Meanwhile in Jackson, Mississippi of all places. . .

[Stargleamer]

This is in Jackson, Mississippi. Not Seattle, or Los Angeles, or Manhattan, or San Francisco. This is in Jackson, Mississippi.

The pendulum swings.

— kenofseattle (@kenofseattle.bsky.social) 2026-07-03T22:09:59.742Z

[pat_k]

1. Billboards are FANTASTIC!!

I've promoted billboard campaigns as a way to organize locally for decades!!

Depending on the market, they can be downright cheap. The biggest barrier I've found is settling on a great design. Once you have that, campaigns to raise funds from local people create connections that last. And people who have given even a dollar to get that sign up see a concrete result of their contribution. And that inspires further action, greater hope, and more engagement.

[underpants]

3. Ted Turner started his media empire with 1 billboard..the 2...then a UHF station

[paleotn]

5. Good old WTBS. It was rather cheesy back in the day...

like all UHF channels. Reruns of Gomer Pyle, Hogans Heroes and Star Trek. Those were the days! And 24/7 news? Who the hell is going to watch the news in the middle of the night, or the middle of the day for that matter. Apparently a lot of people. He was an innovator. I'll give him that.

[rampartd]

13. ted's father left him the billboard business

and a warehouse of 55 gallon drums of coca cola original ingredients.

but yea, the american dream

[underpants]

14. I didn't know that. Thanks

[GiqueCee]

15. Ted Turner was also an avid sailor...

... and 50-odd years ago, I met him briefly at Ted Hood's boatyard in Marblehead, Massachusetts where he'd had the Tenacious II hauled out for a bottom cleaning, I think it was. Nice enough guy, as I recall.
Hood also owned a sail loft where the finest sails in the world were made. That's how I happened to be there. I was doing technical blow-apart drawings of Hood foretriangle reefing systems and suchlike. And, no, I'm not much of a sailor, but I have hurled over the gunnels of some very prestigious yachts.

[GiqueCee]

16. Billboards are banned...

... here in Vermont, so some Vermont businesses advertise on them just over the state lines of New York, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts.

[3catwoman3]

2. Mississippi?

Dang!

[pat_k]

4. Don't write off Mississippi!

My best friend in the late 70's early 80's, was April. She spent her early years in Little Rock, MS (Yes, MS, not AK). It's a tiny place about 40 miles from Meridian, MS. Her mother left MS long before I met April. April grew up in Topanga Canyon (and if you know the culture in So. Cal in the 70's, Topanga was unique).

Anyway, April was my roommate in West Los Angeles when her mother inherited the family home in Little Rock. April went back to help out. I spent a few weeks down there on a couple of occasions.

It was an immersion in a different world for me. A rich, nuanced, frustrating, and very strange world that was completely at odds with any stereotype. The family had history in the community. A woman who I think was a child of a former slave of the family was a friend.
Nobody had any problem with April's gay older sister.

April ended up re-locating "back home." I lost touch for lengthy periods of time, but my partner and I visited and stayed for a couple weeks in 2005, so I got another glimpse into life there. April died way too young in 2010.

I'm not sure that I have a point, but the thing that was most notable to me was that there was a general "politics isn't for the likes of us" attitude -- until something pissed them off or got their attention. And then they could be a formidable bunch of people.

I suspect that the current insanity has engaged people the Republicans don't even realize exist.

[paleotn]

6. $4+ gas has a way of doing that for average folks.

Wonderful story. I grew up in the south and you're right, it is nuanced. I guess the meanness that started in the mid-90's kind of overshadowed that and at times I lose sight of it. One of mom's cousins was gay and everyone knew it. But Hill was Hill and everyone loved him. Hill was short for Hilliard. He and my maternal grandfather were the funniest people I've ever known. When those two teamed up it was a rolling in the floor riot! And a bit off color at times. I remember my grandmother's most said phrase was...Jess!! Language!! I miss those days.

[Martin68]

20. The South is far more nuanced than most people who never lived there suspect.

[OldBaldy1701E]

30. So, way back in the day, I did a children's musical theater tour through Jackson, MS.

It was the only town I visited in the state that felt like where I was from. And, I mean that in the most positive way possible.

So, with that, I have to say, never rule out Jackson. I mean, it IS in Mississippi, but no state is of a complete piece.

Even my brain dead state has plenty to show for itself.

[BattleRow]

7. MAGA...

Many Are Going Away

[Joinfortmill]

8. Good sign.

[niyad]

9. Fantastic!!!

[AllaN01Bear]

10. ding. this .

[IronLionZion]

11. Jackson is a blue city. Their congressional district voted Harris in 2024 by 21 points

and Biden, Obama, etc.

[Marcuse]

12. Jackson: A blue capital city besieged by a red state legislature, a red Governor and a red Congressional delegation

[SomedayKindaLove]

31. Just like much of the coastal states are blue

Even the “wet” counties along the Mississippi are blue, while inland is solid red.

Water dwellers - blue
Land dwellers - red

We need more rivers!!!

[Stacey Grove]

17. My only memories of Mississippi

are the Blues Highway, cotton fields, the big rest area on I-55 once you enter the state going southbound, and a McDonalds in Jackson off 55 that had the best quality food for a McDonalds. They sold grits.

[Cirsium]

18. Heavily Democratic

Jackson, Mississippi is a Democratic city. In the 2025 mayoral race the Republican candidate got less than 1% of the vote. Harris got 72% of the vote in the county.

How many here live in a district that went for Harris by 72%?

[yardwork]

19. Other people who live in college towns.

Which is why the Republicans are doing their best to destroy higher education.

[Cirsium]

21. Understood

Last edited Sat Jul 4, 2026, 02:01 PM - Edit history (1)

Here in Michigan Harris won 71% of the vote in Ann Arbor (University of Michigan). There are also counties in Michigan that went 70-72% for Trump.

My point is that the red state - blue state analysis oversimplifies things. People were expressing surprise that there would be Democratic support in Mississippi.

[yardwork]

22. I'm right there with you.

I have family in one of the reddest parts of MI and good friends in Ann Arbor.

It's the same in NC.

I try to remind folks that the Democrats in red states are just as good as the ones in blue states. And they have a tougher row to hoe.

[Cirsium]

23. Yep

I think we are going to flip Michigan's 1st district.

[yardwork]

24. That would be great!

I noticed that my relatives have gotten all quiet like on social media.

[slightlv]

29. I believe there were many areas that were blue that were secretly flipped red... by those tiny little satellites

of Musk's. He not only admitted to it, he explained how he did it... tho I couldn't explain it in a million years. Tech got away from me sometime back in the early 2000's. Heck, I went into a grocery store bathroom today and couldn't figure out how to turn the water on in the sink! Yes, I'm old and getting older, but there are just some things you shake your head at and say, "Damn! This shouldn't be this hard and I shouldn't be this stupid!" (LOL)

Seriously, for all the rage screaming on the right, I do so believe there was lots and various hanky panky on the cheat side for them. After all, in nearly all things republican whatever they claim WE do, we catch them over and over again doing it themselves, instead of us. Of course, there ARE areas of the country that are true blue red, just as there are others that are true blue blue... but others... well, let's just say I'm leary of those who rage shout about them.

[Cirsium]

32. I would urge caution

Vote tabulators are not connected to the Internet.

We could be seeing a propaganda campaign: "Don't look at X" (where public public opinion is most definitely being manipulated by Musk with disinformation) "but rather, look at Starlink" (which is easily debunked.)

Elon Musk and the 2024 U.S. Presidential Election: Assessing media influence, campaign dynamics, and public opinion

Abstract

In the context of social media’s profound transformation of public discourse and political communication, the influence of technological opinion leaders on voter behavior has attracted growing scholarly attention. This study takes Elon Musk as the focal case to examine whether, and to what extent, his social media activity and event participation during the 2020 and 2024 U.S. presidential elections significantly affected public attention toward Donald Trump and shifts in electoral sentiment. An empirical framework combining event study methodology and time-series regression is developed, incorporating Google Search Index data, polling results from key swing states, and election betting odds. The analysis captures the dynamic relationship between Musk’s behavior and public responses from two perspectives: public opinion dynamics and market-based expectations. The results reveal a significant correlation between Musk’s high-exposure behavior at critical moments and Trump’s support rate, particularly showing short-term boosts in swing-state polling. In contrast, the response from betting markets remains limited, suggesting a divergence in information processing between voters — who are more susceptible to attention-driven shocks — and investors, who tend to adopt structurally grounded assessments. Moreover, certain high-involvement events (e.g., public endorsements or financial contributions) triggered short-term negative reactions, indicating that public exhibits a divergent reaction toward entrepreneurs’ involvement in politics. This study deepens the understanding of the opinion-shaping role of tech entrepreneurs, highlights the asymmetric interaction between business figures and traditional politicians, and, from the perspectives of behavioral finance and electoral economics, offers both theoretical and practical insights into attention economics, opinion polarization, and platform governance.

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1877050925024676

[LogDog75]

25. MAGA is just another name for

SUCKER!

Just ask the Orange Turd, he'll tell you.

[RockRaven]

26. I mean, it's a city... The D v R divide is starkest in urban v rural not actual state by state.

Most of Jackson is in the 2nd Congressional district, which Bennie Thompson has held for 33 years. The seven person city council has 6 Dems and 1 Repug.

If you want to find billboards which show the pendulum swinging, look out in the sticks, not in a state's largest city.

This is one of those things which may make people feel good, but doesn't actually signify anything new or useful.

[Stargleamer]

27. Point well-taken.

it may not indicate all that much about any changes in the electoral climate like you indicate. It would say a lot more about pendulums swinging I would think if it was in Dubuque Iowa rather than Jackson MS. Nevertheless, it is still nice though that people in that city & county are still expressing how they feel about all the other red counties in their state. And it's nice to learn of a Mississippi group seeking justice.

[enid602]

28. The times they are a changin'

Meanwhile in Phoenix, where 4th of July celebrations are a 10 day ‘season’ of street fireworks in Latino neighborhoods starting prior to July 1, there’s not a cherry bomb to be heard. Eerily silent. Very sad.