Jackson Jambalaya

When I first began to consume wine as a novice in the 1960s, I had no idea how many forms it could take and how complicated the subject can be once you get into it even on a cursory basis.

 The Department of Human Services issued the following statement. 

More fireworks took place at Jackson Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba's press conference today. Chief of Staff Dr. Safiya Omari said Ward 3 City Councilman Kenneth Stokes was an abuser of women as she fired at him with both barrels.  However, the smoke from her barrage had not yet cleared when the Mayor stepped into the fray and said members of the City Council, including Mr. Stokes and Ward 1 Councilman Ashby Foote, were taking bribes to steer the garbage contract.  Watch the first few. minutes of the press conference.  

 State Auditor Shadrach Blanc issued the following statement. 

 Former Booneville police officer Dustin Rambo will serve 16 months in prison after he pleaded guilty to violating civil rights and making false statements. 

 Emergency contract bans most garbage cans.

Will the whatever time be a charm for Jackson Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba?  Hizzoner placed the matter of awarding an emergency one-year garbage collection contract to Richard's Disposal on the agenda for Tuesday's meeting of the Jackson City Council.  The resolution and proposed contract are posted below.

 This post is reprinted with the permission of the Taxpayer's Channel in Greenwood. 

UMB Bank was the highest bidder for the assets of Express Grain at the bankruptcy auction held Friday morning, according to multiple individuals who observed the auction.

The late Dr. Frank Pollard preached from Matthew 11: 27-30 in this 1993 sermon at First Baptist Church (Jackson). If ya didn't get to church today, enjoy the remedial sermon.

“The era of authoritarian imperialism is back with a vengeance,” a Wall Street Journal editorial proclaimed hours before Russia invaded Ukraine.

When people argue, onlookers often say the truth is likely somewhere in the middle. The Truth does not reside somewhere in the middle between the sides. From the beginning we’ve made wrong decisions even when the right choice has been graciously provided. The Truth abides far above the highest intellects and imaginations of humanity. 

First Consul Tate Reeves issued the following statement. 

 The fight for Jackson's garbage contract is going to court - again.  Waste Management sued for an injunction against the city of Jackson and Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba in Hinds County Circuit Court yesterday. 

 Franklin D. Roosevelt, scion of one of the wealthiest families in American history, was worth about $67 million in today's dollars. He attended the prestigious Groton boarding school, Harvard College and Columbia Law. He was relatable to the masses despite his privileged background. In the words of a PBS documentary, he was "a patrician who spoke the language of the dispossessed."

Check out The View's resident idiot this morning.

 Bigger Pie Forum's Ashby Foote discusses Europe's electricity problems with Douglas Carson of the Mississippi Center for Public Policy.

 This post is a paid advertisement. 

 Real war broke out in Ukraine after Russia invaded the country but the Ukraine people are fighting back. Apparently no one wants to spend time as a Russian prisoner.  The news is moving fast so consider this an open thread on the subject.  Comment here, post videos and links as you see fit. 

Sudie Jones indictment posted below. 

Several readers got a little peeved when JJ and WLBT referred to Sudie Jones as a former drug "kingpin" when she was indicted in the Toni Johnson case recently.  Well, take a look at some news articles from the early 1990s. 

 The Mississippi Development Authority submitted a claim for $750,000 in the Express Grain bankruptcy case on February 16.  

 War broke out between Jackson Ward 3 Councilman Kenneth Stokes and Chief of Staff DR. Safiyah Omari during a discussion of the garbage contract today.  Curse words were used while Ward 7 Councilwoman Virgi Lindsey's voice became even more tortured as she begged them to stop yelling at each other.  This exchange is one for the books. 

 This article is reprinted with the permission of the Taxpayer's Channel. 

Early this morning, armed agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation raided the offices of Express Grain at the oil mill in Greenwood, as well as EG President John Coleman's home on Robert E Lee Drive. 

Bill Gates is sad over natural immunity. 

Last year should have been a great year for PERS as its investments generated nearly a 33% return.  Let the good times roll. Time to party like it's 1999. The markets finally came back and PERS can invest its way to success.  Well, not so fast my friend.  While PERS killed it on Wall Street, a plethora of factors blunted the PERS progress to stability as the funding level rose less than a point.   

 Will there be a showdown at high noon at Jackson City Hall? The City Council will meet tomorrow to discuss the Mayor's garbage state of emergency.  Check out the competing agendas posted below. 

Gary Pettus authored the following UMC press release.

 Every morning on his way to medical school, Brittain Heindl learned a lot about the lives of patients before he ever got to class.

Some yewts got into a shootout yesterday but managed to get away.  WLBT's Christopher Fields reported on his Facebook page yesterday: 

It doesn't take much to make me happy these days. My wife might argue with that statement, but it’s true. It’s not that I have reached some state of self-actualization and have rocketed up to the summit of Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs or anything like that. It's just that— surprisingly— monetary and material things have taken a backseat to the spiritual and relational things in my life over the past several years. It’s a good place to be.

KF Correction: The "verdict" was actually a settlement. Article

Does the stunning $73 million verdict against gun manufacturer Remington in the 2012 school shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, Connecticut, that claimed the lives of 20 first-graders and six educators signal a sea change in litigation against gun makers?

 Let's face it.  Most people hated the Seinfeld finale. Unfortunately, not too many popular tv shows are able to stick the landing and that's not including the ending of you know what.  The Seinfeld finale lived on in infamy as something best forgotten.  However, the Seinfeld team made things right and put together a reunion show ten years later but with a twist - they buried it in another show on HBO.  If as yours truly, you were not aware of this little blast from the past, enjoy.

     This week, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, the lightweight, unpopular elected leader of a country with a 93% vaccination rate for those over 60 and a total vaccination rate of 84%, announced that he would invoke the Emergencies Act in order to crack down on the Freedom Convoy -- a group of protesters opposed to government vaccination mandates for truckers. Trudeau breathily announced that invocation of the law was in fact "reasonable and proportionate." His public safety minister, Marco Mendicino, said that the actions were required thanks to "intimidation, harassment, and expressions of hate."

 State Supreme Bean Counter Shadrach White issued the following statement. 

 Madison-Rankin District Attorney Bubba Bramlett issued the following statement. 

 The Lumumba administration did not take too kindly to Waste Management's threat to take legal action after the Mayor declared a state of emergency so he could award a garbage contract to Richard's Disposal of New Orleans.

 Posted below are the Mississippi Bar's disciplinary actions  for the second half of 2021.  They were obtained through a public records request.

In an unexpected outbreak of journalism, the New York Times  busted the CDC for hiding large amounts of Covid-19 data it collects. The newspaper of record reported today: 

 When you buy a French Chablis, it will be made only from Chardonnay grapes grown in a small district in France, because that is required under French law. 

 The Pearl Police Department issued the following statement. 

 The Landmark Center on Capitol Street now belongs to the Mississippi Regional Housing Authority.   MRHA purchased the building from Landmark Property Company, LLC in July 2021.  

 Lanier High School's enrollment continues to collapse. Bulldog enrollment is only 566 students for the 2021-2022 school year. Lanier's student population fell 36% over the last decade, mirroring the abandonment of Jackson Public Schools. Once the largest public school district in Mississippi, JPS has less than 20,000 students today. 

Breaking Points dived into the weed, er, make that weeds of the medical marijuana industry last week.  The report focused on surprise, how big business is trying to rig the regulation of medical marijuana in each state and squash competition.  Forget rich guys in Arkansas, major corporations such as Miracle-Gro and Coke are jumping into the game.  Get read to watch Mary Jane's wild, wild, west.  Enjoy. 

If you overslept and missed church, enjoy this 1993 sermon as the late Dr. Frank Pollard pours out some scripture.  

 “Where have all the real men gone?” asked Enterprise-Journal Publisher Jack Ryan in a recent editorial.

 And...... socialist Russell Brand makes the same points as D.L. Gardner buuuuut in a slightly, just ever so slightly, different fashion about the boy prime minister up north.  

Those who live above us, who have authority over us, may not know how the rest of us really feel about being forced to do things we not only don’t want to do, but also things that will harm us, especially when those making the rules exempt themselves from those rules. Freedom loving Americans are fed up as are Canadians, French, British, Belgians, Australians, and New Zealanders. STOP IT!!!

 Hinds County Election Commissioner Toni Johnson and Cedric Cornelius are still in jail after they were arrested by the State Auditor's investigators yesterday. 

 Waste Management fired back at Jackson Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba today after he declared a state of emergency yesterday so he could award a one-year garbage contract to Richard's Disposal of New Orleans. 

 Jackson Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba was not the first Jackson Mayor to lie about the state not paying its water bills.  Mayor Harvey Johnson said the same thing which was not in 2010 as well.  JJ busted the current Mayor for the lie and busted Harvey for the lie as well with you guessed it, a public records request.  Check out this August 16, 2010 JJ post: 

Remember Harvey's little threat to cut off the state's water because it owed Jackson "millions" in unpaid past-due water bill?

The State Auditor's investigators arrested Hinds County Election Commissioner Toni Johnson this morning in Clinton. She is currently in custody at the Raymond Detention Center. More information will be posted when available.

Update (1:00 PM): State Auditor Shadrick White issued the following statement:

 WLBT concluded it's three-part series on Jackson's water problems last night.  Reporters Anthony Warren and C.J. Lemasters quizzed the efforts to help the water system stay, well, above water in a ten-minute video.  The story is good local journalism that is worthy of your time.  They spent several weeks putting this package together and it shows in the production.  Watch it here.

 Nissan to invest $500 million in Canton plant

Governor Tate Reeves issued the following statement.