US Rep. Gene Taylor

Since this is a blog where I post on the state of Mississippi and its political atmosphere. Since the US Congress is not doing much right now I want to review rep. Gene Taylor's recent record. Why Gene, well he is my rep in Congress and I want to share with my readers what I have learned about his voting. I picked issues that were important to me and I suggest that anyone wanting to grade their rep to do the same.

Health issues:

SCHIP--yes
Ban abortion pill--yes

Labor:

min. wage increase--yes
union bill--no
gay employment bill--no

War:
timeline for war--no

Economy:

economic stimulus--no
US-Peru trade agreement--no
Farm bill--yes
Alternate minimum tax--no

Other legislation:

FISA--yes
Xmas and Christianity bill--yes
Hate Crimes Act--no

There are the bills that were important to me....so how did Taylor do? By my standards, he is mediocre at best. By his vote he has little toleration for gays, or abortion rights. He does seem to stand well on labor, and has taken a stand against civil rights especially with the FISA bill. I will continue to monitor his voting record.

There are others in Washington, but he is the only one that I truly care about. OK we have a Senator Thad Cochran. I would review his record but why, he is boring, unimpressive and a follower and now he is the senior senator from Mississippi, will he he be more verbal now that he cannot hide behinf Lott? We will see.

A Waste Of Time

Year after year after year after..........I have watched the MS legislature and believe me it is a work of absurdity. To begin with when bills are being read and some discussion, if you look over the crowd you will see reps reading newspapers or at worst sleeping. Their only interest is these guys and gals have is self interest.

But the biggest waste of time is that at every meeting they commend somneone or name a highway or such worthless stuff. Personally, there should be a bill or something that will make this type of waste on the last day of the session and it should include all this pandering to one bill with a section for each thing. They vote on this the very last thing and then they leave. But to make a bill for every little thing is just a waste of time and money and needs to be eliminated.

Mississippi State Lottery

An issue has been brought to the MS Legislature to install a state lottery with revenue earmarked for education. This is a grand scheme, but years ago when the casinoes were voted on and approved part of the state's revenue was suppose to go to education, but so far they use what little money they get to build new schools. A noble endeavor, but the standards are the same, some of the lowest in the USA.

This measure will surely die in the legislature, because casinos are against it, because it would diminish their profits. There are many law makers who owe everything to the casinos, so I feel that it has no future.

Note: I have been searching for the bill number and the actions that it is receiving, so far I have been unsuccessful, but the search continues. Updates will be forthcoming.

MS Legislature: The Good, The Bad And The Ugly

At the end of the session for the Mississippi legislature I will do a three part series entitled, see above, on the bills that were considered in the session. The ones that were a waste of time, the ones that are a good solid idea and the completely moronic.

Many years ago I wrote an op-ed for a local newspaper, The Gulfport Star-Journal, entitled "Mississippi's Moronocracy". I will continue my observations from this session onward. apparently, nothing changes in the Mississippi legislature. The citizens of the state are still governed by morons.

Please watch for the post, it promises to be both informative and humorous.

FISA Vote For Mississippi

Mississippi's two senators Cochran and Wicker, played nice with he president and voted yes for the FISA bill which would exempt telecommunications companies from any possibility of prosecution for their efforts to spy on regular Americans.

I will be watching Mississippi's representatives for their votes. And will in turn report on their activities. We, as Mississippians, need to keep track of these fools and make them responsible for their votes.

Did the Senators vote the way that Mississippians think or were they just part of the gential massage of Bush? We will find out!

Could Mississippi Have An Influence?

Mitt is out of the Repub race! McCain is most the nominee. What about huckabee/ i have heard that he is staying in the race to boost his influence. will he be the VEEP? No, he will not, but he will be rewarded for coming in second, somehow. How about Mitt? No, he will be seen as the future. He removed himself from the running to save his political reputation. He will be the hands on odds favorite in the next election cycle for president.

Ok then who would McCain pick as his running mate. How about Lieberman? No, he is a proven election loser and will not be considered. Ok, hoiw about Bloomberg? I do not see mike bloomberg settling for second banana; his ego would not allow it. Then who Professor? lots of speculation have been flying around the blogsphere. Hagel, is probably the most frequently mentioned in the list that contains the names mentioned above.

OK, what does this all have to do with Mississippi? A good question. Well I want to offer a suggestion for McCain to consider for his choice of VP. Why not Haley Barbour? The governor has a massive list of qualifications. He is a staunch conservative, something McCain needs to get their support. He is the former head of the GOP, it would give McCain a boost among conservs. He is a high priced lobbyist, access to the monied few. He is the hero of Katrina (IMO, not deserved) which would boost McCain's standing with the Gulf Coast. And he is a Southern, that will be a big plus in the coming election, to help McCain secure that evangelical vote.

So Barbour, IMO, is the best choice for the position of VP for John McCain, his qualifications are immense.

But there is one more reason that I think he would be perfect as a VP. It would get him out of the state. I know Barbour, I met him years ago when he was running for the US Congress. I am not one of his fans and to get him out of the state would be a favor to me and i would appreciate it hugely. Mississippi needs new leadership. The good old boys tactics of the past are just that the past. Mississippi needs to move into the 21st century.

The Fat Get No Food

If the state of Mississippi gets its way and the law passes, HB 282, then it will be illegal to sell certain foods to overweight people. That is RIGHT! you heard me! It will be illegal to sell certain foods to fat people.

This is the lamest and the most worthless piece of legislative work I have ever read. At what point does the government draw the line at interfering in a persons life? This is trying to legislate good eating habits? Where is that written that this is the government's job? Where does it say they have the right to interfere?

Personally, I think that this is a prejudice against overweight people. For some reason these idiots do not like seeing these people in public. This is NOT a legislative subject and should be handled differently. I suggest the people of Mississippi pay attention, for if this passes what will be their next control they will want to have.

The Sad Thing About A Mississippi Primary

The state's primary in March 11 and unfortunate by the time Mississippians get to vote there is not much choice. On the Dem side any real choice of candidates has been eliminated, we are down to two and of the two their positions are very, very similar. Kucinich and Edwards have been eliminated, thanks mostly to the media and its success at marginalizing these two worthy candidates. So if the voter goes to vote then it will be a popularity contest, not an issue driven vote. A basic flip of a coin will be the technique of decision in Mississippi.

Then we move on to the Repubs. By the time it comes to the state, the nominee will mostly likely already be known and their would be no need to vote for the vote will be useless. It will just be a contest to see which one gets the delegates.

Sad that Mississippi is just in it for the delegates, the voters has NO real say in anything about the process. Mississippi needs to get its crap together and do some soul searching. Does it want to be part of the "real" contest or just a spectator that has nothing to do with the election process. Personally, I want to see Mississippi become a major player in this process. we have been at the bottom of most lists in the US, it is time to move up and make them look at Mississippi as the great state it is.