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[Lott] Our Independence Day

As we celebrate our freedom this July 4th, we should remember our troops abroad and what it takes to remain free. We should also pray that former terrorist states Afghanistan and Iraq can achieve a lasting freedom in the coming years. While we Americans have known freedom all our lives, these people are just beginning. It is new to them. But once freedom is tasted, there's no going back. We hope they one day celebrate their own Independence Day.

[Aziz] Bought Out: African Americans Sell Future for Shoes

During my last year in school at Jackson State University I learned that African Americans spend three times more than any other ethnic group. When I heard this, I couldn't believe it. After all, I knew we as African Americans were definitely brand loyal, and I knew that we spent a lot more money on material things, but three times as much? This figure definitely appalled me because the average African-American salary is only $21,000 and some change. This means that with the help of credit, we are not only spending what we make, but more.

Tell Me the Truth, JoAnne

<b>Right Between Church and State</b>

Q. Please tell me why state troopers patrol and direct traffic for a Jackson church on North State Street (near Millsaps) during church service, and oftentimes now, a deputy sheriff. Isn't this a violation of church and state?

[Stiggers] Soylent Collard Greens and Cornbread

2057-1/2: Terrorists have contaminated half of America's food supply. Since 2005, the affluent consume basic food items such as meat, bread, milk and vegetables, while the economically challenged eat moderate rations of water and artificially flavored green wafers called Soylent Collard Greens and Cornbread. Remember: Tuesday is Soylent Collard Greens and Cornbread Day!

[Stiggers] Fall for These Books

"Kizzy Speaks: Massa George and Me" is a delightful narrative in ebonic dialect by Condoleeza Rice as she extols the virtues of the M.C. George Bushy's "I'm Not Down with WMD Pre-emption" Reggae Tour of African Nations. Lynne Cheney provides a poignant standard English introduction.

[Ladd] No More Wink-Wink Politics

Waaaa-powwww, right in the kisser! So, what was that loud explosion that hit the middle of last week? Certainly, it could have been me letting out 42 years of pent-up frustration at yet another act of stupidity by an elected official in Mississippi.

The Last Shall be First

Three mothers, two black and one white, came to the State Capitol Monday, July 19, to tearfully beg the state to stop abusing children. One question: Will the state listen? Another question: Do Mississippians care?

[Stiggers] G.W. Makes the World Go ‘Round

Mo'tel Williams Records (not K-Tel) and the Ghetto Science team bring to you the single "G.W. Makes the World Go 'Round," from the CD "What Happened Yawl?" by the Nu Peaches and Herb, Shaniqua and Pierre:

SPANN: Invisible Woman

Black clothing is the choice du jour to disguise excess weight. The blackness of night can camouflage all sorts of "down low" activities. But I didn't realize that black could make people invisible. Until recently I never really paid it much attention. I'd be approaching someone on a stairwell or passing a stranger on the sidewalk, and then it would happen: I'd suddenly become invisible. Amazing! Was I a scientific mystery, or should I join the ranks of the X-Men? It even happened when I was out with white friends. People could see them, but I was perfectly invisible as greetings were exchanged or as we were being shown to our table in a restaurant.

Dazed and Content

I'm sitting here, dazed and content, in front of my eMac, trying to reflect on what 2004 has meant to me. We're about to send the last issue of the year to the printer—the one that is on the streets for two weeks in order to give us a few days to rest and rekindle for the new year. At 40 pages, it's one of our biggest issues, yet, and it's filled with profiles of creative and influential Jacksonians, stocking-stuffer ideas, cool fashion, a breathtaking JFP interview and wonderfully designed ads for local businesses. It's got breaking news, hip-hop gossip, pages and pages of entertainment listings and details on where to celebrate on New Year's Eve.

Drive-By Patriotism

Now that I have those children and have watched the towers fall, my pacifism has been tested. Like a mother bear guarding her young, I would defend them with force if necessary. But is this war necessary?

[Silver] Kick ‘Em When They're Down

In Carl Hiaasen's brilliantly funny and entertaining novel, "Strip Tease," the villains belong to the South Florida sugar lobby—a group that bribes congressmen to vote for sugar subsidies. Although fiction, Hiaasen clearly makes the Libertarian case for free trade as he explains how agricultural subsidies keep farmers in the United States rich and condemns those in Third World countries to poverty.

The Future Is for the Passionate

Whew, that's over. Or maybe it is. As I type this, it is Election Day, and our blogs are on fire over this election. Jakob just showed up wearing his "voting shoes" (American flag Converses), and people are calling in voting problems from around the area. I just wrote on the blog that there is a special place in hell for anyone who would try to stop anyone else from voting. Apparently, that wing of hell will soon be standing room only.

[Stiggers] All God's Churn Got Shoes

Presenting the new ABC (African Broadcast Corp.) network soap opera "All God's Churn Got Shoes." Our story takes place at the No Child Left Behind Remedial Alternative School for the Financially Challenged where Miss Teacher conducts her weekly oral examination of students in the spelling and language arts class. She asks her prize student Boneqweesha Jones to define the word "churn."

Home to the ‘Worthy Scrap'

Myrlier Evers-Williams is not boycotting Mississippi and its progeny; she wants to introduce young people to her first husband.

Funkee Fanger Productions

"Unsolved Mysteries of Butt Nekkid Divorcees" combines reality TV with the paranormal. The premiere episode (titled "Know a Playa When You See His Azz") features a segment about a mysterious news photographer who videotapes a surprised and "buck nekkid" Kirk Fordice. News anchor Bert Case is the special guest host.

We're Not Clueless

When we consider activism of the '60s and '70s, we think of the war on Vietnam with thousands of citizens flocking to the street with "Peace Not War" signs. Or we recall the Civil Rights Movement that snaked through the southern states. Seldom discussed these days was a call for a right not granted to many U.S. citizens, and the very ones dying in Vietnam: the right for 18-year-olds to vote.

[Hightower] Wailing to the High Heavens

It's always a hoot to hear corporate lobbyists wailing to the high heavens about the scourge of "frivolous lawsuits," demanding that Congress bar people from suing them.

BRUNO: Day of the Diva

From Delilah to Diana Ross, from Salome to Sade, and Helen of Troy to Madonna the Boy Toy, legendary, world-changing women have wielded their feminine power with greatness and relevance. But are they divas? Vanity, narcissism and ego have become synonymous with the word, but diva simply means "goddess." If you're a woman, you're a diva, and in the words of Diana "The Boss" Ross, "We is terrific."

Zen and the Art of Optimism

I don't know about you, but this election season is damned stressful. Even as George Bush rolls out television ads with wolves lurking to terrify Americans into voting for him, it's the idea of a second Bush term that scares the crap out of me. I truly am worried about the future and what's happening to American freedoms during this arc of history.