Women on voting for women

A flash poll on our radio broadcast today:

Ladies: would you vote for a woman for president.

From the American Family Radio of Mississippi listening audience, 62% said "no."

62%!

Wow.

The balance would say that Condoleeza Rice was an example of someone who they could vote for, until I reminded them that she was pro-abortion. A fact or two tends to change the direction of otherwise sensible thinking.

At any rate, the latest poll (Harris) says that a whole bunch of folks - half! - won't vote for Hillary. It is early in the campaign, but a whole lot of women seem to agree that a vote for Ms. Clinton is unpalatable.

No excuses

The book everybody in Mississippi education ought to rush out and buy.

Book Description
Too many educators make excuses for the failure of most public schools to teach low-income children. But across the nation dozens of high-performing principals have identified those effective practices that allow all children to excel regardless of income level. In this new report, Samuel Casey Carter, a Bradley Fellow at The Heritage Foundation, examines the common practices of twenty one principals of low-income schools who set the standard for high achievement. The lessons uncovered in these case-studies provide an invaluable resource for anyone interested in providing increased educational opportunities for low-income children.

What a great story, a great video

Welcome home! Inspiring...

Education spending

This from the governor's office. Spending more than ever. But what he doesn't say...we are getting less. Our kids are not more educated, and they too often lack the character necessary to become the successes they need to be in a global and Kingdom economy.

Governor Barbour has proposed the biggest increase in K-12 spending in any four year period in state history – nearly $530 million. After the most recent revenue estimate, this is what Governor Barbour proposes for the next school year – all within a balanced budget, while honoring the law to set aside 2% of our revenues and not dipping into or diverting from our rainy day fund:

● A $206 million increase for our K-12 schools - a 9% increase.
● Spending more than $8000/student in state, local and federal funds – the highest in state history!
● Fully funding the Department of Education’s request for the MAEP formula – the first time in state history!
● A 3% pay raise for our teachers so our average teacher pay will be more than $42,000 – the highest in state history!
● Funding the increased cost of health insurance and retirement for our teachers.
● Funding a “High School Redesign” program for dropout prevention.
● Funding a new dyslexia screening program for K-3 students.
● Funding a mentor program for new middle school teachers to help them better manage classroom discipline.
● Requiring new physical activity standards for K-8 students because healthy kids will have fewer discipline problems and will learn more.

But the House Democrat leadership says this isn’t enough if they can’t get another $13 million!

What reforms do we need? For if there is no major - and I mean major - reform we will only feed a medicore to poor monster of pedagogy that will only get bigger, not better.

Containment? No...

America has many trenchant problems. Is there any chance that one of our woes could include pastors who consider merely preaching from a pulpit to be more Christ-like than lovingly traveling the wider community, as Jesus did, compassion in hand and a message of holiness on the tongue?

Three years ago I led an altar call at the prison where I preach. With no actual altar to work with, I asked the men who came forward to put their noses, belt buckles, and knee caps on the concrete and admit to being "dirty, rotten sinners" before the Lord. Michael was there that evening and responded, face flat on the floor. At a later date and out of prison on bond, he said that those words weren't nearly as formative as the word "surrender."

There in that prison cell -- A3 of the Hinds County Detention Center -- he heard a word that made immense sense in that divine moment and surrendered fully to the Lordship of Christ.

He was released on bond, reconciled with his wife, became a member of our church, and began discipling his four kids and paying child support for two others. He provided a holy example to his children and solidified that model by leading them in two devotional periods each day -- times that included praise and intercession and reading two chapters of Scripture.

On the work front, his longtime employer declared Michael the most godly man he knew, since his jailhouse experience, and the best employee he'd had in the last 25 years.

So, three years after he got out on bond, he went back to trial in a system anything but speedy and was found guilty (this pastor thinks him likely innocent, by the way). I had the honor of testifying at his sentencing. Among other things, I said he wasn't just a good man but a great one, and that his life "had been thoroughly redeemed by Jesus Christ." Michael could have received up to 30 years in prison. The judge ruled that he would serve four more (he has already served one).

A local television station, tipped off through the D.A.'s office that the judge might be lenient in this case, ran the story as part of an ongoing "Broken Justice" series. The segment which was aired in this case portrayed Michael, this pastor, and the church as being grossly on the side of injustice. As might be imagined, the phone lines of the station filled with outraged viewers and the next day talk radio in our community was buzzing with the subject.

One on-air comment suggested that the pastor should stick to the pulpit, and stop getting involved in affairs outside the church.

In seminary, I studied under a professor named Dr. Robert Coleman. He wrote the famous "Master Plan of Evangelism" which could alternatively be named "The Master Plan of Getting out of the Synagogue and Getting Into the Highways and Byways of Life With Disciples in Tow to Change the World." I wasn't one of Coleman's better students, but even so, if I am to be accused of many bad things, I trust it will never be said that I minded my own business and that of my congregants by merely keeping to a pulpit. Or, that I just didn't have the time or inclination to get involved at the abortion clinics, the prisons, the strip clubs, and the nursing homes. Or, that I didn't care for or stand up for the less fortunate, the downtrodden, the poor. Or, that I cared little about the unevangelized and refused to stand for the people God has entrusted to me with a good word when they were in trouble.

America has many trenchant problems. It might be proposed that all problems are, in the final analysis, spiritual ones. Is there any chance that one of our woes could include pastors who consider merely preaching from a pulpit to be more Christ-like than lovingly traveling the wider community, as Jesus did, compassion in hand and a message of holiness on the tongue?

The greatest, men like John Wesley, would have had nothing to do with a message of containment or simply taking care of the already well-mannered:

"Let us be employed, not in the highest, but in the meanest, and not in the easiest but the hottest, service -- ease and plenty we leave to those that want them. Let us go on in toil, in weariness, in painfulness, in cold or hunger, so we may but testify the gospel of the grace of God. (Acts 20:24) The rich, the honourable, the great, we are thoroughly willing (if it be the will of our Lord) to leave to you. Only let us alone with the poor, the vulgar, the base, the outcasts of men. Take also to yourselves 'the saints of the world': but suffer us 'to call sinners to repentance"; even the most vile, the most ignorant, the most abandoned, the most fierce and savage of whom we can hear. To these we will go forth in the name of our Lord, desiring nothing, receiving nothing of any man (save the bread we eat while we are under his roof), and let it be seen whether God has sent us." (John Wesley, "A Farther Appeal to Men of Reason and Religion")

Let it be seen, indeed.

How rich, in comparison, are you?

6 billion people in the world. Where do you rank?

Playboy and MSU

Playboy magazine sent out the following to interested parties. We thought you might want to start with Mississippi State University and politely but firmly ask that the President there (Robert Foglesong) make an official statement to the community at large against this immorality. It would speak well for Mississippi if he did.

His number is 1-662-325-3221. His e-mail is president@msstate.edu

The "Girls of the SEC" feature will run in Playboy's October 2007 issue, hitting newsstands Friday, September 7.

For the past 31 years, college pictorials have been one of the most talked-about and popular features in Playboy. Thousands of coeds have auditioned over the years and many selected to appear in the magazine have gone on to become Playboy Playmates, models and actresses. Playboy last featured the "Girls of the SEC" in its October 2001 issue.

During Playboy's search, photographers will spend two days interviewing candidates at each of the following schools:

University of Arkansas, Fayetteville
Monday, March 5, 2007 >
Tuesday, March 6, 2007 >

Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge
Monday, March 12, 2007 >
Tuesday, March 13, 2007 >

Auburn University
Monday, March 19, 2007 >
Tuesday, March 20, 2007 >

Mississippi State University, Starkville
Monday, March 19, 2007 >
Tuesday, March 20, 2007 >

Vanderbilt University
Monday, March 19, 2007 >
Tuesday, March 20, 2007 >

University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa
Monday, March 26, 2007 >
Tuesday, March 27, 2007 >

University of Kentucky, Lexington
Monday, March 26, 2007 >
Tuesday, March 27, 2007 >

University of Mississippi, Oxford
Monday, March 26, 2007 >
Tuesday, March 27, 2007 >

University of Georgia, Athens
Monday, April 2, 2007 >
Tuesday, April 3, 2007 >

University of Tennessee, Knoxville
Monday, April 2, 2007 >
Tuesday, April 3, 2007 >

University of Florida, Gainesville
Monday, April 9, 2007 >
Tuesday, April 10, 2007 >

University of South Carolina, Columbia
Monday, April 9, 2007 >
Tuesday, April 10, 2007 >

Oh joy! Melton out...

And this may well be a result of incompetency at the level of the judge...stay tuned.

And as long as we're getting excited about Gingrich...

...let's be reminded of this.

The God Gap - the Faith of Republicans and Democrats

Read the Barna report....here.

Great interview - Dobson queries Gingrich

Enjoy.

Your phone calls worked, again...

Because of the involvement of you and thousands of other Mississippians, the bill which would have given the casinos potentially millions of dollars in tax rebates was defeated in the Senate. The amendment keeping the casinos from getting any of this money was passed 24-22, and it was your phone calls and emails which made the difference!

The bill now goes back to the House. If the House passes the bill with the amendment excluding the casinos, it will then go to the Governor for his signature.

The gambling industry and the Mississippi Economic Council have teamed up to try to get the rebates to the casinos reinstated. They are putting heavy pressure on the members of the House.

I will keep you informed. We may have to go back again. The gambling industry has established itself as a powerful force in Mississippi. They will not be happy until they run our government in matters relating to gambling.

Below is a list of Representatives who voted for the pro-gambling bill allowing casinos to move on land. If they now vote to give the gamblers a tax rebate worth millions, it will be clear that they are pro-gambling.

But for now, I just want to say thanks! You made the difference!

These members of the Mississippi House of Representatives voted for the expansion of gambling by voting to allow the casinos to move onto land. See if your Representative was one of those who voted for the casinos.

Noal Akins, Oxford
Willie L. Bailey, Greenville
Mark Baker, Brandon
Earle Banks, Jackson
Leonard Bentz, Biloxi
Edward Blackmon, Canton
Billy Broomfield, Moss Point
Cecil Brown, Jackson
Clara H. Burnett, Tunica
Credell Calhoun, Jackson
Virginia Carlton, Columbia
Bryant W. Clark, Pickens
Alyce G. Clarke, Jackson
Linda Coleman, Mound Bayou
Mary H. Coleman, Jackson
J.P. Compretta, Bay St. Louis
Lee Jarrell Davis, Hattiesburg
Dirk D. Dedeaux, Perkinston
Bill Denny, Jackson
Chuck Espy, Clarksdale
James Evans, Jackson
George Flaggs, Vicksburg
Frances Fredricks, Gulfport
Daniel D. Guice, Jr., Ocean Springs
Frank Hamilton, Hurley
Esther Mullin Harrison, Columbus
John W. Hines, Sr., Greenville
Daniel Stephen Holland, Plantersville
Gregory L. Holloway, Sr.,Hazlehurst
Roger G. Ishee, Gulfport
Michael W. Janus, Biloxi
Robert L. Johnson III, Natchez
Bennett Malone, Carthage
Rita Martinson, Madison
Ted Mayhall, Southaven
John Mayo, Clarksdale
Bobby Moak, Bogue Chitto
John L. Moore, Brandon
Leonard Morris, Batesville
David W. Myers, McComb
David Norquist, Cleveland
Randall H. Patterson, Biloxi
Diane C. Peranich, Pass Christian
John O. Read, Gautier
John Reeves, Jackson
Walter L. Robinson, Jr., Bolton
James C. Simpson, Jr., Long Beach
Clayton Smith, Brandon
Ferr Smith, Carthage
Greg Snowden, Meridian
Gary V. Staples, Laurel
Mary Ann Stevens, West
Rufus E. Straughter, Belzoni
Sara Richardson Thomas, Indianola
Jessica Sibley Upshaw, Diamondhead
Percy W. Watson, Hattiesburg
May Whittington, Schlater
Tommy L. Woods, Byhalia
Charles L. Young, Sr., Meridian
Henry B. Zuber, III, Ocean Springs

Frank Melton, Jackson, MS mayor - off to jail

Is this pitiful, or what. Please, resign.

UPDATE: I have never been one to say "I told you so" but way back when Kane Ditto was mayor I called Frank Melton a "loose cannon" in a column. He fired back on his "Bottom Line" segment on WLBT and belittled my humble perspective.

Now, it is his loose living (alleged violation of probation) that is getting him in trouble. Mores the pity. I pray for him even though I didn't vote for him (and relatively few in Jackson can say that!) We need someone with his passion but with a far more disciplined lifestyle. Alas, more Mississippi embarrassment to have to live with...

So...Scooter Libby off to jail? Pardon him!

I am with the National Review on this one.

John Edwards: his two bits on Jesus and faith

Oh, goodness. Lots to talk about here. John Edwards talks about his faith...and, among other things, how selfish America is. And he lives in how big a mansion?

Gordon MacDonald Questions for 2008 candidates

Apparently "Mac" felt left out of some kind of religious right process. So...his questions.

Chavez claims Jesus inspired his socialism

Get a load of this:

CARACAS, Venezuela - President Hugo Chavez calls Jesus a guiding light for his self-styled socialist revolution. But his relationship with the Roman Catholic Church is complicated and sometimes strained. Even as the leftist leader has invited Catholic priests to share their ideas on transforming Venezuela into a socialist state, he has clashed with some priests who are critical of him - and in one case declared that a Venezuelan archbishop is bound for hell.

Cameron Finds Christ

Funny.

Hollywood — Titanic director James Cameron unveiled today still more artifacts discovered in the tomb of Jesus. Cameron alleges these artifacts prove, once and for all, that the man Christians believe to be the Son of God actually got married, had a child, and moved to the suburbs:

An anniversary card “To My Wife” with a handwritten inscription by Jesus; “Mary, this year — I promise — we’ll get a babysitter and take a weekend at the Fontainebleau.”

Jesus Christ’s personal checkbook, from the Bank of Jerusalem, with a check stub for Jesus Jr.’s Tai Kwan Do lessons.

Several pairs of hardly worn women’s dress shoes that Cameron swears are “size 7 1/2 — Mary Magdalene’s shoe size!”

A baseball cap labeled “World’s Greatest Dad” with a handwritten note inscribed; “Pops — Happy Fathers Day (signed) Jesus Jr.”

On the side of the ossuary, a bumper sticker that, translated from the original Aramaic, reads: “Our Boy Is An Honor Student At Jerusalem High.”

Some refrigerator magnets shaped like oxen and goats.

A crayon drawing of a man who appears to be asleep. The drawing is labeled “Uncle Lazarus.”

A 2,000-year-old lottery ticket for the Jerusalem Powerball Mega Million Game. Scholars employed by Cameron’s production company maintain that the numbers on the ticket correspond exactly with the birthdays of Jesus, Mary Magdalene, and Jesus Jr.!

A discount pass for the Jerusalem Chuck E. Cheese “good until January 1st, 0033.”

Two ticket stubs to Cats.

Melton - total embarrassment

And I mean, total:

Mayor Frank Melton, the subject of an arrest warrant for allegedly violating terms of his probation, will likely remain in a Jackson hospital this weekend after complaining of chest pains, his attorney said Friday.

Melton, 57, who had double bypass heart surgery last month, has been on probation because of misdemeanor weapons charges. If the allegations stand, Melton could go to jail.

Hinds County Sheriff Malcolm McMillin told The Clarion-Ledger of Jackson that he plans to allow Melton to conclude his hospital stay before arresting him. More, here.

Pitiful. But one can imagine why an extended stay in sickbay is the preferred option. Years ago I wrote in a column that Mr. Melton was a "loose cannon." I was roundly chastised, not the least by him on his "Bottom Line" special on WLBT. And now...

Continued Democratic erosion in the Magnolia State

One more rung down the ladder of total domination:

JACKSON - Longtime Democratic Coast Sen. Tommy Gollott switched parties and vowed allegiance to Republican Gov. Haley Barbour on Thursday, temporarily throwing the balance of power in the Mississippi Senate to the GOP for the first time since Reconstruction.

Gollott, the longest-serving current state lawmaker, blamed his switch on a recent, heavy-handed move by the state Democratic Party. The party threatened to not certify Democratic candidates who support Republicans in other races.

"In my political career, I have supported the candidates I believed would do the best job of helping the people in my district on the Mississippi Gulf Coast, without regard to political party," Gollott said. "I have supported Gov. Haley Barbour because he has done an outstanding job helping us recover from the greatest natural disaster in American history. I do not intend to back away from supporting the people who have helped us the most."

Keelan Sanders, director of the state Democratic Party, in a brief statement said: "Sen. Gollott's decision is not much of a surprise. After all, Sen. Gollott has voted more often with Republicans and Gov. Haley Barbour instead of supporting fellow Democrats on issues that help all Mississippians."

But that attitude, says Marty Wiseman, director of the Stennis Institute of Government, is the reason the Democratic Party has been losing ground in recent years in what was once a Yellow Dog Democrat state. More, here.

Mississippi Senate poised to give millions in tax rebates to casinos

Contact Your State Senator Today To Oppose House Bill 1142

The Mississippi Senate is set to give casinos a tax rebate program which could run into millions of dollars.

House Bill 1142 – Tourism Project Sales Tax Incentive, which has passed the House and will soon be voted on in the Senate, is designed to create an incentive for persons, corporations or other entities to locate certain tourism projects with the state of Mississippi. These projects could include but are not limited to theme parks, entertainment complexes, motor speedways, marinas, museums and cultural or historical interpretive educational centers. Golf courses and hotels that meet certain criteria could also be included.

This bill is a tax rebate program that allows the investor a rebate up to 30% of the estimated cost of the project paid out over a maximum of ten years. A 100 million dollar project could possibly earn 30 million dollars in tax rebates the first ten years of operation.

According to Dr. Jimmy Porter, Executive Director-Treasurer of the Christian Action Commission of the Mississippi Southern Baptist Convention, this bill grants to the casinos and the gambling industry an incentive to enlarge their holdings at the taxpayer’s expense. Tax dollars should not be used to entice more individuals to visit their facilities.

Listed below are members of the Mississippi Senate who voted to expand gambling by allowing the casinos to move onto land. If these senators voted to expand gambling and now vote to give the gambling industry millions in tax rebates, their position on gambling is clear—they feel they need to help the gamblers.

The following Senators voted to allow casinos to expand gambling onto land.
Sidney Albritton, Picayune
Terry Brown, Columbus
Terry Burton, Newton
Mike Chaney, Vicksburg
Eugene Clarke, Hollandale
Scottie Cuevas, Pass Christian
Doug Davis, Southaven
Deborah Dawkins, Pass Christian
Bob Dearing, Natchez
Ralph Doxey, Holly Springs
Alice Harden, Jackson
William Hewes, Gulfport
John Horhn, Jackson
Robert Huggins, Greenwood
Robert Jackson, Marks
Samuel Jackson, DeKalb
David Jordan, Greenwood
Dean Kirby, Pearl
Ezell Lee, Picayune
Walter Michel, Jackson
Tommy Moffatt, Gautier
Ed Morgan, Hattiesburg
Lynn Posey, Union Church
Thomas Robertson, Moss Point
Charlie Ross, Brandon
Willie Simmons, Cleveland
Billy Thames, Mize
Johnnie Walls, Greenville
Gloria Williamson, Philadelphia

Voting Present
Tommy Gollott, Biloxi

Take Action
Email your State Senator in opposition to House Bill 1142. HB 1142 has passed the House of Representatives, the Finance Committee of the Senate and is now on the Senate Calendar waiting action by the full Senate. In addition, please call your Senator and ask him or her to vote against HB 1142. Ask them to support an amendment that would exclude the casinos and the gambling industry from this bill. If the bill cannot be amended then ask them to defeat HB 1142. The number to call your senator is 601-359-3770.

Email your State Senator in opposition to House Bill 1142

A DaySpring Member Gets Thrown in Jail

And my comment to the press unpublished in this story:

"As Michael Thomas' pastor, I respect a jury verdict, but I also stand behind a man that I suspect is innocent, has been thoroughly redeemed by Jesus Christ and has done an extraordinary job discipling his young family."