Jackson - The More Things Change, The More Things Do Not Change
- Thread starter Willow Grove Dawg
- Start date
If you’re about to take out half the elected officials in a major Democratic stronghold in Bennie Thompson’s district, you better bet the word came down from on high.
I know what you mean, but Biden has handlers, not people.
So what you’re saying is that The Inn isn’t the only thing with a Big Apple
Biden DOJ move against Jackson MS elected officials = Nixon going to China
(Apples to oranges comparison but I ain’t sarcastericking it)
Let’s keep in mind who orchestrated that little visit
Could be or could be she just pissed off the wrong person. Really don’t know which way to bet. The reason I’d lean towards her being a fall guy and stopping with her is that it’s an election year. On the other hand, I’m not sure anybody outside Mississippi cares about Jackson or is worried about it impacting any federal elections that matter, so maybe body cared to stop it once it got rolling.
SSDD. We already had a round of FBI indictments of Jackson councilmen (Armstrong and Williams) in the late 90s / early 2Ks, and it didn't change a thing.
I'm not one to engage in a ton of hyperbole, but Jackson's been run like a fiefdom for so long, and the voters put up with so much BS from their leadership that I don't see it changing soon.
So it’s just like our federal government then, huh?
Maybe. But why do you raid the mayor's and DA's offices and seize documents if she's the fall guy (gal?)? I think Bennie finally had enough of Antar and his gang and is ready to put his people in those positions. But that's just speculation on my part.
I wonder if this was foreshadowed by Bennie Thompson last week.....he mentioned last week that Jackson really needs to reconsider who they are voting for in the next election (for mayor I assume).....yday i heard the news on Supertalk radio about her being indicted....the article you link lists a few more players getting items confiscated, including the mayor......THIS needs to happen
The water debacle got Bennie's attention and EPA's attention. The solid waste contract debacle got the DOJ's attention.
This time seems like its being handled differently. We will see I guess. And I have a feeling that a regular audit / watchdog will be part of this going forward.
Armstrong served a year in the federal pen and was given a 2nd chance at redemption. Article states that "Armstrong's one of a handful of convicted felons working for the city, including former councilman Robert Williams." https://www.wlbt.com/story/6026227/city-gives-convicted-councilman-2nd-chance/
THOMPSON DOESN’T CONDONE COUNCILMAN’S ACTIONS
Congressional Record - Extensions of Remarks - April 22, 1999
JACKSON, MS.—U.S. Congressman Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., says he doesn’t condone the actions of former City Council President Louis Armstrong, but he warns people not to condemn his longtime friend. Armstrong pleaded guilty last week in U.S. District Court to charges of conspiracy to commit extortion and accepting part of a $25,000 bribe to influence a council vote on rezoning a topless bar. He is scheduled to be sentenced May 7. Artie Armstrong, 30, his eldest son, faces trial March 1 on bribery, extortion and conspiracy charges in the same case. ‘‘Nobody really supports individuals doing wrong. As long as the pursuit of the wrongdoers is within the confines of the laws and on balance, then the general public will support it. And I don’t know any people that I talk to who support people doing wrong,’’ Thompson said. ‘‘People sympathize with people who make mistakes. And those people who are Christian hope that the people who do wrong will see the error of their ways and seek some opportunities for redemption.’’ Former state senator Henry J. Kirksey says FBI investigations into alleged corruption by black Jackson City officials and business leaders, like Armstrong and his son, are not based on race. The veteran lawmaker who has been active in state and local politics criticized those who are labeling recent FBI investigations as selective prosecution of minorities. Kirksey says last week’s guilty plea by Armstrong, who is black, to bribery and extortion charges reflects the mentality of some politicians who have risen to power and subsequently abused it in search of the dollar. ‘‘They are teaching that to their children— ‘You get it anyway you can’—and that’s why the jails and detention centers are loaded with blacks,’’ Kirksey said. ‘‘The problem is there is something wrong at City Hall, and it’s not all just Louis Armstrong, either.’’ Councilmen Kenneth Stokes and Robert Williams testified during the December trial of two businessmen charged in the FBI cable investigation that they were never offered any money in exchange for their votes. The councilmen have not been charged with wrongdoing. Car salesman Robert Williams, 50, and snack food distributor Roy Dixon, 56, were convicted Dec. 11 of conspiring to extort $150,000 from Time Warner Cable in an attempt to influence the city council’s vote on the franchise renewal. On Friday, U.S. District Judge Tom S. Lee gave Williams 21 months in prison and two years supervised probation. U.S. Attorney Brad Pigott said the FBI’s investigations centered only on criminal actions of suspects, not their race. He pointed to the guilty pleas of Armstrong and Clinton Moses Jr., a confessed bank robber who on Friday admitted he firebombed the Jackson Advocate and accused Armstrong of hiring him. ‘‘From the fact that both of them have every reason to expect to go to prison for having confessed under oath for their criminal conduct, I certainly don’t see where the room is to see that they’re both just lying so that they can have the chance to go prison,’’ Pigott said. Moses, who worked in Armstrong’s 1997 reelection campaign, told authorities that Armstrong paid him $500 to burn the black weekly newspaper. Pigott won’t say whether Armstrong will be charged in the Advocate’s firebombing.
Congressional Record - Extensions of Remarks - April 22, 1999
JACKSON, MS.—U.S. Congressman Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., says he doesn’t condone the actions of former City Council President Louis Armstrong, but he warns people not to condemn his longtime friend. Armstrong pleaded guilty last week in U.S. District Court to charges of conspiracy to commit extortion and accepting part of a $25,000 bribe to influence a council vote on rezoning a topless bar. He is scheduled to be sentenced May 7. Artie Armstrong, 30, his eldest son, faces trial March 1 on bribery, extortion and conspiracy charges in the same case. ‘‘Nobody really supports individuals doing wrong. As long as the pursuit of the wrongdoers is within the confines of the laws and on balance, then the general public will support it. And I don’t know any people that I talk to who support people doing wrong,’’ Thompson said. ‘‘People sympathize with people who make mistakes. And those people who are Christian hope that the people who do wrong will see the error of their ways and seek some opportunities for redemption.’’ Former state senator Henry J. Kirksey says FBI investigations into alleged corruption by black Jackson City officials and business leaders, like Armstrong and his son, are not based on race. The veteran lawmaker who has been active in state and local politics criticized those who are labeling recent FBI investigations as selective prosecution of minorities. Kirksey says last week’s guilty plea by Armstrong, who is black, to bribery and extortion charges reflects the mentality of some politicians who have risen to power and subsequently abused it in search of the dollar. ‘‘They are teaching that to their children— ‘You get it anyway you can’—and that’s why the jails and detention centers are loaded with blacks,’’ Kirksey said. ‘‘The problem is there is something wrong at City Hall, and it’s not all just Louis Armstrong, either.’’ Councilmen Kenneth Stokes and Robert Williams testified during the December trial of two businessmen charged in the FBI cable investigation that they were never offered any money in exchange for their votes. The councilmen have not been charged with wrongdoing. Car salesman Robert Williams, 50, and snack food distributor Roy Dixon, 56, were convicted Dec. 11 of conspiring to extort $150,000 from Time Warner Cable in an attempt to influence the city council’s vote on the franchise renewal. On Friday, U.S. District Judge Tom S. Lee gave Williams 21 months in prison and two years supervised probation. U.S. Attorney Brad Pigott said the FBI’s investigations centered only on criminal actions of suspects, not their race. He pointed to the guilty pleas of Armstrong and Clinton Moses Jr., a confessed bank robber who on Friday admitted he firebombed the Jackson Advocate and accused Armstrong of hiring him. ‘‘From the fact that both of them have every reason to expect to go to prison for having confessed under oath for their criminal conduct, I certainly don’t see where the room is to see that they’re both just lying so that they can have the chance to go prison,’’ Pigott said. Moses, who worked in Armstrong’s 1997 reelection campaign, told authorities that Armstrong paid him $500 to burn the black weekly newspaper. Pigott won’t say whether Armstrong will be charged in the Advocate’s firebombing.
Didn't realize this was the family. Her dad is the guy Bourdain visited when he did his show in Mississippi I guess??
Its amazing what happens when you can't drink the tap water and can't poop indoors. The world just feels different.
Both of these seemed like nothing was going to get approved unless someone paid up and someone did't get their cut, didn't it? I admit I am clueless but this just seemed completely obvious, and the city was going to be held hostage for water not being fixed and trash piling up until pockets were stuffed.
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If you just come into any situation involving the mayor of Jackson assuming it's all about him getting paid first, everything that happens after will become much clearer.
I get why you say that, but there are lots of cities that used to be in the same or similar situation, then the right group of city leaders - a selfless, intelligent mayor and board, local stakeholders, developers, high net worth visionaries who care, etc. - got together and decided to do something to change it. And the cities got demonstrably better over a 10- or 20-year period. It can be done. Will Jackson find those people and allow them to work, is the question.
Top of my head:
Birmingham
Memphis downtown
Little Rock
Chattanooga
Detroit is on its way back
even NYC had to bootstrap itself back up in the 90's.
As you said, Jackson has specific challenges, and a deeply ingrained mindset that is very counterproductive, so it will be difficult. I'm just saying, if the right people took control... maybe.
Correct, what @greenbean.sixpack said describes literally every city in America.
Jackson's problem isn't the lack of potential. It has tons. Great downtown grid, river, capital, only urban area within 3 hours, etc.
FBI agents and AUSAs are people working a job just like me and you. A good FBI agent wants to work high profile cases for their career and group. Regardless of the President.
Usually, public corruption cases are worked by senior agents, agents that have been around years. Public corruption cases regardless if W was in office or Obama or Trump or Biden... is a top priority for the FBI and other Fed agencies.
I applaud the feds efforts, but nothing will change. They will vote in a replacement just as bad or worse. Just a matter of "who got next?" among the community organizers.
Stokes district must be doing pretty good…he’s been on the council for 40 years it seems.
And for this reason it must be allowed to die on the vine. I have no desire for my tax dollars to be sunk into what will ultimately become a slush fund for the local politicians and their cronies. Jackson is gonna Jackson no matter what improvements the state might make for them.
I'm sure you're right and I sure hope so. The **** going on in Jackson has to be stopped or the city will absolutely die violently. It may anyway.
None of these, except maybe Detroit, has ever been in near as bad as shape as Jxn currently is. Certainly LR and Chattanooga were never close to as bad a shape. B'ham had a lot of financial issues, but they have always kept a stream of folks from the burbs coming into the city to spend money (plus they have UAB downtown). Memphis is probably the closest comparable, but they always welcomed folks in with Beale St, BPS, Zoo, etc. Likely Shreveport and Montgomery are most similar situation to Jxn, but neither (and I've been to both recently) are near as bad off as Jxn.
If Jxn gets a somewhat competent mayor, the best we could hope for is the bleeding to stop in four years. If would take 20 years to see some positive upward growth IF you had a component mayor AND city council for the entire period.
A few of us had a private meeting with Frank Melton, i remember him saying before he took office he had no clue how bad the corruption/incompetence/sloth/uncaring was....and that was 25ish years ago. And Frank was pretty plugged into the seedy side of Jxn before he was elected.
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