Friday March 12, 2010

Mississippi Political News

Budget realities

Ray Mosby, editor and publisher of the Deer Creek Pilot in Rolling Fork and one of the best columnists in the state, wrote an excellent piece last week on how to fix the problems with the federal deficit. His point was simply to do the math. No matter what one thinks or believes politically, the mathematical reality is the mathematical reality. Here are some excerpts from Mosby`s comments: "I ...

Thursday March 11, 2010 7:23PM | clarionledger.com

Air Haley

If there is a cheaper way to effectively promote the state, I`m sure the governor will find it. I read the comments written in response to the article by Elizabeth Crisp regarding the use of the state`s airplane, and it was obvious to me that some people are unaware of how important it is for the governor to be "out there" representing Mississippi. The guy is our salesman. That ...

Tuesday March 9, 2010 5:16PM | clarionledger.com

Jackson 2000 honors two for service

It was a pleasure to see two great Mississippians honored Saturday by Jackson 2000 at its annual Friendship Ball. Dr. Aaron Shirley and Bishop Duncan Gray Jr. have given lifetime service to improving health — physical and spiritual — and promoting racial reconciliation in Mississippi. They are truly Mississippi heroes who deserve our thanks and recognition.

Monday March 8, 2010 10:49PM | clarionledger.com

Animal cruelty bill

The death of a bill that would have made abuse of dogs and cats a felony died Tuesday. The House Agriculture Committee, chaired by Rep. Greg Ward, D-Ripley, did not act on it. After watching the Legislature more than 30 years, few things surprise me, but this one did. It was incredibly dumb. Bad policy. Bad politics. There was nothing to be gained by anybody in killing it. There was paranoid oppos ...

Thursday March 4, 2010 1:07AM | clarionledger.com

Education still packs political punch

The gravity of Mississippi’s budget situation is beginning sink in with voters. People understand budget pressures when they hit their local schools, which has begun. Make no mistake: It is serious and it will affect the quality of your child’s education. If there is any consolation, education still packs a political punch at the Capitol. It is the only issue Gov. Haley Barbour appears ...

Monday March 1, 2010 8:21PM | clarionledger.com

Barbour veto

The Senate vote Thursday to sustain Gov. Haley Barbour’s veto of a compromise bill to restore funding to the current state budget does not bode well for the future of dealing with the fiscal crisis.The bill was designed to offset some of the budget cuts Barbour was forced to make. House and Senate fiscal leaders had compromised on a plan that avoided using the the state rainy day fund, a mov ...

Thursday February 25, 2010 10:32PM | clarionledger.com

Correcting Corrections

Corrections Commissioner Chris Epps has a problem. He has to deal with the worst that society offers, maintain public safety and still remain fiscally responsible. Corrections is a very costly part of the state budget. In this tough budget year, Epps has had to tell the sheriffs and county officials that he has no money to pay counties for housing state inmates. The counties have come to rely on t ...

Wednesday February 24, 2010 5:17PM | clarionledger.com

Tribute to Patti

The bare fact of the obituary is that Mrs. Patti Finley died of cancer on Thursday the 18th of February. It was her birthday. She was fifty. I found that surprising considering that she never looked her age, even the last time I saw her just a few days before she died. Patti and I became aquainted about fifteen years ago. The first thing that I noticed about her was her enthusiasm. Even whe ...

Tuesday February 23, 2010 4:10PM | clarionledger.com

Bipartisanship

There is a good Associated Press piece today about how moderates are bailing out of Congress, following up on Sen. Evan Bayh`s announcement last week that he would not seek reelection. Bayh expressed frustration in the partisanship that hinders progress on difficult issues. The article points out that he is just one of several pragmatic moderates who are going home, rather than continue in ...

Wednesday February 17, 2010 5:30PM | clarionledger.com

Voter ID

State Republican Party leaders are congratulating themselves on their successful effort to gather signatures for a statewide referendum on voter ID. Of course, the state would already have a voter ID law if a group of Republicans had not killed it in the Legislature last session. All the hand-wringing about voter fraud is all so much cynical political hype. Voter ID has always been about galvanizi ...

Friday February 12, 2010 7:29PM | clarionledger.com

Mississippi Remixed

I attended the advance preview Monday night of the new documentary "Mississippi Remixed," which is an interesting examination of complex issue of race relations in this state. It is the story of Myra Williams Ottewell, who was born in Jackson, but has lived her adult life in Canada. When faced with questions about Mississippi in a classroom setting brought on by the movie "Mississip ...

Tuesday February 9, 2010 9:17PM | clarionledger.com

Bipartisan cooperation? You kidding?

I give points to congressional Republicans for inviting President Obama to have a frank talk with them and the president for doing just that. It was a rare public exchange. But Obama is a little naive if he thinks the GOP is going to support any of his health care ideas, the budget or anything else for that matter. The election talking points have been set and they aren’t going to change. So ...

Monday February 1, 2010 8:58PM | clarionledger.com

State of the Union

President Obama`s State of the Union address was honest and straightforward, but that is not really what voters always want to hear. Overall, it wasn`t a downer, when it could have been, considering the ongoing economic problems, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and a Congress foundering in partisan muck with major initiatives like health care reform. I liked some of his proposals and didn ...

Thursday January 28, 2010 4:33PM | clarionledger.com

I’ve-got-mine politics

I took off last week. Boy, was it a killer. The Supreme Court wrecks the campaign financing system, Massachusetts voters wreck national health care reform and the Mississippi budget — well it is a wreck.The U.S. Supreme Court ruling taking away restrictions on corporate financing in campaigns is devastating. The special-interest influence is bad as it is; this will make it worse. The election ...

Wednesday January 27, 2010 8:29PM | clarionledger.com

A modest proposal

In a turn of events, a widely-used and highly-respected polling group found that the majority of Mississippians are mostly concerned about economic development and jobs. This differs from previous polls where education has ranked as the issue most concerning the state`s citizens.This seems to reflect the sorry state of the economy in general and job losses statewide.My modest proposal is that ...

Wednesday January 20, 2010 4:38PM | clarionledger.com

Smoking bill

I haven`t checked the Mississippi Legislature`s bill list this year to determine the top 10 dumb bills, but a Facebook friend pointed out one that surely is near the top of that list. Rep. John Moore, R-Brandon, has filed a bill to prevent cities that restrict smoking from receiving sales tax revenue from the sale of tobacco. I hope there wasn`t too much staff time or paper wasted on t ...

Wednesday January 13, 2010 6:18PM | clarionledger.com

Animal abuse

The firing of a Canton animal control officer after accusations that he may have shot dogs and cats and dumped them again points to the need for state law making animal abuse a felony. http://www.clarionledger.com/article/20100107/NEWS/1070354/Fired+official+accused+of+shooting+animalsAlonzo Esco has been fired, but not charged. He is accused of mishandling animals. Authorities say the investigati ...

Thursday January 7, 2010 4:12PM | clarionledger.com

Health care

I finally agree with the Republicans on something involving health care reform. The Democratic leadership is wrong, dead wrong, to proceed to fast-track a health care reform bill behind closed doors. GOP leaders are right to be upset, as should all Americans — Democratic or Republican, for it or against it. Health care reform will impact every American and every American has a right to see and h ...

Wednesday January 6, 2010 10:14PM | clarionledger.com

Smoke-free

North Carolina has joined 26 other states in banning smoking in restaurants and bars. This is especially notable since North Carolina is a tobacco-growing state that has a political and social culture favorable to tobacco. It really shows how the public opinion tide is turning on this issue. Several Mississippi cities are moving with their own tobacco-free ordinances, but some are weak or poorly e ...

Thursday December 31, 2009 6:38PM | clarionledger.com

Charlie Capps

Former state Rep. Charles Capps Jr. of Cleveland died on Christmas Day. Chairman Capps was long-time chairman of the House Appropriations Committee and, because of that position, was one of the most powerful state legislators in the past three decades. I think veteran political columnist Bill Minor said it best in commenting that Capps had "control over the money, but never tried to throw h ...