Herenton has no guts

The deteriorating cesspool that has become the Herenton administration reached its nadir on Friday by announcing that it is laying off 2100 city employees, 198 of which are full-time, ONLY 3 of which are in the EXECUTIVE areas.

While the Memphis Police Association and the city's branch of AFSCME are vowing to fight this in court, it may be tough to stop, as due to Herenton's mismanagement, the city is in financial trouble. Humorously enough, Standard & Poor's today RAISED the COUNTY's bond rating from weak to stable. Maybe he should call AC for advice!

By the way, where was Willie? He didn't have the guts, the common decency to face the city or its employees; he sent his chief administrative officer, Keith McGee, to do his dirty work for him. What a brave man; he's getting more Bush-like by the day!

The Pink Palace will lose the Sharpe Planetarium; in addition, they will only have TWO staff people to run reservations AND their box office after March 23. No wonder they will have to close 2 days a week.

Recycling will be cut back to every TWO weeks instead of every week as Public Works is losing 70 people. What happens if we have another freak ice storm come April? who's going to man the salt trucks? Willie? No, he'll just be "unavailable" like he was today.

Remember, we can't start collecting signatures for a recall petition until 75 days prior to the filing deadline for the May 2006 election. However, I assure you, we WILL get this on the ballot because 2007 just isn't soon enough to get him out of there.

I've always thought of Republicans as whores, but this is ridiculous

Thanks to some spectaular investigating work from the blogosphere, it appears that the White House repeatedly gave temporary press credentials to a "Jeff Gannon" from TalonNews, which is not a legitimate news service, but a mouthpiece of some Texas Republicans.

OK, so what, you may ask? It seems that Mr. "Gannon" is actually James D. Guckert, who has been connected to gay prostitution websites. John Aravosis at AMERICAblog has dug this up and provides the whole sordid story at "A Man Called Jeff".

This is a must-read. How did a male hooker get that kind of access? What, you mean Republicans aren't morally superior to Democrats, as they've been telling us for years?

What's a Default Among Friends?

Josh Marshall has been all over the President's speech today in which he hints at defaulting on Treasury bonds, indicating that the Social Security Trust Fund doesn' t EXIST.

Some in our country think that Social Security is a trust fund -- in other words, there's a pile of money being accumulated. That's just simply not true. The money -- payroll taxes going into the Social Security are spent. They're spent on benefits and they're spent on government programs. There is no trust. We're on the ultimate pay-as-you-go system -- what goes in comes out. And so, starting in 2018, what's going in -- what's coming out is greater than what's going in. It says we've got a problem. And we'd better start dealing with it now. The longer we wait, the harder it is to fix the problem.

Uh, that's not what the Greenspan Commission's report back in the 1980s suggests. Go read Josh here.

It's time for war....

As this TENNESSEAN report notes, Bredesen is now trying to have Gordon Bonnyman removed from the TennCare case. It's not enough that he knows he is wrong for dumping patients from TennCare and that the court understands it, he is trying to rig the game by removing Bonnyman.

In short, this is despicable, doubly so for someone who ran on the Democratic ticket. Even worse, as the NASHVILLE SCENE reported this week, Bredesen proposed a bold new education reform with $600 million, which will DISAPPEAR if the ruling by Judge William Haynes is upheld by the appellate courts. Thus, he can pretend to be the savior of education if the courts rule for him, and if they don't, he blames Gordon Bonnyman.

I cannot stress this enough; if the Bredesen cuts go through, people in Tennessee will DIE. Just as if he had signed their execution orders personally, people of all income levels (many of those who cannot be insured at ANY price) will lose the medicines that they need to survive, and they will die.

Next year, when this worthless SOB is running for renomination on OUR ticket, I will do what ever I can to prevent his renomination. If he should happen to win our primary, I will not vote for him, I will write in Gordon Bonnyman.

Whatever you do, don't come to me with the BS that "Steve, you have to support him, he's a Democrat." I will remind you in short order that we haven't had a REAL Democrat in the Governor's mansion since Ned Ray left office, and he just barely made the cut.

I am a reform Democrat, so....

It goes without saying that because of this, I would prefer to see Howard Dean elected as the next chair of the Democratic National Committee. I believe he has what it takes to reform the party from the grassroots up. not from the old warhorses down.

This is not between liberal and moderate, as many would have you believe, it is between reformers who believe that the activists, new and old, at EVERY level, must be allowed input into rebuilding a winning Party.

Failing that, I would hope that Simon Rosenberg of the New Democratic Network would win, he is someone who is also working along the same lines, and would reach out to the grassroots and the netroots. Josh Marshall lists good reasons to support him here.

Marty Frost would make a solid United States Senator from Texas; he would be perfect to get back the seat being vacated by Kay Bailey Hutchison in 2006. However, he is too much of a Washington insider to lead this Party where it needs to go.

Not surprisingly, a lot of the old hangers-on who have led this party to defeat after defeat are petrified of Dean; they have no real understanding of who he is or what he's about.

Rumors that the Clintons are among those hoping for a Dean defeat may have been disspelled by the endorsement of Dean by long-time insider Harold Ickes.

Ickes stated that "I think all the candidates who are running have strong attributes, but Dean has more of the attributes than the others. Many people say Howard Dean is a northeastern liberal, he is progressive, but his tenure as governor of Vermont was that of a real moderate."

All righty, then!

Oh well, at least he hasn't caught up to John Ford yet!

As you Memphians are aware, the mayor of our city, the honorable Willie W. Herenton, announced on Thursday that he is the father of a 4-month-old child from a recent relationship. He refused to mention whether the child was male or female, or the name of the mother, or anything like this.

Surprisingly, I really don't have a problem with this; he's not denying anything, he seems ready, willing and able to start the parenting process again at the tender age of 64. OK, but when the kid graduates high school, he will be 82 YEARS OLD!! We're talking Tony Randallesque behavior here, people!

Yes, he has the resources to do this; it's not like he's a poverty-stricken teenager. Heaven knows, I'm the last guy to tell people they're too old to get busy, but this still looks unseemly. Folks, you're never too old to use a condom, but 64 is just a teensy bit late to become a father.

No on Gonzales

This was posted at Daily Kos, and I cannot add anything to this. Bush has found the only American more ill-suited than John Ashcroft to be Attorney General.

No on Gonzales
by Armando
Tue Jan 25th, 2005 at 12:43:07 PST

Unprecedented times call for unprecedented actions. In this case, we, the undersigned bloggers, have decided to speak as one and collectively author a document of opposition. We oppose the nomination of Alberto Gonzales to the position of Attorney General of the United States, and we urge every United States Senator to vote against him.

As the prime legal architect for the policy of torture adopted by the Bush Administration, Gonzales's advice led directly to the abandonment of longstanding federal laws, the Geneva Convention, and the United States Constitution itself. Our country, in following Gonzales's legal opinions, has forsaken its commitment to human rights and the rule of law and shamed itself before the world with our conduct at Guantanamo Bay and Abu Ghraib. The United States, a nation founded on respect for law and human rights, should not have as its Attorney General the architect of the law's undoing.

In January 2002, Gonzales advised the President that the United States Constitution does not apply to his actions as Commander in Chief, and thus the President could declare the Geneva Conventions inoperative. Gonzales's endorsement of the August 2002 Bybee/Yoo Memorandum approved a definition of torture so vague and evasive as to declare it nonexistent. Most shockingly, he has embraced the unacceptable view that the President has the power to ignore the Constitution, laws duly enacted by Congress and International treaties duly ratified by the United States. He has called the Geneva Conventions "quaint."

Legal opinions at the highest level have grave consequences. What were the consequences of Gonzales's actions? The policies for which Gonzales provided a cover of legality - views which he expressly reasserted in his Senate confirmation hearings - inexorably led to abuses that have undermined military discipline and the moral authority our nation once carried. His actions led directly to documented violations at Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo and widespread abusive conduct in locales around the world.

Michael Posner of Human Rights First observed: "After the horrific images from Abu Ghraib became public last year, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld insisted that the world should 'judge us by our actions [and] watch how a democracy deals with the wrongdoing and with scandal and the pain of acknowledging and correcting our own mistakes.'" We agree. It is because of this that we believe the only proper course of action is for the Senate to reject Alberto Gonzales's nomination for Attorney General. As Posner notes, "[t]he world is indeed watching." Will the Senate condone torture? Will the Senate condone the rejection of the rule of law?

With this nomination, we have arrived at a crossroads as a nation. Now is the time for all citizens of conscience to stand up and take responsibility for what the world saw, and, truly, much that we have not seen, at Abu Ghraib and elsewhere. We oppose the confirmation of Alberto Gonzales as Attorney General of the United States, and we urge the Senate to reject him.

The SCDP follies, part 312

Yes, we are rapidly approaching the time when the Shelby County Democratic Party begins its biennial reorganization, and the bloodbath has already begun to take shape.

At the request of SCDP Chair Rep. (and would-be State Senator) Kathryn Bowers, TDP Committeeman David Upton presented a letter asking the TDP to allow Shelby County to reorganize on July 16 and 23, rather than in April, as the rest of the state does. Given that A) Big Shelby used to organize in OCTOBER and B) the rest of the state doesn't really like us anyway and could care less, it should have been a slam-dunk.

OOPS.

TDP Secretary (and former SCDP Chair) Gale Jones Carson protested the move; during her term, she had sought to align the SCDP more closely with the state party in reorganizations and bylaws (FULL DISCLOSURE - I DID vote for these changes while on the SCDP Executive Committee at this time). Her objection was that the SCDP ExecCom had not discussed this, while Upton said that they had in January, albeit briefly. The TDP decided, that sure, as long as the ExecCom votes for it in February, go ahead, (thinking PLEASE JUST SETTLE THIS AND LEAVE US ALONE!!!!).

I learned of this fron a Jackson Baker column in the Flyer and sent an email to my list bashing all sides and asking everyone to just quit bitching. I received a reply or two taking me to task for not blasting the "other side".

I voted for people in my district in 2003 who I knew would vote for Kathryn over Gale, and I had my reasons, which I expressed to both of them. I like Gale; she has a good heart, but after we put all of our eggs in one basket trying to elect a Democratic slate of county officials in 2002, leaving nothing for the fall elections, I decided to vote against her in the district elections. I would not change that vote today.

The fact remains, though, that every time we bash each other in public, it HURTS the party. You're not happy with the way things are being run, ORGANIZE. If you win, CELEBRATE! If you lose, just SHUT UP and support the party publicly, like I did after Howard Dean was savaged in New Hampshire.

I like everybody in the Democratic Party here; until we stop fighting, we only help the Republicans.

Flame on!

Harold Ford announces for US Senate (yawn)

In a move that surprised absolutely no one, our own Blue Dog congressman has told a group of 200 Democrats in Chattanooga. There has been a lively discussion at MyDD (My Due Diligence) regarding his chances for the office, and most responses have been positive and encouraging.

Not ALL of them, however, as this poster contends:

Ford came to one of the first public fora sponsored by the Music Row Democrats and spoke. During that speech he tried to rationalize his vote for the Iraq War: "We were wrong. We thought Saddam had weapons of mass destruction, but unfortunately we were wrong."

(The DLC-ers weren't wrong. They ALL knew better. They just voted for the war for a whole bunch of OTHER reasons.)

In any event, a few minutes later in that same speech Ford said, "I believe that we are safer with Saddam gone."

I wanted to ask the SOB how we could be safer with Saddam gone, when the evidence showed that a) He had no WMD and b) he had no Al Queda ties.

The point is, he completely contradicted himself logically in his speech by mouting nothing but conventional, DLC-talking point, platitudes that made no logical sense.

During that same speech last spring, Ford had the nerve to caution moderation in Democrats' criticism of Bush (the typical DLC approach.) He even went on to shame Democrats who were too angry with Bush, saying that anger wasn't going to get the Democratic Party anywhere.

Soon after, someone in the audience got up, and right to his face said, "I don't know about you, Congressman Ford, but I AM ANGRY. And I'm not going to apologize for it. After seeing what Bush has done over the last three years, how can anyone help but be angry?"

The 200 + people in attendance, at that point, gave that woman a rousing ovation, and Ford, momentarily was left looking like the fool he is.

Yes, I'm Back! So How Did We Lose Ohio?

Steve Rosenthal of America Coming Together, who was responsible for our ground efforts in Ohio, Pennsylvania, and other key states, thinks he has an answer in this Washington Post article.

This dispels many of the myths about the 2004 election, like that Rove had a terrific ground game:

Fourth myth: Republicans ran a superior, volunteer-driven mobilization effort.

Reality: When we asked new voters in rural and exurban areas who contacted them during this campaign, we learned that they were just as likely to hear from the Kerry campaign and its allies as from the Bush side. (In contrast, regular voters reported more contact from the GOP.)

Then perhaps it was conservative religious groups or pro-life organizations or the National Rifle Association that reached these new Republican voters? No, according to our post-election polling; only 20 percent of exurban and rural Ohio voters reported that they had been contacted by someone from their church, and only slightly higher percentages were contacted by conservative organizations. In contrast, these same voters in the least unionized regions of Ohio were more likely to have been contacted by a labor union.

Napalm? Are we the World's worst Rogue Nation now?

Thanks to Jeannette Warren for emailing me with this London Sunday Mirror report that Fallujah was being Napalmed in spots by US forces. This was banned by the United Nations in 1980 for use on civilians, and if this is true, it opens the doors wide open for MORE terrorist escalation, as we have NO moral ground to stand on. NONE.

This makes me ashamed to be an American.

I'm Still Upset....

that Hubie Brown has "retired" as coach of the Grizzlies, and the reports in the CA about why Hubie left have me even madder. Eric Neel has a glowing tribute to Hubie at ESPN today that any Grizz fan should read, and remember how great this man was, and why we were lucky to have him.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Yes, it's a day early, but the Cracker here is wishing a happy holiday to all of you.

May you be with the people you love (and avoid the ones you DON'T), eat heartily, and have a rollicking good time tomorrow.

Unless something dramatic happens, no blogging until Friday at the earliest!

Republicans may run AGAINST Gays, but at least they'll let them run the RNC!

Mike Signorile has an interesting article in the latest New York Press reporting about the quiet ambiguity of incoming RNC Chairman Ken Mehlman, who ran the BC04 Campaign. Mehlman and his "buddies" at the White House refuse to answer one way or the other about his orienation.

Here's an excerpt:

Of course, if the White House or the RNC went on record saying Mehlman is straight, it would invite the media to study the issue further and report facts they may find to the contrary. By not saying anything, the White House keeps the topic off-limits entirely.

This also has some interesting (frightening?) insight into the way Mehlman ran BC04:

Mehlman was actually boasting to the governors about his slick new strategies, telling them that the Bush-Cheney campaign studied voters' consumer habits—basically snooping into voters' personal lives—in targeting them.

Want to know how we lost Iraq?

Among other reasons, Richard Leiby writes in today's Salon piece how even the least little bit of assistance from the US after its overthrow of Saddam could have changed Iraqi hearts and minds. It's a fascinating read where the journalist is even asked to lead a group of Iraqi Army soldiers.

You will have to sit through a commercial to get to Salon Premium, but it's worth it.

And these are the people we counted on to win??

The Kerry campaign put much of their focus on winning undecided voters, but that may have been a BIG mistake.

Christphoer Hayes reports in a New Republic article about groups of these undecided voters, who had great difficulty with their vote. Read it and weep.

Call Your Congressman (IF they're Republican)!

Noticing that other blogs have encouraged their readers to call the offices of Republican Congressmen, I have urged the Germantown Democrats to call theirs, Marsha Blackburn (R-Brentwood) to inquire whether she voted to allow Tom DeLay to remain House GOP Leader even if facing indictment.

Of course, this is a modification of the rule the House Republicans passed after Dan Rostenkowski (D-IL) was indicted, and later convicted in 1993. I guess they believe that rules only apply to little people (DEMOCRATS).

You may find her phone numbers here.

How We Got Here

J Pratt over at the blog MyDD writes about our party and how we got where we are and what we might do to move forward, I encourage you to read it and the comments that follow...

Blogroll and Links are coming!!!

Thanks to fellow blogger and defender of the left Mike Cromer, I will be able to set up my links and blogroll by the end of this weekend.

I hope that it will be a DOOZY.

Go Germantown Democrats!!!!

Due to the hard work of David Robinson, the Germantown Democratic Club now has their own website! Go check it out, it has a veritable plethora of information about this club, striking fear in the hearts of GOPhers in their own backyard.

Also, they have linked to this very site as well in their Links section, and I am very appreciative for that!

Great job David!