It Had to Happen

[Take it as a good sign of my eventual return that I found this funny enough to post on.]

Canada recently made same-sex marriage legal. Now, two Ontario men want to get married and it's getting notice. Why? Because they are openly straight. Why, they've even been married to women before!

Guess who said this:

"Generally speaking, marriage should be for love," he said. "People who don't marry for love will find themselves in trouble.... If someone wants to do something foolish, let them do it."

It was the gay right activist! What a prude.

It occurred to me long ago that straight young people ought to take advantage of gay-marriage laws for the tax and health care benefits. Two roommates -- just out of college and just starting out in life -- get married and get all kinds of tax breaks. They also, as a married couple, get a lot of benefits in health care and access in the event of trauma and emergency. This is especially true if one friend gets a great job with excellent health care benefits as part of the compensation package. The other can then be listed as the "partner" and get identical coverage at a huge cost savings!

The two men in the story are retirement age, but they have also sussed out the tax advantages for themselves. No reason they can't marry now. It's a win-win for them. Why more young Americans haven't figured this out, I don't know. It's not like there's a divorce stigma anymore.

Besides, what's love or sex got to do with marriage?

Service Interruption

Ah, yes. Regular readers will recognise the Unexplained Lack of Posts as a sad, if occasional, feature of Half-Bakered. I'm afflicted by depression and, if I get knocked off my center, it's hard to get back to regular. Such is one of those times.

Add to that some weird and annoying computer problems. The computer is taking longer and longer to boot up. It goes through multiple startup cycles until something "catches" and it goes into safe mode. Nothing is clearly wrong, but when I reboot from their, it will usually boot all the way up. Today, I got an "unable to read File Allocation Table on Drive C" error message. Eek!

So, I may be computerless soon, and for several days, on top of the other problem.

I'm shooting for the first of next week. See ya then.

WordPress Design Help Needed

Is anyone in the readership good with WordPress templates and CSS? I want to finally move the blog to my domain, but the idea of learning PHP (and coding the underlying text) is daunting. So is trying to write the CSS page, though I don't doubt I can do that.

I want the WP version to look exactly like this: two fixed-width side columns filled with links; variable-width middle column for posts. Same color and look, etc. I know it's "bad form" but I can live with keeping this as table-formatted if it's simpler to achieve. I can rewrite the CSS page to create a reversed B&W version (for those deluded folks who hate white text on black), as well as some other color variants, I think.

If you can do the job, drop me an email and give me an idea of your costs. I'm really poor, so I can't afford much, but I'd like to explore this more seriously and get it over with.

Oh Poo!

Wednesday seems to have knocked me off my pins more than I thought. Sorry not to have returned to steady blogging by now.

I will be away from the keyboard almost all day tomorrow, so I hope I can get back into the saddle on Sunday.

Did I not warn that saying anything about plans on the blog usually will mess me up? You think I'd learn.... Again, sorry for the lapse.

Who?

Hmmm.... According to Pirate Monkeys, I am:


Harry Potter Personality Quiz by Pirate Monkeys Inc.

"Animated when provoked." Well, that's true.

I'm not a Harry Potter reader. (So why did I take the quiz? I blame Len.) I've seen the movies, but that's it. Is Snape the guy played by Alan Rickman? If so, that's cool. I wouldn't mind being Alan Rickman.

Today's "Election"

A commenter asked the other day if I had anything to say on today's "election." Well, first of all, it's not an election; it's a primary. An election is when voters select someone to represent them in a government office. A primary, on the other hand, is when a party winnows down the field of candidates to one nominee of that party to run in an election.

Elections are, in Tennessee, the province of the Counties. But thanks to the power and monopoly of the Democratic and Republican Parties, we also handle their primaries for them. Why should they pay, when they can foist the cost onto voters?

Since they are intra-party, I tend not to pay a lot of attention to local primaries.

On the Republican side, they wasted no time in Senate District 29, former home of John Ford. He was barely indicted before the Shelby County Republican Party had already put forth Terry Roland to replace him. No viable or sensible reason was given, they just wanted to get a marker on the seat to forestall competition and to get word out they considered it "in play." I don't know Roland, but he's been campaigning as the kind of guy who puts principles over party. Given that he's the number four guy locally in the Republican party, you'll forgive my skepticism of his claims.

On the Democratic side, we have three current State Representatives vying for the seat, and a couple of Democratic activists and workers; something like eight candidates in all. I've said in the past that when you have a lot of folks running for opportunities in a party, it's either a sign of disarray and struggle for control or of healthy competition by a large, vigorous party. It can also be a sign of greed.

I think it's no accident that three long-time Representatives want to "trade up" to the Senate. It's a lucrative position, as the Tennessee Waltz and TennCare investigations are showing. There's more power, too. Who wouldn't want their hands on that?

The only thing I'll watch is to see how the Democratic vote splits amongst the candidates. Which Representative gets the nod? I'm also curious to see how Ophelia Ford does. According to this week's Memphis Flyer, she got a last-minute campaign put together that is fairly impressive (and expensive). How she places against the others will be a small barometer of the Fords' fortunes. I say small because she is a political neophyte despite her lineage.

INSTANT UPDATE: Henri Brooks, a Representative, and Ophelia Ford, a Ford, go into a runoff. How about that Shelby County. You get to pay for that, too. No one did better in the Democratic primary than a third of the vote; most did half that or less. Apparently being a Ford does still count for something.

Of course, if Henri Brooks does win a promotion, then we'll pay for the special election to replace her. Don't you love it?

Bad Education

Memphis City Schools released their No Child Left Behind results. What's in the Commercial Appeal is pretty much taken directly from the State of Tennessee website and press releases.

It struck me that something was missing and it didn't take long to figure it out: specific numbers and last year's data. We don't get total numbers of schools, nor the total numbers in categories. Nor do we get last year's numbers by which to compare progress or decline this year. Almost always, when you see this kind of evasion it's to cover bad news. My question: how bad?

Look at some of the columns and what you'll see is lots of schools marked "improving" but none marked "declining." It's the lack of historicity and comparison that makes me suspicious. I did some Googling to find last years' numbers, even tried to check the City's and State's sites, but no luck. Anyone have a source of last year's numbers?

I remember last year and the year before, when discussion of the numbers and the changes dominated the news. This year was different, with coverage much more vague and prominent mentions of the "Celebration" list, since it was at the top. Clever move, educators and administrators.

Kay Brooks, Tennessee education blogger, also noticed some troubling Memphis numbers. I emailed her and if she can answer some of the above, I'll pass it on.

Don't Get Overly Excited

Don't make much of this, as it happens all the time but most folks don't have blogs to advertise their opinions, but at least one Memphian has planted his flag forRosalind Kurita over Harold Ford Jr in the '06 Senate race.

Autoegocrat lays out his reasons with links to Kurita's website. I know quite a few Memphis liberal bloggers who are also dissatisfied with Ford, but whether this leads to a movement or is just the usual scattered counterpoint remains to be seen.

The Pesky Fly warns Autoegocrat to slow down, while hinting that he, too, might be persuaded.

Thin Skins

Darrell Phillips summarises local media relations of this year rather nicely, and then presents the latest demonstration of how thin-skinned and petty its making some people.

The media are operating on an "I need it before 4PM" schedule and expecting cooperation. It would be nice to see the local media slow it down a bit, though I doubt that will happen. Too many I know in the local television news business make a near-fetish of "being first," of getting a story out there before its been digested or even finished its course. I think the whole local news culture is broken, to be honest, but identifying where and why is a huge undertaking no one wants to lose profits exploring.

Local governments are abusing legitimate powers to harrass the media. Herenton's imperial sense of self is leading him down wrong roads. And the pervasive sense of personal entitlement in local government leads too many politicians to demand a control of the message or its delivery they aren't entitled to. Government could also help by always remembering that an announcement or breaking story will need supporting paperwork for the media. It seems obvious, but you'd be surprised.

It's a dysfunctional relationship. Government has a job to do, a part of which is keeping citizens informed of what it's doing. The local media is not necessarily an automatic part of doing that job, though it frequently is. They are operating a literal "just in time" operation that requires several hours a day be filled with fresh product. Many news organisation these days are operating with shoe-string budgets and under-staffed operations for the job they've undertaken. Add to this the natural reticence of public-sector people to other folks questioning their actions and demanding answers of them. Add to that a desire to protect political careers and perks, and keep the inconvenient secret. It gets ugly.

I thought watchdogs had teeth? The media has the upper hand, eventually, but don't appear to have the time or the willingness to change the relationship. Too bad.

Almost

Hi kids. I had a bad start to yesterday. I went out just a bit later than I usually do and was trying to cross Union (right where the police cruiser flipped over the day before) when I see a bus coming down the street. That time of the morning there is only one, and it's mine. He was 10 minutes early (which is unheard-of) and rolling fast.

I had to step out into the middle of the street to make sure I flagged him down, then had to squeeze between cars to get in front of him to make sure he stopped. I've had busses roll right past me while I'm waving like crazy before.

Anyway, I climb on and it's not my regular driver, but another one I recognise from the same route. But I look down the bus and see a whole lot more folks than usual inside. My spidey-sense was tingling. I should've checked then, but was more intent on getting going. So was the driver.

It wasn't until he rolled past my usual turn-off I realised something was wrong. By the time I hit the bell and talked with the driver, we were waaaaay past the intersection I needed to get to the place I was going to have to walk to. I turned out this was an earlier bus that was running at least fifteen minutes late himself. I should've waited back on Union.

By the time I walked back to the intersection, nearly half-a-mile, I saw the bus I usually ride turning out. Sigh.... So, I had to walk another mile to get where I was going. I was soaked through with sweat by the time I got there, hot and tired. It carried through the whole day.

Then, a package I've been waiting for showed up while I was out. I have to be here today for it. Sometime this afternoon.

The only good news was in my weekly Epic game. This time I fought Mark to a deadlock that dragged on two more turns before he offered me a draw! I didn't have many forces left by then; he'd have won if we continued. But it was good to know I stopped him from a clear, easy win. I even surprised him a time or two, forcing him into perturbedness.

On the other hand, he's getting bolder and more confident with his Warlord Titan weapon (an enormous, overpowered war machine; a mobile artillery platform) and that causes me no end of trouble. I have nothing to go up against it. It just wanders where it will, killing what it wants unopposed. The only strategy I've got is to keep it from moving forward by throwing pickets in front of it. He has to waste time or firepower blowing them away to clear his path first.

Anyway, got home very, very tired. I'm getting up to speed today, so it will be later today before anything gets posted. But it will get posted. Mayor Herenton's action yesterday in regards to the parks controversy is typical of Herenton and we'll look at what it says about him, and what it means for Memphis. I'll have the Ford Unity breakfast post, finally, and if you're lucky and very, very good, I might write up the "Q&A With Mr. Mike" post that's been flaoting in my head for a while.

Or I might just rent a movie and switch off my mind. Who knows?

Anyway, more coming later. Thanks for stopping in. Half-Bakered's traffic has taken another bump up lately and I'm grateful for the new readers -- and the continuing regular readers. Thanks, y'all.

INSTANT UPDATE: I didn't check Mark's site first, but sure enough he has a good recap of our game. He also has interesting news about Americans Coming Together, and a picture that will break the hearts of beer drinkers everywhere. Start at the top of The Conservative Zone and keep scrolling.

It's Just One Day

Just a reminder, Wednesday I will be away from the keyboard all day. With luck, I'll be able to squeeze something in late in the evening.

I have several things I want to blog about, but I'm afraid to list them here. When I've done that in the past, I end up not doing it.

The WestRogers thing got me thinking: anything y'all would like to see me blog about? Topic, issue, person, what? No guarantees, I'm just curious.

Later, taters!

Dang it! I Missed It

Earlier this morning, I was playing with Miss Kitty in the back room when I heard a police siren coming west on Union. No big deal; it happens all the time, day and night, in this stretch. But then I heard squealing brakes, a solid metallic crunch and then the siren cut off. Uh oh. I started to go outside to investigate, but decided not to.

Now I wish I had. As the story above reports, a police cruiser hit another vehicle on Union head on, flipped and landed upside down in the Kinko's parking lot! That's barely more than a block from here! Wow. Fortunately, no one was killed.

Accidents on Union are nothing new. The stretch where this accident happened is just down from Avalon and Union, where there are similar fender-benders all the time. The problem isn't emergency vehicles so much as folks turning off or onto Union. Drivers are always trying to beat traffic, which can be tough to do. Always in a hurry; rush, rush, rush.

The stretch of Union right in front of the Schnuck's market is another bad spot. There are three entrances to turn into, lots of traffic from the corner of Union and McLean, drivers leaving Schnuck's leaping across traffic to go west, more drivers stacked up on Union trying to turn in. Accidents are a regular occurence there.

Union Avenue, for those who just moved here, was a variable-traffic flow street for many years. The two center lanes would change throughout the day: westbound during morning rush and eastbound during evening rush. It was a nightmare to drive, and doubly so with thoughtless, speedy, selfish Memphis drivers. The City finally went to the present three lanes each way a few years ago. I was opposed to the change (Learn to drive and pay attention, you wantwits!), but the accident rate on Union dropped by something like 25%, so it was the right thing to do.

I think the City may now have to explore the idea of dedicated turn lanes for at least some part of Union. Maybe from Cleveland to Cooper? But will the squeeze in a turn lane, making Union a very crowded five lane road, or will they narrow the lanes and make it seven?

Either way, it's still going to be scary for pedestrians like me trying to cross Union. Even when I cross at the intersection of Avalon and Union, or at Idlewild to get to Schnuck's, I'm taking my life into my hands. Even when the traffic is all going one way, I still look the other way, just in case. I've seen drivers go backwards on short stretches of Union, just for convenience.

Maybe we need more stop lights?

Doing the Media's Job

One of the things I've complained about is the local media (print and television) doing a piss-poor job of explaining the history of the Nathan Forrest statue and the naming of the parks that are the center of controversy of late. Leave it to a blogger to do the job: Erasing the Confederacy. Thanks, AlphaPatriot!

We today find it easy to look back and apply our expectations to people who lived in different times and different social attitudes. Humans also have a terrible tendency to reduce complex people to simplistic hero/villain stereotypes. Forrest was without doubt a man of his time. He began with one mindset and changed to embrace another. He was a harsh man shaped by harsh times and a wilderness frontier (which Tennessee was then) life. We can no more judge him by our standards today than we can judge the slaves of his day by the standards of their white masters.

That said, I'm not opposed to renaming or repurposing parks. It depends on why it is being done. In the case of the three Confederate parks, it's political grandstanding by a politician who is facing terms limits. He wants to generate a political image as a crusader and a "fighter for the people" so he can set himself up for his next government job. God forbid he should work honestly for a living.

But I like the idea of Confederate Park becoming Civil War Park, with new monuments to balance the "sides." The cannons should stay, as they emphasise our riverfront history and the importance of the Mississippi. I'm fine with moving Forrest and his wife back to Elmwood Cemetary, where they were originally buried. (Or was it National? I might be mixed up here.) The statue would go with them; a place of honor can be dedicated there. The land that is currently Forrest Park reverts to his descendants. I'm guessing they sell it to UT Memphis, who keep the park space for now. Maybe Memphis finally gets Cancer Survivor Park?

Jefferson Davis Park is a thornier issue. Do we erect an Abraham Lincoln statue facing him and rename it Civil War Presidents Park? I don't think so. Can anyone tell me why we built a park (or renamed an earlier park space) to him? I'm not sure sending the Davis statue to another community and renaming it Ida B. Wells Park is the answer. Not that Wells shouldn't be honored; she should. But how many Memphians even know why she deserves it? Why that space?

Why not a Mark Twain Park? He chronicled America of that time, both the good and the bad. Or Frederick Douglass Park? Does he even have a park in this country dedicated to him? Honoring him would speak to the era and to the side of freedom and abolition of slavery. It would tie in nicely to the Civil Rights Museum. Though, again, I worry how many Memphians even know who he is.

I don't know what to do about Davis Park, really. Any other ideas? Any good defenses of keeping it the same?

AlphaPatriot, Part Two

He's on a roll lately, so he gets another link.

Memphians are very concerned with the murder rate of late. But you think we have it bad? Not like this. They get little press in Middle America, but the narco-terroristas dominate the Mexican border on the Mexico side, and are routinely making forays into America, with impugnity.

We in Memphis have a growing Hispanic community, and I'm proud to say that they seem to be welcomed. It's large enough to support its own AM radio station (AM1040 Radio Ambiente) which is fun to listen to. The Hispanics moving here are largely congregating along Jackson and Summer Avenues, between the Grahamwood and National Cemetary areas, though Hispanic stores can also be found along parts of Lamar and southeast Memphis.

You'd think, with Memphis being at the nexus of transit from the west and to the north (We are the intersection of I-40 and I-55.), and with an established Hispanic community to work from, that we'd be seeing some of that narco-crime. But that's apparently not happening. Or if it is, its being obscured by the way the crimes are reported and recorded.

That's not to say Memphis isn't a dangerous place. It can be and sometimes is. But I wouldn't live anywhere else.

More on Memphis

Another look at Memphis, albeit short, from a pulp faction.

Myers Changes Mind

The news is late-breaking, but I found a link. Barry Myers, always the bagman now and never the rising star anymore, has changed plea in the Tennessee Waltz investigation. He will plead guilty to two charges having to do with extortion and in exchange all the other charges (six nine, in all) will be dropped. I'll update with the specifics when I find them.

[Digression: I tried the Commercial Appeal website. They have a link, but it's wrong and forces you through registration before taking you to a 404 error page. I tried some obvious variations, but they didn't work either. If it gets fixed, I'll probably post it. Maybe.

It's working now. Nothing more to add to the story.]

I think the main thing is that you don't get these kinds of plea deals unless you give up a lot in return. Roscoe Dixon and Kathryn Bowers are probably sweating bullets tonight. Before the press slapped him with the "bagman" label, Myers was a protege of Dixon and Bowers. He was even in line to get run for Bowers' old House seat. If there was malfeasance, Myers would be the guy to know.

If they offered the deal now, prosecutors must be satisfied that his information is worthwhile. Whether this speeds up the handing down (up?) of indictments to more people -- rumored since the day Tennessee Waltz broke -- is an open question. I wouldn't want to be a Democratic leader tonight.

UPDATE MONDAY 11PM: All the television news stations have reports now, but there's no new information. The only extra that I've learned is what I posted in comments. Myers will cop to the conspiracy charges, which will strengthen the State's cases against Dixon and Bowers.

LeftWing Cracker sounds some fearful notes. He's worried about the Republican attack ads to come. That's true, but I'm quite sure the Democrats will find every impropriety Republicans commit, like in the post down below this, and blare those too. By the time the election rolls around, I think most Tenneesseans will sick of their State government and be ready to chuck all of them, lock, stock and barrel.

After all, saturated bombing only leaves scorched earth.

UPDATE MIDNIGHT MONDAY: Oops! Missed one. Darrell Phillips has some behind the scenes information, as well as the familiar "more indictments are coming" refrain.

UPDATE TUESDAY MORNING: Thaddeus Matthews offers some personal observations and a warning. Keep an eye on his blog today, as he's promising something about Harold Ford Jr later.

Half-Bakered Really Has Arrived

I must be someone now, because I just got my very first issues spam! Half-Bakered gets letters and comments all the time with folks disagreeing with me, or wanting to bring something to my attention, or threatening me, but this is the first time I can recall where some PR firm has tried to co-opt me into a media campaign!

Originally, I was going to talk about this without bringing the company's name into it, but when I went to their site and saw this, I quickly changed my mind:

Over budget and behind schedule, the Memphis Area Transit Authority's downtown trolley line was besieged by negative publicity. Business owners were upset by the construction disruption; the public was cynical. WestRogers stepped in and developed a campaign to introduce the trolley and the revitalized mall. The extensive publicity helped draw 450,000 riders in the first six months.

Regular readers know my thoughts on the trolley and the developer bonanza / government boondoggle it is.

The company's website is long on talking about hitting "bull's eyes" for their customers, but I'd say they were aiming at the wrong target here. Don't they even read this blog? Sheesh....

Here's the email, with individual names and identifying information removed:

Mike, I encourage you to start taking a look at the battle over a special use permit for RACE (my client). It's an example of bureaucrats specifically developing a new interpretation of existing law to destroy a business.

This can't be good for economic development in the Memphis area.

Call if you have any questions.

Have I ever blogged on this issue, ever? Do I blog on economic development? Not as such, no. Did the emailer include any places to look for information? Any links, the true mark of someone wanting you to learn more via the Internet? Nope, it's "call me." That doesn't inspire confidence, no sir.

Now, this company/person will likely say, "I was just bringing this to your attention. I was completely above board." Plausible, but given that PR campaigns are your profession, and you larded your email with all kinds of non-Internet contact information (Even mentioning "Senior Counsel!" Lawyers. Yeah that'll get my attention and sympathy.), color me unimpressed. There are sneakier ways of running a viral campaign. Learn them, if you're going to try this.

The professional journalists who read this blog are likely wondering what my fuss is about. They must see a ton of this stuff every day. And if they work at the Commercial Appeal, probably publish it too. I'd imagine you're inured to it by now, like mosquitos on a summer evening.

Well, like I said, this is my first. So, like a kitten with a new toy, I'm going to play with it.

Next time, WestRogers, know what you're doing before you do it. If you want to co-opt my blog, either read it and know what I'm likely to talk about, and my likely point of view, or offer me something worthwhile for a piece of my soul. Deal straight, not sideways.

Where's the Beef?

What if they gave a protest and no one came? Does that mean the maximum majority is fine with the issue? Or will the media cover the protest anyway, never mentioning the empty hall?

WMC had a story about the Nashville "bell ringing" protest against TennCare cuts. To judge by the camera, fewer than a dozen folks showed up, though some effort was taken to use tight shots to minimise the embarrassment. The story did make sure to mention the protesters in the Governor's office. I'm guessing they needed something to fill out the otherwise non-story story.

Even the protesters inside the Governor's office seem to have fizzled. They get locked in every night, when the working people leave. No one seems to care. Their story was off the news for nearly two weeks until this "bell ringing" story.

I'm pretty surprised that the socialist / compassionate Left has fumbled so badly. The press loves these kinds of stories: average people with troubles being crushed by the evil, wealthy government. Threats, conflict, pictures of emotional people.

And yet, this has been something that hasn't caught fire across the state the way the income tax protests did. You didn't have to have organisations bussing in folks (except those supporting the income tas: unions); people drove themselves. It was truly a grassroots, populist expression of the people of Tennessee.

The TennCare protests have largely been led by leftist and religious/political organisations. There's almost no spontaneous popular expression going on here. No momentum, no energy, no passion.

Could it be this isn't as popular with Tennesseans as TennCare supporters think? I'd say numbers don't lie.

Dump 'Em All

I saw a Nashville news story carried by a local station over the weekend. It took a while to find it, but here it is, from WSMV.

The reporter uses Lois DeBerry's $200 gambling trip as a jumping off point to look at other legislators on the General Assembly's sham "ethic reform" committee. It's not so much the money sloshing around -- that's nothing new at all -- but the attitude of those in Nashville to accepting it. There's no sense of wrongness, no inkling that it might be improper to accept gifts from entities that have no vote but lots of money. For all that the Democrats got hit hard by the Tennessee Waltz investigation, Republicans don't come up smelling too sweet either.

My attitude is: Dump 'em all. Flush the place, scrub it out and bring in a new crop. Take the broom and beat the rug until all the bugs fall out. There is no sense (that I see, in general) of humility or public service there in Nashville. Tear it down and start over.

For heaven's sake, State Representative Ulysses Jones was approached to take a bribe for the E-Cycle legislation, but declined. He did take a "campaign contribution" and still co-sponsored their legislation! He doesn't seem to have ever reported the attempted bribe, and in news reports he seemed blase about the whole incident. That's the atmosphere those folks in Nashville live and breath in.

As Thomas Jefferson once said, "The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants." I think it's time.

A Ford Overview

An email correspondent pointed me to this Tennessean story about the Ford family. It's a broad look at their history and relationaships, both within the family and with the Memphis community. It's a fair enough primer, if you don't know the story.

The writer, Bonna de la Cruz, is someone I don't particularly trust. She distinguished herself, in the bad way, with her writing and coverage of the Income Tax Wars on 2002.

There are some problems. For one, she talks about Ophelia Ford's candidacy for the State Senate as though it's a fully fledged campaign, and mention her previous run as though she's just another Ford politician. No mention of her being dissed by her brothers when she ran last time, being told "it's not her time."

De la Cruz mentions twice the dollar value of John Ford's homes, for some reason, but only notes that Harold Ford own homes in the Hamptons and in Miami. Nor does she note Harold Jr's private education up East. Nor does she talk very much about the younger generations of Fords. Nor does she mention Melvin Ford's recent run-in with the cops.

There is a little snipe. In the impressive sidebar to the main story -- filled with links to other Tennessean stories, bits of trivia and other family facts; the Commercial Appeal could learn from this -- the paper notes that a dorm was named after Harold Sr and John when they promised in 2001 to donate $500,000 towards its construction. In four years, they've only managed to give $50,000. Oops!

Anyway, part one was yesterday, and the series concludes today. Well worth a lookover.