Supreme Court to consider Cheney's secret task forceCBS Marketwatch is reporting: "The U.S. Supreme Court will decide whether the White House must reveal the energy-industry contacts that helped a task force headed by Vice President Dick Cheney formulate an energy policy blueprint in 2001. The high court …
Dean Under Attack, Trippi SaysE-mailed to Dean list this a.m. from Trippi: "A faceless group that the Washington Post calls 'despicable' is using hundreds of thousands of dollars to air vicious television ads that use pictures of Osama bin Laden to attack Howard Dean. …
Democratic ‘Shadow' Groups Face ScrutinyThe Washington Post reports: "Leading campaign finance watchdog organizations as well as Republican activists intend to challenge the new 'shadow' Democratic Party -- a network of independent groups gearing up to spend as much as $300 million on voter mobilization …
[Talk] Gettin' SaferJackson has lunged out of the "Top 10 Most Dangerous Cities" to No. 16, according to just-released 10th annual Morgan Quitno Press "most dangerous city" rankings for 2002. Using M-Q's standards, the city of Jackson made gains in 2002 over …
[Lott] A Generous GivingTo hear some folks talk, you'd think that big places with the most compassionate liberal attitudes and bountiful personal incomes would be teaming with the most generous, nicest, most appreciative people on Earth — thankful for and humbled by their …
Debra KassoffSeated demurely before me was the first rabbi I'd ever met—a slim clear-eyed young woman who looks like she could be a lawyer, a teacher, a counselor—not the stereotypical picture I have in my head of a rabbi—a man with …
Gore Endorses DeanFormer Vice President Al Gore endorsed Howard Dean for president today. AP reports: "Gore said Dean 'really is the only candidate who has been able to inspire at the grass--roots level all over the country.' He said the former Vermont …
Mobilizing the Youth VoteThe New Voters Project announced plans to try to mobilize youth voters in 6 states for the upcoming election cycle. The six states areColorado, Iowa, New Mexico, Nevada, Oregon and Wisconsin; a combined population of 2 million 18 to 24 …
Gore to Endorse DeanReuters is reporting that Al Gore is to endorse Howard Dean for President on Tuesday morning at a Harlem event.
Bloggers Speak OutMississippi keeps cropping up out there on the weblogs (called "blogs," we're talking about Web sites that update daily with news and politics coverage) and—almost universally—in a familiar context. I saw our fair state mentioned last week on the Democratic …
Move Over, BoysLakshmi Chaudhr writes: "Whether she is a divorced waitress in Harlem, a welfare mom in Iowa, or that thirty-something singleton sipping a Cosmopolitan at your local bar, the unmarried woman may hold the fate of the 2004 elections in the …
MoveOn.org Parties in Jackson this weekendHeard of MoveOn.org, the hip and powerful grass-roots movement that is doing an end-run around party politics and the media? This Sunday, Dec. 7, MoveOn is holding house parties all over the country to screen Robert Greenwald's new documentary, "Uncovered: …
FOX Works for GOPMoveOn.org warns: "The wall between objective journalism and partisan politicking at Fox News fell last week when it became clear that Fox News staff contributed to the orchestration of the Republican-led 39-hour Senate talk-a-thon intended to counter the Democrat filibuster …
MoveOn.Org Irritates the RightMichelle Goldberg writes in Salon: "Bill O'Reilly wants its nonprofit status revoked. Republican National Committee chairman Ed Gillespie sees it as part of the 'Democrat plan to subvert campaign finance laws.' House Majority Leader Tom DeLay's office plays phone pranks …
Harvey Talks Back: The 2003 JFP Interview with Mayor JohnsonJackson Mayor Harvey Johnson Jr. is having one hell of a year. On the one hand, the Vicksburg native has presided over a city for six years that seems to have shifted into high-gear renaissance mode, or certainly as high …
Seetha SrinivasanFrom her fifth-floor window at the Education and Research Center of Mississippi—known as the R&D Center by most—Seetha Srinivasan has a splendid view of the surrounding trees. Not that she's got her head in the clouds. This petite lady—dressed, always, …
Truth in the Hands of ArtistsRadiohead's Thom Yorke and author/historian Howard Zinn talk about the artist's role in politics. Yorke: "This goes back to what should be causing extreme alarm. If there are political programs on TV, yet it takes an artist to actually energize …
Bush's ‘Crimes Against Nature'Robert F. Kennedy Jr. writes: "George W. Bush will go down in history as America's worst environmental president. In a ferocious three-year attack, the Bush administration has initiated more than 200 major rollbacks of America's environmental laws, weakening the protection …
Dixie Dems: Dean Too ‘Liberal'The Washington Times reports that Democratic leaders in the South consider Howard Dean "too liberal" to win electoral votes in the South: "Most acknowledge the growing conservatism that dominates their region, and some concede it will be difficult, if not …
Bill Minor on the Democrats' FutureBill Minor writes that Democrats didn't lose in the state as big as Republicans would like to pretend: "In the wake of the Republican mini-earthquake that hit the state Nov. 4, not just a few Democrats were wondering if their …
Vouchers, They Are A'Comin'AP is reporting that national Republicans are about to make a push for vouchers: "Republican Senate leaders plan to force a vote this week on the nation's first federally funded school voucher experiment, tucking the program into broader spending legislation …
Bush may veto overtime, media ownership rulesAP is reporting : "The GOP-run Senate voted in September to block proposed Labor Department rules that opponents say would make it easier for employers to deny overtime for millions of workers. The House, also run by Republicans, voted narrowly …
Schwarzenegger Takes Office in CaliforniaIt's official, folks. The Governator has been sworn in. I'm really curious to see how he handles the state's $25 billion deficit. Of course, his inauguration (with Vanessa Williams and Jamie Lee Curtis, among others) sounds way better than Gray …
Liberals and ‘Flyover Country'Middle America - which includes most of the South, Midwest and West - too often gets dismissed by liberal politicians and liberal interest groups who seem to look down on our values. They refer to the area between the East …
Bush Plan to Ban AbortionMichelle Goldberg writes in Salon: "Unnoticed by much of the public, the Bush administration and the Republican-controlled Congress have been laying the groundwork for a repeal of abortion rights." (Click on the free ad to get access to the story.)
Rhonda RichmondRhonda Richmond's voice comes as a complete surprise. An earthy, organic, smooth sound weaves itself around your soul and into your heart. I first heard Richmond sing, swaying softly to the music, for the small crowd of jazz-lovers gathered at …
Two Large Unions May Support DeanAP reports: "Two of the nation's largest and politically powerful unions initially overlooked Democrat Howard Dean as a marginal, quirky presidential candidate from a small state. But that changed as he surged in fund raising and state polls in key …
‘Confederacy of Dunces'Salon's Joan Walsh reports that Howard Dean's critics have it wrong: "Does anyone really believe that former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean was borrowing a playbook from the GOP and telegraphing coded support for Southern racism when he said, in an …
And the Winners Are…...Republicans (and Jim Hood) in contested statewide elections, Democrats in Hinds County and Legislative elections and <i>turnout</i> -- over 818,000 people had voted in the Lieutenant Governor's race with 92% of precincts reporting, suggesting that turnout was better than the …
Election Post-MortemWell, all, there weren't a lot of surprises Tuesday night, and a lot of our prayers about the state rising above the race game went unanswered ... for now. But I truly believe that this election is meant to challenge …