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Bills acknowledges blacks' contributions

Shelia Byrd of the AP writes: "At least two House bills seek to recognize historical contributions of black Mississippians."

Dean's Midnight Note

Here's an e-mail that went to Dean's e-mail list in the middle of the night after Dean's unimpressive third-placing showing in Iowa (BTW, is anyone else as thrilled as I am that Gephardt dropped out? Argh.) ...

Senate Panel Votes for New Thomas/White Election

Jan. 19, 2004--The Sun-Herald is reporting: "A Senate committee has recommended a new election in the disputed Hinds District 29 race. Democrat Dewayne Thomas was certified the winner of the race by the Hinds County Election Commission, but incumbent Sen. Richard White, R-Terry, filed a contest petition with the Senate. 'The full Senate will vote on the committee's recommendation, but it is unclear when that will happen,' said Sen. Terry Burton, R-Newton, chairman of the committee. The committee recommended a Feb. 10 special election in the entire district.

Dean's Grass-roots Team in Overdrive on Iowa Day

Keep an eye on Dean's Blog for America today as the Iowa caucuses take place. Whatever you think of Dean, his *campaign* is pretty damned exciting.

Tupelo Republican Wants to Block Gay Unions

The Clarion-Ledger is reporting: 'Saying gay marriage 'goes against everything society has ever stood for,' state Sen. Alan Nunnelee has filed a bill to ban the union under the state Constitution. Mississippi lawmakers must have all bills and constitutional amendments filed by Feb. 23. Nunnelee's bill calls for a constitutional amendment defining marriage as a union between a man and a woman. Mississippi already bans marriage for same-sex couples and does not recognize homosexual marriages performed in other states, but Nunnelee, R-Tupelo, says the 1997 state law may not be enough in years to come.

[Fleming] A Brand-New Day

A rooster crows in the morning, at sunrise, to signal a brand new day, and in metaphorical essence, hope. The rooster that was crowing last week was Mississippi Legislative Black Caucus Chair Rep. Phillip West, D-Natchez. His exuberance comes from the news of the House Committee assignments announced on January 15, 2004. In the announcement, made on the 75th birthday of The Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., African-American legislators made historic quantitative gains in the Mississippi House of Representatives.

Creative Class War

Creative Class guru Richard Florida has a long, compelling piece on Alternet about political culture wars in the U.S. He writes: "The last 20 years has seen the rise of the 'culture wars' -- between those who value traditional virtues, and others drawn to new lifestyles and diversity of opinion. In truth, this clash mostly played out among intellectuals of the left and right; as sociologist Alan Wolfe has shown, most Americans manage a subtle balance between the two tendencies. Still, the cleavages exist, roughly paralleling the ideologies of the two political parties. And increasingly in the 1990s, they expressed themselves geographically, as more and more Americans chose to live in places that suited their culture and lifestyle preferences. ...

Mississippi House: Jan. 16, 2003 Weekly Recap

By Rep. Erik Fleming -- Haley Reeves Barbour's inauguration and first address to the citizens as Mississippi's 63rd governor and the announcement of committee assignments in the House of Representatives highlighted the second week of the 2004 Legislature.

New License Plate Supports the Arts

From the Mississippi Arts Commission: "House Bill 940 (legislative session 2003) authorized distinctive license tags for several organizations, including the Arts Commission. Our tag is now ready for pre-sale and we hope that you will consider supporting us with a purchase. The majority of money raised on each sale will help fund our Museum on Wheels initiative and other grant programs. To see the tag and obtain an application, visit our Web site, http://www.arts.state.ms.us Checks or money orders should be made payable to the Mississippi Arts Commission. After a pre-sale of 200, these tags will be produced and available in approximately six to eight weeks.

Reese: If not Jefferson Davis ... then Dean

In "A Year for Youth," conservative columnist Charley Reese writes: "When the voting age was lowered to 18, there was a great expectation that youth would flock to the polls. It's been an unfulfilled expectation. This year, however, could be the year of youth, if young people respond to Howard Dean's appeal to their idealism. Dean is telling people that the only way to beat the super-rich and their toady, George Bush, is for people who have turned their backs on politics to get involved. That most certainly includes the 18-to-24 set. Instead of inviting people to $2,000-a-plate fund-raisers, he asks people to send what they can afford, even if it's just $10.

1st black chairman of powerful panel

Andy Kanengiser of The Clarion Ledger writes: "He's finally landed the post. House Speaker Billy McCoy, D-Rienzi, selected (Percy) Watson as chairman of the powerful tax-writing Ways and Means Committee. McCoy previously led the panel. 'It's a very important assignment,' Watson, an attorney and the first black lawmaker to hold the post, said minutes after clerk Don Richardson read off the list of committee assignments."

Blacks unswayed by GOP social agenda

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution is reporting: "African-Americans often agree with Republicans on social issues: abortion, prayer in schools and --- most significant in this year's presidential race --- same-sex unions. But they vote for Democrats. Ninety percent of black voters supported Democrat Al Gore over George W. Bush four years ago. Those issues don't determine how blacks vote, said University of Maryland political scientist Ron Walters.

Will single women swing the ‘04 election?

Women eNews is reporting: "Are single women the soccer moms of 2004? That's what some national Democrats are betting on as they gear up for this year's presidential election. Democratic activists are basing their convictions on a study of unmarried women released late December that showed that single women are more progressive than the average voter but are less likely to vote in national elections. Democrats contend that if they could reverse that trend and persuade more single women to go to the polls on Election Day, they could tap into a goldmine of new supporters and tilt what is now regarded as a difficult race for the White House in their favor. 'If unmarried women voted at the same rate as married women, they would have a decisive impact on this election and could be the most important agents of change in modern politics,' said Stan Greenberg, a Democratic pollster who conducted the survey and chair of Washington-based Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research."

Minor and Stringfellow on Barbour's lack of diversity

Columnist Bill Minor writes: "Looking at the lineup of four white, male, mostly 60-something Barbour Administration appointees named last Friday, several to head socially-sensitive state agencies, two thoughts immediately came to mind:

Actor Martin Sheen, Rep. Bennie Thompson endorse Dean

The AP reports: "Thompson, a member of the Congressional Black Caucus, cited Dean's efforts to develop and help rural America."

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