Bush ‘hatred'; Wilson Carroll Talks Back
Very compelling column by E. J. Dionne Jr. in the Washington Post: "Republicans won in 2002, but Bush lost most Democrats forever. Conservative critics of "Bush hatred" like to argue …
Howard Dean on the race question
"'Dealing with race is about educating white folks,' [Howard] Dean said in an interview Tuesday on a campaign swing through the first primary state where African-American voters will have a …
Dean to Washington Dems: Drop Dead!
Sidney Blumenthal writes in Salon that Dean's gaffes may well be helping him:
‘The New Republicans': ‘Drunken sailor' spending?
The NY Times editorializes: "The most striking thing about the new Republicanism is the way it embraces big government. The Bush administration has presided over a $400 billion expansion of …
Comic David Cross on voting and f*ckin' bumper stickers
Wiretap's Dan Hoyle interviews comic Dave Cross: "It's pretty galling that I know people will wait in line for a weekend to see a f*ckin' movie that's gonna be there …
[City Buzz] Colonel Snoop Reporting for Duty, Sir
JACKAL SMOKED OUT … Like the rest of the world, Jacksonians of all political persuasions were all aglow in the days leading up to Christmas over the capture of long-time …
The Death of Horatio Alger
Paul Krugman writes aboutreading "a leftist rag that made outrageous claims about America. It said that we are becoming a society in which the poor tend to stay poor, no …
God is not a right-wing zealot
A compelling story in Salon: "In the heart of the Bluegrass, a Bible Belt preacher is rallying people to political action around what he calls 'basic religious values.' Think you …
Bennie Thompson to endorse Howard Dean
AP is reporting that Rep. Bennie Thompson plans to endorse Howard Dean for president: "Dean's campaign had said Thompson would have a conference call on Monday with reporters and former …
Idiot's Guide to Cocktails
Looking back over the last couple of decades, I've certainly enjoyed my serious journalistic life. But I must admit that some of my best times, my favorite memories, involved not …
[City Buzz] Screw ideology; Mississippians want health care
MOVE OVER, VERMONT: The John C. Stennis Institute of Government announced the surprising results of a statewide poll on Dec. 8, showing that a wide majority of Mississippians want the …
Dean's Foreign Policy: I Am No George Bush
An interesting piece about Howard Dean and his foreign-policy ideas by John Tirman of the Social Science Research Council:
‘Is this the neo-con century?'
(Be afraid. Be very afraid.)
Michelle Goldberg reports in Salon: "Neoconservatives are very sensitive people. Even those who've attained stature and power are exquisitely attuned to insults hurled from obscure quarters of the left as …
Supreme Court to consider Cheney's secret task force
CBS Marketwatch is reporting: "The U.S. Supreme Court will decide whether the White House must reveal the energy-industry contacts that helped a task force headed by Vice President Dick Cheney …
Dean Under Attack, Trippi Says
To watch the attack ad in Windows Media Player, click here:
E-mailed to Dean list this a.m. from Trippi: "A faceless group that the Washington Post calls 'despicable' is using hundreds of thousands of dollars to air vicious television ads that …
Democratic ‘Shadow' Groups Face Scrutiny
The Washington Post reports: "Leading campaign finance watchdog organizations as well as Republican activists intend to challenge the new 'shadow' Democratic Party -- a network of independent groups gearing up …
[Talk] Gettin' Safer
Jackson has lunged out of the "Top 10 Most Dangerous Cities" to No. 16, according to just-released 10th annual Morgan Quitno Press "most dangerous city" rankings for 2002. Using M-Q's …
[Jacktown] M-I-CROOKED's Year, by Alphonso Mayfield
First off, I really want to thank everyone for the love that I have received since I started writing this column. All the pounds and props I've been getting have …
Gore Endorses Dean
Former Vice President Al Gore endorsed Howard Dean for president today. AP reports: "Gore said Dean 'really is the only candidate who has been able to inspire at the grass--roots …
MSU Slapped with NCAA Charges
First Croom, then the bad news ... The press release from State just in: Mississippi State University has received a letter and notice of allegations from the National Collegiate Athletics …
Bloggers Speak Out
Mississippi keeps cropping up out there on the weblogs (called "blogs," we're talking about Web sites that update daily with news and politics coverage) and—almost universally—in a familiar context. I …
Move Over, Boys
Lakshmi Chaudhr writes: "Whether she is a divorced waitress in Harlem, a welfare mom in Iowa, or that thirty-something singleton sipping a Cosmopolitan at your local bar, the unmarried woman …
MoveOn.org Parties in Jackson this weekend
Heard of MoveOn.org, the hip and powerful grass-roots movement that is doing an end-run around party politics and the media? This Sunday, Dec. 7, MoveOn is holding house parties all …
FOX Works for GOP
MoveOn.org warns: "The wall between objective journalism and partisan politicking at Fox News fell last week when it became clear that Fox News staff contributed to the orchestration of the …
MoveOn.Org Irritates the Right
Michelle Goldberg writes in Salon: "Bill O'Reilly wants its nonprofit status revoked. Republican National Committee chairman Ed Gillespie sees it as part of the 'Democrat plan to subvert campaign finance …
"Letters, Prayers, and Journal Entries," Anne Davis
I have a confession to make: I am inherently suspicious of confessional albums with a message. So when I received a copy of Anne Davis' "Letters, Prayers, and Journal Entries"—which, …
But, Mr. Cleo
I first saw Robert Little, a very handsome toastmaster-by-trade and Jacksonian, take on a young, somewhat skeptical audience Nov. 19 at the North Midtown Community Development Center. He was the …
Harvey Talks Back: The 2003 JFP Interview with Mayor Johnson
Jackson Mayor Harvey Johnson Jr. is having one hell of a year. On the one hand, the Vicksburg native has presided over a city for six years that seems to …
[City Buzz] Crackheads vs. Democrats
CRACKHEAD SON-IN-LAWS: The usually-respectful Jackson 2000, a group that meets regularly at Mikhail's to discuss racial reconciliation, got a little saucy this month when a panel gathered to discuss the …
Whip It Good
Watching George Glass demonstrate his skill with a bullwhip, I was convinced that I could grow to enjoy this sport. On eBay I could find myself an inexpensive whip, then …
Drug Testing in the NFL
Malcolm Gladwell writes in The New Yorker: "Despite the N.F.L.'s claims that it is concerned about the health of the players, it is more concerned about the health of the …
Truth in the Hands of Artists
Radiohead's Thom Yorke and author/historian Howard Zinn talk about the artist's role in politics. Yorke: "This goes back to what should be causing extreme alarm. If there are political programs …
Bush's ‘Crimes Against Nature'
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. writes: "George W. Bush will go down in history as America's worst environmental president. In a ferocious three-year attack, the Bush administration has initiated more than …
Dixie Dems: Dean Too ‘Liberal'
The Washington Times reports that Democratic leaders in the South consider Howard Dean "too liberal" to win electoral votes in the South: "Most acknowledge the growing conservatism that dominates their …
[City Buzz] Best Gov, Gandhi in Jackson, Two Lakes Doom, more
BEST GOVERNOR: Haley Barbour may have ridden the GOP machine into town, but he's got a long way to go before he can take over the throne of Governor Emeritus …
Bill Minor on the Democrats' Future
Bill Minor writes that Democrats didn't lose in the state as big as Republicans would like to pretend: "In the wake of the Republican mini-earthquake that hit the state Nov. …
Vouchers, They Are A'Comin'
AP is reporting that national Republicans are about to make a push for vouchers: "Republican Senate leaders plan to force a vote this week on the nation's first federally funded …
Bush may veto overtime, media ownership rules
AP is reporting : "The GOP-run Senate voted in September to block proposed Labor Department rules that opponents say would make it easier for employers to deny overtime for millions …