Sound Off Louisiana

U. S. Sen. John Kennedy, R-Louisiana, guest speaker at the Baton Rouge Press Club meeting of Monday, July 1, 2019.

U. S. Sen. John Kennedy, R-Louisiana, was the guest speaker at the Baton Rouge Press Club for its meeting of Monday, July 1, 2019.  Sound Off Louisiana’s Robert Burns asked Kennedy about the degree to which he sees President Donald Trump getting involved in Louisiana’s upcoming race for Louisiana Governor.

In responding, Kennedy made a very candid assessment of certain members of the media.  After first indicating that the mainstream media will be an asset and advantage for incumbent Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards (D-Amite), Kennedy, in joining a growing chorus of folk (e.g. Moon Griffon’s lambasting of Verne Kennedy’s recent poll and Tyler Bridges’ journalistic malpractice of running with a “bogus” poll without tabs, indicating who paid for it, no breakout by party, by gender, by geography, etc. and releasing it TWO MONTHS after it was conducted, etc. and The Hayride’s publisher Scott McKay), Kennedy makes a stunning assessment of some members of the mainstream media.

What was Kennedy’s assessment of some members of the mainstream media in Louisiana?  Well, let’s let Sen. Kennedy speak for himself, shall we (media commentary begins at the 2:00 mark)?:

Sen. Kennedy responds to Burns’ question entailing any involvement of President Trump in the upcoming Louisiana Governor’s race and, in the process, makes an assessment of certain members of the mainstream media.  CLICK HERE to see the Couvillon video Burns makes reference to wherein Couvillon indicates Trump may likely be very passive in the upcoming race for Louisiana Governor.

Lanny Keller, Advocate reporter, immediately followed up Burns’ question by asking Kennedy about his involvement in upcoming Legislative races in Louisiana.  Here’s Kennedy’s response:

Kennedy responds to Keller’s question entailing Kennedy’s potential involvement in upcoming Louisiana Legislative races.

As is obvious from the preceding video, Kennedy essentially tipped his hand that, at 6:00 p.m. this evening, he’ll be formally endorsing Heather Cloud (R-Turkey Creek) for Louisiana State Senate.  Cloud is running to replace term-limited State Sen. Eric LaFleur (D-Ville Platte).  Cloud is one candidate among several that a group led by Attorney General Jeff Landry is seeking to get elected to the Louisiana Senate in order to make that particular body, which conservatives have viewed as nothing short of an unmitigated disaster given its present composition, far more conservative when the new Louisiana State Senate convenes in 2020.

The Cloud campaign is elated at the response to this evening’s announcement, as per its press release of earlier today:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 1, 2019
Press Contact: 225-978-4823

HEATHER CLOUD ANNOUNCEMENT MOVED TO BIGGER VENUE

TURKEY CREEK – Heather Cloud’s announcement reception for State Senate has been moved to the Turkey Creek Community Center. The event had been planned for Miss Sue’s Cafe, but the campaign has received RSVPs in excess of the restaurant’s capacity.

The event will be attended by U.S. Senator John Kennedy, Congressman Mike Johnson, Congressman Clay Higgins and Attorney General Jeff Landry who are also part of the host committee for the event.

“We are excited that there is so much enthusiasm for our campaign,” said Lelia Thrasher, campaign manager for Heather Cloud For Louisiana. “Once it became obvious that the crowd would be too large for the Cafe, we decided to move the event. We are thrilled the Community Center was able to help us on such short notice,” added Thrasher.

The Turkey Creek Community Center is at 13850 Veteran Memorial Hwy in Turkey Creek. The reception begins at 6pm tonight (Monday July 1st). The public is invited.

CLICK HERE to see Kennedy’s presentation in its entirety.

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Hayride founder and publisher Scott McKay, who was the guest speaker at the East Baton Rouge Republican Women’s meeting of Thursday, June 27, 2019.

Scott McKay, founder and publisher of The Hayride, was the guest speaker at the East Baton Rouge Parish (EBRP) Republican Women’s meeting of Thursday, June 27, 2019.  Let’s break out what all he had to say:

McKay, joins a growing chorus of folk, the most vocal of whom has been conservative talk show host Moon Griffon, in lambasting a recent poll on the race for Louisiana Governor conducted by Verne Kennedy.  McKay provided some other interesting commentary on the race beyond the poll, and he flatly stated that incumbent Gov. John Bel Edwards “cannot get to 50 percent.”  Regarding McKay’s assessment that Edwards will go heavily negative against either Republican Ralph Abraham or Eddie Rispone, we totally concur, and that’s a key reason we at Sound Off Louisiana have provided the website The Choice is Clear LA to highlight Edwards’ numerous negatives on a micro level.  We did so at the micro level because we firmly believe it’s at the “micro level” that connects with voters far more than glib economic statistics.

McKay addresses concerns on the part of some folk that Gov. Edwards may win re-election in the primary on October 12, 2019 and avoid the need for a runoff by declaring Independent Gary Landrieu as the Republican’s “secret weapon” for ensuring that scenario doesn’t unfold.

 
Again echoing sentiments by Griffon, McKay emphasizes that conservatives must get the true message about Gov. Edwards out in the open because he indicates the mainstream media will fail miserably in that regard.

McKay states that Gov. Edwards biggest weakness is that “he lies.”  We at Sound Off Louisiana have chronicled those lies and the mockery Gov. Edwards has made of his “West Point Honor Code” at JBE Fraud.

Echoing the sentiments (though with FAR more charisma) of political pollster and strategist John Couvillon, McKay assesses Gov. Edwards’ signing into law a stringent anti-abortion bill by Sen. John Milkovich (D-Shreveport) as a political negative for Edwards.

McKay assesses Gov. Edwards’ veto of a bill by Sen. Dan Claitor (R-Baton Rouge) regarding the proposed City of St. George as a negative for Gov. Edwards.

McKay provides some valuable insight into an outright distortion by Gov. Edwards entailing his self-proclaimed, after-the-fact support for a bill to replace Obamacare in Louisiana should Obamacare be declared unconstitutional.

McKay provides insight on efforts to rein in abuses of Louisiana’s judicial system.  McKay essentially says the proverbial chickens have come home to roost in that regard, and it sure brought back a flood of memories entailing Sound Off Louisiana’s efforts to warn of that development in the 2015 campaign for Governor mere months after the blog was formed.

McKay stresses how lawsuit abuses are killing Louisiana industries, and he specifically references the timber industry as being adversely impacted.  Not long back, liberal Baton Rouge Press Club (and HEAVY backer of Gov. John Bel Edwards), J. R. Skains, expressed those concerns to BRPC guest speaker Stephen Waugespack (see 5:31 mark of preceding video).  Hence, even the most liberal supporter of Gov. Edwards recognizes the incredible problem of Louisiana’s legal climate.

Newly-installed Baton Rouge Field Office Director of Americans for Prosperity, Kaleb Moore, introduces himself to the audience.

CLICK HERE for McKay’s presentation in its entirety.

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Lynn Schofield, one of several plaintiffs suing the Louisiana State Board of Cosmetology over its requirement of 500 hours of training to obtain a hair-braiding permit in order to legally practice braiding hair in Louisiana.

On October 30, 2017, the  Institute for Justice’s Lee McGrath made an appeal to the Louisiana State Board of Cosmetology (LSBC) for it to voluntarily loosen its stringent requirement that hair braiders undergo 500 hours of training in order to obtain a “hair braiding permit” from the LSBC in order to legally braid hair in Louisiana.  As the title to the previously-linked feature demonstrates, the LSBC let his pleas go in one ear and out the other.

Despite Gov. John Bel Edwards’ appointees digging their heels in the ground and indicating basically they’d abolish the 500-hour requirement over their dead bodies (trust us, if we could legally videotape their discussions prior to the meeting, they’d be extremely revealing to our viewership in that regard), there was some reason for optimism as, on January 9, 2018, Gov. Edwards, in what many have characterized as a half-hearted attempt to make himself appear “business friendly” for his upcoming re-election efforts on October 12, 2019, stated publicly that he felt some occupational licenses should be abolished in Louisiana.

The only vocation Edwards specifically referenced, however, was that of florists.  Louisiana is the only state in the nation to license florists, and many Republicans didn’t find his singling out florists as coincidental since then-long-time Louisiana Republican Party Chairman, Roger Villere, is a florist.

Nevertheless, on April 4, 2018, Gov. Edwards made it a point to let everyone in the room know that he was watching the proceedings of a bill by a key ally of his, Regina Barrow, which would have DOUBLED the number of required hours for the hair-braiding permit to 1,000!.  We’d strongly encourage subscribers to watch the video on the previous link because, as the title indicates, it was an unmitigated train wreck for the pro-licensing crowd (our good friend Scott McKay of The Hayride summed that fact up better than we ever could).

So, either one of two things transpired:  #1) Gov. Edwards was never sincere about eliminating the hair braiding 500-hour permit requirement, or #2) he was sincere and lacked the clout (or was unwilling to expend that clout) to generate sufficient support for Rep. Julie Emerson’s (R-Carencro) bill to abolish the permitting requirement in Louisiana.

As a result, several African American plaintiffs, one of whom shut down three of her four locations due to the extreme burdens entailing the permit (500 hours and upwards of $10,000 tuition, with the only school offering the curriculum being in Monroe, Louisiana), sued the LSBC alleging that the licensing requirement violates Louisiana’s Constitution in inhibiting their abilities to earn a living without overly burdensome requirements imposed by a state agency.  Simultaneously to filing the lawsuit, IJ also issued this press release , which we present below in its entirety:

Why does the Louisiana State Board of Cosmetology require 500 hours of training to do something as safe as hair braiding? That is the question three Louisiana hair braiders raised in a new lawsuit Thursday with the Institute for Justice (IJ), a national public interest law firm that fights for economic liberty.

Lynn Schofield, a plaintiff in the lawsuit, experienced firsthand the harms of Louisiana’s unnecessary red tape. She moved to Louisiana in 2000 and opened Afro Touch, the state’s first salon dedicated solely to hair braiding: Afro Touch. It was so successful, she expanded her business to four locations with more than 20 employees. But that all changed in 2003 when the Board created the braiding license. Braiding without a license is punishable by fines of up to $5,000 per incident. Unable to fully staff her salons, Lynn could no longer expand her business, and instead was forced to shut down salons.

“I want to grow my business, but it’s impossible with Louisiana’s rules,” Lynn said. Today, only one salon remains.

“It is unconstitutional to license something as safe and common as hair braiding,” said IJ Attorney Jaimie Cavanaugh. “Economic liberty—or the right to earn a living in the profession of one’s choosing—is a right protected by the Louisiana Constitution.”

When economic liberty is under attack, would-be entrepreneurs vote with their feet. Take plaintiff Michelle Robertson, a former resident of Shreveport, Louisiana, who dreamed of opening her own braiding salon there before relocating to Texas. She did not have the means to stop working for three months to enroll in the 500-hour braiding course, nor could she find other braiders who could legally braid hair for a living in Louisiana. Decades of braiding experience meant nothing to Louisiana’s Board of Cosmetology, so she moved to Texas, where braiding is legal and she can pursue other opportunities.

“Braiding does not become dangerous when you cross the border from Texas to Louisiana,” said IJ Senior Attorney Wesley Hottot. “Twenty-seven states require no license of any kind for hair braiding.  A majority of states recognize that licensing braiders offers no public benefits, but causes real economic harms.”

Who does benefit from the license requirement are the self-interested members of the Cosmetology Board. Louisiana’s specialty braiding license is the most onerous in the country, but the Board keeps it that way because the license requirement is not meant to benefit the public. Instead, the license benefits cosmetology schools that want to profit from braiders and existing cosmetologists who do not want to compete with braiders. And the Board is composed of both licensed cosmetologists and cosmetology school owners. It is no surprise then that the Board wants to keep the braiding license exactly as it is.

The Louisiana Constitution also prohibits the Cosmetology Board from lawmaking, even laws related to cosmetology. The 500-hour requirement was created by the Board, not the legislature, and is nowhere in the law. The Louisiana State Legislature has the sole authority to make laws—the Cosmetology Board can only enforce them.

Plaintiff Ashley N’Dakpri, Lynn’s niece and the manager of the sole remaining Afro Touch location, said that she looks forward to the fight to take down Louisiana’s braiding license.

“It would be easier for me just to move to Mississippi or Texas, but this is my home.  And I won’t stop until every Louisianan can go into the hair braiding business without this useless license,” Ashley said.

This case continues IJ’s national Braiding Freedom Initiative, which seeks to protect braiders’ right to pursue their livelihoods free from unnecessary licensing laws, and it is IJ’s first lawsuit challenging a specialty braiding license. Its first lawsuit was filed on behalf of hair braiders in Washington, D.C.  Since D.C. repealed its license, IJ has won a dozen hair braiding lawsuits, either when courts struck down or lawmakers repealed the challenged licenses. This lawsuit is also part of IJ’s continuing efforts to expand economic protections under state constitutions.

We at Sound Off Louisiana also tuned in for a news conference announcing the litigation, and we’re providing video of that news conference below:

IJ’s news conference of 11 a.m. Thursday, June 20, 2019 announcing its hair-braiding lawsuit against the LSBC.

The case was assinged to 19th JDC Judge Wilson Fields.  We commit to attend any and all court hearings on this litigation and update our subscribers as they transpire.

If you would like to be added to our Sound Off Louisiana email list to be notified of future posts, simply go to our home page and scroll to the bottom (mobile devices) or to the top of the right-hand column (desktops).  Supply your email address within the subscribe box.  You’ll then receive an automated email from Word Press, and all you have to do is click on the blue “confirm follow” bar contained within that email, and you’ll begin receiving great posts such as the preceding one above.