PHILADELPHIA -- Lt. Gov. Phil Bryant pointed out correctly at the political speakings at Wednesday's Neshoba County Fair that he, Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Alan Nunnelee, R-Tupelo, and others slowed the budget negotiations to ensure that $60 million was set aside to be used in 2010 or beyond.

That is true. But the lieutenant governor did not point out that he and Nunnelee also slowed the budget negotiations to ensure that the tax on hospitals was increased.

By coincidence, the tax on hospitals was increased $60 million. Legislators could have just as easily not transferred $60 million to future budget years and used that money this year in lieu of a hospital tax increase.

If the additional $60 million was needed in future years, legislators could have increased the hospital tax then.

That would be another option. But Bryant, Nunnelee and Gov. Haley Barbour were intent on increasing the tax on hospitals now.

JACKSON -- Few people who attend the annual Neshoba County Fair political speakings these days fall into the category of the uninformed voter looking to be educated.

For the most part, people who attend the political speakings are:

* Supporters of a candidate or political party looking to provide vocal support.

* A lobbyist or other type of worker who depends on government actions for his or her pay.

* Members of the media.

* People at the historic fair for other purposes, such as the horse racing, concerts or midway rides, either get lost and end up at the Founders' Square Pavilion during the speakings or have a healthy curiosity and decide to wander over for a few minutes.

This will be a quiet year at the fair with statewide elections still two years away. Still, all the statewide elected officials are scheduled to speak either Wednesday or Thursday. Some news might be made.

A disturbing trend in recent years has been audience members heckling candidates they do not support. I'm all for free speech, but people come to hear the candidates not members of the audience. Hopefully fair officials will start to get that conduct under control.

It's one thing to give vocal support to your candidate. It is another to try to deprive your candidate's opponent from being heard.

JACKSON -- Few people who attend the annual Neshoba County Fair political speakings these days fall into the category of the uninformed voter looking to be educated.

For the most part, people who attend the political speakings are:

* Supporters of a candidate or political party looking to provide vocal support.

* A lobbyist or other type of worker who depends on government actions for his or her pay.

* Members of the media.

* People at the historic fair for other purposes, such as the horse racing, concerts or midway rides, either get lost and end up at the Founders' Square Pavilion during the speakings or have a healthy curiosity and decide to wander over for a few minutes.

This will be a quiet year at the fair with statewide elections still two years away. Still, all the statewide elected officials are scheduled to speak either Wednesday or Thursday. Some news might be made.

A disturbing trend in recent years has been audience members heckling candidates they do not support. I'm all for free speech, but people come to hear the candidates not members of the audience. Hopefully fair officials will start to get that conduct under control.

It's one thing to give vocal support to your candidate. It is another to try to deprive your candidate's opponent from being heard.

JACKSON -- While the dispute about providing additional employees for the Public Service Commission has been settled for this fiscal year, it is interesting to note that other agencies got authority to hire more staff without any such controversy.

Various state agencies were given the authority to hire an additional 300  employees for the current fiscal year. Yet, many Republican  legislators got worked up over giving the three elected Public Service commissioners the authority to hire three additional employees -- experts in the area of providing them assistance on the complex issues surrounding the regulation of utilities.

The ironic thing in the whole debate is that the same legislators who balked at allowing the Public Service Commission to hire those experts agreed to allow the Public Utilities Staff to hire those experts.

  It is interesting to note that  those Republican legislators were willing to allow the Public Utilities Staff, which is an agency that reports to Gov. Haley Barbour, to hire additional staff. But those legislations were not willing to  allow the elected commissioners, who actually have to vote on whether to allow utilities to raise rates, to do the same. The commissioners consist of two Democrats and one Republican. All three said they needed the additional staff.

The issue had to be settled in a $60,000 special session that seemed real unnecessary.