Categories
Opinion The Last Word

The Rant (May 28, 2015) …

Finally, finally, FINALLY! The Memphis Flyer has had the good sense to curb the liberal writings of old men like Tim Sampson and Randy Haspel and change the back page of this paper to something more sensible by adding some female voices. Thank God — and I’m speaking of the God of Christianity who rules this nation and should rule the rest of the world, instead of these so-called prophets like Mohammed — that the paper has finally come to its senses and is now giving voice to women with some conservative values and extremely long necks like mine.

That Sampson guy has been writing his drivel for this paper for 26 years now, and it’s about time he gets limited to write just one piece of garbage each month from now on. I don’t know how you readers have put up with his left-wing musings for this many years. I hope that you will just skip over his soon-to-be monthly “Last Word” column and pay attention to writers like me, who really have something important to add.

Let’s take a look back: Most recently, Sampson verbally defiled pro-American-values crusader Pamela Geller, just because she had the audacity to host a pro-freedom-of-expression art show in which artists and normal God-fearing American citizens were invited to draw cartoons of the Islamic prophet Mohammed at an art gallery in the great, GREAT state of Texas, which (thank God again) gives criminals the death penalty more than any state in the country. They know how to deal with heathens, and I say more power to them.

It’s still a shame that Texas Governor Rick Perry didn’t beat the communist Barack Obama in the last presidential election. Now look where we are: Our taxes are being used right and left to finance food stamps for poor people who are too lazy to get jobs that would allow them to buy their own food and not put the burden on those of us who need to stockpile our millions for when Obama finally destroys the country, which has been his plan all along, because he is a socialist who was not even born in the United States and is, in fact, a radical Muslim from Africa.

Thank God, again, for people like Sarah Palin and me who aren’t afraid to tell the truth about him. Oh, yeah, you’ll be reading much more about this when Sampson’s “Rant” business is sidelined. You better get down on your knees and pray that this new change lasts for a long, long time.

And, no more will you have to be besieged on such a regular basis with his “ranting” about how gay marriage should be legalized in every state or how he thinks voting rights for impoverished blacks and other Democrats are being jeopardized, or his ongoing babbling about how that Soulsville Charter School’s seniors have all been accepted to college for the past four years that it has had graduations — with their inner-city kids receiving more than $30 million in scholarships. To read his biased (because he works there) views, you’d think white kids from wealthy families, who attend Christian-based private schools, don’t achieve anything. It sickens me, and I know it sickens you.

And then there’s the way he goes on and on and ON about how much he loves Memphis and how it’s the coolest city in the world. Give me a break. Most of you reading this live there and you know what a hellhole Memphis is. There’s nothing but crime and people living on welfare there and one black mayor after another. You all know you live in the poorest, most dangerous, most obese city in the United States and that Memphis has nothing to offer upstanding, conservative people of virtue. He thinks places like Wild Bill’s, Ernestine & Hazel’s, Beale Street, and the Blue Worm are all so great, but he never talks about all the great things on Germantown Parkway or the gated subdivisions in the suburbs, where people exercise their God-given freedom to stay away from all that filth that goes on in the city. He and Haspel are just old, white liberal men who are stuck in their hippie days and don’t see the light of what really matters to true Americans.

And speaking of the great Sarah Palin, it is almost criminal the way this paper has allowed Sampson to criticize her for her beliefs, her animal killing, her beautiful and intelligent children, and her stance on American values. She is a true American hero, but to read Sampson, you’d think she isn’t the genius that she really is, no matter what newspapers she reads. And when she says she can see Russia from Alaska, she is telling the truth. She always has and continues to do so on national Fox News, which Sampson also dismisses as right-wing propaganda, which you all know is not true.

So be very, very happy, people, that “The Rant” will be changing soon, albeit not soon enough for those of you who have had to put up with Sampson’s diatribes for so long. I say, so long to him and pay no attention to what he and Haspel write in their new monthly “Last Word” columns.

This column was actually written by Tim Sampson, of course. No conservative publicity whores were harmed in the writing of this column.

Categories
Letters To The Editor Opinion

What They Said (May 21, 2015) …

Greg Cravens

On Bianca Phillips’ post, “Citizens Make Demands of Memphis Zoo in Petition” …

The Greensward is for ass parking only.

Scott Banbury

A responsible approach to growth at the zoo would have called for appropriate actions to handle the additional vehicular traffic generated by the building of additional exhibits. That reasonable course has not been followed. Instead, the zoo has become the playground for well-heeled donors who are perfectly happy to donate funds to build new exhibits but who ignore the problems caused by additional traffic generated by those exhibits.

The alignment of parking spots in the current zoo parking facility does not utilize the space for maximum efficiency. The plan to reconfigure the current parking lot will have a positive effect. That effort is long overdue. Additional parking is necessary.

The construction of a parking facility alongside the North Parkway entrance to the zoo, across from Rhodes College, is a possible solution. When the city vacates the current maintenance facility on East Parkway, a parking facility, either a surface lot or a garage, which would serve all attractions at the park, could be constructed.

The only thing missing from a possible solution is the dedication of zoo leaders, city leaders, and zoo donors to work for a solution that does not involve the continuing destruction of the Greensward. The current situation is unsustainable. Sustainability is one of the key goals expressed by the organizations that guide and accredit zoos and aquariums. The experience offered to visitors could be enhanced by providing parking, which preserves the Greensward. If the zoo is to be faithful to the mission to conserve, it must seek a course that differs from the one that has been taken for decades. The zoo, and the leaders thereof, must learn the art of being neighborly.

Enrico Dagastino

On Toby Sells’ Fly-By story, “Multi-millionaire’s The Kitchen restaurant promises healthy food, leads to healthy debate” …

Well, Kimbal, we can always go on a diet, skip a third helping, but ugly goes to the bone (are we seeing a theme here?).

CL Mullins

Please note that Musk is not denigrating Memphis, the author of the [The Medium] blog post is. And, really, how many people have seen that? Is The Medium a big thing?

The only thing that Musk says is that line about opening in other, larger cities, if not for the social aspect. And that’s just good business. What’s wrong with that?

Frankly, I’m really excited about The Kitchen. I wish he would open other locations before waiting for Crosstown.

nobody

On Tim Sampson’s May 14th Rant …

I read with some vexation Tim Sampson’s “Rant” about Pamela Geller and her “Draw Mohammed” event. Well, at least, it started out that way before he digressed about being kidnapped in Peru, but I digress. Seems Tim thinks that Pamela Geller is nuts for doing it. While, yeah, probably. That’s okay, Tim, you don’t have to date her, and, no, Tim, the media has not just focused on the attackers — she has been in for her fair share of abuse. And, yes, I’m sure she did it just to be provocative and is such a nasty person that as you pointed out, they won’t even let her in the United Kingdom. She may even go out of her way to step on ants for all I know. Having said all this, so what?

Let’s look at the larger issue. If you draw the wrong cartoon or maybe I should say the right cartoon about the wrong person, someone may very well kill you or at least try to kill you because you offended their religious sensibilities. And your rant is about Pamela Geller? What’s wrong with this picture? Where’s your perspective? What about free speech? Remember the first amendment of our constitution where we get to say, write, and draw things even if it is offensive? They don’t have that in the United Kingdom. Just saying.

So, Tim, the next time you want to rant about something, try ranting about the mindset that thinks it’s okay to kill artists if you don’t like what they draw. No one should die for a cartoon.

Bill Runyan