Botched IT Upgrade Ended Liquor Sales for the Entire State of Mississippi (msn.com) 101
Mississippi has one warehouse — run by a contractor — that sells all the liquor for the entire state of 2.9 million people. "If a restaurant or store anywhere in Mississippi wanted a bottle of Jim Beam, they had to order it from the wholesale warehouse," reports the Washington Post.
But then Mississippi's warehouse-managing contractor implemented a new computer system that wasn't compatible with the state's delivery system (like they'd promised it would be back in 2023). And then things got even worse... "The problem, business owners allege, is that the company tore out the conveyor belts but didn't hire humans to replace them."
In February a state Revenue Department commissioner told lawmakers the state was hiring temporary replacement workers, but in the five weeks through March 29th they'd only managed to reduce "pending" orders by 21.7%, from 218,851 down to 171,190, according to stats from Mississippi Today. At least four Mississippi businesses are now suing the warehouse operator "claiming breach of contract and harm to their business."
So what's it like in a state suddenly running dry? The Washington Post reports: Willie the one-eyed skeleton is dressed for Cinco de Mayo, but the liquor store where Willie sits ran out of Jose Cuervo months ago. Arrow Wine and Spirits is also out of Tito's and Burnett's vodka, Franzia boxed wine, Jack Daniels, and every kind of premixed margarita... Restaurants in Jackson had no wine on Valentine's Day, and bars on the Gulf Coast ran dry before Mardi Gras. At least five liquor shops have closed, and if cheap pints don't hit the corner stores soon, many of them will, too...
[A]s both the state and its businesses lose millions in revenue, many say they see no real end to the crisis. Nearly 174,000 cases of alcohol are sitting in a warehouse north of Jackson, but no one seems to know how to get them out the door... Even the shops that have received deliveries say they often get the wrong thing — Jell-O shots, for instance, that should have been small-batch Norwegian gin...
At Willie the one-eyed skeleton's liquor store they'd previously made 300 to 400 sales a day, according to the article, but last week had 34 customers. And Mississippi is one of 17 U.S. states requiring liquor stores to buy their liquor from distribution centers controlled by the state's Department of Revenue...
Mississippi Today points out that while some want the state to finally privatize liquor distribution, "The state collects around $120 million a year in taxes on alcohol." Plus the state has already authorized "borrowing $95 million to construct a new warehouse, set to begin operations in 2027..."
Thanks to Slashdot reader jrnvk for sharing the news.
But then Mississippi's warehouse-managing contractor implemented a new computer system that wasn't compatible with the state's delivery system (like they'd promised it would be back in 2023). And then things got even worse... "The problem, business owners allege, is that the company tore out the conveyor belts but didn't hire humans to replace them."
In February a state Revenue Department commissioner told lawmakers the state was hiring temporary replacement workers, but in the five weeks through March 29th they'd only managed to reduce "pending" orders by 21.7%, from 218,851 down to 171,190, according to stats from Mississippi Today. At least four Mississippi businesses are now suing the warehouse operator "claiming breach of contract and harm to their business."
So what's it like in a state suddenly running dry? The Washington Post reports: Willie the one-eyed skeleton is dressed for Cinco de Mayo, but the liquor store where Willie sits ran out of Jose Cuervo months ago. Arrow Wine and Spirits is also out of Tito's and Burnett's vodka, Franzia boxed wine, Jack Daniels, and every kind of premixed margarita... Restaurants in Jackson had no wine on Valentine's Day, and bars on the Gulf Coast ran dry before Mardi Gras. At least five liquor shops have closed, and if cheap pints don't hit the corner stores soon, many of them will, too...
[A]s both the state and its businesses lose millions in revenue, many say they see no real end to the crisis. Nearly 174,000 cases of alcohol are sitting in a warehouse north of Jackson, but no one seems to know how to get them out the door... Even the shops that have received deliveries say they often get the wrong thing — Jell-O shots, for instance, that should have been small-batch Norwegian gin...
At Willie the one-eyed skeleton's liquor store they'd previously made 300 to 400 sales a day, according to the article, but last week had 34 customers. And Mississippi is one of 17 U.S. states requiring liquor stores to buy their liquor from distribution centers controlled by the state's Department of Revenue...
Mississippi Today points out that while some want the state to finally privatize liquor distribution, "The state collects around $120 million a year in taxes on alcohol." Plus the state has already authorized "borrowing $95 million to construct a new warehouse, set to begin operations in 2027..."
Thanks to Slashdot reader jrnvk for sharing the news.
Single point of failure (Score:5, Funny)
Wow, a single point of failure for the entire state? That's a sobering thought.
Re:Single point of failure (Score:5, Interesting)
This Slashdot summary is a "single point of failure" - it's a hodge-podge of statements lifted from the news story, none of which explain what happened.
Basically - the contractor scheduled a planned two-week shutdown for this past January, during which the contractor was going to upgrade its control systems. They announced this well ahead of time (last fall), and businesses were able to stock up beforehand.
During the downtime, the contractor discovered that the new software was NOT going to work with the state's system after all - so they pivoted to a "pick-and-pallet" system which is slower and requires more human transport within the warehouse (the booze isn't transported via conveyor belt, it requires people to load pallets and bring that to the truck).
What the news story alleges is that the company hasn't hired an adequate number of staff for this new pick-and-pallet system. So, since January, they've only been able to fill a fraction of the total orders across the state.
Re:Single point of failure (Score:5, Informative)
“MARS is the ABC's software. Ruan installed the Blue Yonder software [blogspot.com] at the warehouse without beta testing. It was discovered after it was too late that Blue Yonder could not communicate with MARS. No communications means no orders are taken. No orders taken means no orders shipped.”
Re:Single point of failure (Score:5, Interesting)
And to add injury to insult, the contractor almost certainly was paid in full for the botched install, and probably being paid a bonus to fix their fuckup.
Re: Single point of failure (Score:3)
If you tell me to install it but you fail your due diligence, illl bill you in full for the work and the fix.
Re: (Score:2)
If you fail because of your own incompetence and I am not competent to judge your effort while it's still ongoing and tell you how to correct your errors then we're going to have a serious disagreement about your bill. I'd be paying you because you claim to be able to do something that I can't, if you lied about your abilities then you're defrauding me.
Re: (Score:2)
And to add injury to insult, the contractor almost certainly was paid in full for the botched install, and probably being paid a bonus to fix their fuckup.
The company that shmoozed the local politicians into giving them the contract made bank... the actual person doing the work was paid a pittance. Yay capitalism.
Re: (Score:1)
Re:Single point of failure (Score:4, Insightful)
Tests?!?!
Heck, they didn't even perform enough analysis to develop requirements to test against.
Sounds like they looked at a pretty brochure, believed whatever the sales-guy told them and jumped right into a product
Again, how is a management failure an IT Failure?
Re: (Score:2)
Re:Single point of failure (Score:5, Interesting)
It's a good way to keep people sober in Mississippi.
It would be fun to correlate this with number of DUI incidents.
Re:Single point of failure (Score:5, Insightful)
It would be fun to correlate this with number of DUI incidents.
Be aware of unexpected correlations. Maybe DUI will go up because people now have to drive to another state to get their fix.
Re: (Score:2)
Yep...we have drive thru Daquiri shops here in Louisiana....and alcohol is sold just about everywhere....gas stations, 7-11 type stores...grocery stores sell beer, wine and hard liquor.....hell you rarely see a "liquor store" that is just dedicated to booze....
Hell, if you come into the NOLA area, not a lot of ID checks either....just have to know where to go.
Re: Single point of failure (Score:2)
I see what you did there. Took quite a shot at the vendor.
Old religious nonsense (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:Old religious nonsense (Score:5, Interesting)
Tell me about it. I live in PA and the laws are ridiculous. The state finally relaxed the laws enough that convenience and grocery stores can sell beer and wine. In order for this to happen the store must also serve prepared food and having a seating area. So most places just add a few cheap cafe tables that nobody ever sits at. The stores are also restricted on times they can sell and quantity. In fact it wasn't until the early 2000s that PA allowed alcohol sales on Sunday. So you couldn't even get a bottle of wine for a cooking a Sunday roast.
The state also forbids anyone from shipping in hard liquor from other states. You can only buy from a list curated by the state. I saw an interesting brand of Slivovitz that looked good and filled out their request form to see if they could add it. They replied back with this statement.
Unfortunately, this product is a License only product. Meaning that only those with a Liquor License can purchase this product. Sorry for the inconvenience.
Uh what? Isn't that you?
Some sites will ship to PA until they get caught so I'll probably take the chance and order it.
Re:Old religious nonsense (Score:4, Funny)
in theory I agree that blue laws are pretty anti-American (in the freedom sense), and they're pretty annoying if you want to drink or need alcohol for a social function or something.
otoh... i think the world would likely be better off without alcoholic beverages. It ends up causing (or enabling, if you will) a bunch of violence and bad decisions.
years ago I read about this guy's (David Nutt) efforts to come up with a less harmful modern drug alternative
looks like they're still at it https://www.supplysidefbj.com/... [supplysidefbj.com]
haven't tried their existing interim product, and the whole thing would still be a huge waste of money, but a LOT fewer other sides... personal and social.
Re:Old religious nonsense (Score:4, Interesting)
This is not a Democrat or Republican thing. A lot of these laws for liquor are very old laws; more then a 150 years old in fact. It's just downright bizarre what laws exist in what states as far as alcohol goes. I've only ever lived in California as an adult, so their alcohol laws are what I, very wrongly, assumed was how it was pretty much everywhere. I was shocked that in Colorado the grocery store could sell beer but not wire or liquor.
I just figure AHB owns the state. ie rocky mountains, and had it setup this way, but the idea that I could get beer at the grocery store and then have to exit out that door and enter into another door attached to the same building that was a liquor store to buy a bottle of wine was a really head scratcher. Like, wtf? I think Oregon still has some older laws for alcohol and PA apparently does from what I've read on this thread. So can't call this a partisan thing but rather a hang-over from very old laws.
Now that I barely drink these days so these laws don't really affect me all that much, but it really feels like we should have to go back, as a legislature, and review all prior laws past a specific age and make sure they are still applicable with modern life. Otherwise, we should be scrubbing these archaic laws off the books for being completely out of touch with reality.
Re: (Score:3)
At my high school age, our family lived in Virginia. The local shopping center had a state liquor store. It was a grim place, with the interior painted in mental institution green (seen through the windows, because under-21 could not enter). Most people wanting to stock up for a party, instead went to DC, especially to Plain Old Pearson's.
Around 1992, I had a business trip to PA. We wanted some beer to take back to the motel. We had to go to a beer distributor, where I don't believe it was possible to buy a
Re: (Score:2, Insightful)
Re: (Score:2)
but you could say that for the large majority of things anyone buys. idk what the status is now but Germany used to basically shut down Saturday afternoon and Sunday , including grocery stores. Germans were ok with it but other people from other places thought it awful.
so it's like... the argument whether a Sabbath type break from connected and work is good for society and should thus be imposed is separate from the question of alcohol should get special extra restrictions.
well it's a separate issue for
Re: (Score:2)
Might as well just mandate all retail be closed on Sundays. People can plan around it and it would be super nice for the retail staff to have one guaranteed day off each week that didn't rotate around.
As someone that would really appreciate all retail being closed Sundays, I think we should lean to the side of freedom and stop having such crazy restrictive laws on these things. No more sin laws. Of course, if someone abuses alcohol or drugs or whatever other thing they can buy, the individual should be held
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
Re:Old religious nonsense (Score:5, Interesting)
Most of a religion's rules are grounded in group survival traits. People drink to excess as a coping mechanism for many different things. That excess leads them to act out against and harm their society. Thus rules and now laws restricting alcohol. States restrict it because people abuse it, but can't ban it because too many use it to cope with life's problems and it's too easy to make.
Sadly most aid for drunks is either locking them up or simply trying to get them to stop drinking. Few programs work at resolving the underlying issue which causes them to turn to drinking to cope (sometimes simply changing your diet can remove the desire) in the first place. Even fewer programs teach people coping skills prior to needing them. Compare that with the tons and tons of media promoting drinking as the cool and acceptable thing to do when you have issues. Part of each generation grows up needing alcohol. ...I've gotton a little side tracked. The original point was religions had a need to protect people so they were against drinking. If you can stop people from abusing alcohol you remove the need for that protection, and thus you'd slowly be able to either get it fully legal or fully illegal. In the mean time, you've got both sides fighting each other which ends up with half-crazed laws. It's both a toxic drink and a useful one.
Re: Old religious nonsense (Score:2)
One of the main reasons people drank so much âin the ole daysâ(TM) is that clean potable water wasnâ(TM)t always easily available and wine and beer were sources of both hydration and calories. Itâ(TM)s only in the last century or so that we have had clean drinking water on tap (yes this is becoming an issue now, but the historical impact of this is not insignificant).
Re: (Score:2)
Poker in the rear.
One contractor (Score:2, Troll)
Ah yes one of them good ole' boys. Wonder whose brother in law that is?
Re: (Score:2, Insightful)
You're expecting smart decisions from someone in Mississippi?
Re: (Score:3)
Hey that's why Mississippi votes so heavily red, they just have to to keep that that dastardly overbearing government out of peoples personal business!
Re: (Score:3)
Re: (Score:2)
Not until the people pay for it.
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:3)
TFA is about booze in Mississippi, not tea in Boston. In Mississippi the only wholesaler for liquor is the state government. The state government buys it, then the retailer buys it from them, so in this case yeah, it was "the state's booze before the people paid for it."
It used to be that way here in Washington, and the liquor stores also belonged to the state. Then it was privatized. Now it's more expensive and almost impossible to special order anything without paying through the nose. I've been watc
Re: (Score:2)
The state government buys it, then the retailer buys it from them, so in this case yeah, it was "the state's booze before the people paid for it."
From where, pray tell, did the state get the money to buy the booze?
Re: (Score:2)
consider that nowadays a lot of things like that, especially for low frequency words turned into higher frequency words, are caused by autocorrect / the words that swipe typing picks because people type on phones. At least that's the case with many of my errors of that sort.
Then i guess there's also voice input... i don't have much experience myself, but based on automated captions of YT vids that's also likely a source of homophone errors.
Re: (Score:2)
You can try to make your own liquor. If you're lucky and successful the big company will eventually buy you out and you can retire. If you're not you'll either lose your shirt like the other 80% of businesses to go under or you'll get run out of business by the big company then under cuts you or freezes you out of distribution.
The world isn't fair and it's not because of "the state". You could do away with the
Re: (Score:2)
The world isn't fair and it's not because of "the state". You could do away with the government tomorrow and that wouldn't make the world fair.
I don't think anyone claimed the world would be fair under any circumstance, but especially with no government. Republicans aren't anti-government. They just want it to serve their wishes and not the majorities.
Life's not fair. It's something we should all be taught (I was!) at a very young age and reinforced every time the child whines life's not fair. So build your bridge and get over the fact that life is not fair. It never will be. (I'm not specifically say "you" here. More a general "your")
Free enterprise sold a lot of liquor during outage (Score:2)
Maybe the government should stop being a nanny and let free enterprise sell the state's liquor. No more single point of failure
Free enterprise sold a lot of liquor during the outage. Moonshiners and their customers were not impacted.
GOP hates capitalism (Score:3, Insightful)
The Republican President is a Mercantilist (Balance of Trade, High Tariffs)
Who called in Elon Musk, a Plutocrat, to destroy our regulatory systems.
While the red states love to engage in Communism (government control of businesses - like one warehouse for all the states liquor) for the benefit of the wealthy at the expense of the poor.
Capitalism is about the free market - where people get a free choice. If they do not have a free choice, it is not capitalism. When the choice is buy X or die (medicine for example) that is not free and not capitalism.
Re: (Score:3)
what you meant to say was MS was a blue state up until the mid 1960's and what happened then? HMMMMMM
Political realignment. Basically the Reps and Dems switched places ideologically.
Re:GOP hates capitalism (Score:4, Insightful)
It's a myth that it's a myth.
https://www.studentsofhistory.... [studentsofhistory.com]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/... [wikipedia.org]
https://www.pewresearch.org/po... [pewresearch.org]
https://sites.stat.columbia.ed... [columbia.edu]
I skimmed a couple of your links. They:
a) did not disagree about the realignment, just the cause.
b) were heavy with purple prose, and light on citations.
Re: (Score:2)
what you meant to say was MS was a blue state up until the mid 1960's and what happened then? HMMMMMM
Political realignment. Basically the Reps and Dems switched places ideologically.
The Dixiecrats. Very racist, and were not going to vote Republican because Abe Lincoln. Then along came the Kennedy's with that desegregation and equal rights stuff. So the Dixiecrats shifted to a political party that aligned with their beliefs on race.
Ironically, many of the people who claim that Democrats are all racist align with the Republican party's outlook on race. So seem to claim that teh modern Republican party is actually Democrats Ironically, many of the peopl
Re: (Score:2)
Ironically, many of the people who claim that Democrats are all racist align with the Republican party's outlook on race.
You mean Martin Luther King's outlook on race. Namely that you don't judge a person or treat a person differently based on their race, etc. You do so based on their actions.
Race is the ultimate social construct. If anyone judge any human on the melanin content of their skin, or their location of origin, they are textbook racist. This is not to imply that there are not a lot of racists out there who do just that. So yes, MLK was correct in that respect.
Re: (Score:3)
That was MLK's ideal, but he was explicit that it was not reality - that was the "I have a dream" speech, after all. The rest of that speech was very detailed about how far we were from that ideal.
We are still very far from that ideal. The president is making open racial slurs against Somali-Americans. Hegseth is firing generals because they are black. Miller has unleashed mass deportations against immigrants who are not white.
But here on Slashdot, the most frequent whines about racism have been in response
Re: (Score:1)
That was MLK's ideal, but he was explicit that it was not reality - that was the "I have a dream" speech, after all. The rest of that speech was very detailed about how far we were from that ideal. We are still very far from that ideal.
Uh yeah, that's why there was a civil rights movement and legislation, in the 1960s. The fact remains that his outlook is what decades of school children were taught and overwhelmingly accepted.
The president is making open racial slurs against Somali-Americans.
Well, the criminal ones. Kind of like talking shit about the mafia, it's not really referring to the average Italian. Neither is Trump referring to the average honest hard working Somali.
Hegseth is firing generals because they are black.
BS. He's firing officers that prioritized politics over combat readiness. The US military remains one of the greatest examples of c
Re: (Score:3)
Whoops. Thought I was just clarifying MLK's words; didn't realize this would trigger a podcast-pilled collection of nutwingery. My mistake.
I have neither the time or interest to respond to all of your BS, so I'll just point this out:
Hegseth Strikes Two Black and Two Female Officers From Promotion List
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/0... [nytimes.com]
The bigotry was so obvious, another Trump appointee refused to go along. The Army chief of staff was forced to resign after he objected.
The black general in charge of the army's
Re: (Score:2)
The idea that they would go to the party that fought against racism, discrimination and Jim Crowe, because they wanted to protect those things, is just plain silly.
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
Not ideology, but constituency.
The parties switched ideologies. The constituents switched parties.
Re: (Score:2, Informative)
Wrong, check https://www.nga.org/former-gov... [nga.org], they flipped Republican in 1992, and briefly flipped back Democrat for one term in 2000. They've been Republican ever since. The current governor has been serving since 2020 and is Republican. Telling lies is generally not a path to credibility.
Before 1992, Mississippi governors were Democrat but that was the old Democrat remnant of the Jim Crow south. All of them whiny little good ol' boys have flipped Republican since that party centered itself around racism
Re: (Score:2)
Red red Mississippi [Re:GOP hates capitalism] (Score:2)
While the red states love to engage in Communism (government control of businesses - like one warehouse for all the states liquor) for the benefit of the wealthy at the expense of the poor.
Mississippi was a blue state until early 2026.
??
The last time Mississippi was solidly blue in presidential elections was 1956.
They did slightly go for Carter over Ford in 1976 ("slightly" meaning by about 1% margin) but in the wake of Nixon, and of Ford's pardon of Nixon, the entirety of the confederate south from Texas through Virginia did.
Other than that, Mississippi has been solidly Republican in presidential voting, usually by double digits.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/... [wikipedia.org]
Re: (Score:2)
This is such a perfect example of why Republicans are in really deep shit. They are reduced to making arguments that are painfully obviously complete bullshit. No-one wants to eat liver instead of steak, gas prices have gone up not down, we all remember that Trump said he wasn't going to start a war in Iran, and Mississippi has not been a Democrat-run state for decades. What the fuck are you talking about "their Dem governor"? The last dem governor was booted out 22 years ago -- Ronnie Musgrove. All three g
Re: (Score:2)
Now that the republicans have control over the governors office, one of the first things they did was reintroduce capitalism by finally privatizing liquor distribution entirely, removing the bottleneck of fraud and tax theft.
Dear AC, it's not privatized in Mississippi. That's what TFA is about. Mississippi SB 2838 which would have allowed alcohol retailers to purchase from out-of-state got voted through almost unanimously but then died in Senate Conference a couple of weeks ago, hence the State of Mississippi still holds a monopoly on the supply of alcohol in the state.
Did you get your "information" from ChatGPT or do you have a brain injury?
Re: (Score:2)
Capitalism is about the free market - where companies get a free choice.
There, fixed that for you. Whether the people have a free choice is entirely up to the government imposing fair market laws. Companies usually choose to not have competition. Without government regulation, these companies will become too powerful and start to take over society. There are a lot of versions of capitalism, depending on the rules in which the companies operate.
Re: (Score:2)
Came here to say this. Thanks.
Re: (Score:2)
> Companies usually choose to not have competition.
Companies block competition by paying politicians to pass regulations that keep competitors out of the market.
Standard Oil was losing masses of money because it had to keep buying up all the competition and the competitors would then just start a new company which Standard Oil would then have to buy at an inflated valuation. Today it would just bribe a few politicians to introduce onerous regulations on new oil wells and refineries so no-one could afford
Re: (Score:2, Interesting)
Capitalism is about the free market
No, capitalism is about maximizing the accumulation of capital, supposedly for the ability to reinvest that capital in the business. As Adam Smith noted though, any time the accumulation of capital is allowed free reign the result is suppression of competition, and we're seeing the result of four decades of deregulation today.
Re: (Score:2)
Capitalism is about the free market
No, capitalism is about maximizing the accumulation of capital, ...
Well, if you use the marxist definition. However a less biased definition would be something like:
"Capitalism is an economic system based on the private ownership of the means of production (factories, mines, businesses) and their operation for profit. Key characteristics include capital accumulation, competitive markets, voluntary exchange, and price determination through supply and demand. It prioritizes individual freedom and profit-driven production over central planning. "
[Google\
Re: (Score:1)
Well, it would have been Adam Smith's definition before it was Marx's (and I'm fairly sure you're incorrect about Marx anyway, but it's been a long time since I read his work).
Re: (Score:1)
Well, it would have been Adam Smith's definition before it was Marx's (and I'm fairly sure you're incorrect about Marx anyway, but it's been a long time since I read his work).
Been a while since I read Smith but I don't recall the marxist tint. That's a new thing.
Or, it's just the neo-prohibitionsts again (Score:2)
It's the State of Mississippi, so it's best to assume the worst intentions at every move.
It's just regular corruption (Score:2)
It's like the old saying, socialism for the rich and dog eat dog capitalism for everybody else.
Re: (Score:1, Insightful)
And blue states aren't corrupt? How do you explain California's high-speed rail debacle? Billions of dollars spent over a couple of decades and no functional rail service. Are you naive enough to think connected insiders aren't pocketing that cash?
Then there's other blue states like Baltimore and Illinois that are hopelessly corrupt. The idea that corruption is limited to red states or even concentrated in those states is just laughably stupid, even for you.
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
The state you were looking for is Maryland, though the city of DC wants to become a state also. Personally, I think it would be easiest to just let DC residents vote for Maryland Congress (senate and house reps) and then add the DC population into Maryland's so they can redraw their maps and viola, you now have city, state and national representation for DC residents. Not sure why this wasn't done from the start but then a lot of people couldn't vote back when this all started. If you didn't have land, you
Re: (Score:1)
DC is incapable of self governance. The city government should be dissolved and the district should be run by a branch of the US state department. The makeup of DC assures that only the least capable most moronic imbeciles could ever be elected to city government. And we definitely don't need these dipshit voters being able to vote as a state. DC was made not part of a state deliberately.
No Problem (Score:2)
Just revert back to the old process [philo.com].
No reason to not privatize (Score:4, Informative)
Re: (Score:2)
Washington state privatized liquor sales a number of years ago. Overall it's been a plus in terms of what's available and convenience... but it didn't decrease the price, because the government piled on the taxes. There were two arguments given for this: 1) They were concerned about lost revenue, even though we're basically talking about a blip in the overall state budget; and more importantly 2) they were wringing their hands over possible increased consumption driven by the lower prices.
IT Gets Blamed For Bad Management (Score:4, Insightful)
Again.
\o/ (Score:1)
So we're to expect an uptick in critical thinking skills in Missippi?
Sadly, not unusual. (Score:3, Interesting)
The British emergency number had a bad IT upgrade, back in the 80s, which resulted in emergencies never getting displayed, only error messages.
I think it was in the 90s that an aircraft crashed because an airport monitoring computer was so infected by malware that it was unable to alert the crew or ATC that the aircraft had a serious issue and needed to abort the takeoff.
Recently, Oracle updated Birmingham UK's government IT system. It is no longer functional. At all. At a cost of hundreds of millions. The local government went effectively bankrupt.
I, honestly, DO NOT CARE that you cannot prove software "correct". We need IT lemon laws that make this kind of a botch-up very very very expensive for software vendors to mess up on. When something is mission-critical,
It might deter vendors from supplying government, but I'm not sure how that can be a bad thing. It is better to have an inefficient system than a new iand shiny broken one.
Re: (Score:2)
The British emergency number had a bad IT upgrade,
Obligatory IT Crowd [youtu.be].
In Other News (Score:2)
Liquor sales in adjacent border areas of Alabama, SE Louisiana and Tennessee have gone through the roof. Not sure about Arkansas or the other Louisiana areas, there aren't many bridges over the river and they can serve as choke points for border checks.
Let's hear it for interstate commerce!
Not suprising for Mississippi (Score:2)
The polices enacted by Mississippi's state legislature are the result of a race to the bottom.
Key 2025/2026 Rankings and Data:
Overall Ranking: Ranked 48th in the nation by U.S. News & World Report for the second consecutive year.
Health Care: Ranked 50th (last) in the nation, with poor outcomes, high infant mortality, and high uninsured rates.
Economy: Ranked 49th, with the lowest GDP per capita, high poverty rates, and
Re: (Score:2)
I'm from the UK and have visited Mississippi, and I find those statistics rather implausible - even if they are immediately Post-Brexit and at a time when Boris Johnson was blighting the political scene.
And these are the people... (Score:2)
...some advocate being given control of important stuff, like health care?
People often see a problem and assume government control or regulation is the only answer. I trust regulation by market competition far more than I trust the Keystone Kops running every state house.
Or to put it another way, if Amazon, Target, and Walmart made money distributing booze, and liquor stores had a free choice which one to buy from, I guarantee this would not have happened. And I guarantee they'd have better prices, service,
Typical computer system replacement project... (Score:2)
From the complaint:
The Warehouse Crisis
17. In early January 2026, the ABC warehouse underwent a planned shutdown for annual inventory. During this period, Ruan implemented a new software management system (warehouse management system, or "WMS").
18. The new software system implemented by Ruan was not compatible with the existing conveyor
Bible Belt Liquor (Score:3)
A friend of mine moved to Oxford, Mississippi some years ago. He and his SO walked into a store to get a bottle of wine. When they inquired where the chardonnay was located, the old clerk replied "Son, you gotta go all the way to Memphis to get a bottle of Chardonnay."
About the same time, I drove my sister down to school at Auburn, Alabama. I had a 5 hour drive home on a Sunday afternoon and thought it might be nice to pick up a 6 pack for the empty interstate drive (this was before MADD). But the beer in the convenience store was all locked up. I asked if anyone knew a local bootlegger. Three customers immediately volunteered to show me the way.
But it isn't just Mississippi that has a single state owned wholesaler. Ohio, where I live now, does, too. And that wholesaler gets to choose for the entire state which brands are sold in the state. The result is that we have a horrible selection. Basically, the system allows the state legislators to accept bribes in the form of campaign contributions from the producers who want to get their product on the approved list and keep their competitors off of it.
I once looked at the state liquor commission's web site to see if I could find the approved list. Prominently displayed was the commission's mission statement. Their job, they stated, was to bring in as much revenue as they could for the State of Ohio. A far better system would be to do away with the state wholesaler, open it up to competition that could compete on product selection and customer service and charge a wholesale tax. But then the legislators wouldn't get their kickbacks.
Make your own, legally (Score:3)
https://san.com/cc/court-says-... [san.com]
A federal appeals court has ruled that a long-standing federal prohibition on distilling alcohol at home is unconstitutional.
taxes (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)