Last Blog of the Week!

Wow, I am so excited to be able to say that. This has been one long, stressful week! I've had almost double the amount of school work that I usually have, and I still have a midterm to take. I know that this is college and things are supposed to be harder, but Damn!!!!!! I am ready for spring break. Even though I won't be totally free from work, because I need to add to my paper, it will still be a relief. I am glad that they plan the breaks the way they do. Sometimes everything can build up on you, and you just need time to relax and get away from it all. As soon as I comment on my classmate's blogs, I will start my journey to RELAXATION! *PEACE*

Loonnggg Day

This has been one long day! I woke up early this morning to start doing more research on my topic. I figured I would do this early so I wouldnt have to worry about it later. After writing and posting my first three blogs of the day, I had to go to work. (I am still at work as I am writing this!) I was supposed to get off at four, but somebody quit today, so I have to stay until the next person comes in. This is really putting me behind on my schedule. I still have to go home and do housework, take a shower, get dressed, and go see The Mystery of Edwin Drood tonight. I am really looking foward to seeing this play tonight! I'm usually not the type that likes to see plays, but this is Charles Dickens last novel (in which he died in the middle of writing). So about half way through the play I hear that the audience gets to interact with the actors and choose the ending! I can't wait!

Why Can't Herenton CLose The Deal?

This blog is in response to the smart citiy blog. Mayor Willie Herenton has been pushing for consolidation FOREVER! This matter has been at a standstill ever since he brought it up. Since he is the city mayor, of course he is going to try to do whats best for the city. But does he ever think about whats best for everyone? Maybe this is why this thing hasn't really gotten off the ground!? Considering that every other Metro county in Tennessee has done it, there has to be something wrong with this picture. I think his best way out is to try to change the state constitution! (Yeah, like that is ever going to happen!) If consolidation is only going to help Shelby County save tax money, why even risk it? If there is more downfall then upward potential, why would someone vote for it? Shelby County sees consolidation as a risk more than a benefit, so they have no reason to vote for it! I mean, why you want to put Mayor Herenton in charge of everything when he can't even get a lot of the city to vote for him when its time for election?

So, Lets Make This Arguement One-Sided

In this blog, I will be acting like Mayor Herenton, and I will only state the good things about consolidation! How could anything be wrong with consolidating? This will be the BEST thing for EVERYONE! Not just Memphis City, but Shelby County and all other surrounding areas. Let's just make everything MEMPHIS CITY!! (The City), I mean EVERYONE would benefit. (The City)Every area would save millions of dollars. It would also strengthen (The Memphis City's) Everyone's school system. (The City Schools) Everyone might finally have a chance to get a passing report card. We could use the money we save to help Everyone (The Memphis City Schools) get better books and better education. Isn't that what the poor, underprivelaged children deserve? Consolidation will not only save money, but it might even cut down on crime!(For the City) It will also help clean up the streets. (of the City) There are Absolutely, Positively NO bad effects of consolidation. So come on County, Vote for it, OR ELSE......

Back On Track....I think?!?

So, as I sat in English class this week, I actually felt like I had an understanding of what was expected in our papers. This was a big relief considering that after the first part, I had written ABSOLUTELY NOTHING! I had done more research, but nothing seemed to fit in right. I felt like I was setting myself up for potential FAILURE. This paper was really starting to become a heavy burden. I constantly asked myself, "What can i possibly do to finish this paper and it be good?" I felt like I had hit the largest brick wall in the world! I would sit down at the computer and have not even the slightest idea of what I was going to do next. Wow, that is a horrible feeling. But now, I have a feeling of relief. So off I go back into the world of CONSOLIDATION! Wish me Luck!

Thoughts on Vibinc Blog

Vibinc's blog was another blog about Consolidation. This blog was very unbiast and talked from both sides' perspective. He talks about how consolidation would help the increasing debt of both the City and the County. This is one of the major considerations for consolidating. Although this is high on the list, other questions need to be answered for the County to even consider this. How will consolidation improve things such as our Police and Fire Departments? How will the quality of schools be affected? And how will simple things such as trash and recycling be handled? Last, but not least, what about the Government? These are all major questions that need to be answered, that havent. Vibinc also talks about a peice of Propraganda that Mayor Herenton used at his state of the city address. Mayor Herenton seemed to be threatening the people who don't live in the City with a Consolidate or Else approach! What do you think?

Consolidation Blog

So, I was reading a random blog that I found on the internet about Consolidation. It was done by Mr. Rustmeister, a retired US soldier. He stated his opinions on the Consolidation of Memphis and Shelby County. He stated that Memphis was mostly black and poor. He also stated that Shelby County was produminately white and affluent. Rustmeister stated,"I can understand why the county wants nothing to do with the city. The mayor's a joke, the city council's more worried about selling beer in titty bars than doing anything about crime. Police and firefighters have been getting the shaft since I can remember. Who wants that?" Is this really how we want our city portreyed as? I guess you can use his arguement as a type of propaganda, because it is only one-sided. He also talks about the high tax, but he fails to mention that consolidation would help that tax situation out. But overall, I found his arguements interesting

Get Out The Vote

"Get Out The Vote", is a voting phrase that has been used

for decades. Although it is heavily used, it does not have

clear meaning. This has caused controversy over the phrase.

When I hear the phrase, "Get Out The Vote", it tells

me to just vote for anybody, but make sure you vote. How

could this possibly be good for America? In this article, I

imagine the speaker as an educated Political Surveyor, who

is targeting all voters whether educated or uneducated. It

is more than likely that he represents a Minor Party. Minor

parties are definetly hurt by the "Get Out The Vote"

movement. Uneducated voters usually go out and pick the

most familiar name or the opposite party of the most

familiar name. Minor parties do not have the same

privelages as Major parties. They do not bring in nearly as

much money to get their names out. This only gives votes

to the major parties, leaving the minor parties unknown and

unvoted for. Although sometimes they have better ideas, the

lack of funds basically wipes them out of the presidential

election. The writer asks, "Is this what Thomas Jefferson

wanted?" I am pretty sure that this is probably the

complete opposite of what Thomas Jefferson wanted. He

wanted a fair system that would give a fair chance to all

candidates in the Presidential elections. If minority

parties were on the same level in the playing field, they

could possibly win the presidential office. Until this

happens, the only two parties that will have a chance are

the Democrats and Republicans.

Another obstacle that affects minor parties is

generation voting. In many households, there is a preferred

major party. The parents start their children off young

telling them what party is preferred by them. This usually

affects how their seeds vote when they get older. Some

citizens never really vote for themselves, they vote for

whom they were taught to vote for whether they are the best

option or not. If they were educated voters, they would

seek to find out who are the best candidates in every

election. This is another major milestone for minor parties

to get over.

Robert Coulson has valid ideas in this article. Voting

is an important matter and privelage. Voters should do all

that they can to be well educated about all of the

candidates. If you do not know anything about the

candidates, how can you vote for them? He talks about

political machines stealing votes from voters because of

lack of knowledge. Most voters only know about a couple of

the candidates. After voting for the people that they know

about, they usually just go down the list and vote for

others that they know nothing about. This is unfair to the

candidates as well as the United States of America.

Although voting is important, is there really anything

wrong with not voting at all? Not voting could be the best

option for some citizens. If you are being lazy, that is

one thing, but if you really do not feel that any of the

are worthy, that is another. We have to remember that

voting is a privelage not a law! In the 1950's, they even

talked about taking legal action against people who did not

vote. There is no way that this could be constitutional.

Another obstacle that affects minor parties is

generation voting. In many households, there is a preferred

major party. The parents start their children off young

telling them what party is preferred by them. This usually

affects how their seeds vote when they get older. Some

citizens never really vote for themselves, they vote for

whom they were taught to vote for whether they are the best

option or not. If they were educated voters, they would

seek to find out who are the best candidates in every

election. This is another major milestone for minor parties

to get over.

It is a little strange that this article was written

in the 1950's, and we still use the phrase today. It is

also weird that over fifty years has passed and this

article is still relevant. The same voting practices still

happen today, and there is no sign that it will ever stop!

Will we ever get tired of the same thing and do something

new? Only time will be able to tell if we will continue to

repeat history or take advantage of it in the future.

"Get Out The Vote" is a controversial voting phrase

that is commonly used. Although it sounds good, it can

easily be misunderstood and misinterpreted. In order to

have more effective and educated voting, this phrase needs

to be explained more. "Get Out The Vote" has been overused,

is outdated, and needs to be replaced by politicians.

Patriots Cheating?

The New England Patriots have been accused of spying on other teams to win games. Which is another form of CHEATING! Wow, who would have ever thought that football had cheaters too? At first I did not undersand what the big deal was about them looking at the Jets hand signals, but then more details unfolded. It turns out that they also cheated in 2003 to win the Super Bowl. They had their personel go to the St. Louis Ram's final walkthrough practice. Their assistant video-taped the practice which gave them a head's up on what the Rams would do in the "Red Zone". This may have helped them win the Super Bowl. But it doesnt stop there. I turned on the news today, and they said that the Patriots may have cheated to win all of their Super Bowls and could be stripped of them. I guess the say Winners Never Cheat and Cheaters Never Win still holds true!

Presidential Election

Well at first the presidential election was very boring to me, but after discussing it with my mom, I find it a little more interesting. This is the first time in at least thirty years that there is no clear favorite for the democrats. Could we be making history? This presidential election could end up in either the first woman or the first black president. I would have never expected for this to happen in my lifetime. A presidential poll stated that Obama would be better suited to go up against McClain, the leading Republican candidate. I can't wait to see how this presidential election turns out. I also encourage everyone to get out and vote! Every vote counts!

Living Wage

I think that living wages would be much better than minimum wage. The cost of living is dramatically increasing with no signs of going back down. Sure the government is raising minimum wage, but it still does not compare to the soaring cost of living. If things keep going like they are, I honestly believe that we could see another Depression. Everything is on the rise price wise. Just the other day, my mom and I went into the store to purchase some milk and eggs. The milk cost over three dollars a gallon, and the eggs cost a little over two dollars a carton. Even I can remember when milk was like a dollar fifty and a carton of eggs was about a dollar and maybe some change. The dollar bill is no longer worth what it use to be worth. The housing market is also being effected by this. Lumber is at an all time high, yet the value of houses are steadily decreasing. It really makes no sense! How do they expect us to survive if things continue on this path?

Water Stealer! LoL

Although this is not my topic, I still find it very amusing. I never thought that I would hear about somebody suing someone else over water! The same substance that everyone needs to even survive. W0W, what has the world come to? Its like two best friends who need each other fighting over a toy. Tennessee and Mississippi are both dependent upon each other. I mean they are next door neighers. They really give each other more options. Out of every thing else in the world to fight over, WHY WATER? I really do believe that there is enough water for both states to share. My mom owns a house in Mississippi as well as Tennessee, so I feel kind of stupid for suing myself! Would it be classified as a win win situation, or a lose lose situation. If I take water from my house in Collierville to my house in Byhalia, am I really doing something wrong? It sounds very silly and petty, I knOW! If you really think about it, neither state will gain from the lawsuit! Even if Mississippi wins the lawsuit, do they really win? This could cause Tennessee not to help them at all. Instead of building things close to the state lines, they could take building project to another part of town. This would cost Mississippi a lot of money. Why can't we all just get along?

My View Point (Consolidation)

Now that I have finished with the first draft (of the first part) of my paper, I guess I will tell my point of view. Consolidation is a HORRIBLE Idea. Yes, I understand that my stance may be very bias because I live in Collierville. Consolidation has been talked about since before I was in high school. If it has not been done in all of this time, I do not think that it is going to happen. If it does happen, it will only make things worst. I cannot stand the thought of my beautiful little town turning into nasty ole Memphis! I am proud to say that I am from Collierville, (and as racist as it is) I love my town. If Memphis annexes Collierville, Cordova, etc. they will become horrible places to stay. For one, the crime rate will probably sky rocket. In Collierville, there is maybe one murder a century compared to one murder every 8 hours in Memphis. The town is also well- taken care of. It is clean and there is not a lot of chemical waste. On the other hand, most parts of Memphis is filthy. I lived in Memphis for 12 years and absolutely hated it. There is nothing worse than foul smelling air and hearing gun shots at night! Another concern is the school systems. Shelby County has some of the best schools, where as Memphis has some of the worst. I feel that I really recieved a quality education in County Schools that prepared me for college. Last but not least, I will address the debt problem. I do not see how adding debt with debt equals less debt!????? From the math skills (that I learned) a negative plus a negative still equals a negative! NOT A POSITIVE!! What do you think?

Big Paper (Part I) Help Please!

Cosolidation in Memphis has been an ongoing issue. Consolidation is defined as bringing together separate parts into a single or unified whole; unite;strengthen. Memphis has been trying to consolidate the two government for some time now. However, there has been many set-backs and stumbling blocks along the way. The two sides have gone back and foward since the issue came about with the question, "Is consolidation the best thing for the city and surrounding areas?"

The two sides have very compelling arguements, but cannot come to compromise. Consolidationhas been attempted two times already. Both times this idea was shut. The City of Memphis would loveto consolidate and the majority always votes yes to consolidation. However, the County, on the other hand, has always shut the idea down. To overcome this, Mayor Herenton, the mayor of Memphis, is proposing a State Constitutional amendment that would eliminate having two separate consolidation
votes, one for Memphis residents and one for all residents outside the Memphis City limits. This would only require one election for all Shelby County residents. By the majority of Shelby County residents living in Memphis, Mayor Herenton is counting on them to vote in favor of consolidation, ensuring its passage. If the State Legislature approved a Constitutional amendment, all non-Memphis residents would still get a vote, but it would no longer have the same weight as it does now.

Recently both mayors, A. C. Wharton (county) and Willie Herenton (City) stated that consolidation is the way to go. Now it is up to the citizens who do not believe this at all. Although A. C. Wharton is pushing towards consolidation, his plans are a little different. He does not want to consolidate the school systems. This is one of the biggest issues that Memphis area citizens have. Shelby County
schools have recieved a passing grade on their school system for many years and are known to have a good school system. While Memphis City Schools have been labeled as underacheivers and have received failing grades recently. This greatly concerns county citizens. In order to keep the two school systems separate, A. C. Wharton is advocating a freeze on the district's boundaries through special school districts.

Although many county citizens do not want consolidation, Mayor A. C. Wharton thinks that it will save the county money. Wharton says that consolidation could save the county up to $20 million dollars a year. This money is much needed in the county considering the $14.5 million funding gap in next year's budget. Wharton also asked the county commission to consider "a hybrid version of a metro government." He says that the consolidation will help taxpayers more than it would hurt them in the long run. However,taxpayers still believe that they will have a tax increase regardless.

To understand what the road ahead will be like, the past must be considered. Consolidation has been considered in Tennessee over twenty times in over twelve different counties. It has only been accepted three times in twenty cases. All of these cases have been in Middle Tennessee. The government most like ours that has gone through the consolidation process is Knoxville and Knox County. This area
has rejected consolidation at least five times. They are still going through the consolidation process to this day. In the past couple of days, the Tennessee State Supreme Court made an important ruling in this area that could directly affect Shelby County. Knox county's government, which is structured much like Shelby
County's was ruled invalid. This means that there is only a matter of time before the county will be asked to appropriately define the responsibilities of the "constitutional" with specific chartered duties.

Pr0cRaStInAtIon!

Procrastination is the word that explains this blog THE BEST! This is the best title because, basically, that is what I am doing. It is 1:29 a.m. and our blogs are due today by 11:59 p.m. And not to mention, I have to wake up at eight in the morning for church. For some reason, it is so hard for me to get online and post my blogs early. I have had three of them finished since tuesday, but the disease called Procrastination has prevented me from posting them. I know I'm not the only person that suffers from this terrible disease! I try so hard to do these early in the week, but it never quite works out that way. It seems that as soon as I set aside time to post blogs, someone or something interrupts me. I think I am just a little A.D.D. with a little touch of A.D.H.D. (haha) but aren't we all sometimes? Procrastinating was one of the main concerns that I knew I had to fix coming into college. I did so well coping with it last semester, but this semester it has returned! Gabe and I were talking about this today (which was yesterday), and we both seem to do the same thing! Hopefully this will be the last time for this. Sorry Wendy!