[The Slate] The Best In Sports In 7 Days
Whitney Houston sang one of the best national anthem renditions, ever, at Super Bowl XXV. She is gone, but her anthem will live on forever.
Wii Be Movin'
I am hot, sweaty and getting tired. I am moving as best I can, but I keep getting popped in the face. Next to me, Lacey has a determined look in her eye. She is moving fluidly, but I am flailing about, just trying to keep my head above water.
Where's the SWAC?
The NFL has become so big that they can televise guys running 40-yard dashes with drills, and people watch. Feb. 22 to Feb. 28, that's exactly what will happen when NFL teams descend on Indianapolis once more for the NFL Combine.
Evolve My Mind
I have always measured the quality of my education against what my father taught me. School bored me mostly, but having a conversation with Papa rarely did. He was a natural teacher of philosophy, political science and history. He peppered his lectures with anthropology, science and economics.
[Week in Jacktown] February 8 - 14, 2012
Wassup Jacktown! Miss me? I know you haven't heard from me in a while, but I'm still recovering from the Best Of Jackson party (I have to thank Phingaprint for when I twerked when I shouldn't have :-p ). So, a lot of things have happened lately that I hadn't a chance to report!
Pardongate: Continuum
Imagine that every person who received a pardon from Gov. Haley Barbour did exactly what the state constitution says and ran a newspaper ad for 30 days before they received the pardon. Then what?
Bring the Noise
Legislative Republicans are setting 'em and knockin' 'em down. After a clumsy first month when the House didn't even have committee assignments, bills are starting to soar through the committee process and going to the floor.
Personhood Redux
Just three months after voters turned down a Personhood Initiative, at least one legislator is trying to get it back on the ballot.
More than Factories
A member of the Screen Actors' Guild, state Sen. John Horhn has some ideas on keeping the state's economy from sagging.
Truth Troops
Some people—including some journalists I've worked with over the years—assume Stars and Stripes is a propaganda arm of the Department of Defense. It's not. It's an all-American institution that is in danger.
No Miracle Cure
'The business of education is not a business, so you can't run it like a business.'
Time to Swim, not Sink, Together
With evidence everywhere that good public education is key to our city and our state's economic future, not to mention public safety, it is time that to slay the dinosaurs of the past who don't want to fund or reform education in a way that makes sense for the most children.
Time to Swim, not Sink, Together
With evidence everywhere that good public education is key to our city and our state's economic future, not to mention public safety, it is time that to slay the dinosaurs of the past who don't want to fund or reform education in a way that makes sense for the most children.
[Stiggers] Gainful Employment
My purpose is to celebrate and make history by encouraging the workers who remain jobless in 2012. I will not condescend or criticize people who feel betrayed by the government, politicians, corporations, etc. Instead, I will use the stories of people like Frederick Douglass, Booker T. Washington, Ida B. Wells Barnett, and Ella Baker to motivate the despondent and defeated masses still looking for a job with health-care benefits.
[Kamikaze] Year of the Underdog
I'm drawn to stories of the underdog—the little guy or gal triumphant against seemingly insurmountable odds.
[Johnson] Right the First Time
Charter schools have the potential to be a boon for children in our state's education system.
Clarion-Ledger Losing Experienced Staffers
Twelve employees at The Clarion-Ledger are considering early retirement buyouts. The Gannett-owned daily newspaper continues to shrink as it loses its most experienced staffers.
Education: A Strong State Economy Starts Here
Research shows that struggling schools and low education levels hurt individuals as well as the state as a whole, bringing economic and social challenges. Fortunately, people outside the educational community are starting to talk about how Mississippi can make its schools—and work force—better.
For the Love of Art
Toddlers dance around the dining room table as Samuel McCain absorbs the musical notes from his iPod. The tunes might inspire his next piece of artwork. Sitting against the patio window, his easel holds the blank canvas where a palette knife might chisel bright paint like a sculptor with a block of granite.
Tick Tock, Tick Tock
"Safe House" is a CIA-agent-gone-rogue thriller. No further information is needed to understand the plot line, and if this picture didn't have Denzel Washington, Ryan Reynolds and a fine cast of actors—along with that inexplicable something else—there would be no point in discussing the film.