July 31, 2010

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News Release about NAACP resolution

July 30, 2010 By EHarris Leave a Comment

The Starkville TEA Party Rejects the NAACP Resolution

The Starkville TEA Party totally rejects the NAACP’s resolution that condemns what they termed “racist elements” in the TEA Party movement as false and unfounded. We join with other leaders of TEA Party and citizen groups across the nation who have spoken out to reject these inflammatory and counterproductive accusations.

The Starkville TEA Party welcomes anyone regardless of color, race, religion, gender or political affiliation who agrees with our core values of fiscal responsibility, constitutionally limited government, and free markets. We have identified no elements of racism within the Starkville TEA Party and will not tolerate acts of racism. We will not be made to feel guilty for something that we have not done, or condone, by fearful attacks from a once respected organization which now exclusively serves the Democrat Party.

The NAACP’s statements were a slap in the face to the many black patriotic Americans who have come together with white, Jewish, Latino, and other American patriots to organize citizen groups across this nation in opposition to the policies of this administration. Patriots will stand to protect our country regardless of the color of those trying to harm us.

Are there racists in the TEA Party movement? Sure. But it is rooted out when it is exposed. The racist and inflammatory rhetoric as well as efforts to plant fake tea partiers in our rallies with racist signs to make it appear that we condone racism is coming from the progressive left to which the NAACP is obviously sympathetic. It would benefit the reputation of the NAACP to place condemnation where it belongs.

In Matthew 7:5, Jesus said: You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.

“NOT racist – NOT violent – NOT silent any longer!”

Gary Chesser
Starkville TEA Party

Filed Under: Happening Now, Starkville Now, Voices

Vote for Prosperity

July 28, 2010 By EHarris Leave a Comment

Danny Gardner

Guest Columnist

Jobs are key to moving our economy back toward prosperity for everyone.

Between now and November’s election savvy voters will seek information about JOBS, the economy, new and rising taxes, growing deficits and debt, and ideas about how to lead our nation back to prosperity.

Savvy voters will look for leaders who propose solutions, not politicians who look backward with nothing more than name-calling, blame-gaming ineptitude and poor judgment.

The Obama Administration predicts 9-percent unemployment or higher all next year, the longest period at this level since the Great Depression. They preach “jobs” and “the summer of recovery,” while playing race cards to distract attention from real unemployment and economic numbers.

Recently, some DC Democrats expressed reservations about allowing the Bush tax cuts to expire January 1, 2011, which will raise taxes on all taxpayers. This is anathema to the Obama-Pelosi-Reid consortium (OPR) dedicated to continually raising taxes and spending precipitously ad infinitum.

Of course, DC is not ‘spending’ tax dollars; DC is borrowing money to pay for more and more government handouts. That’s why the deficit will continue to skyrocket above $1.4 TRILLION by the end of September! The deficit is how many more dollars we borrow than we collect in taxes.

America’s businesses, anticipating coming tax hikes as well as new taxes, have resisted investing in their own businesses, i.e. they have laid off workers and stopped hiring. Unemployment numbers have zoomed to new heights during Obama’s tenure (according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics more than 4-million jobs have been lost since January 2009).

The economic debate in Washington revolves around how to balance revenue with spending. OPR argues we have to raise taxes to raise revenue to pay for increased government spending. Conservatives argue DC needs to quit spending more than we collect in taxes…or, really, stop borrowing.

If the private sector is taxed more, businesses will invest less than they would have by at least that same amount, and may spend even less because of the additional tax burdens imposed by the government, thus putting more people out of work, and reducing tax collections as well.

When businesses invest in themselves they hire more workers who pay taxes. Unemployed workers pay no income taxes; instead, they receive taxpayer handouts from the government. Nobody wants that!

Helping businesses increase profits means businesses will hire more workers. Raising taxes on businesses hinders businesses from hiring more workers.
Hindering businesses from hiring more workers smothers the economy.

Poor and unemployed Americans suffer more than anyone when DC smothers businesses with higher taxes.

OPR argues DC’s taxing businesses and redistributing those tax dollars to needy causes will improve the economy more than businesses investing profits and growing their own businesses and hiring more employees.

Do Americans want the government to pay increasing handouts to unemployed Americans? Or, would Americans prefer the government get off the backs of businesses and let them grow their businesses, hire more employees, and grow our economy back to prosperity?

Voters will decide in November.

Daniel L. Gardner is a syndicated columnist who lives in Starkville, MS.  You may contact him at PJandMe2@gmail.com

His column does not reflect the views of Starkville-Now.com.

Filed Under: Happening Now, Starkville Now, Voices

Hot…and Heavy

July 27, 2010 By EHarris Leave a Comment

R.J. Morgan

Guest Columnist

With every summer a young man spends in Mississippi, the threat of Hell holds less and less sway.
Eternal fire and damnation just aren’t that compelling after 6 months in Oktibbeha County under similar conditions.
Having grown up in this state and lived here for the entirety of my life, heat is just something that comes naturally. It’s as dependable as the changing of seasons that I’ve read occur in other parts of the country.
And the humidity!  It is not uncommon in the South to see – on a July day such as this one when the air is so thick with humidity it can cause choking – young children and the elderly wandering around outside with sweat just streaming from the edges of their diapers.

When Martin Luther King, Jr. described Mississippi as a state that was, “sweltering from the heat of injustice and oppression,” he failed to mention that it was also sweltering from the heat of… heat.
Naturally people of my demographic suffer the heaviest burden during these brutally hot times. The weather takes a toll on us as a people and grinds the weaker of our number to a halt. What’s worse, no government or media outlet seems to be sympathetic to our plight.
I’m referring of course to the Plus-Size population.
Fit people have no idea the effort level involved in mobilizing 350 pounds of mass to get up off the couch and go mow the lawn in 102-degree heat. Or what it takes just to trudge to the mailbox. Or move to the other end of the couch.
I thought when Mississippi elected Haley Barbour as governor, there might be relief on the way for “people of size.”
Surely the fattest governor of the fattest state would pander to his base? Moving sidewalks anyone? Fried Twinkie Week?
But no.

What does Barbour do? He launches “Let’s Go Walking, Mississippi.”
WALKING?!?! I certainly don’t see The Guv making laps around the Capitol on his lunch hour. No, he’s safely inside, being wheeled from meeting to meeting by his handlers in a tobacco-lined wheelbarrow with a full bar attached to one side.
It’s tantamount to party-swapping, so far as I can tell.
There are many things a person might do to escape the Mississippi heat. You could go sample the heat in Alabama or Texas, for one. My friends in the city tell me the New York heat is nice right now. Or, If you’re looking for prestige and have no problem with little things like loyalty or morals, I hear lots of people are heading to the Miami Heat these days.
Personally I have chosen to join a gym.
I visit it almost every day. I don’t actually exercise, but I do like to hang out there. See I had my cable cut off because it was too expensive. So for half what I was paying the cable company, I bought a gym membership and now get all the free cable, air conditioning, and tap water I want.

Management’s decision to clutter up the place with exercise equipment is an ill-advised choice of décor, in my opinion, but I manage to work my way around it.
Most of the televisions are connected to the fronts on the treadmills, which can be a bit tricky, but I just pull a reclining weight bench up onto one of the belts so I can watch my shows from a seated and comfortable position.
I get several glares from sweaty strangers when there’s a King of Queens marathon on, but most people are pretty accepting.
Most people.
There was this one old man in a brand new diaper who told me to, “Go to hell!” when I refused to give him my machine.
I just turned up the volume on my headphones and politely told him “I’m already there, that’s why I’m here.”

R.J. Morgan is a teacher and journalist in Starkville. He writes regularly online for www.thefriendlyfire.info, and all his humor columns are archived on www.rjmorgan.com.

His column does not reflect the views of Starkville-Now.com.


Filed Under: Happening Now, Starkville Now, Voices

My Turn: CottonMills favoritism is wrong

July 22, 2010 By SNEditor 4 Comments

Robbie Coblentz
Managing Editor, StarkvilleNow
So let me get this right.

An out-of-town-development group/knight-in-shining-armor wants to build a hotel/condo as part of a major, upscale retail, residential and convention center development on the underdeveloped property along Highway 12 between Spring and Russell streets. A local group wants to turn part of that same property into an upscale retail and hotel/condo center.

Both want to do essentially the same thing. The out-of-town group has been trying to get their act together for a couple of years, and meanwhile the property languishes. The local group has their ducks in a row but is running into opposition.

When the local guys apply for the zoning change they think they need to make it all happen, the out-of-town guy raises a stink. “This proposed development will detract from the surrounding property values,” said Jimmy Gouras, planning consultant for CottonMill planners Nicholas Properties of Ridgeland and PDK Capital Investors of Atlanta, Ga, aka The Knight.

The citizen-led Planning and Zoning commission ruled 7-0 in favor of the local guy, Tabor Construction.  The Board of Alderman sided 4-2 with the out-of-town knight.

Huh?

This raises so many questions.

Why did the aldermen ignore P&Z’s unanimous recommendation, not once but twice?

Why did they reject a locally proven developer in Larry Tabor — who has financing in place — for a project that has languished for several years, leaving behind nothing but the rubble of a movie theater and pretty signs?

Vice Mayor and Ward 2 Alderman Sandra Sistrunk cited her reason for voting no as the fact that the residential zoning will not generate as much money as it would if it stayed commercial.

So 50 (or more) high-end condos, which most likely wouldn’t qualify for homestead exemption, coupled with a restaurant or other retail outlet is going to get you les tax dollars than another clothing store or sub shop that could go in there tomorrow under existing zoning?

Ward 5 Alderman Jeremiah Dumas rejected the idea because he said it was closer to “strip” development instead of nodal development.

So if Tabor does it, it’s a strip mall, but CottonMills doing it makes it nodal?

Huh?

This really doesn’t make much sense.

Will this same group of city leaders oppose CottonMills if they purchase the project, refurb it into a hotel or condos and stick a restaurant there?

Probably not, and therein lies the problem.

Favoring a group who has made plans but no progress for years over one who is ready to go smells of preferential treatment.

I don’t blame the CottonMills group for opposing Tabor’s project. It’s a valuable piece of land in question. I’m sure they want to buy it to integrate into their master plan.  That makes good business sense.

But to protest someone else’s project now, knowing that they are going to attempt something similar if/when their projects ever gets moving is pretty lame.

It’s not like they haven’t had their chance to buy it in the past.  They have been given first shot with millions of tax dollars (another way of saying “tax credits”) and everyone is cheering them on.

But all we have is a torn-down building, weeds and promises.  And a Board of Aldermen ruling in their favor.

I hope the CottonMills development makes it.  It could be one of — if not the — most important retails developments in Starkville in the past 30 years.

But even more, I wish the out-of-town guys could play nice with the local developer and build something marvelous.

Too bad the Aldermen couldn’t have helped move that project along.

(Full disclosure time:  Tabor project architect is Chris Cosper, a good friend who designed the Studio on North Jackson project for me and currently rents an office  there.  Jeremiah Dumas is Alderman for my Ward- and a very responsive one at that.)

Filed Under: Happening Now, Starkville Now, Voices

A Family Outing at Twenty Knots

July 20, 2010 By EHarris Leave a Comment

R.J. Morgan

Starkville, MS

Last week I took a Carnival cruise to Mexico with my family.
Now this may sound like a fantastic, relaxing spectacle until you realize that it’s a Carnival cruise to Mexico… with my family.
First, there’s my parents, who listen to Bluegrass music en masse and like to congratulate each other on the small things in life like finding the cheapest gas.

Especially my dad, who is, well… a budgeter. Some misguided souls might call him cheap. He borrows internet from the neighbors, drops ESPN from his satellite package in the offseason, and plays free Tetris on his prepaid TracFone. A true man of the world.
My mom is a smothering sort who doesn’t mind at all interrupting the natural flow of any event in order to ask everyone to stop and face the camera for a picture. She does this so that (theoretically) we may on some distant date, after she’s long gone, come across that picture and remember fondly the very event she kept us from enjoying.

Then there’s my younger sister and her husband, who are weeks away from moving to Memphis and starting new jobs, stressed to the gills with the growing weights of adulthood.  My brother-in-law Josh is an artist, a sculptor. Very talented. My sister’s artistic talents manifest themselves in much subtler ways, like garage sale posters or elaborate signatures on credit card receipts.

And so the five of us set out toward New Orleans (and eventually Mexico) like five characters in some modern Twain tale.
For those uneducated about  life aboard a cruise ship, there is food. Lots and lots of food. One Carnival cruise ship could easily feed the entire starving populations of Burundi and Malawi, with enough leftover to support at least one Baldwin brother.
Buffets for breakfast. Buffets for lunch. And – since this was a Gulf of Mexico cruise – Jimmy Buffett performing live on an oil derrick.
On the Lido Deck, I witnessed one young lady who had to be physically detained for hoarding a bucket of sausage-stuffed calamari fritters and fending off security with a plastic crab zipper. I just shook my head at the scene and returned to my chocolate and mango sushi.
At sea there are different terms for everything. Port and Starboard mean left and right, Forward and Aft mean front and back, etc. I realized this lingo was dangerous in the hands of Southerners when a guy from Auburn nudged me one day at a bar by the pool and asked me if I was “checking out the aft on the girl in the orange bikini.”
My dad, in over 2,300 passengers, found and befriended an elderly hippie from right here in Starkville. He and his wife were celebrating their 40th anniversary and renewed their vows aboard the ship. My parents both agreed that after forty years, a more proper vacation would be separate cruises.

In Cozumel, Amanda and Josh went snorkeling. Both are whiter than an albino Eskimo, so it surprised no one when they returned to the ship looking like honorary members of the Aztec Nation.
I spent my own time in port seeking out some of the finer things the natives had to offer: golden margaritas, a silver chain necklace, and sweet-smelling Cuban tobacco. All duty free and of the highest quality. One simply would not believe the deal I negotiated for these wares.
But like even the finest of siestas at even the finest of cantinas, the adventure had to end.
By the time we returned on Saturday, Mom had digitally documented three quarters of the ship and was declared Ship Champion in Speed-Sudoku. My sister purchased several pieces of art, none of which impressed her husband, who was too busy nursing a water blister that boiled over like Old Faithful every 37 minutes. (I timed it!)

Dad left the ship with half a dozen new friends and quite proud of himself for achieving the high score on Tetris. I haven’t the heart to tell him that he’s playing only himself and the previous high score was his from last week. He’s happier this way.

As for myself, I declared three street-grade Mexican cigars and a green necklace, cursing the damned Mexicans all the way home.

His column does not reflect the views of Starkville-Now.com.

Filed Under: Happening Now, Starkville Now, Voices

Your Turn: Letter to the Editor

July 13, 2010 By EHarris Leave a Comment

Letter to the Editor:

Have you been counted in the Census? There appears to be whole neighborhoods missing from the Census log books:
I live just outside of the city of Starkville and I had not been contacted for the census by person, mail, or door hanger. I knew that the census was almost over. Therefore, Tuesday, July 6th, I began by calling the office of Oktibbeha County Supervisors and the County Clerk’s offices no one could give me any information except to refer me to the GSDP. The Greater Starkville Development Partnership could only refer me to the census office in Tupelo where I spoke with a very nice lady. After much searching, she couldn’t find me in the system. Nor could she find neighbors along Old Hwy 12. She did find three others with an Old Hwy 12 address, and an apartment complex up the street. She also said there were only 3 additions (houses built between the initial mapping and actual enumeration) listed for Oktibbeha County, one of which was in Maben. I may be wrong, but I do believe that more than 3 houses were built in two years.

This is frightening. Many things depend on the census. It appears to me that there is at least one whole neighborhood left out of the census all together, and possibly many more situations just like this all over. It’s unclear to me how this could happen. But it’s clear to me that it needs to be researched to uncover the facts. I’ve read where the Census Bureau has had IT problems, but they were suppose to be fixed.
I called Bryan Hawkins @ Starkville Daily News on the 6th and explained the situation to him. He said that he would give the story to Kelly Daniels and that Kelly would contact me, but I waited for four days and no one called to follow up. I finally called Kelly Daniels Friday and she said that she would look into it. It was late in the week and there were pressing local issues like a fire so, at that point, I didn’t expect anything to be done immediately. I contacted another news outlet as well as State Rep. Dannie Reed and U.S Rep. Gregg Harper’s Starkville Office and all three are working on it. I’ve emailed the Oktibbeha County Supervisors and other elected officials.

I realize that other things may be more important but, as I was told by the very nice lady in the Tupelo census office, there is a deadline in August. If someone does not take this on in short order, we may not have a good census.

I hope that it’s just a fluke, a simple mistake, or actually an IT problem, rather than some sinister effort to control the count. Citizen anger is building because we’re in such a position that we fear our government. With the evidence we’ve seen of unwanted legislation; bills and budgets being deemed passed instead of discussion and voting, or otherwise shoving legislation down our throats by any means possible; unnecessary local ordinances being forced on us; burdensome and unreasonable zoning regulations; voter intimidation and compromised election software; piling on of taxes while telling us there will be no new taxes; questionable reaction to the Gulf oil disaster; non-responsiveness to the invasion of illegal immigrants… what part of our government can we depend on?

It appears that our U. S. Congress is becoming irrelevant. Re-election is all that matters. Fear of government at all levels is increasing. As citizens we have to be vigilant.

We are seeking information of others who have not received a census form or been contacted by a census worker.

Please let me know if you’ve NOT been visited by a census worker OR sent a form to fill out. You can email me: STARKVILLETEAPARTY@GMAIL.COM or call me @ 418-8115
Gary Chesser
Starkville TEA Party

Filed Under: Happening Now, Voices

All-American Incompetence

July 7, 2010 By EHarris Leave a Comment

Daniel L. Gardner

Guest Columnist

What is an All-American? You know, the All-American boy or girl? Who do you think of when you think of the All-American boy or girl? Barack Obama? Nancy Pelosi? Barney Frank?

What are our highest ideals and values for an All-American boy or girl?

While we weren’t paying attention, someone snuck in and changed our expectations of what makes one an All-American. We used to think of an All-American as patriotic to a fault, a leader and a person of faith, clean-cut, athletic or gifted in some other way, good looking, honest, humble, and self-sacrificing, someone who is always there to save the day.

Political correctness has changed all of that and now we have a host of ‘leaders’ in government who are only out for themselves and their careers. Politics is now a career path, not an opportunity to serve fellow Americans.

The highest offices in Washington are riddled with scandal and incompetence. Ideological campaign rhetoric reigns, and government entitlements are deemed ‘rights’ while common sense gets taken for a ride.

While the Gulf continues to gush oil, Washington incompetence has turned the accident into a catastrophe by refusing international expertise, by refusing sand and rock berms to protect delicate wildlife marshes, and by shutting down whole industries and thousands of jobs while actually enhancing chances of more gushers.

While illegal aliens, criminals, and lowlifes surge across our southern borders, Washington incompetence threatens to sue Arizona for passing a law virtually mimicking federal law verbatim. Washington incompetence refuses to secure the border because doing so might hurt chances of wholesale ideological immigration reform.

While the economy continues to teeter on a precipice of collapse, private sector employment stagnates creating a mere 18,000 jobs in a month, the unemployed give up on finding work, and states like California reduce government salaries to minimum wages, Washington incompetence advocates spending (what common sense calls borrowing) more and more money insanely expecting different results.

While the national deficit soars well above $1 Trillion each year and the national debt races to pass our national GDP, Washington incompetence (4 years of Democratic rule in Congress) refuses to pass a budget, fearing such passage might adversely affect Democrats in November elections.

While patriotic Americans were prepping for a long 4th of July weekend, Washington incompetence (Democrats) “deemed as passed” a non-existent $1.12 Trillion budget as an attachment to a procedural vote on the emergency war supplemental bill, thus authorizing the overwhelming majority of Democrats to spend (borrow) money for Fiscal Year 2011 without actually passing a budget.

Meanwhile, the panty-waisted mainstream media shake their pompoms and cheer on Democrats to score against the archrival Bush-Cheney team…who long ago left the field!

America is starving for All-American leadership, a return to basic moral values like honesty, humility, and accountability. We long for leaders who hold up their heads rather than their noses.

Because elections have consequences, Americans must search for real All-American candidates of the old-fashioned kind. We’ve suffered too much already from professional ideological campaigners.

Daniel L. Gardner is a syndicated columnist who lives in Starkville, MS.
You may contact him at PJandMe2@gmail.com
His column does not reflect the views of Starkville-Now.com.

Filed Under: Happening Now, Voices

My Case: Delbert Hosemann for Attorney General in 2011

July 2, 2010 By EHarris Leave a Comment

Ricky Bishop

Guest Columnist

The 2011 elections are approaching us Mississippians and all the talk among the political circles is who is going to run for Governor. We all know the easily predictable candidates: Lieutenant Governor Phil Bryant, Gulf Coast Businessman Dave Dennis, Clarksdale Attorney and Businessman Bill Luckett, and Hattiesburg Mayor Johnny Dupree. This group of probable candidates includes formable Republicans and Democrats, meaning both primaries are going to be hotly contested. But in the Republican circles there has been one name that has been tossed around as a wild card candidate, and that name is Secretary of State Delbert Hosemann.
Secretary Hosemann was first elected to elected office in 2007 as Secretary of State and has served the state well in that capacity. The rumor going around is that Secretary Hosemann is in the process of deciding whether or not to run for re-election or for Governor in the Republican Primary in 2011. While Secretary Hosemann would make the Gubernatorial Primary very interesting and could very well turn the dynamics of it upside down, I believe he should consider another alternative. I believe he should consider a run for Attorney General in the 2011 elections against the Democratic clone of Mike Moore, the one and only Attorney General Jim Hood.
Why, you ask? Well, as a Republican voter myself that follows politics very closely, I see several advantages for our state and for Secretary Hosemann. The Attorney General’s office seems to be the one statewide office that the Republicans cannot unwrap the hands of the Democrats. Ever since the Governor’s office has been held by the Republicans since 1991, with the exception of the failed Governor Ronnie Musgrove’s four years, the Attorney General has been a big thorn in the side of the Republican Governor. The Attorney General has, on several occasions, failed to act on the wishes of the Governor for pure political differences because of the division of office between party lines.
This is where Secretary Hosemann comes in as a potential candidate for Attorney General. Secretary Hosemann, if he ran, would be the most serious challenger to the Democratic hold on the office of Attorney General in recent history. Secretary Hosemann is an accomplished lawyer with many years of experience and would probably defeat General Hood. Having popular Lt. Governor Phil Bryant at the top of the ticket would help the state out tremendously with a possible Republican Governor and Attorney General from the same party. So how does this help out Secretary Hosemann personally? For one, the Attorney General’s office is a little more high profiled that the Secretary of State’s office which would raise Secretary Hosemann’s profile. Also, Secretary Hosemann’s popularity in the Republican Party would rise tremendously because he would have unseated the Democrat’s long time hold on the Attorney General’s office. A potential Governor Bryant would also be very grateful that not only did Secretary Hosemann make his primary nomination easier, but also solidified the support of the Attorney General’s office for the Governor.
Secretary Hosemann’s biggest reward by taking this path could come in the form of the present of a coveted U.S. Senate Seat. How is this possible? Well, first of all, by not challenging the popular Lt. Governor in the Gubernatorial Primary and then by unseating the Democratic Attorney General, the Republican Primary voters will hold Secretary Hosemann in high regard. Also, it is widely talked about in political circles that current Senator Thad Cochran may very well not serve out his term as Senator which expires in 2014. If this is the case, a potential Governor Bryant would probably show his gratitude for the potential Attorney General Hosemann by appointing him to the vacant U.S. Senate seat, which would give him an edge in a special election. If no resignation takes place, it is also widely viewed that Senator Cochran will not run for re-election in 2014 leaving the door wide open for a new Senator. With Byrant possibly just into three years of his first term as Governor, Hosemann would probably emerge as the Republican front runner for the seat and, if nominated, would most likely be the next U.S. Senator for the State of Mississippi. Not a bad climb for just a two term statewide elected official.
This is all hearsay and is only my opinion, but I believe that Secretary Hosemann should really consider this route as an option. Who knows, this article could just be the playbook to put Secretary Hosemann in a U.S. Senate seat.

Ricky Bishop
Starkville, MS
Co-author, The Friendly Fire Blog
www.thefriendlyfire.info
His column does not reflect the views of Starkville-Now.com.

Filed Under: Happening Now, Voices

Obamatorium Transforms America

July 1, 2010 By EHarris Leave a Comment

Daniel L. Gardner

Guest Columnist

What effect will a six-month moratorium on drilling for oil in the Gulf have on the economy of the Gulf States and the rest of the country? Is the moratorium an Obama kickback to George Soros who needs more oilrigs off the coast of Brazil? Is this the crisis Obama will use to transform America into a socialist state? Hear me out.

The Obamatorium is forcing employers to layoff drilling workers. Moreover, whole industries devoted to supporting drilling in the Gulf are laying off even more workers. The $20 Billion escrow account BP set up is a drop in a bucket compared with lost commerce and jobs in the Gulf States.

Rigs drilling in 500+ feet of water rent for $500 – 750 thousand per DAY. One retired engineer estimated 33 rigs would be shut down, $16.5 million dollars per day lost, not counting 200 to 300 workers per rig who lose jobs. Authorities estimate 2-3 support jobs for each rig worker, meaning 27,000 workers losing their jobs because of the Obamatorium.

These numbers do not include restaurant, tourist, or fishing industry workers. Let’s see Obama and his cronies estimate how many jobs they’ve saved or created after doing these numbers!

We should not force whole industries to close because ‘somebodies’ screwed up and blew up a deepwater oil well! Coincidently, independent local business people who happen to have BP signs on their gas stations shouldn’t lose their livelihoods because misinformed boycotters stop buying their gasoline.

The accident is not an international BP plot to make gazillions of dollars at the risk of destroying the world.

Let’s think outside the Ivy League classroom for just a minute.

The oil gushing in the Gulf is already an unprecedented environmental disaster. Don’t use this disaster to create another unprecedented economic disaster affecting not only the Gulf States, but also the rest of the nation and, indeed, the world.

Thousands of wells have been drilled in the Gulf for decades without incident. Granted, this track record neither diminishes nor discounts the extraordinary environmental damage caused by the gusher in the Gulf. However, it does argue against a wholesale moratorium on drilling that threatens to destroy whole industries and livelihoods which otherwise would have survived.

The Obamatorium may, in fact, be more haphazardly risky to the environment according to at least seven ‘experts’ counseling Interior Secretary Ken Salazar not to impose a wholesale moratorium on drilling in the Gulf.

Finally, the Obamatorium will force oilrig owners to seek business elsewhere, like off the coast of Brazil where George Soros is using $2 billion taxpayer dollars to drill for oil. Rig operators won’t let rigs sit idle for 6+ months, but will move them to international waters where they will stay indefinitely.

For those of you who may not know, Soros is the ultra liberal/progressive moneyman for Obama and all socialist causes. He’s continually boasted about transforming America into a socialist state. Sound familiar?

Follow the money and the ideology. What are they thinking in Washington?

Daniel L. Gardner is a syndicated columnist who lives in Starkville, MS. You may contact him at PJandMe2@gmail.com
His column does not reflect the views of Starkville-Now.com.

Filed Under: Happening Now, Voices

Looking Ahead: Election for Governor 2011

June 21, 2010 By EHarris Leave a Comment

Ricky Bishop

Guest Columnist

Well, Congressional elections are in full swing, and we have our party nominees for each office already decided. So now lets take a minute and turn our attention to the 2011 gubernatorial election. Yeah, yeah, I know it is early, but in Mississippi an election begins the day after the previous election ends. In fact, the 2011 gubernatorial election is already shaping up, and it looks like it could be a wild ride.

On the Republican side we have former State Auditor and current Lieutenant Governor Phil Bryant almost certain to run, and also the current front runner for the nomination. But he will not be alone, as gulf coast businessman Dave Dennis has all but thrown his hat in the ring as the non-establishment candidate. Then there is the wild card potential candidate Secretary of State Delbert Hosemann. Finally, there are the people that have to be mentioned but will, in my opinion, not be a dog in this race. These people are former Lieutenant Governor Amy Tuck and current State Treasurer Tate Reeves.

Lt. Governor Bryant was first appointed to state wide office in 1996 by former Governor Kirk Fordice while serving as a State Representative. He then went on to win the election in 1999 and re-election in 2003. Lt. Governor Bryant would be considered the front runner in the primary by virtue of his name recognition and by him being on a state wide election ballot three times.

Dave Dennis, a gulf coast businessman and ex-New Orleans Federal Reserve Board Chairman, would try to run a non-establishment outsider campaign to the tune of former Governor Kirk Fordice’s surprise primary win back in 1991. In fact, Governor Kirk Fordice kicked off his successful re-election campaign from Dave Dennis’s home.
Secretary of State Delbert Hosemann first won elective office in the 2007 election as Secretary of State. Secretary Hosemann also was the Republican nominee for the House of Representatives in the 4th Congressional district in the 1998 election. Secretary Hosemann has been flirting with the idea of throwing his hat into the ring for Governor, but in my opinion, he will choose not to challenge Lt. Governor Bryant as he is a relative newcomer as an elected office holder. As an accomplished lawyer I believe Secretary Hosemann would be a great candidate to challenge Attorney General Jim Hood, but there has been no speculation of this and is just my opinion.

Amy Tuck, now Special Assistant to the President of Mississippi State University Mark Keenum, has her hands full where she is at and is not the type of person to run a campaign unless it has been well planned out for a long time. From the fine work she has done at Mississippi State I do not see where she has had the time to do this type of planning, but she can be sneaky and we might get surprised.

State Treasurer Tate Reeves came out of nowhere and won the 2003 primary and went on to win the general election. Four years later he went on to win re-election with the highest percentage of anyone running for state wide office. Treasurer Reeves is an accomplished fundraiser, which would make him a contender in the 2011 gubernatorial elections, but he is young and I don’t think he is ready to make the step into the big league. Look for Treasurer Reeves to make a step into the minor league and run for Lt. Governor in 2011.

Moving on to the Democratic side we have Clarksdale Attorney Bill Luckett who is also a business partner with actor Morgan Freeman. Bill Luckett is all but certain to run as he has made his intentions quite clear. Hattiesburg Mayor Johnny Dupree is a definite candidate as he already has his campaign website up. Then we have our Democratic primary wild card candidates, Attorney General Jim Hood and current 1st district Congressman Travis Childers.

Bill Luckett would be considered the frontrunner for the Democratic nomination because of his personal wealth and his connection to Hollywood’s personal wealth. If, or should I say when, he runs look for himself and Morgan Freeman to be his top two contributors.

Mayor Johnny Dupree, who as I have mentioned has already officially announced and has already gone live with his website, should be considered a major factor. Mayor Dupree would be the first African American nominee for Governor of any major party if nominated. Mayor Dupree also seems to be doing a good job as Mayor of Hattiesburg. The trouble Mayor Dupree has brought upon himself is the fact that he has announced too early. By announcing early, he has given his potential candidates, currently known or not known, time to research, watch his every move, and build a case against him.

Attorney General Jim Hood has already announced that he will be running for re-election for Attorney General in the 2011 elections, but do not count him out yet. General Hood could change his mind if he finds out he would have just as hard fought race for Attorney General as he would have had for Governor. This could be accomplished by an Attorney General opponent in any primary emerging that is very formable, like previously mentioned Secretary of state Delbert Hosemann.

Finally, on the Democratic side Congressman Travis Childers is mentioned. Congressman Childers is currently in the fight of his life to hold on to his Congressional seat. So why would he even begin to be thinking about considering a race for Governor in 2011? The simple answer to this question is what if he loses. If he loses the race for the 1st Congressional district then he is out of an elected job but with good name recognition in the state. If he then decides to make a run for Governor in 2011 in the Democratic primary, he would automatically become the front runner. Do not count this scenario out by any means.

WILD CARD EXTRA: There is one potential candidate for Governor who is worth mentioning before we wrap up and that is State Supreme Court Chief Justice William (Bill) Waller, Jr. Justice Waller is not only the current Chief Justice of the Mississippi Supreme Court but is also the son of former Governor Bill Waller, Sr. Justice Waller has been mentioned around political circles as a possible candidate for Governor in the Democratic primary. In my opinion, Justice Waller is too conservative to run in the Democratic primary and would be a better fit in the Republican primary. The only problem with the Republican primary for him is that it would be too crowded and cost him a heck of a lot more money to be competitive. He could go the independent route and forgo a primary and save his money until the primaries are over and the general election begins. This type of speculation is all fun and games for political observers, but do not expect anything to come of it. He is the Chief Justice, and I believe he has every intention of retiring with that title.

Ricky Bishop
Starkville, MS
Co-author, The Friendly Fire Blog
www.thefriendlyfire.info

His column does not reflect the views of Starkville-Now.com.

Filed Under: Happening Now, Voices

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