Tag: Political football

"He has been around Louisiana politics since he was a boy," said Roy Fletcher, a political consultant and campaigner in Louisiana for 30 years whom Woodward worked for shortly after graduating from LSU with a political science degree in 1985. "He knows his way around Louisiana politics and has for a long time," Fletcher said Thursday. "That will serve him well as LSU's athletic director. Woodward, 55, was officially named to his new post on Thursday by LSU after serving as Texas A&M's athletic director beginning in January 2016 and as Washington's athletic director from 2008-16. Woodward held a similar job at Washington after Emmert left LSU to become president at his Washington alma mater in 2004 before Woodward became athletic director in 2008. Woodward's first job was for Baton Rouge Mayor Pat Screen, whom he previously worked for while in school and got to know another political operative of Screen destined for legendary status — James Carville, who would later lead Bill Clinton's campaign to president of the United States in 1991. Joe Alleva, whom Woodward will replace, was previously the athletic director at Duke and an assistant athletic director there. A Catholic High of Baton Rouge graduate in 1981, Woodward grew up near Tara High School, not far from LSU basketball coach Press Maravich's home. "He is astute and observant with the ability to evaluate people and showcase an outstanding business philosophy," Vetter said. Former LSU Board of Supervisors member Stanley Jacobs says Woodward knows all the players at LSU, and there are many at and around the school and the state who often do not work together.

Nobody wants an airplane to crash. Importantly, the Department of Transportation, the Federal Aviation Administration and the commercial aviation industry have worked diligently to prevent this from happening. We commend the leadership of the FAA, supported by the secretary of Transportation, for making the difficult decision to ground the 737 Max based on the initial data from the second crash, as well as data from the October crash. The FAA has grounded airliners only three times in 40 years. Automation will never be perfect Automation done right has a long history of improving safety, efficiency and reliability in aviation. When the automation is not perfect, what is the trigger for grounding? Should the grounding occur after only one event? Would a triggering event have to be a crash, or would a near-catastrophe suffice? Depending on whether signs of possible criminal misconduct are identified, the NTSB will turn the investigation over the FBI, as has been the practice for years. If evidence of possible criminal misconduct is discovered, then law enforcement can be called in.