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Pentagon: Up to 80% Soldier Deaths Due to Light Armor
New York Times is reporting Saturday:
Where Did Ledger Edit-Boyz Get THIS Information?
In a January 2004 editorial defending Haley Barbour's "blind trust" in his lobbying firm, The Clarion-Ledger editorial board declared that it was hunky-dory because he no longer owned stock in the firm that had bought the firm:
Passing the Torch to Obama
Letter to the editor,
It's a new thing for Mississippians to have the world giving a damn about how we're going to vote on something. But the primary next week suddenly is drawing international attention, and my inbox is filling up with attacks on and support for both Obama and Clinton. Here's a (form) letter from an Obama supporter I got this a.m.:
Winter Chick Jam
After the success of our first Chick Jam in the summer, the Jackson Free Press is hosting Winter Chick Jam on Dec. 4 at 8 p.m. with performances by folk band Fedora Welty, punk rockers Party Dots and indie-rock band Law School.
Can Journalism Get Any Lazier Than This!?!
I just bumped into this entertainment feature that The Clarion-Ledger is doing—basically a Q&A interview with a local musician or band. Cool. But then you get to the bottom of the piece and realize just how far away from journalistic standards this Gannett rag is willing to go:
Jackpedia Quiz: You Are A Jacksonian If ...
Remember the controversial list, "You Are a Jacksonian If ..." that we published two years ago? It was a throwaway piece, but it got all sorts of chatter going on the site. We always say that it's not the real controversy that causes controversy. Anyway, as we gather user- and staff-generated content for the print edition of Jackpedia, the coolest guide to Jacktown you've ever seen, I've resurrected the list over on Jackpedia, starting a version for 2007. So head on over and add your own by clicking right here.
John Lewis Switches Support to Obama
The New York Times is reporting that the great civil rights leader John Lewis is saying he will cast his superdelegate vote for Barack Obama, rather than Hillary Rodham Clinton, whom he endorsed in October:
Suburbs Losing Young Whites to Cities
Diversity in city and suburbs = good. Keep it up, Jackson.
Our good friend David Watkins (or "Pops" in JFP comments and forums) posted a link to this Huff Post piece on Facebook yesterday, which reports on a Brookings Institution study that shows that, among other things, young whites are returning to cities from the suburbs (such as we are seeing right here in Jackson). David also said this under his link: "Here's an interesting tidbit from the Brookings study; the overall population of metro Jackson has increased in the last decade from 497,000 to 537,000, but the percentage white population has decreased by 4% and is now at a total of 49%. We are following the same pattern as the rest of the country in getting more diverse throughout the metro region."
The Soul of War
NPR's "Speaking of Faith" program this week features Iraq veteran and chaplain Major John Morris, "to explore how war challenges the human spirit and the core tenets of a life of faith. The War on Terror, he says, presents its own spiritual challenges. He is working to support the reintegration of National Guard and Reserve personnel, who are being mobilized for active duty at record levels in Afghanistan and Iraq."
Gross: Why Obama Should Ignore the Dow
Newsweek business columnist Daniel Gross explains why investor ire at Obama about the stock market's ups and downs is misplaced. And he advises Obama to ignore the naysayers and stay focused:
Bringing Civility Back to Online Conversations
Here is what the Des Moines Register told readers today:
It was predictable. Allowing anonymous free-for-alls in online newspaper comments—in a way papers never would do in print—is about to go the way of the Hummer. The Des Moines Register, a Gannett-owned paper whose site looks just like the Clarion-Ledger's announced today that it has started allowing only comments from people logged in through Facebook. This somewhat-extreme measure comes after Gannett papers, and many other websites, operated at the other extreme for way too long: allowing just about anything anybody with a fake name wanted to post on their sites. They clearly thought, for a minute, that this was good for page views. And maybe for a minute it was. But, nowadays, all you hear is how nasty the comments are, and readers are flocking away from sites that allow this level of anonymous vitriol and nasty personal comments. People increasingly are only going to such sites for negative entertainment value—the same reason people watch Jerry Springer or pick up Star Magazine. Real news outlets have to have better sense.
Barbour Finally Addresses Pardons; Insults Mississippians
Statement from the Office of Former Gov. Haley Barbour
Lobbyist and former Gov. Haley Barbour finally addressed the firestorm around his 200+ pardons last night in an email statement. Here it is, verbatim; please read my comments below it:
Best Insult Ever
This post by a long-time JFP-despiser is so fabulous that I'm not sure what else to say. I'm taping it to my office door right now. :wow:
Is Hillary Clinton's Candidacy Over?
Politico seems to think so, exposing what it calls "the Clinton myth", and explaining why they believe Barack Obama already has the nomination in a lockbox:
Donate art and gifts to Chick Ball by July 14 to be in shopping guide!
Artists, business owners and individuals: Please donate a piece of artwork, or a gift or gift certificate from your shop, by Wednesday, July 14, to be included in the 2010 Chick Issue shopping guide, which publishes July 21--three days before the 6th Annual JFP Chick Ball at Hal & Mal's. The amazing Chick Ball silent auction each year raises the bulk of the money to help fight domestic abuse. Please do what you can.
Wait a Minute!?! We tweeted a federal trial in February!?!
Follow the JFP's tweets here.
The Society of Professional Journalists is making a big deal out of a Wichita reporter for "pioneering" the use Twitter to cover a federal trial in March. Not so fast. We-the-JFP brought Twittering to the federal trial Mayor Frank Melton here in Jackson in February, attracting followers from around the country and causing a scramble among other courtroom media to get a-tweetin'. Just sayin'. ;-)
Lies, Damn Lies and Excuses
Nothing is more predictable in Jackson than watching for that David Hampton column in The Clarion-Ledger after any major event, endorsement or election. It's the one in which he tells us why everyone but the Ledger is doing something really, really bad.
Judge Orders White House to Release Spying Info
What a week. First, Cheney shoots somebody; now this. AP is reporting:
A federal judge ordered the Bush administration on Thursday to release documents about its warrantless surveillance program or spell out what it is withholding, a setback to efforts to keep the program under wraps.
Attend the JFP Chick Ball Happy Hour Thursday, May 31, 6 to 8 p.m.
Join the JFP, the Center for Violence Prevention and the Chick Ball Committee for a free JFP Chick Ball happy hour Thursday, May 31, at Hal & Mal's downtown (200 S. Commerce St.). We'll provide great munchies (yes, lots of fried stuff and more), and we'll buy you a drink if you sign up to volunteer or donate to the Chick Ball effort this year. We'll buy you two drinks if you bring a donation check (in any amount over $10) or a gift or piece of art for the silent auction (or drop it at the JFP in advance of happy hour).
Hmmmm…‘Frank Was Right'?
The Jackson Free Press received an anonymous letter (PDF) apparently sent to a variety of media and local churches this week. The letter called on churches, in particular, to do more to help fight crime in Jackson. Over all, the letter makes a lot of sense. It starts: