Remember Mississippi - mudslinging in the Magnolia State
Chris McDaniel is your average "All-American" guy. From a small town in Mississippi, has strong family values, went to college and on to earn his JD. Later in his adult life he wanted to give back and he made the decision to run for a senate seat in his home state. What he realized early on in his race was that the incumbent opposition didn't like the fact that Mississippians were gravitating to his transparent ways. The mudslinging began.
Long time friend, Ryan S Walters, history teacher and author, collaborated with Chris to bring to light some of the corruption that entranced, not only the senate race but, the over-all politics of this "dirty" (muddy) state. I had the pleasure of hosting the two gentlemen on my weekly Miami based radio program yesterday. The following are a few thoughts. Hear the episode here: bit.ly/RyanWalters
So, as an outsider, one enters the fray of interpretation of said politics in regards to tax collecting. What does big daddy collect taxes on? Anything that makes profit. Most notably those would be natural resources. Mississippi must try and hold its own along that main trade artery that runs N/S through the country - the Mississippi River. Theres a reason the river and the State share the same name. Mississippi, historically is a very key post for collecting such taxes... or monitoring such trade. Again, this from an outsiders perspective and this is simply and opinion piece regarding my interview with these two gentlemen of yesterday. No historically there were three large players in this area: the Spanish, the French and the English. All vying for control of the mouth of this Mississippi River. One of the reasons the construction of Fort Jefferson on the Dry Tortuga west of Key West was so instrumental in the stability of the region. So post, Louisiana Purchase, Mississippi Territory, Treaty of Guadalupe etc etc - one must following the powers of influence like roots to a tree. Regardless how you view it, where that takes you in Mississippi and through the south, as Walters explains in his book, you're taken to Big Tobacco and Big Oil. Somehow the name Bush continuously pops up when it comes to Big Oil. The family that, from a quick search query has its roots most in New England dating back to the late 1700's... we know that grandfather Bush went to Yale and set a pattern for his boys. They didn't end up in Texas because of the weather. And what we find is, for people like Thad Cochran, who's enjoyed living off the tax payer for decades, tends to treat their position in politics more like a retirement home than a public service position. The name Diane Feinstein ring a bell to any reader?
This was one of Chris' main arguments from running platform for the people of Mississippi. So, for a region of America steeped in such history and conservative thinking, doesn't it sound like the milk may have gotten a little too stale down there? Now McDaniel has served as a Mississippi State Senator since 2008. In 2014 he gave incumbent Thad Cochran a run for his money and he just about "officially" won. It seems he may have actually won - court threw out the case and he's not to this day, conceded. So much less being a cigarette, Chris, was hardly a tobacco seed to Cochran's tightly rolled and smoothly wrapped, cigar. First elected to US Senate in 1978, Cochran knows how to live in the light and with the backing of big time lobbyist, Haley Barbour (BGR Group), thats any man's mountain to climb. But, as a a modern day Robin Hood for Mississippians, as I quoted him as being on my show, Chris gave the boys a real good ride... and he's considering another go.
What's the main point here? The question is, for anyone reading, for anyone paying taxes, for anyone, thus, employing thou tax-collector, for anyone subject to... yes, corrupt deep pocketed families and corporations (pardon me, Bush Political machine). Ok, hold it. Hold the question for a moment. Let me mention the following first: heck, I didn't even go down the Arkansas route, ie: Mena Intermountain Municipal Airport which is tied to then Governor Clinton, the CIA, Oliver North and yes, of course, the Bush family; for being an instrumental landing port for drug trafficking. Yeah, there're more to that story than the cocaine cowboys of South Florida. You bet'cha, the world of cocaine. Illicit? Perhaps. But, lets not forget another Southern gem. A company that built its fortune off that very drug. A Georgia based company and perhaps a product that you and I know and (like) so well, Coca-Cola. Don't think for a second there's not a tie-in along these muddy river banks. Because there is! And you need to follow the tax-collector route to understand it. The problem then... so, here's the question: WHY, are there no term limits for US Senators? Why, if you listen to that conversation - bit.ly/RyanWalters - is the US Senate multiple times referred to as a "retirement home". Have I lost you here with this opinion piece? Well, while Ive got you lost, this country just keeps going down that corrupt path and the fact that there is no term limit for US Senators helps NO ONE except perhaps those that dont want those term limits changed: that would be those who control this country's central bank. But, that Ill leave for another article.
So, cheers to men like Ryan Walters and Chris McDaniel. Cheers to any American willing to stand up to this corrupt machine that is polluting this country's landscape like a smoking cigar in a dressing room.
Clear the air folks and smell the fresh scent of the magnolia.
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