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Wyatt Emmerich Hates to Talk Race, But If He Has To ...
Lots of folks are talking about Wyatt Emmerich's endorsement of Crisler in the Northside Sun this week in which he says he hates to talk about race. BUT:
Bling, Bling, Baby! Carter's Jewelers Donates Diamond Hoops
It gets better by the minute. Ching, ching.
Carter's Jewelers just called out of the blue to donate diamond hoop earrings worth $700 for the silent auction Thursday night. Needless to say, Carter's is now a Queen Level sponsor of the Chick Ball. Also, photographer Jennifer Carter walked in today with three gift certificates for photography sessions worth $500 apiece. Jennifer is our latest Diva Level sponsor. We also heard from District Attorney Faye Peterson who is donating $100 in hard, green moolah.
Ho, ho, ho! Help the JFP Food & Toy Drive!
All, please remember that the JFP is collecting canned foods (or other non-perishables) for Stewpot and toys for Mississippi Children's Home Services. Also, gently worn or new children's coats are needed. Bring them by the JFP offices between now and Christmas. Cheers!
Barbour Compares Health Reform to Jonestown Massacre
Gov. Haley Barbour embarrassed Mississippians again today by standing up alongside several Republican members of Congress and calling the Democratic health-insurance reform "catastrophic," then compared it to Jim Jones' infamous Jonestown massacre, according to a report just out on Politico.
‘Sordid Lives' So, So Funny
Todd and I had a wonderful evening last night watching "Sordid Lives" in Hal & Mal's big room. It was a hilarious time, and our friend and JFP senior editor JoAnn Prichard Morris was delicious as the drunken floozy. (I told her to watch for typecasting.)
Resolve to Write! 2008 Classes Forming Now.
Happy new year, all. And be sure to express yourself in 2008.
Sign up now for my 2008 creative non-fiction writing classes. The next round starts Jan. 3, and I have still have a couple slots in that class (until I hear from all you gift-certificate recipients!). Yes, I do gift certificates year-round (sold one today to a mother buying the class for her daughter), and you can use those anything throughout the year. You can see details about upcoming classes here, as well as costs, etc. In 2008, we will start meeting in the brand-new JFP classroom next to the JFP offices (or, as Doctor S likes to say, in the "JFP tower") here in Fondren. Please e-mail me at class (a) jacksonfreepress (dot) com to get on the class mailing list for updates.
Drama and hysteria don't change the world
After getting sucked into a couple different JFP conversations about the (over)reaction to recent Census numbers (the most recent one here), I've been thinking a lot about drama and the importance of precision in language over the last few weeks. The truth, as I have witnessed over the years, is that (a) too much drama blocks progress and (b) words really matter
Barbour Last-Minute Robocall for Votes
Regardless of the outcome today, it looks like Haley Barbour is worried. Just got this e-mail from a source:
NOW Salter Tells His Readers ...
In Sid Salter's column today, he makes the point that Phil Bryant pulled more votes than Barbour in the election last week (not mentioning that Jim Hood apparently pulled the most in the state). But then he made the following statement rather off the cuff:
How to Dress for the Best of Jackson Party: Tycoon, Bailout Chic
There you have it; go crazy. Or not. Just be there, JFP Nation!
We're getting an amusingly large number of questions about the "theme" for this year's Best of Jackson party, and how to dress for it; "monopoly" is confusing folks. So here it is: As always, you can dress however you want. Truly. (Ask Josh Hailey, and the people who gawk at him ever year.) But to be in the spirit, think "tycoon chic" or better yet, "bailout chic." Ask yourself: If I were a CEO who just asked for bajillions of dollars (or his spouse) to bail out my sorry ass, how would I do it up at our last big shindig? Would I be classy? Nouveau riche? Truly tacky? Dressed in thrift-store clothes? A fur you have to pawn the next day? Or, just dress like a cop or jailbird. Or a shoe. Or a race car.
Bad Crime News Week for Rankin County
Rankin County suffered a one-two punch this week on the crime news front. Yesterday, the U.S. Attorney's office announced that three Rankin County men, Dylan Wade Butler, 20, John Aaron Rice, 19, and Deryl Paul Dedmon, 19, would be the first sentenced under the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act for committing a hate crime that resulted in murder. The three men, and up to four accomplices, worked together to kill James Craig Anderson last summer.
So, what are YOU wearing to the Chick Ball!?!
What's a Chick to do? Go shoppping ... but where? Thoughts?
OK, this is on my mind this week. The JFP Chick Ball—aka The Grrl Jam—is coming together fabulously; we expect throngs of people Thursday night; we have dozens and dozens of door prizes to give away; the music rocks; I can't wait to bid on art—but my big problem is what to wear. Hey, I'm a girl. It needs to be shiny. It needs to be sleek. It needs to be worthy.
Bush Defends Vast Domestic Spying
George Bush is trying defend the vast spying on Americans that was revealed this year.
Time to Hit Re-set, Jackson
As I sit waiting for the returns on election night, I can't help but reflect on the mess that was the last four yearsand what got us there. As much as anything else, the need for media sensationalism and pandering to the powerful put us here. I have spent an inordinate amount of time in the last four years researching Frank Melton's history in Jackson. I have read about everything ever been written about himand the so-called journalism that allowed someone so unsuited for elected office to become mayor in a "landslide" four years ago tonight, as The Clarion-Ledger put it, was simply abysmal. The Ledger, especially, let down an entire city by pretending that Melton was a "folk hero" who could solve crime in 90 days. This corporate newspaper endorsed the man who the most powerful people in Jackson wanted in office. And it pulled punch after punch that could have alerted voters what they were getting into.
Gannett's Cookie Cutter Web Sites
John Leek, at Cotton Mouth Blog, has linked to three Gannett sites—including The Clarion-Ledger—that all basically look just alike (although The Ledger's still manages to look the tackiest, somehow). At least Des Moines had the good sense to tweak the color scheme a bit.
Take the Chick Ball Challenge!
Take the Chick Ball Challenge! Get together a group -- as few as two and as many as 20 people -- to raise money and gather gifts and art for the 2011 JFP Chick Ball. The group with the highest total amount (money+gift value) will win the big Chick Bowl trophy this year. Be the first to take it home! Register to compete: call 601.362.6121 x. 16 TODAY!
Clarion-Ledger Makes Absurd Error About ‘Drunk' Motion
In their belated story today about the motion filed accusing Melton being drunk the night of the Ridgeway rampage—which we reported about Friday—The Clarion-Ledger states that the motion "became public" Monday. This is either a lie, or a really dumb error. When Adam Lynch left Judge Webster's courtroom before noon Friday, he walked downstairs to the clerk's office, and there was the motion in the file. He copied it and brought it back; Brian made a PDF and put it online.
The Earliest Speech I Ever Gave
So after a jam-packed week in Seattle and then in Portland), I got up Sunday morning to drive the hour or so to a town I'd never visited to speak to a church about race relations in Mississippi (and in Oregon, and everywhere in between). My talk to the First Christian Church, as described today in the Albany (Ore.) Democrat-Herald, came about because of an interview I did on NPR back in January after the Seale indictments.
Florida GOP Gov Candidate Ducks Bush
My, how things have changed. The political albatross that President Bush has become was yet more apparent today when a Republican candidate for governor ducked an appearance with the president today. This is particularly ironic in the state that put Bush in the White House in the first place.
Ledge: Just Fill the Jails with Juveniles!
Anyone think The Clarion-Ledger has any friggin' clue about what causes crime? It's as if they refuse to read the vast piles of research about juvenile crime, instead focusing on needing more jail space. It's true idiocy from the boys on that paper's editorial board, per usual.