Fear and Loathing at Hickory Ridge Mall

While doing research for the next post, I stumbled over this overheated but still intriguing vanity post over at FreeRepublic.com.

I was at the Hickory Ridge Mall on Winchester Road in Memphis around 4 pm today. I hadn't been there in about 2 years and I was absolutely stunned to see that half of the people in the mall were hispanics. Spanish was heard everywhere. I saw a lot of attractive and decent looking families towards whom I had sympathetic feelings on a personal level. They just looked like nice people living their lives. But the fact is that I was at the same mall 2 years ago and I hardly saw any hispanics. What is going on with our border security? This isn't a gradual expansion, this is an explosion. We're not talking Houston or LA- this is Memphis!

When I got to the food court I saw a group of about 15 teenage hispanics walking towards me who looked like they just came out of Hollywood Central casting. They were the scariest looking group of guys I've ever seen. Truly ridiculous baggy pants and they had a swagger like this was THEIR mall. You could tell they enjoyed the fear they were causing everyone around them to have. I had to look at them out of the corner of my eye to avoid offending them by staring at them....

Just as the gang members were walking past me a group of about 8 Memphis police officers and a similar number of mall security guards stormed the food court and the gang members started running in all directions. The gang members were yelling angrily like someone was fixing to start shooting, and for the first time in my life I was kneeling down in a mall to avoid potential gunfire.

Most of the gang members escaped but a few were detained. I don't know if they had been seen shoplifting or if this was just a move to keep them out of the mall.

Like I said, the poster is definitely excitable and overly dramatic, but the incident and general observations are pertinent.

I have to admit, about 10 years ago I went to Hickory Ridge pretty regularly. More than any other mall in the area. As much as I'm able to these days, I felt most comfortable there. (Malls creep me out.) But now that I think about it, I haven't been there in at least five years. I've been to Wolfchase and Oak Court a couple of times, but that's it. I tend to shop (what little shopping I do, anyway) at stand-alone stores.

What's been y'all's experience with the changing customer base of local malls and your shopping patterns?

Ron Meroney Arrested

Ron Meroney, co-host and anchor of FOX13's Good Morning Memphis was arrested at his home Wednesday afternoon. He was picked up by TBI on a warrant issued from Wicomico County, Maryland. The warrant stems from a grand jury indictment handed down in December, 2005; the charge was statutory rape. According to Maryland law, the age of consent is 16, so the child involved would be younger than that.

He is being held at the Criminal Justice Center (aka 201 Poplar) downtown until a hearing Thursday morning. That is sure to be all over the noon and evening news tomorrow.

I don't particularly want to cover this but it seems that a "one stop shop" of links for websurfers is called for. So this post will serve that need.

The Commercial Appeal has their story here. Apparently, court and public offices in Maryland were closed by the time local media got the word on the story as no one has any quotes or comments from Marylanders as of Wednesday evening. But they note:

Meroney lived in Maryland from 1972-85 and also has lived in Florida, according to an online public records data base.

Remember those dates, as we'll come back to them.

(There is one oddity in the story, an outgrowth of the daily's strange unwillingness to acknowledge any media or news source other than themselves and the national nets/papers. One sentence in the article begins: "According to a FOX 13 Web site ...." "A?" Is there another one? It's either a strange bit of sloppiness or a needless bit of obfuscation.)

The local television news offers a bit more.

WMC/5, in their report write:

Jennifer Johnson with the TBI says, "We were notified by a family member that he was wanted on a warrant out of Maryland and they were very concerned that he had be[en] living in Memphis and had not been picked up."

The "a family member" is a bit vague. Was it the victim's family or Meroney's? Why was this left hanging so long when Meroney isn't attempting anything like hiding? Very strange.

At WPTY/24 there's a bit more:

A TBI spokeswoman says last December the 69 year-old was indicted in Maryland on a charge of statutory rape. She says one of his relatives called the TBI to alert the agency that he was wanted in Maryland.

Stranger still.

And WREG/3 has a bit more background, including discovering another case involving Meroney dating back to 1984! They report:

But News Channel 3 has obtained police reports dating back 22 years ago in a separate Maryland County - Baltimore County.

Those police reports state that a "sexual assault" case was investigated in May, 1984 involving Meroney. They say that the alleged victim was a nine year

But court records show that case was never prosecuted. That a "disposition" for child abuse and second degree rape was put on "nolle prosequi" in August, 1984.

It makes you wonder why this has been sitting out there unnoticed all this time. And if it's part of a pattern, then that's just frightening.

I tried to search various Maryland television news and newspaper sites, but couldn't find anything either current or past. Google didn't offer turn up any results.

As more becomes known, I'll update this post.

THURSDAY EVENING UPDATE: Hmmmm. Very little to update here. I'm kind of surprised, given the explosive nature of the charges and the media's love of this kind of luridness.

Anyway, WMC/5 adds to their original story with this:

A news release by the Wicomico County Child Advocacy Center said only that an investigation uncovered a statutory rape accusation between the months of June and October of 1974.

Is that last a typo? Do they mean "1984" which would match when Meroney lived there?

In 1984, Meroney was charged with several counts of sexual offenses in Baltimore County. Those charges included child abuse and rape.

All but one of those charges were dismissed in July of 1984. On one charge, third-degree sexual offense, Meroney was granted probation before judgment, indicating that a judge found that the facts were sufficient for a prosecution, but instead elected to grant probation before entering a sentence.

So did Meroney fail to complete probation? Did something else happen?

WPTY/24 to their original story add this:

On Thursday at 1:00 p.m. Meroney was released on a $50,000 bond.

Former local television anchor Joe Larkins offers some insider's thoughts about the business side of this situation. As I said to a friend last night after the story broke, innocent or not, mistaken case or whatever, his career is likely over. Even if he's completely exonerated, this will still attach to him forever more.

And that's it. I wonder if the story would be this scant if it involved a politician, businessman or "average citizen." The skeptic in me has to wonder if "one of their own" is being given some slack. I doubt it, but the apparent lack of digging bugs me.

THURSDAY NIGHT UPDATE: OK, WPTY/24 steps up and provides some much needed details. The arrest yesterday involves an incident 31 years ago. A female family member alleges she was raped between June and October of 1974. No details have come out yet as to why the accuser waited 30 years to come forward.

The arrest happened because a family member sent an email to Governor Bredesen's office. Shelby County Sheriffs and Baltimore prosecutors are blaming each other for the snafus.

The 1984 case was a completely separate incident.

If, and I stress if the charges are true then we move to a new fear. It's widely accepted in psychological circles that once a pedophile (or ephebophile, they are related) acts on his impulses, he will continue to act on them. If we have two incidents 10 years apart, we must consider that there might be further undiscovered incidents in the intervening time.

I know, pretty horrifying to think about.

Finally, let's use this opportunity to clear up some terms here. A pedophile is a person (usually but not always a man) who is sexually attracted to children. By that we mean pre-sexual children: infants, toddlers, pre-adolescents. Humans without secondary sexual characteristics like breasts, pubic hair, hip curves, etc.

An ephebophile is a related phenomenon, involving people who are sexually attracted to post-adolescent children, to humans who are sexually immature and still developing like tweens or late bloomers.

NOTE: No more updates to this post.

You See? I Told You: Immigrant Rallies Dept.

After the amazingly large rally downtown a couple of weeks ago, where 10,000 folks showed up fairly spontaneously, the "big" rally Monday for illegal immigrants' rights was a bust. The school system reports few students left; no big crowds. It seems the main event was at a local Hispanic Church.

Of course, the big picture in the CA was the black skinned man wrapped in the American flag. And the paper repeatedly mentions that May Day is a huge holiday in Central and South American countries but doesn't tell you why. Nor explain why so few showed up if it's such a big holiday.

Money quote, from the very end of the article:

Dawn Shute, who runs the Foreign Language Immersion Childcare Center on Mud Island, said many of her workers -- all of them legal and documented -- asked three weeks ago to be off work on May 1. So FLICC organized volunteers from among its parents in order to make it happen.

"Some of them were going to participate in rallies," Shute said, "but some of them said they just wanted to be invisible for the day."

Again, for those of you who are late to the Half-Bakered party or who just react first without thought, I'm not at all opposed to immigration. I am the son of an immigrant; Quebecois, though my appearance is that of my paternal Irish great-grandparents.

I also think the US government does a piss-poor job of making it possible for resident aliens to become citizens. But the uncontrolled border to the south is a problem. The uncontrolled flood of people is a problem. The imbalance between Mexican attitudes to their emigrants and our immigrants vs. our de facto situation needs addressing and rebalancing.

In many parts of this country American culture (white, black, whatever) is being supplanted by a non-assimilating Hispanic one. That must be stopped and they must be assimilated. Or we will have problems.

Don't believe me? Look around the world at other nations with similar situations. England (Caribbean blacks), France (North African Muslims), Germany (Turks and East Germans and former Yugoslavians), Japan (Koreans, Chinese, Philippinos), southern Russian (Arab Muslims), Iraq (Kurds), Saudi Arabia (Philippinos), Mexico (Central Americans), Australia (Lebanese and West Pacific Asians). The list is long and instructive.

The lesson is clear. Slow down, absorb, assimilate, re-open. Repeat.

The consequences are clear. Ask yourself where would you like to live without moving: America or Mexico?

The coverage goes back to what I talked about in a post last week. The rallies Monday were supposed to be even huger than the ones previous. The country was supposed to be shut down, or at least annoyingly inconvenienced. That didn't happen. With few exceptions, the rallies were smaller. Rallies in Florida and the Northeast emphasised flexing the political muscle of the already established immigrant communities -- people who are working their way into American culture and political structures with an eye to finding their place. Not folks trying to set up their own parallel world on this land.

Media coverage was suspiciously light on making the follow-on connection. There's already evidence (witness the money quote above) that there's a backlash happening, which may be partly why the latest rallies made a point of waving American flags. I think the Instapundit had it right when he noted that some organisers aren't interested in anything more than creating an alienated group of immigrants and an angry group of Americans as a way to further discord. It's all about the revolution, he argues. It seems many immigrants (the legal, naturalised, assimilating kind) spotted that as well and decided not to play along.

Good for them.

Spring Bloggers Bash?

I was reminded a little while ago that we've not had a bloggers bash recently. Spring is nearly over; you can feel the hot humid breath of summer on your neck even now.

So what say you all? Ready for another bash? Offers, suggestions, observations, bribes from venues, etc all solicited.

Uh Oh

So I head over to Rachel and the City to see what the Kewl Kidz are up to these days and there's nothing there but a placeholder page saying "There is no website configured at this address." Please tell me everything is all right and this is just another web hiccup.

I like Rachel's site and her view of a particular part of Memphis that, were I twenty years younger, I'd be deep in the middle of. She's also a massive booster of indie and rock Memphis music and there's just not enough of that.

Fiscal Prudence for Thee But Not for Me

Those of you who watch television news may remember seeing that Governor Phil Bredesen only have 2% raises for "state employees" this year. His definition of state workers seems to be a bit convoluted:

You've heard of Speakers Jimmy Naifeh and John Wilder; but you may not be as familiar with their right-hand men. Burney Durham is Naifeh's chief of staff and chief clerk of the House.

In 2003, Durham made around $115,000. Now, he makes more than $145,000 -- a 26% increase from three years ago.

Russell Humphrey is Wilder's chief of staff in the Senate. His salary increased from $104,000 to $134,000 -- 28% in three years.

"Are you worth that much money?" asked Amons.

"I love my job. I'd do it no matter what they paid me," said Humphrey.

Last year alone, Humphrey and Durham got 12% raises -- six times what Governor Phil Bredesen budgeted for everyone else. At Governor Bredesen's state of the state address, he had announced, "we're proposing a total of 2% in raises for our employees."

Channel 4's I-Team tracked the salaries of every state employee over the last three-years. In the legislature, we found the ten staffers who make more than $100,000 a year each averaged a 20% increase from 2003 to 2006. That's more than TWICE what the average state worker got during the same time period -- 9%.

Sounds a lot like our Mayor Herenton and his cushy crew, doesn't it? The police and fire department and other first responders have to make do with no raise, but Herenton's political appointees and his office staff are quite well paid.

On your dime.

I thought America was a represetative democracy where the bureacracy were "public servants." Since when did we become a monarchy with an aristocracy?

Link via Say Uncle.

Voting With Their Feet

Les Jones looks at the inter-state migration of Americans and maps it to a blue / red political color scheme to instructive result.

Drop the Bomb on Monroe Avenue

Sorry for the sporadic and indifferent blogging of late. I was away from the computer all weekend and then yesterday the new property managers (PMs) for our complex dropped the bomb on us.

The PMs sent out letters to most of the residents of five of the six buildings they manage on this street. All will have their month-to-month leases terminated at the end of this month. My buildings will be shut down and boarded up, preparatory to being completely stripped and remodelled.

Residents on longer leases (like my year-to-year lease) will be terminated as their leases expire. But it's clear, everyone is going from at least four buildings, maybe five, by year's end. The sixth building is spared for now as it's still in excellent repair. All the others have suffered from a series of landlords and property managers who ranged from overwhelmed to actively indifferent to just plain cheap. The buildings have suffered a lot; the apartments can't be filled; the residents we do have are either druggies or fearful decent people.

There's been a change in the crack business on the street. The shifts happened over the past few months. The drug dealer behind me apparently got the message and scaled his activities waaaaay back. He announced last month he was moving a bit farther east, but he's still using the apartment with friends. The dealers across the street were evicted finally, so that stopped. (Although the crackheads keep breaking into one apartment as a crashpad and den.)

But the apartments in the middle of the street, and the house owned by a cop next door, became the new center of drug activity. It's unbelievable down there; worse than almost anything ever was here. It's nearly completely over-run.

But the most amazing thing is the formerly quiet apartment directly across from me. It used to be low key except for some activity by the homeless at one apartment. That guy was grandfathered into the ownership of the building by the former owner, his father! He cannot be evicted in his lifetime and he lives for free. So he's utterly uncaring about anything.

But then some new tenants moved in there and it all quickly went to hell. There's the new single mother who, for inexplicable reasons, began to hang out with and party with the male crackheads on the street. Next thing, they were over there regularly.

Then there's the single mother with two good-looking daughters. One is sixteen and very attractive; she's prone to tight tees and short shorts. The other daughter is a single mother in her twenties and is also attractive. So is their mother. All began to hang out with and socialise with the crackhead population at the apartments in the middle of the block who drifted over once they laid eyes on the trio. And they all chaperone these guys around in their car, as does the single mother.

The men began to hang out on the steps, like cats smelling a female in heat; some even spent the night there. Rumors about the sexual exploits of the mother and youngest daughter began to pop up and, sadly, they are easy to believe based on their public behavior. It's fascinating in that train wreck kind of way.

And then there's the man who has been trading liquor and drug money for sex. He's got some of the crackheads staying over at his place, too. When his stereo equipment was stolen he was angry but his neighbors had little sympathy. Considering who he let visit him, it wasn't a surprise.

Their resident manager in the past week has gotten into three fights with men he's trying to keep off the property. (All crackheads.) He's being advised to carry his gun with him, as we think retaliation might be coming. It's hard to say, though, since he's been dealing with the crackhead zombies and not the dealers. But, he's standing up to them and creating a profile. He may need hammering back down.

The constant circus over there finally reached its limit and now he's evicting the mother and two daughters. The other woman is being given final notice. The man has decided on his own to leave the city. So, I might be moving across the street soon.

And dealing with all this mess has been keeping me away from the computer.

The upshot is that the drug problem might be decimated soon. The downside is the hardline PMs are using the nuclear option to do it, scattering most of us to the winds. And there's little reason to believe they'll patrol and monitor the boarded up buildings sufficiently, meaning those of us who remain might still have druggies but with the added bonus of breakins and fires! Sweet.

The rumor is that the buildings I presently live in will, in fact, be demolished to make way for two or three single-family homes. It wouldn't be a bad idea, given what's happening on the rest of the street. The new house on the corner is quickly shaping up nicely; it's sited well and so far fits in handsomely.

It's hard to know what's happening. The new PMs are being very vague and hard to reach, even duplicitous. They originally sent out notices right after taking over asking us our maintenance concerns and indicating they would be coming around with new lease agreements for everyone. Then mere weeks later, they dropped the bomb. On the day that happened, they didn't answer their phones or return calls. When you could get through, it was "So and so is out / in a meeting / just popped in then left." Leave a message; get no call back. They have a plan, but they don't plan to share it with us.

It's shaping up already as an interesting summer.

Anecdotal Evidence

Take it for what it's worth. The news was full of talk about today's illegal immigrant rallies, but I noticed the Mexican construction workers across the street were there bright and early this morning, maybe 7AM. They left just half an hour ago, about 6PM. They did take a very long lunch though. Some "Day Without Immigrants."

The evening news was hard to take. Lots of talk about crowds but nothing comparing them to the size of the last rallies, an omission that's odd for television news to make. One "rally organiser" doofus even started talking about "our rights as citizens under the Constitution." Hey! You aren't citizens, so you have no rights under the American Constitution. It doesn't apply to you yet.

Join the club and earn the membership benefits.

As for Memphis itself, if there was a rally, I didn't see a mention on the local evening news, either at 5 or 6PM. If there's something later, I'll update.

Lileks on Suburbia

A perfect kind of description of suburbia from James Lileks:

It was held this year in Rosemount, one of those suburbs I never have a reason to visit. Way the hell out there. I ran out of highway after 20 minutes, and grumbled my way through Saturday-shopper traffic. It was the usual photocopy burb, with the Target and the Home Depot and the Krispy Kreme and chain restaurants arrayed along the road – but in a different order and configuration! Why, it’s like Bizarro land. Eventually I found the road I needed, which lead through the tiny downtown of a town that had existed on its own, miles from the Big Bad City, for decades. Not much there now, save a party store in the ground floor of a slumping heap of bricks, and a concrete bar across the street. But the community center up the road where the event was held was rather new, and huge.

Black Racism

Following up on this post, documenting Rev. LaSimba Gray's racism and anti-Semitism, we now have the Left Wing Cracker sharing an email from District 9 US Congressional candidate Ron Redwing.

Here's the relevant excerpt:

For the first time in thirty (30) years Memphis could be without African-American representation in the U. S. Congress.

That's a racist statement, plain and simple. Doesn't matter that it's from an African-American. In a majority-minority (ie. mostly black) district, where power is held by the "minority" group, in a city that's also dominated and controlled by the "minority," it's a racist comment.

As the Redwing email notes, with so many candidates running for the Democratic slot there's a lot of splitting of votes. There is also the implicit assumption that all the white Democrats will only vote for the sole white candidate, Steve Cohen. So you have this scramble to find The One, the lone black to go forward and keep the bloc intact.

To keep out the white folks.

Flip the colors and this would be generating howls of outrage. But the reality is that this kind of racism is "understandable." That may be true, but it doesn't make it any less reprehensible. Black electoral dominance is the fact, no longer the dream. Any pretense of having to defend it is offensive.

What's also offensive is the anti-Semitism that's rearing its ugly head. It's been an open secret in black Democratic circles for decades now. The strong ties between blacks and Jews that made the Civil Rights movement both possible and successful are gone, replaced by the wary and suspicious alienation of anti-Semitism.

Other than the Jackson Baker bit linked in the post mentioned above, which only indirectly addressed the issue, I don't think I've seen this linked specifically to the situation in Memphis. For all that the press loves to go after Republicans for their "racism" will the same press now go after black Democrats for their clear anti-Semitism?

Personally, I doubt it. Whites just can't point fingers at the black community and say "You have a problem." It will be facily flipped back as "You created it." Or "You can't talk to us about that." And that will be the end of it.

Blacks were successful in overturning Jim Crow only with the help of sympathetic whites and Jews. They became the bar which leveraged the moral imperative of black Americans into reform. It was only in working together that change happened.

So it is here. Racism isn't a white thing; it's a human thing. One lesson that observing, thinking and writing for this blog has brought to me is that so many of the sins we are quick to ascribe to one party or another -- be it social, political, gender, whatever -- are common to everyone. The weaknesses and flaws of human nature are the source, not partisan motives.

It is only be recognising and accepting this that we can move forward. By agreeing to listen to the wise strong moral voices in our midst, heeding their lessons and counsel, and acting on them can we diminish our common problems.

Attitudes like I've discussed here show that the problem isn't race but power. Or rather the lust for it. How many of the folks who are throwing up the black racist ugliness do you believe truly have the best interests of the Memphis community at heart? How many do you believe have the community ahead of self-interest and self-enrichment?

Put your mind into that frame -- one which disregards color, gender, background -- and look again at the situation. I think you'll be surprised at the way things look.

I'm Not the Only One

New-to-me blog Freedonian has a rant on Wendi Thomas' return to the Commercial Appeal. Only problem is he's short on examples.

But, as I noted here, it's not terribly surprising the daily was so quick to take her back. She's a familiar person with a familiar style on familiar topics looked at in familiar ways.

It's struck me lately that the CA is in the business of being reassuring, calming and soothing. They don't report, they look at what they have to cover and decide the best way to report it so that the community isn't upset by it. What's the best way to look at Mempis? Excuse me, Greater Memphis? In a positive way! Are there problems, conflicts? Find someone who seems to be portrayable as working on the problems. Add them to the story!

Like I've said before, the CA is trying to stem a tide of circulation loss. They no longer just gather and report news. They certainly don't do investigative reporting. That's not only inherently negative, it is -- worse still -- boring! Folks tune that out. They've got to do the things, cover the bases, that they think will keep the most eyeballs on the printed page.

Given the biggest soapbox in town, what was Wendi's most notable accomplishment with it? She got a local dance troupe into trouble over hairstyles. Whew! Hard hitting stuff that. A real crusader, our Wendi. We almost lit the torches and stormed the barricades that time. Oh, and she also presented the City Council with a pledge to sign. That rocked 'em on their heels!

So, best of luck to 'em with the same old, same old. Just ignore that hammering sound you hear. It's the next nail being driven into the coffin of the CA.

Memphis Isn't the Only Place

County Commission members suing to overturn the will of the people? Trying to keep their offices even when it's time to go? Memphis isn't the only place where that's happening. Knoxville has five members of the Knox County Commissioners suing to prevent term limits on them.

And they have a sheriff who seems to have the rest of County government by the short hairs -- successfully suing in State court when he doesn't get the funding he thinks he deserves.

Campaign Violence

Via Rep. Stacey Campfield comes news that a candidate for Knox County mayor was shot at Saturday night. The unknown person hollered "Hey Mister Mayor!" and then fired two shots that narrowly missed Steve Hall's head.

I couldn't find anything much more than what Campfield had, but in a day or so the Knoxville News-Sentinel ought to have more.

Who Owns What

The Memphis Flyerreports that the City of Memphis owns the Carousel and Zippin' Pippin' at Libertyland, meaning any potential sale is off for the time being.

And that any money made from a future sale will disappear into the City's coffers.

And, if you are of a darker turn of mind, that it will be City officials who will need courting to close the sale.

The Flyer has more if you want to read up on the history and conflicts in the disembowelment of the Fairgrounds complex.

The Blue Wall

Eugene Siler was a "small time drug dealer" who came under police scrutiny. He claimed a confession was beaten out of him. The police steadfastly denied it. Things looked bad for Eugene.

Then the audiotape surfaced.

Tripblogging

Real life friend Mark of The Conservative Zone is liveblogging his training trip. (The training is for a new job he got.)

Thought for the Day

Via Possumblog:

In any event, as I have said before there is a distinction that must be made between the good ol' boy, the redneck, and po' white trash; that being, that one must never be given firearms, one must never be given liquor, and one must never be given either.

The trick, of course, is in knowing which is which.

Coward Turns Tail

I hadn't checked the local news yet today when I got an email tip.

Gah. She hadn't even had her first column published and Wendi Thomas is already running home. I guess what journalists always say about being able to separate feelings and the job is true, as her colleagues had no clue"

Sun editor Tim Franklin says he was "surprised and disappointed" by Thomas’ decision to resign. "I got a call yesterday afternoon that she was contemplating it," Franklin says, and received Thomas’ resignation in person this morning. "She had quite obviously made up her mind by the time of the meeting," he says.

Franklin says Thomas did not appear unhappy during her several weeks in Baltimore, where she has been getting to know the city and fellow journalists. "She seemed happy," he says. "I know other members of the staff had made a point to greet her and tried to make her feel at home … I don’t think any of us had any inkling of this."

During their meeting this morning, Franklin says Thomas "made it clear that she was welcomed at The Sun and that she liked the paper, but she wanted to go home and this was entirely a personal decision for her."

She wanted to go home? That bodes very poorly for us, her once-more readers. Thomas willingly left her home, her family and her boyfriend to take a higher profile gig in a city she wasn't familiar with. It's the classic step up in journalism.

Removed from her comfort zone, she apparently quickly realised she couldn't hack it. Rather than work hard to build a new life, new friends, and new relationships with her family, to dig in and learn to love her new home, she went back to her comfort zone.

Feh. Think what that says about her. Think what it says about what she'll write and how she views this city. You think she'll be skeptical and critical of anything that keeps her comfort levels up in Memphis? You think she'll oppose changes that threaten her comfort?

Status quo Wendi. That's what we ought to call her. And now we'll be stuck with her for many, many years to come. Safe Wendi, in her safe job, in her safe hometown, surrounded by the safety of family, church, etc. Will she even know how to recognise the comfortable in order to afflict them?

What does it say about Publisher Joseph Pepe and Editor Chris Peck that they're taking her back so suddenly? The CA is fighting a battle to stem circulation losses in the Internet age. Taking Wendi back is a defensive move. Rather than forge ahead, they are stepping back. Wendi's a known quantity, a familiar writer; they know how she fits into their plans. Better, I guess, to stick with the evils you know than run to others you know not of. Cowards at the Death Star, too.

And thus ends my campaign to take her job. Too bad. I'd've been great for the Commercial Appeal. A hell of a lot better than that coward Wendi.

INSTANT UPDATE: Oops! I forgot: The Memphis Flyer was on the case and reported this first. Credit where credit is due.

People Abhor a Vacuum, Too

Here some disturbing news:

Russia's current birthrate is 1.34 per woman, far below the rate needed for population equilibrium. At the current rate, Russia's population will be cut in half by the year 2050.

As the article points out, that's even higher than Europe's 13th century Black Death!

This will have some bad consequences. First, Russia's army will shrink as well, and that means supporting a war in, say, Chechnya will be harder. The terrorists, on the other hand, are largely Arab Muslims and Muslim Chechens, whose populations are still growing. Meaning whatever short term battles Russia wins, they lose in the long run.

Russia's whole southwestern tier is also in danger of being over-run by Arab Muslims, with potential concommitant "nationalist" movements to peel off some territory.

And then there's Eastern Europe, Byelorussia and the Ukraine. Their birth rates are still high, but as they get absorbed into Western European culture, those will start to fall as well. There won't be enough people to expand east into the vacant spaces of a depopulated Russia.

And lastly there's eastern Russia, along the Chinese border. It's largely forgotten today, but in the Sixties, Seventies and into the Eighties they were at a high state of alert, fearing border incursions and incidents. Once again, as the army shrinks will the Chinese be tempted to try again? Will they push into Siberia to find room for all their people, to tap the massive natural resources still waiting?

China's population is due to start shrinking in about 20 years. But it will still be roughly 1.2 or 1.3 billion people. And their booming capitalistic markets will demand a lot of resources to keep booming.

Interesting days ahead.