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[Sue Doh Nem] Rise of the Ghettocratic Party

Nurse Tootie McBride: "Brothers, sisters and ghettocratic delegates, welcome to the first Ghettocratic convention, held at the Clubb Chicken Wing Multi-Purpose Complex."

U.S. Attorney: 595 ‘Illegal Aliens' Arrested

[verbatim from U.S. Attorney Dunn Lampton] LAUREL, Miss.— U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) special agents executed a federal criminal search warrant yesterday at Howard Industries, Inc., an electric transformer manufacturing facility, for evidence relating to aggravated identity theft, fraudulent use of Social Security numbers and other crimes, as well as a civil search warrant for individuals illegally in the United States. The announcement was made by ICE Special Agent in Charge of the Office of Investigations in New Orleans, Michael A. Holt, and Stan Harris, First Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Mississippi.

BREAKING: Mississippi Supreme Court Censors Dissenting Opinion

The Mississippi Supreme Court censored the dissenting opinion (PDF, 456 KB) of Justice Oliver Diaz yesterday, a possibly "unprecedented" move "in the history of American jurisprudence," according to Diaz.

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Melton's ‘State': ‘A Bit Of Hyperbole'?

Mayor Frank Melton praised Jackson's economic progress and outlined some of the city's persistent problems in his State of the City address this morning at the TelCom Center.

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Judge Discrimination Must Stop

Jackson attorney Dennis Sweet is calling attention to a recent change in Hinds County Circuit Court that should alarm every county resident, regardless of race. Hinds County Chief Judge Swan Yerger issued a memorandum to circuit court judges last November, dividing the four justices into two different case categories.

[Kamikaze] Dear Whiners

This column is dedicated to the whiners. Loyal readers, I suggest you copy and paste this column into an e-mail message to all the naysayers, cynics and haters of Jackson.

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Sweet Alleges Bias Against Hinds Judges

Jackson attorney Dennis Sweet claims Hinds County Senior Judge Swan Yerger violated the U.S. Constitution when he barred the county's black circuit court judges from hearing more serious cases.

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Pickering Move to Cost State $3 Million?

State Auditor Stacey Pickering filed an Aug. 5 motion in Hinds County Circuit Court for summary judgment in the 2005 Mississippi WorldCom settlement case that could prove costly. Pickering contends that Joey Langston's law firm attempted to "bypass the laws and legislative safeguards" of the state when they negotiated a $14 million attorney's fee with WorldCom during a $126.2 million tax-fraud settlement with the state in 2005.

State Democrats Slam McCain

Mississippi Democrats used the birthday of the 70-year-old Social Security program to attack presumed Republican presidential nominee John McCain last week, accusing the Arizona senator of wanting to privatize the program. "Just one month ago, on July 7, Senator McCain told a town-hall audience that the way Social Security works is a disgrace and told ABC this week that everything will be on the table if he becomes president, including the privatization of Social Security," said Mississippi Democratic Party Vice Chairwoman Barbara Blackmon. "We're here today, exactly one week before the birthday of Social Security, to let the people know that we will not support any effort to privatize the most successful anti-poverty program in our nation."

DOJ Not Pursuing Bribery Charges Against Stevens

An attorney handling the appeal of Paul Minor noted a sharp contrast between how the U.S. Department of Justice prosecuted Minor and how it is chasing Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens. While the DOJ prosecuted Minor on corruption charges—without the necessity of proving quid pro quo—they have chosen not to pursue those same charges against Stevens, who is Republican.

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Justice For Sale

Almost immediately after his appointment to U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Mississippi in late 2001, Dunnica Lampton began to investigate key Mississippi Democrats.

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DOJ: No Break For Minor

The U.S. Department of Justice wants Mississippi attorney Paul Minor to stay in jail, despite his wife's imminent death. The DOJ filed a motion last week opposing Minor's motion for release pending appeal in his 2007 corruption conviction.

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Where There's Smoke, There's Haley Barbour

During his long tenure in Washington, Haley Barbour was known for his love of Maker's Mark bourbon, good cigars and Republican politics, not necessarily in that order.

Attorney General Settles With State Farm

Attorney General Jim Hood just sent the following statement, verbatim:

Biloxi, MS-Attorney General Jim Hood announced the settlement of the state's breach of contract suit against State Farm, which was filed after State Farm refused to comply with a January, 2007, Hinds County Chancery Court settlement. Due to the state's suit against several insurance companies, State Farm has paid an additional $74 million and Nationwide has paid an additional $40 million to Coast policyholders. As a result of the settlement, State Farm will send out new notices to the remaining 148 slab and/or pier only policyholders, who have not yet sued, settled or already participated in the reevaluation process.

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Barbour Gives Relief to 4 ‘Domestic' Killers, of 5 Total

Bobby Hays Clark murdered on-again, off-again girlfriend Veronica Conner in 1996 by shooting her in the neck with a 25-caliber automatic, hitting her carotid artery. Now, his record is clear, thanks to Gov. Haley Barbour, who has helped four "domestic" murderers in recent weeks.