NewscomaGot A Two-Pack Habit And A Motel Tan

I stood in the rain with a lot of like-minded people last night in Memphis. Left Wing Cracker’s schnauzer let me play with her after letting a standard-sized poodle named Francois have whatfor.

I like that dog.

We talked politics. We discussed grilled meat (six dozen brats were cooked. That’s a hell of a lot of brats.) I ate the best sauerkraut I’ve ever tasted. Hugs were given. Hugs were received.

I was told repeatedly that things were going to be okay. I also realized with friends, well, they are in it with you.

There was encouragement that was greatly needed. There were scotch eggs that I enjoyed. There were faces I knew, and new ones that I met.

It rained so hard that I stood talking to a local politician and we just let the skies overflow beat down on us. We laughed.

Sometimes, despite the rain, you just let it wash over you. It’s best to laugh. We will never be this young again.

And we looked at opportunities for a better tomorrow, which is today.

I am smitten with my blogger friends. They know the right time to give me a hug. They know the right things to say.

Later, I will go to the Blue Monkey and eat bisque and drink mimosas.

It’s not always easy, my friends, but life isn’t too bad.

Not in the least.

Amie Vanderford went to Cairo, IL. It’s a city that my parents talked often about and talked of a different place than the one I’ve seen. Actually, it was my folks that gave me an oral history of what it was and what it became.

The town died in some ways many years ago and is a shadow of what it once was.

This is fantastic and I encourage you read every word and see her photos at Flickr.

H/T Lindsey

Media ploy.

Plain and simple.

The mayor of Memphis took over the blogosphere and much of Memphis news last night hinting that he might run against Rep. Steve Cohen in the 9th district. Excuse me as I pick myself off the ground from the laughter.

Why am I laughing, you ask. It’s not a Ha-Ha that’s funny guffaw but more of one where I smirk and roll my eyes.

Because sitting over here on the sidelines in the 8th district, I’ve seen Willie Herenton do antics like this time and time again. I don’t know all the ins and out of Shelby County politics, and I own that, but I do know that he likes to dance with the media, a playful game of seduction that gives him headlines when times get a little tough for him.

And they are a bit tough right now, regardless of what one might think. He always has something going on.

Polar Donkey says this for some background:

Perhaps, or maybe additionally, how would the politician with the aforementioned investigators on his tail, undermine a possible coming indictment. You politicize it. If you declare you are running for an important office before an indictment, it casts doubt on the motivations of that indictment. Maybe its a conspiracy to keep him out of office? In an Obama Presidency I don’t know how much weight this will still carry but that might be a brier patch the Justice Department just doesn’t want to get into.

Herenton knows what he’s doing. Simply, it’s a public relations weapon of mass distraction.

Cohen has been good for Memphis and for the state. Herenton wants you to look at something bright and shiny to avoid what’s going on in his town right now.

So he says he’s taking on Cohen and everyone is going to talk about that instead of the storm that usually surrounds him.

Memphis old school politics is always intriguing to me because it is an art form that I think you have to live in Memphis to understand. It’s like watching a situation comedy that’s not very funny with a loud laugh track.

But, you know, I’m kind of smitten with Memphis politics nonetheless and I keep on watching. I’m going to make some popcorn. I’ll be over here in Hoots watching with bated breath.

I’ve been working on my taxes and I’m surprised to a large degree that no one was stabbed with a ballpoint pen in the neck.

I had to get out of Hoots this weekend because I was getting crabby. It happens to everyone and with all the puppy drama, regular drama and just the tension of last week, we decided on a day trip to Memphis.

On to the weekend in lovely Technicolor.

Crawfish in Memphis like beer.

Who knew that Crawfish smoked cigarettes? I did not know.

Vibinc, Squirrelly and Zombie Elvis made by Bad Bad Ivy. Apparently ZE likes Miller Lite.

Trumpet!

Zombie Elvis like Memphis.

Now if you are wondering, I occasionally have to just drive with SQ looking for trouble, redemption, atonement and some crawfish and beer. It happens to you as well, so just stop it.

And the Memphis folks were wonderful. Thanks for letting me hang out, find some of my lost mojo and for all of the great food.

Memphis is great.

If you want to see some beautiful pictures of last night’s snowstorm from west Tennessee, head to Lindsey’s Flickr stream.

Man, she is good. Better than good.

It makes me want to drive to Memphis and just be.

Nobody can break it down as well as Vibinc can:

Once again, this question, “We know what you’re against, but what do you stand for?””, has come up to the blogging community. The question gets asked a lot by people who end up on the wrong side of bloggers, the intent often being more about “getting the hell off my lawn” than anything truly constructive. It takes on certain significance, particularly in the wake of the fairly recent criticism of the TNDP and losses that spawned that criticism. So maybe, just maybe it’s time to clarify some things.

First, there are some things you should know about me. I don’t do this because I’m paid to do it. In fact, I don’t even have advertising of any kind on my blog. Truth is, most TN bloggers don’t make a dime off their blogs. This is due to laziness on my part, and that I want to keep my “loves” separate from a “job”. I tried to “monetize” my love of performing music throughout the early 90’s and burned myself out. Making this a job is not something I’m interested in at this point.

Passion is a good thing and Vibinc has plenty of it. In politics, don’t you want the guys with enthusiasm who aren’t “Yes” men on your side?’ I’ve never understood why politicians don’t realize these are the people that you need. Why not engage in a realistic conversation instead of, as some politicians do, believe that you are being ganged up on? Not everyone has a stick nor do they want to beat up on politicians which is a misconception.

But they want engagement and not spin. That’s what I got out of Vibinc’s post and he makes several good points.

Subscribe to his feed and you will not be disappointed.

Welcome to this crazy world.

Although, I have to say Karina “Coma” Holt would have been a fine name as well.

Congratulations, my friend.

I’m a big softie, but don’t tell anyone.

John Farmer ran in 2004 on the Republican ticket against Rep. John Tanner. I’ve met him.

So I was somewhat surprised to see he attended an event in Memphis yesterday that’s key note speaker was David Duke. The meeting was for The European American Unity and Rights Conference which focuses on, according to what the sign says, or what I can see of it, “Standing up for the rights and heritage of european Americans.” The meeting was no secret.

My grandmother was full-blooded Indian. Is her heritage under scrutiny during these events? I wonder. My father has many features from his mother. Would he be allowed to come?

I’m wondering if Farmer John (as he called himself during the race) was there as an advocate or in somewhat of a reporter capacity. Some of this made me wonder. Farmer cites that the meeting had to be held in private to “exercise first amendment rights.” As I’ve said I’ve met John. We had a beer together once while he was campaigning.

Of course what you say during a campaign and what one does after are two different things.

John, let’s look at this honestly. Duke is an opportunist who was involved with the KKK. No one turned water hoses on anyone or released attack dogs on people during yesterday’s events. No one was arrested due to skin color.

If people wanted to protest, they have the right to protest. Crazy to think, but that’s an American right too.

Business owners also have the right to change locations. It’s a business. They can do what they like.

I realize, John, that you took a picture of two hot chicks and a “White Pride” sign and showed them to two African-American people after the event who you write “were all right with the photo.” What were they going to say. It’s like going up to gay people in a Wal-Mart and saying “You know, you dudes shouldn’t get married.” In a public place, it’s the same thing. It could have been many things, their response. If it had been me, I would have gotten away from that photo.

But, one thing you didn’t add to your post were these comments:

Rick Russell of Bartlett was not pleased that the conference was taking place in his backyard.

“I’m a 22-year navy veteran, and I fought for our country for freedom and the ability not to hate,” he said.

The hotel’s owner, Shiraz Hassaneli, said he didn’t know what the conference was about, and that the employee who booked the conference was told that it would be a “family meeting”.

I return back to the issue of that a business had to make a decision. It’s like the Bill Ayers thing? Guilt by Association perhaps. Businesses just want to make money. They don’t want to be embroiled in a political uproar especially one that is shrouded with a big fancy name but has the same agenda of a modern day KKK who just happens to host a radio show and owns some computers.

Take a look at this and tell me that racism doesn’t exist against innocent people from a biracial family’s point of view.

As I said before, the meeting was no secret. If you google David Duke and Memphis, even Duke’s website is talking about it. He was playing the victim of race politics because he’s trying to stir things up. Like he always has.

And you said one member of the media said it was just “dozens” who showed up. True on one account I read but not all of them. The media didn’t all say that.

Wrong:

The group of about 100 participants, met at the East Memphis hotel to discuss issues that Duke says are “vital to European Americans.” According to Duke’s official website, “The European American Unity and Rights Conference is dedicated to defending the heritage and rights of European Americans.”

Memphis police were on hand in case of any problems, but the event went smoothly.

This is the third International EURO Conference held by the white civil rights activist. The first EURO Conference was held in New Orleans in 2004. Duke says now is an important time for the group because of President Elect Obama. Duke says Obama has a record of anti-white racism and is close with an anti-white church leader, Rev. Wright.

No one is saying folks can’t go see Duke if they don’t want to.

But, I have to say buddy, the whole thing reeks. John, Memphis elected a white Jewish man to represent your city in Congress. Call this for what it is. In this case, the Duke visit was reported. The only thing is that businesses knew his history and they made a corporate choice.

The man was a grand wizard for the KKK, for crying out loud. And, to move it forward, he’s had a bit of trouble with the law. Not on racial issues, but on financial ones.

David Duke pleaded guilty to the felony charge of filing a false tax return under 26 U.S.C. § 7206 and mail fraud under 18 U.S.C. § 1341 in December 2002.^[83]

Four months later, Duke was sentenced to 15 months in prison, and he served the time in Big Spring, Texas. He was also fined US$10,000, ordered to cooperate with the Internal Revenue Service, and to pay money still owed for his 1998 taxes. Following his release in May 2004, he stated that his decision to take the plea bargain was motivated by the bias that he perceived in the United States federal court system and not his guilt. He said he felt the charges were contrived to derail his political career and discredit him to his followers, and that he took the safe route by pleading guilty and receiving a mitigated sentence, rather than pleading not guilty and potentially receiving the full sentence.

John, he’s been in the public eye for years. There was no violation of rights here. Coverage was there. People, unfortunately chose to go and that’s their right. But for pete’s sake, of all people, don’t make it into a constitution issue which it clearly is not.

It is a period of time regarding race in this country where we are trying to heal the divide but to muddy up the issue of denial of constitutional rights, which didn’t not happen, when, it was indeed just simply about race.

Pure and simple.

Vibinc and I are going through similar situations. I have some age on him (btw, if you have never met Vibinc, you should) but we are both looking within to move forward. If you don’t want to get into the personal, look at the marriage proposal made out of pumpkins.

But in what way? That’s both of our questions.

Now, some ten years into this career, I’m starting to question what I’m missing. I’ve lived in Memphis for nearly 4 and a half years, and in many ways, still feel like an alien. Part of this comes from the logistical challenges of cultivating new friendships while maintaining a schedule that keeps me out of town some 200+ days a year. Part of it comes from the cliquish nature of Memphis. Still another part comes from having the social graces of a wood chipper.

I like what I do, by and large, but I don’t like not being able to immerse myself in the local political culture, warts and all. Despite my long-term fascination with politics, I haven’t found myself to be any more or less jaded than most people. I believe that, while some may involve themselves in politics for personal gain, that most people get involved because they feel they can have a positive impact. I still believe in the positive potential of political involvement and activism, and that is, in large part why I write this blog. If I can’t be here, perhaps I can, at least, add something to the conversation.

So now I want to be here more. I want to get physically involved in the process. My intellectual involvement, but physical detachment from local politics is no longer satisfying my desire to try and make a difference in the community. I want to get down in the trenches…there’s just this one problem; how do I do that, and maintain a travel schedule that I can barely keep up with? Or, if I ditch much of my travel work, how do I maintain even a portion of the financial security that I’ve worked for the past 10 years to achieve?

I understand more than I can explain. During this introspective period I’m going through right now, everything is about moving through and invisible wall. Vibinc gets it. Not meaning to be a downer, but I’m finding I’m not the only one going through this.

A few years back, I was asked twice to run for Alderman. I toyed with it but ultimately decided that it wasn’t what I wanted to do. I felt like it would be a conflict of interest.

My goals have evolved. The one thing I miss the most is that I no longer get to travel like I used to due to some things I can’t get into here.

I also went from being well-respected by my last few bosses to being reduced to being treated as a disobedient child. Not all the time but enough to stress me out and keep me balancing on eggshells.

It’s frustrating.

So, if it makes any difference, as Vibinc is my friend and I am his, does one cling to the familiar or take a jump off the cliff?

I’m voting for jumping, as I’ve always landed on my feet or learned a valuable lesson.

Lynnster breaks it down.

You want my vote in the Presidential election?  Then tell me it is going to stop, and where it’s going to stop, and when it’s going to end, AND make it happen.

Read the whole thing.

Memphis’ own Theo Geo, who is one of my favorite bloggers, is traveling the state of Tennessee. Her travels are here and you can see her photos, which are always wonderful and filled with such subtle context here.

Beauty beneath the surface and in the details.

If I were you, I’d get over there quickly.