Editorial: The Status Quo Rides Again
It was a big week for proclamations by the Clarion-Ledger's editorial staff, with two doozies coming the same day. In his Nov. 24 column, editorial director David Hampton said of Third District Rep. Chip Pickering: "[T]his election was a crossroads event for his career; he is now pretty much politically bullet-proof. Except for some drastic redistricting, he likely will be in Congress as long as he wishes."
CHICK: Nowhere To Stand But Up
"The worst state for women is Mississippi," says the Institute for Women's Policy Research, a scientific research organization founded in 1987 to inform and stimulate debate on public policy issues important to women and families. We certainly need to be informed and stimulated. For women, Mississippi is ranked 49th in employment and earnings, 49th in social and economic autonomy, 49th in health and well-being, and a whopping 51st (!) in reproductive rights.
SPANN: Going To The Chapel?
President George W. Bush wants you to get married. And why not? Just consider the implications. According to Wade Horn, assistant secretary of children and families for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and a long-time marriage advocate, marriage can: end poverty in America, end abuse and neglect, and maybe even achieve world peace. Who knew that "I do" was so powerful?
CHICK: Nice Southern Girls Do Breastfeed
It looked like any other picnic scene you would find in a Chapel Hill, N.C., park on a beautiful spring day. Lots of trees, grass, children, Frisbees, dogs and smoking grills. As my husband and I sat down to eat, an attractive woman sitting across from us deftly produced her breast to feed her baby, while introducing herself to my husband, correcting her 3-year-old and sampling the coleslaw. We were both amazed, but for different reasons. I was impressed at the poise she displayed and her expertise at multitasking. My husband was just amazed that he was able to carry on a conversation with her while pretending to be so interested in his baked beans. It was the perfect way to break him into the world of breastfeeding—gently, at a La Leche League barbeque, complete with beer and spare ribs.
HIGHTOWER: Buy Organic, Buy Local
When 90 members of the Wampanoag tribe joined 50 Pilgrims for the first Thanksgiving back in 1621, they had a cornucopia of food. For three days, they feasted on venison, goose, turkey, eels, lobster, hoe cakes, corn, cranberries, beer, wine ... and so much more. Yet, this abundance didn't require any chemical additives, genetic engineering, pesticides, antibiotics, growth hormones or other weaponry of today's high-tech agribusiness industry. Those poor ignorant fools just didn't know how it should be done, I guess.
EDITORIAL: It's the Little Things
The recent unveiling of a new plan for a massive downtown convention-center complex has us worried that Jackson and its leaders will never stop going down the "if you build it, they will come" road for tourism and business. Yes, Jackson needs a smart, useful civic structure to serve exhibition, meeting space and other needs. But no gleaming alabaster and glass structure—no matter how big it is—will ever solve the city's problems in one fell swoop.
Minding the Shop
We weren't stopping at every convenience store in West Jackson. Todd and I were primarily distributing the Jackson Free Press to beauty and barbershops, barbecue spots, libraries and nightclubs—places where West Jacksonians like to congregate and, hopefully, look through magazines. Besides, it was raining torrents, and stopping in front of a strip of businesses made our task a little more efficient and a little less water-logged. But the tiny store at the southwest corner of Jackson State looked too charming to pass up. Plus, it was probably the kind of place that JSU students stop into constantly for coffee and snacks. It would be perfect for the Jackson Free Press.
Opinion: Iraq Attack Not a ‘Just' War
From my pew near the back of my church, I see the pastor in his black liturgical robe approach the center of the chancel to welcome everyone to morning worship. A prism of colors is visible from the sunlight streaming through the stained glass windows. Behind him on the left is the flag of the United States. On his right is the Christian flag. Standing midway between the two, the minister is a symbol of the Christian dilemma—dual citizenship. Christians are citizens of both the United States and the Kingdom of God and this can, as William H. Willimon, dean of the chapel at Duke University puts it, "cause some tension."
EDITORIAL: Tort Reform: Let's Punt
Nov. 7, 2002 -- The special legislative session to address tort-reform issues should have ended weeks ago. It's been expensive, ineffectual and has only added to a confusing debate that has lumped corporate responsibility and medical malpractice into the same discussion. And as The Clarion-Ledger reported Sept. 1, the "special session" status may take tort reform a step closer to being unconstitutional, because the Mississippi constitution forbids special laws that protect individual entities if that law could be handled in a more general fashion. Abridging trial-by-jury rights is also a constitutional no-no.
CHICK: One for the People
<i>Bingo goes in search of 'nekkid chicks' in Clinton.</i>
I was listening to Z106 the other day when the disc jockey started crowing approvingly that he had never had a Playboy Playmate on his show before. I soon learned that this particular playmate was from Clinton (the Bible Belt's buckle) and an employee of WorldCom. I tittered to myself because I had quipped months ago when I heard about the "Women of Enron" issue of Playboy that WorldCom would be next. It seems Sherrie Sloane ("with an i-e," her bright voice said when asked for a Web plug) is a graduate of Belhaven College and works as a financial analyst at the shiny-but-tarnished WorldCom digs in Clinton.
Your Vote Counts Here
Imagine a state where moderates have as loud a voice as extreme conservatives. Imagine a state where it's considered cool to be progressive. A state where young people are drawn to politics so they can help people, not corporations. A state where your vote counts.
Drive-By Patriotism
Now that I have those children and have watched the towers fall, my pacifism has been tested. Like a mother bear guarding her young, I would defend them with force if necessary. But is this war necessary?
Art Meets Politics
For the artist, these tense political times offer other perplexing questions: Do I stifle my creative voice to be politically correct? Can I provoke and titillate my audience without alienating them? Will I, like poet Amiri Baraka, be publicly chastised for my views?
Readers, Advertisers and Community
The Jackson Free Press, as with any for-profit publication, is designed to appeal to two constituencies: the reader and the advertiser. In these pages, the reader will find examples of the writing, research, coverage and reporting that they can expect from the Jackson Free Press.
Anywhere But Here
We went crazy in June and painted our sun porch Martha Stewart Monarch Red, a brilliant terra-cotta that glows like a furnace when viewed from the street. It was our first real step toward turning the little brick ranch house in the middle of Northeast Jackson into home. For five years, we had kept the interior in pleasing neutral tones so it would be easier to resell. In my mind I was always leaving, moving onto the next big thing. The elusive place I thought I'd call home was anywhere but here.
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