Bobby Jindal 2.0

In 2007, Bobby Jindal was elected Governor of Louisiana and became the youngest serving governor. I will never forget his election. I was attending a pest control convention in Orlando, Florida. Watching his historical win in my hotel room, I immediately called a friend to get his contact information from a campaign staffer. I thought he would be an ideal guest speaker for Legislative Day activities that would be held in a few months time in Washington, DC.

“Bobby Jindal is perfect,” I said to others the next morning. He was young , politically seasoned, hails from a region of the country that understands the economic impact of the pest control industry. He was a conservative and a member of a minority who had shattered many glass ceilings prior to winning the governor’s race — in short, something for everyone in an industry that is conservative-leaning and lacks diversity and youth. I threw his name out as possible keynote or definitely the main speaker for the Minorities in Pest Management (MPM) program, an organization that I founded.

I was determined to get Governor Jindal to speak in 2008. MPM had earned a reputation for having some of the best speakers in the country grace our stage and I thought Governor Jindal would have kept our roster of speakers with nationally known names intact. In the years of booking speakers, chairing conferences, and organizing events, I learned that the early bird gets the worm. I went to work on securing Bobby Jindal before I even left Florida.

Looking back now, I thank God I was not able to work out his appearance with his schedulers. What I thought was a worm was actually a snake that would have surely bitten me. The more I watch Governor Jindal flip-flop on TV, the more I believe he is more bipolar than a political whack. Yes, I know the plight of Louisianans with oil gushing endlessly from the ocean’s floor. I have relatives living in the state and I once lived in New Orleans. I love the state and people dearly. This is not about kicking someone when they are down; this is more about the behavior we are seeing regularly from Governor Jindal that is beginning to border on bizarre. How else can you explain the behavior of someone who professes his hatred of the federal government yet at every turns wants the federal government’s interference or is spending federal money as if he printed it in the swamp?

t Jindal’s antics that are played out in the media as if we are watching the “Days of Jindal’s Lies.” In February 2009, Governor Jindal made history (again) by being the first governor to refuse any part of the stimulus money. Nothing is wrong with anyone refusing stimulus funding, since the stimulus was money on borrowed time. Tennessee's Governor Bredesen, a Democrat, did not want any of the stimulus money either.

At Jindal’s press conference regarding his rejection of stimulus funding he said the following: "The federal money in this bill will run out in less than three years for this benefit and our businesses would then be stuck paying the bill. We must be careful and thoughtful as we examine all the strings attached to the funding in this package. We cannot grow government in an unsustainable way."

“I strongly suggest that other states also look closely at this provision in the bill so they can also avoid ultimately passing on a significant tax to businesses that will be left paying for this expansion of benefits when the federal money dries up."

Because Governor Jindal was the first executive to take a stand against the stimulus funding, he was the GOP’s choice to give the response to the President’s first State of the Union address. “Be careful what you ask for,” I was told often by my grandparents. Governor Jindal’s dismal response to the President’s message was cartoonish and provided nightly punch lines for every comedian for a month. It also reminded me why grown men should not be called Bobby or Ray Ray.

But his repugnance to the stimulus did not last long:

"Despite the fact that the checks contain millions of dollars of Recovery Act funds for job training programs, housing assistance programs, homelessness prevention programs, police training, criminal justice technology upgrades, and community development block grants, Jindal has been printing his own name on the checks and taking credit for the money. ... While Jindal knocks Washington spending as he builds his national profile, he is shoring up his local support by spending Washington money."

That was then. This is now. Jindal 2.0 is slicker than the oil ruining the fragile Louisiana marsh ecology, the shrimp/seafood industry, and tourism. He is on TV nightly reminding us that his name is Bobby Jindal with no plan of action while crying for the government to take over the disaster cleanup from the criminally incompetent BP. When I see Jindal showing the media pictures of dying, oil-slicked birds but do nothing to help the “poor creatures,” it seems like a show and tell photo op. On June 2, Jindal 2.0 did the unthinkable and wrote to the President asking the moratorium on deepwater drilling to be lifted because of the economic status of his state. President Obama suspended drilling at 33 offshore wells, 22 of which are located along the Louisiana coastlines, until what caused the BP disaster can be determined and never repeated.

For the Governor to make such a request when every expert in the world has not been able to stop the oil from flowing to every coastal community in the South is sheer insanity. No political points were gained by the request nor did it make any sense. The once-Presidential contender shows that he is not only narcissistic but unstable in his thinking and his actions. God bless the good people of Louisiana; Jindal 2.0 will be in office another year.

First published on Blogcritics @:

http://blogcritics.org/politics/article/bobby-jindal-20/

UT's Audit Figures Revealed without any Media Headlines

The University of Tennessee’s audit figures were released on May 20, 2010. There were no media inquires from school news reporters, glaring headlines or articles that insinuated that University of Tennessee is incompetent with its accounting and educating students. As I stated a few weeks ago, school audits are part of the checks and balances the Tennessee Comptroller’s Department conducts for all public colleges and universities in Tennessee; not as a witch hunt of any school.

What is disturbing about the lack of media attention for this school’s audit is the contrast to the continuous rectal probing of the folks at 3500 John Merritt Blvd by the very media outlet that did not report about UT’s audit that was newsworthy. Where are the protesters on this issue?

To blog about one school's audit and not others is not fair and balance reporting. In order for one not to appear bias or one sided, each school should be given equal scrutiny, don't you think? This is not an attempt to make any institution look bad but making sure a complete picture is given on the auditing process. All public schools are audited. But to be honest, the actions by a school of color are viewed far more harshly than their majority counterparts and are used to blanket the entire school while the same actions conducted by the majority are departmentalized or not viewed as an offense at all. This should also remind members of the community of color how working against each other is used to cement negative stereotypes about its community in the minds of the majority.

Let’s review why the audits are conducted:
1.To consider the university’s internal control over financial reporting to determine auditing procedures for the purpose of expressing opinions on the financial
statements;
2. To determine compliance with certain provisions of laws, regulations, contracts, and grant agreements;
3. To determine the fairness of the presentation of the financial statements; and
4. To recommend appropriate actions to correct any deficiencies.

University of Tennessee’s audit was 87 pages and it was as scary and spooky as the other schools given in March. Grab a glass of gin and tonic as you read from the findings and recommendations pages how the folks from Rocky Top count money without an accompanying headline or anyone raising a hand to ask questions.

1. The university needs improved review procedures to prevent errors in the preparation of the university’s financial statements
Finding

Our audit found that the University of Tennessee’s procedures for financial statement preparation should be improved to ensure the accuracy of the information presented in the financial statements. This weakness resulted in several significant reporting errors:

•On the university’s June 30, 2009, statement of net assets, the Controller reported $36,743,054 of unexpended state appropriations restricted for the construction of a Biofuels Center as unrestricted net assets. The amount should have been reported as expendable restricted net assets for capital projects. The error was corrected on the audited statement.

•On the university’s June 30,2009,statement of net assets, the Associate Controller did not separately report $32,179,500 of unexpended ARRA State Fiscal Stabilization funds, which were due to the State of TN.This amount should have been classified as due to the primary government but was instead classified as accounts payable. According to GASB Statement 34, Basic Financial Statements—and Management’s Discussion and Analysis—for State and Local Governments, paragraph 61, “amounts payable and receivable between the primary government and its discretely presented component units or between those component units should be reported on a separate line.” The error was corrected on the audited statement.

•On the university’s statement of revenues, expenses, and changes in net assets for the year ended June 30, 2009, nonoperating grants and contracts were understated by $7,134,555.00, and operating governmental grants and contracts were overstated by the same amount.A Business Manager in the Controller’s Office failed to reclassify
$7,134,555.00 of TSAC revenues as nonoperating revenues in a year-end reclassification entry. Four TSAC accounts were inadvertently omitted from the entry. The error was corrected on the audited statement.

•The Director of Accounting and Budget at the UT Health Science Center in Memphis incorrectly credited revenues against expenses in the university’s Graduate Medical Education Strategic Fund in the 2008 fiscal year. The error was discovered and the Director attempted to correct the error by reversing the entry in the current fiscal year. This actually led to an equal, but opposite, error in the current fiscal year. Therefore, on the university’s 2009 statement of revenues, expenses, and changes in net assets, utilities, supplies, and other services (an expense category) was overstated by $4,200,000, and governmental grants and contracts were overstated by $4,200,000.The statement of revenues, expenses, and changes in net assets was not corrected. The entry was deemed immaterial by the university’s Controller and not corrected in the financial statements.

According to the Controller, the two errors on the statement of net assets were due to the unusual nature of the transactions. The university has never been advanced state capital appropriations and is seldom advanced grant funding from the state. The Controller attributed the errors on the statement of revenues, expenses, and changes in net assets to an oversight.

These reporting errors resulted in significant misstatements in the university’s unaudited financial statements. With an improved review process, the Controller or Associate Controller could have detected and corrected these errors before the financial statements were completed.

(In case you weren’t paying attention the unexpended ARRA State Fiscal Stabilization is called “Obama’s Stimulus money” at HBCU schools. Just making sure you folks are awake. You should take a quick break right here, refill your glass and count to five, there’s more.)

2.University personnel overbilled facilities and administrative (F&A) costs to a federal research and development grant, resulting in $11,816.04 of questioned costs
Finding

During the year ended June 30, 2009, the University of Tennessee charged $50,140.50 of subcontractor expenses for Department of Energy grant number DE-FG07-07ID14895 to the expense object code “subcontractor expenses of less than $25,000.00.” Of this amount,$25,140.50 should have been charged to the expense object code “subcontractor expenses of greater than $25,000.00.”According to applicable federal regulations, the university’s predetermined F&A rate of 47% can only be charged against the first $25,000.00 of subcontractor expenses. Because of this posting error, the 47% rate was applied against the entire $50,140.50 amount, instead of just the allowable $25,000.00. As a result, the grantor was overbilled by $11,816.04.This resulted in $11,816.04 of questioned costs.

According to the Code of Federal Regulations, Title 2, Part 220, Appendix A,F&A costs [indirect costs] shall be distributed to applicable sponsored agreements and other benefiting activities within each major function on the basis of modified total direct costs, consisting of all salaries and wages, fringe benefits, materials and supplies, services, travel, and subgrants and subcontracts up to the first $25,000 of each subgrant or subcontract (regardless of the period covered by the subgrant or subcontract.) Equipment, capital expenditures, charges for patient care and tuition remission, rental costs, scholarships, and fellowships as well as the portion of each subgrant and subcontract in excess of $25,000 shall be excluded from modified total direct costs.

The departmental bookkeeper in the UT Knoxville Nuclear Engineering Department miscoded the $25,140.50 of subcontractor expenses.In accordance with university Fiscal Policy 115,the departmental bookkeeper reconciled the departmental ledger on a monthly basis, and the principal investigator reviewed the reconciliation on a monthly basis.F&A (indirect) costs are automatically calculated by the university’s accounting system based on the modified total direct costs posted to the grant.The total expenses, including the allocated F&A costs per the general ledger, were used to draw down federal funds. This was done by the responsible grant accountant in the Sponsored Projects Accounting Dept at Knoxville.The error was not discovered by the departmental bookkeeper, the principal investigator, or the responsible grant accountant.

Office of Management and Budget Circular A-133 requires us to report in a finding all known questioned costs when the known questioned costs exceed $10,000 for a type of compliance requirement for a major federal program. Federal questioned costs totaled $11,816.04.

I don’t want to give you all of the report in one sitting, this is good reading. For more reasons to drink, read the rest of the audit at; http://www.comptroller1.state.tn.us/repository/SA/cu09084.pdf

I still believe that folks in Tennessee can’t count. Y’all will stick money in columns that makes me wonder if you can count marbles in a mason jar. What is so glaring about UT’s audit is the perception of the school is not reality. UT, who is often blessed by the media, but is no different in its accounting practices than other Tennessee colleges or universities. Dare I say worst? Some in the media have written the narratives about Tennessee’s colleges and universities and feeds the public what they want you to know about a particular school, whether it is true or not. The media determines what schools gets stories depicting dark blue woes or bright fuzzy orange storylines. I am inclined to ask, why pitch or advertised with media outlets that work against a school’s goals continuously?

The storyline about school audits, in particular, began in March with my boys taking offense to how their school was being beaten black and blue two weeks in a row by Broadway's media. After researching the audits to help alleviate my sons’ distress, what I read about their school was not only unfair but WRONG. The issues uncovered were far deeper than unfairness and truthiness; my sons were unaware of the politics and motives at work to portray the institution of higher learning at 3500 John Merritt Blvd. as one of the worst in the state. The release of the audit of UT with millions of dollars in accounting errors and no media coverage shows the media’s double standard in reporting of “school related news stories”. This also illustrates the importance of questioning the motives behind storylines. What some may report as news should make one pause to inquiry about the source and the agenda behind the story. As we have learned in the last few months, some stories are gossip whispered in the wind and are given sensational headlines. The stories are half-baked sprinkled with little facts and then frosted with rumors to feed malicious appetites.

What were the real motives for reporting only ONE school’s audit figures is still being asked by many in Nashville. While we are waiting for the next color of paint to be splashed/written, we know for sure it is easier to feed negativity about an HBCU school to the public. The media can used any medium to portray an HBCU school without any retribution and sell the story as a masterpiece when the story is really garbage posing as a reporter’s work of art.



for other related stories:
http://genmaspeaks.blogspot.com/2010/03/boogie-man-stalks-tsu.html
http://genmaspeaks.blogspot.com/2010/04/boogie-man-spotted-on-tennessee-state.html

There is More to Come

Last Tuesday’s election primaries have me examining the state of affairs of minority communities, specifically Black businesses. Watching Rand Paul’s appearance on the Rachel Maddow Show discussing his views about the passage of the Civil Rights bill sent shivers down my spine. My thoughts immediately went to my family and the years they spent fighting for equal justice for ALL Americans in the once segregated south in the 50's 60's, and early 70's. This is 2010; what in the world is going on?

As we have seen more Americans long for the America they once knew, many people of color and historians are celebrating the 50th anniversary of the lunch counter sit-ins and the Nashville Freedom Riders. They are celebrating the ending of an era in American history, when people of color overcame harsh treatments, and which they never want to see again. Ever. No person of color is longing for the days when businesses did not allow Blacks to eat in their establishments and required them to drink from separate water fountains, thanks to the demoralizing Jim Crow laws. When my friends say they want to take back America, I often ask them to expound on that statement. “Taking back America” means different things to different people.

When I called my grandmother ("Mother") this week, I could not help but ask how she felt about the newest media starlets, the Arizona law, and Rand Paul. Mother said something that was from a different perspective: “The Arizona law is a good thing in many ways. Young Blacks who never marched and experienced not being able to vote or shop where they want are seeing that it only takes a mark of a pen to undo what many take for granted every day.” Hearing her words left me dumbfounded, daring not to interrupt, and since I opened up this can of worms, I listened intently while holding my breath.

She continued while I started scribbling her words: “And for those that are older who marched and protested but hate to patronize their own people, Rand Paul’s words should be a reminder of where they come from; that same pen and a few elections can have them revisiting the 60's, looking through a restaurant window while holding a sign that reads 'I am a man.' How many Black people have learned to detest their own community because they think being allowed to shop elsewhere means equality? That was not what your Daddy and others fought with their lives to see happen.”

As her words trailed off, I could hear the sadness in her voice and feel the heaviness of her heart. My grandmother said to me much later in the conversation, “This is only the beginning, more is to come. God blesses us in so many ways. He takes his people out of one form of bondage or another. But folks can end right back in bondage when they forget the price that was paid for freedom. Read your word, many, many examples of this are in there. ” I did.

That conversation with Mother stayed with me throughout the week. My heart became heavy and grieved as well. I looked at signs of “more to come” all around me. Last week’s local election only garnered 20,000-plus voters when we have over 300,000 registered voters in Davidson County. I drove to my children's home, to make sure they voted. They are grown but I feared if I did not physically make them go vote they would “forget.” I was cussing up a storm all the way to the polls but they voted. I sent massive requests on Twitter and Facebook for locals to please vote. I was not pushing a candidate; I was advocating the right to vote. That right is sacred.

Much attention is placed on national elections, but a local election is where you get school board members who can determine the quality of a child’s education or politicians who can block a segment of the community's economic growth by favoring one part of town over another. This is far greater damage than any national leader can do to a community. Two out of thousands responded that they actually voted. God help us.

The two who responded are not only friends but actual longtime business customers. When I look at my database of customers, the bulk of my commercial clients are from Williamson County and many churches are from Shelby County. My Shelby County customers are due in part to one minister, Dr. Whalum, and his push to make sure his congregation does business with me. Many of my competitors in the area ask me often why my regional customer base is so heavily from Williamson County. You and I know why; Blacks doing business with Blacks is a hard sell.

There is no politically correct way to say that, huh? The African American community are the largest consumers of goods and services in the US. We buy more cars, hair care products, clothes, shoes, food, you name it than any other group of people. To marketing and sales executives, lists of African American mega churches and HBCU’s (historically Black colleges and universities) are like harvesting diamonds. They know without a doubt if they get their products, goods or services in front of those two groups alone, they can corner the market.

There is one small catch in the previous statement: the executive better be white. Let’s quit playing crazy and tell the truth.

There are too many businesses and people in North Nashville for North Nashville to constantly need to beg for businesses. How many meetings can one have about doing business in North Nashville when you have a room full of folks who own businesses that do not do business with one another? I am from Mississippi, please explain that to me. With not one but three HBCU’s within a mile of each other that spend millions on everything from toilet paper to lawn care to IT services to consulting services to sportswear, there should be an economic boom around the Jefferson Street area. I cannot count the churches up and down the area corridor that should be part of the growth of businesses as well.

I have always pondered why several of the Nashville area’s majority colleges hold diversity business fairs to try to meet (though they are not meeting) minority spending quotas, while the HBCU’s in the area are given a pass for not hiring many of their own folks for contract work. At the same time, we are being asked to (and should) support our HBCU’s financially. For the few local business owners who are hired, it takes an act of Congress to get paid. What is that about? Come on folks, we got to do better.

This is not a plug for my business, trust me it is not. This is a post about minority firms doing business with each other and building up the Black community that asks for dollars from the Black community. Our community is not the responsibility of the federal government to help make better when Black folks are not doing the basic things to foster economic growth by spending everyday “casual” dollars in the Black community. Often times, more time is spent waiting for others to help out than actually working to help the community.

Daddy always said, “What you value is where you spend your money.” Ouch. I love this city. I love my people. But I deplore when I see Black folks taking each other for granted, then screaming about diversity and business opportunities with white folks. Please…this is a new day. Words that would have been only whispered a few years ago are being shouted out loud. Jim Crow rules are now available in Spanish. As a people, we better wake up and take a look around…”more is to come.” Mother is never wrong!

Article first published as There is More to Come on Blogcritics.

Nashvillians From All Backgrounds Work To Bring Area back to Life

On Thursday, April 29th , 2010, it started raining and for several days the rains from the sky did not cease. On Saturday May 1st, our city started feeling the effects of that rain. It rained more in three days than it had all of last year. On Monday, May 3rd the skies were crystal clear and a beautiful blue and the devastation from the weekend storms were evident for all to see. Our city, the city of Nashville and the Middle Tennessee region were declared disasters area along with twenty-two counties. Flood waters had gotten as high as 52 feet.

From Hermitage to Donelson, Bordeaux to Brentwood, Hendersonville to Rivergate, Metro Center to Metroplex, Uptown to Downtown, West Hamilton road to Gallatin Road, Main Street to Charlotte Ave, Briley Parkway to Old Hickory Blvd., I-65 to I-24- to I-40, Robertson County to Hickman County, Antioch to Ashland City, every inch of this area was impacted in some way; some areas more so than others. If it was not water from the Cumberland River, Old Hickory and Percy Priest lakes, creeks, or streams, water from tears touched all of us.

Nashville is called Music City, USA. It was called Music City because of the hearts of several talented young students, known as the Jubilee Singers, at Fisk University led by Ella Sheppard. They were on a mission to raise funds for their school. They could not get concert bookings because they were Black living in the segregated South. The traveled North and was heard at a convention. From there they were invited around the country to perform. In 1872, they sang at the World Peace Festival in Boston and then invited by President Ulysses S. Grant to perform at the White House. In 1873, they invited to sing before Queen Victoria. When she heard the beautiful acapella voices of the Jubilee Singers she proclaimed, “They must come from Music City.”

Our beloved city is rich in diversity and culture that is not often reflected in national or even local media. The Flood of 2010 ruined not only national landmarks like The Grand Ole Opry, and known businesses like the Opryland Hotel and Opry Mills Mall that employs thousand or destroyed historical documents and musical artifacts or damaged the homes of country stars that were seen nightly on the news once the national media showed up, but everyday working people who make this city great. Many, many lives were disrupted or devastated. Black, White, Brown, and Yellow people showed up to help each other. Budget strapped non-profits opened doors to assist not only those newly homeless but their own people lives were turned upside down. Counselors needed consoling. Politicians stopped political rhetoric and campaigning and helped their fellow neighbors and constituents. Jews and Gentiles, Catholic and Protestants, Republican, Democrats, Independents; all worked beside each other these last two weeks.

I visited with several pest control operators who businesses are under water. There were no need for words; I knew firsthand what they were feeling. Tears flowed from men I know and respect greatly in this business unashamedly. I met overwhelmed moms who just got out of the hospital with newborns with no diapers, formula or personal toiletries for themselves. I saw elderly folks who were bedridden with soiled diapers on for days. Your desire for dignity does not go away in the middle of a national disaster. I spoke to several soldiers in Iraq serving our country wondering if their families are being served. Men protecting us abroad were feeling helpless because they were not there for their families. The needs are endless and consuming but I believe in the goodness of people. I saw folks from every economical, racial and ethnic background bewildered, shocked, and speechless but determined to get through this tough time. We are the Volunteer State, we will recover!

The photos you are about to see are not tagged. I chose to let you see for yourself a small fraction of who we all. Pictures tell stories. Unfortunately, those stories can be manipulated by a press that does not always give the whole story. There are more photos that will be going up later. I have hundreds of pictures that reflect our diversity, our generosity, and our courage in times of adversity. I saw neighbors being neighbors to each other, without hesitation, without question. I don’t know what the future holds but I know WHO holds the future in HIS hands. Hang in there!

(Ludye N. Wallace suffered a tremendous amount of damage to his home. While waiting for the water to reside in his residence, he gave sacrificially of his time to photograph the pics you see. You may contact him at Ludyeonduty@gmail.com)
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