Jackblog

Clarion-Ledger on the 'Saddened But Perhaps Wiser' Melton

The Clarion-Ledger editorial boys weigh in today with another brillliant screed about crime. The guys–who are now into community-style policing now that the mayor/chief who were into it, too, are gone–say that because crime is up dramatically under Melton, the "saddened but perhaps wiser" Melton is doing the right thing by calling a crime summit to talk about various ways to fight crime (presumably beyond endorsing and electing a wild, west mayor who promised to cure it in 90 days). And, warns the Ledger dudes, be sure to note who is not there because THEY CLEARLY DO NOT CARE ABOUT CRIME, the way the Ledge and all the rest of us, and the Ledge's edit-men, do:

Meeeeeeeetttt Mr. Deuce!

Here's our latest little rescue darling, Little Mister Deuce. He's staying in the office with us right now, home at night, and really needs a good home. He's loving, and playful and loves to cuddle! Get in touch with us, 601.362.6121 ext. 5 if you'd like to be considered as his new parent(s). You would be very lucky. He's wonderful!

ARTICLE: Gambling Hot Spot Found in the Brain

Imagine all the help that compulsive gamblers could receive with these findings. People with bipolar disorder could benefit as well. Awesome news!

What Would Kafka Do?

Danks Letter Redux

Ledge: Just Fill the Jails with Juveniles!

Anyone think The Clarion-Ledger has any friggin' clue about what causes crime? It's as if they refuse to read the vast piles of research about juvenile crime, instead focusing on needing more jail space. It's true idiocy from the boys on that paper's editorial board, per usual.

Hello from Chi-town

So I'm up in Chicago right now teaching at the Academy for Alternative Journalism done at the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern. It's been fun and inspiring—10 students are chosen every year for the workshop with the goal of increasing diversity in the alternative media by teaching them how to write alternative-style—meaning, for the most part, not like the daily newspaper. ;-) We teach heavy immersion reporting, narrative writing and in-depth research. I love it—it's definitely "being deliberate" about finding the right way to ensure that our industry covers all our communities in meaning ways.

GOP Ties Minimum Wage to Estate Tax

In an tiresome, cynical and increasingly typical move today, the GOP finally came out with a minimum wage proposal in the House that is designed, primarily, to defuse the minimum wage as a political issue in the 2006 elections. How? By tying passage of a hike in the minimum wage to the passage of a permanent tax break on wealthy estates, a measure that has much less broad support that does a minimum wage increase.

Clarion-Ledger Asks, Answers, Whines Anyway

In one of those nonsensical editorials today we all know and dread—there they go sticking their finger in the wind again—The Clarion-Ledger asks: "Banyard: Why Does Justice Take So Long?" They are talking about the 13-year-old who killed the pizza delivery man, and now is going to prison for life without parole. He is 17 now. They then answer their own question of what it took for four years:

Family Feels the Backlash of their Confessions after Brokaw Special

As I normally do on Thursdays, I was reading the Jackson Advocate and the Mississippi Link for news stories that I may have missed or that they exclusively covered. This one about one of the families featured in the Tom Brokaw special got my attention: http://www.mississippilink.net/index.php?id=226

There Is NO EXCUSE For This!

WLBT got a tape of a mother severely abusing her child, and the mother is now in jail. Beating a child for ten minutes straight with a belt and a cable cord is inexcusable.

Should MySpace Pay Music Royalties?

There's some chatter on the Internets about the fact that MySpace (now owned by Rupert Murdoch's NewsCorp) doesn't pay royalties for music used on the site. Once an artist posts music on the site, any other user can play it from their own page. In stores on or the radio, a performer would ultimately be entitled to some revenue for that; on MySpace, the fine print on the user agreement means no cash for bands. When Billy Bragg read the agreement closely enough, he pulled his clips.

Artist Tommy Reaves Prepares for August Show at Rainbow

With the gift of capturing raw emotion on canvas, Jackson native Tommy Reaves,43, has been successfully honing his skills for the past few years to create work that evokes discussion and admiration. A product of an artistic family, he has blazed a trail that is all his own and gives him the ability to express himself in colorful pieces like only he can. During the entire month of August, he will have the opportunity to impress his existing sphere of customers and appeal to an entirely new group of art lovers.

Listen to C. A. Webb on WLEZ 103.7 FM—-Monday, July 24

In his first radio interview of the year, C. A. Webb will be a guest on WLEZ 103.7 FM as part of their "What's Happening in Jackson" segment. This will take place on Monday, July 24, 2006 at 12:30 CST. Webb will be introducing information about the "1st Annual Mississippi's Best Awards 2006" that will take place on Saturday, October 28, 2006, as well as how the entire state is encouraged to do their part to make sure they are represented.

For All The Women

In honor of this week's dead fetus parades and other displays of flaming religious hypocrisy, I would like to provide the women in this forum with some information they may, or may not, find helpful.

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