I said hit, not punch. Sheesh.

School started for me yesterday, and I have more reading to do than a speed reader tackling the federal tax code. We’ll probably be experiencing some lighter than the already light schedule of blogging over the next few weeks.

Of course, last time I said that I posted a whole bunch the very next day…so I guess it just depends.

In any case, that’s the plan for now until the plan changes.

On to the Coffee!!!

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McWherter recognizes illegal immigration for what it is, a supply and demand problem. As long as there’s strong demand for illegal workers, they’ll keep coming. His proposal, ratchet back demand.

#TNGOOBERS on the Mosque arson.

Its hard to drop anchor when you’re working all over for votes. Truth is, McWherter has been to Shelby Co. more than Haslam since the primary.

The Big Dog to campaign for McWherter.

What? They want to hold credit rating agencies accountable for instilling false confidence in shaky investments? Next thing ya know they’ll be demanding that FICO scores be more transparent. Hey, that’s not such a bad idea…

Shelby County Mayor Mark Luttrell will be sworn in today. First item on the agenda, instill trust in government. How’s about making the Mayor’s office more transparent then? That’d be a good way to instill some trust.

Memphis fights nepotism.

Memphis City Councilman Jim Strickland learns about unintended consequences.

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Enjoy your day!

After digesting it for a few days, this post is actually more interesting than I originally thought. While I don’t think anyone would argue that technological advances have increased our overall quality of life, there is some question about the ever diminishing value of our work, and what that has done to the psyche of workers, not just in the United States, but worldwide.

Here in the states, with unemployment still ridiculously high, and mired in the grip of a jobless recovery, folks are looking for any answer to their continuing uncertainty. Some of this has manifested itself in the nativist rhetoric of anti-immigration advocates and Islamophobes. Others have railed against government spending, both as being too much or too little. In the end, most average folks are just pissed, not knowing what to do or who to be mad at, except for the usual suspects as defined by their personal bias.

The underpinning of all of this is a sense that we’ve lost our way. That we no longer have the power to determine our future. That our outlook is held hostage by some shadowy force, be it the Government or leaders of industry, again, determined by our personal bias, and that we have little if any power to change course and make our future and the futures of our children bright again like we believe they were in some mythical time in the past.

The truth of the matter is that while these changes seem like a sudden onset of instability, they have been in the works for far longer than I’ve been alive. While its convenient to point to our leaders as failing to provide the vision to bring a brighter future, we also have to recognize that we have selected these leaders, unlike the Luddites in the days of yore, through our vote and our consumption choices, for the past two hundred years.

Its a hard reality to face that we, the regular folks, might have more power than we’re willing to recognize. While its convenient to point that-a-way and cast blame and doubt, if we’re going to be honest, we also have to acknowledge that our choices – to go to a chain store rather than a more expensive local store, to vote for people who favor multi-national corporations rather than mom-and-pop business, to move to the suburbs, expanding local infrastructure beyond all feasibility – are the hands that pull the strings that move the marionette that is our future.

Without our support, over decades of actions, many of these things simply would not have been able to happen.

If we, the people are going to call for more responsibility from our leaders, be they political or otherwise, we also have to demand responsibility from ourselves and recognize the role we play, actively or passively, in the future that we have taken part in creating. It’s easy to point outwardly and look for a bogey man to blame, what we too often fail to realize is that when we point a finger at someone else, there are three pointing right back at ourselves.

The Luddites didn’t have the choices we have today, politically or economically. They didn’t have the access to information we do today. Most importantly, they didn’t have the economic power to change the face of their environment.

While we as individuals may not have that economic power, as a group we do. We have to recognize that power, and pull the strings in a way that benefits the majority of us for the long-term, rather than between paychecks, if we want our future to be brighter.

On to the Coffee…

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Don’t these people have something better to do?

Remember, these were the policies that got us here in the first place.

Honest Campaign ads that we’ll never ever see.

The two major parties are striking out against independent candidates.

Are cuts to the lottery scholarship looming?

City of Memphis Fleet services has taken taxpayers for a ride.

Retaliation or not?

What is the Midtown Overlay?

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Have a great day!

Honestly, I felt like death warmed over

I actually had to pull over to deal with it, as massive coughing spells and driving a crappy old van with no air conditioning don’t mix. After about 15 min. the coughing subsided, and I was certain that I had expelled all of the offending liquid. By now, I think it was about 10am.

By 4, after completing our primary set-up, I was starting to feel the effects of what I call “the lung”. This is that kind of watery feeling you have in your lungs when you breathe in. Yeah, I knew I was gonna get sick. Still, I soldiered on. Having spent some time in the early 90’s at Jonesboro hospitals, I have less than zero desire to make a return appearance. We finished the show, and drove back to Memphis. I was hacking the whole way.

The Friday I had scheduled for myself didn’t allow for illness. An early morning call, followed by an afternoon of setting up equipment that was larger than the space allowed. I didn’t have time to be sick. By 2pm I was asleep in a parking lot with the car on awaiting my next assignment. I felt horrible. Thankfully, we got it done fairly quickly and I called it a day. By now I knew that I would be spending the next 24 hours mostly on the couch.

I don’t do “sick” well, but I know pretty well how to knock it out when I need to. After procuring my “tools of the trade” which consisted of Sudafed, lots of soup, saltine crackers, various juices and Emergen-C, I retired to the couch to be pitiful for a while. Really, I needed to get over this because the next day I had crap to do, and I couldn’t afford to be sick then either.

My 1pm meeting on Saturday came all too quickly. I still felt like death warmed over, and the Sudafed and nearly 24 hours of forced sleep had my brain feeling like someone had covered it in plastic wrap and left it in the back of the freezer. I could tell I was feeling better, but I didn’t want to over-do it, lest I fall back into the sickness that had been the past 24 hours. By 4 I was done for the day and got back to sleeping. I’m not much of a sleeper, but when I don’t feel good you’d be hard pressed to get me to do anything else. I slept pretty much non-stop until Sunday morning.

By then I was sick of being sick. Like I said, I don’t do sick well, and I hate feeling like I can’t do something when I want to do it. The congestion had subsided somewhat, a box of Kleenex later, the chest pain was at a manageable level, it was time to do some work. Ellyn and Frannie were set to return from vacation in the early evening and the last thing I wanted was to be sick when they got here.

I worked my way through it, doing menial, but important chores around the house that didn’t require too much brain power or stamina. By 5pm I almost felt like my old self again. Chores nearly done, I anxiously awaited their arrival back from “Arkansas with a beach” aka Florida.

Their arrival made the transformation complete. If I felt sickly before, that feeling was replaced with the joy of having them home after over a week away. I missed them so much, I can’t tell you how happy I was to have them back.

Yesterday was our one year anniversary. What a great present to have them return. It was a long week without them, made longer by my untimely illness. I’m so happy to have them in my life, and don’t want to have to go another second without them.

I love you guys. Happy Anniversary Ellyn, here’s to many more.

Ok, how’s about some coffee…

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There was a fire at the proposed site of an Islamic Center in Murphreesboro. Yeah, it was arson, big time. Tom Humphrey also with the coverage.

Tonight at 7pm there’s a candlelight vigil against intolerance sponsored by Middle Tennesseans for Religious Freedom.

Dreamday Cafe on religious intolerance.

Folks are none too happy with how the whole Making Home Affordable Program hasn’t been working. I can tell you first hand that borrowers are doing everything in their power to NOT help people.

Looks like Bill Haslam is putting his family’s billions to work. Shiver.

HFJ says he has no political future in Tennessee. Well not now, especially after that book!

The former face of the TNGOP is popping up a lot since the primary. I don’t know if this is a good or bad thing.

Coal Ash is worse for you than originally thought. I’m sure that’s comforting to no one. Has TVA fixed that yet or are they still dragging their feet?

The search for the mystical $57 million begins. I smell another tax bill.

Wendi says history will put Glen Beck in his place. History still has working sanitariums? Who knew?

Is it time for local third parties? Personally, I think the majority of the American public is stuck in binary.

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Ok, off to the races. School starts this week and it’s busy as all get out anyway. have a good one!

There are a lot of reasons real, lasting change takes so long. First and foremost, as I noted yesterday, its a lot easier to change laws than it is minds. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965 changed the law, but minds were lagging. From a purely political perspective, this change turned the Solid South from a Democratic enclave to a huge toss-up in the wake of this change. But despite this political condition, I think there are few people who would do it differently now.

From my perspective, it was more important to be right than to genuflect to a group who sought to maintain an unequal status quo. Its interesting that even though the Republican Party employed the Southern Strategy to gain favor with Southern whites in the wake of these landmark legislative moves, they never really overturned either the Civil Rights Act or the Voting Rights Act. To do so would have rendered their successful strategy moot.

It took nearly 145 years from the signing of the Declaration of Independence and over 70 years from the Seneca Falls Convention in 1848 to gain enough momentum for the 19th Amendment to pass. But through dedication and resolve, pass it did, thanks to the vote of the Tennessee Legislature 90 years ago. While many saw the potential for women’s suffrage as an end to the white male dominated power structure of the past, this hasn’t really come to pass.

Currently, only 17% of the seats in Congress are held by women, despite being over 50% of the population. And while women have made great strides in the years since the passage of the 19th Amendment, the United States still lags behind our European counterparts when looking at the percentage of women in elected positions in government.

Laws do change faster than minds.

Today, at the Memphis City Hall, there will be a celebration of the passage of the 19th Amendment at 4pm. If you have some time, stop by and honor the women and men that worked hard to gain women the right to vote. Even if you don’t have time, take a moment to think about the next big change and the challenges that this change brings. Then resolve yourself to stay vigilant and fight for that change. As Mahatma Gandhi noted, “Justice does not help those who slumber but helps only those who are vigilant.”

On to the Coffee…

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We reported yesterday on the challenge to the August 5th elections here in Shelby County. Here’s news coverage of that suit.

Speaking of courage, Wendi Thomas has some thoughts on the subject.

Jackson Baker talks to Jim Kyle on partisanship and primaries.

The Tennessee Supreme Court refused to hear an appeal of the Memphis v. Memphis City Schools funding case. Here’s coverage from the Memphis Daily News, the Commercial Appeal, and our very own LeftWingCracker.

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Ok, have fun out there. Looks like it’s gonna be a nice day for a celebration.

Was Your Vote Counted? Who Knows!

Since election day an investigation has been underway to expose all of the problems voters faced. From the looks of things, the plaintiffs have found far more than they expected in that investigation, prompting the suit.

The election process is the cornerstone of our Republic. Without confidence in the process, the whole system falls like a deck of cards. While some have characterized this as a political exercise, the reality is, without a comprehensive independent investigation, there’s no reason to believe that our electoral process is safe and secure. Hopefully this suit will restore faith in the process by mandating a level of transparency that hasn’t been forthcoming since this process began.

Below is the text of their press release.

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AUGUST CANDIDATES FORMALLY SUE DUE TO IMPROPRIETIES IN ELECTION

Ten countywide candidates in the August 5th election have formally filed an election contest in Shelby County Chancery Court requesting injunctive relief. The ten plaintiffs in the suit include certain non-partisan judicial candidates as well as certain Democratic nominees, all of whom competed in the County General Election earlier this month. Based on an inspection and investigation of the Shelby County Election Commission (SCEC) and of August 5th election records, the suit claims that the election process was incurably flawed to the extent that the citizens of Shelby County were denied a free and equal election as required by Article I of the Tennessee Constitution.

The suit alleges widespread irregularities, improprieties, discrepancies and voting problems so significant as to have affected the outcome of the August election and to have caused the election results to be incurably uncertain. Already known is the massive error already acknowledged by the SCEC and described by the SCEC itself as “unacceptable” where invalid and inaccurate voter eligibility records were provided to polls on Election Day potentially affecting 5,400 voters and turning away thousands.

“This lawsuit is intended to assure that the OTHER substantial and appalling improprieties which occurred in the August election are brought to light, investigated and resolved for all citizens and for every future election. The handling and mishandling of the August election by the SCEC is an embarrassment to our county and a violation of every principle on which our country was founded. Regardless of race, party or gender, every citizen is entitled to better and is entitled to an unimpeded and transparent voting process. Our upcoming November election, including the vote on consolidation of Memphis and Shelby County, is important to many, and we intend to do everything in our power, with the approval of the courts, to assure that every citizen’s vote counts. None of us should tolerate incompetence or impropriety.”

Examples of problems from the suit:

1. Votes Without Voters: According to SCEC records, the Participating Voters List for the August election includes 176,119 voters. Without explanation, the Certified Statement of Votes Cast shows 182,921 votes as being cast in the August 2010 election. Thus, according to SCEC’s own records, 6,802 more votes were cast than individuals who participated in the August 2010 election.

2. Missing Vote Batches: Unexplained errors in vote count are reflected by the voting machines. Vote batches are numbered sequentially based on when they are uploaded from the voting machines, and all early vote uploads to the central tabulator should reflect an upload date of August 5. However, two of the batches mysteriously reflect an upload date of August 12 (the first day of inspection) –yet they remain sequentially listed with the other early vote batches that were all uploaded on August 5. Further, twenty batches of vote uploads are no longer in the system at all (vote batches 245-265) with no record of them at this time. The missing batches potentially contain between 6,000 and 18,000 votes.

3. Provisional Ballots: Errors were committed with provisional ballot counting. Eight entries appear in the GEMS software audit log at SCEC stating that provisional ballots were manually entered on August 12, 2010, but only one entry appears in the batch entry, and according to the poster log, 13 batches were manually entered. Plus, only about 70% of the provisional ballots cast are being credited as valid.

4. Turnout Inconsistencies: Inconsistencies exist in the SCEC’s daily turnout figures for early voting sites. During early voting, poll watchers for candidates documented voter turnout at specific early sites, yet the turnout figures subsequently released by SCEC for each day were inexcusably inconsistent. Final voter count taken after the last voter voted each day should have exactly matched the actual count released from the SCEC. In some instances, the count was off by as much as thirty (30) votes in a day. Such widespread and pervasive inconsistencies occurred at the twenty satellite voting locations over the approximate two-week early voting period as to make the results of the August 5th election incurably uncertain.

5. Poll Tapes: Poll tapes from each voting machine with vote results are to be signed by poll workers and maintained by SCEC in accordance with law (TCA 2-8-108). During the first day of the post-election inspection at the SCEC Operations Center, two large trash bags were found containing crumpled, but original signed poll tapes, without reasonable explanation from the SCEC except that they were being thrown away. Such election documentation is required to be preserved by law. On the other hand, many poll tapes being kept by SCEC to allegedly verify the certified vote totals lack proper signatures and verification, and others are just missing, making it impossible to confirm vote totals.

6. Unsealed/Unsecured Equipment: Voting machines, tabulators, memory cards and other voting apparatuses used in the election were seen at the SCEC Operations Center and were not secured or stored in a manner to protect them from manipulation. Many voting machines used in the election were not sealed and had not been sealed since Election Day, August 5th. Multiple voting machines were not returned to the SCEC until August 12, 2010, a week after the election in violation of law. There were voting machines running at the SCEC between August 12th through at least August 17th, all open and able to accept votes – more than a week after the election. Memory cards holding votes were in open boxes throughout the facility.

7. The Ghost Race: The election machines chosen by SCEC affix an ID to each race being run. One ID number is found on the GEMS report and poll tapes and a corresponding but different ID is in the MDB tables. For example, the Sheriff’s race is ID 92 in the MDB tables and is identified as race 408 in the export to GEMS. According to the MDB and GEMS tables, there are a total of 105 races. However, only 104 races were visible to the public while voting, with one race existing but hidden from view. In the MDB tables, this “Ghost Race” is designated Race 105, with GEMS export ID number 440. This “Ghost Race” was created on June 11 and remained in the system until after the August election. It is coded so as to be hidden on both touch screen (early voting and at the polls) ballots and absentee ballots. It does not appear to be designed to capture votes entered by voters – but it can be used to transfer, delete or temporarily store votes. The race contains no candidate and is marked “nocount” which will cause any votes in this race to be omitted from vote count reports.
The existence of a “Ghost Race” is similar to a dummy bank account or a second set of log books. It allows votes to be moved around without reflecting transactions in the audit data. The most troubling aspect is that it only appeared on ballot styles 2, 10, and 80 – which encompass 54 primarily Democratic precincts.

8. Obstructionism: On August 17, 2010 during inspection, employees of the SCEC were stopped while taking computers to their cars. SCEC represented to the inspection team that the computer memories had been wiped clean, and the computers were being given away due to their age – per a ‘policy’ of the SCEC. However, upon examination, the computer memories were not wiped clean; voter files were on the machines and the machines’ memories indicated they had been accessed multiple times in the wee hours of August 12, 2010, before candidate inspection teams arrived that same day.

9. Vote Swap: Numerous incidences of “vote swap” were recorded during the election, where voters voted for one candidate by touching the appropriate candidate’s name on the electronic touch-screen, only to have another candidate’s name appear. The vote swap issue was consistent and pervasive throughout the election period and SCEC did not cure the problem.

10. Party Identifiers: Another distinct problem during the election was “party identifiers” being erroneously placed next to candidate names on voting screens. For example, numerous reports exist of non-partisan candidates for judicial elections having “party identifiers” labeling them as Republicans or Democrats next to their names. Such political identifiers are improper and significantly impact judicial races, which are non-partisan.

11. Voting Unavailable: In both May and August elections, some polls opened late – as much as an hour and a half – or had voting machines which were inoperable for periods of time while voters were turned away. The SCEC denied all requests to keep the respective poll(s) open longer to make up that down time. Some voters attempted to vote 3 times.

12. The Wrong Early Voting Database: SCEC has acknowledged loading the wrong early voter database in the Electronic Poll Books (EPBs) used for August 5th, potentially resulting in 5,400 voters being told they already voted. Affidavits have been collected evidencing voters turned away without being given options and/or threatened with prosecution. Some affidavits have been turned over to TBI, which is also investigating. The SCEC was correct when it stated that this error was “unacceptable”. Infringement on a person’s right to vote is not a minor matter; it is illegal. Candidate inspection teams have thus far been denied sufficient data or documentation to even verify that that SCEC used the May 2010 early voter database rather than a larger early voter database which would have affected more voters, as some voter statements would indicate. The error itself was not corrected on Election Day, since SCEC allegedly advising their poll workers how to handle the issue, is not the same as not having had the issue. Voters were told they had already voted, and the voters’ reluctance to try to vote, after being told that they already cast a vote in the General Election was undoubtedly magnified by the arrest of two individuals in July 2010, who were charged with voting twice in the 2006 election. The media publicized these arrests throughout Shelby County, and specifically included quotes from members of the SCEC. This public decision to prosecute immediately prior to the election, after a lapse of four years, unquestionably had a chilling effect on voters that was magnified by the use of the incorrect voter file.
******

The lawsuit requests that the Court immediately restrain SCEC from destroying, erasing or disposing of any voter information or data from the August election, seize all election paraphernalia, and that an exact copy of all computer data and hard drives be preserved for examination by the Court. It further requests that the actions of the SCEC for the November election be monitored.

Jonathan Cole Speaks Before the Memphis City Council

As has been widely reported, the ordinance was withdrawn yesterday due to a belief that support for the ordinance was lagging, and that the ordinance had not been treated fairly by members of the City Council, particularly Barbara Swearengen Ware, who requested the ordinance be pulled off the Consent Agenda on its first reading, and Councilman Bill Morrison who offered an amendment even more watered down than the ordinance that passed in the Shelby County Commission earlier this year.

These circumstances, and the pillow soft support of Memphis Mayor A C Wharton ultimately led to the withdrawal.

Shelby County TEP Chair Jonathan Cole spoke before the Council last night and cited the appearance of bias against the ordinance as one of the reasons for the withdrawal.

Councilman Myron Lowery contested Cole’s assertion that the Ordinance had not received a fair hearing, and said he wished the Ordinance would be allowed to come up for a vote. Lowery voted for the Ordinance on First Read two weeks ago.

In talking to Jonathan after his statement he noted that a great deal more work needed to be done in order to secure workplace protections for GLBT City employees and that the TEP would continue to strive for those protections despite the withdrawal of the Ordinance.

Discrimination is a destructive force in our community, yet it persists in many different forms. The passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 provided protections for women and racial minorities long before attitudes about those groups began to change. Laws often change more quickly than minds. It takes strong leadership, from both the people these laws would impact, and political leaders to allow the law to lead us out of the darkness of discrimination into the light of equality. It seems that many of our political leaders are more interested in maintaining their political capitol than spending it on an issue that should be a no-brainer.

If we use the Civil Rights Act as a model for reform, we see that the use of the words race, color, religion, sex, or national origin are critical to provide specific protections for people who faced discrimination. Using “non-merit based reasons for dismissal or lack of consideration for a position” to cover a specific group of people is inadequate. Opponents of reform consistently use this tactic to avoid the issue. Without specificity there really is no reform. This seems to be the stance taken by the TEP, and I couldn’t agree with them more.

It is the specificity of the Civil Rights Act that made it possible to positively impact the lives of millions of Americans by making discrimination based on the metrics provided in the law illegal. Without that specificity there is no protection, and while policy makers may feel the need to compromise on controversial issues, there can be no compromise on protecting communities of people who face discrimination. Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity and Expression must be included in order to truly protect GLBT employees.

Memphis has a long history of being resistant to provide protections for populations that face discrimination, as any Civil Rights activist in this city can tell you. It is unfortunate but perhaps not that surprising that the conditions in the City Council have ultimately continued this resistance through their actions on this issue.

I know that the TEP will be back and stronger than ever to fight for equal workplace protections for GLBT employees in City government. I also know they have a lot of work to do to change enough minds on the City Council to eventually change the law. I applaud them on their commitment to hold firm on the specific language. Its an uphill battle, but its a battle that must be fought to truly gain the protections they seek.

Yesterday’s meeting of the Memphis City Council was not only a study in process, but also a prime example of one of the problems facing Memphians. Our elected officials chose to chart their own course, despite widespread public outcry decided there was more need for a ninth Pharmacy in a 2 mile area than for the citizens to have a voice in the character of their neighborhood.

This is government at its worst on several counts. First, with all the opposition to the new CVS, and so many options nearby, there is a good possibility that there will not be enough local support for the business meaning that in the long-term we’ll be left with a building we don’t like that will be vacant. Second, the only two no votes came from the people who know the area best, Jim Strickland and Shea Flinn. The rest of the Council’s decision to ignore both the wishes of the locals and two of the four people who represent those locals is inexcusable.

From my perspective, this is why people don’t trust our local government. Bill Boyd, who represents District 2, which is nowhere near the intersection of Cooper and Union even noted that no amount of public outcry or lack of support would sway the Council. Let’s hear it for accountability and doing the business of the public.

Regardless of any referendum or potential change in government, this illustrates a major problem for our community. If our elected officials believe they know more about the communities they serve than the people who live in those communities, they’ve got their priorities all switched, especially when they don’t even represent those communities. The structure of our government matters little if elected officials can act with impunity toward the wishes of local residents. What the Memphis City Council did yesterday is paternalism at its worst, and they need to be held accountable for it. That’s the only way our voice will ever be heard.

On to the Coffee…

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Here’s the Memphis Daily News and the Commercial Appeal with coverage of the CVS vote.

Smart City thinks the Council wasn’t too smart in their decision yesterday.

Guess what? We also have the highest sales taxes in the US.

The ACLU is going after a severely antiquated law.

Anger motivates voters? Who knew?

Resume padding in Rutherford County.

TN Citizen Action notes a Commercial Appeal editorial on predatory lending.

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Have a good day out there!

I actually have been on the road in northwest Tennessee meeting with constituents. It has been rather interesting. These folks aren’t online and following the political groove of Tennessee bloggers. They are asking questions and aren’t looking for a specific answer, just answers in general. I really needed this because it’s helped me more readily understand the non-virtual world a bit better regarding that most people really just want to know about how to be a part of bringing the area back to what it once was. As northwest Tennessee has a large amount of unemployed people at this point due to loss of dozens of manufacturing industries, the main concerns were how they can be a part of redeveloping the area.

The most intriguing group of people I’ve met recently were a group of bikers whose main objective, other than getting on their Harleys and letting the wind rip through them, is raising money for charities. Toys for Tots, cash for uninsured friends who are facing debilitating medical bills and Walk of Hope. In one place I stopped, it was amazing to see that they have even set up a book exchange for their friends.

It takes different and diverse people to make a community. I’ve been learning this and have been reminded that the world is much bigger and has more layers than I could ever imagine.

So, yeah, that’s what I’ve been up to.

On to the coffee …

Southern Beale breaks down many things. Specifically is why is the GOP getting their blogging base and Democrats aren’t, as on commenter wrote, supporting their supporters.

Mike McWherter will be in Memphis tomorrow night meeting with the Germantown Democratic Club. Cracker has the details.

Captain Kona discusses the “truthiness” of Phil Roe.

Democrat Vs. Democratic.

Chas Sisk has a story in the Tennessean today on how TN Democrats, focusing on the race in the 48th,  hope to take back the house.

Bianca Phillips has some non-discrimination events today in re: to the second reading of the Memphis Employment Non-Discrimination Ordinance this afternoon.

And finally, take a look at history in Chattanooga through the eyes of Dan Lehr at the Public Interest. Amazing.

Nothing bad has happened, in fact, yesterday I got some REALLY good news about my Financial Aid for the upcoming semester. But, for whatever reason, this morning I’m just kinda blank.

It happens. Most of the time when there’s too much going on I thrive. All the activity keeps me moving like a perpetual motion machine. Sometimes it doesn’t work like that. I guess this morning is one of those cases.

So, rather than fight it, I’m just going to embrace it and get to the Coffee!

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Matt Pulle at the Nashville Scene is taking a deep look at Islamophobia.

McWherter slams Haslam on leaky tanks.

With all the election controversy, the TNDP points the finger at the guy who gutted TVCA.

Speaking of elections, Election Administrator Mark Goins is blaming all the problems on human error, errors that might have been avoided if his office hadn’t pushed so hard for the gutting of TVCA.

Memphis Mayor A C Wharton is downplaying his recent visit with Republican Gubernatorial Candidate Bill Haslam.

Nike Inc. is all about the Memphis NDO and Jonathan Cole talks about some surprise opposition that cropped up during the first reading of the proposed ordinance.

The second reading is Tuesday, August 24, at 3:30, 125 N. Main in Memphis.

The Shelby County division of Community Services has launched a campaign to inform people with HIV/AIDS about area services.

Ahh, the good ole days…weren’t really all that good.

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Have a great day and an even better weekend!

Next week, there will be celebrations all over the state for the 90th birthday of the 19th Amendment. These celebrations don’t just commemorate the victory of women’s suffrage, but also the work involved in getting such a monumental change passed.

Big changes require a big effort. I can’t think of a single instance where something big changed that was a revolution of one. Sure there are leaders, but there are also organizers and activists and foot-soldiers. When all of these elements work together, eventually, the change you seek can happen. Such was the case with the suffragist movement.

If you look at the history of the women’s suffrage movement, it took over seventy years from the Seneca Falls Convention for an amendment to the Constitution to gain the approval of enough people to pass. Despite advances in communication over the 160 years since this convention, there’s little reason to believe that significant changes will take any less time. Technology changes faster than minds.

Which is why it was with great interest that I read this post on Grand Divisions last night. I encourage you to go read the whole thing yourself, but the Cliff’s Notes version is that stuff doesn’t get done in a vacuum. It takes a movement of like minded people to make lasting change happen, whether it be in local, state, or federal affairs.

We’ve got a lot of great voices here in Tennessee. People who are passionate about their issues and willing to put that passion out there for the world to see. But sometimes I feel like much of that passion is spent on specific instances or particular situations, rather than confronting the big picture thing in an organized manner. Maybe this is how movements get started, the problem is posed in the public sphere until enough people coalesce around the issue to confront it directly, but more often than not it seems like a lot of individual voices calling out in a crowded field rather than a movement.

As Chris’ post notes, we can make a much bigger impact as a group than as individuals. We have to get involved in the process beyond just talking about the change we want. We have to work together as a group for people who are interested in making that change happen, and we have to engage those who may be on the fence to make the case for the change we seek. We have to engage to a degree far beyond our comfort level to push things in our direction. Conservatives realized this in the 70’s and started working for it, now we’re facing many of the same challenges that conservatives did in that time. Its our time to organize.

We have a lot of strong voices in this state, but we suffer from a lack of organization. Until we build some strength in numbers, we’ll continue to suffer the consequences of our inaction. The floor is open to suggestions.

On to the Coffee

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Joe Powell has been on fire this week, and he keeps the momentum going with this post.

Looks like the Yarbro-Henry recount will be decided on Monday.

The Feds are helping big time on the flood recovery funds, I’m sure somewhere conservatives are freaking out.

Campfield in the crosshairs.

In Shelby County, the finger has been pointed.

Accountability returns from a long absence in Memphis City government.

Test your electric cars here.

Carpenter wants an opinion on Mayor Ford’s impending veto, and in the process is preparing for a veto override.

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Ok, have a good day!

We live in a world with lots of complex problems. Some are more complex than others. Yet despite the complexities, we, as a whole, seem more than willing to focus on one or two things, to prescribe a solution. And even though we know that said solution will not solve all the problems, we often bill it as such to help persuade those who also recognize there problem even though we may not all agree on what that problem is.

While reducing an argument to this lowest common denominator may be useful in the rhetoric of campaigns or persuasion, it is also somewhat intellectually dishonest. No solution is a panacea. No solution is going to make things magically better. In fact, the only way to make things better is through a lot of hard work and concerted effort, though the people who present their solutions to problems would be loathe to admit that, because we all know no one likes hard work, or concerted effort. We just want it fixed and we don’t want to have to do much to achieve this state of “fixed”.

In government, most solutions are a balance of plusses and minuses. There will be those who believe they are losing something, and those who believe they are gaining. Once the solution is implemented, the problem may not actually be solved, which creates a whole new round of “winners” and “losers”, except this time its not based on perception.

The truth is, in any solutions someone’s “giving something up”, and someone’s “gaining” something. There is no solution, in government or anything else, where everyone benefits equally. In fact, it may take many years for the “winners” to realize their reward, giving them ample time to get frustrated and chart a new course away from this reward.

We all want instant gratification which is impossible.

An honest assessment of any solution will clearly state the problem that it seeks to solve, and additional problems it may create. For whatever reason, we’re not allowed to have that level of discourse in this county on most issues. Instead, we buy into short-term solutions from long-term problems, and maintain a permanent state of disappointment when they are never “solved”, or when they create another “problem”.

Nothing is as black and white as we want it to be. Nothing can be reduced to that level if we’re honestly looking at the entirety of the problem. The key is to find peace in the grey, and be willing to make adjustments so neither side of the see-saw bottoms out shaking the whole system.

Maybe we need to learn to appreciate grey a little more. The wild swings between black and white haven’t been serving us that well.

That was too much bar room philosophy for this early in the morning. On to the coffee!

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I’m sure this will be a love fest.

Should we change our name to the “I wanna be sedated” state?

I’ll take hijacking for $1000 Alex.

Free speech can have costly consequences. Goldni on how the First Amendment doesn’t protect you from being an idiot.

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Have a great day!

So since I’ve been a little out of the loop for the past few days, I want to take this opportunity to riff on something that’s near and dear to my heart, going to college.

Way back in fall of 1990 I started college for the first time. Even though my parents weren’t able to contribute much financially, I qualified for several scholarships that made it possible to go to school. One scholarship was based on my ACT score, and basically paid for my tuition, which at the time was just $700 a semester. The other was a scholarship that I received from the Music department. I was a music major at the time and they recruited me pretty hard. Finally, I was also eligible for some Pell grants and other financial aid.

At the time, I was like most entering Freshmen, young and stupid, away from home for the first time. I over-scheduled myself and basically did everything wrong imaginable. Still, my GPA wasn’t that bad even though my attendance in class was spotty at best. Sometime in the Spring of 1992, then President George H. W. Bush pushed for tightening the requirements on Pell Grants. Suddenly, that money was gone in Fall of 1992, and between that and several other circumstances, I dropped out.

Flash forward to almost exactly a year ago today. Nearly 18 years after I left school I made the decision to go back. There are a lot of reasons for the decision, but mostly, I realized that while I liked my job, I wasn’t doing what I was supposed to be doing. I was merely going through the motions. I was unhappy, and I wanted a change. I spent August through December winding down my business, and in January I took a part time job and enrolled in 9 hours at University of Memphis.

There were some things I wasn’t prepared for, but the biggest thing was the cost. At $300/credit hour, taking one class now costs more than a full time load at ASU in 1990. I thought maybe, eventually, I would qualify for some Financial Aid, but as of right now, that’s not happening. The best I can hope for is to loan my way through this school year, and hope my income is high enough to survive, but low enough to eventually qualify for something.

My GPA is hovering around 3.25 (transfer and current), and my income has been cut in less than half. When school starts in a couple of weeks, I will have paid nearly $8000 in tuition this year. But even though I’ve appealed my FAFSA score, its looking like loans are the only option, for at least another year. This is discouraging to me.

On Sunday, Sen. Jim Kyle wrote an op-ed in the Knoxville News that talked about the lottery scholarship. I had hoped that after my appeal I would qualify, but now three weeks after the appeal process, it looks like that isn’t going to happen. Based on the criteria on the TN Lottery Scholarship site I should qualify based on my income appeal. Maybe there’s something I’m missing. This whole financial aid thing is highly confusing to me.

Last summer, when Sen. Kyle announced his candidacy for Governor, he talked about making lottery scholarship money more available to people like me, who are less that 60 hours away from a degree, to finish school. Like the Op-Ed, he noted at the announcement speech that the fastest way to increase the number of people with bachelor’s degrees was to get people who have started back into school. He also noted that increasing the overall education level of the state was one way to attract more economic development, better higher paying jobs, to the state. His speech was part of my inspiration for going back.

I’m not giving up, but I am discouraged. I knew this would be hard when I started it, but I had no idea it would be financially crippling. If Tennessee is serious about increasing the percentage of people with college degrees, our legislators have to stop looking at the lottery scholarship fund as a means to whatever short term end they have at the moment, and make those scholarships available to more people like myself, who are trying to finish school, but have limited earning potential due to the time commitment of school.

I don’t think anyone realizes just how much of an investment, in time and money, it is for a nearly 40-something to go back and do this. It’s been hard, but also rewarding. The key is to not make it so hard, so financially crippling, that people can’t make the decision to go back and finish. Based on my experience so far, that is the case.

Hopefully in the next session they’ll make it easier…if not for me, at least for the next guy or gal that decides to take the plunge.

Ok, on to the Coffee…

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Mike McWherter was in Memphis yesterday and talking about expanding pre-k programs in the state as well as business poaching that Mississippi seems to be so god at.

Haslam’s still running away from his GOP nomination. I wonder why he didn’t include Don Sundquist in that list?

Both of my parents are on Social Security, and they’ll come down on these people like a ton of bricks if they don’t shut the hell up.

Joe Powell with part 2 of his indentured servitude series.

And finally, someone please go pull a petition against this guy. No, not you Richard Fields.

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Have a great day, see ya on the flip!

In our spiritual lives, the faith in a loving God gives people of many traditions the hope of better things to come.

In politics, there are many levels of faith from many different positions, but perhaps the most fundamental is that our elections will be carried out in such a way that there are few, if any questions about the outcome.

Certainly, every election has problems. The fact is, we’re human, even though some seem loath of acknowledge that, and humans make mistakes more often than not. But mistakes alone don’t shake one’s faith in elections. There are many other contributing factors that ultimately lead to a shaken faith in the system that go far beyond mistakes.

That seems to be where we are now in the ongoing saga of the Shelby County August 2010 elections. As Jackson Baker reported over the weekend, when you add mistakes to a lack of transparency and openness, along with a dash of what appears to be stalling tactics, people lose faith in the process.

As Jackson notes in his article, the Election Commission tweeted on Saturday morning the phrase:

Our silence is us protecting your votes & voting rights while following strong advice from attorneys.

On the face of it, that may seem all well and good, but silence ≠ protection. More often than not, silence = hiding something. Adding that silence to the mistakes, lack of transparency, and stalling tactics, and you’ve got a recipe for ongoing questions, which runs counter to anything requiring faith.

Hopefully things will be different this week. Hopefully, the system, and the people charged with administering the system will be able to withstand scrutiny and faith in our system will be restored. But based on early reports, that’s not likely to happen, leaving faith in our system of elections in limbo or worse.

The hard thing about faith is that once its gone, its difficult to restore. Regardless of your political affiliations, we should all want to have faith in our election system. In order for that faith to either be restored or maintained, some unnecessary barriers must be removed. Hopefully that will happen soon, so those of us with questions will have answers.

At the end of the day, if you have nothing to hide then you have no reason to try an hide anything. The system probably can hold up to scrutiny on its own, if the people in charge will let it.

On to the Coffee…

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Haslam runs to the left in a new ad. One of his great governors says he’s overstating the challenges the state faces. And look, here’s another conflict of interest for the Knoxville Mayor.

Republicans are thinking sweep, but can they do it without the 11th Commandment?

Kyle v. Campfield

Looking at the challenges facing rural west Tennessee.

Joe Powell looks at a TDOT contractor’s employment practices.

Wendi goes for TEA.

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Alright, that’s all for now. More later as time permits.

What We Have Here is an Unwillingness to Communicate

Wanted: Interpreter for Ongoing Elections Dispute

The successful candidate will be fluent in “Yankee” and “Good Ole Boy” and be able to efficiently communicate the concerns of each. Candidate need not have any knowledge of election law or issues surrounding the current question as such information may lead the “Good Ole Boy” contingent to believe that said interpreter is impartial. Further, the successful candidate must leave all rational thought processes at the door to ensure the fragile sensibilities of “Good Ole Boy” are not disturbed. Finally, the successful candidate will also properly genuflect when called upon by said “Good Ole Boy” contingent, even when said request is unwarranted or seriously out of line. Any questioning of “Good Ole Boy” contingent will result in immediate disqualification.

If you don’t know what I’m talking about, then you probably didn’t watch WREG last night. As far as I can tell, none of the other media outlets in the city are covering this issue. Here’s the report from WREG’s Mike Matthews.

LWC has a first person account (part 2) from Regina Morrison Newman.

As Trace noted yesterday, Shelby County isn’t the only place that’s having trouble. This thing is all over the state, and more problems are coming to light.

Over in East Tennessee, a “computer glitch” counted the votes of five precincts twice. That’s reassuring.

The biggest question I have, in light of the hedging and delay that the Shelby County Election Commission engaged in yesterday, is why all the hedging and delay? These are not the actions of someone who agreed just days earlier to be “open and transparent”.

Further, the assertion by election administrators that a text file is somehow “proprietary” is complete and total bull. The text files in question aren’t that much different from the “voter participating list” that the Election Commission posted on its website daily during the election.

So now, this process is tainted, not by any particular “mistake” but by a pattern of unwillingness to maintain the agreed upon “openness and transparency”. In behaving this way, the SCEC is being overly defensive, and creating the perception that they’re hiding something. They’re doing a disservice to themselves, and to the process they’re tasked with administering, by lowering confidence in that very process.

I think Mike Matthews wanted to call the whole scene a “cluster****”, but I’ll call it “self-defeating nonsense” on the part of election administrators who are more interested in protecting an unknown “something” than allowing the public to know the truth.

On to the coffee…

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Over in Nashville, Jeff Yarbro is asking for a recount.

Memphis Mayor A C Wharton brings down the hammer on the General Services Division, and enacts some whistleblower protections.

Be careful what you copy.

Our very own Steve Steffens will be on Informed Sources this weekend.

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Off to the races!

Knox Views has the scoop on voting problems across the state.

In the first major election since Republicans took control of the Secretary of State’s office, which includes the Division of Elections, there were voting problems reported across the state. Most appear to involve denying voters a ballot because of errors in election system databases.

First reports came out of Shelby County. There was a similar case here in East Tennessee in Sevier County.

The election has not been certified in Weakley County at this point either. The county doesn’t believe it will be able to certify election results until next week sometime.

The county has until the 23rd of this month to certify.

The one place that every American person has equal footing is in a voting booth. Rich, poor, white, black, gay straight … you get the picture.  Stories of voters saying they were turned away is serious business.  People make mistakes, as R. Neal said but some election offices had apparently drank a can of Incompetence Builder for breakfast on the morning of August 5.

The issue right now is voter confidence. And they aren’t confident, so these stories coming from around the state does make one wonder what the heck the Secretary of State is doing to rectify the situation.

Shelby County DA Bill Gibbons asked the TBI to look into “criminal” violations. Congressman Steve Cohen has also sent a letter to the USDOJ to ask for an investigation of the issue. Last night, over 200 people gathered at the IBEW hall in Midtown Memphis to sign affidavits about “voting irregularities”. Despite assertions from the Shelby County Election Commission that voters were not turned away, there have been plenty of reports of people being turned away at the polls or threatened of voter fraud charges.

That ain’t cool.

From my perspective, it’s better to err on the side of caution. If a registered voter shows up on election day, chances are they didn’t take time out of their day to vote twice. Just give them a provisional ballot, and if they did vote twice, deal with the legal issues on the back end. Turning people away at the polls gives the impression that there’s something unseemly happening, not only to the person affected, but also to the other folks in the line.

Further complicating the issue is the fact that the Election Commission came up with a wholly different process for people affected later in the day. I understand the desire to give the impression that “it’s been fixed”, but once the election starts, the rules shouldn’t change mid-way through. That actually makes the problem worse. By trying to “fix” it, there’s an impression of a cover up.

The Election Commission keeps pointing to the 210 provisional ballots cast as an indication of how small the problem is. But they don’t talk about all the people that cast “fail safe” ballots (like Bill Gibbons) on the paperless machines after the problem was realized.

Nope, a situation like this DEMANDS a paper trail. If they didn’t have enough provisionals, then that’s another planning problem. A little extra paper costs a whole lot less than the cost to voter confidence, or a new election.

It may be months before we find out what really happened and how many people were effected. In the mean time, if you experienced problems at the polls, please let someone know by coming to this meeting at AFSCME Union Hall, MLK Center, SE corner of Danny Thomas and Beale Street on Friday at 3pm.

Ok, on to the Coffee!!!

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Don’t piss off Phil.

The debate on Gubernatorial debates is on. McWherter has agreed to as many as 15, Haslam says three is enough. Why is Haslam scared of going head to head with McWherter?

In Shelby County, the Metro Charter has been filed with the proper authorities, now comes the conversation, the campaign, and ultimately the vote.

Smart City thinks, we’re a lot more together than we know.

Jackson Baker takes a final look back at the election.

And Reginald Milton thinks the criticism of Van Turner has been a bit overblown.

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Ok, have a great day!

Hell is jealous of Tennessee’s weather right now.

The heat has made many of us stabby. I am surprised that some of my friends even want to talk to me at this point because I realized this morning, I’ve been a bear. I don’t want to even talk to me. Is anyone else going through this?

Someone asked on Twitter yesterday if violence flares up when the temperature has melted our brains. So I looked it up.

As far as the weather-crime connection goes, the prevailing view is that cold and inclement weather suppress crime, while heat and humidity increase it. Although the association may to some extent reflect physiology, there is a strong link between weather and patterns of activity, which in turn influence crime and violence. During blizzards and extreme cold, criminals tend to stay indoors, just like the rest of us. But in nice weather, we all tend to spend more time outdoors interacting with neighbors, acquaintances and strangers, bringing with it far more occasions for conflict and opportunities for victimization.

Well, if I owe apologies to you, consider that I said it here first. When I see you, we will drown ourselves in cool vats of water and beer before we do the raindance I’ve been working on pictured above.

You guys have been blog talking. We heard you.

The governor’s race is picking up.

Tennessee stands to receive a total of $435.8 million from the state aid package passed by the U.S. House and signed into law by President Obama on Tuesday, according to Tom Humphrey.

The TNDP is questioning election faux pas across the state last Thursday.

From FiveThirtyEight:

A landmark of sorts was achieved today as CNN just came out with a poll showing a 52 percent majority of Americans agreed with the statement that “gays and lesbians should have a constitutional right to get married and have their marriage recognized by law as valid.” Some 46 percent of respondents disagreed with the statement

Southern Beale on the free market fairies.

Street art in Midtown is under attack. Personally, I dig the graffiti down there I’ve seen.

Going to hose down …

My thoughts exactly

I’m sure everything will be back to normal soon enough.

There’s a lot going on, and now as the summer semester is winding down, hopefully I’ll have time to tackle some of it.

This has been a brutal five weeks for me. As frequent readers know, I usually don’t have much of a problem cranking out four or five 500 word missives a day, unless the news is slow or something, but the past two weeks have been a delicate balancing act between school and the blog. Honestly, I’ve had a lot to write about, but little time to do it. That will all change with the end of this semester on Friday.

Ok, enough excuses, on to the Coffee!

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Cohen says don’t blame the victims.

Gibbons thinks Haslam’s lack of transparency on financial affairs is fine with voters.

Republicans are cranking up the robocalls against Lincoln Davis.

Jim Cooper thinks the state don’t need no mo federal money, others disagree.

State AG Commissioner Ken Givens has left his post to join Team McWherter.

State Republicans already have a race for House Speaker on their hands.

Pam Murray is suing Jamie Hollin over hyper-local blogging and her recall.

I think this may be a case of police harassment, or just a severe coffee deficit.

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Ok, get out there and live it up, yo!

Not Exactly What I Had In Mind...

We know something’s broken. In fact, if there’s a single Democrat in Shelby County that doesn’t recognize something’s wrong, they’re blind. We all know something ain’t right, but at this point, I don’t know that we agree on what it is.

But we don’t have time to argue this. With less than 90 days before the Statewide General Election, we have to learn fast and move faster.

We have to pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and get right back up in the saddle to do our part to try and keep from getting redistricted back into the stone ages.

It’s hard to get up after being knocked down so soundly, but that’s exactly what we have to do.

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I’m still catching up from my weekend work on a research paper, but here are some links that I liked as I make my way through my overstocked reader.

Tom Humphrey looks at the Gubernatorial Candidate’s fathers.

Bill’s glass jaw and other musings.

More crossover? No thank you.

Reginald Milton has some thoughts on what happened here in Shelby County.

Finally, in preparation for the November election, the fundraisers begin for one of Shelby County’s own.

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Have a great day. We’ll be in and out this week, and apologize in advance for the spotty posting.

We are headed to November.

This has been a summer of surprisingly bitter campaigns across the state and the issue comes down to that both parties are in disarray. Otis Sanford says it is time for democrats to clean house and get busy because if this was the game of Survivor, Democrats were outwitted, outlasted and outplayed. We SHOULD be talking about is winning in three months. We SHOULD be trying to find some unity in this state but we haven’t. You see, if we don’t, redistricting is a-coming, campers and it isn’t going to be pretty. Bloggers from around the state have been talking about redistricting since the last election in 2008 but no one really paid us any mind.

It will take a generation to get this straightened out. Those who ignore history are bound to repeat it, as the story goes. Yet, there are no permanent wins in politics, just winning small and sometimes loftier battles, but there is no long-term victories in the dance of politics so democrats should be diligent. With a bit of moxie and strength we can find our spine and do what we need to do from the top down.

Yet one reminder, Democrats forgot the lessons that if you alienate any group of people, then you lose. And you lose big.

But it’s time to move forward and get the ball rolling so on to the morning roundup from the weekend.

Rachel weighs in on Prop 8 with a fantastic post of the highlights of lines she liked that gave her the warm fuzzies.

Randy Neal has the November match-ups.

Although the race in the 21st District is still undecided, Sean has the presser where Jeff Yarbro thanks his supporters.

Steve Cohen on the County Elections from last Thursday.

More on the County  Elections and race from Zach McMillan.

Image Credit

Rough Night

I’m still processing everything. I want to see more detail, so I can analyze what happened.

What’s crazy to me is that nearly 25,000 more Democrats voted in the Congressional primaries than Republicans in Shelby County. Joe Ford lost by nearly 29,000 votes, which is not all that surprising to me, except for the number. Randy Wade lost by 6600. Regina Newman lost by 4500 votes. 25,000 more Democrats voting than Republicans in Shelby County, and we couldn’t pull out a victory for these two. Kind of unbelievable.

Like I said, I’m still processing. I probably won’t have anything more to say about the election until next week. I need time to talk to people and get some more direct perspective from all parts of town. That’s gonna take a while.

So here’s some links to folks that already have an opinion on the election, and some news articles. I’ve got a post-election hangover…not from the booze, but from the results.

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First, there were election glitches.

Next come the threats of lawsuits.

Looks like Knox County suffered the same fate as Shelby.

Cohen won.

Yes, he should have taken a longer break

Cracker has some thoughts.

So does Braisted, and Mack.

This cycle may be over, but another is just beginning. The TNDP wants you to get your door knockin’ hand ready.

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Ok, I’m off to work on a research paper.

No, they don’t mention Basil Marceaux.

This is bad news, people, very bad news.

For years, Internet advocates have warned of the doomsday scenario that will play out on Monday: Google and Verizon will announce a deal that the New York Times reports “could allow Verizon to speed some online content to Internet users more quickly if the content’s creators are willing to pay for the privilege.”

The deal marks the beginning of the end of the Internet as you know it. Since its beginnings, the Net was a level playing field that allowed all content to move at the same speed, whether it’s ABC News or your uncle’s video blog. That’s all about to change, and the result couldn’t be more bleak for the future of the Internet, for television, radio and independent voices.

This is Darth Vader bad for a lot of people. Read Josh Silver’s entire interview. If you love the Internet and what it gives you, this is scary stuff and moves in to the haves and the have nots.

UPDATED: R. Neal has more.

Of course, for many candidates, today’s results are just the beginning. They will continue to campaign through the heat into November. Others won’t be so lucky.

This is the nature of politics in America.

I know there are several contentious primary battles going on in Democratic Primaries across the state. While some of the rhetoric in those contests has been overheated at times, I hope that the folks on the losing side of the race will accept the decision of the people and get behind their Democratic nominee. That’s the way the process works folks, and in the end, if we want the state to move in our direction, that’s the way it HAS to work.

In any case, I hope everyone that reads this blog today will get out and vote. You may not think your voice can make a difference, but you’re wrong. The funny thing about voting is that if you don’t do it, you don’t know how much of an impact you could have had on the outcome until its too late.

People make all kinds of excuses not to vote. It takes too long, it’s too hot, you can’t make it to the polls in time. Etc., etc., etc.

The truth is, voting is relatively easy and there are protections in place to ensure that you are given ample opportunity to vote.

State law mandates that polls be open until 8pm in the eastern time zone and 7pm in the central time zone. Further the polls must be open at least 10 hours but not more than 13. In Shelby County the polls opened at 7am and will be open until 7pm. State law further states that if you are in line at the time the polls close, you are still allowed to vote.

Can’t get off work, well state law has a remedy for that too: (T.C.A 2-1-106) “Employees who begin their work day less than 3 hours after polls open and finish less than 3 hours before polls close are entitled to up to 3 hours paid leave to vote.”

No excuses folks. Don’t silence yourself. Get out there and make a difference.

Here, have a quick cup before you head out to the polls.

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Ron Ramsey has lost his damn mind.

Shelby County Poll workers are ready, and local politicians spent yesterday making their final push.

On an “unrelated to today’s election note”, some state Democrats should read this and this before releasing any hair-brained statements on the Prop 8 decision or the 14th Amendment in general. Just sayin’.

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Go vote and be a part of making Tennessee and your community better!

US Constitution

According to the Huffington Post and other media outlets, a Federal judge has ruled that California’s Prop 8, which banned marriage between same sex couples, is unconstitutional. The grounds for this decision were equal protection and due process, hallmarks of the 14th Amendment.

There are a lot of reasons that Republicans want the 14th outta here, but this is just another one. Of course, not everything’s all rosy with the 14th, it also was the foundation upon which Corporate Personhood was established. I wonder how the GOP would feel about losing that?

In any case, congratulations California Gays, you’ve won a huge victory. I’m sure this will end up in court again and make it to the SCOTUS before it’s all said and done.

This calls for a celebratory drink. It’s Happy Hour!

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Tomorrow is election day and Cup of Joe Powell recommends you vote for Basil.

Ramsey’s boot schtick has run it’s course, now he’s after those old folks who were after Herron yesterday.

Zach Wamp thinks you shouldn’t throw your vote away. I agree, vote for Mike McWherter. Oh yeah, and Wamp has lost his damn mind.

Braisted takes a long look at the primary situation around the state. Good stuff.

Metro Pulse looks at the primary voting system in Tennessee.

Finally, if you’re in Memphis, come out and meet Mike McWherter and Joe Ford at Hunt Phelan starting at 5pm.

He’ll also be at these polling locations in Shelby County tomorrow:

7:30 a.m. – Mississippi Boulevard Church (Family Life Center) – 70 North Bellevue – Memphis
8:30 a.m. – Lindenwood Christian Church – 40 E. Parkway – Memphis
10:00 a.m. – Holmes Road Church of Christ – 1187 E. Holmes Road – Memphis

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Have a great evening and don’t forget to vote tomorrow!

Tennessee will be the focus of a lot of attention Thursday, when voters go to the polls to choose candidates for crucial elections that will affect our future.

But it’s also the final day that Tennesseans affected by the May floods can apply for assistance from the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Small Business Administration.

In addition to federal grants and loans, that paperwork is key to all kinds of resources that can help folks rebuild their lives, including sales tax refunds for replacement appliances, furniture and building supplies, as well as TVA rebates for eligible heating and cooling improvements.
“Tennesseans affected by the May flooding have a great reminder to be sure to have filed for flood assistance with the deadline falling on the state’s primary elections day, Thursday, August 5,” said Secretary of State Tre Hargett, whose office oversees elections.
“Rather than the deadline being lost in the final rush of political advertisements and news coverage, this is a good occasion to call attention to it. I encourage everyone to not only vote and remind others to vote, but to be sure to remind family, friends and neighbors about the 10 p.m. deadline to apply for flood assistance on primary election day.”
More than 66,000 Tennesseans have applied to FEMA, which has paid out $155 million in grants and the Small Business Administration has approved $144 million in low-interest disaster loans to homeowners, renters, businesses and nonprofit organizations.
Still, officials are worried that too many people still haven’t sought help – or that they haven’t sought all the assistance they deserve.
“Some people don’t think they’re eligible, others are unsure of the process. There are folks who are simply paralyzed by the enormity of their loss and can’t make decisions,” said AARP Tennessee State President Margot Seay. “That’s why friends and family members must step in before it’s too late. We hope everyone will use Election Day as an opportunity to ‘elect’ to help others.”
Tennesseans can apply online anytime at www.DisasterAssistance.gov or call the FEMA helpline at 800-621-3362 (FEMA) or (TTY) 800-462-7585 for those with speech and hearing disabilities.

“It’s vital that survivors of Tennessee’s unprecedented floods register for assistance before time runs out,” said Federal Coordinating Officer Gracia Szczech. “Help is still available, and it only takes a few minutes to apply. But to benefit, you have to sign up.”

One major issue is that too many folks don’t understand that if they receive a disaster loan application from the Small Business Administration they should fill it out – even if they’re not business owners. A loan denial may open up other assistance to eligible applicants. Only one-fourth of SBA applications sent out have been returned. To register, call 1-800-659-2955 or apply online at www.SBA.gov/floods.

For more about AARP Tennessee and other flood recovery information, please visit www.aarp.org/tn, www.facebook.com/aarptennessee or www.twitter.com/aarptn.

Interim Shelby County Mayor Joe Ford

The poll, conducted last week shows the gap seperating Democratic Nominee Joe Ford and Republican Nominee Mark Luttrell tightening from 5% to 3% with significant gains for Ford from Shelby County’s white voters.

You can view the initial report and the poll summary at WMCTV.

With election day just one day away, both sides are trying to drive turnout. For Ford to win, Yacoubian Research says that Democrats must constitute at least 60% of the voters participating in the election. So far Democratic turnout in Shelby County is around 56%.

Turnout drives every election, and one of the things I’ve been trying to emphasize over the past couple of days is the importance of participation. Sitting on the sidelines doesn’t get your candidate elected, in fact, you silence yourself when you don’t vote.

If you haven’t voted, get yourself prepared to vote tomorrow. There’s no telling how turnout will be, however, if early voting is any indication there’s significant interest in the elections. Democrats will have to beat their early voting turnout to ensure a win on Thursday. Get out and vote early. Don’t let the heat keep you away from the polls.

Polls open tomorrow at 7am and stay open until 7pm. If the election commission sticks with previous custom, voters in line at 7pm will be allowed to vote. If you’re not sure where to vote, use this handy precinct locator. If you live outside Shelby County, you can find your local election commission here.

See Also:
Yacoubian poll: County mayoral race remains tight
County politics dip into final days’ mud

Lorenzen Wright via Wikipedia

Several prominent members of the basketball community are expected to speak, including Grizzlies owner Michael Heisley and former Tiger Elliot Perry, as well as Memphis Mayor AC Wharton. Many of Wright’s former NBA teammates are expected to attend.

“When it was brought up by the family to do the service here, Michael Heisley was welcome to do that,” Grizzlies vice president of business operations Greg Campbell said. “He has great affection for Lorenzen.”

Seating for the public in the lower bowl will be first-come, first-serve. The FedExForum parking garage will be open for free, but available spaces will be limited.

Well, by golly, I’m going to do it right now just because I feel that we don’t talk about the Republicrat as much as we need to. And we don’t really analyze why they feel so weary of political parties. In many ways, it’s the Republicrat that is the target demographic of the huge spending in the Fightin’ 8th.

Last December, I wrote this:

No one wants to talk about money for campaign races during economic times like these. And with this one getting national attention, you can bet the  parties in Washington are observing carefully what what is being said around the state. I also believe, because of the 8th’s high visibility, that we are going to see Mainstream Media more involved in this race. Sometimes they get involved, other times they don’t. As of this morning and since Tuesday, there were more than 300 news stories on Google talking about Tanner. He is a co-creator of the Blue Dog Democrats. He has the NATO thing going on. This time, I think you are going to hear a lot of traditional press.

The bottom line in this early time in the game is that this race is going to take a great deal of funding, it’s going to get a lot of attention and those Republicrats that tended to vote for Tanner (and they did) are going to be weighing their vote more heavily because this area has suffered huge job losses in recent history which is much of what I’m hearing being discussed. Tanner is what they knew and although not everyone adored him, he was well liked creating almost a new brand of voters for those in the middle who weren’t tied to a party line all the time for the past 20 years.

Yeah, I self-linked. I know, bad form. (Notice I did it anyway.)

We find out today that GOP candidates in the fighting 8th have spent $5.2 million on this race and that doesn’t include the money Robert  Kirkland has also pumped in which is over a million dollars. Dude didn’t end up making a lot of money at Kirklands just because someone wanted a higher-end home decor store in malls across the South, he made it by being aggressive. Brother Kirkland is playing to win, but alas, that is another story for another day.

It got me thinking about the Republicrat.

I know a lot of people that don’t walk the party line and I think the primary reason is that they just don’t feel very engaged by either party. I’ve said many times that it was Tanner, to a large degree, that created the voting mentality of what I’ve called for years one of two things. The Republicrat or the Dixiecrat. And, I do believe the Republicrats in the 8th are a little bit different than you might think.

I lean left campers, but the reality is that the Republicrat exists. They may vote in November for one Republican in one campaign and then turn around and hit the guy/girl with the D in another. Your average Republicrat isn’t grandstanding for attention most of the time, they are just going to vote for whom they want to.

Both political sides this campaign year have shown that this the vote that they are desperately seeking is the Republicrat this year.  It’s a reality.

In the Fightin’ 8th, I do think the GOP candidates have gone a bit over the edge.  In the 9th race, you see race being an indicator and guiding force. In the 8th is a little different although it is still “us and them” mentality where party lines are less important then the issue of jobs. A great deal of voters have felt marginalized.  What the GOP candidates have done in their fight for the nomination is disenfranchise voters more by fighting in a schoolyard brawl of rich guys.

And for Democrat Roy Herron, it’s also a challenge with the Republicrat but we will get to that after the primary.  GOP coffers may be depleted to a large degree and Herron is going to be fresh.

Both Herron and the winner tomorrow are going to have to do one thing and one thing effectively: Engage the Republicrat. For the right, it’s one challenge and for Herron it’s another which is not completely disenfranchising those on the left.

And we are going to see a lot more money poured into this race come November. The 8th is border counties that sometimes don’t even have a Tennessee television station on their satellite dish, so this may only get more contentious before it gets better as candidates try to figure out how to get their message out.

Image Credit

Heat Index Graph via NOAA

It’s “steal a popsicle from a toddler” hot.

Well, maybe it’s not that hot.

Yesterday, I was in a hot warehouse with no air conditioning all afternoon. It sucked. Today will be similar.

There was a bit of relief late in the afternoon. Maybe I was delirious, but it seemed like it cooled down out in East Shelby where I work about 4pm. There was a nice breeze, and some cloud cover. But it was short lived. By the time I made it back to my Midtown abode it was hot as ever.

I’m actually one of those weird people that likes the heat. Not this hot mind you, but something about summer is invigorating to me. I like getting out in it, getting all sweaty and feeling like I’m doing something. I know, I’m insane.

But this is something else. I haven’t lived in Memphis long enough to remember the last heat wave like this here, but I’ve been through this before when I lived across the river in Arkansas.

Looks like it’s not going away any time soon, so stay hydrated and out of the heat as much as possible.

In honor of the heat, I think I’ll have iced coffee this morning…

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The NRA has its rankings of GOP Gubernatorial Candidates. Basil Marceaux is a big question mark on their list. However, he’s tops on the Criminal Court Appearance list.

Two West Tennessee State Legislators were selected as the President and Vice-President of the Council of State Governments’ Southern Legislative Conference (SLC). Congratulations to State Senator Mark Norris and State Representative Mark Maddox. The group holds their annual conference in Memphis next year. Y’all give me a shout if you need help with the whole AV thing. That’s my specialty ya know.

In yesterday’s Happy Hour I noted that Roy Herron was under attack by a group of elderly conservatives. Roy’s not taking this lying down, and throws their hot water bottles right back at them.

Political Mailer, or phone sex advert?

Sometimes it’s hard to remember to Photoshop all those politicians out of pictures that haven’t endorsed you. Of course, Joseph Stalin never had this problem.

Belgium?

And finally, if you love music, I suggest you shake your booty over to volunteer for the Memphis Music Heritage Festival. LWC has the deets.

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Stay cool y’all, it’s gonna be another scorcher today.