The Editor's Room - October 2009

10/26/09

Errol Laborde: What Exactly Is a Justice of the Peace?

 A local weekly newspaper recently had a headline that said, “Louisiana Judge Refuses to Marry Mixed Race Couple.” A letter to the editor in last Saturday’s Times-Picayune had the headline “Justice Casts a Poor Light on La.” The letter, which was in response to an earlier Picayune article headlined “Couple Sue Tangipahoa Justice,” moaned that the decision by Tangipahoa Parish Justice of the Peace Keith Bardwell not to marry the couple was causing the state to be ridiculed in the national media, including CNN.com, which was “having a field day, saying that this shows how ‘primitive’ Louisiana is.” 

By...

Posted at 12:00 AM | Permalink | Comments: 2

10/19/09

Errol Laborde: Yes, Tulane Football Is Important, and Here’s Why

Still stunned by the Saints win, I would rather cherish the moment than write about it.

My attention turns to the city’s other football team.  I have been to two Tulane football games this year. I paid my way into both games. I am not an alumnus of the university. So, as a ticket-buying, graduate-neutral fan, I guess I have some right to respond to Tulane Head Coach Bob Toledo’s frustration about poor attendance at the games.

Some thoughts:   

• I feel for the coach, but we all know what the problem is — losing. There is not a person alive today who has witnessed a continuous winning tradition at Tulane. Oh, there have been some good years, even an undefeated season — and a couple of upsets over mighty LSU...

Posted at 12:00 AM | Permalink | Comments: 14

10/12/09

Errol Laborde: Why the Saints Winning the Super Bowl Would Mean Even More Than You Might Think

  For New Orleanians the experience is untested, but we can imagine the benefits of being the home of a Super Bowl champion: pride, morale, a boost in visitors, a push for the economy, a certain swagger — walkin’ a walk that we have never walked before.   There is, however, one more big advantage that could not be experienced by any other team in any other year but the Saints this season.

Consider this:   Next year is the fifth anniversary of Katrina. Imagine if the Saints go into the 2010 season as defending champions. Think back how far the team will have come from the horrid 2005 season. Remember the Alamo –– more specifically, San Antonio, the team’s home base that season? Remember that city’s mayor popping off...

Posted at 12:00 AM | Permalink | Comments: 3

10/05/09

Errol Laborde Visits a Really Big Omelette

Here’s a tip: The next time a general comes riding through your town with an army marching behind him, do not fix him an omelette. That, according to legend, is what the people of Bessières, France, learned when Napoleon Bonaparte showed up on his way to another conquest. The little general was hungry, so a local innkeeper served him a concoction in which he mixed several eggs together, threw in some spices and called it an omelette. Napoleon liked what he ate, so much that he ordered all the town’s people to gather their eggs and prepare an omelette large enough to, literally, feed an army. 

Although the people of Bessières were apparently left eggless, there was some benefit from the experience. The idea of fixing...

Posted at 12:00 AM | Permalink | Comments: 0

	10/26/09 Errol Laborde: What Exactly Is a Justice of the Peace?  A local weekly newspaper recently had a headline that said, “Louisiana Judge Refuses to Marry Mixed Race Couple.” A letter to the editor in last Saturday’s Times-Picayune had the headline “Justice Casts a Poor Light on La.” The letter, which was in response to an earlier Picayune article headlined “Couple Sue Tangipahoa Justice,” moaned that the decision by Tangipahoa Parish Justice of the Peace Keith Bardwell not to marry the couple was causing the state to be ridiculed in the national media, including CNN.com, which was “having a field day, saying that this shows how ‘primitive’ Louisiana is.”  By... Posted at 12:00 AM \| Permalink \| Comments: 2
	10/19/09 Errol Laborde: Yes, Tulane Football Is Important, and Here’s Why Still stunned by the Saints win, I would rather cherish the moment than write about it. My attention turns to the city’s other football team.  I have been to two Tulane football games this year. I paid my way into both games. I am not an alumnus of the university. So, as a ticket-buying, graduate-neutral fan, I guess I have some right to respond to Tulane Head Coach Bob Toledo’s frustration about poor attendance at the games. Some thoughts:    • I feel for the coach, but we all know what the problem is — losing. There is not a person alive today who has witnessed a continuous winning tradition at Tulane. Oh, there have been some good years, even an undefeated season — and a couple of upsets over mighty LSU... Posted at 12:00 AM \| Permalink \| Comments: 14
	10/12/09 Errol Laborde: Why the Saints Winning the Super Bowl Would Mean Even More Than You Might Think   For New Orleanians the experience is untested, but we can imagine the benefits of being the home of a Super Bowl champion: pride, morale, a boost in visitors, a push for the economy, a certain swagger — walkin’ a walk that we have never walked before.   There is, however, one more big advantage that could not be experienced by any other team in any other year but the Saints this season. Consider this:   Next year is the fifth anniversary of Katrina. Imagine if the Saints go into the 2010 season as defending champions. Think back how far the team will have come from the horrid 2005 season. Remember the Alamo –– more specifically, San Antonio, the team’s home base that season? Remember that city’s mayor popping off... Posted at 12:00 AM \| Permalink \| Comments: 3
	10/05/09 Errol Laborde Visits a Really Big Omelette Here’s a tip: The next time a general comes riding through your town with an army marching behind him, do not fix him an omelette. That, according to legend, is what the people of Bessières, France, learned when Napoleon Bonaparte showed up on his way to another conquest. The little general was hungry, so a local innkeeper served him a concoction in which he mixed several eggs together, threw in some spices and called it an omelette. Napoleon liked what he ate, so much that he ordered all the town’s people to gather their eggs and prepare an omelette large enough to, literally, feed an army.  Although the people of Bessières were apparently left eggless, there was some benefit from the experience. The idea of fixing... Posted at 12:00 AM \| Permalink \| Comments: 0

Weekly Commentary with New Orleans Magazine’s Errol Laborde

October 2009

10/26/09

Errol Laborde: What Exactly Is a Justice of the Peace?

10/19/09

Errol Laborde: Yes, Tulane Football Is Important, and Here’s Why

10/12/09

Errol Laborde: Why the Saints Winning the Super Bowl Would Mean Even More Than You Might Think

10/05/09

Errol Laborde Visits a Really Big Omelette

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