About

In 1999, veteran political journalist John Copes started a website that reporters, pundits and readers would soon come to know well – deductbox.com. Political websites and blogs are common today, but almost ten years ago Copes had begun something no one else in Louisiana had done: a brilliantly written, delightfully irreverent and immensely informative compilation of the trials, tribulations and foibles of politicians and politics in Louisiana.

Copes was fair but pulled no punches, equally skewering politicians of all stripes and ideologies. Journalists, readers and even politicians themselves came to rely on Copes’ unique coverage of all things political in our state. The site, named after the mythical “deduct box” in which Governor Huey Long allegedly stashed his fortune in kickbacks from state employees, soon had thousands of hits each day, not just from Louisiana readers but from all over the country.

Sadly, Copes was diagnosed with colorectal cancer in 2000, and passed away in 2006. It is in his honor and the spirit of his webpage, deductbox.com, that we introduce the reduct box. We will report on politics in the tradition of the Deductbox and Copes’ excellent reporting. The reduct box will be updated three times a day, and will keep readers informed on the ins and outs of Louisiana politics. We will work to make this website a clearinghouse for Louisiana politics – and try to have a little fun, as well.