No, we're not going to have a new Charter Commission tomorrow

What Steve Mulroy is proposing is that the Commission go on record, simply, as NOT BEING OPPOSED TO THE CONCEPT of consolidation, even though the title of this post by JB might lead you otherwise.

This charter that was defeated was hard to vote for, and it was hard to defend to people.  Don't you think for a minute that CONSOLIDATION is going away, though.  As soon as it is LEGAL to do so, there will be another proposal for another Charter Commission.  If this one is done better, with more transparency in every sense of the word, it might have a chance to pass.

Not only that, if the Mutually Assured Destruction path continues for the schools, they may already be merged by then, so it will be a moot point.  If you agree with me that consolidation is worth thinking about, come on down to the County Commission meeting around 12:30 tomorrow.  Also, email your Commissioners on the subject, they want to know what you think, and that the county is not as one-sided as they have been led to believe.

This isn't going away, folks, not now, not until it passes someday.

It Was A Grand Time

As you are aware, our beloved Newscoma is in the process of becoming NashvilleNewscoma, and they threw a magnificent going-away party at The Looking Glass in Martin last night; yours truly was privileged to attend.  After having a magnificent martini at Olivia's Opera House beforehand, we went across the street for the party.

Her friends, some of whom I had met on my earlier visit, had gotten together to give her a gift, and I was also allowed to take part in that as well. Of course, the night belonged to Trace, as it should have, and she gave a grand going-away speech as expected.  Here it is in fabulous High Definition:

SCREW SCS, Let's Drop The Big One

If the legislature decides they are going to let Shelby County Schools become a Special School District, then let's make it bigger than they had planned.

BIG props to MCS Commissioner Tomeka Hart for leading the fight to surrender the MCS Charter if this happens.  Hell, I say let's do it anyway.  If they think they can educate the poverty-stricken youth of Memphis better than we can, let SCS do it.

That would A) REDUCE property taxes in the City, B) INCREASE property taxes in the rest of the County, C) force SCS to redraw the School Board lines to reflect a county-wide district, and D) that means the City dominates the County, as it SHOULD. Oh, and E) provides a SINGLE funding source for education for the ENTIRE county.

So, all you people out there say you'll sell your houses and move?  TRY IT, I DARE YOU.  See how far you'll get in this economy, I have NO sympathy for you.  You're stuck with us, so you had damn well start trying to work with us, because there has never been a wall built that can't be knocked down,

Ask the Germans.

We Welcome Back An Old Friend With A New Blog

Our friend Blinders Off returns to blogging with a new blog about her home area called LIVING IN MILLINGTON.  Of course, it can be found down and to the right in THE ENDLESS BLOGROLL; We invite you to go there often, and put it in your RSS feed as well.

Welcome back!!

Harwell defeats Casada for Speaker, Could THIS Be The Reason Why?

I hope so.

Can You Help the Mid-South Food Bank?

I was stunned when this CA headline came over my RSS reader today:

No turkeys donated to Mid-South Food Bank yet for holidays 

That startled me, to say the least, as we are a week and two days from Thanksgiving. Folks, I know times are tough, and if you can't do anything, I understand.  If you CAN, however, why not run by your local grocery in the next couple of days , pick up a turkey and take it to the Food Bank at 239 South Dudley, between Union and Linden. They are open Monday-Thursday from 8 AM-4 PM, and from 8 AM-12 Noon on Fridays.

I intend to do that very thing tomorrow morning, and I hope you can, too, because they really need it.  

Don't forget the District 6 School Board Runoff

With thanks to Dee Nollner for the heads up.  Note: If I lived in District 6, my choice would be Cherry Davis, with whom I served on the ExecCom.  She would be a fresh face and would do a great job on the MCS Board.

Special District 6 Memphis City School Board Election  

 

Since no candidate received a majority of the votes cast in November, there will be a

 Special Election – December 7 for

 

 District 6 of the Memphis City School Board 

Early voting November 17 – Dec 2

at

157 Poplar  8 a.m.  – 4:30 p.m.

Saturday November 20 – 10 – 4 p.m.

closed Thursday, Nov 25 thru Saturday, Nov 27 for Thanksgiving

 

Satellite location: Riverside Baptist Church 3560 S. 3^rd St

 Nov 29 – Dec 2, 10:00 a.m – 7:00 p.m.

 

On Election Day you may only vote in your regular precinct

As listed on your voter registration card..

 

Two run-off  candidates from the November election are:

 Sara Lewis   (8,289 votes)

                             Cherry Davis (3,374 votes)

The other four candidates received between 290 to 3,145 votes.

Only residents in Dist 6 will be able to vote in this run-off election. This is the only item on the ballot but it is important that you make your choice known.

 

Check your voter registration card or go to www.shelbyvote.com

to determine your School Board District.

 

1. Select Precinct Locator on far right side of the page

2. Put street number in top box, street name in second block

(do not put “Street, Rd” etc and only put the first part of a double named street)

3. The next screen will ask you to confirm the street information

    The next screen will display all your districts.

 

The Shelby County Election Commission number is 545-4136

Preach It, Keith

Curry Todd Went WAY Over The Line

Now, I don't think for a minute that Curry Todd said anything that the majority of his constituents would oppose; that's why I live in the freaking CITY and not out in the burbs with those morons.  What? You haven't seen the video yet?  Well, hell, go look for yourselves!



This is objectionable on so many levels, but Polar Donkey NAILS why the use of rats as a metaphor for immigrants is so evil: it's the same one the Nazis used to dehumanize the Jews, and he has the video to PROVE it.  (Note: Don't you DARE bring up GODWIN'S LAW to me; only right-wingers use it to justify douchebaggery.)

Curry Todd will not be reproached by his district; hell, they would probably want to execute everyone who doesn't watch FOX NEWS.  If you are an actual left-of-center person who has him for a Rep, I feel for you, but hope you can escape at the earliest moment possible.

If we don't bust the balls of EVERYONE who uses such fascist language (and that IS what it is, nobody uses code like the GOP), then we will be living in a fascist nation, and SOON.  I LOVED yesterday's protests, keep the heat on him.  You damn well know he knows better.

UPDATE: Here's a good take on this from VVixen.

A DIFFERENT Feel Good Friday

Ok, this is odd, but there's something unsettling and yet endearing about this, a mashup of Miley Cyrus and Biggie.  Hat Tip to Deadspin.  Oh yeah, the Biggie part is probably NSFW.

Services for Rep. Ulysses Jones, Jr.

with thanks to Gale Jones Carson...

Home Going Services for State Representative Ulysses Jones Jr.

Wake/Visitation

Sunday, November 14, 2010

Middle Baptist Church

4982 Knight Arnold Road

(901) 332-4799

3 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Visitation

Monday, November 15, 2010

Hope Presbyterian: 8500 Walnut Grove

10 a.m. to 12 p.m.

Funeral Service

Monday, November 15, 2010

Hope Presbyterian: 8500 Walnut Grove

12 p.m.

Rep. Ulysses Jones has passed away

Jackson Baker is reporting the death of 12-term legislator Ulysses Jones (D-North Memphis) last night after an illness.  Jones was a longtime committee chair and had just been re-elected to a 13th term. Cause of death appears to be a collapsed lung.

Please remember his family and his colleagues in the legislature and the Memphis Fire Department in your prayers; this is a significant loss for Memphis and Shelby County and we mourn his passing.

Commissioner Ford, can I offer some friendly advice?

This profile of newly-elected District 3 Commissioner Justin Ford even brought out David Holt's cranky-old-white-man, and Dave's not even 30 yet:

He manages to talk about himself in the third person and to announce his intention to get elected to Congress, the mayorship, and King of the World (I'm sure the last one got lost in editing.)

 Commissioner Ford, I fear you're getting bad advice; what may work for Yo Gotti may not work for you, especially if you ever want to be elected to any position beyond your district.  First, you've only been on the Commission for TWO MONTHS, you haven't done anything yet, and you got there primarily due to the great work done by your father and your late Uncle James when they held that seat.

To paraphrase an old saying, "Actions talk, bullshit walks".  DO SOMETHING, then you can brag about it all you want.  When you talk in advance about what you're going to do, you put a target on your back, and you look like a fool if you don't achieve what you've said you would achieve.

Want a good role model?  First, look at your father, who did yeoman work first on the City Council and then The County Commission, and rarely bragged even when he had things to brag about.  Too close to home?  Then look at your cousin Edmund on the City Council; he is quiet, but does outstanding work and would have a reasonable chance to win if he decided to run for higher office.  Like your father, he did the work FIRST, then talked about it.

In case you missed the lesson of the August elections, when you run city or county-wide, you have to reach EVERY section of that area.  Even if your father fell short, he proved that Democrats could get votes in areas once thought inhospitable for any candidate with a D next to their name.  Speaking as you did to the CA sends a bad message to those areas, and you will now have to work twice as hard if you ever want higher office.

You're young, and you'll make mistakes, but remember that any mistakes you make now affect not just your fledgling career, but your constituents as well.  You have four years, do what you need to do, but don't TELL us what you're going to do, just do it.

If that happens, you'll be in great shape. If it doesn't, you won't have as much time as you think.

Revenge of the Old White People!!!!

First, US House-wise, the majority of the Democratic losses were Blue Dogs, which means appeasement doesn't work.  The rest lost because they were horribly outspent in this post-Citizens United world.  We'll have gridlock for the next two years.  Enough about that.

Let us now speak of the Tennessee Democratic Party, which essentially was blown off the map last night. Democrats lost FOURTEEN seats in the State House, 2 vacated seats and 12 incumbents. Of these 12 incumbents, 11 were in rural areas.  Only District 60, in Davidson County, was in an urban area.

Outgoing rep Henry Fincher was quoted as saying the President "poisoned the well".  For what? Having the audacity to be elected President While Black?  Yet, I suspect that he may have summed up what happened in the rural area; this was payback to Democrats for nominating and electing, a, well, you know.

How am I so sure from my liberal enclave here in the Bluff City?  Well, EVERY Democratic rep was tied to Obama and Pelosi, which was ridiculous. It's the moral equivalent of screaming the N-Word, and in the South, it cost everyone.

Look no further than Senator Doug Jackson of Dickson, a Democrat who got the NRA endorsement and sponsored the guns-in-bars legislation. HE STILL LOST.  Democrats who wouldn't know what a liberal was if you gave them a picture of Hubert Humphrey were tagged as SOCIALIST CONSPIRATORS OF OBAMA AND PELOSI and beaten.

There is no point in bashing Chip Forrester, he won't be around much longer as TNDP Chair, I suspect, though he had little to with this.  The truth is, we started dying after the attempt to get an income tax failed.  Rather than trying to advance an agenda, they got scared, they hunkered down, and last night was the final straw.

The final totals?  in the State House, R 64, D 34, and Independent Kent Williams, who will soon grasp the meaning of the song One Is The Loneliest Number. In the Senate, 20 Republicans, 13 Democrats.  Oh, and Bill Haslam was elected Governor to the surprise of no one.  That happens when you have an unlimited supply of money.  Mike McWherter gave it a good shot, but on a night when all of the old West Tennessee Democratic team than ran the state was beaten (EXCEPT FOR NAIFEH, HE WILL NEVER DIE, BWAHAHA), it was sadly fitting that the progeny of the greatest Governor of my lifetime was beaten badly.

We aren't just in the wilderness, people, we're in Mad Max country.

The GOP is in total control of government and in control of redistricting, although in reality they got pretty much everything they could ever want here last night.  John Ryder is a man who will know that without being told, as Vito Corleone would say.  We don't know the census numbers yet, so we don't know what will happen, but one can figure that A) just by population, West Tennessee will lose seats, B) Middle Tennessee will gain seats, and C) East Tennessee will gain, but at a slower rate with lesser numbers.

Shelby County, I project, will lose 2 House seats and 1 Senate seat, and that won't be pretty.

So, the question will be asked by someone, where do we go from here?  Good question, and we need to start thinking about it and working on it now.  The one thing we DO know, above all else, is that what we have used for the past 20 years will no longer work, now or in the future.

My attorney, right on time as usual!

On the phone with my friend and attorney Mike Gatlin, who DROVE 175 miles to vote Democratic in Millport, AL this morning and is on the way back, he says this:

"Republicans need to ask themselves, WHAT WOULD LINCOLN DO?, and no, I don't mean Blanche, either!"

Well said.  Think of that, though, he left Memphis at 3 AM, drove home 175 miles, had breakfast, voted, and is driving back to Memphis.  Unless you're on your sick bed, do you have ANY excuse not to vote today?

I didn't think so. Oh, wait, you're used to voting early and forgot this year, and don't know where to vote?

I have that solution for you, just click right here.

Ok, Here's My Predictions

First, locally, Consolidation loses 2-1 in the County, barely wins in the city but not by enough to matter.

In the School Board races, I think Sara Lewis unseats Sharon Webb in 6, but Rev. Whalum wins in a walk over his two opponents.

In the legislature, NO seats change hands.  Mike Kernell wins 58-42, Jeanne Richardson wins comfortably as well.

Anything else there? Oh, Steve Cohen wins with a minimum of 65% of the vote.

Statewide, Haslam wins 2-1, carrying 85 counties.
In the Congressional races, all incumbents win, counting Lincoln Davis in TN-04, and that is like 51-48.  However, we lose the two seats vacated by Bart Gordon and John Tanner.

In the Senate, George McDonald unseats Mae Beavers in 17, Lowe Finney dodges another bullet in 27 while Stacey Campfield succeeds tim Burchett in 7.  Net Democratic gain: 1.

House wise, the Democrats hold serve in West Tennessee, and Sam Coleman holds the seat from the departing Ben West.  Outside of that, it's not good.  Final totals: R 52, D 46, I (Kent Williams) 1.  Redistricting is not good for us.

Go down to the post below and give me your predictions!

I want to see YOUR predictions

I would like to see in comments your predictions on the following;

TN-04 (Lincoln Davis), TN-08 (Herron vs Fincher vs Janes), TN-09 (Cohen's % vs Bergmann's %), Governor (with percentages), consolidation (split it city and county, please), and whether the Democrats get control back of the State House.

Also, your predictions on whether we keep the US House or not, and what the final D vs R numbers are in the US Senate.  My predictions will be up tonight.

Ok, readers, let er rip!

I remember, too...

Thanks to Kelly Jacobs for this one...

What John Lewis Said

personal note, the last post was #2000 over the last 6 years. amazing.

Congressman John Lewis says it better than I could: