The performance audit recommends in the future that supervisors do more to negotiate the lowest price for the best service.
"OSA recommends that the county should at least consider using the bidding process in the future where competition exists, even for personal service engineering contracts," the report said.
"Even though current law does not require it nothing prevents a board from using bidding for engineering personal services to get the best product for the best price."
Toward the end, the report notes that a financial analysis of their findings has yet to be released and could address other issues not covered.
"The next report will focus primarily on the financial review of payments from the County to Rudy Warnock and from Rudy Warnock to his subcontractors and consultants for selected contracts," it reads.
Warnock's use of subcontracts have at times been the center of the controversy with Hawkins-Butler long calling on him to produce invoices.
"If Mr. Warnock would produce the subcontracted invoices a lot of this could be put to rest," Hawkins-Butler said last year. "It would be so easy and would not cost a dime to produce those contracted invoices."
In question she insists is $326,000 Warnock's firm charged the county in environmental engineering fees for Calhoun Station Parkway before subcontracting the work to another firm.
The terms of those subcontracts are not public record, but critics have insisted that Warnock charged the county for the work then farmed it out at a much lower price and pocketing the difference.
Warnock has steadfastly denied any wrongdoing.
Read More at MCJ
Thursday, November 4, 2010
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
Madison man arrested for alleged investment scam
A Mississippi businessman has been arrested by FBI agents on 12 counts of wire fraud, tax evasion, and money laundering.
Federal authorities say 47-year-old Jeffrey L. Walker of Madison allegedly devised a scheme to defraud and obtain money from investors by making false representations relating to a Chinese resort project his companies were supposedly developing.
Federal agents said Walker allegedly had investors in Mississippi, Tennessee, Florida and Arizona make bank wire transfers to one of his companies and he converted parts of the money for his own personal use.
Read More: MBJ
Federal authorities say 47-year-old Jeffrey L. Walker of Madison allegedly devised a scheme to defraud and obtain money from investors by making false representations relating to a Chinese resort project his companies were supposedly developing.
Federal agents said Walker allegedly had investors in Mississippi, Tennessee, Florida and Arizona make bank wire transfers to one of his companies and he converted parts of the money for his own personal use.
Read More: MBJ
Freddie Mac posts $4.1B loss for Q3
Government-controlled mortgage buyer Freddie Mac on Wednesday posted a narrower loss of $4.1 billon in the third quarter as it asked for an additional $100 million in federal aid - substantially less than the $1.8 billion it sought in the second quarter.
Freddie Mac’s loss attributable to common stockholders for the July-September quarter works out to $1.25 a share. It takes into account $1.6 billion in dividend payments to the government. It compares with a loss of $6.7 billion, or $2.06 a share, in the third quarter of 2009.
The government rescued McLean, Virginia-based Freddie Mac and sibling company Fannie Mae nearly two years ago to cover their losses on soured mortgage loans, and it estimates the bailouts will cost taxpayers up to $259 billion.
That’s nearly twice the $133 billion Fannie and Freddie are in line to receive from taxpayers so far and would make theirs the costliest bailout of the financial crisis.
Read More: MBJ
Freddie Mac’s loss attributable to common stockholders for the July-September quarter works out to $1.25 a share. It takes into account $1.6 billion in dividend payments to the government. It compares with a loss of $6.7 billion, or $2.06 a share, in the third quarter of 2009.
The government rescued McLean, Virginia-based Freddie Mac and sibling company Fannie Mae nearly two years ago to cover their losses on soured mortgage loans, and it estimates the bailouts will cost taxpayers up to $259 billion.
That’s nearly twice the $133 billion Fannie and Freddie are in line to receive from taxpayers so far and would make theirs the costliest bailout of the financial crisis.
Read More: MBJ
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
Madison County Lobbyist won't answer questions until you answer some questions first, and prove your "special"
Madison County Lobbyist and Wise Carter attorney C. Stephen Seale fancies himself a political player. He must, or he wouldn't have the job of lobbying the federal government on behalf of the county to the tune of $75 grand per year. The voting bloc on the Madison County Board of Supervisors must fancy him a lobbyist as well. They gave him that job. And despite the fact that Seale took a sitting Congressman to task over a pledge to place a moratorium on earmarks (not smart), the board still thinks he will be effective enough a lobbyist to give him an additional $2500 per month to lobby at the state capitol, too.
Seale had a short-lived stint as a state senator alongside BOS Prez Tim Johnson, and an even shorter-lived stint as an adviser to then Senator Trent Lott.
That's it. A total of five years. According to his own bio, that's his experience in both federal and state government. Does that qualify someone to lobby? Maybe. But should Mr. Seale, or any lobbyist, have the autonomy to determine what projects Madison County should lobby for? Is there a list of projects Mr. Seale hopes to get money for? Where is it? Where is the measurement? What metrics do the taxpayers have to measure Mr. Seale's performance?
There aren't any. At least, that is, Mr. Seale won't provide any. Because, according to Mr. Seale anyone asking the question must first prove they have "special expertise" to ask? The fact that you may be a taxpayer, and that he works for the public apparently isn't enough. In a response to THIS POST, Mrs Seale writes the following:
If that isn't enough of a red flag, Mr. Seale's incessant defensiveness should be. Lobbyist are effective when they work behind the scenes, not when they make themselves the center of attention. Like THIS .
And if Mr. Seale's original tirade against Mr. Dawson wasn't enough, he responded to the MBJ story by going on yet another tirade HERE, complained about not being treated fairly to the North Mississippi Commentator HERE, gets even more defensive over the report that he wrote a letter in support of convicted felon Zach Scruggs HERE, and takes the writer to task over the fact that he commented on Seale's support letter without first asking his permission HERE.
Are you noticing a pattern?
While we're discussing good judgement, or the lack therof, we should also note that Seale apparently thinks that Madison needs only one state senator instead of the four we have. But, maybe that's not so much bad judgement as a good way to maintain a job as a lobbyist. With the lack of representation at the state capitol, Seales job becomes important all of a sudden. Where as now? Well, not so much.
When Mr. Seale "Googles" himself . . . ahem, I'm sorry . . . "Googles" his name, he may see this and respond. So, let me say here to Mr. Seale: I'll give you a guest column spot here on The Flora Harvester site to write about anything you care to write about. Just email it to floraharvester@bellsouth.net .
You can write about the hard lives of lobbyists, the ridiculousness of Congressmen attempting to cut federal spending through earmark reform, or how the recent auditor's report was really not a rebuke of the mismanagement of the Madison County Board of Supervisor's leadership. You can write about how Supervisor's who are paid in excess of $45,000 a year don't make enough for taxpayers to expect them to lobby for county projects themselves, or how you have the "expertise" to do a difficult job while we "po lil unedukatid Madison Countians" should defer to your breadth of knowledge without asking silly questions like, "How much is this costing us?"
Write what you will, sir. The floor is yours!
Seale had a short-lived stint as a state senator alongside BOS Prez Tim Johnson, and an even shorter-lived stint as an adviser to then Senator Trent Lott.
That's it. A total of five years. According to his own bio, that's his experience in both federal and state government. Does that qualify someone to lobby? Maybe. But should Mr. Seale, or any lobbyist, have the autonomy to determine what projects Madison County should lobby for? Is there a list of projects Mr. Seale hopes to get money for? Where is it? Where is the measurement? What metrics do the taxpayers have to measure Mr. Seale's performance?
There aren't any. At least, that is, Mr. Seale won't provide any. Because, according to Mr. Seale anyone asking the question must first prove they have "special expertise" to ask? The fact that you may be a taxpayer, and that he works for the public apparently isn't enough. In a response to THIS POST, Mrs Seale writes the following:
I'm interested to learn what your basis is for your statement that I'm overpaid. Do you judge that based on some return on investment criteria? Do you have some special expertise on the work of lobbyists that allows you to opine as to which are paid too little, just enough or too much? Or are you just like many others who make charges and accusations and offer opinions without any evidence or basis? You answer those questions, Harvester, and I'll be happy to answer yours. Steve SealeThe unmitigated gall of a taxpayer expecting a return on the investment! How dare we!
If that isn't enough of a red flag, Mr. Seale's incessant defensiveness should be. Lobbyist are effective when they work behind the scenes, not when they make themselves the center of attention. Like THIS .
And if Mr. Seale's original tirade against Mr. Dawson wasn't enough, he responded to the MBJ story by going on yet another tirade HERE, complained about not being treated fairly to the North Mississippi Commentator HERE, gets even more defensive over the report that he wrote a letter in support of convicted felon Zach Scruggs HERE, and takes the writer to task over the fact that he commented on Seale's support letter without first asking his permission HERE.
Are you noticing a pattern?
While we're discussing good judgement, or the lack therof, we should also note that Seale apparently thinks that Madison needs only one state senator instead of the four we have. But, maybe that's not so much bad judgement as a good way to maintain a job as a lobbyist. With the lack of representation at the state capitol, Seales job becomes important all of a sudden. Where as now? Well, not so much.
When Mr. Seale "Googles" himself . . . ahem, I'm sorry . . . "Googles" his name, he may see this and respond. So, let me say here to Mr. Seale: I'll give you a guest column spot here on The Flora Harvester site to write about anything you care to write about. Just email it to floraharvester@bellsouth.net .
You can write about the hard lives of lobbyists, the ridiculousness of Congressmen attempting to cut federal spending through earmark reform, or how the recent auditor's report was really not a rebuke of the mismanagement of the Madison County Board of Supervisor's leadership. You can write about how Supervisor's who are paid in excess of $45,000 a year don't make enough for taxpayers to expect them to lobby for county projects themselves, or how you have the "expertise" to do a difficult job while we "po lil unedukatid Madison Countians" should defer to your breadth of knowledge without asking silly questions like, "How much is this costing us?"
Write what you will, sir. The floor is yours!
Friday, October 29, 2010
MBJ reports from MEC's "Hobnob Mississippi" (Video)
The Mississippi Economic Council’s “Hobnob Mississippi” swung from somber to humorous and back again as pundits, politicians and the Magnolia State’s business leaders came together for the annual event.
And why is the overpaid Madison County Lobbyist the one doing the talking?
 |
| Seale |
The State Auditor's office released their findings on Madison County road contracts involving county engineer Rudy Warnock. This came after some Madison City and County officials raised concerns about misuse of tax payer money.And, what exactly does Seale mean by "we"? Isn't that Johnson's other lap dog Eric Hamer's responsibility? Or, does Seale mean him, Johnson, Hamer and Rudy?
At the center of the State Auditor's report was Warnock and his contracts with Madison County since 2004. The State Auditor found the Board of Supervisors has poor oversight and monitoring of contracts allowing for the potential of double payments.
Attorney Steve Seale responded in a press conference, "They found no duplicative payments. They found no misuse of payments. They found no improper payments. They just said the potential existed."
The report demonstrates the contracts had missing information or confusing terms that seemed to protect the engineer and not the Madison County tax payers.
"We're going to look at everyone of those contracts again and make sure they are in the best interest, written in the best interest, of the county," said Seale. "Again, no harm has occurred to Madison County."
Thursday, October 28, 2010
Wounded Madison soldier returns to Mississippi
More than 100 friends and well-wishers burst into cheers and applause today to welcome home wounded Army medic CJ Stewart of Madison.
Stewart, 21, is home on a 10-day pass from Walter Reed Army Medical Center where he’s been receiving care following injuries suffered in a rocket attack in Afghanistan in mid-June.
“It feels pretty good to be home, surreal,” said Stewart with a big smile on his face after arriving at the Jackson-Evers International Airport.
Stewart, who left for Afghanistan in May, said he was running to get his aid bag when an RPG blasted through a wall he was behind. So far, he has undergone 36 surgeries on his right arm and hand.
“The record (for surgeries) at Walter Reed is 88. I’m not trying to break that,” he said.
Stewart said that still having his arm and gaining feeling in his hands is “absolutely a miracle.”
Read More: CL
Stewart, 21, is home on a 10-day pass from Walter Reed Army Medical Center where he’s been receiving care following injuries suffered in a rocket attack in Afghanistan in mid-June.
“It feels pretty good to be home, surreal,” said Stewart with a big smile on his face after arriving at the Jackson-Evers International Airport.
Stewart, who left for Afghanistan in May, said he was running to get his aid bag when an RPG blasted through a wall he was behind. So far, he has undergone 36 surgeries on his right arm and hand.
“The record (for surgeries) at Walter Reed is 88. I’m not trying to break that,” he said.
Stewart said that still having his arm and gaining feeling in his hands is “absolutely a miracle.”
Read More: CL
Obama: More Aggressive Anti-Foreclosure Efforts Would Help People Who Don't Deserve It
Asked if his administration had done enough to stem the foreclosure crisis, Obama opted not to address foreclosure fraud scandal that has forced banks to temporarily halt home repossessions across the country. Instead, he claimed that the government's efforts had stabilized the housing market, and argued that the "biggest challenge" was to make sure speculators and deadbeats didn't take advantage of the government's help.
"The biggest challenge is how do you make sure that you are helping those who really deserve help and if they get some temporary help can get back on their feet, make their payments and move forward and stay in their home versus either people who are speculators, own second homes that they really couldn't afford because they'd gotten a subprime loan, and people who through no fault of their own just can't afford their house anymore because of the change in housing values or their incomes don't support it," Obama said during a roundtable discussion with a handful of progressive bloggers at the White House.
"And we're always trying to find that sweet spot to use as much of the money that we have available to us to help those who can be helped, without wasting that money on folks who don't deserve help," he continued. "And that's a tough balance to strike."
Homeowner advocates, members of Congress, and auditors of the administration's Home Affordable Modification Program have relentlessly criticized the Treasury Department for the program's shortcomings. President Obama said in early 2009 when he announced HAMP that it would help "as many as three to four million homeowners to modify the terms of their mortgages to avoid foreclosure."
While 640,300 homeowners are benefiting from reduced payments under HAMP, 728,686 people have been bounced from the program. Fewer than 500,000 are in active "permanent" five-year modifications. There is no shortage of stories from homeowners who say banks acted in bad faith by stretching out "trial" modifications that are supposed to last for only three months, then denying permanent modifications and leaving homeowners faced with imminent foreclosure -- and no shortage of class action lawsuits, either.
On Monday, a federal bailout watchdog reported that HAMP sometimes actually causes the foreclosures it's designed to prevent, as applicants "end up unnecessarily depleting their dwindling savings in an ultimately futile effort to obtain the sustainable relief promised by the program guidelines." It's an allegation that had already been made by homeowner advocates.
Obama is unfazed by all of that.
"The HAMP program has gotten a lot of criticism, but the fact of the matter is, is that you've got half a million people who have gone through permanent loan modifications that are saving 500 bucks a month," Obama said. "And I get letters every day from people whose homes were saved as a consequence of it."
One of the biggest changes to HAMP since it started last year has been the requirement that as of June, borrowers must prove their eligibility with documents like tax forms and pay stubs. The administration argues that many people were denied permanent modifications because they were put into trial plans before their ability to pay had been verified.
HP
JJ: Pickering Wimps Out
"Contracts are geared to protect engineer's interests instead of Madison County taxpayers."
The report goes on to list that the cozy relationship Mr. Warnock has with his enablers on the Madison County Board of Supervisors has, in fact, resulted in his interest coming before taxpayers. But, one has to wonder why the auditor didn't want to come to that conclusion.
View Report: HERE
Related Posts: MCH: State audit probing county contracts
JJ: Stacy Pickering: What the hell?
State Auditor's office sends a response team to Madison County to look at Warnock and Associates Contracts
Warnock tells WLBT he embraces audit, but will there be a full investigation?
Madison County Journal-Report questions engineering fees
Sentencing postponed for Howard Industries exec
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| Gonzalez |
Jose Humberto Gonzalez, the former personnel director of Howard Industries, was the only executive charged in relation to a massive federal raid in August 2008 that ended with the detention of nearly 600 illegal immigrants.
Gonzalez pleaded guilty Dec. 9, 2009, to conspiracy, admitting that he knowingly hired illegal immigrants at Howard Industries’ transformer plant in Laurel. He faces five years in prison. His sentencing was scheduled for Thursday, but U.S. District Judge Keith Starrett postponed it until Jan. 6.
The judge did not offer an explanation for the delay.
Gonzales was to be sentenced Aug. 30, but that, too, was postponed after prosecutors filed sealed motions in the case.
MBJ
Is Black Support for Obama Racist?
With poverty at an all-time high, daunting black unemployment levels and Obamacare threatening black babies, black support for Barack Obama remains surprisingly strong.
Why?
Blacks are not uniformly as radical as Obama. So why do 91 percent of blacks still support him when only 79 percent of his Democrat constituency does?
It’s a black thang.
Again, why?
Some say Obama’s support comes from “black solidarity” — that birds of a feather flock together. That is racist in itself. After all, imagine if white voters similarly lined up in “racial solidarity.” This is compounded by the facts.
Under George W. Bush, black unemployment was actually lower than during the Clinton years and much lower than the 16.3 percent it is today. Under Obama, black unemployment rose from 12.6 percent to 16.3 percent as of August 1, 2010.
Despite promoting black upward mobility, Bush only enjoyed a black approval rating in the low 30s at a similar time in his presidency. Bush also made historic cabinet-level appointments of blacks and dramatically increased funding to fight AIDS in Africa. Much to Kanye West’s chagrin, President Bush did care about black people.
Furthermore, after nearly two years of Obama’s reckless spending, 43.6 million Americans (one in seven) live in poverty — a 51-year high. Blacks, who account for only 13 percent of the population, make up 22.6 percent of those now receiving food stamp benefits.
And, after a promise there would be no federal abortion funding in Obamacare, tax dollars for abortions may be provided through high-risk insurance programs in Pennsylvania, New Mexico and Maryland.
Polling shows blacks are overwhelmingly pro-life. We undoubtedly want jobs and freedom from poverty. So why the blind loyalty to someone who hasn’t delivered?
When a constituency clearly provides loyal support, as blacks are to progressives, it begs to be taken for granted.
So is it any wonder that, after 50 years of conceding support to liberals and letting Uncle Sam be their “baby daddy,” we are mired in an anti-empowerment culture of dependency?
Liberals can argue racism causes black stagnation, but is a 70 percent illegitimacy rate among blacks (90 percent in some inner cities) due to racism or a lack of accountability and personal responsibility? It’s also a painful truth that blacks kill more blacks (by gun, unhealthy lifestyle and abortion) than racists could ever accomplish.
So-called “civil rights leaders,” pseudo-intellectuals and liberal lawmakers must know this, yet they insist on pretending racism is more responsible for sluggish black advancement than behavior they foster.
It’s time for a frank discussion about the folly of black Americans’ monolithic support of liberalism. When 91 percent of any racial group votes one way, it’s either out of racism or blind groupthink. Neither is good for America.
FJ
 |
| BY: Jerome Hudson |
Why?
Blacks are not uniformly as radical as Obama. So why do 91 percent of blacks still support him when only 79 percent of his Democrat constituency does?
It’s a black thang.
Again, why?
Some say Obama’s support comes from “black solidarity” — that birds of a feather flock together. That is racist in itself. After all, imagine if white voters similarly lined up in “racial solidarity.” This is compounded by the facts.
Under George W. Bush, black unemployment was actually lower than during the Clinton years and much lower than the 16.3 percent it is today. Under Obama, black unemployment rose from 12.6 percent to 16.3 percent as of August 1, 2010.
Despite promoting black upward mobility, Bush only enjoyed a black approval rating in the low 30s at a similar time in his presidency. Bush also made historic cabinet-level appointments of blacks and dramatically increased funding to fight AIDS in Africa. Much to Kanye West’s chagrin, President Bush did care about black people.
Furthermore, after nearly two years of Obama’s reckless spending, 43.6 million Americans (one in seven) live in poverty — a 51-year high. Blacks, who account for only 13 percent of the population, make up 22.6 percent of those now receiving food stamp benefits.
And, after a promise there would be no federal abortion funding in Obamacare, tax dollars for abortions may be provided through high-risk insurance programs in Pennsylvania, New Mexico and Maryland.
Polling shows blacks are overwhelmingly pro-life. We undoubtedly want jobs and freedom from poverty. So why the blind loyalty to someone who hasn’t delivered?
When a constituency clearly provides loyal support, as blacks are to progressives, it begs to be taken for granted.
So is it any wonder that, after 50 years of conceding support to liberals and letting Uncle Sam be their “baby daddy,” we are mired in an anti-empowerment culture of dependency?
Liberals can argue racism causes black stagnation, but is a 70 percent illegitimacy rate among blacks (90 percent in some inner cities) due to racism or a lack of accountability and personal responsibility? It’s also a painful truth that blacks kill more blacks (by gun, unhealthy lifestyle and abortion) than racists could ever accomplish.
So-called “civil rights leaders,” pseudo-intellectuals and liberal lawmakers must know this, yet they insist on pretending racism is more responsible for sluggish black advancement than behavior they foster.
It’s time for a frank discussion about the folly of black Americans’ monolithic support of liberalism. When 91 percent of any racial group votes one way, it’s either out of racism or blind groupthink. Neither is good for America.
FJ
Distrtict 3 Congressional Candidates make final push before Election Day (Video)
Volunteer Jim Nash is trying to figure out which people will be responsible for placing campaign signs around the area. He’s surrounded by boxes full of merchandise including bumper stickers, shirts, and posters.
Volunteer Thelma Kumar was placing Gill’s support signs all along Old Fannin Road in Flowood on Wednesday.
Volunteer Thelma Kumar was placing Gill’s support signs all along Old Fannin Road in Flowood on Wednesday.
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
Howland's decision to run for Madison Alderman changes dynamics of District 2 Supervisor race
But, there is more at play and Madison County residents should remain diligent.
Madison's John Howland has decided not to run for District 2 Supervisor and instead will seek to replace Lisa Clingman-Smith as Alderman at Large in Madison. Howland's decision opens up the possibility of a one-on-one showdown between current District 2 incumbent and Board President Tim Johnson and local businessman Billy Redd. Redd has indicated his intentions to run for the seat for several months. Johnson has sent mixed signals as to his exact intentions. He has said he will not run for re-election, but in recent months has indicated that he would.
During Johnson's tenure as President the Madison Board of Supervisors has seen much controversy. Johnson has dealt with the ire of citizens over millage increases, dealt with accusations of mismanagement over the approval of Engineer Rudy Warnock's subcontracting practices, taken heat for not maintaining a transparent road plan that has led to millions of misspent funds, and forcing votes on spending under new business without allowing for debate amongst other supervisors.
He and Board of Supervisor's Attorney Eric Hamer have also had some side issues over their involvement with FAIM, a bingo operation that was shut down by the Secretary of State's office for misuse of funds.
Adding to the controversy is a recently discussed option, apparently supported by Johnson, that Madison County will appoint a commission to deal with re-districting instead of contracting with the Central Mississippi Planning and Development District (CMPDD). As a member of CMPDD, Madison County has enjoyed the organizations expertise in Economic and Community Development, Loan Programs, Technical and Planning Assistance and Human Resources, as well as redistricting for years. CMPDD has over 100 staffers that assist Madison and other Central Mississippi counties every day on issues ranging from Workforce Coordination and Social Work to GIS and Demographics. They have a direct line of communication with Census officials.
The question raised is why Johnson would want to give the work of 100 experienced staffers to 4 or 5 inexperienced political appointees. The only answer can be gerrymandering. The general consensus among Madison County political watchers is that Johnson is attemtping to gerrymander districts to keep his allies in power. In this scenario, whether he wins or loses his position as District 2 Supervisor, Johnson still retains a position of power by holding sway over gerrymandered districts that helps elect those he wants elected. And, with the Board of Supes responsible for hiring a new County Administrator, Johnson's cabal could grab a foothold in Madison County Government that would take decades to recover from.
It is a good thing for Madison County citizens that Mr. Howland has decided to seek the position of Alderman at Large in the City of Madison. That will allow Mr. Redd a shot at taking out Johnson. But, citizens of Madison County would do well to keep their eyes affixed to what is going on in the meantime.
The discussion of whether to allow redistricting to be kept "in house" will center around two arguments: saving money and doing away with split districts. The latter is something the professionals at CMPDD can do much better than any few political appointees. The former is a smokescreen for the real motive to do away with oppostion on the board and pave the way for complete control of of the power levers in Madison County.
Madison's John Howland has decided not to run for District 2 Supervisor and instead will seek to replace Lisa Clingman-Smith as Alderman at Large in Madison. Howland's decision opens up the possibility of a one-on-one showdown between current District 2 incumbent and Board President Tim Johnson and local businessman Billy Redd. Redd has indicated his intentions to run for the seat for several months. Johnson has sent mixed signals as to his exact intentions. He has said he will not run for re-election, but in recent months has indicated that he would.
During Johnson's tenure as President the Madison Board of Supervisors has seen much controversy. Johnson has dealt with the ire of citizens over millage increases, dealt with accusations of mismanagement over the approval of Engineer Rudy Warnock's subcontracting practices, taken heat for not maintaining a transparent road plan that has led to millions of misspent funds, and forcing votes on spending under new business without allowing for debate amongst other supervisors.
He and Board of Supervisor's Attorney Eric Hamer have also had some side issues over their involvement with FAIM, a bingo operation that was shut down by the Secretary of State's office for misuse of funds.
Adding to the controversy is a recently discussed option, apparently supported by Johnson, that Madison County will appoint a commission to deal with re-districting instead of contracting with the Central Mississippi Planning and Development District (CMPDD). As a member of CMPDD, Madison County has enjoyed the organizations expertise in Economic and Community Development, Loan Programs, Technical and Planning Assistance and Human Resources, as well as redistricting for years. CMPDD has over 100 staffers that assist Madison and other Central Mississippi counties every day on issues ranging from Workforce Coordination and Social Work to GIS and Demographics. They have a direct line of communication with Census officials.
The question raised is why Johnson would want to give the work of 100 experienced staffers to 4 or 5 inexperienced political appointees. The only answer can be gerrymandering. The general consensus among Madison County political watchers is that Johnson is attemtping to gerrymander districts to keep his allies in power. In this scenario, whether he wins or loses his position as District 2 Supervisor, Johnson still retains a position of power by holding sway over gerrymandered districts that helps elect those he wants elected. And, with the Board of Supes responsible for hiring a new County Administrator, Johnson's cabal could grab a foothold in Madison County Government that would take decades to recover from.
It is a good thing for Madison County citizens that Mr. Howland has decided to seek the position of Alderman at Large in the City of Madison. That will allow Mr. Redd a shot at taking out Johnson. But, citizens of Madison County would do well to keep their eyes affixed to what is going on in the meantime.
The discussion of whether to allow redistricting to be kept "in house" will center around two arguments: saving money and doing away with split districts. The latter is something the professionals at CMPDD can do much better than any few political appointees. The former is a smokescreen for the real motive to do away with oppostion on the board and pave the way for complete control of of the power levers in Madison County.
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
CL: Judge OKs Mississippi anti-abortion initiative for '11 ballots
Hinds County judge has ruled in favor of allowing an anti-abortion initiative on Mississippi’s 2011 ballot.
“(The initiative) has received more than the required amount of signatures to be placed on the ballot and the Constitution recognizes the right of citizens to amend their Constitution,” Judge Malcolm Harrison ruled in an order signed today.
The ballot initiative would allow voters to decide whether Mississippi’s Constitution should be amended to define life as beginning at conception.
Supporters of the “personhood” amendment gathered more than 106,000 signatures to get it on the ballot in 2011.
The lawsuit, filed by two Oxford women, had argued that the initiative process cannot be used to rewrite the state Bill of Rights — which they said the personhood amendment would do.
The case is expected to be appealed to the state Supreme Court.
CL
“(The initiative) has received more than the required amount of signatures to be placed on the ballot and the Constitution recognizes the right of citizens to amend their Constitution,” Judge Malcolm Harrison ruled in an order signed today.
The ballot initiative would allow voters to decide whether Mississippi’s Constitution should be amended to define life as beginning at conception.
Supporters of the “personhood” amendment gathered more than 106,000 signatures to get it on the ballot in 2011.
The lawsuit, filed by two Oxford women, had argued that the initiative process cannot be used to rewrite the state Bill of Rights — which they said the personhood amendment would do.
The case is expected to be appealed to the state Supreme Court.
CL
A Society of Beggars? Obama Battles Reagan
Obama or Reagan.
In the end, that's the choice.
As the country enters the final week of what may be the most important election in a lifetime, these two presidents and their starkly differing visions of America are at the center of what has become a political earthquake.
Barack Obama, of course, would seem to have the advantage. He is the flesh-and-blood sitting president of the moment, with actual, real-time command of the White House and all the accompanying assets that includes. Air Force One responds to his beck and call, along with the helicopters, shiny limousines, the staff and the entire executive branch of the United States government. Not to mention the total control his party has had over the House and Senate. The seal may have fallen off his podium the other week, but no matter. As he accurately pointed out, everyone does indeed know exactly who he is.
A bit late, some would say. Amid all the exuberance about electing a man because of his skin color was a deliberate refusal to understand that this particular man was a hard-core radical leftist. For some, the knowledge of just what then-Senator Obama intended to do if elected president was apparently hard to discern. For others, electing a man who had sat in the pews of Jeremiah Wright's church for twenty years and launched his first campaign from the living room of Weatherman terrorist Bill Ayers was an appallingly dangerous mistake.
What else, they now ask, could America possibly have expected?
The unexpected answer?
An infinitely better understanding of both Ronald Reagan and the conservative principles he championed. An understanding borne of new experience for this latest generation as it struggles to grasp the hard reality of what Reagan himself learned the hard way: if socialism, statism, and government planning had the necessary answers to America's problems, those problems would have been resolved long ago.
And Ronald Reagan, passed into death and history six years earlier, vanished from any active public life by Alzheimer's a full decade before that, would not be on the cusp of a mammoth centennial birthday celebration three months and four days from this election.
Obama and Reagan have become the face of each side's arguments in 2010, the personification of the now furious struggle between statism -- the supremacy of the state, as Mark Levin succinctly describes the goal of the left in Liberty and Tyranny -- and individual freedom and liberty.
The New York Times says that "Washington is on the brink of a substantial shift in the balance of power." Poll after poll after poll indicates the GOP is in some fashion on the edge of a tidal wave sweeping the country.
Which is to say Reagan is poised to beat Obama.
But if this turns out to be true -- if Republicans do in fact re-take the House and fire Nancy Pelosi, if they upend Harry Reid and begin flooding the Senate with conservatives -- why? Why will this have happened? And is that the end of this ferocious battle? Can we all just go home now?
The answers are as predictable as they were easy to reject by all manner of self-proclaimed political savants who really did think America had parted ways with both Reagan and conservatives.
Ronald Reagan saw America as a "shining city upon a hill." It was beyond foolish for Obama and Democrats to dismiss this as some sort of old news -- irrelevant, hokey, out of date. To dismiss Reagan and his vision is to totally misread America, its culture, and exactly how Americans see both their country and themselves. And more to the point, how Americans have seen themselves right from the moment the first Pilgrims stepped off the boat at Plymouth, Massachusetts, in 1620.
Read More: AS
In the end, that's the choice.
As the country enters the final week of what may be the most important election in a lifetime, these two presidents and their starkly differing visions of America are at the center of what has become a political earthquake.
Barack Obama, of course, would seem to have the advantage. He is the flesh-and-blood sitting president of the moment, with actual, real-time command of the White House and all the accompanying assets that includes. Air Force One responds to his beck and call, along with the helicopters, shiny limousines, the staff and the entire executive branch of the United States government. Not to mention the total control his party has had over the House and Senate. The seal may have fallen off his podium the other week, but no matter. As he accurately pointed out, everyone does indeed know exactly who he is.
A bit late, some would say. Amid all the exuberance about electing a man because of his skin color was a deliberate refusal to understand that this particular man was a hard-core radical leftist. For some, the knowledge of just what then-Senator Obama intended to do if elected president was apparently hard to discern. For others, electing a man who had sat in the pews of Jeremiah Wright's church for twenty years and launched his first campaign from the living room of Weatherman terrorist Bill Ayers was an appallingly dangerous mistake.
What else, they now ask, could America possibly have expected?
The unexpected answer?
An infinitely better understanding of both Ronald Reagan and the conservative principles he championed. An understanding borne of new experience for this latest generation as it struggles to grasp the hard reality of what Reagan himself learned the hard way: if socialism, statism, and government planning had the necessary answers to America's problems, those problems would have been resolved long ago.
And Ronald Reagan, passed into death and history six years earlier, vanished from any active public life by Alzheimer's a full decade before that, would not be on the cusp of a mammoth centennial birthday celebration three months and four days from this election.
Obama and Reagan have become the face of each side's arguments in 2010, the personification of the now furious struggle between statism -- the supremacy of the state, as Mark Levin succinctly describes the goal of the left in Liberty and Tyranny -- and individual freedom and liberty.
The New York Times says that "Washington is on the brink of a substantial shift in the balance of power." Poll after poll after poll indicates the GOP is in some fashion on the edge of a tidal wave sweeping the country.
Which is to say Reagan is poised to beat Obama.
But if this turns out to be true -- if Republicans do in fact re-take the House and fire Nancy Pelosi, if they upend Harry Reid and begin flooding the Senate with conservatives -- why? Why will this have happened? And is that the end of this ferocious battle? Can we all just go home now?
The answers are as predictable as they were easy to reject by all manner of self-proclaimed political savants who really did think America had parted ways with both Reagan and conservatives.
Ronald Reagan saw America as a "shining city upon a hill." It was beyond foolish for Obama and Democrats to dismiss this as some sort of old news -- irrelevant, hokey, out of date. To dismiss Reagan and his vision is to totally misread America, its culture, and exactly how Americans see both their country and themselves. And more to the point, how Americans have seen themselves right from the moment the first Pilgrims stepped off the boat at Plymouth, Massachusetts, in 1620.
Read More: AS
Congressman Harper only Mississippi Rep. to get perfect score from Center for Security Policy
Center issues Congressional Scorecard; Peace Through Strength Platform on national security
The Center for Security Policy released its ninth National Security Scorecard evaluating the performance of members of the 111th Congress on matters of great importance to the security interests of the United States. Congressman Gregg Harper was joined by 157 other Members of the House of Representatives and 32 Senators receiving a score of 100% qualifying them as "Champions of National Security".
In an effort to advance the debate on the nation's most vital national security issues, the Center also launched a pre-election campaign for midterm election candidates to embrace the "Peace Through Strength Platform," a ten-point program of national security priorities for America. The Center also premiered its new web ad on the Peace Through Strength Platform:
The Peace Through Strength Platform complements the 74-page National Security Scorecard as a way forward for candidates and elected officials. While the Scorecard looks back at decisive issues facing the last Congress, the Peace Through Strength Platform serves as guiding principles for the next Congress. To this end, the Center contacted candidates from both parties, including incumbents and challengers, to alert them to the score of each Member of Congress.
In assessing the record of the 111th Congress, the Center selected 12 roll call votes in the Senate and 8 roll call votes in the House of Representatives to show legislators' positions in key foreign, defense and intelligence matters of direct relevance to America's safety, sovereignty and freedoms. Roll call votes were selected on the basis of their utility in revealing substantive differences on significant security policy issues.
"The Center for Security Policy believes that the success of the American experiment fundamentally depends upon the quality of our representative government," Center President Frank J. Gaffney, Jr. said. "The public must be apprised of their representatives' legislative records."
The Center for Security Policy released its ninth National Security Scorecard evaluating the performance of members of the 111th Congress on matters of great importance to the security interests of the United States. Congressman Gregg Harper was joined by 157 other Members of the House of Representatives and 32 Senators receiving a score of 100% qualifying them as "Champions of National Security".
In an effort to advance the debate on the nation's most vital national security issues, the Center also launched a pre-election campaign for midterm election candidates to embrace the "Peace Through Strength Platform," a ten-point program of national security priorities for America. The Center also premiered its new web ad on the Peace Through Strength Platform:
The Peace Through Strength Platform complements the 74-page National Security Scorecard as a way forward for candidates and elected officials. While the Scorecard looks back at decisive issues facing the last Congress, the Peace Through Strength Platform serves as guiding principles for the next Congress. To this end, the Center contacted candidates from both parties, including incumbents and challengers, to alert them to the score of each Member of Congress.
In assessing the record of the 111th Congress, the Center selected 12 roll call votes in the Senate and 8 roll call votes in the House of Representatives to show legislators' positions in key foreign, defense and intelligence matters of direct relevance to America's safety, sovereignty and freedoms. Roll call votes were selected on the basis of their utility in revealing substantive differences on significant security policy issues.
"The Center for Security Policy believes that the success of the American experiment fundamentally depends upon the quality of our representative government," Center President Frank J. Gaffney, Jr. said. "The public must be apprised of their representatives' legislative records."
Gun dealers see buyer’s market in Miss.
Panic buying, which followed President Obama’s election and the Democratic Party’s majority in both the House and Senate, created a seller’s market for gun dealers and sporting goods stores in 2009.
The lingering effects of that run, based on an unwarranted fear of losing the right to bear arms, has created a buyer’s market in 2010.
“Totally flip-flopped,” said Van Allen, of Van’s Deer Processing and Sporting Goods in Brandon. “Consumers are now in the best position. There are deals on firearms and hunting accessories the likes of which we’ve never seen or dreamed could happen.
“Manufacturers based their 2010 production on 2009 sales, but they learned that the demand - the buying that followed the 2008 election - didn’t materialize again.”
Excess product - except rifle and pistol cartridges, which remain in short supply nationally - means better deals, like rebates, lower prices and store specials.
“Shotgun shells are no problem, but the cartridges in all calibers are tough to find,” Allen said. “I’m ordering everything I can knowing that I’ll be lucky if I get half of what I order.”
MBJ
The lingering effects of that run, based on an unwarranted fear of losing the right to bear arms, has created a buyer’s market in 2010.
“Totally flip-flopped,” said Van Allen, of Van’s Deer Processing and Sporting Goods in Brandon. “Consumers are now in the best position. There are deals on firearms and hunting accessories the likes of which we’ve never seen or dreamed could happen.
“Manufacturers based their 2010 production on 2009 sales, but they learned that the demand - the buying that followed the 2008 election - didn’t materialize again.”
Excess product - except rifle and pistol cartridges, which remain in short supply nationally - means better deals, like rebates, lower prices and store specials.
“Shotgun shells are no problem, but the cartridges in all calibers are tough to find,” Allen said. “I’m ordering everything I can knowing that I’ll be lucky if I get half of what I order.”
MBJ
Debt Has Increased $5 Trillion Since Speaker Pelosi Vowed, ‘No New Deficit Spending’
When Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) gave her inaugural address as speaker of the House in 2007, she vowed there would be “no new deficit spending.” Since that day, the national debt has increased by $5 trillion, according to the U.S. Treasury Department.
"After years of historic deficits, this 110th Congress will commit itself to a higher standard: Pay as you go, no new deficit spending,” Pelosi said in her speech from the speaker’s podium. “Our new America will provide unlimited opportunity for future generations, not burden them with mountains of debt."
Pelosi has served as speaker in the 110th and 111th Congresses.
At the close of business on Jan. 4, 2007, Pelosi’s first day as speaker, the national debt was $8,670,596,242,973.04 (8.67 trillion), according to the Bureau of the Public Debt, a division of the U.S. Treasury Department. At the close of business on Oct. 22, it stood at $13,667,983,325,978.31 (13.67 trillion), an increase of 4,997,387,083,005.27 (or approximately $5 trillion).
Pelosi, the 60th speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, has added more to the national debt than the first 57 House speakers combined.
Read More: CNS
"After years of historic deficits, this 110th Congress will commit itself to a higher standard: Pay as you go, no new deficit spending,” Pelosi said in her speech from the speaker’s podium. “Our new America will provide unlimited opportunity for future generations, not burden them with mountains of debt."
Pelosi has served as speaker in the 110th and 111th Congresses.
At the close of business on Jan. 4, 2007, Pelosi’s first day as speaker, the national debt was $8,670,596,242,973.04 (8.67 trillion), according to the Bureau of the Public Debt, a division of the U.S. Treasury Department. At the close of business on Oct. 22, it stood at $13,667,983,325,978.31 (13.67 trillion), an increase of 4,997,387,083,005.27 (or approximately $5 trillion).
Pelosi, the 60th speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, has added more to the national debt than the first 57 House speakers combined.
Read More: CNS
Initiative to target health care law
Drive's goal would be to make overhaul unconstitutional in Miss.
Building on three successful petition drives to let voters decide key conservative issues, some Republican lawmakers now want to use the state's ballot initiative process to take on the federal health care overhaul.
The latest initiative would amend the Mississippi Constitution to state "a law or rule shall not compel participation in any health care system or plan, nor impose any penalty for choosing to obtain or decline health care coverage or for participating in any particular health care system or plan."
"We want to protect our citizens from un-Constitutional mandates from the federal government," said Rep. Alex Monsour, a Vicksburg Republican who is one of the petition sponsors.
House Public Health Committee Chairman Steve Holland, D-Plantersville, said he thinks those who support the health care initiative are "very misguided."
"I hope it falls flat on its face," he said.
Read More: CL
Building on three successful petition drives to let voters decide key conservative issues, some Republican lawmakers now want to use the state's ballot initiative process to take on the federal health care overhaul.
The latest initiative would amend the Mississippi Constitution to state "a law or rule shall not compel participation in any health care system or plan, nor impose any penalty for choosing to obtain or decline health care coverage or for participating in any particular health care system or plan."
"We want to protect our citizens from un-Constitutional mandates from the federal government," said Rep. Alex Monsour, a Vicksburg Republican who is one of the petition sponsors.
House Public Health Committee Chairman Steve Holland, D-Plantersville, said he thinks those who support the health care initiative are "very misguided."
"I hope it falls flat on its face," he said.
Read More: CL
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