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STATEMENT OF GOVERNOR HALEY BARBOUR “On Friday the Division of Medicaid (DOM) received verification of a major financial issue it has been discussing with the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services........ In October 2003, the Musgrove Administration adjusted the State’s formula for paying the state share of Medicare Part B premiums......... ---snip As a result CMS.....is giving us a refund. Today, CMS refunded approximately $58.9 million to the State, which reduces the Medicaid deficit for FY09 by a like amount. A partial refund of $33.2 million was made by CMS on August 20th and used to repay a FY08 line...

(1) Gets Bush out of St. Paul, where he would have given a speech that the media and the Democrats would have pounced on, and puts him in the eye of the storm, doing the nation's business, where he will be welcomed and greeted by friendly Republican governors. (2) Puts the spotlight on those friendly Republican governors--Haley Barbour, Charlie Crist, and most of all, Bobby Jindal, (the male Sarah Palin)--who will do their jobs competently, in contrast with the mess made three years ago by the Democratic governor of Louisiana, whose performance even at the time was compared unfavorably to...

Likely GOP presidential nominee John McCain and his running mate, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, are traveling to Mississippi on Sunday to check on people getting prepared for Hurricane Gustav. Their trip comes just as delegates are preparing for the Republican National Convention, which begins Monday. Aides say McCain and his wife Cindy will join Palin in traveling to Jackson, Miss., Sunday at the invitation of Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour because of concerns about people threatened by the storm, which was heading into the Gulf of Mexico and menacing the same area ravaged by Hurricane Katrina three years ago. The storm...

ST. PAUL, Minn. — President Bush is unlikely to make it to the Republican National Convention, and Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) may deliver his acceptance speech via satellite because of the historically huge hurricane threatening New Orleans, top officials said. Late Saturday night, the RNC was planning to issue a release announcing the formation of a "working group of representatives from each of the states in Hurricane Gustav's path. The group will ensure that all affected delegates have information and assistance in real time. "The Affected States Working Group is led by all five state party chairs from the affected...

(AP Content not allowed: click on link to view original article) http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080831/ap_on_el_pr/cvn_mccain_gustav

McCain: I may postpone convention By: Mike Allen August 30, 2008 05:03 PM EST John McCain said the Republican National Convention may be postponed as federal officials said Hurricane Gustav was gathering to a devastating Category 5 as it headed toward star-crossed New Orleans. “It just wouldn't be appropriate to have a festive occasion while a near-tragedy or a terrible challenge is presented in the form of a natural disaster,” McCain told Chris Wallace of “Fox News Sunday,” in an interview taped for tomorrow. “So we're monitoring it from day to day and I'm saying a few prayers, too.” McCain...

PARCHMAN - One of Marcus Gentry's killers is dead. "The Mississippi Department of Corrections today conducted the mandated execution of inmate Dale Leo Bishop," Commissioner Christopher Epps said Wednesday. "This evening closed the final phase of the Dale Leo Bishop case, which began on Dec. 10, 1998, with the kidnapping and murder of Marcus James Gentry." The death by lethal injection was carried out, he said, "with dignity and decorum." Bishop wore a goatee and a red prison jumpsuit with flip-flops to his execution by lethal injection at 6 p.m. He was pronounced dead at 6:14 p.m. A couple of...

TICKET CHOICE SEARCH With the nomination for the Republican solidifying mightily, Sen. John McCain has asked his senior advisers to begin pulling together short lists for Vice Presidential choices. At the top of list, according to one senior adviser: Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour. "There are others that need to be on that list, but you have to believe the Haley is a frontrunner," says the adviser, who knows both McCain and Barbour well. Barbour would be one name that puts many conservatives at a bit more ease, one of the criteria McCain understands he must meet, according to another adviser:...

Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour yesterday said that he is too conservative to be John McCain's running mate but that the Arizona senator's maverick reputation will help him in an election in which moderates and independents will be more important than in recent years. Mr. Barbour also urged Mr. McCain, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, not to name his pick for vice president until after the Democrats' convention, when he can draw the sharpest distinction between the parties. Mr. McCain will depend on "persuasion" to snare independents and disgruntled Democrats on Nov. 4, unlike George W. Bush in the 2000 and...

JACKSON – Legislation designed to crack down on illegal immigrants and the businesses that hire them was signed into law Monday by Gov. Haley Barbour, but not without reservations. In signing the legislation late Monday, Barbour released a statement asking the Legislature to modify the law he had just signed. Under the bill and now law, employers are required to check with the federal Electronic-Verification system to ensure potential employees are legal. Failure to do so could result in a business losing its license to operate in the state. Barbour said there are possible flaws in the e-verify system. "Mississippi's...

JACKSON, Miss. --Mississippi's Republican governor campaigned last year on minimizing government regulation of business, but he signed bill Monday that he said will require employers to use an unproven federal system to check immigrants' status. Haley Barbour said he has "serious concerns about specific provisions of the bill that could have unintended negative consequences." The bill becomes law Jan. 1. It will require employers to use the U.S. Homeland Security electronic verification system to check whether new hires are legal residents. Employers who hire illegal immigrants could lose their business license for a year and any state contract work for...

Tell Gov. Barbour to sign immigration enforcement bill! This is a special message for NumbersUSA members in Mississippi. Dear Mississippi friends, Last week, the Mississippi state legislature passed SB 2988, a bill requiring all employers in the state to use E-Verify to determine their employees’ eligibility to work in the United States. The bill, which passed the Senate 52-0 and passed the House 112-8, was sent to Governor Hayley Barbour (R) for signature. Today is the deadline for signing the bill. While campaigning for reelection in 2007, Governor Barbour ran on a platform that advocated cracking down on illegal immigration....

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE RELEASE 020607-01 CONTACT: Joshua W. Jones Draft Haley Barbour for Vice President (678) 207-6723 (mobile) josh@drafthaley.com SUPER TUESDAY SHOWS NEED FOR SOUTHERN CONSERVATIVE ON TICKET Committee launches formal campaign to gain VP nod for beloved Mississippi Governor ATLANTA – With John McCain as the predicted GOP front-runner, people are beginning to speculate on his running mate. Pundits agree that if McCain secures the nomination, he will need a strong conservative in the Deep South. Draft Haley Barbour for Vice President, an Atlanta-based committee, has launched an online petition to engage conservative Americans in a push for the...

JACKSON, Miss. -- The dispute over an election to fill the U.S. Senate seat formerly held by Republican Trent Lott is now headed to court. Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood on Wednesday filed a complaint in Hinds County Circuit Court against the Nov. 4 election date set by Gov. Haley Barbour. The two have been at odds over when the election should be held. "We also filed a motion for preliminary injunction in hopes of expediting the matter. We have asked the court for a hearing next week," Hood said in statement on Wednesday. Barbour, a Republican, said he has...

JACKSON, Miss, - Gov. Haley Barbour on Monday announced his choice for Trent Lott's replacement in the Senate: Rep. Roger Wicker, a conservative congressman. Barbour said it was important to select a person with Lott's "conservative values" and who would be able to work with Mississippi Sen. Thad Cochran, also a Republican. "I am a mainstream conservative in the mold of Trent Lott, Thad Cochran, Haley Barbour and (U.S. Rep.) Chip Pickering and I believe the vast majority of Mississipians share this philosophy," Wicker said at a news conference. "At the same time, I hope my constituents and colleagues view...

BARBOUR PICKS WICKER 12/31/2007 11:16:36 AM Daily Journal JACKSON – It’s official: U.S. Rep. Roger Wicker, R-Tupelo, is Mississippi’s new junior senator. Gov. Haley Barbour announced his choice today at an 11 a.m. news conference in Jackson. The governor is authorized to appoint an interim senator until a special statewide election to fill the remaining five years on the term. Wicker, a Pontotoc native, has represented Mississippi’s 1st Congressional District since 1994. Before that, he was a two-term state senator. Barbour will introduce South Mississippians to Wicker at an afternoon news conference.

The latest word out of the Magnolia State is that Gov. Haley Barbour (R) is likely to pick either US Rep. Chip Pickering (R) or US Rep. Roger Wicker (R) to succeed Minority Whip Trent Lott (R) as the next US Senator from Mississippi. On the Democratic side, the scuttlebutt is that former Attorney General Mike Moore, probably the most electable politico among the state’s beleaguered Democrats, has decided that he will run, setting up what is likely to be a fierce, well-funded competition that is sure to receive national attention. Whether Barbour will choose Pickering or Wicker is still...

Who is on Jesus' side in Mississippi? That's the question John Arthur Eaves Jr. posed to voters during his recent campaign for Mississippi governor. The 41-year-old attorney and evangelical Christian ran his campaign on themes familiar in the Bible Belt: Eaves is pro-life, opposes gay marriage, and favors teaching creationism in public schools. But one thing about Eaves' overtly Christian-themed candidacy threw Mississippi voters for a loop: Eaves is a Democrat. Eaves did not prevail against Republican incumbent Gov. Haley Barbour in the Nov. 6 elections, but the candidate did manage to make a point in the Republican stronghold: Democrats...

Results of the State wide election for Mississippi's General Election

Several prominent Mississippi politicians, including a Democrat who served in President Clinton’s Cabinet, are endorsing Republican Haley Barbour for a second term as governor. ‘‘We’ve got to do what’s best for Mississippi, and in this case, it has to be the person over the party,’’ Mike Espy, who was Clinton’s first secretary of agriculture, said Wednesday. Espy stood by Barbour and the governor’s wife, Marsha, during a news conference at the state Capitol. About two dozen other politicians, ministers and businesspeople stood on the marble steps behind them.

Dynamics changed from 2003 election 10/9/2007 Daily Journal JACKSON - In 1999, Democrat Ronnie Musgrove won the Mississippi governor's office by capturing a plurality of the vote at 49.6 percent. In 2003, the incumbent Musgrove garnered 30,700 votes more than he did in 1999 but received 3.8 percent less of the total votes than he did in 1999 and lost to Republican challenger Haley Barbour. Turnout was huge in 2003, and it carried Barbour to the Governor's Mansion. Barbour, former chairman of the Republican National Committee, who is given a considerable amount of the credit for the Republican takeover of...

Will state voters respond to Eaves' Bible-thumping campaign? By Sid Salter Incumbent Republican Gov. Haley Barbour is using his campaign war chest on television commercials that talk about his record on job creation, work force training and his leadership in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. When Barbour's TV ads aren't talking about those topics, the ads focus on reminding people that Democratic challenger John Arthur Eaves Jr. is a wealthy, successful personal injury lawyer who has taken cases for plaintiffs who sued the U.S. military or the federal government. Eaves is spending a lot of money on television ads, too....

In Mississippi, Democrat Runs in G.O.P. Lane By Adam Nossiter October 10, 2007 STARKVILLE, Miss., Oct. 5 — The candidate is running to serve his Creator. He is running to restore prayer in schools, bring Jesus into public discourse, force the “money changers” from the state capitol, and move his extensive gun collection into the governor’s mansion. John Arthur Eaves Jr. at Mississippi State University in Starkville last week for a debate in which Gov. Haley Barbour expressed exasperation at the Bible focus. It is not extraordinary in the local context, except that John Arthur Eaves Jr., the man saying...

CRAWFORD, Texas (CNN) — A powerhouse Republican lobbying firm with close ties to the White House has begun a public campaign to undermine the government of Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, CNN has confirmed. .................. A senior Bush administration official told CNN the White House is aware of the lobbying campaign by Barbour Griffith & Rogers because the firm is "blasting e-mails all over town" criticizing al-Maliki and promoting the firm's client, former interim Iraqi Prime Minister Ayad Allawi, as an alternative to the current Iraqi leader. ................ The lobbying firm boasts the services of two onetime foreign policy hands...

The former Iraqi prime minister speaks out on how he hired a well-connected Washington lobbying firm to help pave his attempt to oust the current government. Who’s footing the bill? Aug. 29, 2007 - The powerhouse Washington lobbying firm hired by former Iraqi prime minister Ayad Allawi is talking to the Justice Department about how to amend its foreign-agent filings after department lawyers questioned whether the firm had adequately disclosed who was paying the firm’s tab. The talks came as Allawi told NEWSWEEK that two Iraqi supporters of his were footing the $300,000 bill for the contract he recently signed...

Let me start by saying I like Haley. I cheered him on back in 2003 when he was here in Southaven with the president. He brought jobs to Mississippi and has helped the coast recover after Katrina. But during this past primary season I noticed something. The literature that came from the state senate candidates was full of items that they would do to stop illegal immigration. Haley's pamplets shows his strides in jobs and education, which of course are a good thing. But digging through the web you don't find much on his stance of immigration. You find alot...

CRAWFORD, Texas (CNN) -- A powerhouse Republican lobbying firm with close ties to the White House has begun a public campaign to undermine the government of Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, CNN has confirmed. A report by the U.S. intelligence community questions Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's ability to govern. This comes as President Bush is publicly taking great pains to reiterate his support for the embattled Iraqi leader. Al-Maliki's government has come under sharp criticism and scrutiny from Washington lawmakers and officials, as reflected in Thursday's National Intelligence Estimate. A senior Bush administration official told CNN the White House...

A company headed by the niece of Gov. Haley Barbour has won bidding for a country club once owned by imprisoned ex-WorldCom CEO Bernie Ebbers. The company, Alcatec, is owned by Rosemary Ramirez Barbour, who is married to Hinds County Supervisor Charles Barbour, the governor’s nephew. Rosemary Barbour said Thursday that her company bid $810,000 for the Brookhaven Country Club. “I think it’s great for the community,” she said. The country club formerly owned by Ebbers includes almost 130 acres with an 18-hole golf course, eight tennis courts, a swimming pool, a clubhouse, maintenance sheds and a home. Rosemary Barbour...

A site selection consultant for Toyota gave high praise to Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour for getting the new Toyota plant being built near Tupelo. Dennis C. Cuneo spoke to the Mississippi Economic Council's 58th annual meeting in Jackson on Wednesday. He told over 1,000 business leaders, "The governor's personal involvement in this project, was unprecedented. He did act as the project manager. Everytime we had an issue, he resolved it, usually within a few hours. While the nation got to see his leadership in Katrina, we got to see his leadership up close, and his personal involvement in this struck...

Jackson, MS (LifeNews.com) -- Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour signed a bill on Thursday that would prohibit abortions in the state should the Supreme Court ever overturn Roe v. Wade. The bill would also require abortion businesses there to allow women considering an abortion to see an ultrasound beforehand. Under the trigger law, the only cases of abortion that would be allowed after Roe is reversed would be when the abortion directly threatens the life of the mother and in cases of rape. The bill doesn't have an incest exception but legislators said it would be covered under the definition of...

You'll be happy to hear that Biloxi's gaming business not only has made big strides since Hurricane Katrina devastated the coastline, but also that the restored casinos have expanded what they offer, and new properties are on the way. Before the storm that destroyed tens of thousands of gulf-area homes, Biloxi had nine casinos. Today, seven are back in business, including the glitzy Beau Rivage Resort & Casino, which reopened at the end of August, a year after Katrina hit. After the hurricane, the city changed its laws to allow casinos -- previously confined to floating structures at the water's...

WASHINGTON - President Bush on Saturday renewed the nation's commitment to help victims of last year's Gulf Coast hurricanes and thanked U.S. troops fighting abroad. In his Saturday radio address, Bush said Americans are grateful to those who rallied after hurricanes Katrina and Rita to bring food, water and hope to people who lost everything. "We renew our commitment to help those who are still suffering and to rebuild our nation's Gulf Coast," Bush said. This week, the president will attend a NATO summit in Europe and will meet in Jordan with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki. On Saturday, he...

A Few of FR's Finest....Every Day Free Republic made its debut in September, 1996, and the forum was added in early 1997.   Over 100,000 people have registered for posting privileges on Free Republic, and the forum is read daily by tens of thousands of concerned citizens and patriots from all around the country and the world. A Few of FR's Finest....Every Day was introduced on June 24, 2002. It's only a small room in JimRob's house where we can get to know one another a little better; salute and support our military and our leaders; pray for those in...

Seemingly before the wind stopped, certainly before power was restored, they began arriving. The initial wave brought the food, the drink, the clothing, the gasoline to get through those first desperate, chaotic days. The second wave brought hammers, saws, shovels, drills, all the tools necessary to begin removing Hurricane Katrina’s afterbirth. As summer turned to fall and fall to winter, they came, wave after wave after wave. From near and far, points domestic and international, some 350,000 volunteers set aside their lives to help us rebuild ours. And still they come. To paraphrase volunteer Elizabeth Ryan, they climb, pound, beat,...

JACKSON - In the days after Hurricane Katrina slammed Mississippi's Gulf Coast, Gov. Haley Barbour at times held back tears as he gave daily news briefings. He also spoke in his thick south Delta drawl of the need for him, as well as people on the Gulf Coast, "to hitch up their britches" and deal with the immediate problems - death, destruction and chaos. But he did not stop there. From almost the beginning he was talking about a vision of a new Coast, one that was bigger and better than ever. He received a standing ovation less than two...

BILOXI - While New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin continues to get criticized for his actions and inactions before, during and after Hurricane Katrina, Biloxi Mayor A.J. Holloway has been a media darling. It seems that Holloway, 63, has made all of the right moves before, during and after the big storm. Despite that fact that many Biloxi neighborhoods were hit just as hard as Waveland and Bay St. Louis, Holloway's keen preparation and a little luck helped him and his city get back into the fight more quickly than most. “I put our success to the people of Biloxi,” Holloway...

Abbreviated analysis this week.  I'm trying to be good (honest) and not use my eyes much in the lead up to seeing my surgeon next weekend. My bet is 80-20 that the corneal transplant surgery (this will make number 4 in 26 years) is before the end of October.  We'll soon see (no pun intended... at least intentionally). Bottom line for this week, everything in the universe that is not perfect is the fault of George W. Bush.  As if we didn't know that already. The big theme this week is "all Katrina, all the time."  The DBM pulls out...

PEARL, Miss. - Can an outside politician go to Iowa these days and not be seen as a presidential wannabe? Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour said months ago that he won't run for president in 2008, but he might stir up talk of a possible candidacy by speaking in Des Moines on Aug. 16. Asked if he's eyeing a run for the White House, Barbour shook his head. "You can rest assured. I'm on hurricane duty," he told The Associated Press. He responded to questions on Friday during a visit to the new Mississippi Emergency Management Agency headquarters in the Jackson...

School officials can't prohibit teachers and students from discussing how life began under a new state law signed by Gov. Haley Barbour. As originally drafted, the measure was designed to foster discussions about the theory of "intelligent design" and flaws with Darwin's explanation of how humans evolved. However, the Legislature expanded it to simply say no limits can be imposed on teachers and students in class talking about "the origin of life." Intelligent design is presented as an alternative to natural explanations for evolution, but at least one court ruled it out of public schools because it's considered religious doctrine....

JACKSON, Miss. - Gov. Haley Barbour on Monday vetoed a bill that would allow the Mississippi Legislature to appropriate $20 million annually to a private, nonprofit anti-tobacco organization. In his veto message, Barbour said "the Partnership for a Healthy Mississippi has been cloaked in politics and cronyism." The Partnership has received the $20 million a year by court order since 2000. The money comes from a massive lawsuit Mississippi settled with tobacco companies in 1997. Republican Barbour filed a lawsuit in 2005 seeking to halt payments to the Partnership, which is led by former Attorney General Mike Moore, a Democrat....

TYLER,CDBEAR,NERDDAD,REAL MAGNOLIA,POLLYG107,BOURBON (Back Row)RKBAFG,ONYX,WKB,HOTTIE TOTTIE . To show our diversity: Bourbon always has a bad hair day and Nerd Dad never has a bad hair day More diversity: Some people WASTE money at the beauty shop And some people don't even need to go But we don't go over board with our liberal ways. "Absolutely not NO democrats allowed in this room and I have a gun" "Hurry with your picture taking we have things to do." Sucking on a lemon is more fun than listening to this bunch

Mark Finkelstein March 13, 2006 According to Chris Matthews, people putting stock in the actual poll results of the Memphis GOP beauty contest have things . . . Oz backwards. In Dorothy's adventure, the Wizard cautioned us to "pay no attention to the man behind the curtain." But this morning, Chris Matthews told us that the way to understand what was going on at the GOP straw poll in Memphis was to do just that - look behind the curtain at the Republican heavy-hitters lining up behind John McCain. Interviewed by Matt Lauer on this morning's Today show, Matthews claimed:...

by Mark Finkelstein March 11, 2006 Tonight's Hardball post-mortem special on the just-concluded Memphis straw poll of GOP presidential hopefuls was a treasure trove for political junkies. One obvious conclusion: it was good night for Mitt Romney. For a notherner, someone from Massachusetts and a Mormon at that, to finish second in the South, was a notable accomplishment. But Chuck Todd of the Hotline suggested another headline: "The biggest thing: we'll look back at this conference by saying this is when we found out that Haley became McCain's southern sherpa. He has made McCain bona fide. I think a Haley-McCain...

Jackson, MS (LifeNews.com) -- Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour, a Republican, says he will sign a measure that bans virtually all abortions in the state should it make its way through the legislature and reach his desk. A state House committee approved the ban on a wide margin. The measure would prohibit all abortions except in very rare cases when the life of the mother is in jeopardy. It does not allow exceptions for abortions in cases of rape or incest -- something Barbour says he favors. "It hasn't gotten to my desk yet. When one gets there, we'll find out,...

by Mark Finkelstein February 28, 2006 Now it's getting nasty. Katie Couric has pointedly suggested that Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour's past chairmanship of the Republican National Committee permitted him to snare a disproportionately large share of Katrina rebuilding funds. The accusation came in the course of Couric's interview of Jim Amos, editor of the New Orleans Times-Picayune. An aside: whereas Katie seemed frustrated in an earlier interview this morning of Mayor Ray Nagin when he was unwilling to point the finger at the Bush administration for allegedly slow progress, Amos was much more compliant. He laid most of the fault...

I was born on Mardi Gras Day in New Orleans so you can't get more New Orleanian than me. The failures of government during and after Hurricane Katrina were at every single level. Last year, Gov. Kathleen Blanco and the mayors of New Orleans and surrounding parishes had a trial run with Hurricane Ivan. It was a disaster even though the storm did turn eastward. Gov. Blanco especially blew it then and she blew it this time when the city of my birth was demolished. Mayor Nagin sent thousands of people to the Superdome and the Convention Center knowing that...

JACKSON, Miss. - Republican Gov. Haley Barbour said Tuesday he will not run for president in 2008 because he is too busy with Hurricane Katrina's aftermath. Instead, Barbour, 58, said he intends to seek a second term as governor in 2007. "There's no way I could run for president and do what I've got to do as governor. And, obviously, being governor comes first," said the former GOP national chairman, responding to questions from The Associated Press. Barbour also dismissed the possibility of a run for vice president in 2008. "Why would a Republican pick a running mate for Mississippi?"...

A TALE OF TWO GOVERNORS February 3, 2006…Yesterday, it was painful to watch the testimony of Louisiana Governor Kathleen Blanco. As she was grilled by Senators over issues such as the lack of a plan to evacuate those citizens most in need, particularly nursing home patients, the Governor did her utmost to communicate the position of her administration. She claimed that her staff did the best job they could under incredibly difficult circumstances. Through it all, the Governor was defensive and somewhat shaky, giving committee members the view of a leader who was slightly unsure, not entirely composed. Sitting next...

It appears the new seat belt bill will be signed into law. It would allow officers to pull you over and ticket you, simply for not being buckled up. Governor Haley Barbour announced today he will sign the bill. The penalty is a maximum fine of 25 dollars. It applies to both front seat passengers and children between 4 and 8 years old, sitting anywhere in the car. The bill was introduced in the house. The senate passed it on friday

Gov Barbour said on the Paul Gallo radio show this morning that he was going to veto Tobacco Tax/Grocery Sales Tax. I heard it with my own ears.