Category: Mississippi

Closing Thought–03Jul20

News from the Deep Deep South–Mississippi.

The Mississippi virus report…..

New Cases and Deaths as of July 1

New Cases

870

New COVID-19 positive test results reported to MSDH as of 6 p.m. yesterday.

New Deaths

10

New COVID-19 related deaths reported to MSDH as of 6 p.m. yesterday.

Mississippi’s totals……

  Confirmed Probable Total
Cases 28,573 197 28,770
Deaths 1,074 18 1,092

I was not a supporter of Tate Reeves when he ran for governor…but I will admit that he has done an excellent job handling the pandemic……he has put the opening up of Mississippi on 01Jul20 on hold….for now….

With coronavirus cases in Mississippi on the rise, Governor Tate Reeves announces a pause in the re-opening process.

Governor Tate Reeves took to Facebook yesterday to announce the state will not be ready to fully reopen.

“The plan had been to fully reopen by July 1st. That’s not happening. Our re-opening is paused and we’re considering what we need to do going forward. That was not an easy call,” Governor Tate Reeves said.

He went on to say that things are getting worse, not better.

(deltanews.tv)

Mississippi gets lots of revenue from the operations of casinos in the state……Even the money grubbing casinos have issued their demand that masks be worn….

You may listen to the news here…..https://m.magnoliastatelive.com/2020/07/02/mississippi-gamblers-told-to-mask-up-in-casinos-starting-friday-night/

Mississippi also made the news recently by abandoning the rebel flag as the state symbol…..and Reeves signed the law…..

But I want my readers to see how racism is ingrained into the media here…..

We’ve been hearing about racism much more frequently the past several weeks, but it’s not because racism just appeared. Quite the opposite, in fact.

Racism is sewn into the fabric of America and it doesn’t always look like overt racism. In fact, it doesn’t even always look like the microaggressions that we feel or see on a daily basis. The language we use is filled with racism that we don’t even realize or see. I like to call this “sneaky racism.” It’s sneaky because it is spoon fed to every American from birth through death, and if you aren’t made aware so you can look for it, it will pass right by you, creating what’s known as implicit bias.

https://www.upworthy.com/implicit-racial-bias-in-the-media

Any Thoughts?

As this holiday begins please…..be well and be safe…..and above all enjoy your time off and smile…..

“lego ergo scribo”

Finally! (Flag Update)

Closing Thought–29Jun20

I have written about the state of Mississippi and its attempt to change the state flag with the CSA symbol on it…..https://lobotero.com/2020/06/27/mississippi-flag-again/

And I’ll be damned….after many many decades of trying to change the racist symbol……the legislature finally did the right thing…..

It’s almost done: Mississippi lawmakers on Sunday passed a bill to change the state flag. After voting Saturday to suspend legislative deadlines and file the bill, the GOP-controlled state legislature held debates on the bill Sunday and voted, with the House passing the bill 91-23 and the Senate then opening its own session and ultimately passing the bill 37-14. The Mississippi Clarion-Ledger has a detailed timeline of how the day went. The bottom line: The current flag, which features the Confederate battle emblem and is the last remaining state flag to include the Confederate flag symbol after others dropped it, will be scrapped. A nine-member commission will start the process of selecting a new flag, and residents will vote on that new flag in November. If rejected, the process will start over again and another vote will be held in November 2021.

The bill prevents the Confederate battle emblem from being included on any future designs. The state’s Republican governor, Tate Reeves, who on Saturday agreed for the first time to sign the bill, said Sunday that he won’t do so immediately. “The governor does not want to rush this moment in history for our state,” a spokesperson said. “Once the legislature sends the final bill to his desk and he’s had the opportunity to review it, Gov. Reeves will sign the bill in the coming days.” Though polling had shown until earlier this month that a majority of state residents wanted to keep the flag as-is, the latest polling shows 55% of Mississippians are ready for a change, CBS News reports. “Big salute to EVERY university in this State that helped,” tweeted Kylin Hill, the Mississippi State All-SEC running back who, per AL.com, threatened to sit out the season if the flag was not changed. The NCAA, SEC, and Conference USA all decided not to hold championships in the state if the flag was not changed.

The governor has stated that if passed he would sign the bill of the change……we will see if that was just idle BS or he truly wants the state to move out of the past.

What flag will they use….a historic flag or design a new one?

I am proud of Mississippi for finally doing the right thing.  Now the state needs to keep progress moving forward.

Watch This Blog!

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

The Saharan Dust

First….I take MoMo for her walk at 5 am because it is a bit cooler…that is until this morning…..at 5 am it was 90 degrees with 85% humidity….just a flippin’ joy. (sarcasm)

Now onto the Big News for the Coast……

This weekend the massive dust cloud that originated from the Sahara should make it to our neck of the world….the problem is we may not get much spectacular sights for it is forecast to be overcast for most of the week.

So I will post photos if I get a chance….until then how about some facts about this “cloud”……

Expansive dust clouds arise from the sun-baked Sahara each year, making the 5,000-mile journey across the Atlantic Ocean to the southern United States. While these dust plumes tend to stay intact while traveling across the ocean, they typically diffuse by the time they hit the Caribbean. But this year, things are different.

This month’s dust cloud is more resilient than usual—its dust is so opaque and thick that it can be clearly seen from the International Space Station, while its predecessors have been ghostly and faint from space. Astronaut Doug Hurley photographed the cloud from the ISS on June 21, tweeting, “We flew over this Saharan dust plume today in the west central Atlantic. Amazing how large an area it covers!”

These dust plumes, called the Saharan Air Layer (or SAL) are born when severe wind storms strike the Sahara. Entering the Atlantic Ocean at the Intertropical Convergence Zone, the plumes catch on to the trade winds, which run east-west along the equator.

The dust is already covering Caribbean skies, and Gulf Coast states like Texas and Louisiana should expect to confront this vast cloud on Wednesday and Thursday. Before the cloud enters the US here’s what you should know about the plumes.

https://www.popsci.com/story/environment/sahara-dust-plume/

That is all I have for this Sunday….hopefully you learned a bit and were entertained…..come Monday it is back to the news in the spotlight…..

Be Well…..Be Safe…..

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

 

Mississippi Flag (Again)

I got some news yesterday at the eye doctor….after 4 hours of test and waiting…..I gotta go under the knife in July…..a bit of dread on my part.

Now for some positive news from Mississippi……

My state made the news….well my city made the news when they voted to stop flying the state flag on government buildings……of course I had to write about this……https://lobotero.com/2020/06/22/that-flag-thing-again/

Over the past few years there has been a move to replace the flag from the Reconstruction years……and it appears that there is a good chance there could be some success…..

Mississippi lawmakers who want to remove the Confederate battle emblem from the state’s flag appear to have enough votes in the state Legislature to make the change, a senior state lawmaker said Friday.

State Rep. Robert Johnson III, the Democratic leader of the state House of Representatives, told NBC News that all the needed votes “appear to be there.”

A vote on the measure is likely on Saturday.

Mississippi is the last state in the nation whose flag features the Confederate emblem.

“Supporters of a flag change worked through the night to secure the remaining votes necessary for a successful vote to change the state flag,” Johnson said. “The votes to make that change are there in the House and appear to be there in the Senate. There very well may be a first step taken today in the House by passing a rules suspension to take up a bill to remove the current state flag.”

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/mississippi-appears-have-enough-votes-change-state-flag-senior-lawmaker-n1232216

This is the statement released by the Lt. Governor Delbert Hosemann…….


“I rise before you today to discuss the flag of our State.

This discussion is not prompted by fear of loss of economic development, although virtually every economic developer in our State has indicated opportunities and employment of our citizens will be adversely affected.  Further, it is not prompted by the impending loss of student athletes’ ability to compete for championships, although that has occurred.  Further, I recognize many of our citizens are proud of their individual ancestors, some of whom fought in battle 150 years ago.  I am one of those citizens.  

While important, these issues are not controlling.

What is compelling to me is the future of our children and grandchildren.  They will learn together, they will work together, and they will worship together.  Those who wish to fly our flag should not be typecast in any fashion.  Similarly, those who are offended by our flag are sincere in their beliefs.  The physical acknowledgements of our history are our guideposts and buoys which helps us to avoid reefs in the future.  Destruction of history fails to change it and, over time, opens us to repeat it.

…..Read On…..

https://www.myfox23.com/single-post/2020/06/24/Lt-Gov-Hosemann-releases-statement-on-Mississippis-flag

We will see if the Good Old Boys Network kicks in and turns back to progress….or will Mississippi finally be on the right side of history.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

That Flag Thing Again

Closing Thought–22Jun20

I recently wrote about my city voting to take down the offensive Mississippi flag….and flag another state flag…..the Magnolia Flag……read my thoughts on this…..State Flag Is Gone! – In Saner Thought

Now the beleaguered state flag is under assault again….this time from the NCAA……

Mississippi is the only state in the nation to still feature the Confederate symbol, which consists of 13 stars and a blue cross, on its flag—and that hasn’t escaped the NCAA’s eye. Now, the college athletic organization’s Southeastern Conference is warning the state that if it doesn’t nix the symbol from the flag, it risks a big consequence. “It is past time for change to be made to the flag of the State of Mississippi,” reads a Thursday statement from SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey, noting if that significant tweak isn’t made, the conference will mull keeping SEC championship events out of the Magnolia State. “Our students deserve an opportunity to learn and compete in environments that are inclusive and welcoming to all.”

ESPN notes there hasn’t been an SEC championship game held in Mississippi since 2016. In a 2001 referendum, voters in the state opted to keep the flag as is, but after the death of George Floyd and a resurgence of Black Lives Matters rallies, the outcry to change the flag was re-upped. Among those who’ve joined that call: the University of Mississippi and Mississippi State University, both SEC members that say they’ve been lobbying for years for this change. “Mississippi needs a flag that represents the qualities about our state that unite us, not those that still divide us,” reads a statement from University of Mississippi Chancellor Glenn Boyce and his vice chancellor for intercollegiate athletics, Keith Carter. A bipartisan proposal to change the flag has been submitted to the state’s Legislature.

We will see just how far a bi-partisan proposal will go n the “good old boys” club of Mississippi.

Before some unknowing dolt tries to give me heritage BS…the present flag was adopted in 1894….had more to do with post Civil War sentiments than anything historic…..read a book!

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

State Flag Is Gone!

Closing Thought–18Jun20

My city of Gulfport has voted to take down the state flag and replace it with the original flag……

Outside Gulfport City Hall, the Mississippi flag is nowhere to be found, but the Magnolia Flag is. On Tuesday afternoon, Gulfport city leaders decided to take down the flag in a seven-to-zero vote.

Top is old flag— bottom the new flag…called the Magnolia Flag…..

Republican lawmaker proposes a two-flag solution in Mississippi ...

That alone is a big move but I would like for you to read the comments…..

Gary L Lee
·6h ago
I think it is a disgrace and a dishonor and very offensive to our founding fathers that they would even think of removing the state flag if that is the case they need to remove the Martin Luther King holiday because all he had was a dream at least our founding fathers took action and made our nation what it is this is not for every race it is for the ones that cares nothing for nation that wants to destroy it
Joe Cruthirds
·7h ago
That looks like a Christmas tree with bad lights. Or could it be a cotton bush? It also looks like it belongs in a cartoon movie. They need to just leave the flag like it is.
Painman 58
·15h ago
You should read history of confederates/civil war before you comment. And Mr. Choctaw, did you know the Texas Rangers were formed to hunt down and slaughter Mexicans, and Indians?
 
Painman 58
·15h ago
The confederates should fly a white flag, after all they lost & funky Lee surrendered on 04/09/1865 @ Appomattox.
 
Susan Bridgman
·15h ago
leave the flag alone what is it hurting anyone my goodness.
User from MS
·16h ago
This is Bull Shit & no I not a southerner I was born and raised in Pennsylvania! The US Navy Brought me to Mississippi in 1985 & I’m still here 23 years of Military Service & I still can’t believe what I helped fight too protect our History & our Future freedoms are being manipulated like it is!! That’s all I got to say about that. 🇺🇸✌🏻😎
 
Danielle Hampton
·16h ago
That’s an ugly flag, surely they can do better than that
 
Frankie Moran
·17h ago
you have got to be joking city leaders want to promote black heritage but the hell with everyone else’s heritage no I am not a white supremacists I am Choctaw
These are interesting and illustrate a couple of things….one most of the commenters need to return to school and learn some Mississippi history….and two the heritage thing….true cover for a racists that is too cowardly to admit they hate.
 
My choice was the flag called the Bonnie Blue Flag….
 
Bonnie Blue Flag
 
Why this one?
 
It is the flag I fly at my residence.
 
Gulfport is within the boundaries of the short lived Republic of West Florida….In 1810, a small group of Americans living below the thirty-first parallel in Spanish Florida rebelled against Spain and established the Republic of West Florida. The flag adopted by that short-lived republic was a field of blue with one white star, an emblem that would later be heralded in song and verse as The Bonnie Blue Flag. The Republic of West Florida was eventually annexed by the United States and its territory was divided between Mississippi and Louisiana.
 
If interested I have written about the Republic previously….https://lobotero.com/2012/09/22/the-republic-of-west-florida/
 
“lego ergo scribo”

Good News For South Mississippi

Our area has not been the hot spot for the Covid-19 but we have had many cases and deaths….but yesterday we got some good news….

Live updates June 1: New COVID-19 cases in Harrison County, no Coast deaths for 5 days

Total cases for South Mississippi are:

George — 25 (0 new cases for three days)

Hancock — 91 (0 new cases for two days)

Harrison — 261 (3 new cases)

Jackson — 307 (1 fewer cases)

Pearl River — 209 (0 new cases for three days)

Let’s hope we are as lucky for longer.
 
Be Well….Be Safe….Be Careful…..
 
“lego ergo scribo”

News No One Can Use

In a fit of whimsy I thought I would give my readers some news that means nothing to anybody.

First up is the news that in the UK research is being done to see if dogs can spot Covid-19…..

Dogs are to be trained to try to sniff out the coronavirus before symptoms appear in humans, under trials launched with £500,000 of government funding.

Dogs have already been successfully trained to detect the odour of certain cancers, malaria and Parkinson’s disease, and a new study will look at whether labradors and cocker spaniels can be trained to detect Covid-19 in people.

Researchers at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine will carry out the first phase of a trial in collaboration with Durham University and the charity Medical Detection Dogs.

https://www.theguardian.com/science/2020/may/16/uk-researchers-hope-dogs-can-be-trained-to-detect-coronavirus

In my state there are churches that have been fighting the stay at home thing….now one has been torched…..

A Mississippi church that defied coronavirus restrictions was burned to the ground early Wednesday in a suspected arson case. “Bet you stay home now you hypokrits,” read a spray-painted message on the ground near the doors to First Pentecostal Church in Holly Springs, a city of 7,600, Maj. Kelly McMillen of the Marshall County Sheriff’s Department tells the New York Times. The graffiti also included an atomic symbol with the letter “A” in the middle, which the Times notes is used as a symbol for atheism. The church had sued the city in April over its stay-at-home order, arguing it interfered with officials’ right to free speech and ability to worship. A church lawyer says police cited the pastor for holding an Easter service and later closed a Bible study. A video shows church members confronting city officials at a local Walmart on Easter.

Personally I think these people were idiots and a bit ridiculous….but to burn down the church is a bit extreme…..

Our oceans and landfills and wilderness are all chocking from plastic….now there may be a solution…..

Beer and soft drinks could soon be sipped from “all-plant” bottles under new plans to turn sustainably grown crops into plastic in partnership with major beverage makers.

A biochemicals company in the Netherlands hopes to kickstart investment in a pioneering project that hopes to make plastics from plant sugars rather than fossil fuels.

The plans, devised by renewable chemicals company Avantium, have already won the support of beer-maker Carlsberg, which hopes to sell its pilsner in a cardboard bottle lined with an inner layer of plant plastic.

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/may/16/the-end-of-plastic-new-plant-based-bottles-will-degrade-in-a-year

We now have electric cars, buses….but what about planes?

A prototype jet engine can propel itself without using any fossil fuels, potentially paving the way for carbon-neutral air travel.

The device compresses air and ionizes it with microwaves, generating plasma that thrusts it forward, according to research published Tuesday in the journal AIP Advances. That means planes may someday fly using just electricity and the air around them as fuel.

https://futurism.com/the-byte/jet-engine-powered-electricity

Enough of the news you cannot use…..

Be Well….Be Safe….

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Covid-19 Fraud In Mississippi

In the recent past a pharmacist and a doctor and his son were nailed for prescription fraud against Medicare…..well it seems that we also have some d/bags that were hoarding supplies in this time of emergency….

A pharmaceutical company owned by Ocean Springs developer Kenneth Ritchey is accused in a federal court case of hoarding scarce personal protective equipment needed during the COVID-19 pandemic, with federal agents recovering a trove of respirator masks, face shields, gloves and other items from the business.

FBI agents raided Gulf Coast Pharmaceuticals Plus LLC on North Halstead Road on April 17, but Southern District U.S. Attorney Mike Hurst declined then to comment on the investigation.

Ritchey is a former business partner of Clark Levi, a pharmacist who owned Lovelace Drugs in downtown Ocean Springs before he died in a car crash with his wife.

I Read, I Write, You Know
 
“lego ergo scribo”

Famous Mississippian And Welfare Fraud

One famous Mississippian is one Brett Favre…..he went from Delisle in Hancock County to University of Southern Mississippi to Atlanta Falcons to Green Bay Packers where he made a name for himself in football that lead to the Hall of Fame….

Since his retirement he has had his fingers in many things but the one thing that did not add to his good name was he being named in a welfare fraud case……

Former NFL quarterback Brett Favre is repaying $1.1 million in welfare money that he received for multiple speeches where he did not show up, the Mississippi state auditor said Wednesday. Auditor Shad White said his office received $500,000 from Favre on Wednesday, plus a commitment that Favre will repay the other $600,000 in installments over the next few months, the AP reports. Favre’s effort to repay the money came two days after White released an audit of spending by the Mississippi Department of Human Services that showed Favre had been paid by Mississippi Community Education Center, a nonprofit group whose former leader has been indicted in a welfare embezzlement scheme. The center had contracts with Human Services to spend money through the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program, also known as TANF.

In an audit, White said his employees identified $94 million in questionable spending by the agency, including payments for sports activities with no clear connection to helping needy people in one of the poorest states of the US. The audit released Monday said the center paid Favre Enterprises $500,000 in December 2017 and $600,000 in June 2018, and he was supposed to make speeches for at least three events. The auditor’s report said that “upon a cursory review of those dates, auditors were able to determine that the individual contracted did not speak nor was he present for those events.” In a Facebook post Wednesday night, Favre said he didn’t know the payments he received came from welfare funds and noted his charity had provided millions of dollars to poor kids in his home state of Mississippi and Wisconsin, where he played the bulk of his Hall of Fame career with the Green Bay Packers

Not to worry this situation will not tarnish Favre and he will continue to be the hero of every wannabe quarterback in South Mississippi.

For Favre can do NO wrong.

“lego ergo scribo”