BiddiesInMyBrain

Cyber Bullying by the Memphis Police Department

Check out this article about the Memphis Police Department's attempt to crack down on a website that is critical of the police director, MPD policies and staff. The City has actually joined in on this and filed suit to find out who the anonymous blogger is behind the site, which, while admittedly edgy, does not use data other than what is available through anything but the public record or the rumor mill in the MPD. (the blogger's site can be found here). Can anyone say First Amendment?? Just because Larry Godwin doesn't like what is being said about him and about his force does not mean that he can file suit to shut down a website which is saying things that are legal (though sometimes in bad taste... the Asshole of the Month thing is a little borderline, but I see where it's coming from).

Meanwhile, the main blogger, who posts under the amusing name Dirk Diggler, has retained an attorney, Paul Levy, who is part of a Washington DC-area group called Public Citizen Litigation Group, and he is seeking to quash the attempts by the MPD to obtain the name(s) of the bloggers - and to find the legal basis for the Director Godwin's witchhunt. (read more here and another good one here at the Memphis Flyer)

This is nothing more than another example of how the top administration in this city has collectively gone plumb out of its cotton-pickin' mind. Power plays by Hizzoner the Mayor Willie Herenton over the Superintendency of the School Board, the City Council's petulant move to cut funding for the City Schools, the ongoing fraud investigations (and convictions) within upper echelons, and now this... it really makes me wonder what on earth they think they are doing up there in their marble towers. They aren't living in the real world, and they see threats where there aren't any.

And now they are attempting to shut down a vital section of the internet simply because they can't take the heat from some anonymous blogger who believes a little honesty in public service is a good thing. Larry, you've really gone over the top... I believe our police force - the men and women who patrol our neighborhood - are decent, honest people; I have met many, many of them by stopping them on my street and chatting for a moment while they are on patrol. They are friendly, helpful and kind when needed... and they do their job well in an area where solid policing is a necessity. But I just don't know about the upper echelons. Some of the people I have worked with - Sgts, Lieuts... even a Captain or two - have been overwhelmingly responsive to the needs of the community. But there are clearly some bad eggs... and I am now wondering seriously if that bad policing doesn't start with the top. Certainly this boneheaded move does not speak well of the good judgement we expect from officers... and bespeaks of vendettas and personal feelings getting in the way of being bigger and better than the words on the screen.

This smells like a rat... and bloggers everywhere should be paying close attention to what is happening here in Memphis. Such an unlikely venue... yet the repercussions of the decisions that come out of this case could have a chilling effect on all of us.

I'll try to update as often as I can about it... but in the meantime, please make sure to be vigilant, too. This is nothing to sneeze at. Larry Godwin and the City of Memphis are dead serious in this threat - and we should be dead serious about opposing it.

What a chilling state of affairs for us all.

ADDENDUM: Thanks, Ms. Theologian, for pointing out this website: cyberSLAPP, which deals with frivolous suits of this type that threaten to chill the internet's basis in free speech and the right to anonymity.

Why Is This Acceptable?

I am in a bloody rage right now.

We lived through the Civil Rights Movement years ago - and, at least in the classes I teach, we celebrate it for what it was - and still is - in our collective memories. Race, color, creed, handicaps, sexuality - all these things are fruits of that Movement that make us both unique and part of a coherent and vibrant whole - I thought we were embracing these issues and moving forward. At least that has been my hope.

But I have recently heard some of the most racist crap I have ever heard in my life.

Take, for instance, the absolutely horrid joke about the White House Rose Garden being pulled up and replaced with a watermelon patch. @@

Or the cover of the New Yorker this week. Satire? I think not.  

Or the Oreo coment of John McLaughlin this weekend. A provocative slip of the tongue? No way.

What the hell is happening to this country that these things are somehow mainstream and acceptable?

The vitriol I see is completely out of whack with the object of its attention. Disagree with policies. Challenge viewpoints. Even argue past issues and records. BUT do not *ever* resort to name-calling, hateful sterotypical jokes and cartoons, and personal attacks of the nature we have been seeing the past several weeks and months.

The misinformation out there is appalling: the idea that Obama is somehow a terrorist; the nastiness that calls him by his race rather than by his deeds and record; the assertions that somehow, some way, Obama's association - however limited or expansive - with Muslims is a horrible thing and will lead this country down a path toward destruction (look around you, folks; we're already in that situation, and gee, it didn't take Obama to do it).

And the thing is, I get these e-mails and statements from people I have loved and cherished and called my dear friends, as well as previously trustworthy news sources. The world has truly gone topsy turvy.

What is it about this election cycle and this day and age that people - embodied in this one man - can be yet again marginalized and reviled with such acrimony and spite? How do people find it within themselves to think such horrors, much less give voice to them? Why are so many onlookers just accepting this situation as "business as usual" in politics and society at large?

It is long past time to speak out and do something about this. Write editorials. Respond directly to e-mails debunking this crap. Refuse to pander to the lowest common denominator in our political spectrum. Speak up regardless of whether your circle finds your view unpopular for the time being. Don't cater to these monstrous affairs.

After all, this is the home of the brave, right? So be brave and do the right thing. Stand up and be counted, even if you are not voting for Obama. Do it because it's the right thing to do. You'll feel better you did - and your country will be a better place for your courage and fortitude.

Continuing... On a Better Note... But Continuing

This afternoon I got a call from the Claims Department of the City of Memphis... and their rep was very sympathetic. She listened and asked appropriate questions and got the name and number of our plumber - and is going to follow up first thing tomorrow morning. She is sending me a claims form for the City, but has advised me that because the people who actually did this were contractors, we may need to file our claim directly with the contractor itself. Not happy about that. I plan to file with both the City AND the contractor, just to cover my butt. She is going to investigate THAT, too, and let me know about the situation in the morning as well. I have no intention of letting the City off the hook for this one. THEY dispatched these yo-yos. THEY are, ultimately, the responsible party, regardless of who actually pumped the water through my sewer lines and potty. Hmph.

Needless to say, this has all given me a headache. A bad one.

OK. Off to nurse this mess with something other than imitrex. I think I'll start with a nice, hot bath...

The Saga Continues

Fortunately, so far it's been a great day today. Lunch with Ann - and a long one at that - at Blue Coast Burrito. Happy tummy!

Yesterday? Not so much. Here's what I wrote some friends last night:

I was getting ready to go out to lunch with one of my best friends and her son, in fact - when I noticed the water in my toilet going back and forth. Whaaa? I finished brushing my teeth and went to the front of the house just in time to see two feet of soiled water erupt out of my husband's toilet. TWO FEET. I slammed down the toilet seat and the mess promptly went... sideways... all over my legs. I ran out the front door and yelled at the men who were working on the drain lines and told them to STOP RIGHT NOW... and when they FINALLY did, they basically told me "a little water on the floor was to be expected" and that "this would cause no damage to my sewer line." However, as I found out later, they were evidently running commercial grade psi through residential pipes - somewhere around 250 psi through mostly 60-year-old terra cotta and old cast iron - not a bright idea - in order to "clear a blockage further up." I told them I didn't give a damn where the blockage was, but they had better stop doing what they were doing to my house. I think it's pretty clear that when you have a blockage further up the line, and one really clear line, the pressure on the line is going to go to the really clear line and that one is going to take a beating. That's us.

@@

I called my plumber.

He came out loaded for bear - and has filed a complaint with the city. I have done so from my end as well - with both the sewer department and with the city's legal department. My plumber will be out next Monday to check the lines and we will determine at that time what needs to be done. They've been under the house and have already identified what appear to be two, possibly three cracks in the sewer line. My yard, which I just mowed today for the very first time, may have to be dug up... again.

What a freaking mess. This is the first I have been calm enough to sit still enough to write about it, and I am still just seething. The city crews are out right now checking lines and looking at what kind of a mess they have made, though I am certain they will say it's not their fault. We're going to hold their feet to the fire, though. I just had $14,000 worth of plumbing done, and I am not about to see it screwed up by some yo-yos who don't know what they are doing, acting on behalf of the city.

Now? I am just at a slow burn. We have to wait until Monday to get the results of whether or not they have screwed up the plumbing to the point that it has to be redone... and I am just going to be as zen as I can be until then.

Meanwhile, I am studying like crazy. The sun is too intense for me to be outside during the middle of the day, so I am in here working on French and Directed Readings reading. I plan to get through one of the history books today, and start another one tomorrow (AM-BI-TION!!! AMBITION! -- you're supposed to imagine Topol singing that), and continue reading the history of the US in French. Need to get over to the University at some point this week - perhaps tomorrow. I know they will be having a short week, so I probably had better make it tomorrow, or I may miss the boat entirely.

Wish I could get outside. ::sigh:: What sadness that I can't. Maybe tonight.

Sometimes They Just Don't Get It

And that's okay... most of the time.

Yesterday and the day before, it wasn't, and I was in no mood to cope with that.

Today? Better, but still not in much of a mood to cope with anything screwy in my personal life.

But, things have been going well today. Saw the cardiologist - clean bill of health - and saw the primary care physician who read me the riot act about not coming in for two months to get my asthma dealt with. Yeah, yeah... she won that argument, big time. My cheeks feel like big balloons from the sinus infection I am harboring, and she said the wheeze is absolutely unmistakable. Tsk tsk. Better now than later to get it cleared up.

Took a nap when I got home - had been up since 5:45 this morning, long before the sun really broke through - and didn't get up until about an hour ago... ahh bliss. I am still yawning, but that's ok. I earned it. And I may go in and do it again.

It's hot outside and the wind is fierce, but our new a/c is supposed to be up and running tomorrow morning, according to our contractor. YAY! Morning inspection. I can hardly wait.

I think it may be time to run to Sonic to get a limeaid. I'm thirsty, and that sounds good. Crash isn't due home until forever o'clock because his kids are playing in some program tonight, so I have no idea what or when to plan dinner. Therefore, I am not responsible, IMO. Sounds reasonable to me, anyway.

I'm having a serious rebellion here, if you haven't noticed, and I've copped an attitude about it. I'll deal with it. Give it time. But there *WILL* be some changes coming out of it.

Let's Just Say...

(highly controversial contents pulled for the time being, though I was under no pressure to do so)

Hizzoner... HUH?

Mayor Willie is proposing a 17% property tax hike... and still insists he is closing five libraries and four community centers. AND, he's suggesting that somehow this is all good for the educational system in Memphis... the same education system he has all but stated he is going to run next year. We already have a 9.25% sales tax... WTH?

Methinks Willie is snorting something more volatile than the regular white stuff he's been rumor to have been into.

The 67-year-old mayor has things in a wild state downtown - to the point that the school board and the city council are not on speaking terms at all; a conference was called with the city school board and city council yesterday and the only person who showed up from the school board was Willie's right hand (I want so badly to say reacharound, but I won't) man, Kenneth Whalum. The rest of the school board and top staff were under orders from the school board president to be no-shows and city council was left holding the bag. ADDENDUM: Here is a rather good, but short article about the bruhaha, including an e-mail between the president of the school board and the city council.

At stake? The education of many many thousands of students, the role of teachers in the classroom ... and a nearly $100 million proposed budget. Willie thinks he can do better with metal detectors in every school, an increased police presence in every school, no real raises for teachers, no real budget for new books and classroom upgrades... and his AWESOME, DUDE presence (with no increase in the budget, which stands this year at roughly $93 million). But of course, he plans to draw his retirement from the years he taught and was super before, the mayoral retirement, AND the salary he would be gaining from the new superintendency. Um. Triple dipping, anyone?? What need has *he* to think of anyone else?? He'd be SET. Forget the peons and the kids - he can just sit upon high and make pronouncements and pretend to be the right hand of God, smashing the tablets as he goes.

This is the single most dysfunctional city I have seen since ... well, I've studied a lot of dysfunctional cities in the past, but even Boston or New York under the graft at least got things done, even if it was piecemeal and in fits and starts. This?? Who knows what anyone is doing. I think Willie wants to be part Boss Tweed, and part Boss Crump (our local political Boss from back in the day)... and part, well, Boss Willie. But he doesn't realize he is pretty much universally - and derisively - laughed at these days.

We also have a County Mayor, A.C. Wharton, who plays his politics much closer to his chest - and frankly doesn't personify Teh Stupid. I would like to see City/County consolidation and get this mess straightened out. Wharton at least doesn't have a Messiah complex - and he is an easy guy to get along with, even when he is making hard choices (I've met him on several occasions, and am impressed with him as a person, as well as with his politics. I don't always agree with him, but geez, as a politician goes, he's not bad - and he has a passion for the county as a whole that is unmistakable and inspiring.).

Anyway. We need to boot Mayor Messiah out of his comfy throne and... well, I am back to the idea of a swirly, but am reconsidering my house as a suitable location. I think there are sewage treatment plants around town better able to handle the waste.

Hizzoner is a "Pistol Packin' Mayor?"

Get this news story from WREG.com. All rights reserved to WREG (and kudos to Mike Matthews for getting the story!):

Pistol Packing Mayor Says Big News Is Coming

Fast Facts:

• Mayor's Budget Plans Include closing some libraries and community centers
• Possible property tax increase
• Education overview on May 6th

mike.matthews@wreg.com

(Memphis, TN 4/14/2008) When you can get all six feet five or six inches of him to relax, Willie W. Herenton will talk about anything. 

Recently, before Leadership Memphis, the words were flowing out of him like the waters of the Mississippi.  He talked about crime, and how he's a pistol packing PhD.  "I do have a permit," he said.  "When I go to the gas station, I've got my pistol with me.  And I'm the Mayor."

That's right.  He's the Mayor.  He's still the Mayor.  Herenton has said he'd leave the job if he could get his hands on running Memphis City Schools.  At at times, it seems as though he's already left the office.  Mayor Herenton kept referring to himself as Superintendent during an interview with the New York Times.  And while speaking to Leadership Memphis he said, "But at the time I was Mayor and...uh...I still am Mayor."

Yes he is.  And he's got a huge budget that is expected to include plans on closing several branch libraries and community centers.  And three weeks from now, something even bigger is coming.  It's his stand on education.  "I"m gong to be making the most important presentation of my public life on May 6th," he said.  We tried to pin him down on specifics and got nowhere.  Herenton said "It will focus on education.  It will focus on some of the critical needs of this community."

Not only will City Council members hear his plans.  They Mayor wants you folks to show up.  And he especially wants the members of the School  Board to be there.  "The school board's going to get a special invitation," he said.  "We'll even send them cards."

::rolling eyes:: Oh honey, you really are spechul. You're so visionary that your eyes are bigger than a whale's stomach - and about as attractive. You're so humble that pie was created just to soothe your ego.

Packing a pistol?? Uh. WHY? He's got more bodyguards than Elvis did in his heyday... why does Hizzoner need a pistol?? Is this a Wild West town? .....If it is, Willie, it's of your own creation!

And what's with this Superintendent Schizophrenia he's evidencing with the New York Times? He's NOT THE FLIPPING SUPER. And the Superintendency does not carry with it the name of the Presidency... like once president, always an honorary "Mr. President." Yes, he was once the superintendent. Now he's the mayor. Hizzoner can't seem to keep things straight ...Willie, have you been in the white powder lately?

Most important presentation of his public life on May 6? Oh why not May 1? ... Let's do it right and proper and have a rollicking May Day speech, Willie.

And finally, he wants to raise our taxes YET AGAIN ... but close our libraries and community centers. Jackass. Really. .... Willie, you should be cleaning up after the equestrian squad of the police department, not running the city. You haven't a clue.

ARRRGH. Really. Hizzoner isn't fit for the job he's currently in... why should we entrust him with our children... or our confidence in any other position? Let a private firm hire him and deal with his ego - bet he'd be out on the street in no time flat. ... Having never worked in the private sector, I think you would have a lot to learn, Willie.

Now that's education I can believe in. ::smirk::

Found a Terrific Article

About guess who!

WILLIE THE WONDER WART, the blight on our city.

Mayor Seeks Job Switch, But Response is Lukewarm It's in the New York Times, so you have to go through a short signup process to get to it. However, if you let me know you can't get it (and actually want to read it!! LOL), I will make sure you get a copy. A rather interesting synopsis. Huffy, huffy Hizzoner.

_______

I'm too tired to study anymore tonight - such a good book (about women's experiences running for public office in the last century, with an emphasis on the late part of the 20th), but I just read the last paragraph three times and it makes no sense at all to me at this point. It's almost three a.m., and Crash is getting me up at 6:45, so I had best be getting to bed... like... three hours ago. ::thud::

The appraiser may come tomorrow morning or Tuesday afternoon - waiting on an e-mail or call from the credit union about that, so I have to be up and ready for whenever he or she might possible get here. Oy. Not to mention finishing my homework and writing a paper about the reading. Before 11 a.m. tomorrow. Then I will only have four books to read between now and Friday, and about 20 more of those godforsaken term papers to grade by Wednesday morning. Yes, it's possible, but not fun when it comes in a clump like that.

Alright... I am headed to bed NOW. I can squeeze out nearly four hours of sleep if I am really, really lucky... and since I have already had to call 911 tonight for stupidity at my neighbor's house (the one who died in the tornadoes on Feb. 5 - the house is vacant and there were just a few too many college-age men running around her yard and around the house) so I'm a little edgy. May take a lortab to ease the ache in my belly so I can really sleep.

Nite All!

Willie's World With a Wisp of Whalum

Oh now this pisses me off on so many levels. First of all, Kenny, it is discriminatory and ILLEGAL to predetermine your candidate based on race or sex. Second, this man, Willie Herenton, our Hizzoner, was forced into early retirement by the school board LAST time he was in office as Superintendent due to his inappropriate conduct. Is your memory REALLY that short? And finally, um, yeah, publically-traded, Fortune 500 companies DO stick to their search firms and the DO meet with other candidates... otherwise that's got a potential for nepotism, discrimination and a whole other host of EEOC repercussions and lawsuits.

Good grief Whalum. What's Willie been doing for (with? to?) YOU lately? Do we need to look into YOUR affairs now, too??? Because this is a little too cozy for comfort, and looking all too suspicious. Maybe we need to go to clear glass tables in the board rooms, because the fondling under them is getting to be a bit too much, IMO. 

_______

This article was reposted from the Memphis WREG Channel 3 News Website on 3/29/2008. News Channel 3 retains all rights and permissions. A link to the article on their website is in the title of the article:

Posted by Stephanie Scurlock
Whalum Calls for School Board to Meet Herenton

Posted: March 29, 2008 01:21 PM

    FAST FACTS:

• Memphis City School board trying to fill superintendent's position vacated by Dr. Carol Johnson
• Mayor Herenton offers to resign mayor's job to take on superintendent's position
• Board Commissioner Kenneth Whalum, Jr. wants meeting with Herenton

stephanie.scurlock@wreg.com

MEMPHIS (03/29/2008) - One school board member is calling for his colleagues to step up and "quote" do what's right. Kenneth Whalum, Jr. has made it clear he believes the Memphis City School District needs to hire an African American male to fill the vacant superintendent's position. Memphis mayor Willie Herenton who's held the position before, has said he will resign his position as mayor to take on the job. Whalum pleas it's time to stop procrastinating and hear what the mayor has to say.

Whalum said, "I think it's the height of disrespect for the school board who has no money, who's begging for money, not to even listen to the man who's been giving them a $100,000,000 a year."

Whalum is pleading with his colleagues to meet with Herenton. Whalum says in a letter to board members Herenton didn't ask for the superintendent's job but he did say he wanted to help in anyway possible. Whalum says it's time to hear the mayor's vision.

"We owe it to the mayor of Memphis to see what he has to say about the condition of our schools," said Whalum.

Whalum says he sent emails to fellow board members asking for a meeting but hasn't heard back. This week they're set to meet with a search team hired to find qualified superintendent candidates. Despite concerns from other board members Whalum says a meeting with Herenton could mean calling off the search and saving tens of thousands of dollars.

Whalum said, "You can't find a Fortune 500 corporation that would go through the silliness of a so called search if they had the perfect executive sitting at the table with them."

Whalum says hearing from the mayor doesn't mean they have to hire him as superintendent. He just believes they should at least listen to how Herenton thinks he can help.

The chair of the Memphis City School Board, Commissioner Tomeka Hart, tells News Channel 3 the school board has a process to follow in selecting a superintendent. When it comes to meeting with Herenton to hear his ideas, she says she'll call for one if a majority of the board members request it.