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Speak Free Or Die

On her last day here, Kawkab al-Thaibani left me a gift of a blue, brown and beige striped ceramic cat, from a little boutique in Clinton. I'm a cat magnet, but I'm not one for hokey cat gifts. This cat statue is perfect, though—with confident mod stripes and wide-open eyes, it looks a tad Picasso staring at me quizzically from the corner of my desk.

Kicking It Up

I have a confession; lately I haven't been living in the moment. Here at the JFP we have a million ideas and staff members who work insanely hard because of their commitment to doing good work. I think all of us struggle with the fact that there are only so many hours in the day that keep us from implementing all those great ideas.

Protect Private Property

During trips to my mother's hometown of Oxford, it was customary for her to point out the areas of land, now heavily developed, that blacks owned when she was growing up.

Doing It Our Way

My favorite James Meredith story involved the über contrarian sot Christopher Hitchens. Todd and I were asked to "entertain" Hitch during his visit to Millsaps College a few years back; after he arrived from the airport, we met him at Que Sera Sera and, essentially, watched him drink all afternoon and pontificate his passionate-but-weak reasons for supporting the Iraq War.

Mother Nature: First, Do No Harm

"Y'all are just against economic development." That ribbing came from a Levee Board member who shall remain anonymous due to drinks on the table (a pretty good rule for journalists, by the way).

PSC Examining Charitable Contributions

Mississippi Public Service Commissioners Brandon Presley and Lynn Posey say they want to limit ratepayers funding charitable donations given by utility companies.

Open Ward 2 Race Brings Competing Solutions

In the wake of Ward 2 Councilman Leslie McLemore's decision not to seek re-election, eight candidates are vying to replace him. They offer similar views of the ward's needs but disparate visions of how to address them.

Levee Board Hopeful on Lake 255

Members of the Rankin-Hinds Pearl River Flood and Drainage Control District are hopeful that Mississippi's congressional delegation will strong-arm top officials at the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers into reconsidering a Corps-rejected Lake 255 on the Pearl River.

BREAKING: GOP Rift Hurts Hinds Primaries

Hinds County Republican Party Chairman Pete Perry said a rift between his administration and that of his predecessor, Ken Avery, complicated the Aug. 7 primary with staff shortages, long waits and some crossover voting.

Lott's Back

For months, U.S. Sen. Trent Lott, R-Miss., has been keeping both supporters and enemies scratching their heads at whether he would run for his Senate seat a fourth time. The senator had indicated that he was considering retirement, regardless of the slim 55-to-44 majority Republicans have in the Senate. If Lott's deliberations on retirement had been serious, Senate Republicans would have suffered six open seats on the ballot in November, with Democrats hungry to take advantage of moral lapses involving GOP lobbyists like Jack Abramoff and politicians like Republican Tom Delay, of Texas, both slapped with indictments and inundated by controversy, with Delay forced to resign his post as majority leader of the House after he was indicted in Texas.

New Zata|3 Poll Shows Crisler and H. Johnson Tied

Full JFP Coverage of 2009 City Elections

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My Uncle, The Artist

When people ask if I'm related to painter Andrew Bucci, I answer proudly, "Yes, he's my uncle!" It's difficult to hide my exuberance. He's a phenomenal human being and artist, and I'm one of his biggest fans.

Langston Deal Headed to Hinds County

U.S. District Court Judge William Pauley is sending the state's $14 million dispute with disbarred attorney Joey Langston to Hinds County. Pauley decided this month to uphold a decision to send the case to Hinds County Circuit Judge Winston Kidd. The fee dispute is connected to WorldCom's $126.2 million tax-fraud settlement with the state in 2005.

DiFatta Donates Evers Painting to Boyd Elementary

See a full gallery of photos of the reception here.

Diaz Calls on D.C.

Former Mississippi Supreme Court Justice Oliver Diaz outlined allegations of political persecution last week at a Washington, D.C., forum. The Sarah McClendon Group, a government and media watchdog association, held a forum on alleged selective prosecutions by the U.S. Department of Justice during the Bush administration. Speakers said that the U.S. Department of Justice, under former President George Bush, targeted Democratic politicians and Democratic fundraisers with indictments and media-saturated investigations with the help of conservative-appointed judgesin hopes of swinging elections toward Republicans.

Fiat Signs Deal with Chrysler

When the US Supreme Court told plaintiffs yesterday that they did not prove the court needed to intervene, they removed the final obstacle for the company's partial sale to Italian automaker Fiat. This morning, the deal was signed, giving new life to the storied American brand.

Could Minor Case Weakness Help Delaughter?

A change in federal court opinion could soon affect some media-saturated state trials, including the corruption trial of Hinds County Circuit Judge Bobby DeLaughter and the ongoing appeal of Mississippi attorney Paul Minor. Court opinion could upend prosecutors' liberal use of so-called "honest-services" fraud and the RICO statute to indict and convict fundraisers and political figures during the years of the Bush administration.

The ‘Bible Belt' Bill, Resurrected

When HB 520—the state's latest anti-abortion bill—passed the Mississippi House earlier this year it was a bill designed to keep divorced Mississippians from falsely accusing their betrothed/enemy from claiming child abuse to throw the divorce settlement in their favor.

House Proposes Voter ID, Early Voting Bill; Hosemann Objects

Secretary of State Delbert Hosemann, a vehement voter ID proponent, opposes the Mississippi House of Representatives' attempt to codify voter ID Thursday saying the ID requirements are "unmanageable." He also objects to language in the bill that would bring early voting to the state.

Governor's Proposal Falls Flat

The Mississippi Legislature seemed in no mood to give Gov. Haley Barbour's thoughts on eminent domain any consideration yesterday. Barbour called a special legislative session in the midst of the lawmaker's budget negotiations to debate his proposal to add restrictions to the current law.

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