[Stiggers] Eatin' Green with Rev. VeganMr. Announcement: "Welcome to 'Planting Seeds of Thought' with Rev. Vegan of the Vegetarian Church International. This program is brought to you by Scooter Libby's Freedom Juice: If it says 'Libby' on the label, you're pardoned and free to go! …
[Isbister] What About Women Musicians?As I left my office June 15, I had a heavy heart. Everyone was getting ready for Jubilee!JAM—the barricades were going up and parking had been a nightmare for two days.
Stop Supporting Abuse, Governor<i>Patrick Gregory, DHM, sent the following letter to Gov. Haley Barbour on July 2, 2007.</i>
The Other Ridgeway IncidentThis week, I will begin a journey across the hemispheres to Auckland, New Zealand. I am moving for reasons that begin with my parents' departure for Auckland nine months ago and end with a baby in California, but I'll spare …
The 50-State Strategy Should Include UsA poll recently conducted by the New York Times, CBS and MTV showed that Americans aged 17-29 lean toward the political left. The poll found that 54 percent of young Americans plan to vote for a Democrat for president in …
[Stiggers] Captain Cutback Strikes AgainMr. Announcement: "He's faster than a job outsourced overseas, more powerful than a mass firing, able to leap over a crowd of disgruntled, downsized middle-class workers in a single bound. Look, in the board room! It's a callous CEO! It's …
[Mott] Some People Talkin'Brian Johnson, Matt Saldaña and I passed the pages of "We Are Family"—last week's cover story about Shirley Beach's journey from racism—between us last week, proofing and correcting them. Brian read them first, then passed the pages to Matt as …
The Merry Month Of JuneUnlike many fellow Jacksonians, I actually look forward to the month of June, despite the impending heat and humidity. That's partly because it's Jubilee!JAM Month—and this year the Jackson Free Press was extremely pleased to partner with JAM to help …
Cold Cases Bill Must PassLast week, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Emmett Till Unsolved Civil Rights Crime Act. That legislation would authorize $10 million a year over the next decade to create a unit at the Department of Justice that would pursue …
[Stiggers] A 'Sicko' NationMr. Announcement: "On this episode of 'All God's Churn Got Shoes,' Nurse Tootie McBride and her certified nursing assistant, Nurse Tasha, are determined to beat down poverty in the ghetto. To complete this monumental task, they need a loan from …
[Kamikaze] Three Strikes, And You're OutI was browsing through a copy of the Mississippi Link the other day, and I was hit with a startling reality. It was a moment of clarity like no other. I scanned the page several times over just to make …
[Grayson] Stand Up To CrimeOnce again, crime has the Capitol City in disarray. Like so many others in Jackson, Councilwoman Margaret Barrett-Simon was robbed outside her home on June 9. The robbery occurred in broad daylight, a bold move by another dumb criminal, who …
A Journey of BonesDuring her largely improvised closing argument, federal prosecutor Paige Fitzgerald stumbled upon one of the most poetic moments in the James Ford Seale federal kidnapping trial.
Southwick Must GoLast week, the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee postponed a confirmation vote on Leslie Southwick when it became clear that the committee would reject his nomination. This is at least the third delay since President George W. Bush nominated Southwick last …
[Stiggers] It's a Long Way DownPhilmo Jones: "When I lost my good-paying corporate job, after the Twin Towers fell on Sept. 11, a series of unfortunate events changed my life.
A Libertarian AppealRecently, I was involved in a political conversation in which I made a comment about the Constitution, noting how rarely politicians cite it as a document limiting governmental power. My interlocutor dismissed the argument, saying, "Yes, but it isn't relevant …
[Hutchinson] Do Blacks Kill Whites Because They're White?A recent murder trial in Tennessee shows an aspect of violent crime in America that isn't much talked about: Whites are far more likely to be the victims and blacks their assailants in interracial crimes than the other way around.
Stand By Your ManThis issue is full of men-folk: men we love and those we like, guys we've known for a while and those who are coming through town for the first time, dudes we sometimes question and some others we love to …
Close Columbia Training SchoolThis Tuesday, the Juvenile Justice Committee of the Mississippi House of Representatives heard testimony from families and experts about abuse at Columbia Training School, where eight girls were allegedly shackled at the ankles, some of them for more than a …
[Stiggers] Look Out, David Hasselhoff!Boneqweesha Jones: "As day transitions into night, a young 'brotha' rides the mean streets of his neighborhood. With dutiful purpose, he pumps the pedals of a pink five-speed banana-seat bicycle.
[Kamikaze] Celebrate Jackson With JAMWebster's Dictionary defines an institution as a "significant practice, relationship or organization in a society or culture." An institution is baseball on a summer's eve. It's apple pie cooling on a windowsill. It's the Superbowl.
[Fainberg] Saving Our ChildrenAmerica's health-care delivery system is riddled with racial and economic disparities—certainly old news. But here in the South, these words resound with a troubling new accuracy as the youngest members of our communities are dying.
The Truth Can HurtA reckoning happened last week in the James O. Eastland Federal Courthouse in Jackson. A lot of truth came out before anyone ever took the stand to testify in the James Ford Seale trial for the kidnapping of Charles Moore …
Melton Mismanagement Hits the 'Bottom LineThis week, city officials finally handed in their budget revisions to the City Council, detailing cuts that will be made to city departments in order to reconcile a nearly $4 million deficit. Those cuts represent a sad state of affairsthe …
[Stiggers] Dig DeepErnest "Monday Night Football Head" Walker: "It looks like U.S. troops will be overseas a little while longer. Meanwhile, questions that reflect uncertainty loom in the thoughts of wondering poor and middle-class families. How will you pay the rent when …
[Davis] Secret Holds And Open GovernmentCongress is on the verge of having a single member derail the most meaningful reform in years of the federal Freedom of Information Act.
[Gregory] Do-oversI work with kids daily in my "grown up" job. Sometimes, these daily interactions cause the strongest desire for a glass of wine that I've ever had. Sometimes, these interactions amaze me in their ability to prove to me that …
A Letter to Caller Number One"Why don't y'all just leave him alone?" The passion in the caller's voice was alarming. "He's an old man. Just leave him be. Let sleeping dogs lie." When I heard these words back in February, I stepped away from the …
Seale the 'Last' Case? We Doubt It.To fill space this weekend in The Clarion-Ledger's package on the James Ford Seale case, reporter Jerry Mitchell returned to a well from which he has drunk in the past with a story headlined "Seale Case Could Be Last of …
[Viewpoint] HexakosioihexekontahexaphobiaIn the days since Rev. Jerry Falwell died, much has been written about his influence on politics, but relatively little has been written about his hexakosioihexekontahexaphobia—that is, his "fear of the number 666," a number the Book of Revelation calls …