Be Vigilant
Donna Ladd's "My Kind of Tea Party," which appeared in your July 15-21, 2010, issue, brought back vivid memories of a few people who spoke out against unbridled racist propaganda and hate-inspired actions that have made Mississippi the poster state for pervasive racism.
[Mott] ‘Bring On the Rest'
Driving away from Parchman Penitentiary on the night Mississippi executed Joseph Burns, I was having trouble putting my feelings into words. I had just watched a man die in front of my eyes and yet, I was oddly calm, as if I had just walked out of a movie theater.
Condemn the Cowardice
Men get a bad rap. Oftentimes we deserve it. But generally—luckily—the many good ones among us overshadow the bad apples. As we look forward to the annual JFP Chick Ball this weekend, we should again take a hard look at the heinous crime that is domestic abuse.
Don't Soft-Pedal Domestic Abuse
Under Mississippi state law, it is too easy to get away with abusing animals and spouses. And too often, the same people do both.
[Stiggers] Renegade Runaway
Mr. Announcement: "Controversial independent filmmaker Kunta ‘Rahsheed X' Toby presents a scene from his new epic movie ‘Kunta King James: Runaway Franchise Athlete.' Look for guest cameo appearances from Rev. Jesse Jackson, Mel Gibson, tea-party protesters and the NAACP.
[Purvis] Wasteland of Empty Promises
"Call—call the police!" I stammered through the phone tenuously gripped in my trembling hand. I was kneeling in my mother's living room in the midst of broken glass and a carpet stained with drops of blood—his blood. He had punched out the glass in the patio door and the panes in the living-room windows.
Hole-Filled Souls
I know a woman who lives in the house with her children, her husband and his violent temper. She wears a mask. This woman, whenever I see her, has a joyful disposition, even when she's wearing long sleeves and ankle-length skirts or pants, even in this heat. I'm certain she has bruises she's hiding. Her children, I've noticed never take too many steps without knowing where she is at all times. I've never asked, because I don't want to cause problems, but I wonder if they're more concerned for her or themselves. Even if he doesn't hit them, only naivete would allow someone to think they aren't affected.
[Balko] Justice For Johannes Mehserle
Early the morning of Jan. 1, 2009, in a now-infamous incident that dozens of cell phones captured on video and then replayed across the globe, Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) Officer Johannes Mehserle shot and killed 23-year-old Oscar Grant as Grant lay on his stomach on an Oakland BART platform.
My Kind of Tea Party
Recently, I was asked to appear on a local cable talk show to talk about issues of the day. I didn't think much about it; it sounded easy and innocent enough. And I was busy and didn't bother to ask who I was appearing on the show alongside.
Find Another Way
Lt. Gov. Phil Bryant is no stranger to right-wing nuttery, but he offered a prime example of conservative hysteria in comments in a July 12 article in The Clarion-Ledger. Suggesting children of undocumented immigrants are burdening Mississippi's hospitals, Bryant told The Clarion-Ledger, "You have some that have babies—anchor babies—and don't pay for it."
[Stiggers] Where is the Love?
Brother Hustle: "Bill Withers sang it best: ‘Sometimes in our lives/We all have pain/We all have sorrow./But if we are wise/We know that there's always tomorrow.' I also like what little orphan Annie sang during her stage play: ‘Just thinking' about tomorrow clears away the cobwebs and the sorrow until there's none!'
[Beety] The Cost of Death
On July 21, the state of Mississippi is scheduled to put Joseph Daniel Burns Mississippian, murderer and father of three—to death. Our state has executed only 10 men over the past 30 years; yet, if all goes as planned, Burns will be the third Mississippian executed this year.
[Balko] A Case Study in Local News Futility
The Norman Lear Center at the University of Southern California's Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism recently surveyed 490 hours of local news reports in the Los Angeles area and found what most people who watch local news probably already knew: It's dreadful.
Facing ‘Generation Debt'
About two and a half years ago--a few months before I graduated college--my grandmother said something I'll never forget: "Just wait; after college, that's when your standard of living really goes down."
Start the Apollo Project for Clean Energy
It's time for an "Apollo Project" for clean energy in America.
It's time for an "Apollo Project" for clean energy in America.
[Stiggers] Branding the Unemployed
Boneqweesha Jones: "I heard James Brown paraphrase a Bible verse at the end of one of his songs: ‘If you don't work, you don't eat.' And right now in America, people are starving.
[Kamikaze] The Key Ingredient to Growth
Every growing city has major problems. Jackson is no different. It is a blossoming metropolis, but is not without its issues: crumbling infrastructure; old water pipes; bad roads; understaffed police and fire departments; dilapidated properties; neighborhoods overrun by drugs–you name it.
[Hutchinson] Michael Jackson: A Threat?
Pop king Michael Jackson has been dead for one year. But the controversy that surrounded his life didn't end with his death. On June 25, the eve of the first anniversary of his death, Latoya Jackson loudly declared that her brother was murdered. Why? Because he had grown too rich and powerful, and posed a threat.
[Balko] Confirmation Theater
My task this week is to write a column on how criminal-justice issues are likely to play out at the Elena Kagan confirmation hearings, and how her expected confirmation will tilt the balance between the rights of the accused and the government's power to police.
I Punched the Hole
OK, I admit it: I'm obsessed with the gusher in the Gulf. I spend part of every day looking for some new outrage or updated numbers on how much oil is actually flowing into the ocean.
The Convention Hotel Conundrum
The JFP warned when taxpayers were voting on funding for the Jackson Convention Complex that powers-that-be would be back asking for a hotel in the future. Now that's happening, in the disconcerting form of a "public-private" partnership.
[Stiggers] Keep It to Yourself
Miss Doodle-Mae: "I'm proud to welcome five new members to the staff of Jojo's Discount Dollar Store. You've experienced the rigorous training and intense orientation sessions. I hope you've mastered the Four-Way-Test Customer Service class."
[Purvis] Déjà Vu All Over Again
I have not been myself since I learned of the tragic oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Always, no matter what I'm doing, it seems to be hanging out with me, sometimes on the periphery of my thoughts and more often in the foreground as the days get marked off the calendar like fallen soldiers on the battlefront.
[Balko] Another Marylander Arrested for Recording the Police
The city of Annapolis, Md., recently received a Homeland Security grant for 20 new surveillance cameras in the downtown area. The city of Baltimore already has nearly 500.
...To Make a Thing Go Right
I often give talks about journalism and my crazy journey that began when I left the state the day after graduating from Mississippi State, and vowing never, ever to return. I was headed off to go to law school in Washington, D.C., to learn how to change the world. Or stay out all night. Or something.
Secret Now, Pay Later?
Faced with the prospect of deep, unpopular cuts in public services, it's no wonder the Jackson City Council is mulling a plan to free up cash in the near term. The city says its proposed debt refinancing would save the city $18.3 million in debt service over the next five years but add $10.8 million to its long-term debt.
[Stiggers] As the Oil Flows
Boneqweesha Jones: "It's the ‘Qweesha Live 2010 Weekly World Report.' It looks like this summer is putting the heat on world and corporate leaders. Case in point is the president. It seems like the nation, media and Congress are sweating him about the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.
[Kamikaze] The New Mississippi Musicians
I often brag to out-of-state friends and colleagues that all the genres of music were either birthed or perfected on Mississippi soil. From Jimmie Rodgers to Faith Hill, B.B. King to Grady Champion, and from Leontyne Price to Brandy, it's safe to say that our musical roots run deep.
[Dickerson] Long Live the ‘W'
When Gov. Haley Barbour came out in favor of merging Mississippi University for Women with Mississippi State University, I was ecstatic.
[Balko] 'I Find that Inexcusable'
At a stoplight just a few miles from his home, Nicholas Beltrante, 82, puts on his flashers, opens the driver's side door to his car, gets out, and approaches my car. I roll down my window.