Letter: Jindal affronts our sensibilities

A frequent comment by supporters of Bobby Jindal is that he is extremely intelligent. But the governor rammed through the state Legislature two bills that any teacher would know were unconstitutional. But maybe Jindal and his overpaid assistants are not smart enough to comprehend Amendment 1 of the United States Constitution, although they are gung-ho for Amendment 2, asserting our right to carry a gun, whenever and wherever we want to.

Jindal blames the teachers for his law being declared unconstitutional. He always, through John White, blames his constitutional illiteracy on the teachers. Of course he calls it “the unions”but the fact is that the union members and leaders are teachers. They represent us. So he is blaming us, the only people competent to operate the public schools.

Jindal needs to sit down and forget about his vouchers and teacher-abuse laws. Teachers will not sit by passively and watch him create laws that will only harm the children. The teachers are not going to stop fighting for their rights and to uphold the Constitution. It is in our nature to advocate for children and to ensure that they get a quality public education.

Jindal says that the state will fight the ruling. How come he has enough taxpayer money for things he wants but not for things Louisiana needs, including more money for the public schools? Why have our budgets been frozen for four years, but Jindal has plenty of money for an expensive court fight?

It seems to me that the Legislature needs to reapportion the state budget and provide the executive branch with a lot less so Jindal will refrain from destroying the schools. That may be the only way to stop Bobby Jindal from continuing to be stuck-on-stupid in his spending priorities and force him to consider carefully the laws he gets passed.

Rhonda Browning

teacher

Baton Rouge

Comments

1) Comment by twinkie1cat - 15/12/2012

Whatnow: Parent involvement is helpful and can improve a school, but I have noticed that non-involvement is often not a matter of choice. Parents have to work to make ends meet. Many, especially if they have special needs kids, have husbands who can't handle that they produced a disabled child and leave. Some work more than one job, especially if they are not well educated. Others are simply afraid of school and teachers because their experiences were bad or they are illiterate. Some parents are a pain in the butt, like one in Ascension whose son came to school reeking of cigarettes and she wore Tammy Faye Baker make-up and who looked like her diet consisted mainly of adult beverages. She liked to flaunt that she was personal friends with the Special Education Director. Another would not talk to white people. Some I never saw and others, particularly one who was slow and got SSI would appear whenever I needed her, often riding the school bus with her child. I was able to teach that mama a lot. With one I saw mama in the morning and daddy in the evening because they would not put their child on a school bus. But mama could be difficult. Another would send her child to school with tonsillitis because she did not have anyone she could leave her daughter with and if she did not work she did not get paid. The slow one and one who was rather well off rattled some administrative cages and got some equipment I needed. And a beautiful elderly foster parent, I told her what to say at the IEP because I wanted her child back the next year because he had been put with another teacher that year who was off her rocker and treating him poorly. Parental involvement is what you make of it. Some are treacherous and will talk behind your back. Others are almost as valuable as a good paraprofessional. And one, well I talked to her about becoming a teacher. And she did.

2) Comment by twinkie1cat - 15/12/2012

Bourbon, there is no "white privilege" or institutionalized oppression in America any more even though there is individual racism and oppression. In this school system we had teachers with Ph.Ds still working, by choice, in the classrooms of inner city schools. Standard English is the normal way of communicating for educated people of all races, at least in professional settings. Ebonics was an excuse to be sloppy. In the case of the administrator, she did not know any better. One of the things she said at work when I complimented the quality of her workshop (It really was good despite the Ebonics) and the fact that she had managed to get a 4 hour training done in 1 hour was here response: "I conduced it". I think she meant that she either "condensed" or "reduced" it.

3) Comment by bourbon-soda - 12/12/2012

@twinkle1cat - I was really interested in what you had to say about Ebonics versus white privilege.

4) Comment by bourbon-soda - 11/12/2012

Googling [minding the campus writing teachers still crazy after all these years] will zero in on the discussion of standard English as white privilege.

5) Comment by bourbon-soda - 11/12/2012

@twinkle1cat - followup - as explicated at http://www.mindingthecampus.com/originals/2011/04/_after_spend ing_four.html or google [standard english oppression]. I don't understand how disparaging ebonics (or is it Ebonics?) can be anything but assertion of white privilege.

6) Comment by bourbon-soda - 10/12/2012

@twinkle1cat - thanks for thoughtful answer ("The administrator who spoke Ebonics did so in the professional setting. Most African- Americans who are professionals don't use street language during professional development programs they are teaching and put considerable emphasis on students doing the same. She did not appear to know how to use correct grammar....") What happened to the theory that standard English and correct grammar are tools of oppression?

7) Comment by Whatnow - 10/12/2012

Like I said, who knows what demand would bring in the future for non-religious schools? The voucher program has to start somewhere and for right now, you are correct, the choices are limited. But, you cannot fault parochial schools for their offers of openings. If there were nothing by Islamic schools available, I would keep my child in the public school system and do what I did years ago. I worked at my child's school whenever I had a spare moment from work and make my presence felt. Parental involvement changed our entire school to one we could be proud of. It took a lot of hard work to instill pride in the students and the parents, but we did it. We even got rid of an inept principal. When parents get involved, it makes all the difference in the world. When school board members get tired of parental complaints and want to keep their positions, it makes a lot of difference. Too many parents don't care and have become complacent and think that their involvement won't matter, but it only takes one parent, like me to get the ball rolling. Maybe I started it by being at the right place at the right time when things were at their lowest, but you never know until you try and stick with it.

8) Comment by 1ryben - 09/12/2012

Dunham is a Christian school and Runnel doesn't take my voucher. Short list. What now Whatnow?

9) Comment by NewsFreak - 09/12/2012

Runnels accepted ZERO VOUCHERS!

10) Comment by 1ryben - 09/12/2012

I do not wish to discuss the relative merits of one religion over another, but you make it seem as though forcing Christianity down my child is no big deal. It is a big deal to me and my family. Can you honestly answer me this? Change each of these Christian schools to a Muslim school, would you still feel the same? Would you enroll your kid? Is it no big deal? You wouldn't mind Islam being forced on your kid. Remember, your only other option is the dangerous, terrible, lazy teacher filled, failing public school. Can you honestly answer those? I believe if you are honest, you'd probably feel very similar to my feelings about sending my child to a Christian school, or any other religious school. I know, I know, Runnels is a great school...but that is not part of the question. Just assume for any number of reasons (transportation, limited availability, etc.) you couldn't get into Runnels with a voucher.

11) Comment by 1ryben - 09/12/2012

Dunham is a Christian School. So my choices are failing school or Runnels (I didn't research so I'll take your word that they accepted vouchers). That's not a lot of choice. Oh, but what if I live in anywhere other than Baron Rouge? Lets pretend I'm in West Feliciana Parish. What are my choices? Let me guess, I can move. If I qualify for the voucher I'm obviously poor. How can I afford to move? How do you propose I get my child to Runnels? This is not a viable choice. This voucher program does absolutely nothing to reform schools.

12) Comment by Whatnow - 09/12/2012

1ryben, Runnels and Dunham are all I can think of, but I'm sure once the voucher program got off the ground, there would be a market for more non-religious schools in the future. The point is, if a parent doesn't want a religious school for their child, vouchers aren't mandatory. If you ever had one of your children in a private school with no violence, students there to learn, teachers there to teach, and higher standards for enrollment, not spending half of the year trying to force teach minimum standards to kids that don't care, you might just be desperate enough to place your child in a religious school. If you don't want religion taught to your child in any way, shape or form, stay in the public schools. No one is forcing vouchers or forcing anyone to attend a religious school.

13) Comment by 1ryben - 08/12/2012

Whatnow, where is my list? What part of that do you not understand?

14) Comment by Scrooge - 08/12/2012

Hmmm, I see an opportunity, how about the School of the Golden Calf? Classes in objectivism will be taught, then no one would object that the owner of the school is making a large, inordinate profit. as a demonstration of real world authenticity. How's this for a school motto: "Deus est lucror ususfructus'?

15) Comment by 1ryben - 08/12/2012

@whatnow. Where are these non-religious schools that are part of the voucher program? What are my choices? If I'm a parent convinced the public schools are a failure and the voucher is my only option what are my choices? What if I am...a Muslim? Non-Believer? Hindu? Heck, anything other than Christian would be nice (let's pretend all Christian faiths being equal). Lets also assume I even get a voucher. Hundreds of thousands of students qualify for 5000 spots after all.

16) Comment by Whatnow - 08/12/2012

twinkie1cat, that was the parent's choice. They DID NOT have to send their kids to a Catholic School. There are private schools that do not teach religion. No one is forcing them to go there. What part of that do you not understand?

17) Comment by twinkie1cat - 08/12/2012

Thank you NewsFreak: Now how can a school have a secular purpose if they REQUIRE religion courses? I cannot imagine and evangelical Christian parent tolerating Catholicism being shoved down a child's throat it the name of education. It is totally against their beliefs. And the whole atmosphere of a Catholic school, along with the curriculum is infused with religion. Even the early readers will have stories about going to Mass. The purpose of the inner city Catholic schools is evangelism. This was stated by the director of ACE which is in charge of the education of Catholic school teachers. The director called Catholic schools the greatest tool for evangelism the world as ever known. Write that in a google text box and you get up the exact article. I did know one set of well educated parents in New Orleans who had their boys in a Catholic high school. They were Presbyterians and active Christians. They felt like the public school their kids would have gone too was too dangerous. But every night they had to discuss the differences in Christian theology and Catholic theology in order to keep their kids from becoming Catholics.

18) Comment by HerbF - 08/12/2012

Twinkle1cat: We have the same problem here in Tangipahoa Parish. One teacher was really bad about ebonics, and was promoted to principal. She was a nice person, a hard working teacher who took her job seriously. But, she did not know how to speak English. How do people get a college degree and not know how to speak English? That's where the problem should be addressed.

19) Comment by twinkie1cat - 08/12/2012

WhatNOW: Louisiana schools have problems because the teachers are not in charge. Their control started eroding with Zero Tolerance which said we are not smart enough to judge the kind of discipline a child needs. This has resulted in kindergarteners being suspended for sexual harrassment. It continued with scripted lessons, the bain of real teachers but the only way the Teach for Americas can sort of teach. Then there were things like being expected to keep everyone on the same lesson whether the kids were ready for it or not, and other controls like submitting detailed lesson plans that are posted and that you have to be doing when observers appear and other messages that professional judgement is not part of teaching. For example a teacher told me last week that they are being forced to teach Algebra to students who cannot read and are not ready for advanced math----special needs children. The teachers are not in charge of the schools. That is why they have problems. As for parent involvement, most of them do what they are able to do. School quality is not their fault just lilke it is not the fault of the teachers. It is administration and politicians who make rules for something they know nothing about.

20) Comment by twinkie1cat - 08/12/2012

Bourbonsoda: The administrator who spoke Ebonics did so in the professional setting. Most African-Americans who are professionals don't use street language during professional development programs they are teaching and put considerable emphasis on students doing the same. She did not appear to know how to use correct grammar. The school system at the time was 90% African-American for students and about 75% for faculty and took pride in having turned out a number of well known people including Martin Luther King Jr.

21) Comment by spqr - 08/12/2012

@Newsfreak...public schools use a statewide grading scale...93-100 is an A...66 and below is an F. The scale you outline IS THE grading scale, not just for special classes. I am required to use it each day.

22) Comment by bourbon-soda - 08/12/2012

Lake Woebegone has become the norm.

23) Comment by tradewinns - 07/12/2012

the UGS is ok if it is connected to a universal test. when i was in school the grading system was the same as yours. just goes to show even on the rebound the grading system is lowered to assist the dumbing down of our students.

24) Comment by bourbon-soda - 07/12/2012

What is the significance of a "Universal Grading Scale" when tests can vary in difficulty?

25) Comment by NewsFreak - 07/12/2012

Listed on the LDOE website is "Universal Grading Scale - Beginning this school year, all LA public charter schools will follow a uniform grading scale for all students in grades K - 12th grades. Districts may use an alternative grading scale for special classes... A= 100-93, B= 92-85, C= 84-75, D=74-67, F=66-0." (When I was in school A=100-96). Does anyone know what grading scale the public schools use?

26) Comment by tradewinns - 07/12/2012

i do NOT support the voucher system. we (everyone) needs to fix the public education system. it is inexcusable we have allowed the system to fall into such disrepair. the problem, IMHO, is not the teachers, their unions or the financing. the no. 1 problem in our failing school systems is the parents of the students in those schools. the parents do not instill the desire to learn or the discipline to respect those in charge and behave. hold the parents of failing school children responsible (fiscally or/and criminally) and you will see a tremendous change in a very short period of time.

27) Comment by tradewinns - 07/12/2012

i say again, jindal was reelected by the majority of voters. if jindal was as incompetent or disliked as much as some of the commenters state here, the turnout would have been bigger and his opponents would have been better financed. apathy doesn't represent dislike, it shows at worse that the voters do not feel strongly about the subject. so most of the voters didn't dislike jindal's performance as much as the dissenters here. that goes hand in hand with political contributions. the more they like a person for office, the more they give. if your politician didn't receive much money, they were not liked by enough people.

28) Comment by 8point6 - 07/12/2012

I received an early Christmas present from EBRP assessor's office. Good news, teachers union members! Almost every one of my tax amounts have more than doubled this years as compared to last year. There will now be more taxpayer money for the failed public education! AND, there should be more than enough money for the vouchers. Life is good!

29) Comment by Bouncer - 07/12/2012

Not calling any names, but some of you cretins need to exercise a bit more discretion in trotting out your ignorance. Perhaps you might give serious consideration to simply revealing your stupidity to close family members, as opposed to splattering it across the internet for the general readership to marvel at.

30) Comment by Whatnow - 07/12/2012

@T1C, "Yes, teachers do get promoted but it is not because they are in the union." I never said they did. They get to stay in the system because of the failure of another educator or being union member. The school systems cannot afford to fight the unions in court so they just shuffle these inept sponges off on another area. Even you admit that this is wrong and they shouldn't be teaching. So why should parents have to deal with that? Some parents would rather deal with a religion class just to get away from that mentality. If parents don't want their kids learning theology or religion, no one is forcing their children into these types of schools. They have a choice. Why would you take that choice away from them? If a teacher at a private or parochial school doesn't measure up, they get fired. Not shuffled around. We have too many shuffled teachers out there. For a progressive person, you baffle me. Maybe this is a new "Progressive" type of education rather than the old, stale, failure in education that we have suffered with for decades. At least some of those children, that you care so much about, can have a chance to get out of the failed schools.

31) Comment by NewsFreak - 07/12/2012

Also if the Catholic Diocese Schools Office under Dr Verges wholeheartedly supported the voucher program, why is Redemptorist High School the only catholic high school in Baton Rouge that supports vouchers? Catholic HS -zero, St Joseph's Academy -zero, and St. Michaels HS -two vouchers.

32) Comment by NewsFreak - 07/12/2012

You can verify the amount of students that have left Redemptorist High School after last school year by looking at the LHSAA website which states Redemptorist is now 1A (but opts to play 2A) due to their enrollment number this year at 228.

33) Comment by NewsFreak - 07/12/2012

I did my homework @Stupid. Your comments 4. And 5. about the vouchers is INCORRECT! Go to the Redemptorist Schools of Baton Rouge website and read the student and parent handbook which states: "Graduation Requirement for 9th -12th Grade is 4 CREDITS (out of 24 Carnegie Units) for THEOLOGY!" Go to the faculty list and see only one Foriegn Language "teacher" (RHS does not require their teachers to have teaching certificates) which seems not to promote "adequate non-religious options." Of the 24 credits needed to graduate from Redemptorist High School, only 3 credits (1 less than Theology/Religion) are needed for Science. This school year RHS (due to the mass exodus of teachers, coaches, and the principal last school year, coupled with the demographics) has become a failing school under headmaster Brian Menard, and Melanie Verges with the catholic diocese. Redemptorist has 143 voucher students according to Advocate.

34) Comment by bourbon-soda - 07/12/2012

If I construe this correctly - it is not entirely clear from the context - "spoke Ebonics" seems to be used as a negative about someone. This seems highly politically incorrect if not racist.

35) Comment by twinkie1cat - 07/12/2012

WhatNow : Yes some teachers do get kept on even though they are incompetent. When possible they are sent to administration. And yes, tragically, they have, at least in the past, been sent to special ed. where they usually do a horrible job and mistreat the students. But they are not because they are union members. My experience has been that it is because they have familial, fraternal, and/or collegiate connections, like the teacher, if you could call her that, who had a husband who was a principal and a 1st cousin who was an associate superintendent. Dumb as a post and a racist too. Another was originally special ed. but she spoke Ebonics and got moved DOWN to regular because she was not considered smart enough to do special ed. (We have to be good if our kids are going to learn and are usually very intelligent and well educated.) Then she moved up into administration and seemed about to get a principalship. She was extremely attractive, dressed seductively, totally connected, and reportedly put her body in the right places with the right administrators. Yes, teachers do get promoted but it is not because they are in the union. Neither of these were. And being in the union does not always protect good teachers from being abused. But it sometimes helps. However, when another teacher reported to the union that her principal had pulled out his manhood at her she could not get any help because of his connections. She fixed him! It was out with the street committee within hours and this was before social networking. It is not about being in the union. It is about who you know, your race, and your family. The unions do not rule the schools, especially in right-to-work states.

36) Comment by bourbon-soda - 07/12/2012

What passes for education has largely become about "sensibilities" and whose are offended. Where does that fit with so-called critical thought once everyone's sensibilities are offended? How do I decide which offended sensibilities to assuage? What do we do when education produces someone who offends our sensibilities?

37) Comment by Old Man Kensey - 07/12/2012

Being stupid, the judge in this case found it unconstitutional based on Louisiana's Constitution. However, the voucher program being administered in La. would fail your fourth point. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Whatnow, have you ever read the pure factless hatred of O written by you and others on this site? This letter is issue based. Jindal did use a divide and conquer strategy turning the unions into the boogie man for the long-term systemic problems in the school system. He has done nothing to fix the problems. Anyone can tear down something. It is hard work actually trying to fix a good system. Jindal took the easy road and it backfired.

38) Comment by Whatnow - 07/12/2012

Rhonda Browning/twinkie1cat, same old Jindal bashing. Nothing new.... we've heard how much you hate Jindal over and over again. I have worked in the school system and I know how the union works. I've see it in action for keeping teachers working no matter how useless they are. I've seen teachers shifted out of the classroom to be librarians, special ed. and P.E. teachers because they weren't good teachers, but of course, they were proud union members. Most of them were passed by bad principals toward their tenure and slipped through somehow. I have seen principals just giving a "1" to all their teachers because they were just lazy during observations and didn't care. If teachers are the only people competent to operate the public schools and to ensure that children get a quality public education how come Louisiana schools aren't doing so well nationally and never have? Are you going to blame that all on Jindal? Our school sucked long before he even came into the picture. There is no discipline because of liberal parents and groups calling the shots. Try blaming superintendents, principals and those teachers who just work for a paycheck and could care less about the students. There are plenty of them. Hold them accountable instead of blaming all your woes on Jindal. At least he is trying to give some kids a way out of the swamps we call public education.

39) Comment by Being_Stupid - 07/12/2012

Zelman v. Simmons-Harris - Supreme Court ruled in 2002 that Vouchers funding Private Schools did not violate the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment to the United States Constitution, because it passed a five-part test developed by the Court in this case, titled the Private Choice Test. 1). the program must have a valid secular purpose, 2). aid must go to parents and not to the schools, 3). a broad class of beneficiaries must be covered, 4). the program must be neutral with respect to religion, and 5). there must be adequate nonreligious options.

40) Comment by potkcalb - 07/12/2012

I have no problem with an elective, survey course in world religions in public and private schools. I most certainly do object to public funding for teaching a single religion in those settings and in the infusion of religion into science classes, thereby making a mockery of both science and religion.

41) Comment by RODEO CLOWN - 07/12/2012

If Jindal is such a "great" governor, why has total revenue for Louisiana DROPPED/DECREASED/GONE DOWN in excess of two billion dollars--$2.173 billion dollars according to the 2010 Dept of Revenue report--in his first three years of office? Decreasing overall revenue for the state at a time when Louisiana is enjoying one of the most robust state economies in the country simply does not make sense. Such a relationship is a perfect example of the per verbal conundrum. Jindal's administration has reduced services to the citizens, chopped away at the university system, decimated the hospital system, killed the state's retirement system, and, now, is doing everything in his power(legally or illegally) to throw education into the dark ages. All of this occurring at a time when Louisiana is one of the few economically viable states in the Union. Louisiana has the revenue to avoid all of the above suffering. There was never any reason nor justification for Jindal to shudder the health system/raise college tuitions as drastically as they have been raised/or layoff the number of state employees that have been laid off. The bottom line is, the revenue is there...the state simply needs a chief executive with the common sense to collect the revenue...

42) Comment by twinkie1cat - 07/12/2012

I have read previously that Being Stupid is simply being ironic. But he does not seem to get the point even when it is obvious. He would rather call someone a communist. Taxpayer money cannot be used to support religion. Almost all the voucher schools are run by conservative religionists. Unions do not get taxpayer money other than what their members VOLUNTARILY pay as their dues...... As for the comment about Jindal winning the election, none of the other candidates had campaign money. Jindal had a $5 million war chest, part of which went to stack BESE, supporting Holly Boffy and Chas Roemer. With them and his two appointees (one a Catholic school administrator---Can you say conflict of interest?). The next closest candidate had only $10 Thousand. He refused to debate the other candidates, because he would have to answer questions about his priorities but Jindal invested heavily in advertising which the others could not afford. As a result, even though many people hate Jindal they barely knew there were any other candidates. At my precinct there were only 13 votes for him. The results were similar throughout North Baton Rouge with the majorities for him occuring mostly south of Goodwood.

43) Comment by Grannee - 07/12/2012

Jindal the Rhodes Scholar is earning an "F" in the Governorship of Louisiana. He's a failure.

44) Comment by Old Man Kensey - 07/12/2012

I love it when the right turns to hysteria. The pathological extremism you are spouting is rather funny and childish. Socialist- Boo, communist- Boo, brainwashing-Boo.. Try, I know it will be difficult, but try to keep it sensible and rational.

45) Comment by Old Man Kensey - 07/12/2012

Dead set on proving your name today?

46) Comment by Being_Stupid - 07/12/2012

The union worker that wrote the above letter has absolutely no understanding of the constitution. And this is the type of socialist union workers we have brainwashing the kids in public schools. Parents should have more options via vouchers, so they are not forced to have communist union workers, like the above writer of this letter, who have a government monopoly on our tax money, brainwashing their kids. Can't have vouchers, that would create competition and better schools, teachers, parents, and students all around. The A.C.L.U. is worried about religion being taught as a single elective at some of these private schools chosen (not forced upon) by the parents. I am more worried about the leftists politics and socialism being taught by these union workers that have guaranteed jobs regardless of test scores and poor performance in essential subjects like Math, English, Reading, Spelling, and History. God forbid, let's hope the above communist union worker who wrote this letter is not a history or civics teacher.

47) Comment by Being_Stupid - 07/12/2012

How does supporting School Vouchers violate the 1st Amendment? Just goes to show how ignorant these union workers are that have a government monopoly on taxpayer money that should be going to teachers to teach our kids instead of their union.

48) Comment by Old Man Kensey - 07/12/2012

Tradewinds, it is called apathy. If you recall there was only 30% turnout for that election. The current polls showing dissatisfaction represent a whole lot more of the populace.

49) Comment by tradewinns - 07/12/2012

reading the majority of comments one would think gov. jindal was unpopular. yet he was re-elect. how did that happen?

50) Comment by DMJ - 07/12/2012

Liberals' favorite amendment is the 1st. Conservatives' is the 2nd. Ugh.

51) Comment by spqr - 07/12/2012

Beingstupid obviously works for Piyush Jindal. Again, he proves he has no understanding of the violence, apathy, and constant transient behavior of much of our public school population. He just doesn't get it. Good letter.

52) Comment by Spudaroonski - 07/12/2012

Stuck on stupid. That pretty much sums up Jindal and the entire republican party. Great letter Rhonda. And Bighug I think she made a stab at the 2nd amendment because that seems to be the only amendment conservatives are willing to defend unequivocally. Just mention gun control and conservatives all begin to have raging bowel movements in their trousers and they all become constitutional scholars citing opinions from past presidents and supreme court cases trying to convince everyone what the founding fathers were really thinking when they came up with it. Ask them about any of the other amendments that are as equally important as the 2nd and they give you a blank stare or just shrug their shoulders and say whatever. Again great letter Rhonda and keep up the good fight.

53) Comment by Being_Stupid - 07/12/2012

This is why parents don't send their kids to public schools. They don't want some union worker, like the above communist who wrote this letter, brainwashing their kids.

54) Comment by Bighug - 07/12/2012

I agree with Rhonda and the previous comments, but why the stab at the 2nd Amendment? ALL of the Constitution should be upheld.

55) Comment by gary - 07/12/2012

Rhonda, get ready for the pitchfork crowd.

56) Comment by Mr. T - 07/12/2012

Bobby Jindal for president in 2016!

57) Comment by Stephen - 07/12/2012

Nice letter, Ms. Browning. Bobby Jindal is just a mess. He is destroying our professional schools (medcal and law, but don't expect their current leadership to speak up, they are cowering). Jindal is destroying our undergraduate schools--especially LSU which he has it out for (how many geology professors have left? Where are our top administrators going? and so on). Jindal is intent on destroying our public secondary and elementary schools (and replacing them with charter schools teaching creationism and other hogwash). He has done a hat trick! Good Bobby! Now resign and go run for President! I hear people in these comments complain about how much he is out of state. I say good riddance!