[Stiggers] Troubled Land
Boneqweesha Jones: "This is the Labor Day edition of ‘Qweesha Live 2010.' During the last eight weeks of summer, America and the world have experienced more drama than the soap operas and reality-television shows combined."
[Kamikaze] Old Wounds
It's five years post Hurricane Katrina, and I'm still angry. Old images of the disaster dominated my TV screen and the Internet this past weekend: old images of Mother Nature at her most fierce; old images of destruction left in Katrina's wake; old images of bodies floating in flood water; old images of thousands of people starving, hot, sick, despondent.
[Purvis] Accidental Inspiration
I drove down to the Coast last week. I needed to see for myself what my home of four years looked like. I hadn't seen anything that made me feel good about what was probably happening there. I had no plan. I just wanted BP's head on a platter.
Thanks, Jackson, for Setting Example
Soon, the Jackson City Council Planning Committee is bringing a proposed ordinance before full council to restrict city police from inquiring about citizenship status during interdictions.
[Stiggers] What About the Milk?
Dear Diary: I have a serious concern about how I am serving my community. I am ashamed about how I've enabled my financially challenged customers to consume processed foods from my Pork-N-Piggly supermarkets.
Listen Up, Hospitals
Mary Jo went to the hospital recently and received a bill for more than $15,000. She was uninsured and unable to pay more than about $20 per week. It would take her about 15 years to pay off this debt.
[Hammond] It's a Dry Hate
At the end of July, I traveled to Arizona to join with other members of the Unitarian Universalist faith to protest the enactment of SB 1070, the infamous anti-immigration law, in solidarity with Puente, a human-rights organization.
Do You Know What it Means ...?
That Super Bowl journey with the New Orleans Saints last year was such a roller-coaster ride that I'll admit I've been slow to get back into the football-watching rhythm so far this preseason.
[Balko] The Government's License To Steal
In the February issue of "Reason," I wrote a feature story on civil asset forfeiture, the process by which law enforcement groups can seize property, usually in drug cases, sometimes without ever charging anyone with a crime. In particular, the article looked at the case of Anthony Smelley, who had $17,500 in cash taken from him during a traffic stop in Putnam County, Ind. Police never charged Smelley with a crime, but it took well over a year and several court proceedings for him to get his money back.
[Dennis] Not a Guns-and-Gold Republican
Intervention is never easy. It generally implies that the subject of the intervention has an addiction that they themselves have not yet fully perceived to be a problem.
Wait: I've Heard This Before
Recently, someone sent me a link to a site set up about the old white-supremacist Citizen's Council (citizenscouncil.com)--a supposedly upstanding racist group that famed newspaper editor Hodding Carter Jr. called the "uptown Klan."
State Officials: Respect Jackson
Jackson Mayor Harvey Johnson Jr. discovered last month that State Treasurer Tate Reeves wants details of every aspect of a $6 million state loan. Without that information, Reeves said that the state Bond Commission staff never put the loan on the agenda for the commission to vote on.
[Stiggers] This Funky Society
Mr. Announcement: "In the ghetto criminal justice system, the people are represented by members of the Ghetto Science Community: police officer and part-time security guard at the Funky Ghetto Mall, Dudley ‘Do-Right' McBride; attorney Cootie McBride of the law firm McBride, Myself and I; and Sista Encouragement, co-host of the Rev. Cletus Car Sales Church Broadcast. This is their story."
[Kamikaze] We Are Jackson
It appears my latest JFP blog post stirred up some emotions. It's no secret that crime and the perception of crime are push-button issues for many of us.
[Balko] Cops Don't Check Civil Rights at State House Door
The debate over whether citizens should be permitted to record on-duty police officers intensified this summer. High-profile incidents in Maryland, Illinois, Florida, Ohio, and elsewhere spurred coverage of the issue from national media outlets ranging from the Associated Press to Time to NPR. Outside the law enforcement community, a consensus seems to be emerging that it's bad policy to arrest people who photograph or record police officers on the job.The Washington Post, USA Today, the Washington Examiner, The Washington Times, and Instapundit's Glenn Reynolds, writing in Popular Mechanics, all weighed in on the side that citizen photography and videography can be an important check to keep police officers accountable and transparent.
‘I'm Not Crazy'
Keep up the good work," they'll say. Or, "your folks must be proud." They say this when I show up to interview them or to photograph them. Before even seeing my work, people are proud. Once they actually meet me and see that I am only 18 years old (some think younger), people's minds begin to wonder, "How did this little girl end up doing such a big job?" Never do they seem to doubt my capabilities and talents. They assume that I must be pretty good if I'm so young and already being given assignments by a real newspaper; but really, I'm just an intern hoping to one day be more.
How to Be the Best
Every Mississippian flinches when we hear yet another statistic or superlative that shows how bad we seem to have it: We're the fattest, poorest, most racist, worst educated or such, or we're trading off with Louisiana or Alabama for such honors.
[Stiggers] School Daze
Big Roscoe: "School days. People go to school in a daze. Good old you has to go back to school for change-your-career days. Reading, writing and arithmetic taught to a tune of thousands of dollars per semester, and after you complete your accelerated studies at that online university, you're obligated to pay back that high-interest loan."
Message For Our Time
Only the family of God can solve the problem of education in Mississippi. The Bible says that "You should train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it."
[Brantley] My Mississipi [sic] Identity
I arrived in Metz, France, in fall 2007 equipped with new degrees in English literature and French, and enough clothes to survive the reportedly bitter winter. In the middle of the Lycée Cormontaigne high school campus, where I would be working as an English teaching assistant, stood a remnant from one or both of the World Wars.
[Balko] Ignorance of the Law is No Excuse
"Ignorance of the law is no excuse." That's the standard line motorists hear when they say they weren't aware of the speed limit, or gun owners hear when they say didn't know about the gun laws in the jurisdiction they happened to get arrested in. Yet that ignorance is pretty understandable in an America where just about everything is criminalized. At the federal level alone, there are now more than 4,500 separate crimes, and that's not counting the massive regulatory code, violations of which also can sometimes be punished with criminal charges.
Doing School
I was never a stellar student. It's not that I'm not bright; I always tested well, 98th and 99th percentile on standardized tests in everything but math. Most of my teachers, however, utterly failed to engage my interest.
Stop the Immigrant Bashing
A disturbing meeting took place at the Madison County Cultural Center Monday night. It was a tea-party-organized forum to call for the state of Mississippi to adopt an anti-"illegals" law such as the one the state of Arizona recently enacted, and which is now caught up in legal battles over its constitutionality.
[Stiggers] Weary Minds and Souls
Judy McBride: "Before I close my monthly Ghetto Group Psychological Therapy and Venting Session, I want to say that I'm very happy to see those individuals who returned from last month's session and some new people, too."
[Kamikaze] Regular Folks and Common Sense
Recently, President Barack Obama appeared on an episode of ABC's "The View." I don't consider myself a fan of the show. Although it doesn't necessarily speak to my demographic, no doubt shows like "The View" or "The Oprah Show" speak directly to a core audience that any elected official should jump at the chance to reach.
[Owens-Wilson] How To Come Back From the Dead
The name of the game is change. People try to do it every new year, Obama opened the nation's eyes with its promise, and now, as an incoming college freshman, I am forced to take its hand and walk with it.
[Rutland] How to Know If You're Alive
Some people need it spelled out for them, you know?
Shall We Overcome?
I find it hard to trust someone who claims we should never talk about race. And I find it impossible to fathom someone who says it's "racist" to call out racism.
Is Suing in Our Best Interest?
Gov. Haley Barbour said he is moving forward with a plan to hire counsel to stop the spread of Choctaw gaming to Jones County, but is the investment in lawyers really worth the trip to court?
[Stiggers] ‘Letter of Concern'
Miss Doodle Mae: "Good morning, Jojo's Discount Dollar Store staff! Jojo asked me to conduct a special staff meeting in response to the Shirley Sherrod controversy. Most of you witnessed a hasty decision—caused by a manipulative individual—to terminate a sincere and diligent employee."