Mississippi Open Meetings bill dies at hands of Blackmon

The Associated Press is reporting that Canton Attorney and Chairman of Judiciary A Committee in the State House has killed a bill that would have strengthened Open Meetings laws. No doubt Blackmon was hoping to protect his fellow Cantonians on the Board of Alderman who could care less about open meetings. Recent attempts by the group Canton Quality of Life to publicize proceedings in City Hall have Mayor William Truly publicly worried about ridicule in this Madison County Herald report.

Truly said the camera caught city officials off guard, especially since they did not know Cockrell.


"We walk in, and the video camera is already running," he said. "There was an individual who had no badge of identification. This is a gentleman who no one knew. We had no idea of his intent.

"His intent could have been to put us of Facebook for the purpose of ridicule.

"We welcome transparency. We would just like to know who you are."

Apparently Truly wants to be transparent to only a select few. Mayor, let's face it, Cockrell's video couldn't make the proceedings any more ridiculous than they already are.

The amendment that Blackmon didn't like and decided was worth killing the bill said when a public meeting is improperly closed, a fine would be paid by an individual officeholder rather than with tax dollars.


Thanks to Blackmon, Mayor Truly and his band of happy aldermen can be as secretive as they want without losing any of their own money.
 
So, the taxpayers don't get to listen in AND they get to pay the fine. Fine, fine job!

Canton worker suspended amid nepotism probe

A Canton city employee has been suspended without pay in light of a possible nepotism law violation.

Transferring Angela Johnson to a different city department after the election of Alderman Eric Gilkey may have been illegal, according to city legal officials. The two are related by marriage.

Several other employees with relatives on the Board of Aldermen — including Gail Brown, the mother of Alderman Rodriquez Brown -- have been the target of nepotism probes by the city recently, but they have been cleared.

Speaking about Johnson's case, city attorney Barbara Blackmon said a city employee cannot lawfully be promoted or transferred after a relative is elected as mayor or alderman.

"After that person has been elected, if they have a relative that is already working with the city, that person can remain in whatever position they had. But if you try to promote them or transfer them, that’s a violation of the nepotism law," Blackmon said.

Madison County Herald

JSU announces plans to denigrate the memories of Civil Rights Veterans by bringing in Rev. Jeremiah Wright and Congresswoman Sheila Jackson-Lee

Jackson State University has announced that Rev. Jeremiah "goddamn America" Wright and Congresswoman Sheila "race pimp" Jackson-Lee will be guest speakers at the Veterans of the Mississippi Civil Rights Movement Conference. According to the press release the 3-day conference is "designed to inspire and empower today’s youth through social activism education."

Inspire and empower to do what? 

The good Congresswoman famously ignored a white cancer survivor during an August town hall meeting in 2009 by answering her cell phone from behind the podium. Wright has made a living out of some black Americans desire to remain oppressed, while milking his fifteen minutes of fame for being Barack Obama's pastor.

Just when recent moves suggests JSU wants to become a socially acceptable choice for all Mississippi students, they pull this crap!

The fifth annual conference, themed The Loss of Civil & Human Rights in a Time of Economic Crisis: Creating a Blueprint for the Future!, will be held March 25-27 at the Mississippi e-Center @JSU, 1230 Raymond Road in Jackson.
Now one of the largest annual gatherings of civil rights veterans in the country, this event brings together civil rights activists with today’s youth to discuss ways to continue positive change in society.

Among the special guests this year are the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, pastor emeritus of Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago, Ill; U.S. Congresswoman Sheila Jackson-Lee (D-TX), civil rights leader and Algebra Project founder Bob Moses; University of Maryland government and politics professor Ronald Walters; and Greenville, Miss., Mayor Heather McTeer Hudson.

Wright will be the keynote speaker for the Veterans Freedom Gathering at 7 p.m. Thursday, March 25, at the JSU Student Center Ballroom, which is located at the corner of John R. Lynch & Dalton streets in Jackson. Wright also will sign copies of his book, SANKOFA MOMENT-The History of Trinity United Church of Christ. Congresswoman Jackson-Lee will be the keynote speaker for the JSU Presidential Banquet at 7 p.m. Friday, March 26, at the JSU Student Center Ballroom. Moses, Walters and Hudson will speak throughout the three-day conference.

Having begun in 2004 with small gatherings, the Veterans of the Mississippi Civil Rights Movement became an official arm of Jackson State in 2008. In addition to collecting and archiving stories of some 200 participants in the movement across the country, the group supports people actively using those stories to continue the pursuit of freedom, justice and equality.

“We are trying to be true to our reason for being,” said Owen Brooks, executive director. “This conference, like others, will allow an exchange of ideas and engage participants in discussions regarding issues that are important to them.”

Topics include: “The Impact of the Financial Crisis on HBCU’s,” “The Political Economy During the Obama Presidency,” “Advancing the Civil Rights Agenda” and “Creating a Blueprint for the Future: Interracial, International, Intergenerational.”

A special tribute to the late Jimmie Travis will be given by long-time activist Bob Moses. Travis passed away in July 2009 and was the chairman of the Veterans of the Mississippi Civil Rights Movement at the time of his death.

Admission to the conference is $100 for adults, which includes admission to all events. College student registration is $25 and high school registration is $10. The registration fee includes one-year membership to the Veterans of the Mississippi Civil Rights Movement.

If your into charts and analysis then try this

I'm a chart and graph kind of fellow. I'm a visual rememberer, guess I like the pretty colors. This Heritage Foundation analysis has plenty. But, it is also good if you look at books for more than pretty pictures.

Obama Budget Raises Taxes and Doubles the National Debt

by Brian M. Riedl

Abstract: President Obama declared: "I didn't come here to pass our problems on to the next president or the next generation--I'm here to solve them." Yet rather than "solve" the runaway spending that is projected to cause historic deficits, the President's budget doubles down on it with trillions of dollars in new spending and taxes, culminating in a doubling of the national debt. Heritage Foundation economic policy expert Brian Riedl lays out how a $3 trillion tax hike and an additional $74,000 debt burden on every U.S. household will affect the country--and why Congress should reject President Obama's budget proposal.

When he released his new budget proposal on February 1, President Barack Obama asserted that the government "simply cannot continue to spend as if deficits don't have consequences; as if waste doesn't matter; as if the hard-earned tax dollars of the American people can be treated like Monopoly money; as if we can ignore this challenge for another generation."[1]

Yet the President's new budget does exactly that-- raising taxes by $3 trillion and federal spending by $1.6 trillion over the next ten years. If enacted, this budget would increase the 2010 deficit to more than $1.5 trillion, and leave a deficit of more than $1 trillion even after an assumed return to peace and prosperity. Overall, the President's budget would double the national debt over the next decade.[2]

President Obama's Budget

•Would permanently expand the federal government by 3 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) over 2007 pre-recession levels;

•Would raise taxes onall Americans by nearly $3 trillion over the next decade;

•Would raise taxes for 3.2 million small businesses and upper-income taxpayers by an average of $300,000 over the next decade;

•Would borrow 42 cents for each dollar spent in 2010;

•Would run a $1.6 trillion deficit in 2010--$143 billion higher than the recession-driven 2009 deficit;

•Would leave permanent deficits that top $1 trillion as late as 2020;

•Would dump an additional $74,000 per household of debt into the laps of our children and grandchildren; and

•Would double the publicly held national debt to over $18 trillion.

Source: Heritage Foundation calculations based on U.S. Office of Management and Budget, Budget of the United States Government, Fiscal Year 2011 (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, 2010), pp. 146-179, Tables S-1 through S-14. Also includes the cost of House-passed cap-and-trade bill, which President Obama endorsed yet excluded from his budget tables.

Before the recession began, annual federal spending totaled $24,000 per household. President Obama would hike that spending above $36,000 per household by 2020--an inflation-adjusted $12,000-per-household expansion of government. (See Chart 1.) But even these steep tax increases would not finance all of this new spending: The President's budget would lead to trillions in new debt over the next decade. Read the rest of the article and see the graphs and charts at The Heritage Foundation.

November can't get here quick enough.




 

Schools may have to cut teachers

By STEVEN G. WATSON

Teachers and programs will have to be cut due to an anticipated $8 million shortfall in the upcoming budget year, Madison County school officials are saying.

Superintendent of Education Mike Kent this week called the district's budget situation "grim" and prepared county School Board members for some hard decisions as they prepare the 2010-2011 school year budget.

State revenues continue to plunge this fiscal year and projections are not good for 2010-2011. The state Tax Commission recently reported that February collections continued a pattern of decline for the 18th straight month, $33 million, or 12.39 percent below estimates.

So far this year state revenues are down about $458.5 million and expected to be even worse next year.

The School Board heard a preliminary budget proposal from Kent Monday which included cutting at least 20 teaching positions district wide, possible furloughs on days when students aren't attending school and a variety of cuts to current programs.

Kent said they've faced shortfalls over the last three years, but nothing like what is anticipated in the upcoming year.

Madison County Journal

Hair stylists to raise funds to help cancer patients

Hair stylists from as far away as Louisiana will converge at a Ridgeland hair salon Friday for a "Cut-A-Thon" to raise money for cancer patients.

The stylists will volunteer their time from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. at Colorize Hair Studio at 105 N. Central Ave., off Jackson Street in Ridgeland, with 100 percent of the proceeds benefiting Hope House of Hospitality in Jackson.

Hope House is a Christian ministry that provides a place to stay and transportation at no cost for patients receiving treatment for cancer and other serious illnesses.

No appointments are taken for the Cut-A-Thon. It will be walk-in customers only. For a minimum donation of $30, each customer receives a cut and style.

Madison County Herald