Celebrating Manhood
Whenever I've had something I needed to say to my brother but couldn't verbalize, I wrote him a letter. There have been two letters, in particular, that have proven to be the most important. And this, in a way, is an open letter to him, but it is, most especially to all of you.
Stop Threatening AGs Authority
This month, Louisiana Attorney General Buddy Caldwell reported that he will beg the Louisiana Legislature for $27 million to sue oil giant BP for the damage the company's oil is doing to Louisiana's lucrative fishing and tourism market.
[Stiggers] Kicking Some Butt
Judy McBride: "Greetings, Ghetto Science Public Television viewers! Welcome to the premiere edition of ‘Ghetto Psychology Today.' The objective of this television show is to discuss, analyze and understand aspects of human behavior from a Ghetto Science Team perspective.
Bad Business or Bad Math?
In a column published June 3 ("Payday Lending: Bad Business" by Scott Colom), JFP readers met a man named Mike (an alias for a supposed payday loan customer.) I'd like for you to meet a real payday loan customer: Gracie.
[Hutchinson] What We Can't Do About BP
Former Secretary of State Colin Powell minced no words in an interview with ABC News recently. Powell said President Barack Obama should muscle BP aside and move in with "decisive force." The general had one thing in mind: military-type response and seizure of the operation.
The Media Revolution
Last Friday morning, as I started my daily routine of reading the news, I fired up Tweetdeck, started browsing news sites and looked at my Facebook news feed. On Facebook, my sister, Lindsey, had posted a picture of herself and her long-time boyfriend and changed her status from "in a relationship" to "engaged." Dozens of congratulating comments followed.
Time to Rethink Energy
In the wake of the biggest man-made environmental disaster in American history, our country's leaders have a perfect opportunity to finally, and at long last, make significant changes in U.S. energy policy.
[Stiggers] Black Gold
Mr. Announcement: "In the ghetto criminal justice system, the people are represented by two members of the McBride family: police officer and part-time security guard at the Funky Ghetto Mall, Dudley ‘Do-Right' McBride and attorney Cootie McBride of the law firm McBride, Myself and I. This is their story."
[Kamikaze] Superman Married to Superwoman
Frequent readers of my column know I often write about my mother. She was a great woman—indeed, one of the finest to walk the Earth. Her passing has left a void not just in my heart but in this city as well. We are all better for her having been here.
[Balko] The Subversive Vending Machine
In 1819 the English publisher, bookseller, and radical Richard Carlisle was sentenced to three years in prison for blasphemy and seditious libel. Carlisle's imprisonment was partly due to his publication of pamphlets exposing what's now known as the Peterloo Massacre, in which a cavalry brigade attacked tens of thousands of protesters who had gathered to call for reforms to Parliament, and partly because he published the banned works of enlightenment figures such as Thomas Paine.
Covering Our Oily Tracks
We humans forget a lot, especially when remembering means we have to change. And there is the crux of the problem: We've spent decades demanding that the rest of the world conform to what America wants. We gobble up a quarter of the world's energy with a mere 4.5 percent of the its population (both China and India have about four times the number of people). We have allowed amoral corporations to act in our name with impunity. We've stood by while politicians gutted our government in favor of private entities that increased spending and decreased responsibility. We can't sustain, and we can't understand why government isn't doing enough fast enough.
Dine Local This Summer
You hear the "buy local" message from the Jackson Free Press often because we think it's one of the most fundamental things that we all can do as citizens on a daily basis to help the Jackson metro thrive as a unique community.
[Stiggers] Out of Gas Again
Nurse Tootie McBride: "Ghetto Science Public Television presents a special edition of ‘Break it down for the People World Report.' Tonight's topic is: ‘Should Poor Folk Cry over Spilled Oil in the Gulf of Mexico?'
[Colom] Payday Lending: Bad Business
Each month, before receiving his Walmart paycheck, Mike* gets a payday loan. In exchange for the money, he writes the store a check for the amount of money he receives, plus an additional $22 for every $100 he borrows.
[Balko] Lessons From the Death of Aiyana Stanley-Jones
On the morning of May 16, a Detroit police officer fatally shot 7-year-old Aiyana Stanley-Jones in the throat during a police raid on her home. The police were looking for a homicide suspect. They found him in the apartment above the one where Stanley-Jones was shot, where he surrendered without violence. In response, Detroit Mayor Dave Bing cautioned last week not to put the blame squarely on police.
‘Jackson is the New Jackson'
When we started the JFP, we had the vague notion that we could help turn Jackson into "the new Austin." For us, that is no longer the goal. Austin is cool, and its turnabout from a boring capital city not long ago to a musical Mecca (with the help of its alt-weekly) is legend. But that was their path; this city is on our own. We don't need to be Austin.
Make Consolidation Study Transparent
Since a flare-up of attention last winter, the issue of school district consolidation has received only limited public attention. This is unfortunate, as a governor-appointed panel is set to issue a report next month that will lay out a path for dissolving 18 small, rural school districts.
[Stiggers] Broke Folk
Brotha Hustle: "Ghetto Science Community: The Hustle family's Summer Jobs Initiative is ready to put people to work, thanks to some surplus funds from the Ghetto Science Community Stimulus Grant, or GSCSG. Special thanks go out to Congressman Smokey ‘Robinson' McBride for pulling strings to make the summer jobs initiative happen."
[Kamikaze] Relearning Riding the Bike
I haven't been on a bike in years. Not because the desire isn't there. Well, kind of. I haven't been bike shopping longer than I have actually ridden one; I'll have to wait and see if I can still maneuver.
[Wilkes] Dudettes Wearing Suits
Scene: Working husband, John Jones, walks in the door fresh from work, proverbial bacon in hand. Stay-at-home wife, Janet, cooks said bacon and puts what's left in a ROTH IRA for when their precious, unborn children, little Johnny Jr. and Jane, retire. End scene.
[Balko] A Drug Raid Goes Viral
Last week, a Columbia, Mo., drug raid captured on video went viral. As of this morning, the video had garnered 950,000 views on YouTube. It has lit up message boards, blogs, and discussion groups around the Web, unleashing anger, resentment and even, regrettably, calls for violence against the police officers who conducted the raid.
Be the Actors
I was running late and felt lost in the hallways of the Dirksen Senate Office Building in Washington, D.C, last week, as I attempted to find Sen. Roger Wicker's office. My feet ached because I had bought into the "pain equals beauty" mantra and walked miles in heels. I was in D.C. after the CARE organization invited me to attend their conference. I followed two young Mississippi women as they lobbied on behalf of legislation to improve access to food, health and maternal care for women throughout the world.
Sun Must Shine on Convention Hotel Deal
Mayor Harvey Johnson Jr. dismayed the Jackson Free Press at the City Council work session Monday when he said the city was looking to enter into a possibly-financial deal with TCI-MS to complete the stalled Capital City Center, but that the details would be discussed in closed session at the Council meeting Tuesday (soon after this issue went to press).
[Stiggers] Desperate Plea
Mr. Announcement: "G-SPAN (Ghetto Science Public Affairs Network) presents the ‘Lord Have Mercy I'm Still Unemployed Center Summer Jobs Summit.' Rev. Cletus, spiritual advisor and pastor of Rev. Cletus Car Sales Church, is the guest motivational speaker."
[Fish] Pie In The Sky
Those of us who understand educational theory can clearly see the foundations on which Lynn Stoddard's "Educating for Human Greatness" (Peppertree Press, 2010, $18.50) is based. None of the ideas are new; they are synthesized from many great thinkers of the past, but who listens to great thinkers these days?
Where the Jobs Are in 2010
If we're lucky, we're coming out a deep recession and looking at economic growth that, hopefully, will mean jobs, consumer spending and new business investment nationally. Jackson is poised to take advantage of economic revitalization, but to do it, we'll need to pull together and create opportunities.
Vet The New Lake 255 Plan
After more than a decade, the Rankin-Hinds Pearl River Flood and Drainage Control District Levee Board came to a tentative compromise on a lake plan that does not appear to be in opposition to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' preferred plan to expand Pearl River levees.
[Stiggers] The Larger World
Can you believe it? This year marks my seventh year writing humor and satire for the Jackson Free Press! You've endured seven years of my crazy characters, wacky parodies, unusual pop culture and ethnic references, and liberal views on society and politics.
[Kamikaze] Transfer the Power
This city is on the brink of greatness, with more than a billion dollars worth of new development downtown. Young professionals, black and white, are choosing to live, work, and play in an urban environment. New restaurants are all over town. New residential projects are springing up throughout the capital.
[Purvis] The Case for Shopping Locally
I hate going to superstores. I rarely see the same staff, and the employees never seem too interested in being there. Maybe that's a symptom of supersizing. How can an employee in customer service be there for so many people under one roof?