September 2023 |
All text by Zorek Richards unless otherwise noted.
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| September 10, 2023 |
Kirk Cameron
William Carey University’s 12th Annual Scholarship Dinner will be Oct. 9 at Lake Terrace Convention Center. The special guest at this year’s fund-raiser will be motivational speaker Kirk Cameron. “People remember him as Mike Seaver in the 1980’s sit-com, ‘Growing Pains.’ But since then, he’s invested his time and energy into faith- and family-based films and television shows – and hundreds of live events focused on marriage, family, and parenting,” said Karen Golson, WCU director of advancement. Cameron’s film projects include “Fireproof,” a 2008 Christian drama about a troubled marriage that became the No. 1 inspirational movie of the year and inspired a best-selling book, “The Love Dare,” which helps people transform and improve their marriages. --Magnolia State Live: Kirk Cameron, known from “Growing Pains,” to keynote event at Mississippi university 9.10.23
| September 7, 2023 |
The Nation
Campaigning across Mississippi, Presley promises to deliver “a clean, transparent state government that’s on the side of the people and not just folks who can write a big, fat campaign check.” Specifically, he proposes to expand Medicaid and save rural hospitals, “ax” regressive grocery taxes, and break the grip that corporate special interests have on the state government. Those positions, and a rocking-and-rolling campaign style that has drawn more attention than usually goes to Mississippi Democrats, appear to have turned an uphill run into what polls have begun to portray as a competitive race: Presley is shown to be narrowly ahead or narrowly behind, but always in the running. And he’s just getting started. As of late summer, the candidate has touched every corner of the state on a Bible-quoting, “power to the people” crusade to build a multiracial coalition of working-class voters that could transform the politics of Mississippi, which hasn’t backed a Democrat for president since Jimmy Carter narrowly prevailed in 1976. --John Nichols; The Nation: Can Brandon Presley Shake Up Mississippi Politics? 9.7.23
| September 4, 2023 |
Trump Mugshot
In a groundbreaking revelation, the latest Mississippi Today poll, carried out by Siena Research, has sent shockwaves through the political landscape. Former President Donald Trump continues to shine brightly in the Magnolia State, with an astonishing 61 percent of likely Republican primary voters voicing their unwavering support for the ex-commander-in-chief. The numbers are nothing short of extraordinary, as Trump towers over his closest competitor, Governor Ron DeSantis of Florida, by an astounding 39-point margin. DeSantis, while a formidable contender in his own right, commands 22 percent support, a testament to his popularity among conservative voters. --Shock Ya!; Trump Triumphs in Mississippi: Dominating Lead in GOP Primary Race, New Poll Reveals 9.4.23
| September 1, 2023 |
Brandon Presley
“Y’all know this; this state has problems. Serious problems that require serious solutions. Hospitals are shutting down all across Mississippi, and Tate Reeves acts as if this crisis doesn’t even exist. I promise that as soon as I take the oath of office, I will expand Medicaid within the first five minutes........The system in Jackson is currently bought and paid for by the highest bidder.........A governor should work with both parties to find consensus and reach across the aisle. Politics in Mississippi need to return to the middle; that’s where the solutions are...........I may be a Democrat, but I don’t like paying $3 for gas either...........I’m more committed to tax cuts than Tate Reeves is. In Mississippi, if you buy feed for a hog, you pay zero sales tax. But if you buy formula for a baby, you pay the highest sales tax in the United States.........I don’t want to hear Tate Reeves talk about being more pro-life when you tax life at the highest rate in America.” --Democratic candidate for Governor of Mississippi, Brandon Presley, in Oxford holding a town hall at the Oxford-Lafayette Public Library 9.30.23