Was it arrogance, fear of failure or an ingrained culture that resulted in Liquigas team member Manuel Beltran’s arrest and expulsion from the Tour de France after he tested positive for the performance-enhancing drug EPO? 

With the tour’s all-out war against doping, Beltran would have had to be extremely arrogant or an idiot to think he could outmaneuver the rigorous testing in place during the tour. As it was, the drug test that found erythropoietin, or EPO, was administered after the first stage on July 5. EPO is an artificial hormone that allows the blood to carry more oxygen, which enhances endurance.

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If money is the fuel that drives political machines, then incumbent U.S. Sen. Mary Landrieu still has a full tank. Although the Democrat isn’t releasing preliminary numbers, it’s likely that she out-raised her main GOP opponent, state Treasurer John Kennedy, since Jan. 1. Read the rest of this entry »

It’s never surprising when Democratic or Republican spin machines fire shrill volleys at one another’s candidates, but it’s unusual to see a party’s attack dogs going after a member of the media. That happened in Baton Rouge last week when the state Republican Party fired off a news release dissing TV station WBRZ for allegedly going easy on new Democratic Congressman Don Cazayoux. Read the rest of this entry »