And another from District 12 Mississippi State Sen. Derrick T. Simmons
As a state Senator, a native Mississippian and the product of educational institutions where women instructors, administrators and mentors helped to develop me and many others, I feel it is critical to voice support for women and their roles in making many of us who we are.
In light of negative national media attention being given on Tuesday, June 4, 2013, to the statement of a fellow elected Mississippi office holder, I can assure everyone that I love my mother, as do the majority of sons and daughters of working women throughout the state love theirs.
I in great part have been successful because my mom, Alzena, has worked for over 30-years for Kroger Foods, where she helped to provide for our family while we learned to the best of our ability in school classrooms most often supervised and led by dedicated and capable women.
I love my wife, CuWanda, and I thank every woman who has ever worked a job and whose tenacity and talents have forced open doors of equality and respect.
It is because of the working women of the world that many of us excelled and continue to grow mentally, emotionally and spiritually.
I consider men and women to be equal in the world, the workplace, and in the sight of God.
Sincerely, derrick t. simmons Mississippi State Senator District 12
Here's another statement by Rickey Cole of the Democratic Party. Verbatim:
bryant insults the working mothers of mississippi and embarrasses mississippi again
jackson-Yet again the goofiest governor in America has embarrassed Mississippians before a national audience, and this time he has insulted generations of working Mississippi mothers as well.
Speaking earlier today, Phil Bryant told a national audience that the reason for American educational mediocrity is "I think both parents started working. The mom got in the workplace."
Just exactly how out of touch with reality does a candidate have to be in order to become the Republican governor of Mississippi? Throughout the two hundred year history of our state, most mothers have been forced by necessity to work as breadwinners for their families. Whether that work took place in the fields, in the logwoods, as domestic workers, as teachers, as nurses, as factory workers, in food service, in retail or in many other fields of arduous work, the mothers of Mississippi have been bringing home the bacon since Mississippi began. The 1950’s “Father Knows Best” picket fence middle-class family myth has never been an option for most Mississippians. A lot more Mississippi mothers have had callouses of hard work than have ever had manicures. The “happy housewife” has always been the exception in hard-times Mississippi, and if Mr. Bryant had been paying attention to most of the lives of most of the people of this state, he would know that.
On behalf of Mississippi Democrats, I salute and express profound appreciation to the generations of working mothers who have done so much to build the economy, society and culture of our state. It has been the working mothers who have seen to the education of their children and the children of many others, as well. It is the working mothers of today who are providing the labor and leadership essential to making Mississippi a better place, when even now working women are making only seventy-seven cents on the dollar when compared to men. The working mothers of our state deserve a state leadership that will fight for equal pay for equal work, instead of allowing this insulting income gap to continue while blaming hard-working mothers for the failures of our educational system.
Phil Bryant owes the working mothers of our state an apology. A good first step in that apology would be for him to support a Lilly Ledbetter Act for Mississippi.
Easy answer, js1976. The same people, if not you, who are yelling the loudest about Lumumba being a "racist" for his associations with radical groups didn't exactly make the same noise about those men. And the senator darling of the Council of Conservative Citizens is still in office.
And, no, history and consistency are never irrelevant.
As for the RNA, you said it was a "racist" organization. My point is that I haven't seen evidence of that. You can consider it a radical or even separatist organization, but the racism part is unsupported. They weren't trying to deny rights to people of another race, and there is certainly no evidence that Lumumba has tried to do that, either, that we've seen.
Words matter. And calling someone or a group "racist" doesn't make it true. You could call me purple, but I'm not, so you would also be wrong about that.
See the update to this story posted under it above. Mr. Quentin said on Twitter that his wife was no longer at the beach with Ms. Easley when the email went out. He apparently was on a rafting trip with his daughter last week and not at the beach in Florida. Read more in the update above.
Haha, Susan. I'm always amused by people who try to besmirch renters. When we moved back to Mississippi from New York City (where most people rent), we rented two apartments because it was so cheap: one for me to write in (I had a fellowship then). A year later, we started the JFP on the kitchen table there while we had JoAnne Morris living on the other side of our duplex pouring us wine and giving us advice on how to do a good paper (and after she moved into a house behind us, we even used that side of the duplex for the paper for a few months; we were much smaller than). Let's just say Jackson rentals are a big part of the JFP's narrative.
From there, everything we had went into growing the JFP, and we were seldom home. Back then, we worked seven days a week to grow this company. Not to mention, we were almost knocked off our feet in 2006 when The Clarion-Ledger decided to start picking up our distribution boxes and racks and [we had to fight them off, along with other locally owned papers.][1] We won that battle, but it cost us a lot of resources and set us back for a while. But we dug out without ever suing them by working with other business people.
Through the first decade of building this business, the last thing Todd and I wanted or needed was to have to worry about repairs and broken dishwashers ourselves. In many ways, it was a business decision. That dude will be thrilled to know, however, that we now in the market to buy a home and have found one that we hope we will own someday. Although, I must say, I will always miss the days when we could call a landlord when things break. ;-)
Otherwise, thanks for the kind words, Susan. What's funny is that the incoming support for our work has always far outweighed the ugly people who hate real journalism and the people who do it, including through city election cycles when the haters act the ugliest. And don't worry, we're not going to change our focus on "reporting the news with style and letting the chips fall where they may." The haters don't get it: They've nipped at our heels for more than a decade now, and we have consistently done what we do. Suddenly, they think, the juvenile insults are going to hurt our feelings and make us stop? That makes me smile to even think about. In addition, they bring more people to the JFP, and many become fans.
Onward and updward, as my friend Jeff Good likes to say.
A reader just sent me an email in response to my response to Eason, telling me to ask The Clarion-Ledger city reporter why he did no story about the Friday poll (days before the runoff) and the fact that Lee had such a tough time in the debate. The reader attached these links:
Another reader posted a comment on the site that isn't getting through because he used the word "bitch" in an unsavory way. In it, he accuses me of doing this blog post because I hate The Clarion-Ledger or some such. The truth is that I responded to a very nasty, clueless blog post that went after our news staff in an inaccurate and unfair fashion, seemingly designed to appease an elected official.
Play games like that with my team and our solid reporting, and you're gonna hear from me. Take it to the bank. And if you want your comments to get through, don't fill them with juvenile insults and name-calling. Better yet, be a man (or a woman) and sign your name like we do everytime at the JFP.
Whitwell used The Clarion-Ledger's Brian Eason to respond to this story rather than returning calls to the JFP (after telling us on his Facebook page to call him); sigh. Here is Whitwell's statement from Eason's blog ([which is remarkable in its own right][1] for a journalist):
> Sadly, it is worse than a funny story > taken too seriously,” Whitwell said, > complaining that the paper had > disparaged his reputation and that of > his wife by implying that they were > running an illegal campaign. “But the > end of this story is that my integrity > and credibility are still intact and I > don’t have to spend my time concerned > about the effect of this nonsense on > others. The soon-to-be mayor was very > gracious in his comments because he, > too, knows there was no upside to me > doing anything like this and took me > at my word.”
I guess he wouldn't like it if I pointed how similar that is to Ms. Easley's post (see image above) about what to say to the JFP if we call. As I just told Mr. Whitwell on Twitter, just call us back and we will add whatever you tell us to the story. Same for your wife and her business partner, Ms. Easley.
As an elected official, it's the transparent and accountable thing to do. Dodging the media doesn't get the truth out there.
Here's the [second round of awards][1] the JFP staff is winning this year. Cheers to R.L. Nave for bringing home four awards for his first full year at the JFP!
donnaladd says...
Typical. As I said elsewhere, Phyllis Schlafly [has crisscrossed the nation][1] telling women to stay home and be content with inequality.
[1]: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phyllis_Sc…
On Phil Bryant blames education problems on "moms ... in the workplace"
Posted 4 June 2013, 6:20 p.m. Suggest removal
donnaladd says...
And another from District 12 Mississippi State Sen. Derrick T. Simmons
As a state Senator, a native Mississippian and the product of educational institutions where women instructors, administrators and mentors helped to develop me and many others, I feel it is critical to voice support for women and their roles in making many of us who we are.
In light of negative national media attention being given on Tuesday, June 4, 2013, to the statement of a fellow elected Mississippi office holder, I can assure everyone that I love my mother, as do the majority of sons and daughters of working women throughout the state love theirs.
I in great part have been successful because my mom, Alzena, has worked for over 30-years for Kroger Foods, where she helped to provide for our family while we learned to the best of our ability in school classrooms most often supervised and led by dedicated and capable women.
I love my wife, CuWanda, and I thank every woman who has ever worked a job and whose tenacity and talents have forced open doors of equality and respect.
It is because of the working women of the world that many of us excelled and continue to grow mentally, emotionally and spiritually.
I consider men and women to be equal in the world, the workplace, and in the sight of God.
Sincerely,
derrick t. simmons
Mississippi State Senator
District 12
On Miss. Chapter of NOW Insists that Gov. Bryant Apologize to Working Mothers
Posted 4 June 2013, 6:14 p.m. Suggest removal
donnaladd says...
Here's another statement by Rickey Cole of the Democratic Party. Verbatim:
bryant insults the working mothers of mississippi
and embarrasses mississippi again
jackson-Yet again the goofiest governor in America has embarrassed Mississippians before a national audience, and this time he has insulted generations of working Mississippi mothers as well.
Speaking earlier today, Phil Bryant told a national audience that the reason for American educational mediocrity is "I think both parents started working. The mom got in the workplace."
Just exactly how out of touch with reality does a candidate have to be in order to become the Republican governor of Mississippi? Throughout the two hundred year history of our state, most mothers have been forced by necessity to work as breadwinners for their families. Whether that work took place in the fields, in the logwoods, as domestic workers, as teachers, as nurses, as factory workers, in food service, in retail or in many other fields of arduous work, the mothers of Mississippi have been bringing home the bacon since Mississippi began. The 1950’s “Father Knows Best” picket fence middle-class family myth has never been an option for most Mississippians. A lot more Mississippi mothers have had callouses of hard work than have ever had manicures. The “happy housewife” has always been the exception in hard-times Mississippi, and if Mr. Bryant had been paying attention to most of the lives of most of the people of this state, he would know that.
On behalf of Mississippi Democrats, I salute and express profound appreciation to the generations of working mothers who have done so much to build the economy, society and culture of our state. It has been the working mothers who have seen to the education of their children and the children of many others, as well. It is the working mothers of today who are providing the labor and leadership essential to making Mississippi a better place, when even now working women are making only seventy-seven cents on the dollar when compared to men. The working mothers of our state deserve a state leadership that will fight for equal pay for equal work, instead of allowing this insulting income gap to continue while blaming hard-working mothers for the failures of our educational system.
Phil Bryant owes the working mothers of our state an apology. A good first step in that apology would be for him to support a Lilly Ledbetter Act for Mississippi.
On Miss. Chapter of NOW Insists that Gov. Bryant Apologize to Working Mothers
Posted 4 June 2013, 6:13 p.m. Suggest removal
donnaladd says...
Easy answer, js1976. The same people, if not you, who are yelling the loudest about Lumumba being a "racist" for his associations with radical groups didn't exactly make the same noise about those men. And the senator darling of the Council of Conservative Citizens is still in office.
And, no, history and consistency are never irrelevant.
As for the RNA, you said it was a "racist" organization. My point is that I haven't seen evidence of that. You can consider it a radical or even separatist organization, but the racism part is unsupported. They weren't trying to deny rights to people of another race, and there is certainly no evidence that Lumumba has tried to do that, either, that we've seen.
Words matter. And calling someone or a group "racist" doesn't make it true. You could call me purple, but I'm not, so you would also be wrong about that.
On Time to Get Real About Unity
Posted 3 June 2013, 11:32 a.m. Suggest removal
donnaladd says...
See the update to this story posted under it above. Mr. Quentin said on Twitter that his wife was no longer at the beach with Ms. Easley when the email went out. He apparently was on a rafting trip with his daughter last week and not at the beach in Florida. Read more in the update above.
On UPDATED: Stealth Whitwell Write-in Campaign: 'You Can't Do It'
Posted 2 June 2013, 3:20 p.m. Suggest removal
donnaladd says...
Haha, Susan. I'm always amused by people who try to besmirch renters. When we moved back to Mississippi from New York City (where most people rent), we rented two apartments because it was so cheap: one for me to write in (I had a fellowship then). A year later, we started the JFP on the kitchen table there while we had JoAnne Morris living on the other side of our duplex pouring us wine and giving us advice on how to do a good paper (and after she moved into a house behind us, we even used that side of the duplex for the paper for a few months; we were much smaller than). Let's just say Jackson rentals are a big part of the JFP's narrative.
From there, everything we had went into growing the JFP, and we were seldom home. Back then, we worked seven days a week to grow this company. Not to mention, we were almost knocked off our feet in 2006 when The Clarion-Ledger decided to start picking up our distribution boxes and racks and [we had to fight them off, along with other locally owned papers.][1] We won that battle, but it cost us a lot of resources and set us back for a while. But we dug out without ever suing them by working with other business people.
Through the first decade of building this business, the last thing Todd and I wanted or needed was to have to worry about repairs and broken dishwashers ourselves. In many ways, it was a business decision. That dude will be thrilled to know, however, that we now in the market to buy a home and have found one that we hope we will own someday. Although, I must say, I will always miss the days when we could call a landlord when things break. ;-)
Otherwise, thanks for the kind words, Susan. What's funny is that the incoming support for our work has always far outweighed the ugly people who hate real journalism and the people who do it, including through city election cycles when the haters act the ugliest. And don't worry, we're not going to change our focus on "reporting the news with style and letting the chips fall where they may." The haters don't get it: They've nipped at our heels for more than a decade now, and we have consistently done what we do. Suddenly, they think, the juvenile insults are going to hurt our feelings and make us stop? That makes me smile to even think about. In addition, they bring more people to the JFP, and many become fans.
Onward and updward, as my friend Jeff Good likes to say.
[1]: http://www.jacksonfreepress.com/news/20…
On Why does the Ledger's Brian Eason ooze contempt for so many Jacksonians?
Posted 2 June 2013, 2:04 p.m. Suggest removal
donnaladd says...
He's welcome to pop by Monday and we can interview him and take new photos.
On UPDATED: Stealth Whitwell Write-in Campaign: 'You Can't Do It'
Posted 31 May 2013, 8:20 p.m. Suggest removal
donnaladd says...
A reader just sent me an email in response to my response to Eason, telling me to ask The Clarion-Ledger city reporter why he did no story about the Friday poll (days before the runoff) and the fact that Lee had such a tough time in the debate. The reader attached these links:
http://www.clarionledger.com/article/20…
http://m.jacksonfreepress.com/weblogs/p…
Another reader posted a comment on the site that isn't getting through because he used the word "bitch" in an unsavory way. In it, he accuses me of doing this blog post because I hate The Clarion-Ledger or some such. The truth is that I responded to a very nasty, clueless blog post that went after our news staff in an inaccurate and unfair fashion, seemingly designed to appease an elected official.
Play games like that with my team and our solid reporting, and you're gonna hear from me. Take it to the bank. And if you want your comments to get through, don't fill them with juvenile insults and name-calling. Better yet, be a man (or a woman) and sign your name like we do everytime at the JFP.
On Why does the Ledger's Brian Eason ooze contempt for so many Jacksonians?
Posted 31 May 2013, 8:20 p.m. Suggest removal
donnaladd says...
Whitwell used The Clarion-Ledger's Brian Eason to respond to this story rather than returning calls to the JFP (after telling us on his Facebook page to call him); sigh. Here is Whitwell's statement from Eason's blog ([which is remarkable in its own right][1] for a journalist):
> Sadly, it is worse than a funny story
> taken too seriously,” Whitwell said,
> complaining that the paper had
> disparaged his reputation and that of
> his wife by implying that they were
> running an illegal campaign. “But the
> end of this story is that my integrity
> and credibility are still intact and I
> don’t have to spend my time concerned
> about the effect of this nonsense on
> others. The soon-to-be mayor was very
> gracious in his comments because he,
> too, knows there was no upside to me
> doing anything like this and took me
> at my word.”
I guess he wouldn't like it if I pointed how similar that is to Ms. Easley's post (see image above) about what to say to the JFP if we call. As I just told Mr. Whitwell on Twitter, just call us back and we will add whatever you tell us to the story. Same for your wife and her business partner, Ms. Easley.
As an elected official, it's the transparent and accountable thing to do. Dodging the media doesn't get the truth out there.
[1]: http://www.jacksonfreepress.com/weblogs…
On UPDATED: Stealth Whitwell Write-in Campaign: 'You Can't Do It'
Posted 31 May 2013, 7:59 p.m. Suggest removal
donnaladd says...
Here's the [second round of awards][1] the JFP staff is winning this year. Cheers to R.L. Nave for bringing home four awards for his first full year at the JFP!
[1]: http://www.jacksonfreepress.com/weblogs…
On JFP Wins Multiple Journalism Awards
Posted 31 May 2013, 7:09 p.m. Suggest removal