Category: Mississippi

Closing Thought–04Oct19

From time to time I write about the events in my state of Mississippi……this time it happened only about 30 miles from where I live in the training facility known as “Camp Shelby”…..

Looks like the paratroopers got caught in a situation……

Eight-seven parachuting soldiers were blown into trees, 32 were injured and 18 of them hospitalized, including one who suffered a broken back during a night training exercise at a Mississippi military training center, officials said Thursday.

The soldiers were among 650 jumping in to open a 10-day training exercise at Camp Shelby, a 134,000-acre (525-square-kilometer) National Guard site that includes a joint forces training center for active and reserve service members, officials said in a news release.

Lt. Col. Matthew Myer, commander of the 1st Battalion, 501st Infantry Regiment, wrote on Facebook that the soldier with the spinal injury was among 18 who “required care” and are all expected to recover. The one with a broken back was operated on successfully and “is expected to recover well,” he wrote.

He said 87 soldiers from the 4th Brigade Combat Team (Airborne), 25th Infantry Division landed in trees. At least four lodged so high up that the fire department had to help get them down.

https://newsradiowrva.radio.com/articles/ap-news/32-parachuting-soldiers-hurt-18-hospitalized-mississippi

Glad to hear that all involved will recover…..

Just an FYI…some of the record sized Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnakes come from around the area of Camp Shelby….I personally saw one that was just short of 7 feet….but that was many years ago……

“Lego Ergo Scribo”

Hope all have a wonderful weekend ….be well, be safe.

Where Are Those Tourists?

Closing Thought–10Sep19

My region is a mecca for sun worshipers and more recently gamblers…..

I live on the Gulf Coast and we have people on our beaches year round…..but for the last couple of months the beaches have been empty…..the only activities has been the machines used to groom the beaches…..why is this?

Ship Island Excursions has survived hurricanes, global recessions, a world war and a host of economic challenges since the ferry company began taking passengers to the barrier islands that dot coastal Mississippi in the 1920s. But this year, a new threat has emerged: an explosion of blue-green algae, or cyanobacteria, that has shut down virtually all of Mississippi’s beaches since July 4. 

No one knows when the algae will disappear, and many wonder how many businesses that operate in the region will survive the hit. 

“Beach vendors have been wiped out,” said Louis Skrmetta, operations manager for Ship Island Excursions. “I’ve never seen something so dramatic. It’s very similar to the BP oil spill…people are frightened to just walk in the sand.”

Scientists have never seen anything like this before in the ocean off’s Mississippi coast ― blue-green algal blooms are normally confined to fresh-water species. Mississippi officials say the bloom is the result of record flooding this year in the Midwest, which has pushed a deluge of polluted, nitrogen-rich water down the Mississippi River. It has forced state officials to issue water and health advisories warning people to stay out of the water and to avoid contaminated seafood. 

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/algae-mississippi-gulf-of-mexico_n_5d715cc6e4b03b3b730a914a

Oysters are big business down here and 90% of the reefs are dead and will take years to come back.

The only creatures that are enjoying the serene days are the several bird species that use these beaches for nesting.

Plus the casinos have helped some of the businesses survive this down turn….a hit below the belt to a region that depends on the waters and beaches of the Gulf for their livelihood.

We will make it through….we did for Katrina and then from the BP spill and now this…..a lot of hits and the people keep smiling and trying…..am hardy bunch indeed.

“Lego Ergo Scribo”

Mississippi Makes The News (Again)

I live in the state of Mississippi and from time to time we make the news….usually it is some disaster like a hurricane or tornado but we seldom make the news when it comes to voting because the state is so red it feels like a smothering heat.

But recently we had an election for governor and our new touch screen machines made your choice for the voter….

Facebook user in Mississippi has posted a video showing touch-screen voting machines changing votes during Tuesday’s Republican primary runoff election for the governor’s race. The video shows a voter trying to cast their ballot for Bill Walker Jr., only for the machine to change the vote to Tate Reeves.

Some citizens, however, are having trouble making their vote. Voting machines in at least three precincts have rejected votes for Waller, selecting Reeves instead. The error does not appear to have affected all of the machines.

According to the Clarion Ledger, a machine at the Burgess precinct in Oxford — the machine in the above video — refused to register a vote for Waller. Before the error was detected, 19 votes had been cast on that particular machine.

https://www.newsweek.com/touch-screen-voting-devices-are-automatically-changing-votes-mississippi-1456445

Not to worry it was only a “glitch”….but how many “glitches” does it take to swing an election?

The more I see stories like this the more I feel that the US voting is becoming more and more like some third world dictatorship…

“Lego Ergo Scribo”

Storm Approaches

Here we go!

The first named storm for the Gulf…Barry.

New Orleans was bracing for a likely hurricane Thursday as Tropical Storm Barry formed over the Gulf, the second named storm of the 2019 Atlantic hurricane season. Barry is expected to make landfall along the Louisiana coast as a hurricane Friday night or early Saturday, AccuWeather reports; if it does reach hurricane status, it will be the first hurricane of the season. A state of emergency has been declared in the state and mandatory evacuations have been issued in some places. Winds are expected to be relatively weak, per the AP, but “our greatest concern is for torrential rain that would result in life-threatening flooding,” an AccuWeather hurricane expert says. Rainfall totals are expected to average 10 to 18 inches, and parts of Mississippi and Arkansas are also in danger of flooding.

The storm could be a test of the flood-control improvements made in New Orleans since Hurricane Katrina; on Wednesday, it had already caused flooding in the city due to a massive downpour. The Mississippi River is already high, and the expected storm surge could possibly send water over the levees and into New Orleans, though Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards said Thursday that is not expected to happen, per the AP. He said the high water forecasts for the river have gone down slightly since Wednesday, but noted that a change in the storm’s intensity or direction could renew the possibility of the levees being overtopped. This is expected to be the first time a hurricane makes landfall in the state when the river is already at flood stage. New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell also warned that the slow-moving storm could dump water faster than the city’s pumping system can drain the streets.

Since I am on the East side of the storm massive rain is coming and some high gusts of winds….we may lose power…please bear with me for I will return as soon as it is possible.

MoMo has the right idea……

I leave you with the words and music of Jimmy Buffet…..

Maybe Randy Newman would be good…….as well…..

I shall return!

Have a good day and peace be with you.

Closing Thought–24May19

I live in Mississippi, the heart of the Diabetic Belt, and our insulin is anything but inexpensive…..$349 a month……the disease is about 11.3% of the population……

The Diabetes Belt?

So when I read of someone, a state, that is trying to make a difference for its residents I take notice……and Colorado is that state……

Diabetics in Colorado who use insulin to control their blood sugar levels won’t pay more than $100 per month for the drug starting in January thanks to a bill signed into law by Gov. Jared Polis on Wednesday.

“Today, we will declare that the days of insulin price gouging are over in Colorado,” Polis said in his office as he signed the bill, according to CBS Denver.

Insulin has been around for nearly a century, but the price that patients with Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes pay for the drug has doubled since 2012, according to the Healthcare Cost Institute. The cost of insulin can creep up toward $1,000 for those whose health care coverage requires significant cost-sharing.

https://www.denverpost.com/2019/05/23/colorado-insulin-price-cap/
 
Makes me wonder why a state that is not on the top 10 list for diabetes would be the first to try and control the price of insulin……it should have been a top priority for a state like Mississippi or Alabama……but that would presume that the elected ones actually care about their voters….FLASH!  They Do Not!
The highest cases of diabetes…….
 
  1. Mississippi (11.3%)
  2. Alabama (11.1%)
  3. West Virginia (10.7%)
  4. Louisiana (10.3%)
  5. Tennessee (10.2%)
  6. Oklahoma (10.1%)
  7. Kentucky (10.1%)

You would think these 7 states would be the most interested in helping the sufferers of diabetes…..well you would be mistaken….the poorer the state the more diabetes and the less adequate programs.

So ends my Friday and I prepare for a good weekend and Memorial Day……hope all have a good time…be well, be safe……

Closing Thought–23May19

I live in Mississippi and I have been hard on my local representatives….I think they, like their cousins in DC, are a spineless, gutless bunch…..but with all the drama around over abortion and tax cuts for corporations and the killing of some medical services for the poor they still have time for sex……

A Mississippi lawmaker is accused of drunkenly punching his wife in the face, and all because cops say he didn’t think she undressed for sex quickly enough. The Clarion Ledger reports GOP Rep. Doug McLeod was arrested over the weekend in Lucedale, and a George County Sheriff’s Department report seen by the Sun Herald reveals some disturbing details. Deputies say when they responded to a domestic violence call at McLeod’s home around 9pm Saturday, an apparently intoxicated McLeod opened the door, holding a boozy beverage and proclaiming, “Are you kidding me?” at the sight of the officers. He was slurring his speech and had trouble walking, per the report, and inside the home, deputies found his shaking, scared wife, her face bloodied from what cops say was a punch to the nose by McLeod. Deputies say they also found blood on the couple’s bed and on the bedroom floor.

Another woman present told cops McLeod’s wife had run to her room, and the two women barricaded themselves inside, with McLeod allegedly yelling from the hall to the second woman that he would “kill her [expletive] dog.” McLeod’s wife told cops her husband had “just snapped” as he often does while drinking. McLeod, 58, was charged with misdemeanor domestic violence and is free on $1,000 bail, but he’s apparently not taking many calls. “I have attempted to contact Rep. McLeod to request his resignation, if in fact, these allegations are true,” GOP House Speaker Philip Gunn said Tuesday, calling McLeod’s alleged behavior “unacceptable for anyone,” per the AP. Gov. Phil Bryant also weighed in, calling allegations of abuse “reprehensible,” per WJTV. Bryant “trusts local authorities to … thoroughly investigate this matter,” per a statement from his office.

I am so proud that we make political news like this…..and a GOPer to boot! 

Go figure!

Closing Thought–16May19

I live in the Deep South and I hear all the time just how the South has changed they are calling it the “New South”…..that attitudes are changing and that the old days are gone…..

I never believed the hype! I have not seen anything changing in my region and then I read this from Georgia…..

A Georgia councilman who came to the defense of the city’s mayor after she was accused of racism said that interracial marriage is “just not the way a Christian is supposed to live.”

Mayor Theresa Kenerly of Hoschton came under fire recently after she allegedly told a member of the council that she rejected a job applicant “because he is black, and the city isn’t ready for this,” according to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Kenerly later denied that she made the remarks.

“I do not recall making the statement attributed to me regarding any applicant for the City Administrator position, and I deny that I made any statement that suggest (sic) prejudice,” she said in a statement.

Hoschton, which is nearly all white, has a city code against discrimination based on “race, national origin, color, religion, creed, age, sex.”

Councilwoman Hope Weeks confirmed in an email that Kenerly made similar remarks to her in the parking lot.

Read the entire report here.

There is nothing “new” about the South…the same bigoted opinions are still there…just hiding beneath some smiles and lies.

The “New South” looks and sounds a lot like the “Old South”.