This comment is regarding Phillip Stephenson and his sloppy history of the Republican Party. While I appreciate Mr. Stephenson's attempt at pedagogy, I think he has really misrepresented the ideals of the people who founded the Republican Party by likening them to today's Republicans. As we all know, words are just words, and just because the Republican Party was founded by abolitionists does not mean that contemporary Republicans share their values in sharing their name. An example will illustrate my point. I think its safe to say that most Republicans would prefer that Washington D.C. had as little influence as possible in the life of the average citizen. In other words, modern Republicans prefer less government, not more, and in some cases this preference manifests itself in Republican arguments for state's rights over many aspects of social life. This preference can also be understood as a desire for some type of federalism rather than a strong, centralized government. Now, lets get back to the heart of the problem with Mr. Stephenson's history lesson - Abraham Lincoln's Republican Party fought a war AGAINST FEDERALISM! And this example only demonstrates one of the many fundamental differences between Lincoln's Republicans and Reagan's Republicans. The Modern Republican Party became what it is today in the first half of the last century, primarily through opposition to the New Deal; and how fortunate for Mr. Stephenson's argument that he decided to skip that entire narrative. His nail in the coffin ("the democratic party was established by slaveholders") is also misleading. Yes, Thomas Jefferson and James Madison were slaveholders (as were the rest of their peers), and yes they founded the Democratic-Republican Party in 1792 which later splintered into today's Democratic Party among others, BUT, and here's the kicker, THAT DOESN'T MEAN A DAMN THING IN 2008! So Mr. Stephenson, don't try to convince me that contemporary Republicans, because of their wonderful history, should be hailed as champions of civil rights. Because anyone who paid attention in high school U.S. history would know that your letter to the editor is a gross misrepresentation of the actual history of this country. And don't get me wrong, I'd like less government too, much less, but you'll never find me trying to validate my own political ideas by writing revisionist history for some awful political party. And they're ALL awful. So I'll end with a word from George Washington's farewell address regarding the formation of political parties - "They (political parties) are likely, in the course of time and things, to become potent engines, by which cunning, ambitious, and unprincipled men will be enabled to subvert the power of the people, and to usurp for themselves the reins of government; destroying afterwards the very engines, which have lifted them to unjust dominion"

Isaac Burton Tigrett Prashanti Nilayam India, 515134 February 25, 2008 LETTER TO THE EDITOR MEMPHIS COMMERCIAL APPEAL Dear Sir, I was informed by friends & fans world wide, that my good name as “founder” of the internationally beloved Hard Rock Cafe and House of Blues (and that of my late father, John Burton Tigrett) was once again used without my notification or permission to aggrandize the importance of my father’s third wife, Pat Kerr of Savannah Tennessee. You reported on the world-wide internet that a permanent accolade was placed on Beale Street, the “Historical Birthplace of American Music” in honor of the “important contribution” to Memphis Music; made by Pat Kerr? Her 26 year old son, Kerr? John Tigrett and myself? Is there any explainable earthly reason why my name and those of Pat Kerr and John Tigrett’s should be placed along side the true Masters and Heroes of American Music; WC Handy, Otis Redding, B.B. King, Isaac Hayes, Jerry Lee Lewis, Sam and Dave and Elvis Presley!?! This is a travesty to Memphis Music and an insult to the great contribution of the men and women whose sweat, blood, and god-given talent made Memphis the epicenter of the world’s music culture!!! Has the Beale Street Commission lost its mind? Certainly they have lost their credibility with musicians and music fans around the world by succumbing to this absurd mockery of honoring socialites who have never sung a note and never played anything but a radio! I wish to publicly apologize to the citizenry of Memphis and especially the Musicians, Writers and Fans to whom I have dedicated my life’s work. I am hereby informing the Beale Street Commission, the Memphis Visitors Bureau, and the Mayor’s Office that I wish my name and that of my beloved father, and any records noting the Hard Rock Café or the House of Blues to be destroyed immediately, and that the ludicrous “Off-Key Note” be immediately removed from Beale Street, or I will sue all of them for Illegal & Unauthorized use of my name, The Hard Rock Café, and The House of Blues. Pat Kerr’s continuous burlesque ride on the coat-tails of others’ accomplishments is an embarrassment to the Tigrett Name. As a sad example, she recently in Jackson Tennessee, the home place of the Tigrett Clan, of which she has absolutely no claim, created the ‘John Tigrett Award’ to honor a great citizen of Jackson. And who was this great citizen, the first honoree of the John Tigrett Award? Pat Kerr, of course. Many Jacksonians were outraged by this insulting egocentric attempt to walk in the great shadows of heralded generations of great Tigrett women, including my recently departed mother and great matriarch of the Jackson Culture, Francis Tomlin Tigrett. Pat Kerr’s continuing shameless self-promotions, using the Tigrett’s Reputation spanning 2 centuries in West Tennessee, and the illegal and unauthorized use of my name, and that of the Hard Rock Café and The House of Blues, must come to an end. ISAAC BURTON TIGRETT II EMAIL: itigrett@yahoo.com PHONE: (91)986-967-8427 CC: Editors of The Jackson Sun, Memphis Flyer, New York Times, London Times, Dallas Morning News, Los Angeles Times, New York Post, and Rolling Stone Magazine