The Founders Show Podcast Por News Talk 99.5 WRNO (WRNO-FM) arte de portada

The Founders Show

The Founders Show

De: News Talk 99.5 WRNO (WRNO-FM)
Escúchala gratis

Acerca de esta escucha

 A look at Louisiana politics from Chaplain Hy McEnery and Christopher TidmoreCopyright News Talk 99.5 WRNO (WRNO-FM) Política y Gobierno
Episodios
  • OMB: NOLA Metro Area No Longer "Major" / Medicare Advantage Saved / City Council Candidate Jon Johnson

    OMB: NOLA Metro Area No Longer "Major" / Medicare Advantage Saved / City Council Candidate Jon Johnson
    Jun 30 2025
    We kick off the show talking about the fact that New Orleans is no longer a major city - at least according to the federal government. We keep into that theme in our conversation with former New Orleans Councilman and state Senator Jon Johnson. He’s running for Council District E, and we ask the question as a convicted felon, can he win? Johnson believes he can.We then talk about the big beautiful Bill, which reached its first hurdle of passage on Saturday night. Originally, it looks like it would cut Medicare Advantage. Louisiana Senator Bill Cassidy had proposed something along those lines, which would’ve affected half of all Medicare recipients. Darren Grubb joins us to let us know that those cuts did not make the final bill, and hopefully will not return and reconciliation. It is a triumph of grassroots lobbying.However, to our major topic of the day…New Orleans Metro ceases to be a major city, according to OMBBy Christopher TidmoreIt went unnoticed by most of the local media, but a federal agency has downgraded New Orleans from a major city to little more than a large town, and that has major implications for future government funding, business relocation, and economic development.Basically, the North Shore was robbed from the New Orleans Metro! During his tenure two decades ago, former St. Tammany Parish President Kevin Davis controversially changed the moniker in advertisements of his parish from “New Orleans’ North Shore” to “Louisiana’s North Shore”, trying to break the mental metro association of the Causeway connection. It took 20 years, but a federal agency says the numbers now argue for exactly that.Quite simply, the population of the New Orleans metropolitan area was reduced from 1,237,748 to 962,165 by the stoke of a pen, since less than a quarter of North Shore residents now commute to the South Shore for their jobs.For the last 70 years, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has maintained a set of consistent statistical definitions for metropolitan regions of the United States to enhance the value of data provided by federal statistical agencies. The current rules are published in the Federal Register and are used to consistently define metro areas across the country.Starting with data released for 2023, the metropolitan statistical area (MSA), anchored by New Orleans — officially, the New Orleans–Metairie MSA — no longer includes St. Tammany Parish. Following a 2020 update published by the federal government and implemented this year, the New Orleans–Metairie MSA now covers seven parishes: Plaquemines, St. Bernard, Orleans, Jefferson, St. Charles, St. John the Baptist, and St. James. Additionally, a new Slidell–Mandeville–Covington MSA has been created, which consists only of St. Tammany Parish.Why have these official definitions changed? As the New Orleans Data Center explained, “The short answer is that a smaller portion of workers who live in St. Tammany are commuting to work in Orleans, Jefferson, and other parishes on the south shore of Lake Pontchartrain. This smaller portion no longer meets the criteria for St. Tammany to be included in Metro New Orleans. For a longer answer, keep reading below where we run down the details. As a result of the change, the new official population of Metro New Orleans is lower than you might recall. According to the Census Bureau, the population of Metro New Orleans was 962,165 in 2023. If St. Tammany were included, the population under the old 8-parish definition would be 1,237,748 in 2023. The massive discrepancy between these two numbers is overwhelmingly driven by the official removal of St. Tammany’s resident population from the total rather than by population loss in the individual metro parishes. The bottom line is that, going forward, the official estimate will reflect a 7-parish region of under 1 million, not an 8-parish region of over 1.2 million. Without St. Tammany, basic measures of Metro New Orleans’ demographic and economic makeup will also change.”The OMB had previously classified St. Tammany as an “outlying county” of the New Orleans–Metairie MSA. Its two urban areas around Mandeville–Covington and around Slidell now stand as geographically separate and distinct from the larger urban area on the south shore. Previously, more than 25 percent of St. Tammany residents who work commuted to the six “central counties” on the south shore, meeting the criteria to be part of the New Orleans–Metairie MSA.For the last major update in 2010, which used data collected from 2006-2010, 26.2 percent of St. Tammany’s workers were commuting to the south shore. In the new estimates used for OMB’s latest major update in 2020, which use data collected from 2016-2020, this portion had fallen to 22.5 percent. The 25 percent commuting threshold is no longer met. Further, St. Tammany’s two urban areas have sufficient population to define the parish as a “central county” in a new MSA, ...
    Más Menos
    54 m
  • Departing MISO / MAGA vs. Trump on Iran

    Departing MISO / MAGA vs. Trump on Iran
    Jun 20 2025
    Hy and Christopher are joined for the second half of The Founders Show by Public Service Commissioner Eric Skrmetta, who has launched an inquiry into why the blackouts were ordered with just nine minutes notice by a little known federal regulatory group one month ago.MISO is more than a soup, but Skrmetta believes that Louisiana and her electric utilities would be better off working with other southeastern states for a new interstate compact on power distribution.By the end of the program, we also talk with Skrmetta, who is an expert on international relations, about Iran. It’s timely, because the first half of the program discusses not just the apocalyptic danger of the Supreme Leader and his Mullahs, but how some of Donald Trump’s closest allies believe that joining the Israeli bombing campaign is a tragic mistake.The president has given himself just under two weeks to decide whether America will join the war with its critical 30,000 pound bunker buster bombs necessary to destroy the underground atomic centrifuges. However, bombing Iran could endanger domestically the President’s pursuit of getting the US Senate to pass the “One Beautiful Bill”.Nevertheless, the political damage within the GOP at home might be necessary, as Hy notes quoting a senior source in Washington DC:The world watches with bated breath as Tel Aviv endures one of the most devastating strikes in its history. The recent Iranian missile assault has tragically targeted sacred spaces within the heart of the city: the Diamond Exchange District, Stock Exchange, and Soroka Medical Center. With reports of 147 injured and significant destruction, the impact of this violence is felt deeply across the nation.Furthermore, Israeli officials have confirmed the use of cluster-type munitions, raising alarm over the devastating consequences for civilian populations. In an unsettling development, authorities have enforced censorship, restricting foreign media from documenting the reality on the ground, while Iranian media mockingly disseminates footage intended to undermine Israel's narrative. The power dynamics in this conflict have escalated to unprecedented levels.🌡 An Escalation of TensionsThe Iranian Supreme Council has issued dire warnings regarding a "new strategy" in retaliation for any external intervention. The IRGC has demanded the immediate evacuation of the Dimona nuclear facility, signaling an urgent need for global attention. Reports indicate that key sites, including the Israeli Police Headquarters and intelligence facilities, have been targeted, while Iran has released a provocative 3D map of the Israeli C4I Command Center. Though the IDF has successfully intercepted cluster munitions, there are claims that the Iron Dome defense system is being overwhelmed by the intensity of these assaults.🌐 The Global Response is BuildingAmid these grave developments, the United States is weighing its options for a potential strike on Iran, with a final decision expected in the coming days. Former President Trump has denied any pre-approved attack plans, while the White House has committed to a resolution within the next two weeks. Simultaneously, direct talks between U.S. and Iranian officials are reportedly underway, with Russia and China condemning Israel's actions and cautioning the U.S. against further escalation.💣 Geopolitical Reactions & ThreatsThe conflict has unraveled far beyond the immediate region, with Iranian drones downing an Israeli Heron UAV and Kata'eb Hezbollah ominously warning that U.S. bases may become “duck hunting grounds.” Iran's threat to close the strategic Strait of Hormuz looms large, prompting NATO to shorten its upcoming summit to mitigate potential fallout.📉 Broader ImplicationsOn the home front, Iran has accused the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) of facilitating Israeli aggression. An extended internet blackout persists in Iran, marking one of the worst communication disruptions since the 2019 protests, while reports of connectivity recovery remain limited. The strike on Soroka Hospital has been falsely framed as a concealment of military assets by Iranian authorities.☢️ Strategic & Nuclear ConsiderationsRussian President Vladimir Putin’s assurance that Russian nuclear experts will remain in Iran underscores the strategic stakes at play. Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu’s assertion that “we can destroy all of Iran’s nuclear facilities” echoes the severity of the situation. National unity is a powerful reaction to adversity, as an Iranian official states, “This war has united our people, not weakened them,” a poignant reminder of the indomitable spirit within.📣 Censorship and the Media LandscapeAs the conflict unfolds, Israel has imposed restrictions on foreign press coverage, claiming a need for security. Concurrently, Iranian authorities allege that Israel is using civilian areas as shields for its defense systems, intensifying the narrative battle that ...
    Más Menos
    54 m
  • The U.S. / Canada Relationship: Past, Present & Future

    The U.S. / Canada Relationship: Past, Present & Future
    Jun 17 2025
    The Founders Show comes to you live from the Thousand Islands on the Canadian-US border, from the deck of the famed Canadian Empress riverboat.

    We’ve been sailing down the St. Lawrence Seaway, and that triggered our kick off topic for this week’s show. The U.S. / Canadian relationship has been in the news quite a bit over the last year. North of the border, voters have resented the “51st state” comments, so much so that Canada re-elected a previously unpopular Liberal government that was willing to stand up to Donald Trump.

    However, despite being a different country, Canada is intrinsically linked with the United States – nowhere more so than the thousand islands win you could be 50 feet away by boat to cross the border. We explore the difficulties those people have putting up with a huge amount of bureaucratic red tape just to go back-and-forth, and the relationship between the United States and Canada. Why don’t we have free movement of population? Why isn’t our relationship even closer when we are truly cousins in close proximity?

    We then turn to the Louisiana legislature, and a Bill to allow Louisianians to sue doctors who send abortion pills across state lines. This puts Gov. Jeff Landry, if he signs, in direct conflict with President Donald Trump. Trump thinks 15 weeks are an acceptable margin or gray area to allow abortion to be legal. Hy and Christopher discuss where the gray area lies.
    Más Menos
    54 m
Todavía no hay opiniones