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Organizers Plan for Post-Roe Mississippi With Self-Managed Abortion Education

The U.S. Supreme Court will not hear Mississippi’s challenge to Roe v. Wade for more than a month, but leading abortion-rights organizers say they are not holding out hope for a favorable ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization.

[Chick] Your Racism Is Not Wanted

I don't know about y'all, but the Monkey and I were needing some Jesus real bad this last week, so we got ourselves to church even though I was very uncertain about the message we might receive. Chalk it up to a rural Southern Baptist upbringing, but I for one was not up for the wrath of God sermon if you know what I mean. Our family was thirsty for some hope and for a place to direct some helpless energy.

President Ford: Iraqi War, WMD Story a ‘Mistake"

Bob Woodward did an interview with President Ford in 2004 that was embargoed by the former president until after his death. It is published today in the Washington Post, along with recordings:

Mayor Rattles Councilwoman's Cage

Ward 7 Councilwoman Margaret Barrett-Simon said Mayor Frank Melton rattled her cage this morning on the way to a special council meeting. Barrett-Simon told the Jackson Free Press that Melton's vehicle pulled up behind her car as she drove to a 10 a.m. special meeting on city payroll and claims. Barrett-Simon said Melton's car pulled "up to the bumper" before sounding off its police-issue horn, reportedly shaking Barrett-Simon's car while she drove.

Harvey Johnson Leads in New Mayoral Phone Survey

Verbatim from Brad Chism:

Friends, Below is a topline from the survey yesterday. Further below is a repeat of the explanations and qualifiers-these are important. From the blog traffic it appears that some don't read below the first paragraph. I had several calls and emails this morning looking for this ZataPulse wave, one from a healthy critic of this exercise. And yesterday, I ran into one of the candidates, who will remain nameless. He blew off some campaign steam with a few choice words about our survey work. And then he wanted to make sure we were surveying again last night and insisted that I add him to the email list!! Go figure.

Civil Rights Museum to Tougaloo?

Jackson hip-hop artist Kamikaze is organizing community feedback regarding a consulting group's recent recommendation to place the Mississippi Civil Rights Museum north of County Line Road in Ridgeland. Museum consulting firm LaPaglia & Associates recommended Tougaloo College as the site of the museum on Feb. 11, even though it received a No. 10 ranking on a site list (PDF, 177 KB) as recently as November when the top spot under consideration was the site of Smith Wills Stadium on Lakeland Drive.

Out With the Old: Obama Clinches

Finally, we can get that Clinton baggage off our backs and move on. The Associated Press says Obama has "effectively" clinched the nomination. Big sigh of relief. Out with the old.

[Acker] My Church's Courage

The consent on Aug. 6, 2003, to the election of Canon Gene Robinson as Bishop Co-Adjutor of New Hampshire filled me with joy and hope. I am an Episcopalian and a member of the Cathedral parish of St. Andrew in Jackson. Many in my community, and some in my parish family, received the news of the decision to confirm an openly gay man as a leader of a diocese with great distress. They saw this as a negative for the Episcopal Church and for the future shape of the Christian community in the United States. I find it overwhelmingly positive—a move on the part of the leadership of the Episcopal Church that will produce both numerical and spiritual growth and will foster the spread of the kingdom of God on earth.

BREAKING: Mayor Cancels Confirmation, Outrages Council

Several members of City Council were outraged today that Mayor Frank Melton abruptly cancelled the confirmation hearing of Charles Melvin, who is Melton's choice to head up the Parks and Recreation Department. Melvin's confirmation hearing was scheduled weeks in advance, but around 11:30 a.m., Melton announced he was cancelling the hearing because Councilman Frank Bluntson was sick.

Jackson's Next Mayor?

Photo montage by JFP Staff

The city is already thick with speculation over who is jockeying to be Jackson's next mayor, even though the current mayor has vowed he will not resign.

Grand Hotel: Does the King Edward Have a Glorious Future?

Jackson Mayor Frank Melton attempted to put some gas behind the renovation of the King Edward Hotel July 22 when, through the media, he gave his staff about a month to finalize plans to renovate the hotel. Or, he threatened, he would push to have it demolished. "When someone gets off the train at the refurbished Union Station, the first thing they see is the dilapidated King Edward Hotel. It's been an eyesore for years, and something needs to be done with it," Melton told The Clarion-Ledger.

2007 College Football Preview

Where there was once darkness, there is now light. Where there was gloom, there is joy. Where there was despair, there is hope. But that's enough about Karl Rove, we're here to talk about college football.

Second Presidential Debate - Open Thread

Talk among yourselves.

ABC Disgraces Itself During Debate

The world is talking today about how poorly ABC's George Stephanopolous and Charles Gibson handled themselves during last night's Democratic debate. Over on The Root, Marc Lamont Hill writes:

Mississippi CofCC: Pearl Shouldn't Become ‘Little Jackson'

From the Mississippi CofCC Web site: "Some of our committee members met with several Mississippi House of Representative members to discuss upcoming issues that the legislature will face in 2005. One key issue of concern was the Mississippi flag.

David Bowen Admonishes Black Mississippians

In a bizarre column today in The Clarion-Ledger, former Congressman David Bowen, a Democrat, first says that blacks and whites in Mississippi need a "new" dialogue, then proceeds to tell black Mississippians what they should not say in this dialogue. No similar advice for whites was in evidence, however. Here are some excerpts ...

Ann Coulter Really Bears Her Fangs

It's truly hard to be uglier than this women. It's amazing to think that The Clarion-Ledger runs this idiot every week. First her indifference to actual facts to support her hate. Her love of McCarthyism. Now this:

BREAKING: New Supreme Court Pleadings

Today, Judge Tomie Green filed a response (PDF, 128 KB) to attorney Dale Danks' Tuesday motion calling for emergency relief from the Mississippi Supreme Court. Danks, who is the lead attorney on Mayor Frank Melton's defense team, accused Green of larceny for withdrawing a decision on March 5 and replacing it the morning of March 6. In her response, Green calls for Danks' motion to be stricken from the record.

Oxford Cop Killer Pleads Down to Manslaughter

The Clarion-Ledger is reporting:

Abortion 'Ban' DOA

After weeks of sending abortion-rights supporters into a furious tizzy, a bill to ban the procedure in Mississippi flittered away into impotence as it passed its March 27 deadline for legislation in the regular session Monday. The bill, which might have banned all abortions except in cases of rape or incest, or to protect the life of the mother, fell to death with a frustrated shake of the head and a few dark, smoldering looks toward Rep. Steve Holland, the Plantersville Democrat who angered Democrats and Republicans alike by introducing the bill.