Leland Speed Touts ‘Creative Class'A Clarion-Ledger story today about a Leland Speed speech talks about the "Creative Class" concept that we started talking about way back in our preview issue: "Other successes are discussed in The Rise of the Creative Class, by Richard Florida, …
[Ladd] Ask the $34,000-A-Day QuestionsIn January, I wrote an editor's note about the governor that miffed some Democrats around the city. They told me I went too easy on Barbour. I wrote then that although his wink-wink, race-tinged, nationally financed campaign tactics had really …
Gatemouth Moore Funeral ServiceYou may have seen the press on Gatemouth Moore's passing on Thursday, a Yazoo City, MS resident. Rev. Moore's funeral will be on Tuesday, May 25, in Jackson, MS at the Pearl Street AME Church at 2519 Robinson Rd. at …
Bush Ratings Fall Steady, Predictable?In Salon this week, economist James K. Galbraith challenges the conventional notion that the relvelations of torture and prisoner abuse in Iraq have caused Bush's current record dip in the polls. He makes a case that the decline has been …
Traffic Ticket Amnesty DayThe City of Jackson Municipal Court Services will hold a Traffic Ticket Amnesty Day, Tues., May 25, allowing citizens who have failed to take care of parking/traffic tickets to come in and take care of those infractions without the theat …
Stop the BlamingReason magazine's Cathy Young provides perspective on the attempt to place 9-11 blame: "With the 9/11 commission holding its hearings, the blame game is in full swing. It's Bush's fault. No, Clinton's. No, it's everyone's fault. No, it's no one's …
Lawmaker upset over beheadingJeff Clark of the Daily Times reported Members of the Mississippi Congressional Delegation are outraged by the recent turn of events that have unfolded in Iraq, including the beheading of an American contractor and the allegations regarding Iraqi prisoner abuse.
Barbour refuses compromises on voter IDShelia Byrd of the AP reports "Gov. Haley Barbour says he won't accept a voter identification bill that exempts older people from proving who they are. Barbour has called lawmakers back to the Capitol for a special session that begins …
Barbour: Of Course, Bush Will Take MississippiThe Clarion-Ledger reports today: "Mississippi Republicans say President Bush can bank on a solid re-election showing here and in much of the South, but the latest poll shows him in a dead heat with Democratic rival Sen. John Kerry. ... …
Barbour calls special sessionWDAM reports "Fulfilling his promise, Gov. Haley Barbour is calling lawmakers into special session next Wednesday to address changes to Mississippi's civil justice laws. Barbour announced the special session Thursday during a news conference at his Capitol office. He said …
Watch for tight school budgets through ‘06Andy Kanengiser of the C-L reports"Mississippi public schools can expect to face hard times at least through 2006, key lawmakers said Thursday. School superintendents, left with weak budgets for the fiscal year beginning July 1, received the gloomy forecast at …
[Lott] Look at the NumbersThe economy is growing, and jobs are being created. But don't take my word for it. Just look at the latest numbers by the Department of Commerce. Virtually every economic indicator is up, and the U.S. Senate has moved decisively …
Barbour Calls Special Session for Tort Reform, Voter ID[Verbatim statement] Governor Haley Barbour is standing by his pledge to call lawmakers back to the Capitol since the House of Representatives failed to address lawsuit abuse during their Regular Session. Today he called a Special Session to address tort …
Bush Approval Ratings at All-Time LowCBS News is reporting: "President Bush's overall approval rating has fallen to the lowest level of his presidency, 44 percent, in the latest CBS News poll, reflecting the weight of instability in Iraq on public opinion, despite signs of improvement …
[Irby] Trouble in MindI set foot back in Jackson on Feb. 10, 2004, after a year and a half of moving around. I had traveled to what I considered the most liberal parts of the country, California and New York. I left in …
Black Monday: Mississippi's Ugly Response to 'Brown v. Board' DecisionIt was the late spring 1953, and Gov. Hugh White had called a crucial special session of the Mississippi Legislature. He needed to mobilize a group of moderate lawmakers. If he could get the numbers right, White would ask them …
[Ladd] Thin Line Between Love and HateI was talking to a young woman the other day who is in the family of a Jackson man who toiled and lobbied and prodded and threatened for many years to try to block school de-segregation and then to encourage …
‘Thurgood's Coming:' Tale of a Hero LawyerWhen Thurgood Marshall hung out his shingle in 1933 as an attorney in his hometown of Baltimore, he immediately became a very popular attorney among fellow African Americans. One problem, though: His clients couldn't afford to pay the young man …
JPS, Then and NowThe 1957 Murrah High School yearbook is filled with happy white faces, and names like Hederman, Copeland and Mize. One photo shows the yearbook staffers cutting up and having a good time; one young man's grinning face is painted black. …
GOP Blames Soldiers, Dems, Media for ScandalIn an editorial, The New York Times exposes the strategy to protect the White House from prisoner-abuse fall-out: "The administration and its Republican allies appear to have settled on a way to deflect attention from the torture of prisoners at …
‘We Owe It to Emmett Till'AP is reporting: "The Justice Department said Monday it is reopening the investigation into the 1955 murder of Emmett Till, a black teenager whose death while visiting Mississippi was an early catalyst for the civil rights movement. Till was abducted …
[Ladd] Doing Mama's Business<i>This column was originally published in 2003. We feature it this week in honor of a very special mama. The first issue of the JFP was published on Sept. 22, 2002, Miss Katie's birthday.</i>
Tuck readmittedJulie Goodman of C-L writes"Lt. Gov. Amy Tuck, who has walking pneumonia, has been admitted to the hospital again, this time to the intensive care unit. Tuck was in stable condition at St. Dominic-Jackson Memorial Hospital on Monday and is …
Special session likely due to stalled billsC-L reports today: "Lawmakers left the Capitol late Monday night with no agreement on the how to fund the state's public schools, how to cover Medicaid recipients or how to pay other expenditures. Failure to agree on the budget on …
House debates dipping in trust fundAndy Kanengiser of the C-L reports: "Using money from Mississippi's tobacco trust fund to avoid slashing school budgets was one of the proposals discussed Sunday at the Capitol. But the suggestion from Senate negotiators to help break a budget impasse …
Just Another Church<i>Methodist minister Ed King worked and lived Freedom Summer in Mississippi in 1964. The Vicksburg native ran for lieutenant governor on the Freedom Vote mock election ballot while Aaron Henry was the gubernatorial candidate. The two were pitted against actual …
Lawmakers face budget decisionsAndy Kanengiser of C-L reports: "State House and Senate negotiators will try to reach compromises on a slew of budgets for agencies, public schools, community colleges and universities as lawmakers enter the final two weeks of their four-month session at …
Mississippi's lieutenant governor released from hospitalAP reports: Lt. Gov. Amy Tuck was released from a hospital Wednesday night after doctors determined she had pneumonia but could recover at home. 'She's under strict orders to rest as much as possible,' said Tuck's chief of staff, Ben …
House considers tort reformThe AP reports: The House voted 110 to 8 to allow a new bill to be filed. The bill will address several issues, including limits on where product-liability lawsuits can be filed. It will not include proposals to limit pain …
[Lott] Young Mississippians Choosing to LeadMississippi has produced some of the world's most significant artists, writers, politicians, business leaders and humanitarians. Though materially poor, our state has always been rich in human resources, and too much of that potential has left our state upon maturity. …