Jackson Free Press

Yesterday was a very good day for the JFP staff, and especially our writers and designers.

In its Sunday edition, The New York Times is reporting that New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman is investigating several private equity firms, including Bain Capital for possibly abusing a tax strategy "in order to slice hundreds of millions of dollars from their tax bills."

The attorney general, Eric T. Schneiderman, has in recent weeks subpoenaed more than a dozen firms seeking documents that would reveal whether they converted certain management fees collected from their investors into fund investments, which are taxed at a far lower rate than ordinary income.

Among the firms to receive subpoenas are Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Company, TPG Capital, Sun Capital Partners, Apollo Global Management, Silver Lake Partners and Bain Capital, which was founded by Mitt Romney, the Republican nominee for president. Representatives for the firms declined to comment on the inquiry.

Mr. Schneiderman’s investigation will intensify scrutiny of an industry already bruised by the campaign season, as President Obama and the Democrats have sought to depict Mr. Romney through his long career in private equity as a businessman who dismantled companies and laid off workers while amassing a personal fortune estimated at $250 million.

The subpoenas, by a Democrat, went out before a huge document leak recently that raised questions about Bain Capital's practices:

The tax strategy — which is viewed as perfectly legal by some tax experts, aggressive by others and potentially illegal by some — came to light last month when hundreds of pages of Bain’s internal financial documents were made available online. The financial statements show that at least $1 billion in accumulated fees that otherwise would have been taxed as ordinary income for Bain executives had been converted into investments producing capital gains, which are subject to a federal tax of 15 percent, versus a top rate of 35 percent for ordinary income. That means the Bain partners saved more than $200 million in federal income taxes and more than $20 million in Medicare taxes.

The subpoenas, which executives said were issued in July, predated the leak of the Bain documents by several weeks and do not appear to be connected with them. Mr. Schneiderman, who is also co-chairman of a mortgage fraud task force appointed by Mr. Obama, has made cracking down on large-scale tax evasion a priority of his first term.

As a retired partner, Mr. Romney continues to receive profits from Bain Capital and has had investments in some of the funds that documents show used the tax strategy.

Be sure to read the entire article for a succinct explanation about the fees/interest practices of many financial firms. This ends the piece:

The leaked documents show that Bain has in recent years waived management fees in at least eight private equity and other funds, including one formed as early as January 2002. The documents stated that Bain executives had the right to decide either annually or each quarter whether to waive some or all of their management fees; they also had …

So, what's going on with Columbus police? The Guardian has a report that police there have filed two different police reports for killing of Ball, who was African American. The Guardian reports:

*Since 26-year-old Ricky Ball was shot and killed by police in October, the black community in Columbus, Mississippi, has grappled with questions that don’t have clear answers.

Why did police shoot Ball that night? Why did a string of police officials resign in the months that followed? And why did police claim Ball stole a gun from a police officer’s home only after his death? Attempts to obtain police documents about the case have raised a new question: why did police release two different versions of events from the shooting?

Documents obtained by the Guardian show police altered a document labeled “uniform incident report” in Ball’s death. An initial version published by the Commercial Dispatch said an officer “tased” Ball before he fled. A new version of the incident report released to the Guardian does not include any mention of Taser use.

“One of these two reports is not true,” said Philip Broadhead, director of the criminal appeals clinic at the University of Mississippi law school. Broadhead said he’s never seen an incident report altered the way the document was in this case. “For police officers to offer up this type of information in the form of an incident report as sworn law officers … It’s a violation of their oath.”*

Also, an officer fired for the shooting filed a federal lawsuit over his firing yesterday. Read more here.

Verbatim statement just in from the University of Mississippi:

OXFORD, Miss. – Three 19-year-old white male freshmen from Georgia were declining through their attorneys late Thursday to be questioned by university police regarding the vandalism Sunday morning of the University of Mississippi’s James Meredith statue, according to the university chief of police, Calvin Sellers.

Sellers said the University Police Department (UPD) had gathered enough evidence by late Wednesday to bring charges through the student judicial process against two of the students, and both state and federal authorities were working in close coordination to determine whether criminal charges were applicable.

Working through an advisor to the students, university police had arranged a meeting for Thursday morning, Sellers said, but the students did not appear as promised. As university police were attempting to locate the two students late Thursday, they became aware of an Oxford attorney who was representing one of the students, which then led to information that three students had retained legal counsel.

Two of the students were those being sought by university police, but all three names had been prominent in the investigation, according to Sellers. He said the attorneys declined to make their clients available for questioning without an arrest warrant.

Sellers and University of Mississippi Chief of Staff and General Counsel Lee Tyner said they believe sufficient evidence exists to bring criminal charges against the suspects and pledged to provide whatever support is needed for state and federal authorities to issue warrants and pursue legal measures to the full extent of the law. The student judicial process would call on the students to respond but can proceed without their cooperation, Tyner said. The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) does not permit the university to release the names of the students unless criminal charges are filed.

Sellers said the $25,000 reward offered by the university’s alumni association has been instrumental in bringing quick results in the investigation, generating numerous leads. Those with additional knowledge that may be helpful to the investigation and prosecution are encouraged to contact UPD at 662-915-7234.

Contact: PR Director Danny Blanton, 662-915-1678, [email protected]

For more information about the University of Mississippi, visit http://news.olemiss.edu or sign up for our RSS feed at http://rebs.ms/umnewsrss. Follow us on Facebook or Twitter at http://rebs.ms/UMsocial.

Jere Nash, co-author with Andy Taggart of "Mississippi Politics: The Struggle for Power, 1976-2006," posted this information about the vote to change the state flag in 2001. It is from their book, and this is his verbatim post, with his permission, about the people who turned out to vote:

"As debate continues about what to do with the Mississippi Flag, I wanted to highlight some of the information Andy and I included in our 2006 book about the April 17, 2001 special flag election. More Mississippians went to the polls that day than voted in the 1999 governor’s election. The 1894 flag prevailed over the alternative new flag by 494,323 votes to 273,359. Of the 1,311 majority white precincts in the state at the time, only 43 supported the new flag. Of those precincts, eighteen were in the Jackson metro area and twelve were in university towns. According to the 2000 Census there were 43 precincts with no African American residents, and the margin in those precincts in favor of the 1894 Flag was 5,887 to 221, or 96.4 percent. In the 408 precincts which had 50 or fewer African Americans, the margin in favor of the 1894 Flag was 89,112 to 8,014, or 91.8 percent. Only two precincts at the time had no white residents. The margin in favor of the new flag in those two precincts was 421 to 5, or 98.8 percent. In the 94 precincts with 50 or fewer white residents, the margin in favor of the new flag was 23,098 to 1,115, or 95.4 percent. Our analysis of all the precincts showed that 90 percent of white voters supported the 1894 flag and 95 percent of black voters supported the new flag design."

Here is a verbatim statement just issued by the University of Mississippi:

At the request of Chancellor Dan Jones, the university’s Alumni Association has offered a $25,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of two individuals involved in an early morning incident on The University of Mississippi campus.

The University Police Department (UPD) is looking for two men who were seen early Sunday morning near the James Meredith statue, which commemorates the 1962 integration of the university. One of the men was reported to have been wearing camouflage pants. The statue had been draped with a noose and an old Georgia state flag, and the men were heard shouting racial slurs.

Jones condemned the action as contrary to the beliefs and values of the university community. “These individuals chose our university’s most visible symbol of unity and educational accessibility to express their disagreement with our values. Their ideas have no place here, and our response will be an even greater commitment to promoting the values that are engraved on the statue – Courage, Knowledge, Opportunity, and Perseverance.”

Assistant to the Chancellor for Multicultural Affairs Don Cole reiterated the creed that the university stands by. “This is particularly painful because the James Meredith statue has become a gathering place for students to discuss many things, including the tenets of our creed, which calls for dignity and respect for all people.”

UPD has initiated a rigorous investigation and alerted Oxford Police. Anyone with information concerning the investigation is urged to contact UPD at 662-915-7234.

Contact: PR Director Danny Blanton, 662-915-1678, [email protected]

For more information about the University of Mississippi, visit http://news.olemiss.edu or sign up for our RSS feed at http://rebs.ms/umnewsrss. Follow us on Facebook or Twitter at http://rebs.ms/UMsocial.

I guess it's no surprise that Gov. Phil Bryant told The Washington Post that education went to pot when women started entering the workplace: We're guessing he's a fan of FOX News, and they've been hawking that meme, Melanie Tannenbaum blogs at Scientific American. Even thought it's news to us who never look at FOX News, apparently they've been arguing this issue there of late, with a bunch of men blaming working mothers for behavioral and educational problems, even though serious research shows otherwise. Imagine.

Tannenbaum writes:

[W]hen looking at samples where the families were on welfare, children whose mothers worked while they were very young (1-3 years old) actually performed significantly better on measures of overall achievement and had significantly higher IQs , although there were no differences when it came to performance on formal achievement tests. On the contrary, when looking at samples where the families were not on welfare, there were no differences in overall achievement or IQ between the children whose mothers worked and did not work during their early childhood years, although higher SES children whose mothers worked while they were young actually did slightly worse on formal achievement tests.

What if we look at whether or not the child is coming from a single-parent household? Same story. Children who lived with single mothers performed better on measures of overall achievement and IQ if these single moms worked while the kids were very young. Children who lived in two-parent households, on the other hand, showed no differences in overall achievement or IQ, but did worse on formal achievement tests if their mothers had worked.

And what about behavioral problems, like externalizing behaviors (aggression or impulsivity) or internalizing behaviors (depression or anxiety)? After all, if lower-income children whose parents work outside the home have higher IQs but also have higher rates of depression and anxiety, that’s still a problem, right?

Sure, it would be a problem — if that were the case. But it’s not. Once again, the pattern is the same. Children who lived with single mothers who had worked outside of the home while the kids were very young actually exhibited significantly lower rates of overall behavior problems, significantly lower rates of aggression and impulsivity, and marginally lower rates of depression and anxiety. Children from two-parent households showed no such difference in overall behavior problems, aggression, or impulsivity, though they also showed lower rates of depression and anxiety. So, across the board, when mothers worked outside of the home where their babies were very young, it didn’t matter if they were single mothers or members of a two-parent household. Looking across a wide variety of racial and socioeconomic groups, studies either found no relation between employment and behavioral problems, or they found that children whose mothers worked while they were young actually had fewer behavioral problems and better academic outcomes than their counterparts whose mothers stayed at home.

The data keep telling the same story, no matter how you …

Ha. I was just doing research on mayoral candidates and found this piece I wrote about now-mayoral candidate Chokwe Lumumba when the JFP was all of about two weeks old. My (white) photographer Jaro Vacek and I showed up to cover this meeting and were not treated very well. It was clear they asked us to leave because we were white press.

However, I chose to do my homework and write a fair story about Lumumba, and include that they kicked us out but not black media. When we attended the next meeting, we were treated very differently, and he has treated us respectfully since then.

Interesting trip down memory lane.

If Mississippians read the Sunday edition of the state's allegedly largest newspaper two days before the presidential election, you get nothing of substance about how the election affects our state.

Last weekend, I happened by local television news and saw a report about Madison police officers going on a high-speed chase through the streets of Jackson—because of a problem that happened in the Target in Jackson, ending in a crash that seriously injured a bystander. Huh?

Also, looking at the website of the Starkville Daily News on Feb. 21, I had seen a short news report about Starkville police pursuing two teenagers through the streets of Starkville ending in a two-car collision. What were they charged with? "[S]uspicion of felony fleeing law enforcement officers." Huh? Starkville police pursued people in a dangerous chase that could injure or kill bystanders -- to charge them with fleeing? Why were they pursuing them in the first place, Daily News? (We're going to ask.)

The JFP has long reported about dangerous police chases, often in pursuit of non-violent criminals. Some of those chases end in serious injury or death. See this extensive report on the problem: "Code Blue: Police Pursuits Cost a Life a Day". It always amazes me that residents don't get more outraged (until one of their family members is killed) at these dangerous chases. And, even more startling, is how few questions local media often ask about the necessity of the chases.

I was pleased to see this release from the Jackson Police Department (which seems to have matured on this issue over the years). JPD is asking serious questions about why Madison police were engaged in dangerous pursuits outside their jurisdiction. Here is the statement, verbatim:

On February 23, 2014, the Madison Police Department engaged in a hot pursuit chase in that began in the Jackson city limits. Based on the information compiled by the Jackson Police Department, an alleged incident occurred at the Target Store in Jackson and outside the jurisdiction of the Madison Police Department. According to the incident reports Madison Police Officers engaged in a high chase pursuit without the authority or assistance of the Jackson Police Department. The Madison officers had no arrest powers for an alleged crime that occurred in the city of Jackson. There was no request for assistance to investigate a crime in Jackson. The officers only contacted JPD after they were already on scene at the Target Store and pursued a high speed chase.

The Jackson Police Department policy regarding high chase pursuits takes into consideration the inherent dangers of high speed chases on the public thoroughfares. The facts that have been presented to date did not show that a criminal act occurred that would justify a high speed chase. As a result of the action taken, at least one innocent by-stander was seriously injured. As a result of the actions taken by the Madison police officers, the Jackson Police Department has solicited the Mississippi Bureau of Investigations (MBI) to conduct an independent investigation. Public safety in the City of Jackson is this Department’s ultimate concern and responsibility. We encourage the assistance of other agencies but only within the …

Just in time for the spring food issue of the Jackson Free Press next week, we asked on Facebook: What is your favorite dish at a locally owned restaurant in the Jackson area? What and where? We've gotten dozens of responses so far—and some great suggestions! Here they are:

Nicholas Scott Whitehead EVERYTHING at CS'S!!

ReBecca Christine McDonald Beef Shwarma at Petra's Cafe

Christopher Alan Burrow Fish Tacos at The Islander ate great!

Leah Murry Mine is a "wish they were still here" - it was the GT's fries (and shrimp po-boy) at Good Time Deli. How I wish they were still around! No one has fries like that. Sigh.

Zachary Murphy Any and everything at Keifers!!!

Lindsey George Chicken & Dressing at George's Museum Cafe!

Melissa Burks Dearman Red fish and scallops at the Mayflower. And of course the comeback dressing!

Mandy Montgomery Mullen Hey Leah Murry, I am TOTALLY with you on that! We actually make em at home now just so I can 'get my fix' My Favorite dish tho would have to be the Pork Belly Taco at Babalu...I could eat those EVERY DAY! Or Shrimp and Grits at Table 100, which changed my view on Greens for life! Man, I could do this all day...

Sarah Asmus My favorite dish is grits and grillades at Steve's Downtown Deli & Bakery. Or the chicken salad. Or any of the cookies. Or the focaccia bread.

David Martin Buchanan Fried chicken sandwich with portobello fries at Julep

Richard Laswell Camerones al a Diabla from El Portrillo's in Flowood.

Marilynne Nelson Gyro with mushrooms, mozz, and feta dressing instead of tzatziki from Keifer's.

Savanah Perry Pimento and cheese at Brent's!

Bridgette Iupe Thursday lunch plate at walkers meatloaf with Mac and cheese. Just makes me feel good.

Tasha Grayson Bibb Short ribs with garlic potatoes and creamed spinach at Char! Oh! And that cornbread.....

Janice Hogan Grilled salmon and oysters at Eslava's on Lakeland

Pam Keith Dollar Shrimp and Grits and Creme Brulee at Bon Ami - and Peach Tea too - can't forget that!

Dorothea Brock Red fish Anna, Walkers

Lonnie Ford Lamb chops at Aladdins grille

Ashley Cummins Jolly PM burger at Parlor market.

Happy O'Quinn Shrimp pasta at Sugar's Downtown

Duan Carter Pho @ Saigon, Turkey Burger from Cool Al's, Chicken from Two Sisters, Rib Tips & Hot Links from E&L BBQ, Supreme Pizza from Pizza Shack, last but not least Steak Burrito from the Valdez on Old Canton! I know you said one - but those are my favs - just keeping it real.

Duan Carter OH - off the cuff - Saigon is moving into the old Fazzoli's on Ridgewood Road, they are supposed to be moved in and rolling by May - they closed the location on County Line road. Good for me, bad for Rankin county - yes indeed!

Leah Murry @mandy montgomery mullen - I don't think I could make them at home to taste anything like Good Time Deli! …

JFP News Editor R.L. Nave is at City Hall for the special council meeting to set the date of the special election for the late Mayor Chokwe Lumumba's seat (made interesting because several members may run for the seat.)

Nave tweeted that Councilman De'Keither Stamps and Quentin Whitwell wanted the election April 15, but Tony Yarber and Margaret Barrett-Simon wanted April 8, so it didn't conflict with tax day. Melvin Priester Jr. served as the tie-breaker.

Council also set a special election runoff for two weeks after the special election.

The qualifying deadline for mayoral prospects will be March 19.

Earlier today, Nave broke the news that a campaign is coming together to draft Lumumba's son, Chokwe Antar, to run for mayor.

The Council also announced that Lumumba's body will lie in state in City Hall Friday, March 7, from 11 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.; 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. for the public; and 7 to 9 p.m. for family only.

This open letter to mayoral candidate Jonathan Lee just came via email. Here it is, verbatim:

Jonathan Lee Candidate for Mayor of Jackson Public Letter

Dear Mr. Lee:

After watching one of your recent campaign commercials in which you portrayed Chokwe Lumumba as radical and racist, I was compelled to offer you a different world view.

I am a native of Yazoo city, the hometown of Michael Espy and Haley Barbour, two of our state’s most recognized political figures. Like Mike and Haley, I am a product of the public schools system, a graduate of Yazoo City High School. My ACT scores ranked me in the top 10 percentile in the country, and I was fortunate to earn distinction as a National Merit Finalist and accordingly received numerous scholarship offers.

Sarah King, my black, Northwestern University-educated high school guidance counselor told me….”You need to matriculate at Williams College, where you will be nurtured and taught to be a critical thinker. With a Williams College education, you will be equipped to change the world when you return to Mississippi. ”

So, naturally I chose Williams College in Williamstown, Massachusetts. Mrs. King was right on point. Williams College satisfied my natural thirst for knowledge and enlightenment, but it also showed me how easily one can cast seeds of discord and destroy a community.

Williams had a total of 60 black students enrolled in all classes. All of the students, from every conceivable ethnicity, were the top students in their high schools. A staff person in the admissions office remarked in one of the dining halls that they were pleasantly surprised at how well the minority students were performing – – especially the “10 percenters”. What was a 10 percenter?!

Shortly after this statement resonated, the campus newspaper ran a story that said Williams College was participating in a social experiment known as “Affirmative Action” and had elected to admit 10% of the students who would not ordinarily qualify for admission to the college.

The college wanted to honor its moral obligation to society by giving underprivileged, socially disadvantaged students the opportunity to obtain a Williams college education, but the newspaper article made the “10 percenter” concept appear as something to be ashamed of instead of portraying it as the wonderful program that it was.

Almost immediately, all students were trying to determine who was a 10 percenter. Some of them would be mean-spirited and say things that were destructive. A few said things like, “we know Herb Irvin is a 10 percenter, because he is from Yahoo, Mississippi”! All of a sudden, the black students were no longer on academic parity. Because of this 10 percenter phrase, the black students’ academic ability and capacity were questioned by the non-black students and the faculty, as well as by their fellow black students.

Some of the best black students left before graduation, because they didn’t believe that they earned the right to be there.

Against the advice of my classmates and friends, I …

Join the JFP, the Center for Violence Prevention and the Chick Ball Committee for a free JFP Chick Ball happy hour Thursday, May 31, at Hal & Mal's downtown (200 S. Commerce St.).

During this 10th anniversary of the Bush invasion of Iraq, I remember well the week that the war started. The JFP was only a few months old and still making a name for ourselves. When we realized that Bush was actualy pushing ahead with the threatened Iraq campaign, we postponed our planned cover story (an interview with then JPD Chief Robert Moore) and published this "myths" of the Iraq War instead. (The other story ran the next week.) At the time, the war was popular, and supporters were lying through their teeth as we now know, even trying to convince Americans that attacking Iraq was, somehow, a way to go after Saddam Hussein (presumably because they had Islam in common).

This was one of those decisions we didn't have to make. We knew it wouldn't be a popular move to publish a cover story and a cover that was clearly against Bush's war, but we started this newspaper to tell the truth, no matter who it perturbs. So in one of our early "do the right thing and wait" moves (which publisher Todd Stauffer now calls stories like these), we put the issue out and waited for the other shoe to fall.

It didn't. The issue after this one had our biggest ad sales as of that time, and we only lost three distribution spots (one of which returned, and the other two are out of business).

The truth isn't always popular, but it is the Fourth Estate's responsibility to tell it. I'm fond of saying that my editorial decisions over the year have kept my conscience clear. This one was no exception.

May all of the soldiers, and civilians, who lost their lives in the Iraq War rest in peace. That includes my cousin, Josh Ladd, who died in Iraq believing he was fighting for a just cause.

Former Mayor Harvey Johnson Jr. just responded to a Sen. John Horhn attack ad with this statement posted on his Facebook page. It is repasted here verbatim:

STATEMENT OF HARVEY JOHNSON CONCERNING FALSE AND MISLEADING ADVERTISEMENT OF JOHN HORHN Senator John Horhn mailed and passed out to voters a postcard falsely stating that I was responsible for increasing water bills by 100% while in office. The truth is this: During my last term as mayor the City imposed a modest water rate hike of 12 percent in 2011, the first increase in six years. After I left office last July, the Mayor and the City Council increased water rates by 29 percent and sewer rates by 108 percent. If I had been in office last year I would not have increased rates that dramatically at one time. Just two days before the mailer was dropped, Senator Horhn, at a mayoral forum conducted by the Working Together Jackson organization, pledged to refrain from attacks on his opponents. Clearly, he should have come clean at that event by admitting that his next order of business when he walked out the door would be to launch a false attack on me.

In a separate flyer, Horhn promotes himself as a "fit, strong and robust black man who's ready to take this city forward" and criticizes his various opponents. That one is posted below as well as the flyer mentioned above.

http://jacksonfreepress.com/users/photos/2014/apr/07/16845/

http://jacksonfreepress.com/users/photos/2014/apr/07/16846/

http://jacksonfreepress.com/users/photos/2014/apr/07/16847/

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 …

Ouch. After GOP vice presidential hopeful Paul Ryan cited Rage Against the Machine as on eof his favoriate bands, Rage's guitarist Tom Morello responded in an op-ed on the Rolling Stone webiste.. Morello started with the money quote: "Paul Ryan's love of Rage Against the Machine is amusing, because he is the embodiment of the machine that our music has been raging against for two decades."

Here's more:

Charles Manson loved the Beatles but didn't understand them. Governor Chris Christie loves Bruce Springsteen but doesn't understand him. And Paul Ryan is clueless about his favorite band, Rage Against the Machine.

Ryan claims that he likes Rage's sound, but not the lyrics. Well, I don't care for Paul Ryan's sound or his lyrics. He can like whatever bands he wants, but his guiding vision of shifting revenue more radically to the one percent is antithetical to the message of Rage.

I wonder what Ryan's favorite Rage song is? Is it the one where we condemn the genocide of Native Americans? The one lambasting American imperialism? Our cover of "Fuck the Police"? Or is it the one where we call on the people to seize the means of production? So many excellent choices to jam out to at Young Republican meetings!

Seriously, Ryan. This reminds me of when the Reagan campaign tried to misappropriate Springsteen's "Born in the USA," helped along with a naive George Will. Message to politicians: listen to the lyrics, fools.

Read more: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Born_in_the_U.S.A._(song)

As if it's not bad enough that Rep. Todd Akin believes that women who are legitimately raped (I cringe to put those two words together), he was also part of a House Republican effort to redefine rape. The point, Mother Jones reports, was to keep federal funding for abortion away from teenagers, arguing that they might pretend they were raped by an older man (statutory rape, which is very common) in order to get the money because the right didn't want to "federally fund the abortion of tens of thousands of healthy babies of healthy moms, based solely on the age of their mothers."

More from that piece:

The implication of his position is that if you were raped and became pregnant, you must have actually wanted it—it wasn't really rape.

This isn't the first time Akin has expressed fringe views about rape in the context of the abortion debate. Last year, Akin, vice-presidential candidate Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), and most of the House GOP co-sponsored a bill that would have narrowed the already-narrow exceptions to the laws banning federal funding for abortion—from all cases of rape to cases of "forcible rape."

Drugged, raped, and pregnant? Too bad, says the House GOP. After I reported on the "forcible rape" language in January 2011, a wave of outcry from abortion-rights, progressive, and women's groups led the Republicans to remove it. But a few months later, in a congressional committee report, Republicans wrote that they believed the bill would continue to have the same effect despite the absence of the "forcible" language.

So, what we have here, are a bunch of dudes in Congress once again trying to decide what happens to women and what to do about it. Anyone else OK with that?

A major sinkhole on Old Canton Road at Crane Boulevard that became a whipping post in the mayoral election is being repaired starting today.

The city sent out this alert this morning:

Traffic Alert

The City of Jackson Department of Public Works announces that it has closed Old Canton Road at Crane Blvd to through traffic. An emergency repair to a major sewer line at that intersection will begin today. Work should continue for approximately two weeks.

Motorists are urged to observe all traffic control devices. Detour signs are posted.

Also, someone posted this on the Nextdoor Fondren list on Monday:

someone posted this on the Fondren list Monday:

I posted the sinkhole on 311. Within hours, this was the response: PUBLIC WORKS DIRECTOR DAN GAILLET RESPONDS: This project is much bigger than meets the eye and will be part of the nearly $16 million in sewer improvements that will begin this summer. This project in particular is one of approximately nearly 20+ projects that we have in this, or much worse condition. This project involves not only repairing the collapse at the intersection of Crane/Old Canton, but includes the improvement of an additional 1200 feet of line up and down Crane Blvd to ensure that this type of collapse does not reoccur. The City has made the first important fix on Crane Blvd in stopping the wastewater from flowing into the creek with improvements to the existing manhole and broken line at the manhole. Unfortunately, with the size of the line, the depths at which it is, and the cost of the ultimate repair, this is not an “easy fix”. Public Works is as anxious as anyone and can sympathize with the frustration of not getting this repair done in a timely manner. However, we would ask for the Public’s indulgence and patience as we work towards rectifying this problem permanently.

This is encouraging.