Traffic Wars!

The Commercial Appeal has figured out a way to open a can of worms and generate mega-hits--just report on traffic problems along Germantown Parkway.

Here's the link, including the details on the new traffic camera$, but the meaty part is the comments section. Here's a good sample:

People heading east on Trinity, turning left (north) onto Germantown, are virtually forced to run the light because the left turn light is timed in such an idiotic stupid dumb moronic way. The left turn arrow is green for 6 seconds at the most.

It takes Memphis drivers about 5 of those 6 seconds to figure out the arrow has turned green with their little pea-sized brains, so you can get about two cars per cycle through that left turn legally. The rest have to scamper through or sit there for the rest of the day.

So we've got inept, greedy, identity politicians slapping auto-fines on the rich burbians and calling them a safety measure; the rich burbians who aren't that rich finally getting a chance to feedback to these politicians who'll probably respond by installing more cameras; transplants from Great Britain advocating solutions from a country where they drive on the wrong side of both the car and the road; and nervous nellies or frogheads duking it out with the Andrettis, Gordons and Earnhardts about turn lane protocol (people need to get their arses out of the way in the turn lane so the opposing guy can see for cryinoutloud).

But the people who should really be hanging their heads in shame are the civil engineers who designed this sadistic city's road network or the politicians or nimbys who stopped them from acting sane.

Willie Go Home

As heard on 600 WREC the other day..



dedicated to W.W.

Cohen Town Hall

Congressman Cohen is having a Town Hall meet on Saturday at 10 AM. Here's the flyer:



Let it be said now--if opponents of govt health care show up they weren't necessarily organized by the evil insurance companies they were organized by Congressman Cohen. Anyway, here's hoping for a peaceful outpouring of democracy.

Shameless

The public should by now be used to media figures shilling for Democrats in print. Geoff Caulkins wrote a story he figured would be immune to criticism, a real tear-jerker about a humble 55 year old man, a hard worker, who didn't have healthcare and died after his third heart attack and after his TennCare had run out (kind of puts John Ford's crimes in perspective). But the shameless part was saved for the end:

They had a benefit for the family at the Elk Lodge in Atoka the other day, but not many showed. Too many people are hurting to hold benefits for everyone that's hurting. Barbara gets that.

But she doesn't get why this country can't figure out how to give someone like David appropriate access to hospitals and health care. She doesn't get why the Dick Cheneys of the world get one kind of health care and the David and Barbara Scotts get another kind.

Simply pitiful. Cheney has absolutely nothing to do with this debate other than serving as a convenient strawmonster for lefty scaremongerers, and besides, only God should be making those kinds of moral comparisons. Guess Mr. Caulkins couldn't find a way to fit Sarah Palin in as well, but surely he tried.

By the way, is "Naifeh's Deli" owned by Jimmy Naifeh, the former big wheel Dem politico from Covington?

The International House of Drivers Licenses

Illegal aliens are coming in with international drivers licenses and getting plates, and clerk Stamson pleads dumbness, deferring to Nashville. Another day, another outrage.

But the following deserves a blockquote:

Today, illegal immigrants can't get Tennessee driver's licenses.

The result is that they turn to dubious documents such as the international driver's license, says Mauricio Calvo, director of Latino Memphis, a social service and advocacy group.

"What we're doing, we are promoting alternative, obscure practices such as this," he said.

Calvo argues that the government should give illegal immigrants some type of identification so they can handle routine tasks like opening bank accounts, to ensure drivers know road rules, and so police can distinguish criminals.

"Even if you're anti-immigrant, for logical, practical reasons you ought to be in favor of providing immigrants with some type of identification that is official," he said.

Emphasis added, and I think you know why. But yes Mr. Calvo, by all means let's provide illegal immigrants with official identification. Perhaps it could indicate that the bearer is an illegal immigrant citizen of a foreign country, here violating US immigration laws without official documents and identification. Would that work?

Would Palin Ever Consider Pulling a Willie?

Specifically, saying she's going to resign and even setting a date, then rescinding or delaying the resignation like Memphis Mayor Willie Herenton is doing here in Memphis. We'll have to wait and see. My money is on not a chance. Then again if we listen to the left she's an evil, stupid Christianist inarticulate lying trollop, and they have been known to do anything.

AND FURTHERMORE...7/7/09

Herenton cannot 'retire' from being the mayor. There is no retirement from an elected position and the media needs to stop referring to it in that idiotic way and taking him as some kind of actual king.

Memphis Tea Party

We got on the protest clothes and attended a Tea Party held at Patriot Lake today. The crowd was relatively light and well-behaved, with few premier speakers that we noticed. We did notice one TV crew.

Here's a few snapshots (with explanations under each shot):

These flags were along the main entrance. A nice touch.

No explanation needed.

Sponsors. Every event needs them.

More signs. And a protest babe!

True patriots?

Cedar Revolution. This gentleman was there to ask questions and wonder why, in the process eliciting some hearty discussion. All good.

You can say this about conservatives--no beating around the bush. Clear as a bell.

Most of the "protesters" were nice folks just like these.

A Joe the Plumber fan!

Hey, it's July. But it really wasn't hotter than a firecracker, thanks to the recent reprieve we're gotten from localized global warming.

Not a big fan of Obama? Or...

A BIG Obama fan? We asked her later and noticed that somebody had added the missing "1" to solve the riddle.

The John Birch Society was represented and featured a speaker (the sign is not directed to him). The Birch folks had a tent set up and where you could sign a petition to audit the Federal Reserve.

Who could possibly argue with that?

As we strolled around the event a vision of Obama's 100 day speech in St. Louis kept coming to mind, where he referred to 'those people out there waving tea bags' in a mocking tone. That was now us! Although we had no actual tea. Jenine Garofolo's name also came up in conversation, meaning that the few liberals who showed up were also somehow racists along with the rest of us. Asinine of course.

The noticeable thing about this event was the civility and lack of mean-spiritedness, unlike reports from some of the lefty rallies during the Bush years. Arguments can be made about the relative shallowness of some of the protesters' beliefs but the bottom line isn't really liberal nuance it's whether the president is dancing with the Constitution that brung him, or drifting away towards a new one. Based on the turnout he doesn't have much of a ground swell of opposition right now, reflective of the entire Republican Party as well, but events could certainly change that quick. Anyway, it was nice to spend part of an Independence Day in a peaceful exercise of freedom rather than just gobbling hot dogs and popping off black cats. That comes later.