TENNESSEE & LOCAL POLITICS
>>U. S. Top 10 Major Cities % of People Below the Poverty Level:
1. Detroit , MI 32.5%
2. Buffalo , NY 29.9%
3. Cincinnati , OH 27.8%
4. Cleveland , OH 27.0%
5. Miami , FL 26.9%
6. St. Louis , MO 26.8%
7. El Paso , TX 26.4%
8. Milwaukee , WI 26.2%
9. Philadelphia , PA 25.1%
10. Newark , NJ 24.2%
(U.S. Census Bureau, 2006 American Community Survey, August 2007)
What do the top ten cities (over 250,000) with the highest poverty rate all have in common?
Detroit, MI (1st)....hasn't elected a Republican mayor since 1961;
Buffalo, NY (2nd)...hasn't elected one since 1954;
Cincinnati , OH (3rd)....since 1984;
Cleveland , OH (4th)....since 1989;
Miami , FL (5th)....never had a Republican mayor;
St. Louis , MO (6th)....since 1949;
El Paso , TX (7th)....never had a Republican mayor;
Milwaukee , WI (8th)....since 1908;
Philadelphia , PA (9th)....since 1952;
Newark , NJ (10th)...since 1907.
Einstein said, 'The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.' It is the poor who habitually elect Democrats, yet they are still ?............POOR
You cannot help the poor by destroying the rich. You cannot strengthen the weak by weakening the strong. You cannot bring about prosperity by discouraging thrift. You cannot lift the wage earner up by pulling the wage payer down. You cannot further the brotherhood of man by inciting class hatred. You cannot build character and courage by taking away people's initiative and independence. You cannot help people permanently by doing for them what they could & should do for themselves. Abraham Lincoln
>>A lot of people need a "wake-up" call when it comes to racial bias. Our city is full of good, highly paid black people doing a fine job with over-paid administrators making more that sitting Governors. To be clear, I respect the good governennt employees I've had the good fortune to deal with.
Mine is a 54-year history (starting in the US Navy) of having many black friends & associates. As a musician in LA, I've played at countless jam-sessions in all-black clubs. (Does anyone remember the Cotton Club?) I was hired by and played successfully in all-black combos in the 60's in places where I was the only white (musician or otherwise) in the establishment. For the benefit of anyone not familiar with the times this was both during & after the L.A. Watts Riots. We had open discussions often while sharing a pint of bourbon. There needs to be a lot more of that (not necessarily with the booze) before the racial divide is breached. As I learned from them, every person needs to look the other person in the eye, seeing the soul that resides therein and not the color of their skin. It would cure about half our racial problems. Tact is a requirement. Forthrightness is essential. Lew
>>Do you & your spouse, friends or employees go out on the streets of Memphis? What I should be hearing back from anyone is not, "Why don't you?" but rather, "I did!" Agree or disagree with me, that's your prerogative. Got a better idea or way of doing things? Fine, let THEM know & THEN tell me what you've DONE! Lew
>>Right on, Lew! I too must be a bad American. As to politicians? Many are college educated but most who decided to make politics their life calling 1) did not have the best GPA’s in college and 2) are not really qualified for any other type of work. The ones probably ending up in politics were rarely students who took demanding courses but made ‘partying’ THEIR TOP PRIORITY. A Friend.
>>I'M A BAD AMERICAN:
I'm a Master Mason, believe in God, ride Harleys & believe in American products.
The money I make belongs to me and my family, not some Liberal governmental functionary be it Democratic or Republican!
I'm in touch with my feelings & like it that way! I think owning a gun doesn't make you a killer, it makes you a smart American.
Being a minority does not make you noble or victimized & does not entitle you to anything. Get over it! If you are selling me a Big Mac, do it in English.
Everyone has a right to pray to their God when & where they want. My heroes are John Wayne, Babe Ruth, Roy Rogers & Willie G Davidson who makes the Harley Davidson Motorcycles.
I've never owned a slave or was a slave. I haven't burned any witches or been persecuted by the Turks and neither have you!
If you don't like the way things are here, go back to where you came from & change your own country! This is AMERICA. We like it the way it is! If you were born here and don't like it you are free to move to any Socialist country that will have you.
I want to know in which church the Rev Jesse Jackson preaches, where he gets his money & why he is always part of the problem instead of the solution. Can I get an AMEN on that one?
I think the cops have the right to pull you over if you're breaking the law. I don't run from a policeman, I welcome his protection. And, no, I don't mind having my face shown on my drivers license. I think it's good. And I'm proud that 'God' is written on my money.
If you are unable to figure out how a ballot works, I don't want you deciding who should be running the most powerful nation in the world for the next 4 years.
I believe the president of the United States should say the pledge of allegiance with his hand over his heart, have no reservations about wearing an American flag pin on his lapel.
I believe that it doesn't take a village to raise a child, it takes two parents.
I believe the American flag should be the only one allowed in AMERICA !
If all this makes me a BAD American, then yes, I'm a BAD American.
We need common sense BACK IN OUR COUNTRY.
WE LIVE IN THE LAND OF THE FREE, ONLY BECAUSE OF THE BRAVE!
>>Our precious young folks in the military sacrifice THEIR lives for ALL Americans and freedom for the many people they die for. Can you do any less? Stand up, put YOUR life on the line if necessary. Is your life any more valuable than theirs? America, home of the "?BRAVE?". Lew
>>How many families rent from white landords, directly or through Property Mgmnt firms? Put yourself in their shoes. Many "white flighters" didn't sell their homes before moving to the County. They rented, building their "nest eggs" with rental property equity. All those black families in rented homes, with or without government subsidies. Wouldn't you see yourselves as still being exploited? Assume a role reversal, how would you feel had you come from a heritage of slavery? But the "white flighters" didn't think of the big picture. Who could predict the long-term effects, one rental house at a time?
My family has a heritage of paying rents until we could afford to buy a home. We thought nothing of it. That's the way things were. We didn't resent the landlord. We were never evicted for failing to pay the rent. We didn't develop an "attitude" toward the landlord. Justified or not, black families have been evicted. So it became a "game" of seeing how much rent the property owner could be cheated out of. Children caught on. Forced dishonesty, perhaps, but do children rationalize? There can't be any doubt many black parents bragged about their "accomplishment". The children listened & learned. A subcultural edict to our children? Take Advantage! Isn't that what criminals do? Take advantage? And our politicians?
Memphis/Shelby County had white mayors, council members, etc. We got the $Pyramid$. A $billion$ debt for the County. If I were a black voter, might as well have corrupt black leaders instead of white ones. At least black politicians ought to look out for black interests?
Anyone figured out yet why city leaders insist that employees of tax subsidized industries or firemen & policmen must live within our boundaries? Is it for the common good or designed to force black employment, qualified or not? How do you resolve a racial divide with this brand of thinking by our politicians?
As to the racial divide, designations like African-American, Asian-American, Mexican-American & other labels used within our country are racist by their very nature. Of English/German extraction, I don't identify myself as English-American or German-American. I'm an American. What about you? Go to a foreign country. What are you to them? American! Is a Mexican in Mexico an Inca-Mexican? or Spanish-Mexican? Does the majority of the rest of the world label themselves like we do? Is an Arab an Arab? And the Russians, French, Swedes, English?
I, too, have a dream. When we are all just "Americans". When race or religion is no longer a label for ourselves or our neighbors. When skin pigmentation is simply that, a physical characteristic. When we look into another person's eyes, see the good soul that resides therin, when the good are glorified, when we all benefit because they are in control of our larger society. My dream is that Martin Luther King might be proud of all of us. Maybe right here in Memphis?
My Grandfather was a folk/poet. I'd like to share something he wrote for the benefit of your children, particularly those who don't realize the benefits of attending school, however bad it may be. As Lincoln did, a scholar can learn even when there's no school to attend> Lew
I BARGAINED WITH LIFE FOR A PENNY AND LIFE WOULD PAY NO MORE
HOWE'ER EACH EVENING I COUNTED MY SCANTY STORE
FOR LIFE IS A JUST EMPLOYER, IT PAYS JUST WHAT YOU ASK
WHATE'ER LIFE MIGHT'VE BEEN, YOU MUST BEAR THE TASK.
We sit in front of the TV asking ourselves, "Why is it I can figure it out and the POLS CAN'T"? Apparently it's not as much work to pass a new law rather than enforce, correct or amend an old one. Ah, BUT THERE'S MORE TO IT. New legislation allows them to include their hidden agendae, payoffs to special interests or PORK! Lew