LOGA Issues Statement on Preliminary Injunction Against Biden's Leasing Moratorium

BATON ROUGE, LA (June 16, 2021) - Last night, Federal District Judge Terry Doughty of the Western District of Louisiana issued a nationwide preliminary injunction blocking President Biden's Executive Order 14008 that halts all new oil leasing permits on federal land.

LOGA President Mike Moncla described this ruling as a "win for every worker in the country, but especially in Louisiana where we depend so much on the Gulf of Mexico. The policies of this administration have been grueling for Americans at the pump, so hopefully legal decisions like these will help ease that pain on Americans."
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Moncla added that "Louisiana’s economy has suffered under this pandemic, and the energy sector has gotten the brunt of it. If President Biden wants to truly enact policies that get this nation back on track, he should join the industry’s efforts in modernizing clean energy practices while maintaining a prosperous economy. Even though the fight against the Biden Administration’s climate agenda is far from over, this is a glimmer of hope for an industry that has suffered under this White House.”

The federal court ruling comes days after Attorney General Jeff Landry made arguments in U.S. District Court opposing the executive order.

There has been nationwide backlash against Biden's decision to pause new drilling permits, including from some House Democrats who represent districts in close proximity to the Gulf.

Federal judge blocks Biden's pause on new oil, gas leases

U.S. District Judge Terry Doughty's ruling came in a lawsuit filed in March by Louisiana Republican Attorney General Jeff Landry and officials in 12 other states. Doughty said his ruling applies nationwide. It grants a preliminary injunction — technically a halt to the suspension pending further arguments on the merits of the case.

Read more: Federal judge blocks Biden's pause on new oil, gas leases

Rep. Clay Higgins Addresses the Biden Border Crisis

John Kennedy: VP Harris’ Negotiating Billions with Guatemalan President is Like ‘Giving Whiskey and Car Keys to a Teenager’

The Louisiana senator discusses Kamala Harris’ visit to Guatemala and Joe Manchin’s opposition to Democratic voting bill

Sen. John Kennedy Announces 2022 Re-Election Campaign

Higgins Calls Out Biden Policy Failures

Congressman Clay Higgins (R-LA) speaks on the House floor about the Biden administration's policy failures.

The Real "Average Joe"

As we’ve covered before on Cajun Conservatism, Biden’s Oil Ban has cost our state a lot more than just an oil rig here and there. It’s killed jobs of real life Louisianans!

Now in a new video by the You First Campaign, this fact is perfectly highlighted. The video follows a man named Joe from Delaware, Louisiana. He may not be the most famous Joe from Delaware, but he MATTERS! It highlights how Joe Biden lied about being on the side of working class people and uses his own words to show how out of touch the Democratic President is. At one point, our narrator (Average Joe) describes having his air conditioner go out, his truck needing new tires, and not being able to do anything about it because “I just got laid off.”

These are the real consequences of Biden’s Oil Ban. He claimed to be on the side of the middle class but in a matter of weeks he killed countless middle class jobs..

Joe Biden's policies have left behind hard-working Americans like Average Joe and You First is demanding that the President answer for them!

Sen. John Kennedy Slams the "Endless Frontiers Act"

Senator John N. Kennedy, R-La., slammed the Endless Frontiers Act as a bloated, somewhat misrepresented piece of legislation its proponents say will help the U.S. be more competitive with China in the manufacturing and technology spaces.

Sponsored by Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., the bill would establish a directorate at the National Science Foundation (NSF) for "technology and innovation", among other directives – but Kennedy warned "Tucker Carlson Tonight" that it is a $130-billion-and-counting boondoggle.

Of its 13 co-sponsors, about half are Republicans, including Mitt Romney of Utah, Susan Collins of Maine, Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, and Steve Daines of Montana.

Read more: Sen. Kennedy warns some in GOP 'swapped brains with Democrats' to support Schumer's 'orgy of spending porn'

New Economic Impact of Tort Reform Report

New report shows toll of civil court costs on Louisiana’s economy

Costs result in significant losses to Louisiana families, businesses, and tax rolls; More than $2 billion in savings projected with additional legal reforms

 Baton Rouge, LA — Louisiana Lawsuit Abuse Watch (LLAW) today released the 2021 Impact of Tort Costs and the Potential Economic Benefits of Tort Reform, an assessment measuring the impact of excessive civil court costs on Louisiana’s economy. Citizens Against Lawsuit Abuse (CALA) commissioned John Dunham & Associates (JDA) to conduct analysis on these impacts and the potential economic benefits of tort reform in Louisiana. View the Louisiana report here.

Findings once again showed that Louisiana continues to lose jobs and revenue to the tune of billions annually. The current total impact of these costs results in $3.87 billion in lost economic activity, 22,550 in job losses and losses of $1.12 billion in lost wages for hardworking Louisianans. This translates to an annual hidden “tort tax” of $451 currently being paid by every single Louisiana resident. Were Louisiana to enact additional reforms, the resulting savings to residents and businesses would be an estimated $2.1 billion.

As a result, all major industry groups are negatively impacted. Business and personal services tops the list with job losses totaling more than 7,700, lost wages in excess of $446 million and $951 million in lost output. The travel and entertainment sector is the next hardest-hit with more than 5600 in lost jobs, lost wages in excess of $163 million and more than $545 million in output losses. Coming in third is finance, insurance, and real estate with more than 2600 job losses, nearly $97 million in lost wages and more than $644 million in lost output.

The report also looked at the costs of Louisiana’s civil justice system resulting in specific losses in the largest Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSA), as outlined below.

New Orleans MSA

o   Jobs: 2900+

o   Wages: $126+ million

o   Economic Activity: $405+ millio

Baton Rouge MSA

o   Jobs: 1580+

o   Wages: $76+ million

o   Economic Activity: $254+ million

Shreveport MSA

o   Jobs: 1000+

o   Wages: $54+ million

o   Economic Activity: $172+ million

Lafayette MSA

o   Jobs: 600+

o   Wages: 34+ million

o   Economic Activity: 109+ million

Though significant legal reforms were passed by the Louisiana Legislature last year, it will take time for these changes to take effect. Significant legal cost savings to the state and its residents would result from implementation of comprehensive legal reform. Louisiana would experience a spurt of economic growth resulting in jobs gained, increased wages and benefits, as well as a significant expansion of economic activity. State government would also benefit from additional tax revenues. All of these are needed more than ever, as the state continues to recover from the effects of COVID-19.

“These findings clearly show that civil justice reform must continue to be a priority in Louisiana. Frivolous lawsuits and exorbitant plaintiff awards impact all sectors of our economy – especially the critical energy sector. These job-killing lawsuits hurt Louisiana families, and in addition, economic opportunities are driven away while resulting costs are passed down to all Louisianans in the form of higher prices for goods and services,” said LLAW Executive Director Lana Venable.

While providing access to the civil justice system for truly injured parties to be fully and fairly compensated is the bedrock of the American judicial system, civil justice reforms aim to discourage filing of nuisance lawsuits or limit the types of damages that can be received. They are designed to relieve the court system from an abundance of frivilous lawsuits, prevent hurtful and abusive practices against businesses and other defendants, and prevent lawsuits that are overly costly.

“A healthy legal system should ensure fairness for both truly impaired individuals and small and large businesses operating in Louisiana. Imbalances in the system lead to unpredictability for consumers and businesses, costing jobs and resulting in constrained economic growth,” according to Louisiana Coalition for Common Sense Executive Director Karen Eddlemon.

Louisiana earned the number five ranking in the American Tort Reform Foundation’s 2020-21 Judicial Hellholes Report based on systematic application of civil laws and court procedures. The state was also ranked 49th in the US Chamber Institute for Legal Reform’s 2019 Lawsuit Abuse Climate Survey, which measures the reasonability and balance of each states’ tort liability systems.

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About Louisiana Lawsuit Abuse Watch (LLAW)

Louisiana Lawsuit Abuse Watch (LLAW) is a nonpartisan, nonprofit, citizen watchdog group with nearly 20,000 supporters across the state. LLAW is dedicated to ending lawsuit abuse that hurts Louisiana’s families and threatens local businesses and jobs by bringing more balance, fairness and common sense to Louisiana’s civil justice system. Visit us on Facebook, Twitter (@ReformLouisiana) and www.llaw.org.

About the Louisiana Coalition for Common Sense (LCCS)

The Louisiana Coalition for Common Sense (LCCS) is a group of professional associations, companies and individuals committed to ensuring a fair legal climate for both truly impaired individuals and small and large businesses operating in Louisiana.

About John Dunham & Associates (JDH)

Florida-based John Dunham & Associates provides strong analysis, as well as unique, credible messages and tools for use in lobbying, stakeholder engagement, communications, and litigation support. Firms can better manage potential risks and respond to opportunities by developing fact-based economic materials, messaging tools and stakeholder relations.

Louisiana joins Texas, Mississippi in filing suit against federal government over American Rescue Plan

“In exchange for badly needed funds to assist the States of Texas, Mississippi, and Louisiana and their citizens in recovering from the ongoing pandemic – the American Rescue Plan Act attempts to obligate these states to exercise their core sovereign power of taxation in the way the federal government prefers,” said Attorney General Landry. “Specifically, the Act prohibits the states from reducing net tax revenue on pain of forfeiting up to billions of dollars in federal funding.”

A copy of the suit may be found here.

Read more: Louisiana joins Texas, Mississippi in filing suit against federal government over American Rescue Plan

VPPJ requests DA dismiss coastal damage lawsuits

"Newly elected District Attorney Don Landry has publicly agreed to take action that aligns with the current Police Jury’s decision regarding the lawsuits," the release says.

That issue will be discussed at a jury meeting tonight at 6 p.m. in the Vermilion Parish Courthouse, where the police jury usually meets.

Read more: VPPJ requests DA dismiss coastal damage lawsuits

GOP Sen. Kennedy: Biden Louisiana Trip to Say ‘I’m the Candy Man and I’ve Got More Free Stuff for You’

“I don’t have a lot of details,” Kennedy said of the visit. “It’s always an honor when a president visits your state. I’m sure the president’s coming in to say I’m the candy man, and I’ve got more free stuff for you. The problem is that there’s nothing free. Anything free somebody had to work for. The president’s plan is not an infrastructure plan. Only 5 percent of it goes to infrastructure. It’s really a Green New Deal and welfare plan, and it’s a mess. It looks like somebody — somebody knocked over a urine sample. Now, we can fix it if we stick to, A, infrastructure, and B, we have serious discussions about how to pay for it. I can tell you how we can pay for it.”

Read more: GOP Sen. Kennedy: Biden Louisiana Trip to Say ‘I’m the Candy Man and I’ve Got More Free Stuff for You’

Tulane University Invites Noted Scholar, Hunter Biden, To Take Part in Guest Speaker Session

In case you haven’t heard this one, Hunter Biden is scheduled to be a guest speaker at Tulane University in an upcoming online course.

Yes, this Hunter Biden.

Hunter Biden, son of President Joe Biden and target of Republican attacks during the 2020 presidential campaign for his business dealings in Ukraine, is one of nine guest speakers scheduled to address a new 10-week class at Tulane University, a university spokesperson confirmed Tuesday night.

Read more: Hunter Biden to be guest speaker for Tulane University class; see complete list

Attorney General Jeff Landry of Louisiana had this to say about the announcement today on his Facebook account:

Parents and donors of Tulane should keep this kind of garbage in mind when sending their kids and their money to Tulane this fall.

DESHOTEL: On Big Tech Monopolies

As an entrepreneur, I have been able to create jobs and opportunities in Avoyelles Parish and across Louisiana - one of my proudest accomplishments.

This is why I’m angered by what’s happening to young people and small business owners who are chasing the same success in the tech world today but find huge barriers in their way at the hands of two companies: Apple and Google.

Sound familiar? These monopolistic tech titans have not only tried to silence conservative voices; they are also crushing entrepreneurs by imposing a hefty 30 percent “app tax” on anyone who wants to sell their goods on the Apple App Store and Google Play Store.

Read more: DESHOTEL: On Big Tech Monopolies

Higgins: Actual Number of Illegal Crossings Likely Around 250K in March

Congressman Clay Higgins joined Tucker Carlson to discuss how the Biden administration's border policies and restrictions on law enforcement are leading to lower interdiction rates and increased illegal crossings.

Higgins: Delegation United Behind Southwest Louisiana’s Long-Term Recovery Needs

Originally Published in the American Press

     Nearly eight months have passed since Hurricanes Laura and Delta devastated Southwest Louisiana. Two major hurricanes hitting the same parishes a month apart presented significant challenges and requires an extended, large-scale recovery effort. As our communities continue to rebuild, my office and the entire Louisiana delegation remain committed to providing needed assistance and supporting the impacted areas.

     We have worked with our federal partners to deliver over $1 billion in relief funding. These resources support housing and rental assistance, utility repairs, debris removal, hazard mitigation, and other disaster response costs. The state, impacted parishes, and families will continue to see additional funding allocated. Further, we worked with both President Trump and President Biden to increase federal assistance, securing a 100% federal cost-share for 30 days and a 90% federal cost-share for remaining Hurricane Laura public assistance program expenses. These federal commitments have greatly eased the financial burden for local governments.

     Still, much work remains. While over $193 million in housing assistance has been provided, our region continues to face dire housing needs. FEMA regulations and its own bureaucracy, as well as local zoning laws, state component rules and guidelines, restoration of post-hurricane utility corridors, and private insurance company rules, have all been significant barriers to the fast and efficient deployment of temporary housing units. I have repeatedly and directly addressed these concerns with HUD, local and state officials, the FEMA Administrator, Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary, and many FEMA representatives. The change in Executive administration at the White House was unexpected and caused additional recovery complications as President Trump’s team began closing operations and President Biden’s administration had not been assembled. This dynamic certainly exacerbated the challenges of pushing the executive branch in DC. Louisiana lost a great friend in President Trump. However, our office officially communicated with the Biden administration on the day after his inauguration, touching on many topics, including disaster recovery in Louisiana.

     While the efforts thus far have helped to address Southwest Louisiana’s immediate needs, we also recognize the importance of long-term recovery resources. The Calcasieu Parish Police Jury recently echoed calls from Governor Edwards for Congress to appropriate additional funding for hurricane recovery and disaster mitigation efforts. We support this request. Further, just last week, my office led a Delegation letter to Speaker Pelosi, addressing the need for supplemental disaster relief. Louisiana’s entire congressional delegation is united behind Southwest Louisiana’s long-term recovery needs.

     Although the letter to Speaker Pelosi is a recent interaction, I have worked for months to build support in Congress for a supplemental disaster relief bill. That support exists broadly. However, the Democratic majority and Speaker Pelosi would not allow our supplemental funding to move forward prior to the November Presidential election. Further, the Democrat majority blocked our disaster recovery amendments to the most recent COVID-19 spending bill. One such amendment would have prioritized up to $10 billion of the Disaster Relief Fund for Southwest Louisiana and other communities hit by a major disaster in 2020. We will not stop pushing. It’s not in my nature to quit. DC politics will not deter us from our mission. I remain confident that Congress will produce a bipartisan disaster relief package. In the meantime, none of the Federal agencies that have authority over disaster recovery programs have ever come close to running out of money. Scores of millions of dollars that have already been set aside through various programs for Louisiana recovery remain available. Navigating through the application process to access these monies can be difficult, and our office has helped many local government entities, businesses, and families push through the complicated application procedures and receive their recovery assistance. This is an ongoing mission. Every day, our District and DC staff work on helping Louisiana stand back up.

     Our region will not be forgotten. Louisiana is my home. You are all my neighbors. I work for you. A great deal of federal support has already been delivered, and more relief is coming. We are working across congressional barriers to deliver results. I am not alone in this commitment. Our local and state elected officials have done heroic work, my own staff has served tirelessly to deliver compassionate relief, and the entire Louisiana delegation stands behind recovery efforts. We are all in this together, shoulder to shoulder. It’s been an incredibly challenging year, on many, many levels. As one people, we will move forward day by day, toward full recovery from the many disasters of this past year, to emerge better, stronger, wiser, more loving, more resilient, and more united.

Congressman Clay Higgins represents Louisiana’s 3rd District in the U.S. House of Representatives.

American Economy And Way Of Life Threatened By Biden Overreach, Attorney General Jeff Landry Leads Multistate Lawsuit To Fight Back

BATON ROUGE, LA – Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry is leading a 10-state coalition in suing to prevent the Biden Administration from carrying out an act of executive order that will kill thousands of jobs throughout the country and impose significant burdens on the American people.

“With the stroke of his pen – Joe Biden is bypassing our elected representatives to impose the Left’s radical, self-defeating green agenda on the American economy and people,” said Attorney General Landry. “This ‘social cost’ overreach revives an Obama-era scheme that unnecessarily forces the monetary cost of a global issue on American governments, businesses, and families.”

The “social cost of carbon” has been called “the most important number you never heard of” by economists because carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide are by-products of everyday activities in America. In Executive Order 13990, the President established a “working group” of federal appointees to establish a damage value, or “social cost,” based upon global environmental damages from climate changes.

Through this executive fiat, federal agencies are required to immediately begin applying these numbers in regulatory actions and “other” decision-making – paving the way for the most expansive and expensive federal regulatory initiative in history. The order has wide-ranging impacts on decisions made by virtually every federal agency, including the Departments of Interior, Commerce, Energy, Agriculture, Transportation, Environmental Protection, Defense, Homeland Security, Health and Human Services, and the U.S. Treasury.

“Joe Biden’s executive order should alarm every American. If left unchecked, the President could use this destructive cost structure to justify almost anything,” said Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry. “Louisiana produces crucial natural and manmade resources for our nation and enjoys a rich, storied way of life. From timber and food stocks to oil and natural gas, chemical and industrial products to recreational sportsmanship and outdoor activities – nearly every aspect of our economy and culture is at risk under this unconscionable policy.”

The President’s actions illegally force this destructive cost-benefit analysis on nearly every meaningful federal action. This will fundamentally transform the entire federal regulatory structure by empowering agencies to arbitrarily assign massive cost or benefit to any activity under their authority.

“Biden's unacceptable and unauthorized executive overreach touches every part of American life: the generators powering our homes, the dishwashers cleaning our tableware, the lawnmowers cutting our grass, the firewood keeping us warm, the livestock and produce feeding our families, and every breath we exhale,” concluded Attorney General Landry. “By executive fiat, the Biden Administration is not only arbitrarily and improperly taxing American productivity and everyday life in the community; but it is also creating a scheme that can justify virtually any decision.”

In addition to Louisiana – the following states joined in the lawsuit filed this morning in the United States District Court for the Western District of Louisiana: Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, South Dakota, Texas, West Virginia, and Wyoming.

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Carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide are by-products of everyday activities in every developed economy like the production of electricity to light our homes and highways, natural gas for our buses and plant operations, farming operations, a wide variety of industrial activities, the production of cement and other construction materials, and waste disposal. They are among the most common and prevalent by-products of human economic activity.

The President’s actions improperly and illegally change the way federal decision-making is conducted, including changing the cost-benefit analysis for nearly every significant agency action. This means federal agencies could use these estimates to arbitrarily assign massive costs or massive benefits, whichever they choose, to every regulatory action, environmental impact studies, mitigation costs, and more. These values have the ability to fundamentally transform the entire regulatory structure of the federal government, as well as the way States conduct business, and Americans live.

Agricultural activities, like soil and waste management, result in roughly 75% of our nitrous oxide emissions, while 27% of methane emissions stem from livestock excretions. Methane also emits from using petroleum and natural gas, the latter of which is a significant driver in the reduction of American carbon emissions over the past decade. 

See the court filing here

Republican Party of Louisiana Supports Closed Party Primary System

The Republican State Central Committee has voted to support the establishment of a closed party primary system in Louisiana.

Please see a copy of the resolution adopted at the April 17, 2021 RSCC meeting, below: 

What The Liberal Press Wants to Distract You From Regarding Jeff Landry’s Press Conference Yesterday

Attorney General Jeff Landry called a press conference yesterday in regards to his actions taken in the handling of the sexual harassment case against a former Criminal Division Manager, Pat Magee.

The liberal media in the State of Louisiana has tried to portray a rampant sexual harassment environment in the Dept. of Justice. The blatant biased reporting does not and will not report that not one allegation has been made against Landry, that a majority of his key directors are female and that leaders throughout his organization are female.

The above video, approximately 20 minutes in, highlights the below takeaways, containing shocking information about a longtime staffer, who was working in his position prior to Landry’s arrival.

• Who has been leading the HR issues at the Department of Justice? Landry was joined at the presser by 4 women who lead the litigation and HR divisions which have handled the recent allegations of sexual harassment and the Advocate’s lawsuits.

• Who was / is behind the complaint claiming there are sexual harassment issues in the Landry office: The complaining employee against former Director Pat Magee was a man, himself a high ranking officer in the same Division.

• What is the truth behind the Advocate’s reporting: Sandra Schober, deputy director of Landry’s administrative services division, stated that the complaint contained many inaccuracies – including the most salacious that the Advocate reported. One, a woman claiming she could not have a particular office due to Magee’s advances actually did not meet the qualifications for the space and the complaining employee knew it – knew it was against policy because he himself was a high ranking officer – and put her there anyway and then later claimed Magee removed her for other reasons. Two, the woman to allegedly was not given a promotion or important assignment due to Magee sexism was actually under investigation for violating office procedures and was not qualified for the appointment – something the complainant already knew. The reporting employee knew for a fact, due to his position, that the actions Mr. Magee took were in line either with previously stated policy or were in line with issues already known by my office regarding those individuals.

• Was there sexual harassment in the office? Sandra stated that with these factors and a lack of any other evidence, the outside investigation determined no sexual harassment.

• The hyped up WBRZ TV news interview with the voice altered, and image blacked out DOJ employee? Sandra Schober announced that the salacious TV news report where another woman whose face was blacked out claimed she was never interviewed was false. The woman was interviewed, by Sandra herself. All information was included in the report. Any claim that her voice was not heard: false.

• Why the Advocate lawsuit? Angelique Freel, Director of the Civil Division, announced it was her decision to sue the Advocate because the Advocate threatened to sue the Department. Said it was to protect Constitutional rights and to follow the law. Noted the Judge praised the Departments decision.

• AG Landry announced: More recently, we received additional disturbing information concerning a high-level member of the Criminal Division. This high level employee had a duty and obligation to report concerns at the moment he had encountered them, not months or years after the fact. He knew there was a policy which required him to report any inappropriate comments or actions by employees.

• Landry stated we obtained evidence that this high-level employee, who had been with the department prior to my arrival, engaged in inappropriate and unprofessional communication that is sexist in nature, with and about DOJ employees and third-parties.

• THEN THIS LANDRY STATED --- >>> Additionally I was shocked to learn that this employee, who is an attorney, was the subject of an investigation by another State Agency.

This other, outside investigation, determined the following information:

• That this employee impersonated a high ranking state official. 

• This state official who he impersonated was a high ranking female staffer in a prior Governor’s administration. 

• This information that should have been disclosed in his personal file, but was not. 

• This outside investigation verified this information. 

• This employee created a social media account impersonating the official, according to the investigation.

• This employee resigned during the course of our investigation of his conduct. 

Finally Landry announced: It is important for the media to understand that supporting documents to what we have disclosed are not being released based upon the litigious nature of this entire situation which may be initiated by current and former employees.

Democrats Will Kill the Goose That Lays the Golden Vaccines

Joe Biden, Democrats want to destroy this critical partnership in the short-sighted search for a nonexistent reward.

According to The Hill, key Democrats, including Sen. Bernie Sanders (VT) and Rep. Rosa DeLauro (CT), are pressuring the United States to support a radical proposal at the World Trade Organization. They seek to strip patent protections for COVID-19 vaccines. Speaker Nancy Pelosi is also reported to have expressed support for this measure.

In other words, they want to kill the goose that lays the golden vaccines. It is hard to imagine a more destructive step for the current pandemic and future drug development.

Read more: Democrats Will Kill the Goose That Lays the Golden Vaccines