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Actor Martin Sheen, Rep. Bennie Thompson endorse Dean

The AP reports: "Thompson, a member of the Congressional Black Caucus, cited Dean's efforts to develop and help rural America."

Braun Drops Out; Endorses Dean

AP is reporting: "Former Illinois Sen. Carol Moseley Braun dropped out of the presidential race Thursday and endorsed Howard Dean as 'a Democrat we can all be proud to support.'

Barbour Stashes Riches in Blind Trust

[Statement] (Jackson, Miss.)--In one of his first actions after his Inauguration, Governor Haley Barbour created a blind trust and will place all of his investment and income earning assets in it. Previously, Governor Barbour resigned as Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Barbour, Griffith and Rogers, Inc., his Washington lobbying firm. The firm is entirely owned by the Interpublic Group of Companies, a holding company that is publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange.

Salter on Barbour Inauguration

The Clarion-Ledger's Sid Salter writes today: "Coupled with the state's money problems is the political reality that Barbour, Lt. Gov. Amy Tuck, House Speaker Billy McCoy and the vast majority of lawmakers in both houses ran for election or re-election on the strength of a no-new-taxes platform. Barbour inherits 'built-in' expenses from the previous administration that include the latter phases of the $338 million, six-year phased teacher pay increases, economic development incentives to Nissan, Northrup Grumman and Howard Industries and state bonded indebtedness that approaches 7 percent of the state's general fund."

Haley Barbour's Inaugural Address

Inaugural Trivia

Barbour Stashes Riches in Blind Trust

Luis Bruno

If you believe that life can come full circle, you might also buy that some people's lives have more than one circle. Circle No.1 for 34-year-old Luis Bruno started when he was 13 in Tivoli, N.Y.—upstate about 20 miles from Hyde Park where his family had moved from his native Bronx—at his brother's business called Bruno's. "It was a produce, meat ... seafood market, dairy … deli … [and] a pizzeria later on, from there we had a family restaurant," he says. Bruno decided that attending culinary school was the next logical step for him. He packed up and moved to Clearwater, Fla., where he attended Pinellas Technical Education Center for two years. There he met his wife, Kathleen, a native of Mississippi, while in school. "We graduated top in our class," Bruno states with a soft glow in his brown eyes. After graduation and getting married in 1995, the Brunos moved to Jackson to be near her family.

Capitol Games: Ayana's Guide

BARBOUR'S APPOINTMENTS

Following is the JFP's primer to need-to-know information about the Legislature and state government. We will be adding information as we go. Send suggested information to: [e-mail missing]

Space…The Fiscal Frontier?

No less an expert on fiscal responsibility than Treasury Secretary (and former railroad baron) John Snow did the chat shows on Sunday to push the notion that a new, bold moon and Mars initiative would not be too expensive of an undertaking. The story notes that a similar plan proposed by G.H.W. Bush (but without a moon base) would have cost $400-500 billion in 1989 dollars.

Poll: Alternative news gaining influence over TV, dailies

AP reports: "People are turning increasingly to alternatives such as the Internet for news about the presidential campaign, shifting away from traditional outlets such as the nightly network news and newspapers, a poll found. Young adults were leading the shift, with one-fifth of them considering the Internet a top source of campaign news for them, said the poll by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press. About the same number of young adults said they regularly learn about the campaign from comedy shows like 'The Daily Show' and 'Saturday Night Live.' ... Nightly network news was named as a regular source of campaign news by 35 percent, down from 45 percent four years ago, and newspapers by 31 percent, down from 40 percent. ... Four years ago, young people were far more likely to have said they learned about the campaign from nightly network news, 39 percent, than the Internet or comedy programs. Now, all three are cited about equally as sources of campaign news. ... Comedy shows like "The Daily Show"are making fun of what they see as the insufficiency of news programs, especially those on cable," said Tom Rosenstiel, director of the Project for Excellence in Journalism. He said that highlights the need for more traditional news shows to learn how to appeal to younger adults."

Tease photo

Haley's Choice: Native Son Barbour Comes Home to Run for Governor

The big sign draped between two trees next to the Neshoba County Fair pavilion in August 1982 caused a lot of drama: "Happy Birthday, Senator Stennis."

Dean campaign: ‘Annoy the media'

The corporate media's habit of taking quotes out of context is being discussed on Dean's Blog for America right now. Here's a posting by Matthew Gross that is a very telling exchange between CNN's Paula Zahn's and Dean campaign manager Joe Trippi:

‘The Harry Truman of our generation'

In a big endorsement, Sen. Tom Harkin of Iowa has endorsed Howard Dean just days before the primary there, reports the Associated Press, "calling him the 'kind of plain-spoken Democrat we need' and giving a key boost to the embattled front-runner 10 days before the state's kick-off caucuses. ... In the interview, Harkin praised Dean's straightforward approach to campaigning, saying it brought a breath of fresh air to the campaign trail. He said the former Vermont governor is 'the Harry Truman of our generation. Howard Dean is really the kind of plain-spoken Democrat we need.'"

MoveOn, Bush, Hitler and the RNC

If you've heard anything about the recent flap over MoveOn's reported advertisements, comparing Bush to Hitler, you need to read this Salon article, which gives the rest of the story. It's another example of how things that are 'widely reported' are often not reported entirely accurately. "Two online entries out of hundreds in MoveOn's TV-spot contest compared Bush to Hitler, and Republicans cry 'hate speech.' But they're the ones who are twisting the truth," Salon reports.

Bush backed by core supporters; women undecided

AP is reporting: "Men, evangelicals and rural voters are supporting President Bush by big margins at the start of this election year, while traditionally Democratic-leaning groups such as women have more divided loyalties, an Associated Press poll found. More people say they will definitely vote for Bush's re-election, 41 percent, than say they will definitely vote against him, 33 percent, according to the poll conducted for the AP by Ipsos-Public Affairs. Another 24 percent said they would consider voting for someone else. ... n the question of re-electing Bush or definitely voting for someone else, men were more likely to vote to re-elect Bush by 49 percent to 26 percent. And rural voters leaned toward Bush by an equally lopsided margin. White evangelicals said they would support Bush rather than vote for someone else by an even wider margin. Women were more divided, with 39 percent saying they would definitely vote for someone else and 35 percent saying they would vote to re-elect Bush."

Creative Class Rising

Now and then, we bring our first cover story ever back to the top of the site to remind readers just how close Jackson is to becoming a magnet for young creatives, and what we need to do to make it happen.

Why run this letter???

Bush ‘hatred'; Wilson Carroll Talks Back

Very compelling column by E. J. Dionne Jr. in the Washington Post: "Republicans won in 2002, but Bush lost most Democrats forever. Conservative critics of "Bush hatred" like to argue that opposition to the president is a weird psychological affliction. It is nothing of the sort. It is a rational response to getting burned. They are, as a friend once put it, biting the hand that slapped them in the face. No one understood this sense of betrayal better or earlier than Howard Dean. Dean's candidacy took off because many in the Democratic rank and file were furious that Washington Democrats allowed themselves to be taken to the cleaners. Many of Dean's current loyalists had been just as supportive of Bush after Sept. 11 because they, too, felt that doing so was patriotic. So Dean also spoke to their personal sense of grievance."

Howard Dean on the race question

"'Dealing with race is about educating white folks,' [Howard] Dean said in an interview Tuesday on a campaign swing through the first primary state where African-American voters will have a major impact. 'Not because white people are worse than black people about race but because whites are in the majority, and therefore the behavior of whites has a much bigger influence on hiring practices and so forth and so on than the behavior of African-Americans.'"

Dean to Washington Dems: Drop Dead!

Sidney Blumenthal writes in Salon that Dean's gaffes may well be helping him:

‘The New Republicans': ‘Drunken sailor' spending?

The NY Times editorializes: "The most striking thing about the new Republicanism is the way it embraces big government. The Bush administration has presided over a $400 billion expansion of Medicare entitlements. The party that once campaigned to abolish the Department of Education has produced an education plan that involves unprecedented federal involvement in local public schools. There is talk from the White House about a grandiose new moon shot. Budgetary watchdogs like the Heritage Foundation echo the Republican Senator John McCain's complaint about 'drunken sailor' spending." ...

Comic David Cross on voting and f*ckin' bumper stickers

Wiretap's Dan Hoyle interviews comic Dave Cross: "It's pretty galling that I know people will wait in line for a weekend to see a f*ckin' movie that's gonna be there for three months, but won't wait in line for 12 minutes to vote. If not for yourself, then for everyone else, it's truly one of the most selfish things you can do. Just the fact that you won't educate yourself on the issues. It's truly one of the most selfish things you can do. Especially because so many people have suffered to obtain that right, or obtain the idea of that right."

The Death of Horatio Alger

Paul Krugman writes aboutreading "a leftist rag that made outrageous claims about America. It said that we are becoming a society in which the poor tend to stay poor, no matter how hard they work; in which sons are much more likely to inherit the socioeconomic status of their father than they were a generation ago." That "rag," he says, is Business Week. "The article summarizes recent research showing that social mobility in the United States (which was never as high as legend had it) has declined considerably over the past few decades. If you put that research together with other research that shows a drastic increase in income and wealth inequality, you reach an uncomfortable conclusion: America looks more and more like a class-ridden society. And guess what? Our political leaders are doing everything they can to fortify class inequality, while denouncing anyone who complains -- or even points out what is happening -- as a practitioner of 'class warfare.'"

God is not a right-wing zealot

A compelling story in Salon: "In the heart of the Bluegrass, a Bible Belt preacher is rallying people to political action around what he calls 'basic religious values.' Think you can describe his politics? Think again. This man of the cloth wants 'regime change' in Washington. The Rev. Albert Pennybacker, a Lexington, Ky.-based pastor, is head of the Clergy Leadership Network, a new, cross-denominational group of liberal and moderate religious leaders seeking to counter the influence of the religious right and to mobilize voters to change leadership in Washington. Pennybacker, affiliated with the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) and a pastor of 35 years, is tired of the conventional wisdom that equates religiosity with conservatism. Nationwide, he says, the religious right often squeezes out the left in public debate. The group is 1,000 members strong -- and growing.

Bennie Thompson to endorse Howard Dean

AP is reporting that Rep. Bennie Thompson plans to endorse Howard Dean for president: "Dean's campaign had said Thompson would have a conference call on Monday with reporters and former Baltimore Mayor Kurt Schmoke to announce Thompson's endorsement and discuss 'African-American outreach and strategy.' Thompson, a senior member of the Congressional Black Caucus, said he's ready to endorse Dean, but not quite yet. 'I will make an endorsement, probably by the first of the year,' Thompson said. "I've looked at all the candidates. And Dean, in my estimation, has the best chance of beating Bush.' Unlike the other Democratic candidates, Dean is 'willing to discuss controversial issues,' Thompson said."

Caleb Hampton

If it weren't for the deep teal blue sign perpendicular to the street, I wouldn't have noticed the unassuming rectangle of concrete blocks at 3028 W. Northside Drive. Caleb Hampton, a Jacksonian who will turn 56 on Jan. 1, has owned and operated Hamp's Place, what I call an old-school-style club, since 1997. He opened his first club, Stardust, in 1975, back behind Hamp's on the Strip—on Moonbeam Street, just one block past Sunray Drive. It took some convincing by a friend who ran Birdland, but finally Hampton gave in. "I said, 'I'm going to try it for a minute,' and I've been trying it ever since," he told me in a deep, quietly resonant voice.

Asleep at the Budget Wheel?

According to an AP poll, President Bush's economic policies are playing better with the country this week—the stock market is up, consumer confidence is rolling along and Bush's economy approval numbers bumped up to 55% approval and 43% disapproval.

Nader Eyes Bid

Will Nader run again? Of course some Republican pollsters would like it, but he doesn't appear to have the same support he had in 2000 -- he may not even run as a Green Party candidate. (He was never a card-carrying Green anyway.) At this point, his persistent desire to run looks like it involves more than a little hubris, especially in the face of this:

Dean's Foreign Policy: I Am No George Bush

An interesting piece about Howard Dean and his foreign-policy ideas by John Tirman of the Social Science Research Council:

‘Is this the neo-con century?'

(Be afraid. Be very afraid.)

Michelle Goldberg reports in Salon: "Neoconservatives are very sensitive people. Even those who've attained stature and power are exquisitely attuned to insults hurled from obscure quarters of the left as well as the barbs of French foreign minister Dominique de Villepin. It's not only bombastic blogger Andrew Sullivan who trolls Web sites like Indymedia.org, hunting for evidence of moral relativism. No less a personage than Richard Perle, the neocon kingpin who sits on the Pentagon's Defense Advisory Board, bristled with irritation when mentioning Talking Points Memo, the blog of liberal Washington journalist Joshua Micah Marshall. To answer the criticism directed against his movement, Perle appeared with Marshall at a panel on Monday in Washington called 'Is the Neoconservative Moment Over?' Perle's answer: Not even close."

Rise of the Third Party?

Here's an interesting Washington Post piece on tech in politics and a little hint as to why the Dean campaign apparatus allows a smaller "third party" organization to organize politically. Could the Internet spells doom for the two-party "duopoly"?

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