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Goodbye, Bobby DeLaughter
Ever since the former Judge Bobby DeLaughter's plea deal with the feds was announced last week, with him headed to prison, we've heard the words "Cedric Willis" come out of many people's mouths. It seems we're not the only ones thrilled to see justice, of a fashion, coming to the former prosecutur who, alongside then-boss Ed Peters, allowed Cedric to go to prison for 12 years based on bad evidence. Then, as Cedric sat in prison praying for justice, DeLaughter became famous, wrote a book and became a judge. Disgusting irony.
Fashion Gallery, Movie Listings Now Online
JFP Events Calendar
As part of the gradual redesign of the JFP site, we now have a new interactive events calendar, current movie listings and a new photo gallery online, which includes photos that aren't in this week's issue. Head over and check out the following:
Why do people leave Jackson?
OK, I have an idea. Let's try an experiment. Let's start a list of the various reasons, positive or negative, that people might move out of Jackson proper. You can't post more than one sentence, and you can't repeat something someone else has said. (This is my blog post; thus, my rules. Smile.) Please add anything you can think of to the list and try not to include any kind of judgement in your entries; your reason may be a perception, but perceptions drive people to do things, so include it! When we get a good list, we'll start talking about each other individually to consider the problem and possible list of solutions. Everyone, please join in.
When Not to Trust Your ‘Gut'
Maureen Dowd's column today talks the uninformed George Bush revealed in his former press secretary's new bookand the problem with "trusting your gut" when it is filled with ignorance:
Bah Humbug Update
Fa la la la la.
On an earlier post, I talked about hearing from the inside that The Clarion-Ledger not giving bonuses this year and how staffers are disenchanted as a result. Well, it's bleaker than we thought. I didn't know that the "bonuses" are not cash—they are gift certificates. Last year, they were $60 each, I'm told. This year, the Ledger staffers get nothing. No gift certificate. No Christmas party. Nothing. Meantime, the coffee drinkers there have to pay $10 a month to partake in office coffee—and the publisher is getting new hardwood floors installed.
The Clarion-Ledger ‘Forgot' Dee-Moore Case
OK, Ledger, at least be honest in your assessment of "cold case" efforts in this country. You may have done some good work in the past when you used to care a little about being a newspaper, and you deserve credit for that. However, today's editorial is extremely disingenuous and revisionist. You write today:
Evangelicals Against Global Warming and Torture
"Good theology can drive out bad theology. Good theology can lead to solutions."
Right now, I'm listening to an amazing interview with National Association of Evangelicals Vice President Richard Cizik on "Speaking of Faith" about why his views on the issue of climate change has changed so dramatically. He says that evangelicals have ignored science for too long and have to reject becoming a "wholly owned subsidiary of the GOP." This is a must-listen interview. It's breathtaking; every word out of his mouth is amazing.
White Rankin Teens Accused of Race Murder
CNN has a shocking report today, including surveillance video of Rankin County teens accused of killing James Craig Anderson in a race murder in June. Warning: Video contains disturbing scenes.
Please Donate Children's Coats
The JFP's good friend, Natalie, sent the following e-mail; please help her and the children out, and spread the word far and wide:
New National Articles on the Jackson Free Press
The magazine, Next American City, just published an article about the Jackson Free Press in their new issue. It also quotes Ben Allen, Harvey Johnson and Kamikaze about the JFP and what's going on in Jackson. (In the piece, Ben Allen—who first came up with "JFP Nation" to describe our readership—adds ads yet another descriptor of the JFP when he called us "urban warriors" in the piece. We like it.)
Hillary Clinton Crosses the Right-Wing Line
I tell you, I'm really starting to believe that Hillary is scum. I'm sorry to put it that way, but she is starting to turn me off in entirely different ways than her husband did. And the two of them together is a lethal combination of ambition and hubris. Joe Conason writes in Salon:
Lawyers Debate Why Blacks Lag at Major Firms
All you great legal minds out there might want to chew on this New York Times story a bit. It discusses the debate among lawyers about why law firms are having trouble retaining black attorneys and why so few are making partner. Talk among yourselves:
Abortion Ban Attempt Dies in Conference
More details as they develop ...
Tonight, the 8 p.m. bill deadline came and went at the Mississippi Legislature without an agreement out of conference. Thus, the abortion ban bill died.
Mea Culpa from Ledger's Hampton ... Sort of
But notice that his only solution to the problem of newspapers' decreasing coverage of "complex" political issues is finding more bloggers for the Ledger's site. Sigh; it's sad to watch daily newspapers shrink andd die due to their own purposeful irrelevance in the community, while their leaders can do nothing about it but beg for more bloggers:
The Fifth Annual Chick Ball Weekend—Friday and Saturday, July 24 and July 25
Friday night "Scutley Papers" play + singer/songwriters, $15 at Hal & Mal's door
Call 601.362.6121 ext. 16 to sponsor or arrange for donation pickup.
Study: 935 ‘Orchestrated' Lies Led Up to Iraqi War
The Associated Press is reporting on a new study that finds that the Bush administration lied repeatedly about the threats in Iraq leading up to the war:
New Poll: Election Referendum on Iraq, Bush
The New York Times is reporting that approval of Bush's handling of the war in Iraq is down to 29 percent—the lowest ever. It also show that next week's election is highly likely to be a referendum on the GOP's handling of the war:
Kaze and Ladd Host Radio JFP Today at Noon
Kamikaze and Donna Ladd will host Radio JFP today (Friday, Feb. 29) today at noon for a special "Leap" edition. Adam Lynch will join us with a legislative update. And Jacksonian Bruce Golden, a teacher and jazz musician, is a guest. And, yes, we will probably also talk about the Civil Rights Museum a bit. Tune into WLEZ 103.7 FM or listen to the live stream at http://www.wlezfm.com.
Ledger Edit-Boyz on ‘the Peter Principle'
If I were the gentlemen over on The Clarion-Ledger's editorial board, I don't think I'd be talking publicly about the problem of incompetence at the tops of organizations. Just sayin'. Here's the beginning of their editorial today on the topic; Do the edit-boyz really not see the passive-ridden irony here!?!
Clarion-Ledger Endorses Front-Page Advertiser
On Sunday, The Clarion-Ledger endorsed Gov. Haley Barbour for governor (and his sure-to-be lapdog Phil Bryant, thus ensuring Barbour control of the Senate)—in the same issue that had one of those sticky ad stuck on top of the newspaper's flag on page 1. This violates years of accepted journalistic ethics that you don't put advertising on page 1 of a newspaper (sliding profits have a way of affecting ethical standards, however)—and especially not of a candidate that you then endorse inside! Then, inside, Perspective Editor Sid Salter tells us who's going to win Tuesday—Barbour and Bryant, of course—in an odd column that doesn't frame his column as guesses; nor does he say who he wants to win and why. Is he privy to polls he's not telling us about? Does he know something we don't? Why is he so confident? Salter: