Tag: Chris Wallace

Categories
Letter From The Editor Opinion

Debate & Switch

Wow. What a debate, eh? I mean, who could have seen that coming? President Trump demanding that Joe Biden take a drug test live, on national television? Whoa!

And then, Biden coming back with that great dad-joke one-liner: “Urine sane, Donald! Don’t piss me off!”

Then, what about when Trump told moderator Chris Wallace that not paying taxes “makes me smart,” and Biden said, “Well, then, how smart do you have to be to pay a porn star $130,000?” You have to admit, that was a classic moment, one for the history books.

And don’t get me started about Trump making fun of Sleepy Joe’s cosmetic surgery, and Biden pointing out that Trump deducted $70,000 from his taxes for makeup and hair. That was tense, right? These guys were like two old (really old) heavyweights, letting it all out, hammering away at each other. American democracy at its finest.

Well, okay, none of that happened. Or maybe it did. It wouldn’t surprise me. Crazier things have happened. In fact, they do, every week. But by now you’ve probably figured out that I had to finish this column on Tuesday, several hours before the first 2020 presidential debate began. So what everyone will be talking about on Wednesday after the debate is a mystery as I write this. I do know it will probably be ridiculous — or terrifying. Or both. And I do know I’ll be drinking as I watch it. These things make me very nervous, especially this year.

Maybe we’ll get yet another giant bombshell of a revelation that will “end Trump’s presidency,” something “he can’t possibly survive,” like ignoring Russia putting bounties on American troops, or telling Bob Woodward he intentionally downplayed COVID-19, or paying off a porn star to keep quiet about a liaison, or intentionally separating children from their parents and putting them in cages to deter immigration, or falsely saying mail-in ballots were a crooked Democratic scheme, or telling America that he wouldn’t accept November’s election results unless he liked them.

What’s next? Who can possibly predict? It’s just exhausting. Every day there are new tweets, new lies, new outrages, new revelations. And I’m sure by the time you read this, some fresh nonsense will have happened — during the debate or after — that no one could have even imagined.

We’re in a topsy-turvy world, where blue-collar white guys who have more than $750 deducted from every paycheck are defending a president who pays no taxes and got a $72 million tax-refund check, where religious evangelicals who claim to be disciples of Jesus are standing up for a man who is the very antithesis of Christian values, where Republicans who used to claim to be “conservative” have abandoned any and all principles, choosing instead to relentlessly kiss the ass of an amoral grifter. Lamar Alexander, I’m talking to you. Among many others.

I miss normal. I miss presidents who have pets and wear casual clothes and go on vacations with their kids, presidents who don’t spend every spare moment watching Fox News and trying to get — or divert — our attention by tweeting at us 40 times a day. I miss not having to think about our fearless leader every time I turn on the news or go online. I miss being able to assume that the president — Democrat or Republican — is looking out for the American people and trying to do what they think is best for us, instead of constantly working a hustle for their own bottom line. I miss being able to assume the president has at least some core principles, some level of integrity.

I’m tired of all this incompetency and narcissism and lying and exaggeration — every damn day. I think most Americans are. But it’s clear by now that those who support Trump — maybe 40 percent of us — are all in, no matter what he says or does. It’s a cult. Nothing will deter their allegiance to their orange Jim Jones. And it’s also become quite clear that nothing ends this madness but an election, and even that is in question with this guy.

More chaos lies ahead of us — maybe weeks, maybe months — all complicated by the unrelenting virus that hangs in the background, ready to re-emerge if we let down our vigilance. The bottom line is undeniable: We need a massive landslide defeat of the man who has corrupted the American presidency, who has turned federal agencies into political fiefdoms, and who has made the U.S. Justice Department into his personal law firm.

Vote. That’s it. Do it in person, if at all possible. This chapter of American history needs to end.

Categories
Opinion The Last Word

Truth in Broadcasting?

Nobody should have to live like this: to have to go about your daily business while in the back of your mind there’s a constant nagging concern that the psychotic sonofabitch who occupies the White House will do something else insane. As the mounting evidence of his criminal activities creeps closer to the president during the impeachment hearings, expect his conduct to grow even more aberrant, lashing out madly at everyone or anyone who dares criticize him.

The latest victim of a Trump tweet-trashing is Fox News correspondent Chris Wallace, who dismantled Representative Steve Scalise’s GOP talking points justifying Trump’s conduct toward the Ukrainian government on Fox News Sunday.

Chris Wallace interviews Louisiana Congressman Steve Scalise.

In response, Trump tweeted professorially, “Steve Scalise blew the nasty and obnoxious Chris Wallace (will never be his father, Mike!) away on Chris’ lowest rated (unless I’m on) morning show. This kind of dumb and unfair interview would never have happened in the Fox News Past.”

Well, Roger Ailes died and Shepard Smith quit, so maybe some of the reporters over at Big Brother Central are developing consciences. Trump can still count on folks like Fox & Friends and the other half-wits who spew propaganda and lies on behalf of this president, but two scholastic studies, one by the University of Maryland, the other by Fairleigh Dickinson University, have determined that people who watch only Fox News are less informed than all other news consumers — and are much more inclined to believe false information.

There is a federal law called the Truth in Advertising Act, which states that “all ads must be truthful, not misleading, and, when appropriate, backed by scientific evidence.” The Federal Trade Commission enforces the law, whether it’s an ad online, in the mail, or on billboards and buses. For punishment, a federal court can demand a desist order, freeze the assets of the offender, and get compensation for the victims.

Why can’t we have a Truth in Broadcasting law as well, to halt the torrent of lies that create the dual realities in which we live? Basically, people who follow politics fall into two major categories: those who watch and read the news from a variety of sources, and those who watch Fox News. If you’re reading this, you most likely fit in the former category.

During the Nixon nightmare, the president railed against the media, charging the media with all manner of lies and slander, right up until the time it was proven that Nixon was the liar and the journalists had it right. Anyone who saw All the President’s Men knows that there are rules that professional journalists must follow to protect their paper’s integrity and abide by the First Amendment. If there were a Truth in Broadcasting law, Fox News would either have to change its name, like World Wrestling Entertainment, or conform to the principles that govern legitimate news organizations.

Any real journalist worth his salt would love to work for The New York Times or the Washington Post. Since those papers have been proven right many times before, I’d believe them before I would the inane tweets coming from the carbuncle on the posterior of humanity.

While the impeachment hearings into Trump’s phone calls with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky make for great television, there’s an undercurrent of questionable behavior that’s much worse than trying to dirty up the Bidens. The Trump gang’s conspiracy theories about Joe Biden and his son, Hunter, are based on allegations already debunked by State Department officials. Far more ominous is this continual stream of information concerning Ukraine’s natural gas industry. The firing of Ambassador Marie Yovanovitch was less about opening investigations on Biden and Clinton and more about clearing the way for Trump’s allies to set up business deals with Naftogaz, the Ukrainian state-owned oil company. Trump initially tried to blame his disastrous call to Zelensky on Rick Perry, the secretary of the Energy Department he once vowed to dismantle. Trump claimed, “The only reason I made the call was because Rick asked me to. Something about a liquefied natural gas plant.”

This is where Lev, Igor, and Rudy Giuliani enter the plot. Igor Fruman and Lev Parnas were at the center of efforts to turn their ties to Trump into revenue-producing gas sales. The two were also instrumental in disseminating rumors about the Biden family and also behind the push to remove Ambassador Yovanovitch. The Associated Press reported, “This circle of businessmen and Republican donors touted connections to Giuliani and Trump while trying to install new management at the top of Ukraine’s massive state gas company. Their plan was to then steer lucrative contracts to companies controlled by Trump allies.”

Perry urged Zelensky to fire the Naftogaz advisory board and came up with a list of suggested replacements approved by the president. Perry only recently announced his resignation, and Parnas hinted he may testify before the House Judiciary Committee.

There’s another federal law called the RICO statute (Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act), which says the leaders of a criminal syndicate can be tried for any crimes they order. This makes asking a foreign leader to smear a political rival pale in comparison. It’s all about the gas. If the Judiciary decides to look into this, you can say goodbye to the GOP $1 million donor, Ambassador Gordon Sondland, and goodbye to Perry, Giuliani, Lev, Igor, Bill Barr, Mick Mulvaney, Don Jr., Mike Pompeo, and Donald J. Trump. The revolution will be televised.

Randy Haspel writes the “Recycled Hippies” blog.

Categories
Beyond the Arc Sports

Grizz Front Office Woes? Pera Doesn’t Have To Look Far For a Solution

CREDIT: Larry Kuzniewski

With the Grizzlies now on the verge of possibly trading the last two pillars of the Grit ‘n Grind Era in Mike Conley and Marc Gasol, many fans and media members have shown concern. Not so much a concern over whether or not it is a good idea to trade the two veterans, but more a concern about who would be in charge of trading them — namely Grizzlies General Manager Chris Wallace.

Larry Kuzniewski

Tayshaun Prince

Wallace has been connected to his share of baffling moves and blunders while serving as the team’s general manager. From the Hasheem Thabeet draft pick, the countless other picks that didn’t pan out, the questionable trades, the giving away of draft picks haphazardly, the overpaying for players, and the signing of Chandler Parsons to a max contract. Is it understandable fans might be gun-shy about trusting Wallace with another rebuild?

Yes it is. Especially when this rebuild is different — for many reasons.

This isn’t the fresh, cute and cuddly Grizzlies franchise that was new to a city that didn’t know what to expect. This team has grown on — and with — the city and the fans have tasted the spoils of victory. They won’t settle for years of bad basketball or a poorly run franchise. It’s a crucial time for the organization. A mishandled rebuild could be fatal to the organization by driving away its fan base. 

So let’s assume that Grizzlies majority owner Robert Pera also has concerns about Wallace’s ability to prepare the organization for its next phase. Where does he turn at this point in the season? Who would be willing to come on board with the organization (or lack thereof), with its seeming constant flux and instability? To me, the answer might be simple. In fact, the answer in this case might already be here.

NBA.com

Chris Makris

The Grizzlies have two under-utilized members of their front office in former NBA player Tayshaun Prince, who serves as Special Assistant to the General Manager, and Chris Makris, the Director of Player Personnel. As a former highly respected and professional NBA player, Prince has clout around the league. Players, coaches, and executives, alike, respect Prince and his work ethic. He is highly intelligent in terms of seeing the game, identifying problems, and looking at the many intricate ways in which they can be addressed. He has a wealth of knowledge about the game — and knows what it takes to win. Most fans will also remember that he was a steadying presence on the Grizzlies’ Western Conference Finals team — and a major loss off the court when he was traded for Jeff Green two years later.

Prince is still relatively inexperienced in the area of day-to-day operations, but this is an area where Makris could come in and support Prince by filling that void. Similar to the Magic Johnson and Rob Pelinka partnership with the Lakers, I could see Makris and Prince being a tandem that accentuates each other’s deficiencies for a common goal — a successful NBA team built the right way, with no short cuts or ulterior motives. With the Lakers, Magic Johnson has the clout, pull, and credentials, while Pelinka handles the behind-the-scenes grind. Neither Prince nor Makris are yes men. And both choose to let their work and their actions do the talking.

I originally became aware of Makris when he was serving as General Manager for the Iowa Energy, after the Grizzlies acquired the team as a developmental league affiliate. He served in this capacity for 10 years, during a tenure that included four division titles and one league championship. Makris ran the basketball side, as well as the business side. He hired three Iowa Energy coaches that now serve as either NBA head coaches or assistants: Head Coach Nick Nurse and Assistant Coach Nate Bjorken in Toronto, and Sixers Assistant Coach Kevin Young. Makris and his revamped and refocused scouting team also identified Jaren Jackson Jr. early in the scouting process and saw his potential as the best player in this draft, when many others didn’t.

Are Prince and Makris experienced enough to handle this team for the upcoming trade deadline and beyond? Maybe not, but they have done the work and have all of the tools needed to succeed. And they would be a breath of fresh air in a front office that needs a major upheaval. The fanbase has seen what Wallace and Hollinger have to offer and most think it’s time for a change. I believe that Prince and Makris have the DNA that matches what the fans want to see, going forward.

Categories
Letters To The Editor Opinion

What They Said…

CREDIT: Greg Cravens

Greg Cravens

About Toby Sells’ post, “Urban Land Institute: Save the Coliseum, Youth Sports for Fairgrounds” …

I see nothing new here, minus the fact of complete demolition of the Coliseum. The idea of a “shell” of a building was introduced at the Roundhouse Revival, and carried along by a very few to the charrette meetings the following week. I see nothing that we did not expect. What was the fee for this study?

SmoothieMovie

The report does not call for saving the Coliseum, but repurposing part of it in homage to the original, the same recommendation as the preliminary report.

TjonesMfs

Move the Zoo! The Fairgrounds property is roughly three times the size of the current Zoo property, and there is room to expand even beyond that. The Zoo is one of our best attractions. Double its size and provide enough parking to create a world-class facility that would likely become the No. 1 attraction in Memphis. Move the Zoo and solve umpteen problems at once, not just for today but for decades to come.

Jeff

The only way moving the Zoo works (financially) is if the current Zoo property is sold to private interests for development. If it reverts to public-owned parkland, you get no return on all that capital and sunk costs. That’s the only way you would be able to raise the kind of seed funds to make it viable. Even then, there is probably too much money sunk into the current location. Where is this community going to come up with the $100 million or more that it would take to build a new world-class zoo from scratch?

Packrat

I suggest Corrections Corporation of America. Either location. The Zoo is obvious. The Coliseum, I believe, has been suggested as the next Thunderdome.

Dayn Rand

About Bianca Phillips’ post, “Officer Who Shot Darrius Stewart Will Not Face Criminal Charges” …

It is often said that a district attorney could indict a ham sandwich. I can’t help but wonder how enthusiastically Weirich made her case.

Randy Osborn

A young career criminal,who has two out-of-state outstanding warrants, assaulted a law enforcement officer with handcuffs while wrestling on the ground, which resulted in the officer shooting said criminal in self-defense. And now it’s time for Al Not-So Sharpton to come to Memphis and profit from the naive and the stupid? Or is it Jesse Jackson’s turn to fly in and line his pockets? Or maybe, just maybe, it’s time for Obama to metaphorically adopt another “son”?

Nightcrawler

Nightcrawler, do you know of any instances of police brutality or unjustified shootings?

CL Mullins

About Kevin Lipe’s post, “Warriors Hand Grizzlies the Worst Loss in Franchise History” …

Chris Wallace shouldn’t be allowed to GM this team after this season. He’s responsible for all this oldness on the team. The Grizz need a fresh vision for the future.

Dave Joerger hasn’t been the coach he was said to be — a guy who could renovate the offense and develop young players — but I’m not a fan of sacking coaches who consistently win 50-plus games a season. I think it’s the GM’s fault. We don’t have the personnel to play the kind of offense that is needed, and the team keeps adding old players, which makes it difficult to develop young players.

Iggy

I said before the season began that we have to attempt to trade Tony Allen for a younger wing player who can shoot. We cannot play four-on-five basketball on offensive and expect to win. While it may not be popular in town, we need to get rid of Allen while he still has some value. Until we do, why not start Barnes instead. Then let Beno, Wright, Jeff Green, Adams, and JaMychal Green come off the bench, and use Tony as a spot take-on defender with either unit from time to time?

Fred

Categories
Politics Politics Feature

Thompson Takes On Fox News

From Huffington Post: In a heated exchange this morning on Fox News Sunday, former Sen. Fred Thompson took host Chris Wallace to task for what he claims is a “constant mantra” of attacks on Thompson from Fox News.

Thompson reacted to two clips from Fox News contributors Charles Krauthammer and Fred Barnes sharply criticizing Thompson’s candidacy.

“I don’t know if Fox has been going after you,” Wallace said, defending his network’s coverage.

But Thompson insisted — “From day one, they said I got in too late –” only to have Wallace interrupt. “Well, there are a lot of people besides Fox who said that.”

For more, check out HuffPost.

Categories
Sports Sports Feature

New Game

In one of the new television commercials to promote the upcoming Grizzlies season, forwards Rudy Gay and Hakim Warrick are shown playing a game of one-on-one, trading step-back jumpers and blow-by dunks. You might assume that the activity was choreographed for the camera but apparently not.

Turns out it’s a real game, played to 21 by ones and twos, with the winner getting to choose the team’s entrance music for the first preseason game. (When you hear Jay-Z’s “Show Me What You Got” on October 15th, thank Rudy Gay.)

“They played for 40 minutes, and we just went from different angles and shot them all over the place,” says John Pugliese, the team’s senior director of marketing communications.

The commercial — and the story behind it — signifies fun, which shouldn’t be unusual for a professional sports team but has been sadly lacking for the Grizzlies, on and off the court, over the past couple of seasons.

It also signifies a dramatic tonal shift throughout the organization, one perhaps unlikely in the aftermath of a dismal 2006-2007 season, ownership chaos, and a bitter outcome during the league’s summer draft lottery.

Yet this change is very real and can mostly be credited to two men: new coach Marc Iavaroni and new basketball operations honcho Chris Wallace, who have replaced the dour, standoffish personalities of predecessors Mike Fratello and Jerry West with an openness and (guarded) optimism than feels palpable to anyone who’s spent time around FedExForum lately.

Starting this week, fans will get a chance to see the new-look Grizzlies in preseason action, but for now the changes happening off the court may be more important.

Wallace and Iavaroni have been repairing breaches across the Grizzlies landscape this offseason. They’re being remarkably open with fans. They’ve been more open with the media. They’ve reached out to the local minority owners, including an appearance at Fred Jones’ Southern Heritage Classic. And, perhaps most importantly, they’ve developed a better, closer working relationship with the team’s business staff, a change best symbolized by this: When Jerry West ran the team, he was generally referred to as “Mr. West.” In short order, Wallace has become known as simply “Chris” to many Grizzlies employees.

This improved working relationship seems to be embodied in the team’s current marketing campaign, driven by the simple slogan “New Game.”

“The advertising and marketing has to be an extension of what’s happening on the floor,” Pugliese says. “And who knows that better than Iavaroni and Wallace? Whatever our message is, it’s hollow without their support.”

Pugliese credits Wallace and Iavaroni with bringing “a broader vision of the business side of basketball” than the team has had from basketball personnel in the past and, as a result, having “changed the entire culture” of the franchise, comments that echo similar words from other employees throughout the Grizzlies organization.

The team’s business and marketing staff hopes the “New Game” campaign, which uses the players and coaches as personalities in a way reminiscent of the team’s effective “Round Town” campaign from a few seasons ago, can communicate the positive changes they’ve experienced internally. But they also know that rebuilding the team’s ticket-buying fan base won’t be a quick or easy fix.

“We know we’re not going to be able to advertise or market our way out of this,” Pugliese admits. “If we spent another $200,000 and put up more billboards, is that going to translate to butts in seats right now? No. But can we set the tone? Right now, there’s a general groundswell of optimism, I think we can all agree, about the team. Can we set the table for when that optimism, combined with some team performance, can push the sales numbers?”

That journey back — in terms of winning games and winning back fans — begins this week, but credit Iavaroni and Wallace for getting the Grizzlies off to an unexpectedly good start.