All results / Stories / Donna Ladd
Choosing The Light
In my line of work, people like to talk trash about you. And there's really something about a woman speaking her mind that just hacks off a lot of men, and some women. And Lord help me if I dare tell them they can't do the nasty all over the Jackson Free Press website (inevitably using a cowardly fake name). They go off and start websites, and blogs, and Facebook pages to mete out their revenge. We're used to it by now.
[Editor's Note] We the Job Creators
When I was asked to go to the White House in early March to talk about business in Jackson, I didn't know what to expect. I just said "yes!" and headed to Washington, D.C.
Voter Shenanigans Could be Costly
A curious exchange took place between Rep. John Hines, D-Greenville, and Republican Speaker Philip Gunn of Clinton over the weekend, as the Legislature hammered a budget for state agencies.
Services Aren't Like Toasters
Politicians, especially the tight-fisted ones, love to compare the government to your home. When money is tight at home, they'll explain condescendingly, you may have to send your toaster to a repair shop, put off that Disney family vacation or drive that old clunker around for another year or two.
[Editor's Note] Two Steps Forward
"Leave." That one-word tweet came from a conservative dude in Louisiana, not Mississippi. But he wasn't pleased that I was talking about crazy legislation that the right wing has wrought upon Mississippi once again. I have a way of raising the hair on the necks of folks who prefer empty rhetoric over research-based criticism, especially when I'm talking about issues like women's health and reproductive services; sex ed; voter ID; or, yes, race.
Save ‘Violence Against Women Act'
Next on conservatives' list of things to drown in the bathtub of "big government extravagance" is the Violence Against Women Act. Bill Clinton signed VAWA into law in 1994, providing just over $1.5 billion to help investigate and prosecute perpetrators of violence against women, to provide grants for education about domestic violence and to help shelter women from abusers.
Keep Up the Reform Momentum
Former Gov. Haley Barbour's unprecedented spate of last-minute pardons brought numerous issues regarding some of Mississippi's antiquated customs into the glaring light of national media attention.
[Editor's Note] Rethinking "Tough on Crime"
Gov. Haley Barbour left a lot of people reeling with his recent round of pardons and clemencies. Among the list are vicious, premeditated murderers. It wasn't the first time he's done this--remember that we broke the news of his string of woman-killer pardons in 2008--but this time the state and national media actually paid attention.
[Editorial] Change Felony Voting Laws for All
Here's what continues to get us about former Gov. Haley Barbour's excuses for all those pardons. He keeps saying that he is a Christian and, thus, is concerned about the trustys and others whom he believes served enough time and now should be able to go vote and hunt and get professional licenses and the like. Our question to Barbour is: Where were you all these years?
[Editor's Note] Peace, Prosperity and Tolerance
Every December now for about a decade, we have asked the Jackson Free Press staff members to sign hundreds of holiday greeting cards that we send to freelancers, advertising clients, sources, and other friends and acquaintances of the JFP.
Stop the Injustice of ‘Justice'
Nothing brings the inequality and foibles of our justice system into stark relief like an upcoming execution. As lawyers battle over last-minute efforts to save a human life, it's impossible not to weigh one man's sentence of death against others who receive lesser sentences—or even pardons—for equivalent crimes.
[Editorial] We Like ‘Obamacare'
With the U.S. Supreme Court considering health-care reform, we thought we'd mention that (a) our health-insurance rates are down, (b) we appreciate the tax credits for our small business, and (c) we've already seen cases where pre-existing conditions or gaps in coverage—which used to keep employees from getting insurance—are no longer barriers to coverage.
Strenuous Liberty
I saw an earth-shattering tweet yesterday. The Fairview Inn in Belhaven was tweeting the link to their blog post heralding the Freedom Riders' anniversary. So what, you might respond. It's just a nice hotel doing good marketing.
Teresa Nicholas
I've never met writer Teresa Nicholas, but I'm getting to know her quite well. My buddy JoAnne Prichard Morris (who is also an editor of the Jackson Free Press) strongly suggested several weeks ago that I get her new book, "Buryin' Daddy" (University Press of Mississippi, 2011, $28). You'll love it, she told me.
Fannie Lou Hamer
Last Sunday, my partner, Todd Stauffer, and I set off on another of our weekend road trips that take us wherever we end up. This time, we landed in Ruleville, northwest of Greenwood, at the grave of Fannie Lou Hamer and her husband, "Pap" Hamer.
Let There Be Apples
If you want to change the world, you've got to feed people. Seriously, sharing food and drink is a powerful way to build community. Offering hospitality is welcoming to people—even those who might not agree with you totally.
A Content Veggie Life
When friends quiz me on why I'm a vegetarian, I answer honestly: "for every reason." Todd and I decided to give up meat—all animal flesh; not just red meat—13 years ago this month because we read a stealthy Dean Ornish book that pushed vegetarianism to help keep weight off and prevent heart disease. But the truth is that I've always been vegetarian in spirit.
Armchair Farming
I grew up swearing I would never step foot in a garden again. My stepdaddy's hobby was growing stuff, and he would produce way more watermelons, tomatoes, potatoes and what not than any of us could eat. Which was great: I loved his yield.
Food Porn
OK, it's not really pornography—it's more like high-art erotica—but if you want an aphrodisiac with absolutely no calories, do I have a book suggestion for you. "La Figa: Visions of Food Form" by Chef Tiberio Simone with photography by Matt Freedman is a gorgeous, adults-only coffee-table book. Or perhaps it would be better on the night stand.
What Is It About the French?
What gives? They drink wine, they eat baguette after baguette, they love rich sauces and pasta, they inhale cheese like it's air. Yet, French women tend to look fabulous, and thin, every time you see one out in public. Don't believe me? Go get lost on the subway in Paris and just observe; I'm speaking from experience here.