Jackson Jambalaya

Hmmm.....lets take a whack at the congressional races first. I think Taylor wins by 3. I know its starting to trend Palazzo's way but I think some of it is noise I hear from conservative websites. The polls are showing a shift but it still comes down to GOTV effort. North Mississippi? Nunalee by 5. Childers is no wild-eyed liberal but he's in a somewhat red district in a red year. Nunalee is not the best candidate but he's been running hard for a long time and its paying off. District 2? Bennie by 10. I know what that poll circulating around the web shows but I'm skeptical of it. Bennie's running hard and given the demographics of the district, I don't see Bennie losing this one. JFP had a story tonight questioning the poll and truth be told, I'd had similar thoughts myself. Harper gets 60%.

Judicial races? Weill wins by 15. Farmer and Priester make the runoff. Gowan wins his race (don't know enough about that one to predict the margin). Houston Patton's race? Who knows. He should be in jail but true to form in Mississippi, he probably returns to office by a comfortable margin. I predict Emfinger wins his race for circuit judge. Madison County Court? Longwitz 48% Bluntson 23% (I think Bennie turnout helps up in the northern precincts) Ratcliffe 25% Whatshisname 4%.

Interesting Congressional races nationally? Buck by 4 in Colorado. Rubio wins 52% of the vote in Florida. Fiorna by 1 in California. O'Donnell loses by 6 in Delaware. Dems screwed up with that Gawker crap as I warned and is now creating a backlash. Toomey by 3 over Sleastack. Feingold goes down. WV Governor pulls it out. Reid loses to Angle. Miller beats back Murkoswki. Paul-are you kidding? He kicks Conway's ass as the polls currently show. Scott wins governorship of Florida and Patrick goes down in Massachussetts. And yes, I think Barney Frank will win. Should be fun Tuesday night.

Weill, Marcy, and Longwitz all purchased advertising on this site, something all candidates are welcome to do, regardless of party, even "The License Plates Are Too Damn High Party".

Jackson crime reports for week ending October 24, 2010.

Jackson major crimes overview for week ending October 24, 2010.

City of Madison crime reports through October 27, 2010.

Apparently the race on the coast is now a tossup between Gene Taylor and Steve Palazzo. There is also a third tea-party" candidate who apparently just endorsed Taylor:

"Tea party candidate Joe Tegerdine of Hattiesburg, who lost the Republican primary for South Mississippi's congressional seat to state Rep. Steven Palazzo, has endorsed incumbent Democratic U.S. Rep. Gene Taylor in Tuesday's general election." AP story

Weird? There may be a possible explanation. The American Spectator reported today:

"Yet the Democrats have other tricks up their sleeves this year. In many close races, third-party "independent" candidates appear to be running primarily as spoilers against Republicans, hoping to drain off enough anti-incumbent votes to enable Democrats to survive by narrow margins. In Nevada, for example, Scott Ashjian's is running as the "Tea Party" candidate for Harry Reid's Senate seat, although actual Tea Party activists there have denounced Ashjian as a phony, and Republicans suspect the Ashjian campaign is actually a Reid stalking horse. In other races, as Politico reported this week, Democrats appear to be "attacking" minor third-party candidates as a way to draw away conservative voters from the Republican challenger.

Here in Virginia's 9th District, businessman Jeremiah Heaton is on the ballot as an independent candidate. As Virginia conservative blogger Jerry Furhman notes, Heaton doesn't seem to be running against the incumbent Boucher, but instead "has chosen to devote his every energy to attacking the Republican in this race." With Boucher and Griffith in a dead heat, votes for Heaton might be enough to keep the Democrat from paying the price for supporting Obama's agenda in a district where the president is deeply unpopular." Article

Things are not always what they seem to be.

Here is a copy of the State Auditor's report on Madison County. 75 pages long. Read the letter to Tim Johnson and then the Executive Summary. Tim and his gang of five have a press conference scheduled for later this afternoon. There is some interesting reading in the report. Have fun. See Tim Johnson's response at the end if the report.

Update: See this post for copy of report.

Note: Have copy of report but am having trouble uploading it. If you want a copy NOW, shoot me an email and I'll send it to you. Kingfish1935@gmail.com

State Auditor Stacy Pickering released the following report on Madison County's employment of Rudy Warnock as County Engineer. If you read the earlier post reporting on the preliminary report, there is apparently one statement removed by Mr. Pickering's office such as: "Contracts are geared to protect engineer's interests instead of Madison County taxpayers." Read the press release for yourself.


"(Jackson, Miss.) - State Auditor Stacey Pickering released the Performance Review of Madison County Contracts with Rudy Warnock. Based on the limited review done by the State Auditor’s Performance Audit Division, it is OSA’s recommendation to Madison County to improve its oversight and management controls.

“This report includes a review that can be helpful to many counties and cities across Mississippi to ensure the taxpayers are protected against potential loss as a result of weak contracts,” said State Auditor Stacey Pickering. “Contracts are an important part of management and operations for local governments but it is critical that all of the necessary precautions are taken by elected officials and management when entering into and executing contracts.”

The following issues were identified that create control weaknesses and could lead to potential losses to the County:

• The Board not requiring sufficient documentation supporting payment claims
• Seemingly poor contract construction approved by the Board
• Poor oversight and monitoring of contracts by the Board in light of voiced concerns by individual supervisors
• Potentially duplicative payment terms allowed in contracts

• 22 were properly spread upon the Board minutes
• 8 lacked an effective date
• 9 included titles and/or headings that did not correspond with the actual work described or the effective dates of the contract.
• 10 included, for multiple services, flat rate/lump sum payments in addition to percentage payments and additional reimbursable payments which, when added together, resulted in more than 14$% of the total estimated construction costs per project
• 18 provided reimbursement for expenses that might normally be considered overhead expenses covered in lump sum payments.
  
• 15 contained inapplicable terms and contract sections.
  
• 6 lacked estimated construction cost totals, even though this amount is the basis of the percentage payments and even though there is a place in the contract designated specifically for such an amount.

Update: What a surprise. No mention of this in the JFP coverage of the meeting yesterday. Also notice how Ms. Ladd takes issue in the comments with Mr. McGowan addressing the Board. How dare private citizens petition the government.

For a collection of all posts on the Evans case, see Evans page under Special Coverage section on right side of page.

Bill O'Reilly had a representative from CAIR on his show last night. The mouthpiece for the terrorist-sympathizing organization claimed Iran has not attacked anyone in the last thirty years. Watch for yourself at 3:40:

Judge Kidd set bond for Charles Louis Kuebler at $250,000.

The hearing scheduled last week on a motion to dissolve a temporary restraining order obtained by David Moore Bonding Company against former employee Mike Ivy was canceled last week. David Moore Bonding Company obtained a TRO enforcing a non-compete agreement against Mr. Ivy on September 3, 2010 after he began working for American National Bonding Company. Mr. Ivy filed a counter-claim on September 14 and a motion to dissolve the TRO on September 23. The administrator told this correspondent both parties desired a half-day for trial and they are waiting to get a date on the Chancellor's docket (which she said was pretty backed up.).

Mr. Ivy, a former police officer with JPD and the Hinds County Sheriff's office, signed a non-compete agreement on March 8, 2010 with DMBC (See page 3 in documents below). The agreement states Mr. Ivy is prohibited "directly or indirectly from competing with the company within a 120 mile radius of Jackson, Mississippi for a period of two years from the date of termination voluntarily or involuntarily."

Mr. Ivy was fired by DMBC on August 6, 2010. Mr. Ivy alleges in his counter-claim he was returning from transporting a prisoner to a "facility in South Mississippi". Mr. Ivy returned to Jackson later that day and became "involved in the search and rescue" of Officer Agee. Mr. Ivy then claims he gave CPR to the officer and thus ignored his cellphone as it was ringing. Mr. Ivy finally answers his phone several minutes later, was cussed out by DBMC co-owner Mark Culberson, and that Mr. Culberson then told him he was fired. Mr. Culberson allegedly left a voice-mail stating he was fired. Mr. Ivy then accuses DBMC of threatening and harassing him via cellphone.

The Clarion-Ledger reported Mr. Ivy said at the September 16 hearing: "He told me I wasn't a cop any longer and when he calls I should answer the phone," Ivy said. "I told him if he thought I'd stop doing CPR on anybody, much less a police officer, and answer the phone he was wrong." The newspaper article reports Mr. Moore claimed at a September 16 hearing he tried to work with Mr. Ivy and Mr. Ivy was absent from work frequently.

Mr. Ivy ends his counter-claim by asking the court to award him $6,000 in commissions he claims are due him by his former employer. Mr. Ivy also took issue with the claim he was an employee as he states he was an independent contractor responsible for his own taxes, insurance, and that no withholding by DBMC took place.

Interesting case. The non-compete agreement is time and geographic specific. Mr. Ivy argues he was an independent contractor but courts can enforce such an agreement even if he was not an employee. The issue will probably be whether the rest of the agreement is so vague it is unreasonable and if the issue of termination voids the agreement. One curious part of this litigation is Mr. Ivy states Mr. Culberson owns 50% of David Moore Bonding Company yet the Secretary of State's website states Mr. Moore is the only owner of the company. Another example of why Delbert wants to reform the LLC registration laws. While this seems as a dispute between an employee and his employer, one hopes Mr. Ivy was not fired because he did indeed stop to aid a fallen officer.

"Republicans lament 2008, but they profess hope for 2010:

'One indication of the Republicans’ mood: They’re already looking past this grim election season.
“2010 looks pretty good for us to pick up three or four or five seats pretty easily,” the McCain official said.'

Boy, delusional to the end. As I've written before, the 2010 map looks even better for us, on paper, than this one did earlier this cycle.... "


"So off the bat, we have 13 potentially competitive GOP-held seats, and few Democratic takeovers. So no, 2010 won't give Republicans 5-6 "easy" pickups. That's ludicrous.

Things will be much different in 2012 and 2016 when we're slated to play HUGE defense (defending our gains from 2006 and this year). Republicans can brag about the gains they'll make those years because chances are they will. But 2010? Heck no. At this pace, we're headed toward a 65-70-seat Democratic majority in the Senate by the end of 2010.

Yup, those are gaudy numbers, and it's never wise to count your chickens before they hatch -- political winds can change quickly as Republicans just found out. But assuming the current trends remain and Obama is even half-competent in the White House, we'll have little to worry about in 2010. Our majorities should be safe for some time." Read the rest of the analysis

Postgame: I don't know what I hate the most: the soft D scheme used by Chavis that let Newton have a field day, the decision not to attack one of the worst secondaries in college football, the decision to use Jefferson over and over, the Les Miles confusion at the end of the game that is typical for him, Crowton's insistence on sitting in the booth with his assistants with all their charts spread out in front of them v. an Auburn OC who is on the sidelines and has his playbook memorized, or the fact that in a few weeks Saban will probably give a lesson on how to stop Newton. Auburn won fair and square and unfortunately my post about Miles from 2007 proves true once again.




Time for the Tigers to beat the hell out of Auburn. And the Valley Shook has two good blog posts discussing the best ways to attack Auburn's offense and defense. They are both lengthy but should be good reading for the serious fan. Meanwhile, the New York Times of all newspapers published a pretty good story about Drake Nevis. Let me see, Mississippi State plays UAB, should win that one. Ole Miss and Arkansas? Sooie. Consider this an open thread for college football.

Then there is this gem of a screw job by the refs in 2006 at Auburn:



Replay official's daughter was on athletic scholarship at Auburn at the time. Auburn, not a damn thing I like about that school in Alabama. Nothing but inbreds and trash. Cheatin' and chop-blockin' are a way of life at Auburn. Yeah, I know, Tuberville is gone so we can be nice to them. To hell with that. Auburn can go straight to hell and stay there.

Judge Winston Kidd held a bond hearing today in Hinds County Circuit Court on a motion to deny bail filed by the Hinds County District Attorney against Charles Louis Kuebler. A Hinds County grand jury indicted the twenty-six year old Mr. Kuebler on September 28, 2010 for the crime of Deliberate Design Murder in the death of Tamra Stuckey on June 30, 2010. A Jackson municipal court judge had set his bond at $100,000 when first arrested. Judge Kidd revoked his bond on October 18 and decreed he would settle the matter of bond for Mr. Kuebler today.

Scott Rogillio represented the state while local criminal defense master Tom Royals appeared on behalf of the defendant. The state called Jackson Police Homicide Detective Maurice Kendrick to the stand. The seven-year veteran is the investigating officer for the case. He testified he arrived at the scene between 2:00 and 3:00 AM after other police officers were already present. He testified Mr. Kuebler was "yelling and screaming". He went inside the Morningside apartment and found Ms. Stuckey lying on the couch with a gunshot wound to the head.

Mr. Kendrick then testified on the results of the investigation. Mr. Kuebler had residue caused by the discharge of a firearm on his right hand. The state crime lab conducted a "drop test" on the gun. The gun did not fire when dropped and the detective stated "the only way to discharge is to pull the trigger." Mr. Kendrick also stated the gunshot wound showed the shot was straightforward and firearm could not have been fired from an upward or downward angle. He said there were "a large amount of beer cans" as well as traces of marijuana and cocaine. Mr. Kendrick testified the defendant was "intoxicated" although he admitted there was no BAC test taken at the time. Sadly, the detective further testified the toxicology results on the deceased showed she had drugs in her system.

Mr. Royals then went on the attack as he asked the detective if he was "passing judgment on him for yelling and screaming" in reference to some of the racial slurs Mr. Kuebler directed at the police. Mr. Kendrick repeatedly said he does not "pass judgment" on such comments, as befitting someone his experience and training. Mr. Royals finally gave up with this line of questioning and moved on to his next line of attack.

Mr. Royals then postulated through his questions Mr. Kuebler killed her by accident and claimed Mr. Kuebler reported shooting to his neighbors, asked for help as well as for someone to call an ambulance, made no attempt to escape or destroy evidence, and the gun was dropped. The exchanges between the attorney and police officer revealed several statements made by Kuebler that horrific night: "I think it was an accident", Me and Tammy had been fooling around and the gun went off, and "no, I think you have the whole story". Mr. Royals repeatedly argued the defendant never actually said he dropped the gun. They sparred further over the actual statements before Mr. Royals closed by arguing there were no witnesses, no confession, and it was a circumstantial case. The noted attorney claimed Mr. Keubler was "hysterical" and didn't act like someone who committed "premeditated murder."

The prosecutor responded in a manner worthy of Voltaire by stating "people lie, circumstances don't" and the defendant did indeed tell one of the neighbors it fell to the ground. At this point testimony revealed a text message was sent by Ms. Stuckey to a friend between 1:30 and 1:50 AM stating "wake up, I need your help". Friends of Ms. Stuckey told this correspondent it actually said "wake up, save my life".

Mr. Royals then called Laura Kuebler, the mother of the defendant, to the stand. Several friends and family of the defendant were in attendance. She testified he had been in the Common Bond Treatment Center. The prosecutor got her to admit her son had alternated between school and various jobs since he graduated from high school but never actually got a degree, not even one of the Associate's variety.

The two sides made their closing arguments with Mr. Rogillio stating "this man killed that young lady". Charles Louis Kuebler sat impassively through the entire ordeal, staring straight ahead as he appeared to be in a fog. Mr. Kidd ruled he would decide the matter this afternoon but a few minutes ago, sources said he had taken the motion under advisement and would decide in his own time.

Majority in Mississippi reports a Tarrance poll showing Palazzo up by two points over Taylor. Huge upset if this poll is true. I'm still predicting Taylor to win with 52% of the vote but Palazzo can take this seat. Also seeing some astroturfing operations taking place. Wonder if its Sam Hall's work. Time will tell.

Jackson crime stats for week ending October 10, 2010

Major crimes overview for Jackson in week ending October 10, 2010.

City of Madison crime reports through October 20, 2010.

The third annual Blues by Starlight will be held on October 21, 2010 at Highland Village. The night will be filled with food & beverages, a silent auction, and music by Jesse Robinson and his 500 Pounds of Blues Band, Hunter Gibson and the Gators. Our newest addition to the event is the "Beer Garden" that is sponsored by the Phoenix Club of Jackson and Southern Beverage. There will be a big screen television to watch the football game , cigars provided for purchase by Renegade Cigar Company, and music by Bubba Wingfield. For more information, visit the website.

Porter Bingham and his Malachi Financial Products are finally registering with the SEC as a "municipal advisor". Guess he wants to make another $80,000 while advising a city to refinance their bonds on a deal that will cost an additional $8 million. Mr. Bingham and Malachi have both been suspended and disciplined by the NASD.. Mr. Bingham's Form MA-T he is filing an initial temporary municipal advisor registration with the SEC. Guess he found himself some municipal gravy trains.

Don't have time to read this right now but PEER just released its report on the Levee Board. Copy of report

Consider this an open thread about who you think is represented in The Help. This should be fun.

While digging through old issues of the Jackson Advocate, I came across this blast from the past involving Frank. He was always good for a headline. Enjoy.

Fred Barnes, Editor of the conservative magazine The Weekly Standard, writes in the Wall Street Journal this week about the increasing irrelevance of the RNC despite the expected success the GOP expects at the polls in two weeks:

"Republican National Committee (RNC) Chairman Michael Steele is the missing person of the midterm election. Instead of cable news appearances and debates with Democratic counterpart Tim Kaine, Mr. Steele has spent the past month leading a "Fire Pelosi" bus tour across the country.

His small role in the campaign, highly unusual for a party chairman, is matched by the scaled back effort the RNC has mounted in 2010..."

Nature abhors a vacuum and politics is no different. What is interesting is the poor job Steele and his cronies have done in picking candidates and raising money:

"Since Mr. Steele was elected chairman last year, the RNC has raised almost $153.7 million, roughly $90 million less than in 2006. It has aired only a few TV ads and its get-out-the-vote (GOTV) drive is considerably less ambitious than in previous midterm elections...

"The need to bail out the RNC arose last year after it quickly ran through $22.8 million and had trouble replenishing its war chest. Reliable donors were turned off by Mr. Steele's overexposure in the media, his insistence on making paid speeches as chairman, and statements that put him at odds with other Republican leaders.

The RNC brought in $9.7 million in September, $4 million short of its goal. This compares with $11.2 million raised last month by the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC), which supports House candidates. And the RGA, led by Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour, raised $31 million in July, August and September.

JJ reported back in August a contractor obtained a garnishment against the Lost Rabbit development $585,017. Lost Rabbit filed a motion to set aside the judgment in July stating yes, we failed to pay BUT we've been talking to the creditor and he promised to be nice to us and let us work something out so its not really fair he is trying to make us pay in this venue. The Court took the motion under consideration and said sorry, but you still have to pay up in this order denying the motion to set aside the garnishment.

A subcontractor filed suit last week against Lost Rabbit as well seeking damages. Site Technologies claims it did landscaping work on the development and was not paid for its services. Vision Landscapes hired Site but did not pay Site. Site sued both companies in Madison County Circuit Court on October 15 seeking $296,738 in damages as well as interest costs at 8% since November 2009 and attorney's fees. Copy of complaint. Stay tuned.

Well, she is gone. I'm supposed to think of something eloquent to say but I can't. I just helped Monica Hernandez finish packing, loading up the truck as she left for New Orleans where she will now work at WWL. Its a great move up for her to a great station. There is no doubt she will shine and become a little star in the Crescent City.

All good things come to an end and having Monica Hernandez in Jackson is one of them. She simply brightened the day just by being herself. She's been my best friend for the last two years. Road trips to New Orleans, lunch or dinner several times a week, endless conversations, talking about journalism and Led Zeppelin for hours on end, she was truly a delight to be around. We'd go to Guadalupe just so she could speak Spanish with the owners. I'd have to literally drag her out of museums as she would become totally enamored with the art on display. It was always amusing to walk into a soiree with her and watch the jaws hit the ground when people saw her. Culture and class define Monica in the way it does women of past eras yet she is a free spirit, always ready for a new adventure.

Often we covered the same topics and it was always alot of fun to bounce what we thought of them off each other. I remember when she covered the Heather Spencer police reports. I got the reports, called her at 6:00 PM on a Friday, told her I had them. She came right over and read them while I cooked dinner. I'll never forget how horrified she was or the anger that appeared on her face. This was a reporter who really does care about the victims and thinks of them as something more than a headline. It didn't matter she wasn't on the clock or would not get paid overtime; what mattered to her was telling the story and helping someone who was no longer in this world. People meant something to Monica and in her opinion, they all had a story to tell.

Well, wish Monica luck as she makes her splash in the Big Easy. She will never have a shortage of stories to cover in that town. Best of wishes to you Monica and thank you for all the memories and times spent here in Jackson. You will be missed.

Jerry Mitchell, the award-winning reporter for the Clarion-Ledger, reported on a Nazi wannabe running for Congress: "Turns out a congressional candidate in Ohio likes to dress up like a Nazi." Mr. Mitchell then takes a few select quotes to give the impression this guy really likes the Nazis. One can almost picture Mr. Mitchell's glee as he writes his post: "Hot diggity damn, we got ourselves a Nazi. Got a Nazi Got a Nazi Got a Nazi Its my birthday got the check Got a Nazi Got my car fixed Its my birthday" Well not so fast. See the picture below from a Toledo newspaper:

No surprise. Les starts JJ. We suck. Puts in Lee, touchdown. Les was even cussing out Crowton on the headset. State up by ten right now and Ole Miss gets to take its lumps tonight. OSU is looking like what I thought they were right now: a pretender. Wisconsin is flat out overpowering THE Ohio State University.

Now if the 24 can just win tonight he'll be back in the Chase.

Fire away with comments.

See "Special Coverage" section on right side of page for collection of all posts on Karen Irby case.

Gaye Lang, the mother of Karen Irby, received permission from Hinds County Chancellor Singletary to file an amended complaint in her lawsuit against Stuart Irby. Ms. Lang seeks custody of Graham Irby, the five-year old son of Stuart and Karen Irby.

Ms. Lang also filed a notice with the court on October 7 stating Judy Barnett is currently representing her in the case.

Kingfish note: This just became a farce.

Check out Lumberton's, especially the last thirty seconds. The bj references are not made about the Mayor. Apparently a blogger who covers all things Lumberton, had a comment on his blog that accused a city employee of conducting said you know what with a couple of aldermen. The two people at the end of the video who stood up and mentioned it were accusing him (he was at the meeting) of approving of the accusation. Apparently the blogger practices comment moderation so it doesn't appear on his website unless he ok's it. The video is still pretty entertaining.

WJNT cancelled the Kim Wade show. The local talk radio show was a fixture in Jackson for over ten years, as Kim gave hell to liberals on a daily basis. Mr. Wade sent me a press release to post on this site. It's sad this disagreement came to this point. I know some of the guys over at WJNT and they've always been pretty nice to me. I understand the dispute, but think sending out a press release is pouring fuel on the fire to some degree and can be counterproductive. However, Kim does have a right to be heard and many will wonder why he is no longer on the air, so his press release is presented in this forum. It's a shame his show will no longer be on the air, but these things do happen. Kim has always been a man of principle and not the kind to back down when he thinks he is right, as he makes clear in his press release.



"Effective immediately The Kim Wade radio show broadcast on WJNT NEWSTALK 1180 am has been canceled. Kim Wade was informed of the cancellation @ 9:20 am this morning by Stan Carter operations manager for WJNT on the instructions of station manager Kevin Webb.

Kim Wade’s firing centers around a real estate commercial which aired on the Kim Wade’s Wednesdays afternoon show promoting a competing multiple listing service www.midsouthreb.com for real estate agents. “It was over the top”, Stan Carter’s voice mail said…….what exactly was over the top was not explained.

Wade was informed by Stan Carter Wednesday morning that a competing multiple listing service ran by the Association of Realtors informed the station they objected to my paid interview with Larry Mayall on Wade’s Tuesday broadcast that promoted the independent Mid South Real Estate Board’s multiple listing service.

Larry Mayall, a broker with First National Realty(firstnationalrealty.com) with licenses in Tennessee, Mississippi and Arkansas, is offering a independent multiple listing service that will make a seller’s property available to a 100% of licensed real estate agents and the public at $100 dollars a year cost to agents.

This is in contrast to the existing multiple listing service operated by the Association of Realtors which is reported to charges agents several hundreds a dollars a year in dues fees and penalties to be a member. In further contrast to the Mid South Real Estate Board, the Association of Realtors including their multiple listing service places restrictions on public access to their website’s listings and can and does restrict viewing of their listings by non members of their small group. This is, in Wade’s opinion a potential breach of an agent’s fiduciary responsibility to their seller

Thus, their members pay through the nose for a service, that in Wade’s opinion, fails to deliver to the seller services for which sellers believes they’ve contracted and agree to pay commission.

The new competitive business model of Mid South Real Estate Board gives the home seller more of what they are paying an agent for….exposure of their home to a greater number of potential home buyers and 100% of licensed agents.

The reason why access this should be of importance to you is the Associations of Realtors does not have to, and often times does not allow non-Realtors to receive commission for selling you home if it is listed with a Realtor. Consequently, your home could be just right for a purchaser who is represented by a non-Realtor real estate professional, who happens to make up over 50% of the real estate professional in America today. This can effectively keep a lot of people from seeing your home, especially when a real estate professional who represents a potential buyer will not be paid a commission.

The Association of Realtor’s multiple listing service closed and dated approach to marketing a property owner’s property. The Association of Realtors multiple listing service is, by it’s very make up in, Wade’s opinion an obstacle to the timely selling and effective marketing of your property. Hence, a unnecessary obstacle to fully fulfilling an agent’s state mandated fiduciary responsibility.

Wade noted the objection from this source had grown more pronounced after recent radio broadcasts highlighted what he believed were inefficiencies in the delivery of real estate services that borders on corruption, fraud if not out right racketeering perpetrated against the seller’s of real property and other who are parties to the real estate transaction.

Wade expressed disappointment in WJNT’s management decision to reject the free market principles of open competition and fair play. Principles that WJNT and it’s stable of urban stations themselves employ in the local radio market. Wade also asserts these free market principles has long been the hallmark conservative talk radio. Wade will continue to stand for those principles whether they are popular or it cost him the opportunity to come before you daily.

Wade acknowledges the Association of Realtors right to exercise it muscle to attempt restrain competition in this area. Wade remains confident that they will fail in their attempt to prevent the public from receiving the benefit of superior services and lower prices offered by Mid South Real Estate Board and First National Realty.

Wade noted the Association of Realtor is replaying the failed tactics the travel agencies employed 15-20 years ago before Expedia.com and Priceline.com crushed them like grapes in the market place.

Wade contends, consumers looking for a better deal and superior services will not be denied those services. “At Mid South Real Estate Board and First National Realty we have that in spades”, Wade noted!

“We’ll beat em like drum in the marketplace”, Wade exclaimed confidently.

You can contact Kim Wade at his website www.kimwadenoexcuses.com for further development to this story."

Jackson Jambalaya is now on Twitter. Monica H had been on me for months to get one but I waited until the day after she left town to get an account. Now you can follow this site on Twitter at kingfish1935.

Well, I must have gotten someone's attention with the Ali Shamsid-Deen Chronicles. Our good friend Adam Lynch over at the JFP interviewed Mr. Shamsid-Deen. Want to guess what the first topic was? His old Jackson Advocate columns. Mr. Lynch asked "As a Jackson Advocate editor, you made statements some might describe as anti-white, such as saying that then-Mayor Kane Ditto had a “slave-owner mentality.”

How did the learned jurist respond? Mr. Shamsid-Deen replied:
"Well, keep in mind that those articles were published almost 20 years ago. What may have been true then may not necessarily be true now. All of us who have any amount of intelligence have the power to adapt to the times and the situations we’re living in. You have to take into account the context of things that were happening at that time. It was a different world then. My attitude toward Kane Ditto then, for example, may not be the attitude I have toward him and his policies now. I haven’t spoken to Mr. Ditto in ages."

Well, let us post some of what he wrote because it wasn't just about Mr. Ditto:

"He is one of the "Spooks who sat by the door Ne****s". We know the one's. "I'm Black and I made it. My race didn't keep me back." (On Clarence Thomas)

"Sister Souljah knows just like the rest of us know that African American gang members know how to stay on the side of the law enforcement and that is by victimizing the African American community."

"Mayor Kane Ditto's attitude is typical of that slave-owner mentality. He is smart enough to realize that his political future in Jackson and indeed Hinds County depends upon how well he is perceived in the African American community. He is like the old slave owner who put African American overseer over the rest of the slaves because he thought that this would make the slaves work better for him."

"In his political thinking and this solution to this situation is to simply fire a xxxxxxx and hire another xxxxxxx. His thinking is that all we see is skin color anyway and not result. Well, we intend to prove Mayor Ditto's thinking wrong."

"Once again the Clarion-Ledger quoted their trusted Negro intellectuals to add support to their deceitfulness. These Nexxxxxs are used to try and convince the rest of us that white is always right. These intellectuals are supposed to be experts in using reason, yet they stare facts in the face and come up with totally illogical conclusions to aid the white folks cause."

On Grace Simmons, current Editor of the Clarion-Ledger, when she was a reporter at the newspaper:
"It is absolutely shameful that we as African-Americans have to endure this type of attitude from the caucasian media and it is pitiful of an African-American such as Ms. Simmons to be so caught up in imitating the 'white folks' that they are of no use to us. They act as if everything that we as African-Americans do is wrong and that everything that the 'white folks' believe is right. They really believe that they are different from the rest of us just because 'white folks' say so....

Wake up Grace, you are chasing the dream of being excepted by the 'white folks' too hard. This will cause you to lose credibility with everybody, including the white folks that you are in awe of."

There is plenty more of where this came from in Mr. Shamsid-Deen's columns, which I've made available on this website. Mr. Shamsid-Deen has no business whatsoever being a Circuit Judge. What Mr. Lynch should've asked him is if he thought Grace Simmons was still an Uncle Tom or if the newspaper still uses "trusted Nexxx intellectuals". He might have asked him if he thought Harvey was a tool of "caucasians" or asked him why he used the N word.

I write this post as a supporter of Jeff Weill. Make no bones about it. I think out of all the candidates, he is the best one for the job by far. However, there is a difference between a the typical opponent who simply holds different positions than Mr. Weill and a racial bomb-thrower such as Mr. Shamsid-Deen. Reading those columns gives one the sense that not only would whites not get a fair hearing in his courtroom but neither would blacks that he thought weren't "black enough".

Judicial races are boring for the most part as the candidates are handcuffed in what positions they can take. However, few, if any, candidates in recent memory have written things on the same level as Mr. Shamsid-Deen. Any regular reader of this site knows he would be called out for his columns regardless of whom I support. Someone should put his columns in front of him and ask him point blank if he still agrees with all of these quotes posted above. There is a place for Mr. Shamsid-Deen in our society but it is not on the bench, despite all the whitewashing (pun intended) by certain publications

The Clarion-Ledger reported a few weeks ago something that stirred up quite a few people in Rankin County:

"Rankin County School District officials have spent at least $25,000 in federal funds to buy about 50 iPads for principals and district department heads, as well as school board members.

District officials say the gadget, with a price tag starting at about $500, helps educators stay mobile and abreast of new technology....

The district had received about $116,000 in federal E-rate money, a grant used to improve Internet connections and related infrastructure for districts. About $25,000 of that was used to buy iPads for principals who didn't have enough money at their schools to buy the devices, Delaney said...."

Well, it being the Clarion-Ledger, I just knew there was more to the story so I..... longtime JJ readers know what is coming........ submitted a public records request to the Rankin County School District for the federal grant application, the federal grant guidelines, and any applicable user agreements for the ipad users.

Well, it turns out there was no federal grant as reported by the newspaper. Universal Service Administrative Company is a federal agency "that oversees an E-Rate program with the FCC" according to a letter provided to JJ by the District (page 1 of documents below). The District is eligible for discounts on telecommunications plans. It can receive the discount in the form of lower monthly bills or pay the full amount each month and then receive a lump sum rebate at the end of the year from the telecommunications provider. It should be noted that a district has to apply for the rebate in order to receive it. The Department of Education is very aggressive in making sure all Mississippi school districts apply for the discounts.

The District chose the second option and received a rebate of $116,343 (see pages 17 & 19). Amanda Harris, the Technology Coordinator for the District, said $100,000 was spent on network switches for the schools. While the Clarion-Ledger reported over $25,000 was spent on Ipads, the District only spent $16,740. Ms. Harris also informed me the District spoke to the reporter for several hours. Unfortunately for the readers, the newspaper still got it wrong in that there was no federal grant used and the amount was overstated by approximately $10,000. Ms. Harris told this correspondent USAC prefers that any money from said rebates should be spent on technology.

Ms. Harris said the main purpose of the Ipad was to get the principals out of the office and into rest of the school. Principals too often are chained to their desks because so many tasks now require the use of a computer. The Ipads allow the principals to "get out into the field" while staying connected to duties normally handled in the office. If a principal has to stop by a classroom, he can access a student's records on his Ipad. A principal can now take notes while observing a class or handling a problem. That is the logic behind providing the principals with Ipads. Some will wonder why the principals do not instead use laptops. Ms. Harris explained the Ipads have a battery life double that of the laptops, handle most of the tasks required of a laptop, and costs much less than a laptop.

Ms. Harris also said the users do not use 3G networks. Ipads are equipped with either wi-fi or 3G capability. The Districts Ipads are of the wi-fi variety so there are no extra data usage charges since all schools have wi-fi networks. The same technology use policies apply to the Ipads as other District assets.

The District also did not purchase over 50 units as reported by the Clarion-Ledger. Ms. Harris stated in an email to this correspondent today the District purchased 30 Ipads at an average cost of $558 each. The cheapest versions, 16GB, were purchased in ten-packs to reduce the cost even further and warranties were purchased.

It is quite clear the decision to purchase Ipads is a controversial one for many people. Equipping the administrators with new tools if it will help them do their job while freeing them from the office is a respectable goal and should be pursued. However, while it is clear these are tools for principals and other employees, one hopes one man's tool is not a school board member's toy and there are good reasons for providing school board members with Ipads as well. Hope this post clarifies the story somewhat as there were more than a few comments made when I mentioned this a few weeks ago. Time will tell if this was the correct decision.

Jackson crime reports for week ending October 3, 2010.

Jackson major crimes overview for week ending October 3, 2010.

City of Madison crime reports through October 11, 2010.

This is one of the last installments of the Ali Shamsid-Deen Chronicles. Hope you've enjoyed them. The candidate for Hinds County Circuit Judge wrote a few things after a suspect died while in police custody. There was a huge controversy back in the early 1990's after a series of jailhouse suicides took place. Mr. Shamsid-Deen wrote:

"The message is clear to us in the African American communities around this state and this country. If we can not get justice from this system that we have, then other actions will be taken. I don't intend to be vague here. Whatever response that we bring forth due to the pain and suffering that this system impose upon us is justified by the fact that it could have been avoided by insuring justice for us in same mannter as it is given to caucasians."

Threat? I report, you decide.