Jackson Free Press

Lawmakers Vow to Block Stem Cell Research

Mississippi Rep. Tommy Reynolds, D-Charleston, spoke for the University of Mississippi Medical Center yesterday, saying the teaching hospital has never and never plans to do stem cell research, according to …

Wicker Seeks to Deny Funding for U.N. Agency

Yesterday, Mississippi Republican Sen. Roger Wicker announced in a release that he has introduced an amendment to bar U.S. funds from the United Nations Population Fund. The Obama administration's $410 …

Did Bobby Jindal Really Just Diss Monitoring for Volcanoes!?

In his response to President Obama's speech, Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal just criticized the president's stimulus package for providing funding for monitoring volcanoes. On the surface, that's sounds like an …

HB 561: Frozen Embryos are Children

Last week, Mississippi Rep. John Mayo, D-Clarksdale, sent an e-mail to his constituents concerning House Bill 561, the "Human Embryo Adoption Act." In his e-mail, Mayo disparaged the fact that …

Week 6: Voter ID, Sex Ed, Government Secrecy

As last week came to a close, many 2009 bills met their death in the Mississippi Legislature due to the deadline for passing bills originating in their respective chambers.

Vol. 7, No 21

<b><u>Raise the Cigarette Tax</u></b>

Raise the Cigarette Tax Smoking kills almost 4,700 Mississippi residents each year and costs local taxpayers more than $719 million in health-care costs. Given the current economic crisis this state …

Lifting the Veil

I shivered in the cloth gown on the exam table as I waited to have my routine sonogram. I felt frustrated after spending more than an hour in the waiting …

[Wicker] Adoption Provides Children With Loving Home

The holidays are a time for coming together with family. This holiday season, because of the gift of adoption, 330 children in Mississippi will be able to celebrate with a …

Who Are The Most Intriguing Jacksonians?

We need your help, guys. It's almost time for the Most Intriguing Jacksonians issue, and we'd like your suggestions. These are the news-makers of 2008--the people who were in the …

Let Us Begin Again

Not long ago, an evangelical minister and his teenage son visited me at the JFP offices. We sat in the classroom, under the watchful gaze of Emmett Till from a …

A Gift To Dems

No doubt, Democrats exit 2008 with a clear victory in federal government. Democratic President-elect Barack Obama claimed the White House with a 53-percent victory.

[Wilson] What We Conservatives Learned

November 12, 2008 For conservatives, and people who support limited government, this week feels wrong. Fifty-three percent of the American public has chosen a man whose campaign for "change" has …

GOP Panic: How to Save the ‘Party of Lincoln'

The Grand Old Party is living up to the "old," according to Nov. 4 exit polls. The poll revealed the vast brunt of Republican voters to be elderly, rural and …

Is the South Politically Irrelevant?

Read this provocative piece in the Times about, well, us:

‘Evil Motive' Question Looms as Melton Trial Delayed

A federal judge agreed today to delay the civil rights trial of mayor Frank Melton and his former bodyguard, Michael Recio, until Jan. 5. Judge Daniel Jordan granted a last-minute …

Driving Mr. Biden: The JFP Interview with the Vice President (Encore)

In 2006, the Jackson Free Press drove then-presidential hopeful Sen. Joe Biden around the capital city to get him off the beaten path and talk about issues facing everyday Mississippians. …

Open Thread: Election Chatter - Presidential

What is it you need to say about the presidential election? Let 'er rip!

Reasons to Vote, From A to Z

If you have been living under a rock and somehow managed to avoid the election that seems to have been going on for my entire life, here is a quick …

‘Blue Dixie': Anecdotes and Assertions

A couple of years ago, Thomas Schaller wrote a book, "Whistling Past Dixie," that got a lot of people up in arms. The book's thesis was nicely summed up by …

A Rape Victim Speaks to Palin and McCain

This powerful ad is sweeping the Internet today, dedicated to Sarah Palin, who believes that rape victims are not entitled to a safe and legal abortion, should the crime leave …