| Good Morning, Thanksgiving is upon us. Families have the opportunity to hash out political differences over traditional foods. And Louisiana politicians have offered up this past week plenty of topics to go with the turkey. Republican state legislators are lining up against a Louisiana Health Department regulation that would require students to get vaccinated against COVID-19 — or submit a written dissent — to attend schools, daycares, and universities. The health department announced back in September its intention to add the vaccination against COVID-19 to the list of required inoculations. Nobody complained during the rulemaking process. Now GOP legislators from both chambers will have to hold hearings and affirmatively knock down the rule. Then, Democratic Gov. John Bel Edwards would have to agree, which he doesn't seem inclined to do, to stop the requirement from going into effect. U.S. Sen. John N. Kennedy slings “socialist” at anyone who disagrees with him. Last week he went after a Biden nominee who had actually been in a member of the Leninist Communist Young Union of the Russian Federation. Saule Omarova, who has been nominated as Comptroller of the Currency, was born and raised in Kazakhstan, now an independent republic that back in the day was part of the Soviet Union. The 55-year-old lawyer and professor at Cornell University was brought up by her grandmother because her entire immediate family had been sent to the gulags by Soviet authorities. Omarova immigrated to the U.S. 30 years ago and after receiving doctorate and law degrees worked for elite universities, a big New York law firm, and in the administration of Republican President George W. Bush. And yes, as a child Omarova was a member of a communist youth organization as were nearly all Soviet children. Kennedy drilled down on whether Omarova sent a formal resignation letter to the communists when she aged out of the group. She did not. In Louisiana, lines are being drawn for what could be brutal fights over how to draw the districts from which officials are elected. The Louisiana Legislature will be matching district lines to the latest U.S. Census data. The joint House and Senate committees in charge of drawing the maps are in the midst of a statewide tour to educate the public and gather their opinions. Positions are expected to harden as a special February redistricting session approaches. And state education leaders, including former chairs of the BESE, are wondering aloud what might be happening to the future of public schools as the superintendent in charge of administration and the head of the policy-setting Board of Elementary and Secondary Education square off over the handling of no-bid contracts. Our best Black Friday special is happening now. For a limited time, a yearly subscription to local journalism that matters is only $1.73/week. Click here to subscribe. https://subscribe.nola.com/defaultnolanding?ofrgp_id=197&g2i_source=blackfridayredirect&g2i_medium=newsletter_copy As always, check throughout the day for the latest Louisiana political news at theadvocate.com/politics or NOLA.com/politics and on Twitter at @MarkBallardCNB, @tegbridges, @samkarlin, @blakepater, @WillSentell. Here are a dozen articles, commentaries and editorials that will catch you up for the week to come. One last item: Thank you to our subscribers. Your support means a great deal to us. If you're not yet a subscriber, we’ve got a special offer you can check out here. – Mark Ballard | 
