Jackblog

Subscribe

Don Imus - Back at it again

Surely you've heard about Imus' latest racial episode. This time, he commented on Adam Jones (who doesn't want to be referred to as PacMan anymore). Mr. Imus made reference to the fact the what people should be made at is the amount of times Jones has had run ins with the law. I guess he was saying that the reason this guy has been arrested 6 times is because he's black.

The Sign Stealer

I don't vent very often here, but I have got to get this out of my system.

On Saturday morning, I got up at 4:30 AM to help my mom prepare for a garage sale that was to start at 6 AM. She decided to have it at my younger sister's house because she gets good traffic there when she has a garage sale, so we had to go to the other side of town, set up the tables and put out the signs. I grabbed the signs that I made the night before, which I stapeled to wodden stakes, and hammered the signs into the ground at the neighborhood entrances.

Hmmmm…‘Frank Was Right'?

The Jackson Free Press received an anonymous letter (PDF) apparently sent to a variety of media and local churches this week. The letter called on churches, in particular, to do more to help fight crime in Jackson. Over all, the letter makes a lot of sense. It starts:

Will it still be called the "White House?"

If you are interested in how bad things will get, this is a pretty good indication.

The national news media is not really covering this story, but at the recent Texas GOP convention a vendor sold racist buttons with the quote "If Obama wins, will it still be called the "White House?"

So, Does This Mean Bennett Will Walk?

So, it is possible that Mayor Frank Melton has fibbed again—this time about the suspect in the Memorial Day shooting confessing to him on tape. The D.A. doesn't have the tape, the detective doesn't have the tape, and an old police friend of Melton's—whom Melton said he gave it to—won't confirm or deny whether he did. WTF? The bigger question this should raise for people is how many of the men who have "turned themselves in" to Melton over the years have ended up going free? And is that why they do it—because they know the track record might help them? We've reported numerous cases in which these men have gone free, and we have questioned why media in the past allowed Melton to pit them against the JPD when they complained about him and his cop friends "bringing in" certain criminals.

Old School Rappers Blame SouljaBoy for Killing Hip Hop

So, the latest uproar in hip hop is that Ice T and other rappers who reigned during a time when rap was extremely hard core and aggressive are blasting new hip hop artists like Soulja Boy (Superman) for killing hip hop. These new rappers are now refered to as "ringtone" rappers. This basically means that they are rapping about nothing of substance and can only contribute a rocking beat to it's listeners.

Ledger Staffer Swipes at Obama's Daughter

... and for what? Because she was reading during one of her father's speeches. Marcela writes:

Visit the Civil Rights Digital Library

Would you like to be able to view actual photographs, documents and file footage from the Civil Rights Movement from one central location? Well, you can do that without leaving home by visiting the Civil Rights Digital LIbrary online. Here's an excerpt from the Overview section of the Web site:

Are Hillary's ‘Angry White Women' Going to Bolt for McCain?

I've been having a little trouble believing that myself, but it's one of those media narratives that the cable channels can't let go. Frank Rich at the NYTimes goes ahead and looks at actual polling numbers (that wacky loon!) and notices that, in fact, Obama leading McCain with all woman, including white women (the outlier is "suburban white women" where he's down slightly). In addition, the worst news of recent polling for Obama is that he's down 20 point to McCain with white men. It so happens, though, that even in that case there's a silver lining -- that 20 points is not as far down as either Gore or Kerry ended up in 2000 and 2004.

Back from Philly, Whew

Todd and I got back yesterday from the AAN national convention in Philly (Pa., not my Mississippi hometown). It's good to be home—where it's actually cooler than it was in the Northeast, believe it or not. As usual, we worked hard (Todd gave a presentation; I coordinated one; and I did board meetings and the like), and met lots of folks. One thing that is cool is how accepted and welcomed Mississippi is in the alternative-newspaper world after only five years of membership. People really admire what we're doing with diversity and online (blogging way back in 2002, oh my), and are impressed with the native talent that we are blessed to have working for the paper. The best moment for the JFP were the awards we won—including two first places. The big one was the community service award we won for our team's investigative work (and blogging) over the last three years that helped put James Ford Seale in jail. That meant a lot—and felt a whole lot like Mississippi standing up to publicly face and confront our past. It's very different from having "outsiders" assume we haven't changed; it's great to give them award-winning evidence that we are actively evolving.

Parents at Chastain Middle School are FED UP!

Kudos and accolades to the parents of Chastain Middle School who have said enough is enough. In addition to the school's embarassing administration, the students at Chastain are allegedly having sex on school property, and fighting as well. Surely someone should be held accountable for NOT doing the children justice over there. Who's responsible? Parents? Teachers? Lack of administrative professionalism? This is a prime example of the partnership that is necessary amoung teachers and parents to educate kids on proper behavior and sex. Chastain is a middle school. One middle school. If something isn't done soon to blanket this issue, it will fester out to more schools than Chastain. It'll take more than a handful of parents protesting. Is the community ready to take on this challenge? Do we even care enough anymore? What's the next move to save our children?

No New Stadium in Jackson

The Clarion Ledger has a story about the recommendations from a recent study of the Veterans Memorial Stadium which suggests that we should build a new stadium.

The Perils of Hillary as Veep Choice

It comes as no surprise to me that polls are showing a mixed blessing were Barack Obama to choose Hillary Clinton as his running mate, as her supporters are pressuring him to do—in part by saying that he needs her help to win. An Associated Press story today begins:

Lay Off Hillary

Let up on the woman and give her some time.

Clinton is getting flack for not being more gracious at her speech. Has anyone ever wanting something really bad and worked non-stop only to not get what they had hoped and dreamed of for so long? I think its going to take Hillary a little bit of time to decompress, slow down, and switch directions. Besides, wouldn't everyone be calling her bluff and second guessing her immediate and dramatic switch last night if she hung it up and put on an Obama t-shirt?

Out With the Old: Obama Clinches

Finally, we can get that Clinton baggage off our backs and move on. The Associated Press says Obama has "effectively" clinched the nomination. Big sigh of relief. Out with the old.

Blogs