Charlie Mitchell

What state officials said about not buying Nike products is wrong

For any official to say that Mississippi will no longer buy Nike products, after the marketing campaign with anthem kneeler Colin Kaepernick, is wrong. And it could bring on a lawsuit.

Charlie Mitchell

Big picture often misses the people holding us together

The Red Cross, Salvation Army, and state and federal governments grabbed the headlines but it was the unnamed volunteers who got South Mississippi through the darkest days right after Hurricane Katrina.

Charlie Mitchell

Mississippi could send a black Democrat to U.S. Senate

Mike Espy could pull off an upset and snatch the Senate seat held by Mississippi Republicans for decades. But he’d need a great African American turnout, and other breaks to do it. And he’d need Chris McDaniel’s help. Meet the original ‘blue girls in a red state’

Charlie Mitchell

Lottery is losing some of its luster, especially among millennials

Louisiana has had a lottery for years. Mississippi has just agreed to have one because it could use the money. Trouble is, lotteries aren’t the money-makers they once were.

Charlie Mitchell

Trump didn’t invent ‘public enemy’ label for the media

Thomas Jefferson ‘deplored’ the media, too, and that was more than 200 years ago.

Charlie Mitchell

Little wiggle room left for the next governor

Mississippi’s revenue is mostly spent before it hits the state treasury. The governor elected next year has an opportunity to change that spending dynamic. Speeches won’t do it, though.

Charlie Mitchell

Sooner or later, Mississippi will be high on pot

Mississippi eventually will be one of the states where marijuana is legal, regulated and taxed. The lure of new tax money for the Legislature to spend will overcome any opposition.

Charlie Mitchell

Not all roads have been a priority for Mississippi officials this past year

Mississippi roads and bridges have been wearing out for years but the Legislature has yet to come up with a plan to fix them. But a new road to Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves neighborhood, at least for a while, was a priority.

Charlie Mitchell

A hint of scandal could make governor race interesting

Charlie Mitchell

A tax even the no-new-taxes crowd could love

A Supreme Court ruling means online retailers will return to Mississippi taxes collected on sales to Mississippians. Politicians love the fact they get new tax money without raising taxes.

Charlie Mitchell

It's not easy to unravel the case of the same-sex wedding cake

The Supreme Court that ruled a baker can't be compelled to use his/her talents has always been reluctant to force transactions between private individuals. And this court has only one new justice since it outlawed same-sex marriage bans.

Charlie Mitchell

Social media makes it too easy to drop out of community, civic life

About 14 percent of Mississippi's eligible voters went to the polls for the primary election. Information overload from social media has caused some to tune out politics in favor of other pasttimes. That's bad news for self-rule.

Charlie Mitchell

This could be another summer of discontented drivers

Pundits are talking about President Trump and porn star Stormy Daniels. But voters are paying more attention to gas prices, which most always rise in the summer. The higher gas goes, the more likely voters are to punish someone.

Charlie Mitchell

The next Oxford could be your hometown

The Walton Family Foundation's study of small town America produce a recipe for success any town can use. Oxford, home of Ole Miss, is one example.

Charlie Mitchell

Counting our heads is easier said than done

Americans, it’s time to stand up and be counted … or not.

Charlie Mitchell

Slot machines, taxes have much in common

Income tax season is over for another year, meaning most people are no longer thinking about how much Mississippi and Uncle Sam claim from their wages — which, of course, is just how Mississippi and Uncle Sam like it. It’s a natural thing. We look at our checks, not the list of deductions.

Charlie Mitchell

It is sad to hear Wicker singing praises of Trump

With apologies to Lloyd Bentsen, Mississippians have watched the career of Roger Wicker for a while. Roger Wicker is no Donald Trump.

Charlie Mitchell

State’s K-12 teachers seem to have other priorities

The last mass protest by Mississippi teachers was in 1985. This year, with summer approaching and the Legislature adjourned, there’s no sense that state teachers will ramp up to march on the Capitol for more pay as their counterparts have been doing in other rural states — West Virginia, Kentucky and Oklahoma.

Charlie Mitchell

MPB radio and TV told to prepare to go it alone

Let’s hope not.