MS: Hospitals May Close

Some hospitals and nursing homes could shut down, doctors could stop seeing patients and thousands of health- care workers could lose their jobs statewide, according to providers responding to $375 million in Medicaid cuts revealed late Friday.

he cuts also would affect home health care agencies, pharmacists, dentists and others, according to documents filed by Gov. Haley Barbour, a Republican who oversees the program that serves nearly 600,000 Mississippians.

A threat? Most probably.

Bill Passes To Prevent Medicaid Cuts

djournal.com

Finally, the Special session is doing something positive.

Mississippi: Barbour And Medicare

The long-awaited report, the last in a series published over the past several years by the committee, found that Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney, in particular, frequently made assertions in the run-up to the war that key intelligence agencies could not substantiate or about which there was substantial disagreement within the intelligence community.

"In making the case for war, the administration repeatedly presented intelligence as fact when in reality it was unsubstantiated, contradicted, or even nonexistent," the Committee chairman, Sen. Jay Rockefeller, said on releasing the 172-page report. "As a result, the American people were led to believe that the threat from Iraq was much greater than actually existed."

During the special session, the House proposed a more modest 50-cent increase on the excise tax, combined with an equally modest drop in Barbour’s patient tax, though the Senate and Barbour oppose even that. Seeing no immediate compromise, the House then passed a bill using $90 million from Barbour’s prized $378 million “rainy day” fund if accountants decide Medicaid cuts are needed.

Barbour responded by promising a veto of the rainy day bill.

“[I]nstead of taking up the fair and reasonable solution to fully fund Medicaid passed by the Senate ... the House has voted to use $90 million in one-time money to pay for the recurring expenses of Medicaid. The purpose of this Special Session is to enact a permanent, sustainable solution for Medicaid funding. The nearly 600,000 Mississippians who depend on Medicaid don’t need a one year band-aid, but that’s what the House leadership has given them,” Barbour said in a statement.

The state’s current tobacco tax stands at 18 cents a pack, which generates about $47 million for the state every year, according to American Lung Association of Mississippi Executive Director Jennifer Cofer. Cofer added that Medicaid spends about $264 million on Mississippi residents with smoking-related health issues like lung cancer every year and called the tobacco tax increase logical.

Barbour said he opposes any tax increase in the state until a special tax study committee thoroughly studies the state’s overall tax structure later this year. Politicos predicted that Barbour—who opposes a tobacco tax increase every year lawmakers propose it—would use the tax study to mire a tobacco-tax proposal.

Mississippi: When May They Vote Again?

Is the question some Mississippians have asked. You if one has a felony conviction on one's record, then they have lost their voting privileges for a lifetime. This was a way to control the black vote, well an attempt to control that vote. Wait one can have one's voting rights back but there is a process of retaining a lawyer and partitioning the legislature to have one's suffrage rights returned to one.

Personally, I think that the process should be a whole lot easier, such as the rights are returned if the person has re-paid society and been clean for 3-5 years. A simple form filled out and a minimal fee and one's rights would be returned.

The process of letting the Legislature is a waste of time, for each person partitioning for their rights is a separate bill. A waste of time and money. We could cut the bill load in half , if all commending and all suffrage requests were put into one bill of each catagory, and dealt with on the last day of a session.

Mississippi never takes the smartest way out when it comes to anything that is race related. This whole process will continue and qualified voters will be eliminated all in the name of that damn stupid Code of 1972.

Mississippi's Moron-Ocracy--Part 3

THE UGLY


As a final chapter of the 2008 regular legislative session, chapter 3 is the UGLY, bills and such that were just plain stupid!

HB1096--bill concerned with fighting between dog and hog

HB 314--bill making it illegal for cops to give false info--is that not a law already?

HR 24--reciting the pledge of allegiance--why?

SB 2550--covenant of marriage is between a man and a woman--MS has always been homophobic

Crap! I have lost the Bill number!

The ban of smoking in public places--this is ugly because it can be interpreted in different ways--I foresee some abuse by do nothing politicians.

Now the UGLIEST OF THE UGLY

HB282--,making it illegal to serve certain food to overweight people. This made news everywhere. Showed what a bunch of ignorant slackers out legislature is . Showed the lunacy of the legislation process.

There will most likely be a special session to try and get more stuff done and I will be watching and I will be reporting.

Peace Out My peeps!

Mississippi's Moron-Ocracy

Part 2--THE BAD


These are bills and such that, IMO, were not the best ideas that could have been pursued.

1--HB375--E85 pumps mandatory at gas station--this is sorta good but mostly bad. Yes it would help the dependency on oil, but it will help increase the price of food stuffs......E85 is not the best way to approach this problem.

2--HB406--phase out corporate income tax
3--HB445--Reduce sales tax on motorcycles--these two are just dumb--this will eliminate much needed funds from the collection process.

4--Hair Braiding Law--this is my fav--best I can say about this is WHY?

But wait! There is more!

SC685--Mississippi Law Day--honor the rule of law. Why? It is the Law! Ha!

HB1507--The city of Vicksburg has contracted the state of Louisiana to house municipal prisoners. Does that mean that LA does not have a crowding prob in their prisons? Or is it the cash? You decide.

These are not all the bad bills just the ones that I saw and wanted to comment on. I am sure others have different views but I like mine better...HA!

But the biggest waste of time and money is the endless commending people, teams, and other such nonesense. Yes these stuff needs to be recognized, but put it all in one bill and handle it on the last day, the very last thing. Same goes for returning suffrage to people. Stop! Make all one bill and handle it as such.

Tomorrow we get Part 3--the UGLY the final chapter in the saga of Mississippi stupidity.

Mississippi's Moron-Ocracy

Part 0ne--The Good


Years ago I wrote an editorial for a now defunct weekly called the Gulfport Star-Journal, about the Mississippi Legislature and I thought it was a good time to resurrect that thought.

This will be a 3 part post entitled The Good, The Bad and The Ugly!


The Mississippi Legislature had a few really good bills, at least in my opinion.

HB8--would outlaw driving while using a cell phone

HR31--Funds for a museum for Sam Cooke

HB57--Restrict lobbying until 4 yrs after leaving the government service

HB216--create a civil rights division within the Attorney General's office

HB453--Compulsory education law

HB543--create an open primary for the state of MS

HB684--create curbside voting for the handicapped

HB1151--create a paper voting trail

HB1496--repeal sale tax on hurricane supplies

These are bills that I thought showed that Mississippi was at least becoming more concerned with the affairs of the people. Most of these failed, but at least these were tried and a possibility that they could be successful next session.

But the biggest disappointment was the failure of HR 13--the Worker's Bill Of Rights, for once Mississippi was showing concern for the workers, but unfortunately it died in committee. And HB9 was another workers defeat, it would have made 28 April, the Worker's Memorial Day, which would have brought attention to workers safety and those who have died.

These were great ideas and excellent tries---BETTER LUCK NEXT SESSION!

Next post will be The Bad. This will be the bills and such that were not so good

HR13/HC9--Less Than Honorable Death

HR13--Worker's bill Of Rights--a bill that would have guaranteed certain rights to workers like guaranteed safety standards, the right to organize, etc has died in committee...a less than hinorable death for a bill that could have been ground breaking for Mississippi.

HC9--Worker's Memorial Day--28 April, for the observation of workers that have died on the job and to help bring attention to workplace safety--died in committee.

I was hoping that Mississippi would wake up and join the 21st century, I was mistaken. It will always be a right to work state where the workers are nothing more than a tool to be used til broke and by a new one.

More Good News

Yes there is more good news for the residents of Mississippi (sarcasm intended). Customers of the power companies will be paying more in the bills so that the companies can build new plants.

A bill giving power companies the ability to raise rates to help pay for new multibillion-dollar power plants before they are built cleared the Legislature on Wednesday and is headed to the governor.

Utility companies asked for Senate Bill 2793, but those against the plan had said consumers could be stuck with higher bills even if a power company decides not to go forward with expansions. The version of the bill passed Wednesday does allow the Public Service Commission to require the money to be returned to ratepayers if a power plant plan falls through, but it's not automatic.

Now ask yourself, how much profit was made by these companies and why should they make us pay for something we have to have. Why cannot these companies pay for their own construction. I nor you get that benefit. But then we are not a wealthy company that pays the legislators to do their bidding.

You need to speak up! And speak up NOW!

No Smoking In Mississippi

As of 1 May 2008, it will be ILLEGAL to smoke in public places in the state of Mississippi. Now that is all well and good, but if they can force Mississippians from smoking why cannot they force them into other well deserved stands? Like mandatory education, or mandatory, forced compliance with environmental conditions, just wondering. They can force me to stop smoking in public, with the end result of me to stop smoking, period, but yet they cannot force these rich dickwads from squandering the gas supplies with vehicles that pollute and suck down gas.

To be honest, I am really pissed at these damn women that cannot drive without talking on a cel, but the government of the state cannot prevent this. Why? And the state cannot make it mandatory that these idiot children stay in school. Why? Could it be that it is an infringement on the rights? That is just FUNNY!

Casinos For Jackson County

Anyone that knows me, knows that I am not a supporter of the Coast casinos. Not on any of the normal reason cited, but rather that not enough is done to make these corporations pay for the privilege of operating in the state. So I agree somewhat with the sentiment of this Coast mayor.

Senate Bill 2199 gives tax breaks to casinos, but also restricts casinos to those counties in which gaming currently exists.

"Permitting only select communities to prosper from casinos lends favor to those communities creating an environment of haves and have-nots," Moss Point Mayor Xavier Bishop wrote in a letter to Gov. Haley Barbour on Thursday. "Imagine the state legislating which communities could have Wal-Marts?"

It should ALWAYS be up to the people to decide if they want the casinos or not. Any legislation contrary to that is not truly democratic. But will the Governor do the right thing? How much money will be involved?

WORD!

Casinos Win Again

The casinos have lots of friends in Mississippi and most of them are your reps in the state legislature. They will now get more tax cuts for building anything not casino related. Now we will see just how much more they give the Coast with the ability to keep more of the cash.

The bill was part of a deal between the House and Senate. The Senate, which has a large anti-casino faction, agreed to the incentives package. The House, where there is more support of casino gambling, agreed to pass the Senate's moratorium on casino counties.

House Bill 1196, offered by Rep. Diane Peranich, D-Pass Christian, provides tax breaks to casinos that invest more than $10 million on non-gambling developments. It covers theme parks, water parks, cultural or historical centers, motor speedways or other large, non-gambling tourist attractions. The bill would also provide incentives for hotel investments of more than $40 million, as well as golf courses with investments of more than $10 million.

Sen. Billy Hewes, R-Gulfport, Sen. Tommy Gollott, R-Biloxi, and Sen. David Baria, D-Bay St. Louis, championed the bill in the Senate Wednesday. They sparred with Sen. Gary Jackson, R-Kilmichael, who is a Baptist pastor, as well as Sen. Hob Bryan, D-Amory, and Sen. Alan Nunnelee, R-Tupelo.
Hewes said the incentives plan would allow a casino group to take advantage of incentives already offered to other businesses through past legislation that excluded casinos. The bill would allow a casino to recoup up to 30 percent of the project's value over a 10-year period, by giving it access to a percentage of the sales tax the project creates. Coast senators said the incentives would likely cause much investment on attractions in the state from casino groups.

We will see just what they will do with the tax money they do not have to pay and that the state needs to cover the cost of "real" programs that benefit ALL Mississippians.

Barbour's Tax Study Proposal

Barbour said state and federal taxes, as well as local taxes, figure into the discussion, and commission members would remember that as they work on the code.

"We have to keep that in mind as we work to have a system that is fair to all Mississippians, generates the amount of money we need to run our state government and is pro-job creation and pro-economic growth," Barbour said.

Barbour promised on the campaign trail last year he'd look into tax changes. It was his answer to criticism about his vetoing - twice - a bill that would have cut grocery taxes and raised cigarette taxes.

Barbour's political opponents, primarily the House Democratic leadership, has said he would likely champion pro-business tax breaks rather than those to help lower-income Mississippians. They said the state's taxes are already considered "regressive" toward those of modest means.

These proposals have almost always favored business over Mississippians and now the people are told that this one is different, that it will take into consideration of growth with jobs. This is bovine fecal matter. It will be about tax cuts to attract more corporations to the state. BTW, tax cuts creates few jobs and the ones that are lucky enough to have one it will be a short lived job.

I jus hope Mississippians have finally opened their eyes to lies and misdirections, but I am probably just having wishful thoughts.

They Did What?

The Mississippi legislature passed a bill that would raise the pay for elected officials. It did eliminate the governor, lt. gov, AG, legislators from receiving the pay raise. But that was not good enough. Why do i say this? What have these people actually accomplished? Mississippi is still in the bottom 10% of states on so many levels. These people have done nothing that would deserve a pay raise.

I say, if they must get a pay raise, then make it contingent on results. If they do not show any results then they get NO pay raise. And it there particular area of expertise shows a decline, then they lose 10% of their existing salary.

Mississippi cannot progress to the future if the elected officials are a drag on the system. This is where the emphasis should be, no progress no salary increase.

More Jobs For Mississippi

Recently it was announced that the military's new jet tanker, the KC-45, will be finished on the Coast. But will it bring more jobs? It will bring more needed cash to the city, county and state. But what will it do for the working conditions of the people?

Mississippi is a right to work state and that probably played a major role in the decision to bring the final construction of the plane to the Coast. I am sure that some flowering statement about the Coast will be issued and passed onto the media. And the media will do its part to hype the BS.

Money will be made off this endeavor. But unfortunately, it will not improve the working conditions of the people, just make more money for those with all the money anyway.

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.

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.

Mississippi Code of 1972

Did you know that in the state of Mississippi it is a misdemeanor to have more than 1 illegitimate child. Think I lie? check it out.

	§ 97-29-11. Illegitimate children; person becoming natural parent of second illegitimate child; jurisdiction.

		(1) If any person, who shall have previously become the natural parent of an illegitimate child within or without this state by coition within or without this state, shall again become the natural parent of an illegitimate child born within this state, he or she shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be punished by imprisonment in the county jail for not less than thirty (30) days nor more than ninety (90) days or by a fine of not more than Two Hundred Fifty Dollars ($250.00), or both. A subsequent conviction hereunder shall be punishable by imprisonment in the county jail for not less than three (3) months nor more than six (6) months or by a fine of not more than Five Hundred Dollars ($500.00), or both. Provided, however, that for the purpose of this section, multiple births shall be construed to be the birth of one (1) child.

		(2) The circuit court of the county in which said illegitimate child is born shall have jurisdiction of any action brought under this section. No male person shall be convicted solely on the uncorroborated testimony of the female person giving birth to the child.