Jackson Free Press

For Whom the Zell Tolls

Admittedly, we have a rough history of treating each other badly sometimes, and we stubbornly act against our best interests too often and—perhaps worst—we are notorious for sending up the …

Bush Calls Kerry Campaign ‘Pathetic'

AP reports: "President Bush chided Sen. John Kerry and fellow Democrats on Monday for asserting that Republicans will undermine Social Security, calling the strategy 'the most tired, pathetic way to …

[City Buzz] The Jury is Out, Way Out

Log Cabin GOP Votes Down Bush Endorsement

AP reports: "The Republican Party's largest gay and lesbian organization, which endorsed President Bush in 2000, is withholding its endorsement of the president for re-election because of his support for …

The Altar of Football

Across the country, college football fans just got started planning their lives around their team's schedule. New York Times reporter Warren St. John, born in Birmingham in 1970 into a …

The Death of Conservatism (As We Know It)?

Conservative columnist David Brooks rethinks today's Republican Party in the cover story of this week's New York Times Magazine: "Democrats may imagine that the G.O.P. is an amalgam of fat …

[Eastburn] Love Your Soldier

It is Monday night, and I am driving my oldest son, 19, to a hotel where he will wait to be picked up by a bus. We've stopped at K-Mart …

‘Skinny Kid' Barack Wows Dems in Jackson

JFP Web Exclusive

"A skinny kid with a funny name" brought his fund-raising efforts to Jackson today, speaking at a multi-racial fund-raising breakfast at Mikhail's Northgate. Democratic star Barack Obama, a state senator …

[Lott] A Serious Issue

We say we're upset by gasoline prices. We complain because it costs $30 dollars to fill up our car or perhaps $40 or even $50 to fill up our truck. …

JFP Interview: Who Is Ben Allen?

The controversial councilman on being conservative, Mayor Johnson, gun control and meeting Muhammad Ali. The unabridged version.

What Would God Think?

George County Justice Court Judge Connie Wilkerson kicked over a fire ant mound when he wrote in a letter to the George County Times, published March 28, that "in my …

[Hutchinson] Bush Had a Point About the Democrats

In a July speech to the National Urban League Convention, President Bush asked: "Does the Democratic Party take African-American voters for granted?" The answer: a resounding yes.

"Radical Connector," Mouse on Mars

-- Herman Snell and Alex Slawson

Hailing from Cologne, Germany, Mouse on Mars have left an indelible mark on the face [and ears] of electronic music. Their signature sound of glitch and scratch beats submerged in …

Mouse on Mars to tour in support of new album

According to the Sonig Label website, the German avant-electronica duo of Mouse on Mars will be touring North America in the Fall. To my knowledge, this will be the first …

[Silver] Kick ‘Em When They're Down

In Carl Hiaasen's brilliantly funny and entertaining novel, "Strip Tease," the villains belong to the South Florida sugar lobby—a group that bribes congressmen to vote for sugar subsidies. Although fiction, …

Kerry's ‘Merit Pay' Plan

A while back, I had occasion to talk to a woman named Lillian Lopez about a bold choice she had decided not to make. Lopez, who lives in a barrio …

‘Merit' in Mississippi

The teacher merit-pay mindset is attracting more believers here in Mississippi, despite hesitation on the part of teachers' organizations and many lawmakers who worry that it's just another way to …

Taking the Long View

Once again, determined legislators beat the Medicaid drum at the Capitol on Monday, Aug. 9, when about a dozen of them gathered to demand that Gov. Haley Barbour reconsider his …

Federal Deficit to Top $450 Billion; Medicare in Trouble?

AP is reporting: "The White House's projection of a record federal deficit that could approach $450 billion this year will further fuel a campaign-season dispute over President Bush's handling of …

Full Text of John Kerry's Convention Speech

My name is John Kerry, and I am reporting for duty. We are here tonight because we love our country. We are proud of what America is and what it …