Since Harold Ford challenged me to bring my ideas to Memphis and I accepted straight to his face when he hurriedly scooted out of the Convention Center in Austin last Friday only to see Ford chicken out after I accepted his offer, I have decided that I want to expand on the points that Mr. Ford raised about ideology and demonstrate how Ford is an extremist and we are the mainstream.  I will do so in six sections.  This was originally going to be a week's worth of diaries (and still is) but I'm shortening the text for brevity and clarity by the following areas.

1.  Harold Ford's Right Wing Views

2.  Steve Cohen, progressive representative of Memphis' 9th Congressional District

3.  Governor Bredesen - He's No Harold Ford Dino

4.  The DLC v. DFQ Mentalities.

5.  The Progressive Mainstream Netroots v. Extremist Harold Ford.

6.  Memphis and New York City Values

Check out this video of a brutal police beating in a police station. A Memphis police officer didn't like the fact that Duanna Johnson, a black transwoman, didn't respond to the names "faggot" or "he/she," so he beat her with handcuffs and sprayed her with mace, and no one, not even the nurse who was sent out, helped her.

(Sorry, I can't embed the video format here and I can't find it on YouTube. But it's working on my site so please check it out there. And the text news report is after the jump.)

Thw world of college sports is being rocked by Sen. Hillary Clinton's challenge to the NCAA Board of Directors regarding the Kansas' win over Memphis on Monday.

Breaking details after the fold:  

What game?  I am sitting here, should be grading papers, and instead I am watching the Jayhawks, who at the moment are leading Memphis by three.  Come on, boys!!!  When you get told in the pregame show that Memphis should win it walking away, and instead the boys in blue are leading...  Gosh, this is exciting!  

Unfortunately, I got a late start on this; there aren't a lot of links. But this isn't a 'breaking' or 'news' story; it's an extremely personal (and, I'm afraid, long) one. Regardless, I feel compelled to share it; it's the most vivid childhood memory I have, the primary event that 'shaped' me, politically, and this is the day, and the blog, where this story belongs, IMNSHO.

Some people are wondering why Obama isn't gonna be in Memphis today. Hillary Clinton and John McCain are gonna be there, after all.  Wasn't that where Martin was killed, and where he gave his last speech?  So what's up with Obama?  Is he stupid or what?  Maybe he just doesn't care about King's legacy?  What's going on?

Forty years ago today, at just about this hour, several hundred people in Memphis, Tennessee's Mason Temple were witnessing history.

Not that they realized it.

But the man they had come to hear and see perhaps did.  With these words, Martin Luther King ended the final, and in some ways the greatest, speech he would ever give:

Well, I don't know what will happen now. We've got some difficult days ahead. But it really doesn't matter with me now, because I've been to the mountaintop.

And I don't mind.

Like anybody, I would like to live a long life. Longevity has its place. But I'm not concerned about that now. I just want to do God's will. And He's allowed me to go up to the mountain. And I've looked over. And I've seen the Promised Land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people, will get to the promised land!

And so I'm happy, tonight. I'm not worried about anything. I'm not fearing any man!

Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord!!

Let us rise up tonight with a greater readiness. Let us stand with a greater determination. And let us move on in these powerful days, these days of challenge to make America what it ought to be. We have an opportunity to make America a better nation. And I want to thank God, once more, for allowing me to be here with you.

Those words, and the words of the title of this diary, were spoken 40 years ago today.  It was to be his last public speech, for the following evening, while standing on a balcony at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Martin Luther King Jr. was shot to death, and our cities exploded.  Tomorrow we can remember that tragic death,  but today we should remember this speech, and the events that brought King to Memphis, because he was there for the basic reason of economic justice - for a batch of garbage men.

On February 12, 1968, sanitation workers in the city of Memphis decided to walk off the job.  This decision set events in motion that have shaped our history every since.  

Will Cohen win reelection?

The Memphis Area Baptist Ministers Association should be ashamed for its attack on (TN-9th) Steve Cohen.

  I am not a native Memphian. Unless your great-great-great grand daddy was born here one is not truly a native Memphian. It is fashionable among suburbanites to trash Memphis and I can't deny that Memphis isn't exactly a peace zone, I lived in the heart of the city for five years and enjoyed it. We resided in what passes for a "hip" neighborhood by local standards : not completely white. Ironically enough we moved out to a semi-rural area and the town we live closest to has a comparable crime rate minus the murders. Memphis has more to offer than just Elvis and Beale Street. Since I have already provided glimpses of the Memphis Zoo and the  Memphis Botanic Gardens, I thought you might like to meet The Pink Palace.

This is my first diary and I know it's a bit short and probably redundant.  Useful comments  of that nature (in addition to any comments of course) would be appreciated.  And flames too would be okay if needed.  

This diary deals with 2006 congressional elections in a very southern city--Memphis--which might be considered old hat almost 7 months later.  But I think something about that election is informative.  Plus, I drank a couple of beers (I swear no more than 3!) this afternoon while working in the garden which no doubt has loosened my tongue and contributed to my verbosity!

I lived in Memphis for 12 years. I am safely back to No. Cal now. But I remember my time there with many great memories. The outrageous characters of the south are living and breathing. Local politics baby! That is where the best of these characters are enshrined. In the metro Memphis area alone, there are dozens of these larger than life politicians. You would think that the public would be outraged, or even fed up with this type of behavior. It seems actually voting out a powerful public figure seems to be a tough thing to do. Our friend Allen Elliotte channeled the late, great Huey Long, when he said "Only a dead girl, or a live boy" would cause the demise of a powerful southern politician. In that same voyeuristic vein, I give you the best example. The Fabulous Ford Family!!

I had the great pleasure to see Bill Moyers give a speech that was as brilliant as I have ever seen.

It was tour de force of how our democracy in America has been undermined by the gradual destruction of media laws designed to preserve freedom of speech and diversity of beliefs.

It is a wakeup call that we should all heed and then take action.

First half of Bill Moyers speech

Second half of Bill Moyers speech

There is definitely no mistaking me for a ‘traditional’ journalist.

Deadlines have been my enemy this past week and half, and I’m only now able to share details on what I considered the must-not-miss panel at this month’s National Conference for Media Reform in Memphis.

"The Press at War & the War on the Press" discussion brought together:

• Sonali Kolhatkar, Afghan Women’s Mission and KPFK
• Paul Rieckhoff, Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America
• Geneva Overholser, University of Missouri (moderator)
• Helen Thomas, Hearst Newspapers
• Eric Boehlert, Media Matters for America

There were a few surprise speakers, too.

Memphis hosted the National Conference for Media Reform last week with many well-known media personalities such as our own McJoan, Bill Moyers, Amy Goodman and others. Supposedly the conference went very well but late last Friday night things got ugly on the famous Beale St. in Memphis.

The 'Chain Gang' sponsored by the Backbone Campaign marched down the street in their costumes while reading off Bush's list of war crimes. Apparently some drunk patrons inside the bars didn't approve and came out to attack the Chain Gang. Meanwhile a police car stationed down the street looked at the melee and decided to turn away and leave!

Crossposted at Joshing Politics

A quick look at the timeline of events around the Memphis strike where Dr. King spent his last days, and what's going on today in his name.