Blogging, the Dems and Trent Lott
A New York Times editorial today: "H. L. Mencken is said to have guffawed and slapped his thigh in delight at times as he would write about a typical day at a presidential nominating convention. Those long-ago times are enviable for their unpredictability — eons removed from the scripted conventions that will soon be offered to the nation once more as lean cuisine for thought. All the more reason to hope, then, that this year's one potentially risky innovation — accepting dozens of free-form online bloggers as accredited convention journalists — may lace the proceedings with fresh insight and even some Menckenian impertinence."
Creating a 'Brand of Passion' for Voting
New York Times reports: "WHILE partisan political ads continue to dominate attention, a rapidly growing number of nonpartisan campaigns from recently created groups are trying the tactics of Madison Avenue pros to register new, and especially young, voters. Today, Declare Yourself, a nonpartisan voter-registration group started by the television producer Norman Lear, will raise two giant billboards in Times Square, showing Christina Aguilera and André 3000 with their mouths held shut, next to the message, 'Only you can silence yourself.
Doth the State GOP Protest Too Much?
It strikes me that the state GOP is getting pretty bent out of shape over Edwards, considering that the state is supposedly so locked up for George Bush. Over on their Web site, they're playing the Pickering and Kennedy cards left and right (pardon the pun). Are they really as confident as they let on over this election, or are they worried that voters in the state that given up so many of its children in the Iraqi War might not be so predictable this time around?
Dueling for the NRA Vote
Evan Derkacz writes for Alternet that the pro-gun vote doesn't necessarily belong to George Bush. He writes: "Although Kerry seems to have learned from Gore's mistakes and Bush has lost favor among much of the vigilant Second Amendment crowd, conventional wisdom grants NRA endorsement—a lock for Bush—a great deal of political weight. The NRA has been heavily involved in politics since at least 1980, when it endorsed Ronald Reagan for president. Since then, it has become the bogeyman of many a political campaign, wielding clout beyond its numbers, and is largely responsible for what many consider to be some of the world's most reckless gun control policies. But does it deserve the mythic make-or-break reputation this time around?"
Cheney Says He's Staying on GOP Ticket
AP is reporting that Vice President Cheney says he's staying on Bush's ticket. Good news for Dems and the ABB crowd?
Metallica in Therapy
Cynthia Fuchs writes about the new Metallica doc for Pop Matters: "Joe Berlinger and Bruce Sinofsky could hardly have known what they were in for when they set out to make a movie about Metallica. Though they had brief contact with the band previously (in securing permission to use some music for their film, Paradise Lost: The Child Murders at Robin Hood Hills), this time, the mighty rockers' label was paying the directors to document the recording of an album."
Register to Vote!
Click here to get the process rolling and get involved. And remember to change your address if you've moved.
Can Dems Get Back on Track with Blacks?
In his column, Earl Ofari Hutchinson says yes, but only if they boldly speak out for issues that matter to African Americans: "Edwards potentially can ensure that blacks turn out in big numbers. But he must do more than take digs at the Confederate flag. He must use his vice presidential candidacy as a bully pulpit to speak out for affirmative action, tougher and expanded hate crimes laws, repeal of the mandatory drug laws that warehouse thousands of young blacks for mostly non-violent, non-serious crimes and attack the glaring race inequities in the death penalty and funding for mostly black and Latino schools."
NBA Player Takes on ... Campaign Finance Reform
Darla Walters Gary writes for Wiretap about NBA basketball player Adonal Foyle's crusade for campaign finance reform: "On top of playing basketball and pursuing a Masters Degree from John F. Kennedy University in Moraga, California, Adonal is the founder of Democracy Matters, an organization advocating for campaign finance reform. Yes, that's right, campaign finance reform! He is dedicated to working with high school and college-aged youth on campuses across the country to change the political environment in the United States."
Moving Pictures
1. "Thelma and Louise" (1991) — Two morals in Ridley Scott's controversial film: rednecks are rednecks, so don't trust one in a parking lot. Second, dump the loser husband before you have to take a dive into the Grand Canyon. Great blowing-up-the-18-wheeler scene. Remastered DVD includes a "chick track" with commentary by stars Geena Davis and Susan Sarandon and screenwriter Callie Khouri and a deleted argument about beef jerky between the two lead characters.
JFP PoliticsBlog Is Back! (Almost)
The JFP is re-launching our popular PoliticsBlog to track information about candidates our readers can vote for this year—from U.S. president to judicial races in Mississippi. Our news interns are currently assembling photos of candidates, putting together candidate questionnaires (can't wait to see Bush's answers) and preparing the site for re-launch by 2004 with new candidates. Meantime, you can click around the site, which still contains candidate information on last fall's candidates (including a very lengthy blog discussion about Haley Barbour!). And while you're in there, e-mail the interns at [e-mail missing] about what you'd like to see on the 2004 candidate blog—including specific questions you'd like to answered about the candidate. (We don't expect all the questionnaires to be returned — ;-) — but we will do research on your questions and post what we can find. You can also suggest links to information and the like. And, of course, we welcome your participation in the discussion.
Are Christian bands downplaying their faith?
A Wiretap story by Nick Flanagan explores this provocative question about alt-Christian bands. He writes: "Christian bands became wiser to the forces of marketing and PR. Not content to stay within the Christian music market -- and wanting secular validation -- many bands began making the leap into the mainstream. Now they're taking cues from Stryper on what not to do; they're downplaying their Christianity."
Paul Burch and the WPA Ballclub at Martin's 7/16
Come out to Martin's, 214 South State St, 354-9712, for Paul Burch and the WPA Ballclub's alt-country show. Time Out, London's magazine-for-what's-happening, had this to say about Burch: "With a voice like crushed country velvet and a heart the size of Earl Scrugg's hat, Burch's songs chill, tuck, nag, snag, tickle and haunt."
Malcolm Shepherd at Thalia Mara Hall 7/15
Thalia Mara Hall "Paints the White House Black" with musical theater featuring the local R&B/gospel sensation from Dirty South, Malcolm Shepherd. Call 451-9098 for details. Buy tickets at Be-Bop or at the door.
Herman's Picks: July 8-14, 2004
The Bold New City is undergoing its own sort of VH1 Classic Reunion this week. Nostalgia go boom, and get you ready for the new W.C. Don's. You can rotate from Soulshine to Hal & Mal's to Martin's; to the rest of the Martin's building, in the new two-story, multi-room cool hang-out of W.C. Don's.
Noise and Pulse, by Scott Albert Johnson
Every shaman knows that, at the very heart of the universe, there lies an inexorable, joyous pulse. As the late Nigerian percussionist and drumming scholar Babatunde Olatunji once put it: "We say that rhythm is the soul of life, because the whole universe revolves around rhythm, and when we get out of rhythm, that's when we get into trouble."
Slate - July 8-14
THE SLATE: the best in sports in the next 7 days
Pro baseball, Amarillo at Jackson, 7 p.m. (1240 AM): The Senators tackle the Dillas before leaving for a two-series swing through Texas.
John Edwards: Friend of Business?
The Washington Post today: "Business associations in Washington were uniformly hostile yesterday to John Kerry's choice of Sen. John Edwards (D-N.C.) as his running mate, promising that a trial lawyer on the ticket will energize them and their members to defeat the Democrats in November."
[City Buzz] Republican Lite
This past week, The Magnolia Report, the conservative online news site, posted an MP3 clip in which George Dale, commissioner of insurance and a leader of the Mississippi Democratic Party, said on SuperTalk radio that Mississippi's Democratic leadership had specifically sought a "white" chairman in answer to a question about presumptive new party chairman, Wayne Dowdy.
"Fahrenheit 601": JFP Readers Want Film in Jackson
Here's the blog that has Jackson talking; originally posted June 19, 2004, this thread spawned a movement to bring "Fahrenheit 9/11" to Jackson. Now the energy has turned to bringing more independent film to the area. Read this thread to see how this grass-roots community effort came about. Be sure to support independent film (and media, and all local businesses, while you're at it). And join Crossroads Film Society if you're really interested in good indie film.
"Fahrenheit 9/11": What Did You Think?
If you've seen "Fahrenheit 9/11," please share your thoughts about the film. What did you like? What surprised you? What fact did you question? What questions did it raise for you? Did it change your vote, or your plans to vote? Please give us honest—some of which we may run in the print edition—reactions about the film, without devolving into personal attacks or nastiness. Please keep it civil!
[Ladd] Freedom is Just Another Word
When I was living in New York, we heard that the Klan was coming to march in Manhattan. This, predictably, caused an outrage in the city with folks screaming about why the stupid yuck-yucks shouldn't be allowed to march there. They oughta stay home in New Jersey, or wherever they were shlepping from. Tell them they weren't welcome.
Fahrenheit 601
Over the last week, the online version of the JFP has been alive with efforts to bring Michael Moore's controversial film "Fahrenheit 9/11" to the Jackson area, as well as other independent and edgy films that often skip the Capitol City. The hoopla started with a news posting on June 19 about the radical right targeting theaters across the U.S., trying to dissuade them from showing the film, which takes a harsh look at President Bush's foreign policy since Sept. 11, 2001. After a blogger posted the news that the film was only opening in Tupelo in the state of Mississippi, even as it was opening in less-than-urban locales such as Shreveport, La., and Montgomery, Ala., readers mounted an online campaign to encourage calls to the theaters to demand the film.
'Mississippi Burning' and Other Tall Tales
In one of those bizarre twists of fate that keep happening to me since I returned to Mississippi, I ended up recently spending a Saturday afternoon in Neshoba County with a camera crew from Glamour magazine. As if that weren't odd enough, we were at two of the most historic locations in Neshoba County, actually in the U.S. The über-hip crew, flown in from New York and Los Angeles, was doing makeup, arranging clothing, and taking pictures first at the spot where a gaggle of Klansmen killed civil rights workers James Chaney, Andrew Goodman and Michael Schwerner on June 21, 1964. Then the crew moved to Mount Zion, the black Methodist church that Klansmen burned to both punish the parishioners for trying to register blacks to vote, and to lure the civil rights workers to Neshoba County from Meridian so that they could be "eliminated."
I Felt the Earth Move
It was like old home day in Neshoba County Sunday … with a few twists. The usual suspects—the people I've gotten to know in the struggle for justice and racial reconciliation in the state—were there to honor Chaney, Goodman and Schwerner: former elected officials and social activists and journalists and movement veterans and everyday citizens who want justice for victims of civil rights violence.
In the Zone: Getting Stricter
Sex-toy shops aren't the only local businesses pushing the limits of popular morality that are facing some challenges in the city of late. The Jackson City Council has passed a moratorium on the placement of new liquor stores in the city limits for 90 days; it awaits the mayor's signature. And, recently, shops that some see as pushing questionable practices—tattoo shops, body piercing, bingo parlors, among them—are facing tougher zoning challenges. The city's planning office asked the City Council to designate a list of certain types of businesses as C-2 businesses, meaning that they now have to go through a review process, rather than receiving approval simply by asking for it.
Barbour Revitalizing Democratic Party?
Bobby Harrison argues in the Daily Journal that Barbour is singlehandedly revitalizing the Democratic Party in the state. I think he has a point. "Haley Barbour lives, eats and sleeps politics. He knows it inside and out. Having said that, Barbour, a Republican political strategist dynamo, has done more to revitalize the Mississippi Democratic Party than any Democrat in the state. He has given a disjointed, divided group of Democrats something to rally behind - public education and Medicaid." [...]
1.6 Million Women Sue Wal-Mart for Discrimination
The NY Times reports: "A federal judge ruled yesterday that a lawsuit that accuses Wal-Mart Stores Inc. of discriminating against women can proceed as a class action covering about 1.6 million current and former employees, making it by far the largest workplace-bias lawsuit in United States history. The lawsuit, brought in 2001 by six women, accuses Wal-Mart of systematically paying women less than men and offering women fewer opportunities for promotion. The lawsuit stated that while 65 percent of Wal-Mart's hourly employees are women, only 33 percent of Wal-Mart's managers are.
Barbour Trying to Bring Back 1920s
Excellent column by Ole Miss professor Joe Atkins:
Down a Southern Road
Monday, June 21, is the 40th anniversary of the deaths of James Chaney, Andrew Goodman and Michael Schwerner.
Dick Molpus Raises the Roof in Neshoba County
June 20, 2004—With Gov. Haley Barbour sitting right behind him, former Secretary of State and Neshoba County native Dick Molpus made a thundering speech in honor of slain civil rights workers James Chaney, Andrew Goodman and Michael Schwerner Sunday in his hometown. The speech went far beyond his historic 1989 speech in which he became the only public official to have apologized for the murders. Sunday, Molpus not only called for fellow Neshobans to provide evidence they've kept to themselves for many years, but also called for Mississippians to get past harmful race rhetoric that has divided the state for so long and to continue the legacy of the three men by taking care of fellow Mississippians. Following is the full text of Molpus' call to action that was interrupted frequently by applause and drew him a lengthy standing ovation by the diverse audience ...
UPDATED: Music Sked for Jackson Lounge at the JAM
Just in: The working schedule for the Jackson Lounge tent at the JAM. Check back or at the tent for schedule changes/updates. See you out there. It's a *very* good time
Barbour and his Deadbeat Mississippians
June 11, 2004–Today in The New York Times, columnist Bob Herbert nails Barbour's cuts to Medicaid recipients–the worst Medicaid cuts ever: "If you want to see 'compassionate' conservatism in action, take a look at Mississippi, a state that is solidly in the red category (strong for Bush) and committed to its long tradition of keeping the poor and the unfortunate in as ragged and miserable a condition as possible. How's this for compassion? Mississippi has approved the deepest cut in Medicaid eligibility for senior citizens and the disabled that has ever been approved anywhere in the U.S."
Bigotry of Low Expectations
I was about to start my second year at Mississippi State when Ronald Reagan came to the Neshoba County Fair in 1980. My gut instincts told me one thing. "The Republicans are playing Mississippians for fools," I told my oldest brother then. He was a Reagan supporter, but he later tended to agree with me about the Gipper. My naïve hunch played out. No matter how many syrupy, lemonade-soaked reminiscences of that visit we read about now from one Fair cabin owner or another (the "elite" of Neshoba County), the net result of that visit hasn't been pretty.
Conservative Group Unveils Reagan Ad
AP is reporting: "Days after Ronald Reagan was laid to rest, a conservative interest group on Tuesday unveiled a campaign ad that aligns him with President Bush and criticizes Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry. The Club for Growth's ad, which is to begin airing Wednesday, portrays both Republican presidents as leaders - Reagan on communism and Bush on terrorism, while claiming Kerry was 'wrong then, wrong now' on national security. The ad shows Kerry, a Vietnam veteran, testifying to Congress in 1971 that 'we cannot fight communism all over the world and I think we should have learned that lesson by now.'
Former Bush Staffer Working for Kerry
AP is reporting: "Randy Beers sat on the porch steps next to his longtime friend and colleague Dick Clarke and the words came tumbling out in a torrent. 'I think I have to quit. ... I can't work for these people. I'm sorry, I just can't.' It was a few days before the start of the Iraq war in March 2003, and Beers was President Bush's special assistant for combating terrorism, a job he had held for only a matter of months. But Beers was no newcomer to government; he had worked on foreign policy for four presidents.
Neshoba County Coalition Calls for Justice
The newly formed Philadelphia Coalition of blacks, whites and Choctaws released the following statement calling for justice and issuing a long-overdue apology for the tragic murders that happened there on Father's Day 40 years ago. See http://neshobajustice.com for a schedule of the memorial service on Sunday, June 20.
The Next Generation
Those are six words I never expected to say. I grew up, like many restless kids, thinking my town was the most backward place on earth. That's normal. But when I was 14 and found out what occurred in Philadelphia, Miss., when I was 3, I was overwhelmed with shame. That's tragic
‘Lawsuit Abuse' Over
Champagne corks were popping at Bravo the evening of June 3, even as some diners were sobered by the day's events. That afternoon, the Mississippi House of Representatives had suddenly, and rather unexpectedly, accepted Senate tort-reform language, voting to send the legislation, HB 13, to Gov. Haley Barbour. The bill features major pro-industry tort reform, including $1 million damage caps for business liability—even for extreme negligence that leads to loss of limbs and disfigurements.
Salter Bashes Holland on Medicaid
Sid Salter's column today bashes Rep. Steve Holland for originally supporting Haley Barbour's Medicaide bill, accusing him of "crawfishing": "Trouble is, the record shows that Holland was the chief House negotiator in the legislative conference committee that approved the Barbour-backed Medicaid reform bill which removed the PLAD category from Medicaid coverage in the first place. Holland signed off on the conference report, presented it to the House, and spoke passionately in favor of its passage. Holland sold his fellow House members on the wisdom of removing the category from Medicaid. Don't believe it? Ask them."
House Votes to Accept Senate's Tort Reform Bill
After a long floor debate today, the Mississippi House of Representatives voted 76-38 to concur with the Senate strike-all version of HB 13 — a bill that institutes $1 million damage caps on general business liability and removes the exemption for disfigurement. Rep Ed Blackmon—who had previously said he would not support any non-economic damage caps—made the motion to concur with the bill (which means it will go straight for the governor's signature). The measure passed 76-38 at 2:19 this afternoon.
Alleged Victims
Jackson Family Wants Closure From the Church
The year was 1970, and 11-year-old Francis Morrison lay in his bed in the big house at 771 Belhaven St., listening for heavy footsteps, the covers pulled all the way up to his neck, his eyes squeezed tight in pretend sleep. His heart racing, he wondered if his room would be the first stop for nightly prayers.