Louisiana
Book TV has helped Louisiana authors thrive
When my daughter was small, she’d sometimes announce to the rest of the house that her dad was watching Book TV in the den. I once asked how she knew about my viewing choice without entering the room.
As she quickly explained, Book TV was easy to recognize by sound alone. “It’s always just one person talking at a time,” she told me.
That simple practice, letting someone express an opinion without interruption, was so rare on TV back then that it got my daughter’s attention. Civic life has now grown even angrier, which is why Book TV, a weekend block of literary programming on C-SPAN 2, is all the more important as a forum for civil discourse.
All of this came to mind a few weeks ago when Book TV host Peter Slen chatted with me through Zoom about the value of revisiting classic books as we get older. I’d written on the topic, and it led to my conversation with Slen, part of a recent episode of his “About Books” program. You can easily find the interview online.
Slen finished our talk by mentioning my home state of Louisiana, which got me thinking, after we’d signed off, about the many other local voices featured on Book TV over the years. C-SPAN crews have covered major literary gatherings in our part of the world, including the Louisiana Book Festival in Baton Rouge and the New Orleans Book Festival on Tulane’s campus.
Book TV has helped many Louisiana writers, including Walter Isaacson, John Barry and the late Stephen Ambrose, reach national audiences.
C-SPAN is also scrupulously nonpartisan, giving authors along a wide range of the political spectrum a safe place to discuss their work. Scanning the Book TV schedule recently, I spotted segments devoted to books by Fox News host Brian Kilmeade and Cary Clack, a Texas newspaper columnist who frequently criticizes GOP policies.
Thanks to Zoom, C-SPAN producers can easily get even more voices in the mix. About a dozen years ago, a Book TV interview with me was canceled after its roving production van broke down, unable to reach my corner of the state. These days, hosts and guests can conveniently talk through a laptop. The only challenge with my recent Book TV appearance was a morning thunderstorm that threatened to drown out my remarks.
The digital revolution has meant more tools for Book TV, but the rise of online technology has also complicated its business model. C-SPAN is a nonprofit funded through license fees paid by cable and satellite TV providers. As more viewers cut the cord in favor of streaming services, C-SPAN and related projects like Book TV are having to look elsewhere for money, including donations.
In a country rattled by sharp divisions, we need to strengthen and sustain places where people can exchange ideas without rancor. The sound of one person talking at a time shouldn’t be the exception.
Email Danny Heitman at danny@dannyheitman.com.
A state lawmaker whose district includes Iberville and nine other parishes will lead the way on the drawing of a new congressional map when the committee convenes Friday.
Sen. Caleb Kleinpeter, R-Port Allen, will chair the hearings to draw a new congressional district map. He currently serves as chairman of the U.S. Senate and Governmental Affairs Committee.
On Wednesday, Kleinpeter said he has not worked on any maps. He is letting the committee members and the members of the Senate work on this with staff.
The move will come nine days after the U.S. Supreme Court on a 6-3 vote ruled one of Louisiana’s two majority-Black U.S. House districts unconstitutional.
“We can’t base it on race anymore, so the minority party is the Democrats,” he said. “The Democrats have migrated away from the New Orléans area, so we’re looking at Democrats versus Republicans, so the minority party — the Democrats — which means it’s more favored toward Baton Rouge.”
The move would work in favor of incumbent 6th District Congressman Cleo Fields, who was a candidate for the race which Gov. Jeff Lndry suspended in the wake of the Supreme Court decision.
The ruling stemmed from Louisiana vs. Callais – a consolidation of Robinson vs. Callais – that centered on racial gerrymandering and redistricting in the state of Louisiana following the 2020 United States census. The lead plaintiff, Phillip “Bert” Callais, is a resident of Brusly.
The Supreme Court vote came despite the African American population comprising nearly one-third of the state’s population.
According to the 2020 Census, the Black or African American population in Louisiana was approximately 1,464,023,representing 31.4%of the state’s total population. Louisiana has one of the highest percentages of Black residents in the United States, ranking second behind Mississippi.
The Baton Rouge district would likely be the area to undergo the remap, he said.
It amounts to an intricate balancing act.
“What far-right Republicans don’t understand is that with Congress maps, you have to be within 776, 280 votes – within 50 votes of the other districts,” Kleinpeter said. “It’s not like our legislative maps where you can be off by thousands … when you start changing a precinct, it can run down a rabbit hole chasing this precinct over here and over there.
“We can easily draw a really strong nine Republican and one strong Democrat, so if you start watering districts down you could wind up with a 4-2 map.”
Republicans currently have a two-vote super majority vote.
“But some Republican districts are strong and others are weak,” Kleinpeter said. “If you take 58 percent Democrats and put them in Republican districts, you could end up losing Republicans.
“Drawing congress maps is very difficult – you have the leader of the party, and you have the Speaker of the House you have to protect,” he said. “You don’t want to jeopardize their maps at hole.”
One other issue is looming for the state, Kleinpeter said.
“What people don’t understand is that we will have to do this all over again in five years, after the next census comes out,” he said. “Hopefully we’ll people by that time.”
The 2030 Census will play a key role in the process, but it still requires participation.
“I had plenty of next-door neighbors who didn’t want to fill out their census” he said. “I’m going to push to fill out their census. We miss out on federal money and potentially risk losing a seat. “
Neuty, the iconic Bucktown nutria visits the state capitol, with Myra Lacoste, Denny Lacoste, Lieutenant Governor Billy Nungesser, Dennis Lacoste Sr., and Louisiana state Senator J. Cameron Henry Jr. Neuty was an orphan, rescued by the Lacostes. In March 2023, LDWF agents attempted to confiscate the illegal pet.
VIDALIA, La. — Louisiana State Police arrested 18-year-old Gregory Steele early Sunday morning on two counts of vehicular homicide, one count of underage operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated, one count vehicular negligent injuring and one count careless operation, according to Concordia Parish Jail records.
Steele, 18, a white male, was arrested in connection with an accident that occurred at approximately 1:54 a.m. on Sunday morning on Minorca Road in Vidalia. Two passengers in the vehicle were killed. Steele and another passenger were able to escape the vehicle.
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