News

Health CareOctober 21, 2004 Of all the issues in this presidential campaign, health care is probably the most confusing. But a few facts are clear: 45 million Americans (including children) do not have health insurance, prescription drug costs are through the …
Welfare and PovertyOctober 21, 2004 The public hasn't heard the word "welfare" as often as it did in the last three presidential elections, perhaps due to the bipartisan Welfare Act of 1996 signed by President Bill Clinton. However, the topic remains important …
Public EducationIllustration by Ken Patterson In all four presidential/vice presidential debates, the moderators failed to ask a single question about public education and the candidates' views on President Bush's "No Child Left Behind" education reform act, passed in January 2001. The …
Kerry Has Wide Support Among BlacksBlacks prefer Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry over President Bush by a nearly 4-to-1 margin, though their support for the Democrat is down slightly from the backing Al Gore received in 2000, according to a poll released Tuesday.
Factcheck.org: Just How Many Bills Has Kerry "Passed?"Bush said Kerry passed five bills. Kerry said he's passed 56. Who's right? That depends on the definition of "passed" and "bills."
FactCheck.org: New and Recycled Distortions in Debate #3Bush said most of his tax cuts went to "low- and middle-income Americans" when independent calculations show most went to the richest 10 percent. Kerry claims Bush "cut the Pell Grants" when they've actually increased. Both men repeated misstatements made …
Barbour Postpones Medicaid Transition(Jackson, Miss.) -- Saying that a litigation (sic) had confused 50,000 Mississippi Medicaid recipients beyond repair, Governor Haley Barbour said today he would postpone the state's efforts to transition those recipients to Medicare and look to Medicaid reform opponents to …
The Convention Center QuandaryAlthough 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 …
Factcheck.org: Kerry's Tax Ad: Literally Accurate, But Misleading[Verbatim alert] [Kerry's] ad says "the middle class is paying a bigger share of America's tax burden." True. But it's a smaller burden all around. And the richest still pay the most.
[The JFP Interview] Jim Giles Wants a ‘White Nation'In 1964 Jim Giles would have fit perfectly into Mississippi society. His public appearances would have brought cheers and applause from people who would publicly and proudly call him a friend and a great leader. Unfortunately for Giles, though, the …
[Just In] Florida Sued to Prevent Disenfranchisement[Joint Press Statement by Advancement Project, AFL-CIO, American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees, People For the American Way Foundation, and Service Employee International Union/vertatim]
New GOP Ads to Target ‘Lawsuit Abuse,' EdwardsTime is reporting: "A new wave of Republican attack ads is coming this week, but this time their target is the No. 2 man on the Democratic ticket, John Edwards. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the November Fund, a …
Cell Phone Users Under-polling?I have to gloat for a minute. I've been saying this exact thing for the last month to anyone who would listen. I truly believe the polls aren't reflective this year, partly due to this cell phone issue. I know …
Factcheck.org: ‘Pro-Bush Puffery on Economy, Medicare'New ad claims Bush inherited an economy "already in recession" and that 41 million seniors "now have access to lower cost prescriptions." Wrong on both counts.
Distortions Galore as Bush and Kerry Tie in Second DebateA CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll taken right after the town hall meeting-style debate found respondents giving a slight, statistically insignificant edge to Kerry over Bush: 47 percent of them went for Kerry and 45 percent for Bush.
Millsaps College Hosts Presidential HopefulGreen Party Presidential candidate David Cobb will speak at Millsaps College on Monday, Oct. 11 at 2:30 p.m. in Room 215 of the Ford Academic Complex on the College campus. Cobb, a native of Texas, served as the General Counsel …
Democrats, NAACP Challenge Fla. Voting PolicyAP is reporting: "The state Democratic Party filed a federal lawsuit accusing Florida's secretary of state of violating federal law when she told elections supervisors to reject incomplete voter-registration forms. The party asked a judge to order Glenda Hood to …
‘Weak' Jobs Report Precedes Bush-Kerry DebateReuters reports more bad news for the Bush administration: "U.S. businesses added 96,000 jobs to payrolls in September, the government reported on Friday, a weaker-than-expected total that was expected to sharpen a presidential debate later in the day over the …
Millsaps Arts & Lecture Series Presents Political ProgramOn the eve of what well could be another squeaker of a presidential election, the Millsaps College Arts & Lecture series is bringing two prominent Mississippi politicos to the stage to present their views on the upcoming election. Former governor …
Voter forum precedes quartet of Mississippi debatesA Political Forum on Saturday will offer the first of five opportunities for Mississippians to study issues and candidates before Election Day. Secretary of State Eric Clark will lead the introductory Political Forum, then U.S. Representative Benny Thompson and Mississippi …
Mississippi Voter Forum, Debates On WayElection Day. Secretary of State Eric Clark will lead the introductory Political Forum, then U.S. Representative Benny Thompson and Mississippi Supreme Court justices will be featured in four televised debates sponsored by the League of Women Voters of Mississippi and …
Kerry to Address Black America Thursday NightBET News is reporting: "Democratic presidential nominee Sen. John Kerry will take his case directly to Black America tonight, hoping to convince African Americans that he is more suited to be president than his predecessor. The 30-minute interview, to air …
Bush & Kerry's 'Southern Strategy': Ignore SouthAP reports:
Chip Pickering Votes to Protect Pledge, Tax CutsPickering on votes: 'protects the values and finances of Mississippians'
The War in IraqOctober 7, 2004 It appears that the single most important issue of this campaign is the war in Iraq. Even as other domestic and security issues are part of the debate, it seems that the American electorate will demand that …
2004 PoliticsBlog Live!Thanks to the hard work of reporter Ayana Taylor, our 2004 PoliticsBlog is live now. We are featuring information on candidates, as well as the issues discussions that are running in the paper between now and the election. We welcome …
YOU Can Help Protect 2004 Election IntegrityThe Mississippi Center for Justice announces the following training sessions for folks interesting in helping to protect this year's elections. Note that Jackson's program is THURSDAY, Oct. 7, so hurry!
Factcheck.org: Cheney & Edwards Mangle FactsA few factcheck.org report just in: "Getting it wrong about combat pay, Halliburton, and FactCheck.org Cheney wrongly implied that FactCheck had defended his tenure as CEO of Halliburton Co., and the vice president even got our name wrong. He overstated …
Bush Grounded for Skipping ExamMore than a week after a court-imposed deadline to turn over all records of President George W. Bush's military service, the Texas Air National Guard belatedly produced two documents Tuesday that include Bush's orders for his last day of active …
Republican Women Defecting to KerryLeigh Flayton writes in Salon about Republican women planning to vote for John Kerry this year due to George W. Bush's extremism: "Judith Allen, longtime Arizonan and lifelong Republican, says her choice is clear. She is voting for John Kerry …