Jackson Free Press

Amidst the general political chaos of the presidential primaries and visits from Bill Clinton and Donald "Drumpf" Trump, Grammy Award winner CeeLo Green also made a stop in the city of Jackson. As is usually the case with the eccentric singer and songwriter, he didn't come alone.

Wherever Green pops up, whether it's a TV appearance or an interview, his Yorkshire terrier, Harrison Zulander, or "Zu" for short, is usually tagging along and looking simultaneously nonplussed and adorable. He even came to Jackson for Green's performance at Hal & Mal's on Tuesday, March 8.

Zu isn't just a tag-along trophy pet, however. When not eliciting smiles from famous folk such as Ashanti, Steve Aoki and Blake Shelton, he's a social-media socialite, with more than 1,400 followers on his Instagram and another 254 followers on his Twitter.

The Yorkie is also a spokes-puppy and model for Los Angeles-based Dogs of Glamour. Zu is featured prominently on the website for the high-end canine accessories brand, rocking pieces from the Dogs of Glamour product line, such as jackets, t-shirts and classy carrier bags.

Oh, and if anyone was curious, Zu is available for "speaking" engagements.

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Today at noon, Pastor Dwayne K. Pickett and Pastor Jamal Harrison Bryant will lead a rally to take down the Mississippi flag on the Miss. capitol steps. The Take It Down team released this statement today:

On this day of history where Mississippians head to the polls for its primary presidential race, Pastor Dwayne K. Pickett, chairman of BMA Inc., will be joined by Pastor Jamal Harrison Bryant of Baltimore, Md., for a rally to TAKE DOWN THE REBEL FLAG. Jamal Harrison Bryant, former director of the NAACP youth and college division, (a) leading voice for black lives matter, and mega-church pastor in America has come to Jackson. Jamal Bryant will voice the grave concern about the state of Mississippi still flying a flag that was used to lynch African Americans and is a known tool at KKK gatherings across the United States of America.

It's also presidential primary election day, and polls will be open until 7 p.m today. If you're in line at 7 p.m., you can vote. For those who don't have their voter ID, these are forms of ID accepted at the polls:

• Driver's License
• Photo ID card issued by a branch, department, or entity of the State of Mississippi
• United States passport
• Government employee ID card
• Firearms license
• Student photo ID issued by an accredited Mississippi university, college, or community/junior college
• United States military ID
• Tribal photo ID
• Any other photo ID issued by any branch, department, agency or entity of the US government or any state government
• A Mississippi Voter Identification Card

For more information on elections or to find your polling place, visit the Secretary of State's website here. If you see any problems at the polls, call the JFP at 601-362-6121 ext. 12, or email [email protected].

As votes come in tonight, campaign parties for presidential candidates will take place across the metro area. The Hillary Clinton Mississippi Campaign party will start at 6:30 p.m. at Hal and Mal's (200 S. Commerce St.). Please call 601-720-7653 for more information. The Bernie Sanders Mississippi Campaign will be following the returns at their headquarters at 824 Foley St. in Jackson. Please call 601-937-1524 for more information.

This afternoon is the deadline for general bills held on a motion to reconsider to pass through both the House and the Senate. The Senate calendar includes Jackson airport "takeover" bill and a bill that would prohibit "sanctuary cities" in the state, while the House could take up a bill that passed by one vote that would require the Attorney General to receive written approval from the Outside Counsel Oversight Commission for any lawsuit that would cost more than $250,000 in the amount sought.

The House passed the Attorney General oversight commission bill last Tuesday, but the bill was held on a motion to reconsider after it passed by a vote of 61-60. The Senate debated the airport "takeover" bill for over two hours last Thursday, and after it passed (mainly along party line votes), it was held on a motion to reconsider and not taken up on Friday. The House and the Senate both reconvene at 4 p.m. this afternoon.

This weekend, I've seen a lot of excuses for Donald Trump's bigotry and xenophobia from his supporters, who don't seem to have many reasons for supporting him other than they are sick and tired of the way things are now. One gentleman showed up on my Facebook page to defend supporting Trump, saying it's not about bigotry and calling me "intolerant toward those holding different opinions" because I was willing to call out Trump's blatant bigotry.

I looked at his Facebook page, and he had reposted a letter to the RNC supposedly explaining why Trump supporters are fed up. The gist of it was about getting rid of "rabid, messy, mean raccoons":

You’ve been on vacation for two weeks, you come home, and your basement is infested with raccoons. Hundreds of rabid, messy, mean raccoons have overtaken your basement. You want them gone immediately…You call the city and four different exterminators, but nobody could handle the job. There is this one guy however, who guarantees you he will get rid of them, so you hire him. You don’t care if the guy smells, you don’t care if the guy swears, you don’t care how many times he’s been married, you don’t care if he was friends with liberals, you don’t care if he has plumber’s crack…you simply want those raccoons gone! You want your problem fixed! He’s the guy. He’s the best. Period. Here’s why we want Trump: Yes he’s a bit of an ass, yes he’s an egomaniac, but we don’t care. The country is a mess because politicians have become too self-serving. The Republican Party is two-faced & gutless. Illegal aliens have been allowed to invade our nation. We want it all fixed! We don’t care that Trump is crude, we don’t care that he insults people, we don’t care that he had been friendly with Hillary, we don’t care that he has changed positions, we don’t care that he’s been married three times, we don’t care that he fights with Megan Kelly and Rosie O’Donnell, we don’t care that he doesn’t know the name of some Muslim terrorist.

When I asked the gentleman on my Facebook page (whom I don't know) who he thought the "raccoons" are, he said he "assumed" that the piece he was reposting meant "illegal immigrants"—perhaps not knowing that he is speaking of human beings that Trump has said the most horrible things about, especially the darkish ones south of the U.S. border. He also added: "Not agreeing on issues or politicians or political parties is one thing but when either side turns to vile hate towards others that don't agree with them then that is bigotry."

I'm seeing this argument all the time now from Trump supporters: It is just as "racist" — ??? — to point out someone's bigotry as it is to be the bigot, at least according to their twisted rationalization. In addition to being incredibly absurd logic, this is a straight-up defense of …

Mayor Tony Yarber posted an announcement on Instagram (@tonyyarber) tonight of a "Straight Outta Patience: Take Down the Flag" rally for Tuesday, March 8, at noon at the state capitol in downtown Jackson. Dr. Jamal-Harrison Bryant, a well-known pastor from Baltimore, will help lead the rally, which he is also promoting on social media (@jamalhbryant on Instagram and Twitter). He wrote on Instagram tonight: "Mississippi!!! ... is last state to wave the Confederate flag! Tuesday we suing the governor to bring it down! Meet me."

Bryant founded the Empowerment Temple in Baltimore in 2000, which his website calls "the fastest-growing church in the A.M.E. denomination."

Mayor Yarber just wrote simply, "Straight Outta Patience!! See y'all Tuesday!"

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