Conservative Belle

MS Legislature: Where are your priorities?

2010-03-05T11:02:00.004-06:00

Every year the Mississippi Legislature enters into their session, they have a stack of legislation to review and approve. However, if you ever take a look at the bills and resolutions proposed, you might wonder how anything of substance gets accomplished.

In such difficult economic times, with state revenues lower than they have been in years and no sign of improvement predicted for a while, you would think each one of them would be focused on the budget solutions. Of course, if you asked each one of them, they would tell you quickly that it is their number one concern during this session (and the last one, and the one before that, etc...). Pardon my skepticism, but the legislators' actions are speaking so loudly, I can hardly hear a word they are saying. They spend hours each session recognizing various guests in the galleries. They pass meaningless resolutions commending this or that. And they probably spend more time arguing about hunting and gaming laws, than they do any other legislation of substance.

So, I have a solution for the Mississippi Legislature (because apparently if you become a lawmaker, problems don't get solved, just "managed"). Here it is, plain and simple.

Set some priorities in the rules of the legislature. In order, bills should be addressed as follows:

Emergency legislation (i.e., Hurricane Katrina response bills)

Proposed changes to legislative rules and procedures

Appropriations and Budget legislation.

Constitutional Amendments

Laws

Resolutions

But wait. There's more. Each step is dependent upon the completion of the other. So you cannot pass any legislation, until the previous items are completed. Committees can meet on legislation, but it will never come up for a floor vote until all previous measures on the priority list have been passed.

For example, Senator So-and-So may want to pass a bill that strengthens the stalking laws and protects women. Obviously, this is a good idea and needed. However, Senator So-and-So's pet legislation won't even get a nod, until the appropriations bills for every agency have been approved and sent to the governor for signature.

Yes, this is drastic, but I think it is motivational. You want a bill passed that gives you an extended hunting season, then you might pressure your representative to get that budget passed so other items can be considered. If your legislator wants to be re-elected, he'll get that done first, so he can make you happy by introducing your hunting legislation and earning your vote. EARNING YOUR VOTE. What a concept.

No more resolutions honoring 30 year lobbyists, the team that won some state championship in a sport, or requests to have sovereignty restored can even be introduced until their priorities have been completed.

This is why they are elected. This is why they serve (allegedly). This is why we pay them. We should demand nothing less.

No more extended sessions or special sessions costing the taxpayers more money because they didn't meet their objectives. Any private sector company that had an employee who continued to miss their project deadlines and cost the company profits would be fired. The legislature should take note of that. So should taxpayers.

April 3rd is sine die, the end of this general session of the Mississippi Legislature. Take a look for yourselves. With all of those bills still not dead, most of the ones that have been approved for signature or due back from the governor are resolutions honoring someone or something. They have less than a month to pass all the budgetary bills and substantial legislation. Less than a month.

So, you tell me. Do you think the MS Legislature is going to pass all the appropriations bills in the general session this year? Do you think Governor Barbour will sign them all? Do you think this will be a repeat performance of last year, with repeated special sessions, costing the taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars that the state does not have?

I predict they will be returning to Jackson more than once before June 30th. I predict they will grandstand and point fingers and still get nothing of substance accomplished. I predict the taxpayers will once again be fed up with the repeated nonsense.

MS Legislature: It is time to manage the State's priorities or be voted out. Change the way you conduct business or be fired at the polls in 2011 for being utterly incompetent.

Knock, Knock! Anyone thinking?

2010-02-07T17:17:00.001-06:00

Are you as tired as I am of all the "campaign" commercials for the new St. Dominic hospital in Madison.    There are ads and people are talking about it.        It is a bunch of money being spent over something that we should not have to spend any money at all over.

Want to know how to solve the problem?     Get rid of the Certificate of Need Process.      Don't think about it.    Don't even vote on it.      Just put it in file 13.

Why should the government have anything to say about whether or not our area needs a hospital at all?      If the government stayed out of it then the hospital would build where it was needed.     It wouldn't build in a place where it wouldn't be profitable because hospitals are like anything else.   They are a business and their goal is to make money too.

Certificate of Need.      Pssshhh.    Just one more way for the government to waste time and money instead of focusing on important things.

SuperBowl Commercial Being Censored

2010-01-25T17:40:00.000-06:00

Focus on the Family has purchased a 30 second commercial for the SuperBowl.    It hasn't even aired yet and the National Organization for Women has its panties all in a wad about it.

The commercial features Tim Tebow and his mother, Pam.   Pam recounts the story of her pregnancy with Tim in 1987.      After she became very ill she was advised by doctors to have an abortion.     Obviously she refused their recommendations and Tim was born 9 months later.

There are all sorts of commercials that are aired during the SuperBowl.     A good part of the time we have to change the channel because of the amount of sex and alcohol that is used to sell products.     However, despite the critics, I am glad that there will be at least one commercial that promotes family values from a family that actually lives them.

Obama Embraces Wildfires but those Mean Republicans Oppose Such Heated Talks

2009-10-13T10:15:00.001-05:00

Heh.

Obama To Enter Diplomatic Talks With Raging Wildfire

Funniest BO Cartoon About Nobel Peace Prize

2009-10-10T10:42:00.000-05:00

Can you imagine the editorial cartoonist just drooling the day that Barack Obama was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize? Talk about prime fodder for their pen and ink!

This is one of my favorite editorial cartoons:

View More Here

Why I Started Homeschooling

2009-09-23T23:09:00.000-05:00

I realize that the majority of the posts in this blog are political in nature, but one of my reasons for choosing to homeschool my children this year was also political in nature.

If you haven't seen this widely circulated video, you should.

"Equal work for equal pay?"

”Red and yellow; black and white…they are equal in his sight”… Ummm... I do believe that is a Sunday School song and it was NOT talking about Obama. It was talking about JESUS CHRIST!

Pre-Algebra, Greek/Latin, English &Grammar, American History, Science.... that is an education. I am not sure what those children were doing.

And that is just one of the reasons why my boys are NOT in public school anymmore.

Obama lies at AFL-CIO speech on health care reform

2009-09-08T10:12:00.003-05:00

Yesterday, President Obama gave a health-care reform speech at an AFL-CIO picnic. During his speech, the President speaks in great length about his opponents on the subject. However, in typical fashion, he spins his rhetoric to suggest that those who oppose the 1100-page reform plans proposed by the progressives of his party, are against health care reform. He paints Republicans and all of his critics as heartless and greedy people who want people without insurance to die and maintain the status quo. He even goes so far to ask - "Where is your solution to health reform?" Then boldly declares that his opposition doesn't have any solutions. [You can view his speech here - go to about 2 minutes in the video to get to the aforementioned strawman.]

WRONG. WRONG. WRONG. The President is either clueless or being deliberately deceptive. I suspect it is the latter. But this is what happens when you have the bully pulpit. You can label the opposition as the "Party of No" and no one in the media will dare question it.

Here are at least four plans proposed by members of the Senate which do not include a public option.

S. 391 The Healthy Americans Act - Proposed by Senators Bennett (R-UT) and Wyden (D-OR).

S. 1324 The Health Care Freedom Act - Proposed by Senator DeMint (R-SC).

S. 1099 The Patients' Choice Act - Introduced by Senators Coburn (R-OK) and Burr (R-SC). This bill also includes support from members of the House.

Coverage, Prevention, Reform (CPR) - A plan suggested by Senator Gregg (R-NH). [Note: At present, I found no legislation proposed by Gregg with this plan included.]

A staff source for the Senate Republicans informs me there is another proposal being worked on presently by Senators Hatch (R-UT), Kyl (R-AZ), Cornyn (R-TX), Ensign (R-NV), and Barrasso (R-WY). I am told that this plan has more state-based reform, which would encourage states to make needed reforms in a way that isn’t “one size fits all.”

There are also several pieces of legislation in the House, put forth by the Republican Study Committee. These bills have been consolidated under the Empowering Patients First Act.

What's that? You had no idea there were all these proposals out there? Most people don't. The media and the Democrats have a strange way of sheltering us from the truth - for our own good, of course.

In the coming weeks (assuming legislation isn't passed quickly), I will attempt to break down each of the proposals and highlight things that will truly reform our nation's health care. In the meanwhile, I recommend watching some of the video clips from the Senate Doctors Show. Drs. Coburn and Barrasso talk with people in the medical industry (and the public) and listen to their concerns. It is very enlightening.

Kennedy's Legacy

2009-08-26T13:54:00.000-05:00

Senator Edward "Ted" Kennedy passed away during the night.     It is being covered on every television station, radio station and internet network.     Video montages are being put together of his life's work.

Our President hailed him this morning as "one of the greatest senators of our time".     I find that to be such a sad statement and commentary on our Country.    Why?    Because Senator Kennedy's legacy is one that will affect this Nation is such negative ways.

Although Senator Kennedy began his political career as a proponent for pro-life and traditional family values, money and politics soon corrupted his ethics and moral leanings.    His most recent political activities were in the areas of abortion rights, same-sex 'marriage' and the pushing of the homosexual agenda in our public schools.

I grieve with the family of Senator Kennedy in the loss of someone they loved so much, but I also grieve for the sad legady which Senator Kennedy left behind when he could have done so much more.

Tidbits of News Across Mississippi

2009-08-25T12:15:00.005-05:00

This is just a short set of links to highlight some positive bits of news about our state.

1) Mississippi SAT scores rank higher than the national average. (Note: Most MS students take the ACT for in-state universities.)

2) Mississippi is FINALLY making progress in the implementation of a state-wide radio communications system. Lack of centralized, standardized and reliable communications was the weakest link in the response to Hurricane Katrina.

3) Mississippi is retiree-friendly! We have inexpensive property and low taxes on income and property (except for the stinking car tags).

4) While I couldn't be more politically opposite of Congressman Bennie Thompson (D-MS), at least he was willing to have a town hall meeting in his district and he defended the character of our citizens. Contrarily, his counterpart in the northern part of the state, Rep. Travis Childers, was not so brave.

First District Rep. Travis Childers, D-Booneville, held a town hall teleconference last week with more than 7,200 listeners. On Saturday, more than 300 protesters rallied in front of his Tupelo office.

Childers told The Associated Press that he held the town hall meeting by teleconference, rather than in person, because it was the most effective way to speak directly to a large number of people.

Thompson said he was not worried that things would become hostile at his meetings.

"We have good people in this state, and part of the democratic process is to hear from the people," he said.

5) SEC college football is right around the corner. YAY!

[Editorial comment: I think it stinks that the SEC will not allow any kind of social media to be used to transmit game information. What a dumb ruling. This means you can't sit in the Vaught-Hemingway stadium and send a Twitter message from your smart phone with the game score and some smack down talk, to your Bulldog friend who is pouting at home watching it on the big screen.]

TARP, CARS and Delays

2009-08-25T12:04:00.001-05:00

On October 3, 2008, the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) was signed into law. By October 28, 2008, $115 billion had been distributed to its recipients. It took just a little over three weeks to dole out 15% of the funds.

On June 24, 2009, the Car Allowance Rebate System (CARS) aka "Cash for Clunkers" was signed into law. The Cash for Clunkers program, funded with $1 billion, began on July 1, 2009 but ran out of appropriated funds by July 30th. On August 7th, Congress pumped another $2 billion into the program. However nearly seven weeks since the program began, the reimbursement to auto dealers has been slow - an estimated 8% of claims have been reimbursed.

The Transportation Department said yesterday it had handled about 37 percent dealer requests submitted. The agency didn’t say how many of the processed transactions have been paid out and how many were rejected or sent back for further information.

Some $145 million, or less than 8 percent, had been paid out to dealers as of Aug. 20, a senior administration official said on a call with reporters.

Lots of reasons have been given for the delays, including a flawed computer system, an overwhelming number of claims, lack of trained staff, dealer errors on claims filed and lack of preparation time for the program by all parties involved. All of these are valid issues. But it leads to a number of questions.

How can our government successfully dole out $115 billion in three weeks to banks but can only process less than $240 million in seven weeks to auto dealers?

Why has the Obama administration refused to release the details of the purchases in CARS?

Could the difference be the ROI of lobbying efforts is far superior for the bank industry? There's nothing like a "little" campaign donation to grease the wheels a bit faster, right?

So the program has now officially ended. While the response was great for auto sales, we still do not know if the vehicles purchased through the program are indeed better for the environment, better on fuel economy and better for the tax payers. Let's hope the dealers get reimbursed soon and the Cash for Clunkers data gets released so we can find out.

Which Senate Democrats Object to a Single-Payer System?

2009-08-17T07:08:00.006-05:00

As I understand it, the Senate has 60 Democrats, which makes them filibuster-proof from the majority party perspective. So why are the Democrats now saying that single-payer is not a deal breaker on the health care reform bill being developed in the Senate Finance Committee? They are claiming they do not have the votes needed to pass the legislation in the Senate with single payer in it and it is a 'wasted effort.'

In the South, we label that kind of behavior - "crawfishing."

So I want to know who the "crawfish" are. Which of the 60 Democrats is unwilling to vote for the single-payer system that they said was the key to fix our economic problems and urgently needed? Which of the 60 Democrats is refusing to carry out the single-payer intent of the Obama administration? Which of the 60 Democrats is willing to betray the Democrat base? And why?

How long before the single-payer supporters in the Democrat Party begin disagreeing with this change of rhetoric? There is never a shortage of finger-pointing in the Beltway. Why the silence? When are they going to start telling us who the traitor is? How long before they let Moveon.org know so they can start running attack ads in that Senator's state?

If they are truly concerned about health care reform and believe a single-payer system is the answer, why aren't they shoving back against the town hall protests and the GOP criticism? Is there some chance that a few of those 60 Democrats fear they won't be re-elected in 2010 if they support it? That would certainly support the politics as usual notion, now wouldn't it?

Senator George Voinovich - Sir, You are No Gentleman

2009-07-29T04:50:00.003-05:00

Yesterday, I was sent a link to this post by John Hawkins of RightWingNews. Senator George Voinovich (R-OH) berates Southerners, blames Senators who aren't even in GOP leadership for party woes and apparently he finds Southern speech patterns disdainful.

Too many conservative senators like Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) and Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) are to blame for the GOP's downfall, one of their retiring Republican colleagues complained Monday.

"We got too many Jim DeMints and Tom Coburns," Sen. George Voinovich (R-Ohio) told the Columbus Dispatch. "It's the southerners."

Voinovich, a native Clevelander who retires after the 2010 election, continued after the southern elements of the GOP.

"They get on TV and go 'errrr, errrrr,'" he said. "People hear them and say, 'These people, they're southerners. The party's being taken over by southerners. What they hell they got to do with Ohio?'"

I won't be repetitious and elaborate on the same points that Hawkins makes. Hawkins is right, Voinovich is wrong. Go read it. However, I do wish to elaborate on his mockery of Southerners.

I take offense to Voinovich blaming Southerners for any perceived GOP downfall or disarray. If Voinovich is going to have a blame-storming session against his peers, perhaps he should state why he takes issue with Southerners of the Republican Party. Let him declare which legislation, votes and/or actions that he finds offensive from Senators DeMint (R-SC) and Coburn (R-OK). Don't be ambiguous and instead make comments which mock a particular speech pattern or vernacular.

Speaking of speech patterns, here is the less than eloquent Voinovich saying "uh, uh" and stuttering repeatedly in a television interview. Scroll to 1:15 seconds and again to 3:44 and again to 4:48 to hear him sounding "Southern."

So, why didn't Voinovich say these things about Southerners like Governor Haley Barbour (R-MS) when he was RNC chairman? Why didn't Voinovich refuse campaign contributions from these embarrassing people who say err, err on television and reside geographically below the Mason-Dixon line? I guess our support and our financial donations are good enough for him, but we shouldn't speak on television and give the people of Ohio the impression that someone with a Southern accent could be staging a political party takeover.

And in case Senator Voinovich (R-OH) hasn't been paying attention, there are liberal Southerners too. But I suppose if a Senator who has a "D" behind his/her name they are allowed a pass for their manner of speaking. Here's a thought. What if the Democrats become overrun by those dang rednecks?! Oh no! Everybody panic. I bet DNC leadership would welcome any Southern elected official with open arms if they wanted to defect from the GOP. At least THEY wouldn't publicly declare in a condescending manner that politicians with a Southern accent might dare to effect policy in Ohio, God forbid.

To Senator Voinovich, I would say this. While Southerners talk slower, have thick accents and maybe even cling to our guns and bibles, we can at least be gracious and hospitable to our friends from the North. But when you insult us in some uppity and hypocritical manner and accuse us of frightening Republicans with our colloquialisms and dialect, then Sir, you are no gentleman. And we will err, err, call you on it.

You Want the Truth?

2009-06-17T10:27:00.008-05:00

You can't handle the truth.

Evidence of election fraud and vote tampering in Iran. No wonder these people are outraged.

Curtsy to: [redacted] Twitter member who lives in Tehran

Palin Should Be Proud and Honored by Letterman Comparisons

2009-06-15T07:11:00.000-05:00

Michelle Malkin recently wrote a compelling letter to David Letterman about his hypocritical comments and his poor excuses following the backlash of his insults to Palin's daughter. First, let me confess that I do not watch Letterman's show because I am seldom awake at that hour. When I was in junior high, I thought he was pretty funny. I probably didn't understand much of his satire at that age, admittedly. Regardless, I wouldn't have found his remarks about Governor Sarah Palin and her daughters amusing.

What enlightened me in Malkin's piece was not the often expressed discontent about Letterman's "comic FAIL" regarding Palin's daughter and the sexual connotations. No, I didn't even have to go there because it should be fairly obvious to anyone that the "jokes" were in poor taste and disrespectful and WRONG. What Malkin brought to my attention was something I didn't realize - Letterman's long history of comparisons with Palin's appearance and working-class women.

Over the past year, Letterman has displayed his sexist, elitist stripes in jibe after jibe aimed at Palin. Taken cumulatively, Letterman's mockery is about much more than expressing contempt for the popular GOP governor. It's a handy device to deride a broad class of working-class and middle-class women he holds in contempt:

"You know, she reminds me, she looks like the flight attendant who won't give you a second can of Pepsi. No, you've had enough. We're landing. Looks like the waitress at the coffee shop who draws a little smiley face on your check. Have a nice day."

"She looks like the dip sample lady at Safeway. She looks like the nurse who weighs you and then makes you sit alone in your underwear for 20 minutes. She looks like the Olive Garden hostess who says, 'I'm sorry, your table isn't ready yet.' She looks like the infomercial lady who says she made $64,000 a month flipping condos."

"She looks like the lady at the bakery who yells out '44! 45!' She looks like a real estate agent whose picture you see on the bus stop bench. That's who she looks like. She looks like the lady who has a chain of cupcake stores."

In November 2008, Letterman told tanking CBS News anchor Katie Couric that he was "aroused" by Palin. In March 2009, Letterman attacked Bristol and snickered about her being "knocked up" again.

So here is where I take real issue.

I am a hard-working, middle-class woman in the work force. My occupation and my responsibilities are not relevant. But what is relevant is the honor to working women everywhere to be compared to a successful female governor - regardless of political party. Politics is a tough game, and it should be obvious that few women have taken a national spotlight in that arena. These trends are changing slowly, but identity politics is important. Ask Hillary Clinton. Ask Geraldine Ferraro. Ask Senator Kay Bailey-Hutchinson. Ask Hawaii's Governor Linda Lingle. Or maybe just ask your locally elected female politician. So if someone makes an attempt at comparing me to just one of these ladies, not based on party ideology but because we are all successful in our field, then I'm honored.

But Letterman intended his remarks to be insulting to Palin, right? So if he compares her looks to that of a teller at a bank or a school librarian, he means it to be insulting to Palin. Am I getting his attempt at humor here? Was it an attempt to belittle Governor Palin by comparing her role as Governor and her appearance to be that of a "common" working class "babe"? Because if that was his intent, he FAILED, in epic proportions.

Malkin is right. What Letterman instead accomplished was to successfully demean working-class women across this country, in a snide and deceptive way. Not by comparing them to Palin, but by attempting to insult Palin through his multiple comparisons to her in his weird attempts at comedy. He suggested that a woman's appearance and her success at whatever her occupation, can somehow be used acceptably to berate another successful, hard-working woman, with whom he holds great animosity toward her political platform. Of course, this type of "humor" is only selectively applied.

Now don't get me wrong. I'm not suggesting censorship for Letterman or that Palin is off limits on his television show. What I am suggesting, however, is that women should be aware of Letterman's misogynistic leanings in his remarks. And that Governor Palin should be proud of those very comparisons to hard-working, middle class women everywhere. What an honor!

Textbook Theft Scam Busted

2009-06-09T09:08:00.004-05:00

It seems some Louisiana gals ripped off nearly 4,000 textbooks from Barnes & Noble stores all over the Gulf Coast area, including Mississippi. Then they sold them for cash at a used bookstore.

Heaven forbid, they would ever bother to read a textbook and try to end a life of crime. How sad.

How Does Mississippi Conduct Fair Elections?

2009-06-09T08:39:00.003-05:00

We draw names, of course. Or numbers. This is as good as it gets, folks.

The Gardener and the Veteran

2009-05-07T09:52:00.005-05:00

WLOX reporter, Brad Kessey shares a great story about a man determined to exercise his vote in the municipal elections in Gulfport, MS on Tuesday. Please go take the time to read it. It should

On a more personal note, four years ago I helped a man in his nineties vote curb side from his daughter's truck. He told me that he has never once missed an election and he would continue to vote as long as he had breath in his body. He was a veteran and he told me he felt it was his duty to be involved in the decisions made by government, even in a local run-off election for a school board member. He was barely able to color in the circles on the ballot with the pencil, but he wouldn't leave until he completed his mission. His daughter was so very proud of him. I was too.

I was amazed at his fortitude and I have never forgotten his story. And at every election cycle, I remember him. When I'm in my nineties, I want to have the same testimony about my voting record. Do you?

I Need My Smith County Watermelons and Tomato Sandwiches!

2009-04-13T22:58:00.002-05:00

First it was green onions, then peanut butter and now pistachios. If truth be told, there were probably a few others thrown in between. Of course, I am referring to foods that cause food poisoning. We are all aware of them. Just this weekend my sister warned her mother-in-law not to eat pistachios because it was the "new" food not to eat.

So it is not surprising that a few in Congress have decided to sit around and doodle and rewrite the original HR Bill 759 into the new even more ridiculous HR 875 bill .

Do you enjoy raising a garden every summer so you can put up fresh vegetables for your family?

Do you enjoy hunting so you can have fresh meat in your freezer?

If this bill passes, you could be considered a criminal if you grow vegetables in your backyard. It could be illegal if you share a summer fresh tomato with your neighbor... forget that... if you even grow a tomato! No more farmer's markets. No more roadside truck sales. No more Smith County watermelons!

The public is starting to stand and taking notice of this bill because of what it means for the everyday person. However, in reality there are probably very few in Congress who probably even know about this bill and when it arrives on the floor they will vote based on the good old method of "How are you voting?" decision making process.

We need to contact our members at 202-224-3121 and ask them to oppose HR 875 and S 425. While you are at it ask them if they personally have read the legislation and what their position is? If they have not read the legislation ask them to read it and politely let them know that just because other representitives are not reading the legislation and voting on it does not mean they can do the same.

Also, find out who sits on your states agriculture and farming committee and contact them with your concerns.

The time to act is now. I seriously don't want to have to go to jail for a home grown tomato sandwich, but it just isn't summer without them.

Please, people, help a Mississippi girl out!

Our Bold and Intimidating US Navy

2009-04-13T13:54:00.003-05:00

Two of the three Navy vessels, that were in the Gulf of Aden to help rescue the hijacked merchant ship, were built in Mississippi. The USS Boxer and the USS Bainbridge once called Northrop-Grumman Shipyard in Pascagoula their home. We are very proud of all the servicemen and women who were involved in the brave rescue of Captain Phillips. Well done.

Something I noted when reading a related article today were some comments from another "pirate." [emphasis mine]

The pirates had appealed by satellite phone to other pirate groups to sail captive ships and hostages to the scene of the standoff, to put some pressure on the U.S. forces. But Guled Farah, who belongs to another pirate group that had hijacked a German ship last week, said that the presence of the U.S. vessels scared them off.
[...]
The only real deterrence for pirates, who netted tens of millions of dollars in ransoms last year, according to independent experts, is the threat of force. But military interventions often don't end as well as the U.S. operation. On Friday French forces swooped in to release a captured yacht and one of the five French hostages was killed in a firefight with pirates.

I was glad to see President Obama say this:

"We remain resolved to halt the rise of piracy in this region," Obama said. "To achieve that goal, we must continue to work with our partners to prevent future attacks, be prepared to interdict acts of piracy and ensure that those who commit acts of piracy are held accountable for their crimes."

Those are tall words and I hope he can get the cooperation of the U.N. and other countries to continue to assist with this goal.

Lobbyists Give Huge Return on Investment

2009-04-09T09:22:00.002-05:00

It pays to have friends in high places, if you buy some friends who know those movers and shakers. According to a study done at the University of Kansas, the return on investment is quite lucrative.

Big companies that spent hundreds of millions lobbying successfully for a tax break enacted in 2004 got a 22,000-percent return on that investment — proof that for those who can afford it, hiring a lobbyist can pay handsome dividends.

The figures, compiled by professors at the University of Kansas for a study to be released Thursday, offer a rarely seen glimpse of how the lobbying business works, and why — even as President Barack Obama vows to curb lobbyists' influence — the industry is booming as never before.

While the biggest recipients of influence were pharmaceutical companies and technology companies, no doubt those who were receiving stimulus money and bailout funds had similarly sent lobbyists to Washington to plea their case. In fact, according to a nonpartisan group who studied this, the TARP recipients got a whopping 258,449 percent ROI for the $114 million they forked out for political influence.

And of course, let's not forget all the politicians who resign and then work for lobbyist firms or the lobbyists who are extended family of current politicians and make out like bandits.

The system is terribly corrupt. It lends itself to unfair pay to play practices. When a politician can fly on a corporate jet for a couple of hours back to their home state and give an audience to paid lobbyists for the duration of the flight, but can't give the time for a phone call from a constituent, something is wrong. I understand that businesses have a right to have their voices heard. But are they only being heard because they can afford to host fundraisers for the re-election cause of the elected official?

I've given money to campaigns before and volunteered for campaigns for many high-level elected officials. Such low-scale participation has wielded little if any benefit for me, no matter how many hours of my time I gave. When I called upon them when I needed assistance, I got the run around and an eventual "he's just too busy to help out" response. Or worse, I called their Washington offices to express concern about legislation and to ask questions about where they stood on the bill, only to have a staffer speak to me in a "oh, it's one of those pesky constituents calling again" tone of voice and neglect to even ask me what part of his district I was in. Oh, but sometimes it produces a polite form letter response. Lucky me. So where is my 258,449 percent ROI?

Oh that's right. How could I forget? My ROI is in the form of a national debt that per capita likely exceeds my current annual salary and is then passed onto future generations who aren't even able to vote on the spending matters. Elected officials spend my ROI into oblivion helping out those who can afford paid lobbyists but can't manage their businesses effectively and then pay to influence for more hand-outs.

Why don't these businesses just stop paying for lobbying firms, donating to campaigns/PACs, hosting fundraisers and buying fancy dinners and instead invest that money into profitable and proven business strategies that are not dependent on government handouts? From a voter and a consumer's perspective, I don't think that is an unreasonable expectation.

A Special Thank You From a Soldier

2009-04-06T16:58:00.004-05:00

In lieu of buying a lot of gifts this past Christmas, I chose to purchase care packages from Soldiers' Angels for our soldiers serving overseas and donate them in honor of my friends and family. It was a very small gesture on my part, compared to their great sacrifices, but I wanted to do something. Imagine my surprise today when I received a thank you letter via email from a corporal who received one of the donations.

This soldier has a wife (living in another country), who does not have a DSN line on which to communicate and so the phone cards he received in the care packages were very helpful to him and her. This is his third deployment and he is so happy to have the phone cards to communicate with his family more often than the occasional email, as he did on his last two deployments. I'm so happy they are helpful to him and others.

I did not even expect that the donor email would be given to him and that any of the recipients would have a way to contact me. However, now knowing how helpful these were to him, I going to send some more. Maybe you can join me by going to the Soldiers' Angels store and finding a care package that suits your budget or maybe just some AT&T phone cards. You can honor your friends/family and honor our military and their families. It will be a blessing to you even if you never hear from them.

Mississippi Tax Day Tea Parties

2009-04-06T16:17:00.005-05:00

Tax Day Tea Parties are being organized all across Mississippi. Participants who wish to join others in protesting the out-of-control government spending may find a location and time for an area near them by clicking here. The Tax Day Tea Party on April 15 is focused on one theme: Repeal the Pork, Cut Taxes and Spending.

My Favorite Line From Obama's Speech

2009-03-25T20:43:00.000-05:00

"It took a couple of days because I like to know what I'm talking about before I speak."

I almost had to replace my computer after reading that little snippet from Obama's speech. No, I couldn't stomach watching the speech. After all, he had warmed up for his speech by appearing on "The Tonight Show", ESPN, and "60 Minutes". I didn't watch those either, but even after all the teaser commercials I had pretty much had enough.

However, I enjoyed watching the Twitter comments roll on my screen during his speech so when I saw that one sentence pop up I nearly howled with laughter. President Obama said that in response to the question of why it took him so long to express outrage over the AIG bonuses.

Hmmmm.... it took him a couple of days to form a response? Americans pretty much formed a response in 2 seconds. FAIL!

Charlie Rangel Thinks No One Cares About the AIG Bonus Language

2009-03-20T07:16:00.003-05:00

So I have taken some time this morning to read about the history of the "bonuses" for bailed out companies. In all fairness, Senator Chris Dodd (D-CT) is getting an unfair shake.

The public record shows Dodd authored an amendment that would have prevented "any bonus" being paid to top executives of firms getting bailout money. It was the White House and the Treasury Department that insisted Dodd's amendment be watered down to apply only to bonuses paid under agreements signed in the past five weeks. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner has taken public responsibility for that.

The Dodd Amendment was removed in the conference committee between the House and Senate on H.R. 1. The article I link above has a NUMBER of references which quote the Obama Administration as pressuring Dodd for the removal of his amendment. And the language which allowed the bonuses was added secretly by those in the conference committee. The members of the conference committee?

Democratic Senate members Daniel Inouye of Hawaii, Max Baucus of Montana and Harry Reid of Nevada and Democratic House members David Obey of Wisconsin, Charles Rangel of New York and Henry Waxman of California. No Republican lawmakers were among the conferees.

And now the blame game ensues. The Democrat finger-pointing has become unreal. Speaker Nancy Pelosi claims it is a Senate-White House issue and that members of Congress had NOTHING to do with it.

Asked to explain what her understanding was of how the looser language came to pass through Congress, Pelosi pointed back at the Senate and the Obama White House.

“This is Senate-White House language,” Pelosi said, referring to the now-radioactive provision. “That is what we are talking about here.

“If you want to talk about what happened in the Senate, go to the Senate and talk to them,” she added.

And Pelosi continuously denied that she or any other House Democrat signed off on the provision, even though the House eventually voted to agree to the conference report on the stimulus bill.

“This was never brought to conference,” she said. “This never came to the House side, and you can talk to any of our conferees. It’s a matter of fact and record.”

Is that right? No members of the House were in that conference committee? Well, let's just see about that.

Good ole Charlie Rangel (D-NY) can always be counted on for putting his proverbial foot in his mouth and he ends up contradicting the Speaker.

Democrats brushed aside GOP complaints. House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Charles Rangel (D-N.Y.) dismissed the idea that an outraged public cared who might have changed the wording of the 1,100-page stimulus bill at the last minute, saying, “Nobody back home is asking about the conference report.”

Would that be the conference report that Pelosi says never was seen by House members? Didn't they vote on that before it went to the President?

Oh wait. Let's not leave out Harry Reid (D-NV).

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) referred questions to Dodd. At another point, he said he wanted to start “focusing on the future.”

The future focus would be the legislation to tax the bonuses and giving the Justice Department the authority to restrict bailout recipients from giving out future bonuses. Because of course, no one cares about that language put in the conference report that gave the companies the ability to award those bonuses in the first place thereby removing Dodd's restrictions. And no one from the House knew anything about it. And no one took any money from these companies (cough, Republicans and Democrats, cough) or flew in their jets or served on their Board of Directors, etc...

I can't decide whether to be disgusted by all of this or just roll my eyes and chalk it up to business as usual. I think both.

Twitter Takes Mississippi by Storm - Part 1

2009-03-19T07:01:00.001-05:00

Yes, that is Twitter, not twister. Twitter is a social-networking application that allows you to communicate with others by using status updates, news, photos and web links in 140 characters or less.

I've taken the liberty of identifying several news organizations, politicians, government agencies, bloggers and businesses in Mississippi that are using this technology. Here is my first list. If you are on Twitter and would like me to include you on the next list, please leave me a comment or send me a Tweet. Be patient since the comments are moderated on the blog.

Federal Elected Officials:
Senator Roger Wicker
Congressman Gregg Harper

State Elected Officials:
Governor Haley Barbour
State Auditor Stacey Pickering

State Legislators:
Rep. Greg Snowden

State Agencies:
MS Department of Health
MS Emergency Management Agency
MS Public Broadcasting
MS Public Broadcasting News

Universities/Colleges (not their sports team stuff):
Tougaloo College
Ole Miss

Television Stations:
WLOX
WDAM
WLBT
WJTV
WHLT

Newspapers:
Natchez Democrat
Clarion-Ledger
Sun Herald
Hattiesburg American
Jackson Free Press
Oxford Eagle
High Cotton News - Starkville
The Local Voice - Oxford
The Student Printz - Hattiesburg

Radio:
103.7 FM

Various Organizations:
MS Hospital Association
City of Columbus Visitor's Bureau
Salvation Army - AL, LA, MS
Visit Natchez
Laurel Express
USM Alumni

Businesses:
Mad Genius, Inc.
Bulldog Deli
Strange Brew Coffeehouse
MSU Cold Stone Creamery
Pinegrove Treatment
Coffee News of South MS
A Cut Above Lawn Service
Monmouth Plantation
Oak Street Place
Crescent City Grill
MS Gift Company
Cellular South

News/Political Bloggers:
Conservative Belle
Liberal Smash
MS Perspective
Sam Hall
State Street Posts

Churches:
First Baptist Hattiesburg
First Baptist Church Meridian
St. Columb's Church Ridgeland
Briar Hill Baptist

Miscellaneous:
Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway
Comcast Cares (customer service)
Oak Grove Library