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Opponents: Barbour Helped Mexico Steal Miss. Jobs
The Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal reports on assertions by both Tyner and Musgrove yesterday at the Neshoba County Fair that Haley Barbour's lobbying for Mexico cost jobs in Mississippi. "The primary criticism of Barbour centered around his representation of Mexico as a lobbyist. Musgrove said Mississippi had lost 41,000 manufacturing jobs to Mexico since the North American Free Trade Agreement was passed by Congress in he early 1990s."
Student Trades Rock Posters for Food
Wiretap reports: "'If I give food to the hungry, they call me a saint,' Brazilian Bishop Dom Helder Camera once famously quipped. 'But if I ask why the poor are hungry, they call me a communist.' Colorado-based food gatherer Justin Baker will tell you he isn't really interested in being either one. Rather, the 24-year-old honcho of Conscious Alliance is more into swapping one kind of hunger for another -- the appetite for music and art, and the desperate craving for, well, food. But the carte du jour of this non-profit is definitely more Chef Boyardee than escargot.
Myths of War
This reminds me of the "myths" story the JFP ran as the Iraqi war began:
Knight-Ridder reports on the factual misconceptions many Americans hold about the war: "A third of the American public believes U.S. forces found weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, according to a recent poll, and 22 percent said Iraq actually used chemical or biological weapons. But no such weapons have been found, nor is there evidence they were used recently in Iraq. Before the war, half of those polled in a survey said Iraqis were among the 19 hijackers on Sept. 11, 2001. But most of them were from Saudi Arabia. None were Iraqis. How could so many people be so wrong about information that has dominated the news for nearly two years?"
Tyner Accuses Barbour of Gambling Ties
From a Tyner statement, quoted by the Magnolia Report: "'Somehow, Mr. Barbour believes it is morally sound to expand gambling nationwide, even within miles of our state's border, but we should give him a free pass if his efforts failed to expand gambling in Mississippi,' Tyner states while smiling and shaking his head in the negative. "I do not accept that proposition and I also question the integrity of his representation that he has not been paid to help get more gambling in Mississippi,' says Tyner."
Musgrove Campaign Holds $4 Million Cash on Hand
(Jackson, MS) July 29, 2003/press release: As required by state law, Governor Ronnie Musgrove's reelection campaign today will file its campaign fundraising report with the Mississippi Secretary of State. Musgrove has raised a total of $5,448,312 for his campaign to serve a second term. Between July 1st and July 26th, Musgrove reported raising $600,519. Governor Musgrove holds $4,070,500 cash-on-hand to face whomever emerges from next week's August 5th Republican primary.
New answers up from Max Phillips
I have to say, two of the agriculture commissioner candidates, both Republicans, are leading the pack on substantive questionnaires as far as I can see. You've got to go read the very thoughtful answers of Max Phillips and Roger Crowder and about very important issues for Mississippians (pesticides, organics, grocery-store safety and so on). Go on to the Ag page. These are the kind of thoughtful answers we're looking for; I applaud them. On a lesser note, I don't think that anyone's running for lieutenant governor, and I thought the treasurer field was crowded and competitive, but only two have been in touch about their answers. Oh well. To Haley Barbour's credit, his campaign staff has called repeatedly to apologize for not getting answers in, yet. Until they get them done, we're going to post issues information from his Web site. But the campaign has promised a full and substantive line-up of answers in the next couple weeks at least. (You get the feeling they're not worried about primary challenger Mitch Tyner.) We do look forward to the answers, and we appreciate them communicating with us about them. A point added to the Barbour column.
First Gubernatorial Candidate Debate Sept. 29 at Belhaven
WHAT: The first of four 2003 gubernatorial candidate debates to be held across the state. The event is being sponsored by WLBT-TV and Belhaven College and will be aired live on WLBT-TV.
‘Built This City' Tops Worst Song List
AP reports: "Starship may have built this city on rock and roll, but Blender magazine is tearing it down, naming the band's 'We Built This City' as the worst song ever. Some tunes on the '50 Worst Songs Ever!' list were selected for their melodies, others 'are wretchedly performed' and 'quite a few don't make sense whatsoever,' the magazine said. The list, which appears in the May issue, includes songs by New Kids on the Block, Meat Loaf, The Doors, Lionel Richie, Hammer and The Beach Boys, among others."
Are Christian bands downplaying their faith?
A Wiretap story by Nick Flanagan explores this provocative question about alt-Christian bands. He writes: "Christian bands became wiser to the forces of marketing and PR. Not content to stay within the Christian music market -- and wanting secular validation -- many bands began making the leap into the mainstream. Now they're taking cues from Stryper on what not to do; they're downplaying their Christianity."
Citizens Protest Crime Firings Tuesday at City Council
(Update: Supporters of community policing are calling for Jacksonians to go to City Council meeting at 10 a.m. Tuesday downtown at City Hall to call for the mayor and police chief to reverse their decision to eliminate the Crime Prevention Unit. Read through the following thread for background.)
Fun Politics? Imagine ...
Right now, over on Howard Dean's blog, there's a fund-raising "bat" marathon going on to beat the $250,000 that Dick Cheney is going to get from a few wealthy contributors Monday night. As of right now, they're up $130,000 since last night in small contributions—and has two days to go. Go check it out: Whatever you think of Dean, this energetic grass-roots movement is something to behold. Sure beats the hell out of conventional political, er, "wisdom."
Noise and Pulse, by Scott Albert Johnson
Every shaman knows that, at the very heart of the universe, there lies an inexorable, joyous pulse. As the late Nigerian percussionist and drumming scholar Babatunde Olatunji once put it: "We say that rhythm is the soul of life, because the whole universe revolves around rhythm, and when we get out of rhythm, that's when we get into trouble."