Feed on
Posts
Comments

Don’t Let the Title Fool You

August 17, 2008 by Daniel Edwards

So I’ve read Atlas Shrugged twice. In my humble opinion, it is one of the greatest books ever written. I suddenly became a fan of Ayn Rand’s work which lead me to buy The Virtue of Selfishness. It’s a quick read, much much shorter in length than A.S.

My advice? Get a copy for yourself, read it, and think. If you don’t like it, put in on the shelf and add to your collection. It’s a win-win situation.

“To love is to value. Only a rationally selfish man, a man of self-esteem, is capable of love-because he is the only man capable of holding firm, consistent, uncompromising, unbetrayed values. The man who does not value himself, cannot value anything or anyone.”
- The Virtue of Selfishness, by Ayn Rand

Posted in Littera Scripta Manet | Tagged | No Comments »

Quick Trip Across Louisiana

August 9, 2008 by Daniel Edwards

Today’s math problem:

280 miles + 1 committee meeting + 1 current congressman + 2 congressional candidates + 1 former congressman + 1 fundraiser = really tired.

Posted in Littera Scripta Manet | Tagged , , , | No Comments »

A Leadership Primer

August 4, 2008 by Daniel Edwards

A Leadership Primer

By Colin Powell

Former Secretary of State

Former Chairman (Ret), Joint Chiefs of Staff

  1. Being responsible means sometimes pissing people off.
  2. The day soldiers stop bringing you their problems, is the day you have stopped leading them. They have either lost confidence that you can help them or concluded that you do not care. Either case is a failure of leadership.
  3. Don’t be buffaloed by experts and elites. Experts possess more data than judgment. Elites can become so inbred that they produce hemophiliacs who bleed to death as soon as they are nicked by the real world.
  4. Don’t be afraid to challenge the pros, even in their own backyard.
  5. Never neglect details. When everyone’s mind is dulled or distracted the leader must be doubly vigilant.
  6. You don’t know what you can get away with until you try.
  7. Keep looking below surface appearances. Don’t shrink from doing so (just) because you might not like what you find.
  8. Organization doesn’t really accomplish anything. Plans don’t accomplish anything, either. Theories of management don’t much matter. Endeavors succeed or fail because of the people involved. Only by attracting the best people will you accomplish great deeds.
  9. Organization charts and fancy titles count for next to nothing.
  10. Never let your ego get so close to your position that when your position goes, your ego goes with it.
  11. Fit no stereotypes. Don’t chase the latest management fads. The situation dictates which approach best accomplishes the team’s mission.
  12. Perpetual optimism is a force multiplier.
  13. Look for intelligence and judgment, and most critically, a capacity to anticipate, to see around corners. Also look for loyalty, integrity, a high energy drive, a balanced ego, and the drive to get things done.
  14. Great leaders are almost always great simplifiers who can cut through argument, debate and doubt, to offer a solution everybody can understand.
  15. Have fun in your command. Don’t always run at a breakneck pace. Take leave when you’ve earned it. Spend time with your families. Corollary: surround yourself with people who take their work seriously, but not themselves, those who work hard and play hard.
  16. Command is lonely.
  17. Leadership is the art of accomplishing more than what the science of management says is possible.

Posted in Littera Scripta Manet | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment »

Edwin Edwards, Talent Wasted

July 31, 2008 by Daniel Edwards

With the prospect of a pardon from President Bush, Ex-Governor now present federal penitentiary resident, Edwin Edwards is a man with one last hope.

Read Clancy Dubos’ article in Gambit Weekly and give me your thoughts. Should he stay or should he go?

“Of all EWE’s crimes, perhaps his greatest transgression was the squandering of his enormous talent. I’ve been covering Louisiana politicians since 1973, and I can say, without fear of contradiction, that he had more political talent in his little finger than any 10 other politicians put together.” - Clancy DuBos

Should Edwin Edwards receive a pardon?

Posted in Littera Scripta Manet | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment »

I Was Totally Mistaken About Global Warming

July 29, 2008 by Daniel Edwards

Apparently Hurricane Katrina didn’t put her boot heel on throats of hundreds of thousands of people along the Gulf Coast - no matter whom or where they were. Also, Rita was a figment of my imagination, as is this brutally hot summer felt by everyone south of Canada.

Again - and please forgive me - I was wrong when thinking that floods in the Midwest affected everyone engulfed by rising waters. Once more, I am off target by assuming that all the families in California who lost their homes in wildfires felt the devastation.

I want to personally thank House Majority Whip James Clyburn of South Carolina for correcting my ill-conceived notion that climate changes due to global warming - no matter fact or fiction, exaggerated or underestimated - are a nondiscriminatory factors in nature. READ HERE WHY

Thank you Congressman Clyburn. You sir, are a great American.

Posted in Littera Scripta Manet | Tagged , , | No Comments »

And from the “You Can’t Do That Department”

July 29, 2008 by Daniel Edwards

Ted, buddy, no matter what state you’re from, or how long you’ve served in the US Senate, this stuff ain’t legal, pal.

“Oops,” said the senior US Senator from Alaska.

I offer three kind words:

DRILL DRILL DRILL…

Posted in Littera Scripta Manet | Tagged | No Comments »

Another Day In Louisiana Political Paradise

July 27, 2008 by Daniel Edwards

What’s the best thing to do when you’re a sitting Louisiana State Senator who’s facing federal charges of mail fraud, conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, and conspiracy to commit money laundering? According to Senator Derrick Shepherd you should go for the curtain call by getting arrested for simple battery and burglary (READ HERE). The distinguished gentleman from Marrero (Greater New Orleans Area) said that he was “reacting to a threat on his family.”

Says Shephard, “That’s fine. I can handle that. I have broad shoulders. I will not tolerate someone attacking or threatening my mother or my sister. If you do that, you have a problem with me. And there’s going to be some consequences and repercussions. And that goes for anybody. Thank you. And the only thing I’m guilty of is not calling the police first myself.“

…not for long by the looks of these charges…

Posted in Littera Scripta Manet | Tagged , | 1 Comment »

And So It Begins

July 9, 2008 by Daniel Edwards

Qualifying began today for the fall elections in Louisiana. One of the major races will be for the 6th Congressional District, in which newly-elected Congressman Cazayoux must mount his first defense. He was recently elected during a special election to fill the unexpired term of Richard Baker.

Today, Josh Kraushaar of the Politico gave a glimpse at this race from inside the beltway:

Republicans catch break in race against Cazayoux

Republicans have good reason to be optimistic this morning about winning back a Louisiana House seat it lost in a special election earlier this year, after the party’s past controversial nominee announced he wouldn’t be running again.

Former state Rep. Woody Jenkins announced last night to the Baton Rouge Advocate that he would not be seeking the GOP nomination. Jenkins was the party’s nominee in the special election to replace Rep. Richard Baker (R-La.), and lost to now-Rep. Don Cazayoux (D-La.) despite the Baton Rouge district’s Republican bent. He brought significant political baggage to the race - one of his primary opponents aired an advertisement in the primary accusing Jenkins of having business ties with former Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke.

His unstinting socially conservative positions also made him a highly divisive figure, and he began the campaign with unusually high unfavorable ratings for a first-time House candidate.

And he only bought a minimal amount of locally-produced television ads, forcing both the National Republican Congressional Committee and its conservative ally Freedom’s Watch to spend millions on his behalf - unsuccessfully.

The news is welcome for the NRCC, which views the candidacy of state senator and physician Bill Cassidy favorably. Without Jenkins in the race, Cassidy now appears to be the Republican favorite and will not face serious primary opposition.

The newly-elected Cazayoux will have his hands full running again in a district that gave President Bush 59 percent of the vote. Despite all the negative publicity surrounding Jenkins, he only won by a three-point margin - 49 to 46 percent. Cazayoux has not released his most-recent fundraising numbers yet; after the special election, he only had $25,000 in his campaign account.

Posted in Littera Scripta Manet | Tagged , , | No Comments »

No Politics Today, Just This

July 5, 2008 by Daniel Edwards

The following are three of my all time favorite quotes. Think on these…

“A letter represents something far more than a kiss ever could. It evidences thoughtfulness and the gift of time. While a kiss can prove tender, it must overcome the stigma of impulsiveness to truly display love. A letter on the other hand, when written in the spirit of ardor and romance - even if it never mentions passion - strokes the heart deeper than any other form of physical touch. A kiss cannot be felt again and again from a great distance, but a letter can be read and reread thousands of times. A kiss only familiarizes the lips with the physical body of a lover. A letter familiarizes the heart, mind, and soul. Maybe that’s why God chose to write us a letter.”
- Eric Ludy

“Our tragedy today is a general and universal physical fear so long sustained by now that we can even bear it. There are no longer problems of the spirit. Because of this, the young man or woman writing today has forgotten the problems of the human heart in conflict with itself which alone can make good writing because only that is worth writing about, worth the agony and the sweat. He must learn them again. He must teach himself that the basest of all things is to be afraid: and, teaching himself that, forget it forever, leaving no room in his workshop for anything but the old verities and truths of the heart, the universal truths lacking which any story is ephemeral and doomed–love and honor and pity and pride and compassion and sacrifice. Until he does so, he labors under a curse. He writes not of love but of lust, of defeats in which nobody loses anything of value, and victories without hope and worst of all, without pity or compassion. His griefs grieve on no universal bones, leaving no scars.”
- William Faulkner

“Put it before them briefly so they will read it, clearly so they will appreciate it, picturesquely so they will remember it, and above all, accurately so they will be guided by its light.”
- Joseph Pulitzer

Posted in Littera Scripta Manet | Tagged | No Comments »

Sine Die, June 23, 2008

June 23, 2008 by Daniel Edwards

It’s over, done with, finished. The 2008 Louisiana Regular Legislative Session wrapped up today, and not too soon.

We saw some of the good, the bad, and the ugly from our friendly lawmakers down at the house Huey built. As discussed here while back, Senate Bill 87 by Senator Buddy Shaw was originally intended to slowly phase out the state income tax. However, this ruffled some feathers in the barn yard. With a compromise, Governor Jindal agreed to repeal the Stelly Tax that we’ve all loved to hate.

Enough with the good stuff right? Let’s move on to the bad and ugly, LEGISLATIVE PAY RAISES. Let me first say that I would support a pay raise with a few preconditions.

1) The raise must go into effect during the four year term following the one which it was approved.

2) Being a member of the Louisiana Legislature would require a full time commitment. That’s right, this should be a full time job. Under this, several rule would follow with respect to legislators receiving additional income.

This has been the hot button issue of the entire session. Following its passage in both chambers (surprise eh?), Governor Jindal said he would not veto the pay raise, stating that he would let the legislative branch govern themselves.

I honestly don’t have the time nor patience to link up every story I wish you could read concerning our little family circus here in the bayou state. Seriously, Google it….days of reading are at your fingertips. In fact, check out the “My Detours” section (scroll down, you’ll see it on the bottom right). There you will find everything you need.

For your enjoyment…and mine of course, because this is my blog, I though it would be informative and entertaining to share with you two (out of hundreds) of in dept, syndicated, Pulitzer deserving blogs …okay maybe that was a stretch.

Anyway, with the debate of Legislative pay ongoing, click here to see what other States have on the books.

And this, oh this was classic. Just click HERE, Only In Louisiana.

Sine Die. Good day.

Posted in Littera Scripta Manet | Tagged , , , , | No Comments »

Older Posts »