Tim, Tim, Tim
Somebody needs to send Tim Sampson on a vacation. His “rants” have disintegrated into the same old Bush-hating crap week after week. Sampson used to tell jokes. He used to write about local stuff. He used to recommend stuff. Hell, even if it was the same crap every week, it was still funny. Now, it’s all Bush-bashing all the time. Take a breath, Timmy. Lighten up.
Marcus Powell
Memphis
Regarding Tim Sampson’s “rants”: I’d like to say how refreshing it is to finally hear someone stand up and be a voice in the darkness. So much of the mainstream media pussyfoots around what’s really going on, desperately trying not to offend readers and viewers.
Let’s face it, people: You voted a problem into office, and Sampson tells it like it is. Thank you, Flyer, for allowing him to rant.
Kristina A. Kennedy
Memphis
Government for
the People?
Abraham Lincoln said that we have a government “of the people, for the people, and by the people.” We as citizens should exercise our democracy by changing the mindset of citizen boards and commissions and elected representatives regarding the time that they have their meetings. While all of the meetings listed below are open to the public, these meeting times give special interests unfair access and effectively shut out participation by the majority of the working public.
The last two recorded meetings of the Air Quality Control Board have been at 1:30 p.m. on a Friday.
Memphis Light, Gas, and Water Division Board meetings are the first and third Thursdays of the month at 1:30 p.m.
The Shelby County Groundwater Control Board meets the third Tuesday of each month at 3 p.m.
The Land Use Control Board meeting starts at 10 a.m. on the second Thursday of the month.
The Memphis City Council meets on the first and third Tuesdays of the month at 3:30 p.m.
The Shelby County Commission meets on the second and fourth Tuesdays of the month at 1:30 p.m.
I believe that the public should be able to fully participate in government decision-making. Perhaps it is time to have a “civic plaza” constructed in the geographical center of Memphis. All the above meetings would be required to occur in the evenings and on weekends at this plaza. This would be a positive step to restore our local government to the people.
James H. BakerMemphis
The Redesign
The new layout? The Memphis Flyer turns 30, gets a real job, moves to the suburbs, and immediately becomes old and boring? Or maybe it’s ironic professionalism? Everyone wearing suits in the office now? Ummm, so the joke’s over next week? Chris Wood
Memphis
Editor’s note: Actually, we’re only 15. Think of it as teenage rebellion — going against type.
Cohen is Right
In Jackson Baker’s recent article (Politics, September 15th issue), I agree with everything Senator Steve Cohen says about Governor Bredesen and health care. TennCare roles should not be cut, and the war on drugs is primarily a war waged for the protection of the pharmaceutical companies. It is only a well-funded lobby that keeps this issue out of the press. Those with the most money always win. Like Cohen, I too despair of our local, state, and federal government.
Beverly Lowe
Memphis
Our Kind of Guy
In “Liberal Bias” (The Fly-by, September 15th issue), Bianca Phillips quoted Jonathan Lindberg as saying: “There is no balance in the Flyer.”
That is simply not true. When I defended Mike Fleming after someone wrote a not very nice letter about him, you printed my letter. And you have printed countless letters criticizing your views. If that’s not balance, then what is it?
I could go on and on, for I have saved every issue of the Memphis Flyer, so I would have no problem backing up my argument.
Arthur H. Prince
Memphis
