On Halloween I say BOO to the Supreme Court.
I already feel like the Supreme Court should be disbanded and their old decisions thrown out. Then we should place new Justices on the Court who are actually non-partisan who will make decisions based on the Constitution rather than their whims. People ask me so you think Brown v. Board of Education should be thrown out? And my answer is we would not have even needed Brown if the Supreme Court would not have made a ridiculous decision in Plessy v. Ferguson. I will spare you the rest of this rant, just know that once you go to law school you realize what a farce the Supreme Court is.
The thing that set me off today is that the Supreme Court granted a stay of the execution scheduled for last night. Whether or not you agree with Capital Punishment, one has to admit the Supreme Court's timing was absurd. The execution date has been set for months now but the Supreme Court comes in 15 minutes before its supposed to happen and grants the stay? What the heck? Do they need that much publicity? The timing forces the victim's family, the prisoner, and the prisoner's family onto a roller coaster of emotions. It dangles closure in front of them like a string and then pulls it away at the last minute. It goes to show you that these rich old law professors have no sense of what their decisions do to the real world. Shame on them.
-J
Wednesday, October 31, 2007
Monday, October 29, 2007
MSinformed 2007: Election Coverage
Today we shall start a new tradition. I will make the official Web-land endorsements for the current election. Like many of my entries, some of my picks are well reasoned and some are just based on a whim/good commercial. Endorsed candidates are in bold.
Please pardon any typos, I am not going to edit this post b/c it took too long to write.
Governor:
Haley Barbour- Haley is the incumbent. He has overseen a boom in outside investment in Mississippi that is unparalleled in my life time. He also brought Mississippi through its most difficult time since the civil rights movement- Katrina. Its his 9-11 but unlike Gulliani, Barbour is milking it like the consumate politician he is. Barbour's biggest knocks are that he founded the most successful lobbying firm in Washington and he vetoed the cigarette/grocery tax thing. As far as the lobbying firm, he has all of his money still associated with them in a blind trust meaning no matter what happens there he cannot effect his money. His connections as a Washington power broker are a plus for the state. I do not agree with his veto of the cigarette/grocery tax, but he ran initially saying he would not raise taxes. So he only did what he said he would. That rhetoric is absent from this campaign.
John Arthur Eaves- What can I say? He is running the best campaign he can. If you cannot run on your record, spew some biblical nonsense. His basic platform is that he loves Jesus and Jesus loves him. So if you love Jesus, you should love him. It will work on people whose faith blinds them to any reason. Prayer will never be allowed in public school again. GET OVER IT! He may have some other planks to his platform, but his biblically based rhetoric overpowers them.
Lt. Governor
Phil Bryant- Phil served as Auditor for a number of years and received pretty good reviews. Everyone that I know who has interacted with Bryant while he was auditor believe he was easy to work with and did his job very well. He is among the most respected politicians in the state. His biggest knock against him is that he was state auditor when the beef plant stuff went down. But those who live in glass houses should not throw stones. By that I mean, everyone in office when the beef plant thing went down has mud on their boots.
Jamie Franks- Franks looks like he is about 12 years old. Looking at his website, I agree with many aspects of his platform. His platform does not seem as complete as Phil Bryant's. Franks has been a member of the House of Representatives for 12 years so he is obviously doing something right as far as his constituents are concerned. In this case it really comes down to the positive image of Bryant's ability to work with others and his effectiveness.
Attorney General
Jim Hood- in opposition to Bryant, Hood seems to have a fairly negative image. Many people feel like he was stirring up trouble with the Edgar Ray Killen trial. (He did certainly use it as a photo op). He has also gotten some flack for settling law suits for pennies on the dollar and the attorneys hired to pursue the claims have ties to his fundraising. Well what do you want me to say? He is a democrat. He may have some shady dealings but he is the best candidate. He has a very strong victim rights program and a totally sweet haircut. Plus he has done right by me, so I will support him.
Al Hopkins- I am not really sure why it matters that he only tried cow and pig cases. The AG is an administrator not a lawyer anyway. Hopkins has served his country and his state since 1965 as a member of the guard. This devotion cannot be understated. But, I cannot seem to find anything he stands for. He seems to just stand against Jim Hood. That will not earn my august endorsement.
Secretary of State
Delbert Hosemann- His commercials are funny and I don't really think the Secretary of State matters. So that means he gets my endorsement. Secretary of State oversees elections and consumer protection. I think any candidate would be for legit elections and consumer protection.
Rob Smith- He has some things going for him. First of all, he has served the state for a number of years as a member of the state legislature. Secondly, he looks like Art Garfunkel. Maybe if he did a commercial with Paul Simon, I would re-think. Until then hold the parsely, sage, rosemary, and time.
State Auditor
Stacey Pickering- He is a Pickering and he is from Laurel... Where have I heard this one? Other than the fact that his cousin (I assume) is a member of the US House I don't seem much happening here. I think he will probably win for three reasons: 1) he looks like a guy you want to elect 2) his name 3) he is Republican. However, I have looked at his platform and his plans for the State Auditor's Office and I am not impressed. He calls his platorm the "Contract for Accountability." It is pretty vague. He has goals, but not really any information on how he plans to achieve them.
Mike Sumrall- This guy is a big fat slob. He has said he probably could not pass the CPA exam. He is trying his best not to win. However, looking at his website, he seems to have some very practical ideas on how to increase the effectiveness of the State Auditor's Office. His platform is very nuts and bolts and does not have a catchy title like "Contract for Accountability." But, it does seem that he has a plan to make the office more efficient.
Treasurer
Vote for Tate Reeves, although I don't really like him, and I voted for his opponenet last time. O'Hara pops up every election and runs for something and then disappears into whatever hole he crawled out of. This is a choice between two poor candidates.
Insurance Commissioner
Mike Chaney- Hey he shares his name with one of the most despised people in the entire nation... Mike Vick. HAHA. He and Anderson basically have the same views on the same issues. Vote Republican on this one because the Democrats fought tort reform which raised insurance rates for everyone.
Gary Anderson- He should be the incumbent Treasurer, but in 2003 the state made the wrong choice. Now Gary is just trying to get a piece of the pie. He claims he does not take any contributions from insurance. That could be a plus.
Agriculture Commissioner
Les Riley- he is running on the Constitution Party Ticket. His platfomrm sounds pretty good at first... then he goes nuts. Apparently, God plays a major role (or atleast should) in the Department of Agriculture. God makes rain, not policy.
Ricky Cole- He is the former leader of the Mississippi Democratic party and was run out of the post after the 2003 elections. If he runs the Department of Agriculture that well, we are all in trouble.
Lester Spell- Perhaps, more than anyone in the state government, he has beef on his hands. He was Ag. Commissioner when the Beef Plant stuff happened. According to the Clarion-Ledger he has taken no responsibility for it. Again though, everyone in office the last term had some involvement with the beef plant. He has been Ag. Commissioner since 1996, and I see no real reason to think that should change. Oh yeah and Boys' State City of Spell Best City 1998 respect!
Please pardon any typos, I am not going to edit this post b/c it took too long to write.
Governor:
Haley Barbour- Haley is the incumbent. He has overseen a boom in outside investment in Mississippi that is unparalleled in my life time. He also brought Mississippi through its most difficult time since the civil rights movement- Katrina. Its his 9-11 but unlike Gulliani, Barbour is milking it like the consumate politician he is. Barbour's biggest knocks are that he founded the most successful lobbying firm in Washington and he vetoed the cigarette/grocery tax thing. As far as the lobbying firm, he has all of his money still associated with them in a blind trust meaning no matter what happens there he cannot effect his money. His connections as a Washington power broker are a plus for the state. I do not agree with his veto of the cigarette/grocery tax, but he ran initially saying he would not raise taxes. So he only did what he said he would. That rhetoric is absent from this campaign.
John Arthur Eaves- What can I say? He is running the best campaign he can. If you cannot run on your record, spew some biblical nonsense. His basic platform is that he loves Jesus and Jesus loves him. So if you love Jesus, you should love him. It will work on people whose faith blinds them to any reason. Prayer will never be allowed in public school again. GET OVER IT! He may have some other planks to his platform, but his biblically based rhetoric overpowers them.
Lt. Governor
Phil Bryant- Phil served as Auditor for a number of years and received pretty good reviews. Everyone that I know who has interacted with Bryant while he was auditor believe he was easy to work with and did his job very well. He is among the most respected politicians in the state. His biggest knock against him is that he was state auditor when the beef plant stuff went down. But those who live in glass houses should not throw stones. By that I mean, everyone in office when the beef plant thing went down has mud on their boots.
Jamie Franks- Franks looks like he is about 12 years old. Looking at his website, I agree with many aspects of his platform. His platform does not seem as complete as Phil Bryant's. Franks has been a member of the House of Representatives for 12 years so he is obviously doing something right as far as his constituents are concerned. In this case it really comes down to the positive image of Bryant's ability to work with others and his effectiveness.
Attorney General
Jim Hood- in opposition to Bryant, Hood seems to have a fairly negative image. Many people feel like he was stirring up trouble with the Edgar Ray Killen trial. (He did certainly use it as a photo op). He has also gotten some flack for settling law suits for pennies on the dollar and the attorneys hired to pursue the claims have ties to his fundraising. Well what do you want me to say? He is a democrat. He may have some shady dealings but he is the best candidate. He has a very strong victim rights program and a totally sweet haircut. Plus he has done right by me, so I will support him.
Al Hopkins- I am not really sure why it matters that he only tried cow and pig cases. The AG is an administrator not a lawyer anyway. Hopkins has served his country and his state since 1965 as a member of the guard. This devotion cannot be understated. But, I cannot seem to find anything he stands for. He seems to just stand against Jim Hood. That will not earn my august endorsement.
Secretary of State
Delbert Hosemann- His commercials are funny and I don't really think the Secretary of State matters. So that means he gets my endorsement. Secretary of State oversees elections and consumer protection. I think any candidate would be for legit elections and consumer protection.
Rob Smith- He has some things going for him. First of all, he has served the state for a number of years as a member of the state legislature. Secondly, he looks like Art Garfunkel. Maybe if he did a commercial with Paul Simon, I would re-think. Until then hold the parsely, sage, rosemary, and time.
State Auditor
Stacey Pickering- He is a Pickering and he is from Laurel... Where have I heard this one? Other than the fact that his cousin (I assume) is a member of the US House I don't seem much happening here. I think he will probably win for three reasons: 1) he looks like a guy you want to elect 2) his name 3) he is Republican. However, I have looked at his platform and his plans for the State Auditor's Office and I am not impressed. He calls his platorm the "Contract for Accountability." It is pretty vague. He has goals, but not really any information on how he plans to achieve them.
Mike Sumrall- This guy is a big fat slob. He has said he probably could not pass the CPA exam. He is trying his best not to win. However, looking at his website, he seems to have some very practical ideas on how to increase the effectiveness of the State Auditor's Office. His platform is very nuts and bolts and does not have a catchy title like "Contract for Accountability." But, it does seem that he has a plan to make the office more efficient.
Treasurer
Vote for Tate Reeves, although I don't really like him, and I voted for his opponenet last time. O'Hara pops up every election and runs for something and then disappears into whatever hole he crawled out of. This is a choice between two poor candidates.
Insurance Commissioner
Mike Chaney- Hey he shares his name with one of the most despised people in the entire nation... Mike Vick. HAHA. He and Anderson basically have the same views on the same issues. Vote Republican on this one because the Democrats fought tort reform which raised insurance rates for everyone.
Gary Anderson- He should be the incumbent Treasurer, but in 2003 the state made the wrong choice. Now Gary is just trying to get a piece of the pie. He claims he does not take any contributions from insurance. That could be a plus.
Agriculture Commissioner
Les Riley- he is running on the Constitution Party Ticket. His platfomrm sounds pretty good at first... then he goes nuts. Apparently, God plays a major role (or atleast should) in the Department of Agriculture. God makes rain, not policy.
Ricky Cole- He is the former leader of the Mississippi Democratic party and was run out of the post after the 2003 elections. If he runs the Department of Agriculture that well, we are all in trouble.
Lester Spell- Perhaps, more than anyone in the state government, he has beef on his hands. He was Ag. Commissioner when the Beef Plant stuff happened. According to the Clarion-Ledger he has taken no responsibility for it. Again though, everyone in office the last term had some involvement with the beef plant. He has been Ag. Commissioner since 1996, and I see no real reason to think that should change. Oh yeah and Boys' State City of Spell Best City 1998 respect!
Monday, October 15, 2007
Its the little things.
Its the little things in life that drive me crazy. Here are a few of them that have raised my ire recently.
First of all, what is the deal with all this Princess Diana junk? Princess Diana is on the news everyday. It appears there is some sort of jury in France having some sort of discussion about the circumstances regarding her death. I know she died 10 years ago, so this is the anniversary, but she is not Disney World. She does not have to celebrate her anniversary all year long. It drives me crazy to see all of this coverage. It started this summer when her kids had a concert to honor her and raise money for her favorite charities. They get a pass. But now one cannot check out at the grocery store without articles in People, the Star, and the National Enquirer about a woman that has been dead for 10 years and is primarily famous for who she married. You know what this reminds me of? Bear Bryant. Alabama fans won't let him die either. For both sets of people... Get over it!
Secondly, Al Gore. Last week Al "Hambone" Gore won the Nobel peace prize. He won for being in a movie. Al "Tater Salad" Gore was in An Inconvenient Truth, a film about the dangers of global warming. Assuming global warming is real and assuming it is caused by humans this movie certainly opened up people's eyes. But seriously, he just hosted the thing. What else has Al "China Buffet 2" Gore done? He has flown around the world a lot in his gas guzzling private plane rather than using a commercial carrier. He uses copious amounts of electricity to power his mansion. Not to mention, Al "the Beefcake" Gore eats more food per day than many Africans consume in a year. Seriously, if cow farts are hurting the ozone, then Al farts have got to be absolutely devastating. I guess its mitigated by the fact that most of his hot air comes out of his mouth.
I guess the Nobel committee is trying to take the crown of inept international organizations from the UN. If so, it has worked, at least until something has to be done about Iran and then the UN will certainly take back its title. Gore has positioned himself to step right into (well he might have to lube up to fit) Jimmy Carter's place when the former President becomes a future peanut crop.
Thirdly, the Red Cross's involvement in the Jena 6 rally. It only takes a brief read of previous posts to realize my support of the students charged in the Jena 6 incident. The Red Cross supported the rally with thousands of bottles of water. The Red Cross is supposed to provide support to humanitarian events. Although the rally was important, it was not a humanitarian event. The Red Cross should have saved their money for the next hurricane, earthquake, or tornado, the NAACP, private citizens, or churches should have contributed to the march. Sure bottles of water are just bottles of water, its really no big deal in the scheme of things. However, many people are withdrawing their support of the Red Cross after this incident. Why donate money to an organization if they spend it on something outside of their mission? Now, when the Red Cross has something to do more within the scope of their mission, they will not have the money to do so. The Red Cross should be so far outside the scope of politics, but in this case, even though it was in support of a just cause, they were too involved.
Finally, on a completely other note, it looks like the Colorado Rockies will make it to the World Series. Wow, that is certainly a sign of the apocalypse (add to the fact that next year Hillary may be elected President and Bill might be UN Secretary General). I fully expect to wake up tomorrow to find all of the Baptists have disappeared in anticipation of the rapture. I had hoped Boston would make it to the World Series also (they still have a chance) because I bet with the thin air in Colorado Big Popi could hit a homerun into McCovey Cove (yes, the one in San Francisco).
That's all I have for now.
-J
First of all, what is the deal with all this Princess Diana junk? Princess Diana is on the news everyday. It appears there is some sort of jury in France having some sort of discussion about the circumstances regarding her death. I know she died 10 years ago, so this is the anniversary, but she is not Disney World. She does not have to celebrate her anniversary all year long. It drives me crazy to see all of this coverage. It started this summer when her kids had a concert to honor her and raise money for her favorite charities. They get a pass. But now one cannot check out at the grocery store without articles in People, the Star, and the National Enquirer about a woman that has been dead for 10 years and is primarily famous for who she married. You know what this reminds me of? Bear Bryant. Alabama fans won't let him die either. For both sets of people... Get over it!
Secondly, Al Gore. Last week Al "Hambone" Gore won the Nobel peace prize. He won for being in a movie. Al "Tater Salad" Gore was in An Inconvenient Truth, a film about the dangers of global warming. Assuming global warming is real and assuming it is caused by humans this movie certainly opened up people's eyes. But seriously, he just hosted the thing. What else has Al "China Buffet 2" Gore done? He has flown around the world a lot in his gas guzzling private plane rather than using a commercial carrier. He uses copious amounts of electricity to power his mansion. Not to mention, Al "the Beefcake" Gore eats more food per day than many Africans consume in a year. Seriously, if cow farts are hurting the ozone, then Al farts have got to be absolutely devastating. I guess its mitigated by the fact that most of his hot air comes out of his mouth.
I guess the Nobel committee is trying to take the crown of inept international organizations from the UN. If so, it has worked, at least until something has to be done about Iran and then the UN will certainly take back its title. Gore has positioned himself to step right into (well he might have to lube up to fit) Jimmy Carter's place when the former President becomes a future peanut crop.
Thirdly, the Red Cross's involvement in the Jena 6 rally. It only takes a brief read of previous posts to realize my support of the students charged in the Jena 6 incident. The Red Cross supported the rally with thousands of bottles of water. The Red Cross is supposed to provide support to humanitarian events. Although the rally was important, it was not a humanitarian event. The Red Cross should have saved their money for the next hurricane, earthquake, or tornado, the NAACP, private citizens, or churches should have contributed to the march. Sure bottles of water are just bottles of water, its really no big deal in the scheme of things. However, many people are withdrawing their support of the Red Cross after this incident. Why donate money to an organization if they spend it on something outside of their mission? Now, when the Red Cross has something to do more within the scope of their mission, they will not have the money to do so. The Red Cross should be so far outside the scope of politics, but in this case, even though it was in support of a just cause, they were too involved.
Finally, on a completely other note, it looks like the Colorado Rockies will make it to the World Series. Wow, that is certainly a sign of the apocalypse (add to the fact that next year Hillary may be elected President and Bill might be UN Secretary General). I fully expect to wake up tomorrow to find all of the Baptists have disappeared in anticipation of the rapture. I had hoped Boston would make it to the World Series also (they still have a chance) because I bet with the thin air in Colorado Big Popi could hit a homerun into McCovey Cove (yes, the one in San Francisco).
That's all I have for now.
-J
Tuesday, October 2, 2007
Not since Valley Forge...
Not since Valley Forge has our Republic teetered on the brink of destruction as it does today. People seemed to like my history lessons that accompanied my travelogue, so today I will give a civics lesson.
The word republic comes from the Latin words Res Publica. It means literally "the thing of the people." Even though many people refer to the United States as a democracy, it more fits the definition of a republic. In a true democracy everyone decides what the nation does. In the United States, we elect a President, Senate, and House of Representatives, send them to Washington, and ask them to decide for us. This is a republic. Its based upon the presumptions that a true democracy is impractical and ineffective (see the UN) and the idea that most people are too inept to walk down the street much less decide the direction of a nation. These presumptions are fairly accurate, in my opinion.
Unfortunately, now the people we have put into power are also inept. The American people in their infinite wisdom went to the polls last November and reacted to a perceived inept President. I believe any discussion promoting the President's abilities is a losing one. The American people decided to put the Democrats in power.
For quite sometime now the Democratic Party have been basically known as the bitch (sorry for the language) and tax party. In a brilliant move, they convinced the same American people, who our founders decided were too daft to run the nation, that they would DO something if they were elected to positions of power.
Now I had no problem with that. The Democrats did not do anything really for the last 10 months. I didn't expect them to. Importantly, the American people seem to have realized they were duped by Democrats running for congress. Don't get me wrong. Don't think for one minute that I think the Republicans are the best choice to run the country. I just think the Democrats are the worst choice. That has been validated today.
The Chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, Dave Oby, today suggested a war surtax be imposed on the American people. He claims, correctly, that the Treasury is being drained by the war and rather than continue paying for it from the Treasury, tax everyone to pay for it. He further stated "And if you don't like the cost, then shut down the war."
This whole scenario reminds me of the "circle all the things that are wrong in this picture" section of Highlights Magazine. First of all, where does the treasury come from? Pots of gold at the end of rainbows? The tooth fairy? Admission fees from the Smithsonian? State quarter sales? NO! It comes from taxes already. I am not even going to get into the fact that war is probably the number 1 thing our tax dollars should be spent on (say as opposed to giving away condoms to 2nd graders). But, he wants to charge more taxes for something our taxes already pay for. Hey Democrats have always been the party for tax raises. That is not terribly surprising.
What really riles me is the comment "And if you don't like the cost, then shut down the war." The "you" in that statement is literally you and me and every American. Now, is that not why you elected the Democrats, because you wanted to shut down the war? You put them in power to turn around and BLAME you? How in the world are you supposed to shut down the war? Nicole suggests Oby means elect a new president. That would be fine except its 2007. In case Oby has not noticed, there are about 20 people trying to get elected in 2008. If he thinks we need a new president the Democrats should grow a pair and impeach the President.
So why is our Republic in danger? The people (lovingly referred to as "you") did their thing. They decided they wanted new representatives to make the decisions and those new representatives blame the people ("you" again if you thought "you" were off the hook) for not ending the war. Rather than running the government, the Democrats have made a mockery of the people's ability to do the only thing they can do to make a change... vote. That is why our Republic is in danger.
-J
The word republic comes from the Latin words Res Publica. It means literally "the thing of the people." Even though many people refer to the United States as a democracy, it more fits the definition of a republic. In a true democracy everyone decides what the nation does. In the United States, we elect a President, Senate, and House of Representatives, send them to Washington, and ask them to decide for us. This is a republic. Its based upon the presumptions that a true democracy is impractical and ineffective (see the UN) and the idea that most people are too inept to walk down the street much less decide the direction of a nation. These presumptions are fairly accurate, in my opinion.
Unfortunately, now the people we have put into power are also inept. The American people in their infinite wisdom went to the polls last November and reacted to a perceived inept President. I believe any discussion promoting the President's abilities is a losing one. The American people decided to put the Democrats in power.
For quite sometime now the Democratic Party have been basically known as the bitch (sorry for the language) and tax party. In a brilliant move, they convinced the same American people, who our founders decided were too daft to run the nation, that they would DO something if they were elected to positions of power.
Now I had no problem with that. The Democrats did not do anything really for the last 10 months. I didn't expect them to. Importantly, the American people seem to have realized they were duped by Democrats running for congress. Don't get me wrong. Don't think for one minute that I think the Republicans are the best choice to run the country. I just think the Democrats are the worst choice. That has been validated today.
The Chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, Dave Oby, today suggested a war surtax be imposed on the American people. He claims, correctly, that the Treasury is being drained by the war and rather than continue paying for it from the Treasury, tax everyone to pay for it. He further stated "And if you don't like the cost, then shut down the war."
This whole scenario reminds me of the "circle all the things that are wrong in this picture" section of Highlights Magazine. First of all, where does the treasury come from? Pots of gold at the end of rainbows? The tooth fairy? Admission fees from the Smithsonian? State quarter sales? NO! It comes from taxes already. I am not even going to get into the fact that war is probably the number 1 thing our tax dollars should be spent on (say as opposed to giving away condoms to 2nd graders). But, he wants to charge more taxes for something our taxes already pay for. Hey Democrats have always been the party for tax raises. That is not terribly surprising.
What really riles me is the comment "And if you don't like the cost, then shut down the war." The "you" in that statement is literally you and me and every American. Now, is that not why you elected the Democrats, because you wanted to shut down the war? You put them in power to turn around and BLAME you? How in the world are you supposed to shut down the war? Nicole suggests Oby means elect a new president. That would be fine except its 2007. In case Oby has not noticed, there are about 20 people trying to get elected in 2008. If he thinks we need a new president the Democrats should grow a pair and impeach the President.
So why is our Republic in danger? The people (lovingly referred to as "you") did their thing. They decided they wanted new representatives to make the decisions and those new representatives blame the people ("you" again if you thought "you" were off the hook) for not ending the war. Rather than running the government, the Democrats have made a mockery of the people's ability to do the only thing they can do to make a change... vote. That is why our Republic is in danger.
-J
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