The Last Shall be FirstThree mothers, two black and one white, came to the State Capitol Monday, July 19, to tearfully beg the state to stop abusing children. One question: Will the state listen? Another question: Do Mississippians care?
[Aziz] Bought Out: African Americans Sell Future for ShoesDuring my last year in school at Jackson State University I learned that African Americans spend three times more than any other ethnic group. When I heard this, I couldn't believe it. After all, I knew we as African Americans …
[Spann] Daddy's Girl Grows UpPops called at 12:30 last Sunday night. Startled from a deep sleep, I felt my heart race when I glimpsed his number on the caller ID screen. But then a sense of relief flooded my body as I answered the …
[Stiggers] The Honeymoon Phase: Calm Before the StormWe interrupt "Rikki Lakeside and Jerry Springtymer Present Outrageous Talk Show Guests and Their Problems" to bring you a special message from Bro. Kunta "Rasheed X" Toby, producer of a new documentary film on PBS (Peoples Broadcast System):
[Ladd] A Fool by Any Other PartyMan, I can't stand Bill Clinton. It drives me crazy to see him all over the place, hawking his new book and his excuses for his bad behavior in the Oval Office. His reasons for lying to the American people. …
[Lott] Big Media Lose, Consumers WinThe federal 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals has upheld a challenge by consumer groups to rules proposed by the Federal Communications Commission, which would have allowed more cross ownership of local print, television and broadcast media. Having a single media …
[Stiggers] Cussin'-N-Fussin-N-The HouseHey beautiful peoples! Bone Qweesha Jones, your on-the-scene reporter, here with the socio-political/celebrity scoop! And it's all 'bout music! Coming to you live, rough, rugged and raw! D.G.I. (Darned Good Intelligence) Entertainment presents the long-awaited CD titled "Cussin'-N-Fussin-N-The House," courtesy …
[Silver] Notes from a Former AddictHi. My name is Lawrence, and I'm a recovering Republican. Addicted to the pachyderm's promise of smaller government, for years I voted a straight ticket. But, one day I realized that if Democrats wanted in my pocketbook, Republicans wanted in …
[Stauffer] On Mr. Moore and Making Us TalkI saw "Fahrenheit 9/11" twice in the past few weeks—on opening night in San Antonio, and a second time at the UA Parkway Place in Flowood, during a screening that the Jackson Free Press sponsored with Crossroads Film Festival and …
[Ask JoAnne] A Girl and Her HatA. I need one, too! And I'm sad to learn that the amazing Christabelle, who designed and made fabulous hats in Jackson*, has passed away. (But don't you know the angels are looking lovely in their Christabelle hats?) I've recently …
[Barbour] Leaving No PLAD BehindMississippi Medicaid was bleeding badly—doubling in cost over five years—and changes had to be made. Our dilemma was this: How to keep the Medicaid program sustainable while making sure everyone had adequate health care coverage? A part of the solution …
[Lott] Our Independence DayAs we celebrate our freedom this July 4th, we should remember our troops abroad and what it takes to remain free. We should also pray that former terrorist states Afghanistan and Iraq can achieve a lasting freedom in the coming …
[Ladd] Freedom is Just Another WordWhen I was living in New York, we heard that the Klan was coming to march in Manhattan. This, predictably, caused an outrage in the city with folks screaming about why the stupid yuck-yucks shouldn't be allowed to march there. …
[Stiggers] Your Car is a Hoopty When..Your international hustler is here to help the peoples who drive their raggedy cars to a low-paying, no- Medicaid-benefits job with the greatest invention since the Pocket Fisherman.
[Cohen] Beware the Writhing of a Starving BeastWhen Haley Barbour was running for governor, the national GOP pulled out its heaviest hitters to canvass the state for his campaign. George W. Bush, Dick Cheney and Rudy Giuliani all came down on Barbour's behalf, as did both Bob …
'Mississippi Burning' and Other Tall TalesIn one of those bizarre twists of fate that keep happening to me since I returned to Mississippi, I ended up recently spending a Saturday afternoon in Neshoba County with a camera crew from Glamour magazine. As if that weren't …
[Hutchinson] What is ‘the Truth,' Mr. Cosby?Comedian Bill Cosby's partial recant that his knock of allegedly bad behaving blacks was a call for action and not a broad brush stroke indictment of all poor blacks, came too little, too late. Rightwing shock jocks, conservative black apologists …
I Felt the Earth MoveIt was like old home day in Neshoba County Sunday … with a few twists. The usual suspects—the people I've gotten to know in the struggle for justice and racial reconciliation in the state—were there to honor Chaney, Goodman and …
[Stiggers] Join the Electric Slide for Medicaid Protest…indicate precisely what you mean to say/yours sincerely wasting away/Give me your answer/fill in a form/mine forever more/Will you still need me/Will you still feed me/When I'm sixty-four." — The Beatles
[Ask JoAnne] The Dreaded Sentence PrayerA. </b>You're right, nobody really sent in that question. But it's not totally made up. It's a question I get all too often—the dreaded question. It's the dreaded question because my answer has been the same for far too long: …
[Lott] Less Partisan, More PlainspokenTo win the War on Terror we must recognize it for what it should be—a deadly serious fight to save American lives. When we treat it as a political exercise or a word-parsing game, we do so at our nation's …
Bigotry of Low ExpectationsI was about to start my second year at Mississippi State when Ronald Reagan came to the Neshoba County Fair in 1980. My gut instincts told me one thing. "The Republicans are playing Mississippians for fools," I told my oldest …
The Next GenerationThose are six words I never expected to say. I grew up, like many restless kids, thinking my town was the most backward place on earth. That's normal. But when I was 14 and found out what occurred in Philadelphia, …
[Lott] Upon the Death of Ronald Reagan"On this sad day, I am thankful that, at a time when our country was down, and the cause of freedom was in danger, and so many had lost faith in the future, Providence gave to us and to mankind …
[Young] Not About ConservatismA few days after the 50th anniversary of Brown v. Board of Education, an extraordinary panel met in New York City to discuss the urgent problem still posed by the racial gap in educational achievement.
[Stiggers] Watch That Indecent ExposureThe following is an excerpt from the new E! program, "Mo'tel William's Celebrity Interview," with special guest, the Godfather of Soul, James Brown.
The Governor Sacrifices His RookOne burning question from our past two weeks of reporting at the Capitol on the governor's special session is a simple, if surprising, one. Does Haley Barbour really want tort reform?
[Ask Joanne] Eureka, She Found It!<b>Q. I've noticed for years the signs at Fortification and Monroe Streets pointing south indicating some sort of "Community Children's Theater." And I've hunted for it, but I can't seem to locate where it once was. You know anything about …
[Mizell] It's as Simple as ThatI took a creative writing class in college recently that was small and intimate and we actually discussed interesting things. Usually we'd go over poems and plays; but recently we began to discuss Mississippi, and what we like about it, …