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Sleeping With the Giant
So, we're 2. Our determined little rag has defied the odds—at least the mythical barriers that some folks thought were absolute reality. I remember the skepticism from a handful of folks around town well: "Mississippians don't read!" "How are you going to reach out to the black community?" "You need to decide what you're going to be: a paper for North Jackson or for West Jackson. They already have their own paper, anyway." "Young people don't care about Jackson; they're just biding time until they can bolt." "What artistic community?" "This city will never support a progressive newspaper."
[Ladd] Life in the Fast Lane
Not to be a drama queen here, but hanging out at the Mississippi Legislature can really shatter one's faith in humanity. After doing years of research on harmful youth policies (zero tolerance, adult sentencing, "superpredator" rhetoric, media demonization of youth), I'm already convinced that most people don't give a damn about young people they didn't raise. And too many don't really care enough about the ones they did.
EDITOR'S NOTE: The Lies Scientific Racists Told About Jackson’s Children
I did not know a federal judge in the 1960s had codified lies about how black children in Jackson were genetically inferior.
"I Hear That Train A'Comin'" Scott Miller
Singer/songwriter Scott Miller, formerly of the V-Roys and now a Sugar Hill recording artist, is a true triple threat. He is a great songwriter and singer and fantastic guitar player. Miller's music, however, does not defy description—pure and simple, it rocks. While the Sugar Hill label has long been associated with bluegrass artists, Miller's jangly, twangy, lean, rocking sound somehow fits into the label's historic mission. If there is truly such a thing as alt-country, "Upside/Downside" is it.
7 Innings to Extraordinary Kids
Rafe Esquith, who has taught at Hobart Boulevard Elementary School in Los Angeles since 1984, inspires young students—all from a poor, immigrant community—to become extraordinary students and citizens.
Anita Hill: Keep the Faith and Keep Moving
Anita Hill has dedicated her work to raising awareness of sexual harassment, domestic abuse, equity and workplace discrimination.
St. Paddy's Weekend in Jacktown Starts Right Here and Now
It's here! It's the week we all party like the Irish. The JFP has gathered all the details in one place for you; pick up the huge print edition this week for schedules and a discount map (p. 18). Click here for a list of St. Paddy's events (and add your own). Check out for the city's most complete events calendar (and add your own). Post your pictures and your plans at LoungeList.com (and, I hear, win prizes). Head over to the Fly Blog for all sorts of fun Irish tips, trivia and DIY ideas. And, of course, to the parade Saturday! Catch lots of beads! Stimulate your locally owned Jackson businesses! Be safe! Have fun! Post pictures!
‘Reformer' Palin Billed State for 312 Nights Spent at Home
The Washington Post is reporting that Gov. Sarah Palin and her family haven't been conservative with their expense reports in the year+ she as served as governor of Alaska:
Olga's Moving to Jackson
It's Flowood's loss and Jackson's gain when Olga's Fine Dining re-opens in the city of Jackson—in the old Posh location next to Habana Smoke Shop—on May 1. It'll be BYOB. Here's to Olga and her fine Russian cuisine.
Times-Picayune: Congress ‘Dishonest and Mean-spirited'
Here's part of the Times-Picayune piece:
The Times-Picayune is running a powerful editorial, trying to correct public misconceptions and rumors about the realities on the ground in New Orleans. This desperate plea for truth is similar to an editorial run last week by the Sun-Herald, which Ali Greggs is discussing on her blog. No doubt about it: The South—the Coast and New Orleans—are getting screwed by national media and political innuendo.
Braggin' in Brass, by JC Patterson
Hear, and dance to, the Dirty Dozen Brass Band, Friday night (Dec. 20) at George Street Grocery.
DOSSIER: Shame on WLBT for Dishonoring Past with Empty Crime Rhetoric
WLBT, the NBC affiliate of the Atlanta-based Gray Television, climbed fully on board with U.S. Attorney Hurst's false rhetoric that Jackson leaders and other locals are somehow "denying" gun violence in the capital city.
A ‘Gang,’ By Any Other Name
The word "gang" means different things to different people—and the realities of organized gangs in U.S. cities have shifted over the years. One result is that many of them are not the hierarchical organized-crime syndicates of past years.
The Path of Least Drama
Everyone who reads me regularly knows that I despise the question "Why does she stay?" when asked about domestic-abuse victims.
Dinner and a Movie
Last Saturday night, Todd and I sat at a small table next to the open kitchen at Parlor Market and were dazzled by the chefs' performance.
The Earliest Speech I Ever Gave
So after a jam-packed week in Seattle and then in Portland), I got up Sunday morning to drive the hour or so to a town I'd never visited to speak to a church about race relations in Mississippi (and in Oregon, and everywhere in between). My talk to the First Christian Church, as described today in the Albany (Ore.) Democrat-Herald, came about because of an interview I did on NPR back in January after the Seale indictments.
Haley's Choice: Native Son Barbour Comes Home to Run for Governor
The big sign draped between two trees next to the Neshoba County Fair pavilion in August 1982 caused a lot of drama: "Happy Birthday, Senator Stennis."
Campaign Parties Around Town
If you want to go out and watch the campaign staffs get drunk, the winners gloat, the losers try to take the high road (or not), or to congratulate or yell at one of the candidates for ugly campaigning, here's where they'll be:
Former Yazoo Resident Talks Back to Barbour about Real Race History
With long-time white journalists like Wyatt Emmerich (Northside Sun) and Sid Salter (Clarion-Ledger) carrying water for Gov. Haley Barbour by excusing away his reprehensible and revisionist remarks about racism in Yazoo City, it is refreshing to see another white male journalist take a different approach. Read Robbie Ward's amazing column in the Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal: