Month: November 2018

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News News Blog

Mississippi River Mayors Urge Action On Climate Report

Joe Royer

Paddlers push their boats down the Mississippi River during a running of the Outdoors Inc. Canoe and Kayak Race.

States and cities along the Mississippi River will see billions of dollars worth of climate-related impacts unless “major changes” are made in the near term, according to a group of 85 mayors in cities and towns up and down the river.

The Congressionally mandated fourth National Climate Assessment (NCA) paints a bleak picture for the Mississippi River Valley and the entire Mississippi River Basin with rising temperatures and rising waters.

Mayors with the Mississippi River Cities & Towns Initiative (MRTCI) said Tuesday that “infrastructure, manufacturing, agriculture, and vulnerability are all implicated in this new report with effects alarming to even mayors that have been dealing with these impacts for a number of years already.” The group has pushed for changes to fight climate-related catastrophes in the region since 2012, the group said.

“The first duty of government is to help ensure the safety and health of the people it represents, so leaders should heed the report’s calls for action,” said Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey in a statement. “Minneapolis is already charting a course toward 100 percent renewable electricity.

Ward Archer

Mud Island is submerged under the Mississippi River during the flood of 2011.

“To better protect the Mississippi River – a major force for economic justice and a key source for drinking water – we need to partner with communities, neighboring jurisdictions and states by following the data and taking meaningful steps to curb climate change.”

The Mississippi River Corridor has already sustained over $200 billion in disaster impacts since 2005, according to the MRTCI, with six of the 10 Mississippi River states incurring more than $10 billion in losses for each state.

Bettendorf, Iowa Mayor Bob Gallagher said, though he thought he was prepared, “I was taken aback by some of the findings in the report.”

“The NCA states the annual cost of adapting urban storm water systems to more frequent and severe storms is projected to exceed $500 million for the Midwest by the end of the century,” Gallagher said. “More important to my state of Iowa, the assessment says projected changes in precipitation, coupled with rising extreme temperatures before mid-century, will reduce Midwest agricultural productivity to levels of the 1980s without major technological advances.”

In Memphis
Cities in the Southeast are experiencing more and longer summer heat waves, according to the NCA. Of the five cities already reporting more extreme heat waves, three of them are in the South — Birmingham, Raleigh, and New Orleans.
[pullquote-1] “The urban heat island effect (cities that are warmer than surrounding rural areas, especially at night) adds to the impact of heat waves in cities,” reads the report. “Southeastern cities including Memphis and Raleigh have a particularly high future heat risk.”

National Climate Assessment 2018

Transportation infrastructure is particularly at risk in Memphis, according to the NCA.

“An extreme weather vulnerability assessment conducted by the Tennessee Department of Transportation found that the urban areas of Memphis and Nashville had the most at-risk transportation infrastructure in the state,” reads the report. “Increasing precipitation and extreme weather events will likely impact roads, freight rail, and passenger rail, especially in Memphis, which will likely have cascading effects across the region.”

“The front lines”
The MRTCI have written and delivered infrastructure plans to Congress to protect the area’s natural infrastructure and its built environment.

“We’re on the front lines of these impacts,” said Davenport, Iowa Mayor Frank Klipsch. “We urge lawmakers to take the NCA very seriously and appoint a national commission to develop a set of immediate and near-term recommendations for Congress and state administrations.”

The Trump Adminstration released the report on Black Friday. President Donald Trump said he does not believe the report’s warnings that climate change will have major economic impacts for the U.S. economy.

Categories
Film/TV Film/TV/Etc. Blog

Music Video Monday: Daz Rinko

MVM is back on the hardest Monday of the year with a double shot of Daz Rinko. 

Oh, hi. Didn’t see you there. I was just enjoying some delicious ice cream with Music Video Monday fave Daz Rinko. Daz has had a big year, with not one, but two, appearances on this hallowed blog, so he deserves a treat.

In fact, we all deserve a treat. It’s been a hard year. Daz and McKenzii Webster and 35Miles have not one but two songs in one video! “Vanilla Ice” and “No Limit (Bigger Picture)” are from the album Black Boy Joy 2: The Bigger Picture. Enjoy!

Music Video Monday: Daz Rinko

If you would like to see your music video on Music Video Monday, email cmccoy@memphisflyer.com

Categories
Music Music Blog

Elvis Costello Rattles the Orpheum Theatre

Some 14 years ago, Elvis Costello endeared himself to many Memphians while in Mississippi to record The Delivery Man. Of course, his fans were already legion here, but this was when he had time to kill, and he killed it with many locals. I was a lucky hanger-on backstage at the old Hi-Tone, when the late, great B.B. Cunningham met with him and recalled their first encounter many years earlier. “Of course,” said Cunningham, “we were both a little skinnier back then…” 

“Oh that’s all right, though,” said Costello, beating his chest a little, “we’re just getting up to fighting weight now!” It struck me then that this icon of gangly nerds the world over was actually pretty tough; I could easily picture him holding his own in a scrap down ’round the pub.

I thought of those days as he took to the stage with the Imposters once again last Monday night. The band threw us off briefly, with a feint in the direction of canned rhythm tracks as they took the stage; but soon they launched into a ferocious “This Year’s Girl” and it was clear that the Imposters were fully engaged. And Elvis was clearly up to fighting weight, looking more nonchalant than in previous shows, but entirely committed once he approached the mic.

From the start, it was clear that the band (with Kitten Kuroi and Briana Lee on background vocals, Davey Faragher on bass, Steve Nieve on keys, and Pete Thomas on drums) would need every ounce of tenacity they had to overcome the audio mix. As many touring musicians know, live sound engineers are often fixated on the kick drum, and this night was a classic example. It was so loud and boomy that it muddied every other sound on stage, even to the point of obscuring the actual bass notes. This was a sticking point for many music-savvy Memphians, as I discovered in the days the followed. One man was escorted out of the hall for shouting at the sound engineer. Another claimed he was nearly moved to violence over it, noting the hundreds of dollars he and his wife had spent on a gala “date night” that, for them, was compromised.

But the band rose above the atrocious mix with road-seasoned professionalism, and Elvis’ vocals punched through the booming crud of low frequencies. Though the machine-gun lyrics of some of his earlier songs were a challenge to keep up with, Costello never phoned it in. Every word was loaded with nuanced meanings, even more so than in his brutal youth.

Steve Nieve and Pete Thomas, with Costello for some 40 years now, were also all-in. Nieve, surrounded with every conceivable keyboard, as if to compensate for his early years with only a Vox Continental organ, made his entire armory sparkle. “Clubland” shone with his brilliant piano work in a Cuban vein. All eras of music were up for grabs with this band.

This was especially clear when Costello stepped over to a vintage (looking) microphone for the quieter, slower ballads, somehow evoking his own father’s tenure with the Joe Loss Orchestra. As Elvis the Storyteller emerged, many of these tunes were set up with a preamble of sorts. “Imagine a woman sitting there, wrapped in the fur of another animal…” he said before launching into “Don’t Look Now,” one of many he’s penned with Burt Bacharach. “Sometimes you have to put people up on a pedestal, just to see them more clearly,” he said, adding, “until, like a Confederate General, they come tumbling down.” As an appreciative gasp of recognition went through the crowd, he quipped with faux coyness, “Aw, I didn’t mean anything by it!”

Bacharach loomed large over the night, partly because the ballads were so strong, unhampered by the kick drum. But also because old songs were transformed in his image. As the band vamped in a quieter mode, Elvis freestyled lyrics from “The Look of Love,” before launching into “Photographs Can Lie,” another collaboration between the two. This in turn colored “Temptation,” a number from Get Happy! that has aged well.

That was nothing compared to the next transformation. “I wrote this when I was 26,” Elvis explained with a smile. “The world wasn’t ready for it then, but I think I can safely say, you’ve all caught up. It’s written on every tortured line on your faces.” (Or something to that effect.) And then a somber reading of Imperial Bedroom‘s “Tears Before Bedtime” emerged, with a stately, quiet power.

The set, ranging from such moments to ravers from his back catalog, was a roller coaster. The background singers, Kuroi and Lee, were phenomenal, especially on the ballads. To these ears, they may have been too much of a good thing on old rockers like “Mystery Dance,” the essence of which lives in its stark raggedness. One longtime fan was more dismissive. “Elvis Costello and Dawn!” he quipped; but others were deeply moved by their powerful voices, which even graced the classic “Alison” with gospel-like melisma.

Such quibbles aside, Costello & company whipped the crowd into a frenzy by the night’s end, pulling everyone out of their seats with set-closer “Pump It Up,” and keeping them aloft through a generous 10-song encore that culminated in a rousing “(What’s So Funny ‘Bout) Peace, Love, and Understanding.” “Thank you! We love you!” Elvis shouted. “Both individually and as a group!”

Set List:
This Year’s Girl
Honey, Are You Straight or Are You Blind?
Clubland
Don’t Look Now
Burnt Sugar is So Bitter
Green Shirt
The Look of Love/Photographs Can Lie
Temptation
Tears Before Bedtime
Moods for Moderns
Why Won’t Heaven Help Me?
Either Side of the Same Town
Watching the Detectives
Deep Dark Truthful Mirror
He’s Given Me Things
Mystery Dance
Waiting for the End of the World
Beyond Belief
Pump It Up

[Encore]
Alison
Every Day I Write the Book
The Judgement
I Can’t Stand Up for Falling Down
High Fidelity
Unwanted Number
Suspect My Tears
(I Don’t Want to Go To) Chelsea
Mr. and Mrs. Hush
(What’s So Funny ‘Bout) Peace, Love, & Understanding

See the show via the eye of Jamie Harmon, in the slideshow below:
[slideshow-1]

Categories
Sports Tiger Blue

Penny’s Players

CREDIT: Larry Kuzniewski

I stood in a crowded media room at the University of Memphis Athletics Office Building in January 2005, awaiting a Decision. Certain announcements get the capital-letter treatment, and this was one of them. DeAngelo Williams — the incomparable Tiger running back — was to announce whether he would return to the U of M for his senior season or enter his name for the upcoming NFL draft. There were more than 100 people packed into that room, and we were split on the choice Williams would make. He was ready to play professionally . . . but might he want to play another year in college?

Williams announced he was staying. To this day, the cheer that greeted that announcement is the loudest I’ve heard at a “sporting event” where no score was being kept. It was utter joy, magnified by each individual in that room.
Larry Kuzniewski

Penny Hardaway

James Wiseman’s Decision (yep, capital letter), announced last week in the auditorium at East High School, may prove to be as significant as the one Williams made almost 14 years ago. And the announcement — this time with a stuffed unicorn as part of the fun — elicited a massive roar from those in attendance (many of them longtime Tiger boosters). But there’s a significant difference between the Williams and Wiseman Decisions: there was no drama last week, no matter how much the ESPN crew and cameras craved it. We knew James Wiseman would play basketball at Memphis, not on November 20th, but on March 20th, when Penny Hardaway took the job as Tiger coach. The young man’s family moved here from Nashville to play for Hardaway in high school. That decision (lower case) was likely harder than the one the seven-foot star made last week.

Think about it. Would a high-profile local basketball prospect host a public gathering in his new hometown, during college basketball’s early signing period, to announce he’s leaving for greener pastures? If young hoop stars have learned nothing else from the great LeBron James, they’ve learned televised Decisions can backfire and damage a man’s reputation for years. Sure, there were four other logos — Wiseman’s “finalists” — displayed in the East auditorium. Best of all, Kentucky’s was on the board. But there was no drama, no doubt. And the finest tribute we can pay Penny Hardaway in his transformation of the Tiger program is that we all saw this coming.

When the Tigers tip off the 2019-20 season, 60 percent of Hardaway’s starting lineup may well be the same 60 percent that helped him win a 2017-18 Tennessee state championship at East. In addition to Wiseman, forward Malcolm Dandridge (a four-star recruit himself) is part of the 2019 Memphis recruiting class. Alex Lomax — a freshman at the U of M and once a Wichita State commit — is already starting for the Tigers. These are Penny’s players. They’ll wear blue and gray because Hardaway is now (again) wearing blue and gray. If the University of Memphis has ever realized so quick a return — and so game-changing a return — on an investment, it may have involved Keith Lee and a shoebox full of cash.

Rome wasn’t built in a day, and neither were Hardaway’s Memphis Tigers. The current team’s interior weakness was exposed during a 20-point loss to Oklahoma State in Orlando on Thanksgiving. Through six games — 20 percent of the regular season — Kyvon Davenport leads Memphis with a pedestrian 6.6 rebounds per game. The Tigers are in need of a player who can protect the rim on defense and attack it when they own the ball. Hmmm. I wonder where one of those might be found?

Wiseman’s announcement was no surprise. Nor should be the occasional stumble this season as a rookie coach gets to know a roster tasked with being, essentially, a preview of things to come. And that’s the first real challenge of the Coach Hardaway Era: accept present shortcomings as we await exceptional solutions.

Categories
Sports Tiger Blue

Charleston 78, Tigers 75

The metronomic start to Penny Hardaway’s coaching career with the Tigers continues. Win, loss, win, loss, win, and Sunday evening in Orlando, a loss to the College of Charleston.

Tyler Harris‘s three-point attempt with two seconds left on the clock fell short, giving the Cougars a win in the fifth-place game at the AdvoCare Invitational. The freshman guard was a primary reason Memphis battled Charleston — a 2018 NCAA tournament team — to the finish, with seven treys and a team-high 25 points.

The Tigers led at the half (42-40) but only got to the free-throw line 14 times (making 8), while the Cougars hit 17 of 21 shots from the foul line. Grant Riller scored 32 points to lead Charleston and Brevin Galloway added 15 on five three-point shots.

Jeremiah Martin‘s layup with a minute to play gave the Tigers the lead (75-74) and moved the senior guard from Mitchell High School into the Tigers’ 1,000-point club. But Jarrell Brantley and Riller each hit two free throws in the game’s closing seconds to help Charleston improve to 5-2 for the season. Memphis freshman Alex Lomax was called for a moving screen with the Tigers down a point (76-76) with 16 seconds left.

The Tigers (3-3) will have five days off before traveling back to Florida where they’ll face Texas Tech next Saturday in the Hoop Hall Miami Invitational. They return to FedExForum on December 4th for the first of seven consecutive home games (against South Dakota State).

Categories
Film Features Film/TV

Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes Of Grindelwald

Prequel-itis has struck down franchises of all kinds. It seems so innocent and wondrous at first. Here are characters we love, having great adventures in a fantastic — dare I say, magical — universe. But once the main story has come to a satisfying conclusion, we still want to live in our imaginary friends’ world. So why not take a loose end from one of the many threads left lying around from the epic tapestry? Our creators spun a good story before, why can’t they do it again? After all, the hard work of world building is already done. We know the rules, we just need a new cast of characters for another fun romp. So why not go back in time to see how the world was made in the first place? We can meet some of our friends when they were young, and see things only spoken of before.

The rub is the “new cast of characters” bit. Especially for the Harry Potter franchise, which has now been rebranded the Wizarding World, so you can know which part of the Universal theme park you need to go to. J. K. Rowling’s extraordinarily successful series of young adult, urban fantasy novels formed as rich a tapestry as you could possibly ask for. But what has become obvious with the second installment in the Wizarding World prequel series, Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald, is how much the success of the eight Warner Bros. films depended on the core cast of Daniel Radcliffe as Harry, Emma Watson as Hermione, and Rupert Grint as Ron.

(Why “Wizarding World,” by the way? Why not just “Wizard World” or “Magical World”?)

On paper, the cast of The Crimes of Grindelwald looks great. There’s 2014 Best Actor Oscar winner Eddie Redmayne as Newt Scamander, xeno-maji-zoologist and author of the seminal magic tome Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. Katherine Waterston, who was so compelling as Shasta in Paul Thomas Anderson’s Inherent Vice, is Tina Goldstein, a crack Auror, or secret agent, for the American branch of the Ministry of Magic and Newt’s star-crossed, almost-lover. Zoë Kravitz, showbiz royalty who acquitted herself so well in Mad Max: Fury Road, as the oh-so-magically named Leta Lestrange, a lost soul from Newt’s past who is currently engaged to his estranged brother Theseus (Callum Turner). The always nimble Jude Law as young Albus Dumbledore, the powerful wizard who has acted as puppet master for generations of young wizards fighting evil. And of course, Johnny Depp, the epitome of the loved-and-hated, 21st-century movie superstar, playing against type as the evil Grindelwald, who is basically Voldemort, except he has a nose. How can you go wrong with a powerhouse cast like this?

The first way The Crimes of Grindelwald goes wrong is by spinning its wheels for about an hour. The opening sequence, where Grindelwald, whom the Ministry of Magic treats like a sorcerous Hannibal Lecter, escapes from captivity while being extradited from the U.S. to England via a black carriage drawn by winged demon horses, is spectacular. Then, we go to Newt appealing an international travel ban imposed by the Ministry after the events of the last movie, where he almost leveled half of New York, and it’s just as dull as it sounds. We’re talking Phantom Menace dull.

For most of Crimes, Rowling, who wrote the screenplay, and director David Yates, who brought the original Potter film octalogy to its conclusion, chase one subplot after another and end up nowhere. The ostensible goal that Dumbledore sends Newt off on a secret mission to accomplish is to keep Credence (Ezra Miller), the anti-Harry Potter who only looked like he died in the last movie, out of the hands of Grindelwald. But we are quickly assaulted by the presence of Jacob (Dan Fogler) and Queenie (Alison Sudol), the muggle/magical comic relief couple who grate on the nerves even more than last time. Then the ever expanding yet under developed cast meander through Magical Paris until they stumble onto a Trumpian rally of fascist wizards led by Grindelwald. It may be heresy to the fans who cried foul when he was cast, but Depp’s big scene is the best thing about this movie.

Like the Star Wars prequels, the design and execution of the CGI effects are top notch, but everything else seems like padding until we get to the two or three scenes designed to advance the bigger plot, which the writer actually cares about. Prequel-itis strikes again.

Categories
Sports Tiger Blue

Tigers 71, Canisius 63

Let’s call it the consolation bracket.

In a game between teams that lost in Thursday’s quarterfinals of the AdvoCare Invitational in Orlando, the Tigers beat Canisius with a new starting lineup, one that resulted in a new star off coach Penny Hardaway’s bench.


Kyvon Davenport scored 16 points and grabbed 10 rebounds as a reserve Friday afternoon to help Memphis improve to 3-2 on the young season. Davenport and Isaiah Maurice were replaced in the Tiger starting lineup by a pair of seniors, Mike Parks and Raynere Thornton. Parks scored 14 points and grabbed five rebounds in only 17 minutes (he picked up three fouls).

Jeremiah Martin added 10 points and Antwann Jones 14 off the bench to help their team avoid the first consecutive losses under Hardaway. Memphis earned the win despite missing 13 of 14 shots from three-point range. The Tigers had 20 turnovers and only 14 assists.

Memphis finishes its three-game appearance in Orlando on Sunday when the Tigers play the winner of Friday’s Charleston-UAB game. Tip-off is scheduled for 5:30.

Categories
Sports Tiger Blue

Tigers 52, Houston 31

CREDIT: Larry Kuzniewski

Improbable championships are the ones we remember most. In beating Houston Friday at the Liberty Bowl, the Memphis Tigers earned the American Athletic Conference’s West Division title despite starting the month of November with a 1-3 record in league play. Four straight wins give the Tigers a final regular-season record of 8-4, with a 5-3 mark in the AAC, just strong enough to earn a tiebreaker with Houston (and/or Tulane and/or SMU). The Tigers will face 8th-ranked UCF on December 1st in a rematch of last year’s scintillating AAC championship game.
Larry Kuzniewski

Senior center Drew Kyser

Tiger coach Mike Norvell got emotional in describing the win for gathered media after the game, particularly in reflecting on the seniors who played their last home game, players who have brought a “hard-earned culture” to the U of M, one strong enough to overcome the kind of adversity a 65-33 midseason loss (at Missouri) brings a group. “The way this team has grown throughout the year . . . a lot of adversity,” he emphasized. “They continued to work, to believe in each other. I’m grateful for their belief in our coaching staff. We’ve seen a lot of maturity. People remember what you do in November, and this team responded. This sets up another opportunity, against a great opponent, a classic game. We’re gonna compete for a conference championship.”

Houston played without its star quarterback D’Eriq King. The AAC’s total-offense leader injured a knee in the Cougars’ win over Tulane on November 15th. Clayton Tune filled in capably, tossing three touchdown passes, but he was twice sacked on fourth-down plays — by Bryce Huff and Jonathan Wilson — to extinguish Houston drives.

The Memphis game plan, according to Norvell and those most responsible, was to run the ball against a vulnerable Houston defense (ranked 118th in the country), one compromised by a recent injury to All-America lineman Ed Oliver. (Oliver did not play in the second half.) The Tigers ran the ball on 59 plays, compared with 33 passes, and accumulated 401 yards, enough to shatter the program’s single-season rushing record (now 3,311 yards). Darrell Henderson — one of three finalists for the Doak Walker Award — ran for 178 yards, Patrick Taylor 128, and Tony Pollard 83. Sixth-year senior Sam Craft got in on the fun with a 28-yard touchdown run early in the the third quarter that erased a 21-17 Houston lead. Craft now has the distinction of scoring a touchdown in five seasons for the Tigers (2013-16 and 2018).

Taylor was afraid he would draw a penalty when he realized how far onto the field he ran to celebrate Craft’s score, the Olive Branch native’s first in more than two years. “The smile on my face was so big,” said Taylor, who scored two touchdowns of his own and now has 15 for the season. “The game plan was to run the ball and the offensive line got it done,” said Taylor. They got movement up front.” Three of those linemen — center Drew Kyser, and tackles Trevon Tate and Roger Joseph — are seniors, and all five have started every game this season for Memphis. “The whole season was a test of faith,” added Taylor. “But we kept grinding.”
Larry Kuzniewski

Senior linebacker Curtis Akins

Tiger faith was tested in the second quarter when Memphis quarterback Brady White threw a pair of damaging interceptions. Cougar safety Gleson Sprewell intercepted both, returning the first 63 yards to give Houston a 21-17 lead and pulling in the second at the Cougar one-yard line when it appeared Memphis would regain the lead before halftime.

The score was deadlocked at 24 when Pollard skipped six yards untouched around the right side of the Memphis line for a touchdown with 2:41 left to play in the third quarter. The Cougars answered with a one-minute touchdown drive of their own, tying the score at 31 through three quarters.

The Memphis offense found itself facing fourth-and-one at the Tiger 44-yard line as time expired in the third quarter. According to Norvell, there was never a question about whether or not to go for the first down. Henderson took the hand-off from White and rambled through the right side of the Tiger line to retain possession. The drive culminated in a one-yard Taylor touchdown to give the Tigers all the points they needed.

“You think about the moment,” said Norvell. “You think of who you are, who you have, and the belief in the guys up front. That was a special play. Our guys controlled the game from that point on.”

In taking his season rushing total to 1,699 yards, Henderson establishes a new single-season record for the six-year-old AAC. His two touchdowns — one of them a 60-yard gallop down the left sideline in the fourth quarter — give Henderson 22 for the season, one shy of DeAngelo Williams’s Tiger record.

But the individual numbers, however grand, take second fiddle to a major team goal attained. “I don’t know if words can explain how sweet this one is,” said Pollard, who added 116 receiving yards and a 37-yard kickoff return to his rushing total. “Early in the season, a lot of people counted us out, but things played out the right way and here we are. We never counted ourselves out.”

“They’re willing to respond when they’re knocked down,” said Norvell. “That’s what makes up a champion.”

Cornerback Tito Windham was one of 13 Tiger seniors honored before kickoff. The AAC West Division trophy, presented after the game, served as a nice bookend for his final game at the Liberty Bowl. “We counted on each other,” said Windham. “We believed in each other. That’s a big family in that locker room. We had to get the details right.”

And what does Windham think of facing UCF again for an AAC championship? “There’s a lot you can gain from playing a team twice in a season. We’ll be ready.”

Categories
Sports Tiger Blue

Oklahoma State 84, Tigers 64

Size still matters in college basketball, and the Tigers got an ugly reminder in the quarterfinals of the AdvoCare Invitational in Orlando. Oklahoma State blocked 10 Memphis shots — six of them by Yor Anei alone — and dominated the glass (40 rebounds to the Tigers’ 30) to advance to Friday’s semifinals where the Cowboys will face reigning national champion Villanova. The loss ruined a Thanksgiving homecoming of sorts for Memphis coach Penny Hardaway, who starred for the Orlando Magic for six seasons in the 1990s.

Memphis stuck with its Big 12 opponent for the game’s first 13 minutes. Freshman guard Tyler Harris drained a three-pointer to give the Tigers a 22-20 lead with 7:40 to play before halftime. But the Cowboys outscored the U of M, 21-9, to finish the half. The Tigers never again closed the margin to less than nine points.

Already undersized, the Tigers’ attack was further compromised by two first-half fouls called on senior forward Kyvon Davenport. Six Cowboys scored in double figures, led by Thomas Dziagwa with 14 points.

Harris led the Tigers with 14 points. Davenport added 12 while Jeremiah Martin and Kareem Brewton each scored 10.

The loss drops Memphis to 2-2 for the season. The Tigers will face Canisius on the losers’ side of the tourney bracket Friday, with tip-off scheduled for 12:30 p.m.

Categories
Letter From The Editor Opinion

Hail, Finlandia!

Do you know how many health-care-related bankruptcies there were in Great Britain, France, Spain, Portugal, Denmark, Australia, Iceland, Italy, Ireland, Germany, Netherlands, Sweden, Japan, Chile, Canada, and Finland last year? Zero.

Do you know how many health-care-related bankruptcies there were in the United States last year? Try 643,000, give or take a few.

All over this country, people are rationing their medicines, putting off going to the doctor, putting off paying the rent, losing their cars, ruining their credit, burning through their retirement funds, and losing their homes. Why? Because our health-care “system” is broken. The United States is the only industrialized country in the world that doesn’t have some form of universal health care. We’re the only First World country that shoves people into poverty because they have the misfortune to get sick.

In the countries I listed above, citizens and their governments recognize that health care is a right, not a privilege tied to one’s income level, not something that can be denied by an insurance company or made so exorbitantly expensive that it bankrupts hundreds of thousands of us each year. It’s insane. And yes, it’s sick.

If all these other countries have figured out how to provide health care at a reasonable cost, why can’t we? It’s way past time to get serious about changing our health-care system from one driven by the profit motive to one created to serve all of us. A pill that costs a penny to produce shouldn’t cost $300 to buy. An insulin medicine that hasn’t changed in 15 years shouldn’t quintuple in cost. A life-saving Epipen that costs pennies to make shouldn’t increase in price six-fold, simply because the manufacturer decided to extort people to raise its stock price.

It was interesting to me to hear President Trump — while in “Pleasure,” California, for a post-fire photo-op — cite Finland for its forest-management policies. Nevermind that, as usual, he was babbling like Cliff Clavin, uttering stream-of-consciousness policy pronouncements with no basis in fact. Focus instead on the idea of his using Finland as a model. If Trump wants to cite Finland as an example of good governance, I’m down with the president. Finland has a great public health-care system, sensible gun-control laws, and a burgeoning middle class. So, yeah, let’s emulate Finland, even if it means we have to start raking the Sierras.

The country voted overwhelmingly for change in the midterms, both in terms of the popular vote and in the blue wave that transformed the makeup of the House of Representatives. Now it’s time to start rolling back the divisive, corporate-driven agenda that has shaped the country since the GOP took control of the House and Senate in 2010. So much damage has been done. Environmental regulations have been rolled back. Immigration reform has been abandoned in favor of hateful fear-mongering — the absurd “caravan” scam being the most recent example. And thanks to this administration’s horrific immigration policies, we now have 10,000 children living in cages, and no real plan to fix the problem.

It’s time to turn back the tide of dumb-assery, as the country wakes from the Trump fever-dream and realizes it’s been hustled by a dim-witted, self-absorbed grifter.

We need to focus like a laser on our election system, peeling back the layers of legislation put in place by GOP-led state governments to make voting more difficult. We need to form a bipartisan system for creating electoral districts, in order to rid ourselves of the partisan gerrymandering that allows the minority party to control the levers of power in so many states.

Locally, we’re already seeing how a change in the power structure can be put to work quickly, as this week, the newly elected county commission eliminated the unfair profit-driven system of charging juveniles in detention to make phone calls. Similarly, the misguided policy that resulted in people losing their driver’s license for nonpayment of fines has been struck down by the courts, thanks to the tireless work of activist attorneys. These are small but significant steps, but they are an indication that some of those in power understand that helping people who are caught in the gears of the system helps us all.

Here’s the checklist Democrats need to focus on: fix health care, enact sensible gun laws, and restore and preserve voting rights for all. Getting caught up in investigations of the president would be a mistake, in my opinion. Trump’s gonna Trump — until he gets trumped.

And that’s coming, too.