[Sue Doh Nem] Waiting for (Pocket) ChangeBig Roscoe: "As the rich get richer and the broke remain broke, a tiny ray of hope for the nation's financially challenged consumer appears in the form of $600 to $1,200 economic stimulus packages. Upon receipt of this monetary package, …
[Hutchinson] Obama and Male VotersThis is an election with some strange things happening. One of the strangest is the penchant for so many white males to join with African American voters in a few primaries to back Democratic presidential contender Barack Obama. It's strange …
Show Up and Be CountedThis weekend, the Jackson Free Press is proud to be sponsoring the Gulf States Music Conference, a day of panel discussions and performances arranged by JFP columnist and Best of Jackson award recipient Kamikaze. I call your attention to it …
Riding the Needle"I think I will go out and beat an old lady to death tonight. I don't have anything to worry about if I get caught. I won't even have to worry about being stuck with a needle because it might …
Enact Campaign Finance Reform NowThe recent scandals surrounding political donors like Dickie Scruggs and Joey Langston, former elected officials like Ed Peters and judges like Bobby DeLaughter has brought a chronic problem in Mississippi front and center: Lax campaign-finance laws have left the state …
[Sue Doh Nem] 'Barack Obama' HopeRev. Cletus: "Welcome back to the weekly radio broadcast of the Rev. Cletus Car Sales Church Show. I have a reminder for our financially and health-insurance-challenged, 80-plus senior citizens who are unable to vote because, in the old days, issues …
[Kamikaze] Grammy RehabAmy Winehouse is a train wreck. She is rumored to use a variety of illegal substances. However, I've found that the music industry's tolerance level of addicts is directly proportionate to how hot their last single or album is. In …
[Schaefer] Get 'Em (Voting) While They're YoungAs the buzz of eighth-graders swarming down the hall reached my classroom, I felt my stomach sink. I was definitely going to bore them. To start our lesson on persuasive writing, I was planning a discussion of presidential campaign ads. …
Let's (Health) Care For OurselvesAs the presidential race has become more competitive, media are starting to focus attention on specific issues that directly affect the American public. One of the more popular topics in presidential debates in the recent weeks has been health care. …
Kill Telco Immunity ClauseIt's odd, really, to hear Republicans on Capitol Hill extol the virtues of "original intent" doctrines for interpreting the U.S. Constitution. Especially when they're so busy subverting the original intent of our Founding Fathers this week in legislation.
[Sue Doh Nem] Love Connection in the RecessionBrett Starrchild: "I'm Brett Starrchild, the other token Caucasian TV host of the Ghetto Science Team Cable Network. Welcome to the final round of the new dating show, 'No Romance Without Finance During the Recession!' Bachelorette Shay-Shay Dupree must ask …
[Hightower] Listen Up, EggheadsEconomists have this to say to those of you who see your family's economic fortunes on the decline: "Don't be so glum, chum!"
[Braden] Conversations With (28-plus) WomenConversations with my two best girlfriends occur while we wait in the drive-thru line for a Diet Coke, during our new baby girl's nap time (we have an 8-month-old in our mix now) or when we are rushing through our …
Stop Removing Kids from SchoolOn Jan. 21, young Mississippi students traveled across the state, converging in front of the state capitol. They arrived carrying their hopes, dreams, passions. They also carried the dreams of young people who could not be there, who could not …
[Sue Doh Nem] Getting It TogetherCootie McBride: "On behalf of the McBride Family Center for Helping Everyone Get Their Act Together in the New Millennium, I want to thank everyone for attending the state of emergency conference titled 'Self Destructive Tendencies Within a Recessive World.'
[Kamikaze] Et Tu, Bill?You were my favorite. Maybe you still are. I hailed you as the greatest president of all time. I didn't go so far as a lot of folks did in declaring you the county's first "black" president, but you were …
[Mott] The Past is NowThe annual Jackson Free Press "Best of Jackson" party is always a blast. This year, as I looked around at the hundreds of faces in the crowd, the huge diversity touched me deeply. People were tall, short, white, black, Asian, …
The Best is (Also) Yet to ComeYou hold in your hands the culmination of weeks worth of voting, counting, research, photography and writing—the Best of Jackson 2008 issue. It happens to be the biggest issue of the Jackson Free Press ever—and hopefully something you'll be proud …
Dare to Be the BestThis week, under a tribute post to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on jacksonfreepress.com, reader "justjess" shared a story about keeping his dream alive. She told the story of her friend in Chicago speaking to a group of young men …
[Sue Doh Nem] Dollar Store RefugeMiss Doodle Mae: "Greetings, financially challenged shoppers! Welcome to a new year of savings at Jojo's Discount Dollar Store. Jojo still believes I am as articulate as Barack Obama, so he asked me to address loyal and potential customers in …
[Hill] Tragedies Yet to ComeLatasha Norman was a promising, attractive young Jackson State University student who was stalked and killed late last year. The man arrested for her murder, Stanley Cole, was a fellow JSU student whom Norman had dated and broken up with. …
The Fierce Urgency of NowA well-meaning friend from out of state asked me a puzzling question recently: "When will it be enough?" When will Mississippi have talked so much about race history that we don't have to anymore?
Justice CorruptedWhile the state is mesmerized by the Scruggs saga, another type of judicial corruption is begging for attention. Arrested in 1992 for rape, a Sunflower County jury found Arthur Johnson guilty after a two-day trial in '93, where the victim's …
[Sue Doh Nem] Life Lends You a Poor HandBoneqweesha Jones: "It's 2008. Do you know where your money is? Things and people change—sometimes. And so does the name of my television show. The Ghetto Science media production staff suggested that I change the name of my show, 'Boneqweesha …
[Kamikaze] Not So Sweet SixteenAs a hip-hop artist, I often find myself defending rap music. To many, it's the grinch that stole society's soul, the scourge reducing our youth to mindless purveyors of evil. But champion it, I must. It is my chosen profession …
[Gregory] Truth or DareI have something to get off my chest. I'm frightened to admit it in such a public forum; I'm still only able to whisper it to myself. In fact, when I finally worked up enough courage to tell The Boyfriend …
One Nation Under OprahWhile playing a jolly game of inquiries recently, I was prompted to answer the question, "What is the biggest threat to humankind?" Hastily, and foolishly, I responded, "ignorance." But after further rumination over the question, I have arrived at what …
Melton: Time to RetireMayor Frank Melton's fainting session at Monday's county inaugural event was the latest warning he needs to heed: It is time for him to retire as mayor of Jackson. It would also be a good idea for him to return …