Doin' the Cha-Cha for Equality and Rent MoneyElectric Slide Foundation of America presents the 2004 Post Olympic Cha-Cha Slide/Steppin' Dance Competition and Voter Registration Drive for World Peace and Rent Money.
A Republic Without CitizensThomas H. Keane and Lee Hamilton conclude the preface to the 9/11 Commission Report with these words: "All of us have had to pause, reflect, and sometimes change our minds as we studied these problems and considered the views of …
[Lott] An Equal EducationRecently I was pleased to welcome Monticello native and U.S. Secretary of Education Rod Paige back home to Mississippi. He spoke to 6th and 8th graders in Pascagoula, observing them and taking some thoughtful questions from the students. It was …
When A Plan Comes Together"I love it when a plan comes together" was the signature line of George Peppard in his role as Hannibal Smith on the 1980s TV show "The A Team." It's unfortunate that I can't get it out of my head, …
[Aust] The Wrong Side of the RightWith the shadow of the Republican National Convention fading, there are many stories that were overlooked by press outlets or purposefully ignored. One scandalous story that barely hit the waves is the "outing" of U.S. Rep. Ed Schrock, R-Va.
[Hightower] Fleecing America's SoldiersIt's been said that you don't know what hell is until you've had an insurance salesman in your living room, prattling on eternally about term life annuities.
[Lynette's Note] Because They'll Thank You LaterWhat do you do when your sweet and sexy husband dies at the age of 36, leaving you to raise two cutie-pie sons, ages 7 and 4, all by yourself? Why, you come home to Mama, Daddy and your brother, …
[Williams] Republican OpheliasThank you, Swift Boat Veterans, for chucking the blocks out of memory. It all comes back to me now: Vietnam, anti-war protests, Civil Rights struggles. But not at all in the way John O'Neill is re-telling it.
[Eastburn] Love Your SoldierIt is Monday night, and I am driving my oldest son, 19, to a hotel where he will wait to be picked up by a bus. We've stopped at K-Mart for toothpaste and shampoo and a prepaid telephone card and …
[Stiggers] Ain't No Use in Going HomeSgt. Lil' Pookie Peterz III, of the Mr. Cholly battalion, spent 15 grueling months in Iraq fighting the terrorists to preserve and maintain the free world. After completing a de-briefing session, he is sent home from his tour of duty. …
[Newitz] Fear is GoodI decided to watch M. Night Shyamalan's latest highbrow horror-nerd movie, "The Village," for reasons I can't properly explain. I think it had something to do with the vague sense of doom I always experience when the Federal Communications Commission …
[Lott] A Serious IssueWe say we're upset by gasoline prices. We complain because it costs $30 dollars to fill up our car or perhaps $40 or even $50 to fill up our truck. But do we really care about the country's dependance on …
This Here Alternative UniverseI'm sitting here, OK lying here, in a humongous, brick-colored sofa far away from Jackson in the Pacific Northwest, counting my blessings about life in Mississippi. I didn't start out to wax about my good fortune, however. Truth is, we …
[Hutchinson] Bush Had a Point About the DemocratsIn a July speech to the National Urban League Convention, President Bush asked: "Does the Democratic Party take African-American voters for granted?" The answer: a resounding yes.
[Stiggers] A Transplant for a Brand-New StartIt's another episode of "All God's Churn Got Shoes!" This week Grandma Pookie, Dr. Peanut and the Ghetto Science Team attend a briefing at a stem cell research conference. When conference officials deny the group access to the briefing, filmmaker …
[Colleges] This is Your Life, BabyIt's 8 in the a.m. on your first official day of college, and you and several hundred of what you hope will become your closest friends are gathered in the gymnasium watching your freshman orientation leaders (OL) sing and dance.
[Casey's Note] The Bubble Isn't EnoughMy parents wouldn't let me have a car my freshman year of college. It only bothered me the first week. After that, I quickly found that college campuses are pretty autonomous. Even now, I hear the phrase "Millsaps bubble" tossed …
[Jacobson] Free Higher Education for AllFor the past two decades, the cost of college has skyrocketed to heights most lower- and many middle-income families cannot afford. In Mississippi, and all over the country, financial aid (both state and federal) and scholarships are not meeting the …
[Gonsalves] The No-Stupid-Question-Rule<i>So how come conservative Christians aren't insisting that Jefferson is burning in Hades, quoting verses from Paul's letters about what hellish future awaits those who mess with the Word?</i>
[Silver] Kick ‘Em When They're DownIn Carl Hiaasen's brilliantly funny and entertaining novel, "Strip Tease," the villains belong to the South Florida sugar lobby—a group that bribes congressmen to vote for sugar subsidies. Although fiction, Hiaasen clearly makes the Libertarian case for free trade as …
Mrs. Hodges and Mrs. SalterBack in the '70s when I was at Neshoba Central, a gawky girl from a trailer park bursting with ideas that I didn't know where to put, two women saved my life. Mrs. Oneida Hodges and Mrs. Alline Salter gave …
[Stiggers] Meet Ghetto-Economist Pookie PetersWelcome to "Ghetto-nomics 101": The common people's show! I'm yo' ghetto-economist Pookie "Hustler International" Peters. My guest is grandma Peterz, affectionately known as Grandma Pookie. She will share on surviving in a struggling economy.
[Lott] Eliminating Bad, Brown WaterRecently I was pleased to join our Congressional delegation in announcing almost $6 million in federal assistance for water system upgrades throughout Mississippi. Every year I vigorously support water and waste water projects because they sustain and improve public health, …
Let's Do the Time Warp, Aga-innThis is a hard column to write. Sometimes something is so painful, so heart-wrenching that you don't want to expose it. You just want to ignore it, and hope no one notices. As much as I'm a fan of open …
[Stiggers] All God's Churn Got ShoesPresenting the new ABC (African Broadcast Corp.) network soap opera "All God's Churn Got Shoes." Our story takes place at the No Child Left Behind Remedial Alternative School for the Financially Challenged where Miss Teacher conducts her weekly oral examination …
The NAACP: An Equal Opportunity CriticRecently, critics have argued that the tax-exempt status of the NAACP should be withdrawn because of attacks that the leadership made upon President Bush and the Republican Party. But those same critics fail to mention that Julian Bond, chairman of …
[Ask JoAnne] The Voting ConundrumA. What can be done to get young people to do <i>anything?</i> As a former high school teacher and a mother of two grown sons*, I know a little about this subject—a very little, as a matter of fact. It's …
[Parks] Keep the Gum and ButtonsWe hear it often. We 18- to 24-year-olds hold the future in our hands. We have the power to swing elections and change America. And come November, when we do this, we'll be armed with hip slogans, slick gimmicks and …
[Stiggers] So Why Are You Invisible, Man?Greetings! My guest is one of the many street corner philosophers/intellectuals, handymen and jack-of-all-trades who cannot find a job as a black male. Ladies and gentlemen, welcome D. Invisible Mann.
[Aziz] Party With a PurposeThe most tragic outcome of the 2000 election debacle is that it added to a list of excuses that Generation Y already has on why they shouldn't bother to vote. When you look at the hang-ups of young voters, the …