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JFP Debuts New Chick Blog
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Announcing our brand-new Chick Blog, a fun and serious collection of writings and blogs by and about women. You won't just find stories about lip gloss here, but you'll find some of those, too. Enjoy, my chickadees, and the men who are obsessed with us. You're welcome in the Chick Chamber, too, as long as you're respectful of the grrls in charge.
Salon: Report About Jackson, Hattiesburg
Stephen Elliott reports for Salon:
We Got A New At-ti-tude
Cue the Patti LaBelle, baby. As we prepare our third Best of Jackson issue, it strikes me that Jacksonians are starting to take for granted the idea that "best" is a superlative term that applies to their city. We got a new attitude.
Is Palin a ‘Reformer'?
Word is that Sarah Palin's speech tonight will focus on being "a reformer." Thoughts?
(No sex-pregnancy-abortion scandal talk on this thread, please. I'm trying to break them up to make conversation talk easier.)
Hey Obama: Screw the Horse Race!
I returned to Jackson this week to discover that the Barack Obama campaign, assisted by local Democrats, tightly controlled his quick visit to Jackson last week. The media were allowed to follow him into Peaches restaurant (where Kate Medley and I took Joe Biden last year, for the record), and then were banned from his fund-raising event at the TelCom center, leading at least one JFP blogger to believe the media had ignored his visit. Unfortunately, the problem is that the media weren't really invited.
Feds Trying to Block Media from New Orleans?
NBC's Brian Williams write on the site blog:
An interesting dynamic is taking shape in this city, not altogether positive: after days of rampant lawlessness (making for what I think most would agree was an impossible job for the New Orleans Police Department during those first few crucial days of rising water, pitch-black nights and looting of stores) the city has now reached a near-saturation level of military and law enforcement. In the areas we visited, the red berets of the 82nd Airborne are visible on just about every block. National Guard soldiers are ubiquitous. At one fire scene, I counted law enforcement personnel (who I presume were on hand to guarantee the safety of the firefighters) from four separate jurisdictions, as far away as Connecticut and Illinois. And tempers are getting hot.
Lott to Chair Hearing on Amtrak's Future
[statement/verbatim] April 20, 2005–U.S. Senator Trent Lott of Mississippi, chairman of the U.S. Senate Surface Transportation and Merchant Marine Subcommittee, will conduct a hearing Thursday morning on the future of America's National Railroad Passenger Corporation–Amtrak.
CBS Poll: Obama Won Undecided Voters in Debate
Per Mark Ambinder at The Atlantic:
Obama-the-Communist: ‘I Shared My Toys in Kindergarten'
Boo! Alert the media! Obama is a communist because he shared his peanut butter sandwich and his toys in kindergarten! Watch Obama make fun of McCain and Palin's stupid red-baiting today:
Let's Talk Domestic Violence
Let's talk, Mississippi.
In honor of Heather Spencer, who was beaten to death by her boyfriend who almost beat her to death a couple months back with nothing done about it by the police, let's talk about the realities of domestic violence. We can at least honor the life of this woman, and others like her, by being brutally honest about how bad this problem is, especially in Mississippi, one of the most violent for women in the country. How do attitudes about women, and keeping your family together no matter what, play into this problem? How do economics in the poorest state keep women in violent situations? How do our laws, and lax enforcement, make the problem worse? How does the threat of even more violence when a woman tries to leave keep women in abuse situations? How does the ability of richer families to cover up their problems (or send them off to rehab instead of jail) tie in?
Madison Sheriff Candidate Bashes Jackson in Disturbing Ad
This dude, Mark Sandridge, shouldn't be elected dog catcher after this expensively offensive–and inaccurate–campaign ad. Shame!
"Fahrenheit 9/11": What Did You Think?
If you've seen "Fahrenheit 9/11," please share your thoughts about the film. What did you like? What surprised you? What fact did you question? What questions did it raise for you? Did it change your vote, or your plans to vote? Please give us honest—some of which we may run in the print edition—reactions about the film, without devolving into personal attacks or nastiness. Please keep it civil!
Kamikaze and Matt Allen on Radio JFP Friday
Rapper Kamikaze and attorney Matt Allen will join Todd Stauffer on Radio JFP this Friday, Dec. 21, to discuss a new group of "young progressive minds" they have formed. Tune in at noon to WLEZ FM 103.7 FM or listen to a live feed here. An audio file will be posted here later that day.
Fight or Fight
It's an odd world where Councilman Kenny Stokes is standing with FOX News celebrities who care more about profiling young blacks than protecting citizens' rights. But in the aftermath of the Frank Melton acquittals last week, we are living in a bizarro-land populated by strange bedfellows, led by a mayor and police chief who yelp about "drug houses" but arrest no drug dealers.
BREAKING: Mother of George Bell Indicted
More details as they emerge.
The Jackson Free Press has confirmed that Robbie Bell, the mother of a young man accused of bludgeoning his girlfriend, Heather Spencer, to death, has been indicted in the case as an accessory to the crime, which occurred in her home in North Jackson. It was reported that Robbie Bell was in the house when Spencer was killed the night before her body was found.
What a Tragic Way to Play a Game
Not long after we started the JFP, a man who had worked in the public domain in the state for many years warned me about something: "You'll have all sorts of weirdos lining up to tell lies about you." The truth is, there haven't been that many. I'm thrilled at how the entire community, including many people whom I disagree with on some major issues, have opened their arms to the JFP and our truth-telling mission. But there have been a small handful (usually who have been kicked off this site for racist or personal attacks) who will try anything to discredit the JFP. The other night a man at a party who is a fan of the JFP laughed and said, "I hear you have some sort of relationship with Robbie Bell."
To: Employees of The Clarion-Ledger
To: Employees of The Clarion-Ledger
As you may have read in our newspaper or web site earlier today, The Gannett Company has announced a reduction of approximately 1000 jobs or 3 percent of the company workforce over the next two weeks. To respond to your concerns, The Clarion-Ledger took this difficult step two weeks ago when we reduced our workforce by 20 people or 5 percent of the staff.
Is Jackson Unsafe, Mayor? Huh, Huh?
OK, I'm on the side of Mayor Melton on this one. This news story today just proves HOW FRIGGIN' AWFUL OUR MEDIA ARE. The reporters in this story (it took two to do this!?!) actually admit in the piece that they asked the mayor if Jacksonians should feel less "safe" after the murders this week:
‘Chief Shirlene Andersons (sic) wants citizens ...
... to have a happy and safe Fourth of July Holiday ...'
No, that's not a typo, at least not on our part. The chief's office sent that e-mail with that exact subject line today. Here's the rest of the e-mail, verbatim: