Music Mondays for Sept. 1

Welcome to Music Mondays. Today’s selections from Kitch’s album, The Sun Recordings, are:

Track 3: Kitch introducing the album

Track 4: St. Louis Blues

We’ll release two tracks every Monday between now and Election Day.

On Monday, Nov. 3, we’ll release all 20 tracks again so that you can have the entire album to enjoy.

Smith and cronies trying to legislate from the bench

It appears that Jim Smith is leading the charge on another crazy crusade to push our Supreme Court further along the activist path of which he’s been so fond of he became the chief justice.

From a Jackson Free Press article:

Several judges admitted that the court has been deliberating changes to its method for determining the positions of chief judge and presiding judges, even though the court has refused Jackson Free Press information requests detailing the deliberations.

We’ll save Smith’s proclivity for secrecy for another day. Right now, let’s focus on the fact that Smith and his fellow activist judges want to throw out 30 years of legislative statute because they don’t like who is coming up behind them.

“Six of the judges are under the control of big business. I’ve never been bought by anybody, and they’re scared to death that I’m going to rise up,” Easley said. “Smith is chief, and presiding judges are (WIlliam) Waller and (Oliver) Diaz. Polls show Smith losing and Diaz losing. The last poll I saw shows I’m winning, and if that happens I’m going to be in second place and a heartbeat away from being chief. They’re trying to maintain their control.”

The definition of an activist judge is one who makes laws instead of interpreting them. I can’t think of a better example than a court who takes it upon themselves to change the law that governs how their leader is chosen because they don’t like the next guy in line.

Miss. Code Ann. § 9-3-11 states that the chief justice will be the member of the court who has served for the longest time continuously; and, the two … judges of the supreme court who have served continuously for the next longest time shall be presiding justices.

There is nothing for the justices to interpret here, because there is no court case being decided. This is a bunch of judges who are scared because Smith’s political future doesn’t look to bright.

Help us get rid of Smith and this activist court. Click here to donate now. It doesn’t matter how small or large — OK, no more than $5,000 for individuals and $1,000 for corporations. Anything you can give will help.

Welcome to Music Mondays!

Many of you know that Kitch is a talented piano player. He loves Hank Williams and the blues.

What many of you may not know is that he recorded a CD at Sun Studios in Memphis, where the likes of Elvis Presley and Jerry Lee Lewis recorded their hits.

So from now until Election Day, we’re going to treat you to some great blues tracks recorded by Kitch.

Each Monday, we’ll give you two tracks. Then, on Nov. 3, we’ll provide all 20 tracks to you for download.

This is a great CD for any blues lover, so I hope you’ll enjoy it.

For today, here’s The Memphis Blues by W.C. Handy and Memphis, by an artist we can’t identify.

Enjoy the music.

Jim and Mary celebrate 40 years of marriage

Jim took some time off from campaigning over the weekend to celebrate his 40th anniversary with his wife, Mary.

The celebrated at a party thrown by their five children. It was held at the home of Kitch’s daughter and son-in-law, Warren and Rebecca Thornton of Crystal Springs.

Not even a torrential downfall could keep the more than 100 guests from coming to wish the happy couple their best. Unfortunately, Kitch’s sons spent most of their time outside in the rain parking cars. But that’s just a testament to the kind of kids Jim and Mary have raised.

If you want to see some photos from the event, check out this set over at Flickr.

Make sure you check out at least two photos, the one of the family and the one of the Jim and Mary.

Hampton gets a little cynical in column

David Hampton is a good writer, and I generally agree with most of his politics. But not today’s column. In fact, it sounded more cynical than I’ve heard David sound in quite a while.

That David supports appointing judges over electing them is no surprise. I’m still amazed at the people who think we can rid a system of politics by subjecting it to political appointment. It’s an argument that defies logic.

But I digress. What was really bothersome was David’s tone. For example, there was this diddy on candidates who claim not to look at their reports:

As always, follow the money – who gives it and who takes it. Ask the candidates and don’t take “I don’ t look at who gives me money” for an answer. If they say that, don’t believe it. If they truly don’t, that is worse.

Why is that worse? The candidates who truly do not look at their donors — and Kitch does not — are trying to remain above politics. What they are doing is admirable, and David should know that.

More to the point, David wants this race to be about trial lawyers vs. business interests. But this time, the peg ain’t fittin’ into that hole.

Kitch has trial lawyer money behind him, no doubt. But he’s got bankers, business owners and defense attorneys who have donated thousands of dollars as well. And don’t forget the nearly $25,000 we’ve raised to date in small donations from every day Mississippians.

Granted, Jim Smith’s financial backers are not nearly as diverse. He’s got one or two trial lawyers — like Don Evans. And he may have one or two individuals. But his donors are overwhelmingly big oil executives and political organizations.

One last note on David’s column. Here’s another bit of cynisism:

Ask candidates their positions if you wish. Judges shouldn’t discuss pending cases, but should tell you the basis of their beliefs. If they say, “Sorry I can’t ethically discuss that,” tell them “Sorry, I can’t ethically vote for you.”

Legally, they can discuss their ideas and philosophies.

David might like to think it’s that cut and dry, but it’s not.

For one, the Mississippi Code of Judicial Ethics preclude judges from speaking about issues on which they may one day rule. As far as it being legal, that statute has never been struck down in Mississippi. Similar statutes in other states have, and the Mississippi statute might one day follow suit. But as of now, it stands.

Past that, codes of ethics are often about more than being legal or illegal. It’s not illegal for a candidate to look at his list of donors. And one day it may not be illegal for them to speak on issues.

But ethically, they should not.

Look at judicial appointees during their confirmation hearings in the U.S. Senate. They speak about their philosophies, their qualifications and any written opinions they have made. But ask them about the death penalty, gun control or abortion, and they will not speak to those specific issues.

They can, mind you. But ethically, it would be wrong to do so.

But I’ll agree with David on one thing: Voters need to take an interest in judicial elections. Stark differences exist between Kitch and Smith.

Take a look at their records, and then make an educated decision about your vote.

On open ‘gummint’

When it comes to blogging, sometimes you just have to know when someone else says it better than you ever could.

Such is the case over at folo.us and this post about a JFP reporter’s interview.

Video of the Neshoba County Fair speech

We’ve posted the Neshoba County Fair speech online. It can be seen from at right or directly from YouTube.

Kitch did a great job, and we’ve had several calls and emails in response.

If you want to read the speech in its entirety, you can do so here.

I’d also encourage you to show your appreciation for Kitch and his message by making a small donation. To do so, click on the DONATE NOW button at the top right, or visit:

http://www.kitchensforjustice.com/donate/

Enjoy the speech!

Speech to the Neshoba County Fair

Below is the text of the speech Jim Kitchens gave on Thursday, July 31, at the Neshoba County Fair:

I’m Jim Kitchens, and I bring you greetings from Crystal Springs, Mississippi, my hometown.

Next month, Miss Mary and I will celebrate 40 years of marriage. We’ve been blessed with five wonderful children – so far.

And it gets better. We have six marvelous grandchildren! The youngest, Little Jack Kitchens, is just six weeks old.

I know that I have much for which to be thankful. My mom, who turned 94 last week, still works full time; she has about 30 piano students.

She used to tell me that if we look closely enough at our lives, we can see God’s little nudges along the way.

I’ve found that to be true. Every wonderful thing that’s happened in my life has resulted from God’s giving me a little nudge here and there.

I grew up working in my dad’s wholesale grocery business, and on his farm. I delivered groceries to country stores all over Central Mississippi.

In college down at USM, I had jobs on campus and worked at the cattle sale. When I graduated, I thought I’d work in the family business the rest of my life.

But my younger brother, who was only 17, wanted to be a doctor, and he wanted to go to college at Ole Miss. Because my brother was so young, our dad wouldn’t let him go all the way up to Oxford by himself. But Dad made a deal with me:

He said he’d let my brother go to Ole Miss if I’d go up there with him and go to law school.

So I did. And thanks to God’s little nudge, I began a legal career I never could have imagined.

My first job in public service began when I was just 28 years old. Voters in four Mississippi counties elected me to three terms as district attorney.

Being a D. A. was a great job. I worked closely with law enforcement officers, many of whom are my close friends to this day. I also got to help a lot of people who had been on the receiving end of crime.

The truth is that, I’d still be there – but for a life-changing event.

In the late ‘70s, our son Dan was diagnosed with cancer. Cancer is just about the worst word a mother and father can ever hear. I hope you never have to watch one of your children battle such a terrible disease.

You learn a lot you didn’t know about prayer. And you learn that it works.

Dan was 3 then. He’s 34 now, and he practices law with his dad. That makes me mighty proud, and mighty thankful.

But that war with cancer came with high medical bills that I couldn’t pay on my D. A.’s salary. I had two options:

I could take bankruptcy and avoid paying my bills, or

I could leave the job I loved, start a small law practice and pay those bills a little at the time.

I chose to pay my bills. I paid every cent I ever owed. Maybe not always on time, but I paid every cent.

That turned out to be another of God’s little nudges. It led me to a life of working for people who needed the help of a caring lawyer. Some had been wronged, and some just needed to be guided through a very complex and confusing legal system.

It also nudged my family and me into a life of giving back. Especially Dan. He and his mother are the backbone of Camp Rainbow, a summer camp for kids with cancer.

Over the years, I’ve given of my time and money to help make Camp Rainbow a success. My family has given even more, along with their sweat and their tears, as they helped cancer-stricken kids from all over Mississippi live a little each summer.

Our lives have always centered around children. Before our own kids came along, Mary and I used to have children from the Baptist Children’s Village in our home. She’s a retired elementary school teacher, and I’ve volunteered as a school mentor in Crystal Springs.

But too many Mississippi kids slip through the cracks and end up in a courtroom instead of a classroom. All of us should work to reach the children who need our help, before they end up as statistics in the criminal justice system. It’s in that spirit of giving back and because of God’s little nudges that I’m running for the Mississippi Supreme Court.

The more I see what our highest court is doing, and the more I hear about the incumbent’s plans for the future, the more I’m convinced a change should be made. You see, Justice Jim Smith wants to take away your right to elect judges.

According to his logic, we can stop corruption in the courts by stripping the people of their constitutional right to vote and giving that power to a politician.

I say, if we can trust the people to elect our governor, and we can trust the people to elect our Legislature, then we can trust the people to elect our judges.

Now, after he takes away your right to vote, Jim Smith says he would limit judges to no more than two terms.

Forget that when he first ran for the Supreme Court in 1992, he said he would serve only one term.

Forget that in 2000, he changed his mind, and said that his second term definitely would be his last.

And forget that now, eight years later, he’s changed his mind again and is seeking his third term.

There’s often a difference in what the incumbent says and what the incumbent does.

When Smith became chief justice, he said he wanted to restore public confidence in Mississippi’s court system.

But even though attorneys have repeatedly asked the incumbent to recuse himself from hearing cases where the defendants — not the attorneys who were merely practicing before the court — but the actual defendants were his financial backers, Smith has consistently ignored these requests and ruled in his contributors’ favor.

When an oil man who donated the maximum to Smith’s campaign had a big case in his court, Smith remained on the case and ruled in his favor.

And when a bank that loaned him money to run his 2000 campaign had a case in his court, Smith remained on the case and ruled in their favor.

And the oil man …

He, his wife and his son have each donated the maximum amount to Smith’s campaign for this year’s race.

That doesn’t seem right to me.

And here’s something else that doesn’t seem right.

Since Jim Smith became chief justice, the Supreme Court has substituted its opinions for the will of a jury nearly 90 percent of the time when an individual was found to have been harmed by a large corporation through its carelessness or wrongdoing.

Now, I’m not talking about frivolous lawsuits.

I’m talking about a woman who went into a hospital with a mild case of pneumonia and came out a brain-damaged paraplegic.

I’m talking about one of approximately 2,000 people who developed cancer that was tied to chemicals leaked from an industrial plant.

I’m talking about a doctor who died of natural causes and his insurance company refused to pay on his life insurance policy.

Now, understand me here. I’m not saying Jim Smith is crooked. On a personal level, I know him to be a good and decent man. I’m just saying under his leadership, something’s out of whack with our Supreme Court.

In more than 40 years as a lawyer, my personal resolve has been tested. Thankfully, though, God was there to nudge me in the right direction.

In the early 90′s, I was in a meeting at the Ole Miss Law School when Judge Breland Hilburn called me from Jackson.

He ordered me to appear in his courtroom the next morning. When I asked him why, his voice became stern and he told me, “I’m appointing you to defend Byron De La Beckwith.”

My heart sank.

A friend drove me home that night, and more than once I made him pull over to the side of the road so I could be sick. The thought of what I had to do deeply disturbed me.

Beckwith was for everything I was against, and against everything I was for. During that trial, my family and I were harassed and threatened by Beckwith’s friends.

It would have been easier for my family and better for my career if I had come up with an excuse — come up with a lie — to tell the judge so that he would have appointed somebody else.

But to me, it was more important to do my duty than to take the easy way out. Jim Smith says he wants this race to be about experience, and so do I. And one thing I’ve learned is that sometimes experience isn’t all it appears to be.

You see, I think experience should be judged by its quality … not its quantity.

On Nov. 4, you can vote for the incumbent,

Who regularly rules against individuals and juries,

Who routinely refuses to step down from cases involving his biggest political donors,

Who doesn’t trust the people … so he wants to take away their right to vote for their judges,

And who would impose term limits on other judges but not on himself.

Or, you can vote for someone who has been a prosecutor of the guilty and a champion of the underdog,

Who’s devoted his life to helping people,

Who knows the importance of working with children before they get in trouble,

Who has risked his career and his family’s safety in the name of professional integrity.

And … someone who will be mindful of God’s little nudges along the way.

Thank you for your attention, and may God bless you all.

Smith out-of-touch about appointing judges

You will hear a lot about whether or not we should appoint our state Supreme Court judges this year.

Jim Smith wants to appoint them. He’s said so several, several, several times.

Unfortunately, most of the nation does not agree with Smith. From a piece on AmericanCourthouse.com:

An overwhelming 75% of American voters believe state Supreme Court justices should be elected by the people. The results come from a new nationwide public opinion survey just released by the American Justice Partnership Foundation. Only 21% favored the so-called “merit selection” process – where a small commission of lawyers meets in secret to decide who will sit on the bench.

Despite a comprehensive campaign by well-financed special interest groups and heavy lobbying by the legal elite, Americans are unwavering in their support for the democratic election of judges. Support for judicial elections was remarkably stable among voters, even when presented with numerous arguments against it.

If you want to read the actual study, conducted by the American Justice Partnership Foundation, click here.

Of course, we don’t have to conduct a poll to find out what Mississippians thinks about electing our judges. We know how they feel because we’re talking to them everyday.

One week until Neshoba County speech

Mississippi’s biggest house party is in full swing at the Neshoba County Fair.

Kitch will be there next week to speak. His time is scheduled for 9:10 a.m. on Thursday, July 31.

We’re going to have a caravan of supporters and friends leaving from Jackson early that morning. For anyone interested in tagging along, please contact our event coordinator, Cindy Henderson by phone at (601) 949-3420 or by email to cindy [AT SIGN] kitchensforjustice [DOT] com.

We’ll have some free t-shirts for the first few folks. There will be plenty of stickers and fans for everyone.

We hope to see as many of you there as possible!

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