Obama on Senate gun vote: ‘A shameful day’
I know that if Obama could have cussed the Senate out on camera, he would have. Another bill that most people wanted gets 51+ votes, but gets blocked because it doesn’t have a 60 vote filibuster-proof majority. It’s the same story of the last 4 years. A separate and controversial Democratic plan to ban dozens of military-style assault weapons was also defeated by a vote of 40 to 60.
The vote on the bill, backed by Sens. Joe Manchin (left) and Pat Toomey, was 54-46, short of the 60 votes needed. (Associated Press)
Even if you believe that these measures wouldn’t have stopped the Sandy Hook tragedy, saved the victims of the Aurora theater shooting or close the gun show loophole,that doesn’t make the stricter background checks a bad idea. Some viewed it as just a “feel good” bill, yet ignore the fact that in the very least– it was a productive step.
The Huffington Post breaks down the vote. And yes, Chambliss and Isakson voted No as expected my Georgia friends:
WESTERN CONFERENCE – FIRST ROUND
(1) Oklahoma City vs. (8) Houston
Game 1 – Sun April 21, Houston at Oklahoma City, 9:30 p.m. ET, TNT
Game 2 – Wed April 24, Houston at Oklahoma City, 7 p.m., TNT
Game 3 – Sat April 27, Oklahoma City at Houston, 9:30 p.m., ESPN/R
Game 4 – Mon April 29, Oklahoma City at Houston, TBD, TBD
Game 5 * Wed May 1, Houston at Oklahoma City, TBD, TBD
Game 6 * Fri May 3, Oklahoma City at Houston, TBD, TBD
Game 7 * Sun May 5, Houston at Oklahoma City, TBD, TBD
(2) San Antonio vs. (7) L.A. Lakers
Game 1 – Sun April 21, L.A. Lakers at San Antonio, 3:30 p.m., ABC/R
Game 2 – Wed April 24, L.A. Lakers at San Antonio, 9:30 p.m., TNT
Game 3 – Fri April 26, San Antonio at L.A. Lakers, 10:30 p.m., ESPN
Game 4 – Sun April 28, San Antonio at L.A. Lakers, 7 p.m., TNT
Game 5 * Tue April 30, L.A. Lakers at San Antonio, TBD, TBD
Game 6 * Thu May 2, San Antonio at L.A. Lakers, TBD, TBD
Game 7 * Sat May 4, L.A. Lakers at San Antonio, TBD, TNT
(3) Denver vs. (6) Golden State
Game 1 – Sat April 20, Golden State at Denver, 5:30 p.m., ESPN
Game 2 – Tue April 23, Golden State at Denver, 10:30 p.m., TNT
Game 3 – Fri April 26, Denver at Golden State, 10:30 p.m., ESPN2
Game 4 – Sun April 28, Denver at Golden State, 9:30 p.m., TNT
Game 5 * Tue April 30, Golden State at Denver, TBD, TBD
Game 6 * Thu May 2, Denver at Golden State, TBD, TBD
Game 7 * Sat May 4, Golden State at Denver, TBD, TNT
(4) L.A. Clippers vs. (5) Memphis
Game 1 – Sat April 20, Memphis at L.A. Clippers, 10:30 p.m., ESPN
Game 2 – Mon April 22, Memphis at L.A. Clippers, 10:30 p.m., TNT
Game 3 – Thu April 25, L.A. Clippers at Memphis, 9:30 p.m., TNT
Game 4 – Sat April 27, L.A. Clippers at Memphis, 4:30 p.m., TNT
Game 5 * Tue April 30, Memphis at L.A. Clippers, TBD, TBD
Game 6 * Fri May 3, L.A. Clippers at Memphis, TBD, TBD
Game 7 * Sun May 5, Memphis at L.A. Clippers, TBD, TBD
___________________________________________________
EASTERN CONFERENCE – FIRST ROUND
(1) Miami vs. (8) Milwaukee
Game 1 – Sun April 21, Milwaukee at Miami, 7 p.m., TNT
Game 2 – Tue April 23, Milwaukee at Miami, 7:30 p.m., NBA TV
Game 3 – Thu April 25, Miami at Milwaukee, 7 p.m., TNT
Game 4 – Sun April 28, Miami at Milwaukee, 3:30 p.m., ABC
Game 5 * Tue April 30, Milwaukee at Miami, TBD, TBD
Game 6 * Thu May 2, Miami at Milwaukee, TBD, TBD
Game 7 * Sat May 4, Milwaukee at Miami, TBD, TNT
(2) New York vs. (7) Boston
Game 1 – Sat April 20, Boston at New York, 3 p.m., ABC/R
Game 2 – Tue April 23, Boston at New York, 8 p.m., TNT
Game 3 – Fri April 26, New York at Boston, 8 p.m., ESPN
Game 4 – Sun April 28, New York at Boston, 1 p.m., ABC/R
Game 5 * Wed May 1, Boston at New York, TBD, TBD
Game 6 * Fri May 3, New York at Boston, TBD, TBD
Game 7 * Sun May 5, Boston at New York, TBD, TBD
(3) Indiana vs. (6) Atlanta
Game 1 – Sun April 21, Atlanta at Indiana, 1 p.m., TNT
Game 2 – Wed April 24, Atlanta at Indiana, 7:30 p.m., NBA TV
Game 3 – Sat April 27, Indiana at Atlanta, 7 p.m., ESPN
Game 4 – Mon April 29, Indiana at Atlanta, TBD, TBD
Game 5 * Wed May 1, Atlanta at Indiana, TBD, TBD
Game 6 * Fri May 3, Indiana at Atlanta, TBD, TBD
Game 7 * Sun May 5, Atlanta at Indiana, TBD, TBD
(4) Brooklyn vs. (5) Chicago
Game 1 – Sat April 20, Chicago at Brooklyn, 8 p.m., ESPN
Game 2 – Mon April 22, Chicago at Brooklyn, 8 p.m., TNT
Game 3 – Thu April 25, Brooklyn at Chicago, 8:30 p.m., NBA TV
Game 4 – Sat April 27, Brooklyn at Chicago, 2 p.m., TNT
Game 5 * Mon April 29, Chicago at Brooklyn, TBD, TBD
Game 6 * Thu May 2, Brooklyn at Chicago, TBD, TBD
Game 7 * Sat May 4, Chicago at Brooklyn, TBD, TNT
Here is the Washington Post’s news article on the explosion. There has been confirmed fatalities, with the number ranging from 5 to 15 killed and 160 injured at this point. Very sad. This brings back memories of the Imperial Sugar Refinery explosion that took the lives of 14 workers and injured countless others in Port Wentworth. Coupled with the Boston Marathon bombing, this has been a really tough week.
Images from CNN:
Youtube video of explosion taken from a cellphone:
Says the Savannah Morning News Editorial Staff. Obama’s federal budget only allocated 1.28 million dollars toward the Harbor Expansion Project. The state officials were hoping for about 100 million, but instead were thrown a couple of shillings for troubles. I can only imagine the shock of being low-balled on something that you perceive is so valuable.
Coin Collector: This is a very rare coin, the flowing hair dollar. It was minted in 1794 and is thought of as a national treasure. How much is it worth to you?
Coin Dealer: Ill give ya a buck!
Is this political gesturing by the feds against our majority red state or does Obama feel that there are more pressing issues to be taken care of? Time will tell.
Mississippi heavyweight Big K.R.I.T doesn’t dissapoint with his latest mixtape “King Remembered In Time”. Released on April 10th, the 17 track album follows up K.R.I.T’s three previous critically acclaimed efforts, “Krit Was Here”, “Return of 4eva”, and “4eva and a Day”.Krit’s production has grown with each release, with this disc seeming to be more experimental. I don’t know why krit gets so much criticism for not evolving as an artist. There are a handful of artists whose music captures the spirit of its area better than KRIT. I know he’s from Mississippi, but his music caters to the South at large. He is one of the few artists that I really respect in hip hop. If you’ve never heard his work, do yourself a favor and download the free mixtape.
Download page: Big K.R.I.T “Remembered In Time”
Some of my favorites from Big K.R.I.T:
The ball boys get a secret handshake too? Click the gif and prepare to be jealous. I view Lebron James as one of the most humble and accessable superstars we have ever seen. This is a great example of the NBA reaching beyond the court when it comes to interacting with fans.
Roddy White says it’s “Super Bowl or nothing” for Falcons
Per ProFootballTalk:
On Tuesday, we shared new Falcons running back Steven Jackson’s feeling that he didn’t sign with Atlanta just to make it to the playoffs.
Jackson isn’t the only person in the Falcons locker room who would be left disappointed by anything less than a trip to MetLife Stadium for the Super Bowl. Wide receiver Roddy White has been with the team a lot longer, but he has the same expectations when it comes to the 2013 season.
During an appearance on ESPN, White said that he felt the Falcons were “satisfied” by their performance under Mike Smith until last season. That was when making it wasn’t enough and the urgency has only risen after last year’s trip to the NFC Championship Game.
“I think that the first three we were getting there and were just having fun being there. And then we turned a curb, and we said we have to stop just getting there and we have to win games,” White said. “We’re ready to take that next step. We know how good our football team is and the players we got, so it’s either Super Bowl or nothing for us right now.”
The Falcons have had a lot of success since Smith took over as the head coach, but it’s hard not to look at the upcoming season through the prism of Super Bowl or bust. Anything else would be a sideways step at best and that’s pretty much the same as a backward step when you were as close to the Super Bowl as the Falcons were last season.
Tybee’s worst nightmare is on the horizon. Orange Crush, an event originally intended as an end of the school year beach event for Savannah State students to blow off steam, has been scheduled to take place this weekend. I think. See, there is not an official promoter or organizer for the event. It is strictly a word of mouth event, which attracts upwards of 8,000 visitors to Tybee Beach.
When I was younger, I attended a couple years, even though I wasn’t a student at SSU. If I were to guess the make-up of Orange Crush partygoers, I would say that maybe a fourth of them are actual students. Nothing really exciting goes on at Orange Crush. In a nutshell, kids gawk at each other in beachwear, and others watch the makeshift impromptu car show in the parking lots of Tybee businesses.
The reason Tybee officials dread the event is because the people who attend Orange Crush really like to litter. They seem to love it actually, which is a problem because there isn’t anyone to hold responsible. Though I ask, is the litter any worse than the aftermath of St. Patrick’s Day on River Street?
I don’t condone people trashing the beach, but I also don’t buy into the uproar that was made after the 2012 event. I also won’t pretend that there isn’t a racial element to the disdain for Orange Crush, since the overwhelming majority of participants are African-American. Hopefully this year, in between bathing suits and candy-painted Chevy Caprices, a focus can be made to “Keep Tybee Beautiful”. At least for the sanity of Tybee residents.
Savannah City Manager Stephanie Cutter (Source: City of Savannah)
Lesley Conn has written a Savannah Morning News article on City Manager Stephanie Cutter’s decision to reverse the re-hire of problematic SCMPD officer Tony Townsend, who resigned twice under Internal Affairs Investigations. I really hate to see people lose their jobs in this economic climate, but Townsend’s personnel record is ridiculous.
One of the most disturbing marks on Townsend’s record per SMN:
April 2008: Loitering at the Circle K and asking inappropriate questions of a sexual nature to customers and employees. Townsend signed a counseling form directing him not to return to the Circle K unless it was for official police duties because of a harassment complaint store employees made against him. He was visiting almost on a daily basis and, while in uniform, following women around the store. He made one so nervous, she spilled a fountain drink. Townsend ordered a clerk to clean up the mess. He also went into a clerk’s purse and helped himself to hand lotion, according to the complaint.
Yikes.
The re-hire was brought to Cutter’s attention after The Savannah Morning News began digging for information on Townsend, possibly on a tip from within the department. Willie Lovett sure thinks so:
What he hated more than anything, Lovett said, is that other officers “ran to the paper” to complain about Townsend’s hiring rather than coming to him. He said anyone who had come to him could have raised the issue and had their concerns addressed without fear of retaliation.
After the initial ripple of Cutter’s controversial hire, and despite Tom Barton’s assessment of Cutter being just a safe pick, things seem to be settling with every solid decision she makes.
About three years ago, I ran across an article in The Savannah Morning News about the revitalization efforts the city was undertaking to clean up Waters Avenue. The corridor stretching from the intersection of Wheaton and Waters, all the way up to Waters and Victory Drive, was in horrible shape.
A severe amount of boarded up buildings and steady climb in crime rates, make this corridor one of least desirable sights in the city. I was very young when my older brother attended Romana Riley Elementary before it was closed due to poor conditions in 1990. He once told me that the classrooms would get so hot due to the lack of air conditioning, teachers would prop open windows only to allow pigeons to fly in, who themselves wanted to escape the heat outside.
I can remember walking past Urban Christian Academy, just a block away from the abandoned Romana Riley, and being greeted by teachers as they stood outside to watch their students walk home.
There was an arcade adjacent to Urban Christian, which housed children who would spend so many hours plugged into the matrix of Ms. Pacman or Super Mario, that time would literally fly off of the clocks nailed to the walls littered with Michael Jackson posters.
Dave’s Barber Shop on Waters and 32nd, is where I received the first of many haircuts, along with plenty other young men who sat in Dave’s chair while listening to their elders banter about politics, sports, local news and social commentary. He was the first black small business owner I’d ever known. Years later, I requested that Dave give me one last haircut for my junior prom, though the shop was in horrible condition, and I was the only customer there for months.
There also was a shopping center on Waters and 37th that housed thriving businesses and a supermarket that supplied my family with many meager meals. It was a boon for the community as a whole. There were beautiful row houses with gardens in the backyard and pride was taken in its appearance.
I mention these businesses, houses and schools because in 2013, none of these cornerstones exist anymore. And all plans to revitalize the neighborhood have fallen through. There has been talk that new City Manager Stephanie Cutter has her focus on Montgomery and MLK, which is a no brainer. I just hope that Waters Avenue will one day rise back up to being a source of pride to the community, with a little help from the city.
The Truth of The Matter Is...... 