Obamacare drives Mississippi Democratic elected official to the GOP

Democrats should take note of the impact their faith in Obamacare is having on their grassroots and farm team. Another Mississippi Democrat has switched to the Republican Party and he says it was because he is fed up with Obamacare.

The occasion was used to recognize Neshoba County Chancery Clerk Larry McMillan, who announced his intentions to switch to the Republican Party, having been a lifelong Democrat.

Steele joked with McMillan, noting all the big-name state Republicans who came out for the event.

"You really bring them out Larry," Steele said. "It's a great honor that I get to welcome you to the Republican party."

Barbour also welcomed McMillan, saying they were "tickled to have him," and that he's sure when he looks back on it "you'll only wish you'd done it sooner."

In his fifth term, McMillan attributed his switch to being fed up with the Democrat Party's push for health care reform.

McMillan is the 9th county or municipal elected official in Mississippi to switch to the Republican Party this year.

RNC Chairman Michael Steele and Governor Haley Barbour were on hand to welcome McMillan to the Party.

A Mississippi Democrats Christmas

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Nancy Pelosi's Defense of Tax Increases

Unlike the prior post, this one is not intended to be satire. It is from a few months ago, but worth posting still.

"That wasn't a tax increase. It is eliminating a tax decrease that was there." - Nancy Pelosi on CNBC 10/21/2009

Obama: Fight Fire with Words

Obama To Enter Diplomatic Talks With Raging Wildfire

(Hat Tip Conservative Belle)

More Problems for Bennie Thompson: Report that lobbyists paid Thompson staffer to do fundraisers for Thompson

Y'all Politics dug up another item breaking this week about Bennie Thompson. The website TPMMUckraker reports a Thompson staffer has been paid by lobbyists to conduct events honoring Thompson. The plots thicken...

A party planning side business run by three current and former congressional staffers raked in over $20,000 last year from lobbyists holding events to honor Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-MS) -- whose own communications director is co-founder of the firm.

The apparent arrangement between Thompson and the business, Chic Productions, at once allows private interests to get closer to the congressman's office and gives the staffers a way to dip a straw into the river of outside money flowing through Capitol Hill.

The three women who run Chic are: Dena Graziano, Thompson's communications director since 2006; Michone Johnson, chief counsel for the House Judiciary Commercial and Administrative Law Subcommittee; and Michelle Persaud, formerly of the House Judiciary Committee, now corporate counsel at T-Mobile.

Graziano's bio on Chic's Web site says she has "straddled the fine line between politics and entertainment as an event and communications strategist to some of the nation's most well known personalities."

A Chic floral display with the congressional seal at '07 Thompson eventThe extent of the business Chic has done for Thompson remains unclear because lobbyist disclosure statements that reveal the arrangement have only recently been required, and comprehensive data is available only for 2008. But besides the lobbyist receptions, Chic has put on at least six other Thompson-linked events.

Thompson at Chic "Chairman Reception" in 2007

In a six-week period in late 2008, four companies paid Chic $22,500 to plan events to honor Thompson, according to lobbying disclosures reviewed by TPMmuckraker. The companies were private prison contractor Corrections Corporation of America ($10,000), lobbying powerhouse Patton Boggs ($5,000), Pepsico ($5,000), and software giant Oracle ($2,500).

Chic's links with Thompson are not limited to the 2008 lobbyist receptions.

The congressman's campaign committee paid the firm $5,000 in December 2007 for a fundraising event, and Chic's Web site shows Thompson giving a toast at a "Chairman's Reception" that year. Chic also planned the Congressional Black Caucus Back to Blues event in 2006, 2007, 2008, and 2009. The invitation for the '06 party -- held at the landmark 101 Constitution Ave. -- identifies the host of the "celebration of Blues" as Thompson.

The spread at the 2007 "Back to Blues" party

And finally, Chic's Web site says the firm organized a 2008 CBC "policy conference" in Tunica, Mississippi -- Thompson's home state. The four-day conference featured a target shooting event, the Bennie G. Thompson Sporting Clays Challenge.

According to financial disclosure statements, Graziano, the Thompson staffer, claimed $12,000 income from Chic for 2006-2008. Johnson, of the Judiciary Committee, claimed $4,000 in 2008 and some amount over $5,000 in 2007.

Fifth Circuit: Paul Minor Still Guilty

Per our post yesterday about Oliver Diaz defending the integrity of Paul Minor, Y'all Politics breaks the story that the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals finds that Minor is still guilty.

Just a bit of an update here. Paul Quinn and Tom Freeland weigh in. Quinn says it just leads to more questions. But this is an important comment from Freeland:

1. Paul Minor bribed judges by guarantying loans for them and paying them off.

2. Paul Minor did not violate 18 USC §666, the federal program bribery statute.

As it stands now, Paul Minor’s conviction for bribery as a part of a mail fraud scheme still stands, so he in fact is still convicted of bribing a judge.

Now an investigation into Bennie Thompson's Tunica event

Brian Perry at the Madison County Journal covers the investigation of Bennie Thompson broken by the Washington Post that we discussed here and here. Perry and the DDT appear to be the only print media in Mississippi covering this story. But we did hear Sid Salter talking about it on his radio program yesterday and again today.

But Perry's column also brings up another investigation, this one broken earlier this week by the New York Times into a Congressional Black Caucus event hosted in Tunica and apparently funded through corporate sponsors through the Congressional Black Caucus Institute of which Bennie Thompson is the Chairman of the Board. Perry mentions in his blog that the New York Times also editorialized on the investigation yesterday quoting the Ethics Committee Chairman as saying that if nonprofits like the Congressional Black Caucus Institute

are being used “as a pass through” for corporate players, then “that is a fraud.” It looks that way to us. So who will fix it?

If your answer is the House Ethics Committee, don't hold your breath.

Paul Minor's corruption hurt "the little guy" too

Oliver Diaz writes in the Northside Sun of his objections to the new book "Kings of Tort" by Alan Lange of Y'all Politics and former U.S. Attorney Tom Dawson.

Diaz, a former Simpson County Youth Court Public Defender, defends Paul Minor who was convicted by a jury of his peers, and attacks Tom Dawson who prosecuted Dickie Scruggs. But the interesting part was an online comment posted to the column that linked to www.NancySwan.com.


Nancy Swan had retained Paul Minor for a lawsuit. Nancy writes that Minor's corruption didn't just hurt big defendants he argued against, but also hurt her, his client.

After waiting fifteen years and suffering through two successful state supreme court decisions, my second judge, Judge Jerry O. Terry was ruled out of order and kicked off my case for bias. My case was sent back to Harrison County Circuit Court, then assigned to the third judge, John Whitfield. In the interim, I had been educating myself on the law, ethics, and court procedure. Experience had taught me to document everything, including license numbers and letters, and to record phone calls, conversations, and meetings, even those with my own attorneys.

My case was finally scheduled to go to trial in February 2000. With less than a week to go, I knew something was wrong. My attorney, Paul Minor, was still not prepared for trial. He had not returned my phone calls, no witnesses had been notified, no exhibits prepared, and no instructions had been given. I was fearful and reminded Mr. Minor that out of courtesy he should call my doctors to schedule their testimony.

Minor revealed he was not planning to take my case to trial because Judge Terry had been bribed twice to delay my case, my case was now too old, and I would never receive any money because of an offset from my prior settlements. From Minor’s list of settlement amounts it was obvious more than $200,000 was missing.

When I demanded an accounting, Minor threatened that if I did not accept his settlement, he would have my case dismissed. I refused to be bullied, reminding Mr. Minor that he had used threats and bully tactics to force me to settle with the other defendants.

The day before my trial was to take place, Judge Whitfield allowed Minor to secretly withdraw from my case without accounting for the missing settlement. Judge Whitfield withheld this information when Minor failed to show for the docket call for my trial, then continued the intimidation by threatening to dismiss my case if I did not accept the settlement.

I responded by filing two judicial complaints against Whitfield. Whitfield immediately announced he was stepping from the bench, but not before he dismissed my case on his last day. He then sealed all court records and personally removed court documents to protect himself and Paul Minor.

Abandoned and betrayed I fell into the abyss of despair.

Somehow, I don't think Alan Lange or Tom Dawson had anything to do with Minor's treatment of Swan. If Nancy Swan's allegations are true, Paul Minor deserves the punishment he has earned.

Nothing is more important to Harry Reid than healthcare, except fundraising

Healthcare is so important for Democrats they won't even take the weekend off in the Senate.

The next weekends, plural, we will be working. I have events, uh, this weekend that I'll have to postpone, some I'll have to cancel. That's the way it's going to have to be with everyone. There is not an issue more important than finishing this legislation. - Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (Dem-Neveda), November 30, 2009 on working the weekends in the Senate

Well, unless there is a fundraiser, of course!

But Reid, who wants to get a healthcare bill finished by Christmas, urged Republicans on the Senate floor to forego a debate on several conference reports this weekend in order to give Senators and staffers the weekend off.

"I understand the Republican leader doesn't want us to do health care. I appreciate that. He and I have different positions on that," said Reid. "I see no reason to punish everybody this weekend and I hope the minority will give strong consideration to the proposal that i've made."

It turns out Reid has a 1,000 plus per plate fundraiser scheduled for Saturday in New Orleans, according to one local paper, which also reports that Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-LA, a key swing moderate in the health care debate, will also be in attendance.

Jim Hood & Bailey Perrin "slaughtered" in Zyprexa lawsuit

Y'all Politics shares this piece (Blogging attorneys dissect Miss. Zyprexa decision) from Legal News Line that discusses a recent post by attorneys James Beck and Mark Herrman describing Attorney General Jim Hood's (represented by Bailey Perrin in a no-bid contingency fee contract) recent defeat in the Zyprexa case. They write at Drug and Device Law blog and title it "Pigs Get Fat, Mississippi Got Slaughtered."

Legal News Line explains

Twelve states didn't participate in a 33-state, $62-million settlement last year. Of those 12, six have reached eight-figure settlements while six are still holding out.

Three of those states -- Arkansas, Pennsylvania and Mississippi -- are represented by Bailey Perrin Bailey of Houston.

The entry makes a note of Mississippi's inability to settle. Weinstein had pushed for a mass settlement, appointing a special settlement master and even ordering the states to take 30 days off from their suits to try to reach an agreement last year.

"Mississippi was - again unable or unwilling - to come to such a settlement, so its claims, which were legally meritless in any event, come to naught," the entry says.

We've previously posted that the federal judge called Hood's case "slash-and-burn-style of litigation would arguably constitute an abuse of the legal process" and a Mississippi legal blogger called the ruling "a disaster for General Hood."

DDT: Thompson puzzled by investigation

Our fellow blogger and captain of Franks Tanks at The Great Red Spot notes that Mississippi's journalists have not picked up on Saturday's front page story from the Washington Post on an investigation involving Bennie Thompson. We mentioned it here.

But the Delta Democrat Times has broken the Mississippi silence.

According to the DDT - "Ethics investigation of Homeland Security puzzling to Thompson"

Why Switzerland Has The Lowest Crime Rate In The World

Another investigation on Bennie Thompson

Y'all Politics picked up this item from the Washington Post that reports Bennie Thompson is under scrutiny for credit card related hearings: Homeland Security panel faces ethics scrutiny after credit card hearing

At a hearing in late March, the nation's credit card companies faced the threat of expensive new rules from an unlikely regulator: the House Committee on Homeland Security, chaired by Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.).

The committee had never before dealt with credit card issues, but Thompson warned Visa, MasterCard and others that Congress might need to impose tighter security standards costing millions of dollars to protect customers from identity theft.

Behind the scenes, some of Thompson's staffers sensed a different motive -- an attempt to pressure the companies into making political donations to the chairman, according to several former committee staffers.

Now the House ethics committee is investigating the propriety of the committee's operations, and whether its members' interactions with companies compromised its work. Within a few weeks of the hearing, Thompson collected $15,000 in donations from the credit card industry and its Washington-based lobbyists, a Washington Post analysis shows. No legislation on card security has been introduced.

Several former committee staffers, speaking on the condition of anonymity, have told The Post that the credit card hearing was one of several committee actions that caused staff concerns because of their consideration of potential donors and contractors friendly to Thompson. The current ethics inquiry was prompted this summer, according to an ethics document obtained by The Post, when a former committee aide alleged she was fired after complaining to her bosses that a lobbyist made improper requests of staff members.

"That's incorrect," [Thompson] said of the suspicion. "We do hearings all the time -- sometimes we are able to generate legislation earlier, and sometimes we have to [build] a public record."

He added that he has never been told of staff complaints about his hearings and was not aware that a committee staffer said she was fired for raising objections about inappropriate lobbyist requests.

"I would assume if discomfort was there with the staff they would have shared it, " he said. "I have not heard this."

Committee staff director Lanier Avant, who also serves as the congressman's chief of staff, said the credit card hearing was prompted by a data breach at a payment company, Heartland Payment Systems, that compromised the credit information of millions of customers.

Sarah Dufendach, a vice president at Common Cause, said the House ethics committee should take the staffer's allegation against her former boss seriously, especially because Thompson's office has had a number of staff departures. She questioned whether credit card security was a top committee priority, given terrorism threats and the need to plan for pandemic flu.

"You have to wonder: Did this take precedence over everything else that was on your committee's plate?" she said. "Homeland Security is not a committee that should be wanting for things to have hearings on."

Joshua Levy, an attorney for the fired staffer, Veronique Pluviose-Fenton, declined to comment.

At this point, let us insert these observations from the Hot Air Blog:

No one doubts that identity theft is a major issue, but jurisdiction for that would be with the Judiciary and Finance committees. Homeland Security’s jurisdiction includes national security, immigration, and emergency response, not normal legal matters. Even the corollary between identity fraud and immigration fraud would have more to do with Judiciary, and certainly that issue’s impact on credit-card regulation would be the purview of Finance.

Small wonder Thompson’s staffers wondered what Thompson wanted with this issue. It smells like a shakedown attempt. Thompson had no business threatening to impose credit-card regulations in the name of national security. One also has to wonder how much free time the HSC has under Thompson’s leadership. Have they completed visa reform before starting on Visa-card reform? Has Thompson done anything to focus on American border control before trying to control American Express?

Now, back to a few more items of interest from the Washington Post story, which really should be read in full.

Thompson's committee has been roiled by turnover this year, with at least 10 staff members resigning or being fired, according to congressional payroll records. Former and current staffers said many departures came after employees objected to committee operations. Many blame the staff turmoil on Avant, a 30-year-old Thompson confidant. Avant played a role in planning the March 31 credit card hearing, hosted by the subcommittee on cyber-threats.

Avant said politics have not guided his committee decisions. "I've never asked anything that they would be uncomfortable with," he said. "I ask people to come to work and work hard, to help our members do the best they can to oversee the department."

Legislation never surfaced. Avant said that the hearing helped inform lawmakers and the public about the issue, and that the committee might consider legislation at a later date.

In April and May, donations of $250 to $1,500 came in from lobbyists registered to represent Visa, American Express, MasterCard, Heartland and the National Installment Lenders, among others, as well as from the American Bankers Association political action committee.

Much more in the Post piece than we should quote here, be sure to read it. Also, as readers here know, the House Ethics Committee is also reviewing Bennie Thompson's behavior on another item.

Who made the decision? Jim Hood or Bailey Perrin

Who made the decision to forgo an easy settlement with Eli Lily and instead overreach to be rebuked by a federal judge? Was it Jim Hood or his contingency-fee firm Bailey Perrin?

Attorney General Jim Hood often argues that his no-bid contingency-fee contracts benefit Mississippi, but not this time. It seems the Attorney General could have joined a majority of states in agreeing to a settlement himself. But that would not have been as profitable to Bailey Perrin, reportedly connected to $75,000 in campaign contributions to Hood.

Law.com reports :

Mississippi now finds itself in the uncomfortable position of being one of very few states that hasn't collected on Zyprexa-related claims against Lilly.

Like several other states, Mississippi opted not to participate in Lilly's record-setting $1.4 billion False Claims Act settlement last January because it wanted to pursue its own litigation against Lilly. But most of those other states have since settled. Last fall, Lilly reached a $62 million deal with 32 states, leaving only 12 states with pending claims. And of those 12, according to LegalNewsline, most have reached official or tentative settlements, including Connecticut ($25.1 million); West Virginia ($22 million-plus); Idaho ($13 million); Utah ($24 million); and South Carolina ($45 million).

Did Hood's outside lawyers decline to settle in order to pursue larger claims and in return rake in more millions? Or did Hood make that decision? Was the decision based on what was best for the client - Mississippi - or did the terms of the contract fee affect the calculations?

Philip Thomas posts at Mississippi Litigation Review that the "loss in Zyprexa Case was a disaster for Attorney General Jim Hood."

This looks like a disaster for General Hood. First, Mississippi loses and collects nothing while other states settled similar claims and made substantial recoveries...Eli Lilly hemorrhaged money to settle the Zyprexa claims and Mississippi, with its budget in ruins, gets nothing. Second, as if the loss was not bad enough, the article revealed that Hood’s hand-picked outside counsel donated substantial money to Hood...$75,000??? From a law firm in Texas? Why in the world, other than the obvious reason, would a law firm in Texas be donating $75,000 to the Mississippi Attorney General?

This is more ammunition for Hood’s critics in general, and the critics of the State’s system of allowing the A.G. to hire and pay outside counsel in particular.

I do not have a problem with the A.G. hiring outside counsel, in theory. But a Texas firm who donated $75,000 to Hood? Let’s be honest—that does not look good. There are plenty of good lawyers in Mississippi who could represent the State and need the work. But there is probably a shortage of non-incarcerated (former) Mississippi lawyers who donated $75,000 to Hood.

Hood is going to end up giving his critics enough ammunition to get the State Legislature to enact a law that restricts the A.G.’s ability to hire outside counsel.

But Hood's office is "pleased."

"While we are disappointed with Judge Weinstein's ruling on some of our claims, we are pleased that the Judge saw the merit in our claim for the millions of inflated drug costs Eli Lilly charged our state over the course of several years," Hood spokesperson Jan Schaefer said.

"We remain confident that our state will ultimately prevail."

Eli Lily is also "pleased."

Weinstein's ruling left standing only Mississippi's claims based on the difference between the market price of Zyprexa and the value the state received. According to Weinstein, that issue is before the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals...Lilly...told LegalNewline it was "pleased" with the decision

Federal judge calls out Jim Hood on "slash and burn" litigation, "an abuse of the legal process"

Judge Jack Weinstein, Senior U.S. District Judge in New York, handed Mississippi Attorney General a legal defeat yesterday, accompanied with a side of smack down.

In his decision, Judge Weinstein granted Eli Lilly & Company's motion for summary judgment except on one issue still before the Second Circuit Court of Appeals; and denied Hood's own motion for summary judgment. Judge Weinstein said the fines and damages sought by Hood are unConstitutional under the Eighth Amendment as applied through the Fourteenth Amendment and called it

"grossly disproportionate to both the injury Mississippi has suffered and the seriousness of Lilly's allged misconduct."

Judge Weinstein wrote,

"the State's claims could result in serious harm or bankruptcy for this defendant and the pharmaceutical industry generally....For the legal system to be used for this slash-and-burn-style of litigation would arguably constitute an abuse of the legal process....courts cannot be used as an engine of an industry's destruction."

Y'all Politics noted:

Eli Lilly has paid massive criminal penalties and settled with the federal government and most states. It seems that what Judge Weinstein is saying is that even considering all of that, Mississippi's suit (seeking BILLIONS in damages) is way over the line.

LegalNewsline.com broke the story and noted that the lead law firm representing Mississippi is connected to $75,000 contributed to Hood. Kenneth Bailey, the firm's principle partner, has also come under fire in Pennsylvania for making "repeated and significant contributions" during "the precise time period in which" similar no-bid contingency-fee contracts were "negotiated and executed."

Joey Langston (Hood's largest campaign contributor) and Timothy Balducci (also a major contributor to Hood) formerly worked this case for Hood before they were removed due to their guilty pleas in the Scruggs Scandal.

This is at least the second federal judge this year to call into question Hood's tactics or motives. Back in May, US District Court Judge Jed Rakoff noted:

The Court in not unaware of disturbing allegations that state entities not unlike MissPERS [the Mississippi state retirement system], and law firms not unlike Bernstein Litowitz, have engaged in “pay-for-play” arrangements, by which such an entity will not even consider hiring such a law firm unless the law firm has contributed to the campaign fund of the relevant state elected official, such as the attorney general.

Lawsuits as usual for Jim Hood and his campaign contributors.

Gingrich: Town Hall in Jackson

Newt Gingrich will be holding a town hall in Jackson on December 3. From a Gingrich email:

We will be holding a town hall event where members of the audience can ask me questions and share ideas about how we can provide small businesses and entrepreneurs with the right incentives to create jobs and get the economy moving again.

Please click here to let us know if you plan to attend and how many people you plan on bringing so that we can make appropriate arrangements. Seating will be limited and given out on a first come basis.

Here are the full details for the event:

WHAT: - American Solutions Townhall Meeting
WHEN: - December 3, 2009, from 4:00-6:00 PM
WHERE: - Millsaps College Recital Hall; 1701 North State Street; Jackson MS 39210-0001

MSGOP: "Mr. Franks presents no ideas, no vision, and no solution to Mississippi’s budget challenges"

Mississippi Republican Party Chairman Brad White put the smackdown on Jamie Franks. As we mentioned yesterday, the Mississippi Democratic Party's reaction to Governor Haley Barbour's budget proposal was essentially: "No". Rather than suggest ideas, they only attacked.

GOP Chairman Brad White responded (ht Y'all):

“Jamie Franks shows us the difference between big government, big spending Democrats and the prudent reforms presented by Governor Haley Barbour.”

“Governor Barbour presented a comprehensive recommendation to balance the budget, improve the delivery of services, and not raise taxes. That's real leadership. And the Governor said he's willing to listen to other proposals and work with other perspectives, but Mr. Franks offers no constructive proposals, only negative attacks and tired political rhetoric. Mr. Franks presents no ideas, no vision, and no solution to Mississippi’s budget challenges. I’m sure Governor Barbour fully expects to work with a number of Democrats to hammer out a balanced budget and recognizes that Mr. Franks does not speak for them."

“The governor will have to make more cuts to our current budget, next year’s budget will be even tighter, and 2012 looks to be even worse. His reforms will balance our budget during these tough years, and when the recession ends, Mississippi will be better positioned to grow faster and stronger as a result - but not if we listen to Jamie Franks. His same old, tired, broken-down political rhetoric won’t pay the bills or balance the budget. He needs to sell his Obama-Pelosi style policies somewhere else because Mississippi is simply not buying them.”

Booya.

Majority in Mississippi also has some thoughts on this.

MS Dems become the Party of No

Chairman Jamie Franks responded to Governor Haley Barbour's budget recommendation. What is his vision for Mississippi? "NO"

He doesn't present any ideas on how to solve the budget crisis. All he does is attack the Governor. He says the Governor should cut his own staff. If he had read the budget proposal, he would see the Governor cuts his staff 12 percent on top of previous cuts to his office.

All his other comments are essentially: "NO"

We reread his statement several times to find solutions, ideas, vision, recommendations, just any kind of path or an ounce of leadership for Mississippi. But there was none.

This release is just another example of the wisdom of Mississippi voters in not choosing Franks as lieutenant governor. We guess the Mississippi Democratic Party has now been reduced to becoming the Party of No.

Jackson Municipal Judge urges residents to file contingency fee lawsuits

Dickie Scruggs once had this to say about "magic jurisdictions" where judges favored lawsuits and defendants didn't have much of a chance.

[W]hat I call the “magic jurisdiction,”...[is] where the judiciary is elected with verdict money. The trial lawyers have established relationships with the judges that are elected; they’re State Court judges; they’re popul[ists]. They’ve got large populations of voters who are in on the deal, they’re getting their [piece] in many cases. And so, it’s a political force in their jurisdiction, and it’s almost impossible to get a fair trial if you’re a defendant in some of these places. The plaintiff lawyer walks in there and writes the number on the blackboard, and the first juror meets the last one coming out the door with that amount of money. . . . The cases are not won in the courtroom. They’re won on the back roads long before the case goes to trial. Any lawyer fresh out of law school can walk in there and win the case, so it doesn’t matter what the evidence or the law is.

Certainly a municipal judge is different from what he was speaking about, but lest you think Mississippi's judiciary has swung away from favoring trial lawyers comes this story from Saturday's Clarion Ledger where a judge is actually advocating people to file lawsuits, to come together to file them as a class action, and to not worry about the cost because lawyers will take the case on a contingency fee, or a portion of the win.

Municipal Court Judge Ali ShamsiDeen, who spoke at the meeting, had some unconventional advice - sue.

ShamsiDeen said property owners can file simple negligence or nuisance lawsuits against property owners if they can show damages, such as decreases in property values attributable to the blighted property.

Damages in such lawsuits can cover more than monetary losses, including mental anguish or loss of the use and enjoyment of property "because of all these boarded up houses and the dope traffic," he said.

"People are going to have to become more involved in their communities," ShamsiDeen said. "One way is through civil suits."

ShamsiDeen said using tort law to attack blight is "new territory," but it is catching on as cities try to counteract the damaging effects of large numbers of vacant properties.

"The person or persons you are going after don't have to be breaking the law," he said. "Your claim is that (the property owner's) negligence has impacted your home negatively. You aren't looking for a crime. You are looking for cause and effect."

Such litigation can take months or even years to complete, but ShamsiDeen said it costs $155 to file suit and lawyers often take such cases on a contingency basis if a defendant with deep enough pockets can be found.

"One way to attack the problem is as a class action," he said. "The whole neighborhood can sue."

Some attorneys still frown on lawyers going out to chase ambulances for cases, here is an example of a judge doing it for them.

US Attorney Hopeful Would Never Protest Fellow Democrats

If this were a Republican nominee for U.S. Attorney, the left would be going nuts.

Northern District U.S. Attorney hopeful Christi McCoy, among those at the fundraiser, said she may not always support Childers, but she would never protest a fellow Democrat.

"It shows public discord within my party," McCoy said, making Democrats "seem vulnerable."

Frankly, we don't care whether she protests a fellow Democrat or not, as long as she will prosecute regardless of party or friendship...unlike our Attorney General who said prosecuting Joey Langston, Steve Patterson and Tim Balducci "would be like prosecuting a relative."

Jim Hood and Brandon Presley's Political Roadshows

It isn't unusual for politicians to do tours of their districts. Heck, that is part of the power of incumbency, you get to go out and meet the voters in your official capacity. We noticed two incumbents launched tours last week: Attorney General Jim Hood and Northern District Public Service Commissioner Brandon Presley.

Jim Hood is doing his "Did You Know?" tour that his office describes as a "grassroots initiative" to tell Mississippians what it is the Attorney General's Office does. The trip includes visits to Meridian, Hattiesburg, Laurel, Gulfport, Moss Point, Vicksburg, Lexington, Tupelo, Starkville, Columbus, Natchez, Clarksdale, and Batesville.

Coming up on his seventh year in office, I guess its about time people find out what he does. The commenters over at Y'all Politics have had fun with this.

Brandon Presley's roadshow is different, he is setting up regular office hours in the county's in his district. He will be counting on staff to fill these offices, not himself obviously, because many counties have the same times on the same days. For example on the first and third Tuesday of each month he will have office hours in Winston, Tate, Pontotoc, Coahoma, Monroe, and Montgomery counties all at the same time (9-11am). Assuming he staffs one of them himself, that means he'll have five Public Service Commission staffers working the other courthouse offices. He also has office hours over-lapping the second and fourth Tuesday of every month, every Wednesday of every month, and the second and third Thursday of every month.

Its a good thing Presley argued for additional staff during the session and budget standoff that the Stimulus provided $824,901 to the PSC for additional staff, they obviously are in dire need of more staff to occupy courthouses in North Mississippi.

ObamaCare is Uncool

Despite pictures and audio clips of corporate sponsorship, House Dems may exonerate Bennie Thompson's travel

The National Legal and Policy Center comments on a Roll Call report that the House Ethics Committee may clear Bennie Thompson and others who attended a carribean junket with corporate sponsors in violation of House Ethics rules.

If this is true, we are not surprised. When we provided photographs and audio recordings from the trip at the request of the Committee in May, we made clear that our willingness to do so was not an endorsement of the Ethics Committee process, which has again proven to be a joke.

Rep. G. K. Butterfield (D-NC), a member of the CBC, who was appointed just days after the CBC publicly objected to the probe, heads the investigation of the trip. He went on the same trip in a previous year.

Because the violations of House Rules by Rangel and Co. were so clear-cut, the Committee maintains its reputation for ineffectiveness. The Rules against corporate sponsorship of multi-day Congressional travel and hospitality were tightened at the behest of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi herself in the wake of the Jack Abramoff golf trip to Scotland. The new Rules apparently do not trump partisan and racial double standards.

If it will not do anything about five members of Congress taking a junket to sunny St. Maarten, courtesy of Citigroup and other corporations, how is it ever going to deal the complicated cases of John Murtha’s “pay to play” empire and Charles Rangel’s tax evasion and hiding of assets?

The answer is that it can’t and probably will not.

Emmerich: Leglislature should end Hood's contingency practices

Wyatt Emmerich says its time the legislature reign in the practice of Attorney General Jim Hood in awarding contracts to his campaign contributors.

The Wall Street Journal has been highly critical of Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood. America’s most powerful newspaper has made Hood the target of at least a half dozen critical editorials.

This week the journal wrote: “In Mississippi, the state attorney general determines when the public employees retirement fund should bring a securities class action and which outside firms will represent the fund. Would you be shocked to learn that Attorney General Jim Hood has frequently chosen law firms that have donated to his campaigns?”

The journal noted that the law firm of Bernstein Litowitz received $40 million in fees. The firm was chosen by Hood just days after Hood received $25,000 in donations from Bernstein Litowitz attorneys.

It is time for the Legislature to put a stop to this practice. This kind of legal work needs to be bid out on a per hour basis. Mississippi taxpayers need to be receiving the settlement money, not some out-of-state law firm that is putting money in a politician’s pocket.

Obama, Childers...I want my money back

The Obama Administration said if Congress passed the $787 billion stimulus package, that unemployment would peak at 8 percent. Travis Childers listened and voted to spend that nearly one trillion dollars. Unemployment has reached 10.2 percent.

I want my money back.

Simpson County News: Dems switch to GOP; Diaz out in December

Not to get lost in the news from Simpson County that a number of local elected officials - including the sheriff and the district attorney of a four county district (Simpson, Covington, Jasper, Smith) - are switching from the Democratic Party to the Republican Party comes another little piece of information.

Former Supreme Court Justice Oliver Diaz appears to be stepping down as Youth Court Public Defender in December.

Right of Mississippi has the news on the switchers: Mississippi Democrats Switch to GOP

Bad Larry Buffington has the news on Diaz: Larry Buffington Orders Additional Appointment in Simpson County

Last time Judge Buffington made an appointment to Youth Court Public Defender, he freaked out and demanded who would leak such public information to the public and even subpoenaed the county's two Republican supervisors to come before him and answer questions on the matter. That apparently warranted an investigation by The Mississippi Commission on Judicial Performance because WLBT reported the Commission issued a subpoena to WLBT News for their footage of Buffington's antics at the Board of Supervisors meeting. Somehow, we expect Buffington's reaction to be more tame this time.

Denny Crain: Bring It On

Everyone should be able to enjoy this one.

More discussion on Jim Hood's fundraising from Bernstein Litowitz

As a follow-up to yesterday's post on the relationship between Bernstein Litowitz and Jim Hood, two names from that firm were mentioned specifically. It should be noted both also specifically contributed to Jim Hood.

Max Berger, Senior Founding Partner (pictured with Hood below) contributed $5000 to Hood's campaign.Sean Coffey, who interviewed Jim Hood at an event in Ireland "on how he has helped the citizens of Mississippi push back against the destructive forces of corporate fraud" also contributed $5000.

We mention this because the Mississippi Democratic Party wants to have the conversation on campaign finance.

Jim Hood's relationship with Bernstein Litowitz

Saturday's Wall Street Journal was critical of Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood.

Pay-to-Play Torts
Pension middlemen get investigated; lawyers get a pass

Pay-to-play schemes involving public officials and the pension funds they oversee are finally getting the hard look they deserve. Some 36 states are investigating how financial brokers and other middlemen have used kickbacks and campaign contributions to gain access to retirement funds. Now if only plaintiffs law firms would get the same scrutiny.

Like investment funds, class-action law firms hire intermediaries to help win state business. But the more common practice is for plaintiffs lawyers to make campaign contributions to public officials with the goal of being selected by those same officials to represent the pension fund in securities litigation.

The law firms typically agree to take the cases on a contingency basis that means no fees up front but a huge share (30% or more) of any settlement or jury verdict. However, attorneys suing on the government's behalf are supposed to be neutral actors whose goal is justice, not lining their own pockets. When for-profit lawyers are involved with a contingency fee at the end of the lawsuit rainbow, the incentives shift toward settling to get a big payday.

In Mississippi, the state attorney general determines when the public employees retirement fund should bring a securities class action and which outside firms will represent the fund. Would you be shocked to learn that AG Jim Hood has frequently chosen law firms that have donated to his campaigns?Mr. Hood is also partial to Bernstein Litowitz. On February 21, 2006, he chose the firm to represent the Mississippi Public Employees Retirement Fund in a securities class action against Delphi Corporation—just days after receiving $25,000 in donations from Bernstein Litowitz attorneys. The suit was eventually settled, and the lawyers on the case received $40.5 million in fees. Mr. Hood's campaign would appear to deserve a raise.

There is more to Hood's relationship with Bernstein Litowitz (BLB&G) than reported in the Wall Street Journal. It is certainly not improper for a statewide elected official to speak to an organization's forum in New York City or in Dublin, Ireland. But it does illustrate a closer relationship than campaign contributions or contingency fee contracts.It seems Hood's relationship with Bernstein Litowitz includes foreign travel. BLB&G Partner Sean Coffey and Jim Hood were guest speakers at the 8th Annual UK & Irish Pension and Investing Summit Conference in Dublin, Ireland last year (Nov 11-12, 2008).

Coffey interviewed Attorney General Hood for an in-depth discussion on how he has helped the citizens of Mississippi push back against the destructive forces of corporate fraud.

Hood has also appeared at BLB&G's "Institutional Investor Forum" at the "New York Yacht Club, in the heart of Midtown Manhattan." BLBG features Hood's speech in a number of their publications.Speaking to this law firm's educational forums does not suggest anything improper, but it does illustrate a closer relationship to the firm than simply signing them on as legal contract workers for the State of Mississippi.

Ethics scrutiny into Bennie Thompson's travel continues

The Washington Post reported that a leaked report on ethics investigations in the U.S. House of Representatives indicates the probe into the travel of Reps. Charles B. Rangel (N.Y.), Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick (Mich.), Donald M. Payne (N.J.) and Bennie Thompson (Miss.), and Del. Donna M. Christian-Christensen (U.S. Virgin Islands) "appears to be ongoing, and the committee document gives no details about how far the investigation has progressed."

The members' official disclosure forms listed the New York Carib Foundation or Carib News Foundation, a nonprofit group affiliated with a New York-based newspaper, as the sponsor of the event. Because of that information, the ethics committee approved the trip before it occurred.

But an official with the National Legal and Policy Center, a conservative watchdog group, attended the 2008 event and came back with photos and other evidence suggesting that AT&T, Citigroup, IBM, Pfizer and Verizon may have played a role in sponsoring the conference.

The ethics panel also reportedly is scrutinizing a 2007 trip to Antigua and Barbuda that some of the same members took.

Under more stringent rules imposed in 2006, House members are not allowed to accept travel paid for by corporations, but they can take trips sponsored by nonprofit groups.

Rangel, who also is under investigation on several unrelated fronts, said this week that he has discussed the Caribbean trip inquiry with the ethics panel.

Milton Friedman on Capitalism

Thompson Wants to Protect Power

We're usually critical of U.S. Representative Bennie Thompson, but last week in a column for the Washington, D.C. newspaper Roll Call, he made some good points. He said:

Electric power is not only America’s economic lifeblood, but an essential element of our nation’s security. Businesses, chemical plants, banks, refineries, hospitals, water systems, grocery stores and military facilities all rely on electricity to operate. Our electric grid, in turn, increasingly relies on computer-based operating systems. Herein lies a unique homeland security challenge — how to protect the electric grid from failing, as a result of either intentional or unintentional events.

Today’s electric grid is very similar to the system that existed in the early part of the 20th century, with one critical difference: Computers are in charge. Our grid is highly dependent on computer-based systems. These systems are used to monitor and control sensitive processes and physical functions. When they were originally created, they were closed to the outside. To increase efficiency and save money, operators began connecting these systems to corporate networks and the Internet. Unfortunately, these connections also expose these critical systems to potential attacks online. Specifically, our reliance on electric power and the vulnerability of our interconnected system makes the electric grid a prime target for an adversary who seeks to cause catastrophic harm to our country. In fact, there is some evidence, according to a recently released publication, that cyberspies have penetrated the U.S. electrical grid and left behind software programs that could be used to disrupt the system. These malicious programs could do anything from briefly interrupting power delivery to destroying our nation’s large electric generating units.

Representative Thompson, as Chairman of Homeland Security, knows the threats to our electrical grid from foreign enemies. Such an attack not only turns out the lights, but it turns out the economy. It would also turn off Respond Mississippi...and we can't have that. We're glad to see he recognizes the importance of delivered power to our economy and hope he continues his efforts to ensure our electrical grid remains secure.

Malcolm Harrison's About Face: "I don't think it's important that you choose an African American"

It's funny how things change. Consider Malcolm Harrison attacking Governor Haley Barbour on his judicial appointments eight months ago.

"He has not appointed any African Americans for judge in any of his 20 appointments. It’s sad that he cannot believe an African American could do the job. African Americans are more than qualified to serve on the Mississippi Court of Appeals, as well as any other judicial appointment. In fact, Mississippi Court of Appeals Chief Judge Leslie D. King is an African American—at least he was last time I checked. There are qualified people who are available, but the governor has seen fit not to even consider an African American in these positions." - Malcolm Harrison, Jackson Free Press 2/11/2009

"We know there were qualified African-Americans who can serve on the judiciary, and why African-Americans have not been appointed or even considered makes no sense to us. The Republican Party in Mississippi doesn't believe diversity is important, especially not in the judiciary in Mississippi." - Malcolm Harrison, Associated Press 2/23/2009

Now that Governor Haley Barbour has appointed him to a circuit court judge position in Hinds County, Malcolm Harrison has changed his tune.

[Harrison] said race was never a part of his discussion with Barbour or the governor's staff. "In my conversations with the governor, he was serious about appointing the best person for the job," Harrison said. "I think it's important to take all opinions into account, but also have a diverse pool in which you choose the best qualified candidates. I don't think it's important that you choose an African American, but I do think it's important to consider everyone." - Clarion Ledger 10/28/2009

Most hard working, qualified people don't want to think they got a job because of anything other than their qualifications. They don't want a job just because they're black, or white, or male, or female. They want to know they got the job because they were qualified. I'm sure Malcolm Harrison feels the same way. Certainly, that is what the Barbour Administration is saying.

"[Harrison] was chosen for the judgeship based on his qualifications," Barbour spokesman Dan Turner told The Associated Press.

Here are a few more quotes by Harrison on his selection.

"Race was not an issue. The Magnolia Bar has a position. Me personally with my interview with Governor Barbour race never came up, not once. I thought the process was fair and balanced." - Malcolm Harrison, WLBT 10/29/2009

"Race was not an issue. During my interview with Gov. Barbour, race never came up, not once. I thought the process was balanced and fair.” - - Malcolm Harrison, WAPT 10/29/2009

Jerry Mitchell on Colbert Report

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Obama Takes Credit For Katrina Recovery

We suspect the Nobel Peace Prize has gone to his head, because now the Obama Administration is taking credit for Mississippi's Hurricane Katrina Recovery. The Associated Press has this quote from White House spokeswoman Gannet Tseggai:

President Obama’s commitment to Mississippi’s recovery is demonstrated by his tireless work to cut through the bureaucratic red tape and improve coordination among federal agencies and local partners who have too-often failed to collaborate in the past four years. As a result, public assistance projects that had been stuck for years have moved forward since the start of the Administration.

It's one thing for President Obama to skip Mississippi, the place where Hurricane Katrina hit, and visit New Orleans, the place where levees failed and flooded the city; but, it's another thing entirely, to take credit for our recovery, the bulk of which belongs to the "local partners" the White House says "have too-often failed to collaborate" with the feds. We still have a lot of recovery to do, and Mississippi appreciates assistance from the federal government - both Democrat and Republican. But of all the people who want to take credit for what has been done, President Obama should not be pushing to the front of the line.

Bill Luckett? Mississippi Don't Believe It

With friends like this....we're big fans of Morgan Freeman - Unforgiven, Batman Begins and The Dark Knight, even Deep Impact and Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves. He is a great actor and entertainer. Today, he brought his entertainment to Mississippi politics.

Right of Mississippi has been following Bill Luckett's comedy of errors as right out of the gate he reportedly called non-Democrats "racists" and then blamed it on reporters. Now Luckett's business partner Morgan Freeman has described Mississippians as "mule-headed bunch of farmers" (which we think is a compliment compared to what Luckett said).

Thanks to the Associated Press for bringing us tonight's entertainment.

Democrats want to discuss Scruggs, Langston, DAGA money and Jim Hood

Louisiana Democrats are upset because Haley Barbour's PAC contributed $5000 to Louisiana Senator David Vitter's PAC. Later on, Chip Pickering's PAC contributed $5000 to Haley Pickering's PAC. The Democrats claim this was Pickering trying to secretly give to Vitter.

The problem with this is the FEC, which governs these issues, has a long standing "first in - first out" rule which means the contribution from Barbour actually represents money given to him maybe months or years ago. One day Barbour will certainly spend or contribute that Pickering money, but it wasn't that day, and it won't be tomorrow.

But here is where it gets good. The Mississippi Democrats decided to jump on and try to play politics on this issue.

Mississippi Democrats do not have clean hands when it comes to campaign finance issues, as Majority In Mississippi helpfully reminded us. They asked, "Do Democrats Really Want To Talk About Campaign Contributions?" describing the allegation that now convicted felons Dickie Scruggs and Joey Langston funneled hundreds of thousands of dollars through the Democratic Attorneys General Association to Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood in 2007.

Now the Mississippi Democrats have responded, "Yes, we want the conversation on campaign finance" and said "two attorneys making donations to the Democratic Attorneys General Association, which then in turn donated money to Attorney Jim Hood’s re-election campaign in 2007...in no way violated any campaign finance laws."

So now, let's discuss.

Let's recall this post by Y'all Politics which points out that the hundreds of thousands of dollars involved in the allegation involving Dickie Scruggs, Joey Langston, and DAGA came within 90 days of Attorney General Jim Hood sending his letter listing Scruggs as a "confidential informant" and asking that to be taken into consideration in a criminal contempt investigation against Scruggs. To which Alan Lange says:

Let’s pretend that we are a “confidential informant” in an investigation. Does it make sense that we, in a middle of an investigation, would funnel A HUGE AMOUNT of money to the prosecutor in that case? This doesn’t pass the straight face test.

Let’s pretend we are now the “prosecutor” - Jim Hood. Would a prosecutor under normal circumstances accept $400K of money that you know has come from “confidential informants” funnelled through a shell 527 group?

MEMO to Mississippi Democrats, this issue goes much further than campaign finance laws. Let's discuss some more.

MDOT puts new light on Open Meetings law

No to belabor the issue we've discussed extensively already, but here are a few reports from around the state on the latest involving Democrat MDOT Commissioners Wayne Brown and Bill Minor and their violation of Mississippi's Open Meetings Law.

The Greenwood Commonwealth: Dinner not exempt from sunshine law

When members of the Transportation Commission get together to discuss policy, it doesn’t matter whether they are doing it in a board room or over cocktails. It’s a meeting that the public has a right to know is occurring and the right to observe.

Minor, his fellow Commissioner Wayne Brown of the Southern District and Department of Transportation Director Butch Brown violated that requirement in August, according to the head of the state Ethics Commission.

This was no random social gathering. The intent of the dinner was clear -- to line up support on the commission for putting more state money into an interchange project, and to keep Hall out of the loop since he has been unreceptive to the idea. Furthermore, public officials don’t have to cast votes to be in a public meeting. They just have to have a quorum sufficient to conduct the public’s business — such as discussing where to spend its money.

If Minor and Brown don’t like those rules, they should regret the next time they’re invited to such a dinner.

The Madison County Journal: Skirting open meetings

An Ethics Commission report determined just that and found Commissioner Bill Minor of the Northern District and Wayne Brown of the Southern District guilty of violating the state's Open Meetings Act.

During his attempt to deny the charges, Minor actually confessed to the violation, not only confirming everyone who was present, but admitting they discussed funding for the Reunion interchange.

Ignorance of the law is no excuse, but so what if you're above the law.

Violators of the Open Meetings Act face a maximum $100 fine, that's all. The commissioners got a reprimand.

[Madison County Supervisor Tim] Johnson was joking about the violation recently during a meeting of the Board of Supervisors, saying he wanted to make sure everyone understood that a reception the board was invited to was "a dinner and not a meeting."

The statement drew laughter from other members of the board and county staff, but it's a meeting if they discuss public business.

If Johnson believes this is a joke and that such meetings are the appropriate way to conduct the county's business, then we are afraid to imagine what other open meetings infractions have occurred.

The fact these officials are not ashamed or afraid to break the law is good reason the Legislature should stiffen the penalty for violating the Open Meetings Act.

Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal: Transportation commissioners won’t fight ethics finding

Hood said late Wednesday that Commissioners Bill Minor of the Northern District and Wayne Brown of the Southern District withdrew their objection to his decision.

Last week, when Hood’s recommendation was released, the commissioners said they intended to object.

But Minor said Wednesday, “Let them do whatever they are going to do. I just want to get it over with.”

Hood will recommend to the commission that the transportation commissioners broke the law and that they be enjoined from violating it again.

While he said he wanted to put the incident behind him, Minor said he plans to ask the Ethics Commission for clarification on the open meetings law.

He said road contractors routinely invite all three transportation commissioners to lunch or dinner where often business is discussed.

The Madison County Journal: Law needs stronger penalty, experts say

Attorney Leonard D. Van Slyke, who operates a legal hotline for the Mississippi Center for Freedom of Information, said the case is a great example of the why the state's open meetings laws should be revised.

"I certainly believe that this case points out the need for stronger penalties and enforcement procedures," Van Slyke said. "Currently the law has very little steam and hopefully this will enable the legislature to see the need for strengthening these laws."

Van Slyke added that Minor and others involved seem to be unaware of the open meetings laws, as they continue to contend they've done nothing wrong.

Van Slyke said until more teeth are put into open meetings laws public officials will continue to ignore them.

"Stronger penalties would definitely promote public officials to seek education on the requirements of both the open meetings laws and public records legislation," Van Slyke said.

State Rep. Rita Martinson, R-Madison, says she will take a long look at the laws and supports change.

Martinson wrote a letter to the editor of several local newspapers calling out the actions of Minor and Brown, while questioning local officials' involvement.

She said such dealings should be done in public and those found in violation should face stricter punishment.

Butch Brown wants to hike your taxes

Butch Brown - the executive director of the Mississippi Department of Transportation through the support of MDOT Commissoners Wayne Brown and Bill Minor, both Democrats - wants to hike your gasoline taxes.

Charlie Mitchell writes about it.

An average Mississippi family may start shelling out that much more per driver in fuel taxes per year before too long. The stage is being set — artfully — to increase Mississippi’s excise tax by a nickel per gallon.

Building the case for an increase, among others, is Butch Brown, executive director of the Mississippi Department of Transportation. Assisting him in a loosely organized campaign are alliances of contractors. The companies that build bridges and construct, widen or resurface roads need the work, and MDOT needs the money to pay them.

Why does MDOT want more of our money? Mitchell speculates on that as well.

We also rank extremely high -- inexplicably, absent a belief there’s more than a little cash slipping through the cracks, so to say -- in what we pay per mile for road work as compared to other states.

Terrain is different and so are wages, but how does one explain a 1995 report to Congress that in Wisconsin the average wage on federally assisted highway projects was $15.55 per hour, more than twice Mississippi’s $6.69 per hour, yet the total construction cost per mile was $394,405 in Wisconsin and $641,238 in Mississippi?

Costs, not including “slippage,” continue to rise. Arkansas officially estimates it costs more than $100,000 per mile per lane this year for a good overlay job.

So Butch Brown and MDOT want to raise our taxes because we spend more per mile for road work than other states. Sounds like a management problem. Here's an idea, how about bringing costs under control before pinching more money from our pockets.

Maybe they could spend less of our taxpayer dollars (and on the special interest dime) visiting Budapest, Vienna, Brussels, Puerto Rico, Cancun, Key West, San Francisco, Walt Disney World (maybe they studied the monorail), Cape Cod, New York City and both country entertainment meccas Branson, Missouri and Opryland in Nashville.

Ethics Commission Chairman Tom Hood believes MDOT Commissioners Bill Minor and Wayne Brown violated Mississippi's open meetings laws (Butch Brown was there, too, but he is not a commissioner). Minor's response was one of confusion, as if he didn't know it was wrong. Perhaps that will be MDOT's response to the wasteful costs per mile of roads.

Ledger: Abolish Elected MDOT

Marshall Ramsey pokes fun at the MDOT Open Meeting case. Actually, the cartoon was likely the best thing coming out this matter from the perspective of Wayne Brown, Bill Minor and Butch Brown. We expect they'll have it on the their office walls.

But the Clarion Ledger editorial today makes it clear this is more than just bypassing Dick Hall.

It's not a matter of excluding just Hall. It's a matter of excluding the press, the public and everyone else with a right to witness the discussion of a public works project funded with taxpayer dollars.

How many other "dinner" discussions decide transportation policy for taxpayers, when taxpayers aren't invited?

This is just another in a long line of excellent arguments for abolishing the elected Transportation Commission and making MDOT accountable to the taxpayers - not just to the chosen few.

In years past, previous MDOT officials have not had a stellar record of honest public service. Violating the Open Meetings law does nothing to repair that reputation.

Energyville

Chevron and The Economist Group have teamed up to create an online game called Energyville where you can choose energy sources to power your own city and look at the results.

Basically, the key is to follow the Barbour energy policy: "all of the above." Solar, wind, and hydro help you meet the needed power levels, but you can't really succeed economically without nuclear, coal, natural gas, and oil. Just do the simple numbers: to get the amount of power modern consumers need, you need some major baseload generation.

Note for those on the Mississippi Public Service Commission: coal is very helpful to meet the economic needs of the city.

Ethics Commission reports Minor, Brown violated Open Meetings Act

The Clarion Ledger reported that Friday

Ethics Commission Director Tom Hood recommends the commission find that Southern District Commissioner Wayne Brown and Northern District Commissioner Bill Minor "knowingly and willingly" violated open-meetings laws by discussing the Reunion Parkway interchange with Madison County Supervisor Tim Johnson, county engineer Rudy Warnock and former county attorney Ed Brunini Jr. at a dinner in August at a Jackson restaurant - without public notification or access.

We've mentioned this Open Meetings violation previously here and here.

Wayne Brown and Bill Minor are both Democrats. The complaint was filed by Republican Dick Hall, MDOT Commissioner for the Central District.

Wayne Brown said of the report, "I don't understand this. We only conduct business in the (commission) conference room."

It isn't hard, Mr. Brown. With a three member commission, you only have to count to "two". When two of the members of MDOT plan to be together and they discuss MDOT business, it is a violation. That is not complicated.

The funny part is, Bill Minor's response to the Commission helped prove the case. The Madison County Journal reported:

The report cited a response by Minor that denied any wrongdoing, but in fact confirmed the violation by giving a detailed account of the meeting and stating that the group did in fact discuss funding for Reunion Interchange.

The report went on to read, "they assembled a quorum of the Mississippi Transportation Commission and discussed a matter over which the Mississippi Transportation Commission has jurisdiction without providing public access, providing notice or recording minutes."

Read the Ethics Commission report on the matter here.

Mississippi Democratic Party leader complains of Ledger's coverage on Kemper Coal

Last time we checked, electric power was nonpartisan. But Mississippi Democratic Party Executive Director Sam Hall seems to take issue with the Clarion Ledger's coverage of Mississippi Power.



Mississippi Power contributes to both Republicans and Democrats. We won't list the Republicans because they haven't made an issue over Mississippi Power. But as a Mississippi Democratic Party leader has: some of the Democrats who received contributions in 2007 and 2008 include Senators David Baria, David Blount, Eric Powell, Kenneth Wayne Jones, Haskins Montgomery, and Tommy Dickerson; and Representatives Brandon Jones, Bob Evans, Russ Nowell, Donnie Bell, Mark DuVall, and Jimmy Puckett. There are more Democrats, but this is a good start.

Dude, Where's My Grant?

Medications Development for Cannabis-Related Disorders

Jim Hood: Who needs Jerry Mitchell?

Jerry Mitchell received a great honor for his work at the Clarion Ledger unearthing new facts about cold-case civil rights crimes. The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation awarded him a "genius grant" of a $500,000 fellowship over five years which he will use to continue his investigative journalism and complete a book. He is the Clarion Ledger's most recognized investigative journalist and his efforts have led to the prosecution of criminals who otherwise would have never been brought to justice. The New York Times reported this interesting item.

Jim Hood, the Mississippi attorney general, who has handled some of the cold cases, said most of them would have been prosecuted eventually, even without Mr. Mitchell’s contributions, “but he’s kept the issue on the front burner out there for a lot of years now.”

Huh. So I guess Jerry Mitchell's work wasn't that important after all, as Jim Hood suggests the case 'would have been prosecuted eventually' anyway.

I wonder what other people think. I wonder about the case of Medgar Evers.

"It never would have happened without Jerry," Evers' widow, Myrlie Evers-Williams, said.

Biden and Pelosi on History and Jobs

Some old quotes that deserve attention again.

"When the stock market crashed, Franklin Roosevelt got on the television and didn't just talk about the princes of greed, he said, 'Look, here's what happened.'" - Joe Biden

Other than the fact that Franklin Roosevelt was not president when the stock market crashed in 1929, and the fact that televisions were not in use, he got it right.

"Every month that we do not have an economic recovery package, 500 million Americans lose thier jobs." - Nancy Pelosi

Yikes. With there only being about 300 million Americans, I must have lost my job several times.

Political Populism not Partisanship Divides PSC

I guess we could increase the alliteration to say "Presley's Political Populism not Partisanship or Posey Divides PSC."

Brandon Presley (D) is at it again. It seems every month the Northern District Public Service Commissioner not only disagrees with his colleagues, but feels he must be disagreeable. It isn't enough for him to lose a vote, he has to attempt to score political points against his fellow commissioners and mislead the press while he is at it.

June - (Y'all Politics covered it well) Presley announced he had voted against a rate hike and went on the radio to say, "The proposed rate increase is $14.5 million that comes at a terrible time for Mississippi consumers. So, this rate increase is going into effect during the hottest months of the year, and I felt that it just wasn’t a justified rate increase." Presley lost the vote 2-1. Funny though, Public Service Commission Chairman Lynn Posey (D), who was joined by Commissioner Leonard Bentz (R) in voting against Presley, released a statement announcing a reduction in rates. Eventually WLBT caught up with Presley who admitted that yes, in fact, it was a rate reduction. For this, Presley lost not only the vote, but credibility.

August - Presley "lashed out" at Posey and Bentz over the Ratepayers Bill of Rights. Again came the dueling press releases. Again Presley looked foolish as he whined about not getting his way, while his colleagues took the high road and actually praised him.

September - Time for Presley to make the scene again. This time after again losing another 2-1 vote, he fired off a press release accusing a regulated utility of effectively contributing to the hardships of "Mississippi families" as they "struggle through some of the worst economic times since the Great Depression". He proudly claimed to have cast the lone vote against this scheme. What he didn't say was his plan to pull these families out of "the Great Depression" amounted to less than $3 a month for three months. In other words, Brandon Presley envisions himself Franklin Delano Roosevelt by letting someone order not quite three things off the McDonald's Dollar Menu once a month. What would we do without him?

Again, Posey follows up with a statement of his own. It seems Presley left out a major item...a rate reduction! In addition to the rate reduction, the PSC deferred some returns to ratepayers for a quarter to help stabilize rates. During that deferment, ratepayers will be earning interest at the prime rate plus one percent. Presley somehow neglected to mention that as well. Posey said, “In my judgment, this plan will reduce the burden on customers by providing reasonable rates with stability and eliminating dramatic fluctuations in bills which customers have not budgeted for. Since natural gas costs are now at their lowest in several years, I think it is wise to prepare now for these costs rising next spring when electricity usage goes up.”

Posey argued for rate stability. Something most families and businesses appreciate when it comes to a budget. That is not partisanship. That is being reasonable.

This is not a partisan split. Posey is a real Democrat. Bentz is a real Republican. But they also respect their roles as quasi-judicial regulators. Presley on the other hand sees this as his opportunity to exercise his political ambitions. That is unfortunate to ratepayers and to Mississippi.

Our advice to the media in the future is to wait on the truth from Posey and Bentz before jumping on the populist spin of Brandon Presley.

Obama's Change: Jobless Teens

The Greenwood Commonwealth says in a recent editorial:

Here’s an item of interest for any adult who worked as a teenager, or for any teenager who’s trying to find a part-time job: The Associated Press is reporting that $1.2 billion in stimulus money spent to help teens find jobs this summer failed miserably.

We should say so. As we blogged earlier this month:

The teenage unemployment rate is at 25.5 percent, its highest level since the Bureau of Labor Statistics began tracking the data in 1948.

Unemployment. Yes we can.

NRA stands up to opponents of the Wicker Amendment

The National Rifle Association responds that the usual liberals are attacking Senator Roger Wicker's efforts to protect the Second Amendment rights of Amtrack users.

Last week, we reported on the Wicker amendment—a NRA-backed amendment to H.R. 3288 (the FY 2010 Transportation, Housing, and Urban Development appropriations bill) that would reform policies regarding the transportation of firearms on Amtrak trains. The measure was adopted by the Senate on Wednesday, September 16, by a vote of 68-30, and would allow law-abiding Amtrak passengers the ability to securely transport firearms in their checked baggage while traveling by Amtrak train. Currently, passengers who choose to travel by passenger rail in the United States cannot transport a firearm in checked baggage as they can on airlines.

Not wanting to miss any opportunity to grandstand and show off his vehemently anti-gun views, New Jersey Governor Jon S. Corzine (D) sent a letter to Congressional leaders asking them to oppose the Wicker amendment.

The Governor said in his letter, “I am outraged by a provision included in the Senate FY10 Transportation, and Housing and Urban Development ("THUD") appropriations bill that requires Amtrak to accept passengers who carry firearms and ammunition in their checked baggage. This provision creates an unacceptable threat to the safety of New Jerseyans.” Corzine, of course, ignored the fact that American citizens safely transport firearms in checked baggage on airlines every day.

Corzine went on to say that he “will not allow the NRA to force guns to be transported or carried into places like Newark and New Brunswick Stations, the gateways to our major universities.”

“Force guns to be transported or carried” into New Jersey? That’s sensationalism at its finest. So much for the option of exercising our Second Amendment freedoms.