Ask Rufus: The flight of the USS Shenandoah
This weekend will be filled with awe and thrills and heritage as Columbus Air Force Base hosts a spectacular air show on Saturday and Sunday. It is a world class event that is free, open to the public and not to be missed.
Thom Caraccio: Mississippi’s own Forrest Gump
I am NOT a famous person, but I play one on TV.
Sid Salter: State’s incarceration rate tops nation and exceeds most nations
The Mississippi Fiscal Year 2025 appropriations for the State Department of Corrections – the state’s prison system – included $424.3 million from the General Fund, State Support Special Funds of $7.5 million, $19.5 million in federal funds, and other special funds of $27.07 million for a total of $458.9 million.
Thom Caraccio: Tales from the Pink Pussycat: Part One
Most people have stories about their “wild younger days.” Mine fall into the category of “barely survived by the skin of my teeth” days. This is one.
Slimantics: The not-so-good old days are here again
When I was kid, I dreaded returning to school after the Thanksgiving break.
Jiben Roy: High and low
What an achievement! The first commercial spacewalk by a daring billionaire tech CEO Jared Isaacman, who funded this program which was operated by Elon Musk’s SpaceX.
Possumhaw: Hurricanes & History
Last Thursday we stayed home, watched the weatherman, filled jugs of water in case we needed water, checked flashlights, and hoped we could rely on the generator if need be.
Bobby Harrison: Will Trump or Harris match record-setting voter turnout of 2020?
One of Vice President Kamala Harris’ most devastating zingers in last week’s debate with former President Donald Trump was when she looked at him and said he “was fired by 81 million people … Clearly he is having a difficult time processing that.”
Ask Rufus: A weekend of blues and Thunderbirds
The weekend of Sept. 20-22 will be a world class weekend in West Point and Columbus.
Sid Salter: Mississippi leaders eye additional tax cuts after 2022’s historic tax cut package enacted
In 2022, Gov. Tate Reeves signed the largest tax cut in Mississippi history – the Mississippi Tax Freedom Act. The tax cut plan promised to eliminate $525 million in Income tax relief by 2026.
Possumhaw: Rain and water
Wilhelmina has not been feeling very well lately. She doesn’t seem to be sick, no real symptoms, just a little lethargic. She’s spent most of the day hiding under the recliner.
Home Base: Mississippi’s ‘DEI Scare’ champion has lost his sense of decency
As a U.S. senator, Joseph McCarthy made a name for himself during the “Red Scare” by claiming communists abounded in the State Department, Hollywood, labor unions and universities.
Thom Caraccio: ‘Trainwreck’ Ray
My childhood friend Raymond was – and may still be – a walking tragic-comedy.
Ask Rufus: Mushulatubbee and the Choctaws
Last week I was invited to speak to the Daughters of the American Revolution in Starkville about the 100th anniversary of the Indian Citizenship Act of 1924.
Sid Salter: Civil rights pioneer Les McLemore shares his truth 60 years after Freedom Summer
Think about a powerful public speaker with the clarity and power of a Barack Obama. Then think about a distinguished educator who can capitative and motivate his students.
Slimantics: Young people today: The Duck Lips of the Apocalypse
There are, generally, three groups of people who are more interested in the past than they are the future: Historians, memoirists and bores.
Possumhaw: Bald eagle or turkey
Back at the porch in the somewhat early morning. It was still a bit cool even with the humidity hanging in the air. Oh, how hot it’s been for so long.
Ask Rufus: Chasing a killdee
After a meeting at the Mississippi University For Women Plymouth Bluff Center last week, the subject of killdees came up. We were pondering on how we don’t seem to see as many of them as we once did.
Thom Caraccio: The United States of me, me, me
America is experiencing a real pandemic. Not the one with a 99.99% recovery rate that occasionally kills a sick 80-year-old and used to be called the flu.
Sid Salter: Presidential, Senate elections will significantly impact the state’s shipbuilding industries
As noted in prior writings on this topic, only Walmart employs more Mississippians than what Mississippians have since 1938 known as Ingalls Shipbuilding in Pascagoula (now formally Huntington Ingalls Industries) – but the pay and benefits for shipbuilding are far better for those 11,000 Mississippi employees than at the big box store.