Columns

The history of U.S. bankruptcy

Today our federal government has $31.4 trillion of national debt recorded on its books, including $24.6T of Public Debt—which yields a Public Debt/GDP Ratio of 94%.

When moss was a money crop

For years, cypress timber was the big money maker in the Atchafalaya Basin for those who could invest in crews to cut the trees and the mills to saw them into lumber.

Hey, ChatGPT, don’t quit your day job

It’s at once amazing and troublesome. I speak of ChatGPT, an artificial intelligence application that was launched last November by OpenAI. In a matter of seconds, it can write apparently accurate articles or answer questions on a multitude of subjects.

Good parents are the key to good kids

My father did not have a happy childhood.

Competency tests for all Louisiana public officials

Nikki Haley, the former governor of South Carolina, has announced her intention to run for the Republican presidential nomination. As part of her platform, she proposed that all candidates running for president who are over 75 years old take a mental competency test. My reaction?

Catholics under attack by the FBI!

Did you know that traditional Catholicism is under attack by the FBI for being extreme, and festering terrorism? That’s right! The FBI issued a memo warning of extremists who are infiltrating “radical – traditionalist Roman Catholic organizations known primarily for the love of the Latin Mass.”

Have you taken your business elsewhere?

I just heard about a local business losing a major customer over a trivial misunderstanding. Most of us hate change and maintain loyalty to a brand or retailer through thick and thin.

Did Coolidge eat his Rice-O-La?

When planter, politician and entrepreneur Henri Gueydan began to manufacture his Rice-O-La breakfast cereal in 1923, he also launched an advertising campaign that could have been the inspiration for the flamboyant Hadacol promotions decades later. The campaign might have been anticipated.

The mistruths of politics

There are no small number of accusations lately that — shocking as it may be — some of our politicians are lying to us. Some Republicans shouted the “L” word during President Biden’s State of the Union Address, when he said Republicans wanted to end Social Security and Medicare.

Journalism: can’t live with it, can’t live without it

I was saddened to hear of the death of Dr. Glenn Himebaugh, co-founder of the journalism department at my alma mater, Middle Tennessee State University.