Background on MS Sec of State Dick Molpus needed, please HELP

[Land Shark]

I wanted to ask a question about Mississippi recent political history, because some letters between the MS secretary of state's (SOS) office and the US Department of Justice (DOJ) are being circulated (from the year 1994) to try to justify prohibiting folks from Video the Vote, who have a formal partnership with PBS to document election breakdowns and election fraud by officials or private vendors, from doing any kind of filming of election officials and equipment breakdowns.

The letters are from 1994 and purport to have a concern about WHITES going with cameras with the specific PURPOSE of intimidating black voters, and the DOJ is saying yes, this would likely violate the Voting Rights Act. That doesn't apply IMO to video the vote, because they want to film not voters, but OFFICIALS to make sure we have a fair election. And some, but not all, of the videographers themselves will be black, so it's not a whites-intimidating-blacks issue at all.

Plus when you realize that since 1994 we now have a situation when we are on video practically every step we take while in a city at least, it's bizarre to have polling places be the only place where the government tries REAL HARD to prevent evidence of crimes from surfacing. The debate today is overall what amounts to an attempt to totally ban video without any showing at all that there's intimidation of blacks.

BUT MY QUESTION IS NARROW AND IS THIS: The letters from MS in 1994 came from the SOS Dick Molpus's office, signed by Asst. SOS Constance Slaughter-Harvey.

Can you tell me anything about their political record?

Were they strong advocates for the rights of blacks to be free from intimidation OVERALL? Are there examples that go against their stated motivation in these situations from 1994? I just don't know the context here, and context and history are important. I know he ran as a Democrat, and I already have the background such as at wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dick_Molpus

If you can help here, it will be of assistance in an important debate among some influential people (i'm probably understating this, if anything) so don't feel like responding, or even a little research, is a waste of your time. It definitely won't be!

feel free to PM me if you like.

thanks a million if you can help!!

[Land Shark]

1. Here's a salute to SOS for his public apology to the victims of "Mississippi Burning"

http://www.jacksonfreepress.com/index.php/site/comments/dick_molpus_091008/

But I'm still trying to learn all sides, since I'm not from MS...

[pleah]

2. I found this,

http://www.nationmaster.com/encyclopedia/Dick-Molpus

it seems to have lots of info. I hope it helps.

:hi:


I could not get information from the government site. Kept giving me page not found.

[pleah]

3. More:

National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, Etc; Et ...
Dick Molpus, Secretary of State of the State of Mississippi, in His Official Capacity and as Member of the State of Mississippi State Board of Election Commissioners;
vlex.com/vid/18417520
More Results from vlex.com

vlex.com/vid/18417520

[TacticalPeek]

4. They are both progressives and have fought at the front.

In context, that is how the video gangs were used here then - frothing R dingbats walking down the voter line with home video and bright lights close-up in each voter's face, "verifying" who voted as if for later use by employers, law enforcement, etc., pure R thuggery. And typical behavior for the Rs of the 'New South', especially wherever there are concentrations of black voter strength.

When they did it to me it sure riled me up. I started to go bring back a dueling cam and go at the harpy and her brood, but decided to count to 10 instead.

Seems like there could be a process that allows documenting election officials conduct in an appropriate, non-disruptive way but discourages 'vigilante' electorate inspectors.