Thomas FieldsThomas “Tuffy” Fields is an author and regular contributor to The Gazette. He can be reached by email at thelouisianaexplorer@yahoo.com. Most people that have been raised in Louisiana have to some extent been exposed to the Long’s family and their political legacy on the state and the nation. What is interesting to note is that the tentacles of this …

Thomas FieldsThomas “Tuffy” Fields is an author and regular contributor to The Gazette. He can be reached by email at thelouisianaexplorer@yahoo.com. Some of the most intelligent men of their time came together to decide what the complexion of a new nation would look like. Men such as Benjamin Franklin, inventor, scientist, politician and above all a patriotic statesman, met to …

Thomas FieldsThomas “Tuffy” Fields is an author and regular contributor to The Gazette. He can be reached by email at thelouisianaexplorer@yahoo.com. To paraphrase a comment from the iconic blockbuster movie “Jaws”, “Just when we thought it was safe to go into the water:”. This refers to a time that people were terrified by a shark attack and then when the …

Thomas FieldsThomas “Tuffy” Fields is an author and regular contributor to The Gazette. He can be reached by email at thelouisianaexplorer@yahoo.com. The United States Army Officer Training has been a cornerstone of leadership training for our nation. A cornerstone that leaves little to doubt the ability of the U.S. Army to train America’s leader for the future. While we have …

Thomas FieldsThomas “Tuffy” Fields is an author and regular contributor to The Gazette. He can be reached by email at thelouisianaexplorer@yahoo.com. It’s time for a real presidential convention. We have had some real whoppers over the years. Louisiana backed Johnson when Kennedy was selected and would later win. I knew a delegate to that convention and the back room politics …

Thomas FieldsThomas “Tuffy” Fields is an author and regular contributor to The Gazette. He can be reached by email at thelouisianaexplorer@yahoo.com. Many recognize China as a country of modern growth with high rise apartments, large manufacturing facilities, technological innovation and even a nation aspiring to place a flag on the moon. While this is true the road to this modern …

Thomas FieldsThomas “Tuffy” Fields is an author and regular contributor to The Gazette. He can be reached by email at thelouisianaexplorer@yahoo.com. Every once in a while a speech is given that captures the essence of the moment in its entirety. A speech that becomes etched in time and goes far beyond the original intent and portrays the conscience of an …

Thomas FieldsThomas “Tuffy” Fields is an author and regular contributor to The Gazette. He can be reached by email at thelouisianaexplorer@yahoo.com. Every once in a while I stumble across a message that is inspirational or prophetic. A speech that withstands the test of time and is as true today as it was when it was first written. Occasionally I reprint …

Thomas FieldsThomas “Tuffy” Fields is an author and regular contributor to The Gazette. He can be reached by email at thelouisianaexplorer@yahoo.com. To paraphrase an observation ,”One generation will build it, the second generation will enjoy what was built and the third generation will waste it”.Three generations ago our grandfathers laid down their tools, or school books, or plows and walked …

Thomas FieldsThomas “Tuffy” Fields is an author and regular contributor to The Gazette. He can be reached by email at thelouisianaexplorer@yahoo.com. Several years ago I wrote about the disfunction that was sweeping over the legislative branch of our federal government. This disfunction that was occurring during the Obama administration dealt with not working together for the nation; throwing off the …