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edited by: Conservative Belle, Mississippi Editor

David Hampton

  • University mergers

    Gov. Haley Barbour's proposals to merge the eight state universities into five is creating a lot of talk and consternation among those at the affected schools, but, in the end, are not likely to happen.

    We've been down this road before with talk about merging Mississippi University for' [...]
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    Posted: November 24, 2009, 5:13pm EST
    by davidhampton

  • Looking for some good advice

    The Editorial Board of The Clarion-Ledger has, throughout the years, sought participation by readers. We currently are seeking individuals who might like to be part of a new advisory board, which will meet with us, hear from newsmakers and discuss issues important to our state and community. Members also will [...]
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    Posted: November 20, 2009, 5:22pm EST
    by davidhampton

  • Barbour's budget

    Gov. Haley Barbour’s Executive Budget Recommendation kicked so many sacred cows that the mooing will be heard loudly from the Gulf to the Tennessee line. There is a list of dramatic proposals, including university and K-12 consolidation, community college governance and some state agency changes that punch some old power [...]
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    Posted: November 17, 2009, 9:55am EST
    by davidhampton

  • Barbour's budget

    Gov. Haley Barbour’s Executive Budget Recommendation kicked so many sacred cows that the mooing will be heard loudly from the Gulf to the Tennessee line. There is a list of dramatic proposals, including university and K-12 consolidation, community college governance and some state agency changes that punch some old power [...]
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    Posted: November 17, 2009, 9:55am EST
    by davidhampton

  • Flu shots

    It is really unfortunate that some school districts are not participating in an effort to get the H1N1 vaccine to students. This swine flu is particularly dangerous to children.You can't do much about the ignorance of some who make health decisions based on rumor rather than the Department of Health' [...]
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    Posted: November 12, 2009, 6:26pm EST
    by davidhampton

  • Health care

    It appears the House of Representatives  could soon vote on a health care reform and it appears it will only get one vote from Mississippi reps. First District U.S. Rep. Travis Childers, D-Booneville, announced this week that he will vote no, which would put him on the opposition list with [...]
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    Posted: November 05, 2009, 5:44pm EST
    by davidhampton

  • Education budget

    As we begin the great budget debate, or rather the great budget-cutting debate, we hear the often-repeated statement that education claims more than 60 percent of the budget. It’s a little  more complicated. Mississippi’s budget is about $19.7 billion, including general funds, special funds and federal funds. General funds, from [...]
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    Posted: November 03, 2009, 12:34pm EST
    by davidhampton

  • Consolidation

    The annual Mississippi Economic Council Hobnob event featured more hobnobbing than news, but state Rep. George Flaggs, D-Vicksburg, raised an issue that  could be getting some traction — university consolidation.
    While Gov. Haley Barbour and Lt. Gov.  Phil Bryant talked about budget issues and needs to look at new ways [...]
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    Posted: October 21, 2009, 4:17pm EDT
    by davidhampton

  • Mule headed

    Was out of the  state last week enjoying the great outdoors on a hunting trip and not keeping up with the news, so I have been having to catch up on the politics. I was intrigued by the reaction to Morgan Freeman's fundraising letter on behalf of his friend Bill [...]
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    Posted: October 21, 2009, 3:56pm EDT
    by davidhampton

  • Obama and the Nobel Prize

    President Obama being chosen for the Nobel peace prize is getting the usual criticisms from the usual critics. Like Obama or not, it was generally considered a surprise for a young president in the first months in office. And, like Obama or not, such recognition can only be good for [...]
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    Posted: October 09, 2009, 3:12pm EDT
    by davidhampton

  • Flu shot

    It is incredible to me that some parents are not going to let their children take the swine flu shot. An Associated Press poll says that up to 38 percent of parents say they will not give permission for their children to get the free flu vaccine at school. Of [...]
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    Posted: October 07, 2009, 5:13pm EDT
    by davidhampton

  • Death penalty expensive

    The New York Times published a good editorial last week on the death penalty pointing out what an economic drain it can be. Millions are spent on lengthy
    appeals. The editorial pointed out that it cost Florida $51 million more to kill prisoners than keep the offenders locked up for [...]
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    Posted: September 29, 2009, 4:59pm EDT
    by davidhampton

  • Voter ID

    Secretary of State Delbert Hosemann said today that it is unlikely there will be enough signatures gathered and verified in time to get a proposed constitutional amendment requiring voters to show identification at the polls on the ballot in 2010.
    That means it likely would go to the ballot next [...]
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    Posted: September 22, 2009, 4:41pm EDT
    by davidhampton

  • Carter's comments

    In a state where you can scratch just about any issue and find race, I just assumed everyone realized that there was a thread of racism in the angry opposition to President Obama.  Former President Jimmy Carter simply said what most have been reluctant to bring up. It's pretty obvious [...]
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    Posted: September 16, 2009, 1:19pm EDT
    by davidhampton

  • President's address

    It is a sad that some superintendents caved into the partisan critics of President Obama and did not allow children in their districts to hear the president of the United States in a special live address to schoolchildren.  President Obama told kids to work hard, develop their talents and to [...]
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    Posted: September 08, 2009, 10:15am EDT
    by davidhampton

  • Health care

    President Obama is taking a rarely used approach to try and get the nation refocused on the health care issue by addressing a joint session of Congress next week. He needs to speak. He needs to speak in detail. He needs to say exactly what the problems are and how [...]
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    Posted: September 03, 2009, 10:23am EDT
    by davidhampton

  • Kennedy served nation well, even Miss.

     Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., may not have had a lot of political fans in Mississippi, but his life work certainly benefited this state.
    I had a chance to cover him on a few  occasions and met him along with Sen. John Stennis back in the 1980s
    I was impressed [...]
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    Posted: August 26, 2009, 11:43am EDT
    by davidhampton

  • Health care

    I overheard a man telling another older man that while he considered himself a reasonably intelligent guy who tried to keep up, but didn't understand all of the health care issues. "I need to know more," he said.  Therein lies the problem that the Obama Administration has with efforts to' [...]
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    Posted: August 24, 2009, 5:56pm EDT
    by davidhampton

  • Didn't we just do this?

    Last September, state legislative leaders started the process of putting together the state budget. It took a regular legisaltive session, which recessed to delay the process, then a special session to get it done. It was finished on the last day of the fiscal year on June 30.  Now, guess [...]
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    Posted: August 11, 2009, 2:34pm EDT
    by davidhampton

  • Shouting down reason

    The performance of those showing up at congressional town hall meetings on health care and shouting down speakers is truly disgusting. Why can't people simply listen to one another and discuss their positions wiith reason and respect. Sadly, I doubt there are few of the shouters who have a clue' [...]
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    Posted: August 07, 2009, 5:52pm EDT
    by davidhampton

  • A mosque for Madison

    blog post photo
    Photo by Kaitlyn C. Hampton/Special to The Clarion-Ledger


    A new Islamic family center is being built just outside Memphis in Cordova, Tenn., on a large wooded tract near homes [...]
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    Posted: August 05, 2009, 4:02pm EDT
    by davidhampton

  • Health care

    I guess I shouldn't be, but I am still amazed at the campaigns of misinformation and scare tactics being used to try and undermine efforts for health care reform. The partisan groups churn that junk out, but the gullibility of people who believe it and pass it along is incredible.' [...]
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    Posted: August 05, 2009, 3:52pm EDT
    by davidhampton

  • Jim Ingram

    Jim Ingram, who passed away Sunday, was walking history. The former FBI agent had been there personally for a lot of major news events in this state and nation.  He had investigated some of the more heinous civil rights era crimes in Mississippi. He encountered a lot of bad people, [...]
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    Posted: August 03, 2009, 2:39pm EDT
    by davidhampton

  • AG deposits $40 million

    Attorney General Jim Hood got a check for $40 million Thursday and signed it over to the state General Fund. Nice chunk of change.  It came from the state's lawsuit settlement with Microsoft over anti-competitive conduct. Another $60 million will go to consumers. Of course, the Legislature has already spent [...]
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    Posted: July 24, 2009, 10:24am EDT
    by davidhampton

  • Health care reform

    I have learned not to underestimate the power of the special interest and partisan groups, but the campaigns of fear and misinformation against health care reform are reaching new heights. Conservative talk radio is almost 24-hour health care hysteria. Some of the claims are laughable. Everything from killing off grandma [...]
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    Posted: July 23, 2009, 2:04pm EDT
    by davidhampton

  • Cochran and Sotomayor

    Sen. Thad Cochran, R-Miss., just spoke on the Senate floor, announcing his opposition to the confirmation of Judge Sonia Sotomayor. How disappointing.
    He voted for her confirmation to the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals, yet is opposing her for the U.S. Supreme Court. That doesn't fit and it shows' [...]
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    Posted: July 22, 2009, 11:49am EDT
    by davidhampton

  • Wicker and Sotomayor

    Surprise. Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., will oppose Judge Sonia Sotomayor's confirmation to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court. Wicker cited all the Republican talking points. He can always be depend on to read the GOP leadership memos, mouth the sound bytes, be a good soldier and vote the party line. [...]
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    Posted: July 21, 2009, 11:46am EDT
    by davidhampton

  • Budget disputes

    If you thought Mississippi state government was dysfunctional, take a look at Pennsylvania. CNN did a brief report today on several states that still without budgets. Pennsylvania is in the worse shape. State workers only got paid 70 percent of their pay in June and are working free now after [...]
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    Posted: July 20, 2009, 1:28pm EDT
    by davidhampton

  • Al Franken

    I watched Sen. Al Franken, D-Minn., make his opening speech at the Senate Judiciary hearing for Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor. Five days on the job and he already is faced with one of the most important decisions that will be made this term. He was humble, respectful and complimentary [...]
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    Posted: July 13, 2009, 3:23pm EDT
    by davidhampton

  • Palin

    Dang, I guess we won't be seeing that Palin/Sanford Republican ticket.
    Republican Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin's resignation is strange, but I am not totally surprised. I shows pretty much what I thought her political judgment might be. There has been a lot of speculation why and how the move fits' [...]
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    Posted: July 08, 2009, 11:24am EDT
    by davidhampton

  • Another special session?

    Out for a week and the so much happens. Well, I guess not when it comes to the Legislature. Oh, I see that they did finish the budget, sort of, and it was even sort of the way I thought it would go.  But, the meltdown over the PSC budget [...]
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    Posted: July 06, 2009, 4:51pm EDT
    by davidhampton

  • Corporate blame

    I wrote some of this in an editorial for Saturday, but the point needs underlining.
    One of the problems with the state Capitol is that the beautiful old building often becomes a world unto itself.
    Those who are elected to carry on the people’s business there get so [...]
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    Posted: June 26, 2009, 3:34pm EDT
    by davidhampton

  • Gov. Sanford

    Add South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford to the list of promising politicians who threw away reputation and future having an affair.

    It already was a bizarre story.  He disappeared. When the media kept asking where the governor might be, it was finally announced by his staff that he was [...]
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    Posted: June 24, 2009, 1:48pm EDT
    by davidhampton

  • Budget deadline

    The budget fight is getting more serious each day. We will start hearing some of the what-ifs concerning the June 30 deadline in the next couple of days. Gov. Haley Barbour says there is little problem and that he will run the government by emergency executive order and then be [...]
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    Posted: June 24, 2009, 10:01am EDT
    by davidhampton

  • Voting Rights Act

    The Supreme Court has upheld the preclearance provisions of the Voting Rights Act. That is an important ruling for protecting voting in Mississippi because it keeps the most effective provision in place that requires officials to submit and get clearance from the U.S.  Justice Department for any change in election [...]
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    Posted: June 23, 2009, 4:53pm EDT
    by davidhampton

  • State budget

    I don't agree with Gov. Haley Barbour on a lot of policy matters, but I think he has been correct in proposing a hospital tax to fund the state Medicaid deficit. It is a fee from providers who benefit from the program, not a  "tax on the sick" as it' [...]
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    Posted: June 23, 2009, 4:08pm EDT
    by davidhampton

  • Heath care

    President Obama took his health care ideas to the American Medical Association on Monday, which hopefully will begin some realistic discussion on this critical issue. Health care reform is not only a basic economic issue, but a moral one as well with nearly 50 million people without  coverage. This discussion [...]
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    Posted: June 15, 2009, 12:29pm EDT
    by davidhampton

  • Judy Rhodes

    The Board of Education couldn't have found a better person to serve as interim state superintendent than Judy Rhodes. The board unanimously selected her last week to take over for Superintendent Hank Bounds, who is the leading candidate for commissioner of higher education.
    Rhodes is a retired Department of Education' [...]
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    Posted: June 10, 2009, 12:36pm EDT
    by davidhampton

  • Health care

    President Obama's biggest challenge, I think, is tackling the health care problems of this nation. He appears to be ready to jump into that difficult issue, despite all the other things his administration faces. He should.

    It is a shark-filled pool to jump into with some of the most [...]
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    Posted: June 10, 2009, 12:26pm EDT
    by davidhampton

  • Rankin County

    I think I wrote a piece about a decade ago about how the influx of new residents from out of state and from Jackson flight would change the insular politics of Rankin County. Great analysis, but it didn't happen, at least as fast as I thought it would. But, the' [...]
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    Posted: June 03, 2009, 10:01am EDT
    by davidhampton

  • New leadership

    The College Board has made two excellent choices in naming Hank Bounds as the preferred candidate for commissioner of higher education and Dr. Dan Jones as the preferred candidate for chancellor of the University of Mississippi.
    Bounds, superintendent of education, and Jones, vice chancellor and medical school dean at the [...]
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    Posted: June 02, 2009, 8:00pm EDT
    by davidhampton

  • PSC goes live

    The Public Service Commission now is streaming its hearings live on the Internet. You can view them at www.psc.state.ms.us.

    PSC Commissioners Leonard Bentz and Brandon Presley, in a released statements, said it was designed to give ratepayers more access to the work of the commission on important issues. He's' [...]
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    Posted: June 02, 2009, 11:17am EDT
    by davidhampton

  • Openness isn't the problem


    The Legislature languishes over the budget, caught with no good choices, only painful ones. It is hard, complicated. I feel their pain. I also feel that they have a job to do and should do it. Sorry.
    Sadly, one of the excuses for a lack action has become openness. [...]
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    Posted: June 01, 2009, 2:53pm EDT
    by davidhampton

  • I'm back

    Been out of the office for a week and my, things do change quickly.

    Harvey Johnson is back, too. He faces nominal oppostion next week and will be the next mayor. We now will all be waiting to see if it is the ol' Harvey or the new' [...]
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    Posted: May 26, 2009, 1:16pm EDT
    by davidhampton

  • Frank Melton

    In the South, we don't speak ill of the deceased, so I will remember Mayor Frank Melton today as a man who meant well and had the gumption to try to do something about all the problems he saw in the community. He was not always effective. Running for mayor' [...]
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    Posted: May 07, 2009, 1:05pm EDT
    by davidhampton

  • Party switchers not honest with voters

    I’ve said it about Mississippi legislators who switch parties in the middle of their term and the same goes, even moreso, for members of Congress — it’s poltically dishonest to voters.
    Sen.  Arlen Specter  last week switched parties — from Republican to Democratic — which could ultimately give President Barack [...]
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    Posted: May 05, 2009, 3:40pm EDT
    by davidhampton

  • Local option tax in trouble

    City officials across the state have been pushing for a local-option sales tax. The Legislature closely guards the sales tax  and is reluctant to allow local governments to raise it, except for special projects. However, lawmakers this year approved a local option sales tax for  Jackson for the purpose of [...]
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    Posted: April 28, 2009, 5:42pm EDT
    by davidhampton

  • Tea parties

    These tea party tax protests scheduled for Tax Day on Wednesday seem to have a lot of anger, but I don’t see much direction. Federal taxes actually are being cut, except for the wealthy. When it comes to pork, Mississippi is high on the hog, thanks to both Republicans and [...]
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    Posted: April 14, 2009, 1:17pm EDT

  • Cell phones and driving

    The Mississippi Legislature made a very tepid move regarding cell phone use and driving by banning some teenagers from sending text  messages while driving. I certainly agree with that, but it should apply to everyone.  In fact, I think  all cell phone use should be banned while driving.

    Some states are [...]

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    Posted: April 14, 2009, 10:00am EDT

  • Obama road trip

    President Obama may not have secured great diplomatic breakthroughs on his first foreign trip, but it clearly was a success. He has much work to do to repair the damage of the Bush administration's foreign policies of the past eight years. Style and tone is important right now and Obama [...]
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    Posted: April 08, 2009, 1:24pm EDT
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