Podcasts about governor edwards

My new book Reframe Your Brain, available now on Amazon https://tinyurl.com/3bwr9fm8 Find my "extra" content on Locals: https://ScottAdams.Locals.com Content: Politics, Sumerian Tablets, Doppelgängers, Consciousness Shift, Simulation Theory, Old Souls, SCOTUS Rejects Jack Smith, President Trump, Dictator Accusations, Analogies Without Argument, Inflation, Governor Newsom, The Atlantic's Propaganda, Congressional Blackmail Process, Rep. Tim Burchett, Honeypot Blackmail, Nikki Haley Rumors, Louis Farrakhan, Julian Assange, 40 Murderers Pardoned, Governor Edwards, John Fetterman, Weed People Pardons, President Biden, Scott Adams ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ If you would like to enjoy this same content plus bonus content from Scott Adams, including micro-lessons on lots of useful topics to build your talent stack, please see scottadams.locals.com for full access to that secret treasure. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/scott-adams00/support

The American Democracy Minute Radio Report & Podcast for Nov. 13, 2023Appeals Court (Finally) Finds Louisiana Congressional Map was Discriminatory; Orders New Maps to Be Drawn by January 15After multiple appeals, Louisiana is close to getting fair Congressional maps for the 2024 election, after a November 10th appeals court decision directed the legislature to draw new maps by January 15th.  Our podcasting host recently made changes which stops us from including our entire script as part of the podcast content.  To view the whole script, please go to our website and find today's report.Today's LinksArticles & Resources:Democracy Docket -  Redistricting Lagniappe: The Fight for a Second Majority-Black District in LouisianaDemocracy Docket - Louisiana Voters Ask U.S. Supreme Court To Pause 5th Circuit Order Delaying Fair MapsDemocracy Docket - US Supreme Court Denies Petitioners in Louisiana Redistricting Case Emergency ReliefFifth Circuit Court of Appeals Nov. 10, 2023 Decision - Robinson v. ArdoinOffice of the Governor - Statement from Governor Edwards on 5th Circuit Ordering A New Congressional MapNPR - An appeals court sets a January deadline for a new Louisiana congressional mapNAACP Legal Defense Fund - Federal Court of Appeals Affirms Louisiana's Congressional Map is Discriminatory Groups Taking Action:NAACP Legal Defense Fund, ACLU Louisiana,  Power Coalition for Equity and JusticePlease follow us on Facebook and Twitter and SHARE!  Find all of our reports at AmericanDemocracyMinute.orgWant ADM sent to your email?  Sign up here!#Democracy  #DemocracyNews #MajorityMinority #LouisianaPolitics #FairMaps #VotingRightsAct #EndGerrymandering

Brandon Comeaux and Mark Pope discuss huge issues facing our nation including gun control and student loans, as well as issues facing our state such as Governor Edwards' vetoes of bills seen at odds with many in the LGBTQ+ community.

Following Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans became one of the most deforested cities in the country. Recently, the environmental group Sustaining Our Our Landscape (SOUL) released a new agenda to plant 100,000 trees in the city by 2040.  The Coastal Desk's Halle Parker sat down with SOUL's executive director and founder Susannah Burley to learn more. Last year, the Louisiana Office of Juvenile Justice began transferring youth in detention to Angola, the state's most notorious prison. Now two teens, who had been held in a former death row building at the facility, are seeking to join an ongoing lawsuit against Governor Edwards over their treatment. Criminal Justice reporter for the The Times-Picayune | The Advocate James Finn tells us what might happen next. January 27th is Holocaust Remembrance Day, when we make the commitment to never forget one of the worst genocides in human history. Late holocaust survivor Irving Roth joined us three years ago to share his experience and stress the importance of civic responsibility. Today we will hear an encore of that conversation. Today's episode of Louisiana Considered was hosted by Karl Lengel. Our managing producer is Alana Schreiber and our digital editor is Katelyn Umholtz. Our engineers are Garrett Pittman, Aubry Procell, and Thomas Walsh.  You can listen to Louisiana Considered Monday through Friday at 12:00 and 7:30 pm. It's available on Spotify, Google Play, and wherever you get your podcasts.  Louisiana Considered wants to hear from you! Please fill out our pitch line to let us know what kinds of story ideas you have for our show. And while you're at it, fill out our listener survey! We want to keep bringing you the kinds of conversations you'd like to listen to. Louisiana Considered is made possible with support from our listeners. Thank you!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Louisiana's State Penitentiary, commonly known as Angola, is one of the largest maximum security adult prisons in the country. There are 4,400 prisoners at Angola currently serving life without parole in a state with the highest incarceration rate in the U.S. It is also notorious for its brutal treatment of prisoners. Last month, The Takeaway discussed Louisiana's Governor Jon Bell Edwards proposal to move teens from a juvenile detention center to a facility on the grounds of the former slave labor camp.  Advocates and families filed a federal lawsuit to block this move saying it would be dangerous for the teens and young adults, and a federal judge placed a temporary hold on the plan. Now, a federal judge has lifted the stay, and the state can now move ahead with a plan to relocate about two dozen incarcerated young people from the Bridge City Center for Youth to a facility on Angola's grounds. The facility is a building previously designed to hold adult death row inmates. The ruling allows for the transfer of children as young as 12. At a press conference in July, Governor Edwards said they would not have any direct contact with adult inmates at Angola, and would be housed in a separate facility, but parents and advocates remained worry what sending children as young as 12 to a maximum-security prison would only further the isolation and trauma wrapped up in childhood incarceration. We spoke with Gina Womack, Executive Director of Families and Friends of Louisiana's Incarcerated Children, and we also spoke with a mother of an incarcerated youth at Bridge City Center for Youth in Bridge City, Louisiana. Check out our previous segments covering Angola: Louisiana's Juvenile Detention Crisis. 

Louisiana's State Penitentiary, commonly known as Angola, is one of the largest maximum security adult prisons in the country. There are 4,400 prisoners at Angola currently serving life without parole in a state with the highest incarceration rate in the U.S. It is also notorious for its brutal treatment of prisoners. Last month, The Takeaway discussed Louisiana's Governor Jon Bell Edwards proposal to move teens from a juvenile detention center to a facility on the grounds of the former slave labor camp.  Advocates and families filed a federal lawsuit to block this move saying it would be dangerous for the teens and young adults, and a federal judge placed a temporary hold on the plan. Now, a federal judge has lifted the stay, and the state can now move ahead with a plan to relocate about two dozen incarcerated young people from the Bridge City Center for Youth to a facility on Angola's grounds. The facility is a building previously designed to hold adult death row inmates. The ruling allows for the transfer of children as young as 12. At a press conference in July, Governor Edwards said they would not have any direct contact with adult inmates at Angola, and would be housed in a separate facility, but parents and advocates remained worry what sending children as young as 12 to a maximum-security prison would only further the isolation and trauma wrapped up in childhood incarceration. We spoke with Gina Womack, Executive Director of Families and Friends of Louisiana's Incarcerated Children, and we also spoke with a mother of an incarcerated youth at Bridge City Center for Youth in Bridge City, Louisiana. Check out our previous segments covering Angola: Louisiana's Juvenile Detention Crisis. 

Louisiana's Office of Juvenile Justice, also known as the OJJ, oversees five facilities including one in Jefferson Parish in New Orleans, called Bridge City Center for Youth. And the Bridge City Center, which houses inmates as young as 13 years old to the age of 21, has had repeated reports of violence within the facility, and multiple escapes. In July, six young people incarcerated at Bridge City, overpowered a guard and escaped. One of those who escaped was accused of shooting a person while trying to steal a car.In response, LA Governor John Bel Edwards announced he'd carry out a plan to enhance security and address leadership issues at Bridge City. He also announced that he would temporarily relocate a portion of the 50 juveniles at Bridge City to LA State Penetierian- known as Angola. Governor Edwards said they would not have any direct contact with adult inmates at Angola, and would be housed in a separate facility.   But advocates and families of those at Bridge City, say this move would be dangerous for the teens and young adults in juvenile detention, and filed a federal lawsuit to block this move.  Last week a federal judge placed a temporary hold on the plan to move the juveniles to Angola. For more on this we spoke with Jacqueline DeRobertis, a staff reporter with The Advocate. 

Louisiana's Office of Juvenile Justice, also known as the OJJ, oversees five facilities including one in Jefferson Parish in New Orleans, called Bridge City Center for Youth. And the Bridge City Center, which houses inmates as young as 13 years old to the age of 21, has had repeated reports of violence within the facility, and multiple escapes. In July, six young people incarcerated at Bridge City, overpowered a guard and escaped. One of those who escaped was accused of shooting a person while trying to steal a car.In response, LA Governor John Bel Edwards announced he'd carry out a plan to enhance security and address leadership issues at Bridge City. He also announced that he would temporarily relocate a portion of the 50 juveniles at Bridge City to LA State Penetierian- known as Angola. Governor Edwards said they would not have any direct contact with adult inmates at Angola, and would be housed in a separate facility.   But advocates and families of those at Bridge City, say this move would be dangerous for the teens and young adults in juvenile detention, and filed a federal lawsuit to block this move.  Last week a federal judge placed a temporary hold on the plan to move the juveniles to Angola. For more on this we spoke with Jacqueline DeRobertis, a staff reporter with The Advocate. 

Moon welcomes former US Senate candidate Woody Jenkins of Central City News to discuss the rumors of Pastor Tony Spell running for the US Senate against incumbent John Kennedy. Pastor Spell is the person who defied Governor Edwards' COVID orders.

In 1963, 16-year-old Calvin Johnson and a group of fellow Black students protested to integrate their schools in Plaquemine, Louisiana. The group was not only met with violence from the community and law enforcement, but Johnson was arrested and convicted of starting a riot. While Johnson is now a successful Judge for Orleans Parish Criminal Court, the 75-year-old always wanted a formal apology on behalf of the state. And earlier this month he received just that.  Judge Calvin Johnson, along with Dean of Loyola Law School, Madeleine Landrieu – who presented the apology issued by Governor Edwards – join us to talk about the experience. When the local school board in Selma, Alabama hired a new superintendent in 2017, the district had been in trouble for years. Avis Williams promised to turn things around, and she did. As Williams heads to New Orleans to lead the country's only all-charter school system, WWNO's Education reporter Aubri Juhasz takes a look at her impact on her previous school district. Today's episode of Louisiana Considered was hosted by Karen Henderson. Our managing producer is Alana Schreiber and our digital editor is Katelyn Umholtz. Our engineers are Garrett Pittman, Aubry Procell, and Thomas Walsh.  You can listen to Louisiana Considered Monday through Friday at 12:00 and 7:30 pm. It's available on Spotify, Google Play, and wherever you get your podcasts.  Louisiana Considered wants to hear from you! Please fill out our pitch line to let us know what kinds of story ideas you have for our show. And while you're at it, fill out our listener survey! We want to keep bringing you the kinds of conversations you'd like to listen to. Louisiana Considered is made possible with support from our listeners. Thank you! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On Monday, we heard a conversation between two Starbucks employees – one in Birmingham and one in New Orleans – about their unionizing attempts. The Gulf States Newsroom's Stephan Bisaha tells us about upcoming votes on whether to join or reject unionizing, and how Starbucks has waged an anti-union campaign in response.  Friday May 20 is National Rescue Dog Day, an annual event that recognizes how these beloved pets help teach children to navigate developing relationships. Lisa Wiehebrink, founder of the day as well as the nonprofit Tails That Teach, tells us how to celebrate. A $39 billion operating budget plan and a ban on transgender youth participating in sports have left the debate floor and are headed to the Governor Edwards' desk. Capitol Access Reporter Paul Braun tells us more about these pieces of legislation and how the Governor is expected to respond.  Today's episode of Louisiana Considered was hosted by Karen Henderson. Our managing producer is Alana Schreiber and our digital editor is Katelyn Umholtz. Our engineers are Garrett Pittman, Aubry Procell, and Thomas Walsh.  You can listen to Louisiana Considered Monday through Friday at 12:00 and 7:30 pm. It's available on Spotify, Google Play, and wherever you get your podcasts.  Louisiana Considered wants to hear from you! Please fill out our pitch line to let us know what kinds of story ideas you have for our show. And while you're at it, fill out our listener survey! We want to keep bringing you the kinds of conversations you'd like to listen to. Louisiana Considered is made possible with support from our listeners. Thank you! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Executive director of the newly created Office of Human Trafficking Prevention and Baton Rouge native, Dr. Dana R. Hunter, joins us for an important conversation on the impact of human trafficking on individuals and what the State of Louisiana is doing to fight it. In 2017, after serving in various leadership roles in academia and government, she was appointed by Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards as the Executive Director of the Governor's Office Children's Cabinet. In this role, she worked passionately to coordinate and align resources and policies to better outcomes for children in the state of Louisiana.  She worked closely with Governor Edwards and First Lady Donna Edwards to facilitate statewide anti-human trafficking efforts and the Human Trafficking Prevention Commission. This past year, Governor John Bel Edwards appointed Dr. Hunter to serve as Executive Director of the newly established Governor's Office of Human Trafficking Prevention. The mission of this office is to prevent and combat human trafficking and to promote healing and justice for victims and survivors.  Additionally, the OHTP will take a lead role in creating a statewide cohesive care coordination model for victims regardless of their location and identity and a network of resources to aid in prevention. Tune in on Wednesday, May 4 @ 6pm EST!

A Black History Month book signing event returns a former New Orleans Saint turned motivational speaker to the metro area. Reggie Jones joins five African American women who captured their emotional healing journeys in the new book, The Ashes Have Voices. We hear from two of the authors, Cynthia Jones and Antoinette Walker. Do you ever wonder what goes on behind the scenes of Mardi Gras floats, krewes, and celebrations? A new exhibit at the Historic New Orleans Collection tells us just that. Exhibit curator of “Making Mardi Gras,” Lydia Blackmore gives us the details. Louisiana's redistricting session is over. And although Republican lawmakers pushed through new congressional maps, how Governor Edwards might respond to those maps is still unclear. WRKF's Capital reporter Paul Braun spoke with WWNO's Managing Producer, Alana Schreiber to tell us about Edward's potential next steps. Today's episode of Louisiana Considered was hosted by Patrick Madden and Stephanie Grace. Our producer is Alana Schreiber and our digital editor is Katelyn Umholtz. Our engineers are Garrett Pittman, Aubrey Procell, and Thomas Walsh.  You can listen to Louisiana Considered Monday through Friday at 12:00 and 7:30 pm. It's available on Spotify, Google Play, and wherever you get your podcasts.  Louisiana Considered is made possible with support from our listeners. Thank you! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Scoot talks to WWL listeners about their reaction to Governor Edwards' press conference and their fears, questions and concerns about the crushing wave of Omicron cases See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Louisiana's First Lady, Donna Edwards, shares a glimpse into life in the Governor's Mansion and her music classroom. She talks about the importance of prioritizing music, art, and movement education across the state. Em Cooper surprises her by playing the newlywed game to see how often her and Governor Edwards' answers match. Avoyelles High School makes Em Cooper smile this week with their pictures of hands-on learning in Agriculture class. 

Karl Lengel hosted this Wednesday's episode of Louisiana Considered. Meteorologist Dan Holidayjoins us to talk about Tropical Storm Nicholas and the increasingly frequent occurrence of tropical storms along the Gulf Coast. WWNO/WRKF Capitol Access Reporter Paul Braunreports on Governor Edwards' recent press conferences on COVID-19, Tropical Storm Nicholas and the state's ongoing recovery from Hurricane Ida. Host Karl Lengelreports on the death of one out-of-state utility repair worker hit by a drunk driver in Slidell this weekend and a case of aggravated assault with a gun against another lineman in Tangipahoa Parish. In an interview with WWNO City Hall Reporter Ryan Nelsen, a lineman from Illinois shares his experience doing emergency utility repair work in the aftermath of several major storms, including Hurricane Ida. WWNO/WRKF Education Reporter Aubri Juhaszgives us the timeline, or lack thereof, for school reopenings in parts of the state hit hardest by Hurricane Ida. WWNO/WRKF Public Health Reporter Rosemary Westwood reports on public calls for new measures to protect seniors residing in independent-living seniors' apartment complexes from the effects of hurricanes after a dozen seniors died of heat exhaustion following Hurricane Ida. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Governor Edwards urges Louisiana residents to prepare right now for a possibly severe tropical event this weekend See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Scoot talks to WWL listeners to get their reaction to Governor Edwards' latest press conference, which brought dire warnings for the Pelican State if we don't bend the COVID infection curve down See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Patrick Madden hosted this Tuesday's episode of Louisiana Considered. Host Patrick Maddengives us the latest on the spread of the COVID-19 delta variant in Louisiana. Governor Edwards reinstated the statewide mask mandate, effective Wednesday, August 4. 4,725 new cases were reported to the state since yesterday. 2,112 people are hospitalized statewide according to the most recent data. Hospitals across the state are reaching and surpassing ICU capacity limits. For the most recent statistics, visit the Louisiana Department of Health's COVID-19 Dashboard. WWNO New Orleans City Hall Reporter Ryan Nelsendiscusses today's press conference hosted by City of New Orleans Communications Director Beau Tidwell, who announced that children under 12 who are not eligible for vaccination are being infected by and spreading the delta variant. WWNO Producer Eve Abramstells us about the cultural connections between Haiti and New Orleans and the life of Toussaint Louverture in a segment from a radio series that aired earlier this year. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Morning Crew discusses the new Louisiana mask mandate Governor Edwards put into effect August 3. 

Scoot talks to WWL listeners about news that the Louisiana Legislature's attempts to overturn Governor Edwards' veto of their anti-trans athlete bill has failed See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Joe Cunningham, a writer with RedState.com, and Stephen Handwerk, Democrat party strategist, debate the Louisiana Senate's vote to override Governor Edwards' veto of the trans sports bill.

Karl Lengel hosted this Wednesday's episode of Louisiana Considered. Baton Rouge Associated Press correspondent Melinda Deslattediscusses last Thursday's news release about several Louisiana law enforcement officers supporting Governor Edwards' veto of a bill that would get rid of the training and background checks required for firearm owners to carry concealed handguns. Republican legislators plan to hold the state's first-ever veto override session to pass this and other bills later this summer. President of the Baton Rouge Mid City Merchants AssociationJustin Lemoinegives us his perspective on how Baton Rouge small businesses fared during the pandemic and how they're recovering. Magazine Street Merchants Association member Autumn Adammecompares how the cities of San Francisco and New Orleans assisted the two locations of her business, Dark Garden Corset Shops, during the pandemic. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There were 28 bills vetoed in Louisiana's 2021 session, depending on how you count them.  There were 11 line item vetoed bills in HB2 and 27 more.  This podcast will tell you the bill numbers, who "authored" them, a brief description of them, and why Governor Edwards vetoed them.  And of course, I'll provide some commentary too.  The information in here will have a lot to think about as to why Louisiana is where it is.

In this hour: - SureFire's Andrew Wright talks flashlights and weaponlights for self-defense - Sheriff Julian Whittington of Bossier Parish discusses his support for constitutional carry and why legislators should override Governor Edwards veto - Would a "Striker Control Device" make a Glock "safer"? Tom Gresham's Gun Talk 07.11.21 Hour 3

Roger Wicker, U.S. Senator from Mississippi, analyzes the infrastructure bill taking shape in the U.S. Senate, and talks about his letter to Secretary Becerra opposing his decision to end the fetal tissue research advisory committee. Mary Miller, U.S. Representative for the 15th District of Illinois, shares what she is observing on her trip to the southern border. Gene Mills, President of Louisiana Family Forum, discusses the efforts in the Louisiana legislature to override Governor Edwards' veto of the “Fairness in Women's Sports Act.” Gordon Chang, author of "The Coming Collapse of China," discusses the GOP House hearing yesterday investigating the origins of COVID, and the breaking news that China is building more than 100 new missile silos in its western desert. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/loving-liberty/support

Adam Vos hosted this Thursday's episode of Louisiana Considered.   Step Up Louisiana member Juan Cruz and his organization advocate for progressive reform to Louisiana's economic policies, including unemployment insurance. Cruz joins us to advocate for increasing the state's unemployment insurance payouts and keeping the federal unemployment boost for as long as possible. Senior Director of Business Intelligence at the Baton Rouge Area Chamber Andrew Fitzgeraldjoins us to advocate for ending the federal unemployment insurance boost, which Governor Edwards did this Wednesday. Instead, the state's maximum unemployment payouts will be increased by $28 per week starting January 2022. The federal unemployment boost will end on July 31st. The WRKF Radio Drama Club's Timmie Callais, Erika Pattman and Audrey Rainier join us to discuss their upcoming production on WRKF: The Triangle Pilot, premiering on WRKF on Sunday, June 28th at 8 P.M. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Patrick Madden hosted this Tuesday's episode of Louisiana Considered.   WWNO/WRKF Criminal Justice Reporter Bobbi-Jeanne Misickdescribes the coverup of the truth behind Ronald Greene's death while in the custody of Louisiana State Police Troop F. Bobbi-Jeanne also interviewed Greene's mother, Mona Hardin; her attorneys, Ronald Haley and Lee Merritt, and TV Journalist Perry Robinson. Civil Rights Attorney Ronald Haleytells us about the legal proceedings in the case of Ronald Greene and other cases involving LSP Troop F. WWNO/WRKF Capitol Access Reporter Paul Brauntells us about today's legislative action on a bill that sponsors say will decriminalize carrying small amounts of marijuana statewide.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

To the police officers who came to the porch of his Baton Rouge church to order it closed, to the White House liaison who called him, to people slamming him across social media, Pastor Tony Spell has a response: What about Planned Parenthood?   In March of 2020, Rev. Tony Spell was ordered to cease having worship services at Life Tabernacle Church because of Governor John Bel Edwards' ban on gatherings of more than 50 people. Pastor Spell has been arrested numerous times, placed in jail, and accused of several violations of Governor Edwards' orders. He was told not to assemble for worship services, much like the authorities of old demanded the early church not to “teach nor preach in Jesus' name” (Acts 4:18).   Pastor Spell has been under house arrest. He was forced to wear an ankle bracelet because he will not abandon his convictions. He has been penalized for adhering to a sacred obligation based upon God's command to not forsake the assembling of the church together (Hebrews 10:25).   Next week, Spell will appear in court facing six misdemeanors after continuing in-person church services despite the state's stay-at-home order. Judge Roy Moore will be representing Pastor Tony Spell.   A “Strike a Blow for Freedom” rally will take place on June 7 at the United States Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans Fifth District Court.   Please watch, listen, and share!   The Mark Harrington Show is on Mark's Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube accounts. Mark's show is broadcast on America Family Radio's 180 stations and Salem Radio on Saturday in Ohio. The podcast is available on Apple Podcasts, Podbean, Spotify, and all the popular podcast platforms as well as on Mark's flagship website: MarkHarringtonShow.com     Facebook Personal - https://www.facebook.com/MarkCreatedEqual Facebook Page - https://www.facebook.com/TheMarkHarringtonShow/ Youtube Channel - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC9Vy6WFo8v8lNi1MtV4cbKw Twitter - https://twitter.com/mharringtonlive iTunes – https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/activist-radio-the-mark-harrington-show/id827982678 Google Podcasts - https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9jcmVhdGVkZXF1YWwucG9kYmVhbi5jb20vZmVlZC8 Website - https://markharringtonshow.com Podbean - https://createdequal.podbean.com  

This episode of Ellevate Louisiana's Engage podcast is an interview with Governor John Bel Edwards previously recorded at our Legislative Leadership Conference. Julie Stokes and Governor Edwards discuss his legislative priorities leading into the upcoming legislative session.

The big news of the day apparently is well known attorney Lin Wood is claiming on Twitter that Supreme Court Justices John Roberts and Stephen Breyer had a telephone conversation on Sept. 19th discussing the then upcoming election. The claim is Justice Roberts told Justice Breyer that he would make certain Donald Trump would never be re-elected.While still unverified by Louis Avallone and Stephen Parr, it is starting to look like Chief Justice Roberts and some of his fellow Supreme Court Justices do not want to enforce the Rule of Law according to the US Constitution’s exact words. Louis sites a rumored report where Justice Roberts is unwilling to hear cases related to the election and Justice Thomas replied “This is the end of Democracy, John.”A high school football player in Corpus Christi, TX, charged back onto the field and assaulted a referee after being ejected from the game. The referee suffered a shoulder injury and probably a concussion from the attack. The player was arrested, booked, and charged with assault. The player also has a similar history as a soccer player. Our American Mamas, Teri Netterville and Denise Arthur, are appalled that a high school athlete would behave so badly; but they do not believe punishing the entire team is appropriate. Even though the team qualified for the Texas UIL football playoffs, they will not be allowed to participate.Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry visits on the telephone with Louis Avallone and Stephen Parr about the positions of the Supreme Court, especially with Justice Robert, and about the current law suit between the Louisiana Governor and the Louisiana Legislators regarding Governor Edwards probably overstepping his legal limits regarding the State shutdowns.Stephen Parr and Louis Avallone explain the true meaning of the Second Sentence of the Declaration of Independence, especially the part about government having its powers from the consent the governed. Some communities are “taking back” their rights and liberties by deciding to let all of their businesses stay completely open. What about yours?

Ryne is joined by his friend Charlie as they discuss the Louisiana legislature and their attempt to roll back the emergency proclamations by Governor Edwards. Also they talk about go cups and how to do Mardi Gras social distance style Intro music: “The Chase” by Marion Meadows

This episode gives an update on how the LHSAA and LSA have responded to Governor Edwards' Phase 3 proclamation. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/monday-night-futbol/support

Louis Avallone and Stephen Parr talk about the Democrat Party’s “Infomercial” Virtual Convention which is not getting good ratings at all — down more than a quarter to almost half of what it was in 2016 for the first two nights. They discuss why that might be, and included Obama’s speech in 2008, which Stephen concluded was “a little bit of Reagan, a little bit of Lincoln, and a lot of Stalin”.Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards has made it clear he wants a lot of the November election to be done by mail-in voting, which has repeatedly been proven to be very problematic in having a fair and honest election. The Secretary of State has proposed increasing the number of early voting days and expanding those hours to enable people to vote safely; but Gov. Edwards is against that. The Democrat Party is the party of projection; so when they say something they are either already doing it, or they have already done it, or they are planning on doing it. If Gov. Edwards tries to change Louisiana Election Law just by issuing an Executive Order, he will be behaving like a dictator, not the head of Louisiana under its constitutionally established Rules of Law.Our American Mamas, Teri Netterville, addresses a listener’s question concerning an instructor at the Iowa State University, who made it clear in her published syllabus, that any student who did not support BLM and abortion would fail her required English class. After a conservative student group make it public, the University issued a statement saying “(t)he syllabus statement as written was inconsistent with the university’s standards and its commitment to the First Amendment rights of students.” In addition, that faculty member was counseled on the First Amendment’s meaning and significance.Stephen Parr and Louis Avallone talk about how New York City is in trouble. Almost all of their tax revenues come from the top 1% of the income earners in the City, and it looks like those people are leaving permanently. Many have either moved into the Hamptons area or completely out of State. And many have learned to work from home. The Democrat leadership of the City has mismanaged the finances of the City for a very long time, and now it is running out of money.The Louisiana Insurance Commissioner, Jim Donelon, announced some of the State’s biggest insurance companies are lowering their automobile insurance rates —Progressive, Louisiana Farm Bureau Group, and State Farm. During this shut down, people are driving less which has them getting into fewer accidents. Tort Reform also has had a lot to do with the rates being able to be lowered because the costs to the insurance companies for law suits has been able to do down. Governor Edwards said this would not happen, and a number of Northern Louisiana Legislators voted against Tort Reform.

Louis Avallone and Stephen Parr talk about the Democrat Party’s “Infomercial” Virtual Convention which is not getting good ratings at all — down more than a quarter to almost half of what it was in 2016 for the first two nights. They discuss why that might be, and included Obama’s speech in 2008, which Stephen concluded was “a little bit of Reagan, a little bit of Lincoln, and a lot of Stalin”.Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards has made it clear he wants a lot of the November election to be done by mail-in voting, which has repeatedly been proven to be very problematic in having a fair and honest election. The Secretary of State has proposed increasing the number of early voting days and expanding those hours to enable people to vote safely; but Gov. Edwards is against that. The Democrat Party is the party of projection; so when they say something they are either already doing it, or they have already done it, or they are planning on doing it. If Gov. Edwards tries to change Louisiana Election Law just by issuing an Executive Order, he will be behaving like a dictator, not the head of Louisiana under its constitutionally established Rules of Law.Our American Mamas, Teri Netterville, addresses a listener’s question concerning an instructor at the Iowa State University, who made it clear in her published syllabus, that any student who did not support BLM and abortion would fail her required English class. After a conservative student group make it public, the University issued a statement saying “(t)he syllabus statement as written was inconsistent with the university’s standards and its commitment to the First Amendment rights of students.” In addition, that faculty member was counseled on the First Amendment’s meaning and significance.Stephen Parr and Louis Avallone talk about how New York City is in trouble. Almost all of their tax revenues come from the top 1% of the income earners in the City, and it looks like those people are leaving permanently. Many have either moved into the Hamptons area or completely out of State. And many have learned to work from home. The Democrat leadership of the City has mismanaged the finances of the City for a very long time, and now it is running out of money.The Louisiana Insurance Commissioner, Jim Donelon, announced some of the State’s biggest insurance companies are lowering their automobile insurance rates —Progressive, Louisiana Farm Bureau Group, and State Farm. During this shut down, people are driving less which has them getting into fewer accidents. Tort Reform also has had a lot to do with the rates being able to be lowered because the costs to the insurance companies for law suits has been able to do down. Governor Edwards said this would not happen, and a number of Northern Louisiana Legislators voted against Tort Reform.

Louis Avallone and Stephen Parr talk about what Mayor Perkins and Governor Edwards have been saying about the coronavirus conditions and what is being disclosed by cell phone tracking across the Nation. Louisiana was scored with an F for the last month for staying home. So why is it the coronavirus numbers are going down?Our American Mamas, Teri Netterville and Denise Arthur, are not impressed with the Democrat double standards, especially as it applies to sexual misconduct.Stephen and Louis talk about the inappropriate actions by government officials to take away Liberty from non-sick people while not protecting the lives of the vulnerable, especially the elderly. It is a terrible situation that must never happen again. Scott Tarkowski of Mimic ( https://themimicapp.com/ ) joins Stephen and Louis to talk about the work he does at Mimic to help small business.

Louis Avallone and Stephen Parr talk about what Mayor Perkins and Governor Edwards have been saying about the coronavirus conditions and what is being disclosed by cell phone tracking across the Nation. Louisiana was scored with an F for the last month for staying home. So why is it the coronavirus numbers are going down?Our American Mamas, Teri Netterville and Denise Arthur, are not impressed with the Democrat double standards, especially as it applies to sexual misconduct.Stephen and Louis talk about the inappropriate actions by government officials to take away Liberty from non-sick people while not protecting the lives of the vulnerable, especially the elderly. It is a terrible situation that must never happen again. Scott Tarkowski of Mimic ( https://themimicapp.com/ ) joins Stephen and Louis to talk about the work he does at Mimic to help small business.

Louis Avallone and Stephen Parr talk about the money wasted building a temporary hospital that was not needed and about how the more money Governor Edwards could find excuses to spend, the more money the Federal Government would give him to find other ways to waste. Why is this seen as good government in Louisiana?Our American Mamas, Teri Netterville and Denise Arthur, explain the media is deliberately publishing misinformation about the number of TRUE NEW ILLNESSES. The number used in headlines was simply reporting a backlog of cases that should have been reported a long time ago. As Denise explains, her “rights don’t end at someone else’s fear”.Stephen Parr and Louis Avallone site three situations where Joe Biden may be in trouble. Important to think about them.Stephen and Louis discuss how important church attendance significantly improves one’s quality of life. It also improves the nearby community.

Louis Avallone and Stephen Parr talk about the money wasted building a temporary hospital that was not needed and about how the more money Governor Edwards could find excuses to spend, the more money the Federal Government would give him to find other ways to waste. Why is this seen as good government in Louisiana?Our American Mamas, Teri Netterville and Denise Arthur, explain the media is deliberately publishing misinformation about the number of TRUE NEW ILLNESSES. The number used in headlines was simply reporting a backlog of cases that should have been reported a long time ago. As Denise explains, her “rights don’t end at someone else’s fear”.Stephen Parr and Louis Avallone site three situations where Joe Biden may be in trouble. Important to think about them.Stephen and Louis discuss how important church attendance significantly improves one’s quality of life. It also improves the nearby community.

**There is an important announcement from Governor Edwards about the Phase 1 reopening (commencing May 15th) at the end of the show (@26:44). Please give it a listen to learn more about what businesses will be allowed to open and to whatz extent. You can also find more information here: https://gov.louisiana.gov/index.cfm/newsroom/detail/2488**   On this week's episode of We'll be Right Back, we are joined by Jacqueline Blanchard, the owner and founder of Coutelier. Jacqueline talks to us about the stories behind their knives, the challenges of sourcing and helping the families they work with abroad, and preserving a beautiful and centuries-old craft.    Support Coutelier today! Check out their website for amazing products and services: https://couteliernola.com/. You can also give them a follow on instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/couteliernola/?hl=en    Every episode we like to mention an amazing group or individual contributing to the relief effort. Today, we’d like to highlight and encourage you all to check out Chef’s Brigade. Chef’s Brigade is a collection of New Orleans restaurants, chefs, and servers feeding healthcare workers and first responders while financially supporting independent restaurants, culinary talent, and service industry in the community. For more information, head to chefsbrigadenola.org!    Covid-19 resources for small businesses/employers and more, courtesy of My House Events and Oyster Sunday: https://myhouseevents.com/covid-19-resources https://www.oystersunday.com/resources/criticalpath   We have been working with the amazing news outlet, Uptown Messenger! Check them out today at https://uptownmessenger.com/ for quality, local journalism.    Follow us on twitter (twitter.com/rightbackNOLA) for the latest updates about the show and resources available for businesses and individuals alike.  You can find the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, Google Play, Anchor, TuneIn, YouTube, virtually anywhere podcasts are found!    This podcast is produced by: Barrie Schwartz of My House Events: https://www.myhousesocial.com/ Elizabeth Tilton of Oyster Sunday: https://www.oystersunday.com/ Greg Tilton JR: http://gregtilton.com and https://filmindepth.com    Today's edit was done by Eric Rice. Eric is an amazing field mixer for film and television and a post-production wizard who can make your audio sing (if that's what you want!) Check him out at ersoundworks.com!    Our show's music is provided by the one and only Serisu. Want to hear nothing but certified bangers? Check out Serisu on Band Camp (https://serisu.bandcamp.com/) and Spotify! (https://open.spotify.com/artist/1zkweFnArfnPc8eX0XNMAw) Our show's logo was designed by Eugenie McLellan. Like what you see? Check out her work at https://eugeniemclellan.com/ and give her a holler! She's amazing to work with and you'll love the results. 

Louis Avallone and Stephen Parr are very concerned about how the Democrats, speaking in very reasonable tones of voice, are informing Americans about how they are going to be “tracked” and or “imprisoned” without their Constitutional Rights of Trial because Democrat Politicians think it is best. A number of very disconcerting examples are provided.Louis Avallone and Stephen Parr get into a discussion about overreaching legal behavior by elected authorities involving the opening up of business again. The Texas Supreme Court is having to intervene in the Dallas jailed hair salon owner, and she out of jail while that proceeds. And in the Louisiana Legislature, a bill has been introduced to mandate paid sick leave for all businesses. This would make it even harder for businesses in Louisiana to open back up.Our American Mamas, Denise Arthur tells Teri Netterville about the trend now to have adult women serving as flower girls in weddings. What’s up with that?Louisiana Representative Dotie Horton joins Stephen Parr and Louis Avallone on the phone to talk about the events starting to take place in the Louisiana Legislature. She said Governor Edwards has pulled his fascist snitch hotline. She also reports the Legislature was able to kill the bill mandating paid sick leave.

Louis Avallone and Stephen Parr are very concerned about how the Democrats, speaking in very reasonable tones of voice, are informing Americans about how they are going to be “tracked” and or “imprisoned” without their Constitutional Rights of Trial because Democrat Politicians think it is best. A number of very disconcerting examples are provided.Louis Avallone and Stephen Parr get into a discussion about overreaching legal behavior by elected authorities involving the opening up of business again. The Texas Supreme Court is having to intervene in the Dallas jailed hair salon owner, and she out of jail while that proceeds. And in the Louisiana Legislature, a bill has been introduced to mandate paid sick leave for all businesses. This would make it even harder for businesses in Louisiana to open back up.Our American Mamas, Denise Arthur tells Teri Netterville about the trend now to have adult women serving as flower girls in weddings. What’s up with that?Louisiana Representative Dotie Horton joins Stephen Parr and Louis Avallone on the phone to talk about the events starting to take place in the Louisiana Legislature. She said Governor Edwards has pulled his fascist snitch hotline. She also reports the Legislature was able to kill the bill mandating paid sick leave.

Louisiana State Representative Blake Miguez talks about his bill to end Governor Edwards shutdown.  In this episode he tells us how it will work and how he wants to get Louisiana back up and running.  On my regular radio show on WGSO on Tuesday night May 5th, from 5-6 I talked about this and here is the part of that show with Blake telling us about his plan of action.

In this episode of Fireside Chat, we sit down Warner Thomas, President and CEO, Ochsner Health to talk about communication during COVID-19 and leadership in crisis situations prior to the pandemic. Please note: The number of COVID-19 cases and the situation referenced in this episode were based on reported data at the time of the interview and are subject to change. Transcription Warner Thomas 0:02 You’ve got to adapt. It’s not about reacting. It’s about adapting to whatever the situation is that’s thrown at you and you may have a plan and this afternoon you may have to change it because you get new information and you may have to change it tomorrow because you get new information. And so, your game plans have to adjust and roll based upon what’s happening with your team. And with the environment and the market around you. Gary Bisbee 0:27 That was Warner Thomas, President, and CEO Ochsner Health, recalling one of the lessons learned from the 2005 Katrina hurricane that the Ochsner team drew on during the COVID-19 crisis. I’m Gary Bisbee, and this is fireside chat. Ochsner Health has grown successfully over the last 10 years, and Warner spoke about potential consolidation opportunities following the crisis, as health systems find themselves in difficult financial positions, or they believe that they need to be part of a larger health system to mitigate risk during the next crisis. Warner discussed the rationale for aligning leadership physicians and employees during a crisis. He also spoke about the importance of communicating regularly with the community, media, physicians, employees and the board of directors to provide up to date news particularly during the COVID crisis when information has been sketchy. I’m delighted to welcome Warner Thomas to the microphone. Good afternoon Warner, and welcome. Warner Thomas 1:27 Hey, thanks, Gary. Appreciate the opportunity to chat with you. Gary Bisbee 1:29 Sure thing we’re pleased to have you at the microphone. We’ve learned that the surge is highly variable by region, what’s the status of the surge in Oschner’s primary service areas Warner? Warner Thomas 1:41 We’ve definitely seen a continued decline in COVID patients. I would say our peak was very late in March, probably around March 31, or April 1, where we had nearly 850 COVID patients across our entire system. Today that number is down to about 360. And down from last week, it was probably about 480 patients. So we’ve definitely seen a marked decline over the past couple of weeks. And really positive news is that we’re seeing more and more patients discharged successfully to go home. We’ve now discharged nearly 1900 patients who are COVID positive to go home. I think that that’s really heading in the right direction and becoming a much more manageable situation than just a few weeks ago. Gary Bisbee 2:29 Yeah, that’s excellent. Governor Edwards has a stay at home policy until May 15th. And then potentially businesses opening after that. Does that feel about right from your standpoint? Warner Thomas 2:41 I mean, that just happened yesterday and that they extended the shelter home through May 15th. New Orleans had already extended to May 15th about a week or so ago and I think it does feel right. Once again, these are moving targets. I think we have to see how things play out over the next couple of weeks. But we have seen continued declines in the number of cases we see certainly, as I said, a marked decrease in the number of patients that are in the inpatient arena. And I think a really a lot of that has to do with the social distancing and the shelter at home and also much better testing capabilities, faster results, which has really helped us to know whether folks are positive or not and if they are to get them quarantined timely and effectively. So, I think there’s a number of things that are heading in the right direction that are kind of helping us head towards getting more reopening after May 15th. Gary Bisbee 3:35 Let’s come back to the whole COVID situation in a moment but first, you could share with us, Ochsner Health most of us are familiar with Ochsner but give us an up to date view of where Ochsner is today, Warner? Warner Thomas 3:48 Sure, we really span all of Louisiana cover all the major markets throughout Louisiana, also extending the Mississippi Gulf Coast and have operations there. We really attract patients throughout the entire Gulf south and take care of patients and now attract them nationally as well. We took care of folks from every state in the United States last year and about 70 countries from around the world. So kind of a true destination center. We’re kind of based or grounded at the core with our auction clinic group practice. We have over 1500 physicians in our group. And we have besides our operations in New Orleans, where we have our flagship Ochsner Medical Center campus, we have about 40 owned managed and affiliated hospitals throughout the entire region. So we span a pretty large area we have about another hundred and 30 plus ambulatory care sites around the region as well. Gary Bisbee 4:45 A major health system you’ve done a terrific job Warner, ins growing Ochsner Health through your time there. Congratulations. Why don’t we go back to the Coronavirus situation? Communicating with your communities and your caregivers are obviously all-important. How have you thought about communicating with your communities? What sources have you used? Warner Thomas 5:08 We really have been very focused on communicating and upping our communications when this all started several weeks ago. And this is certainly a lesson we learned from Katrina as well. When you’re going through this type of situation, you have to significantly ramp up communications. We went into twice a day calls with our leadership team throughout our entire system. We started twice a week calls with our board members to keep our board up to date. We also, given the magnitude of this in our communities, we started a weekly call with all of our partner hospital boards. We started a weekly call with business leaders around the region, and also a weekly call with media. And I think this really helped to create a lot of transparency and a lot of insight as to what was happening because one of the challenges of COVID, there was so many questions. People didn’t understand what was happening. They’d hear things in the news and they weren’t sure what was happening in their community. So ramping up that communication internally and externally, I think really has created a lot of goodwill and a lot of trust. The other thing we did internally is we went into weekly management. So our entire management team, WebEx’s and we started a number of employee forums and physician forums once a week. So it seems like a lot and it is, but the fact the matter is, if you don’t create alignment with your leadership, your physicians, and your employees, it really is a real problem. And so we’ve had a great alignment, people really appreciate our transparency. And because of that, I think we’ve had a great response and a great outcome as we’ve come through this crisis. Gary Bisbee 6:51 What’s the morale been among the physicians particularly back when you had 900 COVID patients in your facilities? Warner Thomas 6:58 Morale has been positive. I think they viewed our response as being very effective. When we were ramping up…when we started this, we had about 275 ICU beds, and we had to ramp up another 120 ICU beds literally in two weeks. So moving patients around moving staff around redeploying people, we got it done. And we never were in a situation where we ran out of beds or ran out events or ran out of PPE or anything like that. But that enhanced communication, and the ability to move quickly and to get our teams to move quickly, was, I think a key to our success. And because of that, I think we’ve come through it with physicians feeling pretty good about where we are, employees feeling good about where we are and the same with our management. Gary Bisbee 7:43 You mentioned testing earlier, and that’s been spotty throughout the country. For those of you that have been at the epicenter of the surge, that seems to have been a bigger problem. How was it in your service areas? Warner Thomas 7:54 I would say it was a huge issue early on when we first started this, all the tests had to run through the state public health department. Turnaround times and results took many days. And the criteria to test were very, very limited as far as the number of tests we could do. Once we brought testing in house, which we did probably about two weeks after this whole process started and we worked with Abbott Labs to bring the PCR testing in house. I think that really opened up a lot of opportunities to take better and quicker care of patients, quicker care of our staff, and really has been frankly a godsend to us. Since then we’ve added the ID now testing kits and we’re testing every patient that gets admitted to our facilities or comes in for procedures or is immunocompromised like our cancer patients. And just last week, we had an antibody testing so we now antibody tested about 9500 of our employees and not that that’s the be-all and end all test from I know some people say the immunity test. Which we all know it’s not. But it does give some level of comfort or caution to folks that get the results. If you’re positive, you know, you’ve built some antibody resistance. If you’re not, you need to continue to be very vigilant as you’re protecting yourself. So I think it’s created some level of comfort and I think our employees appreciate it. We’ve made their investment in them to get that testing for all of our employees. And we’re about a third of the way through that process, and we’ll get that done over the next week. Gary Bisbee 9:28 Excellent. Good timing on that. What about the supply chain for PPE? You mentioned you never actually ran out of PPE, but I’m sure that the supply chain was a challenge. Warner Thomas 9:39 Yes, I mean, the supply chain was a huge challenge and whether it was working with Vivian to identify sources or working with Owens minor, I would say that Owens did an amazing job working with us to identify opportunities to get PPE. We also like many organizations or Innovation Group and our Supply Chain group got involved locally with some companies who helped us to make face shields. We 3d printed the first one and then got it manufactured locally. We work with a local clothier, who helped us make surgical masks and surgical gowns. So these are things that, once again, you can’t train for these things. These are things that folks, they either have this type of innovation and this type of leadership or not. And I’m proud of our team of how they’ve handled that. And because of that work and that creativity, we never ran short. I mean, we did have to do some conservation, when we were at the height of this situation, but I would say compared to what I hear it a lot of other organizations, I think our team and our organization did well. Gary Bisbee 10:42 Yeah, I’d agree with that. From what I’m hearing, some are saying that there’ll be a “re-surge”, if you will, in the fall, are you feeling pretty good about testing, PPE, and so on if this does come back to some degree in the fall? Warner Thomas 10:56 I think we’re much better prepared today than we were seven or eight weeks ago with testing, knowledge, and how we would approach this. So, I think we’re in a better situation. I mean, certainly, I think we all worry about a resurgence. And that’s why data understanding where we’re seeing an escalation of cases, speed of deploying testing teams, working hand in hand with our government officials, our business community to make sure we’re taking the proper approach and how we handle this going forward is going to be critical. The health systems play a huge role in being stewards and advisors of this process and helping our government officials and others think through how to approach this. We look forward to that opportunity. I think we will be a big resource to people. But yeah, I certainly do worry about it. I think we’re in a better place today. But we’ve all got to be vigilant and make sure we stay prepared. Should this escalate again. Gary Bisbee 11:56 Right. You mentioned physicians earlier. How many physicians did you need to redeploy? Warner Thomas 12:01 I don’t know the exact number off the top of my head. But I would say we had a couple of hundred that were certainly redeployed in a number of different ways into other areas. And whether it was anesthesiologist that helped cover a critical care unit or some of our surgical specialists who had that appropriate ICU and ventilator knowledge to be able to redeploy and help in those areas. There’s a number of different folks that moved around to help us address this peak, which was very challenging. I mean, you may or may not be aware, but New Orleans was the second-highest per capita number of cases in the country, second only to New York. So it really hit this region hard, and certainly was a big challenge for us. But I think we, we responded appropriately. I think the other thing was critical. As we went through this, our health research folks, were very, very critical to take the information that was available publicly. And we got together with the other hospitals in New Orleans and shared all of our ICU all of our ventilator patient data, all of our med surge data. And we were able to predict with pretty good specificity if there was an r naught a three or have to or have 1.5 or 1.1, as the r naught kept dropping after we did the shelter in place. We did a really good job of predicting over two weeks in five weeks what we thought the census would, would be, and that was critical to our planning and I think we really did a good job for their health research folks and did a good job pulling the other hospitals together in New Orleans to take this planning on directly and it really made a big difference as to how the city responded to this situation. Gary Bisbee 13:49 Well, kudos to them. It sounds like they were right on top of it. Talking to your peers or CEOs…the stress on physicians, nurses, caregivers, they are concerned about it from the standpoint they think this is something you really need to pay attention to not only just now but in the future, how are you thinking about that caregiver stress Warner? Warner Thomas 14:12 There’s a lot of stress in caring for the COVID patients, it was a lot of fear. But what I saw is not people running away from it. I saw people running to it. They wanted to make sure they had the right protection and the right PPE and the right support behind them, which who could blame them for that? But I saw our people lean in- not run away from it and that was really just rewarding to see and to watch. And then the fact that our corporate teams and supply chain and as we had to convert and open another 120 ICU beds, our biomedical folks, our people in our construction areas. IT, just all stepping up literally working 24/7 to get beds converted, to get equipment in place to be there to support the frontline teams. We redeployed a bunch of our clinic staff; medical assistants who essentially became certified nurse assistants working with our nurses on the COVID units to help give them the support they needed or help be runners for supply chain or PPE needs. So it was an amazing team effort. And I think there was a lot of stress as we went through it. But there was a lot of really positive feelings and a lot of rewarding activities and rewarding behaviors that I think people will look back on this and saying, that was a pandemic. That was a crisis, but it was also our day to shine and a lot of people and a lot of organizations really did shine through this process. Gary Bisbee 15:48 God bless them from my standpoint, they deserve gratitude on all our parts. Let’s think about telemedicine for a moment, which others have reported huge increase usage in telemedicine. How did that fit into Ochsner’s plans? Warner Thomas 16:03 Same with us. I mean, we last year, in the second half of the year, we did about 3600 telemedicine visits. Today we’re doing 4000 a day. So I mean, it’s been a huge uptake. And it’s been, I think, a real positive thing for our patients who are being cared for in a new way and like it. And adoption from some of our physicians was a little more challenging, but now that they see how this works, they absolutely are adopting and we’ve seen great feedback from our physicians as well. So it has been a huge ramp up, no doubt about it. But I would say it’s been a very positive situation both for our caregivers and for our patients. I think that’s a trend that is not turning back. Frankly, I think you’re going to continue to see that type of technology used and used in a bigger way. And I think that’s a positive. I think it’s a positive for the industry, I think that’s a positive for patients specifically and we are absolutely continuing to focus on how we ramp up telemedicine with new approaches and new ways that we can provide care to our patients and new specialties that we can provide to our patients via telemedicine. Gary Bisbee 17:19 It seemed like CMS in the states relaxed regulations. How helpful was that in this increased usage? Warner Thomas 17:26 It was really helpful and relaxing the regulations and paying the same fee? Right. So whether you’re seen in a telemedicine visit or seen in person, certainly if it’s something you can do via telemedicine, I think to have the same fee be reimbursed. I think that’s a big step in the right direction if we really want to accelerate telemedicine. So, I think those changes that were put in place were absolutely a key to success in the changes. Gary Bisbee 17:57 Turning to the Ochsner o bar which we need to have You describe for us, but I was wondering if that played during the surge to Warner Thomas 18:04 The O bar specifically probably was not a big factor during the surge itself. But I would say the fact that we had digital services put in place with patients prior to this situation, and the fact that we essentially have built digital medicine capabilities for hypertension and diabetes that have been in place for well over 10,000 patients, these are folks that their chronic disease care, never missed beat folks that are on digital medicine that allow us to care for them from home, continue to get the same level of care if you were not on a digital medicine solution for chronic disease, then yeah, I think you took a step back as you went through this process because you couldn’t come in and be seen. So I think this is where it’s so important that we continue to educate people and ramp up technology. Like digital medicine, like telemedicine because frankly, that’s how we need to be taking care of patients going forward and make it easier for them and take care of them where they want to be. Gary Bisbee 19:12 Yeah, I agree with that. Well, that’s a nice segue into elective and urgent surgeries. When did Ochsner discontinue elective surgeries? Warner Thomas 19:21 I don’t know the exact date it was sometime probably in early March that we discontinued electives. And we just started back on April 27 with doing surgeries that essentially had been delayed or pushed off that were not emergency surgeries and that we felt we could push off for a period of time. But now those surgeries have been delayed 30 to 45 days and they need to be taken care of. So we rebooked and started those surgeries on the 27th and we’ll continue to expand and grow those surgeries are doing over the next couple of weeks. But once again, I think it’s okay to delay care for a certain period of time. But long term delayed care is not a good thing. And so I’m glad to see that we’re able to get back and take care of patients that need that care. Gary Bisbee 20:08 Warner, you’re in the unique position of having lived through the whole Katrina crisis in 2005. And now here we are, again, with this crisis. Any lessons from Katrina that you can apply to the current crisis? Warner Thomas 20:23 I think so. I guess number one, and I got asked about this during Katrina. And I would just say that, first of all, how you respond to a crisis is all going to be about do you have good people? And do you have a good team? And if you do, things go really well. And if you don’t, things become really challenging. And I would just say our team has shined through this whole process. Our team shined through Katrina and our team shined at both of these events because they were talented. They’re good leaders. They communicate well, they know how to take action and work independently. And they don’t just have to sit back and wait for direction. And that’s the challenge. When you get into a crisis, you need people to be independent thinkers and to move quickly. And if you don’t have leaders that can react that way, it becomes very, very challenging. So I think the leadership team is number one, that that was critical. And Katrina was critical in COVID-19. As I mentioned earlier, we talked a lot about communication. You’ve got to over-communicate when you’re going through these situations. And I think we did a good job in Katrina and have done the same in the COVID-19 crisis. And I think the third thing and this really comes back to leadership as well, you’ve got to adapt. It’s not about reacting. It’s about adapting to whatever the situation is that’s thrown at you and you may have a plan and this afternoon, you may have to change it because you get new information. And you may have to change tomorrow because you get new information. And so your game plans have to adjust and roll based upon on what’s happening with your team, and with the environment and the market around you. So I just think that those are critical lessons that frankly play out in any disaster – play out in any sort of urgent situation. And it really comes back to your people and how they lead. Gary Bisbee 22:20 Well, let’s move from the good news of leadership to economics, which is not a pretty picture for any of our health systems. How are you thinking about economics, your financials this year in 2020 Warner? Warner Thomas 22:34 Certainly, it is gonna be very challenged. We had a major hit in March and we’ll get in April. We’ve received some of the cares funds through the first two payments, which will mitigate that to some extent, but it’s not going to fully mitigate the situation. That’s why I think ramping our services back making sure patients know that we’re taking extra precautions to keep them safe, making sure our clinics we’re doing the right precautions to make people safe is going to be critical to come back and to have people feel comfortable coming back into the organization. That’s going to be a process. We’re going to continue to work through all of the opportunities for state and federal funding, whether it’s through FEMA, whether it’s through the Cares Act, or through resources provided through our state government, we’re going to need that help in order to come through this with not too much damage. But that is one of the big concerns I have is what ongoing damage from a resource perspective will this leave on the health systems and that’s to be seen? And we’ll have to watch carefully how the federal funding is distributed into the delivery system. Gary Bisbee 23:40 Well implied in what you’re saying is that 2021 might be a rough year too, how are you thinking about that? Warner Thomas 23:47 It could be I think a lot of it really depends upon how the overall economy comes back. If we see ongoing high unemployment, which we probably will that’s obviously going to challenge health systems as more and more folks are not in commercial insurance and they’re in Medicaid or being uninsured. So I think it is going to be an ongoing challenge for all of us to keep thinking about how we address that and come through this in an OK fashion. But it’s definitely going to be a challenge. I think every system is going to have to address it a little differently. But we certainly are spending a lot of time thinking about that preparing, adjusting capital plans, adjusting spending, adjusting investments that we’re making, and making sure that we do that to be fiscally responsible, but at the same time, keep looking for opportunities because frankly, in a down market, that’s when there are opportunities that you can capitalize on. And so we’re really trying to look at both of those very carefully. Gary Bisbee 24:45 Seems like expansion growth is likely to continue maybe even accelerate as certain systems are not as well-positioned economically as others. What do you think about that? Warner Thomas 24:56 I think we’re going to see probably more consolidation because of this. Because I think you’re going to have systems that were a challenge that is going to be even more challenging now. So I think that’s absolutely going to be part of what we’re going to see is, is more consolidation in the industry in general, and especially in the physician area for a lot of physician groups that are independent that going through something like this. They just don’t have the reserves to make it through this type of event. Gary Bisbee 25:20 Yep, they’re going to be hard hit for sure. Well, let’s turn to governance. You mentioned earlier communicating with your regional boards. What about your corporate board of directors, Warner, how did you communicate with them? Warner Thomas 25:31 As I said during our communication section, we started twice a week board calls to keep our board up to date. This really helped to educate them one as to what was happening and two just keep them informed so they could have the right comfort level. I would also say a third benefit of this is especially with our community board members..I mean they have their own businesses, they’re community leaders in their own region, and in their own industries, and I think us doing twice a week calls with them educating them as to what we’re seeing and how things were evolving. It also helped them run their businesses and think about how they wanted to respond to things. So I think I’ve had multiple positive impacts, both for us to get their guidance and feedback, but also for themselves to run their own businesses. Gary Bisbee 26:19 Have you had a virtual board meeting yet? Warner Thomas 26:22 We did. We had a zoom board meeting about a week and a half ago. And it was different, but it was very effective. And we certainly got through our agenda had good dialogue, and it was effective. We all are getting used to zoom and various different WebEx capabilities. And it’s a new normal, we all adjust to whatever situation we’re in. And I think we’re all adjusting to this new model of video teleconferencing, using whatever vehicle we’re using. Gary Bisbee 26:52 One question I’m asking everyone has any tips for a smooth virtual board meeting? Warner Thomas 26:57 The only thing that’s really challenging, is obviously, the discussion can be very, very challenging. Especially in a zoom situation, you have to try to facilitate the right time period for questions and make sure there are the right conversation and discussion. That’s a little more clunky when you’re on a video than if you’re all in a boardroom. But it certainly can be done. And I also think that making sure you got the right and up to date, technology is important. And also, I think our person that kind of helps me run the board did a great job of prepping everybody beforehand on technology, so we didn’t have any technology issues going into the board meeting. So I think that was great, but no big takeaways that I can give you on the virtual board meeting. I just think it worked well for us and I think was a great way for people to be connected. I do think video is so much more effective versus a phone call. I just think being able to see the person on the other side, being able to read body language. Being able to make facial contact and connection is so much different than just doing a conference calls. I’ve actually just started doing many more of my meetings that way versus a phone call, because I just think it’s so much more effective. Gary Bisbee 28:13 Good point for sure. Two or three issues that your peers are talking about. Let me cover them with you. If I could Warner, one of them is the global supply chain. And many of your colleagues are saying that we need a more reliable supply chain, particularly for life threatening supplies. How do you think about it? Warner Thomas 28:31 I agree. 100%. I think you’re going to see collaboratives come together to build more of our own supply chain capabilities in the US. I dont think theres been anything specifically done on that. Yeah, but it’s coming. You’re going to see systems come together and make this happen because I don’t think anybody wants because where we were a few weeks ago, something like civica a type model that is geared towards PPE or the right supply chain components is going to be part of the future. Gary Bisbee 29:03 Another issue being discussed is the health infrastructure. And I think the general consensus is now that public health is part of the national security enterprise. How do you think about that? And particularly, what can we do to help solidify that going forward? Warner Thomas 29:21 I think health systems can play a role in working with the state, and even on a federal level where larger organizations were dispersed and operate well, and I’m not sure that the public health infrastructure operates in the same way. And I think we got a couple of ways to look at it. We can complain about it and not be happy about it. Or we can step in and say, “What can we do to be helpful and how can we be part of that solution?” We definitely are going to be part of that solution going forward and want to step in and work with the state. We’ve got some proposals in front of them right now about how we can help on statewide testing, and things like that, which we don’t have to do. But I think we have the capability and it’s going to be a better thing for the state. So I think we need to step up and do those types of things and play our part in public health as well. Gary Bisbee 30:13 Warner, this been a terrific interview. Thank you very much for your time. I have one final question. And that is that both Mark McClellan and Governor Bob Kerry, when they were at this microphone, were making the point and you’ve referred to it several times today that there will be a new normal, what components of a new normal come to mind, what is it that you think will change? Warner Thomas 30:35 That’s a great question, pondering that a little bit. I do think that there’s going to be… it’s interesting, I think, one set, you could say, well, people are going to be a lot more careful. And there’s going to be a real reluctance as far as external connection, that sort of thing. But we’re also human and we forget these things relatively quickly. So I do think the new normal though, is going to be around technology into the home and video visits in the home and how we care for people in their home or in their place of work. And so, I do think this idea of not having to just go to the physician or go to a visit is going to be a lot different in the future. And I think the video connections is going to accelerate in a very, very large way, like it has and some of that will die off a little bit, but I think we’re gonna see a really big growth continue in that area. Gary Bisbee 31:35 Warner you’ve done a terrific job leading Ochsner, congratulations. We appreciate your time today. Thanks for joining us. Warner Thomas 31:42 Thanks, Gary. Appreciate the opportunity. Gary Bisbee 31:44 This episode of fireside chat is produced by Strafire. Please subscribe to fireside chat on Apple podcasts or wherever you’re listening right now. Be sure to rate and review fireside chat so we can continue to explore key issues with innovative and dynamic healthcare leaders. In addition to subscribing and rating, we have found that podcasts are known through word of mouth. We appreciate your spreading the word to friends or those who might be interested. Fireside chat is brought to you from our nation’s capital in Washington DC, where we explore the intersection of healthcare politics, financing, and delivery. For additional perspectives on health policy and leadership. Read my weekly blog Bisby’s brief. For questions and suggestions about fireside chat contact me through our website, fireside chat podcast dot com or Gary at hm Academy dot com. Thanks for listening. Transcribed by Otter

Can Parishes go against Governor John Bel Edwards and start opening up? Louis Avallone and Stephen Parr discuss how the governor plans to use the Fire Departments to enforce his very extreme orders. The State of Louisiana will revolt professional licenses. How dictatorial is Governor Edwards going to be?Louis Avallone and Stephen Parr try to figure out exactly what resigning City Councilman Willie Bradford meant when, referring to Mayor Perkins, he said “He’s somewhat inexperienced but I think he can maneuver now that he has (newly appointed Chief of Staff Henry) Whitehorn there.”Our American Mamas, Teri Netterville and Denise Arthur are quite unhappy with the neighbor who is calling the police out on a young ER physician who is sleeping in a borrowed trailer to keep from taking the coronavirus into his house, exposing his wife and children. They have a lot to say about it!President Trump says he wants us to get back to get back to our more normal lives. Stephen said he did a Google search and found 1,360,000,000 pages (one billion three hundred sixty million!) of news articles talking about “the new normal”. That is a lot of people telling us to get used to “the new normal”, which is not normal at all.

Can Parishes go against Governor John Bel Edwards and start opening up? Louis Avallone and Stephen Parr discuss how the governor plans to use the Fire Departments to enforce his very extreme orders. The State of Louisiana will revolt professional licenses. How dictatorial is Governor Edwards going to be?Louis Avallone and Stephen Parr try to figure out exactly what resigning City Councilman Willie Bradford meant when, referring to Mayor Perkins, he said “He’s somewhat inexperienced but I think he can maneuver now that he has (newly appointed Chief of Staff Henry) Whitehorn there.”Our American Mamas, Teri Netterville and Denise Arthur are quite unhappy with the neighbor who is calling the police out on a young ER physician who is sleeping in a borrowed trailer to keep from taking the coronavirus into his house, exposing his wife and children. They have a lot to say about it!President Trump says he wants us to get back to get back to our more normal lives. Stephen said he did a Google search and found 1,360,000,000 pages (one billion three hundred sixty million!) of news articles talking about “the new normal”. That is a lot of people telling us to get used to “the new normal”, which is not normal at all.

Louis Avallone and Stephen Parr begin the show talking about Maslov’s Hierarchy of Needs and how that related to the current sheltering in place to avoid getting ill. Since we are going to this much effort to protect the living, why we don’t make more effort to protect the unborn. The abortion facilities continue to defy the Governor’s orders to postpone all elective medical procedures.President Trump was correct is suspecting some of the hospitals were having problems with internal theft of inventory. Several arrests at hospitals all across the country. Our American Mamas, Denise Arthur and Teri Netterville, are tired of the behavior of some in the main stream press when they are asking questions of President Trump. Their questions a calculated to generate division in the Nation at a time when the people need to be reassured.Congressman Mike Johnson calls in to the show this afternoon to break the news he and others have been on a conference call with Governor Edwards and the Interim Secretary of the Louisiana Department Stephen R. Russo. They do intend to enforce the current order to not allow any elective medical procedures, which would indeed include abortions clinics.

Louis Avallone and Stephen Parr begin the show talking about Maslov’s Hierarchy of Needs and how that related to the current sheltering in place to avoid getting ill. Since we are going to this much effort to protect the living, why we don’t make more effort to protect the unborn. The abortion facilities continue to defy the Governor’s orders to postpone all elective medical procedures.President Trump was correct is suspecting some of the hospitals were having problems with internal theft of inventory. Several arrests at hospitals all across the country. Our American Mamas, Denise Arthur and Teri Netterville, are tired of the behavior of some in the main stream press when they are asking questions of President Trump. Their questions a calculated to generate division in the Nation at a time when the people need to be reassured.Congressman Mike Johnson calls in to the show this afternoon to break the news he and others have been on a conference call with Governor Edwards and the Interim Secretary of the Louisiana Department Stephen R. Russo. They do intend to enforce the current order to not allow any elective medical procedures, which would indeed include abortions clinics.

The Federal Government has approved No-Royality or Reduced-Royalty drilling in the shallow waters of Louisiana, which has the opportunity of substantially improving the job opportunities and the overall economy of much of Louisiana. Since Louisiana is #50th in economic growth during the Trump Economy, it is time for Governor Edwards to stop encouraging law suits against the oil industry and give Louisiana a change to take advantage of this potential economic opportunity.

The Federal Government has approved No-Royality or Reduced-Royalty drilling in the shallow waters of Louisiana, which has the opportunity of substantially improving the job opportunities and the overall economy of much of Louisiana. Since Louisiana is #50th in economic growth during the Trump Economy, it is time for Governor Edwards to stop encouraging law suits against the oil industry and give Louisiana a change to take advantage of this potential economic opportunity.

Governor Edwards can say whatever he wants because he knows Louisiana is a very red state, and he has no hope of passing any program which is thought to be extremely liberal.

Governor Edwards can say whatever he wants because he knows Louisiana is a very red state, and he has no hope of passing any program which is thought to be extremely liberal.

The latest national and Louisiana ag news, market information, and a visit with Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards. Governor Edwards discusses his experience growing up on a Tangipahoa dairy farm, his work with agriculture during his first term and what Louisiana farmers and ranchers can expect from him in a second term.

The latest national and Louisiana ag news, market information, and a visit with Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards. Governor Edwards discusses his experience growing up on a Tangipahoa dairy farm, his work with agriculture during his first term and what Louisiana farmers and ranchers can expect from him in a second term.

Show Notes: On this episode of The Get a Game Plan Podcast, it's Cybersecurity Awareness Month in Louisiana. Governor Edwards recently signed a proclamation designating October as Cybersecurity Month. We will speak to a member of the state cybersecurity commission about what this means and why it's important for the state moving forward. Also, Catholic Charities will join us to discuss operations before, during and after an emergency. There is also new assistance available for certain families still recovering from the 2016 floods. And, if you want to help our neighbors in North Carolina recovering from Hurricane Florence, we have information you need.

Listen to us as we discuss Louisiana's special session to fix what Governor Edwards calls the "fiscal cliff", new Supreme Court rulings, and the cancellation of North Korea's anti-US rally!

Listen to us as we discuss Louisiana's special session to fix what Governor Edwards calls the "fiscal cliff", new Supreme Court rulings, and the cancellation of North Korea's anti-US rally!

KEEL News Radio 710am's Robert J. Wright and Erin McCarty interviewed Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards on Friday morning, and asked about the letters that went out to nursing home residents warning them about a future cutoff of funding. Governor Edwards responded by playing the blame game, and tried to save face by shifting responsibility to everyone but himself. This kind of irresponsible behavior is unbecoming in a "leader". We recapped the interview and dug up some facts on the budget situation on Friday's "Digging Deep".

KEEL News Radio 710am's Robert J. Wright and Erin McCarty interviewed Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards on Friday morning, and asked about the letters that went out to nursing home residents warning them about a future cutoff of funding. Governor Edwards responded by playing the blame game, and tried to save face by shifting responsibility to everyone but himself. This kind of irresponsible behavior is unbecoming in a "leader". We recapped the interview and dug up some facts on the budget situation on Friday's "Digging Deep".

Assange pleads the U.K. for asylum, and is denied! Government shutdown looming on the horizon, and I for one am stoked! Governor Edwards is an economic illiterate, but what else is new?   LINKS https://www.theguardian.com/media/2018/jan/10/julian-assanges-bid-for-diplomatic-status-rejected-by-uk-government http://thehill.com/homenews/senate/368407-congress-barrels-toward-another-shutdown-crisis http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/article/2017/dec/19/have-deportations-increased-under-donald-trump-her/ http://www.wwl.com/articles/edwards-wants-raise-louisiana-minimum-wage-close-gender-gap https://mises.org/wire/minimum-wage-laws-have-many-victims https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dZeaGAcgSfE     LIBERTY SESSIONS https://www.facebook.com/events/1734943486568944/   SOCIAL MEDIA https://www.facebook.com/RebelWithACausePodcast/ https://twitter.com/EricTheRed79 https://steemit.com/@eric-the-red   SUPPORT https://www.patreon.com/RebelWithACause --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/rebelwithacause/message

President Obama Makes Statement on the Attack on Police in Baton Rouge, LA. Earlier today, President Obama made the following statement on the attack on law enforcement in Baton Rouge, LA: "I condemn, in the strongest sense of the word, the attack on law enforcement in Baton Rouge. For the second time in two weeks, police officers who put their lives on the line for ours every day were doing their job when they were killed in a cowardly and reprehensible assault. These are attacks on public servants, on the rule of law, and on civilized society, and they have to stop. "I've offered my full support, and the full support of the federal government, to Governor Edwards, Mayor Holden, the Sheriff's Office, and the Baton Rouge Police Department. And make no mistake – justice will be done."We may not yet know the motives for this attack, but I want to be clear: there is no justification for violence against law enforcement. None. These attacks are the work of cowards who speak for no one. They right no wrongs. They advance no causes. The officers in Baton Rouge; the officers in Dallas – they were our fellow Americans, part of our community, part of our country, with people who loved and needed them, and who need us now – all of us – to be at our best."Today, on the Lord's day, all of us stand united in prayer with the people of Baton Rouge, with the police officers who've been wounded, and with the grieving families of the fallen. May God bless them all."

On the February 26, 2014 episode of Liberal Dan Radio Old E.W.E, otherwise known as Edwin Edwards, the former governor of Louisiana and convicted felon is apparently mulling a run for Congress. When asked, Edwards stated that he didn't have any comment at this time. This is otherwise political speech for "yes, I intend to". Until we get a final answer from former Governor Edwards, I have some thoughts on the issue. Last year the Louisiana food stamp program had an error which caused to some people to overcharge their cards for food. I will talk about how many people were punished for what the GOP calls rampant fraud and abuse. Mardi Gras is coming up next week in the City of New Orleans. Some new laws have been passed to cover some activities along the parade route. I will talk about some of those and if they are good for the city. And finally I have to talk about the Michael Dunn case. He was found guilty on most charges. I will explain why this isn't the travesty of justice that some are claiming as well as why it also doesn't mean that Florida is in the clear. Those topics, tweet of the week, words of redneck wisdom, headlines and more tonight on Liberal Dan Radio: Talk From The Left, That's Right. If you have downloaded the podcast and are not listening life, you can comment about the show at liberaldan.com.

Part 2 of this amazing story is here!In June 2016, Andrew Hundley became the FIRST juvenile lifer in Louisiana to be paroled following the U.S. Supreme Court's Miller and Montgomery decisions that prohibited the mandatory sentencing of children to life without parole. It was clear that he was not the same 15-year-old who went to prison in 1997 to the parole board who approved his release.Since his release from Angola, Andrew has earned a Masters degree in Criminology, is founder of the Louisiana Parole Project and is known in all circles of justice as the real life Andy Dufrane.Whatever side of this issue you sit, you will not want to miss this episode.In this episode Woody and Jim sit down with him for an in depth interview you are not going to believe on Bloody Angola Podcast.#BloodyAngolaPodcast #LouisianaParoleProject #AndrewHundleyLouisiana Parole Project website:https://www.paroleproject.org/Check out P2P Podcast (Penitentiaries to Penthouses) Here:https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-p2p-podcast-penitentiaries-2-penthouses/id1646270646?i=1000586120763SECOND CHANCES PART 2 TRANSCRIPTJim: Hey, everyone, and welcome back to another edition of Bloody- Woody: -Angola.Jim: A podcast 142 years in the making.Woody: The Complete Story of America's Bloodiest Prison.Jim: I'm Jim Chapman.Woody: I'm Woody Overton.Jim: And we're back for Part 2, Woody Overton.Woody: Part 2, Second Chances with our main man.Jim: Andrew Hundley. How are you?Andrew: I'm well.Jim: I feel like we just talked to you. [laughs]Andrew: Thanks for having me back.Woody: Yeah, [crosstalk] right. Andrew, I just want to say that it's an amazing story, y'all. You've got to go listen to Part 1. I don't think we've maybe done one or two series on Bloody Angola that-- actually series, one or two episodes that went past episode 1.Jim: The only one that we did was Archie Williams.Woody: No. Brent Miller.Jim: Yeah.Woody: So, two, you'll be the third. Thank you for being here, I really appreciate it. Y'all go back and listen to the first one if you haven't.Jim: Yes, please do.Woody: When we left off last, you were at state police barracks out at JESTC, and you gotto finish telling me how you got swung.Andrew: Yeah, I had unauthorized female visitor, to keep it PG. [laughter]Andrew: I had a female friend who visited me at the office I worked at one evening. I knew that wasn't supposed to happen. It happened. And I understand that you keep visitors off of the premises because you never know who's going to be coming out there, what they're going to be bringing out there.Jim: I ain't hating on it. I don't blame you. [laughs]Woody: [crosstalk]Andrew: [crosstalk] -I'm not the first guy to get in trouble and probably not going to be thelast guy that got into that kind of trouble. Jim: Some things are just worth it. [laughs]Woody: Everybody you see today and the rest of your life got there because two people had sex.[laughter]Andrew: But it was against the rules. They actually didn't move me immediately because my job that I had--Woody: They didn't want to release you.Andrew: I had to finish some job responsibilities. But they said, "Hey, you're going to have togo." I said, "I want to go to Angola."Jim: And wow. Before you say anything else, that's just like-- Woody: You're one of the only people ever said that--[crosstalk] Jim: Yeah, you might be the only one to utter that sentence.Andrew: Well, and I recognize and I had done enough time and met enough people who had been to Angola and who, in prison speak, were successful at Angola. They had done well. And I wanted to be a trustee. At state police barracks, I was a trustee but the only place as a lifer going if we say back into DOC, I couldn't go to DCI or Wade or Hunt or any of these other prisons [crosstalk] have to go to Angola.Jim: What year was this?Andrew: Oh, that was in 2012, 2013. Jim: So, it was post Burl Cain? Andrew: No, Burl was still there. Woody: Burl was still there.Jim: Okay.Andrew: When I first get there, I actually go to Bass. For my first couple of months, I was a cell block orderly at Bass, paying my penance. As soon as I got there, they told me, "Look, keep your nose clean, out of sight, out of mind for a couple of months, and we've got a job for you." They told me this as soon as I got there.Woody: That's really cool.Jim: Your reputation preceded you some way probably.Woody: Another unique thing about what you're saying is, I don't think people understand-- I would say you might have a better number on than me. Most people at Angola are nevergetting out, like 80% or something like that. But to go in and have to do 10 years to make trustee without a low court or high court writeup, holy shit, bro, that's almost impossible. So basically, they're telling you, "Keep your nose clean, lay low for a couple of months and you shake it out, we got a job for you," basically, you almost were like getting credit for time served already.Andrew: Right. They gave me credit. Look, I had a unique experience. Woody: Meaning, credit under the trustee program.Andrew: I used to tell people I did my time like Benjamin Button. [laughter]Jim: In reverse.Andrew: Yeah, I did my time in reverse. Most people start at Angola and they're either going to die there or there are some old timers who after they've been there for a few decades, they'll allow a transfer to a prison closer to their home if they request it, if they have space. For me, I ended at Angola and did my last few years there.Woody: I got to interrupt because I'm visual. You ask to go to Angola, and had you ever been to Angola before?Andrew: I'd been only for boxing matches. I had been there for those kind of trips.Woody: So, you're taking that ride up, or they giving you the ride up and you hit the gates and you go inside the wire the first time. Do you have any different impression? What was your impression?Andrew: I was thinking, "Oh, man, I hope I made the right decision." [laughter]Woody: Right, because this is like the Harvard of convicts.Andrew: Yeah, because I'm starting to second guess because it's like, well, if I would have gone back to the smaller prison, I was big fish in a small pond. And now, I was telling myself, "You're just another lifer here. You're going to be lost in the shuffle." But thankfully, I wasn't lost in the shuffle. Thankfully, my reputation did-- I did have a good reputation.Woody: I'm sure somebody called and gave them a heads-up and say that, "You better get your hands on this dude because he's the bomb."Andrew: I got there. You go on this review board as soon as you get there, and it's medical, mental health, security, classification, and they're trying to figure out where they're going to send you. A lot of guys will start off in a cell block, or some guys will go into medical facilities. Some guys will be under mental health observation. And never having lived at Angola but new Camp J is not the place to be.Woody: Right.Jim: Don't send me to Camp J.Andrew: The major who was on the review board is like, "Hey, I got a call about you. Let me see what they want--" He's telling pretty much everyone on the review board like, "Someone's about to make a decision where this guy's going to go. We're not going to make the decision." He gets off the phone and says, "We're sending him to Bass." And I was like, "Okay. Where is that?" He's like, "You're going to Camp J." And I'm like, "Oh, my God. I thought I'm coming here to be a trustee."Jim: You're sending me to lockdown.Andrew: And I'm going to lockdown because you go to J when guys on death row screw up. They get sent to J, to the cell blocks at J because people would rather be in their cell on death row-Woody: Absolutely.Andrew: -than be at J because J is wild. Now look, today J has been shut down for a fewyears because of talk about-- Jim: [crosstalk] -reason for that.Andrew: Look, Camp J is four cell blocks and one dorm. They have a few guys in a dorm that are cooking for the guys there. They're taking care of the place, taking care of the yard. You hear J, you assume the cell block. Just having worked in the cell blocks, these are guys with significant mental health issues.Woody: Most of them, yeah.Andrew: They're throwing feces on each other. They're throwing stuff on the guards. They're guys who've been back there so long and there's this mentality in prison, bar fighting. And you make enemies in a cell and you throw stuff on so many people. You've seen this guy, he comes out on the tier for his shower. Y'all stay up all night cursing at each other because that's just how time is done. And then, you get into it with so many people, you're back there a couple of years and they say, "Okay, it's your time to come out." Like, "Oh, no, I can't go into population because I've threw crap on so many people."What these guys don't realize is, look, all y'all have thrown crap on each other. Y'all cursed each other out, talked about threatened to kill each other. You get out, chances are, "All right, man. We're in population now, we're going to put that stuff behind us." But so many of those guys, they've developed these enemies, and then they just dig their hole deeper and deeper. There are guys who've been back there decades and refuse to come out of their cells.Jim: Damn.Woody: The listeners know, like you're talking about, to get sent to Camp J, not the dormitory, but to get housing and cell on Camp J, you had to break a rule in prison. Not just regular fist fighting. It's fighting with weapons or attacking an officer or raping someone or whatever it may be, it's a serious infraction. You don't get classified and sent to Camp J immediately, most people. You get sent to wherever, and then if you're so bad that you can't follow the major rules inside-- those rule infractions, they could be a street charge too. But if you're so bad that you can't live in the general population with the worst of the worst, or what's considered to be the worst of the worst in America, you got to send to Camp J. It's a huge mental issue. I agree with you, like 90% of that shit is mental.Andrew: They call it the Behavioral Management Unit.Woody: Yeah, right.Jim: [chuckles] That's one way to put it.Woody: You lock them up and throw away the key.Andrew: The reason that they had to shut it down was it's an old cell block, and they couldn't repair the cells. Guys would open up cells, jump on guards.Jim: Oh, my God.Andrew: [crosstalk] So, whenever they sent me, they said Bass, which is the name of the dormitory, the general population dorm for the guys that work and serve. Luckily, it was like, "No, we're sending you back here," they did me a favor because it's like, hey, they recognize, "This is a guy that's done a lot of time. We have something in mind for you. So, we're going to put you on timeout."Woody: And show you what the worst could be if you want to fuck up. Jim: Yeah.Andrew: They told me, "Give us a couple of months." Those couple of months, it's like no one else talks to me after that. I remember day 30, day 45, I'm thinking to myself, "These people told me-- they've forgotten all about me." I remember seeing the assistant warden over the camp after I'd been there about two months, said, "Hey, I don't know if you remember me," he's like, "Yeah, I remember you." "You haven't looked at me. You haven't acknowledged me. Just want to make sure." He said, "Have you hit your two months yet?" "I'll hit my two months at the end of this week." He said, "Okay, we'll see what happens." Two days after I hit my two months there, they came to me and said, "Hey, we're moving you to Camp F, and you're going to be working out on the range crew. We're going to make you the clerk on the range crew."Jim: That's awesome.Andrew: What it ended up being, obviously Camp F is the old timer camp, class A trustee. Iwas in my 30s, I was the youngest guy at Camp F. [laughter]Andrew: By like 20 years.Woody: Yeah.Andrew: The youngest guy. There may have been guys that weren't quite that much older than me. But I go back there, and I have this job and I didn't realize how great of a job they were giving me. 18,000 acres, the thing that's awesome about the range crew is you have trustees that get to leave whatever camp, leave the main prison, get outside the fence, be on the property. But the thing that's awesome about the range crew is cattle there-- on just one little spot of the prison, there's cattle from the front to the back of the prison. So, when you're on the range crew, you have access to the entire prison. When I say the entire prison, I mean the property.Jim: So, you were a cowboy?Andrew: I was a cowboy. I wasn't born a cowboy. Jim: [laughs]Andrew: I learned how to ride a horse. Learned how to take care of cattle. The cows at Angola are 2000 head of cattle, not counting the bulls and not counting, given time of the year, when mamas are dropping calves. There are actually a lot more cattle there but every cow is on state property control. They're branded, they're tagged.Woody: Oh, my God. I remember-- [crosstalk]Andrew: When John Kennedy was State Treasurer, he used to give DOC hell, "How the heck do you lose a cow?" I was a guy that if I read that in the paper, I would think the same thing, "Well, how the heck do you lose a cow?" And I learned on 18,000 acres, it's really easy to lose a cow because if a cow goes in a drainage canal and dies--Woody: Or a gator gets--[crosstalk]Andrew: You're hoping that the buzzards are going to tell you where they are. So, part of my job was to keep up with the cattle that were on state property control and to do continuing inventories, order the meds, order the vaccines, along with just general clerical responsibilities around the range.Woody: You have a brain that I don't because my entire state career every fucking year when I had to fill out these property forms and serial numbers and I hated that shit. I'd rather be kicked in the nuts than have to fill out one of those. You were doing it every day all across the whole scale.Andrew: And then, another job responsibility I had once I got the job was assisting with the management of the rodeo as it relates to the rides. In my job, I was responsible for the fall and spring rodeos, to get the riders signed up and to assign the rides. There are people who-- the stock contractor comes in. There's, obviously, Alan Barton and his crew are managing what's going on inside the arena. There are acts coming in. Security is getting the public in. There's the hobby craft. There's the concessions.But the guys that are participating, someone has to organize them, someone has to decide who's getting what ride. It's sort of interesting because that's really a high-pressure thing because everyone wants a ride and everyone wants to be on this shoot. My responsibility was being the guy that fairly distributed rides for people who signed up. In the middle of the rodeo, you'll have guys who are on a horse and then they hurt themselves, but later in the day they were supposed to be on the poker table. So, I have to keep track of that and replace them in real time.Jim: Wow. Did you have anybody helping you?Andrew: I had people that would help me, but I'm the kind of guy that- Woody: Nobody is going to do it--[crosstalk]Andrew: -nobody's going to do it as good as you.Jim: [laughs][crosstalk]Jim: Struggle with delegation. [laughs]Woody: You were the CEO of everything that state workers--Jim: Well, if you do it, it's done right. [laughs] Or if it's wrong, it's your fault. And that's important.Andrew: But I can remember people ask me often about what I'm missing. I think there'll come a point in my career where I'll move out in the country, get a piece of property and have cow because there are days when you work around cattle, you just get this gunk in your nose at the end of the day, especially when we're pushing cows, got them in a catch pen, working them, and you just get all this muck in your sinuses, I miss that. I had to be in prison to really feel this sense of purpose and enjoying-- there were times I forget I was in prison. I forget I have my-- [crosstalk]Jim: Wow. It's almost like [crosstalk] you're so involved.Andrew: -sentence because I was in nature. I was working around these animals, got run [unintelligible [00:19:15] people. I think people have this idea that brahma bulls, the meanest thing that you could come across and know a mama cow that you're pulling the baby from will run your ass over. Well, I've been run over quite a few times and been kicked by cows. So, it was a great experience for me.The other thing I should say about my experience at Angola that was totally different from everywhere else I had been. Obviously, I was an outlier everywhere else I was having a life sentence. I would see people come and go. There were a handful of lifers at Wade, a handful of lifers at DCI. But when you get to Angola, everyone has life or everyone has 50, 100 years. They're not going to do that sentence. You every once in a while got a guy that somehow ended up at Angola that's going to be going home, but that's the outlier.And I got to meet so many older guys who had been there for decades. Some of the best people I ever met with in my life, I met in prison, and they were in prison for murder. I know that the general public can't get that, or they think I must be twisted to see that. But you see who a person becomes. I'm not meeting people in their worst moment. I'm meeting people years later after they've developed, they've taken responsibility for whatever brought them to prison and they've changed their lives. So, I think that had a big impact. Frankly, seeing a lot of death at Angola, going to funerals at Angola and seeing people buried and their headstone being on the penitentiary property, it's life changing.Woody: We did an episode on the Lookout Point and the call for making-- and all that stuff, that Burl really stepped up the game on.Jim: That's exactly right.Woody: [crosstalk] -we missed an episode. My mama sent me the article afterwards. Governor Edwards, when he passed, they had them make his coffin and he was buried. But then, his wife or some family member had him dug up and cremated. But so, we did Billy Cannon's. [crosstalk]Jim: Yeah. We definitely talked about that. It'd be a good point to bring up Burl Cain brought two very, very important things to Angola, in my opinion. He brought religion and he brought education at a level no prison had ever seen in the country. Everybody makes mistakes, Burl became very powerful, and with that, there became maybe some problems. But probably the most well-known warden in the history of the country, I would say. Would you agree? Did you ever have any dealings with him?Andrew: Oh, certainly. My favorite story about Burl, and he would do this to a lot of people, you always knew Burl was the boss and Burl had the vision. If you were going to work for Burl, you were going to carry things out the way Burl wanted it done. Burl had a whiteboard in the ranch house where he would often hold court around lunch. If there was an assistant warden, staff member who had to see Burl, Burl had a convict he wanted to come see him, you'd get called up to the ranch house and he had a whiteboard. Burl used to draw a circle on the whiteboard and then put a dot in the middle of it. He'd hand you the marker and say, "That's where I am. I'm the dot. Show me where you are. Are you in the circle? Are you outside the circle?"Woody: Wow.Jim: [chuckles] That's pretty awesome.Andrew: And he would tell you, "Draw it. I want to see. Where are you?" If you'd put that dot inside the circle next to him, "So, well, let me know if you're with me, because if you're not with me, we'll draw your dot outside of the circle." I think that's a perfect encapsulation of who he is. He had a vision. He knew how he wanted to do it. Obviously, it's hard to stay in one place. He was at Angola over 20 years. That's unheard of. No one will ever be warden of the penitentiary--Woody: I know this off the record that numerous times, and actually tapped Jimmy Le Blanc to be head of the Department of Corrections, he turned it down. He believed in so much in what he was doing in Angola. When he was warden at DCI, when I started-- I trained at Angola, I think it was Camp F is where the--Jim: Yes.Woody: Yes, I slept in a dormitory there and everything, but my mom was raised on the [unintelligible [00:24:08]. So, we say Bloody Angola, the Complete Story of America's Bloodiest Prison. That's more of a catch-all. Certainly, it's not a nice place to be, but it's certainly not to 19--[crosstalk]Jim: '65, '64.Woody: -when they had [crosstalk] yards and shit like that. I forget the name of certificationprogram, it's a national thing run by the government. Andrew: HOST?Woody: Yeah, that certifies prison. You got to really-- Andrew: Oh, ACA.Woody: American Correctional Accreditation, something like that. But Angola was nowhere near that when Burl got there, and he did all that too.Jim: Right. Leader of men, there's no doubt about it. Now, I believe the head of the Mississippi Department of Corrections.Andrew: Correct.Woody: Most listeners don't know the Montgomery case comes out, how did you learn about it? How did you hear about it? And what happens next?Andrew: US Supreme Court actually has made a series of decisions that affected how we sentenced juveniles. I mean, it's not that long ago the first decision where they looked at adolescent brain science was Roper, and it was new science. It's sort of what everyone who was a kid or had kids, knew kids or immature kids are impulsive. And the Roper decision, that's when they said, "You can't execute a juvenile anymore." I mean, that's just in the last couple of decades that we haven't been able to execute-- The Supreme Court said, "Stop executing juveniles."Woody: I was a police officer when that came out.Andrew: And they said, "Hey, kids are different from adults, and we have to treat them different than adults." Eventually, there was the Miller decision. And all these decisions, we're in prison, we're watching the news, we're reading the newspaper, we're keeping up with it. The guys who are going down the rabbit hole, staying in the law library are telling everyone what's happening. So, we're just watching it. The Miller decision came out in 2012, and that decision said that you can't give a juvenile a mandatory life without parole sentence. Well, if you remember in the first episode, I said when my judge sentenced me, there was only one sentence.Woody: Mandatory without.Andrew: If my judge would have had an option and gave me life anyway, the Supreme Court decision wouldn't have affected me because the Supreme Court didn't say you can't give a juvenile a life without parole sentence. It said it couldn't be mandatory. The judge has to have leeway. But Louisiana and some other Southern states--Woody: They still followed it.Andrew: We're fighting it, the retroactivity, because they said, "Okay, well, this only affects new cases. It can't affect all these old cases." I actually went back to Acadia Parish in 2013 after Miller. I was fortunate my family could afford to hire an attorney for me. The judge who was there for my trial was still on the bench.Jim: Oh, wow.Andrew: He agreed for me to come back in. He said, "Now, I have an opportunity to give you a different sentence. I'm going to sentence you to life with parole, and I'm going to let the Department of Corrections figure out what that means," because there wasn't a law in the book that said what does-- life is still life in Louisiana, whether you're a juvenile or not. The parole board wouldn't schedule a parole hearing for me, obviously, because there's nothing that says that.Woody: To set the precedent.Andrew: Yeah. We're hearing from all of our attorneys that this isn't going to affect old cases. So, in January of 2016, the US Supreme Court ruled in a case called Henry Montgomery, Baton Rouge case. A black guy, he was 17 years old, when he shot an East Baton Rouge sheriff's deputy. Not to argue that case, Henry, he shot someone who happened to be a sheriff's officer. He didn't know it was a sheriff's officer, but still, he shot a sheriff's deputy, and he was held accountable and was initially given the death penalty, ended up with a life sentence. His case made it to the Supreme Court. I remember we initially thought, "Man, that's such a bad case to make it to the Supreme Court," because everyone in prison knows you don't--Jim: When it involves a police officer--Andrew: You don't commit a crime against a police officer because you're not going to getany mercy.Woody: So the listeners know, when they submit to Supreme Court, Supreme Court has a right to turn down the hearing of the case. They don't have to hear it.Andrew: Right. So, they agreed to hear it. In January of 2016, they reviewed it favorably. Henry Montgomery, what his attorneys were arguing was that Miller's retroactive, and it affects Henry and people who've already been in prison, not just new cases. The Supreme Court agreed, and it put me at the front of the line.Jim: When he says the front, the very front.Andrew: The very front. It's not because I obviously wasn't the person who served the most time. I wasn't the person who had the most certificates. I was at the front of the line because most other guys in my position, they couldn't afford to hire attorneys, and other courts didn't want to fool with it. There weren't any local judges that were looking to start resentencing people. Everyone's like, "Oh, let's wait and see what the Supreme Court does." Well, my judge looked for the-- was happy to hear when my attorney went and said, "We were going to file for a hearing for a change in sentencing." He says, "Let's set a date."Woody: I'm sure also, I know what he told you originally, but I guarantee that the judge looked at-- that you did your time, you didn't let your time do you. You totally turned your life around, or you've been on a straight and narrow other than the one time at JESTC. [chuckles]Andrew: That's true. He put all that stuff into the record, and that obviously helped me. So, when the Montgomery decision came down, my attorney petitioned the parole board and said, "You owe him a parole hearing." At that point, the state of Louisiana had not issued-- the legislature hadn't changed any laws. So, he was arguing because of what the Supreme Court said, "Because his district court already sentenced him, you have to give him a parole hearing. You can't hold the legislature's inaction against him." The parole board agreed and actually got an opinion from the attorney general's office that said I was parole eligible.I go before the parole board in June of 2016, I'll be honest with you, even though I knew I was rehabilitated, knew if I get out, I'm going to do well, I still know I committed a horrible crime. I was in my 30s. I was 34. I'm telling myself, "I'm going to be denied," and I'm preparing my family, I'm going to be denied. This is the sort of a process and every couple of years I'll be able to reapply. And in 10, 15 years, they're going to get tired of telling me no, and I'm going to come home one day. And I'm going to tell y'all, my biggest fear, I didn't say this in the first episode. My biggest fear while I was incarcerated wasn't about someone hurting me, wasn't about being raped or being stabbed or even not getting out of prison. That wasn't my biggest fear. My biggest fear and what would keep me up at night was the fear that my parents would die while I was incarcerated.Woody: Yeah, I get it.Andrew: Because I've seen men whose parents died. Mom's the last person with you. Andwhen mom goes, everyone else goes.Jim: And they had your back the whole time you were in prison.Andrew: They didn't make excuses for me, but they showed me love. They visited me.Woody: Shoutout to your folks, man.Andrew: They answered my phone calls, and my mom and dad just sustained me. I went to prison as a 15-year-old, and even although my body matured, there was part of my-- I never went off to college. I never got that first job.Woody: The growth experience.Andrew: I was emotionally dependent on my parents' love and affirmation. So much of me furthering my education and doing good things in prison was so when my parents would come and visit me, I could say, "Guess what I'm doing?"Woody: They could be proud.Andrew: I say all that to say that whenever I had the parole hearing, I prayed, and I just prayed. "I know I'm not going to make it this time, but please, God, just let me come home while my parents are still alive so then I can be there for them as they've been for me for my whole life." Luckily, that day, I have a parole hearing. Generally, they tell you after the hearing, you've been granted or you've been denied. They threw a curveball, and they said, "We want to take this under advisement. We want to think about it." I understand I was the first juvenile lifer after Montgomery with a parole hearing. The parole board generally doesn't hear at that point, murderers going up for parole.I go back to my life in prison. I tell myself, "You're going to be denied. You're going to get a letter in the mail in 30 days that said, 'You've been denied. Apply again in two years.'" I'm back on the range crew. I'm back doing my job. I'm worrying about cattle. I'm worrying about inventories. I remember it was 10:30 on Thursday, June 9th. My supervisor is a guy named Alan Barton, June 9th, 2016, his phone rings, and he answers it, and he looks at me, and I could tell whatever that the call was about, it was about me. And so, I'm wondering, "What's this about?" Nowhere did it come into my mind this has something to do with parole. And he's like, "Okay, okay, okay." He hangs up the phone, and he looks at me, and he says, "Pack your shit." In prison, when you hear, "Pack your shit," it's usually one of a couple of things, but it could also mean you're going to the cell block.Woody: Right. It could mean you're getting swung. The other one is you're going home.Andrew: You're going home. This is how much I didn't allow myself to believe I was going home. I was prepared to go home. [crosstalk] Immediately, in that split second, "What are the things--? Do they know I brought a brick of community coffee back to the dorm to get to this old timer. What do they know? I got some extra chicken out the kitchen." And he says, "You're making parole." And I was just like, "Wait. What?" He's like, "The parole board granted you, and you're releasing now." I lived at the office of the range crew at the lake house, at the hog lot, this is prison jargon. Like, 80% of my properties out there because I go back to the dorm to sleep and then come back to work and work all day. He says, "Pack your stuff," and I was like, "Man, if this is a bad message, I don't want to pack all my stuff. So, let me go to the camp and see." He's like, "I'm not bringing you back. You're going home."So, it took me going to the camp and then giving me my release papers to sign before I believed it. They said, "Do you want to call anyone?" I said, "Yeah, I want to call my mom." So, they give me the phone, I call my mom. She answers, and I said, "Hey, do you know anything about me?" She says, "Yeah, we're coming to get you." I said, "How long have you--" My mom knew one hour before I did.Woody: Wow.Andrew: My attorney called her from the parole board to say, "Hey, the parole board just called me in to say that they're granting Andrew's parole." It was great that my mom knew for an hour before I called her. She knew she was waiting on that call. My sister had just graduated medical school. My parents were packing her up, getting ready to send her off for her residency. So, just thinking, my younger sister finished medical school, they're packing her up, and at the same time, their son's releasing from prison.Jim: What a day.Andrew: I was told at 10:30. I got up that morning thinking, "I may die here. I may get out in a few years." At 10:30, they said, "You're going home today." At 04:00, I was walking out the front gate with my family.Woody: Wow. One of the few people--Jim: For the first time outside since you were 15. Woody: Outside of the gates of Angola.Andrew: Right. Packing, getting all my stuff gathered, and all these old timers and these juvenile lifers who've been there all this time are coming up to me, "We're so happy for you, man. This is awesome." I remember thinking to myself, "Man, how much grace that they have," because if I was in their shoes, I would be saying, "Why this guy?"Jim: Yeah. People try to sabotage people getting out sometimes in prison. Andrew: "This guy's only been here 19 years. Why is he getting out?" Jim: You would almost think there'd be jealousy there.Andrew: Yeah, and I'm sure there was but guys were just showing me so much love. The last two guys I talked to before I get out were two juvenile lifers. One had been in for 40 years. One had been in for 50 years.Woody: Wow.Andrew: They say, "You're going to be the guy that helps the rest of us get out." I don't think they meant literally, but like, "You're going to get out, and you're going to show that people can get second chances. Man, you could do well." I was like, "Man, I'm sorry that it's me." They're like, "No, no, man, get the hell out of here. You're going to do well." We're driving down that road that I didn't know if I'd ever leave. My sister asks me, "Well, now what?" I had all these plans on paper, but now it's like, "Oh,-Jim: Now, it's real.Andrew: -it's real." I told myself what came to me is, "I've got to find a way to help people. I've got to find a way to help these people that I've left behind." So, through that guilt of leaving my friends behind was born Louisiana Parole Project.Woody: Wow.Jim: And what a beautiful project, and we're going to get into that. I do want to say, because I sense you had a little bit of guilt with you that you were the first, and there were these people that in your mind are more deserving because they had spent longer time and all ofthat. For me, looking from the outside, I think you had a lot of-- and I don't even know if you felt this pressure, but I would have thought you would have had a lot of pressure on you because anybody who was against that ruling is watching you to wait for you to fail. "Y'all going to see. Y'all going to see, they let these guys out and watch what happens. They're going to screw up again." Wow, were you the total opposite of that, number one. Probably far exceeded even people with the best of intentions, expectations, and that's what we want to get into. But you did. You were the first, and that was great.You also were carrying a heavy burden, just like these guys told you, you're going to be the one that they use as the example. So, I'm sure in the back of the mind, they were thinking, "Be a good example because you can screw it up for all of us." [chuckles] So, you were just that. Now, I want you to tell us about your Louisiana Parole Project and what it does and the value of that for these released convicts, inmates, people.Andrew: I come home in June of 2016, I recognize-- my dad gives me a truck. I knew I couldn't go back to Eunice, Louisiana. Everyone knew me for the worst thing I did. They either loved me or hated me but there weren't opportunities there. And I wanted to go to college. Heck, I was 34 years old, getting out of prison from this life sentence, smart guy. I've already earned these credits. Testament to the prison system, I felt getting out, like, "Man, I've earned all these credits. I have to go to college." Whereas if I wouldn't have had those opportunities, I might look and go, "Damn, I'm not ready to invest four years of my life. I got to go into the job market right away." So, I enrolled for college right away. But then, I started telling people, "Man, I want to find a way to help these guys. I realize I'm coming out and with this ruling, I'm just the first. There are going to be other people coming home. How do we create opportunities for people when they come home?"I'm going to be okay because my family is going to make sure that I have opportunities to be successful. I had built a network for myself in prison that I know, "Hey, I'm going to take advantage of this network to find a good job and to hang around good people and have volunteer opportunities." The guys coming home and I had enough common sense to know that, "Hey, the first few people who come home are going to affect it for everybody. So, we need to make sure the first guys who come home are successful so that stakeholders, namely parole board, governor, judges, keep giving people chances." This was an abstract idea and literally just starting, building it out from my experience, from the experience of the first few people that came home, what did they struggle with when they first come home. And we've built a program. We're a nonprofit organization, so I had to figure out how to build a nonprofit organization, how to set it up.Jim: Not easy.Andrew: My first job was actually someone clued me into working at Pointe Coupee Detention Center. I taught pre-release at the detention center for a short time. There's a curriculum, and it's actually this curriculum I taught in the inside at Angola, at Camp F in my spare time. So, I have a job. My first paycheck goes to chartering the organization with the Secretary of State's office and the local clerk at court's office. And then, applying to the IRS for the 501(c)(3) status. All that costs money. So, I'm just figuring out the administrative part of building the organization, asking funders for money. It's the chicken before the egg. I'd say, "Hey, this is what we're going to do." Well, funders would say, "Well, what have you done?" "Well, I haven't done anything."[laughter]Jim: "That's what we need you for."Andrew: "We need the funds." "Well, come back to us whenever you've done something." A lot of volunteer work, part time, going to college. And then finally, we had a couple of funders that took a chance on us. I mean, fast forward from 2016 to today, we operate a residential reentry program in Baton Rouge. We work with people who've been convicted all over the state that are coming home, and we work with people who've done 20 years or more, because we recognize these are guys who are more likely to listen to their peers. And it's a pure mentorship program. Same concept with AA. If you're an alcoholic who's going to AA, your sponsor is going to be another alcoholic.Woody: Somebody's who been through it.Andrew: Who's been through it and so we had the same mindset. We're going to have people who've come out of prison, who've been successful mentoring other people who come out of prison. Initially, that was an odd mindset for law enforcement, for probation and parole for DOC, because their job is usually keeping ex-cons away from each other. But today, we own and operate nine transitional houses in Baton Rouge. We own these homes outright. Seven houses for men, two houses for women. When they come home from prison, we're giving them a safe, stable place to stay. We have rules, we have expectations, but some of the things, our clients have served 20, 30, 40, 50 years in prison. So, it started out with these juvenile lifers coming home. And the legislature passed a bill in 2017 that also allowed something-- some people call it 40-Year Lifers, some people call it Disco Lifers. There's a group of about 120 lifers during the 70s that had parole eligibility before the legislature in '79 made life, life without parole. There was a bill that restored parole eligibility to some of those guys.Woody: I didn't know about that.Andrew: We helped some of them get back out. Jim: Wow.Andrew: And the governor has been signing commutations. And a big part of why he's signing commutations is because we say, "Hey, if you give this person a second chance, our program is going to help them rebuild their life." He took a couple of chances on people, and he's been signing more and more commutations. He's in the last year he's in office. Last week, he signed commutations for 12 lifers. These people are going to come through our program. To date, since 2016, we've had over 370 men and women who were once serving life or de facto life sentences have gotten out of prison. I know people hearing this go, "Wait a minute, 370 lifers?" Yeah, 370 lifers and de facto lifers, people sentenced to 50 years, 99 years, 200 years have come home. The reason you haven't heard about it is because they're not going back to prison.Jim: Period.Woody: Because they had made-- [crosstalk] Jim: Yes.Andrew: Our recidivism rate is 1%.Jim: 1%, y'all. Let that sink in.Woody: But you got to give them the other side of the scale. The average just on general recidivism rate is in the 40% range.Jim: Yeah.Woody: Which means almost one out of two that get out without Andrew's program aregoing to offend again. Jim: I'm sorry. Go ahead.Andrew: I said this to y'all before we went on air. I have a unique perspective where I did time, I'm a criminal justice practitioner, and I got my master's degree in criminology. So, one thing I learned actually getting the book education is when we hear like, "Almost one out of two people return to prison," the problem is it's the same couple of guys that go back and forth, back and forth. And they actually--[crosstalk]Jim: Yeah. Quadruples the number.Woody: Regardless, take those guys out of the equation, 1% is a stupid, crazy number in agood way.Andrew: We start working with our clients before they're released.Woody: Let's do it like this. You showed a picture of two people that you picked up yesterday, tell us what the process is going to be for them, from where you start until hopefully where it is.Andrew: Sure. So, two lifers came home yesterday. One served 41 years, one served 38 years. We started meeting with them months ago when we knew they had opportunities to come home. One was given a commutation by the governor, went through the pardon process successfully. The other guy was actually resentenced by the Orleans District Attorney because it was determined that he was overincarcerated. He was someone, after reviewing his case, they decided that he was less culpable than his co-defendants and he shouldn't have got a life sentence. So, they made a deal with him. He pled guilty to time served, came home. Anyway, we started working with him and it's just how much what our organization's reputation is. We go in, ex-cons--Woody: I was going to say, you go to Angola.Andrew: Go to Angola and the warden lets us in to go and see guys and prepare because they know we're not going in to bring in contraband. We're not trying to get anyone to escape. We're trying to get people out the right way, but we've got to go and prepare them for what to expect. To be frank, I've got to go in and determine, is this someone I want to help? Not everyone who applies to be our client, we accept. We turn down a lot of people. We look at the prison record and we also read between the lines. Having done time, someone who's done time or worked at Angola--[crosstalk]Jim: Real knows real. Andrew: Real knows real. Jim: [chuckles] As they say.Andrew: We want to make sure that it's someone who's taken responsibility for their actions and addressed the things that brought them to prison and bettered themselves and they're ready to come home. People, you're different at 25 than you were at 15. You're a different person at 35. You're a different person at 45.Jim: Amen.Andrew: A lot of my clients are 60- and 70-year-old men who are taking up unnecessaryspace at Angola.Jim: If you're judged by your worst mistake you ever made, everybody would hate everybody. Everybody, stop for a second, think about the worst mistake you've ever made, and then think about if everybody knew about that if they'd hate you or strongly dislike you. People change.Andrew: We pick our clients up at the front gate of the prison when they're released. We bring them to our program. Our clients, things we all take for granted, they've never used a cell phone, they've never used a debit card, they've never paid for gas at the pump, they've probably never opened a bank account. Who has been incarcerated for decades and still has their birth certificate and their Social Security card? These people, if they came home and didn't have the support, they'd just crumble, like, "Where do I start?" And their families, many of them have outlived their families. The ones who do have families, families love them, but they don't know where to start. So, our job is to prepare people to be successful. We're not putting people up for life and giving them a place to stay. We're training people to be self-sufficient.Woody: Like a transition.Andrew: It's a transition. We want you to learn the skills you need. I give someone their first cell phone they've ever had. [crosstalk] After a week, they're going to be like a 10-year-old with the first one. So now, we got to teach you how to put the phone down. Now, we've got to teach you what workplace etiquette is. We've got to teach you that when you went to prison, what was considered flirting is considered harassment. We've got to teach you what this institutionalization that you've had, "Hey, in society, we're more accepting of different people, different ideas. You've got to let that old thinking go." A lot of guys obviously come home with skills, and now we're--Jim: Mad skills, especially trade skills.Andrew: So, we're looking to do-- and I shouldn't just say, guys, we work with women too. Once they go through our initial program, we feel confident. Now, we're working to find them jobs. We give them transportation. We're going to transport them to their parole officer. We're going to transport them to their job. We bring them to the grocery store. We bring them to their medical appointments. Initially, "Hey, we're going to take care of all your needs. Now, we're going to teach you how to be self-sufficient." Our goal is we're turning tax burdens into taxpayers. We're not just getting people out and saying, "We're saving the state money, because that's one less person you have to pay for," we're turning these people into taxpayers. We're not just turning them into taxpayers when they're working. We're getting them volunteer opportunities. They're volunteering in the communities they live. I tell clients, "Go join a church." Some of them say, "Hey, I'm not into church." And I say, "You go find your church, find you an AA group, find you some group. Start showing up. After you're there three or four times, someone's going to recognize you and say, "Hey, you want to go to lunch? Hey, tell me about yourself.'"Woody: Integrate them into the community.Andrew: When people get in trouble, 9 times out of 10, it's because their family doesn't know what they're doing. There are no connections. What we find that's worked is we want all these tentacles into them. I'm going to tell you we're a parole officer's best friend because our parole officers have no problems with their clients because oftentimes, the guys out onparole, mama may not know where you're at, but that parole officer is keeping in contact with you, a Parole Project client. These are people who were convicted of the worst crimes, and they're the most successful group out there.And then, the mode is some of our clients who've come out been successful, we've had people start their own small business. We have homeowners, state employees, carpenters, welders, cooks. The people, you walk into Walmart and you don't realize the guy who's checking out next to you just got out of prison doing 30 years. You're in church, the person in the pew next to you is someone who came home. And that's the point. What does someone who's been in prison look like? We're training them to not only to blend in, but to give back to the community.What I would say is we've proven in Louisiana, a place where life without parole is something that is exactly what it means. And we've just accepted that, "Well, we give people life, and we can't let them out because they've done something so bad, they can't get out," or we keep them there so long, they can't adjust to society. We're proving that wrong, and we're proving that. And this isn't like a bleeding heart speech, because I'm not a bleeding heart. I don't believe-- there is a reason we have prisons, there's a reason we hold people accountable. Well, we can hold people accountable, and then we can take a look back and see, is someone worth redemption? Is someone rehabilitated? Someone worth a second chance? And it's a resounding yes. There's a way that you can support someone.One thing I hate to hear is, "He's been in so long, how can we let him out?" What I say is, "Shame on us as a society if we keep someone in prison so long, the reason we can't let them out is because we've kept them in prison so long."Jim: That's a great way of putting it. And you know what? I think your nonprofit does more than anything else, is the same thing that you get inside prison from the staff if they're doing it right, hope. The biggest reason that people reoffend, in my opinion, is they try other things, they hit a bunch of roadblocks, and it's the only thing they know. If you have a felony on your record and you go apply for a job and you have to disclose that felony, and you do, you're doing the right thing, it's hard. Look, I'm not saying they didn't earn the right to have to struggle with that, but it's hard for people to give you a second chance. It is not easy. I'm not someone that lived in that life, but I've seen a lot of people pass through my life that have had that struggle. I've seen people turn back to the only thing they know, because it's the only way they can make money, is by slinging drugs or doing whatever it was that put them in prison to begin with.Your program is really helping them adjust and teaching them that there's another way because anybody who's respected, even the worst of us, when you're respected for the right things, for being a good person, paying your taxes, all those things, you have a self-respect that you don't want to go back to that life.Woody: And then, second chance also-- Jim: It's hugely important.Woody: -what you just hit on, people come out and they can't get the jobs or people are like, "I'm not hiring a con," through second chance, through your program, somebody did take a chance. They're probably the best damn employee in the world. They're like, "Can you give me like 10 more of them?"Andrew: I was about to say two points I want to respond to as it relates to second chances, there is not an employer that we've gotten someone connected to-- a lot of times, it's a lot of work, getting this employer to take a chance, and I understand it. He's got to think, how isthe public going to feel about it? How are my other employees going to feel about it? There's not an employer who doesn't come back and say, "Hey, if you have another guy, I'd be willing to hire another guy." We have multiple employers, car dealerships in Baton Rouge, state government agencies that have multiple clients working for them.As it relates to hope-- We talked about Warden Cain, the current warden of Angola, Tim Hooper, is really a good man, and he's doing good things up there. But as it relates to hope, prisoner-on-staff violence is down at Angola. Prisoner-on-prisoner violence is down at Angola. Participation in educational and self-help programs are up. Why is that? Because people in Angola are seeing people go home. And not only go home, but they're seeing them stay home and stay successful. They know guys' success, guys communicate, and it gives people hope.Jim: So, light at the end of the tunnel.Andrew: What I tell people, even the hardest person who says, "I don't believe in any of this, lock them up. Why should I care about prison conditions?", if you don't care about the thousands of people who live in Angola, care about the employees who work there.Jim: That's right.Andrew: Because they should go into a safe environment. What I can tell you is, it's a safer place to work whenever there are people going home and there is hope in the prison. Hope is a good thing.Woody: Absolutely.Jim: This is a damn good episode. One more thing-- Woody: [crosstalk]Jim: Chills. How can people help support your program? Woody: Say the full name.Jim: We're going to link all of that too.Woody: [crosstalk] -links and everything. We're going to put it across all our stuff because I believe what you're doing is really awesome. Y'all, they are nonprofit, and you fund it through donations and stuff, right?Andrew: Yeah. Jim: In grants. Woody: Grants.Andrew: Grants and individual donations. So, our name is Louisiana Parole Project. Our website is paroleproject.org. You can find us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, @paroleproject. Check us out, you'll see-- If you're wondering what does someone look like coming out of prison, take a look at our social media. We call it the Money Shot, is the guy walking out of the front gate.Jim: [laughs] I love it.Woody: Hey, I'm going to follow--[crosstalk]Jim: The Money Shot.Woody: When we leave the studio, I'm going to go follow.Andrew: And people can donate to our organization online at paroleproject.org. Your donation, no matter how large or small, helps us buy someone coming out of prison, a pair of shoes, helps someone go to driving school, fund the cost to getting their driver's license, gets people started. We are a nonprofit organization, and all of our money goes to supporting people. It's a good investment. What I could tell you is, is it costs taxpayers thousands of dollars to keep people in prison for life. The older you get, the more expensive it costs.Jim: Doubles.Andrew: It does. It's a good return on the investment. We have been ill served by politicians who have fostered the idea that keeping people in prison forever makes us safer. We've led the country in incarceration because of life sentences, and it didn't affect crime. The people who are committing crimes today are not the guys getting out of Angola. So, there's a difference. When we hear some people are like, "Ah, I'm not into these reforms that are happening," what I can tell you is without a doubt, because I see it, I work with these guys, they're not the guys committing crime. They're the guys who are paying taxes, giving back to their community.Jim: Well, thank you for that and keep up the good work on that end. One more thing before we let you get out of here. You got a child and a wife now and we haven't even mentioned that. His wife's a doctor, y'all. How about that?Woody: Yeah.Andrew: Yeah. I'm a lucky man. God's shown me a lot of favor. The best job like I've everhad now is I'm dad to an 11-month-old daughter. Jim: Beautiful.Woody: Aw. Congratulations.Andrew: It's been a wonderful experience. Woody: Congratulations.Jim: Well, keep killing it, man. Keep doing the good work.Woody: Hey, you know what? I would like to ask you back again sometime. Jim: Please.Woody: Because this is [unintelligible [01:02:21]. This is important.Jim: Very important. Thank you.Woody: Thank you.Jim: Thank you very much. We appreciate you.Andrew: Thank you.Woody: Our favorite episode we've ever done. Episodes actually that we've ever done.Jim: Yeah, it was great. We hope y'all enjoyed this. Follow the Patreon, subscribe to us, if you'd like more information, and hopefully you would on the LPP, we're going to link all of that in the description of this podcast. Just scroll down, you'll see it there. You can click on it and help.Woody: When you hear it, if you're moved like I was, share it because we want everybody to know this story.Jim: That's important. Yes.Woody: And we've told you, it'll always be something different coming out of Angola. This isas far in the positive spectrum as we've ever been. Jim: 100%. And until next time, I'm Jim Chapman. Woody: I'm Woody Overton.Jim: Your host of Bloody-Woody: Angola.Jim: A podcast 142 years in the making.Woody: The Complete Story of America's Bloodiest Prison. Jim: Peace.Our Sponsors:* Check out Factor and use my code bloodyangola50 for a great deal: https://www.factor75.com/ Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy