I did a search on this and hadn't seen anything show up. If it is a duplicate, please let me know.
Update: Sorry, my local rag of a paper said it was awarded. The linked story only shows Flora as being on the shortlist. Even so, the rest of the concerns are still valid.
A new national biological lab is being built in a Flora, Mississippi, a small town of only 1500 people. This has caused a great deal of concern, as the town was among the lowest ranked among the 17 applicants.
The Homeland Security Department swept aside evaluations by government experts and named Mississippi -- home to powerful U.S. lawmakers with sway over the agency -- as one of five finalists for a new $451 million laboratory to study biological threats, according to internal documents obtained by The Associated Press.
Across my desk recently came the news that the Republicans have chosen the members of their Party’s Platform Committee.
The Party Platform being an aspirational document that represents the hopes and dreams of a Party; we should be able to look to the framers of that Platform for an idea of who the Republicans think are the hopers, the dreamers...the aspire-ers, if you will, of a Bright and Shiny Republican future.
So who are these leaders that RNC Chairman "Mike" Duncan says "will be integral to ensuring that our Party creates a forward-looking platform that is rooted in our core values and principles"?
I have to admit, donnybrook sent me to the dictionary. For the record, it's an old Irish word for "brawl," which comes from the Dublin district where, from the time of King John, the annual Donnybrook fair was infamous for its raging riotous brawls. I love etymology.
Anyway, Lloyd Gray writes in Sunday's Daily-Journal on the toss-up nature of the Senate race. Though interestingly, the whole piece is framed from the "what Wicker needs to do to win" perspective, with the secret being to mimic the make-up of Trent Lott's win back in 1988, by winning overwhelmingly in in the 1st District, which he represented for so many years:
This is a state that changes senators very rarely; we'd had only two transitions in the last 65 years before Gov. Haley Barbour appointed Wicker last Dec. 31 to replace Trent Lott.
*More below the fold, and cross-posted, as always, over at The Thorn Papers. Y'all come by now.*
Last week I had a huge influx of readers interested in my piece on Eric Cantor. Seems I'm not the only one thinking McCain might just pick Cantor. I think it's a longshot, but possible.
Things are getting very hectic personally. This may be the last newsletter for a few weeks or more. We will be on vacation in California for a couple of weeks and I will have Grand Jury duty after that. Plus work is exploding for me and Joy's dissertation is overdue. Even politically, I will need to put some extra effort into my friend, Devin Cohen's primary election September 9th. But this newsletter I cover some pretty critical stuff.
In his latest attack ad, Republican Roger Wicker claims his Democratic challenger, Ronnie Musgrove, has engaged in embarrassing ethical misconduct. Asked about it by a TV reporter, Wicker says, "I'm not sure that I'm familiar with that part of the commercial."
Yet at the beginning of that very same ad, he says "I'm Roger Wicker, and I approved this message."
Interesting Mississippi-focused segment on NPR's Morning Edition today. Reporter Debbie Elliot takes a look at Mississippi politics, and the Musgrove-Wicker senate race particularly, from the historic Neshoba County Fair:
Longtime Republican Senate leader Trent Lott won re-election in landslides, but now that land is sliding. His once comfy seat in Mississippi is up for grabs. Republican Sen. Roger Wicker, appointed after Lott retired last year, faces former Gov. Ronnie Musgrove in what pundits are calling the Deep South contest of the year.
And that has brought the candidates to the summer political tradition of the year — the Neshoba County Fair. It's a 10-day tent revival meeting in the red clay hills near Philadelphia in east Mississippi — except that the tents are two- and three-story cabins, 600 of them, lined up beyond the carnival rides and cow barns.
More below the fold, and cross-posted, as always, at The Thorn Papers. Y'all come by now.
After Hurricane Katrina slammed into the Gulf Coast in August 2005 the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) purchased more than $85M worth of basic supplies for storm victims. For more than two years, until last month FEMA let the supplies sit in warehouses at a cost of $1M/year.
During that two year period local government officials and non-profit relief organizations in Louisiana and Mississippi made repeated public pleas for donations of the exact sort of items FEMA had already purchased and were even stored locally.
That these supplies people have needed for years just sat in warehouses until mid-June of this year is bad enough, but FEMA was able to find a way to make this story even more sad and depressing the way only George Bush's administration can.
Brett Favre should run against Thad Cochran as an independent. Thad Cochran doesn't have a real opponent this fall and he needs one. I know what you're thinking. In some ways you would have to be an idiot to vote against Cochran. It's hard to vote against one of senior appropriator who was reelected with 70% of the vote. But if Favre can't play for the Packers, he really should reconsider his career plans. Can anyone imagine him in a Vikings uniform? UGH! I think Favre is conservative, but I'd support him. Come on he's BRETT FAVRE, he's not going to support Republicans all the time. Favre is an icon in Mississippi, and he is the only person who could make people think twice about casting a ballot for Thad Cochran.
Some major developments this week involving corruption and domestic terrorism. Shootings, anthrax, and indictments. I have been talking for quite some time about Republican corruption and Ted Stevens of Alaska is somoene I declared as the most corrupt politician in America. Well, this week he was indicted. I have also been writing for some time about right wing fanatics in government and on talk shows inciting intolerance and violence. Well, we had another example of right wing terrorism in Knoxville, TN, quite possibly inspired by right wing talk shows.
Meanwhile, speculation about who Obama and McCain will pick for the VP spot is is the current rage. Everyone has tips, inside info and rumors to share. Well, I have no idea who either will choose, but one possibility for McCain was mentioned to me that would be interesting: Eric Cantor, Congressman from Virginia who makes Joe Lieberman look liberal. I discuss him this week. I also review my past coverage of Republican election fraud in Florida and Georgia. I am sure we will see the same kind of fraud in both states again this year. Plus I have been trying to flesh out my state-by-state coverage.
Yesterday at Mississippi's premier political gathering, the Neshoba County Fair, Governor Haley Barbour was heckled by a woman who chanted the name "Adrienne Klasky."
In April, 1989, Adrienne Klasky Graham was at a stoplight in downtown Pascagoula, MS, when her divorced husband, Michael Graham, shot her dead with a shotgun blast. Testimony at trial showed he had stalked her and her family for over 3 years.
The protester, Linda St. Martin was herself arrested and removed from the fair. Afterwards she had some sharp words for the Governor's decision to release Michael Graham, who now works as a trusty in the Governor's Mansion, early from his murder sentence.
Linda's words perfectly frame the problem with Governor Barbour. Read them below, then pick up the phone and call or email the Governor's office to protest his decision to suspend this stalking murderer's sentence.
In 2000, Florida’s disastrous effort to purge former felons from voter rolls resulted in the disenfranchisement of hundreds if not thousands of legitimate voters and clearly influenced the outcome of the presidential contest in that state. History may repeat itself this November with states taking potentially reckless and unlawful measures to clean voter rolls before Election Day.
Research 2000 for Daily Kos. 7/21-23. Likely voters. MoE 4% (5/22 results)
Wicker (R) 45 (46)
Musgrove (D) 44 (42)
Looks like float within the MoE. This one is tight. Note, there was a methodological difference in this poll from the last -- we omitted the party ID of the candidates since the ballot will omit them. Ultimately, it seemed to make little difference.
And check out the presidential:
McCain (R) 51 (54)
Obama (D) 42 (39)
Obama is getting 19 percent of the white vote in this poll, just shy of the 20 percent DavidNYC identified as key for winning the state. The second part of that equation is to boost African American turnout in the state to 40 percent of the total vote. In this poll, African Americans represent 37 percent of the vote. The undecided African American vote -- 15 percent (!) -- will come down for Obama. Now it's a question of turning them out in historic numbers.
Location (h/t Mogolori in another thread)
The accident, in which a barge being pushed by the tugboat Mel Oliver spilled at least 419,000 gallons of No. 6 fuel oil, happened under the Crescent City Connection Bridge.
Trolls on your marks. Get Set. Counting down: 3, 2, 1. Go.
John Ashcroft thinks it's okay to torture members of the United States Armed Forces. However, Mr. Ashcroft sometimes has problems with facts and reality. It seems unlikely that he would approve of the use of waterboarding on his own person. Perhaps waterboarding would help change his mind.
A special shout out to Michael Savage. The "brats" aren't faking autism. In Michael's case I'd say he's not faking stupidity either.
Just for the record, in case anyone gets confused, I'm voting for the candidate who works out (That's bad, Nutz?). He's a strong man, both physically and of character. You may have heard of him. His name is Barack.
Number of times I wanted Ron Paul to run the show: -1000
Number of insane things Congress has done: I lost count.
Keep your head down, this bazooka has a hair trigger.
Onward.
In the midst of a hot summer day, with the next Federal election still 15 months off, a few residents of the Magnolia State sought to influence a senate campaign 2,000 miles away.
On that day, 30 June 2007, the following 26 people from Mississippi donated $56,400 to Susan Collins' re-election bid:
Cross-posted (as always) at The Thorn Papers. Y'all come by now.
Seems as though Senators Wicker and Cochran (along with 8 other lockstep Republicans) have found themselves on the wrong side of a Medicare issue, siding (as per usual) with the president and the insurance industry over patients and doctors. Shocking, I know.
The American Medical Association is taking action, running ads, calling out these senators by name. From CQ Politics, a little background:
The American Medical Association, the influential trade association for doctors, began running television ads Tuesday targeting 10 Republican senators who voted last week against a bill that would reverse a scheduled cut in Medicare’s physician payments.
