Maybe it was Katrina. Maybe it's just a place where life is nasty, brutish and short. They want to kill rapists (the Supreme Court stopped them), castrate rapists (no word from the Supremes on this yet), burn...well each other (but only for fun), beat each other up (mostly cops doing the beating) keep company with prostitutes (only the public officials), get pregnant at 16 (OK she's Britney's sister, so it could be worse), and take bribes (again only public officials). And Louisiana was where some missing nukes showed up. Wow, this is a happening place.http://www.newser.com/2008 - Newseren-usNewser Feed GeneratorThu, 20 Nov 2008 1:47:17 CSThttp://www.newser.com/story/102737/calls-in-louisiana-to-require-english-at-commencement.html?refid=rss_all_defaultSchool officials in Terrebonne Parish are considering a policy that would require all commencement speeches to be in English.The proposal comes after Hue and Cindy Vo, cousins who were co-valedictorians at Ellender High School, delivered part of their commencement addresses last month in Vietnamese.http://www.newser.com/story/102737/calls-in-louisiana-to-require-english-at-commencement.html?refid=rss_all_defaultMon, 30 Jun 2008 20:46:50 CDThttp://www.newser.com/story/31020/jindal-signs-castration-bill-for-sex-offenders.html?refid=rss_all_defaultLouisiana governor and GOP VP wannabe Bobby Jindal signed a bill yesterday that will allow sex offenders to be punished with chemical castration. Said Jindal, “I am glad we have taken such strong measures...to put a stop to these monsters’ brutal acts,” said Jindal, taking the opportunity to slam as "atrocious" the Supreme Court's ruling that his state could not execute offenders who rape children.http://www.newser.com/story/31020/jindal-signs-castration-bill-for-sex-offenders.html?refid=rss_all_defaultThu, 26 Jun 2008 20:59:55 CDThttp://www.newser.com/story/30953/obama-backs-death-penalty-for-child-rapists.html?refid=rss_all_defaultBarack Obama joined rival John McCain yesterday in supporting the death penalty for child rapists, the AP reports. The Democratic candidate spoke after the Supreme Court ruled against a Louisiana law allowing capital punishment for child rape, saying it violates the constitution's ban on cruel and unusual punishment. The verdict negates similar laws in five other states.http://www.newser.com/story/30953/obama-backs-death-penalty-for-child-rapists.html?refid=rss_all_defaultThu, 26 Jun 2008 20:59:55 CDThttp://www.newser.com/story/30889/justices-strike-death-penalty-for-child-rape.html?refid=rss_all_defaultThe Supreme Court found today that the “death penalty is not a proportional punishment for the rape of a child,” striking down a Louisiana law as cruel and unusual punishment. While the court split 5-4 on the hot-button issue—swing justice Anthony Kennedy penned the opinion—there has not been an execution in 44 years for a crime that didn’t involve a victim’s death.http://www.newser.com/story/30889/justices-strike-death-penalty-for-child-rape.html?refid=rss_all_defaultThu, 26 Jun 2008 20:59:55 CDThttp://www.newser.com/story/26863/frat-boys-busted-for-third-degree-burn-hazing.html?refid=rss_all_defaultTen Tulane University frat boys face battery charges after taking "Hell Night" hazing way too far and severely burning two pledges, CNN reports. The Pi Kappa Alpha members poured boiling water with pepper spray in it and "crab boil" seasoning mix onto the backs of pledges to see who could withstand the most pain. The two who held out the longest before screaming were hospitalized.http://www.newser.com/story/26863/frat-boys-busted-for-third-degree-burn-hazing.html?refid=rss_all_defaultThu, 26 Jun 2008 20:59:55 CDThttp://www.newser.com/story/26566/britney-helps-jamie-lynn-celebrate.html?refid=rss_all_defaultBritney Spears returned home to Louisiana over the weekend for a cameo at 17-year-old sister Jamie Lynn's baby shower at their mother's home in Kentwood, People reports. "We all sat in a circle and she opened gifts and thanked every person," said a guest. "It was just a good old-fashioned baby shower."http://www.newser.com/story/26566/britney-helps-jamie-lynn-celebrate.html?refid=rss_all_defaultThu, 26 Jun 2008 20:59:55 CDThttp://www.newser.com/story/25336/louisiana-pockets-ban-on-droopy-drawers.html?refid=rss_all_defaultA proposed ban on saggy pants didn’t fly in Louisiana, where a Senate panel rejected the legislation as a violation of freedom of speech, reports the Times-Picayune . “This is a situation that is disgusting and needs state attention,” insisted the state senator pushing the bill. “I have the right to walk down the street and not see your dirty drawers.”http://www.newser.com/story/25336/louisiana-pockets-ban-on-droopy-drawers.html?refid=rss_all_defaultThu, 26 Jun 2008 20:59:55 CDThttp://www.newser.com/story/24468/senator-wont-testify-in-dc-madam-case.html?refid=rss_all_defaultLouisiana Sen. David Vitter will be spared an embarrassing trip to the witness stand in the trial of Deborah Palfrey, the so-called “DC Madam,” CQ Politics reports. The defense and prosecution both rested today, with the defense declining to call any witnesses. The Republican lawmaker, who has admitted using Palfrey’s service, was on the defense’s witness list.http://www.newser.com/story/24468/senator-wont-testify-in-dc-madam-case.html?refid=rss_all_defaultThu, 26 Jun 2008 20:59:55 CDThttp://www.newser.com/story/23039/supreme-court-stands-pat-on-fbi-raid-of-reps-office.html?refid=rss_all_defaultThe Supreme Court declined today to hear an appeal of a ruling that the FBI violated separation-of-powers law in a 2006 raid on the office of Rep. William Jefferson, the New York Times reports. Though the raid itself was not unconstitutional, an appeals court found, the FBI went too far in allowing agents to look through the Louisiana Democrat's documents.http://www.newser.com/story/23039/supreme-court-stands-pat-on-fbi-raid-of-reps-office.html?refid=rss_all_defaultThu, 26 Jun 2008 20:59:55 CDT