Category: Mississippi

2010 All Over Again

This is for those with short memories….

In 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil rig blew up and cause a massive oil leak that dumped about 200 million gallons of oil into the central Gulf of Mexico….it contaminated sea life, beaches and ruined the economy of many Gulf Coast states like Louisiana, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi beaches were spared the bad stuff for our barrier islands protected our beaches for the most part but Florida and Alabama were not so lucky.

In case your memory is not what it once was….here are some facts….

Fact #1: More than 200 million gallons of crude oil was spilled into the Gulf of Mexico during the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill.

Fact #2: Deepwater Horizon was a 9yr old semi-submersible, mobile floating, dynamically positioned drilling rig that could operate in water up to 10,000’ deep.

Fact #3: At 9:45am high pressure methane gas from the well expanded into the drilling riser and rose into the drilling rig, the rig ignited and exploded

Fact #4: Over 16,000 miles of coastline was affected during the spill. The coastlines of Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida were all affected.

Fact #5: 5.5 million feet of oil spill containment boom was deployed to help collect the oil.

Fact #6: Over 8,000 animals were reported dead 6 months after the spill.

This spill effected the seafood industry as well….fish were not caught, shrimp were not fished, oysters were dead and crabs were contaminated…all of which is a mainstay of the Gulf Coast industry….so why am I going on about past doings that most have forgotten?

Easy.

Deja vu.

Just when the fishing grounds were on the rebound from the Deepwater fiasco….it is happening again….

A leak from an underwater pipeline released more than 1 million gallons of oil into the Gulf of Mexico before the flow was shut off, the Coast Guard estimated. The leak was spotted Thursday, about 19 miles offshore of the Mississippi River Delta southeast of New Orleans, Reuters reports. Main Pass Oil Gathering Co. turned off the 67-mile line the same day. On Friday and Saturday, overflights saw the oil moving to the southwest, away from the Louisiana shore, per WDSU. No injuries or shoreline impacts have been reported.

rews are searching for the source of the leak, which was near Louisiana’s Plaquemines Parish, using underwater remote-operated vehicles. The Coast Guard said three skimming vessels are trying to remove the oil on the surface. The National Response Team was activated, the Environmental Protection Agency said, which mobilizes 15 federal entities to help

While the spill is dwarfed by previous spills, like the Deepwater Horizon crisis that saw 130 million gallons of crude pouring into the Gulf in 2010, it’s nonetheless a grim environmental catastrophe that could have devastating effects on the local environment.

“Ocean wildlife will almost certainly pay a terrible price for this huge pipeline spill, which is less an accident than an entirely predictable consequence of offshore oil operations,” said Kristen Monsell, senior attorney at the Center for Biological Diversity, in a statement.

This does not make national news….no one cares if I am honest  those mental midgets do not have to try a eek out a living from the Gulf.

How long must these crises go on before someone cares enough to put a stop tho this insanity?

Turn The Page!

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

 

Open Letter To The Voters Of Mississippi

This was originally posted in my other blog, Gulf South Free Press, I post it here for all my visitors that may not be following my other blog.

What are you thinking?

For decades you have voted for Republican candidates and what has that giving the state after all those years in power?

Let’s look at where the state of Mississippi stands in relation to the country.

Total living standards Mississippi ranks 48th

Health care–ranks 48th

Obesity–1st

Teen Pregnancies–#1

Education–#45

Children’s poverty—-28.7%

People living with hunger–15%

Disposable income–$37,834 ranks 50th

Minimum wage at $7.25 per hour which is the lowest possible wage.

Per capita disposable income, also known as disposable personal income (DPI), is the amount of money that a person has available for spending and saving after accounting for income taxes. Disposable income is regarded as a key economic indicator used to gauge the overall state of an economy. Mississippi’s DPI in 2018 was $37,834 which places it 50 out of all 50 US states.

State budget depends on Federal funds for 34.8% of the total which ranks 3rd

Our economic outlook we rank 49th

Our Fiscal stability we are not that good……Mississippi ranks 41 out of 50

The Gross State Product (GSP) does not look promising and has not for the last 5 years…growth rate during that time was 0.8%…..that is less than 1% growth.

Mississippi’s GSP in 2019 reached $104.2bn, with growth of 0.8% over the five years to 2019. Mississippi’s GSP growth ranks 44 out of all 50 US states. GSP is a measurement of a state’s output, or the sum of value added from all industries in the state. It is a common indicator used to track the health of an economy.

Where is that lie of ‘economic development’ we are promised with every election?

So far the only true economic development has been for land speculators, real estate agents and contractors.

Whatever gains anticipated for the year are expected to even out by the start of the new year. The forecast report shows that the number of Mississippi workers on payroll jobs is expected to remain stagnant for the next four years.

(mississippitoday.org)

Sorry for the length but this illustrates what you have got for your vote….very little.

Mississippi to rank at the bottom or near to the bottom of almost every economic sector….and yet the voter continues to believe the lies and vote the purveyors of the lies into office.

Why?

Easy answer…..wedge issues.

The voter is duped by issues like bathrooms and education and other such silliness….none of these moves the people of this state forward.

Please before you vote look around at your neighbors has all the economics of the past actually done anything to make their lives better?

Your vote is sacred….please use if wisely.

Our future does not look bright for the near future…..but you can change all that….your wisely placed vote can make all the difference for your and your family.

Be Smart!

Learn Stuff!

Chuq  (Gulfport)

Second Amendment Week

Here in Mississippi we have a special tax free week for the buying of guns and ammo…..and we are in the middle of that tax free week.

A sales tax holiday is an annual event during which the Mississippi Department of Revenue allows certain items to be purchased sales-tax-free at any participating retailer within the state.

Mississippi allows you to purchase the following items tax-free during their annual sales tax holidays: $100 worth of clothing and footwear in July; all firearms, ammunition, archery, and certain hunting supplies in September.  (we got started early this year)

The September firearms and hunting supplies sales tax holiday is officially called the Mississippi Second Amendment Weekend (MSAW).

This is not something new….Mississippi has had an annual “Second Amendment” sales tax holiday since 2014. This tax holiday is meant to encourage participation in the upcoming hunting season, and enables sportsmen to purchase guns, ammunition, and other hunting supplies tax-free. 

There you go an incentive for people to buy more guns and ammo….just what this state needs….more idiots packing heat in a time when we have a major problem with gun violence….it all seems so logical (sarcasm)….

I do not know if other states have this benefit for gun lovers….I just know that my state does not need an incentive to sell more guns.

But what can I expect from a deep Red State where logic is a dirty word.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Mississippi Primaries.

Today is voting day in Mississippi….the primaries that is. It will be another sweltering day of 105+ temps so the turn out will probably be low and unimpressive.

One must vote straight ticket during the primaries…..if you like a certain candidate then you will vote for all in that party.

That brings me to one certain candidate but it pretty much sums up what most Repubs in this state are pushing in their campaigns…..he is running for Lt. Gov, Chris McDaniels (GOP).

I have written about the issues and the voters in Mississippi…..

Is Poverty A Political Choice?

Now armed with that information….this info is straight from the Daniels Campaign….

He Fought to secure our elections by pushing for a stronger voter ID law (meaning….make it harder for people of color to vote)

Led the challenge against Obamacare

Protected rights of our children to religious expression in schools (meaning….forced prayer)

Promoted school choice and parent’s rights in the classroom

Spearheaded legislation to protect children who have been sexually abused and kidnapped, increased sentences against anyone who has killed a minor (this sounds great and is needed but in the same bill was the usual diversion of bathrooms and squashing transgender rights)

Passed EVerify and introduced bills that would prohibit the creation of a sanctuary cities and federal and state benefits for undocumented workers (the last part is pure illusion….there are no undocumented workers getting any kind of state benefits)

Finally voted against any bill that he believed was wasting taxpayer money (you mean like everything above this line?)

Not one word on this flyer about jobs he created (very few) or the business that he helped come to Mississippi….basically he did little to help the economic picture of Mississippi.

Why would anyone vote for this clearly racist asshole?

There is more….his opponent is another Repub, Delbert Hoseman…..McDaniels accuses Delbert….

Being a secret Democrat

Did not support Trump

Supported Obamacare

Supported forced vaccinations

All in all sounds like Delbert might have been looking out for all Mississippians…but that is just a cursory observation….after all he is a Repub.

The sad situation in Mississippi will not change for these people will not alter their ignorance and neither will the voter.

This is what we get in Mississippi….manure spread by idiots.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Mississippi Stands Alone

I have pointed out many times that my state, Mississippi, is always at the bottom of every good situation and the top of every bad….once again Mississippi will remain the one state that stands against fornication.

Michigan was in the running as a pillar of unlawful coitus….that is until recently….

Unmarried couples in Michigan are a step closer to being able to legally live together as lewdly and lasciviously as they want to. The state Senate voted 29-9 Wednesday to repeal a law that makes it a misdemeanor for an unmarried man to live with an unmarried woman, the Detroit News reports. The bill would strike a provision against “lewdly and lasciviously associating and cohabitating together,” though it would retain a provision banning any individual from “engaging in open and gross lewdness and lascivious behavior,” reports WWJ. The law hasn’t been enforced for a long time, but under federal law, a person can’t claim somebody as a dependent on their taxes if their relationship violates state law.

Unmarried couples are now free to cohabitate in Michigan. Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has signed legislation repealing a 1931 law that banned unmarried couples from living together, with penalties of up to a year in prison and a $1,000 fine, per the Michigan Advance. Though it’s been a long time since the law was enforced, some Republican lawmakers wanted it to remain in effect, fearing the societal effects of a decline in marriage. Still, the bill easily passed the state House and Senate. Democratic Sen. Stephanie Chang, who sponsored the bill, said the signing brings Michigan “into the current century”—one marked by a record-low US marriage rate. Mississippi is now the only state left with a similar law on the books.

Mississippi stands alone…..there will be no unlawful fornicating in my state.

We still think it is 1950….not long ago Mississippi got rid of the ban on interracial marriages.

There should be a sign on the borders of Mississippi advising people to set their clocks back 150 years.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Is Poverty A Political Choice?

I decided to changes things up for today and what better place to start than my state of Mississippi.

An interesting question that made me think about stuff….while the article focused on governmental programs during the pandemic….but the question is still an interesting one.

In case you want to see what made this post possible….

The data is in: Poverty is a political choice

Although this post is not so much about governmental programs but rather about the voter, especially in my state of Mississippi…..

Mississippi is less than a week away from its primaries and most of the GOP candidates are running ahead….but why?

Before I go any further let me share a bit of info about my state….

  • March 2022 unemployment rate: 4.2%
  • Year-over-year change in unemployment Feb. 2021: 2.5%
  • Q4 2021 GDP per capita: $57,769
  • GDP growth Q3 2021-Q4 2021: 5.7%
  • Average weekly wages Sept. 2020: $1,021
  • Percent change in average weekly wages Sept. 2020-Sept. 2021: 5.4%
  • Percent of population below the poverty line in 2020: 16.7%

Economic prosperity and hardship often coincide, even within state borders. For Mississippi, that couldn’t be more true. For instance, the state has seen $1.3 billion of corporate investments in 2022, helping the state add 4,149 new jobs in 2021…..Also, consider that more than one-fifth of the state has no access to broadband internet. Mississippi also has a nearly 17% poverty rate, the highest in the nation.

Mississippi is the least economically healthy state in the Union….its ranking is 100….let me explain that for you non-economically inclined….Index of state economic conditions based on crowded housing, dependency, education, income, poverty and unemployment; normalized values are 1 to 100, with a higher value indicating worse economic conditions.

In 2022, the state of Mississippi has a population of 2,940,184, having declined an annualized -0.3% over the five years to 2022, which ranks it 49th out of all 50 US states by growth rate. Mississippi’s gross state product (GSP) in 2022 reached $104.7b, with growth of 0.6% over the 5 years to 2022. Businesses in Mississippi employed a total of 1,098,569 people in 2022, with average annual employment growth over the past five years of 0.1%.

Then there is the education in the state…there are about 30+ institutions of higher learning but only about 8.5% of the population has a degree in higher learning.  To say the education is of low priority is a gross understatement.

This brings us to my thought…Is poverty a political decision?

My thought is that it is.

2023 is a major voting year for the state of Mississippi and as listed above there are many issues that need to be corrected to move the state forward.

But as usual the major issues for candidates are such non-productive issues as bathrooms, book banning, educational confusion, etc.

The candidates promise that to make the state a better place to live if their visions are put into action….and for 50 years it has been the same and for 50 years the state of Mississippi remains backwards and uneducated.

In less than a week the voter will once again vote of issues that nothing to do with their ascent into poverty….they pretend that banning books will save the state or that a fixation on bathrooms will somehow equate to better pay and they will vote for the loudest mouth and in doing so will remain at the bottom of an economic success.

What will it take to wake up the voter?  Apparently poverty will not do for they vote for it on every occasion.

Sad for the state has great potential but no one wants it to succeed.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Magical Time In Mississippi

College of Political Knowledge

Mississippi series

In about a month Mississippians will go to the polls and vote in their respective primaries.

2023 is election year for Mississippi….it is magical because the idiot voters will fall for the manure spread….every election the voter falls for the crap….

For instance there is Delbert Hoseman running for re-election as lt gov…..this from his campaign.

Lieutenant Governor Hosemann is committed to serving the public with open and fair government. Since he was elected, he has worked to enact the largest tax cut in the State’s history, provide teachers with a competitive salary, support law enforcement to ensure safe communities, and make Mississippi more business-friendly and attractive for economic development. Lieutenant Governor Hosemann is not a lifelong politician. His career in the private sector has made him a proven and effective leader uniquely qualified to move the State forward.

Business friendly?

If it is so damn good then why is Mississippi at the bottom of the economic list if it is so friendly where are the companies rushing to the state?

When it comes to the US economy, a variety of factors underlie its health (or lack thereof), with the economies of individual states playing a significant part. WalletHub wanted to see which ones are really pulling their weight when it comes to contributing to the national coffers, so it looked at all 50, plus the District of Columbia, examining more than two dozen metrics in three main categories: economic activity, meaning factors such as GDP changes, exports per capita, and startup activity; economic health (e.g., unemployment rate, median household income, and share of the local population in poverty); and innovation potential, which looks at such factors as the share of high-tech jobs and entrepreneurial activity.

Mississippi ranks 48 out of 50 in economic activity…..in start up activity it ranks 49….ranks 47th in household income….high tech jobs we are at 48 out of 50….

And yet the GOP politicians talk to us about business friendly….nothing about their grand plan has done anything to help the average Mississippian and yet they are voted in almost unchallenged.

Just one question for the voters of Mississippi….what are you people thinking?

Is it ignorance?  Or just massive laziness?

There will be more from me on this election in my state.

Learn from Mississippi’s laziness/stupidity….don’t let this infect your state.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Mississippi New Laws

It is Friday I am hot, it is 107 outside and I am lazy….so this is my lazy post.

My state of Mississippi has ended its latest legislative session….and these are our new laws…..

Mississippi Laws That Take Effect July 1

Absentee ballots — Senate Bill 2358 prohibits handling large numbers of absentee ballots. A lawsuit filed by Disability Rights Mississippi and other plaintiffs seeks to block the law, arguing that it could disenfranchise voters who have disabilities by preventing them from receiving help from people they trust.

Postpartum Medicaid — Senate Bill 2212 ensures an entire year of Medicaid coverage for women after they give birth. Mississippi usually allowed two months of postpartum Medicaid coverage. The state allowed a full year of coverage after the COVID-19 public health emergency started in 2020, although many patients said the state did little to let them know coverage continued after two months. The longer coverage was approved after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down federal protections for abortion in a ruling on a Mississippi case last year. Conservative lawmakers across the country have pivoted on Medicaid expansion as part of an anti-abortion agenda.

State fruit — House Bill 1027 designates the blueberry as Mississippi’s official state fruit. Fourth graders from Madison County lobbied for law.

School Guardians — Senate Bill 2079 authorizes school employees to carry concealed guns on campus if they have a concealed-carry license, complete firearms training from a law enforcement agency and are trained in CPR and first aid. Identities of so-called “school guardians” are exempt from public disclosure.

Online porn — Senate Bill 2346 requires people to verify they are at least 18 before using websites or apps where at least one-third of the content consists of pornography. An adult entertainment group is suing over a similar law in Louisiana. House Bill 1315 says vendors providing online resources or databases to K-12 schools must block access to pornography.

Fentanyl testing — House Bill 722 specifies that fentanyl testing materials are no longer considered illegal drug paraphernalia.

Adoption — Senate Bill 2696 creates an income tax credit of up to $10,000 for adopting a child who lives in Mississippi and $5,000 for a adopting a child from outside the state.

Foster families — House Bill 510 is designed to increase transparency for foster parents and make employees from the Mississippi Department of Child Protection Services more readily available to them.

Sexual assault evidence — House Bill 485 is intended to set faster timelines for law enforcement agencies to process evidence kits from sexual assault cases. One section of the bill becomes law July 1, and other sections become law Dec. 1.

Real estate — Senate Bill 2073 allows people to enter contracts to purchase real estate at age 18; the previous minimum age was 21, unless the minor was emancipated.

Pet insurance — Senate Bill 2228 authorizes the sale of pet insurance.

Pecan theft — Senate Bill 2523 increases the penalties for stealing pecans that are being grown as crops. Mississippi Agriculture Commissioner Andy Gipson says thieves have taken loads of pecans from some farmers.

Laws That Took Effect Earlier

Gender-affirming care — House Bill 1125 bans gender-affirming health care for transgender people younger than 18. It became law when Reeves signed it Feb. 28.

Pregnancy centers — House Bill 1671 expands a tax credit from $3.5 million a year to $10 million a year statewide for people or businesses who donate to centers that provide diapers, clothing and other assistance for pregnant women. The law is retroactive to Jan. 1.

Baby drop-off — House Bill 1318 allows cities and counties to establish safe drop-off boxes for babies who are up to 45 days old. The bill became law when Reeves signed it April 19.

State gemstone — Senate Bill 2138 designates the Mississippi Opal as the state gemstone. It became law when Reeves signed it March 3.

Laws That Take Effect Jan. 1, 2024

Elections — House Bill 1310 authorizes the secretary of state to conduct audits of election results. It also speeds up the process for local election commissioners to remove the names of inactive voters from the voter rolls. Critics say the “use-it-or-lose-it” approach endangers the rights of people who want to vote in some but not all elections.

Campaign finance — House Bill 1306 bans candidates for running for office if they have failed to file all required campaign finance reports within the previous five years. It also says fraudulently requesting or submitting an application for an absentee ballot is punishable by up to five years in prison and a $5,000 fine.

Read them and comment on the ones you think are odd or called for…..

Have a great weekend and holiday….be well and be safe….

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Dry Heat Or Humid Heat?

It is 0025 hrs and the temp is about 95 and it is not even Summer yet….this heat has me thinking about an old debate….

As we enter the Summer season here it South Mississippi I am reminded of the age old debate on whether dry heat is worse than humid heat.

I have lived and worked in both types of heat and let me say here and now that both are damn HOT!

But in my opinion the humid heat is less tolerable…..when I was working I was soaking wet by 10 am,….we are told that sweating is a bodily mechanism to keep the body cool….that is not so true here in the South.

I wanted to let my readers know the answer to the age old debate….while this is explaining it worldwide it does help understand the issue….

This year, even before the northern hemisphere hot season began, temperature records were being shattered. Spain for instance saw temperatures in April (38.8°C) that would be out of the ordinary even at the peak of summer. South and south-east Asia in particular were hammered by a very persistent heatwave, and all-time record temperatures were experienced in countries such as Vietnam and Thailand (44°C and 45°C respectively). In Singapore, the more modest record was also broken, as temperatures hit 37°C. And in China, Shanghai just recorded its highest May temperature for over a century at 36.7°C.

We know that climate change makes these temperatures more likely, but also that heatwaves of similar magnitudes can have very different impacts depending on factors like humidity or how prepared an area is for . So, how does a humid country like Vietnam cope with a 44°C heatwave, and how does it compare with , or a less hot heatwave in even-more-humid Singapore?

https://phys.org/news/2023-06-40c-bearable-lethal-tropics.html

At 0430 hrs it has cooled off to a balmy 93….

Keeping with the weather theme of this post….

Then there is El Nino…..

El Niño is officially here, and while it’s still weak right now, federal forecasters expect this global disrupter of worldwide weather patterns to gradually strengthen.

That may sound ominous, but El Niño – Spanish for “the little boy” – is not malevolent, or even automatically bad.

Here’s what forecasters expect, and what it means for the U.S.

https://theconversation.com/el-nino-is-back-thats-good-news-or-bad-news-depending-on-where-you-live-205974

I know….hot is hot!

Since I am retired I have the option of staying in the A/C….which I will gladly choose.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Gun Violence Comes To The Coast

I apologize if the title is misleading…..we do have the occasional shooting between individuals or some shoot out with the police but we have not had many mass shootings but that came to an end.

Last weekend students from the sleepy little town of Bay St. Louis in Hancock county…..it was an after prom party and all student from local schools were invited to come and hang out.

The party was going well and all seemed to be enjoying themselves and the a 19 year old showed up to confront a student about his sister….the argument got heated and the 19 year old got a gun and shot and killed 2 and wounded 4….the shooter was tracked down and arrested.

All that made me think about the shooting after something I read in VOX.

No other high-income country has suffered such a high death toll from gun violence. Every day, 120 Americans die at the end of a gun, including suicides and homicides, an average of 43,375 per year. Since 2009, there has been an annual average of 19 shootings in which at least four people are killed. The US gun homicide rate is as much as 26 times that of other high-income countries; its gun suicide rate is nearly 12 times higher.

Gun control opponents have typically framed the gun violence epidemic in the US as a symptom of a broader mental health crisis. But every country has people with mental health issues and extremists; those problems aren’t unique. What is unique is the US’s expansive view of civilian gun ownership, ingrained in politics, in culture, and in the law since the nation’s founding, and a national political process that has so far proved incapable of changing that norm.

“America is unique in that guns have always been present, there is wide civilian ownership, and the government hasn’t claimed more of a monopoly on them,” said David Yamane, a professor at Wake Forest University who studies American gun culture.

https://www.vox.com/23142734/cleveland-texas-mass-shootings

I am not trying to convince people that more gun control is needed….all this is just to try and explain how we got to this point in our history.

My thoughts are on record here on IST…..I will not convince you to my way of thinking as your efforts to do so for me are also wasted efforts.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”