Whose street?

 LaSalle Street as it runs into what is now called Champions Square.



Six months later it still isn't officially Tom's street even if he does treat it that way.

Guess what?  There is still no contract between the LSED and the City for the use of the 1400 block of LaSalle.  I just confirmed that through a public records request this week.

I wanted to wait until the first Saints first home game to find out if they were actually going to resolve the issue before 10's of thousands of people poured across the property so I could get a clear picture of how Thornton thinks the 1400 block of LaSalle is "overvalued".  

I, myself, slogged across that public street with thousands of other people that day we got our ass kicked by the Patriots.

Clearly, this street is not "public".  Not even close.  Barriers on both ends with police checking bags....it ain't public.  It is now a permanent part of the Champions Square footprint.

As usual, there's a bunch more to that AZ post including a fun Sewerage and Water Board tie in so go read that. But I'd just like to add that the bag check is even more aggressive this year than it has been in the past.  Used to be they'd let you walk in with your cocktail so you could finish it before you went into the Dome and had to subsist on $9 shitty Dixies for the rest of the day. When we got to the checkpoint last week, they made us stop and throw away our Diet Cokes before passing into the Benson Concession Exclusivity Zone.

This week, you may have noticed several prominent Republican blowhards have taken to being very mad online at Tom Benson's state subsidies.  Before they either get too distracted by the next dumb thing or someone points out that they're actually the party of giving state assets away to their very rich friends like Tom and they drop the subject altogether, maybe we could get them to ask for our street back.

We will fix the fiscal cliff if everybody takes a knee

So it turns out that all this time, the way to get conservative politicians to talk about ending corporate welfare was to bruise their little snowflake fee fees with nonviolent political demonstrations. State Rep. and noted critic of "political correctness" Ken Havard is suddenly ready to defund Benson over what he considers incorrect political activities.

Louisiana State Rep. Kenny Havard, R-St. Francisville, said Monday morning that he wants to cut millions in state tax dollars, exemptions and credits allocated to the New Orleans Saints, the NFL and any of those groups' associated facilities that receive funding.

Havard's announcement comes a day after a group of Saints players participated in a protest during Sunday's national anthem before their game against the Panthers. Protests were the focus around the NFL on Sunday as players chose different methods to demonstrate after controversial comments from President Trump late last week.

Maybe we should have started this a long time ago. As anyone who has followed the legislature over the past few years can tell you, the problem with tax subsidies goes well beyond football. 

In 2008, the state awarded 51 cents in sales tax breaks for every $1 it collected in sales taxes, the study panel found. In 2015, the state gave away $1.18 in sales tax breaks for every $1 it collected in sales taxes.

In 2008, the state awarded $1.08 in corporate income tax breaks for every $1 in corporate taxes it collected. In 2015, the state awarded $2.72 in corporate income tax breaks for every $1 in corporate taxes it collected.

The core issue in Baton Rouge in recent years has been (mostly) Republican obstruction of any meaningful effort to get these tax breaks under control. Maybe if we managed to make them mad at more industries over symbolism, though, we'd finally break through to them.  Has anyone talked to Ken about all the "libruls" who benefit from the Hollywood South credits?

Permanent temporary penny

That "fiscal cliff" is still looming. Doesn't look like we're any closer to the equitable fiscal reform lawmakers promised would come when they voted for this "temporary" sales tax As we continue to watch them argue about this, there are two things to remember about the sales tax. 1) It is an unfair burden on the state's poor and middle class. 2) It is bolstered by support from powerful (and traditionally Republican) lobbying groups.

Some Republicans said they voted for the extra penny in 2016 only because they assumed more fiscal reform would be put in place before it the temporary tax expired. Comprehensive reform hasn't happened, largely because the Legislature hasn't been able to agree on a permanent solution.

"I will be voting no on the penny, I can assure you of that," said Rep. Kenny Havard, R-Jackson. "All I hear about is the penny, and I don't think they have the votes to keep the penny on."

Havard and (State Sen J.P.) Morrell said business lobbyists are pushing for keep the extra penny tax because their business clients have exemptions from it on some big purchases. Further, if the sales tax stays in place, it makes it less likely that other taxes on businesses will be implemented or that tax exemptions for industry will be eliminated.

"People who have sales tax exclusions are simply convinced we are going to tax everyone else," Morrell said. "The reason that some people are bullish on the sales tax is [that] they don't have the sales tax."

The true genius here politically is that, because the Republicans don't actually care whether or not we go over the fiscal cliff, they aren't about to lift a finger to do anything about the special exemptions Morrell is talking about there. This way they leave Democrats cornered as half hearted supporters of the hated sales tax. And, of course, they're all too happy to pin that on the Governor.

(State Rep Cameron) Henry, who helps build the annual state budget as House Appropriations Committee chairman, said he expects Edwards to engage in fear mongering over the next few months. He predicted that Edwards will threaten to cut the popular TOPS college scholarship program and services for disabled people if the Legislature doesn't raise taxes. These programs have been cut since 2016, when the state last faced a billion dollar deficit, and Henry said the governor threatened to cut them as "a tactic" to pressure legislators into raising taxes.

He also implied that the governor, though not most legislators, is pushing the idea of keeping the sales tax rate at 5 percent. Edwards has indeed said he might be open to extending the 5 percent sales tax rate beyond June 30, but only if it was again done on a temporary basis and passed alongside permanent taxes that would kick in once it expired.

"It will be the permanent, temporary penny," Henry said in the video. "I think anyone who falls for that is really doing a disservice to their state and their constituents.

A "permanent temporary penny" suits Henry just fine, of course. It gives him an issue he can complain all about all day even as he has no incentive to actually do anything about it. All of which is why next year in the legislature will be exactly like the previous two. It's a permanent strategy meant to make this governor's term as temporary as possible.

Ken Havard is somewhat portly

No fatties, though. Amirite, Ken?

State Rep. Kenny Havard said Thursday he won’t apologize over his “joke” legislation that sought to ban exotic dancers from being overweight or older than 28 years.

He took a firm stand on Thursday, despite numerous demands he apologize, blaming the firestorm his comments created on the delicate sensibilities of a nation that he said is overly concerned with being politically correct.

“I don’t know if I’ll ever apologize for being politically incorrect. It’s just not in my nature,” Havard said in an afternoon press conference. “Political correctness, in my opinion has ruined the country, and it looks like it’s ruining the state now.”

Okay but the "politically correct" bill he was taking a stand against was meant as a response to growing concerns about a human trafficking problem.  Some have argued that this age restriction isn't the most effective remedy for that, but Havard voted for the bill anyway.

So what was his point? Trolling, basically. There's a sub-genre of right wing humor predicated on the notion that freedom is advanced by saying things that might offend the delicate sensibilities of a conservative's mental caricature of a liberal.  A lot of Donald Trump's schtick is rooted in this.

Which is why the absolute worst way to react to it is by, well, actually getting offended the way Grace does here.  There's no use in that. It's what Trumpites want in the first place. By stopping to 'splain how rude their shock jock behavior is, you're just confirming its premise.

Far better to just give it right back to them.  Donald Trump has tiny hands.  Ken Havard is maybe not one to talk about people's proscribed weight. I mean I looked at his House bio page and didn't see text listing his weight and age. Maybe we should pass an amendment.  But I did see this.



I didn't know what this guy looked like before this happened but somehow this isn't a shock. Anyway, get with the time, Ken. The Golden Age of the Doughy Guy is long passed now.