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In politics today, the biggest rock star remains Donald Trump and it is not even close. At the “Faith and Freedom” conference last weekend, President Trump received thunderous applause.
Among Americans, Trump is the main attraction, the candidate with the most support and the unquestioned leader in the 2024 race for the White House. According to the latest Harvard CAPS-Harris poll, Trump leads President Joe Biden by a margin of 45-39%.
What is amazing is that Trump leads despite a dizzying array of hurdles placed in front of him by his Deep State enemies. The latest challenge is a 37-count federal indictment stemming from the investigation into classified documents recovered from his Florida estate.
The Deep State has tried everything to derail Donald Trump from the day he descended the “golden escalator” in 2015 to announce his presidential candidacy.
In the 2016 race, he received horrible media coverage, spying on his campaign and outright dirty tricks with the revelation of the “Access Hollywood” tape right before the election.
Fortunately, none of the abuse prevented his election as President, but the mistreatment did not stop. He never received a honeymoon as President, in fact, many Democrats boycotted his inauguration and immediately called for his impeachment.
As President, the Deep State continued spying, unleashed by the phony Steele dossier, and authorized by a series of improper “FISA” warrants. His presidency was hounded by a special counsel with a staff of partisan Democrats who spent two years investigating him but found nothing to charge him.
Thereafter, he was impeached for a “perfect” phone call to the Ukrainian President and saddled with a worldwide pandemic originating in China, a country who wanted to deal with anyone else but Donald Trump in the White House. Trump was the first President who negotiated pro-American trade deals with China and was working to return manufacturing to our country.
The pandemic created the environment for the controversial 2020 presidential election, which was characterized by unprecedented use of mail-in ballots, drop boxes, and ballot harvesting. There were also a multitude of questions about voting machines and improper federal government involvement to suppress stories on social media about Hunter Biden’s infamous “Laptop from Hell.”
In this whirlpool of election complaints, Joe Biden became the President-elect. Not surprisingly, millions of Trump supporters were furious, which led to a massive protest in Washington D.C. on January 6, 2021. Almost all these participants were peaceful and were protesting what they viewed as a tainted election. In fact, President Trump gave a speech in which he called on protesters to “peacefully and patriotically make your voices heard.”
Even though President Trump did not call for violence, he was impeached by partisan Democrats in Congress for a second time. His actions were “investigated” by a sham House committee organized solely to inflict political damage on President Trump. Currently, his actions on January 6th are also being investigated by the same special counsel who just issued an indictment against him for classified documents at his home.
In the past year, his Mar-a-Lago home has been raided by a swarm of federal agents, an unprecedented move against a former President of the United States. Trump has also been indicted twice and sued by a woman who claimed he sexually assaulted her decades ago. More indictments could come from a Fulton County, Georgia grand jury and the special counsel, while the New York Attorney General pursues a civil fraud case.
Americans understand that President Trump has been treated unfairly from the beginning. Despite being surveilled, constantly investigated, and marred with false allegations of “Russian collusion,” his administration was extremely successful.
The Trump record of achievement stands in stark contrast to the disaster known as the Biden administration. A new NBC News poll shows only 20% of Americans believe the country is going in the “right direction,” while an astounding 74% believe our nation is on the “wrong track.” Even worse for Biden, 68% of Americans believe he does not possess the necessary mental and physical health to be president.”
While Biden is faltering on every level, and his radical policies are failing, President Trump is looking much better in comparison. Americans remember that Trump achieved energy independence, a secure border, a strong economy, a strong military, and respect throughout the world. Under President Trump peace deals were being reached while our country entered no new wars.
The sad truth is that the world is closer to nuclear war than at any point since the Cuban Missile Crisis. If Donald Trump were in the White House today, the world would be safer, and America would be stronger.
The former President who is dealing with multiple indictments and ongoing investigations and has survived two impeachments, two special counsel investigations, and an FBI raid on his home, is undoubtedly our nation’s best hope to avert disaster.

Jeff Crouere is a native New Orleanian and is a political columnist, the author of America’s Last Chance and provides regular commentaries on the Jeff Crouere YouTube channel and on Crouere.net. For more information, email him at jcrouere@gmail.com

As each guest does, Jason Connor thanked the Rotary Club of Abbeville for allowing him to speak to members recently.
More importantly, Connor thanked God for allowing him to be there at all to speak about an important topic.
“Lord, thank you for today,” he prayed. “Thank you for allowing me to share my personal experiences with prostate cancer. Enable my words to reach those who need to hear this message most.”
Connor, 60, who is a member of the Erath Board of Aldermen, has twice beaten prostate cancer, a disease that will affect one in eight men in their lifetime. Connor saw its effect on men close to him earlier in his life.
“I worked with my grandfather and father,” Connor said. “My grandfather would complain about his prostate. I was 18 years old. I had no clue. Then, as I got older, my dad had prostate cancer.
“That’s when I really started looking into it to find more information.”
Connor stressed that early detection is vitally important. That usually begins between 40 and 50 years old. While prostate cancer is rare before 40, Connor did not wait.
“I started getting tested for prostate cancer at 38 years old,” Connor said. “My dad’s prostate cancer probably saved my life.”
At 41, Connor had his diagnosis.
“I was diagnosed in October of 2003,” Connor said.
Connor, an avid runner at the time, put in between 15 to 30 miles a week.
“I was probably in the best shape of my life,” Connor said. “It was very, very confusing when I got the diagnosis of cancer.
“It was a tough time, but my wife (Tammy) always said everything would be all right.”
Connor went over treatment options with his doctor. That led to the removal of his prostate.
“That is called a radical prostatectomy,” Connor said.
Connor continued to visit his doctor for annual checkups. Without a prostate, the expectation would be that Connor’s Prostate-Specific Antigen (PSA) levels would not be detectable. PSA levels of 4.0 ng/mL and lower are considered normal for a man with a prostate.
“I went to my appointment after my eighth year,” Connor said. “My wife opened my test papers and said my PSA levels were 1.1. It should have been less than zero.
“It was a big shock.”
That test result meant Connor’s prostate cancer had returned. He readied himself for round two.
“I don’t have a prostate anymore,” Connor explained, “but some cells got stuck in scar tissue. It took eight years for those cells to get out of that scar tissue and get into my system again.”
Connor said his doctor teaches in Houston.
“He said he uses me as an example each semester,” Connor said. “Even though you remove your prostate, continue to get tested.”
Connor did proton therapy after his second diagnosis.
“It’s targeted X-rays that hit the spot,” Connor said. “The treatment itself took about 15 minutes. I did 50 rounds of it. No pain at all.
“It’s amazing what’s out there today and amazing what the human body can do and overcome.”
The most important thing is early detection.
“You get with the right doctor and start testing and catching everything early,” Connor said.
Connor did. He said it is part of a journey.
“There’s always things that happen for a reason,” he said. “I’m a firm believer that this prostate cancer throughout my life has helped me in many ways. It’s humbled me. It’s shown me what the human body can overcome. Everybody goes through things, and we all have our issues.
“This is what I deal with, and I live a completely normal life.”
Anyone with questions or going through a similar journey can contact Connor. His email address is jcc781962@gmail.com.
“Feel free to ask,” Connor said. “If someone has a prostate history or has prostate issues, contact me. I can walk them through what happened to me. I can try to ease their anxiety a little bit.”

KAPLAN ­— The town of Kaplan now has curfew hours.
At Tuesday’s city council meeting, the council adopted curfew hours that pertain to everyone in the city.
The first proposed ordinance stated that no one in Kaplan could walk, ride a bike, or an electric bike between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m., Monday through Sunday.
Police Chief Josh Hardy requested the curfew hours, hoping to slow down crime at night in Kaplan.
One Kaplan alderman was not comfortable with the proposed hours.
“I do not think that rights and freedom of other people should be infringed upon because the cops can not do their job,” said Alderman ustin. Johnson. “I walk to my neighbors at night and don’t want to be stopped by the police and questioned walking from house to house.”
Kaplan attorney Woody Woodruff told Johnson that the police could stop and question him long before a curfew occurred.
Johnson said he felt the curfew hours were too early and asked if the aldermen could change the hours.
Johnson made a substitute motion to change the curfew hours from 11 p.m. to 4 a.m.
The aldermen approved the new curfew hours.
The new curfew hours will go into effect in 10 days.

I have a confession to make. And former President Trump is not going to like it. I’m a southern country lawyer. Darn proud of it. In the President’s words, I may be a “dumb southern country lawyer.” I just hope the President Trump does not have a sneering contempt for all of us Louisiana lawyers who cut our teeth practicing law in the rural areas of the Bayou State.
If you are unaware of the Trump’s supposed pot shots at those of us who ply our trade in the more pastoral boroughs of the state, The Washington Post’s Bob Woodard wrote a “tell all” book entitled “Fear: Trump in the White House.” Woodward you recall was the reporter who dropped the bombshell on the Nixon White House back in 1972, and was portrayed by Robert Redford in the film, “All the President’s Men.”
Woodward writes of many revelations claiming he received insider information from current White House operatives who listen to the former President on a daily basis. And, according to the book, Donald Trump makes it clear there is no love lost between him and his first Attorney General Jeff Sessions. He is quoted as saying that: “This guy is mentally retarded. He’s this dumb Southerner. . . . He couldn’t even be a one-person country lawyer.”
Now I’m reading this to mean that “a one-person country lawyer” is about as simple and elementary as you can get if legal guidance is required. No real talent or expertise necessary. Just a little folksy off the shoulder opinion will do.
Do you have to be an Ivy League barrister to have the knowledge and expertise to make sound and compelling legal decisions? It’s a fact that all but one the current members of the U.S. Supreme Court attended either Harvard or Yale. But maybe that’s part of the problem with a number of questionable high court decisions. As Alabama law professor Ronald Krotoszynski wrote recently, “Are an attorney’s perspectives and capabilities “defined by the three years he or she spent in law school? Shouldn’t professional experience and judgment matter too? “
I graduated from Tulane Law School back in 1966 and moved to the rural town of Ferriday, Louisiana with a population of 5000. There were a few other lawyers in the surrounding parishes, most of who graduated from LSU. No specialized legalese in these rural courthouses. Lawyers had to know a good bit about all phases of the law, both criminal and civil.
I handled civil cases ranging from divorces and small claims and stood toe to toe with big shot eastern attorneys representing General Motors and a number of major oil companies. On the criminal side, I was often appointed by the local judge to represent a cross section of those accused of robberies right up to capital cases. Many readers will remember the notorious Jim Leslie murder case that happened in Baton Rouge back in the 1970s. Leslie’s killer was gunned down in Concordia Parish and I was appointed to defend this killer. I can tell you the whole sorted story.
Here’s my point. Country lawyers, particularly in the South, rarely take a narrowly defined career path. Sure, an attorney has to know the law. But there also is a need to comprehend the practicalities of how the law should be applied and how such application affects and impacts the average citizen.
I’ve come across a number of outstanding lawyers who graduated from Tulane, LSU and Southern law schools. They often have both solid legal aptitude and a good bit of plain old common sense. Our judges, by and large, stack up with barristers anywhere in the country, and we certainly have the legal talent that is qualified to stand shoulder to shoulder with any justice presently on the U.S. Supreme Court.
So give us a break Mr. President. We might surprise you down here in the deepest of the deep southern states. Yep, some up north may call us dumb southern country lawyers. But I have worked with many Louisiana attorneys, particularly in smaller towns, that can go eyeball to eyeball with any Ivy Leaguer. Simply put Mr. President, we wear our southern country lawyer title proudly.

Peace and Justice
Jim Brown