The Starkville Enclave: How a Mississippi Town is Defying Failed GOP Policy

by Nomad

When it comes to searching for good news, Mississippi is probably the last place anybody would think to look. Mississippi has been called- for so many reasons- America's Third World.
However, even in failed state, there are pockets of positive news. You just have to know where to look.

The Showcase of Conservative Policy in Action

Nobody will argue with one thing about Mississippi. The Magnolia State is probably the most conservative state in the country. For decades now it is and has been almost totally under the near absolute control of Republican, from the governor to the chamber of the state legislatures. It is the closet thing America has to a one-party system.

And like a lot of one-party nations, the results are appalling. 

Mississippi should have been a conservative showcase.,, if Republican policy actually worked It should have been the one place where conservatives could have held as a model of success  in order to exalt their brand. 

Yet, of  all of the states, Mississippi is a testament to the failure of conservative policy. 

Need evidence?

In general, the South has long been crippled by the sort of poverty that is handed down from generation to generation. Nine of the top 10 poorest states are found in the South. Some have tried to make the case that the South has never recovered from the Civil War. 

That's possible, but then that was an awfully long ago. Europe was rebuilt in less than a generation, Japan and Russia were both devastated following a war but quickly managed to rise from the ashes. Besides, as every  narrow minded conservative would tell you, you shouldn't constantly blame the past for the present lack of initiative, right? Whose fault is it if you haven't become a success? Right? (Wasn't it conservative Michele Bachmann who said that all cultures were not equal? She wasn't talking about the Southern culture. of course.) 

But, even by the South's own low standards, the situation in Mississippi is a cryin' shame.

Economically of all states, Mississippi  comes in dead last in terms of per capita income. The primary reasons are pretty basic, a lack of  secure employment, decent wages, and healthcare.  

Poorest Area of the Poorest State

The Mississippi Delta region is the poorest area of the poorest state and it is the kind of poverty that should have compassionate legislators working overtime. Unfortunately not so in Mississippi.

Christopher Masingill, joint head of the Delta Regional Authority, a development agency. puts it this way: “You can’t out-poor the Delta." Masingill points out that the people of the Mississippi Delta have a lower life expectancy than in Tanzania; other areas do not yet have proper sanitation. 
And like a Third World, the people of the region have given up hope and many are concentrating their efforts not in building but leaving. 

Since 1940, the region’s population has fallen by almost half. Ask any Third Worlder why they risk (and often losing) their lives coming to Europe or America. It will be the same as answer from those leaving the Delta. It's hopeless to keep trying where there is no opportunity. The system has been built to keep people down.

Nomadic Politics Exclusive: Governor Rick Perry To Release CD of Greatest Hits

by Nomad

 

In order to help cover his legal expenses following grand jury indictments, Texas Governor Rick Perry has announced plans to release a double CD of country hits. 

"What a great idea!" said Texas Republican strategist (who wished not be identified). "It's time the governor gave the people of Texas something pleasant to listen to."

Outside his close friends, most people are unaware of that Perry has been an amateur country singer and guitarist for decades. Some have even suggested this side of Perry could be the start of a whole new career. 
"I think he's going to do as well as a singer as he did as a governor" said an unnamed loyal supporter. 

According to Jackson Jihl, executive producer for GoodHare Music out of Austin, the playlist will include a mix of cover versions  of such country standards as:

• "Release Me"
• "Hello Walls"
• "You Don't Even Know Who I Am"
• "Folsom Prison Blues"
• "You Won't Ever Be Lonely"
• "It's Just a Matter of Time"
• "Suspicious Minds"
• "I Fall To Pieces"

In addition, Governor Perry plans to offer some his personal takes on familiar Country hits like

• "I Was Corrupt When Corrupt Wasn't Cool"
• (Feels like)"I've Got A Tiger On My Tail"
• "(For Two Cigs and some Hooch) I'd Love To Lay You Down"
• "Four Walls (and a few Steel Bars)"
• "You're the Reason God Made Prisons"
•  "(I'm Gonna Miss) Wide Open Spaces" 
• "My Woman, My Woman, My Cell Mate, Pablo"
• "Loathsome On'ry and Mean" 
• "If You've Got The Proof, I'll Do The Time"
• "Sleeping Double in a Single Bed"

Here's Why You Shouldn't be Listening to Anything Rand Paul Says

by Nomad

Senator Rand Paul says a lot of things. Some of the things he has said might sound quite reasonable, or at least quotable to some people.
Some other things that he has uttered should perhaps be seen as a warning to the wise.

Back a few years ago, when Senator Rand Paul from Kentucky was talking with University of Louisville medical students,  he was asked if he had any good advice about an upcoming comprehensive exam. It was an easy chance to wow the easily-wowed crowd with a sample of Rand's wit. 

What he said, however, gives us a very clear insight into the character of the Senator from Kentucky.

He told the impressionable minds that on exams he never cheated. He didn't condone cheating he said. Then he added:

But I would sometimes spread misinformation. This is a great tactic. Misinformation can be very important."

According to an article by Jill Lawrence, a reporter for the National Journal:

He went on to describe studying for a pathology test with friends in the library. "We spread the rumor that we knew what was on the test and it was definitely going to be all about the liver," he said. "We tried to trick all of our competing students into over-studying for the liver" and not studying much else.

"So, that's my advice," he concluded. "Misinformation works."

It's an interesting (and somewhat disturbing) peek into the Paul sense of ethics. Cheating is, in Paul's mind, more disreputable than spreading false information. A unique position to say the least.

A Breakdown of Rand's Rationalization

Most people however, would categorize spreading misinformation as, no matter how it is rationalized, lying. When you spread misinformation (as opposed to mere gossip) you are actively aware that the information is untrue. 

So, we can assume that lying, in Rand Paul's eyes, is okay. It is not only acceptable,  it is something to boast about to a younger generation.

In any case, Paul's distinction between the two is absurd. To cheat means to spread misinformation about one's abilities or knowledge or qualities of character. If I cheat on an exam, I am spreading the untrue proof that my knowledge is greater than what it actually is.

And if a cheating husband tells his wife, "Yes, dear, I cheated on you. But- wait!- I never lied to you!" most women would have the good common sense to throw whatever is close at hand.

Abe Lincoln vs. The White Man's Sense of Entitlement

by Nomad

I stumbled across this Lincoln quote in the archives and I was stunned that I hadn't heard anything like it before. I have no doubt it is authentic since the source was a book published well over a hundred years ago. I thought it deserved a meme of its own so that it might reach a wider audience. 

Doesn't this seem so very appropriate for our day and age? I just hope that we can take courage and take up the fight that our forefathers began. 

Why the Growth of Temp Worker Industry is a Serious Problem for Millions of Americans

by Nomad

California legislators have finally taken steps to tackle a serious labor problem that has held low income workers back from finding long term employment. The often exploitative practice of hiring outsourced temporary staff in place of employees may now- finally- be coming under closer scrutiny.

For decades now, one closely-held secret by US companies was how often and to what degree temporary workers, or temps, could be used to circumvent federal laws regarding labor rights. For the honest business owners, a temp could be a live saver in an emergency but to the less scrupulous, a temp is a worker primed for exploitation. 

The Perfect Victims?

Temps, by law, are cheaper to employ since they are paid on the lowest legal scale (receiving wages well below the standard for any regular employee that would work in the same position). In addition, temps do not qualify for overtime wages nor do they receive health insurance. Forget accumulated vacation time or even sick days. 

So why would anybody want to be a temp? The main reason is the most obvious one. In a word: Desperation.

Temp staff agencies are always hiring and for the desperate, any job- even a temp job- is better than nothing.

It is no coincidence that temporary work is now an industry unto itself, with an estimated 2.7 million workers—one of the fastest growing sectors in the economic “recovery.” That could be, some might say, only a sign of the level of desperation and an economic recovery based on temporary staffing is an illusionary one.  The temp worker rarely earns enough to boost any economy out of its doldrums.

The Full Time Deception

Another attraction is that temp companies say that temp workers can sometimes find full-time employment from a temporary position. Work hard and you will get a permanent position. This is the pitch (but not the actual promise) of temp agencies.

As journalist Michael Grabell for ProPublica explains:

Temps have worked for the same company for as long as 11 years, never getting hired on full-time. Companies have assigned temps to the most dangerous jobs. In several states, data showed that temps are three times more likely than regular workers to suffer amputations on the job. And even some of the country’s largest companies have relied on immigrant labor brokers and fly-by-night temp agencies that have cheated workers out of their wages.

As the economy slowly improved the number of temp jobs soared at a rate 10 times faster than private-sector employment as a whole.
Meanwhile,  the figures for full-time employment limped and hobbled along. That shouldn't come as a surprise. 

Corporate reliance on temp workers hurts all workers.

Across America, temporary work has become a mainstay of the economy, leading to the proliferation of what researchers have begun to call “temp towns.” They are often dense Latino neighborhoods teeming with temp agencies. Or they are cities where it has become nearly impossible even for whites and African-Americans with vocational training to find factory and warehouse work without first being directed to a temp firm.

In the end, it boils to hard cold business sense: why should an employer pay any more than absolutely necessary unless mandated by law? I

As we have heard so often, companies are not charities. They claim no social responsibilities. Today many employers feel no obligation to the welfare of their employees. And since temps are not actual employees of the firm, then they are even less of a concern.