[Sawyer] Ethics And Terry Schiavo
In times of great suffering and sadness, it seems as though there is often much more yelling and screaming than there is loving and listening. The fact of the matter is this—there is a long list of ways in which life can go terribly wrong. Except for the grace and mercy of God, here we are facing each new day head on and with great courage. This subject of suffering and sadness is at the heart of the Terry Schiavo matter. And as long as we have loved ones, and as long as each day is subject to human tragedy, we will always have Terri Schiavos with us—and the moral dilemma it entails.
[Stiggers] A Lap Dance For Medicaid
On this episode of "All God's Churn Got Shoes," the Right, Reverend "Chicken Bone" Jones conducts a morality campaign and protest rally across the street from the Mystical Magic City strip club, bar, grill and dollar store. From an elevated platform, he delivers an urgent message to a small crowd.
Mr. Barbour: It's Time to Start Governing
It is telling that Haley Barbour was not in the state of Mississippi when he decided to call a special session this past weekend in a gambit to force the Mississippi House to pass Barbour's favored fix for Medicaid's 2005 funding woes this year. Because he couldn't make it back to the state in time, Lt. Gov. Amy Tuck signed the order to open the session.
Don't Call Me Ma'am
"Yes, ma'am." "No, ma'am." "Ma'am this, ma'am that." If there is anything I absolutely despise, it is the tendency of people in my home state to call me "ma'am." I spend much of my early interactions with my new interns—and even sometimes with writers who are older than I am, or at least look and act older—trying to get them to stop using the M-word around me.
[Sawyer] The Arc of Justice
One of the great crimes of our generation is not the cries of suffering throughout our world, but rather that we maintain the ability to heal such suffering, and yet we remain silent. We still have the blood of Rwanda's genocide on our hands, and Sudan is nothing but an afterthought. Millions are dying from starvation across the globe, and there seems to be a greater moral imperative to build monuments dedicated to the Ten Commandments.
Hush! Somebody's Calling Our Name
Never say things can't change. Sometimes remarkable change comes, and it seems so obvious that people barely notice. That was apparent recently when both the Mississippi House and the Senate voted to rename two stretches of highway after civil-rights martyrs: Highway 19-South out of Philadelphia after Chaney, Goodman and Schwerner and US-49 East would be renamed Emmett Till Memorial Highway, in honor of the black teenager beaten to death by white men in 1955 in Money, Miss.
[Chick] Can Men Measure Up To Chick Flicks?
My friend Cowboy and I watched "Hitch" by accident, which is OK because I burned some calories laughing, but I honestly thought it was going to be a boy movie, along the lines of "Lethal Weapon." Nope. I made Cowboy see a chick flick. Oops.
[Stiggers] 40 Acres And A Fool
Readin' Rain-Bro Is brought to you by contributions from the International Electric Slide Foundation and The Ghetto Science Team's Trust Fund.
Dean and the Elephants in Dixie
Charles Evers and I hit it off immediately the first time we met. We, after all, both have Neshoba County roots. My Daddy, it seems, used to drive him around in a taxi back when he did radio there. We have a common hero—his brother, Medgar. We both opposed the Iraqi War, as he wrote about in the JFP the week the war started. We both spent a fun evening at Jubilee! Jam chasing down Bob Dylan so he could thank him for a song he wrote for Medgar back in the '60s.
[Perry] ‘Eye for an Eye' Not Enough
As a transplanted native of Jackson, with family still there, I have been following the story of Edgar Ray Killen's upcoming trial. I was delighted to see that Mississippians such as Donna Ladd, Eric Stringfellow and the Jackson Human Relations Council are talking about a truth and reconciliation process, an idea I support wholeheartedly.
[Stiggers] Dr. Strange, or How to Learn to Not to Love Reality TV
Here's an important message from the law office of Cootie McBride, the people's lawyer: Some clients come to me with extremely large knots on their foreheads after taking a pain pill for aching joints. Other clients, who take diet pills to lose weight quickly, come to my office with a pinky toe the size of a big toe. Angry male clients, whose eyes are crossed after taking a few sexual enhancement pills, storm into my office. As the people's lawyer I have helped many individuals who took drugs with unusual physical side effects get the money they deserve.
[Fleming] Get the Women and Children to Safety
To paraphrase the former U.S. Sen. Daniel Webster, one should heed the warning, "Get the women and children to safety. The Mississippi Legislature has started working on the budget!" Since the beginning of the session, there has been great concern over how the state would fund its $12 billion budget for fiscal year 2006.
Fear And Loathing In The Dirty South
I'm an opinionated chick, but every now and then, an issue comes a long that, no matter how much I ponder it, I can't quite firmly take a side on it. Choosing one side would be denying the reality of the other, when both are very real.
[Kamikaze] Hello, Mayor Jones
I was reading The Clarion-Ledger recently, and I came across something that made me laugh. Some parents in Florence are up in arms over their kids allegedly being harassed by police, in particular, by Sgt. Mike Crowdus. About 30 parents are outraged because Crowdus demanded wallets from their teen kids, used inappropriate language to them and arrested one, 16-year-old Glenn Wynn, during a traffic stop
[Stiggers] An Inner-City Fairy Tale
Kunta Rahsheed X. Toby film working in conjunction with Ghetto Science Productions present "The Adventures of Sista Gurl, Honey Child: An Inner-City Fairy Tale."
[Turner] From Djembe To MPC
The drum is a super projection of the human voice. Human force is combined with other natural forces—skin of animal, hollowed solid tree-trunk, etc.—as a medium for arousing the attention and reaction of mankind. The drum and the drummer, in mutual cooperation, create patterns of consciousness that give a moment of inspiration to those they touch.
Hills And Gullies On State Street
I've got two different things I need to say this week, and they're almost impossible to segue between, so let me just get the first one out of the way.
[Sawyer] The Patriotism Problem
It's hard to remain calm in war. It evokes something within each of us that pulls at our very core. Crying mothers of soldiers, the piles of body bags in full color, and the posting of the guard do not allow room for indifference or stoicism. Beginning in 1776, war and fighting were rooted in a moral purpose where each American defended their actions through the higher purpose for which we all knew that we were fighting. "God Bless America" and "Support Our Troops" were not attached to the back of buggies back then, but rather singed on our hearts and in our minds. We knew that our fight was the good fight, and so each tear was never shed in vain.
[Stiggers] The ‘No Child Left Behind' School Bus
Funding for the Ghetto Science Team's No Child Left Behind School Bus for the financially challenged is brought to you by a grant from the L.M.H.F.D. (Let Me Hold Five Dollars) National Bank educational trust fund.
The House That Racism Built
It's been another one of those weeks the media love in Jacktown: lots of screaming and finger-pointing and accusations of someone else, inevitably of a different race from the accuser, being "a racist."
[Chick] ‘Rocky' For The Single Girl
I swear I have some intellectual rights as someone clearly stole my hang-ups when creating the Ally McBeal character. You may remember back in her day when she searched for a theme song to keep her focused, lift her spirits and perhaps even ease some neurosis. Yep. I had theme music long before Ally was dancing with computerized babies. Someone owes me money.
[Hutchinson] The ‘Conspiracy Bug' Can Kill You
We run this column in honor of National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day—Monday, Feb. 7. See details at bottom of this column.
Barbour: Heed The Will of The People
We feel it's important to ask a serious question of Gov. Haley Barbour—has he returned to Mississippi to govern the state, or just to test his pet ideological theories about what wins elections?
Stokes: A Friend of Hip-Hop
There are few people who I feel are truly allies to the hip-hop nation. The press condemns us, most parents hate us, and advertisers use us. But around these parts, there's one person who seems to understand our work, and respect our strength—Ward 3 Councilman Kenneth Stokes.
[Stiggers] When I Say, ‘Hee', They Say ‘Haw'!
This episode of "All God's Churn Got Shoes" has the answer to the burning question: Where is Colin Powell? The former secretary of state and his son Michael (former FCC Chairman) have gone to China to visit Master Po' Brutha, elder Shaolin Priest and honorary member of the Ghetto Science Team.
We Got A New At-ti-tude
Cue the Patti LaBelle, baby. As we prepare our third Best of Jackson issue, it strikes me that Jacksonians are starting to take for granted the idea that "best" is a superlative term that applies to their city. We got a new attitude.
[Stiggers] You Get More Than A Drug Store
Cough Syrup: $12. Asprin: $5. Chunky Chicken Soup: $2. Cold Medicine and Vapor Rub: $20. You have bad cold and no sick day benefits at your job: FIRED!
[Chick] The Baptist and The Feminist
One of my most difficult struggles as a Christian involves feminism. There. I said it. I'm a feminist. No, I don't wear combat boots, and yes, I love men like crazy. LOVE men. Wouldn't life be much simpler if I didn't? However, the exploitation of women's sexuality and the glaring double standard women battle every day deserve commentary even in 2005. The Equal Rights Amendment still lacks ratification, and I'd be a liar to say I think that's OK. And you thought my last column would ruin my dating chances.
Don't Light The Fire
When the airport renaming story broke, it had the potential of yet another racial war in a place that certainly didn't need any help in that department.
[Sawyer] It's A Rich Or Poor Thing
Each morning during the semester, the bell rings for thousands of Mississippi youth. Mississippi teachers bear a great burden in their cause to shape every young mind. They know that each generation becomes another candle to light the way for all of us. Education—especially in our state—becomes the great hope to move us ever forward.