Scanners More Useless Regulation?
With little notice, the Mississippi Department of Human Services rolled out a program that requires poor parents and guardians to scan an appendage before they can drop off or leave with their little one.
Stop Wasting Our Time
Here we go again.
Time to Think Ahead
People don't plan to fail; they fail to plan. Anyone needing evidence of that adage's truth needn't look much further than Jackson's decrepit, and worsening, infrastructure.
Media and Voters: Don't Accept Lies
Something that ought not be remarkable, but is, happened over the last week: Media started calling out politicians for blatant lies.
Fix What's Broken, Mississippi
Voter ID may be a non-issue for Mississippi in the upcoming presidential elections in November, but the fight is far from over for the Magnolia State.
Rape Is Not A Political Weapon
The last week has been a tough week for women, especially rape victims. And it's been a very revealing one.
Believe In All Our Kids
Over the last week, we heard from two people upset that editorial cartoonist Mike Day wrote "Tigers" on the cap of a teen in last week's cartoon. Why? Because the kid was wearing saggy pants, and they didn't think that sent the right image about the Jackson State University Tigers.
Stokes: Help Ward Keep Young People
The Rev. Jesse Jackson came to town this week and promptly took Hinds County Supervisor Kenny Stokes to task for his campaign against saggy-pants.
Stop Phoning It In
There are problems with elections in this city, problems that every citizen should be worried about.
Guns Kill Families
It may be an inconvenient truth in a state where so many people value their rights to own a firearm, but easy access to guns make women and children much less safer—in their own homes.
Be Transparent, Mitt (and Haley)
Amid all the clamor recently over Gov. Mitt Romney's financials—shell companies in Bermuda, Swiss bank accounts, apparent control of Bain Capital well after he says he left the company—one critic's voice rang a little hollow.
Lies, Damn Lies and Elections
We can always tell when election season has slunk into Jackson here at the JFP. For one thing, lots of folks using fake names start to complain about us because we don't love their candidates or hate their opponents enough.
Our Creative Signatures
Finding your inspiration in any particular task is the key to a successful outcome.
The Partisan Blindfold
Passing a new tax in this political climate is like jumping into a pit of volcanic lava.
Lose the Health-Care Bickering
The U.S. Supreme Court's decision to uphold most of the Affordable Care Act last Thursday predicated a firestorm of news and opinions.
Get Your Brew On
Gone are the days when choice in beer meant something "exotic" such as an Amstel Light.
Believe Her
Words count. One thing has become clear in reading Managing Editor Ronni Mott's cover story about sexual assault and rape this week.
Employers Shouldn't Dictate Birth Control Choices
Dr. Beverly McMillan is against birth control. Or at least any kind of hormonal birth control, from the regular pill to the morning-after pill, all of which she considers to be a form of abortion. The head of Pro-Life Mississippi, McMillan wants your employer to be able to tell you what kind of birth control your health insurance can pay for. Never mind that you pay for your insurance with your own labor, and often partly with your money.
Private Prisons Flourish on Desperation
If you drive around Natchez, a sleepy river town of 16,045 people, and talk to folks, everybody has an opinion on whether Adams County Correction Center and its parent company, Corrections Corporation of America, have had a positive impact on the area.
Getting Past the Rhetoric of Hate
Here in Mississippi, our history is filled with people, events and creations that stir pride in us. Sadly, our history also contains wrongs, violations and prejudices that cast a long, shameful shadow over our state.
Wright Appointment Raises Concerns
At the Jackson Free Press, we believe strongly in second chances. People make mistakes, get caught up with the wrong crowd and follow the wrong people down the wrong rabbit holes.
To Do Its Job, Council Must Show Up
Jackson has a strong-mayor, weak-council structure. Some City Council members seem to want to weaken their own power even more by not attending meetings and work sessions—or leaving early when they do attend.
Don't Just Complain; Engage!
The Jackson Public Schools board meeting May 1 was packed. Parents and students who had recently learned about the district's rezoning plan lined the walls and stood in the halls to protest the plan, which will close schools and shift students around in the district.
Voter Shenanigans Could be Costly
A curious exchange took place between Rep. John Hines, D-Greenville, and Republican Speaker Philip Gunn of Clinton over the weekend, as the Legislature hammered a budget for state agencies.
Voter Shenanigans Could be Costly
A curious exchange took place between Rep. John Hines, D-Greenville, and Republican Speaker Philip Gunn of Clinton over the weekend, as the Legislature hammered a budget for state agencies.
‘Father' Doesn't Always Know Best
At a recent event featuring Speaker Philip Gunn and Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves, Gunn told the audience that Reeves and his wife had recently celebrated the birth of their third daughter.
‘Father' Doesn't Always Know Best
At a recent event featuring Speaker Philip Gunn and Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves, Gunn told the audience that Reeves and his wife had recently celebrated the birth of their third daughter.
Police: First, Do No Harm
Controversy has surrounded police pursuits for decades. Since numerous studies on the subject began in the late 1980s and early '90s, law enforcement officials, legislators, citizens and the press have taken notice of the ever-rising death toll.
Police: First, Do No Harm
Controversy has surrounded police pursuits for decades. Since numerous studies on the subject began in the late 1980s and early '90s, law enforcement officials, legislators, citizens and the press have taken notice of the ever-rising death toll.
Save ‘Violence Against Women Act'
Next on conservatives' list of things to drown in the bathtub of "big government extravagance" is the Violence Against Women Act. Bill Clinton signed VAWA into law in 1994, providing just over $1.5 billion to help investigate and prosecute perpetrators of violence against women, to provide grants for education about domestic violence and to help shelter women from abusers.