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Lott, Cochran Introduce Bill for Offshore Gulf Drilling
[verbatim statement] A bill to direct revenues to Mississippi and other Gulf states, generated by the expansion of deepwater oil and gas leasing in the Gulf of Mexico, was introduced in the U.S. Senate Wednesday by Senators Trent Lott and Thad Cochran of Mississippi. The bill, authored by Senator Lott, is a response to legislation now before the Congress which proposes to open about three million acres in the Gulf's Lease Sale 181 Area, 123 miles southeast of Biloxi but which fails to provide any coastal impact assistance to states like Mississippi from the revenues that will be generated from the offshore oil and gas drilling.
Mississippi Dems ‘Ready to Rumble'?
Bill Minor writes: "Barbour, the guy who won the governor's job with supposedly unmatched political smarts, made a colossal blunder by pushing through legislation that left thousands of recipients - many of whom voted for him - panicky over losing their present medicine benefits under Medicare. His administration has failed to convince those cut from the state program that they would keep similar medical benefits under his plan. It switches them in September into the federally run Medicare program. They would otherwise be forced to go there in January 2006 if the Medicare reform law is not revised by Congress.
Poll: Americans Uninformed About Bush, Kerry
AP reports: "If matching presidential candidates to their positions on basic issues were like a 'Jeopardy!' category, most Americans wouldn't earn a single dollar. More than half of those polled by the National Annenberg Election Survey didn't know President Bush alone favors allowing private investments of some Social Security money. Nearly as many didn't know that only Democratic candidate John Kerry proposes getting rid of tax breaks for the overseas profits of U.S. companies. Importing drugs from Canada? That's a Kerry issue, but nearly half either didn't know or thought Bush also supported changing federal law to allow for drug imports from Canada."
Urgent: Last Call for Education Funding
[verbatim from Nancy Loome] According to a report in today's Clarion Ledger, Senate Appropriations Chair Jack Gordon implied to the full Senate that other state agencies, specifically colleges and universities, must be shortchanged in order to fully fund the MAEP. THIS IS NOT THE POSITION OF THE COALITION, nor is it the position of other education supporters. Here's what you can do right now....
Watch the Obamas Vote
Here's some eye candy for all you Obama junkies:
Sen. John Kerry and His Ribs
I just saw John Kerry in the media tent eating barbecue ribs and baked beans. No word, yet, on whether he's washed away the bitter taste of losing to George W. Bush four years ago.
Problems with Voting/Registration in Jackson/Mississippi?
If so, please post below, and we can get you help. You can also call the JFP at 601.362.6121 ext. 5 through Election Day to alert a reporter. Also visit the new 601 voter blog at http://601vote.wordpress.com/ for all sorts of must-know voter information. Do not allow your vote to be suppressed or intimidated! It's your right.
Clarion-Ledger on Mayoral Fashion
The Clarion-Ledger today gets in touch with the real issues of the mayoral face: fashion. Yes, friends, it's a whole piece about how they dress, and the Ledge uses the word "kick-butt" in print:
Open Thread: Catharsis
If it doesn't fit somewhere else, say it here. Don't libel or toss around ad hominems, though. Otherwise, get it off your chest, serious or not.
The Progressive Populist Moment?
Tom Hayden writes for Alternet: It's been a remarkable shift after the past decade of Democratic catering to corporate interests and conservative voters, Only one year ago, candidates John Kerry, John Edwards and Richard Gephardt had voted for the Iraq war resolution, and Gephardt alone, among the leading contenders, opposed pro-corporate trade agreements like NAFTA. ...
St. Louis Daily Endorses Obama ... with Style
Perhaps egged on by the hate week that John McCain and Sarah Palin just put the country through, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch decided not to wait to publish its endorsement of Barack Obama. It's beautifully and thoughtfully written:
Will Goldwater Followers Vote Against Bush?
Sidney Blumenthal writes in Salon about the father of modern-day conservative, and why he turned on the right of today: "It was Goldwater, the genuine article, who established the image of conservative as Western hero. His persona was indistinguishable from his ideology. He was the imperial individual, the free spirit embodying the free market. He seemed a natural force in Arizona, a state on the economic frontier. With less than a million inhabitants before World War II, it exploded afterward. In his time, Goldwater appeared as new and startling as the booming suburbs in the desert."
Springsteen: ‘The Future Is for the Passionate'
80,000 Turn Out for Kerry, Springsteen in Wisconson
Salon reports:
[Breaking] ‘Tort Reform' Hits Brick Wall
UPDATE, 4 p.m.: After an apparent lunch meeting between Gov. Barbour, Speaker Billy McCoy and Senate President Pro Tem Travis Little, Sen. Charlie Ross, R-Brandon, announced on the floor that the Senate would reject HB 4, the tort-reform bill the House sent to conference committee this morning because they do not believe it will result in damage caps. The House will reconvene at 5 p.m.; the stalemate continues.
Alaska Ethics Complaint Filed Against Palin for Kids' Travel
CBS News is reporting that Gov. Sarah Palin has more ethical problems back home:
Clarion-Ledger Endorses Musgrove, Tuck
So, here's a riddle: Why of the top four candidates' distasteful (at best) campaign tactics -- Musgrove ("poisoning"), Barbour and Tuck (race-pandering), Blackmon (abortion affidavit) -- would the Clarion-Ledger only call out Blackmon's campaign tactics? Were they really worse than Tuck's belated endorsement of the rebel flag?
Bush Plan to Ban Abortion
Michelle Goldberg writes in Salon: "Unnoticed by much of the public, the Bush administration and the Republican-controlled Congress have been laying the groundwork for a repeal of abortion rights." (Click on the free ad to get access to the story.)
Haley to Cure Jackson Crime
(Verbatim statement)-Calling for an increased focus on crime-fighting from the office of the Governor, Haley Barbour announced that he will use the authority given to the Governor to "direct the Attorney General to aid in the prosecution of cases by appointing assistant Attorneys General as special prosecutors." At a press conference at the State Capitol building today, Barbour stated, "State law gives the Governor the authority to direct the Attorney General to aid in the prosecution of cases by appointing assistant Attorneys General as special prosecutors. As Governor, I will exercise that authority in order to make sure criminals in Hinds County get tried swiftly and punished appropriately."
Dixie Dems: Dean Too ‘Liberal'
The Washington Times reports that Democratic leaders in the South consider Howard Dean "too liberal" to win electoral votes in the South: "Most acknowledge the growing conservatism that dominates their region, and some concede it will be difficult, if not impossible, to carry many Southern states if the nominee is out of step with mainstream Southern values."
Kudos to Salter's Anderson column
Every now and then, Sid Salter hits with a column. Yesterday told it like it is about the immensely qualified Gary Anderson -- and just why Mississippians might not elected the superior candidate: "Simply put, Gary Anderson is better qualified by education and prior job experience to hit the ground running as Marshall Bennett's successor than is Tate Reeves. Anderson has literally worked his way up through state government and is deserving of a promotion. ... The question unanswered at this point is whether a majority of Mississippi voters can consider Anderson purely and squarely on his experience and qualifications in making their decision — or will race rule once again as the lowest common denominator in Mississippi politics."