Category: Mississippi

The Mississippi Aquarium

My final post on this Saturday….is one of congrats to the new Mississippi Aquarium that open September 2020 on the day that Katrina destroyed the Coast.

Gulfport’s very own Mississippi Aquarium has reeled in one very prestigious recognition.

It looks like they’re big fish now as they ranked number four by USA Today as one of the top ten in the category ‘Best New Attraction.’

They were selected by a poll with people from all over the country voting. The aquarium is thrilled to receive this award, especially considering they’ve only been open since September 1st.

While the fish, alligators, and birds probably had something to do with it, the aquarium says they’re really thankful for the people. Mississippi Aquarium President and CEO Kurt Allen said, “Our community support in Gulfport and the state has been tremendous. We have over 6,000 members already supporting us in our mission. Everything we’ve done is built on education, conservation, and community. So, we’re always trying to foster a relationship in those three areas. Everything has been really, really positive so far.”

(wxxv.com)

I offer my congrats for a job well done.

But there is a problem……

Us mere peasants cannot afford to visit the attraction…..it cost $30 dollars per visit….no discounts for locals that would generate more income in my opinion.

Other than that it is a marvelous attraction for our visitors.

Have a good day…..be well….be safe….

“lego ergo scribo”

Professor Loses Job

Not this “prof” but ‘A” professor…..

This is a story from my state of Mississippi……to prove that the New South is much like the Old South…..at least in Mississippi…..

Up until last week, Dr. Garrett Felber was on track to become a tenured history professor at the University of Mississippi. Dr. Felber studies race and incarceration in the U.S. and is a dedicated advocate for people who are imprisoned. He’s also a published author, having written “Those Who Know Don’t Say: The Nation of Islam, the Black Freedom Movement and the Carceral State” and co-written “The Portable Malcolm X Reader” with Pulitzer Prize-winning Malcolm X biographer Manning Marable.

In August, Felber was awarded a one-year fellowship at Harvard University’s Hutchins Center for African and African American Research and is working there during the 2020-2021 school year. Dr. Noell Wilson, University of Mississippi’s history department chair, praised Felber for the award at the time.

“Garrett is an indefatigable researcher and community builder whose knowledge of the carceral state stems not merely from archival digging, but also from his volunteer engagement with prisons as a teacher,” Wilson said. “We are thrilled with this award because it both recognizes his national profile in the field of African American history and provides critical space for him to advance two pioneering interpretive projects.”

Four months later, Wilson notified Felber of his termination.

In a letter dated December 10, the department chair informed him that his employment with the university would be terminated as of December 31, 2021. Though she cited communication issues between her and Felber in her letter, some believe his termination has more to do with his speaking out about the university kowtowing to racist donors.

Felber has been involved with a project called “Study and Struggle,” which he describes as a political education project on mass incarceration and immigrant detention. Wilson rejected a grant for the project in October, saying it was a political instead of historical project and might jeopardize department funding.

Read On……

https://www.upworthy.com/university-of-mississippi-professor-fired

Mississippi was moving in the right direction with the flag change and the removal of statues and such from the old Reconstruction days…..then this is just another step backwards in a time that forward should be the only direction to journey.

Be Well…..Be Safe…..

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

My Representative, Palazzo The Corrupt

Closing Thought–14Dec20

My House Representative for South Mississippi is one Steven Palazzo and he has been caught using campaign cash for personal expenses…..

According to a report from Roll Call Rep. Steven Palazzo (R-MS) is being investigated for diverting over $230,000 in campaign funds to make car payments, pay for home and business repairs and employ family members.

While a spokesperson for the House Ethics Committee refused to comment on allegations made against the GOP lawmaker, he admitted that he is being investigated for expenditures that date back to 2010.

ne complaint dates back to March of last year, when Palazzo was accused of spending “$60,000 in campaign expenditures to rent a farm, Greene Acres LLC, and $127,000 to pay an accounting firm Palazzo founded that is now run by his former wife,” reports Roll Call.

https://www.rawstory.com/2020/12/mississippi-goper-busted-for-spending-over-230000-in-campaign-funds-on-car-payments-home-maintenance/

Since he won the House seat from Gene Taylor in 2010 I have not been a fan…..for me he is a worthless yes man that does what the Party wants and not what the people of South Mississippi that he represents needs.

He just won re-election and still has support from morons that will let a crook and spineless politician run their families for them.

He will probably say “My Bad” and be allowed to pay the money back…..I say f*ck him…he committed a crime he should be thrown out of the House.

Plus he is one of the 126 House members that have stated the the election should be overturned…..this also should eliminate this douche from ever representing the people of Mississippi .

Apparently he is in Congress to feather his nest and not represent the people of his district…..and yet he gets re-elected….”Ain’t No Fixin’ Stupid”

“lego ergo scribo”

Relax Those Drug Laws

Marijuana, the medical type, was on the ballot in my state of Mississippi and it appears that it has been made official…..and Mississippi was not alone in the vote on so-called illegal drugs….

In states across the country, voters sent a clear message they wanted restrictions on recreational drug use eased. On Tuesday, residents of Arizona, Montana, New Jersey and South Dakota voted to join the ranks of 11 other states that have done so.

In 2012, Colorado and Washington made the leap to legalize marijuana for recreational use. Colorado has collected $1.23 billion in marijuana taxes and fees since 2014, including more than $302 million last year alone. Washington eclipsed Colorado that same year, collecting $395.5 million.

Oregon, which legalized marijuana for recreational use in 2014, went a step further Tuesday and voted to decriminalize illicit drugs. Measure 110 makes the possession of small quantities of cocaine, heroin, methamphetamines and other drugs a civil violation subject to a $100 fine, but no jail time. However, the measure does not go so far as to decriminalize the manufacture or sale of drugs.

https://www.npr.org/2020/11/04/931507602/from-marijuana-to-mushrooms-voters-want-drug-laws-eased

After 50 years of a War on Drugs and the failures plus the cost of over $1 trillion and all that and the program is a dismal failure.

Society is now looking into the necessity for a War on Drugs.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

 

Tale Of Zeta

After 5 attempts with storms Mother Nature finally kicked our butts.

I have been waiting for the power and cable to come back on…

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I am back!

After days of the incessant humming of generators and the irritating shrill of chain saws only broken up by the screeching of sirens from emergency vehicles….and the endless stream of on-lookers trying to see who was worse off than they were…just a few of my favorite things in the post-hurricane days.

After three days in the dark the lights finally came on at 0130 hrs this morning.

In case you have been out of it touch Hurricane Zeta hit the Gulf Coast and went right over my house.

It was a quick storm but a very powerful one…..a Cat 2 with 90+ winds it started, for us, at about 1845 hrs and was through at about 2300 hrs (in comparison Katrina lasted 13m hrs and 47 minutes)

WE had to wait for daybreak to assess the damage and that is the worst prt of the storm…the wait.

My house made it through the storm pretty much okay…but my property too a hard it in the butt. I lost a portion of my fence, a bird feeder, a bunch of tree limbs, part of the arbor and most of the orange crop for this year. The good news is that the tangerine crop made it pretty much intact.

These a few pics I took on my phone….

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I walked around a but after daylight….the damage was pretty much the same as mine….mostly tree limbs…some tree were down…this is the guy across my street….

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He also lost his garbage can and mailbox….they are somewhere around Birmingham about now.

Further down my street a guy lost his car port and the car that was parked under the shelter….more tree limbs.

All the damage assessed now were must endure the boredom until the power returns and while we wait we all pray that the food will be safe with as little spoilage as possible.  (It took 3 days for power to return)

The only good thing to come from this storm is the temperature…..after most storms it is 90+ degrees with 90% humidity but this one brought in cool temps and low humidity so sleeping was easy….50s is a real joy.

There was no joy for I missed my daily comments from my regulars….but I am back and hopefully the power will hold.

Thanx for the kind words and concern

Be Well….Be Safe.

Here We Go Again

Closing Thought–08Oct20

Today is Thursday and a storm is just hours away from landfall……Once again my region is looking into the mouth of a beast of a storm….this time it is Hurricane Delta…..

Good news for my area but not so much for storm weary Louisiana…..

For the sixth time in the Atlantic hurricane season, people in Louisiana are once more fleeing the state’s barrier islands and sailing boats to safe harbor while emergency officials ramp up command centers and consider ordering evacuations. The storm being watched Wednesday was Hurricane Delta, the 25th named storm of the Atlantic’s unprecedented hurricane season. Forecasts placed most of Louisiana within Delta’s path, with the latest National Hurricane Center estimating landfall in the state on Friday, the AP reports. The center’s forecasters warned of winds that could gust well above 100mph and up to 11 feet of ocean water potentially rushing onshore when the storm’s center hits land. “This season has been relentless,” Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards said, dusting off his now common refrain of 2020: “Prepare for the worst. Pray for the best.”

A hurricane warning has been issued for a stretch of the northern US Gulf Coast. The National Hurricane Center in Miami said Delta is expected to become a major hurricane again, like it was days earlier before crossing part of Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula. But some weakening is forecast once Delta approaches the northern Gulf Coast on Friday. So far, Louisiana has seen both major strikes and near misses. The southwest area of the state around Lake Charles, which forecasts show is on Delta’s current trajectory, is still recovering from an Aug. 27 landfall by Category 4 Hurricane Laura. New Orleans spent a few days last month bracing for Hurricane Sally before it skirted to the east, making landfall in Alabama on Sept. 16. Louisiana saw heavy flooding June 7 from Tropical Storm Cristobal; Tropical Storm Beta prompted tropical storm warnings in mid-September as it slowly crawled up the northeast Texas coast; and Tropical Storm Marco looked like it might deliver the first half of a hurricane double-blow with Laura, but nearly dissipated before hitting the state near the mouth of the Mississippi River on Aug. 24. And there are nearly eight weeks of hurricane season left.

Just wanted to let my regulars know that if I do not appear for awhile it is because we lost our internet and that I shall return as soon as possible.

Once again a closing tune for the day…..

https://youtu.be/7nqH4-amR88

See you guys when I can……

Be Well…Be Safe……

Mississippi Votes

Mississippi will be voting on many issues from its racist past.

The people will be voting on the replacement of the flag from the reconstruction….and it will also be voting on the “Old Boys” network that has made it all but impossible for a person of color from winning a statewide position like governor or attorney general et al.

https://www.foxnews.com/politics/president-trump-confirms-he-first-lady-melania-trump-tested-positive-for-coronavirus

It was 1987 when Mississippi did away with the ban on interracial marriages.

In 1967, 17 Southern states (all the former slave states plus West Virginia plus Oklahoma) still enforced laws prohibiting marriage between whites and non-whites. Maryland repealed its law at the start of Loving v. Virginia in the Supreme Court.

After the Supreme Court ruling declaring such laws to be unconstitutional, the laws in the remaining 16 states ceased to be enforceable. Besides removing such laws from their statute books, a number of state constitutions were also amended to remove language prohibiting miscegenation: Mississippi in 1987, South Carolina in 1998 and Alabama in 2000. In the respective referendums, 52% of voters in Mississippi, 62% of voters in South Carolina and 59% of voters in Alabama voted in favour of the amendments. In Alabama nearly 526,000 people voted against the amendment, including a majority of voters in some rural counties.

(wikipedia)

Think about that….1987 is only 33 years ago that the ban went into effect.

This social issue has a long history…..

Centuries before the same-sex marriage movement, the U.S. government, its constituent states, and their colonial predecessors tackled the controversial issue of “miscegenation,” or mixture of races. It’s widely known that the Deep South banned interracial marriages until 1967, but less widely known is that many other states did the same. California, for example, prohibited these marriages until 1948. In addition, politicians made three brazen attempts to ban interracial marriages nationally by amending the U.S. Constitution.

https://www.thoughtco.com/interracial-marriage-laws-721611

Now we  Mississippians have a chance to do away with even more of the racist history by voting in November.

Mississippi voters have never elected a Black candidate to statewide office, despite having the largest proportional Black population of any U.S. state at nearly 40%.

Advocates hope an amendment on the November ballot may change that.

Mississippi is the only state with a multistep process for electing statewide positions like governor, attorney general and secretary of state. Its electoral college-like voting system was designed by white framers in Southern Reconstruction with the intent to disenfranchise minority voters and uphold white power in politics.

If the amendment to simplify the process passes, advocates say it would spur more minority candidates to run for office in the Magnolia state — and assure minority voters their constitutionally protected right to equal representation is secure. If it doesn’t, they say it will serve as a painful reminder of the state’s deep history of voter suppression.

https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/mississippi-vote-jim-crow-era-law-designed-secure/story

Maybe now Mississippi can move into the 21st century….something that has been resisted for many years…..

Hopefully all my readers are having a good weekend….be well….be safe…….

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Closing Thought–15Sep20

Here comes Sally!

I apologize for the slack posts today but I must take time to make sure the house and property are secure…..

Usually the first thing to go is the internet…then the power…..so I try to get as much done on IST as I can before the fall.

The forecast is that the eye should come ashore between Biloxi and Destin…..Biloxi is about 10 miles East of my house…..so if true we will get rain and wind…..the forecast is about 8 inches of rain.

The one saving grace here is that as I write this post the storm seems to be weakening a bit…..but that is before landfall….so lots can happen between then and now….

I am far enough off the beach to avoid any storm surge….local flooding will be a problem.

If I disappear off WP for awhile it is because the storm has kicked our butts….but not to worry….I will return as soon as I can.

Be well….Be safe…..

“lego ergo scribo”

Flag: And The Winner Is…..

The weekend begins and Mississippi is about to enter the 21st century….a long journey to arrive there….

I have been keeping my readers up to date on the journey my state of Mississippi is having replacing the the racist flag from the past.

It began with this……https://lobotero.com/2020/06/18/state-flag-is-gone/

The finalists are here…..https://lobotero.com/2020/08/30/which-one-will-it-be/

And now we have a winner of the Mississippi state flag lotto…..

Mississippi voters will decide whether to accept a new state flag with a magnolia to replace an old one legislators retired under pressure because it included the Confederate battle emblem that’s widely seen as racist, the AP reports. A commission on Wednesday voted 8-1 to recommend the magnolia over one other final design that featured a shield with wavy lines representing water. “We’ll send a message that we live in the future and not in the past,” former Mississippi Supreme Court Justice Reuben Anderson, the flag commission chairman, said after the vote. The single design will go on the November ballot. If voters accept the design, it will become the new state flag. If they reject it, the design process will start anew—and Mississippi will remain a state without a flag for a while longer.

The commission decided Wednesday that in the weeks leading to the November election, it will promote the magnolia flag by calling it the “In God We Trust” flag. “More than any other time in our country, we need the mercy and grace of God,” said commission member TJ Taylor, who is an attorney and policy director for the state House speaker. After the meeting Wednesday, the magnolia flag was raised on a pole outside the Old Capitol Museum in Jackson, where it fluttered in a brisk breeze. Requiring the religious phrase on the new flag helped persuade some conservative legislators to retire the old one. Legislators shelved the Confederate-themed flag two months ago against the backdrop of widespread protests over racial injustice.

And the winner is…..

At least this flag is heads above the runner-up…..

Enjoy your Labor Day weekend with family and friends…..

Be well and be safe

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Closing Thought–01Sep20

Is your state a “hard working” or is it a “slacker” state?

Despite massive unemployment right now across the nation, WalletHub finds that Americans work pretty darn hard—whether it’s because they want to, have to, or have the perception they have to. To find out which states really roll up their sleeves, the site looked at all 50 states across 10 key metrics involving both direct work factors—ie, the average number of hours in a workweek and the share of workers that don’t touch their vacation time—and indirect ones, including how much time people put in volunteering and enjoying leisure activities. It turns out North Dakotans top the list, while West Virginia could use some motivation. Read on to see which other states have bragging rights when it comes to working hard:

  1. North Dakota
  2. Alaska
  3. Wyoming
  4. Texas
  5. Nebraska
  6. Oklahoma
  7. Colorado
  8. Virginia
  9. Maryland
  10. Hawaii

Read on for the states that don’t work quite as hard.

  1. Arizona
  2. Mississippi
  3. Oregon
  4. New York
  5. Connecticut
  6. Ohio
  7. Michigan
  8. Rhode Island
  9. New Mexico
  10. West Virginia

See how other states fare here

My state is number 42…so “slacker” would be the call.

What about your state?

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”