Jackson Free Press

'This Isn't Anti-Tougaloo'

A group of about 100 gathered at the Smith Robertson Museum on Feb. 25 to advocate locating the proposed Civil Rights Museum in downtown Jackson.

Week 7–Butt Tax and Task Force

Two tricky bills survived their respective sides of the Legislature, most likely to be stoned to death or ignored into oblivion by the opposing chamber in the upcoming weeks.

JUST DO IT! Let Your Voice Be Heard on the Museum Issue: Who to Call..

Here it is folks..Let your voice be heard!! Let this commission know that suggestions and decisions CAN'T be made in our city until the PEOPLE have spoken.

Downtown Civil Rights Museum Supporters Gathering at 1 p.m.

Council President Leslie McLemore is leading a diverse group of Jacksonians who want to see the new Civil Rights Museum located in downtown Jackson, rather than then the suggested locale …

Why Not Answer the Question, Mr. Agnew?

Clarion-Ledger Executive Editor Ronnie Agnew has a truly absurd column out today. Once he gets through the crap in the beginning about Jim Hood bothering to talk to them on …

Legislative Update: Week 6—Ailing Bills and PR

Legislators were pounding away like never before this week to meet the Tuesday deadline to pass general bills out of committees.

Immigration: Myth Vs. Reality

Illustrations by Melissa Webster & Darren Schwindaman

"They can vote themselves in a pay raise, but they can't do nothing about all this illegal immigration," says Jackson talk show host 'JT,' of the JT and Dave show, …

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 …

'The Grand Ole White Party Confronts Obama'

In his current New York Times column, Frank Rich dives into the racial fray that Republicans are facing in trying to campaign against Barack Obama:

Ledger Suddenly Questioning ‘Expert' Testimony

After many years of extolling the virtues of the death penalty and cheering on the state with gleeful editorials about prisoners about to "ride the needle," The Clarion-Ledger is suddenly …

Are Americans Hostile to Knowledge?

A new book, by Susan Jacoby, asks this question, especially about why so many Americans are so little interested in actual facts before forming (and spewing) opinions. Read more, as …

Legislative Update—Week 5: Medicaid, Jobs, Land

Legislative committees worked furiously this week during the run-up to the Feb. 19 deadline for House and Senate committees to act on general bills and constitutional amendments originating in their …

Enact Campaign Finance Reform Now

The recent scandals surrounding political donors like Dickie Scruggs and Joey Langston, former elected officials like Ed Peters and judges like Bobby DeLaughter has brought a chronic problem in Mississippi …

Hood Renews Call for Campaign Finance Reform

[verbatim statement] JACKSON, Miss. - Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood—as he has done since 2004—is again calling on state lawmakers to reform campaign finance laws.

Ledger Needs Help Finding Positive Stories

Clarion-Ledger Perspectives Editor David Hampton ends his navel-gazing (and defensive) column this week about why his paper is so bad, and so negative, this way:

Legislative Update—Week 4: IDs and Immigrants

The Senate followed up on the whack-a-Pedro rhetoric of conservative talk radio this month by passing a bill refusing state contract work to businesses that do not screen employees for …

Surprise, Surprise: Supreme Court Backs Barbour

Gov. Haley Barbour told us all that the Mississippi Supreme Court would overturn the lower court decision requiring him to follow statute in scheduling the special election to replace Sen. …

Super Tuesday Thread

What's your take? Already some suprises with West Virginia going to Huckabee and Ron Paul actually pulling a few delegates. (Are you supposed to say something after typing "Ron Paul" …

Week 3: Cigs and Cells

Now that House Speaker Billy McCoy has named committee chairs, the House is going into overdrive regarding bill production.

Bill to Hamstring AG Office?

Lt. Gov. Phil Bryant and the Mississippi Senate are pressing for a new law that would force a competitive bidding process on plaintiff lawyers looking to contract with the Mississippi …