Musings

1. Why do Memphians seem not to care that Mayor Herenton may have illegally diverted millions of dollars worth of city legal work to a Little Rock law firm, probably made some friends rich, but they do care that he fathered an illegitimate child?
2. Several people who wanted to do business on Beale Street, or who already do business there, say Rickey Peete is demanding under the table money to open a shop on Beale. Someone different comes forward saying this every couple of months. Why don't they go on-the-record? Of course, Rickey can keep doing whatever and get reelected. He knows this.
3. Speaking of Rickey, the guy who approved the new, taxpayer paid-for, house for Rickey's grand-ma-ma is dodging a local reporter who has been pressing to find out why the deal got done, even though underlings say it should have, and was, vetoed. Man, I love this city. Hey, I need me a new crib. Wonder how much I'd have to pay a city official to get one?
4. Damn, I'm tired of loud cars. Forget the eardrum-bursting stereos. I'm talking about exhaust systems. They're so loud you can hear them blocks away. There are laws on the books, but the Sheriff and the po-po don't seem to want to enforce them. I guess they all live on quiet cul-de-sacs where all is quiet and warm. I say shut down all of the shops that sell stuff that violates the law, and see if there's an impact. Can't do that, though. Might interfere with campaign contributions.
5. And while I'm at it, I might just cap the next sucker who pulls up next to my car, if my kids are with me, and insists on playing vulgarity-laced music so loudly that my kids are picking up all kinds of new words. Your freedom of expression stops where it creates problems for children, jerk. Your momma may have reared you to be a "me-first" dick head, but my kid's momma isn't doing the same for hers.
6. I love the drivers who think it's my responsibility to get the hell out of their way when I'm driving down I-40 and they want to get on the highway. I truly believe 99.9 percent of the driving school flunk outs here don't know what a "Yield" sign is, or they think it's for everyone BUT them. I got so sick of it that I stayed put in the right lane on Sam Cooper the other day and made the thug in the '88 Olds go to the shoulder. Of course, he thinks it's my fault. But, hey, there are three full lanes of traffic. What does he want me to do about it? Oh, sure, I could have, and maybe should have, slowed down to let him in. But that fact that he was not using a turn signal and was, quite obviously, either convinced he was entitled to the lane more than I was or just didn't care made me say "I've had it". Of course, if he had hit me he would not have had insurance, which leads us to number 7.
7. The Moron-Collective on the city council insists that the city should not follow the lead of the state and toughen financial responsibility laws that require drivers to have insurance on their cars. Remember a couple of years ago? The council got pissed because the state toughened the laws, but all of the money from fines was going to state government. So, the council passed a separate law for Memphis, creating a $50 fine. OK, so let me get this straight. I don't get insurance. Saves me, probably, $500 a year. I get caught. I pay $50 and I'm right back on the street. My license doesn't get suspended (not that it stops anyone here from driving anyway). I say, take their damned cars and lock them away until they buy a six-month policy (minimum) and have to prove they paid for it up front.
8. And then they're Thomas Long, the local court clerk. Man, what an IQ-mon this genius is. He's responsible for making sure traffic fines get paid. So, what's he do? He says, "pay me a little at a time and you can go back to driving your car again." Yeah, I wonder how successful THAT is. Great, hell, would $10 per month be enough to ignore my five reckless driving convictions? I think this is another "circle the lips and suck" to Long's constituency. Hey, Thomas, don't worry about what's right. Worry about how to make the thugs and bangers like you, will ya'?
9. And then there's Mayor Herenton, which going full circle on my favorite elected official is probably as good a reason as any to end this section of rants. Why, with the city more than $1 billion in debt, does the Mayor not order city collectors to get busy trying to collect the more than $60 million in unpaid fines and $500 million in unpaid property taxes? Easy answers, on this one. The "hood" will dis the brother if he tries to get the fines paid. And the Roses, Turleys, Smiths, et.al. of the local gentryfied community will pull the patronage if Dr. Wille gets tough on the property taxes. Did you know that, if you don't pay your property taxes for ten years, that they start going away, year-by-year? I have spoken with several business owners who say, screw it, they'll put the money aside and, if they get caught, they'll pay. If it keeps being ignored, they'll pocket the money. In the mean time, the people of Memphis grab their ankles tighter and have to fork over higher sales taxes and other such things to make the budget work. Call me a raving liberal, if you will, but I believe that letting companies do whatever they want in the name of creating jobs doesn't work, because American companies have proved, time and again, that given the chance to do the responsible thing or increase profits, they will screw their sisters to increase dividends, they'll rape the environment to increase the bottom line. And so, Dr. Mayor keeps crying about the city needing money. If he had the nads, he could go get a big chunk of it right now. Hey, homes in the city get sold at tax auction. When was the last time you heard of that happening to a big business? Go on-line and see how much in back taxes are owed just by two companies, Auto Zone and CableVision (which is now Time Warner Cable). If you're not astounded, I'll refund the full purchase price of your time to look it up. Which you won't do because you're a lazy and apathetic person who didn't vote the last time anyway.