JACKSON — The Legislature is in session. Hold on to your pocketbook! So goes the old saying.
Regarding Democratic efforts, unsuccessful so far, to raise the minimum wage to $15 per hour, Washington Post columnist Catherine Rampell has some insightful observations.
Although high school basketball in Greenwood this season was nothing as spectacular as last year’s, it had its moments.
JACKSON — Mississippi’s voter identification requirement could be at risk if the state Supreme Court strikes down the medical marijuana initiative approved by voters in November.
Here’s a voting machine story that could only have come from Louisiana, where entertaining arguments about politics is one reason the state bills itself as the Sportsman’s Paradise.
Editor, Commonwealth:
Brian Sicknick
JACKSON — Faced with one crisis after another, Mississippi’s governor and Legislature rise to the challenge with one consistent solution — cut budgets to cut taxes.
Forget the war of words between President Joe Biden and Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves over the latter’s decision to lift most of this state’s mask mandate and relax other restrictions designed to deter the spread of COVID-19.
Student loans
STARKVILLE — For Mississippi farmers, the transition between the administrations of former President Donald Trump and President Joe Biden could not be more impactful on any topic more so than in agricultural trade with China.
Since last summer, when a Minneapolis police officer knelt on George Floyd’s neck until Floyd died, everyone has heard a lot about defunding the police.
Darrick Hart
OXFORD — Attend as many family reunions as I have over the years and you’re bound to hear a replay of the same stories.
There have been many good arguments made — mostly from conservatives — against cancelling large chunks of debt that former college students racked up pursuing their education.
In case voters in Greenwood haven’t noticed, this year’s election timetable is different. Party primaries are in April, rather than their traditional May, with the general election coming in June.
The effort of House Speaker Philip Gunn and other Republican leaders in that chamber to overhaul the state’s tax structure is most likely doomed.
The photo on the cover of the March edition of Rotary magazine is a close-up of raw sewage coming from a pipe into the yard of a rural home in Lowndes County, Alabama. The cover title simply says, “Wasteland,” and includes the phrase, “How inadequate sanitation systems are failing rural America.”
Sometimes it’s best to ignore loudmouths. Giving them attention just seems to encourage them.
Editor, Commonwealth:
Editor, Commonwealth:
JACKSON — The year 2021 is picking right up where 2020 left off. As the Chinese proverb ominously declares: May you live in interesting times.
The past year has been one of the most challenging in our lifetimes. A global pandemic produced an economic meltdown that stressed and strained nearly every facet of life.
Herman Perkins Jr. is not a person who seeks the spotlight. He quietly goes about the business of managing Greenwood’s Century Funeral Home, helping people deal with the grief of losing a loved one.
Editor, Commonwealth:
Editor, Commonwealth:
Darrick Hart
JACKSON — My political godfather, the late Gil Carmichael, fought hard for a new state constitution. A key purpose was to strengthen the office of governor. He called Mississippi’s chief executive “one of the weakest in the nation.” As one of the pioneers of the modern Republican Party in Mi…
Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann is leading the charge to simplify and better cost-justify the incentives that Mississippi gives to lure new businesses and help others expand.
Anyone still in denial about the severity of the COVID-19 pandemic will have a hard time explaining away the recent statistical finding that Americans’ life expectancy took a significant dip last year.
Editor, Commonwealth:
Thompson lawsuit
STARKVILLE — No matter where you drive in most of Mississippi in the next few weeks, you will encounter new and challenging potholes, thanks to the Great Ice Storm of 2021.
Without saying so directly, a report about the financial health of the Public Employees’ Retirement System makes it clear that taxpayers are going to continue to be hit up for unacceptably large contributions to this fund.
Archives & History
JACKSON — Legislation to change the way Mississippi Department of Archives and History trustees are appointed seems like another attempt to fix something that isn’t broke.
One of the more distasteful habits of Donald Trump as a candidate and as president was his penchant to tag his adversaries with pejorative nicknames.
The biggest problem with the Democratic proposal to raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour is that it’s way too large of a jump.
Winter storms
I knew early Monday morning that this past week’s winter storms were going to be memorable.
The changed relationship between former President Donald Trump and Sen. Mitch McConnell is an excellent example of why so many people are skeptical of anything that any elected official from either party says.
After being cooped up for nearly a week by a pair of winter storms, there is a tendency to let your guard down once it’s safe to drive again.
JACKSON — A smile can be seen behind Rep. Jim Beckett’s Ole Miss facemask when he is asked if his colleagues are already coming to him to talk about the redrawing of their legislative districts.
Once the several-inch-thick coat of ice melts from the highways and roads of Mississippi, expect another hazard to take its place: potholes.
JACKSON — Unintended consequences? Or a deep state conspiracy in Mississippi?
Just as the Republican majority in the Mississippi Legislature is determined not to accept federal money to expand Medicaid, the Democrats in the Biden administration are determined to coax states into taking the deal.
Donald Trump
STARKVILLE — In the 2020 election cycle, Mississippi voters overwhelmingly voted in favor of authorizing a medical marijuana voter initiative as outlined in Initiative 65 over the express objections of the majority of legislative leaders.
The good news is that across the country, the number of new coronavirus infections is declining rapidly. The interesting thing is that scientists disagree on why this is happening.
Editor, Commonwealth:
OXFORD — Proposed legislation in both the Mississippi Legislature and the U.S. Congress reflect how much intercollegiate athletics have changed in the past 60 years.
If Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell truly meant what he said after voting to acquit former President Donald Trump, then the Republican leader in Congress should feel obligated to make sure Trump can never serve as president again.
Are we in Kansas? The winter storm and bitterly cold temperatures that have hit most of Mississippi this week are highly unusual for this part of the country. We aren’t equipped to deal with these kind of wintry extremes.
If Robert Collins were to contract COVID-19, he doesn’t think he could survive it.
Three years ago, Fox News commentator Laura Ingraham unwisely advised basketball superstars LeBron James and Kevin Durant to “shut up and dribble” instead of criticizing President Trump.
David Jordan
JACKSON — There is increasing political movement toward introducing less punishment and more rehabilitation into the Mississippi criminal justice system.
It is one of the rituals of winter in Mississippi: the arrival of the first purple martins. That means spring isn’t too far off — no matter what that groundhog in Pennsylvania says or what the National Weather Service predicts for the next several days.
If Tampa Bay quarterback Tom Brady was the most interesting person on the field at last Sunday’s Super Bowl, the runner-up had to be Sarah Thomas, the Brandon woman who has been an NFL referee for the past six seasons.
Editor, Commonwealth:
Editor, Commonwealth:
JACKSON — “Have no doubt, algorithms can do all sorts of wonderful things. But, they cannot incorporate judgment or common sense into their processes.” So I wrote in 2010 about our growing dependence upon algorithms.
Was David Jordan trying to orchestrate his successor on the Greenwood City Council when he withdrew his candidacy just before last Friday’s qualifying deadline?
Mississippi has tried several initiatives over the years to try to attract new teachers, especially to areas that have had chronic difficulties filling classrooms with certified instructors.
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