarette tax in the United States.

They discuss the budget crisis and the upcoming legislative session.

"It sounds a little crass, but smoking saves in healthcare costs," Sadow says. Aswell comments, "We can't have people living longer, now can we?"

"The sales tax is a very regressive tax. It works against the poor," Aswell says.

A listener refers to Charles Blow's recent column.

"I think a lot of the controversy surrounding Common Core is overblown," Dr. Sadow says.

"He has a very thin skin," Aswell says of David Vitter regarding the alleged assault against Mercedes Hernandez.

MONDAY: Candidate for Lieutenant Governor Billy Nungesser and Author Raymond Strother

March 23, 2015 Show Producer

HOUR ONE:

Candidate for Lieutenant Governor Billy Nungesser discusses his campaign for Lieutenant Governor. "I feel I could work with any of the people running <for governor>." Nungesser says.
He has lost 100 pounds from a sleeve surgery. "If you stand up for the right thing, you can make a lot of changes."

Jim asks for the importance of the position of Lieutenant Governor since many have suggested doing away with the office. Nungesser asserts its importance. He says, "We need to utilize all of our rivers and waterways... it <the Lieutenant Governor position> is what you make it."

Nungesser suggests that the Republican Party is here to stay. "I think it's a trend that has taken off here in Louisiana."

"I think what sets me apart from my opponents is my passion... people who do everything physically possible to make this state a better place."

He comments on his position on the proposed inventory tax. Nungesser says that the way to solve the budget is to cut "wasteful spending," and he says that "everything must be on the table."

He is good friends with Kevin Costner.

Nungesser says, "Please honor our veterans and go out and vote."

Son of the great boxing writer, Journalist Mark Kram, Jr. has been covering sports nationally for many years. He remembers NFL legend Chuck Bednarik.

HOUR TWO:

Author and political consultant Raymond Strother comments on Governor Jindal's presidential quest. He has written books about the genesis of the political consultant. "We've been partially responsible for the increase in spending in campaigns," Strother says of political consultants.

He spent a year in the Governor's mansion with Buddy Roemer. Strother handled most of Bill Clinton's campaigns for governor in Arkansas.

"I didn't graduate from Northwestern University, I was kicked out for political activity."

They discuss the cover of The New York Times and Bobby Jindal's chances for the presidential nomination. "I've never thought he was a viable candidate."

Strother comments on The New York Times article.

"I think you're in tough shape when you lose Fox News."

Strother remembers his time working with former president Bill Clinton and former vice president Al Gore.

FRIDAY: LSU Budget, The Greek System and SAE, and Buddy Amoroso and Darrell Ourso

March 20, 2015 Show Producer

HOUR ONE:

Boyd Professor J. Gerald Kennedy joins us in studio to discuss LSU and Flannery O'Connor and his works on Edgar Allen Poe.

"He is a writer who continues to be very contemporary," Kennedy says, "I think today he would be diagnosed as bipolar." Poe was not a lifelong drug and alcohol abuser as commonly believed.

Dr. Kennedy says he feels that after Flannery O'Connor was diagnosed with lupus her writing improved tremendously. "It really crystalized the urgency for her work." He continues, "You can't read Flannery O'Connor without cracking up." LSU will celebrate her 90th birthday at Barnes and Nobles at 3 pm on March 22nd.

Editor in Chief of the Reveille Chandler Rome and graduate student Joseph Hollands comment on the SAE fraternity scandal and the article in the Reveille about how this relates to LSU Greek Life.

Hollands says, "You were going to either be a black Greek or nothing at all... and even if you were accepted by the white Greeks, would you still be accepted by your own people in general?"

"It was mandated that they had to take a certain amount <of minorities>," Rome says as he tells a story of a sorority alumni board rejecting a qualified girl because she was African American.

"People are labeled Greek or non Greek," Hollands says, "When running for student government positions, you start counting votes on whose Greek or not."

"I don't see much <hostility and division> between Greeks and non Greeks," Rome says, "it's an unspoken division."

HOUR TWO:

Republican councilman Buddy Amoroso and former councilmanDarrell Ourso join the show to debate their views before the District 66 election on March 28th.

"I will not raise taxes on the hardworking taxes of Louisiana, I will not expand Obamacare," Amoroso begins, "Education is a yes to competition and a no to Common Core."

"The BESE board is our constitutionally charged office to deal with Common Core," Ourso says, asserting that it is not the governor's issue. "We need to amend our state constitutions to allow for independent school districts."

They both support St. George.

"I have never said that I am for expanding Obamacare," Ourso says. He continues, "No, I'm not signing the pledge<Grover Norquist>. I'm not saying I'm for taxes, but we have to look at all options."

"I give the Governor an A+ when he's in the state," Amoroso says.

"We don't have a revenue problem," Amoroso says, "We have a spending problem. I'm opposed to raising new taxes."

"You don't have the right to have a nondisclosure as a public official," Amoroso says.

They comment on the Fairness Ordinance.

"We need to give autonomy to universities to have control over their tuitions," Ourso says.

"We need to protect LSU as our flagship school," Amoroso says.

THURSDAY: Hemp, Coastal Erosion, University Tuition, and Insurance Commissioner

March 19, 2015 Show Producer

HOUR ONE:

Chris Boucher joins us from California to discuss his hemp company, Cannavest. "The word cannabis means canvas." Boucher sent Jim a small container of hemp oil. "Hemp oil is legal in all fifty states." He comments on marijuana, "I think it's a states' rights issue at this point." Boucher also says that the legalization of marijuana will decrease the amount of prisoners and therefore income for prisons.

Spokesperson for the Coalition of Coastal Erosion Restoration for Louisiana Jimmy Frederick comments on what's being done to save the Louisiana coastline. "We work to reconnect the Mississippi River to its wetlands." Frederick says, "Just last year we planted 265,000 plants." 16 miles are lost each year to coastal erosion.

Representative Franklin Foil discusses the recent Reveille story about a university's ability to change tuition prices. "What I'm trying to do is give colleges the ability to raise fees in courses as they see fit," Foil says, "to give the university some flexibility as opposed to coming to the legislature for permission."

Representative Foil comments on TOPS and says that he likes the TOPS program, but he thinks the GPA requirement should be higher.

He thinks that the BESE Board should be the ones addressing any Common Core issues.

Foil did not sign the Grover Norquist tax pledge.

"If there is any raising of a cigarette tax, we're going to have to make sure that money goes to higher education or healthcare."

Foil shares his new bill called the Able Act.

HOUR TWO:

Former Insurance Commissioner and Secretary of State Jim Brown shares his career in political life and his views on current events.

"I was on a plane once with Edwin Edwards flying the plane dedicating a new hospital, and the door actually flew open."

"<Mike Foster> He was very involved compared to Governor Jindal quite frankly."

"If you're an American citizen, you're child ought to be conceived here," Jim Brown says. He comments further on illegal aliens.

Brown gives his opinion on the controversy surrounding higher education and the budget. He calls Jindal "irresponsible" in his handling of the budget.

"They all should do it," Brown says enthusiastically as he discusses the private email scandal with Hillary Clinton. "Every major republican out there has done the same thing."

He comments on the new change Facebook made, which allows users of the messenger app to send money from their debit cards to each other.