Caddo Parish Public Schools Have an Establishment Clause Problem

Last night someone I know posted the above images on Facebook. These are flyers which were distributed by Walnut Hill Elementary/Middle School, which is a public school in Shreveport.

When I looked up the school's website, I found the following in the "Principal's Message" section:

Our school may be old of age, but it is cleaned, well-maintained and free of debris and graffiti.  Our faculty may not be monetarily rich, but they care, share and give to our students a wealth of knowledge that will help them become our country's doctors, lawyers, engineers, teachers, nurses, and yes, even presidents.  Our students come from all economic levels, communities, races and origins, but at our school they unite and become one indivisible student body under the Walnut Hill banner of excellence, fairness, and quality for all.

     The sun may not shine outside, but inside our laughter, smiles, encouragement, praise and love for our children dazzle the day.  Although cloudy days are sometimes evident, the light of optimism, the rays of hope and the joy of teaching and helping our students brighten these cloudy days.

     Our parents may not visit our school each day, but their support, compliments, quick response to our cry for help and love for their children and school is unwavering.

     Although all children may not blossom at the same time, our faculty continues to fertilize their minds, water their thoughts, nourish their spirit, pull back the blinds so that the light can stream in, and soon, they bud, grow, and prosper.

     On mornings when the sun is beaming or hidden, our student prayer group, "Hornets for Hope", pray and give thanks to the Son of God for carrying our school over the thorns of negativity and the thistles of discord and setting it gently on the petals of harmony and the lily of tranquility.  Our "Hornets for Hope" thank God for giving us a school that believes in God, family, and education.

     We thank God for helping us to realize that if we removed Christ, family, and teachers from the lives of our children there is no way that adding more police officers, legislating more laws, building more jails, requiring more testing, mandating more parental involvement, earning more money, or purchasing more things could ever replace the blessings of God, the love of our family, and the knowledge imparted by our teachers.

     A hundred years from now it will not matter what type of house we lived in, what color our skin was, how much money we had or what brand of clothes we wore, but what will matter is that we steadfastly walked in the ways of Christ, that we honored and loved our parents, family, and fellow man and that we lived by our school motto"

"Work for the Best - Accept only the Best - Be the very, very Best."

And that in itself is truly a Blessing!         

Albert Hardison, Principal                                     

Obviously, those flyers and the last three paragraphs of the "Principal's Message" cross the church/state line. That principal has opened his school up to a lot of legal trouble. (Also, the person who wrote the flyer misspelled "Philippians," which raises other questions about the school.)

However, the Establishment Clause problem may extend to other schools in Caddo Parish. The photograph below appears in a slideshow on the main page of the www.caddoschools.org site.



Note that there's a citation below "In God We Trust" on the team's t-shirts. It says, "Phil. 4:13" (which is the same bible verse mentioned in the Walnut Hill flyer). By adding that citation, they have turned the national motto, which is supposedly an example of ceremonial deism, into an explicitly Christian statement. They've also helped show a pattern of Establishment Clause violations by this school district.

Interestingly, the Walnut Hill principal added the words "In God We Trust" after his name at the end of a school security memo which was sent to parents.

Just a quick look around the Caddo school system's website turned up at least one other potential Establishment Clause problem. A principal at another school says on the school's website that she "attributes her success to a strong faith in God." (Also, the school's website misspells the word "principal," but at least that's not unconstitutional.)

UPDATE: Within a day of the ACLU of Louisiana sending an open letter to the Caddo superintendent of schools, the "Principal's Message" on the Walnut Hill website has been changed to comply with the Establishment Clause.

"Sacred as Folk" - A Review

About eight years ago I saw a man dressed in monk’s robes walking down the street in Natchitoches. I wondered what that was about, but I drove on. Then, I saw him again on my next trip to Natchitoches. I kept seeing him. He was an older man. In addition to the robes, he wore a large-brimmed straw hat and he was often carrying a Styrofoam beverage container.

Mostly, I saw him around the Front Street area. One time, though, I saw him way over on South Drive near Maggio’s. He was walking and it was cold. I almost stopped and offered him a ride. At that time, though, I still didn’t know whether he was a real monk or a crazy person. I didn’t offer him a ride. I wish I had.

Once, I saw him on Front Street standing outside a store that sold Catholic religious items. He was talking to two priests. I still thought he might just be an old eccentric who liked to dress as a monk. I imagined that the priests were feeling him out so they could report back to the Vatican on the fake friar roaming around Natchitoches.

Eventually, my curiosity led me to Google “Natchitoches monk” and I found out that the man I was seeing really was a monk. His name was Brother Michael David Elvestrom. He had been an art teacher at the Louisiana School for Math, Science, and the Arts and he was an accomplished artist.

A few days ago I attended the premiere screening of a documentary about Brother Michael David.

Sacred as Folk was made by first-time filmmakers Matt Petty and David Steele. Both of them are adjunct professors of music at Northwestern State University.

I wanted to see the documentary primarily to get answers to some of the questions I’ve had about Brother Michael David. The stories people who have known him for decades tell about him in the film satisfied a lot of my curiosity, but removing some of the mystery did not make Brother Michael David any less interesting. He more than lives up to his public persona. The vignettes with Brother Michael David at his home (which he named “Our Lady of the Lake Hermitage”) are wonderful. He’s almost like a fairy-tale character, like a wizard, like a fey Obi-Wan Kenobi, but the documentary reminds us that he’s a human in the real world.

Brother Michael David is known, by some, as “The Drunk Monk.” There’s a scene in which one of Brother Michael David’s longtime peers talks about his alcoholism and the effect it’s had on him. That was a little uncomfortable to watch, especially since Brother Michael David was in the audience, but I think a straightforward acknowledgement of that problem gave the film and the character it portrays a depth that would have been missing if the film had only been a series of lighthearted episodes about the lovable local eccentric.

The film touches on his religious beliefs, but not as much as you might think it would given its title and his vocation. Brother Michael David’s spirituality seems more eclectic and fluid than what I would expect from a Christian monk, though it’s about what I would expect from an artist who came of age in the 1960s.

Given that the filmmakers are both music teachers, it’s not surprising that the film’s use of music is one of its greatest technical strengths. I was pleased, though, to see that the film also works visually. The lens they used, the shots they composed, and the effects they applied in editing all work. Natchitoches is one of the most visually interesting cities in Louisiana and they make good use of the setting. Also, the subject of the film is a talented visual artist, so that probably helped them.

A second showing of Sacred as Folk is planned for February 10, 2015, at 6:15 pm at the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame in Natchitoches.

There are 4 registered NAPs in Louisiana.

I'm pretty sure those NAPs are registrants of the National Atheist Party. The National Atheist Party formed in March 2011 and the first NAPs showed up on the Louisiana voter rolls in March 2012. Last month the National Atheist Party announced that, as of today, their name would change to the Secular Party of America.

There were some interesting changes to the Louisiana voter registration totals in July. The registrant totals for the Democratic Party, Republican Party, Green Party, and Reform Party all decreased. Of Louisiana's five recognized political parties, the Libertarian Party was the only one whose numbers increased in July. The number of Libertarian Party registrants increased by 59, but that was a significant reduction in the Libertarian rate of growth. The Libertarian numbers had been increasing by more than 100 each month for the last few months. Most surprisingly, the number of No Party registrants decreased in July. The registrant numbers as of July 1 can be found here.

According to the Louisiana Secretary of State's office, these are the numbers of registrants for all the parties on the Louisiana voter registration rolls as of August 1, 2013:

Democratic 1388516
Republican 806557
No Party 651226
INDEPENDENT 46315
Libertarian 8100
Green Party 1793
Reform Party 1398
OTHER 1221
AMERICANS ELECT 714
CONSERVATIVE 606
INDENPENDENT 385
LIBERAL 252
TEA PARTY 177
CHRISTIAN 170
AMERICAN 111
CONSTITUTION 110
PRUD ACT RSLTS 95
OPEN 85
MODERATE 79
SOCIALIST 70
LILBERTARIAN 56
INDEPENTANT 55
INEDEPENDENT 54
UNDECIDED 50
DANSEREAU 43
CONSTITUTIONAL 37
MAJOR 35
NON PARTISAN 29
RADICAL 27
REPUBLIC 27
CONFEDERATE 25
BANANA 23
UNAFFILIATED 22
COMMUNIST 21
NEUTRAL 20
TEA 20
PROGRESSIVE 19
UNDECLARED 19
FACIST 18
INDEPEMDENT 18
JEDI 18
ANARCHIST 16
LIB 16
LIBERTAIN 16
CENTRIST 15
INDEPENDENCE 15
WHIG 14
REFORMIST 13
3RD PARTY 12
EARTH FIRST 11
LIBRAL 9
NON-PARTISAN 9
PRIMARY 9
SEGREGATION 9
INDIVIDUAL 8
PRESIDENTIAL 8
U S TAXPAYERS 8
FEDERALIST 7
MODERN WHIG 7
PATRIOT 7
WARD 7
BULL MOOSE 6
CONSERVATIST 6
CONSTITUTIONALI 6
DEM SOCIALIST 6
INDEPENDENT LA 6
AEROSMITH 5
CATHOLIC REG 5
ChrstnSocialist 5
COMMON SENSE 5
NAT SOC 5
SOUTHERN 5
TAX PAYERS 5
THIRD PARTY 5
DEM.REP 4
FREE 4
GDI 4
LIBERALIST 4
NAP 4
POPULIST 4
Republitarian 4
SOCIALIST USA 4
STATES RIGHTS 4
WHITE 4
AMERICAN PARTY 3
BAPTIST 3
CIVIL LIBERTAR 3
CONS 3
DEMOC SOCIAL 3
DEPENDENT 3
DEPENDS 3
NATURAL LAW 3
NON PARTISIAN 3
PIRATE 3
PRIVATE 3
USA 3
AM INDEPENDENT 2
AMERICAN FIRST 2
AMERICAN INDEP 2
ANARCH 2
ANARCHY 2
BEST 2
BI PARTISAN 2
BI-PARTISAN 2
BIPARTISAN 2
CHRISTIAN PROGR 2
COMMITTEE 2
COMMUNITARIAN 2
CONFIDENTIAL 2
CONSTRUCTIONALI 2
ENVIORMENTAL 2
FREEDOM 2
GRILLED CHEESE 2
HAZAL 2
INDEPENDANCE 2
JEFFERSONIAN 2
JESUS 2
KINGDOM 2
LA TAXPAYERS 2
LABOR 2
MIXED 2
NATIONAL 2
NATIONAL SOCIA 2
NATIONALIST 2
NATURAL 2
NEW PARTY 2
NON-DENOMIN 2
NUNYA 2
PAR 2
PEACE 2
PEACE&FREEDOM 2
PEOPLES CHOICE 2
PERSONAL 2
POLITICAL 2
POSSIBILITARIAN 2
PRO LIFE 2
RASTAFARIAN 2
REALIST 2
TAXPAYERS 2
THEOCRATIC 2
WORKERS 2
AID 1
AMERICA 1
ANTI-PARTY 1
BILLY 1
BLACK 1
BLACK PANTHER 1
CAJUN 1
CENRIST 1
CHOICE 1
CHRIST CO 1
CHRONIC HIWAII 1
CITIZEN 1
CONSERVANCE 1
CONSERVATED 1
CU TAI WOU 1
DISCORDIAN 1
DIXIECRAT 1
DRUID 1
FAIR 1
FREE RADICAL 1
FREEDOM MOVEMT 1
FREEDOMIST 1
FREEMANS 1
GALACTIC EMPIRE 1
GOD 1
GOVERNMENT 1
GRASS ROOTS 1
GREEN PEACE 1
GYPSY 1
HONEST 1
HUMAN 1
HUMANITARIAN 1
IMPERIALIST 1
INDIVIDUALIST 1
INTERNETARIAN 1
JasonJohnLeMair 1
KINGDOM OF GOD 1
LEAGUE OF SOUT 1
LIB.REPUBLICAN 1
LIBERAL DEM 1
LIBERAL REP 1
LOYALIST 1
MEADOW 1
MILLENNIUM 1
MINIMALIST 1
Moderate Republ 1
MONARCHIST 1
MOOR 1
MOTHER 1
MUSLIM 1
NDEPENDENT 1
NONPARTISAN 1
P 1
PACIFIC ISLAN 1
PARTY OF ONE 1
PEACE & FREEDO 1
PEDESTRIAN 1
PENTECOSTAL 1
PROG DEM 1
PROHIBITION 1
PropRepresenPty 1
PRS 1
RAINBOW 1
REP-AMERICAN 1
RIGHT 1
RIGHT TO LIFE 1
RIGHTWING WHIG 1
Sensationalist 1
SOC-DEM 1
SOCIAL 1
SOUTHERN PARTY 1
SOUTHERN REF 1
SPLIT 1
SUB GENIUS 1
SURVIVALIST 1
THEOCRAT 1
UNION 1
UNITED NEUTRAL 1
UNITED REPUBLI 1
UNITED WE ST 1
VETERANS 1
WORKING CLASS 1
WORLD PARTY 1
Y 1

Cops, Marine Drill Instructors, Impressionable Kids, and Religion: What could go wrong?

The Bossier Parish Sheriff’s Office (BPSO) sponsors and administers a Young Marines program which is intended to promote the “mental, moral and physical development of its young recruits.” These recruits are boys and girls between the ages of 8 and 18.

Here’s a description of the Young Marines from the program’s page on the BPSO website:

Upon joining the Young Marines, each recruit will undergo basic recruit training for a minimum of 26 hours. During this time, the youth will have the opportunity to learn military history, customs and courtesies, close order drill, physical fitness, rank structure and other subjects pertaining to life skills. Most importantly, the youth will learn to bond and relate with other young recruits and the opportunity to interact with caring adult mentors that are committed to providing them with a safe place to develop and grow with special emphasis on the love of God and fidelity to our country.

The “Young Marine Obligation” states:

From this day forward, I sincerely  promise, I will set an example for all other youth to follow and I shall never do anything that  would bring disgrace or dishonor upon God, my Country and its flag, my parents, myself or the  Young Marines. These I will honor and respect in a manner that will reflect credit upon them and myself. Semper Fidelis.

The “Young Marine Creed” instructs the child participants:

1. Obey my parents and all others in charge of me whether young or old.

2. Keep myself neat at all times without other people telling me to.

3. Keep myself clean in mind by attending the church of my faith.

4. Keep my mind alert to learn in school, at home, or at play.

5. Remember having self-discipline will enable me to control my body and mind in case of an emergency.

The BPSO Young Marines Program (which is “instructed by a Bossier Parish Deputy, who is a former U.S. Marine, and several active U.S. Marine volunteers”) also includes a “voluntary” prayer component.

A few months ago Bossier Sheriff Julian Whittington had his request for federal funding for the program denied after he refused to remove the prayer component from the program.

On May 23 Whittington sent a letter to Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal complaining about the loss of funding. Whittington’s letter begins:

As a Christian, Sheriff and American citizen, I am writing you to express my frustration and concern over the persistent aggression and infringement of our religious freedoms which have been imposed upon the law enforcement grant programs, specifically related to the Louisiana Commission on Law Enforcement (LCLE).

Funding for some important programs has hit a road block due to the mere mention of God and the use of voluntary prayer. This appalling situation arose when someone in the Department of Justice, Office of Civil Rights, in Washington, D.C. objected.

On the Fourth of July, Whittington, Jindal, country music singer Lee Greenwood, and others gathered for an “In God We Trust” rally to protest the loss of those federal funds.

Whittington seems to think that simply foregoing those federal funds will mean he is no longer bound by the Establishment Clause. Of course, that’s not the case. If any proper party filed a lawsuit over the BPSO Young Marine Program’s religious content, the lawsuit would almost surely be successful. The legal issues would be very similar to those involved in cases dealing with the promotion of religion by public schools.

At his rally Sheriff Whittington declared:

We are a Christian nation based on Christian ideals and the very idea of the mention of God or voluntary prayer is somehow prohibited and offensive is just as upsetting to them as it is to me.

Here’s what Bobby Jindal had to say about all this:

The federal government is treating prayer as if it is something you can catch, as if it’s contagious. There are many things I worry about when it comes to my three children, but never have I worried they were getting too much prayer. … The First Amendment guarantees us freedom of religion, not freedom from religion. It was written to protect people of faith from government officials, and we are going to hold on to that freedom.

I have to wonder whether Jindal might worry about how much prayer his three children were getting if they were praying to a deity that the Jindals don’t believe in. In any case, I don’t worry about how much prayer Bobby Jindal’s children get, either.  That’s none of my business. That’s a matter that should be left to the Jindal family. However, when Jindal or Whittington or any other government official decides that it’s okay for them to use their government jobs to push their religion on other people’s children, then I start worrying.

As someone who was raised Hindu, Bobby Jindal must be aware that oaths describing obligations to “God” and instructions to attend “church” are not even inclusive of all “people of faith.”

I’m not sure if Jindal is sincerely acting with the zeal of the convert or if he is just a shamelessly needy and power-craving politician who is pandering to the crowd. Both of those things may be true.

Could Baker, La., Get Its Own Atheist Monument?

In 2009 former City Councilman A.T. Furr paid to have a Ten Commandments monument placed in Veterans Plaza, a city-owned park in Baker, Louisiana. The Baker City Council approved the placement, even though their city attorney advised that it was illegal. Regarding the placement of the monument in a city park, Mayor Harold Rideau said, “We’re a Christian-based community.”

That was not the City of Baker’s first brush with theocracy. In 2004 a city councilman tried to ban Halloween. In proposing the anti-Halloween ordinance, Councilman Fred Russell said during a city council meeting, “We are a Christian city. Jesus is lord over Baker.” Speaking in favor of the proposed ban, Mayor Rideau said, “That’s one day I don’t support. It’s not really a day you want to celebrate as a Christian.” The council did not enact the ordinance. Clearly, the majority of the council were either Satanists or people who didn’t want to force their religious opinions on the whole city. I’m not sure what would later possess them to approve the unconstitutional display of the Ten Commandments in a city park.

I followed the Baker Decalogue story four years ago, but I never heard whether anyone sued to have the monument removed from city property. I was near Baker earlier this month, so I stopped by to check it out. Apparently, nobody sued.

The monument is still there and is even more prominently displayed than I had realized. Resting on a stand placed directly behind the center of the “Veterans Plaza” sign, the concrete Ten Commandments hang almost over the top of the park name. On the plaza are a flag pole, monuments for the different branches of the U.S. military, and several stone benches. Each bench is engraved with the name of a different organization (presumably the business or group that sponsored the bench).

The park is also directly across the street from a public high school.

Nearby I saw a sign promoting the “Mayor’s Prayer Breakfast.” There’s also a sign with the names of “Baker’s Own Military Heroes” and the words “God Bless America” at the bottom.

The Baker Decalogue would be fine on a church lawn or on some other private property, but placing a sectarian religious monument so prominently in a city park that is supposed to honor veterans is an insult to all the U.S. military men and women who were not followers of that sect. It is also, as the Baker city attorney advised, a violation of the Establishment Clause. It’s not too late for the city to do the right thing and have the religious monument removed from Veterans Plaza.

Or, they could do what Bradford County, Florida, did. Instead of removing the donated Ten Commandments monument from their courthouse lawn, Bradford County opened the lawn up to anyone who wanted to place a monument. American Atheists took them up on their offer and earlier today Bradford County became home to the first atheist monument on government property anywhere in the United States.

After the unveiling of the monument in Bradford County, American Atheists President David Silverman announced that this was the first of fifty similar monuments that American Atheists will be placing on government properties throughout the country in places where religious monuments currently stand.

It will be interesting to see where the other forty-nine atheist monuments end up. Given Baker's recent financial problems, the city probably can't afford to pay for an unnecessary lawsuit that it would certainly lose.

There are 170 registered Christians in Louisiana.

According to the Louisiana Secretary of State's office, these are the numbers of registrants for all the parties on the Louisiana voter registration rolls as of April 2, 2013:

Democratic 1398638
Republican 808143
No Party 646409
INDEPENDENT 46543
Libertarian 7557
Green Party 1779
Reform Party 1409
OTHER 1186
AMERICANS ELECT 736
CONSERVATIVE 584
INDENPENDENT 396
LIBERAL 258
CHRISTIAN 170
TEA PARTY 163
AMERICAN 110
CONSTITUTION 110
PRUD ACT RSLTS 96
MODERATE 83
OPEN 83
SOCIALIST 70
LILBERTARIAN 59
INDEPENTANT 57
INEDEPENDENT 53
UNDECIDED 53
DANSEREAU 43
CONSTITUTIONAL 34
MAJOR 33
NON PARTISAN 28
RADICAL 27
REPUBLIC 26
BANANA 24
UNAFFILIATED 23
COMMUNIST 21
CONFEDERATE 21
TEA 20
INDEPEMDENT 19
UNDECLARED 19
JEDI 18
NEUTRAL 18
PROGRESSIVE 18
LIB 17
WHIG 17
ANARCHIST 16
FACIST 16

INDEPENDENCE 15
LIBERTAIN 15
CENTRIST 13
3RD PARTY 11
EARTH FIRST 11
REFORMIST 11
NON-PARTISAN 10
LIBRAL 9
PRIMARY 9
SEGREGATION 9
FEDERALIST 8
INDIVIDUAL 8
PRESIDENTIAL 8
U S TAXPAYERS 8
BULL MOOSE 7
MODERN WHIG 7
PATRIOT 7
WARD 7
CATHOLIC REG 6
ChrstnSocialist 6
CONSERVATIST 6
DEM SOCIALIST 6
INDEPENDENT LA 6
NAT SOC 6
AEROSMITH 5
CONSTITUTIONALI 5
POPULIST 5
SOUTHERN 5
TAX PAYERS 5
THIRD PARTY 5
WHITE 5
COMMON SENSE 4
DEM.REP 4
DEPENDS 4
FREE 4
NAP 4
Republitarian 4
SOCIALIST USA 4
STATES RIGHTS 4
BAPTIST 3
BI PARTISAN 3
DEMOC SOCIAL 3
DEPENDENT 3
LIBERALIST 3
NATURAL LAW 3
NON PARTISIAN 3

PRIVATE 3
REALIST 3
AM INDEPENDENT 2
AMERICAN FIRST 2
AMERICAN INDEP 2
AMERICAN PARTY 2
ANARCH 2
ANARCHY 2
BEST 2
BI-PARTISAN 2
BIPARTISAN 2
CHRISTIAN PROGR 2
CIVIL LIBERTAR 2
COMMITTEE 2
COMMUNITARIAN 2
CONFIDENTIAL 2
CONS 2
CONSTRUCTIONALI 2
ENVIORMENTAL 2
FREEDOM 2
HAZAL 2
INDEPENDANCE 2
JEFFERSONIAN 2
JESUS 2
KINGDOM 2
LA TAXPAYERS 2
LABOR 2
MIXED 2
NATIONAL 2
NATIONAL SOCIA 2
NATIONALIST 2
NATURAL 2
NEW PARTY 2
NON-DENOMIN 2
NUNYA 2
PAR 2
PEACE 2
PEACE&FREEDOM 2
PEOPLES CHOICE 2
PERSONAL 2
PIRATE 2
POLITICAL 2
POSSIBILITARIAN 2
PRO LIFE 2
RASTAFARIAN 2
RIGHTWING WHIG 2

TAXPAYERS 2
THEOCRATIC 2
USA 2
WORKERS 2
AID 1
AMER MOHICAN 1
AMERICA 1
ANTI-PARTY 1
BILLY 1
BLACK 1
BLACK PANTHER 1
CAJUN 1
CENRIST 1
CHOICE 1
CHRIST CO 1
CHRONIC HIWAII 1
CITIZEN 1
CONSERVANCE 1
CONSERVATED 1
CU TAI WOU 1
DISCORDIAN 1
DIXIECRAT 1
DRUID 1
FAIR 1
FREE RADICAL 1
FREEDOM MOVEMT 1
FREEDOMIST 1
FREEMANS 1
GALACTIC EMPIRE 1
GDI 1
GOD 1
GOVERNMENT 1
GRASS ROOTS 1
GREEN PEACE 1
GYPSY 1
HONEST 1
HUMAN 1
HUMANITARIAN 1
IMPERIALIST 1
INDIVIDUALIST 1
INTERNETARIAN 1
JasonJohnLeMair 1
KINGDOM OF GOD 1
LEAGUE OF SOUT 1
LIB.REPUBLICAN 1
LIBERAL DEM 1

LIBERAL REP 1
LOYALIST 1
MEADOW 1
MILLENNIUM 1
MINIMALIST 1
Moderate Republ 1
MONARCHIST 1
MOOR 1
MOTHER 1
MUSLIM 1
NDEPENDENT 1
NONPARTISAN 1
P 1
PACIFIC ISLAN 1
PARTY OF ONE 1
PEACE & FREEDO 1
PROG DEM 1
PROHIBITION 1
PropRepresenPty 1
PRS 1
RAINBOW 1
REP-AMERICAN 1
RIGHT 1
RIGHT TO LIFE 1
Sensationalist 1
SOC-DEM 1
SOCIAL 1
SOUTHERN PARTY 1
SOUTHERN REF 1
SPLIT 1
SUB GENIUS 1
SURVIVALIST 1
THEOCRAT 1
UNION 1
UNITED NEUTRAL 1
UNITED REPUBLI 1
UNITED WE ST 1
UNITY 1
VETERANS 1
WORKING CLASS 1
Y 1

There is 1 registered Discordian in Louisiana.

According to the Louisiana Secretary of State's office, these are the numbers of registrants for all the parties on the Louisiana voter registration rolls as of February 1, 2013:

Democratic 1401897
Republican 807970
No Party 644179
INDEPENDENT 46490
Libertarian 7342
Green Party 1749
Reform Party 1408
OTHER 1185
AMERICANS ELECT 742
CONSERVATIVE 568
INDENPENDENT 400
LIBERAL 259
CHRISTIAN 172
TEA PARTY 164
CONSTITUTION 116
AMERICAN 109
PRUD ACT RSLTS 96
MODERATE 83
OPEN 81
SOCIALIST 70
LILBERTARIAN 56
INDEPENTANT 55
INEDEPENDENT 53
UNDECIDED 53
DANSEREAU 43
CONSTITUTIONAL 35
MAJOR 33
NON PARTISAN 28
RADICAL 27
REPUBLIC 26
BANANA 24
UNAFFILIATED 23
COMMUNIST 21
CONFEDERATE 21
TEA 20
INDEPEMDENT 19
UNDECLARED 19
JEDI 18
NEUTRAL 18
PROGRESSIVE 18
FACIST 17
LIB 17
WHIG 17
ANARCHIST 16

INDEPENDENCE 15
LIBERTAIN 15
CENTRIST 12
3RD PARTY 11
EARTH FIRST 11
REFORMIST 11
NON-PARTISAN 10
PRIMARY 9
SEGREGATION 9
FEDERALIST 8
INDIVIDUAL 8
LIBRAL 8
PRESIDENTIAL 8
U S TAXPAYERS 8
BULL MOOSE 7
MODERN WHIG 7
WARD 7
ChrstnSocialist 6
CONSERVATIST 6
DEM SOCIALIST 6
INDEPENDENT LA 6
NAT SOC 6
CATHOLIC REG 5
PATRIOT 5
POPULIST 5
SOUTHERN 5
TAX PAYERS 5
WHITE 5
AEROSMITH 4
CONSTITUTIONALI 4
DEM.REP 4
DEMOC SOCIAL 4
DEPENDS 4
FREE 4
NAP 4
SOCIALIST USA 4
STATES RIGHTS 4
THIRD PARTY 4
BAPTIST 3
BI PARTISAN 3
COMMON SENSE 3
DEPENDENT 3
LIBERALIST 3
NATURAL LAW 3
NON PARTISIAN 3
PRIVATE 3

REALIST 3
Republitarian 3
AM INDEPENDENT 2
AMERICAN FIRST 2
AMERICAN INDEP 2
ANARCH 2
ANARCHY 2
BEST 2
BI-PARTISAN 2
BIPARTISAN 2
CHRISTIAN PROGR 2
CIVIL LIBERTAR 2
COMMITTEE 2
COMMUNITARIAN 2
CONFIDENTIAL 2
CONS 2
CONSTRUCTIONALI 2
ENVIORMENTAL 2
HAZAL 2
INDEPENDANCE 2
JEFFERSONIAN 2
JESUS 2
KINGDOM 2
LA TAXPAYERS 2
LABOR 2
NATIONAL 2
NATIONAL SOCIA 2
NATIONALIST 2
NATURAL 2
NEW PARTY 2
NON-DENOMIN 2
NUNYA 2
PAR 2
PEACE 2
PEACE&FREEDOM 2
PEOPLES CHOICE 2
PERSONAL 2
PIRATE 2
POLITICAL 2
POSSIBILITARIAN 2
PRO LIFE 2
RASTAFARIAN 2
RIGHTWING WHIG 2
TAXPAYERS 2
THEOCRATIC 2
USA 2

WORKERS 2
AID 1
AMER MOHICAN 1
AMERICA 1
AMERICAN PARTY 1
ANTI-PARTY 1
BILLY 1
BLACK 1
BLACK PANTHER 1
CAJUN 1
CHOICE 1
CHRIST CO 1
CHRONIC HIWAII 1
CITIZEN 1
CONSERVANCE 1
CU TAI WOU 1
DISCORDIAN 1
DIXIECRAT 1
DRUID 1
FAIR 1
FREE RADICAL 1
FREEDOM 1
FREEDOM MOVEMT 1
FREEDOMIST 1
FREEMANS 1
GDI 1
GOD 1
GOVERNMENT 1
GRASS ROOTS 1
GREEN PEACE 1
GYPSY 1
HONEST 1
HUMAN 1
HUMANITARIAN 1
IMPERIALIST 1
INDIVIDUALIST 1
INTERNETARIAN 1
JasonJohnLeMair 1
KINGDOM OF GOD 1
LEAGUE OF SOUT 1
LIB.REPUBLICAN 1
LIBERAL DEM 1
LIBERAL REP 1
LOYALIST 1
MEADOW 1
MILLENNIUM 1

MINIMALIST 1
MIXED 1
Moderate Republ 1
MONARCHIST 1
MOOR 1
MOTHER 1
MUSLIM 1
NDEPENDENT 1
NONPARTISAN 1
P 1
PACIFIC ISLAN 1
PARTY OF ONE 1
PEACE & FREEDO 1
PROG DEM 1
PROHIBITION 1
PRS 1
RAINBOW 1
REP-AMERICAN 1
RIGHT 1
RIGHT TO LIFE 1
Sensationalist 1
SOC-DEM 1
SOCIAL 1
SOUTHERN PARTY 1
SOUTHERN REF 1
SPLIT 1
SUB GENIUS 1
SURVIVALIST 1
THEOCRAT 1
UNION 1
UNITED NEUTRAL 1
UNITED REPUBLI 1
UNITED WE ST 1
UNITY 1
VETERANS 1
WORKING CLASS 1
Y 1

How To Take Public Office In Louisiana Without Swearing To God

Last fall I was elected unopposed to the Board of Aldermen in the village in which I live. Before I could take office, however, I had to fulfill the following requirement set forth in the Louisiana Constitution:

Art. X, §30.  Oath of Office

Section 30.  Every official shall take the following oath or affirmation:  "I, .  .  ., do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support the constitution and laws of the United States and the constitution and laws of this state and that I will faithfully and impartially discharge and perform all the duties incumbent upon me as .  .  ., according to the best of my ability and understanding, so help me God."

As an atheist I wasn’t going to swear an oath that ended with “so help me God.” It would have been dishonest.

Since the Oath of Office section of the Louisiana Constitution provides an affirmation option, I was pretty certain I would not be compelled to say “so help me God.” Even though the language of the section does not make it clear that the phrase “so help me God” is not required of those who choose to affirm, it would make no sense to interpret it any other way. The whole point of the affirmation option is to accommodate those people who have a conscientious objection to swearing religious oaths. Any statement that ends with “so help me God” is clearly a religious oath, regardless of which verb was used.

Although I was confident that I would have no trouble getting through the spoken affirmation without violating my conscience, I wasn’t so sure about the Oath of Office form that public officials in Louisiana are required to sign. That form reproduces the words of the Oath of Office, with the phrase “so help me God” printed immediately before the blank for the public official’s signature. I could easily omit the religious language from the spoken affirmation, but I couldn’t so easily omit the religious language from a pre-printed form that I was supposed to sign.

As it turned out I was reading Herb Silverman’s Candidate Without a Prayer last November. It’s a very interesting memoir and is relevant to this post because Silverman was faced with a similar form when he was trying to become a notary in South Carolina. Silverman solved the problem by striking through the phrase “so help me God” before he signed his notary application. South Carolina rejected Silverman’s application, the case went to court, and eventually Silverman won. (There’s lots more background to the Silverman story, but I’ll leave that for you to read about on your own.)

I decided to follow Silverman’s example. I would have preferred to not have to strike through the words “so help me God” since I figured some people would see that as a hostile act and it wasn't my intention to be hostile to anyone. However, I couldn’t think of any better solution. Of course, the ideal solution would be for the state to provide an Oath of Office form that does not contain a religious declaration, at least to those people who request a secular affirmation, but I expect that change would have to be made by either the state legislature or the courts.

In mid-November I emailed the Commissions Division of the Louisiana Secretary of State’s office and asked whether they had any established policies or any guidance regarding the affirmation option. I gave a summary of my situation and explained how I planned to handle the spoken affirmation and the Oath of Office form. I didn’t get a response, so I emailed them again around the end of November. Still, no response.

Then, I emailed the First Assistant Secretary of State. His response was quick, cordial, and professional. He apologized for the lack of communication from the Commissions Division and he asked for my phone number so that he could have the Secretary of State’s legal counsel call me.

A few minutes later the SOS’s legal counsel called. She was also cordial and professional. We briefly discussed the relevant Louisiana law and how the affirmation option should be exercised. Apparently, they did not have any established policy on the details of affirming. (I’m not surprised by that since I expect that very few public officials in Louisiana choose to affirm.) I told her that during the spoken affirmation I intended to say “affirm” instead of “swear” and to leave off “so help me God.” She indicated that that was acceptable. I told her that I planned to strike through the words “so help me God” on the Oath of Office form before signing. I mentioned the Silverman case. She assured me that striking through those words would not cause them to reject my form. She said she would send a note to the Commissions Division so that they would know they should accept my form.

When I went to the courthouse in late December to make my spoken affirmation, I told the clerk that I was choosing to affirm. Still, during his prompting he said “swear” and “so help me God.” I said “affirm” instead of “swear” and left off “so help me God.” I also reminded him at the end that I was affirming. I don’t think he was trying to be difficult. I think he just didn’t know how the affirmation is supposed to work. I struck through the phrase “so help me God” before signing my forms (two copies have to be signed and filed) and there wasn’t any problem.

I was very pleased with how smoothly everything went. There was a bit of confusion, but at no point did I sense any hostility from anyone. If more Louisianans choose a secular affirmation, maybe even the confusion can be reduced.

There is 1 registered Sub Genius in Louisiana.

There was a big spike in voter registrations last month due to people registering in time to vote in the November 6 election.

I've been compiling these numbers for a year now. You can see all the monthly lists here.

According to the Louisiana Secretary of State's office, these are the numbers of registrants for all the parties on the Louisiana voter registration rolls as of November 1, 2012:

Democratic 1429073
Republican 815769
None 656246
INDEPENDENT 46676
Libertarian 6817
Green Party 1707
Reform Party 1441
OTHER 1199
AMERICANS ELECT 764
CONSERVATIVE 532
INDENPENDENT 427
LIBERAL 276
CHRISTIAN 175
TEA PARTY 166
CONSTITUTION 118
AMERICAN 108
PRUD ACT RSLTS 102
MODERATE 85
OPEN 79
SOCIALIST 69
LILBERTARIAN 57
INDEPENTANT 55
INEDEPENDENT 54
UNDECIDED 51
DANSEREAU 47
CONSTITUTIONAL 35
MAJOR 34
RADICAL 29
NON PARTISAN 27
REPUBLIC 27
UNAFFILIATED 25
BANANA 23
COMMUNIST 23
CONFEDERATE 21
INDEPEMDENT 21
UNDECLARED 20
JEDI 19
NEUTRAL 19
TEA 19
LIB 18
PROGRESSIVE 18
WHIG 18
FACIST 17
ANARCHIST 15

INDEPENDENCE 15
LIBERTAIN 15
3RD PARTY 11
CENTRIST 11
NON-PARTISAN 11
REFORMIST 11
EARTH FIRST 10
PRIMARY 10
SEGREGATION 9
FEDERALIST 8
LIBRAL 8
PRESIDENTIAL 8
U S TAXPAYERS 8
BULL MOOSE 7
DEM SOCIALIST 7
INDIVIDUAL 7
MODERN WHIG 7
WARD 7
ChrstnSocialist 6
INDEPENDENT LA 6
NAT SOC 6
TAX PAYERS 6
CATHOLIC REG 5
CONSERVATIST 5
DEM.REP 5
DEMOC SOCIAL 5
PATRIOT 5
POPULIST 5
REALIST 5
SOUTHERN 5
WHITE 5
AEROSMITH 4
BI PARTISAN 4
DEPENDS 4
FREE 4
NAP 4
NATURAL LAW 4
PRIVATE 4
SOCIALIST USA 4
STATES RIGHTS 4
AMERICAN FIRST 3
BAPTIST 3
COMMON SENSE 3
DEPENDENT 3
ENVIORMENTAL 3
LA TAXPAYERS 3

LIBERALIST 3
NATIONAL SOCIA 3
NON PARTISIAN 3
PEACE&FREEDOM 3
POLITICAL 3
PRO LIFE 3
Republitarian 3
THIRD PARTY 3
AM INDEPENDENT 2
AMERICAN INDEP 2
ANARCH 2
ANARCHY 2
BEST 2
BI-PARTISAN 2
BIPARTISAN 2
CHRISTIAN PROGR 2
CIVIL LIBERTAR 2
COMMITTEE 2
COMMUNITARIAN 2
CONFIDENTIAL 2
CONS 2
CONSTRUCTIONALI 2
HAZAL 2
JEFFERSONIAN 2
JESUS 2
KINGDOM 2
LABOR 2
MOOR 2
NATIONAL 2
NATIONALIST 2
NATURAL 2
NEW PARTY 2
NON-DENOMIN 2
NUNYA 2
PAR 2
PEACE 2
PERSONAL 2
PIRATE 2
POSSIBILITARIAN 2
PROHIBITION 2
RASTAFARIAN 2
RIGHTWING WHIG 2
TAXPAYERS 2
THEOCRATIC 2
WORKERS 2
AID 1

AMER MOHICAN 1
AMERICA 1
AMERICAN PARTY 1
ANTI-PARTY 1
BLACK 1
BLACK PANTHER 1
BLACKPANTHER 1
CAJUN 1
CHOICE 1
CHRIST CO 1
CHRONIC HIWAII 1
CITIZEN 1
CONSERVANCE 1
CONSTITUTIONALI 1
CU TAI WOU 1
DISCORDIAN 1
DIXIECRAT 1
DRUID 1
FAIR 1
FREE RADICAL 1
FREEDOM MOVEMT 1
FREEDOMIST 1
FREEMANS 1
GDI 1
GOD 1
GOVERNMENT 1
GRASS ROOTS 1
GREEN PEACE 1
GYPSY 1
HONEST 1
HUMAN 1
HUMANITARIAN 1
IMPERIALIST 1
IN BETWEEN 1
INDEPENDANCE 1
INDIVIDUALIST 1
JasonJohnLeMair 1
KINGDOM OF GOD 1
LEAGUE OF SOUT 1
LIB.REPUBLICAN 1
LIBERAL DEM 1
LIBERAL REP 1
LIBERAL REPUB 1
LOYALIST 1
MEADOW 1
MILLENNIUM 1

MINE 1
MINIMALIST 1
MIXED 1
Moderate Republ 1
MONARCHIST 1
MOTHER 1
MUG WUMP 1
MUSLIM 1
NDEPENDENT 1
NONPARTISAN 1
NUTRAL 1
P 1
PACIFIC ISLAN 1
PARTY OF ONE 1
PEACE & FREEDO 1
PEOPLES CHOICE 1
PROG DEM 1
PRS 1
RAINBOW 1
REP-AMERICAN 1
RIGHT 1
RIGHT TO LIFE 1
Sensationalist 1
SOC-DEM 1
SOCIAL 1
SOUTHERN PARTY 1
SOUTHERN REF 1
SPLIT 1
SUB GENIUS 1
SURVIVALIST 1
THEOCRAT 1
UNION 1
UNITED NEUTRAL 1
UNITED REPUBLI 1
UNITED WE ST 1
UNITY 1
USA 1
VETERANS 1
WORKING CLASS 1
Y 1

There are 2 registered Rastafarians in Louisiana.

According to the Louisiana Secretary of State's Office, these are the numbers of registrants for all the parties on the Louisiana voter registration rolls as of September 4, 2012:

Democratic 1401132
Republican 795950
None 642318
INDEPENDENT 44890
Libertarian 5894
Green Party 1553
Reform Party 1420
OTHER 1162
AMERICANS ELECT 814
CONSERVATIVE 486
INDENPENDENT 437
LIBERAL 274
CHRISTIAN 174
TEA PARTY 159
CONSTITUTION 117
AMERICAN 106
PRUD ACT RSLTS 104
MODERATE 81
OPEN 69
SOCIALIST 63
LILBERTARIAN 61
INDEPENTANT 56
INEDEPENDENT 53
DANSEREAU 48
UNDECIDED 43
CONSTITUTIONAL 35
MAJOR 30
RADICAL 29
NON PARTISAN 27
REPUBLIC 27
BANANA 24
UNAFFILIATED 23
COMMUNIST 22
INDEPEMDENT 22
CONFEDERATE 20
UNDECLARED 20
NEUTRAL 19
LIB 18
PROGRESSIVE 18
TEA 18
FACIST 17
JEDI 17
LIBERTAIN 17
ANARCHIST 15
WHIG 15
INDEPENDENCE 14
3RD PARTY 11
CENTRIST 11
NON-PARTISAN 10
PRIMARY 10
REFORMIST 9
EARTH FIRST 8
FEDERALIST 8
MODERN WHIG 8
PRESIDENTIAL 8
SEGREGATION 8
U S TAXPAYERS 8
ChrstnSocialist 7
LIBRAL 7
NAT SOC 7
WARD 7
DEM SOCIALIST 6
INDEPENDENT LA 6
INDIVIDUAL 6
SOUTHERN 6
TAX PAYERS 6
BULL MOOSE 5
DEM.REP 5
DEMOC SOCIAL 5
DEPENDS 5
PATRIOT 5
POPULIST 5
REALIST 5
WHITE 5
AEROSMITH 4
BAPTIST 4
BI PARTISAN 4
CONSERVATIST 4
FREE 4
NAP 4
NATURAL LAW 4
PEACE&FREEDOM 4
PRIVATE 4
PRO LIFE 4
SOCIALIST USA 4
STATES RIGHTS 4
AMERICAN FIRST 3
CATHOLIC REG 3
DEPENDENT 3
LA TAXPAYERS 3
LIBERALIST 3
NATIONAL SOCIA 3
NATIONALIST 3
NON PARTISIAN 3
PERSONAL 3
POLITICAL 3
AM INDEPENDENT 2
AMERICAN INDEP 2
ANARCH 2
ANARCHY 2
BEST 2
BI-PARTISAN 2
BIPARTISAN 2
CAJUN 2
CHRISTIAN PROGR 2
CIVIL LIBERTAR 2
COMMITTEE 2
COMMON SENSE 2
COMMUNITARIAN 2
CONFIDENTIAL 2
CONS 2
CONSTRUCTIONALI 2
ENVIORMENTAL 2
HAZAL 2
JESUS 2
KINGDOM 2
LABOR 2
LIBERAL REP 2
MOOR 2
NATIONAL 2
NATURAL 2
NEW PARTY 2
NON-DENOMIN 2
NUNYA 2
PAR 2
PIRATE 2
POSSIBILITARIAN 2
PROHIBITION 2
RASTAFARIAN 2
Republitarian 2
TAXPAYERS 2
THEOCRATIC 2
THIRD PARTY 2
WORKERS 2
AID 1
AMER MOHICAN 1
AMERICA 1
ANTI-PARTY 1
BLACK 1
BLACK PANTHER 1
BLACKPANTHER 1
CHOICE 1
CHRIST CO 1
CHRONIC HIWAII 1
CITIZEN 1
CONSERVANCE 1
CONSERVATED 1
CU TAI WOU 1
DISCORDIAN 1
DIXIECRAT 1
DRUID 1
FAIR 1
FREE RADICAL 1
FREEDOM MOVEMT 1
FREEDOMIST 1
FREEMANS 1
GDI 1
GOD 1
GODS 1
GOVERNMENT 1
GRASS ROOTS 1
GREEN PEACE 1
GREENTREE 1
GYPSY 1
HONEST 1
HUMAN 1
HUMANITARIAN 1
IMPERIALIST 1
IN BETWEEN 1
INDEPENDANCE 1
INDIVIDUALIST 1
JasonJohnLeMair 1
JEFFERSONIAN 1
KINGDOM OF GOD 1
LEAGUE OF SOUT 1
LIB.REPUBLICAN 1
LIBERAL DEM 1
LIBERAL REPUB 1
LOYALIST 1
MARXIST 1
MEADOW 1
MILLENNIUM 1
MINE 1
MINIMALIST 1
MIXED 1
MONARCHIST 1
MOTHER 1
MUG WUMP 1
MUSLIM 1
NDEPENDENT 1
NONPARTISAN 1
NUTRAL 1
PACIFIC ISLAN 1
PARTY OF ONE 1
PEACE & FREEDO 1
PEOPLES CHOICE 1
PROG DEM 1
PRS 1
RAINBOW 1
REP-AMERICAN 1
RIGHT 1
RIGHT TO LIFE 1
RIGHTWING WHIG 1
SOC-DEM 1
SOCIAL 1
SOUTHERN PARTY 1
SOUTHERN REF 1
SPLIT 1
SUB GENIUS 1
SURVIVALIST 1
THEOCRAT 1
UNION 1
UNITED NEUTRAL 1
UNITED REPUBLI 1
UNITED WE ST 1
UNITY 1
USA 1
VETERANS 1
WORKING CLASS 1
Y 1

There are 12 registered Jedi in Louisiana.

According to the Louisiana Secretary of State's office, these are the numbers of registrants for all the parties on the Louisiana voter registration rolls as of January 3, 2012:

Democratic 1407917
Republican 773183
None 625226
INDEPENDENT 43014
Libertarian 4813
Reform Party 1383
Green Party 1369
OTHER 1057
INDENPENDENT 451
CONSERVATIVE 423
LIBERAL 280
TEA PARTY 161
CHRISTIAN 133
CONSTITUTION 119
PRUD ACT RSLTS 111
AMERICAN 102
MODERATE 74
OPEN 69
SOCIALIST 63
INDEPENTANT 60
LILBERTARIAN 59
DANSEREAU 57
INEDEPENDENT 55
UNDECIDED 41
CONSTITUTIONAL 39
RADICAL 30
REPUBLIC 30
MAJOR 26
NON PARTISAN 26
INDEPEMDENT 23
COMMUNIST 22
UNAFFILIATED 22
CONFEDERATE 21
LIB 21
BANANA 20
TEA 19
UNDECLARED 19
PROGRESSIVE 17
NEUTRAL 16
WHIG 16
FACIST 15
ANARCHIST 13
CENTRIST 13
LIBERTAIN 13
INDEPENDENCE 12
JEDI 12
NON-PARTISAN 10
ChrstnSocialist 9
LIBRAL 9
3RD PARTY 8
PRESIDENTIAL 8
REFORMIST 8
SOUTHERN 8
U S TAXPAYERS 8
WARD 8
EARTH FIRST 7
FEDERALIST 7
NAT SOC 7
PRIMARY 7
SEGREGATION 7
INDEPENDENT LA 6
INDIVIDUAL 6
TAX PAYERS 6
BULL MOOSE 5
DEM SOCIALIST 5
DEM.REP 5
PATRIOT 5
POLITICAL 5
POPULIST 5
BAPTIST 4
BI PARTISAN 4
CONSERVATIST 4
DEMOC SOCIAL 4
NATURAL LAW 4
PEACE&FREEDOM 4
PRIVATE 4
REALIST 4
STATES RIGHTS 4
AEROSMITH 3
AMERICAN FIRST 3
AMERICAN INDEP 3
CATHOLIC REG 3
DEPENDENT 3
DEPENDS 3
LA TAXPAYERS 3
LIBERALIST 3
MODERN WHIG 3
NON PARTISIAN 3
PRO LIFE 3
SOCIALIST USA 3
WHITE 3
ANARCHY 2
BEST 2
BI-PARTISAN 2
BIPARTISAN 2
BLACK 2
CAJUN 2
CHRISTIAN PROGR 2
CIVIL LIBERTAR 2
COMMITTEE 2
COMMON SENSE 2
COMMUNITARIAN 2
CONFIDENTIAL 2
CONS 2
ENVIORMENTAL 2
FREE 2
GREEN PEACE 2
HAZAL 2
KINGDOM 2
LABOR 2
LIBERAL REP 2
NATIONAL 2
NATIONAL SOCIA 2
NATIONALIST 2
NATURAL 2
NEW PARTY 2
NON-DENOMIN 2
NUNYA 2
PAR 2
PERSONAL 2
PIRATE 2
PROHIBITION 2
RASTAFARIAN 2
Republitarian 2
RIGHT TO LIFE 2
SPLIT 2
TAXPAYERS 2
THEOCRATIC 2
THIRD PARTY 2
WORKERS 2
AID 1
AM INDEPENDENT 1
AMER CONST 1
AMER MOHICAN 1
AMERICA 1
ANARCH 1
ANTI-PARTY 1
BLACK PANTHER 1
BLACKPANTHER 1
CHOICE 1
CHRIST CO 1
CHRONIC HIWAII 1
CITIZEN 1
CONSERVANCE 1
CONSERVATED 1
CU TAI WOU 1
DISCORDIAN 1
DIXIECRAT 1
DRUID 1
FREE RADICAL 1
FREE THINKER 1
FREEDOM MOVEMT 1
FREEDOMIST 1
FREEMANS 1
GDI 1
GOD 1
GODS 1
GOVERNMENT 1
GRASS ROOTS 1
GREENPEACE 1
GREENTREE 1
GYPSY 1
HONEST 1
HUMAN 1
HUMANITARIAN 1
IMPERIALIST 1
IN BETWEEN 1
INDEPENDANCE 1
INDIVIDUALIST 1
JasonJohnLeMair 1
JEFFERSONIAN 1
JESUS 1
KINGDOM OF GOD 1
LEAGUE OF SOUT 1
LIB.REPUBLICAN 1
LIBERAL DEM 1
LIBERAL REPUB 1
LOYALIST 1
MARXIST 1
MEADOW 1
MILLENNIUM 1
MINE 1
MINIMALIST 1
MONARCHIST 1
MOOR 1
MOTHER 1
MUG WUMP 1
MUSLIM 1
NDEPENDENT 1
NONPARTISAN 1
NUTRAL 1
PACIFIC ISLAN 1
PARTY OF ONE 1
PEOPLES CHOICE 1
PROG DEM 1
PRS 1
RAINBOW 1
REALISTS 1
REP-AMERICAN 1
RIGHT 1
RIGHTWING WHIG 1
SOC-DEM 1
SOCIAL 1
SOUTHERN PARTY 1
SOUTHERN REF 1
SUB GENIUS 1
SURVIVALIST 1
THEOCRAT 1
UNION 1
UNITED NEUTRAL 1
UNITED REPUBLI 1
UNITED WE ST 1
UNITY 1
USA 1
WORKING CLASS 1
Y 1

In 2005 the Libertarian Party achieved recognized party status in Louisiana and became a pre-printed option on the voter registration form. Since that time Libertarian voter registration numbers have risen pretty steadily. However, the Libertarian total declined by 178 last month. Presumably, this is due to Libertarian supporters of Ron Paul switching their registration to Republican before the December 15, 2011, deadline so that they will be able to vote for Paul in the Republican caucuses this year.

Skeptic's Annotated Sale Paper

When I got this week's Mac's Fresh Market sale paper, I was amused to read this: "Funny how we believe what the newspapers say but question what the Bible says!"

Since the circular reached me through my local newspaper, I appreciated the irony. I'm always skeptical of everything I read in the newspaper, especially the ads.

Then, I noticed that Boston butt pork roasts are on sale. Obviously, someone at Mac's questions Leviticus 11:7-8 and Deuteronomy 14:8.

Christian Party

Here's an interesting video in which U.S. Representative candidate Anthony Marquize of the 2nd District explains why the Christian Party of Louisiana was founded. I enjoy the color-coded bat analogy.

Bad Choice of Words

Apparently, a 14-year-old has been arrested for the aggravated rape of an 8-year-old at a Christian day camp in Shreveport. I don't know (and I really don't want to know) the details, but it sounds horribly sad and I hope everybody involved is as okay as they can be given the circumstances.

However, the letter that the camp sent out to parents is weird:


I don't think I would have followed up a paragraph about the alleged "incident" with the phrase "thank you for letting us love on your children." I would have at least put in an intervening paragraph about a water slide or something.

Louisiana Family Finds Jesus In Their Bathroom

I see Darth Vader.

Here's the story.