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[Sawyer] The Patriotism Problem
It's hard to remain calm in war. It evokes something within each of us that pulls at our very core. Crying mothers of soldiers, the piles of body bags in full color, and the posting of the guard do not allow room for indifference or stoicism. Beginning in 1776, war and fighting were rooted in a moral purpose where each American defended their actions through the higher purpose for which we all knew that we were fighting. "God Bless America" and "Support Our Troops" were not attached to the back of buggies back then, but rather singed on our hearts and in our minds. We knew that our fight was the good fight, and so each tear was never shed in vain.
[Stiggers] Not Even A Cadillac
Readin' Rain-Bro is brought to you by the Let Me Hold Five Dollars National Bank Emergency Aid Fund and the Cootie McBride Help the Financially Challenged Debt Consolidation Centers of America.
[Stiggers] Save Money With Pass-N-Gas
The following is an unpaid testimonial for the GST and LMHFD National Bank's Pass-N-Gas discount and roadside assistance card.
[Stiggers] Join the Electric Slide for Medicaid Protest
…indicate precisely what you mean to say/yours sincerely wasting away/Give me your answer/fill in a form/mine forever more/Will you still need me/Will you still feed me/When I'm sixty-four." — The Beatles
[Irby] Trouble in Mind
I set foot back in Jackson on Feb. 10, 2004, after a year and a half of moving around. I had traveled to what I considered the most liberal parts of the country, California and New York. I left in search of something different, a place of new ideas and open minds, where I could feel free.
[Sawyer] The Arc of Justice
One of the great crimes of our generation is not the cries of suffering throughout our world, but rather that we maintain the ability to heal such suffering, and yet we remain silent. We still have the blood of Rwanda's genocide on our hands, and Sudan is nothing but an afterthought. Millions are dying from starvation across the globe, and there seems to be a greater moral imperative to build monuments dedicated to the Ten Commandments.
Chokwe Lumumba Is Getting A Raw Deal
There is a pattern in America's ill treatment of those who have something to say, particularly those who are perceived as having "too much" to say. This pattern is made evident in America's treatment of activists ranging from politicians to attorneys, educators to unionists. Activists stand out and apart from the passive, the silent, the voiceless, the fearful because they are at once active demanding attention in the face of oppression. From divine resources, they draw energy and strength to push toward and forward in the name of freedom and justice.
[Stiggers] No Food In The Fridgidaire?
Pookie Peterz and the Ghetto Economic Development Association present the Let Me Hold Five Dollars National Bank.
The Elephant In The Classroom
The governor and his loyal cabal of "Stepford senators" seem to believe that Mississippians are stupid. And they sure want to keep us that way.
The Mayor's Race That Wasn't
The JFP started out the election season in January determined to learn as much as possible about both the character and the specific plans of the candidates for mayor of Jackson. Because of the nature of the job of mayor—part business booster, part labor negotiator, part city planner, part "top cop," part statesman—we think that the labels Republican or Democrat are secondary to the mayor being a trustworthy power-broker, a champion against poverty and for education, a proponent of smarter government, and a progressive when it comes to exploring and promoting creative ideas to fuel the cultural renaissance of a city's urban core.
[Ladd] Ask the $34,000-A-Day Questions
In January, I wrote an editor's note about the governor that miffed some Democrats around the city. They told me I went too easy on Barbour. I wrote then that although his wink-wink, race-tinged, nationally financed campaign tactics had really turned me off, I still hoped that he really wanted to come in and bridge gaps, not widen chasms. I wrote: "It's up to Barbour. This wasn't our game; the new governor needs to convince me, and other Mississippians, that he deserves the benefit of our doubt. Can he do that? Sure, if he will."
[Stiggers] Tale of Two Criminals
From the producers of the Sci-Fi horror film "Very High Unemployment in America" ... This is a story about two women who escaped their wrong decisions. Martha was a rich, powerful, intelligent and popular celebrity who owned her own corporation. Bone-Qweesha was an aspiring hair stylist and on-the-scene reporter who worked three jobs just to make ends meet for herself and her son Junior. These women seemed to live productive lives until they made the wrong decisions.
[Chick] Can Men Measure Up To Chick Flicks?
My friend Cowboy and I watched "Hitch" by accident, which is OK because I burned some calories laughing, but I honestly thought it was going to be a boy movie, along the lines of "Lethal Weapon." Nope. I made Cowboy see a chick flick. Oops.
[Stiggers] Something in the Meat Ain't Clean
In the wake of the current United States beef problem, the Lacto-Vegetarian Church International invites the public to attend an alternative nutrition, lifestyle and spiritual conference: "Something In The Meat Ain't Clean: Living the Non-Carnivorous Life." Hear the Rev. Bean Sprout of the Lacto-Vegetarian Church International deliver a profound, spiritual message titled "Soy Protein: The Fiber Of Our Lives." Listen to the Rev. Dr. Thomas Vegan III speak on the topic of "Prophetic Advertising: Cows Convince Masses To Eat More Chicken." Dr. Peanut of the George Washington Carver Holistic Health Commission of Tuskegee, Ala., will share information from his new book "Tofu as Soul Food.''
[Chick] Screw Miss America
Screw Miss America. I apologize for my bluntness, but I think I have an abusive relationship with the Miss America Pageant. When my college roommate was a pageant girl, I supported her and clapped for her and sent her flowers, but deep down I wished she would just shut up and eat something. I thought Samantha was pretty fabulous all on her own—with or without swimsuit glue—but she just lived for pageants.
[Stiggers] You Get More Than A Drug Store
Cough Syrup: $12. Asprin: $5. Chunky Chicken Soup: $2. Cold Medicine and Vapor Rub: $20. You have bad cold and no sick day benefits at your job: FIRED!
[Stiggers] Your Car is a Hoopty When..
Your international hustler is here to help the peoples who drive their raggedy cars to a low-paying, no- Medicaid-benefits job with the greatest invention since the Pocket Fisherman.
[Lynch] Black Flammable Goop
Thanks to Katrina, the power is out at my place, just like it probably was, or is, at yours. As I walked out of my electricity-bereft house Wednesday morning and parked my wheezing car in the nearest gas line in the hot Mississippi sun, I tried to imagine what gasoline means to me these days, and I came to realize that I fear it's soon going to mean the end of life as we know it.
[Lynette's Note] My Heart Belongs To Daddy
Men fascinate me, and have for, oh, I'd say almost the entire 57 years I've been on this spinning orb. Men are deftly driving behemoth trains and trucks, fixing failed computers, making music on guitars and saxophones and turntables, frying fish and jalapenos, grilling steaks and pork tenderloins, coaching teams of youngsters, writing books, kneading bread or shaping burgers, wielding a chef's knife or brush or a computer program or a camera or a potter's wheel or a hammer in the name of creativity—loving and working for their families, friends, their cities and towns—all while expounding and enlightening and entertaining and enlivening.
[Stiggers] Fun In The ‘Hood
Ghetto Theme and Amusement Parks of America presents "Fun Summer Alternatives with Ghetto Economist Pookie Peters":