The Almost Final Word on the Memphis Snub

Memphis is in for it now. The story of our snub of the Iraqi delegation touring the US under State Department auspices has provoked an outrage claim from an Arab-American advocacy group. Unless Chairman Joe Brown follows through with a rumored apology on Monday, watch for continued ripples from this incident.

I only have a few observations about the whole thing left, barring more embarrassment. First, it hasn't been widely reported -- actually, I don't think it's been reported at all -- that every official who was involved in the negative side of this incident was an African-American Democrat. If Jim Hart can be dragooned into painting all Republicans as racists, then does this mean that all Democrats are racist profilers? I have to wonder....

Who screwed up picking up the Iraqi delegation at the airport? If they knew the meeting had been moved to the Convention and Visitor's Center, why did they end up at City Hall? Had that not happened, we'd be golden right now.

Lastly, listening to callers to radio shows over the past few days it seems clear that Carol Chumney has managed to stage-manage herself into looking like a hero. Feh. One caller even praised her for "standing up" against Joe Brown! She grandstanding, that's all. Listen to every time she recounts her version of events that include her: never, ever, is there the least hint that she was wrong or behaved badly. Never. Carol's view is a rose-colored one, where she is Lady Liberty leading the French at Bastille.

How many times do I have to tell y'all? She a hack, a clunker, a plodder. Her ideas are old, but that's all she has, so she grinds along with them. She finds herself in situations she shouldn't be in because of her tin ear for people, then runs to the cameras and reporters with her dull, blinking eyes, hoping that her view becomes the conventional wisdom. Lately, she's been doing that. Wake up, people! She's only in it for Carol and her career and her ambitions.

'Nuff said.