“We’ve not only lost in Mississippi, we’ve lost by 20 points in Mississippi,” said Ray Mabus, the former governor of Mississippi and a senior adviser to Mr. Obama.
Mr. Mabus added: “It’s not only Democrats who’ve been writing off Mississippi. It’s Republicans, too, because they felt safe.”
The Obama campaign’s interest in the South, Mr. Mabus said, is already heightening the competition there. He noted that Senator John McCain had been to Mississippi since clinching the Republican nomination. “I don’t think he would have come if he thought it was a mortal lock,” Mr. Mabus said.
He and five other members of Congress arrived in Kuwait City on Saturday, Iraq time, and spent Sunday traveling across Iraq. The first trip was to Baghdad via a C-130 cargo plane.
After a security briefing, the group went to see a facility featuring MRAPS, or mine-resistant ambush-protected armored vehicles.
"(It) is very interesting to me, partly because one of the MRAPS, possibly two of them, various ones, were made in our district in North Mississippi, in West Point, Clay County, Miss.," he said, referring to the armored vehicles designed to survive roadside bombs. "I had a great visit with the men there. I have some wonderful pictures of the MRAPS in action."
"Today is a major victory for law abiding Mississippians and all Americans who have always believed, as I have, that the Second Amendment conveys an individual right to bear arms," Musgrove said in a statement Thursday. "I commend the Supreme Court for its decision recognizing this important constitutionally protected right."
Before leaving, the Democrat-controlled House voted Friday, largely along party lines, to tell Republican Gov. Haley Barbour not to make any cuts in the program until at least February.
"Senator Roger Wicker is honored to have President Bush to Mississippi to support his campaign," Wicker for Senate campaign manager Austin Barbour said in the release. "President Bush has offered America strong leadership in a unique moment of danger in our history."There you go. Roger Wicker thinks George W. Bush has been a strong leader. I am sorry but George W. Bush has been anything but strong, much less a leader. Roger Wicker supports the President who has brought us the worst recession in 20 years, torture, war for profit, and lie after lie to justify his empirical rule.
Added Childers: "I believe the right to bear arms is a fundamental freedom, and I am proud to support legislation to protect the civil liberties of gun owners in north Mississippi and throughout the nation."
On Wednesday Steve Preston, the secretary of the U.S. Housing and Urban Development, accepted a $350 million plan from Mississippi to build thousands of affordable housing units for working families.I want to thank Bennie Thompson for his most diligent work on getting real justice for the forgotten victims of Hurricane Katrina. As long as Bennie Thompson is in Washington, those 5,000 Mississippians without a home will have a voice.
The project, titled Mississippi's Long-Term Work Force Housing Plan, will provide grants and loans to local communities, nonprofit organizations and private developers to build 12,000 affordable homes in Hancock, Harrison, Jackson and Pearl River counties.
The original law requires states and localities to spend 70 percent of the money they receive on projects that clearly benefit low- and moderate-income people. Recognizing that the disaster had affected people of all incomes, Congress lowered that requirement to 50 percent after Katrina and allowed the Gulf Coast states to waive the income tests for certain projects.More...
Mississippi was quick to take advantage of that flexibility.
Congress must use its power to ensure that any remaining Katrina money goes to low-income households. It can start by barring Mississippi from using the block-grant funds for the Gulfport project. It must also close the loopholes in the block-grant law to ensure that future disaster aid goes to those who truly need it.
But things may be changing in the Magnolia State. Lott heeded the call of K Street and abandoned his constituents mid-term. His appointed replacement, Roger Wicker, now faces a tough special-election battle against the resurrected Musgrove. A nonpartisan Research 2000 poll conducted for Daily Kos in mid-May found Wicker with a narrow 46-42 lead, while a Rasmussen poll in late May gave Musgrove a razor-thin 47-46 lead. Both poll results were within the margin of error, indicating a tied race. And because of a quirk in Mississippi law, party identification won’t be listed in the special-election battle. People won’t be reminded at the ballot box that Musgrove is a Democrat.
Additionally, those numbers assume traditional turnout patterns, which Barack Obama threatens to upend in dramatic fashion. Mississippi boasts the largest black population in the United States — 37.1 percent of the state, according to 2006 U.S. Census Bureau calculations. With Obama expected to spur record turnout from that demographic this November, the energized black vote alone may very well make the state competitive.
The state Legislature resumes its special session Thursday to try resolving a Medicaid-funding stalemate that Republican Gov. Haley Barbour says will force him to make painful health care budget cuts next week if the Democratic-dominated House doesn’t agree to his demand for a hospital tax.Barbour and Senate President Phil Bryant say the compromise-seeking House must pass the Republican-led Senate’s tax bill or else see hospitals lose $375 million in Medicaid payments.Spineless Phil Bryant, who should show his independence from the governor's office and get a solution passed, has proven to be another Barbour clone.
“I will not compromise the bill the Senate has passed for political purposes,” said Bryant, who’s also lieutenant governor and Barbour’s chief ally.If the governor and his lackey don't get their way, the poor people of Mississippi are going to suffer.
Skeptics have questioned Obama’s chances in states ranging from Montana, where Obama’s support of gun control is unpopular, to those in the South, where racially polarized voting patterns could undermine his chances. Some have suggested his broader playing field is a kind of “head-fake,” a maneuver designed to force McCain to spend money and time on states Obama doesn’t really think he can win.
Hildebrand dismissed that suggestion.
“We’re going in to win those states,” he said. “We’re not going in to make McCain have to pay attention to them. We’re going in to win. The result of that is he’s going to have to pay serious attention to them where he otherwise might not have to.”
Testifying to the House Energy and Commerce Committee, Michael Masters of Masters Capital Management said that the price of oil would quickly drop closer to its marginal cost of around $65 to $75 a barrel, about half the current $135. Fadel Gheit of Oppenheimer & Co., Edward Krapels of Energy Security Analysis and Roger Diwan of PFC Energy Consultants agreed with Masters' assessment at a hearing on proposed legislation to limit speculation in futures markets.
Krapels said that it wouldn't even take 30 days to drive prices lower, as fund managers quickly liquidated their positions in futures markets."Record oil prices are inflated by speculation and not justified by market fundamentals," according to Gheit. "Based on supply and demand fundamentals, crude-oil prices should not be above $60 per barrel."
Speculators now account for about 70% of all benchmark crude trading on the New york Mercantile Exchange, up from 37% in 2000, said Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., chairman of the investigations subcommittee.
By threatening cuts the governor has attempted to force hospital administrators and employees to agree with his position. In fact, when questioned about their stated support for the governor's plan, representatives of the Mississippi Hospital Association testified to a House committee that they preferred the cigarette tax but were told by the governor that the hospital tax was the only option available. (Speaker of the House, Billy McCoy, to the Clarion Ledger.)
Tobacco-related illnesses claims the lives of 4,700 Mississippians every year.
Tobacco use by pregnant women is a leading cause of low birth-weight infants.
Cigarette smoking doubles the likelihood of a stroke.
Teens who smoke are 3-times more likely as nonsmokers to use alcohol, 8-times more likely to use marijuana, and 22-times more likely to use cocaine.
Cigarette smokers are 2 - 4-times more likely to develop coronary heart disease than nonsmokers.
Exposure to secondhand smoke has been shown to hamper cognitive development
in children.
Tobacco's Impact to Mississippi Taxpayers
Treatment of tobacco-related illness costs the Mississippi Healthcare System $719 million each year.
Treatment of tobacco-related illness costs the state's taxpayer-supported Medicaid program $264 million each year.
For every individual Mississippian who pays taxes, $534 of your money goes to Medicaid pay to treat tobacco related illness in the state.
Tobacco use is linked to $1.41 billion in lost worker productivity annually in the state.
"The assassination of Benazir Bhutto in December was an 'unfortunate event,' says Black. 'But his knowledge and ability to talk about it reemphasized that this is the guy who's ready to be Commander-in-Chief. And it helped us.' As would, Black concedes with startling candor after we raise the issue, another terrorist attack on U.S. soil. 'Certainly it would be a big advantage to him,' says Black."
Thompson Decries Supreme Court Decision
June 23, 2008 (WASHINGTON) – Today, the United States Supreme Court denied a plea in the Defenders of Wildlife case against the Department of Homeland Security (No. 07-1180). The case pertains to Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff's use of questionable waiver authority to skirt numerous federal laws in order to construct fencing along the southwest border. The petitioners allege that the use of the waiver is unconstitutional.
Congressman Bennie G. Thompson (D-MS), Chairman of the Committee on Homeland Security and 13 other Members of Congress, including six Committee Chairmen, submitted an Amicus Curiae brief to urge the Supreme Court to grant certiorari in the case.
Chairman Thompson issued the following statement in response to the decision:
"I am extremely disappointed in the Court's decision. This waiver will only prolong the Department from addressing the real issue, their lack of a comprehensive border security plan. Without a comprehensive plan this fence is just another quick fix," said Thompson."Despite this decision, Secretary Chertoff still has a responsibility to act prudently and to consult with all stakeholders."
One is the Haley Barbour point of view. Barbour wants to shore up a $90 million shortfall in the program that provides health care for the needy with a hospital tax, and, as of now, it’s his way or no way.There is more:
Another is the majority House Democratic view advocated by Speaker Billy McCoy. They want to raise Mississippi’s relatively low tax on cigarettes to fund at least part of the deficit, something Barbour, the former tobacco lobbyist, has resisted since he’s been in office.
Haley is using the poor folks of Mississippi as a political football. As the Commonwealth points out, if cuts are made Barbour will try and blame Speaker McCoy and House Democrats.Not to be lost in all of this, too, is an apparent lack of leadership on the part of Lt. Gov. Phil Bryant to craft any sort of solution that both sides can accept.
Mississippi received $5.4 billion in HUD Community Development Block Grant money to help flooded homeowners restore their properties or pay off mortgages. Some of that money also was used to cover utility company losses and for economic development needs.This money in question was originally designated for the benefit of the poor flood victims from Katrina, but has now become the subject of a heated debate. Sensible democrats demand the money be used for its original purpose, since that purpose has yet to be realized. The Republicans, and their friends, think it is swell to hijack money designated for the poor and use it for big business by building a needed port. The port project is a great idea, and should be funded, just get the money from somewhere else. Don't take it from those with the least voice.
HUD officials said they had reservations about Barbour's request to shift $600 million from a low-income housing program to the port, but they felt they had to comply under the terms of law that provided Mississippi with the grant money.
Thompson wants the Appropriations Committee to change the law and require HUD to deny Barbour's request.
"This transfer is unreasonable in light of the fact that the state has not met all of its unmet housing needs," said the letter. "Although the state maintains that it has met its unmet housing needs, housing advocates on the ground in Mississippi contend that the state is cherry-picking numbers that are favorable to its plans."Bennie Thompson is leading the charge to make sure this money grab by the right does not happen. According to testimony Representative Thompson gave the Senate, there are 5,000 Katrina victims In temporary housing. This issue is a no-brainer if you genuinely care about the hurricae victims. Shame on Gene Taylor for supporting the money grab. Gene, you are better than that, tighten up.
Reilly Morse, senior attorney with Biloxi office of the Mississippi Center for Justice, said, "Affordable housing is a necessity, not a luxury.
An aide to Iowa's governor said Thursday that Republican presidential candidate John McCain ignored the governor's request to cancel a campaign visit amid a massive flood recovery effort in the state.
McCain toured flood-damaged sites in Iowa on Thursday, including the town of Columbus Junction in the southeast.
Patrick Dillon, Gov. Chet Culver's chief of staff, said the governor was concerned that McCain's trip would divert local law enforcement from the flood recovery effort to provide security for McCain.
Four Western oil companies are in the final stages of negotiations this month on contracts that will return them to Iraq, 36 years after losing their oil concession to nationalization as Saddam Hussein rose to power.It has been very clear to a lot of us that this was the endgame in the Iraqi struggle as far as the current administration's interests are concerned. Not to mention the prize for Big Oil is "no bid contracts", per the New York Times. That is right NO BID.
Exxon Mobil, Shell, Total and BP — the original partners in the Iraq Petroleum Company — along with Chevron and a number of smaller oil companies, are in talks with Iraq’s Oil Ministry for no-bid contracts to service Iraq’s largest fields, according to ministry officials, oil company officials and an American diplomat.
The deals, expected to be announced on June 30, will lay the foundation for the first commercial work for the major companies in Iraq since the American invasion, and open a new and potentially lucrative country for their operations.
The no-bid contracts are unusual for the industry, and the offers prevailed over others by more than 40 companies, including companies in Russia, China and India. The contracts, which would run for one to two years and are relatively small by industry standards, would nonetheless give the companies an advantage in bidding on future contracts in a country that many experts consider to be the best hope for a large-scale increase in oil production.
I think it's wonderful that Howard Dean was able to use the Internet, $50, $75, $100 contributions. That's what we want it to be all about. We want average citizens to contribute small amounts of money, and that's a commitment to a campaign. So I'm for that. I think it's a great thing. I think the Internet is going to change American politics for the better.Glad to have you in agreement Senator McCain!
"With no oil spills in the Gulf of Mexico following hurricanes Katrina and Rita, today's technology has proven we can utilize our domestic energy reserves in a safe and environmentally-sound way," Wicker said.We have already shown both of these statements to be categorically false in this post and this post.
"Congress should take immediate action to utilize this domestic energy in order to lower gas prices."
There is no doubt that a lot of people have been discomfited and genuinely hurt by $4-a-gallon gas. But their suffering will not be relieved by drilling in restricted areas off the coasts of New Jersey or Virginia or California. The Energy Information Administration says that even if both coasts were opened, prices would not begin to drop until 2030. The only real beneficiaries will be the oil companies that are trying to lock up every last acre of public land before their friends in power — Mr. Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney — exit the political stage.Roger, there were oil spills due to Katrina. Just saying that there were not does not change the reality. Gas prices will not be brought down by any drilling until 2030, so stop acting like this a sure fire fix.
Thompson says that nearly three years after Katrina, about 300 families are still living in hotels and motels and more than 5,000 are in temporary housing.Thanks for all you do Representative Thompson. Keep up the good work.
Thompson says he will make it clear to the Federal Emergency Management Agency that coast housing needs to be a priority.
Childers is the people's representative, let's make sure he stays in Washington.JFP: I’m sure you’ve always heard that Washington is a heavily partisan place. Is that the feeling you get?
Childers: In all fairness, it is, but let me follow that up by saying people have been extremely nice to me. The Democrats, of course, have been especially so excited for us to win our seat back. They keep saying that this has been a Republican seat for 13 years and blah, blah, blah. Well, no one gets a political seat by divine right. Nobody. And they never seem to recall that it was a Democratic seat for almost 100 years before that.
JFP: Yeah, but that was prior to the state’s two-party system and the Southern Strategy and so on. You’ve got to keep that in context.
Childers: Absolutely, but it’s not meant to be either a Republican seat or a Democrat seat. The seat belongs to the people, and I think our campaign message resonated with the people of Mississippi. I think they, once again, felt like they could have somebody who’s one of them representing them. I’m about the lowest common denominator you can get to. I come from working folks and working families. I’m middle class, haven’t even been able to be an elitist in all my life, and I’m happy and proud of that, and I say that with no apology to anybody.
Nearly six million gallons of oil pouring out of seven pipelines and
coastal storage tanks ruptured by Hurricane Katrina amount to one of the largest U.S. oil spills in history.
For any of you doubters out there, since the link in the post is to an environmental website, these are for you.Major spills so far involve facilities owned by Shell, Chevron, Murphy Oil and Bass Enterprises Production. Offshore, nearly 40 drilling rigs have been destroyed. Some washed up on local beaches, one crashed into a bridge, while others simply disappeared.
By comparison to Katrina, the Exxon Valdez oil spill -- America's largest -- dumped 11 million gallons into Alaska's Prince William Sound.
Congressman Childers to manage first bill on House floor
today
Washington, DC – Congressman Travis W. Childers will manage a bill on the floor of the House of Representatives for the first time around 12:00 P.M. Eastern Time today.
The legislation that Congressman Childers will manage is styled H.R. 6276, the "Public Housing Disaster Relief Act of 2008", which removes Section 9 (K) of the United States Housing Act of 1937. H.R. 6276 strikes that section of the Housing Act in order to reduce red tape for public housing authorities to get natural disaster relief assistance from FEMA.
"Basically, this legislation removes bureaucratic red tape," Congressman Childers said about the bill. "And, it also eliminates a sense of ambiguity between two federal agencies who are putting fingers at one another, which is the last thing they should be doing in the event of a natural disaster."
To date, Section 9 (K) has never been funded, and FEMA has continually cited this section for the reasons why they are not allocating funding to rebuild Public Housing Authorities that have been destroyed by a natural disaster. The Housing Act is statutorily written such that the Department of Housing and Urban Development has authority under section 9 (K) to disburse funds to public housing authorities in the event of a disaster; however, no money has ever been appropriated for Section 9 (K) since it was authorized into law.
Congressman Childers is managing the legislation as part of his responsibilities of serving on the prestigious Financial Services Committee in the House of Representatives. The Congressional Budget Office estimates the costs of H.R. 6276 will be zero over 5 years, meaning the bill conforms to PAYGO rules which Congressman Childers staunchly supports.
Similarly, lower 48 natural gas production is not projected to increase substantially by 2030 as a result of increased access to the OCS.The real answer is to decrease demand and invest in clean energy research, not pandering to everyday Americans who are hurting at the pump by offering a solution that sounds great but is really just a windfall in profits for the corrupt oil and gas industry. The pander strategy did not work for Senator Clinton on the gas tax holiday and won't work for McCain either. This more than any other election is shaping up to be an election centered on policy. As long as McCain keeps flip-flopping in issues , and worse flopping the wrong way, we Democrats are in good shape.
“The passing of former Sen. Grey Ferris is a sad day not only for me but for all of Mississippi. My heart goes out to his wife, Jann, their two children and the rest of his family,” Musgrove said.
“Grey was a man of great character and compassion, whose legislative love was education. He was universally respected by everyone he met, whether his colleagues on the floor of the Senate or his friends and neighbors in Warren County. It has been an honor to call him my friend.”
“Grey Ferris was a dedicated public servant who worked tirelessly with members of both political parties for the benefit of Mississippi, our residents and our children. Sen. Ferris will forever be remembered as a staunch supporter and advocate of public education, a state lawmaker who helped promote public schools while serving in the state Senate from 1992 to 2000.
“One of the senator’s greatest legacies was the fact that he, along with state Sen. Hob Bryan, were the lead authors of the Adequate Education Program – landmark legislation that revamped the public school funding formula to allow all schools to meet education standards. My sympathy and prayers go to Sen. Ferris and his family.”
The one issue presenting the greatest challenge is a $90 million deficit in the Division of Medicaid, which provides health care for about 600,000 elderly, disabled and poor pregnant women and children.In Sunday's Daily Journal key House Democrats offered hope that Lt. Governor Phil Bryant will break with the Governor and come to a compromise.
The governor has said he will begin making cuts in the health care agency when the fiscal year begins on July 1 if the Legislature does not pass a $167.25 per bed, per day tax on hospitals based on their patient count in 2006.
The Senate has passed the plan. The House leadership prefers a hike in the cigarette tax, though it has offered a partial hospital tax/cigarette tax compromise.
"I think the lieutenant governor is poised to do good things," said House Public Health Committee Chairman Steve Holland, D-Plantersville. "...It would take courage, independence and a spirit of compromise.Expect a lot of rhetoric out of the governor's office blaming Speaker McCoy and House Democrats for obstructing his plan. The real question is, which side offers compromise and which side offers the sound and fury of hot air?
"But I think he has it in him." ...
...Senate Public Health Committee Chairman Hob Bryan, D-Amory, said Bryant already has broken with the governor on this issue. Early on, Barbour proposed placing a gross revenue assessment on the hospitals.
Bryant, Bryan said, rejected that proposal because of concerns the plan would result in the bankruptcy of some small hospitals.
