McDaniel: Taxpayers have good reason to mistrust central government

BY: Charles Herington

State Senator Chris McDaniel, who’s been an outspoken critic of Obamacare, is reacting to the ongoing IRS scandal. He says an IRS official who once oversaw a unit which targeted Tea Party groups has no business now heading up the IRS office which will be responsible for Obamacare.

Sarah Hall Ingram, who served as commissioner of the office responsible for tax-exempt groups from 2009 to 2012 is now the director of the IRS’ Affordable Care Act office.

“We should understand that the people already don’t trust their central government and they have good reason not to trust the central government,” McDaniel said. “So, to take that same lady and place her in a position of authority that’s going to affect every single individual in this country frankly shows their distrust for us and their disrespect for us. So, at the end of the day, something has to change and I hope it begins right there at the IRS,” he said.

McDaniel was keynote speaker for a spring commencement ceremony at William Carey University Saturday afternoon.

WDAM

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USM gets $20 million in new bond bill for nursing school.

The University of Southern Mississippi Seal (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Mississippi lawmakers failed to pass any kind of bond bill in 2012, much to the dismay of numerous state entities including the state’s university system.

This year was a different story, and it turned out to be a boon for the University of Southern Mississippi. A $200 million bond bill passed in early April, included the full $20 million needed for Southern Miss to construct its College of Nursing building.

Sen. John Polk, R-Hattiesburg, said it’s very unusual for a building project of this size to receive its entire funding request in one swoop, but in this case it was well deserved.

“It was a no-brainer that we were able to do for the university something that was much, much needed,” Polk said.

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Rep. Toby Barker uses the “C” word.

Rep. Toby Barker at a legislative forum today used a word that government school Superintendents hate to hear: Consolidation.

The following is from a report by the Hattiesburg American:

Rep. Barker said a charter school bill will pass this year, but decisions made about charter schools need to be data driven. Barker also stated consolidation of school districts should be explored to not only reduce the administrative costs of operating separate districts, but also, to ensure performance.

“In state agencies, we get so in love with the idea of an institution that sometimes we forget who the institution was started to serve in the first place. So, we’re going to look at some school districts around the state this year that possibly are in need of consolidation. It’s a very emotional fight,” Barker said.

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Plunkett: 2011 Gubernatorial Candidate and Hattiesburg Mayor Johnny Dupree threatens legal action over Facebook post.

BY: B. Keith Plunkett @Keithplunkett

The publishers of The Onion have grown an incredible following of their website based on satire and parody of national news stories of the day. A similar political satire column appears in the New Yorker Magazine called The Borowitz Report. Parody has been a part of political commentary for centuries. But, if former Democrat candidate for governor and Mayor of Hattiesburg Johnny Dupree has his say, no such parodies are going to be written about him.

Dupree’s lawyer Charles E. Lawrence, Jr. sent a letter to Tom Garmon of Garmon Media, the company that publishes the website The Hattiesburg Patriot, telling him to pull a satirical parody from it’s Facebook page and issue a retraction or face legal action. Garmon has refused to give in to the mayor, siting First Amendment protections of free speech, and the legal precedent of rulings that allow for political satire. Satire is allowable if a reasonable person can understand that the statement is not real. Parody and satire are protected under the First Amendment as a “distorted imitation” of an original work for the purpose of commenting on it.

What is really at play in this case is an attempt by Mayor Dupree to push back against a publisher who has kept a close eye on his office and doesn’t shy away from reporting the “goings-on” at Hattiesburg City Hall. Dupree would also probably like to keep from the public the fact that he is one of two mayors in Mississippi on record in support of gun control measures, the subject of the post, in an election year.

The Hattiesburg Patriots Facebook post covers a few inconceivable and downright hilarious subjects in two short paragraphs: race, a public shooting, gun control, public safety, and the USM football team.

The post entices readers with a fake headline that spoofs the local newspaper’s inclusion of an April shooting at Cucos restaurant in it’s list of top stories from 2012,“CuCu’s COOCOO Scott Tyner Makes HA Story of the Year. Mayor announces 2013 gun ban.”

A Forrest County grand jury indicted Tyner in August on five counts of aggravated assault. No one was killed during the shooting.

The post reads:

“As a result of Scott Tyner making one of the stories of the year, Mayor Johnny Dupree issued a statement on New Years Eve day that he plans to propose a city wide gun ban beginning in early 2013. Dupree said, “We can’t have these crazy white folks walking around with guns. At least the African-American keeps it among themselves for the most part, but the white folks are a serious threat to the community at large.”

“Dupree plans to start confiscating guns with the USM football program. When asked about the gun ban, Councilman Dave Ware said, “We have to take a sensible approach to these issues. We need to arm everyone.”

The responding attorney letter, provided to Mississippi PEP by Garmon, called the post “an intentional malicious act designed to negatively affect the effectiveness of Mayor Dupree as Mayor of the City of Hattiesburg and is highly inflammatory”. The letter goes on to say that Mayor Dupree is considering “legal action” to address this “depraved act.”

Garmon describes the entire response from Dupree as “silly”.

“We have thousands of troops right down the road at Camp Shelby who are training to defend our constitutional rights, and my First Amendment right is being attacked right here in Hattiesburg by our own Mayor over something silly,” Garmon said in a phone interview. “And, to think he could have been our governor. The bottom line is the Mayor doesn’t want his gun control position being brought to light in an election year, so he is attacking the little guy.”

For the most part, commenters to the post got the joke and, to Dupree’s likely added annoyance, shared it online 162 times. As of Sunday January 13 the post also had 109 “Likes” and 198 comments. Despite the racial overtones, the comments also show the satirical piece hit home with a diverse audience that crossed racial boundaries. One white commenter said, “I like this article it brings in many colors.” An African-American woman commented “a little comic relief is good for the soul.” One African-American man wrote, “This story is so funny. The wording tells you it’s silly and can’t be true.”

While comic relief may be “good for the soul”, it can be less so for a political career, especially if their laughing at you and not with you. Dupree’s response is ‘if you can’t beat ‘em, silence ‘em’. That will only make this worse on the mayor, not better. It shows he has something to hide.

It’s the little bit of truth in every joke that makes them funny and that may be what scares Mayor Dupree the most. In light of his position on gun control and the opposing position of most conservative Hattiesburg voters, that may be the least funny part of all.

About Keith: Keith Plunkett has worked on communications issues with a range of public officials from aldermen to Congressmen, and a variety of businesses, governmental agencies and non-profits. He serves or has served as a board member of several non-profit, civic and political organizations. Contact him by going to HorizonMediaMarketing.com or follow him on Twitter @Keithplunkett

Rep. Toby Parker proposing ballot initiative changes to State Constitution.

District 102 Representative Toby Barker told the Hattiesburg Patriot, “A concurrent resolution will be dropped some time today or tomorrow” proposing a number of updates to the Mississippi State constitution. All proposed legislation and resolutions are dropped into a box and then delivered to the appropriate chair. The proposed changes update the language within the constitution to reflect the current four districts instead of the previous five. Mississippi lost a representative back in 2000 when the census reflected a decrease in population.

The most exciting item being proposed by Rep. Barker will be a bill for the inclusion of electronic signatures in the ballot initiative process. Mississippians presently must obtain over 100,000 physical signatures 20% from each of the old five districts to get a ballot initiative on the ballot. With the constitutional updates these signatures will change to 25% in the four districts. If a bill is passed to allow for secure electronic signatures this would be a power boom for the people of Mississippi.

Tom Garmon with Garmon Media, which owns the Hattiesburg Patriot, initially contacted Representative Barker about updating the constitution’s references to the number of districts; as well as about proposing a bill which would allow electronic signatures to be used in getting ballot initiatives on the ballot. Garmon said, “Our district is very fortunate to have a public servant like Representative Toby Barker. I am proud he represents my family. Representative Barker was extremely responsive to our discussion, and in agreement that the proposed changes would be good for Mississippians. Electronic signature technology is readily available, and incorporating it in the ballot initiative process would empower the citizens of Mississippi. I am sure there will be some elected representatives who will be against it. Let’s wait and see who they are.”

See the Concurrent Resolution and sign a petition of support HERE.

Senator Billy Hudson to reintroduce texting while driving ban.

State Sen. Billy Hudson again plans a proposal to ban texting while driving.

The Hattiesburg Republican told The Clarion-Ledger that his proposed bill would also ban cellphone use unless a hands-free device is used.

Hudson said his bill, to be considered by the 2013 Legislature, would ban all mobile phone use by drivers younger than 18. Last year, a bill Hudson introduced died in committee.

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Speaker Gunn’s road show hits Hattiesburg

Dozens showed up Thursday at the Hattiesburg Cultural Center to let their voices be heard before Mississippi Speaker of the House Philip Gunn and several representatives from across South Mississippi.

The meeting was part of Gunn’s Mississippi Solutions Ideas Tour.

The forum, which came to Hattiesburg as part of the weeklong tour, is aimed at gathering ideas and input as to legislative direction from citizens.

Citizens chimed in on a bevy of topics including education, government growth, timber industry regulation, juvenile justice and more.

HA

Resume of Democrat in District 4 challenge to Palazzo is thin

The Democrat challenging Palazzo is Matthew Moore, 36, of Biloxi, a community college honors student who’s making his first run for public office. Moore has been treasurer of the Harrison County Democratic Executive Committee, a post he resigned to run for Congress. He entered the race in early September after the man who had won the Democratic primary in the spring, Michael Herrington of Hattiesburg, withdrew for family and business reasons.

Moore said Palazzo, who is assistant Republican whip in the House, votes too much along party lines.

“I think that’s awfully arrogant to assume everyone in south Mississippi has such a right-wing, conservative viewpoint such as his,” Moore said.

“My forte is in customer service,” said Moore, who was an assistant manager for a paint company before a back injury cost him his job. “We’re the taxpayers and the taxpayers are the customers of government. We don’t just deserve better, we’ve earned better.”

MP

Lawmakers prepare for Medicaid battle in 2013

Now that the Supreme Court has ruled the Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare constitutional, Mississippi, like every other state, is left with the option of expanding Medicaid.

Whether to do that will be a major focus of the upcoming 2013 legislative session, according to Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves and two local Republican lawmakers.

“It’s terrible public policy, it makes no sense in the long-term for Mississippi taxpayers, said Reeves. ”So, we’re going to look at what our options are. I have staff members working right now with the Division of Medicaid, working with the federal government and others to try to determine what our options are going to be,” Reeves said.

“The federal government gives us $3, the state matches $1, but do we have the $1,” said Sen. Billy Hudson. “Can we afford it…that’s the big question,” he said.

“I’m not really in favor of expanding the program now,” said Rep. Larry Byrd. ”I think that it’s another one of those things that the government is going to send to us and then we’ll end up having to fund it on our own later and it just creates a struggle for our state,” Byrd said.

via Lawmakers prepare for Medicaid battle in 2013 – WDAM.COM – TV 7 – News, Weather and Sports.

Congressman Palazzo welcomes former Camp Shelby Commander as Deputy District Director

Congressman Steven Palazzo (R-MS), member of the House Armed Services Committee, Persian Gulf War veteran and the only noncommissioned officer concurrently serving in Congress and the National Guard, announced that Colonel Robert “Steve” Parham, recently retired commander of Camp Shelby Joint Forces Training Center near Hattiesburg, MS, has joined his staff as Deputy District Director.

“First and foremost, I am here to serve the people of South Mississippi,” Palazzo stated. “Colonel Parham has a long history of such service, and that’s what makes him such a valuable addition to our team.”

“I am honored to be able to assist the good people of Mississippi’s Fourth Congressional District on behalf of Congressman Palazzo,” Parham stated.

Parham formally joined Congressman Palazzo’s staff earlier this month, following his retirement as commander of Camp Shelby.  His previous career included more than 25 years in the Mississippi Army National Guard, 22 of which he spent at Camp Shelby.  Parham spent the last three years serving as Camp Shelby’s installation commander, during which time Camp Shelby processed more than 53,000 Soldiers in support of Overseas Contingency Operations around the world.  He is a graduate of the University of Southern Mississippi and a decorated soldier.

Parham is serving as Deputy District Director on Congressman Palazzo’s staff, where he continues to work with community leaders throughout the district.

via Parham Continues Legacy of Service on Palazzo Staff Congressman welcomes former Camp Shelby Commander as Deputy District Director | Congressman Steven Palazzo.

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