New Day

Alas!  Yes.  I actually heard a woman (a relative of mine) say that she didn't believe a woman belongs in the White House.   I 'thought' we might have grown out of that by now.  But no.  But we haven't outgrown racism either.  Will it ever be that a person can look at a person's qualifications for a job rather than the color of their skin or their gender?

I have heard one or two people speak of their concern that John McCain is old, and they don't think Sarah Palin can adequately run this country.  They don't think she is tough enough.  Well here is a question that I would like everyone to think about:  Does being pretty or being a mom mean you are incapable of doing the job?  Absolutely NOT!!!

The South is called the Bible Belt of the United States.  So let's go there...to the Bible, that is:

The book of Judges gets its name from who ran the country of Israel before they demanded that God give them a king.  Yep, Judges ran the country of Israel and what they said went!  Beginning at Judges 4: 4, we fnd the story of a woman named Deborah who was a judge in Israel.  This WOMAN led Israel as their commander-in-chief to defeat the armies of Sisera who had been oppressing them.

Or how about Esther.  Esther was a Jewess who had been chosen out of all the women of Assyria to be the King Ahasuerus' new queen.    She was stunningly beautiful.  This beautiful woman put her life on the line in order to save her people from certain annihilation.  Her beauty had nothing to do with her courage or her 'toughness'.

God doesn't look down on women, so why should we?

Here's something that probably of lot of us never knew:

What is America 's first line of missile
interceptor defense that protects the entire United States?

Answer: 49th Missile Defense Battalion of Alaska National Guard.

 

What is the ONLY National Guard unit on
permanent active duty?

Answer: 49th Missile Defense Battalion of Alaska National Guard

What U.S. governor is routinely briefed on
highly classified military issues, homeland security, and
counter terrorism?

Answer: Governor Sarah Palin, Alaska

What U.S. governor has a higher classified
security rating than either candidate of the Democrat Party?
Answer: Governor Sarah Palin, Alaska

 
According to the Washington Post, Sarah Palin first met with John McCain
in February, but nobody ever found out.

 

 

This is a woman who is use to keeping secrets. She can be entrusted with our national
security, because she already is.

What kind of president would we have if we elected a man who would rather further his political career than to address a crisis in the nation? 

 

Think about it.  The president is trying to address a great problem we have here with our current  financial crisis.  Both men running for president are senators and still have a job to do…the one they have already been elected to do.  One is willing to put his campaigning aside & the other is not.  Doesn’t make sense does it?  Oh, well.  If Obama showed up in congress & a decision was made, he would probably vote “present” again.

(For those who haven't heard, in the short time Obama has been in office, instead of voting Yea or Nay on issues, he has voted "Present" over 130 times.)

 

Ten to twelve months ago, the Lone Ranger Willie Herenton and his faithful side-kick Tonto (I mean Larry Godwin) told us during the mayoral election that the crime rate in Memphis was down and they belittled another candidate who wanted to try to lower it.  But the facts reported in today's edition of the Commercial Appeal are rather interesting.  While Memphis has supposedly seen a 4% reduction in crime since 2006, The FBI has ranked Memphis "second in violent crime per capita in cities of more than 500,000 people."  (see below)

1. Detroit: 2,286*

2. Memphis: 1,950

3. Baltimore: 1,631

4. Nashville: 1,509

5. Philadelphia: 1,475

6. Milwaukee: 1,403

7. Indianapolis: 1,234

8. Houston: 1,132

9. Boston: 1,155

10. Dallas: 1,069

* Number of violent crimes per 100,000 people.

ref: http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2008/jun/
10/number-2-with-a-bullet/ Check it out.  Don't take my word for it.

So what's up?

People are arming themselves to protect themselves and their property.  We know the police can't do it.  One year ago, there were 25,000 active Concealed Weapon Carry Permits in Shelby County alone.  [Davidson County (Nashville) had about half that or less.]  The shooting ranges are so full on the weekends with people taking their courses to get the permits that you can't get in the parking lots.  Don't believe it?  Drive by Range USA on old Whitten Road or Rangemaster on Mendenhall on a Saturday.  You'll see I'm not lying.  It used to take about 6 weeks to get your permit in the mail once you had applied for it.  Now it takes closer to 3 months. 

People in Memphis and Shelby County are scared...and with good reason.  Memphis is ranked #2 in the nation for its violent crime rate.  How are the Lone Ranger and Tonto going to explain this one?  

(I guess they don't have to.  The election is over.)

This morning on the way to work we nearly got run off of Sam Cooper.  (I say 'we' because there are four of us at work who are doing our thing to fight the gasoline crunch.  We're car pooling.  So you don't have to take my word for it.  There were more witnesses than just me. )  Anyway, some guy in a white van just kept easing over on us.  We were in the left lane & had no place to go except into a concrete wall.  I was sitting in the passenger's seat up front and nearly beat the dash to death looking for the horn!  What was this guy doing?  He was talking on the phone and looking to his right while coming over into the left lane we were in.  ~Oh, I failed to mention that the vehicle this guy was driving had a government license tag.  But it probably wouldn't do any good to report him.  I'll bet his supervisor talks & drives, too.

With the cost of gasoline on the rise, it really is time that we discussed alternative methods of travel.  Oh, yeah.  I know that truth be said, most of us are very spoiled.  We are used to having our independence and being able to come and go as we please.  But folks, we just have to face the facts.  While the oil comglomerates are getting richer, we are getting poorer at their expense.  So, let's just do something to regain a little of what they are taking from us.  If the cost of fuel is rising because of demand, then what happens if we lessen the demand?  FIGHT BACK.

I heard MATA being discussed as one method.  MATA has a signed, 3-year fuel contract so that they can keep buying fuel at a rate currently about half the cost of diesel right now and they can run without raising their prices.  So if you live close enough to a bus stop, that might work for a short while.  However, time will run that out.

Then there's train travel.   I think it would be a good idea if someone looked at all these unused train tracks around town.  With everyone owning cars and gasoline being affordable (for a while), train travel went way down, but it could go back up if we had a functioning system.  Trains are a very common method of travel in Europe and could be here, too.  New York has its subway system that many people take to work every day.  Past mayoral candidate, Herman Morris, suggested building a LIght Rail System around Memphis, but most folks thought it a bit unneccessary.  But in the light of rising fuel costs, do those folks still think he was off-base?  Sounds to me like he had a better vision of the future than most of us.

But for the immediate future, the best suggestion I can make is one that was presented to me at work.  CAR POOLING.  In fact, my employer thought so well of the idea that they gave us a spot on their bulletin board to find others who were interested in car pooling.  Within a week, we had a car pool consisting of 4 different drivers.  We each drive a week and ride for three.  So now, we are not only surviving the fuel crunch, but we are saving a lot of wear and tear on our vehicles and are developing some friendships that we otherwise would not have done.    And finally, we must consider that it is also much safer to travel in numbers than alone.  It is far less likely that someone will try to car-jack a car full of people than a car with just one person in it. 

So think about it.  Are you willing to give up a little of your independence for a few more benefits?  I did.  I'm fighting back.

 

Last week, I was driving to work one morning when this woman went speeding past me.  She had a cigarette in the hand on the wheel and her other hand was holding the phone to her ear and she was talking up a storm.  Not a good scenario.  Then some time back, also as I was driving to work, I noticed the man beside me had a road map opened across his steering wheel. It covered the whole driver's side front dash.  What are people thinking? ..or are they?  Does anyone use their brains anymore?  My Momma started telling me at a young age not to play in the street, not to run with scissors, etc.  Have these people decided that since they are grown, the same old safety rules don't apply to them anymore?

I know the police are busy, but somebody has to do something about drivers who aren't paying attention.  Did you know that there are also other government agencies beside the police who can give out traffic citations?  I think the DOT is one of them.  Shouldn't someone be doing something about this?

Well, it's about time that the truckers have decided to strike.  I have been wondering how long it would take them to take action.  The cost of diesel fuel is 70-80 cents higher than the cost of regular gasoline, yet diesel is cheaper and easier to produce.  So why the price gouging?

Several years ago, we bought a used 1999 Ford F-250 to pull a camper because it got better gas mileage than a gas burner and fuel was cheaper.  I just got back from taking a 200-mile round trip to visit my family in Texas which cost more than $1000 in gas alone.  (I wouldn't have gone this time, except I hadn't seen my mother in 2 years, and I have a 7-month old granddaughter than I hadn't yet seen.)  It cost almost $100 ever time we filled up the tank.

If the cost of diesel has hit us this hard, it has got to be horrible for the truckers.  Plus, it isn't easy for the consumer who has to pay the increased cost of the goods they buy.  When gas cost goes up, the cost of goods delivered goes up.  So when the turckers strike, I urge everyone who has a diesel powered vehicle to join them in their strike.  We can't afford to let this get any worse.

Take a  drive around Memphis.  What does it look like?  I was born in 1957, so I have been around long enough to remember the way Memphis used to look.  I have lived in Frayser, Nutbush, Whitehaven, Raleigh,and Wolfchase.  Let me take you back 45 or so years. 

I remember when it was safe for 4 & 5 year olds to play safely in an unfenced yard in Frayser.  I remember when it was safe for a 6 year old little boy and girl to walk home from Kingsbury and cross Macon Road alone.  I remember when Southland Mall was a thriving shopping center and was a safe place for a couple of 12 year old girls to go shopping alone without their parents. I remember when those same two little girls could walk down Winfield and cross Highway 51 to shop at Corondolet (Yesterday's Walmart).  I even remember riding my bike (at age 16) from Winfield (not too far from the stateline) almost all the way to Winchester Rd.  I remember when Raleigh Springs Mall was a great place to shop.   I remember when my son and I went skating at the Mall of Memphis.  I remember when the Hickory Ridge Mall was "THE PLACE TO SHOP" and I carried my kids to ride the carousel.  Neighborhoods were kept clean and free of abandoned buildings. 

What do we have now?

Frayser is full of worn down and/or abandoned buildings, as is a large portion of Memphis.  No one fixes anything up anymore, they just abandon and move on to tear up something else.   Nutbush is another area that its residents no longer take pride in keeping up.  The busy shopping areas in Whitehaven are dirty and worn down.  It isn't safe to walk down the street, and I sure wouldn't go shopping in Southland Mall or the Hickory Ridge Mall.  The Mall of Memphis no longer exists, but before it was torn down had become a very dangerous place to be.  Raleigh Springs Mall has gone to pot.  When my husband worked in Hickory Hill, he wouldn't even allow me to go out there.  There's a wreck on nearly every corner and crime and prostitution is rampant.  My husband couldn't even do his job without being approached by a hooker.  Memphis is no longer a safe place for children or adults, and it hurts me that I have not been able to allow my children to do the things that I used to do.

Memphis has one of the higest crime rates in the country.  Tennessee was also just listed as one of the top 5 most "Unliveable States" in America.  So tell me, why does Mayor Herenton think he has to protect us from Herman Morris or Carol Chumney?  Can he do something in the next 4 years that he hasn't done in the last 16?

 

Why is the school system not the lovely little "Leave it to Beaver" setting that it once was?  It's that way because we allowed the 'Dr. Spock Mentality' and the 'Madeline Murray-O'Hare Mentality' to take over our lives. 

We listened as a man who had not yet had any children told us how to raise ours.  He said spanking them would damage their psyche.  Many believed him, and dared the schools to administer corporal punishment.  Then the students took over the schools, because they no longer had anything to fear from misbehaving.  Now the misbehavior has snowballed into school shootings, stabbings, and drugs.

We allowed our children 'freedom' to be alone with the opposite sex at an early age, and we can't believe it when they end up parents at 13 or 14 years old.  Now we've got babies with babies that they don't know how to raise and many times don't try.  Then when their babies grow up without any guidance, we don't understand why they are doing the things they are doing.    THERE'S NO GUIDANCE....NO EXAMPLE.

We allowed a divorced, unemployed woman (O'Hare) who took her two young sons to  defect to East Germany (yep, back as far as when there was a Berlin Wall) to come back to the U.S. and tell us that we couldn't have scripture reading, prayer, or the pledge of allegiance in schools.  NOW THERE'S NO GOD IN SCHOOL....just chaos.

And you dare to wonder what happened.  It started with our parents, it continued with us.

Without God and discipline, it will never be any better.

Yeah, I know.  It has been a long time since I have written anything.  After I spent 8 months blogging my brains out for a political campaign on numerous blog-sites, I got to the point where I just needed a break.  Since we lost the race, the energizing euphoria that comes after a win just wasn't there--just a depressing let-down after a lot of hard work. 

I don't regret that for the first time in my life I got involved in something I really believed in and saw it to the finish.  I really learned a  lot.  I've heard it said for years that "It's not whether you win or lose that counts, but how you played the game."  So I have no regrets here either, because I feel like we did our best to play the game with honor and dignity, which is a hard thing to do in today's world.  I found that out very quickly.  What I learned is:

1) Not everyone plays fair.  More often than not, opponents will just out-right lie about you in order to make themselves look good.

2) Not everyone loses graciously.  Some take their concession speeches as an opportunity to do more blasting on their opponents.

3) Not everyone wins graciously.  Some winners and their supporters aren't just content with winning, but they aren't happy until they rub your nose in your loss.

My only regret is that I did not join my candidate in being a gracious loser.  I spent the last 2 months being angry and bitter with how the other candidates played the game in 'bad form' and with how the winner and many of his followers were so arrogant and "in-your-face" toward the losers and their supporters.  I found that in my own way, I was just as bad a loser as anyone else.  It really wasn't the blogging that burned  me out~it was the bad attitude that set in after the loss. 

"Your ATTITUDE determines your ALTITUDE."  How high do I want to fly?  If I would rather soar with the eagles than hover with the buzzards, then quit looking at everyone and everything around me and look up instead.  It doesn't matter how everything looks around me when I am looking up at God.   It's a matter of realigning my focus.

'But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength.  They shall mount up with wings as eagles.  They shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint."  Isaiah 40:31

I wish it wasn't so, but it is.  We have been saddled with yet another appointee who is moving from City Hall to MLGW.  Jerry Collins only has 6 months utility experience at best, but he will soon be receiving more than 2.5 times what he has been making witht he Department of Public Works.

What I see is another moving of a crony at city hall into a more lucrative position at MLGW from which Mr. Collins will walk away with a pension and a big benefits package. While the scuttlebutt about the Lee pension is that he is only carrying away what he put in, the truth of the matter is that after 3 years work, Lee walked away with the same benefits package that a 25-year company veteran walks away with. That's not right, and we all know it. Jerry Collins will be just like Lee who walked away from the company with my money. Yes. My money. I'm a retiree's spouse.

Furthermore, I can only hope that he runs MLGW more effeciently than he has the sewer system.  MLGW has always raised their utility connections in the streets when they were scheduled for paving. Why hasn't the Sewer Department? (Sewer grates) Why did Collins come in like a 'white knight on a steed' and say it wasn't his responsiblity but he was going to fix it? (I'm referring to Poplar Ave, et al.) Why did it take the Sewer Department 5 or 6 years to figure out that the sewer connections in my yard and a neighbor's weren't tied-in to the street conncections correctly or weren't tied-in at all? --And really, they weren't the ones who figured it out... an MLGW Water Distribution employee figured it out.--

All I can say is "GOOD RIDDANCE" to the out-going council members who have stuck it to us one last time!

Last month, City Councilman Brent Taylor hit the nail on the head.  You might even call him a prophet.  Councilwoman Carol Chumney, who at the time was running for mayor, refused to approve the minutes of the meeting that failed to pass the mayor's pay raise for the upcoming year.  Taylor called her on the carpet for allowing the subject of the pay raise to resurface because of her action.  He said that what would happen was that the subject of a pay raise would come back up for discussion and pass on October 16th and that Mayor Herenton would be enjoying a big raise in the new year.  Humm.......

When the subject of the mayor's pay raise was first discussed, it was voted down by the council.  At that point,  most people thought it was a done deal.  However, this is when a lot of Memphians got a lesson in how the council REALLY  works.  Even though a proposal fails or passes, the vote isn't binding until the next meeting when the minutes from the previous meeting are approved.

Chumney defended herself with a weak excuse that she wanted to bring another subject back up for discussion from that same meeting..... just like she defended herself when she refused to vote with the council to force Mayor Herenton to accept Joseph Lee's resignation.

It looks as if "the woman who would be mayor" had it all figured out how to secure a pay raise for herself after she was elected mayor.  Chumney only proved yesterday what I had been saying throughout the mayoral race: she's just another ambitious politician who really only has her own best interests at heart rather than the general public.    Carol Chumney is an ambitious political grandstander who thinks that she is a lot slicker than she really is.  Well look who got slickered! 

Chumney's really not as smart as she thinks, and she could not have been a good mayor.  Having been a state representative, it was easy enough for her to make sure that she got a few pot holes or street lights fixed for her district.  It was also easy enough to help get a few pieces of legislation passed in the house.  But her legislative experience is not enough to qualify her to run as big a business as the city of Memphis; and furthermore, her personna and presentation lack the dignity and finesse needed to attract new business to the greater Memphis area.

Although the candidate that I would like to have seen as mayor did not win the race, I have this one small consolation prize:  as of December 31, Carol Chumney is off the city council.

It has been an honor for the past 8 months to have been a part of a class-act political campaign.  However, it was never my intent to become involved.  What started out as me trying to send a couple of politically astute friends to the aid of an excellent candidate ended  up getting myself involved instead--much to my own surprise.  It was the education of a lifetime, and I am truly grateful for having had the opportunity to serve.  Although my candidate did not win, he was brave enough to make a very bold statement with his campaign that until this year, no one had been able to address:  UNITY. 

 

 

Mayoral candidate Herman Morris did something that no one else has been able to do with a mayoral campaign.  He brought together a vastly diverse staff of men, women, democrats, republicans, black, white, young, old, executives, the average citizen, and even some who were unemployed.  It was a very unique and exciting experience which brought in the same vast support from the voters.

 

 

Mayor Herenton had the advantage of being the incumbent.  Carol Chumney had the advantage of making her name known in the community as council woman for the past 3½ years.  Herman Morris began this race in February as a man virtually unknown to the average citizen of Memphis and still managed to take home 21% of the total vote.  Not bad for a beginner.  It took the councilwoman 3 ½ years to bring home 12% more.

 

 

Was Morris the spoiler as Ms. Chumney has suggested?  Hardly.  Two weeks ago, there were a very large number of undecided votes.  The Yacoubian poll pushed about half of the white undecideds to Chumney in a big effort to push her over Herenton.  The Rasmussen poll pushed half of the black undecideds to put Herenton above Chumney.  The prevailing outcome was what Rhodes Professor Marcus Pohlman referred to as "racial reflexivity."  As the man in the middle, Herman got hit from both sides. 

 

A win for Carol Chumney was a mathematical impossibility.  If Herman had withdrawn himself as a candidate, she could not have gotten his entire vote as she assumes.  If this race had been one-on-one between WW & CC, the black turn-out would have been much larger and the outcome would have been the same as it is today.  Willie Herenton would still be mayor.  Mathematically, Herman is the only candidate who could have beaten Willie if she had dropped out of the race.  Very few, if any, of her voters would have voted for Willie.  They would have gone to Morris and he would have won the election.  If only Carol's ego would have let her realize that fact, we could have a new mayor today.

 

 

Morris may not have won the race, but he did win voter recognition.  And so Memphis, Herman will be back to run another day.  This isn't the end of the game; it's only half-time.  You will see him again…stronger and louder, but still just as much of a class-act—with dignity, integrity, and the ability to get the job done.  Thank you for all your support.

It has been an honor for the past 8 months to have been a part of a class-act political campaign.  However, it was never my intent to become involved.  What started out as me trying to send a couple of politically astute friends to the aid of an excellent candidate ended  up getting myself involved instead--much to my own surprise.  It was the education of a lifetime, and I am truly grateful for having had the opportunity to serve.  Although my candidate did not win, he was brave enough to make a very bold statement with his campaign that until this year, no one had been able to address:  UNITY. 

 

Mayoral candidate Herman Morris did something that no one else has been able to do with a mayoral campaign.  He brought together a vastly diverse staff of men, women, democrats, republicans, black, white, young, old, executives, the average citizen, and even some who were unemployed.  It was a very unique and exciting experience which brought in the same vast support from the voters.

 

 

Mayor Herenton had the advantage of being the incumbent.  Carol Chumney had the advantage of making her name known in the community as council woman for the past 3½ years.  Herman Morris began this race in February as a man virtually unknown to the average citizen of Memphis and still managed to take home 21% of the total vote.  Not bad for a beginner.  It took the councilwoman 3 ½ years to bring home 12% more.

 

 

Was Morris the spoiler as Ms. Chumney has suggested?  Hardly.  Two weeks ago, there were a very large number of undecided votes.  The Yacoubian poll pushed about half of the white undecideds to Chumney in a big effort to push her over Herenton.  The Rasmussen poll pushed half of the black undecideds to put Herenton above Chumney.  The prevailing outcome was what Rhodes Professor Marcus Pohlman referred to as "racial reflexivity."  As the man in the middle, Herman got hit from both sides. 

 

A win for Carol Chumney was a mathematical impossibility.  If Herman had withdrawn himself as a candidate, she could not have gotten his entire vote as she assumes.  If this race had been one-on-one between WW & CC, the black turn-out would have been much larger and the outcome would have been the same as it is today.  Willie Herenton would still be mayor.  Mathematically, Herman is the only candidate who could have beaten Willie if she had dropped out of the race.  Very few, if any, of her voters would have voted for Willie.  They would have gone to Morris and he would have won the election.  If only Carol's ego would have let her realize that fact, we could have a new mayor today.

 

 

Morris may not have won the race, but he did win voter recognition.  And so Memphis, Herman will be back to run another day.  This isn't the end of the game; it's only half-time.  You will see him again…stronger and louder, but still just as much of a class-act—with dignity, integrity, and the ability to get the job done.  Thank you for all your support.

Last week Herman Morris received a glowing endorsement from the founder of one of our local neighborhood watches, one which encompasses 250+ homes.  She wrote that the founding of this watch was the “direct response to the rash of criminal activities plaguing our little neighborhood.”  In the summer of 2006, there were 4 or 5 women tied up in their homes while being robbed.  She became afraid to walk to her car or to sit on her front porch and relax.  Yes, she was robbed, too—robbed of her freedom by fear.  Then to add even more fuel to her fears, this past summer, a neighbor was raped in her home while her young son was being held in another room.
 
She continued:  “I had the privilege of speaking at length with one mayoral candidate shortly after my friend was attacked in her home.  After that conversation, I knew who Memphis needed to turn us in the right direction... that man is Herman Morris.  Mr. Morris has a distinguished resume, including leading MLGW during Hurricane Elvis which required a huge amount of the city's infrastructure to be rebuilt, and he oversaw the first rate-decrease.  (Rate decrease- that would be a nice change, wouldn't it?)  You can read more about Herman Morris at http://www.hermanmorrisformayor.com  I whole-heartedly support Mr. Morris and I believe that he is the ONLY person who has a chance to beat our incumbent mayor.” 
 
This woman has done her homework.  She has investigated the candidates and urges each and every citizen of Memphis to get out and vote.  Now what will you do? 
 
Will you do your homework and find out who is truly qualified to do the job?  Or will you be content to listen to the trash talk that is going on?  Will you find out what Herman Morris’ qualifications truly are?  Will you go to the polls this Thursday?  Please vote for Herman Morris.  The future of this city is in your hands.
 
Don’t let the current mayor fool you into believing that he cannot do anything about the rampant crime in our city.  And PLEASE don’t tell the people in New York City, Nashville, or Denver that it can’t be fixed.  They have seen their crime rates reduced by active, aggressive leadership.  We don’t have to settle for less than the best.  Vote for Herman Morris.  Let’s work together for a change.