This website grew out of laziness gone awry. I loved the old Magnolia Report site. Bless his Republican heart, Brian Perry scanned the media for political tidbits about Mississippi, both here and outside our borders and I could keep up with things without doing my own searching. The joys of being lazy......

In spite of the right-wing bent of Brian, it was an evenhanded site, the man was good, he deserves major props. He's gone on to a job in Washington with Congressman Pickering, and left Magnolia Report in other hands.

I don't much care for the site now that it's changed hands. For a long time it looked like it was owned by Amy Tuck; since the editor of the site worked for Amy Tuck, that's not surprising. The idea of a news headlines site run by a working member of one political party or another doesn't fly if you're looking for any kind of nonpartisanship, and I am looking. Many days during the statewide election of '03, Magnolia Report  had as much or more news hot off Republican party sites as they had anything else. During that time, I would look in and think, 'what do I need this for - I could go on Barbour's campaign site and get 90% of that stuff.' I like my news from sources that at least have some pretense to nonpartisanship.

As for me, I may have an agenda, but I never had a party, until very recently, when I joined the Green Party. The Green Party has no power at the present time, but one has hopes, at least locally. In the meantime, whichever party is working toward some of the same goals I have, has my nod. I personally vote across both party lines and for third party candidates, which is why I listen to both sides and any third parties that come along. That's my claim to nonpartisanship.

I'm not going to try and tell you this website is unbiased, but it will be as nonpartisan as I can make it, at least in the headline picked up. I hope to be as fair and evenhanded as the old Magnolia Report in the political news I gather. I will, however, carry heavier emphasis on areas that are of importance in my point of view, such as education, racial issues, the justice system, and cultural events and happenings.

It goes without saying (since this is the definition of "editorial") that my editorials will be strictly based on my opinions. I hope to carry other editorials, which will be their opinion, some in agreement with mine, some not. I'll be glad to present the other side if it's well-written and makes sense, rather than being just a personal attack, or maybe even if it is, and is cleverly written. I don't promise not to write a rebuttal to attack editorials or letters, however. I haven't done a whole lot of editoralizing over the past few years (writing this update in May, 2007), but I think that's about to change. Some of the "extra" content on my site may draw people to the conclusion that I am no longer attempting non-partisanship, but for the reasons stated in this missive, that will not be true. And, as does everyone else, whether they admit it not, I do have my agenda. Fair warning - I may be a bit more assertive about it that when I started this site nearly four years ago.

If it's political news and/or it pertains to Mississippi, it'll be here if I know about it and it's pertinent to today's Mississippi. I always want to know what the other side is saying, even more than what my own side is saying, and I believe that thinking people want that as well. How else will a person know what to expect out of those who are working in opposition to one's own goals? And how would you know if they change positions to agree with you?

If you don't see it and you think it ought to be here, please call it to my attention at editor@mississippipolitical.com .

What qualifies me for this? I'm opinionated, I can write, I have the $4 a month to pay the webhost, and I know how to set up a web page. That's it. You, too, can waste the price of one fast-food meal a month (this is great for my diet) and lots and lots of your free time and put up a similar site, spend all your free time searching the news, and write editorials on whatever you want. If you don't like this site, you can complain, or you can put in the work and see if you can do a better job!

-- Last Updated May 26, 2007