Happy Halloween

Misery Loves Company

Why is it America and other black women only want to read about the hardships and abuse of other black women authors? What would happen if those sisters who had a man who raised his children and worked two jobs wrote a book about their experiences? It would be nice to read about some of the positives in black relationships for a change. When will there ever be a book like the "Titanic" or " Steel Magnolias" written by a black author. Instead of "The Color Purple" and " What's love got to do with it." Every book on the bestseller list past or present has been about abuse or infidelity.. In most cases both. Don't leave out the men who wrote about their undercover gay lifestyles.

All of a sudden there are a group of women who have made their misfortunes their right\ of passage. I first noticed this trend in politics. Every black female politician in my area was running on the single mother platform. As if that automatically made you strong and smart. If you fell victim to a man whether by choice or manipulation. Doesn't automatically qualify you to minister to others. You may just be a good example of what not to do.

I heard Rep. Barbara Robinson of Maryland and I was impressed. But even with her positive message overall, people still managed to find the dark side of her story.http://indepcons.blogspot.com/2009/08/whats-love-got-to-do-with-it.html Then of course true to form it infiltrated the ranks of our leaders in religion. Juanita Bynum even though reigning as one of the premier evangelist in the country. Claims to have been beaten by her husband a bishop himself. Even the annointed fell victim to laying on too hard of the hands. They represent the survivors or those who have made it through. Mr. Robinson is deceased and Bishop Weeks is on probation.

Now we have a new breed of writer that consider themselves players. None of them have a husband but they usually have children. They are self published and selling their books out of the trunks of their cars. Some are good at the game and others aren't, but they all are willing to play. They talk of pleasure and pain in the same sentence. It just depends on where they are in the relationship. Joy Deja King writes her bestselling books from a G girls perspective. I have never heard one woman call another one so many b words and they weren't fighting. But she is like Trina , "she is the baddest chick". http://indepcons.blogspot.com/2009/08/same-soup.html Then we have Sharell Jones who speaks for those that get caught up in the mix. It's like try what Joy Deja King said first and if that doesn't work then read this. This is what happens when love doesn't work out and you have to take out an order of protection. The success of all these writers proves one thing. Misery loves company.

A Good Place To Start

Obviously this is one of those jobs that was filled with some body's friend or relative. We probably have someone with a degree in economics or a PHD in education, but no one to clean out the cages and feed and water the animals.This is like part of the mandate set for Mayor Wharton. His tenure will be judged over the next eighteen months based on how well he cleans up the trash left behind by the previous administration. It's a good place to start.

http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2009/oct/27/sheriffs-deputies-raid-city-memphis-animal-shelter/

Every Man For Himself

At this point Elbert Jefferson has to primarily be looking out for himself. He may have started out running interference for Willie Herenton but all that has changed. I'm sure when he accepted his job back after he tried to resign. He never expected all this heat. It looks like the Feds strategy is to pit one man against the other one. Only time will tell, but I think it might work. Every man for himself.
http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2009/oct/28/elbert-jefferson-appear-grand-jury/

Race Card On The Road

The campaign tactics we here in Memphis have gotten used to have gone beyond the boundaries of the city now. They were already talking about us in New York Former Memphis Mayor Willie Herenton wrote a three page letter to Attorney General Eric Holder making claims of being targeted in an investigation in order to influence the upcoming 9th congressional race..http://media.commercialappeal.com/media/static/Herenton_letter_to_Holder.pdf
I don't think his opponent (Steve Cohen) has anything to do with this. He might just be the recipient of a unsolicited gift. He is arrogant and trusts his Base enough to think he can win outright. I just think it's unfortunately coming to a head at the most inopportune time for Herenton. As I have often stated ."I don't think Herenton will do any time." He covered his tracks with Elbert Jefferson. This will be like when City Councilman' Scott McCormick's architectural firm earned several million dollars through city contracts. It was unethical but not illegal.

He carefully chose his words and not one time used black or white. But you would have to have an IQ of 80 or less not to be able to read between the lines. Some people seem to think this is Herenton trying to gain public support, but I think it's just part of his campaign strategy. If the FBI doesn't make anything stick, it will only make his claim credible. If they do it will seem like he was setup. Since it has been working for him so far, why not keep it going. He has took the race card on the road.

http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2009/oct/27/herenton-says-he-received-target-letter-federal-pr/

Dangerous Minds

This past special Memphis mayoral election proves one thing. There are at least five thousand people in Memphis who have low to no standards that vote. Maybe a better description would be they are apathetic. Bad things happen when good people sit idly by and do nothing or when they unwittingly join hands with evil.. You can't separate a person from their associations only when it's convenient. And that's what some of these people are doing these days. A lot of people made questionable alliances for the sake of publicity and getting their name out there. But at what cost to their reputations? I say all publicity is not good publicity and time will prove me right. Obviously at least five thousand voters don't see it like that.

Which brings me to my point. This guy Thaddeus Matthews takes self promotion to a whole new level. With the help of a somewhat gullible mostly female audience and a few weak minded men.. This guy misleads his audience three hours a day, five times a week Now I see how Jim Jones convinced almost a thousand people to follow him to the jungle. They were just following the crowd half listening and suddenly something they were totally unprepared for happened. The first person he convinced was himself. Then the others blindly followed. If you promise something for nothing or make them feel included. People who have very little power are quick to give away the little they have. Thus we have people talking who ought to be listening and leading who need to be in the rear.

If you don't believe in yourself nobody will. Matthews believes his own hype to the point he thinks he is the "women's pet and the men's regret.." That should raise the first flag to anybody listening. It really wouldn't make a big difference since people can't see the face behind the voice on the radio anyway. But most of his listeners have saw him before and they know he doesn't have room to talk. Yet he never misses the opportunity to call someone else fat or make a comment about how someone else looks. It amazes me at the people who ignore the raccoon sitting in the middle of the room. It's just a matter of time until he bites somebody.

I think some people, myself included, have started to overlook what this agitator and his followers can accomplish. Even if it comes in the form of people taking drastic steps to distance themselves or keep them quiet. They can't win the big one but they win a lot of little ones along the way. Don't count the perceived low number of misdirected citizens out. They are some of the most passionate people you will ever meet. You can count on them to be there right out front repeating what they think they know. They will do and say anything to stay in the public eye. Plus they have minions in high places like the MPD and on the city council. This guy's blog and radio show have become a gathering place for people with axes to grind and underachievers. One thing they all have in common. They have dangerous minds.

Why Do They Hate You

Trying To Avoid

The decision to award 140 vacant lots to tax embattered Harold Buehler for developing to be occupied by renters is shortsighted and not thought all the way through. The picture above is an illustration of what happens when a property is abandoned and the city doesn't have money to keep it cut. Though I think this is the wrong way to go about it, this is what they're trying to avoid.

Had It Right

Councilwoman Henri Brooks obviously hasn't learned yet that you can't have it both ways. You can't go to the swimming pool and get in and not get your hair wet. Just the other day she voted along with nine other council members to relax the requirements of the Homestead program. http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2009/sep/29/land-deed-measure-cleared/ Now she wants to close it down because a white man is capitalizing on the county's shortsightedness and the renters tacit support. Most of the cookie cutter Beuhler homes with no back windows are occupied. Empty, foreclosed single family homes are vacant everywhere. Each time these renters pay their rent they support his business model.

Ironically this time Councilwoman Brooks has a valid point. But since she has a history of playing the race card. No one is really paying attention to what she is saying. They just assume that's what is behind this complaint too. In twenty five years, fifty tops. The Memphis inner city will look like a concrete jungle. After Willie Herenton spent eighteen years tearing down the public housing projects. These houses are just the Filar Homes and LeMoyen Gardens on ground level. Harold Buehler is singlehandedly building them back one or two lots at a time all over the city. This is what happens when you pidgeon hole yourself. The people don't hear the message but look at the messenger. The commission has voted to give Harold Buehler the lots. The wrong person had it right.

http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2009/oct/21/commissioner-henri-brooks-opens-debate-buehler-pro/#comments

No Ego Involved

Humility does have it's place. Evidently for the next couple of weeks it resides in Memphis city hall. With the new administration going in a totally different direction than the last. A smooth transition would have been impossible with the former mayor still in office. Mayor Pro Tem Myron Lowery is made for this job. Your wish is my command. He is so accommodating to his successor it's sometimes sickening. When it comes to Myron Lowery it's like there is no ego involved.

A Deal Was Cut

The former mayor has always said he doesn't agree with the vision Mayor A.C. Wharton has for this city. The choice of Herman Morris for city attorney is the first move in that direction. The days of the city being a cash cow are over. I predict the city attorney's office will become a stealth operation of sorts having both trial lawyers and litigators to handle the city's cases. The Charles Carpenters and the Ricky Wilkins type law firms will take a tremendous hit. The amount we spend outsourcing to private firms will greatly diminish.

Let's not summon the band yet. Nothing is ever free. There is a price for all this change on the horizon. You can bet there will be a pot of gold for Morris and a select group at the end of the rainbow. That is the reason him and Willie Herenton didn't get along. He structured a Home Depot type severance for himself. Notice he was appointed by Mayor Pro Tem Myron Lowery and not Mayor A.C. Wharton. That way when he makes unpopular decisions he will be Lowery's appointee. I'm not sure exactly who it was with, but I think a deal was cut.

The Nation Speaks Again

I've been trying to write this blog for at least a couple of days now. I guess what I have to say basically amounts to an afterthought. I think the same thing now I have thought about the Nation Of Islam for many years now. I say Nation Of Islam when my focus is Louis Farrakahn. He is the nation. I think after his death the movement will die as well.He is a eloquent, charismatic speaker who set the pace for the likes of a Barack Obama and Jesse Jackson before him. But no one has been groomed in the Nation to take Louis Farakahn"s place. Between high level members converting to Christianity and the posturing that's bound to take place. The Nation can't afford another split.

I like many others have been listening but not paying attention. The ads tell you "keynote address Sunday at the Cook Convention Center to observe the Nation of Islam’s Holy Day of Atonement, which commemorates the 14th anniversary of the Million Man March in Washington." They don't lead you to expect anything new. Periodically Farrakahn shows up and talks about the same thing he mandated the last time he spoke. Since nothing ever materializes. Each speech lays the groundwork for the next one. Even though it's the same thing we've heard before. The Nation speaks again

What Might Have Been

Myron Lowery has done an excellent job as mayor pro tem. Though I think he deserved to win. That's water under the bridge. It became obvious early on that he wasn't going to be elected no matter what he did. It was like he was climbing an escalator. Every step he took seemed to disappear. He just didn't have the time and media appeal to pull this thing off. Plus the bid for A.C. Wharton was just too strong.

I don't think Myron Lowery's involvement in this administration will just be limited to the city council. Since Wharton is recognized for his ability to bring everyone together. To appease the 20% that voted against him and those that couldn't or didn't bother. He should extend the olive branch as a sign that things are changing in city hall. It would be wise and speak volumes for Mayor Wharton if he made Myron Lowery one of his appointees. Even though Lowery didn't win the election we may still get glimpses of what might have been.

Congratulations !!! Mayor A.C. Wharton

Timing Is Everything

When you only have less than three months to make your case. You can't afford to virtually disappear for a whole month and expect to make a big splash. Kenneth Whalum should have been as visible as Charles Carpenter has been. Since he directed his efforts at getting the young vote. He needed to do something to motivate them. So far they have been the least active group of voters in early voting. If he ever ha d a chance of winning he needed to be the loose cannon he has always been. I haven't heard much from him since the incident with the two women causing a much publicized disturbance in his church took place. That gained more negative than favorable feedback. http://indepcons.blogspot.com/2009/08/dirty-politics.html I think this was planned and had its desired effect. It managed to keep the most outspoken candidate in the race relatively quiet. I don't know exactly how to interpret this sudden rise in the polls.

This candidate clearly has a well thought out agenda. I'm just not so sure it's for the benefit of the entire city. He has a definite plan that can only be achieved with him having control of the city. No other candidate is going to cater to that particular demographic. He wants to expand on the entertainment industry.We parted ways politically when he said he didn't support consolidation. I thought he would have been a good congressman but now I see that wasn't part of the master plan. It requires the hands on approach not a job in Washington.

This man doesn't have an image problem. It would be great if some candidates could wake up and miraculously be him. There isn't a cloud looming over his head. He is dapper,well educated, smooth talker. Who has a smart and beautiful wife. In a different time he would be the ideal candidate. Just not right now. You can't make up for fifty years in two. Go to his website below and see what you think. Timing is everything.

http://whalum.com/

Competence Not Corpulence

I posted this video because I think this best describes the situation in this upcoming mayoral election in Memphis. Today I heard someone admit the portly mayor pro tem was doing a good job and had the best platform of all the candidates. Not only has his speech been on point. His actions speak for themselves.You would think that would be enough to secure a vote. Instead the person ended by saying he probably wouldn't vote. I have witnessed this voter apathy on more than one occasion. It should be about competence not corpulence.

Carpenter Is A C#&*hound

I always thought Charles Carpenter was a pretty decent guy, just not mayor material. I wanted to like him because he came from my old neighborhood and graduated from Southside High School. But in my opinion he just left something to be desired. Now I think I have some evidence to back up my earlier uneasiness with him.

I always felt his association with Thaddeus Matthews was his first and biggest mistake. It made anything that came up just that much worse. It was enough that he had to distance himself from Mayor Herenton without adding Matthews too. He had to know that would be a liability. Now I think I know why he is taking the unnecessary heat. It's not so much Thaddeus as it is his producer. This is just pure speculation on my part but I think I'm right. She use to be a refreshing addition to the show, but lately she has become as irritating as the host. She has started sounding like someone who is sleeping with the boss. Since Charles Carpenter is the biggest advertiser on the show. He is kind of the boss right now.Thaddeus is so busy patting himself on the back I don't even think he knows. An untimely arrival and a slip of the tongue on her part gave their secret away. Carpenter is a c#&*hound.

2009 Nobel Peace Prize Winner

Unexpectantly the president was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize today. http://news.aol.com/article/obamas-nobel-win-called-vote-of/712222

I Bet He Gets A Government Check

Unethical But Not Illegal

The media have started to uncover everything Willie Herenton ever did that didn't pass the smell test in his seventeen year tenure as mayor of Memphis. The more that comes up the harder it is to defend him against his detractors. A lot of things are going to be uncovered that aren't exactly above board, but none will qualify as a crime or send him to jail. Before he can bury one they find another. It's old news except to the average citizen. Don't you think the FBI with their extensive investigations already know all about this? This is going to be like when former City Councilman Tom Marshall made millions of dollars off the Memphis city school system. http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2008/mar/07/school-probe-turns-to-marshall/
His actions may have been unethical but not illegal.

http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2009/oct/04/lets-make-a-deal/
http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2009/oct/06/herenton-looms-over-mayoral-debate-rotary-club/

PRN

I used to be a Whoppi Goldberg fan until the infamous Ted Danson roast. I thought it was an exhibit of white men publicly engaging in lockerroom talk at a black womans' expense. The reason I fell out with Whoppi is she gave the debacle her blessings. She laughed harder and louder than anyone in the crowd. To the point where people were embarrassed for her. She defended the actions of her and Ted Danson, and took the backlash thereof. She was the one most affected since she was the one who was disrespected. I hadn't seen the likes before or since.

Even though she has kept busy professionally. She has acted in several movies and now comes on television everyday. Her public persona is not the same as it was. The idea of her being that strong,independent,black woman went out the window. Her voice doesn't carry as much weight. Now it's like if we want your opinion we will give it to you. Her relevance is PRN.

Does Talent Make You Above The Law

http://www.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/09/28/zurich.roman.polanski.arrested/index.html

http://blog.vh1.com/utag/Artist/r-kelly/10489/

Tacit Approval

I am appalled at this type behaviour by both children and adults, but I for one am entitled. I don't approve of this mob mentality that a large number of my community has subscribed to lately. I don't encourage it on a daily basis by sitting around looking and not saying anything. I speak out even if no one listens. You can't look the other way until it hits home. By then it's probably too late. Mayor Pro Tem Myron Lowery gave a good analogy when he said " you sit by kissing this clowns ring instead of distancing yourself from them. You're just as bad as they are." Think about what you do every day and to that of which you are involved with. Are you giving your tacit approval?