The Friday Dump...The Week's Final Thoughts

Friday is the day most people stop reading the blogs and start planning their weekend, so I figured why not go ahead and throw a little of everything out there to finish up the week.

Local: The Tennessean reports that Councilman John Summers of District 24 believes that Metro teachers raises should mirror the raises of Metro Schools Director, Pedro Garcia. His pay is getting bumped up 8.34% to $216,000. The Tennessean also provided salaries of some of the top paid Metro Schools Administrators, with the bottom of the list starting at $130,021.

It makes me laugh to think that the Governor of our state, who refuses to actually take a paycheck, makes $85,000, while the guy who runs the schools of Metro Nashville makes nearly three times that. Don't that just seem odd to anyone else?

State: I know I said it was time to move on from the Julius Caesar like moment ("Et tu, Brute) that was the State Senate election of a new speaker. But unfortunately a couple bloggers out there continue to miss the point completely and I can't let that keep going on.

Kleinheider from VolunteerVoters.com writes:

That is why most voters and most Democrats won't hold this vote against Kurita. The Republicans hold a numerical majority in the Senate and have for sometime. Wilder was becoming an embarrassment. She did the right thing or at least something that can be reasonable interpreted as the right thing. It needs to happen and it was just that it did.

The reason why most voters and most Democrats WILL hold this vote against Kurita is not because of the reason, or even because of the outcome, but because of HOW the event took place. Sure, there are a lot of state Democrats who believed it was time for a change. Senator Joe Haynes wouldn't have thrown his name out there if there wasn't. And sure, I would go so far as to say there are some in the party who agree with the idea that the majority party should name the speaker.

But what Kurita did was just plain stupid. She looked at best self-serving and at worst like a bitter woman mad that the boys wouldn't let her play. There were a dozen ways she could have handle this situation and she'd be looking like the hero, but she chose to act like a child and cast a vengeance vote.

At the end of the day, when the Republican controlled Senate stops all legislation coming out of the House or, God forbid, attempts to pass abortion legislation or some other wedge-issue bill through, then Kurita will truly see what kind of damage she just did. To her Party, to the state of Tennessee, and to her own political career. That is ... if she's even a Democrat by then.

National: Wow, only a few days in power and the Democrats have already passed a minimum wage increase, enacted the recommendations of the 9/11 Commission, expanded stem cell research, and allowed for better negotiations on Medicare prescription drugs. At this rate we might solve all our problems (minus Iraq) by Easter.

Next up on the agenda is the cut in school loan interest rates. This one is a BIG one to many of us in the Davidson County Young Democrats. If you haven't already, be sure to send a quick note to Congressman Jim Cooper asking him to vote in favor of the cuts. Though I have a feeling his vote is one we don't have to worry about.


To steal from the great Garrison Keeler, "Be well, do good work, and keep in touch."