As I was driving yesterday, I was listening to one of ESPN's numerous talking head radio shows. I can't remember the hosts names, which tells me how deep on the bench they are. One of the things they were pontificating on was Carmelo Anthony's decision to speak out in regards to the recent spate of officer-involved shootings.
The two hosts stated that it was nice to hear an athlete using his celebrity to speak out on social issues. And how great it was that he was using the platform for social change. And how more athletes needed to speak out on societal issues.
And then the wham line.
"No matter what their view."
Hold up. Hang on. Stop. Wait just one freaking minute.
ESPN has given any sports figure who holds a worldview that is not in line with the coastal elite a beating since they've gone full-on social justice warrior. Mike Wallace, Curt Schilling, Chris Brussard, Matt Birk-all got raked over the coals by ESPN due to their beliefs. They've gone so far as to give a courage award to Bruce Jenner, in a year when a college basketball player played through a brain tumor and an amputee combat vet won marathons. They've turned an Entertainment and Sports Programming Network into the Entirely Social Justice Network.
Do not tell me that you want people speaking out "no matter their beliefs."
Mr. Schilling was unavailable for ESPN to get his comment. I assume he was busy picking his jaw up off of the floor.
Sunday, July 10, 2016
Friday, July 8, 2016
So Samson Doesn't Know If He's Running For Governor
Yeah, listening to his interview about "large campaign donors" and "tax breaks for the corporations" tells me he's really leaning toward not running, you know? SARCASM.
Since he's so unconcerned about social issues, here are a few business issues he should ask.
Should the power of the state be used to compel a person to violate their conscience?
Should the state have oversight of medical operations that require invasive procedures? (Like a certain Dr. Gosnell)
Should the state fine businesses for not using someone's "preferred pronouns?" (Yeah, that's the new thing. It's happening in New York)
Should the state start regulating churches and require that they deviate from their teachings and beliefs? (As was mentioned here on Wednesday in Iowa)
These are questions that an honest state media would ask him. But (spoiler) they won't. Instead, he'll get to pontificate and will always get the last word in. Unfortunately, his opponent will probably be Tate Reeves, who's probably woefully unprepared for the onslaught that he'll face. After all, Hood is pretty much it on the left. There's Brandon Presley, who really, really, really wants you to know about that no-call list, ya'll (The PSC is basically a remnant of the state's 1891 anti-business and, oh yeah, racist constitution, and like your appendix, it might need to come out at some point). But Hood's got the trial lawyers in his pocket, and they're gonna sink or swim with him.
I can see his announcement now. The groundwork has been laid, the move back to Houston, the little law office he's renting. Can't run as an outsider from Jackson, after all. The whole spiel about fighting the robber barons for the little guy. The faux-centrist but-really-trying-not-to-offend-Democratic-intrest-groups-while-not-offending-conservatives schtick. He's thought on it, he's prayed on it. He's going from Samson to Hamlet. He feels that he's got to, for the good of the state. All he'll be missing is R2-D2 with a hologram of the Princess saying he's our only hope.
Since he's so unconcerned about social issues, here are a few business issues he should ask.
Should the power of the state be used to compel a person to violate their conscience?
Should the state have oversight of medical operations that require invasive procedures? (Like a certain Dr. Gosnell)
Should the state fine businesses for not using someone's "preferred pronouns?" (Yeah, that's the new thing. It's happening in New York)
Should the state start regulating churches and require that they deviate from their teachings and beliefs? (As was mentioned here on Wednesday in Iowa)
These are questions that an honest state media would ask him. But (spoiler) they won't. Instead, he'll get to pontificate and will always get the last word in. Unfortunately, his opponent will probably be Tate Reeves, who's probably woefully unprepared for the onslaught that he'll face. After all, Hood is pretty much it on the left. There's Brandon Presley, who really, really, really wants you to know about that no-call list, ya'll (The PSC is basically a remnant of the state's 1891 anti-business and, oh yeah, racist constitution, and like your appendix, it might need to come out at some point). But Hood's got the trial lawyers in his pocket, and they're gonna sink or swim with him.
I can see his announcement now. The groundwork has been laid, the move back to Houston, the little law office he's renting. Can't run as an outsider from Jackson, after all. The whole spiel about fighting the robber barons for the little guy. The faux-centrist but-really-trying-not-to-offend-Democratic-intrest-groups-while-not-offending-conservatives schtick. He's thought on it, he's prayed on it. He's going from Samson to Hamlet. He feels that he's got to, for the good of the state. All he'll be missing is R2-D2 with a hologram of the Princess saying he's our only hope.
Wednesday, July 6, 2016
Voltaire (Supposedly) Was Right
Voltaire supposedly said, "Show me who you can't criticize, and I'll show you who rules you." While I'm not enough of a French Enlightenment scholar to tell you if he actually did say that, I do believe that's generally true.
Which brings me to HB1523, the favorite whipping boy of the state press. Remember that the bill carved out religious beliefs that were to be respected by the state, and could be used as a defense? And that the press got the vapors from the mere idea that people might need protections from the government telling their churches what they could and could not preach and believe in?
(Never mind that the federal government has a similar law. I can hear them now-"But it wasn't meant to protect Christians!" they cry. Yeah, wipe your tears with the 14th Amendment.)
*AHEM*
This is where they're going. You didn't really think it was all about who could use which toilet, did you?
Which brings me to HB1523, the favorite whipping boy of the state press. Remember that the bill carved out religious beliefs that were to be respected by the state, and could be used as a defense? And that the press got the vapors from the mere idea that people might need protections from the government telling their churches what they could and could not preach and believe in?
(Never mind that the federal government has a similar law. I can hear them now-"But it wasn't meant to protect Christians!" they cry. Yeah, wipe your tears with the 14th Amendment.)
*AHEM*
This is where they're going. You didn't really think it was all about who could use which toilet, did you?
Monday, June 13, 2016
Hood says he's short $ to defend 1523
Translation: Those sweet, sweet out of state campaign dollars ain't gonna get themselves into his account, folks.
Monday, May 16, 2016
Cultural Revolution, Then & Now
CNN has an article written by a former Red Guard in Mao's Cultural Revolution.
I read this, and I went back to Charlie Mitchell's article from a week or so ago. Remember I said I had more thoughts?
If any of this sounds familiar, it's because scenes like this are taking place all over colleges across the US. I don't know if Mr. Mitchell has missed this, but the rest of us haven't. Little Cultural Revolutions have gone from school to school, demanding apologies for slights real and imagined (many imagined). Many have thrown temper tantrums in restaurants and malls. They have forced university presidents to resign, speakers to leave campus, and generally made fools of themselves by demanding "Safe Spaces" that resemble Daycare Centers more than anything else.
(Lest you think I'm kidding, one school's safe space had coloring books. COLORING BOOKS. I guess wombs were unavailable.)
So when people demand protection, these are the types we're thinking of. They're one encouraging word from President Obama or Senator Sanders from trying to carry it out here. Why do I say that?
CNN's article can be found here. The protesters can be found...pretty much anywhere in America, sadly.
I read this, and I went back to Charlie Mitchell's article from a week or so ago. Remember I said I had more thoughts?
As Red Guards, we subjected anyone perceived as "bourgeois" or "revisionist" to brutal mental and physical attacks.
.... Others accused her of being a Christian because the character "Ji" in her name could refer to Christianity.
.... Not long after, she was sent to the cowshed -- a makeshift prison for intellectuals and other "bourgeois elements" -- and suffered all kinds of humiliation and abuse.
...Nobody was safe and the fear of being reported by others -- in many cases our closest friends and family members -- haunted us.
... When I saw a student pour a bucket of rotten paste over our school principal in 1966, I sensed something wasn't right.
...My generation grew up drinking wolf's milk: we were born with hatred, and taught to struggle and hate everyone. Some of my fellow Red Guards argue that we were just innocent children led astray. But we were wrong.
If any of this sounds familiar, it's because scenes like this are taking place all over colleges across the US. I don't know if Mr. Mitchell has missed this, but the rest of us haven't. Little Cultural Revolutions have gone from school to school, demanding apologies for slights real and imagined (many imagined). Many have thrown temper tantrums in restaurants and malls. They have forced university presidents to resign, speakers to leave campus, and generally made fools of themselves by demanding "Safe Spaces" that resemble Daycare Centers more than anything else.
(Lest you think I'm kidding, one school's safe space had coloring books. COLORING BOOKS. I guess wombs were unavailable.)
So when people demand protection, these are the types we're thinking of. They're one encouraging word from President Obama or Senator Sanders from trying to carry it out here. Why do I say that?
Fifty years on, however, I am worried by the increasing leader-worship we see in state media, similar to the ideological fervor that surrounded Mao.I'd add to that "Victim Worship," which is the quest that so many take to top each other's victimhood, and is aided and abetted by the media. I saw that the Whole Foods in Austin was accused of making a cake with a...less than tactful message regarding the gentleman's orientation. It turned out that the gentleman had added the message himself. Had it not been for a video of him checking the cake at the checkout line, that company would likely already be deluged by protesters. It's not like an outlet like Gannett would hesitate to run the story with a minimal amount of fact checking, since it feels true.
CNN's article can be found here. The protesters can be found...pretty much anywhere in America, sadly.
Tuesday, May 3, 2016
What is Political Correctness?
I was reading the Daily Journal and Clarion Ledger today, and saw Charlie Mitchell's op-ed on PC.
Now, I think Charlie is one of those well-meaning guys who just doesn't see things for what they are. I was intrigued by his assertion that PC is little more than politeness, which it probably was back in the 1970s when you could get away with saying the N-word on TV. Can you imagine such a thing today? I can't think of a time when the word has been uttered on TV outside of hip hop since an episode of Law & Order (Original Flavor) in the early 1990s, uttered by Courtney B Vance, until the American Crime Story OJ series. (Also featuring Mr. Vance. Admittedly, it would have been impossible to not use the word in that series, with much of the defense being based around the use or non-use of the word.)
But today? It would seem that Mr. Mitchell, who is a professor of journalism at Ole Miss, has missed out on the Social Justice Warrior. Maybe it just hasn't hit Ole Miss yet. But it's hit Missouri, with the school president forced to resign. It's on many of the Ivies and Potted-Ivy schools. They rail against privilege, most of which exists in their heads. They mostly suffer from Selma envy, wishing they could measure up to their grandparents. (I don't suffer from this problem. I figured out long ago I'd never measure up to them.)
What's going on at the American college is similar-eerily so-to China's Cultural Revolution. Started in 1966, it sought to replace what Mao thought of as the ills of society. He described them as the Four Olds. These were the Old Culture, Old Customs, Old Thoughts, and Old Habits. His followers forced people to self-criticize themselves, admitting to "crimes," and destroyed anything they considered emblematic of it, such as priceless artifacts, manuscripts, and other treasures.
If this sounds familiar, it's EXACTLY the SJW playbook.
So when people are Anti-PC, this is what they are. It has nothing to do with manners, which is what Mr. Mitchell seems to think it is. It's not about not acknowledging the past. It's all about combating the Thought Police, before we're all in front of a committee apologizing for something that happened before we were born, or when we were small children. It means not allowing people to be destroyed because they don't want to associate themselves with something they feel violates their conscience. Bryan Adams, after all, was allowed to not do business with Mississippi because of his conscience. Many of us just wish we were given the same allowance as Mr. Adams.
My thoughts are incomplete on this, and it's late at night. I may later add to this. But it's miles to ride before I sleep.
(That's an old poem, written before I was born. I hope it's ok to use it.)
Now, I think Charlie is one of those well-meaning guys who just doesn't see things for what they are. I was intrigued by his assertion that PC is little more than politeness, which it probably was back in the 1970s when you could get away with saying the N-word on TV. Can you imagine such a thing today? I can't think of a time when the word has been uttered on TV outside of hip hop since an episode of Law & Order (Original Flavor) in the early 1990s, uttered by Courtney B Vance, until the American Crime Story OJ series. (Also featuring Mr. Vance. Admittedly, it would have been impossible to not use the word in that series, with much of the defense being based around the use or non-use of the word.)
But today? It would seem that Mr. Mitchell, who is a professor of journalism at Ole Miss, has missed out on the Social Justice Warrior. Maybe it just hasn't hit Ole Miss yet. But it's hit Missouri, with the school president forced to resign. It's on many of the Ivies and Potted-Ivy schools. They rail against privilege, most of which exists in their heads. They mostly suffer from Selma envy, wishing they could measure up to their grandparents. (I don't suffer from this problem. I figured out long ago I'd never measure up to them.)
What's going on at the American college is similar-eerily so-to China's Cultural Revolution. Started in 1966, it sought to replace what Mao thought of as the ills of society. He described them as the Four Olds. These were the Old Culture, Old Customs, Old Thoughts, and Old Habits. His followers forced people to self-criticize themselves, admitting to "crimes," and destroyed anything they considered emblematic of it, such as priceless artifacts, manuscripts, and other treasures.
If this sounds familiar, it's EXACTLY the SJW playbook.
So when people are Anti-PC, this is what they are. It has nothing to do with manners, which is what Mr. Mitchell seems to think it is. It's not about not acknowledging the past. It's all about combating the Thought Police, before we're all in front of a committee apologizing for something that happened before we were born, or when we were small children. It means not allowing people to be destroyed because they don't want to associate themselves with something they feel violates their conscience. Bryan Adams, after all, was allowed to not do business with Mississippi because of his conscience. Many of us just wish we were given the same allowance as Mr. Adams.
My thoughts are incomplete on this, and it's late at night. I may later add to this. But it's miles to ride before I sleep.
(That's an old poem, written before I was born. I hope it's ok to use it.)
Saturday, April 23, 2016
Obama Thinks MS & NC Laws Are Wrong
Brian Terry and Christopher Stevens were unfortunately unavailable for comment.
Saturday, April 16, 2016
Our Greatest Investigative Journalist
Jerry Mitchell, Mississippi's Greatest Investigative Journalist (TM), has a twitter.
And like all of our esteemed media in Mississippi, he is up in arms about allowing guns in church. He tweeted out this afternoon a picture of the New Bethel Church celebrating being allowed to carry in the church house. He's sending the picture out to show how ignorant all these Mississippi yokels are, ha ha ha! Look at the dummies with their NRA stickers in the parking lot!
There's just one problem. Ok, two.
The first is the picture wasn't even taken this decade. A quick google image search by Mississippi's Greatest Investigative Journalist (TM) would have revealed it was taken in 2009. I say this because of the number of fake meme generators out there has gotten to the point where my default assumption is "if it looks to good to be true, it probably is."
And the other thing Mississippi's Greatest Investigative Journalist (TM) missed?
The picture is from Kentucky.
I know how you feel, Jerry. I've been taken in by images, too. But then, I'm not Mississippi's Greatest Investigative Journalist (TM). I'm not the one who's virtue has to be signaled. And I'm not the one who has to show all of his colleagues that "I'M NOT LIKE THOSE PEOPLE."
I'll leave you all with this thought from Jerry, Mississippi's Greatest Investigative Journalist (TM):
I guess an accurate one would be nice, too.
And like all of our esteemed media in Mississippi, he is up in arms about allowing guns in church. He tweeted out this afternoon a picture of the New Bethel Church celebrating being allowed to carry in the church house. He's sending the picture out to show how ignorant all these Mississippi yokels are, ha ha ha! Look at the dummies with their NRA stickers in the parking lot!
One church celebrating #GunsInChurches in Mississippi. https://t.co/mU0Dl6K6F7 pic.twitter.com/6kEkfiuXe0— Jerry Mitchell (@JMitchellNews) April 16, 2016
There's just one problem. Ok, two.
The first is the picture wasn't even taken this decade. A quick google image search by Mississippi's Greatest Investigative Journalist (TM) would have revealed it was taken in 2009. I say this because of the number of fake meme generators out there has gotten to the point where my default assumption is "if it looks to good to be true, it probably is."
And the other thing Mississippi's Greatest Investigative Journalist (TM) missed?
The picture is from Kentucky.
I know how you feel, Jerry. I've been taken in by images, too. But then, I'm not Mississippi's Greatest Investigative Journalist (TM). I'm not the one who's virtue has to be signaled. And I'm not the one who has to show all of his colleagues that "I'M NOT LIKE THOSE PEOPLE."
I'll leave you all with this thought from Jerry, Mississippi's Greatest Investigative Journalist (TM):
A free press is not only a right & privilege, but a necessity in a great society. #JournalismMatters pic.twitter.com/xljPzg1TIs— Jerry Mitchell (@JMitchellNews) April 14, 2016
I guess an accurate one would be nice, too.
Wednesday, April 13, 2016
Best Thing About Religious Freedom Bill?
Boy, has it let the Clarion-Ledger (and its smaller cousins throughout the state) signal its virtue.
From Pender (Cue old man voice-"Why aren't they trying to fix jobs and education!") to the 50 op-eds they've run each day (IT'S SHARIA LAW YA'LL!!!), you'd think this was the only thing that the legislature did this year. That's not counting the fact that the only person who's even told you exactly what the bill does is Forest Thingpen. Same thing in North Carolina with the bathroom bill.
Of course, the front page of the CL this morning without the RF bill?
Armed Robbery in Jackson.
Violence against Hispanics increasing ("group claims," which means its probably due to the number of Hispanics increasing, but don't let simple logic get in your way)
Confederate Flag lawsuit (sorry guys, they can only be outraged by one thing at a time)
Shea Patterson
Sentencing in the Epps/McCrory scheme
Calhoun County inmate without trial
Oh, and there's a special feature on...the Clarion-Ledger staff. Cause any reporter's favorite subject to cover is themselves. I guess when you spend most of your day looking down the nose of the rest of the state (and make no mistake about it, there are two reasons the CL is all-HB1523, all the time: the first is that it's useful propaganda by their political wing, the Democratic party, and the second is they get to show they're not like those people to their friends on the stenography circuit) while your circulation is circling the drain, you have to make it seem that you love this state and you just want to see it succeed. After all, they live in Jackson-where there are daily sinkholes, and they can't pave the streets properly, and did I mention it's one of the ten most dangerous cities in the US...shouldn't we all want success like that?
They don't want it to succeed. If Mississippi succeeds, that means that you horrible bigots are succeeding. They are actually enjoying writing about you trashy hillbillies. Secretly, in the places they don't like to talk about at cocktail parties, they love that we've passed a religious freedom bill. After all, they've got to feel superior to someone.
(A note-probably too late-is that the bill is flawed, but I've truly enjoyed the insanity its put on the left. After all, now Bryan Adams has to answer why he played Egypt and Dubai-who aren't gay friendly-but won't play Biloxi. Oh, wait, he won't. That requires more than stenography skills.)
From Pender (Cue old man voice-"Why aren't they trying to fix jobs and education!") to the 50 op-eds they've run each day (IT'S SHARIA LAW YA'LL!!!), you'd think this was the only thing that the legislature did this year. That's not counting the fact that the only person who's even told you exactly what the bill does is Forest Thingpen. Same thing in North Carolina with the bathroom bill.
Of course, the front page of the CL this morning without the RF bill?
Armed Robbery in Jackson.
Violence against Hispanics increasing ("group claims," which means its probably due to the number of Hispanics increasing, but don't let simple logic get in your way)
Confederate Flag lawsuit (sorry guys, they can only be outraged by one thing at a time)
Shea Patterson
Sentencing in the Epps/McCrory scheme
Calhoun County inmate without trial
Oh, and there's a special feature on...the Clarion-Ledger staff. Cause any reporter's favorite subject to cover is themselves. I guess when you spend most of your day looking down the nose of the rest of the state (and make no mistake about it, there are two reasons the CL is all-HB1523, all the time: the first is that it's useful propaganda by their political wing, the Democratic party, and the second is they get to show they're not like those people to their friends on the stenography circuit) while your circulation is circling the drain, you have to make it seem that you love this state and you just want to see it succeed. After all, they live in Jackson-where there are daily sinkholes, and they can't pave the streets properly, and did I mention it's one of the ten most dangerous cities in the US...shouldn't we all want success like that?
They don't want it to succeed. If Mississippi succeeds, that means that you horrible bigots are succeeding. They are actually enjoying writing about you trashy hillbillies. Secretly, in the places they don't like to talk about at cocktail parties, they love that we've passed a religious freedom bill. After all, they've got to feel superior to someone.
(A note-probably too late-is that the bill is flawed, but I've truly enjoyed the insanity its put on the left. After all, now Bryan Adams has to answer why he played Egypt and Dubai-who aren't gay friendly-but won't play Biloxi. Oh, wait, he won't. That requires more than stenography skills.)
Thursday, November 5, 2015
Wednesday, November 4, 2015
A Note on The Election
Surely this will not go unnoticed, but I saw the map on the CL website and did some research.
The map is found...here.
Adams
Clay
Copiah
Issaquena
Jasper
Jeff Davis
Kemper
Pike
Quitman
Sharkey
Tallahatchie
Yazoo
Leake
Neshoba
Panola
All these counties were won by Bryant. Some by fairly large margins.
What do these have in common? They are majority African-American (or in the case of the last three, have no majority race). I may have missed some more in my haphazard research.
I know that turnout was probably down due to a weak Democrat candidate. I also read the map as Noxubee County, home of our old friend Ike Brown, being the only county in the eastern 2/3 of the state to go Democrat (well done, Ike!). But, possibly, could it be that the residents of these counties voted for...Low taxes? An environment that allows for job creation? *Gasp*...against expanding government?
I might be the only one pondering this. I'm sure there will be a lot of scholarly articles written about it. Or, the CL map could be wrong. Or ignored. Or whatever. All of those are possibilities.
The map is found...here.
The Gift That Keeps on Giving
"You do not have to have $100,000 to get elected to the Mississippi Legislature, and it shouldn't cost that much to win in the Legislature," Ricky Cole said in an interview regarding the Dems holding off a supermajority in the House.
Well...I mean, some people have to spend that much to get elected, right? But nobody you'd really want in office, right?
Oh...wait...who was one of the first to put that much money into a legislative race?
Tuesday, November 3, 2015
I See the 42 Narrative Forming
See, people wanted to vote for 42. After all, it got 58% of the votes!
Except...
It got 58% of the votes actually cast between the two amendments, which, as I write this is about 35K votes less than the vote to not amend the state constitution. What they won't tell you is about 50K that voted not to amend at all didn't bother to vote for either (because if you don't want to amend the constitution, why vote for the lesser of two evils option? This question will not be answered, except perhaps in a brief, small paragraph at the end of stories).
It's confusing, and the Clarion-Ledger and its fellow travelers in the media/lawyer caucus will use that to muddy the waters in the coming years. I imagine there were a lot of people who were intent on voting for 42, but took one look at the sticker price ($201 million), and put it back on the shelf.
Always remember the truth of this issue: The Little Guy won, because all of the trial lawyers, education consulting firms, Gannet Media, and out of state money couldn't buy an election in Mississippi. Even with an endorsement of the New York Times this morning (helpfully retweeted by a CL writer as a "workaround for Red-State Dems"), the underfunded Little Guy kept the trial lawyers out of education.
There's still more work to be done, for sure-Hood, it appears, will remain in his post for four more maddening years, in which the politically connected will get away with anything short of murder-but the tide was held back today.
Except...
It got 58% of the votes actually cast between the two amendments, which, as I write this is about 35K votes less than the vote to not amend the state constitution. What they won't tell you is about 50K that voted not to amend at all didn't bother to vote for either (because if you don't want to amend the constitution, why vote for the lesser of two evils option? This question will not be answered, except perhaps in a brief, small paragraph at the end of stories).
It's confusing, and the Clarion-Ledger and its fellow travelers in the media/lawyer caucus will use that to muddy the waters in the coming years. I imagine there were a lot of people who were intent on voting for 42, but took one look at the sticker price ($201 million), and put it back on the shelf.
Always remember the truth of this issue: The Little Guy won, because all of the trial lawyers, education consulting firms, Gannet Media, and out of state money couldn't buy an election in Mississippi. Even with an endorsement of the New York Times this morning (helpfully retweeted by a CL writer as a "workaround for Red-State Dems"), the underfunded Little Guy kept the trial lawyers out of education.
There's still more work to be done, for sure-Hood, it appears, will remain in his post for four more maddening years, in which the politically connected will get away with anything short of murder-but the tide was held back today.
Sunday, October 25, 2015
A Final 42 Thought
Exactly how many Mississippians is 200,000?
It's 6.8% of Mississippi's approximate population.
It's fewer people than voted for Johnny Dupree in 2011 in the general, and slightly more than voted for either he or Bill Luckett in the 2011 Democrat Primary or Runoff.
It's smaller than the population of Hinds County, and slightly more than the population of Harrison County.
It's roughly the number of Methodists in the state. There are about a million Baptists, by the way.
So when they tell you it's a big number, it is. It's just not as big a number as you think. It's an old advertising trick, and a good one. Plus I doubt many of them signed anything more deeply described than "More Money For Education!"
It's 6.8% of Mississippi's approximate population.
It's fewer people than voted for Johnny Dupree in 2011 in the general, and slightly more than voted for either he or Bill Luckett in the 2011 Democrat Primary or Runoff.
It's smaller than the population of Hinds County, and slightly more than the population of Harrison County.
It's roughly the number of Methodists in the state. There are about a million Baptists, by the way.
So when they tell you it's a big number, it is. It's just not as big a number as you think. It's an old advertising trick, and a good one. Plus I doubt many of them signed anything more deeply described than "More Money For Education!"
I should add this on 42...
When you look at the people who are the press flacks and go-to folks for journalists regarding 42, who are the names that come up?
Jonathan Compretta-who I'm sure is in no way related to the family of Democrats in Bay St. Louis.
Patsy Brumfield-former Daily Journal staffer.
Yeah, I'm sure this isn't partisan, and there's no way that journalists would ever give the benefit of the doubt to other journalists. Makes you wonder how unbiased our media really is. At least give us a disclaimer, like you do when you make sure to note that Jim Barksdale is a Republican (though he did use Bill Clinton's Justice Department to go after Microsoft while he was CEO of Netscape, has made numerous contributions to Democrats, and the only first-page Google result for his party affiliation uses liberal publication Mother Jones as a source).
See, some background information might be useful to voters. If only we had an honest press that wasn't intertwined with political interests.
Jonathan Compretta-who I'm sure is in no way related to the family of Democrats in Bay St. Louis.
Patsy Brumfield-former Daily Journal staffer.
Yeah, I'm sure this isn't partisan, and there's no way that journalists would ever give the benefit of the doubt to other journalists. Makes you wonder how unbiased our media really is. At least give us a disclaimer, like you do when you make sure to note that Jim Barksdale is a Republican (though he did use Bill Clinton's Justice Department to go after Microsoft while he was CEO of Netscape, has made numerous contributions to Democrats, and the only first-page Google result for his party affiliation uses liberal publication Mother Jones as a source).
See, some background information might be useful to voters. If only we had an honest press that wasn't intertwined with political interests.
Even the 42 Cheerleaders Can't Hide This
Daily Journal, Today
My journalist friends tell me this is called "Burying the Lede."
"But at the end of the day, no one can say for sure how any court will rule in the future, and so the tough question remains."
Repeat after me: THIS IS NOT ABOUT MAEP. There is no language about MAEP in the Amendment. When law professors (who are, WAIT FOR IT...lawyers!) can't tell you what is going to happen with the law, you probably don't need to leave it in the hands of the county judges.
But of course you should trust them. After all, when has a lawyer or judge in Mississippi ever been corrupt? Or incompetent? Or both? Or even just out for a quick buck?
Somebody should ask Bobby DeLaughter. Or Dickie Scruggs. Or Ed Peters. I'm sure they'd be experts on that last question.
My journalist friends tell me this is called "Burying the Lede."
"But at the end of the day, no one can say for sure how any court will rule in the future, and so the tough question remains."
Repeat after me: THIS IS NOT ABOUT MAEP. There is no language about MAEP in the Amendment. When law professors (who are, WAIT FOR IT...lawyers!) can't tell you what is going to happen with the law, you probably don't need to leave it in the hands of the county judges.
But of course you should trust them. After all, when has a lawyer or judge in Mississippi ever been corrupt? Or incompetent? Or both? Or even just out for a quick buck?
Somebody should ask Bobby DeLaughter. Or Dickie Scruggs. Or Ed Peters. I'm sure they'd be experts on that last question.
Tuesday, October 20, 2015
42...Strangely, Not the Answer to Everything
I'm perplexed that it's even come to this.
It's pretty obvious to anyone who's watched the 42 debate that the main purpose of the initiative is not to fund schools (with no budget cuts or tax increases, y'all!!!!) but to fund the Ronnie Musgrove Betterment Fund, and the Trial Lawyers. At least to anyone who isn't a 42 supporter or a Clarion-Ledger writer-but I repeat myself.
Seriously, when Sid Salter is writing articles BEGGING people not to vote on 42, how much more of a red flag do you need? I could go into all his reasons, but he puts it really well. It is a straight up violation of the separation of powers, and creating an education czar (as if we don't have enough!) in the Hinds County courts.
Vote against 42. Both 42s.
It's pretty obvious to anyone who's watched the 42 debate that the main purpose of the initiative is not to fund schools (with no budget cuts or tax increases, y'all!!!!) but to fund the Ronnie Musgrove Betterment Fund, and the Trial Lawyers. At least to anyone who isn't a 42 supporter or a Clarion-Ledger writer-but I repeat myself.
Seriously, when Sid Salter is writing articles BEGGING people not to vote on 42, how much more of a red flag do you need? I could go into all his reasons, but he puts it really well. It is a straight up violation of the separation of powers, and creating an education czar (as if we don't have enough!) in the Hinds County courts.
Vote against 42. Both 42s.
Sunday, October 11, 2015
I Can Call Em
So remember when I gave you the Jim Hood playbook? You remember-"I'm Jim Hood, and I'm against Crime!" (And the implication is that if you're not Samson himself, YOU DON'T CARE ABOUT CRIME).
I turned on my TV this morning, and what did I see? A Jim Hood ad targeting Mike Hurst for not prosecuting Domestic Violence cases.
Cause that's a federal crime, you know? (HEAVY SARCASM GUYS).
You know what else Mike Hurst hasn't ever prosecuted? People who ran against his buddies. You know, like Hood did for Jamie Franks.
I turned on my TV this morning, and what did I see? A Jim Hood ad targeting Mike Hurst for not prosecuting Domestic Violence cases.
Cause that's a federal crime, you know? (HEAVY SARCASM GUYS).
You know what else Mike Hurst hasn't ever prosecuted? People who ran against his buddies. You know, like Hood did for Jamie Franks.
Saturday, September 19, 2015
Hypocracy, the Media, and You
I've read the CL headlines. Since Charleston, it's been non-stop.
I'm agnostic on the flag; I've told you all this. Don't care either way because it really won't affect my life (or yours-and you know it's true in your heart of hearts, CL editorial board) in any discernible way.
("But SYMBOLISM!" cried Former Democrat Operative Sam Hall. Symbolism being the thing that puts bread on your table, after all. How's that article damning Steve Holland and Jamie Franks going, by the way?)
But I'm really flummoxed at some of the headlines.
The first that drew my attention was the three days that the CL hyped the "Mississippi Celebrities for Changing the Flag" ad/article/whatever. If my memory serves, it was the same week that the Center for Medical Progress released their Planned Parenthood videos, which the media seemed to have discovered this week. Thanks, Carly!
My thoughts went to the Planned Parenthood videos immediately. How many of these Celebrities would put their name to a letter to defund PP? Archie Manning, Hugh Freeze...maybe Dan Mullen? After all, if a flag hurts your feelings, what does a person describing how they cut through a live baby's face to get to the brain FOR MONEY do to you?
(Please save me the "EDITED VIDEO" sermon. There's nothing out of context about it, and you know it.)
The second was Steve Earle.
You may remember Steve. Back in the 80s he was a really good, edgy, country artist. Since about 1990, however, he's slipped into paranoia, activism, and his music has been noted more for being more political than...you know...good. Johnny Cash warned you about this, Steve. He even did a song about it.
For those of you under 30, he's probably more well known for CMT documentaries (do they even do those any more, or is it all reality shows? Haven't watched CMT since I discovered YouTube). Plus a little song he did in 2002 from the perspective John Walker Lindh. Name ring a bell?
JWL was the original American Islamist. He'd be at home at the preschool with the non-competitive musical chairs. Sometime around 2000, he became a member of the Taliban.
So Steve Earle has sympathy for Johnny Taliban. You, the average American who didn't learn guitar under Townes Van Zandt and make millions from "Copperhead Road?" No, he doesn't have sympathy for you. Cause you think the wrong way.
I'd love some justification from the Clarion Ledger as to why anyone who disagrees with Earle is worse than the Taliban, who blew up monuments because they didn't agree with the beliefs of those who disagreed with them. But that would require them to make a connection I'm certain they don't want to make.
I'm agnostic on the flag; I've told you all this. Don't care either way because it really won't affect my life (or yours-and you know it's true in your heart of hearts, CL editorial board) in any discernible way.
("But SYMBOLISM!" cried Former Democrat Operative Sam Hall. Symbolism being the thing that puts bread on your table, after all. How's that article damning Steve Holland and Jamie Franks going, by the way?)
But I'm really flummoxed at some of the headlines.
The first that drew my attention was the three days that the CL hyped the "Mississippi Celebrities for Changing the Flag" ad/article/whatever. If my memory serves, it was the same week that the Center for Medical Progress released their Planned Parenthood videos, which the media seemed to have discovered this week. Thanks, Carly!
My thoughts went to the Planned Parenthood videos immediately. How many of these Celebrities would put their name to a letter to defund PP? Archie Manning, Hugh Freeze...maybe Dan Mullen? After all, if a flag hurts your feelings, what does a person describing how they cut through a live baby's face to get to the brain FOR MONEY do to you?
(Please save me the "EDITED VIDEO" sermon. There's nothing out of context about it, and you know it.)
The second was Steve Earle.
You may remember Steve. Back in the 80s he was a really good, edgy, country artist. Since about 1990, however, he's slipped into paranoia, activism, and his music has been noted more for being more political than...you know...good. Johnny Cash warned you about this, Steve. He even did a song about it.
For those of you under 30, he's probably more well known for CMT documentaries (do they even do those any more, or is it all reality shows? Haven't watched CMT since I discovered YouTube). Plus a little song he did in 2002 from the perspective John Walker Lindh. Name ring a bell?
JWL was the original American Islamist. He'd be at home at the preschool with the non-competitive musical chairs. Sometime around 2000, he became a member of the Taliban.
So Steve Earle has sympathy for Johnny Taliban. You, the average American who didn't learn guitar under Townes Van Zandt and make millions from "Copperhead Road?" No, he doesn't have sympathy for you. Cause you think the wrong way.
I'd love some justification from the Clarion Ledger as to why anyone who disagrees with Earle is worse than the Taliban, who blew up monuments because they didn't agree with the beliefs of those who disagreed with them. But that would require them to make a connection I'm certain they don't want to make.
Saturday, August 8, 2015
While I'd Love to Fan the Flames...
There is no conspiracy. I can save you millions in fees to consultants, MS Democratic Party. I will tell you why Robert Gray won.
HE WAS FIRST ALPHABETICALLY.
Low information race, low turnout. People checked a box and moved on. Simple.
I'd tell you where to send the check, but I don't need the money quite that badly.
HE WAS FIRST ALPHABETICALLY.
Low information race, low turnout. People checked a box and moved on. Simple.
I'd tell you where to send the check, but I don't need the money quite that badly.
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