Jackson Free Press

DON'T LIKE THE RULES? CHANGE 'EM: Democrats in the Mississippi House succeeded in passing a rules change on Wednesday, March 3, 2004, that they will likely use to block some controversial legislation. The rules change now requires a 2/3 "supermajority" vote to get bills out of committee instead of a simple majority; it's expected that such a supermajority will not be possible when it comes to legislation such as Voter ID and tort reform, which have tended toward party-line votes. If the bills can't be voted out of committee, they can die there without reaching the House floor. …

ERIC LIKES ID: The Voter ID bill passed the state Senate, but is likely to die in the House Apportionment and Elections Committee thanks to the rule change. The bill would require a registered voter to present ID before voting. Clarion-Ledger columnist Eric Stringfellow called the measure "progressive and good government." Republicans claims voter ID will cut down on voter fraud, but Dems say it can be used for intimidating voters, particularly voters of color. Stringfellow countered: "How can neighbors and friends intimidate neighbors and friends?" We note, for the record, that if they're such good neighbors and friends, shouldn't they be able to ID one another based on a signature alone? … 'LAWSUIT ABUSE' REDEUX: The elephants aren't giving up on an issue that is so last year: "jackpot justice." Even though study after study—except those by the U.S. Chamber & Co.— are finding that "jackpot justice" is as much performance art as fact, big industry still wants more curbs on who/what/ when/where/how citizens have the right to sue them. The guv gathered his forces for a capitol rally on Feb. 25, notable as much for who wasn't there, as who was. That is, the rally was near lily-white, especially the crowd of Republican legislators standing behind him on the steps for the camers. Near the end of his comments, though, a single black face appeared at the back of the lawmakers, grinning widely for the cameras. After the remarks, the young man said he was an 18-year-old page, Martez Greer from Lexington, Miss. When asked why he supported tort reform enough to attend the rally, he looked puzzled. He then ran into the crowd of legislators and then came back and, with a large grin, recited rapidly: "We're losing more money on lawsuits when we need more money to help schools out." Barbour himself walked up to Greer—who said he hopes to be an actor—after the speech and shook his hand. … BY ANY OTHER NAME: A House subcommittee charged with examining the outrageous costs of medical malpractice insurance without considering tort reform came up with a rather odd answer. HB 1569 establishes a special fund to pay insurance costs of some doctors facing ridiculous rates. And it classifies private docs whose patient roster is at least 35 percent "poor"—that is, Medicaid, state employees or CHIP recipients—as "state employees," thus limiting their liability under the Tort Claims Act. No talk about what that means should any of those doctors injure any of those poor patients. The full House passed the creative bill 118-2. … AYERS, AGAIN: The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the Ayers decision, but the case could be appealed to the U. S. Supreme Court. The process should only take about six months, however, according to JSU President Ronald Mason. "I'm putting the Legislature on notice that we expect to start getting money this year," he said. The Ayers Case is a 29-year-old segregation lawsuit filed by Jake Ayers on behalf of his son, Jake Ayers, Jr., then a student at JSU. The senior Ayers said the three historically black colleges—Jackson State, Alcorn State and Mississippi Valley State—had been shamefully under-funded for decades because of racism. After years of court battles and hundreds of millions of dollars in legal fees, the case was finally settled amid controversy. The $503 million is being appropriated by the Legislature, and would be paid out to colleges over 17 years. … COUNTY RAISES LIVE ON: One bill that did get out of House committee is a long-awaited pay raise for county officials such as sheriffs, justice court judges, county supervisors and others, some of whom have not had a raise in eight years. A few officials are still skeptical that the bill will pass. The plan currently proposes raises as high as 20 percent for some workers. … A BUSTIN' WE WILL GO: Public sector county workers may get their raises, but apparently there's enough union activity going on in the private sector that the Mississippi Manufacturer's Association has taken notice. Manufacturers fearful of organized labor finding Mississippi need not worry, however, as the MMA is planning a seminar on April 20, 2004, called "Staying Union Free." The seminar teaches union avoidance techniques … no word on whether that includes moving more jobs overseas. … PRAY FOR A CURE: The Mississippi Urban Research Center (MURC) kicked off the 15th annual Black Church Week of Prayer for Healing AIDS with a vigil on Sunday, March 7, 2004, as well as a citywide candle lighting and bell ringing ceremony and a Tuesday "SISTAS Informing Sistas" forum. The "For Brothers only..." forum will be held Thursday, March 11, at 7 p.m. Friday there will be An Awareness Walk from the state Capitol to the Smith Robertson Musuem and Cultural Center at 11a.m.-2 p.m. The week's activities will conclude with a "Voices for Healing" gospel concert on JSU campus in the University Park Auditorium from 6-10p.m. Events are free. … McLERAN STAR ON THE RISE: In a recent JFP, we reviewed local Popaholic recording artist Jonathan McLeran's first solo release, "The Romance of Plants." Watch upcoming issues of Magnet, the well-regarded national magazine for alternative and indie music, where McLeran will be featured on their New Artists to Watch CD compilation. … COMMISH MAKES LEMONADE: Bracing for a budget cut of $100,000 or more, the Mississippi Arts Commission is planning a March 24 session called "Mississippi: Where the Arts Mean Business" at the Edison Walthall Hotel, 225 E. Capitol St., from 9:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. The day includes an Arts Advocacy Workshop. The following day is the Arts Commission's "Day at the Capitol," designed as a meet and greet with state legislators. … PITTMAN BAILS: Chief Justice Ed Pittman is resigning as chief justice of the state's most exclusive playground, er, Mississippi Supreme Court, nine months before his term runs out. Pittman has served since January 1989 and as chief justice since January 2001. In recent months, he was known as much as anything for his bickering on the court with former Justice Chuck McRae, whom Pittman accused of calling him a liar and threatening to "whip" his butt, among other sillies. But Pittman had his day in court, so to speak, telling McRae to "kiss my butt," as he admitted in a deposition last fall during a hearing on whether to suspend McRae from the bench based on his antics. Clearly, both Pittman and McRae will be missed. … BUSINESS AS USUAL: After drawing kudos from us last issue for calling-it-straight editorials on Barbour's education snub, our favorite daily paper bounced back with sensational coverage of the Hargon murders oin Yazoo City, including quotes from onlookers admitting that they had "heard they were going to pull some bodies out, and we wanted to see it." Icky. How about reporting the basic tragedy for a day or so, and pointing out that this until-then law-abiding citizen killed his family with an altered AR-15 assault weapon. On March 2, the day we learned details about the shooter's "turbulent" life, the paper was replete with irony. On page 3A, an AP story reported that the assault weapons ban vote was being bitterly fought in D.C. And on B1, we learn that the young black Popeyes robbery/rape suspects were (thankfully) caught. No "turbulent" details, though. We know, we know: CNN didn't chronicle the Popeyes assaults, either. Losers. DAMNED LIBERAL MEDIA AGAIN: No doubt, Barbour is duck-quackin' furious that the Yankees are skewering him again. In a big feature Sunday, March 7, the New York Times examined the (former) lobbyist's role in helping the Bush administration take on environmental interests on behalf of big oil and energy. Twisn't pretty. (The full story is linked to the JFP Web site.) … SIGNS OF LIFE: Don't forget The Collective's debut March 11, the wonderful film "Strange Fruit" at JSU March 13, and the tribute to black women poets at Smith Robertson March 11-13 at Smith Robertson. More awaits on the Lounge List, p. 32.
— Staff Reports