Jackson Jambalaya

Notice the number of pundits who tell you, "Oh, even if that were eliminated, it wouldn't make any difference". Crawford refers to such cuts as "a pittance".

In other words, Crawford is OK with DEI since its elimination wouldn't save much money. To hell with the money that might save! What about the harm that will be done by NOT eliminating DEI. A monetary savings will be a bonus.

But thanks for wasting over half of a non-sensical article on a Haley Barbour plan from twenty-five years ago.

yet again shad is right. the only growth industry that has ever existed in past 80 years in mississippi is the growth of government.

and yes mr crawford after reading your resume , it seems you were instrumental in quite a bit of governmental growth considering you have been ''employed'' in state government most of your life.

if you ever took the time to study state government you would find the creation of layers of fat thicker than a state fair hog.
first up are the ''boards''.......theses places go by a lot of names such as districts, commissions, agencies, units, associations, ect.
all created by the legislature and ''staffed '' with political appointees who get big saleries and benefits for basically doing next to nothin.

state government has hundred of these boards and agencies , many of which you have never heard of.

now lets go on to the real government fat cats.
administrative agencies..............also all created by the legislature and used by politicians to hand out high paying government jobs all with, mind you, full benefits, in order to do , once again, next to nothing. the pearl river valley water supply district , also known as the reservoir, is a classic example. that's an agency that should be dismantled by the legislature and the land handed back to the respective counties of rankin, madison, scott and leake , where it could actually be run by elected officials who are accountable to the taxpayers. the PRVWSD currently has no accountability to anyone including voters and taxpayers.. all administrative agencies are run this way.

you didn't know that?........ well,......now you know.

I strongly favored Barbour's plan. We know it works because the states that already did those things prospered as a result and could redirect money to communities for better streets and other local services.
DEI was and is intended to give those who might not otherwise be able to compete because public and rural schools in MS can't compete with private schools or city public high schools that are well funded.
All of you miss that Mississippi schools like all other schools in the country are given a numerical weight by have a numerical weight by colleges and universities that go into evaluating the likelihood that a student will be able to compete.
IHLs understand that two brilliant students with the same drive and IQ do not come equally prepared academically.
One of our best high schools had kids expelled because they plagiarized. They had NOT been taught to footnote a term paper. The didn't know what plagiarism was! And, many private schools have a dismal record of college graduation for their former students.
I am so tired of politicians that don't bother to learn or hire someone who is knowledgeable before they knee jerk out policy they think will appeal to equally ignorant on the subject constituents.
This is the kind of dumb we get when money and brawn and personal ambition is valued more that competence and expertise when it comes to solving problems.
The Cheneys are not the only Republicans who will not vote for a man who bankrupted businesses and a damaged little boy with a chip on his shoulder who thinks he raised himself with no help from anyone.

We always say what’s needed but no one does a darn thing! We need a fresh batch of forward thinkers in public office not just broken promises. The legislators and senators in Mississippi are a joke! Forget what your small minded constituents want you to do and vote what is best for Mississippi. But I know, I know that when you get in office money and influence trumps what is the best for all Mississippians!

You started out good, but then your TDS kicked in.

Your understanding of DEI is totally wrong. That program only exists to further divide the people, and put unqualified people in positions of responsibility.

@10:29 just admit that you are a neocon warmonger who wants perpetual wars and trillions upon trillions of unaccounted for dollars to the military industrial complex. Y’all are terrified Trump will turn off the flow of cash that funds the Ukrainian/DC corruption pipeline that is identical to Iraq/Afghanistan.

Ole Shad is spending $2.5 million with a Boston consultant to come up with suggestions for saving State dollars. Seems ole Shad could have taken Gov. Barbour’s list & saved $2.5 million. The real growth in State funding is instead of State employees doing their job is to hire consultants like ole Shad is doing.

We elect too many politicians to do a job then they have to hire consultants to tell them how to do their job. Why not elect someone who knows how to the job in the first place? We have too many politicians holding down a job they know nothing about. I am beginning to think we have too many people voting who should not have the right to vote.

Bill:
The DEI criticism is not limited to improper expenditures of taxpayer monies; it’s more about the divide it engenders between black and white citizens of our state.

I don't think Bill Crawford likes it very much that DEI nonsense is being questioned. That's sacred to a liberal.

What is the level of immorality needed to think standing with Dick Chaney is a virtue?

Calling DEI “mostly harmless” renders every opinion in this piece and future pieces invalid.

Crawford finally hits on over the wall. And all the folks who are falling for Shad's b/s on DEI ought to look at what the universities are actually doing in their DEI programs (assisting veterans, assisting new students, and assisting those with special needs - it ain't any of the crap that Shad is trying to portray using letters that are designed to raise the ire of those who don't read deeply or think for themselves).
Glad to see Crawford be on the right side of an argument for once (he used to do it often, but lately, not so much.) Barbour actually put forth many ideas on how to downsize government, but of course since they attacked some highly entrenched lobbies (community colleges being one of the biggest), they of course went nowhere with the democraticly controlled legislature. Too bad that rep from the delta changed her vote on the speaker on the third ballot; could have gotten rid of that old line bullcrap and maybe actually made some serious improvements into state government operation.

But then, we finally got control of the legislature but lost Barbour and got -- PhilBilly - who had no interest in reforming, only wanted people to admire his boots and belts.

Shad was appointed to this job as a favor because he ran Bryant’s second Governor campaign. Shad never stopped campaigning. That’s all he knows.

Crawford thinks highly of himself. So a politician suggests ways to “trim the fat” yet he compares these ideas to another politician’s ideas 25 yrs ago. What does one have to do with the other? And what’s up with Crawford now using bible verses? Liberals quoting the Bible is very humorous. I appreciate KF posting Crawford nonsense. It’s free entertainment.

Crawford says, "All worthy goals but with price tags far exceeding his proposed savings."

Crawford makes this broad statement with nothing to back it up.

Same ole Bill.

10:21 will tell you EVERYTHING you need to know about state government.

10;21 makes a great point about administrative agencies. back about 2008 the legislature created the MISSISSIPPI DEPT OF MARINE RESOURCES, which was to administer to our puny little 40 miles of gulf coast frontage.

question remains...why couldn't a part of the already existing mississippi dept of wildlife and fisheries manage that?


but noooooooooooooooo.........mississippi politicians needed yet another administrative agency to hand out high paying jobs too. and of course as much a they could steal. i guess the legislature thought it would be sexy to have a saltwater commission, after all florida has one.

they ended up appointing some paper doctor , not a medical doctor, to the directors position. i can't remember his name but the name was featured prominently on his federal indictment which was handed down after about his 4th year as director, accusing him and his dirt bag son of embezzellin several million.

the only thing this guy ever doctored on was his flip-flam schemes. that clown would not have known a redfish from a cocahoe minnow.

said director eventually pled guilty and did a couple of years in a federal ''club fed'' style prison and is still fighting with the feds on how much he needs to repay. all that money he stole was of course spread around to the politicians that got him the job in the first place.

any of you jj keyboard jockeys remember that one, or is that just ancient history when it comes to the pepsi generation?

Should we believe you over Mr. White? If you had presented proof to go along with your opinion, you would have been believable.

That is a fantastic post, because it's true.

Highlighting the non-idiotic activities of DEI does not cover up the idiotic ones. LGBT retreats. Events about “whiteness.” Oh, but the military. Sorry, no one’s falling for that sleight of hand.

In 2014, the previous director of the agency, Bill Walker, was convicted of public corruption and sentenced to five years in prison. Under Walker's leadership, the DMR spent almost $1.4 million on recreational fishing boats leased from Walker's private foundation. A former DMR employee said Walker used the boats 95 percent of the time for entertainment.