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SPANN: Attitude Makes All the Difference

Somehow a white co-worker and I found ourselves talking about race relations. Sitting comfortably in my downtown Jackson office a year after the controversial state-flag vote, we joked about Mississippi rednecks and the Confederate flag-emblazoned halter tops we hoped to add to our wardrobes.

[Spann] Nothing Sacred?

I'm tired of being politically correct. I'm tired of tiptoeing around people's feelings and trying to make everyone comfortable. So I'll just say it: I'm very disturbed by the recent confirmation of Bishop Gene Robinson of New Hampshire, an openly gay clergyman, by the Episcopal Church. The event has been heralded as a history-making moment and perhaps a divisive blow to the Episcopal Church. I'm sure Robinson is a nice guy, great father and even better partner to his longtime companion, but I don't believe he should be a leader in any Christian-based church. His confirmation demonstrates what is wrong with religion and specifically Christianity today.

[Fry] Why Young Minorities Barely Vote

OK, I am ready to vote. But for whom? Let me go through my process of personal questions. The first question is obvious: Which one is a person of color? That one's easy to answer. Which one supports issues relating to minority communities? Who can I identify with? Which one can identify with me? Who can I relate to? Which one can relate to me? Who is going to come to my neighborhood after the voting process is over to see about me? Which one is actually targeting issues that relate to either me or my generation? Who seems more in touch with reality? Which one seems like a real person instead of some perfect image? I can continue asking myself questions, but I already know the person that I am voting for. It has never been more obvious. My answer is none of them.

[Lynette's Note] Because They'll Thank You Later

What do you do when your sweet and sexy husband dies at the age of 36, leaving you to raise two cutie-pie sons, ages 7 and 4, all by yourself? Why, you come home to Mama, Daddy and your brother, right?

Editorial: The Status Quo Rides Again

It was a big week for proclamations by the Clarion-Ledger's editorial staff, with two doozies coming the same day. In his Nov. 24 column, editorial director David Hampton said of Third District Rep. Chip Pickering: "[T]his election was a crossroads event for his career; he is now pretty much politically bullet-proof. Except for some drastic redistricting, he likely will be in Congress as long as he wishes."

[Chick] If We Are the Body

I finally joined my Baptist church after two-and-a-half years of attendance. I can't believe that they would let such a slacker claim membership, but they are, and now I'm dreading the moment my mug is plastered on the jumbotrons to announce my arrival. Yes, we have jumbotrons. I don't know if Jesus would have them or not, but I do know that he's about the only person I would give up my vanity for. I'm telling you, this picture is hideous.

WAR: If Duty Calls

I managed to get through the weekend without watching any news coverage of the war or any television for that matter. Instead, I worked on my research proposal for class, and enjoyed a hike with my dogs and some good quality time with friends. It was good to "cleanse" my brain for awhile. The media covers the war minute by minute, and it seems as if this war has been going on for months. I wonder if Americans will grow to be disinterested and forget why we are fighting in the first place.

Marathon Woman

I'm doing a crazy thing this summer. It's a little bit self-serving, but mostly it could benefit a few million people that I will never meet. In January, I joined Team Diabetes, a fund-raising and awareness program sponsored by the American Diabetes Association for folks who want to train to run a full or half marathon while raising funds for the association. Yes, I'm gonna run a marathon. This time last year I believed that one should only run if being chased. Today, I'm already running nine miles. As I train over the next few months, my eyes are on one prize: the Kona Marathon in Hawaii. I am indeed traveling a great distance both physically and mentally to meet my destiny at the end of that finish line.

On Civil Elections and Civic Journalism

<b>Voters to Dems: Be Progressive</b>

In the few days since the Nov. 4 election, we've heard a lot of anger and consternation from readers. Many are wondering how in the world the blatant GOP use of the race card could be so successful in 2003. We have two responses.

Me and Willie Hoyt

Willie Hoyt was a character. My mom met him when I was in the fourth grade. My father had died a couple years earlier after a long illness, she was lonely, and Willie Hoyt, an enlisted man, was on leave from Vietnam. He was a smooth talker, extremely funny, and a heavy drinker and smoker who had been in the Army since before the Korean War where he had been on the front lines and been awarded a Silver Star. He'd watched his best friend die in Korea by his side. He'd had a tough childhood, never married, and never had kids of his own.

WIGGS: Sweet Potato Power

<i>What one Jackson man gleans from the Sweet Potato madness. </i>

My mother and father each grew up with sisters and started off wanting some boys to balance the genealogical mix a bit. They wound up with four sons. "Be careful what you wish for," my mom was wont to say, especially stuck in the house late on a rainy afternoon with thrown objects whizzing through the air around her. With all those brothers around, my early years at home centered around sports (including our own fraternal version of studio wrestling in the living room), pranks on the unwary, eating everything in sight and other guy-type pursuits. Given these conditions, one might wonder where I first encountered any hint of feminine influence on my worldview. My mother was definitely outnumbered and, sad to admit, all of us guys ignored her good advice every once in a while.

WIGGS: From Contrails to Commitment

In the two days before the shuttle Columbia disintegrated and traced that awful sparkling arc across the Texas sky, I'd already been thinking about space. On Thursday, I'd read a Harper's article about the unthinkable catastrophe a relatively small asteroid hitting the Earth would cause. On Friday, I'd finished a National Geographic piece about the incomprehensible mystery of countless galaxies speeding throughout an expanding universe. The asteroid essay warned of the unavoidability of humankind's eventual extinction. The galaxy story spoke of humankind's daily discovery of additional star systems out at the edges of infinity. And then …

[Stiggers] Like a Wino Clutches his Bottle of Thunda Burd

The Cootie Creek Fair hosts representatives of S.O.A.C. (Society of Angry Caucasians ) handing out propaganda to people passing by. Some folk stare curiously at the controversial figures while other folk just walk away.

LOTT: The FCC's Mistake

The Federal Communications Commission has voted in favor of rules allowing more concentrated media ownership in which newspapers can own radio stations, TV stations or vice versa within the same market area. I think the FCC made a mistake. I know less concentrated ownership would better serve Mississippians, and I oppose these new rules.

The Convention Center Quandary

Although the JFP did its own feature story on the convention center a few weeks ago (Sept. 23-29, 2004), and I've talked to many of the players personally, I was still hoping that The Clarion-Ledger's recent package of stories and opinions would help me come to a conclusion about the convention center's viability. But what I read was just more of the same, and I'm not much closer to a decision on what makes the most sense. (Although I did get a giggle out of Sid Salter sounding off in support of new taxes and a big-government municipal project.) By next week, the JFP hopes to endorse one way or another. But we need a few more answers first.

[Ask JoAnne] The Voting Conundrum

A. What can be done to get young people to do anything? As a former high school teacher and a mother of two grown sons*, I know a little about this subject—a very little, as a matter of fact. It's hard enough to get a 2-year-old or a 14-year-old to do what you want them to do, but devising a strategy to deal with an 18- to 25-year-olds is pretty much out of bounds—certainly for anyone who's not 18 to 25 years old.

The NAACP: An Equal Opportunity Critic

Recently, critics have argued that the tax-exempt status of the NAACP should be withdrawn because of attacks that the leadership made upon President Bush and the Republican Party. But those same critics fail to mention that Julian Bond, chairman of the board of the NAACP, was also critical of the Democratic Party in the same speech about their spineless posture in failing to speak out on vital issues.

[Silver] Notes from a Former Addict

Hi. My name is Lawrence, and I'm a recovering Republican. Addicted to the pachyderm's promise of smaller government, for years I voted a straight ticket. But, one day I realized that if Democrats wanted in my pocketbook, Republicans wanted in my bedroom. Enough was enough—I took freedom's pledge and became a Libertarian.

[Stiggers] So Why Are You Invisible, Man?

Greetings! My guest is one of the many street corner philosophers/intellectuals, handymen and jack-of-all-trades who cannot find a job as a black male. Ladies and gentlemen, welcome D. Invisible Mann.

‘Tis Time to Think and Drive

The JFP is joining Budweiser to present Alert Cab to offer Jacksonians free rides home this New Year's if you've had too much to drink. Please take advanage of this program. Click here to see a list of Jackson bars and restaurants participating in Alert Cab on New Year's Eve (you can also clip out the ad from page 29 of the current JFP.) Be sure to get your free voucher from a bartender at one of the participating establishments. Be safe out there, y'all, you hear? Oh, and have a wonderful time.