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October 12, 2008 10:04:46 PM CDT

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Ragin' Cajuns track this thread

Started by The_Monticellan; Last updated Jun 26, 08 9:36 PM CDT by The_Monticellan | View history

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Ragin' Cajuns

Maybe it was Katrina. Maybe it's just a place where life is nasty, brutish and short. They want to kill rapists (the Supreme Court stopped them), castrate rapists (no word from the Supremes on this yet), burn...well each other (but only for fun), beat each other up (mostly cops doing the beating) keep company with prostitutes (only the public officials), get pregnant at 16 (OK she's Britney's sister, so it could be worse), and take bribes (again only public officials). And Louisiana was where some missing nukes showed up. Wow, this is a happening place.

Stories

19 Stories

  • June 2008

    • Calls in Louisiana to Require English at Commencement

      New York Times  |  Jun 30, 08

      School officials in Terrebonne Parish are considering a policy that would require all commencement speeches to be in English.The proposal comes after Hue and Cindy Vo, cousins who were co-valedictorians at Ellender High School, delivered part of their commencement addresses last month in Vietnamese.

    • Jindal Signs Castration Bill for Sex Offenders

      2theadvocate.com  |  Jun 26, 08 2:03 PM CDT

      Jindal Signs Castration Bill for Sex Offenders

      (Newser) - Louisiana governor and GOP VP wannabe Bobby Jindal signed a bill yesterday that will allow sex offenders to be punished with chemical castration. Said Jindal, “I am glad we have taken such strong measures...to put a stop to these monsters’ brutal acts,” said Jindal, taking the opportunity to slam as "atrocious" the Supreme Court's ruling that his state could not execute offenders who rape children. More »

    • Obama Backs Death Penalty for Child Rapists

      Associated Press  |  Jun 26, 08 6:10 AM CDT

      Obama Backs Death Penalty for Child Rapists

      (Newser) - Barack Obama joined rival John McCain yesterday in supporting the death penalty for child rapists, the AP reports. The Democratic candidate spoke after the Supreme Court ruled against a Louisiana law allowing capital punishment for child rape, saying it violates the constitution's ban on cruel and unusual punishment. The verdict negates similar laws in five other states. More »

    • Justices Strike Death Penalty for Child Rape

      Associated Press  |  Jun 25, 08 10:19 AM CDT

      Justices Strike Death Penalty for Child Rape

      (Newser) - The Supreme Court found today that the “death penalty is not a proportional punishment for the rape of a child,” striking down a Louisiana law as cruel and unusual punishment. While the court split 5-4 on the hot-button issue—swing justice Anthony Kennedy penned the opinion—there has not been an execution in 44 years for a crime that didn’t involve a victim’s death. More »

  • May 2008

    • Frat Boys Busted for Third-Degree Burn 'Hazing'

      CNN  |  May 8, 08 4:52 AM CDT

      Frat Boys Busted for Third-Degree Burn 'Hazing'

      (Newser) - Ten Tulane University frat boys face battery charges after taking "Hell Night" hazing way too far and severely burning two pledges, CNN reports. The Pi Kappa Alpha members poured boiling water with pepper spray in it and "crab boil" seasoning mix onto the backs of pledges to see who could withstand the most pain. The two who held out the longest before screaming were hospitalized. More »

    • Britney Helps Jamie Lynn Celebrate

      People  |  May 5, 08 11:30 AM CDT

      Britney Helps Jamie Lynn Celebrate

      (Newser) - Britney Spears returned home to Louisiana over the weekend for a cameo at 17-year-old sister Jamie Lynn's baby shower at their mother's home in Kentwood, People reports. "We all sat in a circle and she opened gifts and thanked every person," said a guest. "It was just a good old-fashioned baby shower." More »

  • April 2008

    • Louisiana Pockets Ban on Droopy Drawers

      Times-Picayune (New Orleans)  |  Apr 23, 08 10:27 AM CDT

      Louisiana Pockets Ban on Droopy Drawers

      (Newser) - A proposed ban on saggy pants didn’t fly in Louisiana, where a Senate panel rejected the legislation as a violation of freedom of speech, reports the Times-Picayune . “This is a situation that is disgusting and needs state attention,” insisted the state senator pushing the bill. “I have the right to walk down the street and not see your dirty drawers.” More »

    • Senator Won't Testify in 'DC Madam' Case

      CQPolitics  |  Apr 14, 08 11:57 AM CDT

      Senator Won't Testify in 'DC Madam' Case

      (Newser) - Louisiana Sen. David Vitter will be spared an embarrassing trip to the witness stand in the trial of Deborah Palfrey, the so-called “DC Madam,” CQ Politics reports. The defense and prosecution both rested today, with the defense declining to call any witnesses. The Republican lawmaker, who has admitted using Palfrey’s service, was on the defense’s witness list. More »

  • March 2008

    • Supreme Court Stands Pat on FBI Raid of Rep's Office

      New York Times  |  Mar 31, 08 1:24 PM CDT

      Supreme Court Stands Pat on FBI Raid of Rep's Office

      (Newser) - The Supreme Court declined today to hear an appeal of a ruling that the FBI violated separation-of-powers law in a 2006 raid on the office of Rep. William Jefferson, the New York Times reports. Though the raid itself was not unconstitutional, an appeals court found, the FBI went too far in allowing agents to look through the Louisiana Democrat's documents. More »

    • New Fear for Katrina Victims: Collectors

      Associated Press  |  Mar 29, 08 7:37 PM CDT

      New Fear for Katrina Victims: Collectors

      (Newser) - A contractor responsible for doling out federal rebuilding money to Katrina victims is seeking another company to collect what may amount to hundreds of millions of dollars from Katrina victims. ICF International claims it overpaid some applicants in a rush to get $11 billion out the door; meanwhile, a third of claimants have yet to receive a dime, AP reports. More »

    • Supreme Court Overturns La. Death Sentence

      Washington Post  |  Mar 20, 08 5:09 AM CDT

      Supreme Court Overturns La. Death Sentence

      (Newser) - The Supreme Court has ordered a new trial for a former Marine awaiting execution on Louisiana's death row. Allen Snyder, an African-American, was convicted of fatally stabbing his estranged wife and her boyfriend, but the court ruled 7-2 that prosecutors acted improperly by using its challenges to seat an all-white jury, reports the Washington Post . More »

  • December 2007

    • Oops! Brit's Sis Preggers at 16

      Reuters  |  Dec 19, 07 4:55 AM CST

      Oops! Brit's Sis Preggers at 16

      (Newser) - Another Spears may be headed for parenting woes. Britney's kid sister, Jamie Lynn, has announced that she's 12 weeks pregnant. The 16-year-old Louisiana high school student, star of the  Nickelodeon show "Zoey 101," met her boyfriend and the father of the baby, Casey Aldridge, at church, Reuters reports. "I was in complete and total shock and so was he," she said. More »

    • 'Jena 6' Teen Pleads Guilty

      Shreveport Times  |  Dec 4, 07 3:15 AM CST

      'Jena 6' Teen Pleads Guilty

      (Newser) - Mychal Bell, one of the "Jena 6" teenagers involved in a racially charged incident in Louisiana, has pleaded guilty to second-degree battery and will serve 18 months in juvenile detention. The teen admitted in court that he knocked out Justin Barker, and he has agreed to testify against any of the other five who are charged, reports the Shreveport Times . The sentence will be served concurrently with another 18 months Bell received for three earlier offenses. More »

  • October 2007

    • USAF Officers Take Rap for Missing Nukes

      CNN  |  Oct 19, 07 5:50 PM CDT

      USAF Officers Take Rap for Missing Nukes

      (Newser) - Nearly 2 months after a B-52 loaded with nuclear warheads took an unauthorized flight from North Dakota to Louisiana, the Air Force has relieved four officers of duty, CNN reports. After a 6-week investigation, 70 airmen will be disciplined for what the Air Force secretary called an "unacceptable mistake and a clear deviation from our exacting standards," the AP reports. More »

  • August 2007

    • New Orleans Pol Admits Taking Bribes

      Times-Picayune (New Orleans)  |  Aug 14, 07 2:39 AM CDT

      New Orleans Pol Admits Taking Bribes

      (Newser) - As if New Orleans didn't have enough to contend with, a city councilman yesterday pleaded guilty to accepting $20,000 in bribes and resigned. Oliver Thomas confessed he collected the money from a restaurateur seeking to keep a lucrative city contract. He also demanded the businessman hire a friend of his, who paid further kickbacks to Thomas. More »

    • Katrina Tax Breaks Pay for Luxury Condos

      Associated Press  |  Aug 13, 07 9:56 PM CDT

      Katrina Tax Breaks Pay for Luxury Condos

      (Newser) - Investors are using federal tax breaks designed to stimulate rebuilding after Hurricane Katrina to buy luxury condos being built near the University of Alabama’s football stadium, 200 miles from the coast, the AP reports. The Tuscaloosa developments, where units go for up to $1 million, are flourishing while much of the region devastated by the storm is still in ruins. More »

  • July 2007

    • Doc Won't Face Katrina Murder Charge

      Times-Picayune (New Orleans)  |  Jul 25, 07 9:06 AM CDT

      Doc Won't Face Katrina Murder Charge

      (Newser) - A grand jury yesterday refused to indict a doctor accused in the deaths of nine patients who died while trapped in a hospital in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Prosecutors alleged Anna Pou injected patients with lethal amounts of painkillers and sedatives; her lawyer says the Louisiana AG was attempting to scapegoat her for deaths caused by governmental failures. More »

    • Vitter's Sorry for ... Something

      Times-Picayune (New Orleans)  |  Jul 17, 07 6:57 AM CDT

      Vitter's Sorry for ... Something

      (Newser) - Taking a page out of the Jason Giambi playbook, Louisiana Senator David Vitter yesterday held a press conference to apologize for "actions from my past" but categorically refused to specify what, exactly, he'd done wrong. Vitter spent a week in seclusion after his number showed up in the D.C. Madam's phone records, and an infamous brothel in New Orleans cited him as a customer, too. More »

    • La. Senator Caught Dialing DC Madam

      Times-Picayune (New Orleans)  |