ATRA takes a swing at Jim Hood and misses terribly

The American Tort Reform Association issued a press release yesterday containing an email from its Communications Director, Darren McKinney, to Attorney General Jim Hood.  In the release, ATRA says McKinney was responding to "what he felt was a misleading campaign email" Hood sent regarding HB 211.

That's funny, because apparently no one at ATRA bothered to read HB 211 before criticizing Hood about his opposition to it.

The breakdown of the House beer vote; Democrats mostly for it, Republicans split

In response to a Twitter request, here's a breakdown of how folks voted, with their region noted by the following color code:


FOR (67 - 36 Democrats, 31 Republicans)

Rep. Gene Alday (R - Walls)
Rep. Brian Aldridge (R - Tupelo)
Rep. Willie Bailey (D - Greenville)
Rep. David Baria (D - Bay St. Louis)
Rep. Toby Barker (R - Hattiesburg)
Rep. Manly Barton (R - Moss Point)
Rep. Richard Bennett (R - Long Beach)
Rep. Ed Blackmon (D - Canton)
Rep. Billy Broomfield (D - Moss Point)
Rep. Cecil Brown (D - Jackson)
Rep. Kelvin Buck (D - Holly Springs)
Rep. Kimberly Buck (D - Jackson)
Rep. Clara Burnett (D - Tunica)
Rep. Charles Busby (R - Pascagoula)
Rep. Credell Calhoun (D - Jackson)
Rep. Bubba Carpenter (R - Burnsville)
Rep. Alyce Clarke (D - Jackson)
Rep. Angela Cockerham (D - Magnolia)
Rep. Linda Coleman (D - Mound Bayou)
Rep. Mary Coleman (D - Jackson)
Rep. Carolyn Crawford (R - Pass Christian)
Rep. Dennis DeBar (R - Leakesville)
Rep. Scott DeLano (R - Biloxi)
Rep. Reecy Dickson (D - Macon)
Rep. Casey Eure (R - Biloxi)
Rep. Jim Evans (D - Jackson)
Rep. Michael Evans (D - Preston)
Rep. George Flaggs (D - Vicksburg)
Rep. Herb Frierson (R - Poplarville)
Rep. David Gibbs (D - West Point)
Rep. Jeff Guice (R - Ocean Springs)
Rep. Greg Haney (R - Gulfport)
Rep. Esther Harrison (D - Columbus)
Rep. John Hines (D - Greenville)
Rep. Steve Holland (D - Plantersville)
Rep. Joey Hood (R - Stewart)
Rep. Kevin Horan (D - Grenada)
Rep. Robert Johnson (D - Natchez)
Rep. Trey Lamar (R - Senatobia)
Rep. Rita Martinson (R - Madison)
Rep. Brad Mayo (R - Oxford)
Rep. Kevin McGee (R - Brandon)
Rep. Doug McLeod (R - Lucedale)
Rep. Nolan Mettetal (R - Sardis)
Rep. Chuck Middleton (D - Port Gibson)
Rep. Bobby Moak (D - Bogue Chitto)
Rep. David Myers (D - McComb)
Rep. Pat Nelson (R - Southaven)
Rep. Brad Oberhousen (D - Raymond)
Rep. Randall Patterson (D - Biloxi)
Rep. Willie Perkins (D - Greenwood)
Rep. John Read (R - Gautier)
Rep. Bobby Shows (R - Ellisville)
Rep. Ferr Smith (D - Carthage)
Rep. Jeff Smith (R - Columbus)
Rep. Greg Snowden (R - Meridian)
Rep. Gary Staples (R - Laurel)
Rep. Sara Thomas (D - Indianola)
Rep. Jessica Upshaw (R - Diamondhead)
Rep. Percy Watson (D - Hattiesburg)
Rep. Jason White (D - West)
Rep. Linda Whittington (D - Schlater)
Rep. Sonya Williams-Barnes (D - Gulfport)
Rep. Tommy Woods (R - Byhalia)
Rep. Charles Young (D - Meridian)
Rep. Hank Zuber (R - Ocean Springs)
Rep. Philip Gunn (R - Clinton)


AGAINST (45 - 19 Democrats, 26 Republicans)


Rep. Tracy Arnold (R - Booneville)
Rep. Nick Bain (D - Corinth)
Rep. Earle Banks (D - Jackson)
Rep. Donnie Bell (R - Fulton)
Rep. Randy Boyd (R - Mantachie)
Rep. Chris Brown (R - Aberdeen)
Rep. Larry Byrd (R - Petal)
Rep. Gary Chism (R - Columbus)
Rep. Bryant Clark (D - Pickens)
Rep. Becky Currie (R - Brookhaven)
Rep. Bill Denny (R - Jackson)
Rep. Bo Eaton (D - Taylorsville)
Rep. Tyrone Ellis (D - Starkville)
Rep. Bob Evans (D - Monticello)
Rep. Mark Formby (R - Picayune)
Rep. Joe Gardner (D - Batesville)
Rep. Andy Gipson (R - Braxton)
Rep. Forrest Hamilton (R - Olive Branch)
Rep. Greg Holloway (D - Hazlehurst)
Rep. Steven Horne (R - Meridian)
Rep. Bobby Howell (R - Kilmichael)
Rep. Mac Huddleston (R - Pontotoc)
Rep. Robert Huddleston (D - Sumner)
Rep. Wanda Jennings (R - Southaven)
Rep. Sherra Lane (D - Waynesboro)
Rep. Hank Lott (R - Sumrall)
Rep. Bennett Malone (D - Carthage)
Rep. Steve Massengill (R - Hickory Flat)
Rep. Tom Miles (D - Forest)
Rep. Sam Mims (R - McComb)
Rep. John Moore (R - Brandon)
Rep. Ken Morgan (R - Morgantown)
Rep. Bill Pigott (R - Tylertown)
Rep. Margaret Rogers (R - New Albany)
Rep. Ray Rogers (R - Pearl)
Rep. Omeria Scott (D - Laurel)
Rep. William Shirley (R - Quitman)
Rep. Jody Steverson (D - Ripley)
Rep. Rufus Straughter (D - Belzoni)
Rep. Johnny Stringer (D - Montrose)
Rep. Preston Sullivan (D - Okolona)
Rep. Jerry Turner (R - Baldwyn)
Rep. Joe Warren (D - Mount Olive)
Rep. Tom Weathersby (R - Florence)
Rep. Adrienne Wooten (D - Jackson)

Not voting (8 - 2 Democrats, 6 Republicans)


Rep. Jim Beckett (R - Bruce)
Rep. Scott Bounds (R - Philadelphia)
Rep. Deborah Dixon (D - Jackson)
Rep. Chuck Espy (D - Clarksdale)
Rep. Timmy Ladner (R - Poplarville)
Rep. Alex Monsour (R - Vicksburg)
Rep. Randy Rushing (R - Decatur)
Rep. Tommy Taylor (R - Boyle)

Rep. Tommy Reynolds (D - Charleston) announced a "pair" of his vote with Rep. Mark Baker (R - Brandon).  Rep. Baker was absent, and told Rep. Reynolds to do the pair.  A pair means that one member votes yea while the other votes nay.  In this case, Rep. Baker voted for the bill and Rep. Reynolds voted against it.

Rep. Jim Beckett's (R - Bruce) AT&T deregulation bill passes committee; headed to House floor

Well, despite the fact that all three Public Service Commissioners are concerned about it, despite the fact that it appears to be unconstitutional, despite the fact that state media has picked up on the monetary connections between author Rep. Jim Beckett (R - Bruce) and AT&T, and despite the fact that I've uncovered AT&T buying meals and gifts for Rep. Beckett and his wife, HB 825 passed the Public Utilities committee in the House today.  It's headed to the House floor now, and will likely be taken up next week.

Should be an interesting floor debate.

Wonder if someone donated to Gov. Phil Bryant? Search his donors by name here

One of the great things about our Secretary of State's website is that you can view campaign finance reports filed by candidates.  One of the problems, though, is that you can't search by donor.  You can only search by the candidate.

I decided to do something about that as best as I could, and allow the public to search campaign finance reports by donor.  It's a mammoth undertaking, though, so I decided to begin with Gov. Phil Bryant.  You can go to this link and view a Google Docs spreadsheet with donors to Phil Bryant from June 2010 through July 2011.  There's more to be done, of course, but this is a start.  The work on this project so far has been done by Dylan Watson, a senior at Millsaps.  Dylan did a fantastic job on it, and deserves the credit.

Enjoy.

Interesting votes on the 8% beer bill

Here are the votes (or non-votes) that strike me as odd on HB 1422, the bill that will raise the ABW limit from 5% to 8%:

Rep. Bill Denny (R - Jackson): Rep. Denny continues to leave his district behind as he votes more and more conservatively.  First he voted against adding "life of the mother" language in the abortion section of the Child Protection Act.  In a district that voted over 70% against the Personhood amendment, that's out of touch.  Now he's voted against raising the limit on beer.

Rep. Deborah Dixon (D - Jackson): Rep. Dixon has done some strange things thus far in her first session, and this is no exception.  Taking a walk on this vote wasn't anything she had to do, as her district probably would have supported her on this bill.  (She was present today, and then didn't vote on the bill.)

Rep. Adrienne Wooten (D - Jackson): Rep. Wooten voted against the bill today, and she may have had some community members asking her to not do so.  I think her district overall would have supported her, though, so this is odd.

Rep. Chuck Espy (D - Clarksdale): Rep. Espy took a walk on the bill.  After watching him vote like a Republican this session, I'm not sure what to think of him any more.  I'm sure he's trying to position himself for his upcoming race for mayor (he plans to leave the House and run for mayor of Clarksdale once his dad's current term is over), but I'm not sure how this helps in any real way.

Rep. Tim Ladner (R - Poplarville): Rep. Ladner also missed the vote, which is odd considering that the bill directly helps Lazy Magnolia, a brewery down in his neck of the woods.

Rep. Alex Monsour (R - Vicksburg): Rep. Monsour not voting on the bill is interesting, as his hometown of Vicksburg suffers from residents crossing the river to buy alcohol at the Delta, LA Chevron/liquor store.  Those tax dollars would stay home if HB 1422 becomes law.

Generally, there seemed to be no rhyme or reason to the votes, meaning that no geographical or ideological patterns appeared to reveal themselves.  It was probably the most random vote we'll see this year in the House.

The vote on the beer bill: See how they voted

Here's the vote on HB 1422, the bill to raise the alcohol by weight limit from 5% to 8%:

FOR (67) - 36 Democrats and 31 Republicans


Alday, Aldridge, Bailey, Baria, Barker, Barton, Bennett, Blackmon,
Broomfield, Brown (66th), Buck (5th), Buck (72nd), Burnett, Busby, Calhoun,
Carpenter, Clarke, Cockerham, Coleman (29th), Coleman (65th), Crawford,
DeBar, DeLano, Dickson, Eure, Evans (70th), Evans (43rd), Flaggs, Frierson,
Gibbs, Guice, Haney, Harrison, Hines, Holland, Hood, Horan, Johnson, Lamar,
Martinson, Mayo, McGee, McLeod, Mettetal, Middleton, Moak, Myers, Nelson,
Oberhousen, Patterson, Perkins, Read, Shows, Smith (27th), Smith (39th),
Snowden, Staples, Thomas, Upshaw, Watson, White, Whittington, WilliamsBarnes, Woods, Young, Zuber, Mr. Speaker.


AGAINST (45) - 19 Democrats and 26 Republicans


Arnold, Bain, Banks, Bell, Boyd, Brown (20th), Byrd, Chism, Clark,
Currie, Denny, Eaton, Ellis, Evans (91st), Formby, Gardner, Gipson, Hamilton,
Holloway, Horne, Howell, Huddleston (15th), Huddleston (30th), Jennings, Lane,
Lott, Malone, Massengill, Miles, Mims, Moore, Morgan, Pigott, Rogers (14th),
Rogers (61st), Scott, Shirley, Steverson, Straughter, Stringer, Sullivan, Turner,
Warren, Weathersby, Wooten.

BEER BILL PASSES HOUSE 67-45!!!!

Will have votes soon.  WAY TO GO MISSISSIPPI!!! ON TO THE SENATE!!!

Here's a link to the bill's status page. The bill will now move to the Senate, where it will be assigned to a committee (Finance, more likely than not).

Beer bill being debated!!!! Live-blogging it

Holland - "If you're Baptist and you can't stand this bill, just hold your nose and vote for it."

HB 1422 PASSES 67-45!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Rep. Tommy Reynolds (D - Charleston) "pairs" his vote with Rep. Mark Baker (R - Brandon).  Rep. Reynolds says Baker would have voted for the bill.  By pairing his vote with Baker, Reynolds will be recorded as voting against the bill.

I missed the vast majority of the debate, which I'm certain I will forever regret.  This debate was made for classic oration.

The AP picks up on Rep. Gary Chism's self-dealing and ALEC connections

Just an excellent piece by Jeff Amy in the Clarion-Ledger yesterday.  I highly recommend reading it and sharing it with your friends.  Lays bare Rep. Gary Chism's (R - Columbus) questionable tactics, his connections to ALEC, and a company called MV Verisol that has ALEC ties and is trying to become a state vendor under the law Chism wrote.

Well done, Jeff.

I guess I really should have seen this coming...

A few days ago, I posted about the New York Times' coverage of Turkish organizations using Texas charter schools to build the Muslim faith in that state.  The New York Times' investigative piece is interesting because Mississippi is currently considering charter school legislation, and I believe we should make certain that our public school dollars don't get funneled into religious organizations under the guise of charter schools.

The NYT uncovers ties between the Texas charter schools and the Gulen Movement, which is supported by groups like the Raindrop Foundation.  Really, you should just go read this earlier post and the stuff in the NYT piece linked there about Raindrop, the Turquoise Council, and the Institute of Interfaith Dialog.

Then go read this.  Especially lines 46-52 and 62-64.  Pure coincidence that the big Turkish reception was held the day the charter schools bill passed committee and the night before it passed the Senate?

Governor Bryant signs first bill (and it's a tax increase)

As the legislature nears completion of its second month of "work", Governor Phil Bryant has signed his first piece of substantive legislation, a tax increase.  House Bill 9 is now law.  As of this report, no press conference is expected to celebrate this milestone for Mississippi's new leadership team.

HB 555 and the attack on Mississippi workers

There's a bill in the Mississippi House that I'm sure Republicans will try to paint as a "jobs creation" bill.  Well, considering their utter failure to create jobs over the last 8 years, anything they promise regarding jobs needs a thorough going over.  HB 555 is an effort by Rep. Mark Formby (R - Picayune) and Rep. Gary Chism (R - Columbus) to radically overhaul the Mississippi Workers' Compensation system.  (Y'all remember insurance salesman Gary Chism, don't you?  He's the author of another notorious bill and an ALEC member. The Clarion-Ledger has a great article on him today, written by Jeff Amy of the Associated Press.)

Here are the very troubling aspects of HB 555 that I have uncovered thus far:

First, the bill could possibly prevent a workers' comp judge from taking judicial notice of an injury.  Instead, Formby and Chism have curiously added the words "in the record" to Section 71-3-1.  In practice, this may well require claimants to hire expert witnesses to put on the stand, which would be cost prohibitive for most workers.  (Which is probably the goal for Formby and Chism.)

Next, Formby and Chism seek to amend Section 71-3-7.  In doing so, they add language that appears to increase the burden of proof for a worker and require the filing of "medical proof of the direct causal connection between the work performed according to his employment" and the injury.  On its surface, it appears to raise the burden from mere evidence of the connection between the work and the injury to a higher "medical proof" standard.  In addition, it appears to create a defense for employers that the employee was doing a certain task incorrectly.  For example, I can foresee the chicken plants defending workers' comp cases by saying that the employee was hurt by repetitive motion because they were not using proper technique.  So in that scenario, the worker is just out of luck.

Then Formby and Chism try to sneak one past unsuspecting injured workers by amending Section 71-3-15.  Under their proposed new language, a worker would be forced to use the employer's choice of physician if the employer's physician performs surgery on the injured worker or the worker treats with that physician for 6 months.  Under current law, the injured worker is entitled to his choice of physician.  This requirement exists to make sure the workers' comp judge gets to hear from a physician who isn't drawing his paycheck from the employer.  It exists to make sure the system doesn't get corrupted.  Formby and Chism would seek to do away with this safeguard.

Formby and Chism then move on to doing their best to preventing workers from forcing scofflaw insurance companies to pay.  By amending the language of Section 71-3-63 to prevent attorneys from collecting fees off of "voluntary" payments by insurance companies, they effectively stop workers from being able to hire attorneys to fight for them.  By law, attorneys may not charge workers' compensation claimants an hourly fee.  Instead, attorneys fees in workers' comp cases are capped at 25% of the recovery.  This bill would prevent the payment of attorneys fees when the insurance company "voluntarily" pays.  That means that if an insurance company decides to pay after a worker's attorney has contacted the insurance company, the attorney cannot be paid for his work.  Formby's and Chism's goal is to make it economically impossible for attorneys to represent injured workers, which would mean that insurance companies wouldn't be punished for refusing to pay claims.

Next, Formby and Chism amend Section 71-3-121, which would require drug testing of anyone an employer suspects of using drugs or alcohol while injured, and would prevent a drunk or high employee from recovering workers' compensation payments for that injury.  On the surface it sounds like a way to prevent alcohol and drug abuse in the workplace.  In reality, it will create situations in which an injured worker must submit to a drug test before being treated, even if the worker has a serious, life-threatening injury.  Otherwise, the worker will be denied workers' compensation benefits.  And what happens if the worker is legally on a medication?  After the positive test for that legally prescribed medication, the burden of proof shifts to the worker to prove that he was prescribed the medication, or else no medical treatment will be provided by the employer.

This bill ought to be called out for what it is: an attack on Mississippi workers.  After 8 years of promising jobs and not delivering, it seems that now Republicans are trying to make life difficult for the few folks lucky enough to have jobs.

Where are the jobs Haley Barbour promised us? A cold, hard look at the numbers.

For all of the talk of creating jobs, Republicans certainly did an awful job of it under Haley Barbour.  Here's a look at the unemployment numbers for Mississippi from January 2004 (when Barbour was inaugurated) and December 2011:



You'll notice that unemployment rose in Mississippi sharply in late 2005, of course due to Hurricane Katrina.  But I want to show you something that runs completely afoul of the conventional wisdom that "Haley saved us" after Katrina:



That's a comparison of Louisiana and Mississippi's employment rates from January 2004 through December 2011.  It's a very interesting because both states began 2004 with nearly identical unemployment numbers: Louisiana at 6.4% and Mississippi at 6.2%.  Take a look at where both states ended up after 8 years: Mississippi's at 9.9% unemployment, an increase of 3.7% since Haley Barbour took office.  Louisiana, on the other hand, is exactly where it started at 6.4%.

Here's a shocking statistic: Out of the 72 months Haley Barbour was in office, unemployment was higher than the day he took office in 57 of those months.  That means that despite Republican campaign promises to increase employment and create a "business friendly" atmosphere in Mississippi, we were worse off 80% of the time Haley Barbour was in office.

Thanks, Haley.

PSC Commissioner Presley raises constitutional concerns in letter to AT&T bill sponsor Rep. Jim Beckett

Northern District Public Service Commissioner Brandon Presley (D) released a copy of his letter to Rep. Jim Beckett (R - Bruce) today, in which Presley raises a new concern over Beckett's HB825: constitutionality.

It's an interesting point that Presley makes.  Section 186 of the Mississippi Constitution of 1890 reads as follows:

The Legislature shall pass laws to prevent abuses, unjust discrimination, and extortion in all charges of express, telephone, sleeping-car, telegraph, and railroad companies, and shall enact laws for the supervision of railroads, express, telephone, telegraph, sleeping-car companies, and other common carriers in this State, by commission or otherwise, and shall provide adequate penalties, to the extent, if necessary for that purpose, of forfeiture of their franchises. (Emphasis added.)

Therefore, it seems to me that the Legislature is out of luck if it wants to let AT&T do as it pleases without regulation.  It's pretty plainly against the state constitution.

I bet that wasn't brought up over dinner or on the tee box out in Scottsdale.

***BREAKING*** - PSC unified in concerns over Rep. Jim Beckett's HB 825

Central District Public Service Commissioner Lynn Posey (R) broke his silence this morning on the issue of HB 825, which would remove all state oversight of AT&T.  (Previous articles here, here, and here.)  Commissioner Posey joins Commissioners Brandon Presley (D) and Leonard Bentz (R) in expressing his concerns over the bill.  In his press release, Posey asks that the bill be sent to a study committee.

HB 825 was written by House Public Utilities Committee Chairman Rep. Jim Beckett (R - Bruce), who has been paid handsomely by AT&T of late.  Over the years, Beckett has received $2,500.00 in campaign contributions from AT&T.  Additionally, just this past December AT&T treated Beckett and his wife to meals and golf at a swanky Arizona resort.  Less than 90 days after getting the royal treatment from AT&T, Beckett filed HB 825, which would remove AT&T from state regulation.

ALEC meetings, steak dinners, and Mississippi legislators

In an earlier post, I mentioned that ALEC had its 2011 meetings in Cincinnati, New Orleans, and Scottsdale.  While studying AT&T's 2011 lobbying report, I noticed that AT&T didn't pay much for Rep. Jim Beckett (R - Bruce) and his wife to eat while they were at the ALEC meetings in New Orleans and Cincinnati.

Figuring that ALEC probably didn't want Rep. Beckett paying his own way, I started looking around for ALEC member companies who might have picked up the tab. I figured right.

Turns out that ALEC Private Enterprise Board member Bayer wound up picking up the check for Rep. Beckett at Jeff Ruby's Steakhouse in Cincinnati during the ALEC meeting there.  But Rep. Beckett wasn't alone at this meal.  Turns out that Speaker Pro Tempore Greg Snowden (R - Meridian) ate on Bayer's tab, as did Rep. Jim Ellington (R - Raymond) and Sen. Walter Michel (R - Jackson).  Neither Ellington nor Michel are in the Legislature anymore, Ellington having been defeated by Rep. Brad Oberhausen (D - Raymond) and Michel having retired.  (Sen. Will Longwitz, R - Madison, now holds Michel's seat.)  The total for the meal was $125.20.  (Either nobody ordered steak, or somebody split the bill with Bayer.)  You can review the Bayer lobbying report here.

Novartis Pharmaceuticals, a member of ALEC Private Enterprise Board member PhRMA, picked up the check at swanky New Orleans restaurant Calcasieu during the August ALEC meeting, spending $281 on food & drink for Sen. Joey Fillingane (R - Sumrall), Sen. Lydia Chassaniol (R - Winona), Sen. Michael Watson (R - Pascagoula), Sen. Buck Clarke (R - Hollandale), and Sen. Walter Michel (R - Jackson).

Novartis also bought dinner for Sens. Watson and Michel at Eddie V's in Scottsdale, but this time added newly-elected Senators Sally Doty (R - Brookhaven) and Josh Harkins (R - Flowood) to the party.  Novartis claims they paid a total of $90.16 for dinner for the foursome, which seems low when you look at Eddie V's dinner menu.  Again, I'm assuming some other company split the bill on this one.

You can review Novartis Pharmaceuticals' 2011 lobbying report here.

Unrelated to an ALEC convention, I also found where ALEC Private Enterprise Board member Koch Companies Public Sector (the Koch brothers) bought dinner for now-Speaker Philip Gunn (R - Clinton), Rep. Beckett, Rep. Mac Huddleston (R - Pontotoc), Rep. Scott Bounds (R - Philadelphia), and Rep. Bobby Shows (R - Ellisville) at Tico's Steakhouse in Jackson on January 31, 2011 for a total of $260.25.  You can review the Koch 2011 lobbying report here.

More to come...

The connection between ALEC, AT&T, and Rep. Jim Beckett

Westin Kierland Resort, Scottsdale, AZ

Last week I posted a couple of pieces on AT&T, Rep. Jim Beckett (R - Bruce), and the legislation Beckett authored that would remove the Public Service Commission's oversight of AT&T.  (Posts here and here.)  The Sun-Herald then picked up the story, complete with a reference to Rep. Beckett having taken $2,500.00 in campaign contributions from AT&T over the years.

Well, let's dig a little deeper.

I've posted on the American Legislative Exchange Council ("ALEC") a bit over the law few weeks, since their model legislation keeps popping up in our Legislature under the new Republican regime.  (Posts here, here, here, and here.)  I've mentioned before that ALEC is run by a "Private Enterprise Board" that includes AT&T as one of its members, but there's more to it than that.

It turns out that ALEC's Mississippi state chairman is none other than AT&T's own Randy Russell.  Russell, a Jackson-based lobbyist, has represented telecommunication interests for years.  Prior to BellSouth being purchased by AT&T, Russell was BellSouth's lobbyist.  Russell continued that role for AT&T after the acquisition.  (View Randy Russell's lobbyist registration forms for BellSouth/AT&T from 2001-2010 here.)

So, that made it all the more interesting to go through AT&T's lobbying report for 2011.  It seems that Russell and AT&T picked up the food tab for Rep. Jim Beckett and his wife at the ALEC meeting in at the Westin Kierland Resort in Scottsdale, AZ from November 30 to December 2, 2011.  AT&T also paid for a few rounds of golf for Rep. Beckett while there.  All said and done, AT&T paid $565.39 to cover expenses for Rep. Beckett and his wife on their three day trip to Scottsdale.  

But that's not all.  AT&T also picked up the tab for $151.70 worth of food and tickets while Rep. Beckett and his wife were at the Spring ALEC meeting in Cincinnati, OH in late April of 2011.  AT&T also paid $22.62 for food for Rep. Beckett and his wife while he attended the 2011 Summer ALEC meeting in New Orleans.

The total amount AT&T gave to Rep. Jim Beckett and his wife in 2011 through Randy Russell?  $876.85.  The names of the Becketts appear a total of 36 times in AT&T's 2011 lobbying report, most of it while the Becketts are at ALEC retreats.

More to come...

Muslims using charter schools in Texas to spread their religion?

The New York Times ran an interesting investigative journalism piece back in June of last year laying out the ways in which the charter schools in that state have been used to siphon public funds into the hands of Muslim businesses. The article focuses on the "Gulen movement," named after controversial Turkish Muslim imam Fethullah Gulen, and its ties to the Cosmos Foundation, which runs 33 charter schools in Texas through an outfit called "Harmony Schools."  (Gulen was charged by Turkish authorities of promoting an Islamic religious government there.)

The basic scheme is this: Muslim-run companies are chosen by Harmony Schools for the construction of the new schools over similarly-qualified lower bidders.  The boards of the schools are typically made up of Turkish-born immigrants, and Harmony Schools then uses the federal H-1B visa process to bring teachers over from Turkey.  All of this, of course, is paid for with taxpayer money.

The construction businesses and teachers then tithe to the Cosmos Foundation and other associated Muslim charities, like the Raindrop Foundation.  The Raindrop Foundation, aside from paying for lawmakers to go to Turkey for two weeks and sponsoring a festival honoring imam Gulen, does the following:

The Raindrop Foundation says its mission is to promote Turkish culture in America. It sponsors cooking classes, traditional Turkish dinners and performances of the Whirling Dervishes, a dance group associated with Sufi Muslim tradition. It also organizes an annual Turkish Language Olympiad where 6,000 students, many from Harmony schools, compete in Turkish language, poetry, dance and singing contests.

Interesting.  

Committee deadlines loom in Mississippi Legislature

March 6, 2012 is the "committee deadline" date for non-revenue bills in the Mississippi Legislature, meaning that bills not passed out of committee by that date will be dead for the session. That leaves 7 working days, including today, to move bills through committees. That means we should see a lot of action in committees in both chambers.

Here's a deadline schedule for future reference.