I’m about to set off for a weekend away from the computer, so unless NMC comes up with something tomorrow AM, this open thread may have to do for two mornings. Y’all have fun and I’ll catch ya sometime tomorrow PM, central-Florida traffic willing . . .
When the longtime aide of a state’s senior U.S. Senator gets charged with a federal felony, wouldn’t you expect the state’s leading newspaper to report same?
Other places’ leading newsers — for instance, the Washington Post, New York Times, Philadelphia Inquirer, Atlanta Journal Constitution, Fort Worth Star Telegram, NPR, and CNN — carry the “Ann Copland busted” story. Though many are running just a graf or two of Nedra Pickle’s AP story, the Sun Herald prints the fullest version, while the DJ, as we saw, links the Information itself.
But the Jackson Clarion-Ledger? As I type, not a peep yet. Maybe by the time you’re up-and-about online, Ann Copland will have hit the C-L’s site too, but at the moment, its Metro/State page carries only stories less important than this one.
I don’t know, would you subscribers (if a few remain here) care to mention this to the editors? Either they don’t yet understand the Net’s destruction of their ability to keep secrets, or it’s just their general resistance to anything tending to prompt scary questions for friendly Senators. In any case, this sort of thing is, I’m afraid, an indication of what we can expect as newspapers die off.
(Which reminds me of those NYT shares I finally dumped at a substantial loss several years ago; at an incredibly-lower share-price now, the company has just halted its dividends too. Look for the cousins to get rid of Pinch — too late.)
Remember those worse-than-DeLaughter Pennsylvania judges from last week? Another story growing skankier.
Word is that Bobby Jindal might run for President in 2012. Could be that, having just trashed his re-election prospects (does he think Louisiana’s unemployed work-force won’t stick around to vote — or maybe riot?), he’s left himself only that choice.
I’m borrowing an LAT headline (just because I can) to link a ChiTrib story: Support for Roland Burris falls apart. ChiTrib’s unscientific reader-poll is the most lopsided I’ve ever seen.
This is NOT the Saddy Animals post (that’s coming right up), but jeebus, woudja look at John Cole’s obese cat! Tunch is, his markings say, a Turkish Van. Though TVs are supposed to be big swimmers, Tunch doesn’t seem much for athletics — but his combings with that new-fangled grooming-gizmo surely do bring new meaning to the term “littermate,” don’t they?
Crikey — look at this story in The Independent!
Kingfish is talking about terrific Stanford wipeouts in Baton Rouge. If even half that stuff is true, it’s mighty awful.
Lotus @ 1 & 2 – Meohmy to both. Did you see the slideshow from The Independent?
I’ve been reading the Clarion Ledger over 30 years. In the last 5 to 6 years, it has steadily declined in every aspect: reporting, management, and viewpoint. Its a very weak excuse for a newspaper at this time.
The hot seat Dr. Hayne & Dr. West have been occupying for the past few years just got hotter. Radley Balko over at Reason just let loose his most damning article yet:
http://www.reason.com/news/show/131527.html
Thanks BNS/OMTL/Radley Balko/reason.com. As a Fifth Generation Mississippian that has always felt like a drop of rain in a hundred year flood can’t understand anyone’s lack of humanity whatever status in life they travel. Those that helped them stay the course are still alive and well, some still in power on Capital Street while others are printing papers.
I’ve been following another trial here in Mphs. A Lizzie Borden-style murder case where a young woman is charged with stabbing her mother 50 times. The trial has gone to the jury after 11 days and my question is how, by what criteria, does a judge determine which of the 13 jurors is to be the alternate and hence released from duty?
During the jury selection process, the primary jurors (in this case, 12) would have likely been selected first, with the alternate(s) selected afterward. So, from the moment of selection, the Court and the attys for the parties know the identity of the alternate juror. The jurors are usually not given this information to make sure all remain attentive throughout the trial. Then at the end, if all primary jurors remain and have no issues with seeing the case through a final conclusion, the alternate juror is cut loose.
The story in The Independent contains the following quote from Mississippi’s own Richard Barrett:
Is there any scrap of truth to the flag bit, or is this just more of his lunatic raving?
Lunatic raving. The Republic of New Africa!? Does anyone other than Barrett think about that any more.
My favorite Barrett story: When he showed up in Mississippi from New Jersey in the late 60s, he immediately came to the attention of the sovereignty commission, which considered him suspect and opened a file on him. When the ACLU sued to preserve the files, he joined in the suit saying “whatever they want, I’m against it.” He then opposed his file being made public at the state archives. Then he posted his file to his website, and the ACLU linked it (well, I linked it), noting it was hardly consistent to litigate keeping it secret and then stick the thing on the web. When he figured that out, he took it off the web.
That’s as I thought afotl but this is what is written on a CA blog in this trial:
“Judge Chris Craft is allowing the jurors to take a break and decide whether they want to deliberate tonight or just wait until the morning depending on how tired they are. He said they could eat dinner and pick a foreman, but if they want to start discussing the case tonight, he will go ahead and pick the alternate, excuse them and leave the 12 jurors who will decide the case.”
The C-L can’t write about this for the same reason it can’t ask Trent Lott any questions at all, ever. This is Mississippi, and a “newspaper” ain’t really a newspaper.
I see Catherine Deneuve is trying to get over Ben Cole’s rejection by collecting art:
http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/visual_arts/article5780287.ece#cid=OTC-RSS&attr=797093
http://www.sunherald.com/218/story/1153848.html