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Erick Erickson at RedState has an excellent post up this afternoon on one of our Tennessee races. Over in Memphis, TN-9, incumbent, white, Jewish, male, Democrat Steve Cohen has a primary fight on his hands from challenger, black, religious affiliation unknown, female Democrat Nikki Tinker. Tinker barely lost to Cohen in 2006 for Harold Ford Jr.’s seat when Ford ran unsuccessfully for the Senate against Bob Corker for the seat Bill Frist was vacating.
Not content with permitting a Democrat with superb bona fides to occupy the seat, Tinker is running against Cohen again. TN-9, largely Shelby County and Memphis, TN, is predominantly a black community. Unsurprisingly, race has become an issue for the Democratic primary. At least the Democrats are consistent. Even their own white males aren’t good enough to represent black Democrats.
That Cohen would be targeted at all is curious given recent political debate in Tennessee. As I mentioned, his Democratic credentials are impressive. Across the state, for months, there have been Progressives calling for someone to run against other incumbent Democrats like Lincoln Davis (TN-4), Jim Cooper (TN-5) and Bart Gordon (TN-6) because they aren’t Democratic enough. To my knowledge, despite serious objections to the Blue Dog status of these men, no Democrat is challenging them. Blue Dogs they may be but they know the length of their chain. None of these Dems are willing to put their people and their supposed principles above Pelosi and their Party. But they are white and so are the majority of their constituents.
Not so for Cohen and TN-9. He tried to join the Congressional Black Caucus earlier this year. He was denied. Only 3 of the 42 members of that caucus has endorsed his bid to remain the Democratic Congressman from Memphis. I’m reminded of the scene in “The Godfather” where Tessio is being led off to be executed for betraying the Corleones. He looks at Tom Hagen and asks, “Can you get me off the hook? For old time’s sake?” He’s met with a sad shake of the head as Hagen looks away.
Been nice knowing you, Steve. But nothing, not even your apology for slavery, can save you from what’s coming. You know the drill. It’s Democratic politics - rife with personal destruction - at its finest. And it’s about to claim another soul.
And who is talking about it? Obama, the great Uniter of the Races? The Tennessee Democratic Party and its Chair Gray Sasser? ANYBODY on the Left? Nope … just a little ol’ Right of Center blogger from Georgia at RedState. Thanks for keeping us in the loop on this one, Erick!
If you’ve ever loved a list of quotes that rocks your world with the philosophy it espouses but breaks your heart with the shortness of its length, despair no longer. Eric Odom has put together The Ultimate Libertarian Quote List at his blog. Or as I’m sure it will come to be known in the years ahead, the MOALQ.
My favorite (about half way down the list) is from P. J. O’Rourke,
We’re told cars are wasteful. Wasteful of what? Oil did a lot of good sitting in the ground for millions of years. We’re told cars should be replaced with mass transportation. But it’s hard to reach the drive through window at McDonald’s from a speeding train. And we’re told cars cause pollution. A hundred years ago city streets were ankle deep in horse excrement. What kind of pollution do you want? Would you rather die of cancer at eighty or typhoid fever at nine?
Take a half hour and enjoy the rest of the quotes.
1st. Lt. Thomas M. Martin
27 years old from Ward, Arkansas
C Troop, 1st Squadron, 40th Cavalry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team (Airborne), 25th Infantry Division
October 14, 2007 An Eagle Scout, Thomas M. Martin took on cleaning up an old red train caboose as a service project. “He remodeled it to make it where people could go inside. If you saw it before and looked in it after he was through - it was daylight and dark”, said his former principal, Robert Martin, who is no relation. “Tom was involved in Key Club, German Club and band, making All-Region Band his sophomore year”, said Robert Martin. “He was a wonderful young man. Those that knew him knew he was funny and outgoing.”
Lt. Martin died in Al Busayifi, Iraq of wounds sustained from small-arms fire when insurgents attacked his unit during combat operations. He enlisted in the Army in 1998 after graduating high school and served in Korea before accepting an appointment to the United States Military Academy at West Point, graduating in 2005.
“He was very polite and respectful. I can’t think of him ever overreacting; he had a wonderful, good-natured personality”, said Pat Hagge, a family friend. “It’s a terrible tragedy; he was a great young man.”
Lt. Thomas Martin is survived by his parents, Edmund and Candis.
These brave men and women sacrifice so much in their lives so that others may enjoy the freedoms we get to enjoy everyday. For that, I am proud to call them Hero.
We Should Not Only Mourn These Men And Women Who Died, We Should Also Thank God That Such People Lived
This post is part of the Wednesday Hero Blogroll. For more information about Wednesday Hero, or if you would like to post it on your site, you can go here.
A. C. McCloud at Memphis Mud reminds us there’s a meeting tomorrow night in Memphis for those interested in hearing TDOT’s plans for a proposed Toll Bridge over the mighty Mississipp’ in Memphis. While I mentioned it in a recent post on toll roads and bridges proposed in other parts of the state, AC is a Memphis area resident and knows more about that part of the state and the value of another bridge than I do. He’s wondering where they’re actually going to put the thing! Head over to his place and check out his thoughts.
And don’t forget to attend the meeting tomorrow night and let your voice be heard on the matter. State Transportation bigwigs will be there and they say they want to hear from you. Give ‘em an earful!
The meeting will be held from 6PM to 8PM at Central Station Depot 545 South Main Memphis, TN 38103. More details can be found here. Hopefully a couple of you Memphis bloggers can get there and live blog the event or at least cover it for the rest of us. If you do, let me know and we’ll link to and promote your efforts. Any other Tennessee bloggers reading this, please consider linking to AC’s post and getting the word out about the meeting.
I’m flying tomorrow morning. That means I won’t actually get dressed until after I get through security. It’s not bad enough that I have to pack my carry-on bags at home, unpack them at the airport and then re-pack them while making sure strangers don’t make off with my stuff, now spread out on a table. I’m not even completely ready for my day.
I’ve taken to not fully dressing before flying. My belt, watch, glasses, cell phone - anything and everything that we attach to ourselves daily for our routine, I leave off. I put it in my carry-on bag and send it through the machine first. Then I finish dressing for the day on the other side of security. It’s not too bad except when I get those phone calls while driving to the airport. If you think it’s bad that I talk and drive at the same time, imagine me unpacking my garment bag or laptop case to enable me to talk and drive at the same time.
Once I get to security, for me, it’s always worse. I watch with envy as women with earrings and other jewelry breeze through the metal detector. I wear a silver bracelet I bought on my honeymoon 20+ years ago. It doesn’t come off but it does set off airport metal detectors. Not just now and then. Every. Last. Time. Thus I have to budget even more time for the wanding and pat down search before security releases me to finish dressing.
Everyone I know is all about safety. We watch our kids, buckle our seatbelts, don’t drink and drive and all the other stuff, too. At what point in time, however, do we as a nation decide enough is enough? Common sense and common courtesy don’t seem to be charge much anymore. Increasingly it seems as if common thugs are. As one video notes, there have been hundreds of millions of air travelers since 9/11 and only 110,000 complaints so perhaps it’s not the big deal it seems. But folks like Mandi Hamlin, Robert Perry, Michael Angone and Robin Kassner might beg to differ.
It seems Memphians need to be asking it anew. And anyone who, like me, enters the bloodsport known as blogging. Because the Memphis, TN Police Department is getting a lil’ sporty.
The blog is highly critical of the Memphis PD, popular with Memphis police officers and seems to get regular tips and information from sources inside the department. If there is a legal problem there, it would seem to be on the part of the leakers, not the blogger. If officers sign documents to the effect they will not divulge department documents, there’s an issue. If, however, those leaks don’t hinder ongoing investigations then there may be some room to apply Sunshine principles and note that the MPD works for Memphians, not the other way around. Obstruction of Justice is one thing. Abuse of power is another. I can’t find an application of the catchall “national security reasons” which would apply to the quashing of publishing material from a metropolitan source.
I just found out about this so I’ll be watching to see what issues unfold. At a minimum there are 1st Amendment implications here for bloggers and other authors and journalists. If Godwin and the MPD get away with this, what do we do with our local TV and print investigative reporters, for example? And how will knowing who Dirk Diggler is make a difference other than to expose Diggler to potential punitive actions based more in snark than statue?
Sound off in comments and click through to the stories. I’m sure there’ll be more ahead in the days to come, too. Stay tuned.
1st LT. Frank B. Walkup, IV
23 years old from Woodbury, Tennessee
2nd Battalion, 35th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division
June 16, 2007
Toni already has a great post up on her site, so I’ll just link to it.
These brave men and women sacrifice so much in their lives so that others may enjoy the freedoms we get to enjoy everyday. For that, I am proud to call them Hero.
We Should Not Only Mourn These Men And Women Who Died, We Should Also Thank God That Such People Lived
This post is part of the Wednesday Hero Blogroll. For more information about Wednesday Hero, or if you would like to post it on your site, you can go here.
Tennessee ConserVOLiance bloggers Kay Brooks, Kate from An Ol’ Broad’s Ramblings and I represented the New Media at Joy Ford’s Monday press conference. We were joined by WTN radio’s Phil Valentine, Fox 17 News’ John Dunn, the Tennessean’s Chas Sisk and camera crews from two other local TV stations, sadly without accompanying reporters.
In the videos below, Scott Bullock of the Institute for Justice, Ford’s counsel in the matter, announces Ford will not be going down without a fight. It may be that Nashville government and Houston developers will get to bulldoze Joy’s building - but they will never bulldoze Joy! Since Joy’s husband died in 1999, she has fielded and rejected a steady stream of offers to buy her property. The latest came with an interesting twist. It wasn’t just a developer wanting her land, the city of Nashville was party to the deal.
As is always the case when government gets involved, there’s an iron fist in that velvet glove. Unlike developers who came-a-courtin’, the government wouldn’t take Joy Ford’s “No!” for an answer. When governmental chocolate and flowers didn’t work, Joy’s bureaucratic suitor decided to get a little rough. If he had been an actual man, we’d call his behavior ‘rape’ and prosecute him. Because it’s the government, Miss Joy is supposed to accept being violated and understand since the city is paying her, it’s OK. If that sounds suspiciously like a man’s rationale that he spent lots of money on this date and is therefore entitled to take what he wants if his date is unwilling, you won’t be far off the mark.
Faced with the threat of arrogant and powerful government seizing her property, Joy Ford had two choices. She could give up and quit or she could stand up and fight. Joy chose to fight. Some will question that choice. Who is she to stand in the way of development? She’s just one person and this is for the good of the city. Blah, blah, blah …
Let’s not forget - Joy is the injured party here. She was attacked first and is defending herself. She was minding her own business, literally, when she was forced into a conflict. She’s not fighting against City Hall, she’s fighting back against City Hall. There’s a difference. They drew first blood. The press conference videos below show how the battle lines are shaping up. In the meantime, drop Miss Joy a note and tell her you’re on her side. Send a donation to the Institute for Justice to help them stand up for her. Blog about the issue or talk about it with your family and friends. If we all do what we can, this is a fight we’ll win!
Thanks and a techie hat tip go out to Kay Brooks for her help and guidance in teaching me the ins and outs of Movie Maker so that I could post these videos. Being a bit dense, it still took a day or so to figure it out. I apologize for not having the video up sooner. Thanks, Kay!
An Eagle Scout, Thomas M. Martin took on cleaning up an old red train caboose as a service project. “He remodeled it to make it where people could go inside. If you saw it before and looked in it after he was through - it was daylight and dark”, said his former principal, Robert Martin, who is no relation. “Tom was involved in Key Club, German Club and band, making All-Region Band his sophomore year”, said Robert Martin. “He was a wonderful young man. Those that knew him knew he was funny and outgoing.”
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