Why Kids in Louisiana Won’t Listen to Their Pious Governor

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It seems demagogic Christian officials in Louisiana have surged past Texas on the far right.

For us Texans, there’s nothing new about Bible-thumping politicians bedeviling us with the foolishness of their dogmatic Christian piety. A century ago, for example, a proposal was made to offer bilingual education to Spanish-speaking school kids. But it was quashed by the governor, who solemnly declared: “If English was good enough for Jesus Christ, it ought to be good enough for the children of Texas.”

But suddenly, demagogic Christian officials in Louisiana have surged past Texas on the far right. The Pelican State’s governor, an Elmer Gantry wannabe, has decreed that every single public school classroom must henceforth prominently display the Ten Commandments to indoctrinate the tykes in his religion. That way, babbled a legislative backer of the state edict, students can “look up and see what God says is right and what he says is wrong.”

Actually, the Christian bible itself is a little wobbly on that, offering three different versions of holy commandments, including this: “Thou shalt not seethe a kid in its mother’s milk.”

Wobbliest of all, though, is the moral authority of depraved politicians hypocritically preaching to school kids about such sins of adultery, stealing, and (hello, MAGA zealots!) worshiping false gods. Plus, their piousness doesn’t work. Young people are not so dull and docile that they’ll mindlessly obey what some self-serving, immoral politicos put on a poster.

Louisiana could have consulted Texas on this. For some 60 years, a 6-foot-tall granite slab engraved with the Ten Commandments has stood outside our State Capitol building. Yet, those inside the Capitol — including our governor — routinely violate those engraved moral sentiments.

If so-called leaders don’t give a damn about honoring the values they put on classroom posters, why should students?

Top Corporate Executives Should Have to Feel the Summer Heat

Being a lifelong Texan, I’m used to hot summers. But what the hell — 99 degrees in June! Last year, we had 80 days of 100-plus temperatures, and we’re looking at 90 days this year. I can’t moan in self-pity, though, for the globally warming furnace is now searing the whole country, even in northern climes where people are used to having days in August when they need “summer sweaters.”

As we crank up our air conditioners, however, let’s pause for a moment to consider some 50 million workers in your and my communities who are exposed throughout the day to the full intensity of the sun’s power. They are roofers and landscapers, warehouse workers and farm laborers, street pavers and letter carriers. These have always been hot jobs, but now they’re deadly — heat kills more Americans today than hurricanes, floods and tornadoes combined.

So surely there are basic workplace rules assuring that these exposed people get water, shade breaks, etc … No. And when such humanitarian codes are proposed, industry bosses coldly reject them. For example, after several Texas cities began enacting worker protections, corporate lobbyists rushed to their hireling, Gov. Greg Abbott, who obediently snuck a state preemption into law, banning local officials from setting their own heat standards. That year, a record 450 people died of heat exposure in Texas, but Abbott just snarled that his preemption “increases economic liberty.”

Mercifully, President Joe Biden is pushing national heat rules. Of course, industry lobbyists are out to kill his anti-killing reforms, calling them “unreasonably complicated.” Really? Providing water and shade is too perplexing for our corporate geniuses? Why don’t we put them on roofing jobs in August — and let them think about it?

Jim Hightower
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