Our mission statement
— To be an advocate for social and economic progress, ethical behavior, efficient use of public resources and an improved quality of life. — To act independently and fairly. — To celebrate the successes of Greater Memphis and surrounding areas.
— To be the forum for ideas and opinions of public interest.
On April 4, the Treasury Department issued new regulations that will prevent so-called “inversion deals” — under which a U.S. company moves its base to a country with a more favorable taxation environment — removing the tax benefits. These new regulations effectively scuttled New York-based Pfizer from being bought out by Allergan and moved to Ireland in order to save millions in U.S. taxes. I wholeheartedly approve and support this move.
That said, President Obama is taking credit for pressuring the Treasury to act on corporate inversion deals, when any observer of this issue knows that Obama did nothing over the past seven years on this issue while dozens of U.S. based multinationals moved away in a cascade of inversion deals.
The only reason Obama acted now was because Donald Trump made it a central issue in his campaign and Obama, true to form, got in front of the “inversion riot” and called it his “parade.” Why shouldn’t Obama be blamed for being asleep at the wheel for seven years while one company after another left the U.S. tax rolls?
On Good Friday, my youngest son took me to lunch and a movie, “Batman v Superman.” I am approaching age 90, but I will never be too old for action movies.
While we were leaving the darkness of the theater, I felt a gentle touch on my left arm. There stood a blond-haired youngster about the age of 10. He said in a very respectful voice, he said to me, “Sir, I want to thank you for your service to our country.”
When I wear my World War II cap, I have many kind people of all ages and races tell me that. It is not uncommon after having a meal at a restaurant, when paying the check I often find someone has already paid for me for being a World War II veteran.
What made this one time different? A more sincere expression I have never seen. I don’t know why I was so deeply touched, but his heartfelt words so filled my heart that I could hardly get out the words. I said, “I thank you, son, very much, you have made my day.” I could say no more for the lump in my throat.
I feebly tried to convey the warmth in my heart that this young man brought through his simple gesture of a few words that carried such a strong message to this old veteran.
The University of Memphis does not develop players for the NBA. Some schools have one to six players to go pro every year.
The elite players are not coming here or are not staying here because of that factor. Players have had to leave the program in order to go pro. Tarik Black is one. This is one of the biggest problems, not only not winning games.