CenLamar | Est. 2006

  • Rapides Parish Police Jury Votes To Display Ten Commandments in Courthouse; ACLU Responds Immediately

    In case you missed it, on Monday, the Rapides Parish Police Jury voted 8-1 to display the Ten Commandments in the Rapides Parish Courthouse, despite the advice of their lawyer, Tom Wells, who called the action “inappropriate legally.” Quoting: Jury legal counsel Tom Wells warned that there could be legal consequences to displaying a religious message in a public building, particularly when using public funds to do it. The motion was amended to allow for private donations to be used to fund the display if possible after a pair of citizens at the meeting said they would be willing to…

  • Joel Chaisson Carves Up Rapides Parish In Order To Protect Two Incumbent Republicans

    Seriously (bold mine): Chaisson said he designed the new minority district that splits up McPherson’s district in a skinny, curving shape through North and Central Louisiana in order to avoid putting Sen. Bob Kostelka, R-Monroe, and Sen. Gerald Long, R-Winnfield, in the same district. As I mentioned before, how does this look logical at all? No one doubts the importance of ensuring minority representation in the Louisiana State Senate, but Senator Joel Chaisson should be ashamed. As others, including State Senator Lydia Jackson, have noted, there are many other ways of creating another majority-minority Senate district that is more compact…

  • Meditations on My Grandmother’s Life (Part Three of Six)

    Part Three: Lamar White, Sr. When I was a kid, I loved learning about the Kennedy family. I first read Profiles in Courage when I was in the fourth grade, and by the sixth grade, I considered myself as somewhat of an expert on JFK assassination conspiracy theories. Part of my fascination, I think, was because my mother’s family is from Dallas. Before I was born, my mother had worked in the hospital where President Kennedy died. One sunny afternoon, while visiting our family in Dallas, my parents took us downtown to see John Neely Bryan’s cabin. John Neely Bryan…