JFP Election Guide 2004The race for U.S. president is coming down the wire with two major candidates vying for the job—and third-party candidates that are getting very little attention, including Ralph Nader, whom even many supporters urged to sit out the race this …
Small BusinessOctober 28, 2004 Given our country's sluggish economy, both presidential candidates say they will help spur small business growth over the next four years. Their strategies are very different, however. President Bush, in a speech to aviation workers in Wisconsin, …
Tort ReformOctober 28, 2004 "Tort reform"—which, in the past few years, has primarily meant capping non-economic damages in medical- and product-liability lawsuits—has been a major political football in Mississippi over the past few years, including a huge driver in election-year fundraising …
Gay MarriageOctober 28, 2004 With countries such as Spain and many others making gay marriage legal, is it time that America takes the same step? That question has made gay marriage and civil unions the hot-button wedge issue of the 2004 …
The Economy and TaxationOctober 28, 2004 "It's the Economy, Stupid," is the famous line posted on the Clinton campaign's war room wall during the 1992 campaign. The conventional wisdom is that in most election years, people vote with their pocketbooks—if the economy has …
NCAA Places Mississippi State on ProbationToday the NCAA placed Mississippi State University on a four-year probation for four years because of football recruiting violations that occurred between 1998 and 2004. The NCAA stripped the university of eight scholarships over the next two seasons and banned …
State Behaving BadlyMore than 30 years after Mississippi's incarceration system was declared unconstitutional in the landmark case Gates v Collier, the Mississippi Department of Corrections is again being accused of subjecting its prison inmates to unauthorized mistreatment, prompting the ACLU to announce …
[Wiggs] For the Rest of Your Life?The winner of the presidential election of 2004 is almost certain to define the composition and direction of the U.S. Supreme Court for at least the next 20 years. And lest you believe that won't make much difference, reconsider the …
Zen and the Art of OptimismI don't know about you, but this election season is damned stressful. Even as George Bush rolls out television ads with wolves lurking to terrify Americans into voting for him, it's the idea of a second Bush term that scares …
Malcolm WhiteOne might think you'd get to know someone after living for 40 nights in a five-by-seven-foot tent, a 15-foot canoe by day, bathing in the river, fending off crawling critters, heat, cold, solid sheets of rain for just under 500 …
Herman's PicksThe future of downtown Jackson looks promising with all the talk of out-of-town consultants, the convention center, Farish Street and the King Edward. Friday night is the next great night to be downtown. All ye party people eighteen and up …
Legendary radio DJ John Peel diesVeteran BBC broadcaster John Peel has died at the age of 65, while on holiday in Peru. Peel, whose radio career spanned 40 years, was on a working holiday in the city of Cuzco with his wife Sheila when he …
aughty and NiceNew Stage has outdone itself with "Don't Dress for Dinner." If the play were a stand-up comic, I'd say she starts off just a bit slow, but quickly grabs tightly onto your funny bone and gives it a delightful workout.