Jim BrownJim Brown is a former Louisiana state senator, Secretary of State, Commissioner of Insurance and a regular contributor to The Gazette. It was 33 years ago this past week that perhaps the most consequential and controversial election in the nation’s history took place here in the Bayou State. Edwin Edwards and David Duke squared off in a run-off election …

Jim BrownJim Brown is a former Louisiana state senator, Secretary of State, Commissioner of Insurance and a regular contributor to The Gazette. The person who heads up the federal Department of Health and Human Services is quite essential to Louisiana.  Louisiana citizens, bless their souls, are in large numbers, poor, unhealthy, and aging at a higher rate than many other …

Jim BrownJim Brown is a former Louisiana state senator, Secretary of State, Commissioner of Insurance and a regular contributor to The Gazette. Listen.  Put your hand to your ear. Can you here it?  (Silence). That’s the sound of the Trumpites hollering about all the election fraud.  Oh, that’s alright.  You see, the Republicans won. There’s only election fraud when Trump and Republicans loose.Trump said in …

Jim BrownJim Brown is a former Louisiana state senator, Secretary of State, Commissioner of Insurance and a regular contributor to The Gazette. As you read this, it’s a matter of hours before voting in the presidential election is over. That’s not to say that a final verdict will be determined. As we saw four years ago, if the election is …

Jim BrownJim Brown is a former Louisiana state senator, Secretary of State, Commissioner of Insurance and a regular contributor to The Gazette. Did you celebrate Columbus Day last week? ( Ooops, it’s now Indigenous Peoples Day.) That’s right. We changed the name, and now celebrate those Indian tribes Columbus encountered on his discovery of the Americas, a number of which …

Jim BrownJim Brown is a former Louisiana state senator, Secretary of State, Commissioner of Insurance and a regular contributor to The Gazette. “Drive Faster. The Mountains are close by”. That’s a bumper sticker I’ve seen on a number of cars throughout western North Carolina. Yes, living in the mountains is special. A lot of people are beach groupies or mountain …

Jim BrownJim Brown is a former Louisiana state senator, Secretary of State, Commissioner of Insurance and a regular contributor to The Gazette. It’s a national scandal and a call to arms. Our country is under attack by dog and cat eaters. So says our former president. That’s right.  Donald Trump is saying that in some communities, immigrants are prowling neighborhoods …

Jim BrownJim Brown is a former Louisiana state senator, Secretary of State, Commissioner of Insurance and a regular contributor to The Gazette. It’s been a standing joke for a number of years. No matter how bad things get in Louisiana, the state could say at least it’s not Mississippi. Well not anymore. A new national study by Wallethub.com has just …

Jim BrownJim Brown is a former Louisiana state senator, Secretary of State, Commissioner of Insurance and a regular contributor to The Gazette. OK, Ok, I know it’s just early September. But to me, autumn is in the air. Sure it’s still hot in the deep South. But there is a tinge of lower temperatures, leaves are slightly turning and we …

Jim BrownJim Brown is a former Louisiana state senator, Secretary of State, Commissioner of Insurance and a regular contributor to The Gazette. Do you think that our candidates for national office are weird? That word — “weird” — has become the new attack buzz word for both Democrats and Republicans. So how did all these “weird” attacks” begin? Democratic Vice Presidential …