Free Republic

GINGRICH: No. It just means that we're going to have to pick up all those delegates in late May, just before the California primary, when we hope to pick up more delegates out here. That still means that on super-Tuesday, we're looking at Georgia, Tennessee, Oklahoma, we're looking at Ohio. It means the week after super- Tuesday, we're looking at Alabama and Mississippi. Now, we have hopes that we're going to keep picking up delegates everywhere and continue. This race is going on for a long time, I think. And what Texas moving back means, combined with California being in...

HERNANDO, Miss. -- DeSoto County has formally objected to the Environmental Protection Agency's plan to list it as "nonattainment" on ozone levels. DeSoto County officials also want the EPA to abandon a "misguided" proposal to list the county with Memphis as falling short on ozone standards. In December, EPA announced a proposal to include parts of DeSoto with Memphis, which has ozone emissions above allowable limits set by federal regulation. The plan would include urban areas of DeSoto County and Crittenden County, Ark., in the Memphis ozone "non-attainment" area. Ozone non-attainment could impair industrial recruitment by requiring prospective firms to...

n his New York Times bestselling book, Throw Them All Out, Breitbart editor Peter Schweizer revealed how members of Congress enrich themselves and their relatives using earmarks and insider information. Now, the Washington Post, following in Schweizer’s footsteps, has conducted a study that found 16 members of Congress have used their power of the purse to benefit companies, colleges, and community groups tied to their relatives. *snip* Among those cited in the Washington Post report were the following (below):

PRINCETON, NJ -- Mississippi remains the most conservative state in the union, and, along with Utah, Wyoming, and Alabama, is one of four states with 50% or more of its population identifying as conservative. At the other end of the ideological spectrum, 40% District of Columbia residents and 30% of Massachusetts residents identify as liberal; all other states have a liberal population of 26% or less.

JACKSON, Miss. -- The Mississippi Supreme Court will hear arguments next week about whether several pardons issued by former Gov. Haley Barbour violated the state constitution. In a ruling issued Wednesday, the state high court granted a request from attorneys representing four pardoned former Governor's Mansion trusties to move the case from the Hinds County Circuit Court. Attorney General Jim Hood has argued that pardons issued by Barbour, including those granted to convicted murders David Gatlin, Charles Hooker, Anthony McCray, Joseph Ozment and convicted robber Nathan Kern, violated a state constitutional requirement that notice be posted for 30 days in...

Friday, former Govenor Haley Barbour went on CNN and defended his pardon and sentence modification of more than 200 state convicts. He was asked specifically about the pleas of a Rankin County family to be heard before the pardon of the murderer of their loved one. Barbour says his lawyers met with the family two years before the release. But family members say they didn't know the killer was working at the mansion until a year ago. "So there would have been no way we could have met with him two years ago. We have had no contact with any...

EFFECTIVE THIS SUNDAY AFTERNOON FROM 520 PM UNTIL MIDNIGHT CST. ...THIS IS A PARTICULARLY DANGEROUS SITUATION... DESTRUCTIVE TORNADOES...LARGE HAIL TO 2 INCHES IN DIAMETER... THUNDERSTORM WIND GUSTS TO 80 MPH...AND DANGEROUS LIGHTNING ARE POSSIBLE IN THESE AREAS. THE TORNADO WATCH AREA IS APPROXIMATELY ALONG AND 85 STATUTE MILES EAST AND WEST OF A LINE FROM 35 MILES NORTH NORTHWEST OF DYERSBURG TENNESSEE TO 25 MILES WEST SOUTHWEST OF GREENVILLE MISSISSIPPI. FOR A COMPLETE DEPICTION OF THE WATCH SEE THE ASSOCIATED WATCH OUTLINE UPDATE (WOUS64 KWNS WOU5). REMEMBER...A TORNADO WATCH MEANS CONDITIONS ARE FAVORABLE FOR TORNADOES AND SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS IN AND...

The sheer number of pardons handed out by outgoing Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour – over 200 – left many Mississippians in shock. What may not have been so surprising is that white prisoners were four times more likely than black ones to get the gubernatorial benefit of the doubt. Out of a total of 222 acts of clemency given by Barbour during his tenure – 156 of which Attorney General Jim Hood has subsequently argued may be constitutionally invalid because of public notice violations – two-thirds benefited white prisoners. Meanwhile, two-thirds of the state's prison population is black. On its...

PICAYUNE — An attempt at an armed robbery failed when the suspect met with resistance from the business owner. Investigation into the crime led to the arrest of 28-year-old Stephen Joseph Kendrick after review of business surveillance video, said Capt. Chad Dorn with the Picayune Police Department. Kendrick was charged with attempted armed robbery. Officers with the department received a call on Friday from the owner of a gas station located at the intersection of Beech Street and Jackson Landing Road. Witnesses stated that just after 10 p.m. Friday a man, later identified as Kendrick, entered the store and walked...

The Missouri Supreme Court has thrown out the results of a blood test on an unwilling suspect in a routine drunken-driving stop, ruling the officer should have obtained a judge’s warrant for the test.

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Former Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour said Friday he's "very comfortable" with his decision to grant pardons or other clemency to more than 200 people, including convicted killers, in his last days in office, telling Fox News that Mississippi is predominantly Christian and believes in forgiveness. The pardons have set off outrage among some victims' families and prompted a judge to block the release of some of the pardoned inmates out of concern that proper notification rules were not followed. Barbour told Fox News that any problem with paperwork was an accident on the part of corrections officials, who needed to...

A Mississippi judge has temporarily blocked the release of 21 inmates who'd been given pardons or medical release by Republican Haley Barbour in one of his final acts as governor. Circuit Judge Tomie Green issued an injunction late Wednesday at the request of Democratic Attorney General Jim Hood. Hood said he believes Barbour might've violated the state constitution by pardoning some inmates who failed to give sufficient public notice that they were seeking to have their records cleared.

JACKSON, Miss. -- Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood said he is taking legal action in response to pardons issued by outgoing Gov. Haley Barbour. Hood said a court battle is ahead over five inmates Barbour pardoned on Friday. All five men served as trusties at the Governor's Mansion. Four of the five had been convicted of murder. During a news conference on Wednesday, Hood said Barbour violated the state Constitution because the pardon requests from the inmates were not published 30 days in advance, as required. State law requires that before the governor can grant a pardon, sufficient public notice...

Outgoing Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour under fire after pardoning 4 killersmsnbc.com staff and news service reports updated 1 hour 27 minutes ago JACKSON, Miss. — Outgoing Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour has pardoned at least four convicted killers who worked at the Governor's Mansion, including a man who was denied parole less than two weeks ago. Relatives of three victims told The Associated Press on Monday that state corrections officials notified them over the weekend that the convicts were to be released this past Sunday. Barbour, a former chairman of the Republican National Committee who weighed a presidential run last year...

STARKVILLE, Miss., Jan 9 (Reuters) - Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour pardoned four convicted murderers who worked at the Governor's Mansion, releasing them from prison in the final days of his term in office, state officials said on Monday.

(CNN) -- In his last days in office, outgoing Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour pardoned four men convicted of murder, a state official said Monday. David Gatlin, Joseph Ozment, Charles Hooker and Anthony McCray received full pardons and were released at 1 p.m. Sunday, said Suzanne Singletary, spokeswoman for the Mississippi Department of Corrections. All four were serving life sentences and worked as trusties at the governor's mansion, she said. "It is at any governor's discretion," said Singletary. Gatlin was convicted of murder, aggravated assault and burglary of a residence, she said. Ozment was convicted of murder, conspiracy and armed robbery...

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour's pardon of a convicted murderer who worked as an inmate trusty at the Governor's Mansion came two weeks after the man was denied parole by a state board. A letter to one of the victims in the case said the Mississippi Parole Board turned down 40-year-old David Gatlin on Dec. 27. The letter, dated Jan. 4 and obtained by The Associated Press, did not explain why the Parole Board rejected Gatlin's parole request. It said he was due for another parole hearing in October. Shannon Warnock, chair of the parole board, didn't...

The Republican mayor of a Mississippi city was forced to admit he is gay after he submitted a receipt from a Toronto sex shop that calls itself "your favorite gay store in Canada" to state auditors amid a spending scandal. Greg Davis, the mayor of Southaven, has been under investigation for the expenses he charged to the city on both his city-issued and personal credit cards, the Commercial Appeal newspaper reports. Last week, Davis, 45, submitted his receipts to auditors to try to reduce the roughly $170,000 auditors have demanded he repay the city for improper charges. Among the receipts,...

A conservative Mississippi mayor has said he is gay after an audit showed he had the city pay for a wide range of personal expenses, including a visit to a gay sex store in Canada. Southaven Mayor Greg Davis revealed publicly for the first time Thursday that he is gay, and said he has struggled to keep his sexuality from affecting his public role as mayor of Mississippi’s third-largest city.

SCOOBA – With the national championship of junior college football at stake, the second-ranked Lions of East Mississippi Community College travel to Yuma, Ariz., to meet the home-standing and top-ranked Matadors of Arizona Western College Saturday afternoon in the El Toro Bowl – presented by Time Warner Cable. Kickoff for the 2011 NJCAA Football Championship at AWC’s Veterans Memorial Stadium is slated for 2:30 p.m. MT (3:30 p.m. CT). With video and audio production services provided by Meridian-based Prep Sports Network Now (www.psnnow.com), in conjunction with the NJCAA and Arizona Western College, Saturday’s national championship contest is scheduled to be...

MADISON, Miss. -- A Madison woman will be able to keep her Christmas decorations after all. Mayor Mary Hawkins-Butler said on Wednesday that her office was flooded with complaints about the lighted peacocks on Wanda Cheeks' roof. "I'm not going to run from that or hide from that when residents call us. This was a plea from residents asking that something be done," Hawkins-Butler said. Cheeks said the ornaments were special to her. "I love Christmas, and when I first seen them, the first thing I hollered, 'It's different. It's nice. It's lights. It's Christmas. Hey, I've got to have...

Meridian police say a burglar was shot by a homeowner Friday morning. Officials say the resident arrived home between 10:30 and 11 a.m. to find someone in his house in the 2400 block of 37th Avenue. Police spokesman Mike Vick said the homeowner fired once, injuring the suspect in the hand. "There was an additional person of interest outside the home that is being questioned now," said Vick. "And charges are pending on both of those individuals." Vick said he can't release the suspects' names until they are formally charged with burglary.

States of mind On its own, where you live isn't enough to make you depressed. Personal circumstances and genes also play an important role in mental health, so an area that feels like a downer to one person may be home sweet home to another. That said, mental distress is unusually and persistently common in some states, whether due to economic troubles, lack of access to health care, or other factors. Using data from federal health agencies, Health.com has identified the 10 states with the highest rates of depression, psychological distress, and other indicators of poor mental health. Here they...

A strong storm system that produced several suspected tornadoes hit the Southeast on Wednesday, damaging dozens of homes and buildings. At least 15 people were injured in Mississippi. Suspected tornadoes were reported in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama. Four homes were damaged in western Alabama, about 60 miles southwest of Tuscaloosa. It was the worst bout of weather for that state since about 250 people were killed during a tornado outbreak in April. < SNIP >

JACKSON, Miss. — Republicans will control the Mississippi House of Representatives for the first time since Reconstruction. Though some counties were still counting absentee and affidavit ballots Monday, Republicans will hold at least 63 of the 122 seats when the Legislature convenes Jan. 3. Totals confirmed Monday show Republican Gene Alday defeated incumbent Democrat John Mayo in House District 25, putting the GOP over the top for control of the House. Also Monday, Perry County officials finished counting votes in House District 105, where Republican Dennis DeBar Jr. beat Democrat Dale Kimble and independent Latricia Cornelson in a seat formerly...

JACKSON – The Mississippi Republican Party has issued a statement declaring victory in the race for a majority in the State House and State Senate, as well as the Public Service and Transportation Commissions. “Republicans made history in Mississippi yesterday, electing majorities in the House and Senate for the first time in 140 years,” said Arnie Hederman, Chairman of the Mississippi Republican Party. “While some races have yet to be called and our majority could still grow by a few seats, the outstanding ballots cannot change the fact that Republicans will hold a majority of seats in the House and...

The morning after this month's relatively quiet (for most of us) Election Day, story after story arrived celebrating a pro-life defeat. "Mississippi Wins for Women!" The Daily Beast exclaimed. "Birth Control Remains Legal: Mississippi Voters Reject Draconian 'Personhood' Initiative," the National Organization for Women declared. "Our victory in Mississippi has already sent a strong message to extremists who will stop at nothing to outlaw abortion," the American Civil Liberties Union explained. Mississippi's personhood amendment, seeking to amend the state constitution's legal definition of a "person" to "include every human being from the moment of fertilization," lost at the ballot box....

JACKSON - District 21 state Rep. Donnie Bell of Fulton, re-elected to the state House Tuesday with 58 percent of the vote as a Democrat, announced Friday morning he had switched to the Republican Party. Bell said he switched because he could do more to help his district as a Republican since the party will control state government after Tuesday's election. Republicans won the governor's office and will hold majorities in the House and Senate. The Republicans will hold a majority in the House for the first time since the 1800s. "I am still Donnie Bell," he said Friday morning....

You might have to turn your volume up a little. Charles Kuralt tells the story, an amazing story ... This is worth watching folks. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=adsc6kW1Spk

Longtime state Sen. Gray Tollison of Oxford is switching from Democrat to Republican. The state Republican Party announced the change Thursday. Republicans already held the majority in the 52-member Senate. With Tollison's switch, the GOP will hold 31 seats and Democrats will hold 21. Republicans will hold a three-fifths majority - the margin needed to pass revenue bills. Tollison was elected Tuesday to his fifth term. His north Mississippi district includes all of Lafayette County and parts of Tallahatchie and Yalobusha counties. In mid-September, state election commissioners removed Tollison's Republican opponent, Todd Wade, from the ballot because Wade couldn't prove...

A pro-family advocate finds it odd that a group of homosexual activists has admitted to working to help defeat Mississippi's personhood amendment on Tuesday. In an announcement released the day after the vote, the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force Action Fund admits to sending activists to Jackson, Mississippi, to help with a phone bank and "stand in solidarity" with Planned Parenthood Federation of America and other abortion proponents. Peter LaBarbera of Americans for Truth About Homosexuality (AFTAH) thinks it was a peculiar alliance, since homosexuals cannot procreate. "This is a group that works hand-in-hand with so-called 'sexual freedom advocates,'...

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — White House officials are praising the defeat of an anti-abortion proposal in Mississippi that would have defined life as beginning at conception. President Barack Obama's spokesman said in a statement Wednesday that the vote was a victory for women and families.

Reuters) - Controversial ballot measures aimed at banning abortion in Mississippi and reducing public sector union power in Ohio were soundly defeated on Tuesday in local elections that cheered President Barack Obama's Democratic party.

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) -- Mississippi voters shot down a referendum Tuesday that would have effectively banned abortions in the state, rejecting an initiative that said life begins at conception. The so-called personhood initiative was rejected by more than 55 percent of voters. If it had passed, it was virtually assured of drawing legal challenges because it conflicts with the Supreme Court's 1973 Roe v. Wade decision that established a legal right to abortion.

It's election day in NJ, MS, LA, the Northern Marianas Islands and.... VIRGINIA!!!!! In the Commonwealth of Virginia, the Senate is currently controlled by the democrats by two seats. It'll be an interesting night.

Here's a not-so-little something to keep your eyes on this evening when election returns start coming in from around the country. Much attention will likely be focused on Ohio, where Gov. John Kasich's government reprioritizing is under initiaitve attack and, according to latest polls, in serious danger of being tossed. But watch for results from Mississippi on something called Initiative 26 or MS 26. That's the so-called "personhood" measure. If passed, it would define a woman's fertilized egg as a person, which would have the likely effect of completely banning abortions without the specific ban on abortions that has encountered...

Mississippi Initiative #26 - Personhood Amendment Section 33. Person Defined. As used in this Article III of the state constitution, "The term 'person' or 'persons' shall include every human being from the moment of fertilization, cloning, or the functional equivalent thereof." This initiative shall not require any additional revenue for implementation.

In the Carpenter home, every meal begins with a prayer. Robin and his wife, Emily, are devout Christians. But they part ways with many other Christians over a measure that would expand the legal definition of human life. Their son, Luke, now 4 years old, was born through in vitro fertilization. The anti-abortion amendment being voted on this week in the state could restrict in vitro procedures, and the Carpenters are worried that if they wait too long to add to their family, they may end up breaking the law. "I don't really want or need anybody else getting involved...

On Tuesday (Nov. 8), Mississippi voters will decide whether fertilized eggs qualify as "persons" under the law from the moment when sperm and egg meet. But while the law is designed to challenge Roe v. Wade and outlaw abortion, doctors say that the wording is also likely to outlaw common methods of birth control, including the birth control pill.

Before Toyota came, Cassius Perry was struggling like many in this hilly, sparsely populated region of north Mississippi that's shed thousands of furniture manufacturing jobs since the 1990s. The young father of three went to school to be a barber, but ended up working for a salvage company while he held out hope for something better. This year Perry landed good pay and health insurance when he went to work for a supplier to the sprawling new Toyota plant on the outskirts of the tiny town of Blue Springs. Hundreds have been hired, giving local leaders hope that their area...

Barbour: Initiative 31 bad for business 'It'll cost us a whole lot of jobs,' governor warns Firing back at critics of using eminent domain as a tool for economic development, Gov. Haley Barbour says DeSoto County voters armed with facts shouldn't be afraid to shoot down Initiative 31 on the Tuesday ballot. They should be afraid of the economic impact if the proposal passes: "It'll cost us a whole lot of jobs. It would be felt in DeSoto County and all across the state," he said. "People shouldn't be misled into thinking this will protect their property from eminent domain,"...

JACKSON, Miss.—A funny thing happened on the way to forgetting about the abortion issue that has roiled the country’s politics for four decades. Some people haven’t forgotten about it at all. Mississippi, which nobody ever cited as a bellwether state, will vote Nov. 8 whether to amend its state constitution to protect the civil rights of all “persons,” defined in Amendment 26 to “include every human being from the moment of fertilization, cloning, or the functional equivalent thereof.” Abortion would be effectively defined as murder. This time Mississippi may indeed be a bellwether. “Just about every elected official in Mississippi,...

A funny thing happened on the way to forgetting about the abortion issue, which has roiled the country’s politics for four decades. Some people haven’t forgotten about it at all. Mississippi, which nobody ever cited as a bellwether state, will vote on Nov. 8 whether to amend its state constitution to protect the civil rights of all “persons,” defined in Amendment 26 to “include every human being from the moment of fertilization, cloning, or the functional equivalent thereof.” Abortion would be effectively defined as murder. This time Mississippi may indeed be a bellwether. “Just about every elected official in Mississippi,...

The National Federation of Independent Business, Mississippi’s leading small-business association, has endorsed Cindy Bryan in the 91st District House race. The endorsement was made by NFIB/Mississippi SAFE (Save America’s Free Enterprise) Trust, which is comprised exclusively of NFIB members, to support candidates who will consistently support small business with more than a sound bite. “Cindy Bryan understands the challenges facing Mississippi’s small, family businesses in their fight to survive and grow, and is the clear choice in District 91 to sustain these job creators and community givers,” said Ron Aldridge, state director of NFIB/Mississippi. For more, see whole article at...

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — A national effort to put abortion bans into state constitutions is looking for its first victory next month in Mississippi, where voters are being asked to approve an amendment declaring that life begins when a human egg is fertilized. Supporters hope the so-called personhood initiative will succeed in a Bible Belt state that already has some of the nation's toughest abortion regulations and only a single clinic where the procedures are performed. The initiative is endorsed by both candidates in a governor's race that's being decided the same day. While Mississippi is the only state with...

Mississippi Republican governor Haley Barbour offered his take on the Republican presidential primary Thursday, saying Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain would “sweep the South” if elected. “If Herman Cain is our nominee running against Barack Obama, I think he’ll sweep the South,” Mr. Barbour said on Laura Ingraham’s radio show.

In October, a new film will be released in theaters in Alabama and Mississippi that may serve to change many hearts and minds on the issue of abortion. October Baby tells the story of Hannah, a college freshman who discovers that she was adopted and is a survivor of a failed abortion attempt. Hannah sets out on a journey to find her birth mother and learns many lessons in the process, including a powerful lesson about forgiveness. October Baby will eventually be released nationwide, but the initial release in Alabama and Mississippi comes with an added bonus. In November, Mississippi...

Cindy Bryan, Mississippi House of Representatives candidate (D-91), has always said her priority is bringing jobs to her district. That’s exactly what she has demonstrated in her “listening campaign,” traveling throughout her district and meeting voters from all walks of life. Waging a strong campaign in a district traditionally taken for granted as a Democrat stronghold, Bryan has now been chosen one of the “Best Candidates for Job Creation” by Mississippi’s Business and Industry Political Education Committee (BIPEC). “I’m very proud to receive this recognition from BIPEC and our state’s leading employers,” Bryan said. “Since my days as a mayor,...

Popular Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour is nationally known as a man who can get things done by working with Democrats and Republicans. So when he makes his political picks for candidates across the state, smart people listen. Recently, Barbour announced his endorsement of Cindy Bryan, Republican candidate for Mississippi House of Representatives, District 91. "As a former mayor, Cindy Bryan understands the importance of conservative, prudent budgeting of taxpayers' dollars,” Barbour said in his statement. “We need strong Republicans in the Mississippi House to keep moving our state forward. Cindy is the right choice to represent House District 91." Bryan...