Look, I didn't get home until 4 this morning, didn't get up until 11 and other than watching the Hogs lose, Tennessee get beat (Heh!) and Michigan go belly up YET AGAIN in the Rose Bowl, I have been out of it.
OK, so I learn that, at Councilor Myron Lowery's new year's Prayer Breakfast, my Congressman is endorsing his friend of over 30 years for his old Senate seat. No shit, really??? The only surprise would have been if he HADN'T endorsed Beverly Marrero after Kevin Gallagher withdrew in her favor.
You want to talk batshit crazy, though, the Mayor topped everyone this morning at his OWN Prayer Breakfast when he announced that the Liberty Bowl needed to be replaced with a brand-new 50,000 seat football stadium. WTF???????????
OK, yes, the Liberty Bowl is 43 years old and over-sized for the U of M Tigers, the AutoZone Liberty Bowl and the Southern Heritage Classic at 65,000 seats. Ask anyone who goes there on a regular basis, though, and they will tell you that the problem isn't due to age, it's due to mismanagement by the Memphis Park Commission (not enough gates open, understaffing, etc.).
Not only that, the time to have built a new stadium was 15 years ago when we were trying to get an NFL team here. That ship has sailed forever, however, and we really don't need a new stadium, just better operators for a building that has events what, 12-15 times a year?
Next, given that we are lacking in cops on the street, code enforcement and whatever else you can think of, how are we going to pay for this stadium? I'm a Tiger fan, but let RC Johnson, Fred Jones and Steve Ehrhart raise the money on their own for a new field, we can't afford it now. PERIOD.
The Mayor, ever his own worst enemy, now apparently seems bound and determined to blow the political capital he earned last year with the implosion of the Fords and his endorsement of Steve Cohen. This idea is lovely if we were flush with cash, but we're nowhere NEAR that right now.
As always, Polar Donkey kicks it up a notch, just go read it here.
4 comments:
I'm really going to have to visit Memphis one day. Seems like an exciting town, always something going on. :)
Ya know what happened in Bristol today? It rained.
Yep! Doesn't get much more exciting around here. Oh, yeah...there was a tractor wreck on the highway.
Ah well, that the price I pay for wanting peace and quiet. I wanted it, I got it. Wheee!
Happy New Year, LWC.
For what it's worth, I endorsed Beverly this morning. She still faces competition and can only raise money for another week.
Regarding the stadium incident, I ran some theories by Kernell last night that I can't really post publicly.
A stadium makes NO sense, so one has to wonder what the motivation is to announce this now.
Can't wait to get down there some day and spend some time--like writing a book on Memphis politics!
Harold Byrd just made it almost inpossible to get funding,I don't like him but he is well connected. John Branston just smoked Wee Willie
and others will jump at the chance to do more damage. If a new stadium were to be built, I like to see it somewhere else?
..
absurd thought -
God of the Universe says
HAPPY NEW YEAR Infidels!!!
ignore the threat of Jihad
just keep sleeping like sheep
..
Post a Comment