JSU Takes On MSU In NIT 1st Round

Game Tuesday In Starkville

It's not the tournament either team had planned to play in, but Jackson State University and Mississippi State University will face off Tuesday night in Starkville in the first round of the National Invitational Tournament.

Both the Tigers and Bulldogs had hopes of playing in the NCAA Tournament this year. JSU went 17-1 in the SWAC regular season, and MSU lived on the bubble for two weeks leading up to selection Sunday.

WAPT

Obama to Dem fencesitters: "Time to Pick"

The backscratching has begun and the Chicago politics is in full force in DC according to Greg Sargent. Looks like the Dems have painted themselves into a corner here. A "YES" vote will get them axed in some of the more moderate districts, a "NO" vote means they will be cannabilized by there own party. If "all is fair in love and war" then Democrats just need to decide which they prefer.

Late last week, a source says, President Obama summoned a key undecided House Democrat, New York Rep Scott Murphy, for a one-on-one meeting at the White House — a sign that he’s beginning to lavish direct personal attention on individual members of Congress to persuade them to vote for the Senate bill.


According to a source familiar with the meeting, the President asked Murphy what he needed in the bill in order to support it. Murphy is being closely watched right now because he voted No last time, and flipping him to Yes would be a key get for Dem vote-counters.

“It was, `What are you looking for in the bill?’” the source says, describing the President’s request. “Scott was pressing him on the need for cost control. Medicare fraud came up. Scott said we need to step up — what we did in the House last time was not enough.”

The meeting is interesting because it suggests that on-the-fence Dems such as Murphy are seriously in the hunt for something to give them the cover they need to support the bill. That’s because the pressure on them to vote Yes is excrutiatingly intense.

Health Care Reconciliation Bill Markup live on CSPAN now

Watch it live.

Reconciliation Bill Markup now going on in Budget Committee

CQ Political News: House Faces Pivotal Votes on Health Care

Democrats are entering a critical week in the health care debate, as party leaders close in on the 216-vote threshold they need for the House to clear a Senate-passed overhaul bill.

But they still are trying to resolve at least two important issues: making Medicaid funding equitable to all states and addressing Hispanic lawmakers’ concerns about immigration. A third issue, abortion, has been set aside, Democrats say.

Despite holdouts in different quarters of her caucus, Speaker Nancy Pelosi sounded confident on March 12 that she would have the votes to finish the health care overhaul.

“We stand ready to stay as long as it takes to pass the bill,” Pelosi, D-Calif., told reporters. “I think members are eager to pass the bill. . . . It won’t be long before we’ll be making a real difference in the lives of the American people.”

Democrats will use an elaborate series of parliamentary procedures to try to accomplish the task. House Democratic leaders are preparing to clear the Senate-passed bill by the end of the week or soon thereafter. It will be considered with a companion bill, to be sent to the Senate, that would amend the Senate measure with changes demanded by House Democrats.

The companion bill will probably be combined with a student loan proposal that some Democrats believe could attract additional votes in the House. The proposal would make the federal government the sole originator of the student loans, which Democrats contend is less costly to taxpayers than subsidizing banks to loan money to students.

The House passed such legislation last year, but proponents say it would be easier to pass the bill in the Senate using expedited reconciliation rules to avoid a Republican filibuster.

The House Budget Committee is scheduled to start the process Monday by marking up a reconciliation bill containing proposals previously submitted by three panels with jurisdiction over health care issues — Energy and Commerce, Ways and Means, and Education and Labor. The bill will also contain the student loan measure.

Later in the week, the House Rules Committee is expected to replace the health care language in the reconciliation bill with the bill the House wants to use to amend the Senate-passed health care bill. The Rules Committee is scheduled to meet March 17.

Congressional Quarterly

Are You Watching The Shell Game?

Next Steps: How The Health Bill Could Move Forward


Democrats are still wrangling support for the health bill in the House, but leading Democrats say it could pass the House as soon as this coming weekend. Here's a look at the steps needed to move the bill forward:





Monday, March 15: House Budget Committee Meets

• — This meeting is largely a formality.
• — House Budget Committee marks up a "shell" health bill (which will be replaced by the real reconciliation bill) and sends it to the House Rules Committee.
• — Budget Committee may not make substantive changes to the bill, but it can make recommendations to the Rules Committee, which will develop the reconciliation bill.
• — At least 48 hours must pass between the Budget Committee's completing its markup and the Rules Committee's taking up a bill.
• — Monday afternoon or Tuesday, the CBO may release the cost estimates for the real reconciliation bill.

 Wednesday, March 17: House Committee On Rules Meets

• — The Rules Committee writes a reconciliation bill, possibly incorporating the ideas recommended by the Budget Committee, and replacing the shell bill the Budget Committee is expected to have approved Monday.
•  — House Dems will attempt to pass the Senate health bill at the same time the House approves the rule for debate on the reconciliation bill. 

 End Of The Week/Weekend: House Could Vote

•   When the House leadership thinks it has the votes together, it will schedule the reconciliation vote on the House floor. This may be as early as Thursday, more likely Friday or Saturday.

 Possibly Next Week

• — If the House succeeds in passing the reconciliation bill, it goes to the Senate. The Senate parliamentarian may require the reconciliation bill to go through committee markups.

Then What?

• — If the Senate passes the House reconciliation bill with no changes, it goes to the president for signature. If the Senate makes any changes, the bill must go back to the House again for approval. The Senate is likely to vote on the bill late next week.

NPR

Morocco Rejects Criticism for Expelling Christians Accused of Proselytizing Abandoned Muslim Children

The government of Morocco has launched a public relations effort to fend off criticism about its decision to expel 20 foreign Christian aid workers it accuses of trying to convert Muslims.

The expulsion order affected Christians who ran a center that has been taking in and fostering abandoned Moroccan children for 10 years.

The group issued a statement denying the accusations, and describing the wrench of 33 children being forced to say goodbye, with no prior warning, to the only parents they had known

CNS News

Ryan knows his stuff, and he knows how to articulate it.

What happened to the Tenth Amendment?

The New York Times is reporting 

The Obama administration on Saturday called for a broad overhaul of President George W. Bush’s No Child Left Behind law, proposing to reshape divisive provisions that encouraged instructors to teach to tests, narrowed the curriculum, and labeled one in three American schools as failing.

Announcing that he would send his education blueprint to Congress on Monday, President Obama returned to a campaign promise to repair the sprawling federal law, which affects each of the nation’s nearly 100,000 public schools. His plan strikes a careful balance, retaining some key features of the Bush-era law, including its requirement for annual reading and math tests, while proposing far-reaching changes.

Seems like more Federal power grabbing to me. Bush was wrong in assuming the authority and so is Obama. 

Scrambling for votes, Dems face uphill climb to pass health reform

By Bob Cusack

House Democratic leaders don’t have the votes to pass healthcare reform. At least not yet.

Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) has expressed confidence that when push comes to shove, healthcare reform will pass Congress. But there will be plenty of pushing in the days ahead.

Pelosi is clearly down in the vote count. Thirty-four House Democrats are either firm no votes or leaning no, according to The Hill’s whip list. Dozens more are undecided.

The list of Democratic members who haven't committed ranges widely, from liberal Reps. Michael Capuano (Mass.) and Anthony Weiner (N.Y.) to centrist Reps. Jason Altmire (Pa.) and Chris Carney (Pa.).

Two committee chairmen -- Reps. Ike Skelton (D-Mo.) and Collin Peterson (D-Minn.) -- say they are firm nos and three others, Reps. John Spratt (D-S.C.), Nick Rahall (D-W.Va.) and Jim Oberstar (D-Minn.), are undecided.

If every House member votes and all Republicans reject the bill as expected, Pelosi can only afford 37 Democratic defections. That breakdown of the votes would lead to a 216-215 tally.

Of the 34 no votes/leaning no votes, eight of them backed the House-backed bill in November. Meanwhile, nine Democrats who voted no last fall are publicly on the fence.

Friday’s decision by Democratic leaders to forge ahead without the backing of anti-abortion rights Rep. Bart Stupak (D-Mich.) has dealt a blow to the chances the lower chamber can pass a health bill.

Lacking votes last November, Pelosi struck a deal with Stupak and the House measure subsequently passed, 220-215.

On Tuesday, Stupak told the Associated Press that he was “more optimistic” that a deal on the health bill’s provisions on abortion would be reached.

But after days of discussions, Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) said on Friday such a compromise is unlikely.

Like Pelosi, Hoyer expressed confidence that the votes will be there when the bill hits the floor, which could be within a week.

Stupak has long said he and 11 other members who voted yes the first time will reject the final bill if it does not include strong anti-abortion language.

The Hill

Pelosi says Health Care Reform will be Historic

New BZP Drug looks like candy

Mississippi can use Medicaid money to reimburse Memphis hospital

The Associated Press

Mississippi can use supplemental Medicaid payments to reimburse the Regional Medical Center at Memphis for the cost of treating Mississippi residents.

The Commercial Appeal reports Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius told U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen about the decision in a letter on Thursday.

As a regional trauma center on the border of three states, The Med receives many patients from Mississippi and Arkansas. It has been in financial distress for years.

The supplement Medicaid payments are for hospitals that serve disproportionate numbers of charity cases. Arkansas was approved to send some of its Medicaid money to The Med last May.

The Med’s vice president for government relations, Letisha Towns, said figures for how much Mississippi will actually pay will be released Wednesday.

Repaving under way

Highland Colony's potholes targeted

Improvements to Highland Colony Parkway have been a year in the making but are expected to be finished quickly.

Madison and Ridgeland started planning last April to use federal stimulus funds to make improvements to portions of the roadway. By late April or early May, officials in the two cities expect to see work crews putting a smooth riding surface down by repairing the roadway base and adding new top coats.

"We were ready for them to start, like, yesterday," said Denson Robinson, public works director for Madison. "It took a long time, longer than anticipated. With federal money, sometimes is takes longer."

The money for the Highland Colony rehabilitation work comes from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) funds. The two cities, along with Madison County, Canton and Flora equally split the $2.2 million in federal money last April. Each local government got $451,699 but the Mississippi Department of Transportation is getting 15 percent from each for oversight of the projects.

"With ARRA money, there are various rules and regulations," Ridgeland public works director Mike McCollum said about the start-to-finish time. "There is a lot of paperwork, a lot of approvals to get."

Once the work starts, though, McCollum said drivers won't have to wait long for the job, stretching a little over half a mile, to be finished. "Ten days tops," he said.

Madison County Herald

Judge orders Washington to resume funding ACORN

Associated Press


NEW YORK - A federal judge who found it unconstitutional that Congress tried to cut funding to the activist group ACORN has rejected a government request to change her mind and has ordered government agencies to make it clear the funding isn't blocked.

In a written ruling Wednesday, U.S. District Judge Nina Gershon made permanent her conclusion last year that the cutoff of funding was unconstitutional. She ordered all federal agencies to put the word out about it.

The Brooklyn judge said ACORN was punished by Congress without the enactment of administrative processes to decide if money had been handled inappropriately. She said the harm to ACORN's reputation continues because the government never rescinded its advice to withhold funding after it was distributed to "hundreds, if not thousands, of recipients."

ACORN, or the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, describes itself as an advocate for low-income and minority home buyers and residents. Critics of the group say it has engaged in voter registration fraud and embezzlement and has violated the tax-exempt status of some of its affiliates by engaging in partisan political activities.

Last year, a series of videos filmed at ACORN offices around the country sparked a national scandal and helped drive the organization to near ruin. In one video, ACORN employees were shown apparently advising a couple posing as a prostitute and her boyfriend to lie about her profession and launder her earnings; Brooklyn prosecutors said they did not commit a crime.

In this One News Now report Senator Roger Wicker (R-Mississippi), who voted for the amendment, says the vote to cut off federal funding to ACORN is a win for taxpayers who do not want their hard-earned money funneled to organizations who have no respect for the rule of law. (Listen to audio)


"We've tried this in the past, [in] both the House and Senate, and we haven't been quite so successful," he admits. "But in the past we didn't have the videotape, which just screamed out about the tax evasion that they were scheming [along] with the criminal activity including prostitution, the human trafficking.

"Every time the person doing the investigation ratcheted up the criminality that he was supposedly proposing, the ACORN employee didn't bat an eye," the senator remarks. "They had an answer for everything."

Wicker says as more and more Americans realize what ACORN is up to, more and more Americans are demanding that Congress not appropriate anymore money for this organization.

The Associated Press reports that in asking the judge to reconsider her December ruling, the government cited a Dec. 7 report written by Scott Harshbarger, former attorney general for Massachusetts. It said the report "reinforces Congress' purpose in preventing fraud, waste and abuse" by describing ACORN's long-standing management problems.

The report concluded that ACORN leadership at every level was thin, the government noted.

The judge, however, wrote that it was "unmistakable that Congress determined ACORN's guilt before defunding it." She said Congress is entitled to investigate ACORN but cannot "rely on the negative results of a congressional or executive report as a rationale to impose a broad, punitive funding ban on a specific, named organization."

She said the Code of Federal Regulations establishes a formal process for deciding when federal contractors can be suspended or debarred. She added that "the existence of these regulations militates against the need for draconian, emergency action by Congress."

The government planned to review the judge's ruling and consider whether to appeal, spokesman Robert Nardoza said.
The legal director of the Center for Constitutional Rights, which says it's dedicated to protecting the rights guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, welcomed Wednesday's decision.

"The judge's ruling is a complete rebuke to the right wing's smear tactics that unfortunately Congress fell for," legal director Bill Quigley said. "This is why we have a system of checks and balances."

Flora Resident Sees Jesus In Pecan Tree

I've looked at that picture a few times now and Jesus is still not coming into view. Maybe I can't see Jesus because I'm such a pitiful sinner, or maybe it's because I don't particularly like pecans.

He Says Image Appeared Weeks Ago

A Flora resident said he can see the image of Jesus in his pecan tree.

Timothy Vincent said the image miraculously appeared a few weeks ago in his backyard. He said one day he saw an odd woodpecker on his tree and when the bird few away, the face of Jesus was there.

WAPT

Potential Slaughter Rule has Congress in an uproar. Will moderate Dems really dare go along with this?

Dems are trying to push through Obamacare by any means necessary. Are they really this out of touch? They will lose big in November anyway. Surely they know that now, and are willing to try passage of the controversial legislation by using the kamikaze effort now being touted as the Slaughter Solution.

As some obviously still believe Health Care Legislation will never be overturned, and will be widely accepted once enacted, you might say they are willing to become martyrs for the cause.

The Slaughter Solution is explained briefly in this Washington Examiner article published on 3/10/10:

Would House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and her fellow House Democratic leaders try to cram the Senate version of Obamacare through the House without actually having a recorded vote on the bill?

Not only is the answer yes, they would, they have figured out a way to do it, according to National Journal's Congress Daily:

"House Rules Chairwoman Louise Slaughter is prepping to help usher the healthcare overhaul through the House and potentially avoid a direct vote on the Senate overhaul bill, the chairwoman said Tuesday.

"Slaughter is weighing preparing a rule that would consider the Senate bill passed once the House approves a corrections bill that would make changes to the Senate version.

"Slaughter has not taken the plan to Speaker Pelosi as Democrats await CBO scores on the corrections bill. 'Once the CBO gives us the score, we'll spring right on it,' she said."

Each bill that comes before the House for a vote on final passage must be given a rule that determines things like whether the minority would be able to offer amendments to it from the floor.

In the Slaughter Solution, the rule would declare that the House "deems" the Senate version of Obamacare to have been passed by the House. House members would still have to vote on whether to accept the rule, but they would then be able to say they only voted for a rule, not for the bill itself.

Now comes Republican Senator's, including Mississippi Senator Roger Wicker to warn House Democrats that reconciliation in the Senate will be fought tooth and nail.

President Obama's Final March is in full effect, and Republican Congressman's switchboards are lighting up after Obama and the DNC put out an email this week asking supporters who have signed up to the Democrat's Organizing For America emails to call their Congressman, even going so far as to provide phone numbers.


As Thomas Paine said, "These are the times that try men's souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman."

Or as my grandfather used to say, "stand for something, or fall for anything."

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.