Clifton Chenier Panel being seated

Senator Landrieu in the center. Dr. Nellie August-Prudhomme to her left. Dr. Mike Robichaux to her right.

Mike tests being conducted. Technical tests.

Blue Rolfes: Welcome to forum hosted by Lafayette Parish Democratic Executive Committee.

Hot topic.

Take two due to technical difficulties.

Here we go again.

People want to know what is in the plan and what will it mean. How will it affect us.

Louisiana Senior Senator Mary Landrieu. First Louisiana woman elected to full term in the U.S. Senate. Appropriations committee member. Senate Energy committee. Won the energy bill with big bucks from off shore (you know, the one Jindal took credit for).

Dr. Michael Robichaux of Raceland. LSU Tiger all-SEC in the 1960s. National Guard. Private practice. Former member of the Louisiana state Senate. Working on price and safety of prescription drugs.

Dr. Nellie August-Prudhomme is a doctor of Nursing Sciences and a Master of Public Health from Tulane. RN. Psychiatric nurse, too. Clinical faculty at LSU-Eunice.

Opening statements next.

Dear Senator Landrieu: Stand with us as we've stood with you

The following letter, signed/approved by 24 Louisiana supporters of Senator Mary Landrieu, was hand delivered to her office in Lake Charles today. The letter calls on the senator to support healthcare reform legislation that includes the public option.

• • •

Dear Senator Landrieu:

We write you today as friends, long-time supporters, and concerned Louisiana citizens regarding an issue of great national significance that is critical to the future well being of our state.

In a few days you will be asked to decide whether healthcare coverage will be extended to millions of Americans who do not now enjoy those benefits. As your votes in support of SCHIP and your efforts to support community healthcare demonstrate, you know that people who do not to have access to adequate health care are destined to die younger, suffer many more illnesses and to watch helplessly as their love ones are denied the care that could save their lives or relieve their discomfort. The high cost of health insurance is the main barrier preventing working families and small business owners from gaining access to that care.

Small businesses and large corporations alike are abandoning employer-based health care because of cost. In Louisiana, where the percentage of employers offering healthcare benefits has historically been low, the problem is even worse. Even where coverage is offered, workers frequently cannot afford the premiums to cover their families. The situation will only be made worse by recent cuts in services voted by the Louisiana Legislature.

In spite of the dishonest campaigns being waged to prevent comprehensive national health care from becoming a reality, the overwhelming majority of Americans support it. Surprisingly, over sixty percent of American physicians are also in support of these ends.

We realize the pressure being exerted on you to vote against this program.

The same stale arguments are being made today against the public option that have been made against every progressive endeavor for the last seventy-five years. Social Security was supposed to be the pinnacle of governmental intrusion into our lives. Where would we be today without Social Security? Medicare was another “Socialist” program that was supposed to destroy medical care in our nation. Where would our seniors be without Medicare? The same could be said for the Civil Rights Act and the Voting Rights Acts. All of these programs were passed under Democratic presidents and all of them have changed our nation and our lives profoundly for the better.

The vast majority of your political base in Louisiana is composed of people who stand to benefit directly from enactment of a national coverage plan, specifically the public option.

We believe that the public option — where adults can buy into a Medicare-like program — is the best way to control costs by bringing competition to the health insurance system. In Louisiana, the two largest health insurance providers control 74 percent of the health insurance market. The market has failed us by pricing coverage beyond the reach of too many Louisiana citizens.

A national consensus has emerged that the current system must be changed and that only federal government has the scale and reach to change it. If these efforts are not successful, it may be many years before we have a president who is willing to take the challenge and pay the political price to achieve these admirable ends.

We do not consider this to be an issue of politics or party. This is an issue of the basic right of every American to be able to access quality healthcare without the risk of financial ruin. Access to healthcare should not be a privilege available only to those who can afford private health insurance.

As friends and long-time supporters we ask you to please not ignore the people who have repeatedly voted you into office. We have stood with you; now, we are asking you to stand with us in support of the public option.

Sincerely yours,

Mike Stagg, Lafayette
Sally O. Donlon, Lafayette
Dr. Mike Robichaux, Raceland
Deborah Langhoff, New Orleans
Stephen Handwerk, Lafayette
Angelique LaCour, Covington
Barbara St. Romain, MSW, LCSW, Lafayette
John St. Julien, Lafayette
Edna D. St. Julien, Lafayette
Phillip Arleigh Lank, Lafayette
Mark Lastrapes, New Orleans
Michelle Vega, New Orleans
Robert J. Guercio, Lafayette
Anna K. Guercio, Lafayette
Charles St. Romain, LCSW, Lafayette
Rebecca Chaisson, Lake Charles
Joanne Pettit, Mandeville
Daryl Pettit, Mandeville
Adrienne LaCour, Covington
Karen E. Keller, MS, Lafayette
State Representative Juan LaFonta, New Orleans
Lauren Lastrapes, New Orleans
Dr. Douglas de Mahy, Lafayette
Marie de Mahy, Lafayette
Andrea Loewy, Lafayette

Louisiana Democrats Paying the Price of 'The Whittington Tax'

It is the middle of 2009, the middle of a heated national debate about monumental issues like healthcare reform, energy policy, and re-regulating the financial industry. There is an incumbent Republican United State Senator up for re-election next year who has moral and ethical problems that would put even other Republican members of the Senate to shame. The seat is there for the taking (with a fight, no doubt, but more winnable than anyone had expected it to be after Vitter won re-election in 2004).

We have a Republican Governor who trashed federal stimulus spending while bragging about the state's economic performance — which has been fueled by years of federal disaster relief dating back to the storms of 2005 and those since. That same governor is in the process of dismantling the public health delivery system by shutting down public hospitals — a long-cherished dream of Republicans and a mission that Jindal has pursued since his days working for Mike Foster.

But, the Louisiana Democratic Party is no where to be found in any of this. Not standing up for our President. Not working with candidates to develop a strategy to take Vitter's seat. Not pointing out Jindal's budgetary hypocrisy (fueled by his apparently incurable case of Blind Ambition). Not working with legislators and local government leaders to deal with the upcoming reapportionment of political districts after the 2010 Census.

The party's absence is directly attributable to the person who sits as chairman, Christopher Whittington. The actions of the executive director Whittington hired as part of his re-election bid has made the party the target of at least two lawsuits.

The highly regarded communications director left shortly after the executive director did.

The entire staff of the party consists of two people, neither of which has any executive power. They are merely at the party's Government Street headquarters in Baton Rouge to turn the lights on and off, answer the phone and get the mail.

The Jefferson/Jackson Dinner in Baton Rouge two weeks ago was a farce. James Carville spoke, but for less than 10 minutes. There were no statewide elected officials in attendance. Senator Mary Landrieu was not there. There were about seven members of the state Legislature in attendance. The event started late and ended early. The speaking ended before 8 p.m. Had Rep. Karen Carter Peterson not given a stem-winder of an address that out-lasted Carville's talk, the event would have lasted less than 30 minutes.

Word is now that Whittington has said that the party will not hire an executive director at this critical time, that "we are going to take a vacation from that."

Imagine that. A political organization taking a vacation from political work.

Anyone who has watched Whittington fight to keep his job while letting the party's work wither will not find this as a surprise. Whittington's fight has always been about keeping control of the party apparatus so that he and his cronies can keep control of the money and the favors that flow through the state party during election cycles.

The crony list includes lawyers, consultants and various hangers-on.

Meanwhile, the party does not do the basic work of crafting a message, registering voters, and winning elections.

But, that's OK with Whittington because, again, this is not about politics. It's about control of money and favors.

There are people on the Democratic State Central Committee and even on the party's executive committee whose efforts guaranteed Whittington's re-election who are now said to be disenchanted with the course things have taken. That course is no different now than it was when they worked and voted for Whittington; he is still playing the same game only now those former allies find that Whittington does not care about the party and its fate. They are shocked! Shocked I tell you! That this petty little man has turned on them.

The sad fact is that the party's constitution and by-laws are such a shambles that any attempt to oust Whittington is a waste of time and effort. He and his various legal advisors twist the interpretation of those rules to make them say whatever it is that serves Whittington's puprposes.

This is not a political organization. This is not a political party. It is a club run by an ever-shrinking group of insiders who are determined to hold control of the organization for the sole purpose of demonstrating that they can.

Every additional day that Chris Whittington holds the otherwise meaningless title of "Chairman" of the Louisiana Democratic Party is further proof of his complete and total disregard for the well-being of the party and its interests.

Chris Whittington has brought this party to the bring of ruin. Why is he holding on? Why is the state central committee letting him?

Speakout for the Public Option

Democratic National Committee Ad. It's Time. Are you listening, Senator Landrieu?

Calling Senator Landrieu!

The Service Employee International Union (SEIU) is continuing to work in support of the public option in healthcare reform.

This graphic says it all.

Healthcare Costs Bankrupt Even Those With Health Insurance

The New York Times reported on Tuesday that "an estimated three-quarters of people who are pushed into personal bankruptcy by medical problems actually had insurance when they got sick or were injured."

This is scary. Why?

Because more than half of all bankruptcies (prior to the current economic bust) were related to healthcare expenses. You can read the report on this fact here (PDF).

If you do the math (61% of all bankruptcies involve medical expenses; 75% of medical expense bankruptcies involve people who HAD health insurance), you'll find that somewhere around 40% of all bankruptcies involve medical expenses of people who had health insurance.

"Underinsurance is the great hidden risk of the American health care system," Elizabeth Warren told the Times. She co-authored the 2007 report on healthcare bankruptcies cited above. “People do not realize they are one diagnosis away from financial collapse.”

The Times reports:

Last week, a former Cigna executive warned at a Senate hearing on health insurance that lawmakers should be careful about the role they gave private insurers in any new system, saying the companies were too prone to “confuse their customers and dump the sick.”

“The number of uninsured people has increased as more have fallen victim to deceptive marketing practices and bought what essentially is fake insurance,” Wendell Potter, the former Cigna executive, testified.

To put a human face on the issue, the Times tells the medical tale of woe of Lawrence Yurdin, a 64-year old computer specialist living in Texas. To make a long story short, Mr. Yurdin faced tens of thousands of dollars of unexpected medical expenditures if he got necessary heart procedures, even though he had health insurance coverage.

Things turned out well for Mr. Yurdin, though, the Times reports:

But as of Wednesday, his future insurance problems are largely solved: he qualifies for Medicare because he turns 65.

The "public option" in President Obama's healthcare reform package would allow working age Americans (18-64) buy into a Medicare-like program that would provide medical coverage (as does Medicare) with affordable premiums.

This is the plan that the health insurance companies (you know, the ones who deny coverage and have overhead costs that consume about 30 percent of health insurance premiums) are opposing.

There are tens of thousands — if not millions — of stories like Mr. Yurdin in America today. There are tens of thousands — if not millions — of stories involving people who cannot even afford health insurance premiums.

Recent polls show something on the order of 70% support for the public option in the country, fueled in no small part by the direct experiences individuals, families and businesses have had dealing with private, for-profit health insurance providers.

Senator Mary Landrieu has not heard from enough Louisiana residents who want this public option as a path to affordable access to care. Call her office and tell her you support the public option!

Here's a list of her in-state offices:

New Orleans Hale Boggs Federal Building
500 Poydras Street
Room 1005
New Orleans, LA 70130
Voice: (504) 589-2427
Fax:(504) 589-4023

Baton Rouge Room 326, Federal Building
707 Florida Street
Baton Rouge, LA 70801
Voice: (225) 389-0395
Fax:(225) 389-0660

Shreveport U.S. Courthouse
300 Fannin Street
Room 2240
Shreveport, LA 71101
Voice: (318) 676-3085
Fax:(318) 676-3100

Lake Charles
Hibernia Tower
One Lakeshore Drive
Suite 1260
Lake Charles, LA 70629
Voice: (337) 436-6650
Fax:(337) 439-3762

She needs to hear from you!

Why Louisiana Needs Healthcare Reform

The debate on healthcare reform is intensifying in Washington and across the country. This is not a debate taking place in the abstract.

Louisiana stands to benefit greatly from reform — if the final package includes the so-called "Public Option." The public option is a proposal by President Obama to offer working-age Americans the opportunity to buy health insurance coverage similar to coverage currently available to those over 65 through Medicare.

Health insurance companies oppose this, saying that the government will ultimately drive them from the field; that they won't be able to compete. The public, according to polls, is not buying that argument. Various polls report public support for the public option to be running 70 percent and higher.

That probably has something to do with the experiences those with insurance have had with insurance companies over the years. The insurance companies have not endeared themselves to the American public through their arbitrary denials of coverage, refusal to pay claims, and general ripping off of consumers and businesses over the years.

The case for reform is becoming still more urgent in Louisiana coming on the heals of a disastrous (for providers and patients; analysts say the Governor did well) legislative session for healthcare. Medicaid is a big-ticket, unprotected item in the state's budget and the poor have no well-healed army of lobbyists to work the Capitol for them. As a result, the only opposition raised to a quarter billion dollars in Medicaid cuts were hospitals who will lose money through reduced reimbursements.

And, while the initial pain will fall squarely on the poor, ultimately those of us with health insurance will pay for these cuts, as hospitals and other providers shift costs onto those with coverage to recoup the lost dollars resulting from the state budget cuts. Oh, there is also the matter of the thousands of healthcare jobs that will be lost as a result of these cuts. But, it's all good because taxes were not raised and the Governor's presidential ambitions remain in tact.

Healthcare reform on the national level, specifically the public option, holds real promise for Louisiana. First, Louisiana has historically had a large percentage of working age people without health insurance coverage. The latest figures are that only 54 percent of employers offer any form of coverage. In many small communities across the state, local governments offer coverage for their workers but the workers can't afford to pay the premiums based on the small salaries they receive.

The public option will bring competition to insurance markets. In Louisiana, there is not much competition. Blue Cross has 61 percent of the market. Combine that with the second largest health insurer and 74 percent of the market is owned by those two companies. Introduction of the public option would immediately bring cost discipline to the health insurance markets that is sorely missing now.

You can find these and other great facts about the current state of healthcare in Louisiana here.

Any requirement to force companies to offer health insurance or to require individuals to buy health insurance coverage without the inclusion of a public option is nothing more than a gift to the very companies that have produced this financially ruinous system that is responsible for at least half of the bankruptcies in the U.S. each year.

The public option is the minimal requirement for any program worthy of the name healthcare reform.

Senator Mary Landrieu needs to know that Louisiana voters support the public option. So far, only her insurance company lobbying friends are getting through. Call her office. Remind her that you have stood with her and now you expect her to stand with you in support of the public option.

The public option will be good for us, good working Louisiana families, and good for our country.

Thank you, John Kennedy — for reminding me why I support Mary Landrieu

John Kennedy did a great job of reminding Democrats why they should vote to re-elect Senator Mary Landrieu this year.

It was Kennedy's ads that reminded Democrats that Senator Landrieu does, in fact, have a somewhat progressive voting record (calling it "radical" or "liberal" was really stretching it).

Mary, on the other hand, had the fear of Jindal in her. She and her staff were apparently convinced that the only way she could win re-election in post-Katrina/Rita Louisiana was to make Republicans feel comfortable with her. There was, no doubt, some accuracy in that assessment, but with African American vote going through the roof in support of Barack Obama's historic run, the Landrieu campaign veered dangerously close to turning off core Democratic constituents to her candidacy.

So, Mary owes John Kennedy a debt of gratitude for reminding Democrats that they do, indeed, have good reasons to support our senior senator's re-election.

Whittington proves he is unfit to serve

Chris Whittington has resorted to subterfuge in a desperate attempt to hold on to his job as chairman of the Louisiana Democratic Party (LDP).

He must be stopped.

Whittington's subterfuge became apparent only on Tuesday of this week, four days before the election for party officers. On that day, the Louisiana Democratic Party released a list of appointments made by Whittington to fill 27 of the 41 vacancies on the DSCC.

Whittington's defenders say that he did not try to "pack" those slots with people favorable only to him.

I don't believe that. One person personally told me that she was offered a seat on the DSCC if she would support Whittington's re-election. The offer came from a sitting member of the LDP executive committee who lives in the same House district as this woman. I don't believe this offer has been the exception; I believe it has been the rule.

The "not packing" argument also misses the point by a mile.

The point is that for the past four months, as Whittington has been assembling this list of hand-picked potential DSCC members, he and his camp have been the only parties to the LDP election that have access to the names on that list. Other candidates for chair (as well as other offices) were denied access to that pool of voters.

These are not the acts of a person interested in conducting a fair election. These are the acts of a person determined to use any means necessary -- legitimate or otherwise -- in order to hold power. One can only wish he'd used as much imagination and creativity against Republicans last year that he's using against fellow Democrats in this race.

This goes to the heart of the ability of the LDP to conduct an open and fair election. The 27 people Whittington wants to appoint constitute a captive constituency who have not been exposed to or heard from the other candidates for chairman in the race. Those people constitute almost 16 percent of the total of the DSCC and, if allowed to vote, would constitute almost 14 percent of all votes cast.

This is more than enough votes to change the outcome of this closely contested election.

BACKGROUND

To understand what Whittington is attempting, one must go back to December of 2007 when Democrats across the state filed to run for seats on the Democratic State Central Committee (DSCC). Theoretically, the DSCC is governing body of the LDP. It has 210 seats (two for every House district in the Louisiana Legislature; one seat for a male, one seat for a female).

When qualifying ended in December, there were 41 seats for which no one had submitted qualifying papers and fees.

With the party coming off a disastrous round of state elections in which we lost the governor's office, the secretary of state, the commissioner of insurance, and the commissioner of agriculture and forestry, dissatisfaction with Whittington's performance was running high (and still does).

The race for chairman has turned into a hotly contested six-candidate field, with Whittington trying to fend off challenges from Paul Aucoin (running with the support of U.S. Senator Mary Landrieu, Congressman Charles Melancon, and Lt. Gov. Mitchell Landrieu), Opelousas Mayor Donald Cravins Sr., Larry Ferdinand, William Sumlin, and Dr. Steve Kirkikis. I've endorsed Mayor Cravins.

It is widely believed within the party that Aucoin and Cravins have the votes to force a run-off that might not include Whittington. That belief, though, is based on the idea that there are 169 eligible voters who will cast their ballots when the DSCC meets this Saturday in Baton Rouge.

Questions arose about how those 41 vacancies would be filled shortly after the end of the December qualifying period. One party officer assured me personally and others publicly that, according to the state party by-laws, the vacancies could not be filled until after the election of the new slate of officers.

That view is based on Article I, Section 9 of the Party By-laws, which reads:

Section 9 - Election of Officers

At the first meeting following the election of new members of the Democratic State Central Committee, the newly-elected members shall elect officers for the Party in accordance with the Louisiana Election Code and the Louisiana Democratic Party Constitution. (Emphasis added.)

Under this rule, only the DSCC members who qualified for office but were unopposed or who won election to the DSCC in the February 9 election could vote on the new slate of officers, including the chairman.

But, Whittington and his coterie of lawyers cite Article I, Section 4 of the by-laws that call for the chairman to fill vacancies as soon as possible after they occur. That section reads:

Section 4 - Vacancies

A. A vacancy occurs in the membership of the Democratic State Central Committee when a member dies, resigns, no longer meets the qualifications for membership on the Committee, or no one qualifies and is elected to succeed a member whose four-year term has expired.

B. In the case of a vacancy on the Democratic State Central Committee, the Chairperson of the Democratic State Central Committee shall appoint a member to serve for the remainder of the unexpired term subject to the approval of a majority of the membership of the Democratic State Central Committee in attendance at a legally constituted meeting. The person(s) appointed must meet the guidelines provided in the Louisiana Democratic Party Constitution for membership on the Democratic State Central Committee and shall be required to pay a filing fee equal to the Party fee assessed by the Parish Clerk of Court as set forth in La. Rev. Stat. Title 18:464. Such filing fee shall be shared equally between the Democratic State Central Committee and the Parish Executive Committee from where the appointed member resides. All persons appointed may serve as temporary members until ratified at the first order of business by a majority vote of the Democratic State Central Committee.

These two sections provide some ambiguity as to the proper course for seating new members, but for Whittington to act unilaterally and with such stealth are what call his motives into question and raise questions about his suitability for office.

FAIRNESS & TRANSPARENCY DENIED

The issue is that Whittington has concealed the list of appointments and, thus, denied his competitors access to voters who will decide his own fate as party chair. He has denied his competitors — and the party — the benefit of a fairly contested election.

The official response of Whittington and his backers is that "everyone who's been on the committee for a while knows that this is how we handle these matters." Whittington's supporters like to portray him as something of a reformer in the party. But, replacing one club with the members of another club is not reform. It is a coup.

What this party needs is open and transparent processes, which generate trust and confidence among its members. Whittington's attempt to manipulate this election ignore that need and, in fact, will do great damage to the members' confidence in the party and its leaders.

His acts fail the test of transparency and fairness necessary to bestow legitimacy on the results of any election.

If these heretofore-secret DSCC members are allowed to vote, the outcome will be tainted because of the way Whittington restricted access to this pool of potential voters. Imagine being a candidate for a district office and finding out four days before the election that the district boundaries have been expanded by your opponent to increase the size of the district by 16 percent.

This tactic would not pass the standards that international election observers use in second and third world countries where they certify the fairness of elections there. It should not be good enough for the LDP.

By this brazen attempt to steal the election of LDP offices, Chris Whittington has proven that he is not worthy to hold the seat he so desperately wants to keep. It is a clear demonstration that he does not care about the fate of the party; that his sole concern is his own grip on power.

Does he really believe he would have a chairmanship worth having -- one considered legitimate in the eyes of party members -- if he goes through with his plan to manipulate this election?

CONTEMPTIBLE

Whittington's ploy demonstrates wide-ranging contempt for the our party, its members and its traditions.

Whittington shows contempt for Democratic National Committee, which in every national election deploys a phalanx of attorneys as part of its election integrity project to ensure that elections are carried out in a fair and transparent manner across the country.

Whittington's brazen attempt to manipulate this election would not pass the DNC's basic test for fairness. To hear him talk about his commitment to "seeing through to completion" projects started by the DNC and then to try to subvert this election is nauseating.

Chris Whittington has demonstrated contempt for the state party at multiple levels. He has demonstrated contempt for:

• the state party election process by denying a level playing field for all candidates;
• the members of the DSCC by not providing them a clear set of rules as to how those vacancies will be filled and how this election will be conducted; and
• all Democrats who took part in the party elections in February in the belief that they were taking part in a meaningful process that could produce a more vibrant party.

Chris Whittington has demonstrated his contempt for, of all things, democratic processes in the Democratic Party.

ETHICALLY UNFIT TO SERVE

On an earlier occasion, I said that my opposition to Whittington was not personal, that it was based on the quality of leadership he had not provided the party during his tenure. This changes that.

It is personal now.

Chris Whittington's attempt to steal this election provides conclusive proof that he is not ethically fit to serve as chairman of this party.

Something about Climate Change that Mary Does Not Get

Will someone please tell Senator Mary Landrieu that she represents the state of Louisiana and not the oil and gas industries!

Landrieu was the lone Democrat to vote against ending a Republican filibuster against provisions in the energy bill which would have mandated that utilities get at least 15 percent of their power from renewable energy sources by 2020.

The bill, in its final form, does some good things, but it could have done much more if not for Landrieu's placing of the interests of oil and gas companies ahead of the interests of the people of the state she was elected to represent.

Why do I say Landrieu voted to defend the interests of a leading industry over the interests of the state? For starters, there is the matter of the accelerating rate of climate change, which is speeding the melting of the polar ice cap and the cap in Greenland.

Less ice, means more water in the oceans, which translates into rising sea levels. Louisiana's coast is very flat. Rising sea levels combined with sinking land is a bad combination for us.

How bad? Check out the images from the University of Arizona at the top of this post.

The image on the left is what Louisiana's relationship with the Gulf of Mexico was like earlier this year. The image on the right shows the impact of a one-meter rise (a little more than three feet) would have on our state. Look at it closely (you can find another set of the images here).

Orleans and Jefferson parishes are inundated. Terrebonne and LaFourche, too. Gulf waters reach up to I-10 in West Baton Rouge Parish. Most of Cameron and Vermilion parishes are under water.

Oh, well, you might say, "that won't happen for a century. We'll be gone and someone else will have figured out what to do."

Wrong!

The pace of the melting is increasing.

Well, then, it's hopeless you might say.

Wrong again!

McKinsey & Company (the business consultants) recently released a report (PDF) that substantial progress could be made in reducing greenhouse gas emissions over the next 23 years without disrupting the U.S. economy. It focuses on increased energy efficiency as a means of reducing the growth in the release of greenhouse gases.

But, McKinsey report states that the measures that need to be taken include the very kind of energy production shift that Landrieu wrong-headedly blocked by supporting the Republican filibuster against the energy bill:

5. Reducing the carbon intensity of electric power production — 800 megatons to 1,570 megatons. This potential derives from a shift toward renewable energy sources (primarily wind and solar), additional nuclear capacity, improved efficiency of power plants, and eventual use of carbon capture and storage (CCS) technologies on coal-fired electricity generation.

This is McKinsey & Company writing! It's only radical if you're so deep in the back pocket of the energy industry that you think their farts are perfume.

Again, why is this important? Go to the images at the top again.

Louisiana, due to our geology, topography and geography, is going to be among the areas most dramatically affected by rising sea levels (not the only one, to be sure!).

It would be nice if any of our elected officials would give even the slightest indication that they understand what is at stake here.

The senior Senator from Louisiana has gone all 'flat earth' on climate change at a time when we need her to be rational. Maybe her polling numbers have unnerved her?