Paper Moon Construction ( How To Make a Papermoon )

Along time ago, folks had their picture taken on the moon. (see photos above).

Here's how we made a paper moon for our friend's wedding.

Plywood and a plan.

Several coats of paint.

Paint the face and check camera shots with "sepia" filters.

Steady camera and add backdrop.

Floating on the moon.

Photo with bride and groom. (in sepia)



Need to rent a moon. E-mail me at tomguleff at gmail.com.

101st ABN

I receive emails from my old Army Division (101st Airborne Division) every so often. Here's one that came through with a photo. Vintage World War 2.

Our New Police Director - Toney Armstrong

Make Our First Snow Day of the Year An Official Memphis Holiday

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Make-Our-First-Snow-Day-of-the-Year-An-Official-Memphis-Holiday/103413013066987?v=wall



Make Our First Snow Day of the Year An Official Memphis Holiday



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The Surrender Has No Clothes

What was the original reason again for the Surrender of MCS Charter?

No one knows .....

No Surrender - Logo

WMCTV Channel 5 Poll - Surrender Not a Sure Thing

According to today's WMCTV Channel 5 Poll :

If the Memphis City Schools charter surrender vote was held tomorrow, how would you vote?

Yes
No
I'm not sure.
I don't care.


Latest Results: Here are the results so far:
Yes 36%
No 52%
I'm not sure 4%
I don't care 8%


Special elections are tough to predict.

http://www.wmctv.com/

Why The Rush to Surrender MCS Charter ?

The message is UNTRUE.

Memphis City Schools (MCS) will not lose 50% of their funding if Shelby County School (SCS) District becomes a special school district.

So how much will MCS lose due to a Shelby County Special School District?

The answer is ZERO.

After all the screaming and the “fake faints”, MCS doesn’t lose a dime. The architects of all this drama will continue to spin another story, but here’s the truth and the numbers.

According to their (MCS) numbers, the sources of funds are as follow (proposed MCS 2010-2011 Budget) (General Fund):

State of Tennessee: 50.5% or $450.3 million
Shelby County: 28.6% or $254.9 million
Local Sales Tax : 9.99% or $ 89.1 million
City of Memphis : 8.78% or $ 78.3 million
Federal Funds : 0.89% or $ 7.9 million
Local Funds : 0.22% or $ 2.0 million

First off, + 50% of MCS budget is derived from the state of Tennessee. Alike, the local sales tax, city of Memphis, Federal Funds, Local Funds would continue.

That leaves the contribution from Shelby County (commission) which makes up 28.6% of the budget. This is where the smoke and mirrors come in. These dollars don’t disappear from the MCS budget, if special school status is given to SCS.

The bottom line is: The Shelby County Commission cannot exit the ADA and MOE requirements. The combined contributions of the Memphis City Council and Shelby Commission cannot go away by law.

In the future, the county commission dominated by city interests will remain in place. The Shelby County Commission would still be obligated to fund at least the current $254.9 million. Unless of course, Memphis City School’s ability to count students is questioned again by city council members.

So why the “fake faints” over all this?

Tom Guleff
Memphis, TN
901-413-7804


Here's the link to the proposed MCS 2010-2011 Budget (General Fund) of $891 million:http://www.mcsk12.net/forms/Budget/2011%20Proposed%20Budget%20Revised%20-%20Web2.pdf

Link to lawsuit between MCS and Memphis City Council http://www.abc24.com/media/lib/10/6/0/7/6073965a-93af-48ae-b567-f0b1adf37caf/State_ex_rel_BoardofEducationofMemphisCitySchools_v_Memphis_OPN.pdf

It’s Now Time To Reform Memphis City Schools

Friends and Neighbors,

It is unfortunate that the Memphis City School board has not only surrendered their charter but also their voice on the debate of reforming the city’s education system.
In the coming weeks, there will be much debate on how to reform a broken and failing Memphis City School system. Although the politicos have surrendered and given up, the citizens have not. We are asking voters throughout Shelby County to help in providing input on this future reform movement.

Since receivership falls upon the Shelby County School system, we will demand that reform be instituted immediately and without delay. Our community must create our own education "Marshall Plan" and commit to making this the Manhattan Project of Memphis. Our children have been left behind for far too long. Reform need not be painful, but it is necessary for the welfare of the children! MCS must be transformed from a failed system (that many believe long ago "devolved" into a city jobs program with bloated payrolls and patronage) to a cadre of professional and effective educators empowered to make a difference.

Excuses can no longer be accepted nor tolerated. There should be no "sacred cows", everything should be open to reform. We have been given an opportunity. Now we must lead.

There is much work to be done. The following must be executed during the critical transition period:

1. Reduce the influence collective bargaining has on our system. SCS has a teachers organization in place and it should remain as the single recognized agent for all teachers.

2. Eliminate the current optional program system.

3. Close all schools that are no longer viable to operate.

4. Outsource / privatize services wherever possible to eliminate waste.

5. Eliminate duplicate administrative staff positions and reduce overhead costs. We do not need two administrations!

6. Serious consideration should be given to approving new charter schools, and funding homeschool cooperatives.

7. Decentralize decision making, transfer power to principals, and empower great teachers.

8. Institute mandatory after school tutoring, adding another period to every teacher’s schedule.

9. Remove all current MCS department heads, review and assign the most qualified teachers based on TVAAS scores.

10. Assign SCS transition managers to all schools and empower them to make personnel decisions.

11. Immediately institute longer school days and school year to close the gap between our students and their peers both on a National and Statewide basis.

12. Set an immediate goal of lifting the former MCS children's ACT scores to a level of parity with the former SCS children. Graduating students who require remedial education to gain admission to one of Tennessee's public four year colleges or universities should no longer be acceptable.

We need your input, now!

Failure is not an option.

Save Our Students

11th Hour Plea to Mayor Wharton and Mayor Luttrell - “Bring Schools To The Table”

Friends and Neighbors,

Once again, we are asking the mayors of Memphis and Shelby County to do whatever is necessary to bring the two school systems to the table to discuss recent developments around special school districts and a potential school charter surrender.

These far reaching issues deserve cooler heads. Our top political leaders can no longer talk about the issues; they must bring the parties together.
Emotions are running high, and a vote on the charter surrender resolution scheduled for Monday should be avoided at all cost.

Our community must have real discussions on reforming our school systems. This is not the way to travel the difficult road of reform.

Contact info:

Mayor@memphistn.gov Office (901) 576-6000
Mark.Luttrell@shelbycountytn.gov Office (901) 545-4500

Your action is required. Sincerely, Tom Gule

Jesse Ventura Conspiracy Theory - Police State Part 6 of 6

No Comment !!!

Luttrell and Wharton Must Bring Schools To The Table, Now !!!!!

Friends and Neighbors,

To avoid another political tsunami, we are calling on the mayors of Memphis and Shelby County to become actively engaged in bringing the two school systems to the table to discuss recent developments around special school districts.

Political capital must be spent by Mark Luttrell and AC Wharton to bring the parties together and discuss the issue of schools before this storm spirals out of control. Groups are moving too quickly. It is a very complicated issue and the citizens deserve cooler heads in the room.

Our top political leaders can no longer simply stand on the sidelines, they must bring the parties together and force them to talk.

Recent discussions about efforts to dissolve the Memphis City Schools' charter and force consolidation of the county and city school systems are premature. Without information and dialogue, the intended solution may make the problem worse, which could include loss of funding and chaos within both school systems.

We need leadership, now!

Contact info:

Mayor@memphistn.gov Office (901) 576-6000

Mark.Luttrell@shelbycountytn.gov Office (901) 545-4500


Your action is required. Sincerely, Tom Guleff

Let's Move on from Consolidation Debate

A new resolution supporting consolidation is a flagrant disregard for the voters of Shelby County. The politicians think they know more than us....

Here's the new book.

Their Cult- Like Fascination with CONSOLIDATION

The pro-consolidation forces are back !!!!!!

To be honest, the cult-like fascination with Consolidation is creepy. After being soundly defeated by an 85% margin in the county, the losing side wants to re-write the narrative of its demise and bring it back to life. I could understand the current effort, if the vote was close, but it wasn’t.

This small group appears disconnected from political reality. This is just plain weird.

Here is the proposed resolution by Steve Mulroy to the County Commission.


http://agendapub.shelbycountytn.gov/sirepub/mtgviewer.aspx?meetid=411&doctype=AGENDA

ITEM NO: ______________ PREPARED BY: _____________


APPROVED BY:


RESOLUTION IN SUPPPORT OF THE CONCEPT OF CONSOLIDATION.


SPONSORED BY COMMISSIONER STEVE MULROY.
___________________________________________________________


WHEREAS, this body narrowly passed an October 2010 resolution expressing its
opposition to the Metro Charter on the November 2010 ballot; and


WHEREAS, many of those voting for this resolution supported the idea of Metro consolidation but had reservations only about the particular Metro Charter on the ballot; and


WHEREAS, there is a danger that this resolution could be misinterpreted as opposition to metro consolidation generally; and


WHEREAS, some Shelby County citizens legitimately believe that further attempts to achieve Metro consolidation with an improved Metro Charter draft are appropriate and inevitable; and

WHEREAS, it is appropriate that this body’s prior resolution not be misconstrued as being unduly dismissive of citizens taking that view;

NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the Shelby County Board of Commissioners supports the concept of consolidation, and is open to the idea of revisiting a Metro Charter process in an upcoming election cycle, provided that:

(a) The City Council and County Commission have greater input into the selection of members of any appointed Metro Charter Commission;

(b) Greater efforts are made to achieve racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic diversity among any Charter Commission appointees;

(c) Appropriate efforts are made to avoid any undue influence of corporate interests on the process; and

(d) The issue of school consolidation, if still applicable, should be given weight equal to that of any other major issue in Charter Commission deliberations.

________________________________
Mark H. Luttrell, Jr.
COUNTY MAYOR


Date: _________________________


ATTEST:
________________________________
CLERK OF COUNTY COMMISSION


ADOPTED: __________________________

Building Mt. Rushmore

Moving Past the Metro Charter – The Opportunity Ahead

Moving Past the Metro Charter – The Opportunity Ahead


Let’s start from the beginning

We understand the desperation and the frustration of our neighbors in watching our city spiral into a kleptocracy of ineptness, corruption, and cronyism. Reforming government cannot wait or be curtailed. It must be done now. We want Memphis to succeed. We need Memphis to succeed.


Real Problems Require Real Reform

The stakes here are very high. The difficulties faced by Shelby County, and most notably Memphis, of slow growth, low income, crime, poverty, poor education, racism, unskilled labor force and population flight must be addressed. It’s time to revisit many of these issues and make politically difficult decisions. We challenge the new city executives to aggressively search out and hire world-class talent, and ruthlessly execute a thoughtful plan with the most meaningful of civic metrics (crime and education). Tough issues require tough approaches. If progress cannot be made, we must our change our leaders. If leaders cannot be found, then it’s too late for our community. The next generation will inherit what we could not solve.


Leadership at the Top and Throughout

Mayors AC Wharton and Mark Luttrell along with our six suburban mayors must take the lead in pushing for much needed reform. They are our elected leaders. The status quo is unacceptable. Our neighbors and potential neighbors are telling us that crime and schools are basic problems that must be addressed. As uncomfortable as it may be to some to talk about, an emphasis on strengthening the family can no longer sit on the sideline as a political hot potato or a political slogan. Strong families must be the bedrock of our community going forward. There is no strength or sustained effort going forward without this core belief that families are our most valuable support system in the community. New voices must be brought into the conversation to solve the most thorny issues around schools, crime, and family. Everything else is secondary to this.




Everyone has a Stake

It doesn’t just stop with Memphis. There are other changes that must be made to remove impediments to reaching shared regional goals for the economy and quality of life of the whole area. We should consider the adoption of a regional structure. A good example is the Hampton Roads Project in the Hampton Roads, Virginia, area. The region of Hampton Roads contains the largest military base in the world, is a major transportation hub, a world-class tourist destination, and an important matrix of institutions for research and higher education. Regions such as this are the primary units of economic competition in the global economy. Memphis has all of the same basic ingredients but with two important differences — missing synergy among the local governments and lack of a regional structure.

By “regional structure” we mean the institutions that deal with the shared issues that comprise the regional agenda — their membership, powers, internal procedures, and relationships with each other and with external governments.




Leaving Behind “The Herenton Era”

First, create a strong regional voice. Establish a Shelby Metropolitan Council composed of the mayors and the chairs of the City Council, County Commission and the various Boards of Mayor and Aldermen. The Council would speak for the region and provide stronger political leadership for fostering regional visioning, economic development, and a regional legislative agenda. Improve public participation in decision making by using modern methods of communications. Organize a regional review board to evaluate the performance of the various independent agencies and report to the Metro Council.

Second, improve economic development by reforming the various planning organizations. Involve legislators in the planning, and upgrade staffing and procedures to national best practices. Strengthen the Shelby Metropolitan Council to realize its potential for being the most representative regional leadership body by adding non-profits to the present government-business board, communicating more openly with the public, implementing regional visioning and organizing the process of producing a regional legislative agenda. The local governments should coordinate tourism development through a regional plan and regional marketing initiatives implemented by a regional agency, as they should for economic development.

Finally, regional efficiency should be improved. In some ways, the eight local governments already share services in a number of ways, but a mixed commission of officials, accountants and management consultants could use modern telecommunications, information technology, transportation and management systems to create savings through more shared regional services.




Focus on what matters

The starting point of these actions rests with putting a good faith effort into fixing Memphis first. Secondly, Memphis, Shelby County (along with its component cities), and the outlying counties must build a regional organization to create a strong regional voice, improve economic development and regional efficiency. Finally, AC Wharton and Mark Luttrell must move forward in the best interests of our community. Failure is not an option for them or us. The voters have spoken. It is time to start reversing the poor decision of the past, and focus on what truly matters to our citizens. We have a great opportunity ahead of us. Let’s move forward in solving tough issues together.

Who Killed Consolidation?

The players had everything lined up. They had money, they had the politicians, and they had the plan.

So, who killed Consolidation?

Well, actually no one. It was more like an “inside deal” gone bad, carrying good and well intentioned citizens into a fixed political game.

From the outset, it was clear that there wasn’t going to be any real or credible investigation to solve the community’s problems, but rather an orchestrated series of false choices, leading to only one conclusion,: Consolidation. It was going to be consolidation or bust. In doing so, those who put this process in motion failed to act in the best interests of the community.

The “listening tours” were the first signs of trouble. For the few that attended these events, it was clear that the “emperor has no clothes.” The “conversation” smelled as a something cooked up from the political elites. A top down initiative with corporate new speak of “charter not consolidation, rebuild and reinvent, efficiencies not savings.”

The push for Consolidation wasn’t authentic; it was produced, almost scripted line by line from someone else’s playbook. The step by step nature of campaigning for a new charter was pronounced through a series of staged events. The blueprint outlined a never ending campaign, prosecuted by paid advocates and fueled by the political insiders.

The entire process reeked with misunderstandings, conflicts of interests, lack of transparency, a game of advocacy vs. education, skirting finance disclosures, front men, push cards, kick-off celebrations, hyped surveys, connected surrogates, and outside consultants. And now, only a federal lawsuit keeps it from being irrelevant.

In the end, the residual effects of all this will be more distrust. Consolidation was built on a ponzi scheme that collapsed from years of mistrust and today’s political gamesmanship. That’s what killed consolidation.

Behind the Headlines - Oct. 22 : Consolidation Special

MPD Needs New Theme : Toby Keith - Beer For My Horses (with Willie Nelson)

Zippin Pippin Green Bay