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11 Jan 2012 20:26

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Politics: Mississippi judge blocks 21 of Haley Barbour’s pardons

  • Checked by the judiciary: Thanks to a request by Mississippi’s Democratic Attorney General, Jim Hood, 21 of the 208 pardons issued by outgoing Governor Haley Barbour yesterday have been blocked. Hood objected on the grounds that the convicts in question failed to give sufficient notice they were seeking the pardons, which he claims amounts to a violation of the state’s constitution on Barbour’s part. Barbour defended his decision today, in a statement emphasizing the relatively low rate of currently serving prisoners released, as well as medical considerations. (Photo by Gage Skidmore) source
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink

11 Jan 2012 15:18

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U.S.: Mississippi ex-Governor Haley Barbour goes on pardon spree on last day in office

  • 208 pardons by Haley Barbour on his last day in office source
  • » The power of the pen: In a move that shocked the Mississippi political system and jumbled up the traditional left-right orthodoxies on law and order, outgoing Governor Haley Barbour used his last day in office to pardon 208 inmates, among them 14 convicted murderers, as well as the older brother of former NFL quarterback Brett Favre. This deluge has both led Democratic lawmakers to push for future restrictions on the gubernatorial right to pardon. To be sure, it’s wrong to decry a particular pardon without knowing all the facts. But waiting until the last day of an eight-year tenure, with no more accountability in sight? That’s always going to cause controversy, and rightly so. Edit: Fixed an error. Sorry about that all :/
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink

25 Apr 2011 21:55

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Politics: Ron Paul to run for President again

  • one Establishment favorite and GOP company man Haley Barbour surprised everyone today by announcing that he won’t be running for president in 2012 (probably a good idea, given his poll numbers).
  • two Hours later, Dave Weigel at Slate confirmed that everyone’s favorite scrappy libertarian, Ron Paul, will announce tomorrow an exploratory committee to run for president. Let the ReLOVEution begin again — for the first time. source
  • » What this means: One thing to keep in mind about presidential primaries is that every time a potential candidate announces their intent to run (or that they won’t be running), the calculus for every undecided candidate changes. For example, Haley Barbour is good friends with Mitch Daniels, who is half-heartedly considering a run of his own. With Barbour out, Mitch Daniels has one less excuse not to run. Meanwhile, Ron Paul’s entrance into the race effectively puts an end to his son’s quixotic flirtations with a bid, as Rand Paul already ruled out running against his father. Next question: Will the presence of another libertarian on the ballot put a dent in Paul’s loyal following?
Posted by Seth Millstein • 0 Comments • Permalink

02 Apr 2011 12:09

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U.S.: Rally at Mississippi Capitol for Scott sisters pardon

  • NO Haley Barbour won’t give the Scott sisters a full pardon source
  • » The Governor won’t have it: A rally was held outside the Mississippi State Capitol building yesterday, urging Governor Haley Barbour to grant a full pardon to the Scott sisters, Gladys and Jamie. It’s been 16 years since the two received double life sentences for armed robbery, a punishment that was absurdly severe even if presuming the sisters’ guilt- check out this great article by The New York Times’ Bob Herbert to brush up on the story. Barbour suspended their sentences indefinitely earlier this year, because Jamie had kidney disease and Gladys was offering a transplant, so they now have their freedom back. Barbour’s response on properly pardoning the two, though? “Tell ’em don’t save any space in the newspaper for that to be announced.”
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink

21 Mar 2011 21:44

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Politics: Haley Barbour would like to introduce you to … Haley Barbour

  • They have yet to learn what a Haley Barbour is, and that will be a challenge.
  • Haley Barbour • Speaking about himself in the third-person in a profile piece about him for the New York Times. He’s a likely 2012 presidential candidate, but his profile is a tad low — more Herman Cain, less Sarah Palin. If anyone needs an idea of who this Haley Barbour character is, we have a pretty good collection of posts about this guy. In his defense, he did some great work as Mississippi governor in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. But on the other hand, he has said a bunch of other stuff that voters may not like. And he has a career as a lobbyist under his belt, which doesn’t exactly mesh well with the current anti-lobbyist vibe right now. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

28 Feb 2011 21:58

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Politics: Haley Barbour remembered stuff that actually didn’t happen

  • memory Attempting to burnish his non-racist credentials, Haley Barbour recalled a 1962 Martin Luther King speech in his hometown of Yazoo. “He spoke out at the old fairground and it was full of people, black and white,” he said in December.
  • reality A heartening tale, but according to Pulitzer Prize-winning historian David Garrow, there’s no record of it actually happening. MLK only came to Yazoo once, in 1966, and didn’t hold a rally when he was there. Whoops!
  • candid According to Barbour’s comments, he “paid more attention to the girls than to [Martin Luther] King.” We don’t doubt that, if the speech had happened, this would have been the case, so at least he isn’t being 100% disingenuous. source
Posted by Seth Millstein • 0 Comments • Permalink

17 Feb 2011 22:36

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Politics: Haley Barbour refuses to condemn tribute to KKK leader

  • No candidate can successfully run for president if he doesn’t understand you should rebuke efforts to honor the man most identified with the KKK.
  • The Washington Post’s Jennifer Rubin • On Mississippi governor and likely presidential candidate Haley Barbour’s latest racially-tinged blunder. After praising the racist, pro-segregationist Council of Conservative Citizens last year as “an organization of town leaders,” and insisting that that the civil rights battles of the 60s weren’t “that bad,” he’s now refusing to condemn an effort in Mississippi to make commemorative license plates honoring a leader of the KKK, Nathan Bedford Forrest. For a while, members of the GOP establishment have been urging Barbour not to run for President. We think they’re onto something. source
Posted by Seth Millstein • 0 Comments • Permalink
 

07 Feb 2011 23:45

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U.S.: 2012 field starts to solidify, but still lots of uncertainty

  • in It’s looking very, very likely that Haley Barbour will seek the nomination for President: an unnamed advisor said that “he’s running until he says he’s not.”
  • out John Thune, who up until recently seemed like an almost-definite yes, looks to be having some second thoughts about running (or, more specifically, his wife is).
  • odd Apparently, Bob Riley (who?) is now also considering a run. Because, you know, there aren’t enough obscure candidates in the race already. source
Posted by Seth Millstein • 0 Comments • Permalink

30 Dec 2010 18:09

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U.S.: Haley Barbour: Want early release? That will cost you one kidney

  • $11 the amount two Mississippi sisters stole in an armed robbery at a nightclub 16 years ago
  • two the number of life sentences they got for the crime (really); they had no prior records
  • one number of kidneys one sister has to donate as a condition of her sentence getting suspended source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

21 Dec 2010 22:06

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Politics: Haley Barbour backtracks on controversial segregation statements

  • Nobody should construe that to mean I think the town leadership were saints, either. Their vehicle, called the ‘Citizens’ Council,’ is totally indefensible, as is segregation.
  • Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour • Making the inevitable backtrack after his controversial statements that suggested he didn’t think racism in the South wasn’t that big a deal. And not a moment too soon. This guy wants to possibly run for president in 2012. After that interview, have fun with that, buddy. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
 
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