Day145 Friday 01/21/11

ran 3.3 miles

• Louisiana, my home state, was the eighteenth state to join the union on April 30, 1812, four years before Indiana and nine years after Ohio.

• Population, as of 2009, is 4,492,076.

• Senators are Mary Landrieu (D) and David Vitter (R).

• Representatives are Steve Scalise (R), Cedric Richmond (D), Jeff Landry (R), John Fleming (R), Rodney Alexander (R), Bill Cassidy (R), and Charles Boustany (R).

• Louisiana has eight electoral votes. Historically, like many southern states that had seceded from the union during the Civil War, Louisiana voted Democratic from Reconstruction through World War II. Although Louisiana is viewed as solidly Republican today, the state has voted blue five times and twice for third-party candidates since 1948. Louisiana has been a red state since the 2000 presidential election. In 2008 McCain beat Obama by a margin of 59% to 40%.

Louisiana Representative Jeff Landry (R) deserves much recognition. A couple days ago he signed documentation to refuse the government subsidized elite medical benefits all Congressional members receive from the wallets of taxpayers. Expressing that he did not want to be a hypocrite and deserved nothing more than his constituents, he turned down his free elite health care and purchased his own. We need more men and women like this in Washington.

Cedric Richmond (D) was the only one of our seven Louisiana Representative to vote against the repeal of ObamaCare just a few days ago. Senator Mary Landrieu also ardently advocates ObamaCare.

1,702.2 miles to go.