Congratulations! This is a GRAND appointment and I am so happy to see Pres. Obama keep his promise of appointing women to some of the Nation's key positions. It is also a special to know that Mrs. McTeer Toney is a native of Mississippi.

@js1976
"I do not and will not ever support anyone that continues to overlook the fact that these people are illegal immigrants."

So are all Americans who are not Indians. Remember our history of Columbus coming into town and descovering the ......................................indians.

America is a melting pot and at one point or the other, the land was taken from its original owners.

@js1976
"I would strongly recommend to those in voting districts of Reecy Dixon, James Evans, and Cecil Brown, to not vote for the incumbents. Replace them at the next election!"

What is encouraging your position on these three elected officials? What exactly have they done or didn't do that have you in such a negative state against them?

I really would like to know!

@Editorial Board

Great Post. We can't stress enough the importance of shopping local! We have a lot of great businesses right here in Jackson, proper. The only way to keep them is by our patronage.

@Nanapresse
"Get them out of there"

I agree. The only way to change the status quo is to remove the status quo: The only way to do this is through the VOTE. The question is, what is it going to take to get more Mississippians out to the polls? What is it going to take to have poor and also middle class whites understand that these laws, i.e., non expansion of Medicaid, not fully funding education, not paying teachers a fair salary, have a negative impact on them, also.

We must keep talking and making people aware of what is going on and that very simple thing they can do ----VOTE!

@Scott1962
You are accusing me of not understanding your point of view; however, you have done a very sloppy job of reading what I said but, in several situations you have made it clear that you do not care. My grandmother was the maid for this family in Jefferson County. She was over 70 years of age and was expected to call their 10 year old daughter, "Miss Betty". The kid called my grandmother, "Lucy".

These are the risiduals of slavery. Please don't tell me that I, nor members of my family were "victims". At our family gatherings, I look across the table at a nephew who continue to wear the scars from the bombing of our grocery store in Vicksburg, MS. I was a Freshman in college and had to return home to help my parents whose property was destroyed by the KKK and a cab driver parked in from of the store - waiting for his next call was killed. So, if we weren't the victims, then, who?

I now consider myself a survivor"; however, there is not a day that passes that I am not reminded in some way that I am black and must continue to fight for simple rights.

I did not call you a racist. I said that the author of the letter, which is the germ of this discussion, was a fearful, troubled racist. Those are my thoughts and I'm standing by them.

Oh, about your asking or suggesting that I think that you are a "red neck". I was an adult and working as one of the 1st blacks to be hired at South Central Bell when a white female asked me, "What is a red neck?" I asked my father many years ago because I did not know what a "red neck" was. He said, " A red neck is a white man who farms the land and his neck is red from the sun." end of story!

We MUST elect people who are about the business of promoting Public Education and giving teachers fair wages for the work that they do.

The solution that the present Adm. pushes is Charter Schools. As Mr. Johnson, NAACP President said, " Charter schools can not reverse the trend." Based on the history of Charter Schools in other parts of the Country, they too have received the "F" that MS's Educational System received.

@ Scott1962
"There's nothing unusual about being proud of who you are nor should you have to be ashamed of it."

One can be proud of who they are, but, they can also be ashame of what he/she has done. It strikes me strangely to read your post and notice that you did not include the continued ownership of slaves as being as least ONE of the reasons for the Civil War.

In MS, even the poorest and most ignorant white person was superior to a black person. As a matter of fact, blacks were considered less than human and were treated by animal doctors (Veterinarians). My grandmother called a 10yr old, Miss Betty and "Miss Betty" called her Lucy. These were poor people in Jefferson County, but, had the luxury of being white and they were able to give blacks old clothes and left over food as a trade for many daily hours of cleaning, cooking and taking care of their children.

The Confederate flag is your battle emblem and your battle was fought to continue the practice of slavery; that practice that continues to harm blacks - even as we speak!

Let me assure the author of the letter, allegedly written by a white ?male from Pearl, that I speak from the experience of being black. I am the daughter of share-croppers and the great grand-daughter of slaves.

Perhaps it will be benificial to this fearful, troubled and racist author, a short lesson in WAR and Flags.

For starters, when a State or Country fights a war and LOSES, their flag is lost; therefore, the place for the Confederate flag is in a museum. For more than eleven years, I walked into a building with that symbol waving on top only to walk to elevators that had metal pictures of Robert E. Lee affixed to its doors. What was really bad was the idea of working with some whites who had similar ideas as the man from Pearl and the evidence of this is still present in view of the fact that blacks continue to be discriminated against, are paid less and haven't any position in top level Administrative positions, even when they are more educated and with more experience. So you see, plantation/slave mentality continues.

The Mississippi flag is symbolic of MS's struggle to keep freedom away from black people. It represents the number of soldiers willing to sacrifice their lives to ensure that slavery (the white man's ability to own black folks) continue.

The flying of the flag represents the idea that the South has not been defeated in their negative treatment and evaluation of black people and that eventually, they will "rise again!"

To the man's riddle of "what happens when an unstoppable force hits an immovable object"?
The Force and the Object crash an burn. We must stop, take a deep breath and provide truth and understanding to these issues.

For the record: My public school books were over 10 yrs. old. They were sent from the white schools with missing pages, scratch outs and many times without backs on them. Your brother's problem was that of being faced with a bully and just know that they come in all races, sizes and colors.

I hear you, Ladd. "Of course, they would all pass." LOL!

According to this new law, a TANF applicant, who is "possibly" drug addicted, will be given a two month drug treatment program. If the person continues drug use post treatment, their benefits will be cut.

It rings loud and clear that an addictionologist or a trained alcohol/drug therapist was not consulted about best practice and the scope of treatment for a drug abuser before this law was passed. We have moved far from the teachings of Nancy Regan - "just say no." We know that drug addiction is a disease and we must treat, treat, treat and treat.

One condition that will ensure relapse is the patient's fear that they will lose their benefits after one (1) attempt at treatment.