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Month: December 2010
It took a while, but, nearly a month after Shelby County Mayor Mark Luttrell vetoed a county commission resolution that would have made county officeholders’ participation in a unified IT format optional rather than mandatory, the county commission finally voted Friday on an override of that veto, approving the override by a vote of 8-3.
The special meeting, which also saw the commission authorize the position of Central Information Officer, lasted less than an hour but had fireworks equivalent to some of those which will greet the New Year tonight.
Voting to override the resolution, which had been sponsored by Commissioner Heidi Shafer, were commission chairman Sidney Chism and commissioners Shafer, Wyatt Bunker, Melvin Burgess, Justin Ford, James Harvey, Terry Roland, and Chris Thomas. Voting to sustain the veto were commissioners Walter Bailey, Mike Ritz, and Mike Carpenter. Absent were commissioners Henri Brooks and Steve Mulroy.
The original premise of Friday’s meeting had been to act in regard to whatever advice state Attorney General Cooper might offer as to the likelihood of lawsuits from county office-holders if the veto were upheld. As it happens, Cooper never responded, but, after a flurry of emails back and forth between commission members and county attorney Kelly Rayne, the meeting went ahead as scheduled, given the approaching New Year, and, with it, the end of a 30-day period after which Luttrell’s veto would be final.
Carpenter insisted that the commission’s vote on December 20 to hold such a meeting before the end of the year was approved only on condition of a response from the Attorney General and that going ahead with the meeting and the override vote was improper. In an impassioned 10-minute speech, he rejected as “hogwash” claims by override supporters that the opt-in provision would enable almost as much in the way of taxpayer savings as would the mandatory single IT unit for county government.
Carpenter estimated that the difference could be as much as $4 million for the county’s taxpayers, and he got Harvey Kennedy, Luttrell’s CAO, to confirm that the county faced a looming deficit of $20 to $25 million.
“They can hold us hostage at budget time,” Carpenter said of elected county department heads, several of whom were in the commission auditorium for the vote. He maintained that only two units of county government, Juvenile Court and the Sheriff’s Office, had given an unqualified promise of involvement in the unitary county plan.
Carpenter said the commission, in voting to override, would be ignoring its own expert consultants, who had described the fragmented system of separate IT programs as unnecessary and costly. He asked for a show of hands on several points. “Who’s going to support laying off 300 to 350 people?…Who’s going to cut that employee pay raise?…Who’s going to vote for a property tax increase to balance the budget?” None of his colleagues raised hands. “Yeah, that’s kind of what I thought,” Carpenter concluded.
In a response, override supporter Wyatt Bunker commented on what he described as an “emotional investment” on Carpenter’s part and said Shafer’s resolution had been about accountability “and nothing else.”
After the override motion was approved, the CIO measure was passed as a companion measure, with Carpenter alone voting no. Who would even take such a job without knowing what he was dealing with? Carpenter asked rhetorically.
“How are we going to find a qualified CIO?…Why would you want to take this position, not even knowing what it’s going to look like?” With department heads able to opt in or opt out at will, “It could change day to day, week to week, month to month,” Carpenter said later on in remarks to reporters. He blamed the override on pressure from office-holders more concerned about their power bases than the common good.
And he prophesied difficult times ahead for a commission less willing to set aside partisan or personal considerations than the previous one, elected four years earlier. “The tone was set in September,” he said. “It’s not going to get any better. It’s going to be extremely tough to do anything on behalf of the taxpayers. ..This is going to be a miserable three years.”
Tonight, better known as New Year’s Eve, presents several opportunities to ring in 2011 with noteworthy Memphis musicians. Here’s a rundown of this year’s most interesting local music holiday options:
Van Duren @ Central BBQ (Summer Ave. location)
For those looking to get things started a bit early (6 p.m. showtime) or do something with the whole family, Duren’s weekly appearance at the popular barbecue establishment is a great opportunity to take in some classic Memphis power-pop.
Harlan T. Bobo, Jack Oblivian & the Tearjerkers @ the Hi-Tone Cafe
Probably the most high-profile of the late-night gigs is this double bill at the Hi-Tone, which pairs longtime friends and collaborators Bobo and Oblivian.
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A Very Special Edition of “Fly on the Wall”
The Pesky Fly picks out his favorite nutty items from 2010. It was indeed a wacky year.
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The Best Movies of 2010
Now that the agenda in Washington for the next two years will be driven by the far right wing of the Republican party, you might think economic issues have trumped cultural issues in the public mind. After all, this is the bunch who have taken over the House based on promises to slash the federal debt and shrink government.
Perhaps you have figured out by now that the Tea Party is a sham— a gigantic ball of self-serving, self-righteous faux outrage bounced back and forth by Republicans. After two years of marching and bellowing — of dressing up in stupid costumes with three-cornered hats and carrying misspelled signs—-of going apoplectic at town halls about the mountains of debt and deficit spending that are “destroying our children’s future,” the Tea Party finally had an opportunity to display their fury, wrath, and indignation. When Republicans fought for and voted almost unanimously to add $858 billion to the budget deficit by extending the Bush tax cuts, the Tea Party was quieter than little church mice. There wasn’t even a whimper of an outcry. Confirmed was what we already knew — they are hypocrites for hire.
This “movement” has never really had anything to do with making serious fiscal policy change — no, the Master Thespians of the right wing are simply tools who were bought and paid for by the billionaire Koch brothers, Rupert Murdoch, and Dick Armey’s FreedomWorks for the explicit purpose of Bringing the Crazy and distracting us yet again with—you guessed it—a culture war!
When Congress convenes in a few days, the John Boehner-led House Republican majority has laid out an agenda to do exactly what Republicans have always done(and will always do) — throw a good, old-fashioned culture war with aggressive, over-the-top rhetoric so people will be too distracted and divided to notice that the plan is the same one its always been — of cutting taxes for their donors, thus creating deficits that require spending cuts or bankruptcy.
In the last few days, House Republican leaders have actually unveiled major changes to House procedural rules that are clearly designed to pave the way for more deficit-increasing tax cuts in the next two years. That’s right! The Republicans are planning to put us further into debt so that the corporations and billionaires who bankroll their campaigns will get even bigger tax breaks!
The Tea-publican game plan will go like this: While John Boehner, Mitch McConnel, and other GOP professionals are making sweeping and symbolic but completely inconsequential points about fiscal responsibility, Michelle Bachmann, Rand Paul and the Tea Party will use proposals on moral and social issues to divide, distract, and divert by convincing some Americans that they are real Americans and that other Americans are their enemies.
There will be railing against environmental programs because these are supported by elitists who believe in “unproven” science like climate change and evolution. Proposals for defunding National Public Radio with its Prius-driving, latte-drinking liberal listeners will be made. National art endowments will need to be cut because of their offensive, blasphemous, anti-Christian exhibits. And of course what culture war would be complete without fighting about abortion? Prepare to see one bill after another come to the floor to revise the Obama healthcare plan so that it bans access to contraception, family planning, and reproductive rights to as many women as possible in the name of “defending life”.
Like a scene in Groundhog Day, the GOP will keep giving us their failed trickle-down economics while the birthers, death-panelists and the “Obama is a Muslim/Hitler/Socialist/Fill in the Blank”crowd have a field day calling for government shutdown based on sanctimony and vilification of their imagined enemies. They will finally have the chance to fight the war they have really wanted for two years — the one that will help them make good on their claim of taking the country back—- all the way back to the days of Herbert Hoover.
Happy Fresh Hell New Year!
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Hoppin’ John
- snagwiremedia.com
So what’s on the menu for New Year’s Day?
For a bit of background on Hoppin’ John and other New Year’s culinary traditions, check out this story by Paul Gerald from 2005: Why Is John Hoppin’?
We’re going to make everybody mad with this one: The overnight accomplishment of de facto school consolidation — for, unless something truly unexpected happens, that’s what we’re looking at now — is going to free us, every last one of us, from the shackles that have bound us. We may even be able, a generation earlier than we thought after November 2nd, to take another look at political consolidation of the city and county.
It’s already possible to look back with wonderment at that half-hearted, adulterated, and internally conflicted version of consolidation we were asked to decide upon only months ago — the one that timidly refrained from (shhhhhhh!) merging the city and county schools. That was supposed to be a deal-breaker, remember, the untouchable third rail. In reality, what the omission of school consolidation did was further convince key members of the city’s already suspicious African-American population that their concerns were secondary to those of the separatist suburbs. And all for naught, inasmuch as suburban voters failed to take the bait, voting at better than 4-to-1 against a proposed Metro Charter that was so solicitous as to allow the non-Memphis municipalities to hold on to their sovereignty.
What was screwy about that well-intentioned charter was the way it shied away from unscrambling the overlapping and confusing tax codes that were to continue with the maintenance of two distinct and discrete governmental entities (an “urban services district,” i.e., Memphis vis-à-vis a “general services district,” i.e., the county). That was the governmental counterpart of the funding complications that have characterized our two cohabitating school systems and confounded the quest in recent years for what was hopefully designated “single-source funding.”
What we’re saying is that school consolidation puts us on the road to leap-frogging all that difficulty, and we should consider following it up by putting together the two halves of our divided and duplicated governmental structure by the same means — charter surrender. Does our City Council have on it bold self-sacrificial types like Martavius Jones and Tomeka Hart and the three other MCS board members who were willing, on December 20th, to put the greater good ahead of their own status-quo careers?
For those who would shy away from the challenges that would necessarily ensue, we would suggest that these would be as nothing compared to the snarls and wrangles of struggling to remain separate. Just as school consolidation is almost certain to result in a stabilized neighborhood-school system along existing lines, eschewing the expensive and radical experimentation of past decades, so would overnight city/county consolidation rest upon what is already in place.
We have a model for what the resultant governmental structure would be like in the functioning Shelby County government of today. Imagine, if you will, the luxury of choosing between a Mark Luttrell and an A C Wharton to head such a combined government!
So maybe we’re not going to make everybody mad after all. Maybe by floating this concept we’re doing nothing more than advancing a vision of future comfort and security and conjoined simplicity. We hope so. Happy New Year!
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Turn it up to 2011
You could say 2010 was a defining year for Memphis in the eyes of the rest of the country. Forbes ranked us the third most miserable city in the nation, and visitors to Memphis voted us the least attractive and intelligent of the 35 cities ranked in a Travel + Leisure survey.
But far from bringing down our morale, these labels have spurred a host of fired-up responses from people defending our fair city, flaws and all. And when it comes to all-night holiday partying, we have to ask: What better place to ring in the new year than the most overindulgent city in the nation?
If our city’s new brand manager is any indication, 2011 will be about reassessing those unflattering rankings. So turn your dials all the way up, and let’s finish the year by teaching the rest of the country about a few superlatives they left off the list.
Eagerest Beavers
The key to any great, long night is successful pre-gaming. Whether your night will be alcohol-soaked or a little less sloppy, Memphis offers the chance to start early.
DAC Fitness Collierville has first dibs on New Year’s Eve, kicking off its third annual 10K race at 9 a.m. The race benefits Page Robbins Adult Day Care Center and is open to individual and two-person relay teams. Registration is $25 in advance, $35 on the day of the race. Call 861-2110 for more information, and visit racesonline.com to register.
Since New Year’s Eve happens to be the last Friday in December, patrons of the monthly South Main Art Trolley Tour will be able to get the party started. Drop by the arts district between 6 and 9 p.m. for a special New Year’s Eve-themed night of gallery shows, live music, and (often free!) cocktails and finger food. Visit southmainmemphis.com for details.
Most Decadent Diners
With a bevy of New Year’s Eve dinner options around the city, there’s no chance your belly will go unstuffed in the final hours of 2010.
The Peabody‘s Capriccio Grill will have a three-course dinner from 5 to 11 p.m. for $60 per person. Elsewhere inside the hotel, Chez Philippe will offer a five-course dinner from 6 to 11 p.m. for $125 per person (price includes admission to the hotel’s “Scene” party). Visit peabodymemphis.com for more information and reservations.
For a less expensive option, South of Beale will offer a three-course prix-fixe dinner (featuring a decadent Guinness and elk chili) for $45 per person. Visit southofbeale.com for a full menu.
Harbor Town’s Currents at the River Inn will host a New Year’s Eve gala dinner (highlights include local butternut squash bisque and strawberry champagne soup) from 5 to 10 p.m. for $89 per person. For a more budget-friendly meal, visit Tug’s, also inside the River Inn, for a special menu from 5 p.m. to midnight. Visit riverinnmemphis.com for more information.
Paulette’s will serve an early three-course dinner from 4 to 4:45 p.m., then up the ante for a four-course dinner from 5 to 9:30 p.m. The late menu features crab meat and spinach crepes and their signature Filet Paulette’s, along with homemade desserts. Prices for the early dinner range from $29 to $39 per person, and the late dinner ranges from $40 to $60. Call 726-5128 for details and reservations.
Grill 83 at the Madison Hotel will offer a four-course prix-fixe meal with options that include crab and sherry soup and a fried-banana spring roll for $80 per person. For those looking to make a night of it, the Madison also is offering a New Year’s Eve “Indulgence” package, which includes the dinner along with breakfast in bed, a bottle of champagne, and other luxuries. Visit madisonhotelmemphis.com to learn more or to book a reservation.
Cordova’s Bert Ferguson Community Center will host a catered dinner buffet and dance with door prizes for $20 per person. To purchase tickets, call 624-3535.
Most Affordable Music
One thing we’ve got on just about every other metropolitan area is consistently cheap covers for great live music, and New Year’s Eve is no exception.
At Midtown’s Nocturnal, $5 will get you five bands: Bearfeat, Sudden Organs, Kat Malone, Frankie LaFemme, and Sadie J. Byrd. 9 p.m., 21 and over. Call 726-1548 to learn more.
New Year’s Eve at Hadley’s Pub features Brian Johnson for free! Show starts at 9 p.m. Call 266-5006.
Rock Sugar takes the stage at Beale Street’s Handy Pavilion around 10 p.m. Free admission, 21 and over. Visit bealestreetmerchants.com for more details.
Local favorites Harlan T. Bobo and Jack Oblivian & the Tennessee Tearjerkers will grace the Hi-Tone with their presence for a mere $8. All ages, doors open at 9 p.m. Visit hitonememphis.com to learn more.
DJ Willow will take the Poplar Lounge into the new year — for free! Call 324-6550 for more information.
Classic Memphis restaurant Huey’s will host free shows in three locations: Funk de Ville play in Cordova from 9 p.m. to 1 a.m., Earl “The Pearl” Blues Band play Midtown from 10 p.m. to 2 a.m., and Beat Generation play on Poplar from 9 p.m. to 1 a.m. Visit hueyburger.com for details.
Swankiest Soirees
Memphis venues also offer variations on the classic New Year’s Eve: high-class drinks and dancing into the wee hours of the morning.
The Peabody will throw two all-night parties on New Year’s Eve — and you can attend both for $55 in advance, $75 at the door (price includes a glass of champagne). The first, “The Wild Side,” will go down in the Grand Ballroom, featuring New Year’s favorites Lord T & Eloise along with Garry Goin & G3, Alexis Grace, and DJ Mark Anderson’s Party Train. 8 p.m. to 3 a.m., 21 and over, $35 in advance, $45 at the door (price includes a glass of champagne). The second party, “The Scene,” will spread out over the Continental Ballroom, Grand Lobby, and Corner Bar. Andy Childs, DJ Cody, and the John Felix Trio will play among themed cocktail bars, party favors, and a balloon drop. 8 p.m. to 1 a.m., 21 and over, $25 in advance, $35 at the door.
B.B. King’s All Stars and the Will Tucker Band will be at B.B. King’s Blues Club, where $75 gets you party favors and a champagne toast along with a seat in the house. $25 tickets are available for standing-room-only. 7 p.m. to 3 a.m. Visit bbkingclubs.com for more information.
Most Welcoming Partygoers
If there’s anything that can kill a celebratory buzz, it’s discrimination. These venues make sure that no one gets left out of the party.
New gay/straight friendly venue Club Spectrum (616 Marshall) will host its grand opening on New Year’s Eve. The night will feature live music, a drag show, a balloon drop, and a dance-off. Festivities run from 8 p.m. to 5 a.m. $5, 18 and over.
And for the kids, there’s the Memphis Zoo‘s Zoo Snooze, a sleepover with lots of animal-centric fun. Kids ages 6 to 12 can be dropped off for the night — the event runs from 6:30 p.m. to 10 a.m. on New Year’s Day — and enjoy crafts, games, and a moonlight safari. $75 for members, $85 for nonmembers. (Price includes a pizza dinner, evening snack, breakfast, a T-shirt, and zoo admission on New Year’s Day.) Visit memphiszoo.org for details.
Quirkiest Traditions
Leave it to Memphis to put a kooky spin on some old standbys.
The Death Du Jour Mystery Theater has been hosting interactive mystery dinners at Spaghetti Warehouse since 2003. This New Year’s Eve, it will present Toasted! from 7 to 10 p.m. for $38 per person. For more information or to make a reservation, call 210-0545.
New York may drop a ball on New Year’s Eve, but we drop a Gibson guitar. Gather ’round the Hard Rock Café on Beale Street before midnight to see the yearly event, complete with fireworks.
Combining energetic dance music with an intense light show, Zoogma headline the second annual Zoo Year’s Eve at Newby’s. The show starts at 9 p.m. $15, 21 and over. Visit newbysmemphis.com for more information.
Dan McGuinness Irish Pub on Spottswood is starting a tradition of its own this year: a night of partying to benefit longtime Rock 103 radio host John “Bad Dog” McCormack, who was diagnosed with leukemia last year. Tickets are $10, and door prizes will be drawn throughout the night at the first annual Bad Dog Ball. Visit danmcguinnesspub.com to learn more.
Southland Park Gaming & Racing will host its third annual Big Top Bash, featuring DJ Tommy Austein, free carnival games and food, champagne stations, musicians, jugglers, and a Ferris wheel. Whew! The party starts at 8:30 p.m. (21 and over). Visit southlandpark.com for details.
Most Comprehensive Celebrations
These New Year’s parties come with everything from hotel accommodations to post-party brunch, giving you a great reason to stick to one location for the long haul.
The Memphis Bop Club will host its annual New Year’s party at the Marriott Memphis (on Thousand Oaks Blvd.). The $45 ticket includes party favors, champagne at midnight, and breakfast at 1 a.m., and the Marriott offers a special room rate of $79. Call 494-0016 for more details or to make a reservation.
Harrah’s Casino in Tunica will host Butch Mudbone & the Wolfpack Band along with the New Orleans Jazz Ramblers Band. Party favors, a balloon drop, and an ice bar are also in the mix. The casino’s ’37 Fine Dining will offer a prix-fixe dinner for $90 per person. And in the Event Center, you’ll find the “Fire & Ice Party” with host DJ Benny C for $20 in advance, $30 at the door. (For $400, five people get VIP tickets and two bottles of liquor.) Visit harrahstunica.com to learn more.
Tunica’s Horseshoe Casino will have party favors and hourly line dances on the casino floor, with Terry Mike Jeffrey, Rob & the Rage, and Soul Shockers playing onstage from 12:30 p.m. to 4:40 a.m. Jack Binion’s Steakhouse will serve a prix-fixe dinner for $90 per person from 5 p.m. to midnight. The Village Square Buffet will be open from 4 p.m. to 2 a.m. ($30 per person) and serve brunch on New Year’s Day from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. ($23 per person), with music by the Brian Breeze Cayolle Trio. Visit horseshoetunica.com for more information.
The Tunica Roadhouse‘s River Stage Bar will feature One Shot Rising, Living Daylights, and Mudflap Kings, starting at noon and ending at 3:30 a.m. On the casino floor, there will be party favors and a balloon drop. The Range Steakhouse will serve a prix-fixe dinner for $75 per person from 5 p.m. to midnight. The Big Kitchen Buffet will be open from 3 p.m. to midnight ($15 per person) and will serve brunch on New Year’s Day from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. ($11 per person), with the Garrison Trio performing. Visit tunica-roadhouse.com for details.
Bonne Terre (in Nesbit, Mississippi) will host a New Year’s Eve gala with a buffet dinner, champagne toast, and entertainment by Hudson & Saleeby. The gala will run from 7 p.m. to 1 a.m., and tickets are $65. Overnight stays are available. Call (662) 781-5100 for more information.
Laziest Wind down
There’s nothing like eating barbecue, listening to soul, and watching some football to ease you into post-party bliss. This year’s AutoZone Liberty Bowl features the O’Jays and Pig-n-Whistle barbecue. So, relax your way into the new year: 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., $30. Visit libertybowl.org for details.
I am a fan of the old World War II movies, the ones where the platoon was composed of typical Americans, Hollywood-style. There was a guy named Farmer and one called Preacher and another called Brooklyn (who was killed shortly after receiving a salami from home), no blacks, and, of course, an officer who was good-looking and clearly a white Anglo-Saxon Protestant of the John Wayne variety. Now, of course, we would have to add a gay soldier. I fear for him. He’ll need someone to watch his back.
The repeal of the odious “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” law has been 17 years in the making. It could have been done much sooner had it not been for the political cowardice and/or ignorance of much of Congress and some of the military. The nation as a whole was way out in front of these institutions, having learned from their own kids and society in general that gays and lesbians were not drooling perverts but human beings with a different — not better and not worse — sexuality. Most of us know this now.
There’s good reason to believe, however, that this lesson has not been universally learned. In the run-up to the vote in the Senate, General James Amos, the Marine Corps commandant, showed how he felt about the prospect of open homosexuals serving in the Marines. He was particularly concerned about combat situations where, he thought, gays might be “a distraction.” “Mistakes and inattention or distractions cost Marines’ lives,” Amos said. This was not the first time the general had expressed his doubts. Earlier, he had talked about what might happen when his Marines were “laying out, sleeping alongside of one another, and sharing death, fear, and loss of brothers. I don’t know what the effect of that will be on cohesion. I mean, that’s what we’re looking at. It’s unit cohesion. It’s combat effectiveness.”
It’s easy to dismiss Amos, but his concerns fall within the realm of possibility. After all, being gay is a sexual matter, and young people are nothing if not sexual. This is the way it is supposed to be. This is also the problem with having women in the armed services or, if you are a radical feminist, having men. Sooner or later, a certain amount of unacceptable harassment will occur, abuses will be committed, and, more innocently, plain hooking up is going to happen. We know this.
But we know also that this can be managed, contained, limited. It takes education. It takes training. It takes leadership. This is what concerns me about Amos. His views are on the record. He sees gays as somewhat out of control, possibly holding hands in combat, sneaking into one another’s bunks at night, being distracted just as the enemy is coming over the hill. Not only is this silly and based on an ignorant misconception of who most gays are, but it can be dealt with.
Amos, though, is the wrong man to deal with it. His subordinates know what he thinks of gays. They know he has not an iota of sympathy for what might be their difficulties or any tolerance for their lifestyle. If I were gay, I would not want to work for the man — or serve under him. He is one step short of being a bigot.
The racial desegregation of the military in 1948 also produced much blather about unit cohesion. It is true, of course, that race is not about behavior, but it is also true that race is obvious, spotted clear across a room — or a dance hall or a noncommissioned officers club — and can produce a violent reaction. (Remember, the South was still an apartheid nation back then.) The military managed because it was commanded to comply. The leadership came from President Truman. He liked to have his orders followed.
The Marines of today know that virtually the entire Republican Party stood up for bigotry. They know that some important senators — John McCain and Jon Kyl, to name two — furiously fought to retain the status quo, always in the sainted cause of unit cohesion. (Kyl said repeal could “cost lives.”) Marines know, too, that in surveys, those on the front lines are least supportive of having gays among them, and they are also aware that their brass fought to keep “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.” The issue for me, as for Amos, is unit cohesion. That’s why he has to go.
Richard Cohen writes for the Washington Post Writers Group.