Basic American Values

By Louis R. Avallone

By now, you know that Louisiana Congressman Steve Scalise was wounded, along with two Capitol Police officers, a congressional staffer, and a lobbyist, after a shooter opened fire at a congressional baseball practice in Alexandria, Virginia. The shooter’s motive is thought to be related to his expressed grievances online about President Donald Trump and Republicans. […]

Nessie

By Louis R. Avallone

The so-called Russia-Trump problem is a lot like the Loch Ness monster. People have been talking about “Nessie” for what seems like forever (actually the legend dates back 1,500 years) and every so often someone claims to have evidence that it exists. But it’s always a fuzzy photo of a hump, or two humps, protruding […]

Monumental Error

By Louis R. Avallone

Why would you ever return to what hasn’t worked? I mean, would you ever choose to go back to your least favorite employer? If you had a drinking problem, would you ever choose to go back to those times when you simply weren’t your very best self? If you’ve worked hard to become educated, or […]

Not Getting It

By Louis R. Avallone

Sunday morning came way too early for many in Caddo Parish on April 30. It was the day after voters rejected the property tax renewals that had been placed on the ballot. That morning, The Times in Shreveport couldn’t even bring themselves to report the election results in their printed edition. Online, this news must […]

“X#!!”

By Louis R. Avallone

“Incompetence” is a 4-letter word. And for those of us who are totally fed up with “incompetence” in our elected officials, we probably sound like the most foul-mouthed, cussing sailor you have ever met. And you know what? It’s just gotten to that point. There’s simply no polite way to say it anymore. After all, […]

You Gotta Read This

By Louis R. Avallone

An average headline is probably only six to 10 words in length, while the average news story is as many as 1,000 words in length. Surprisingly though, only one-half will ever read the news story, at all, beyond the headline. Armed with this knowledge, is there really any question as to why so many are […]

Pay Raise

By Louis R. Avallone

Superintendent Lamar Goree said this month that he’s been charged by the Caddo Parish School Board with looking at how to give “everyone a raise in our school system”. That’s after nearly 60 percent of Caddo Parish Schools’ were scored by the Louisiana Department of Education as ‘D’ and ‘F’. Shreveport Mayor Tyler says that we […]

Safety Goggles

By Louis R. Avallone

In Berkeley, California, masked protesters smashed windows, stormed buildings, and set fires recently on the campus of the University of California to shut down a speech by Milo Yiannopoulos, a Breitbart News editor. The university canceled the event and blamed “150 masked agitators” for the unrest, saying they had come to campus to disturb an […]

What Took You So Long?

By Louis R. Avallone

Psychologists call it “confirmation bias,” which is the tendency to search for, or otherwise interpret information in a way that confirms what you already believe, regardless of the facts. You may call it “rationalizing.” Others may call it “missing the forest for the trees.” I call it “denial,” and as the saying goes, denial is […]

For Crying Out Loud

By Louis R. Avallone

Good grief, Charlie Brown! In December 1965, nearly 15 million viewers, or one-half of the television viewing audience, tuned in to watch “A Charlie Brown Christmas.” It has become the longest-running cartoon special in history, but it almost was canceled before it ever was aired. You see, the CBS network executives were less than impressed. […]