SHNS Columnists

The Commercial Appeal today begins its endorsements for the Nov. 4 general election with reviews of Tennessee's U.S. Senate race and two contested U.S. House races of local interest.

During my daily 15-minute dose of Rush Limbaugh recently, a woman from New Jersey called the show with a frantic plea for the John McCain campaign to snap to it. "I'm going to try to stay calm because I'm having a nervous breakdown," she screamed to Rush.

Why does Geoff Calkins hate the Memphis Grizzlies? Why did Wendi C. Thomas compare Mayor Willie Herenton and Sarah Palin? Why will the editorial board of The Commercial Appeal endorse a presidential candidate this month?

The South, having dragged behind the rest of the nation in education for decades, is actually leading the country on one critically important piece of the education continuum. That piece is the offering of state-funded pre-kindergarten to 3- and 4-year-old children.

Unimpressed by Charles de Gaulle's droll observation that the graveyards are full of indispensable men, Michael Bloomberg, New York City's 108th mayor, has decided that he is indispensable. So the law limiting mayors to two terms must be revised to allow three terms.

A specter is haunting the presidential race -- and it is not just the economy. It is the specter of a nuclear Iran.

Wealth redistribution -- take from the rich and give to the poor -- is a philosophy taken right from socialism. So how do you get Americans to adopt it? You can't just pass laws that directly take money from one and hand it to another, at least not yet. Americans are too smart for that. Instead, we need some creativity.

One good thing came from the Memphis City Council's ill-advised funding cut of $57 million from the Memphis City Schools last summer: Two peeved parents who have brought new energy to MCS' Parent Assembly.

Mayor Willie Herenton is forecasting stormy weather on the horizon, economically speaking. Members of the Memphis City Council are right to take a long, hard, skeptical look at the administration's plan to convert a large section of the Hickory Ridge Mall to public use.

DeSoto County supervisors deserve credit for being stalwart protectors of taxpayers' dollars. Once in a while, though, such frugality can get in the way of seeing the bigger picture.

I thank the members of the Memphis City Council who had the wisdom and courage to stand up for us, the taxpayers, not to pay for Joseph Lee's legal fees.

Hope versus fear, new versus old: Barack Obama and John McCain have placed their bets. These are the terms on which the 2008 presidential campaign will be decided.

Any discussion about the future of that stainless steel-skinned building with the pointed roof that sits at the city's western gateway requires some thoughtfulness on the part of any high-ranking official involved in it.

A court case challenging state Rep. Larry Miller's residency in his district proves one point very clearly:

WASHINGTON -- Convicted felon Tony Rezko. Unrepentant terrorist Bill Ayers. And the race-baiting Rev. Jeremiah Wright. It is hard to think of any presidential candidate before Barack Obama sporting associations with three more execrable characters. Yet let the McCain campaign raise the issue, and the mainstream media begin fulminating about dirty campaigning tinged with racism and McCarthyite guilt by association.

Personal behaviors have a large impact on health.

E-mail your response to our question: As the 2008 presidential race nears its end, are John McCain and Barack Obama, and their running mates, addressing the issues that are important to you?

WASHINGTON -- In William Saroyan's Depression-era drama "The Time of Your Life," there is a laconic character called "The Arab" who keeps muttering the play's signature line: "No foundation. All the way down the line."

I read with amused interest the Oct. 6 letter "District has let my students down" from a Memphis City Schools first-grade teacher. She is typical of today's generation of whiners.

So Memphis taxpayers aren't on the hook for Joseph Lee's legal bills. At least that's the way it appears following Tuesday's City Council meeting.