NEW MISSISSIPPI DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN SERVICES STOOGE

Recently Governor Haley Barbour announced the retirement of retired Army Colonel (O-6) Don Taylor as the head of the Mississippi Department of Human Services (DHS). At the same press conference Barbour announced the appointment of retired Navy Captain (O-6) Don Thompson. he even made note that despite the fact that one was a retired Army Colonel and the other a retired Navy Captain, their retired ranks were equal.

My question is where does it say that just because both of these individuals were retired O-6's they were/are capable of handling an important agency like DHS?

Taylor has screwed up right and left. Look at the fiasco with the Columbia and Oakley training schools for juvenile offenders. Under his watch a lawsuit was brought against the state for Guantanamo and Abu Ghraib like conditions at both facilities. In 2004, the U.S. Department of Justice sued Mississippi over conditions at Columbia and Oakley. Among the accusations were claims that youngsters at Columbia were forced to eat their own vomit and were tossed naked into isolation cells.

Mississippi reached an agreement in May 2005 to end the lawsuit. As part of that four-year consent decree, a court monitor supervises progress at both facilities. A June 2007 report said some conditions had improved, but there were still problems.

The agency has not complied with all the terms of a lawsuit settlement requiring the state to fix its backlogged foster-care program. It will cost at least $34 million, officials estimate.

In addition to the accolades heap on Taylor by Barbour was what he ballyhooed as a successful abstinence sex education program. In a state with the highest teen pregnancy rate in the U.S., how can he possibly call it a successful program? All knowledgeable citizens know that the abstinence program pushed by the Bush regime has been a total failure and has not only resulted in higher teen pregnancy rates but has also led to higher STD rates.

As a retired Air Force enlisted member and also a 20 year civilian employee I know for a fact that just because a person attains the rank of O-6 in whatever branch of service they serve in it doesn't automatically mean they know what the hell they are talking about. In many cases they let their rank overload their mouths and brains.

Thompson may indeed be a more competent leader than Taylor was but I would still like to know what qualifications he has that makes him capable of leading an important agency like DHS. I understand that he previously served as vice chair of MEDICAID. We know how that agency screwed many needy citizens of this state. If this is any example of what we have in store for us, we are in for a long rough time.