Jackson Jambalaya

If you want peanut brittle recipes, go to FOLO.

A big thanks goes to the Carter family (presumably Belhaven residents) who held a birthday party in Laurel Park at 1:30 today. Apparently these fine people were too lazy to haul their party supplies a mere 25 yards from the street to the picnic tables. They decided instead to drive their pick-up truck through the park, tearing up the grass as they went along their merry way (the truck had Lee County plates). Just like a bunch of rednecks: mudriding through a neighborhood park. Burns me up as the City actually came out there and filled in the ruts from the previous damaged caused by CARA this fall. Hope you enjoyed the party and junior enjoyed the mud-riding.

Tigerdroppings.com has an answer for you: Coaching Changes Board

Enjoy.

http://www.wapt.com/news/18209085/detail.html

Can't make this up.

My only question is how did Pleasant keep a straight face while reporting the story? I don't think I could have held it together.

Over at Red State, Mr. Erickson has drawn some heat from a Republican chieftan. Seems that one of these Republican consultants, money man, or whatever you call these types, is in charge of "independent expenditures" and surprise, was directing money to a company he owns (Shades of Jere Nash. Sorry Jere.), which was reported in Red State. Republican Shenanigans

Seems Mr. Voorhis, who has had his hand in the cookie jar for so long crumbs are now permanently embedded into his nails, didn't like this and called up Mr. Erickson's church to dig up some dirt on him:

"In any event, my preacher calls and says some guy named Sam Van Voorhis called demanding to know why I no longer go to church there. Sam Van Voorhis claimed to be in the Presbyterian Church of America (my denomination) and insisted on information. My preacher says Sam was rather unpleasant when they would not cooperate.
What is more interesting is that Sam called a few months ago doing the exact same thing to the church secretary. Sam needed, for some reason, to make sure I hadn’t been forced out of the church." Someone must be doing something right

Of course, Mr. Voorhis has been in trouble before:
'The NRSC has hired a direct-mail guy to run their independent expenditure effort that should be primarily focused on TV ads. That's kind of like bringing a knife to a gunfight, no? I'm sure the NRSC is hoping that their new hire, Sam Van Voorhis, doesn't get caught up in any more legal issues:
"Others have been embroiled in scandal. In 2004, 1998 Rising Star Sam Van Voorhis, president of Majority Strategies Inc., got entangled in a kickback scandal. An anonymous memo triggered an investigation that led to Van Voorhis being subpoenaed for his alleged overcharging the Republican House Caucus for his direct mail work." The List Grows Longer, Ohio Kickbacks Investigation

In fact, this story has a nice little chart that shows how the whole scheme in Ohio worked: Nice work if you can get it. It should be noted the probe was dropped by the Justice Department, one reason Gonzales caught some heat. He did pretty well in a 2008 Florida congressional race, raking in $42,000 in fees.

There is little question Redstate.com has become one of the leading conservative blogs in Republican politics. It is also clear Democratic activists have been much more effective at using blogs and the internet to influence their party for quite some time. Republican activists such as Mr. Erickson are just now using the power of the internet to do the same and some of the old guard do not like it. The old guard is happy to lose elections if it means they keep their titles and cozy little business arrangements. Mr. Erickson apparently stepped on the toes of someone who has grown fat feeding from the Republican trough. If they want to play rough, by all means lets play rough. Its about time the grassroots started cleaning out the party of these country-club fat cats who are happy losing elections as long as they are making money.

Although the Clarion-Ledger is laying off staff and losing money, it STILL has an ethical duty not to print completely irresponsible and inflammatory headlines. This is a current headline on its website:

"Signs of deepening depression mount"

Only problem is, the story says something else:
"The latest evidence of a deepening recession that's already the longest in a quarter-century came Wednesday in a pair of reports that found little relief in sight." Ignorance or Irresponsible?

While it is true the story was published by the AP, it was the Clarion-Ledger that wrote the headline. Its bad enough people are spooked by the endless flow of bad news about the economy. While the possibility of a depression is debated by geeks like me and the market ticker guy, the newspaper damn sure doesn't need to print headlines telling people we are in a "deepening depression".

Completely irresponsible.

Donuts, goats, tvs for the school for the blind, radios for the deaf school, Santa Clause......

From Gannett Blog:

Anonymous said...
Latest in Jackson (newsroom only): 4 voluntary layoffs - a terrific sports agate guy- a religion writer- a copy editor- a biz writer 3 involuntary layoffs - a long-time news columnist- a part-time copy editor - a news assistant to one of The C-L's bureau papers.*
Apparently the cuts are over for the newsroom. If that's true, then The C-L newsroom got off easy compared to these other papers.

AP reported Orley Hood was laid off. Damn.

Does anyone over at the Jackson Free Press or Clarion-Ledger know how to do BASIC research? Both publications just published stories touting Jim Hood's so-called settlement with Countrywide resulting in a loan modification program for distressed borrowers. Ronni Mott wrote in the JFP:

"If you or someone you know has a mortgage with Countrywide, relief could be on the way. {Verbatim from the Attorney General's office}:Mississippi will be included in the national settlement with Countrywide Financial Corporation (CFC) that will allow eligible borrowers to participate in the company’s loan modification program, announced Attorney General Jim Hood.
The program went into effect yesterday, December 1, 2008, and was designed to help borrowers who financed their homes with subprime loans or adjustable rate mortgages serviced by Countrywide and originated prior to December 31, 2007. Countrywide was bought by Bank of America on July 1, 2008....." Countrywide Story

Clarion-Ledger Story

Not so fast my friend. See, Countrywide's loan modifications might not be legit after all as the investors filed suit against Countrywide. Countrywide sold most of these loans to investors and is apparently trying to dump the changes to these mortgages on the investors who purchased them in violation of the contracts (according the the lawsuit).

Housingwire.com reported:
"A predatory-lending settlement that will see Countrywide modify as many as 400,000 loans, reducing payments due on mortgages it services by as much as $8.4 billion, has led a group of investors to sue Bank of America Corp. (BAC: 13.96 -0.64%) and Countrywide. In a complaint filed Monday morning by the New York-based law firm of Grais & Ellsworth LLP, investors say the language in their contracts require the Calabasas, Calif.-based servicer to purchase all modified loans out of affected securitization trusts. Countrywide has said it does not believe it is required to do so.....
Countrywide first announced the loan modification program on Oct. 6, as part of a settlement with 15 different state Attorneys General that had sued the lender over predatory lending charges....." Housing Wire Story

Complaint

The Market Ticker's Karl Denninger pointed out:
"The gist of the complaint is that the settlement was not going to come out of Countrywide's (now BAC's) hide, but rather was to be effectively offloaded to the investors to whom CFC sold their loans!
That's a cute trick - settle a lawsuit but then force the costs of the settlement off on investors who had no vote in approving the settlement in the first place.
I'll bet this gets legs, and will derail not only this "modification" gambit but anything similar, until and unless the banks involved figure out how to pay down the investors on their own, thereby covering what would otherwise be their losses.
(It should be that way too - the investors didn't make the bad loans; if they're going to take losses it should be through outright defaults, not through forced cramdowns that benefit the banks but screw the bondholders!)" Investor Pushback

The lawsuit was reported on Bloomberg's website as well. Bloomberg Story. It was reported in the New York Times and a plethora of other media outlets as a Google Search would show. This so-called settlement is going to get very interesting.

Natalie Chandler, a Clarion-Ledger reporter, asks Brad White, the Chairman of the Mississippi Republican Party, if his party should adopt a "softer stance". Mr. White made a strong defense: "the national party "has the right platform, the right principles."
"We need to begin to communicate that effectively to people, and we need to have the guts to stand behind it. And we need to start acting like Republicans," added White, who in January will help decide the Republican National Committee's next leader."

The right principles? Would that include doubling the federal budget under Bush's tenure? More federal control of education thanks to Mr. Bush's No Child Left Behind Act? The socialism of Paulson's bailout and his taking over a significant part of the American economy? The plans by the Pentagon to train the military for domestic security purposes?

At some point Conservatives have to start repudiating the policy mistakes that got them into this mess in the first place. Republicans didn't lose just because of Katrina, Iraq, the economy, and a bad candidate. They lost because they became the party of big and inefficient government, while becoming more and more out of touch with average voters. Mentioning Ronald Reagan only works for those who are over the age of 40, as there are nearly two generations of voters who grew up without Ronaldus Magnus just as JFK's magic wore off on my generation.

Then there is this statement by Mr. White:
"None of us had to hold our nose and vote for (GOP presidential nominee John McCain), because we believe in his leadership, believe he was the best candidate of the choices we had ... but at the same time, he didn't inspire the way a Ronald Reagan did," White said."

He was the best candidate? Considering the financial meltdown and looting of the treasury by Paulson and his buddies at Citi and Goldman Sachs, it's quite clear there were not one, but two candidates who were much better candidates: Romney and Rudi. Either one of them would have torched Obama in the debates on economic issues ,and Romney has shown some steel in coming out against the bailouts recently. I understand being a good soldier and think that is all Mr. White was doing, but the election is over and it's ok to be candid. The problem with Mr. McCain was he didn't show any leadership. When he had his one chance to do so (the bailout bill debate) he bungled it rather badly, as it was clear he had no plan and really didn't understand what was going on with the bill itself.

Ms. Chandler also interviews the Chairman of the Democratic Party, but oddly enough doesn't ask him if his party should moderate its message to win more votes in Mississippi. Ms. Chandler's piece even has a comedic moment as she asks leading Jackson Democrat Leslie McLemore what Republicans can do to attract more votes in the Black community, as if someone is going to tell her how his opponent can beat him. Anyone want to guess what Ms. Chandler's political leanings might be?

From today's Clarion-Ledger: "The loss of the exotic animals has been hard on the zoo staff, and they want to prevent further deaths, said Dave Wetzel, assistant zoo director and curator."

I don't guess it occurred to Mr. Wetzel that it might have been actually harder on the animals as they were actually killed.

The Jackson Free Press once again emulates the Clarion-Ledger in making mistakes while reporting basic facts:
"A Democrat, Crisler has represented Ward 6 since 2001. He has served as the city council’s president and currently chairs the budget committee..." Oops

Just one problem. He is actually the Vice-chairman of the committee. See for yourself

Mr. Jeff Weill is the actual chairman of the budget committee.

I came across an article from an old issue of U.S. News & World Report commemorating the 100th anniversary of the Civil War. What is interesting is it compared the treatment of the South for decades after the war's end to the millions of dollars and additional support given to Germany and other European countries through the Marshall plan. It concluded the South's fate was a drag on the rest of the country as it remained the poorest section of America by far. Some quotes from the article:

"The South found itself selling its cotton in world markets at competitive prices while forced to buy its shoes and clothing and luxuries in tariff-protected markets in the north. Southerners felt that their region was becoming a colony of the North..."

"At war's end, the South lay prostrate. Nearly one of every four white men in uniform had been killed or died in service. Many more were maimed. Cities, industries, and railroads had been burned and dismantled. Rich farming regions.. had been laid waste by Northern armies..."

"After the United States helped to defeat Germany and Japan in World War II, great efforts were made to ease the pain of defeat for those nations..."

"There was no great relief efforts by the North comparable to those made by the U.S. after WWII, even though more than a million persons faced starvation in the South during the years following the war and some DID starve. Only a pittance of aid came from the North. The Government in Washington created a Freedmen's Bureau, which got $4 in taxes on cotton for each $1 it gave in relief. Funds from private charities were pathetically small in comparison to what was needed..."

"U.S Treasury agents streamed through the South in 1865 grabbing cotton, land, anything that they claimed to have been the property of the Confederacy. They took cotton valued at $30 million. Behind them came hordes of carpetbaggers (With the Wall Street Journal's blessing I'm sure. They'll invent some economic theory to justify it while professing to hate the looters in Atlas Shrugged) from the North to drain away any Southern Capital they could lay hands on..."

"Between 1868 and 1874 the carpetbaggers managed to build up the state debts in the South by $101,232,000.....Mississippi's tax rates for example, were 14 times higher at the end than the beginning.

"At that time (decades following civil war), the South was trying to educate a third of the nation's children in a dual school system, but it only had a sixth of the nation's school revenues."

One passage sounds just like the debate currently taking place over the proposed auto bailout:
"Complaints are hared now in New England, New York, Pennsylvania, and in other areas of the North that are losing industries to the South... In the past two decades (1940's and 1950's), the South has undergone something of an industrial revolution....

In 1860, the South had 17.2% of the factories and 11.5A5 of the capital in the nation. By 1904- with the war years far behind- it had 15.3% of the plants and 11% of the capital."

Of course, such an area rich in resources and poverty was irresistible to the robber barons and their government allies. It's no wonder Huey Long burst upon the scene as Standard Oil and others raped the South for its resources, while giving almost nothing in return:
"Northern capitalists took command of many Southern resources. A cottonseed-oil firm ownd in the North controlled 88% of the production of that product. the entire supply of American bauxite, found in four Southern States, went to ONE Northern company. Control of 80% of America's sulphur was picked up by another firm....

Control of the major Southern railroads, the Alabama coal and iron industries, many millions of Southern timberlands was all held by Northern interests. Only the cotton-textile and tobacco industries, among major enterprises, remained principally under Southern control..."

Ready for this one? One of the major reasons why the South lags behind the nation in industrialization:
"Southern shippers had to pay higher freight rates than did shippers in the Northeast for sending the same goods equal distances (Everyone got that?) Rates were set by Southern railroads but the roads were controlled , largely, by Northern Capital. The rates held the approval of the Interstate Commerce Commission. Not until 1945 was this changed.

The Southern steel industry, doing a booming business in 1900, was virtually stopped in its track, Southerners said, by a rate structure imposed by the North. The rates required payment of price differentials so sharp that it became cheaper for an industry in New Orleans to buy steel from Pittsburgh than from Birmingham. Not until World War II were changes made in this system."

Such policies created a region so poor and under-educated that FDR called the South the "nation's number one economic problem" in 1938. While blacks and whites in the South stayed at each others throats for decades, the Northerners laughed while they plundered and taxed them. The cries of bankrupt Detroit automakers who made too many cars and paid thousands of employees NOT to work (see jobs bank program) about how they couldn't compete with the South unless Southern taxpayers bailed them out sounds somewhat familiar, and is poetic justice to some degree. Having said that, the rest of the article is pretty good and reveals many more interesting and forgotten facts.

Untold Story of the Civil War

I know you guys aren't being serious in giving that many votes to KIM Waaaaaaaade.

The New York Post reported six congressmen recently enjoyed a trip to the Caribbean paid for by Citigroup and other corporations. Bennie Thompson, Democrat-Bolton, was one of high-flying politicians who couldn't resist the chance to enjoy some sun and sand in St. Marteen:

"High-ranking members of Congress were flown to a lush Caribbean resort this month for a three-day conference planned and paid for by several of the country's most powerful corporations - a violation of federal ethics rules, critics say. ...
Officials with those companies were observed at the conference - sometimes acting as featured speakers at daily seminars and freely mingling among the pols at social events. Citigroup - which just last week received a massive bailout from the federal government - was one of the conference's biggest sponsors, ponying up $100,000 to help finance the event, according to one of the lobbyists at the gathering.....
But according to House ethics rules, members of Congress and their staffs cannot accept multiday trips from a corporation that "employs or retains a registered lobbyist. Included in this limitation are companies, firms, non-profit organizations (including charities), and other private entities that retain or employ a lobbyist."......
Furthermore, according to House rules, members of Congress must seek prior written permission from the House Committee on Standards of Official Conduct to take free multiday trips. They must also file reports with the Clerk of the House of Representatives listing all financial sponsors within two weeks of each trip.
The filings for the St. Maarten trip were due last Monday. But as of that date, only Rep. Payne's filings were available......
Democratic Congressional Black Caucus members Bennie Thompson of Mississippi and Donna Christensen of the Virgin Islands also attended the conference, but have not yet filed disclosures, nor did they return repeated calls..."
Bennie Thompson's Surfin' & Turfin'

Everyone got it? Ole Bennie goes on a trip paid for by the people who caused this mess and just took a few HUNDRED BILLION dollars from us last week while they tried to use a bogus charity for cover. Congressman Thompson was supposed to get written approval from the House for such a trip but apparently he doesn't need permission from anyone for anything as he jumped at the chance to kick it on the beach while Citigroup and others paid for his little excursion. Read the rest of the story as quite a few of the stories from the Congressmen and corporations involved don't seem to match up that well.

Anyone think THIS will appear in The Clarion-Ledger?

Other Jackson Jambalaya posts on Bennie Thompson:
Bennie Leads Fight Against Making Dockworkers in Sensitive Positions Undergo Background Checks
Bennie Fights Bill Protecting People Who Give Tips about Terrorists From Lawsuits

Finance Blogger "Mish" Shedlock (His feed is in the center column on this page) critiques the Paulson Bailout plan. You do remember how Paulson told us if we didn't pass this bill, the markets would crash and economic catastrophe would befall us, right? Mish opines:

"Since $700 Billion Bailout Passed
The S&P collapsed from 1114 on October 3rd to 848 on November 17th. This is a drop of 24%.
Paulson did not use the funds as requested.
Bernanke promised to disclose how taxpayer money would be used but has refused to do so (Kingfish note: He refused to disclose how $2 trillion was spent)
Bloomberg has filed a lawsuit against the Fed under the Freedom of Information Act to find out just how Paulson has used the money.
Not a single job was created with the money.
Fannie Mae has announced it may need another $100 billion.
Freddie Mac proclaimed it had negative net worth.
AIG received another $37 billion.
Cities and Auto companies now want a share of the $700 Billion.
There was not a single positive result out of the money that was spent.
The Paulson plan was poorly thought out and poorly executed which is exactly what one would expect when Congress rushes to pass bills without considering alternatives."

Read the rest of his post: Paulson's Prattle

"One family filled with hop"

How does one become filled with "hop? What is this hop? Is becoming filled with hop a good thing?

http://www.clarionledger.com/article/20081201/NEWS/812010331/1001/news

WLBT Video

Jackson's inability to do anything right apparently has spread to the Jackson Zoo as wild dogs yet AGAIN entered the zoo from the main gate (WLBT has video) and killed several flamingos. Two weeks earlier, a pack of feral canines killed two gazelles on loan from the Memphis Zoo.

"Embarrassing is not the right word," Jackson Zoo Director Beth Poff said. "Heartbreaking is the right word. Our staff works with these animals day in and day out, so when you lose them like this, it is extremely sad." Clarion-Ledger Story

Ms. Poff was right, "embarrassing" is not the right word as a few others come to mind: incompetence, neglect, and dereliction of duty. This is the THIRD time dogs have entered the zoo and killed animals under our protection ( Wild dogs killed flamingos in 2005 ).

Not one person has been fired over this fiasco. No one has taken any responsibility. These bumblers just can't understand why this keeps happening to them. Why don't they fire the person who was working at the main gate for starters. This is the second time in two weeks dogs have entered through the main gate. Are the employees at the main gate giving them some doggie treats on their way out? Giving them pillows to sleep on?

The Jackson Zoo is showing the qualities of any poorly-run organization or business: No accountability, no solutions, and an ability to manufacture excuses. The repeated failure of the Zoo to protect its animals is criminal neglect and reinforces the negative perception Jackson already suffers. If we had a mayor who was interested in something besides wearing a badge and keeping accused perverts and young thugs around him at all times, he would act like a leader and fix this problem instead of letting an executive director worry about how "embarrassing" this is while innocent animals are butchered in their habitats.

This is simply more evidence of what a joke Jackson city government has become.

The Clarion-Ledger, a current expert on losing money, tries to give the state some advice on how to balance its budget by calling for an internet sales tax in a column written by Editorial Director David Hampton:
"As for the "tax-that-fellow-behind-the-tree" department, Mississippi ought to be seeking a way to tax Internet sales.
Internet sales should be taxed the same as if you bought the item down the street. Not only is it terribly unfair to local merchants, it cuts into vital state and local revenue from sales taxes....
I have my own list of taxes that should be raised and/or lowered. Sales taxes are too high; income and corporate taxes, too low....

Mr. Hampton, is it really fair for businesses such as NEWSPAPERS to enjoy a STATE SALES TAX EXEMPTION? While you are making a lists of targets for your tax hikes, why don't you lead by example and include your employer? If you want to close the loopholes, close your own first before you seek to burden the rest of us with higher taxes.

Hampton Editorial: Tax Thee Not Me

It's that time of year and you know what it means: It's time for my award-winning egg nog recipe.

Ingredients: 1 cup bourbon, 1 cup brandy, 1 cup Tia Maria, 12 eggs, 1 quart cream, 1 quart half & half, 1/2 lb powdered sugar

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Directions: Separate eggs and combine booze and yolks and whisk in 1/2 lb of powdered sugar.

Store in fridge for 24 hrs. Keep the whites chilled also.

24hrs later, whip cream in large bowl until thick,then add half & half and the yoke/booze mix.

Add the egg whites and whip till frothy. Chill for a while before serving.

The Detroit Red Wings foreign scout flies to Baghdad to watch a young Iraqi play hockey in the new American sponsored league, and is suitably impressed and arranges for him to come over to the US .

Ken Holland signs him to a one year contract and the kid joins the team for the preseason.

Two weeks later the Wings are down 4-0 to the Blackhawks with only 10 minutes left. Mike Babcock gives the young Iraqi the nod and he goes in. The kid is a sensation - scores 5 goals in 10 minutes and wins the game for the Wings! The fans are delighted, the players and coaches are delighted, and the media love the new star.

When the player comes off the ice he phones his mom to tell her about his first day of NHL hockey. "Hello mom, guess what?" he says in an Iraqi accent. "I played for 10 minutes today, we were 4-0 down, but I scored 5 goals and we won. Everybody loves me, the fans, the media, they all love me."

"Wonderful," says his mom, "Let me tell you about my day. Your father got shot in the street and robbed, your sister and I were ambushed, raped and beaten, and your brother has joined a gang of looters, and all while you were having such great time."

The young Iraqi is very upset. "What can I say mom, but I'm so sorry." "Sorry? You're Sorry? !!" says his mom, "It's your fault we moved to Detroit in the first place!"

One would think with all the gay activists and metrosexuals that voted for Obama and were in his campaign, someone could've gotten this guy a better wig.

Dividend Daily reports:
"Parkway Properties (PKY) has cut its annual dividend payout from $2.60 to $1.30. The new dividend yield based on today’s closing stock price of $18.07 is 7.19%. PKY is not a recommended stock at this time, holding a Dividend.com Rating of 2.8 out of 5 stars."

No mention in The Clarion-Ledger or Mississippi Business Journal of the unprecedented divident cut. The Mississippi-based company has seen its stock price hammered in the last few weeks. See earlier post: Stock price down over 50%

Here are some nice comments from the Huffington Post about Obama's decision to retain current Secretary of Defense Robert Gates:

Nan2008 If Obama is the man for change, don't you think he should start by hiring HIS OWN. We want change not the SAME-O, SAME-O STUFF. And that means Nancy and Harry need to go as well. She tabled IMPEACHEMENT EARLY ON, WHEN DOES ACCOUNTABILITY START, IF NOT AT HOME WHERE AND WHEN? We elected him to do a job, if HE DOESN'T PERFORM AS WE ELECTED HIM TO DO HIS BUTT CAN FIND IT'S WAY OUT AS WELL. I don't care if he's the first Black President, he could be purple for all I care. The culture of corruption needs to end NOW, and the willingness to just go along is NOT ACCEPTABLE.

alainv If you havn't figured it out yet our elections are a sham and our presidents are simply figureheads for the military industrial complex and the corporate elite , otherwise known as the illuminate. Barrak was the best choice because he allows them to continue there agenda without fear of revolution witch may have ensued had the election gone the other way . These people are genious in there ability to know exactly how far they can go without a serious uprising by the masses of sheep who desperately want to believe that all is well .

SangZe I'm beginning to think we've been had once again.

thefed I voted for Obama and now I feel betrayed by his choices ...............I heard also that he is not closing gitmo and i feel if this happens ..........HE has not only conned us but betrayed the trust of the majority of the blacks who trusted and voted for the man who stood for change

piul05 Consistent with all the bad picks for foreign relations.No wonder Biden seems lost and without a role; everywhere he looks there is a militaristic hawk.Who's the next appointee? John Bolton?

InfoWarriorNY Obama has already killed the anti-war movement and the impeachment & accountability movement. These were conditions of the shadow gov't -- Peter Dale Scott's "deep state." Without his acquiescence to these (and a few others) the corporate controlled MSM would have annihilated his candidacy

geobushono Gates is BLOODY with the gore of the inconvient children he considers collateral damage. THAT is a big problem for me. How many warmongers, and right wing zealots are we going to have in this Cabinet?With all this effort with broad appeal, MY values are being cast aside to try to get another 2% in the 2012 Election.Send your checks to Riyad & Tel Aviv....they have The President's ear.

Nonamnesiac One can have a positive view of Gates only if one uses Rumsfeld as the yardstick. Gates is pro-torture, pro corruption (he's made no effort to recover the unaccounted for billions in Iraq and supports Blackwater and Haliburton unquestionably) and can be traced back to both the practice and the actual events of Iran/Contra.It's amazing to watch this guy Obama make choice-after-choice of the people who got us into the economic and international mess we're in and claim he's an agent of change. He's affirmed much of voodoo economics with the band of free-market, don't regulate choices he made for his economic team, many of whom personally helped transform the stupidity of Reaganomics from bad economics into a vehicle for them to personally become fabulously wealthy and then redefine policy to remove any obstructions to their becoming fabulously wealthy under the mantra of "deregulation". Even the so-called "bailouts" of the financial industry did not include enforced transparency, enforced accountability or any reregulation even though even Alan Greenspan admits that deregulation is a major cause of this calamity. But everyone's ready to trounce autoworkers because they bargained pensions and healthcare in a society that only provides a supplemtal pension (social security) and poverty-causing health care to its retirees if those workers had not negotiated pensions and health care.And now Gates, another let's-never-leave Iraq kind of guy. This is not change.

benndissed well ,i just got back from change. gov , and i feel better that i let barack know my disappointment in his hawkish picks for our nat. sec. team. i hope he listens and reconsiders. if not, i will campaign against confirmation for them. ending the war in iraq is one thing that doesn't need to be managed by those who supported and voted to authorize use of force there by bush.

LemonMeringue I too will give Obama the benefit of the doubt. However...We must hold him accountable. We will watch his back, but we will dog him and let him know what we, the people who elected him, want from this administration. I feel fortunate that a man such as he is willing to give up the life he knew to take on the hardest job in the world. I also believe that he owes us something. The peace movement worked very hard for him. The environmental movement worked very hard for him. The people who have been appalled at the abuses of the Bush administration worked hard for him. We worked hard for change and we expect to get it.

mach A bunch of Bush appointee apologists ---who'd of thunk it

FreedomUSA I want my old America back--shame on you Obama. You have duped many with your lies--"New Washington, new change." You seem to be a Washington conspiracy yourself.Wake up America!!!

Axlotl Hey, I have an idea; how about NO G*****N REPUBLICANS, or Republican appointees, in the new Democratic cabinet whatsoever?Screw this "bipartisan" stuff. Is he insane? If I wanted Republicans, Id' have voted for one, thank you very much.

larazon Bay Buchanan thinks Gates's a great pick. Maybe he can pick her as his WH spokesperson?

kentj All warmongers probably think Gates is a great pick. Why did we hold an election, when everything stays the same, especially that illegal and immoral Iraq war?

Alex02139 This is outrageous. I guess change we can believe in is nothing but a an empty slogan. Bush boy Gates, Bush boy Geithner, McCain boy Jones. Disgusting appeasement.

ProfessorGeorge First let me say that I enthusiastically supported Obama, but I sure hope that after what we've seen with the economic appointments and now Gates, that we all need to take our heads out of the sand and wake up to the fact that the love fest with Barack needs to come to an end fast. We progressives have had little to be overjoyed about and need to start putting the pressure on.

Steamboater Keeping Gates. What a mess. This is what you can expect from someone without cajones and it's going to happen again and again. We've already heard that Obama won't do anything, if he does anything at all, about DADT until 2010 and let the issue fester over and over until what happens will be another compromise. The war in Iraq and with Gates there especially will also fester. We're not getting out there. This whole election was sounds more and more like a scam every day.

Chillinout I don't know why Obama didn't nominate General MacAurthur, of Admiral Halsey. Nominating live people is NOT change I can believe in. I have already emailed the election board and told them I want my ballot back so I can change my vote. I suggest you all do the same

nogimmicks Sadly, appointment after appointment we see the same pattern.Obama = Bush (but younger and more eloquent). Policies and people are the same or worse (e.g. . Geithner could be worse than Paulson). Oh well, ... as the late George Carlin used to say "f*** hope".

biwee For someone who campaigned on "Change", it is strange to me that Obama's appointments are the same old, tired and ineffective retreads from past administrations. The "Change" was just a scam.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/11/19/robert-gates-obamas-defen_n_144874.html

Hehehehehe.

Well now, Tricia Raymond, MADD's Executive Director and the Enabler-in-Chief (and Executive Director of SafeCity) was out in force yesterday, pushing for more tough laws on drinking and driving. "Enabler-in-Chief" you ask? Kingfish, what do you mean?

Well, Ms. Raymond was one of Frank Melton's field directors in his campaign and has been VERY quiet concerning Melton's little drunken binges (oops, make that alleged drunken binges). One would think the Executive Director of MADD would take a more aggressive public stand concerning a Mayor who is accused of being a drunk and tearing down houses while on a binge. Of course, that might mean not being able to have nice little press conferences with the chief. Its all about access and publicity.

(Yes, I know he said he is not interested but I decided to write this anyway. Conservatives can always draft him when all else fails.)

There is no way to sugar-coat it: Republicans got their clocks cleaned in November. While crying is good for the soul, Republicans simply don't have time to engage in a national boo-hoo as Democrats plan their inaugural blitzkrieg. There are a multitude of reasons why Republicans lost : the economy, Iraq, Katrina, McCain's poorly-run campaign, and a Cassius Clay from Chicago who floated around Republicans with hope while he stung them with change.

Unfortunately, Republicans have shown little ability to learn from their mistakes, as country clubbing pork-barrel Custers lead them to defeat after defeat. The 2006 elections should have sent them a message, yet here they were again in 2008, losing with the same leadership, learning nothing while forgetting everything Reagan and Newt taught them. After 2006, no one was penalized, no one lost their jobs; these were Byzantine Emperors who thought the walls of Constantinople would forever hold the Turks at bay even as they fired their shiny new guns. The Greek Chorus of Republican hacks assure us Democrats will fumble the ball -the good ole rope a dope strategy will win, just be patient. The Chorus tells conservatives the American people will never support Obama's radical ideas, forgetting the times of FDR and LBJ when Democrats reshaped society as they saw fit while Republicans nearly ceased to exist.

What is needed now is steel. The steel of ideas. The steel to realize the political horizon for what it is, the steel to realize what must be done, and the steel to actually do it. Cannae was the worst defeat for the Romans as a young and hungry Hannibal slaughtered the best of Rome that day. The Romans didn't turn on each other. They banned mourning. No public discussion of Cannae was allowed. The Romans got tough, made hard decisions, got the right leaders, and eventually beat Hannibal on his own turf. Are the Republicans such Romans or instead are they the Jews before Titus- fighting each other while the legions storm the city?

If Republicans are to win, they must realize what is at stake: our country's soul. Will it be a country based on limited government, liberty, freedom, and the ideal that one can get ahead through hard work? There is a case to be made for a conservative message that is pro-growth, cuts taxes and spending, and keeps government out of the lives of Americans but that message has to be adapted to Americans who are frightened and searching for answers. As Russell Kirk pointed out, drastic change happens when times are unsettled and people are fearful. They seek reassurance from whoever offers them a positive vision and makes it seem he is fighting for them.

Democrats play for keeps and make no bones about it. The so-called experts say Obama will govern from the center (although the economy will probably limit his budget plans for quite some time). The Democrats will have to moderate their positions. Will they? Why should they? They WON! They won in their own way, on their terms, and are under no duty to govern from the middle. Some will say the Democrats will pay for making any radical changes at the polls. Such ostriches forget Democrats will instead seek to change the playing field so conservatives can't fight back effectively in future elections.

Here are five items one can expect from the Democrats:

1. The use of vague localism standards and the Fairness Doctrine to gain more control over the media.
2. The nationalization of the health care system. While Hillary failed in her attempt to take over 1/7 of the American economy, the Democrats are ready for a rematch and there are no Phil Gramms ready to say "this will pass over my dead body", as courage has been in short supply among Congressional Republicans all too often recently.
3. The temptation to place conditions on receiving bailout funds will prove too much for Democrats to resist, as they will leap at the chance to remake part of the American economy in the graven image of their collectivist ideals. Only a simpleton will think Democrats won't take advantage of the broad powers granted by Paulson's bailout bill. They will pressure recipient corporations to donate money to Democrats and threaten those that might contribute to Republicans to withhold bailout funds, thus forcing them into bankruptcy.
4. An aggressive use of the powers created by Bush to take further control over the educational system.
5. The appointment of radical judges who will share Obama's vision of the constitution as a document of "negative liberties".

The danger to Republicans is real: if they continue on their present course, they will wander in the wilderness for a generation or more as Democrats will use every trick they can think to beat Republicans while blaming them for every problem. People love freedom but also crave order. Limited government doesn't mean much when one watches New Orleans drowning on ABC. Cutting taxes for investors enrages Americans who are bailing out Citigroup while sending nearly half of their paychecks to the tax man. Twain wrote "Principles only have full force when one is well fed." The principles of liberty, freedom, and enjoying the vision that is America will mean little as American are more concerned with how well-fed they are.

Republicans can avoid such a fate by taking a first step right now: make Newt Gingrich the Chairman of the Republican Party. What Republicans need right now is a leader, a leader who commands respect, has the intellect to see the big picture, is a true conservative, and isn't afraid to take the fight to the enemy. One rarely gets in trouble when one hires the resume and there are no Republicans right now with a resume as strong as Newt's. There are talented and smart individuals at the state level. Katon Dawson of South Carolina is a fantastic fundraiser and a fighter. He gets it. Bobby Jindal is probably the most talented Republican leader today. Governor Palin is fiery and popular among conservatives. However only Newt has the whole package: experience, intelligence, steel, and clout as Republicans simply can not afford a Chairman who requires a two-year learning curve or one who seeks the position just to help his buddy run for President.

Newt understands what is at stake, probably better than any other leader in the Republican party. He knows what it takes to build a party as he built one while the Bob Michels were waving white flags. He stood against his party in 1991 when it betrayed conservative principles on the tax increase and did it again when Paulson pushed his socialist bailout. When the idea of Republicans winning the House was unthinkable, Newt made it his crusade. He stayed true to the course as he fought Democrats, the media, and even Republicans who saw conservatives as more of a threat then they did Democrats. Newt and his fellow young Turks went from being a joke to a minor irritation to a Tsunami that surprised everyone.

Newt gives Republicans the intellectual and moral courage they need to do revitalize the party as well as the conservative movement. Republicans fail to realize it is hard for them to call Obama a socialist when they have Marxist blood on their own hands as they stood behind Paulson's nationalizing of the banks ( soon to be other industries). Newt was one of the few Republicans who understood the bailout bill for what it was and how angry Americans were. What was Newt's advice to Bush? Tear up the bill and get some "Reagan Republicans around the table" and craft a new bill. Instead, Republicans ignored their past Champion only to get hit by Bush and McCain's not so-friendly fire. While Republicans mindlessly mouth the once-hypnotic phrase "following the ideas of Ronald Reagan", Newt actually discusses ideas, not just worn-out talking points.

Some will question the choice of Newt Gingrich as RNC Chairman, saying Republicans don't need a pit bull. While the RNC Chairman must be pragmatic, Newt understands in order for Republicans to be successful, they must negotiate from a position of strength and avoid becoming the Democrat-Lite Party. A Chairman Gingrich will whip state parties into shape, forcing them to contest Democrats even in Districts where they think they are safe. Some state parties have become a joke and need to be taken over by the national party as they are virtually useless and in some cases, a hindrance to the Republican party. While the Repub

Change inspires more change. Conservatives need to take back the Republican Party from country-clubbers who only want conservatives around when they need votes. Republicans need a warrior priest, not a REMF who prefers a spa to a battlefield. Aa Reagan said so famously, it is a time for choosing. The question is whether Newt and the rest of the Republicans will choose wisely.

There were some good ones today.

A couple of us are looking at forming a club for Cavalier King Charles Spaniel Owners in Jackson. There are clubs in other cities. The breed plays well with each other compared to other dogs. This club could meet once a month at a place like Laurel Park where they can play. Email me at kingfish1935@gmail.com if interested.

Here are some clubs I found online from other parts of the country:
Bay Area Club
Northen Arizona Club
Houston Club
Southern Nevada
Cavaliers of the South Club

The woman who was kidnapped by George Bell III after he murdered her roommate sued Bell in Hinds County Circuit Court in September (Note: JJ waited to publish story as Bell was not served until recently).

In the lawsuit, she states:
"George Bell, III came into the Plaintiff's residence uninvited and abducted the Plaintiff at gunpoint whereby he took the Plaintiff to the Defendant's mother's house located at 4652 Trawick Drive, Jackson, Mississippi and held the Plaintiff against her will..."

The victim alleges aggravated assault, aggravated battery, false imprisonment, and intentional infliction of emotional distress were committed by Bell in his kidnapping of her (Mr. Bell already pleaded guilty to kidnapping the victim):
"George Bell, III abducted her at gun point and threatened to kill her, putting her in immediate apprehension of fear. That the actions of the Defendant, George Bell, III, were done for no apparent reason and without justification and in a grossly negligent, reckless, and intentional manner.....
The defendant committed an aggravated assault on the Plaintiff....
The defendant committed an aggravated battery on the Plaintiff...
The defendant committed false imprisonment against the Plaintiff...
The defendant intentionally inflicted emotional distress on the Plaintiff..."

The victim demands in the suit "compensatory, punitive, and any other damages.." The victim has not filed any actions against Robbie Bell at this time.

Copy of Lawsuit

Look at what you are getting along with her:
"Late last week, as stories swirled around Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's possible jump to the job of Secretary of State, another longtime Clinton aide's name began to crop up: former journalist and Clinton back-room consigliere, Sidney Blumenthal.
Should Clinton accept the Secretary of State job, Blumenthal, it is believed, will move to Foggy Bottom as a counsel to the secretary, a post that will not require Senate confirmation..." The Return of Sid Vicious

Go ahead, appoint Hillary. You've no idea what you will be getting if she brings him on board. You will rue the day you nominated the Cattle Futures Queen to Secretary of State.

Veteran and highly-respected LSU blogger Dandy Don writes a great analysis on Ole Miss's thrashing of LSU yesterday:
"Coach Houston Nutt of Ole Miss had his team ready to play and Les Miles did not, and I think it is time for all Tiger fans to admit that LSU is not a very good football team at this time. LSU is poorly coached on defense and has major problems on offense at the quarterback position. I am not ready to say that Les Miles is a bad coach because LSU went 11-2, 11-2 and 12-2 the last three years before this season and you do not go 34-6 and be a bad football coach. I am ready, however, to say that there will have to be major changes made in the coaching staff at the end of this season....." http://www.dandydon.com/

Sound like anyone we know here in Jackson? Or Florida?

I'm sure the ACLU and Obamabots would scream bloody murder but who cares? Take a lesson from the Master when dealing with pirates:
"After a short stay there with Nicomedes, the king, in his passage back he (Julius Caesar) was taken near the island of Pharmacusa by some of the pirates, who, at that time, with large fleets of ships and innumerable smaller vessels, infested the seas everywhere.
When these men at first demanded of him twenty talents for his ransom, he laughed at them for not understanding the value of their prisoner, and voluntarily engaged to give them fifty. He presently despatched those about him to several places to raise the money, till at last he was left among a set of the most bloodthirsty people in the world, the Cilicians, only with one friend and two attendants. Yet he made so little of them, that when he had a mind to sleep, he would send to them, and order them to make no noise. For thirty-eight days, with all the freedom in the world, he amused himself with joining in their exercises and games, as if they had not been his keepers, but his guards. He wrote verses and speeches, and made them his auditors, and those who did not admire them, he called to their faces illiterate and barbarous, and would often, in raillery, threaten to hang them. They were greatly taken with this, and attributed his free talking to a kind of simplicity and boyish playfulness. As soon as his ransom was come from Miletus, he paid it, and was discharged, and proceeded at once to man some ships at the port of Miletus, and went in pursuit of the pirates, whom he surprised with their ships still stationed at the island, and took most of them. Their money he made his prize, and the men he secured in prison at Pergamus, and he made application to Junius, who was then governor of Asia, to whose office it belonged, as praetor, to determine their punishment. Junius, having his eye upon the money, for the sum was considerable, said he would think at his leisure what to do with the prisoners, upon which Caesar took his leave of him, and went off to Pergamus, where he ordered the pirates to be brought forth and crucified; the punishment he had often threatened them with whilst he was in their hands, and they little dreamt he was in earnest."
Plutarch's Life of Caesar

http://www.tigerdroppings.com/rant/default.asp?b=6

OK, now that I've poured my bourbon and gotten that out of the way, here is my prediction. I think Ole Miss wins. Lee will probably throw another interception. Ole Miss is playing good ball and has shown improvement and more confidence every week. Meanwhile, LSU's defense has sucked all year for the most part as Miles refused to hire a proven defensive coordinator and instead promoted both his linebackers and defensive backs coaches to the position of co-defensive coordinators even though neither one had any DC experience at the 1A level. Defense plays soft zone too much, blitzes are predictable, players consistently out of position and play with poor technique. I think Ole Miss wins this one.

WLBT Story by Monica Hernandez

More evidence Jackson can't do anything right. One would think the Jackson Zoo would have learned its lesson in 2005 after some wild dogs killed most of the flamingos inside the Zoo but this being Jackson, learning from experience is something of an alien concept. How did some dogs get inside the zoo and kill some gazelles? Chris Mims, a Marketing Director at the Zoo, said "It's possible the dogs entered the zoo through the main gate during business hours and weren't seen". Clarion-Ledger Story

If that is the case, why hasn't anyone been fired? If the dogs got in through the front gate, then fire the person responsible? Has Frank Melton's habit of not taking responsibility for anything spread to the rest of Jackson's government? For a city that needs to improve its quality of life, this latest incident was just another example of what a joke city government has become.

Unfortunately, the amenities for the Jackson metro area have been lacking for some time even as a downtown building boom is taking place. There are few things outside of organized sports for families to do in Jackson. The reservoir, thanks to Bumbling Burwell, looks like a giant mudhole with NOTHING that adds to its recreational value (at least there was something when the Dock was around). There are no longer water parks, miniature golf, go-carts, or other activities for families to enjoy.

The Zoo is one of the few cultural icons in Jackson that draws visitors from around the state. The area around it looks like a wasteland and is not exactly the most desirable part of town to visit. Perhaps it is a bit much to expect Jackson to provide for the zoo all by itself. The Zoo is something that provides cultural value to the metro area, not just Jackson. Its one of the few attractions in the area for families that live several counties away from Jackson.

It might be time to look at removing the Zoo from Jackson's control and placing it under the direction of either the state or a board similar to the Pearl River Valley District where representatives from Hinds, Rankin, and Madison counties sit on the oversight board. Let the participating counties share in the revenues. The Zoo doesn't have to be at the world-class level of the Audubon Zoo or others but it should be something that does a better job than it currently does in representing Mississippi. Jackson AND the suburbs benefit from cultural offerings such as the Jackson Zoo.

What is wrong with this story?

Somali pirates, renegade Somalis known for hijacking ships for ransom in the Gulf of Aden, are negotiating to purchase Citigroup after its value dropped below $5 a share this week.

The pirates would buy Citigroup with new debt and their existing cash stockpiles, earned most recently from hijacking numerous ships, including most recently a $200 million Saudi Arabian oil tanker. The Somali pirates are offering up to $0.10 per share for Citigroup, pirate spokesman Sugule Ali said earlier today. The negotiations have entered the final stage, Ali said. ``You may not like our price, but we are not in the business of paying for things. Be happy we are in the mood to offer the shareholders anything," said Ali.

The pirates will finance part of the purchase by selling new Pirate Ransom Backed Securities. The PRBS's are backed by the cash flows from future ransom payments from hijackings in the Gulf of Aden. Moody's and S&P have already issued their top investment grade ratings for the PRBS's. What is more intriguing and could make ensure success for the Pirates is the use of credit default swaps that will be issued by Citi for this deal. The swaps will be kept off of the balance sheets in a move approved by the SEC.

Head pirate, Ubu Kalid Shandu, said "we need a bank so that we have a place to keep all of our ransom money. Thankfully, the dislocations in the capital markets has allowed us to purchase Citigroup at an attractive valuation and to take advantage of TARP capital to grow the business even faster." Shandu added, "We don't call ourselves pirates. We are coastguards and this will just allow us to guard our coasts better."

Art Laffer of Laffer Curve fame and whom I greatly respect, unfortunately blows it on this one. I bet these guys are not laughing now. Ben Stein calls it an "unbelieveable buying opportunity". Stein calls subprime "a tiny tiny blip". Video is worth seeing.

Mish rips Citi's claim short-selling is responsible for its slide in the market, wondering out loud why Citi is paying dividends when it needs capital while he scrutinizes some Citi statistics:
"Citigroup is blaming shorts when the short interest is under 3%. That's ridiculous. If Citigroup does not understand this, it is a sign of incompetence. If Citigroup does understand how ridiculous their claim looks (and is), that is additional support for the desperation thesis.
Note the dividend. Citigroup is paying a dividend when it is clearly in need of capital . Is that a sign of arrogance or incompetence? That Citigroup is in this mess in the first place is clearly sign of incompetence somewhere..." (Disclosure: The Kingfish once worked at Citi and can say you have no idea how badly screwed up the management of that company is.)
Citi's Incompetence Its a good analysis of Citi and Mish delves into the issue of over $600 billion Citi is keeping off of its balance sheet and how much of those assets might be toxic.

Mish also writes an interesting post about The Collapse of Treasury Yields and uses some strong language in describing the futility of the Fed's lowering interest rates and what kind of shape the economy is in:
"Any cuts by the Fed now are purely symbolic. The Fed Funds Rate is effectively zero. Remember the claim that paying interest on reserves would put a floor under the Fed Fund Rate at 2? Another Bernanke academic solution meets real world experience.....
A "cloak a declining inflationary environment” is not what we have. We have outright deflation not disinflation. Yes, we are mirroring Japan...."

Has anyone heard such vinegar from Cramer or Varney?

Over at The Market Ticker, Karl Denninger bulldozes ahead with his daily dose of unvarnished truth. Mr. Denninger states the economy and markets will not improve until:
"1. Paulson is fired and his policies cease.
2. We have transparency in balance sheets - for every firm on the exchange. No exceptions. All Level 3 asset mark models and assets identified - period.
3. Bernanke withdraws all his alphabet soup programs or is removed from office and his successor does, and the "crowding out" in the credit markets ceases.
Its that simple, and all three must happen before we will see any sort of sustainable bottom put in.
This doesn't mean we can't have "rip your face off" rallies - we both can and will.
But the market and economy will not bottom until the three things above are done, and the only way that is going to happen is when you make it happen...." Paulson Must Go

However, Mr. Denninger doesn't stop with Paulson but instead redirects his artillery towards conservative idol and so-called genius, Ben Stein who was last seen looking of for Mr. Buehler:
"Ben Stein needs to be locked up - or BBQd and eaten - for penning this article:.....
"Mr" Stein is an ass - and that's being polite.
This sort of "beggar thy neighbor" concept - that is, mass and intentional devaluation of one's currency (what else do you think happens if you "reflate" by throwing money around?) is precisely how we wind up with a hyperinflationary depression, which is far worse than a deflationary one.
Deflationary depressions are nasty business, but they are created by governments who attempt to stimulate economies beyond the point of reasonable credit and business growth, thereby guaranteeing a deflationary bust...."

He doesn't stop with Mr. Stein nor does he carry him for a few rounds but instead brings up his predictions from the beginning of this year:
"In fact I distinctly remember Mr. Stein being unabashedly bullish back in January of 2008. Indeed, here's what he said January 4th of this year:
'This isn't a development to strike terror into your hearts -- if you're a long-term investor, it signals a time to buy. (As I've said many times, if you're a short-term investor you can just skip my column.) The history of stock market investing is unequivocal on this point: When the market is low, when the economy is in a recession, it is -- in the long run -- by far the best time to buy.'
Such a wonderful record you have there Mr. Stein! Why, you'd only have lost what - 40% of your money listening to this buttclown (the SPX was at 1440, more or less, on the date that column was published, down ~125 pts from its top! That was a time to buy?!)..." Will Listening to Ben Stein Win you Money?

Ouch!

Our last stop is over at RedState where Blackhedd muses on the earthquakes in the bond markets today and how we are now in the realm of negative interest rates where under some scenarios right now insitutions are paying investors to borrow money. He finishes with a sobering statement: "we’re witnessing a temporary, short-lived effect. But it’s like a major volcanic eruption, or a nine-magnitude earthquake. It won’t last for a very long time, but it will produce a completely unpredictable amount of lasting damage.." Bond Market Earthquakes