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Melton to Clarion-Ledger: ‘Go to Hell'
We see that Mr. Melton is back in town with a flourish. The Clarion-Ledger is reporting today:
Lifting the Hoods in Baltimore
So, do y'all think this frat at the hoity-toity Johns Hopkins University on up in Baltimore is integrated?!? AP is reporting:
Why Jackson Doesn't Need 'Superman'
Also see Darren Schwindaman's cartoon.
Report: Saddam Not In Pursuit of Weapons
AP is reporting: "Undercutting the Bush's administration's rationale for invading Iraq, the final report of the chief U.S. arms inspector concludes that Saddam Hussein did not vigorously pursue a program to develop weapons of mass destruction when international inspectors left Baghdad in 1998, an administration official said Wednesday. In drafts, weapons hunter Charles Duelfer concluded that Saddam's Iraq had no stockpiles of the banned weapons but said he found signs of idle programs that Saddam could have revived once international attention waned. 'It appears that he did not vigorously pursue those programs after the inspectors left, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity in advance of the report's release. Duelfer, head of the Iraq Survey Group, was providing his findings Wednesday to the Senate Armed Services Committee. His team has compiled a 1,500-page report. Duelfer's predecessor, David Kay, who quit last December, also found no evidence of weapons stockpiles."
Radical Right Targets Girl Empowerment Effort
Oct. 14, 2005—AP is reporting that the Tupelo wingnuts are at it again:
Kaze's Hip-Hop Hater of the Week: Ebony Magazine
Here we go again folks. America just can't seem to do anything without going to the absolute extreme. As I expected the en-vogue pursuit to clean up objectionable lyrics is going to turn into an all out witch hunt. One where ALL of hiphop is going to suffer for the crusading of a few. Instead of eliminating the language that we all agree must progress. You've given hiphop haters worldwide a reason to try and eliminate the genre altogether. And poor Ludacris, probably one of the more docile of all the "language" culprits gets screwed again. Being removed from the 'Black Father's" edition of Ebony Magazine (June isseue). bumped for pretty boy boris Kudjoe. Now ladies won't be mad at all..but as a rapper Im steaming again. Is Ludacris not a good father? IS Ebony just going with the flow?
City Ends Precinct-by-Precinct Crime Stats
Not that it made the front page as any story about the previous administration and crime stats used to, but The Clarion-Ledger has a story today about how the new police chief is officially ending the weekly precinct-by-precinct crime stats, so she can supposedly take a more "holistic" look at crime in Jackson. Of course, this is direct defiance to the Maple-Linder recommendations that the Metro Crime Commission/SafeCity (with Melton as chairman) pushed so hard and for so long. And it brings to mind all those angry editorials the Ledge wrote about the last administration's handling of crime stats. So, why is the city closing ranks on crime statistics? More from the Ledge:
Hands Off Our Printing Presses
May 24, 2006 How to Help Save Local Media I met Marilyn, perfectly dressed and wearing her lipstick, on a late Friday afternoon. And Mike, who ponders with his head in his hands. There were the Blake brothers, looking worried and stressed with their parents on a well-earned vacation to Italy. And Jimmy and Gretchen sitting quietly, soaking up every word. Beverly was friendly but worried about her livelihood. There was Angie, a hard-nosed businesswoman with a great tan. I had never met these people until a group of Jackson's independent publishers all crowded into a borrowed conference room in Fondren Corner to talk about how the Gannett Corp., and its local affiliate, The Clarion-Ledger, was trying to hurt our businesses.
Fighting Back In Klan Nation
When Mary Geraldine Briggs heard a horn blaring outside her small house, under shady oak trees on Highway 84 in Roxie, Miss., she would go get the shotgun and head to the door to protect her family. The horn was the signal from her husband, Rev. Clyde Bennie Briggs, that a carload of Klansmen was on his tail again. His wife was instructed to do anything she needed to do to protect herself and their six kids, and the one on the way. She was armed and ready.
Take the Time to Do It Right
Last Sunday two Clarion-Ledger columnists expressed dismay at Mayor Frank Melton's string of public proclamations that turned out to be more hype than good, legal policy—telling city board members to resign, saying he would close the Maple Street apartments without regard to the rights of owners or the tenants, declaring he would demolish the King Edward in 30 days.
Of Anger and Alternative Endings
When I was a teenager, I decided I wanted to be a civil-rights attorney. I had visions of righting the kinds of wrongs done in my hometown of Philadelphia, Miss. I only learned about the murders of Chaney, Goodman and Schwerner by people my family knew when I was 14, even though they happened when I was 3.
The Folks Are Coming
A JFP reader commented on our Web site Tuesday that it is a very different world in which citizens can watch live feeds of a trial on WAPT's Web site and then click to jacksonfreepress.com and comment on it, ask questions and have them immediately addressed by the lawyers obsessed with the site. It is, indeed.
The 2009 JFP Interview with Frank Melton, Part V: To the DEA?
In this long excerpt of JFP editor Donna Ladd's interview with Frank Melton in February, he talks about why he's running for re-election, dying with dignity, the City Council, his two chiefs–and being hired by the Obama administration, or the U.S. Marshals, if he loses the race. (Note: much of this transcript does not appear in the print edition.)
Clarion-Ledger: Wilcher Must Die
In an editorial today, The Clarion-Ledger explains its support of the death penalty and why it is good that the state is going to kill Bobby Glen Wilcher today:
Melton Ramps Up Morals Crusade
Mayor Frank Melton is showing his feminist side in his attempts to close down all sexually oriented entertainment in Jackson and "redefine" life in Jackson as we know it. The Clarion-Ledger reports:
We Need A Mayor, Not A Daddy
It is going to be painfully ironic—and useless—if the recent murder spate is the factor that finally gets the Jackson media to start questioning Mayor Frank Melton. Unless proven otherwise, the nine murders in 10 days are not Frank Melton's fault. To my knowledge, he did not put the guns in the killer's hands; he did not tell them to rob and kill; he did not provide illegal drugs that people are willing to kill for; he did not tell a troubled man to pick up a weapon and go kill his girlfriend and another man.
My Kind of Tea Party
Recently, I was asked to appear on a local cable talk show to talk about issues of the day. I didn't think much about it; it sounded easy and innocent enough. And I was busy and didn't bother to ask who I was appearing on the show alongside.
D.A. Peterson Concedes, Goes Home
With 98 percent of precincts reporting and Robert Smith leading by 1,183 votes, District Attorney Faye Peterson just conceded defeat in the Red Room at Hal & Mal's, saying that she hopes that the next D.A. will be as tough on crime as she was, because "Hinds County has a crime problem."