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It’s summertime, but the woke agenda never takes a break. From Lafayette to Livingston—and now St. Tammany Parish—Louisiana’s public libraries are the latest battleground in the fight for parental rights and community values.
In this episode, we break down the latest drama from the St. Tammany Parish Council, where a library board appointment sparked more than 30 public comments. What should have been routine turned into a showcase of activist rhetoric and carefully coded language.
You’ll hear one speaker say she wants to “embrace your children.” Another declares, “I’m not a pedophile!”—without anyone accusing him. Over and over, speakers defend vague concepts like “diversity” and “representation,” while supporting a candidate who has quietly voted to keep sexually explicit books in children’s sections.
That candidate? Diana Thaners—and the crowd was nearly unanimous in her favor.
In the end, despite a Republican supermajority, the St. Tammany Parish Council gave activists exactly what they wanted. If you’ve been wondering how Louisiana keeps losing ground on local issues, this episode makes it crystal clear.
We also take a moment to connect this to other library fights across the state. From Livingston Parish to Lafayette, the pattern is the same. Activists use soft words to hide sharp agendas, and elected officials cave—unless the public steps in.
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Behind Every Blade of Grass
There’s a running joke around our office that Citizens for a New Louisiana is hiding behind every blade of grass. We’ve heard stories about government officials reconsidering questionable decisions because they were worried we’d find out. That’s a remarkable return on an investment we never made: "reaping where we did not sow, and gathering where we scattered no seed." But there’s something important in here, too.
Our little flashlight has earned us a reputation for bringing things to light. Now many officials act as if someone is watching, even when there isn't. That’s the real value of our government transparency work. It's more than just exposing wrongdoing after the fact. We've created an environment where public officials think twice.
Of course, we can’t actually be behind every blade of grass. There are thousands of public meetings, countless government transactions, and more questionable decisions than our small team could ever hope to investigate. But with your help, we can keep them wondering.
If you believe government works better when someone is paying attention, please consider supporting our work.
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