Greg Cravens
About Toby Sells’ story, “Lawmakers Consider Bills on Bikes, Historical Markers, and Skunks” …
Translation: “No Gas Tax for Bike Lanes,” written and paid for by the Koch Brothers’ Banana Brand Banana Republics. Where the Bananas Don’t Grow on Trees; They Legislate™.
“No Removal of Historical Markers,” doesn’t apply to the Nathan Bedford Forrest statue, since it’s not in honor of a conflict. It’s in honor of a man.
“Legal Skunk Ownership,” leads to the next step: skunk-fighting rings.
Jeff
There are already enough skunks in local and state government, thank you.
Bike lanes are nice, if they aren’t converted from congested public roads designed and built for — and funded by — motorists.
ALJ2
About Bianca Phillips’ story, “Memphis Police Department Attempts to Boost Presence” …
MPD is 400 officers shy of a full complement, by their analysis. Large cities across this nation have varying numbers of law enforcement officers. Memphis has more than some comparable cities and fewer than others. I hope our new police director will do his own assessment of what a “full complement” should be.
He/she could start with an assessment of how we are currently using our force. Reactivating the PST program is a good start, as is increasing data-based “hotspot” policing. Another thing that would help is getting all the officers parked car-to-car in our parks and behind buildings back moving on our neighborhood streets. We might not need to pay overtime if we more efficiently used our force.
Memphis Tigers
Our violent crime rate is second only to Detroit (12 percent lower), and our police force is 25 percent smaller, based on the total number of officers. Oakland and St. Louis have similar crime rates, but their police forces are significantly smaller. Oakland’s ranks are one-third the size found in Memphis. Milwaukee rounds out the top five violent-crime-rate cities, and their force is 10 percent smaller.
Barf
Barf, try adjusting those numbers by geographical size.
Oakland = 78 square miles
St. Louis = 66.2 square miles
Milwaukee = 96.8 square miles
Detroit = 142.9 square miles
Memphis = 324 square miles
That is the problem. Memphis has annexed like a madman, and now officers are stretched too thin. MPD has to provide police protection for 324 square miles. Kind of hard to do when you run off 400 officers (and another 150 are on the DROP, ready to retire soon). The City Council created this problem and refused to listen to officers who said they would leave if the city changed the benefits.
Firefox
About Bianca Phillips’ post, “Brian Kelsey Drops Bill Supporting Racist, Sexist, Homophobic School Leader” …
Now, was Kelsey doing this to send a message to the people in the rural areas of TN-08 that he was just like them? Then, he got so much blowback that he had to drop it, lest he offend donors?
He wants to be in Congress so badly he can taste it, and I can only imagine he is petrified at the prospect of Mark Luttrell crushing him in Big Shelby.
LeftWingCracker
Kelsey: “I just grabbed the next bill in that folder marked ALEC WANTS. Was this one not supposed to be in there?”
Charley Eppes
This is the same creep who crafted the “Turn Away the Gays” bill in 2014, under the guise of the “Religious Freedom” Act. Follow the money. He’s in ALEC’s back pocket, which means he’s all Gays, God, and Guns all the time. And now, he wants ALEC to bankroll his way to D.C. As if Marsha Blackburn, Diane Black, Steve Fincher, and Scott DesJarlais haven’t already made Tennessee enough of a laughingstock.
CD