Author: Cheri DelBrocco

LOSING THE NUMBERS GAME

The bottom fell out for the Manassas High School football team last Friday as Mitchell whipped them 81-0.

And the season has just begun. Only 18 players, barely half the team, showed up for practice Monday on the old baseball outfield that serves as the school’s football field. The barren infield is hard as concrete. There isn’t a goalpost or yardline marker in sight.

“I just want you to know I appreciate you all coming out here to practice,” Coach Danny Pogue tells his players before leading them in a prayer and splitting them up into groups by position. The backs work on footwork and pitchouts. The receivers run pass patterns over the remnants of second base. The linemen Ñ all three of them Ñ take turns blocking each other.

Manassas, which opened in 1899, has heart, guts, and history. Entertainer Isaac Hayes and school board member Sara Lewis are among its distinguished graduates. But it has a serious numbers problem both on the football field and in the classrooms, with a total enrollment of about 350 students.

For incoming schools superintendent Carol Johnson and the school board, the looming question is whether to close Manassas or try to save it by building a new school. On the one hand, Manassas is just minutes from downtown, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, and the government-subsidized Hope Six housing development that will soon replace the demolished public-housing projects on Danny Thomas. On the other hand, it is directly across the road from a long-abandoned Firestone factory and acres of buckling concrete and an industrial wasteland.

Assistant principal Glen Chapman has been at Manassas for 29 years. But even when he arrived, the school had only 800 students, including middle-schoolers. At its peak, Manassas had nearly 2,000 students who filled the current building as well as an annex torn down several years ago. Students look at the pictures of the old campus in Chapman’s office and barely recognize their school.

“Kids in this neighborhood need this school,” he says. “Without it they would be lost. I would rather see them whittle down the mega-schools. I know most of the kids here by name already.”

Manassas loses students to other city schools with more courses and extracurricular activities, but it has little advantages too. Last week a girl asked Chapman how to get to a class. Instead of giving her directions, he walked her there himself.

“I would hate to see this school closed,” he says. “There is a point where you have to close a school, but I don’t know what it is.”

What he does know is that Manassas has clout on the school board and alumni chapters in New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles. His hope is that the board will follow through on plans to build a new school, which could cost $25 million or more.

“A few years ago, Mitchell High School was in the same boat we are, but they got a new building and have 1,200 kids now,” he says. He admits, however, that the growth came at the expense of older schools like Westside.

Westside lost 71-0 to Carver last week. “When we play Westside,” Chapman says half-joking, “it ought to be a good game.”

In the football locker room, Coach Pogue isn’t laughing. His team was 1-9 in each of the last two seasons and had not won in 30 outings before that. Handsome, young, and physically fit, Pogue doubles as waterboy and equipment manager. On the Saturday after the 81-0 loss, he called a practice, but only eight boys showed up.

“After 81-0, what can you say?” he asks. “They’re getting beat up. If the game is 85 percent mental, then these kids are getting beat up. I think we could be a real good team if our kids would accept the fact of having a program.”

Manassas has some athletes, just not enough of them. The running backs are husky and run through drills with agility and speed. But they have to play the entire game. Sophomore quarterback Derrick Vaughn, 6-2 and 195 pounds, was a star on his undefeated middle-school team and is used to being on the other end of lopsided games.

“No sir, I hope it don’t happen again,” he says with a smile as he lofts 45-yard spirals. “I couldn’t go to sleep after that loss.”

His teammates who have showed up for practice are equally determined.

“The people who ain’t here might be discouraged,” says a smiling Alexie Smith.

Assistant coach Bo Phillips exhorts them to stay positive.

“We’re going to turn it around!” he shouts.

“Hope so,” comes a tentative voice from the back of the little huddle.

“Ain’t no hopin’ about it,” Phillips snaps. “We’re going to do it. You’re going to see a different ballclub, I guarantee it. You’re going to be proud to be Manassas.”

Being a fairly typical suburbanite of lowered expectations and heightened apathy, I tend to ignore most political controversy but I just discovered that while I was out– of the I240 loop and several others – the Senate Majority Leader has raised an objection to Gay Marriage. What really baffles me is that this disapproval was raised on legal and even ‘sacramental’ grounds– whatever that is. I agree that this concept is a threat to our Democracy but it is obvious to me that he has missed the point completely.

It is axiomatic that marriage is a surrender of freedom. If life is indeed a series of choices, as some would have it, then one can be left with the impression that this is the last one you get to make on your own. After that, a decision about a brand of toothpaste or the exact placement of a paint chip on the chromatic spectrum can begin a conflict that would put Lincoln-Douglas to shame. Feminists have even equated this loss of freedom with actual slavery– a point to which I would have objected if my wife had let me.

I think we can agree that living in this state of constant compromise stifles creativity. When men make up stories about how bowling three games with the boys takes five hours, it doesn’t sound plausible even to them. Abilities of abstract thought and even speech tend to atrophy. Old married people don’t even communicate in complete sentences. Generally one or two code words followed by a grunt are all that’s necessary to convey a spouse’s weekly itinerary and the lack of fulfillment contained therein.

This brings me to my point. The real question is not whether we ought to allow gays to enter into this state of reduced vitality, but whether we can afford it!

America is much more than an international bully. Sure, it’s how we have the most fun, but we are also the worldwide arbiters of style and culture. It is our major export. And who do you think makes these creative decisions? George Will? If gays are allowed to marry, our only drama export will be screenplays of Tom Clancy books and our entries in the fall fashion shows will be done in tweed– probably earth tones with big leather belts and sensible shoes. Gay marriage could destroy our influence – perhaps our economy – in a single dull generation.

While I recognize and applaud Senator Frist’s opposition, I urge him and his constituency to wake up and smell the Lanvin. To the gay citizenry I say stop this insanity! Forget all this Marriage nonsense and live together the way God and the Senator intended. We need you just the way you are.

NON-SEQUITUR

“I only regret that I have but one life to lose for my country” – Nathan Hale

“Stop crying in your teacups. It isn’t going to change. Get Over It.” – John Kerry

Huh?

That last quote is a recent response from Massachusetts Senator and “mainstream” presidential candidate Kerry concerning other Democrats’ oratory about the “stolen” election of 2000. The single most undemocratic action in the history of this nation – the theft of a presidential election, sits uncontested. And we need to “Get Over It”?

While the national welfare declines, Senator Kerry musters “Get Over It” – As though voters who feel cheated by an historic election scam are the problem.

“Get Over It” – As though the nine million (and growing) unemployed Americans are the problem.

“Get Over It” – As though the families of the soldiers in Iraq who are complaining of daily casualties in the horrible quagmire started by Bush/Cheney/Rumsfeld are the problem.

“Get Over It”. – As though children left behind in rotting, underfunded, overcrowded public schools are the problem.

“Get Over It” – As though the elderly with little or no ability to meet skyrocketing costs of medical care and prescription drugs are the problem.

“Get Over It” – As though the working middle-class and poor, who will continue to share the greatest amount of the tax burden, while the wealthy gets the greatest share of tax cuts – is the problem.

“Get Over It” – As though the families of 9/11 who complain about the constant stonewalling into a government investigation of the attack are the problem.

“Get Over It” – As though the librarians who complain about the Patriot Act’s requirement to reveal library patrons’ records to government authorities, are the problem.

“Get Over It” – As though Americans who know the Constitution proscribes Church/State separation and who question faith-based government proposals of the Bush administration are the problem.

Should Democrats and other aggrieved members of the electorate heed these establishment hacks and “Get Over It”, or , defying them, find a forthright Democratic candidate who can help them just get it over?

Maybe even, as the song says, overcome.

STRIKE THREE, MR. PRESIDENT!

NAPA — I am blessed to be celebrating the Fourth of July this year in the Napa Valley, the most American of places, a splendid locale where fine wines, fine weather, and fine friends are combining to make this, for me at least, a perfect holiday. In these crowded political and economic times, even a newspaper publisher needs down time.

But while reading the baseball box scores in the San Francisco Chronicle this morning, a thought came to me about the larger “game” being played by the Bush Administration in Iraq while we celebrate this great national holiday.

As far back as the summer of 2001, the Bush Administration was clearly spoiling for a fight in Iraq. And in March, the President went to the plate ready to “swing for the fences” when it came to Saddam Hussein and the country he ruled. When the American team took the field, there was no question that he was trotting out the varsity team.

But alas, George W. Bush has struck out. Mightily.

Strike One was his use — deliberate or otherwise — of clearly tainted evidence as his rationale for that war. No weapons of mass destruction have been found, nor at this point appear likely to be discovered. Either President Bush has surrounded himself with incompetents (called strike) incapable of giving him accurate intelligence information, or he himself played a role in misrepresenting that information (swinging strike) to the American people and the world.

Strike Two was the President’s decision to go it alone in Iraq, against the wishes of a majority of the members of the UN Security Council. Yes, he put together a “coalition of the willing,” including as it did Britain, Australia and Spain, and whatever other minor countries’ support could be bought. But for the first time in our nation’s history since that organization’s foundation in 1945, the United States has taken military action — a pre-emptive strike, at that — in clear defiance of the wishes of the majority of the members of the United Nations. Had we had the “show of hands” on the Security Council which Mr. Bush promised would be taken (in his March 10th press conference) but never was, the USA would have found itself on the outside looking in, for the first time ever facing the vetos of at least two of the Council’s permanent members. If this wasn’t an indication of how questionable his call to action was, I do not know what would be. I do know that FDR was turning in his grave, and that generations of American foreign-policy makers, both Republican and Democrat, were shaking their heads in shame.

Strike Three has come in the aftermath of this misguided Iraqi war, after that war was “won,” as the President declared in May. Since that famous declaration, dozens of Americans have perished, and Iraq is fast descending into chaos. “Quagmire” is the word used increasingly to describe the situation on the ground in that troubled country, a country where 24 million people are at best uneasy about the occupation of their homeland by 150,000 foreign “liberators,” liberators who know next to the nothing about Iraqi languages, cultures, and values. This is a recipe for complete disaster, and a situation that any reasonably competent American political and military leadership should have forseen and prevented. Or else considered other options besides this misguided, ill-fated war.

Strike Three, and you’re out, Mr. Bush! That should be the mantra chnated by the Democratic Party leadership, and shouted from the treetops. That should be the clarion call that Party, if it had any gumption at all, would be making to the American people.

Indeed, the “outing” of a President who is at best utterly incompetent and at worst, well, far, far worst should be a first priority of the Democratic Congressional leadership. Robert Byrd speaks out eloquently on this subject in the Senate almost daily; think of the national impact if each and every House and Senate Democrat were to do the same. It wouldn’t hurt, either, if responsible, patriotic Republicans in the Congress did the same. On this of all days, every American who cares about and loves his country should be thinking about how we might restore our nation’s integrity, honor, and good name in the world.

WMDs LOCATED!

I am happy to announce the WMD’s have been located. For months, we have been told WMD’s are out there. Because of WMD’s, our troops are still suffering casualties daily in Iraq. According to George Bush, Dick Cheney, Don Rumsfeld, Colin Powell, and Condeleeza Rice, WMD’s pose a great threat to the world. Imagine how surprising it is to learn the WMD’s have been prolifterating right here in the good old U.S. of A.

Such weapons include psychological, political, and propagandizing devices. Those who launch the attacks know thousands could become more hopeless and apathetic, but their fundamental motive is to strike constant and continued fear and panic in millions of Americans. In an effort to better inform readers on the threat to America, this Weapons of Mass Deception Guideline is being offered.

“Perpetual War Makes Us Safer” Mindcontrol

History: Since September 11, 2001, we have been told by George W. Bush that we are at war, and that being at war will bring freedom and peace to the world.

Weapons: Exploitation of 9/11, the American flag, fundamentalist Christianity, the Republican Party

Delivery System: Media outlets- especially television news ; AM talk radio- especially Rush Limbaugh; most members of Congress; the White House

Symptoms: Certitude, intolerance, banal speeches, right wing punditry passed as objective journalism, failure of public to express dissent due to fear of being called unAmerican.

Treatment: Perpetual War mindcontrol often takes months or years to take its toll. Voters often cannot pinpoint it right away, because many elected officials publicly claim to oppose it, but eventually captitulate to the will and wishes of George W. Bush by refusing to stand up to his wrongheaded ideas of pre-emptive and ceaseless military invasion.

During the Presidential debates of 2000, George W. Bush said, “ I would be very careful about using our troops as nation builders. I believe the role of the military is to fight and win war and therefore, prevent war from happening in the first place.” Shock and awe.

“It’s Not the Economy, It’s the War, Stupid” Germfare

History: For three years, we been told by Bush, the economy is getting better and will rebound soon. We have been told the largest tax cut in the history of our nation will benefit working middle-class Americans and that another interest rate cut will stimulate the economy.

We have been told the record number of personal bankruptcies do not matter and that the corporate criminals who blew our pension plans will be be punished. We have been told the growing unemployment rate is only a temporary problem. Blah blah blah blah blah.

Weapons: Distortion of Facts about who is benefitting from tax cuts, attempts to privatize retirement accounts, social security, and the healthcare system.

Delivery System: Alan Greenspan; The Wall Street Journal; MSNBC; Financial Talking Heads on television networks; the Republican Party; George W. Bush

Symptoms: Unemployment rates at a 9 year high, government surpluses lost to skyrocketing debt, elimination of taxes on corporations and wealthiest Americans, scamming of retirement funds, corporate criminal corruption with no penalties, millions with no healthcare or access to prescription drugs.

Treatment: Making the next generation as poor as church mice will not be an easy problem to solve. Driving this country further into debt by financing war without end, and tax cuts for only the wealthiest, is hard to treat, as long as Republicans are in power. The best treatment will be to elect leaders who want peace and prosperity for all Americans.

“United We Stand” Propaganda Warfare

History: The first use of propaganda warfare took place in 2000 after George W. Bush was selected by the Supreme Court justices who had been appointed by his father. The American public was told he was elected by voters, although all the votes were never counted.

Weapons: Complicity by media to allow fabrications, exagerrations, and cover ups of facts regarding corruption and deception by this government.

Delivery System: Most media outlets; the Republican Party; Ari Fleischer; the entire Bush cabinet, George W. Bush.

Symptoms: Confusion, Distrust, Apathy, Hopelessness

Treatment: Turn off and tune out. Question the Bush administration and start asking why the right wingers who voted for him say dissenters are un-American, un-patriotic, or un-Christian.

Register to vote and get facts on all candidates running for the Presidency.

By using Weapons of Mass Deception, the Bush administration has managed to tank the economy, put government into debt for generations, run roughshod over two centuries of civil liberities, and launch unending global war. This has happened in less than 30 months.

The American public should enact an Emergency Alert System that will be activated by all voters at the direction of the White House and Congress. It should be sent out to a national network of grassroots efforts coast to coast. Action should be taken immediately so that the Weapons of Mass Deception are detonated immediately.

PARENTING LESSONS FOR A PRESIDENT

The American president needs to refine his parenting skills.

As troubling as I find our current constitutional crisis — and that’s precisely what we have, as the history books wait to be written — my most severe criticism of George W. Bush and his inner circle involves a pair of skills I consider critical in the raising of my own two daughters. (The President and I have this much in common. I have to believe these very qualities might be valuable in leading the free world.)

Let’s start with honest dissemination of information (telling the truth, in parent-speak, and in a timely manner). When my four-year-old is near a swimming pool, I tell her absolutely not to go near the pool unless a grown-up is already in. I could easily tell her there’s a fang-toothed, swimmer-eating water dragon at the bottom of the pool . . . she’d certainly stay away. But I don’t. I tell her to stay away from the pool because water is dangerous when you can’t swim yet. You need help.

When President Bush “looked into our eyes” — his most valued foreign-relations talent — via national broadcast on March 17, we were told that the plethora of weapons at Saddam Hussein’s disposal could not go ignored any longer; that enough bio and chemical “bullets” were in Hussein’s arsenal to warrant a pre-emptive invasion . . . the first such attack in the history of this republic. More than three months later, we have managed to locate the fourth card in our deck of Iraqi enemies — in a country, the president’s cronies remind us, “the size of California” — but somehow can’t uncover ton upon ton of lethal gas or liquid.

Someone lied to us. Knowingly or unknowingly, someone lied. Lying cost Richard Nixon his presidency, more than any hotel break-in. It almost cost Bill Clinton’s his, more than any extra-marital fling might have. But somehow, some way, the deception — again, knowingly or otherwise — that spawned Gulf War II has been struck from President George W. Bush’s record.

The second parenting lesson President Bush needs is in the concept of accountability. At this point, I’d almost welcome some good, old-fashioned political spin. Instead of limiting his public appearances to photo-ops on aircraft carriers and contrived sit-downs with Ariel

Sharon and Mahmoud Abbas, the President needs to re-establish a connection to “the American people” (the overused, generalizing expression he so often leans on as the trigger for his decision-making, however ill-conceived). President Bush needs — must — explain (1) how “intelligence” on weapons of mass destruction in Iraq was gathered, (2) how this “intelligence” was corroborated and detailed to the point an act of war was warranted, and (3) in light of the complete absence of WMDs in Iraq to date, how the “intelligence” may have been marginalized.

If anything, you’d think President Bush would want to provide an explanation of sorts, an out, so to speak. Despite his unequivocal claims in March that these horrid threats were merely a Saddam Hussein whim away, now is the chance — prior to the kickoff of campaign season — for the President to deflect blame, to shift the ever-shifting media glare in a different direction. Give me something, Dubya, anything. But I — no, we, the American people — demand and expect accountability.

As angry as I get at the continued media-dance performed by President Bush — and Mr. Rumsfeld, Ms. Rice, Mr. Cheney, etc. — it’s a fear of sorts that I find squeezing my heart when I look at my little girls. I’m afraid at the thought of not being able to explain to these precious “American people” why the executive branch of our government wasn’t held to the same rules that shaped their upbringing. “You mean, Dad, the president told us there were deadly weapons, but they were never found?”

Yes, sweetheart.

“So, the president then explained where he went wrong, and why?”

No, I’m afraid not.

“But Daddy, people died, even kids. Someone made a mistake. Someone needed to be punished, someone needed a timeout.”

Yes, my love. Someone needed a timeout, to say the least.

(The following was broadcast nationwide on Saturday, June 28th, as the official Democratic response to President Bush’s weekly radio address. As a response in its turn, the Flyer published an editorial, which is appended.)

Good morning. This is Congressman Harold Ford of Tennessee.

This week the Supreme Court reaffirmed our commitment to diversity and progress. Because of this enduring commitment, our military is more cohesive and effective. Our businesses are more dynamic and competitive. And our colleges and universities are educating and enriching more people.

In short, the American family is stronger today than it was a generation ago. All of this is good.

In the majority opinion in the Michigan case, Justice Sandra Day O’Connor expressed her hope that 25 years from now affirmative action would not be needed. We all look forward to that day. Our vision is an America where all children can grow up truly believing they can achieve whatever they want — an America where the only thing that determines how far you go is your ambition and hard work.

This week, Senate Democratic Leader Tom Daschle and the Congressional Black Caucus welcomed hundreds of business, political and academic leaders to Washington to chart a course for a better America.

You know, part of the American tradition is for each generation to make life better for the next. So the question is, how do we make it better for our children?

Let’s be honest, there are challenges and opportunities ahead of us that must be met with leadership that inspires and invests in America’s future.

We must realize that our future will only be as bright as the decisions we make today allow it to be.

As optimistic as I am about the future, we can’t be afraid to try new approaches. We can’t have the same response to every economic challenge. Over the past three years, 3 million jobs have been lost. One million more people don’t have health insurance. And states are shutting down things and raising taxes just to balance their books.

Some people in Washington spend a lot of energy complaining about politics. That same energy could be better spent fully funding the Leave No Child Behind Act, so when school starts back in the Fall, principals, teachers, and parents can all do their jobs better.

Anyone who has been in a school knows teachers have it hard enough as it is.

We can also do better when it comes to national security. Instead of complaining about politics, people in Washington could spend their time better by reforming and strengthening our intelligence gathering.

I voted for the use of force in Iraq. We are safer without Saddam in power. But our continued security depends on our intelligence being accurate and trusted. We must ensure that it is.

We can also do better by our seniors. The prescription drug bill that the House of Representatives passed this week will privatize Medicare before the end of the decade. The better plan would not force seniors to leave Medicare to get prescription drug coverage. That is the plan my party supports.

This week we celebrate the Fourth of July. We mark the occasion by saluting the veterans and patriots who have defended our freedom. Their courage made America better for us. And it’s now time for this generation to make it better for the next.

This is Congressman Harold Ford. Thank you again for listening.

THE FLYER‘S EDITORIAL RESPONSE:

A Waste of Time

In one of those dramatic monologues by Robert Browning that we all studied in school, a character says of a painting on his wall, “I call that piece a wonder.” We are put in mind of Browning by the official Democratic response to President Bush’s weekly radio address last Saturday. Delivered by our own 9th District congressman, Harold Ford, that piece was worthy of being called a wonder too.

In roughly five minutes and 537 words, the congressman — who is famously eager to advance himself politically and plans a statewide Senate race for 2006 — managed to say as close to nothing as is physically possible in the time and space allotted. It was a Guinness Book feat. But as far as offering any kind of useful contrast to Bush on the burning issues of the day … didn’t happen. Not even close.

Here is part of Ford’s rhetorical runup: “You know, part of the American tradition is for each generation to make life better for the next. So the question is, How do we make it better for our children. Let’s be honest, there are challenges and opportunities ahead of us that must be met with leadership that inspires and invests in America’s future. We must realize that our future will only be as bright as the decisions we make today allow it to be.” Riveting stuff, no?

So how does the congressman deal with the circumstances of the Iraq war and the so-far missing WMDs — issues that increasingly have Democrats, Independents, and even some Republicans wondering if the nation has been lied to by political leadership? Said Ford: “I voted for the use of force in Iraq. We are safer with out Saddam in power. But our continued security depends on our intelligence being accurate and trusted. We must ensure that it is.” Dubya couldn’t have said it better himself!

Repeatedly the congressman lamented that people in Washington spend too much time “complaining about politics.” (Never mind that the official Democratic response is supposed to be a reasoned political complaint!) “That same energy could be better spent fully funding the Leave No Child Behind Act, so when school starts back in the fall, principals, teachers, and parents can all do their jobs better.” This was followed by a real clincher: “Anyone who has been in a school knows teachers have it hard enough as it is.”

And, again, on the burning question of Iraq and of deception at the highest levels of government: “Instead of complaining about politics, people in Washington could spend their time better by reforming and strengthening

our intelligence gathering.”

Readers who may doubt that Ford’s remarks were quite as banal, as non committal, and as beside the point as this summary suggests are invited to read them in their entirety — as posted on the Flyer Website, www.memphisflyer.com. [See above.]

Meanwhile, hearken to the congressman’s conclusion — and its unintended ironies: “This week we celebrate the Fourth of July. We mark the occasion by saluting the veterans and patriots who have defended our freedom. Their courage made America better for us. And it’s now time for this generation to make it better for the next.”

That can’t be done, sir, by beating around the bush — or the Bush — so miserably as this.

What threatened to be a summer-long barnburner of a budget battle came to a proximate and unexpected end Wednesday with the tell-tale vote of Republican Tom Moss in budget committee for a Democrat-sponsored tax increase.

That made the final tally 6-6, a clear indicator of the expected 7-6 favorable vote when absent Democrat Julian Bolton is added on at Monday’s meeting of the full commission. Though some haggling no doubt remained to be done that will shift the final figures around marginally, the proposed property-tax increase amounted to 32 cents for city residents and 37 cents for non-Memphis residents of Shelby County. As disgruntled Republican commissioner Bruce Thompson noted, the larger number was just barely within the ten-percent ceiling beyond which a two-thirds vote of the commission would be necessary.

“They just knew what figure they wanted to end up with. They had no idea what specifically they were voting for to get there,” observed Thompson of the ex tempore mathematics engaged in by the panel’s Democrats, notably Joe Ford and Walter Bailey, as they broke elements of the increase down into proportionate shares for the budget’s general fund, for school operations, for debt service, and for rural school bonds. The latter, a controversial 5-cent component assessed only on residents of the county outside Memphis city limits may have proved a crucial incentive for Moss.

“I wanted my schools,” Moss would say later as one of the reasons why he broke ranks with his fellow Republicans. Money raised by the bonds would finance a new high school in Arlington and improvements at various other county schools, all in the outer Shelby bailiwick which Moss shares with commissioners Joyce Avery and David Lillard.

Neither Lillard, who had led the months-long fight for rural school bonds as an alternative to a traditional joint funding formula favoring city schools, and Avery, who also supported the bonds proposal, were tempted to vote for the tax-increase motion, which was proposed Wednesday by Bailey after relatively perfunctory discussion.

Clearly, some prolonged behind-the-scenes negotiations had resulted in the agreement, however. County finance director Jim Huntzicker, who unveiled the basic compromise plan to the budget committee Wednesday, had privately made it clear beforehand that he expected an agreement.

Shelby County Mayor A C Wharton professed satisfaction afterward with the agreement, which hewed very closely to lines suggested last week by budget committee chairman Cleo Kirk, a Democrat. Basically, Kirk had outlined a formula involving budget cuts in the ten-percent range, a tax increase in the 30-cent range, and reluctant acceptance of the rural-school-bond proposal by the panel’s Democrats.

The plan presented by Huntzicker Wednesday conformed to that general pattern, and minor modifications by Democrats on the budget committee brought it to the form eventually voted on. Under the provisional budget agreement, the current county propety-tax rate of $3.79 for each $100 of assessed value would rise to $4.11 for Memphis residents and $4.16 for Shelby Countians elsewhere. As Commissioner Ford noted while juggling the math in his head during Wednesday’s meetings, that would amount to an additional $8 a month for the owner of a $100,000 house.

Moss acknowledged after the vote that several of his fellow Republicans on the commission were likely to be displeased with his breaking ranks to insure the success of the tax-increase package, but he said, “There’s too much partisanship on this commission. We have a social obligation to make county government work.”

Left on the table Wednesday was the prospect of pay raises for county employees, but Commissioner Michael Hooks indicated some shifting of proposed fund distributions might occur before Monday that would allocate at least a 2-cent component for that purpose.

Moss said he would support that concept, too. “It’s the least we can do,” he said, arguing that income losses to employees resulting from changes in the county’s benefit package during the last year could be offset by modest pay increases.