Bush Flip-Flops on ‘Winning' Terror War
AP is reporting that President Bush is trying to take back his earlier statement that the war on terror cannot be won, a statement that is causing a firestorm just as he is getting ready to accept his party's nomination in Washington. "President Bush said Tuesday 'we will win' the war on terror, seeking to quell controversy and Democratic criticism over his earlier remark that victory may not be possible. In a speech to the national convention of the American Legion, Bush said, 'We meet today in a time of war for our country, a war we did not start yet one that we will win.' That statement differed from Bush's earlier comment, aired Monday in a pre-taped television interview, that 'I don't think you can win' the war on terror. That had Democrats running for the cameras to criticize Bush for being defeatist and flip-flopping from previous predictions of victory."
Bush Again a ‘Compassionate Conservative'
AP is reporting: "For months, President Bush has been courting his core conservative supporters. Now, in a New York minute, he's shifting his focus to moderates, independents and Democrats not entirely sold on John Kerry. He wants to be known as the 'compassionate conservative' again. That slogan from his first presidential race lost its meaning to many people shortly after Bush's bitterly contested victory four years ago, when he moved like a man with a mandate to install a right-leaning Cabinet with an agenda to match. Facing an electorate no less divided than in 2000, Bush hopes to reclaim a slice of the political center with a week-long convention script designed to highlight the moderate parts of his program while reminding swing voters why they once found him so likable."
Dr. Weil Answers Daily Questions
A good source for health information from both a holistic and medical approach is the Web site of Dr. Andrew Weil. He answers a new question daily, as well as has lots of info on his site and hints on how to achieve wellness: that is, a healthy combination of mind, body and spirit.
This Here Alternative Universe
I'm sitting here, OK lying here, in a humongous, brick-colored sofa far away from Jackson in the Pacific Northwest, counting my blessings about life in Mississippi. I didn't start out to wax about my good fortune, however. Truth is, we left Jackson in a flurry after putting out our biggest issue (The Annual Manual) and holding an open house for 100 people to honor our interns and young staffers (who produced the Manual). So I didn't have time to write my editor's note before we left.
Lose the Chemicals!
The The Georgia Straight helps you figure out how to purge your home of household toxins: "Just as not smoking can reduce the risk of lung cancer, not using harmful chemicals to clean your countertops could help decrease the chance of acquiring other forms of the disease. According to the Vancouver-based Labour Environmental Alliance Society, the link between human health and the environment is commonly overlooked. To help people better understand what's in the products they buy--and help them find safer options--the organization recently published the CancerSmart Consumer Guide."
The Myth of a Red South?
Alternet is discussing several polls and news articles that seem to indicate that Bush does not have the South all sewn up: "But as the election draws nearer, polling trends show that just isn't the case. The Raleigh News & Observer North Carolina came out with a poll this week showing George Bush ahead by a mere three points, well within the 4% margin of error. ... Witness Rassmussen's poll numbers for Arkansas, where Bush and Kerry are tied at 46%. There's also Virginia, where Bush leads Kerry by three points, 49% to 46%, with a five-point margin of error. Numbers like these rule out the notion that the South is 'Bush country.'" I just think the choice of "red" to indicate conservative states is hilarious. Who came up with that?!
Ron Reagan's ‘Honest Guy's Critique of George W. Bush'
Here's the text of Ron Reagan's piece in the September issue of Esquire—and he seems more willing to speak his mind than he was at the Democratic National Convention: "The far-right wing of the country—nearly one third of us by some estimates—continues to regard all who refuse to drink the Kool-Aid (liberals, rationalists, Europeans, et cetera) as agents of Satan. Bush could show up on video canoodling with Paris Hilton and still bank their vote. Right-wing talking heads continue painting anyone who fails to genuflect deeply enough as a 'hater,' and therefore a nut job, probably a crypto-Islamist car bomber. But these protestations have taken on a hysterical, almost comically desperate tone. It's one thing to get trashed by Michael Moore. But when Nobel laureates, a vast majority of the scientific community, and a host of current and former diplomats, intelligence operatives, and military officials line up against you, it becomes increasingly difficult to characterize the opposition as fringe wackos."
Spit McGee
I had only known Willie Morris through his books. It was his words, read in faraway places like Colorado and Manhattan and Nantucket, that helped me realize how southern I really was, that I wasn't the only Mississippian to be stung by northern condescension, that you can, and often should, go home again.
School Movies
OK, some are better than others, but all the following movies set in one way or another in a school are worth renting, if for no other reason than to remember that you're not the only one having to deal with crap at school. And if you have any time left after watching all of these, revisit the school-themed slacker classics "Ferris Bueller's Day Off," "Dazed and Confused" and "Fast Times at Ridgemont High."
‘Merit' in Mississippi
The teacher merit-pay mindset is attracting more believers here in Mississippi, despite hesitation on the part of teachers' organizations and many lawmakers who worry that it's just another way to chip away at the public education system.
Let Them Braid Hair
Three African-American women from Tupelo joined an attorney from Washington, D.C., on Thursday, Aug. 5, in front of the James O. Eastland Federal Court Building downtown to demand the right to make a living. The women—an accomplished African hairbraider and two who would like to be—are filing a civil rights lawsuit in challenging the state's cosmetology laws, saying they discriminate against them because of burdensome licensing requirements that make it difficult to braid hair for a living or teach the skill of braiding to others.
‘Merit Pay:' So Many Meanings, So Little Time
Some people might find it confusing that so-called liberal Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., supported President George W. Bush's "No Child Left Behind" act, and is pushing for "merit pay" during his presidential campaign, especially considering that Bush campaigned on the issue the first time around.
Taking the Long View
Once again, determined legislators beat the Medicaid drum at the Capitol on Monday, Aug. 9, when about a dozen of them gathered to demand that Gov. Haley Barbour reconsider his plan to shrink the Medicaid rolls in Mississippi.
Mrs. Hodges and Mrs. Salter
Back in the '70s when I was at Neshoba Central, a gawky girl from a trailer park bursting with ideas that I didn't know where to put, two women saved my life. Mrs. Oneida Hodges and Mrs. Alline Salter gave me permission to find my voice, to reach deep inside myself and say, "I have something to say, and I'm going to say it." Those two English teachers, my mentors, not only told me it was OK to express myself, they also taught me that expressing alone is not enough. You have to observe, research, think, ponder, rewrite, think more, question, consider, adjust.
Slam Poets Organize Against Bush
[Verbatim] Coming off the heels of the their hugely successful Rhyme Night showcase series, Contrabandit.com has been recruited by Slam Bush PAC and the Indy Voter PAC to organize Slam Bush, a nationwide MC battle and poetry slam series created to empower the hip-hop generation to take a stand against President George W. Bush. Starting in August, Slam Bush events will be taking place in important battle ground states to set the stage for political organizers to register thousands of Hip-Hop fans for the November 2nd election.
Let's Do the Time Warp, Aga-inn
This is a hard column to write. Sometimes something is so painful, so heart-wrenching that you don't want to expose it. You just want to ignore it, and hope no one notices. As much as I'm a fan of open dialogue and brutal honesty about our history, I sometimes want to close my eyes and say, I did not read that. I did not hear that. No one thinks that way in 2004. Not in Jackson.
Springsteen, Raitt, Babyface, Pearl Jam, Others Stump to Unseat Bush
AP is reporting: "In an unprecedented series of concerts in nine swing states, more than 20 musical acts -- including Bruce Springsteen, Pearl Jam and the Dixie Chicks -- will perform fund-raising concerts one month before the Nov. 2 election in an effort to unseat President Bush. The shows, which will begin Oct. 1 in Pennsylvania, will take an unusual approach: as many as six concerts on a single day in cities across the states expected to decide the November presidential race. Other stops on the tour are North Carolina, Ohio, Michigan, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, Wisconsin and the key state in 2000, Florida.
Quote o' the Week
— Gov. Haley Barbour, Neshoba County Fair, July 29, 2004
"Mississippi taxpayers shouldn't pay for health care coverage that the federal government will pay for."
Bold New Party?
<b>New Dem Head Wayne Dowdy on Faux Elephants and Young Voters
It's hard to get past Wayne Dowdy's name. Through no fault of his own, the new head of the Mississippi Democratic Party—a Millsaps grad, a grandfather and a U.S. congressman from 1981-1989—just sounds a bit like a fuddy-duddy. When I first heard his name surface as a possible replacement for Rickey Cole, I thought, "Hmmm, he sounds, well, dowdy." It's easy to think that a lawyer from Magnolia—way down by the Louisiana border, past the metropolis of McComb, off I-55 and through one red light and on the first corner with his name on the door—ain't exactly going to set off a firebomb in the BVDs of the state Democratic Party. After all, when you're on hold waiting to talk to his secretary, secretary, mind you, the hold music is twangy, old-style honky-tonk. Yes, honky-tonk. I might prefer Conway Twitty to Tim McGraw, but my interns probably don't know who the hell Conway Twitty is.
Gov't Used Old Info for Monday's Terrorism Scare
NY Tmes reports: "Much of the information that led the authorities to raise the terror alert at several large financial institutions in the New York City and Washington areas was three or four years old, intelligence and law enforcement officials said on Monday. They reported that they had not yet found concrete evidence that a terrorist plot or preparatory surveillance operations were still under way. But the officials continued to regard the information as significant and troubling because the reconnaissance already conducted has provided Al Qaeda with the knowledge necessary to carry out attacks against the sites in Manhattan, Washington and Newark. They said Al Qaeda had often struck years after its operatives began surveillance of an intended target."
No Worry: The Feds Will Pay for Medicare (Maybe)
In a bizarre twist in ideology, Gov. Haley Barbour told Neshoba County Fair go-ers Thursday that the federal government should pick up the tab for the health-care costs of poor and disabled Mississippians. "Mississippi taxpayers shouldn't pay for health care coverage that the federal government will pay for," Barbour said, as reported by the Associated Press (and not by The Clarion-Ledger in its report today, which focuses more on Barbour's sophomoric bashing of John Kerry, calling him the "ideological twin" of Teddy Kennedy. Na na na na, boo boo.)
Federal Deficit to Top $450 Billion; Medicare in Trouble?
AP is reporting: "The White House's projection of a record federal deficit that could approach $450 billion this year will further fuel a campaign-season dispute over President Bush's handling of the economy. Bush's budget office planned to release its latest forecast Friday. Its magnitude, described by congressional aides speaking on condition of anonymity, will easily surpass last year's $375 billion, the largest ever in dollar terms. Republicans said the number would underscore the economy's upturn because it shows improvement over early this year, when expectations were for an even larger shortfall. [...] Some congressional aides said the report might also project an increase in spending by Medicare, the government's $300 billion health insurance program for the elderly and disabled. That could further heighten concerns about the program's solvency, already in jeopardy over the next two decades with the impending retirement of the huge baby-boom generation. Medicare's anticipated rapid growth in coming years is expected to be a major engine keeping the budget in the red. The report's release was coming two weeks after an often-ignored July 15 deadline, a delay White House officials attributed to a desire for accurate numbers." [emphasis added]
Full Text of John Kerry's Convention Speech
My name is John Kerry, and I am reporting for duty. We are here tonight because we love our country. We are proud of what America is and what it can become. My fellow Americans: we are here tonight united in one simple purpose: to make America stronger at home and respected in the world. A great American novelist wrote that you can't go home again. He could not have imagined this evening. Tonight, I am home. Home where my public life began and those who made it possible live. Home where our nation's history was written in blood, idealism, and hope. Home where my parents showed me the values of family, faith, and country. Thank you, all of you, for a welcome home I will never forget.
[Road to Wellness] Now We're Cookin', Weeks 3 and 4
I don't know about y'all, but this wellness shtick is not as easy as I thought it was going to be. The hardest thing I've found is that I have absolutely no willpower. I'll do well for one day and then reward myself the next day with a trip to Keifer's for a pita with mozzarella (and feta cheese dressing) and cottage fries (big slabs of fried potatoes).
Of Sin and Politics
I remember being surprised when I got old enough to realize that not everyone had a yearly "giant house party" in their home county. In fact, the Neshoba County Fair was unique—an annual sawdust-filled bacchanalia when the strictures of living in the Bible Belt went out the window. Many people drank the devil's juice openly while deputies strode by nonchalantly, a bit of cheating went on, and real gambling occurred in the cabins along the racetrack— way back before casinos came to the state.
[Road to Wellness] Onward and Upward, Weeks 5 and 6
Well, gang, we've put in a full month of trying to live a well-rounded, healthier life. Mr. Gunter and I are still (pretty) hard at it. He's discovered a new addiction: honey-roasted soy nuts. I found them at the Jitney 14 (Winn Dixie) in the produce section, and I can't seem to keep him away from them. I'm admittedly not doing as well on the walking lately, but I promise to pick it back up if all y'all do, too. So without any further ado … onward and upward.
[Road to Wellness] Keep On Keepin' On, Weeks 7 and 8
I finally joined the Y this week and promise to regale all of you with my (no doubt funny) escapades there. I've been drinking smoothies every day and eating OK, not great yet, but better. My favorite find lately is Luna bars, made by the Clif Bar Company. They're made especially for women, packed with soy, and come in a lot of great flavors; my personal favorite is lemon. What's in store for us these next couple of weeks? More of the same, my friends, more of the same.
AP: Bush's Record Has Him in Tough Spot
AP is reporting: "Bad news for President Bush: Americans are anxious about the economy and unhappy about the Iraq war. The number of soldiers killed will probably hit the psychologically important 1,000 mark before the November election. And in the political horse race, he is tied or worse with Democratic rival John Kerry. There's a strong market for change at the White House, lifting Democrats' hopes.
MoveOn introduces ‘Future Soundtrack for America'
MoveOn.org today announced a new CD put together by John Flansburgh of They Might Be Giants, featuring songs by Blink-182, Bright Eyes, David Byrne, Laura Cantrell, Clem Snide, Death Cab for Cutie, Mike Doughty, The Flaming Lips, Fountains of Wayne, Jimmy Eat World, Ben Kweller, The Long Winters, Nada Surf, OK Go, Old 97's, R.E.M., Sleater-Kinney, They Might Be Giants, Tom Waits, will.i.am of The Black Eyed Peas, and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. In addition, the family of Elliott Smith contributed a mix of "A Distorted Reality Is Now A Necessity To Be Free," a song from Smith's as-yet-unreleased last record, and the first release of new material since his death in late 2003.
Dean Warns about Draft at ‘Rock the Vote' Party
CBS News reports: "As people wondered if former President Bill Clinton was here yet, and college-age guys scanned the chatting celebrities in the VIP area for actress Natalie Portman, the packed club of young Democrats cheered wildly. Former Gov. Howard Dean was on stage, chopping his arm, yelling passionately. The 2,000-person crowd roars. Dean avows: 'If you want a draft, vote for George Bush!'"
Blogging the Convention
List of and links to credentialed bloggers:
Forget boring corporate news accounts of the Dems' big party in Boston. The most entertaining way to follow the action is through the blogging coming out of Beantown. Following are a sampling of blogs that delegates are posting directly from inside. We'll post more as we find them. Enjoy.
Judge Blocks New Mississippi Anti-Abortion Law
Clarion-Ledger is reporting: "Mississippi's new abortion law infringes on a woman's 14th Amendment right to have an abortion early in the second trimester, a federal judge has ruled. In a ruling made public today, U.S. District Judge Tom S. Lee kept in place a preminary injunction he issued July 2 that prevented the law from going into affect. The law would have limited abortions after the 13th week of pregnancy to hospitals and ambulatory surgical clinics."
Bush Tries to Lure Black Voters
The New York Times is reporting: "President Bush tried on Friday to sow doubts about Democrats' commitment to black Americans and told black voters 'there is an alternative this year' -- him. At the same time, Bush acknowledged, "Listen, the Republican Party has got a lot of work to do. I understand that.'''
Fahrenheit 9/11 Worrying GOP
AP is reporting: "Republicans initially dismissed 'Fahrenheit 9/11' as a cinematic screed that would play mostly to inveterate Bush bashers. Four weeks and $94 million later, the film is still pulling in moviegoers at 2,000 theaters around the country, making Republicans nervous as it settles into the American mainstream. 'I'm not sure if it moves voters,' GOP consultant Scott Reed said, 'but if it moves 3 or 4 percent it's been a success.'"
Wayne Dowdy Will Worry State GOP
Clarion-Ledger columnist Sid Salter writes that new Mississippi Democratic Party head Wayne Dowdy will worry the state Republicans: "Dowdy is a formidable opponent in every sense of the term. He's smart. He's tough. Dowdy has the demonstrated skills to repair some of the fundamental weaknesses of the Democratic Party in Mississippi — money and organization. But Dowdy's greatest weapon is the Medicaid debacle — Haley Barbour's size 13EEE political Achilles heel — and he'll use it."
Minor: Miss. GOP Lying About ‘Highest-Taxed State'
Columnist Bill Minor writes this week: "Bad enough that the chief propagandist for the Mississippi Republican Party is a turncoat Democrat, but worse that he lies to make taxpayers believe they can't afford health care for 65,000 of the state's neediest. State GOP chairman Jim Herring on Mississippi Public Broadcasting's 'Statewide Live' the other night kept repeating the fallacious party line that Mississippi is 'the highest taxed state in the nation.' Absolute hogwash. The facts are that Mississippians are among the nation's most lightly taxed.
[Road to Wellness] We've Arrived! Weeks 11 and 12
When we started this trip, the word "wellness" made me cringe. Now it's what I strive for on a daily basis. I'm still not exactly where I want to be, but I have a strong foundation for the journey now. In this last installment, I thought would I summarize all that we've talked about over the previous 10 weeks.
Poll: Dems Lead on Most Issues; Kerry and Bush Tied
AP is reporting: "John Kerry is heading to his party's national convention with Democrats faring better with the public on both domestic and international issues, according to a poll released Wednesday. But Kerry remains locked in a tie in the presidential race. When people are asked which party would do a better job of handling a given issue, Democrats are now 12 points up on handling the economy and have an even larger lead on issues from education to health care and the environment, according to the poll by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press.
Shop Local: Liz Henry, Fondren Traders
We just heard about two great retail sales—one at Liz Henry and another at Fondren Traders, both in Fondren. Both are discounting their very stuff up to 40 percent to make room for fall merchandise. Head on over there and tell 'em the JFP sent you.
Dick Cheney: One of the Worst CEOs in History?
(Click on the free day pass to read the full story without a subscription.)
From Salon today: "it's clear that Cheney deserves another nomination: as one of the worst CEOs in recent American history. Of course, there are plenty of CEOs that deserve to be on that list, including Enron's Kenneth Lay, Tyco's Dennis Kozlowski and Adelphia's John Rigas. While those bosses certainly are being pilloried, Cheney's disastrous five-year-long tenure at Halliburton deserves far more scrutiny than the mainstream business press has bothered to provide."
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?
Sly Croom Featured in New York Times
In a big story Sunday,, The New York Times profiled Bulldogs coach Sly Croom: "Home is 83 miles away in Tuscaloosa, Ala., but it might as well be a million. When Sylvester Croom is not at Mississippi State, he is traveling along Mississippi's two-lane roads, talking to alumni and high school coaches and just about any gathering with an extra chair. He is all but going door to door, selling the idea of him as the Bulldogs' football coach.
Only Children Bleed
The House Juvenile Justice Committee is holding legislative hearings on the training schools at the Capitol on July 19 from 2-5 p.m. and July 20 from 9 a.m. until noon in Room 113. Call Rep. Eric Fleming, D-Hinds, at 925-1740 or 359-3374 for more details.
Jaro, Staxx Featured in Clarion-Ledger
Cheers to Jaro and Staxx for all the hard work they do for Jackson. We're very proud.
Today, The Clarion-Ledger featured JFP photographer Jaro Vacek and John "Staxx" Tierre in a story about Staxx's company Blockwear distributing in the Czech Republic with Jaro's help. We consider Staxx a member of the family, too, having featuring his clothes several times in JFP shoots. And, last October, Charlie Braxton wrote in the JFP about Staxx, and other local hip-hop designers who are distributing nationally and internationally last October. We also featured Staff as a young businessman to watch in April.
[Ladd] A Fool by Any Other Party
Man, I can't stand Bill Clinton. It drives me crazy to see him all over the place, hawking his new book and his excuses for his bad behavior in the Oval Office. His reasons for lying to the American people. His rationale for using his power to screw around with the lives of a parade of vulnerable women, some barely old enough to drink.
State GOP Offended that Hood Supporting Kerry
"Kedwards"? Are they guys for real? They sound like a bunch of fourth-graders.
The state GOP party is all bent up like a pretzel over the fact that a DEMOCRATIC attorney general is supporting the DEMOCRATIC candidate for president. They whine on their Web site: "Jim Hood (D - Houston) ran for Attorney General as a mainstream, small-town Mississippian, but yesterday he came out for the gun-grabbing, anti-Mississippi, anti-family agenda of the Kerry/Edwards - 'Kedwards' - ticket. What is he thinking? Are Hood's true beliefs coming out now that the election is over? One thing is certain, Hood's endorsement of Kedwards is a long way from mainstream Mississippi values. Do we really want him issuing legal opinions on our behalf?"
Mississippi Dems ‘Ready to Rumble'?
Bill Minor writes: "Barbour, the guy who won the governor's job with supposedly unmatched political smarts, made a colossal blunder by pushing through legislation that left thousands of recipients - many of whom voted for him - panicky over losing their present medicine benefits under Medicare. His administration has failed to convince those cut from the state program that they would keep similar medical benefits under his plan. It switches them in September into the federally run Medicare program. They would otherwise be forced to go there in January 2006 if the Medicare reform law is not revised by Congress.
Then I Got Mad
Click here to view a petition to recall Gov. Haley Barbour.