JACKSON -- Make no mistake about the fact that Bennie Turner, D-West Point, was an effective state senator for District 16 until near his death this past Tuesday from brain cancer.

But people who were not familiar with Turner before his 1999 bout with meningitis that nearly took his life and severely impacted his hearing do not know the full measure of the man. Turner was a unique legislator in that he was a commanding presence without trying to be, a calming influence and a deep thinker.

He was a rare politician who did not speak unless he had something significant to say and then was measured in what he said.

Many believed he was destined for historic accomplishments in Mississippi politics before the illness.

JACKSON -- Unless the economy goes back into nosedive, state revenue for the current budget  year, which started July 1, is projected to finally surpass the amount collected in fiscal year 2008.

The state is projected to collect $4.94 billion this year compared to $4.937 billion in 2008. It is amazing that it is taking the state at least five years to return to revenue levels the state enjoyed before the Great Recession hit.

That trend in revenue collections is unprecedented in Mississippi. Normally, in Mississippi revenue collections from year to year show  slow, but steady growth.

More disturbing is that according to state Economist Darrin Webb Mississippi "has roughly the same number of people employed in 2012 as it did in the mid-90s."

JACKSON -- Politicians have to fight about something.

Most is quiet in Mississippi so politicians decided it would be good to create a controversy over voter identification.

State Republican Party Chair Joe Nosef sent out a news release Thursday criticizing the U.S. Department of Justice for not approving Mississippi's new law requiring people to display a government-issued photo ID in time for Tuesday's elections.

Nosef is a smart and nice guy, but he should know the state Legislature did not appropriate any money to enact the voter ID law even if the Justice Department had approved it. The law calls for installing cameras in courthouses where voters can go to obtain a photo ID. Plus, the state is supposed to pay for the IDs.

Secretary of State Delbert Hosemann said way back in June that most likely voter ID could not be enacted in time for the November elections.

Even if the Justice Department had approved it, the state had not taken the steps to enact it.

In other words, to criticize the Justice Department at this point seems a little "political."

The current rift began Wednesday when Republican Gov. Phil Bryant encouraged people to voluntarily show ID at the polls Tuesday. State Democratic Party Chair Rickey Cole said Bryant's comments would confuse voters.

Maybe that is true. Maybe it is not. Voters might be smarter than many people think.

But the fact is at this point it is much ado about nothing. If people had been paying attention, they would have known a long time ago that there would be no voter ID requirements for this year's  elections.