The Lott Dynasty
Well I awoke this morning to absolutely no surprises as far as the state's elections were concerned. The people are determined to keep the fox in charge of our henhouse! Trent Lott has been given the approval for his fourth term in the Senate.
It absolutely amazes me, given the state's economical and social position as compared to the other 49 states, that we continue to elect the same representatives whose purpose continually seems to keep the people dumb, hungry, and hopeless while rewarding big business! Will we ever face the facts? Will we ever overthrow our taskmasters?
Our state ranks last in academic achievement with the lowest ACT scores and spending per pupil. That's last out of the fifty states! Some record there! But that's just the beginning as we also rank last in per capita income, again out of all fifty states, including the District of Columbia! Another great record we can be proud of!
The higest percentage of the state's tax collection comes from the sales tax which comprises 49% of the states tax revenue. The second highest percentage comes from our individual income tax which comprises 21%. But our corporate tax makes up a whopping 4% of our state's tax revenue! The Mississippi Tax Commission is one of the most underfunded, underperforming revenue agencies in the nation. Might as well not break tradition and maintain our states record as being at the bottom of the national lists I guess! Nice going MTC!
And let's not forget our legalized gambling with it's tax revenues from casinos totaling over $300 million annually. But let's also not forget what goes along with this gambling windfall revenue. Namely the fact that since some communities in Mississippi legalized casino gambling, their crime rate has increased at least 800 percent, with rapes increasing 200 percent and robberies 218 percent. And in 1994 one study showed that communities with gambling had nearly twice the national crime rate. And we can't forget to mention that Mississippi has over twice the number of sexually transmitted diseases as the national rate and that number finally places our state in a first place position out of all fifty states! WooHoo! Mississippi came in #1 in something at least!
The Lott Dynasty continues and that brings up quite a few other facts pertaining to the man himself! Firstly, in 1982 and again in 1990, Lott voted against the renewal of the Voting Rights Act. An act which enforces the 15th Amendment of our Constitution. An act that guarantees that throughout our nation, no person shall be denied the right to vote on account of race or color. And also in 1990, Lott also voted against the continuation of the 1964 Civil Rights Act. Add to those his vote against a national holiday for Martin Luther King, Jr., and in 1994 his vote to de-fund the MLK Jr. Federal Holiday Commission. And Lott along with our governor and other officials have links to the Council of Conservative Citizens who once boasted of having 34 members in the Mississippi legislature!
Well I could go on and on in the details but I believe the desire for truth and the willingness to discover injustices is prominent in most who read this humble little blog. So I think I'll just list a lot-a-Lott's history in a time-line of sorts and leave it up to the intelligent readers how deep they want to go with the man and the style of leadership he has given to the great people of the state and as a Senator of the United States.
In a quote credited to Slate magazine, Lott is said to have made the following comment."Why do they hate each other? Why do Sunnis kill Shiites? How do they tell the difference? They all look the same to me." And according to the London Guardian, just last night as the news came in that the Republicans had lost control of the House, he was overheard by a few journalists when he made this comment. "Well, it's disappointing of course and I'm most disappointed in those Americans who apparently don't remember 9/11 and don't know who is best qualified to protect them more than anything, but it's an impressive record isn't it, twelve years in control? Interesting isn't it, we lasted exactly the same amount of time as the Nazis. I like that."
Lott's voting record can be viewed at the vote-smart website and his PAC contributors, industry supporters, and financial data can be found at open secrets.
It absolutely amazes me, given the state's economical and social position as compared to the other 49 states, that we continue to elect the same representatives whose purpose continually seems to keep the people dumb, hungry, and hopeless while rewarding big business! Will we ever face the facts? Will we ever overthrow our taskmasters?
Our state ranks last in academic achievement with the lowest ACT scores and spending per pupil. That's last out of the fifty states! Some record there! But that's just the beginning as we also rank last in per capita income, again out of all fifty states, including the District of Columbia! Another great record we can be proud of!
The higest percentage of the state's tax collection comes from the sales tax which comprises 49% of the states tax revenue. The second highest percentage comes from our individual income tax which comprises 21%. But our corporate tax makes up a whopping 4% of our state's tax revenue! The Mississippi Tax Commission is one of the most underfunded, underperforming revenue agencies in the nation. Might as well not break tradition and maintain our states record as being at the bottom of the national lists I guess! Nice going MTC!
And let's not forget our legalized gambling with it's tax revenues from casinos totaling over $300 million annually. But let's also not forget what goes along with this gambling windfall revenue. Namely the fact that since some communities in Mississippi legalized casino gambling, their crime rate has increased at least 800 percent, with rapes increasing 200 percent and robberies 218 percent. And in 1994 one study showed that communities with gambling had nearly twice the national crime rate. And we can't forget to mention that Mississippi has over twice the number of sexually transmitted diseases as the national rate and that number finally places our state in a first place position out of all fifty states! WooHoo! Mississippi came in #1 in something at least!
The Lott Dynasty continues and that brings up quite a few other facts pertaining to the man himself! Firstly, in 1982 and again in 1990, Lott voted against the renewal of the Voting Rights Act. An act which enforces the 15th Amendment of our Constitution. An act that guarantees that throughout our nation, no person shall be denied the right to vote on account of race or color. And also in 1990, Lott also voted against the continuation of the 1964 Civil Rights Act. Add to those his vote against a national holiday for Martin Luther King, Jr., and in 1994 his vote to de-fund the MLK Jr. Federal Holiday Commission. And Lott along with our governor and other officials have links to the Council of Conservative Citizens who once boasted of having 34 members in the Mississippi legislature!
Well I could go on and on in the details but I believe the desire for truth and the willingness to discover injustices is prominent in most who read this humble little blog. So I think I'll just list a lot-a-Lott's history in a time-line of sorts and leave it up to the intelligent readers how deep they want to go with the man and the style of leadership he has given to the great people of the state and as a Senator of the United States.
- 1978: Leads fight to restore the citizenship of Confederacy president Jefferson Davis, lost when Davis bolted the Union.
- 1980: Salivating all over Thurmond at a Reagan rally, Lott says, "You know, if we had elected that man 30 years ago, we wouldn't be in the mess we are today."
- 1981: Fights to keep Bob Jones University tax-exempt, saying, "Racial discrimination does not always violate public policy."
- 1982: Votes not to extend the Voting Rights Act.
- 1982: Attends Mississippi White Citizens Council banquet as a guest of honor.
- 1983: Votes against national Martin Luther King holiday.
- 1984: Tells Sons of Confederate Veterans that "the spirit of Jefferson Davis lives in the 1984 Republican platform."
- 1990: Votes against amendment to the Civil Rights Act banning workplace discrimination.
- 1991: Addresses Mississippi chapter of the CCC.
- 1992: Praises the CCC in keynote speech to its annual convention, saying, "The people in this room stand for the right principles and the right philosophy. Let's take it in the right direction and our children will be the beneficiaries."
- 1994: Votes to defund MLK Day commission.
- 1994: Attends a CCC banquet in his honor.
- 1995: Again addresses the CCC.
- 1990-98: Writes occasional column for the CCC newspaper.
- 1997: Photographed with CCC leaders, who use his endorsement for recruiting.
- 1998: Attends CCC banquet honoring him.
- 2002: CCC Web site banners pic of smiling Lott under the headline, "A Lott of Courage," and tells members, "Lott Needs Your Support."
- 2002: At Thurmond's 100th birthday party, Lott declares: "I want to say this about my state. When Strom Thurmond ran for president, we voted for him. We're proud of it. And if the rest of the country had followed our lead, we wouldn't have had all these problems over all these years, either."
In a quote credited to Slate magazine, Lott is said to have made the following comment."Why do they hate each other? Why do Sunnis kill Shiites? How do they tell the difference? They all look the same to me." And according to the London Guardian, just last night as the news came in that the Republicans had lost control of the House, he was overheard by a few journalists when he made this comment. "Well, it's disappointing of course and I'm most disappointed in those Americans who apparently don't remember 9/11 and don't know who is best qualified to protect them more than anything, but it's an impressive record isn't it, twelve years in control? Interesting isn't it, we lasted exactly the same amount of time as the Nazis. I like that."
Lott's voting record can be viewed at the vote-smart website and his PAC contributors, industry supporters, and financial data can be found at open secrets.
posted by atuuschaaw at 8:56 AM
2Comments:
that's funny...all those white men at the white house look the same to me too. :p
still though...you have to admit, it's been fun to watch Bush talk about the 'thumping'...oh...priceless.
Oh yeah, the squirming has been comical to watch for sure! :)
And you are right about all those white men at the whitehouse! And that's not all...all the republicrats and democans look practically the same to me also! :p
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