text:
April 2005
Not a drive-thru window
"Two men remain in hospital after a bizarre accident in which a car smashed into the top floor of a house." Story here.
A $5 parking ticket has governments on the run
You gotta love this story:
PITTSBURGH -- All Chuck Pascal wanted to do was challenge a $5 parking ticket. But his victory in a Butler, Pa., court has sent shock waves through the state and led some towns to suspend writing tickets.
Pascal showed that Butler was in violation of a state law that requires parking meters to be certified as accurate every three years.
Now, cities and towns are clamoring for the state's Division of Weights and Measures to certify their meters.
The division, which has to inspect everything from gasoline pumps to delicatessen scales, is overwhelmed.
Butler has stopped writing tickets until its meters are certified. So has Erie, at a cost of $2,000 a day in fines.
TN background checks
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Since the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation started offering to sell criminal background checks in June, the agency has run more than 6,500.
Customers — mostly small businesses — pay $29 for the service, which taps into fingerprint records from the state's 95 counties.
Targets of the checks include job applicants, prospective tenants and nursing school students who need a background check to work at area hospitals.
"It's been a great help to us," said Jenny Meece, office manager for Barbara's Cleaning Service in Hendersonville. "In the housekeeping business, you have to be very careful who you send into people's homes, because they're alone."
More flippant Friday
How do I know that? The above is Baby Tad. Ever tried to open a packaged toy from Leap Frog? I stand a better chance of getting into Fort Knox.
Woman's house sold for $420 debt
"Earlier this month, she arrived at the house on the 14200 block of Swallowfield in southwest Houston and found a small, yellow note stuck to the front door.
"The handwritten note said that the house had been sold at a foreclosure sale seven months earlier. The local homeowners association had sold the house, valued at about $250,000, saying Bernhardt failed to pay a $420 assessment fee."
Story here. (Via Ned Ferguson)
Governor backs "Minutemen"
SACRAMENTO — Calling the nation's borders dangerously porous, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Thursday praised the private "Minuteman" campaign that uses armed volunteers to stop illegal immigrants from crossing into the U.S.
Schwarzenegger said in a radio interview that the federal government is failing to secure the border with Mexico, and he cast the hundreds of private citizens who have been patrolling the Arizona-Mexico border since April 1 as a popular response to government inaction.
More here.
Draft Lincoln Davis for Senate?
More flippant Friday
Sophisticated decision-making
"Rock, paper, scissors" and a $20 million contract.
Good reads coming Sunday
Scott Barker pens a behind-the-scenes piece in Perspective on President Bush's recent visit.
Excerpt: "I was running through sniper-infested woods toward the president's secret helicopter landing zone when I realized I might die."
Another one: White House funtionary "Gayla Keller was, to say the least, blunt. It was obvious she hadn't been valedictorian at charm school."
Also, columnist Sam Venable takes on the Tennessee Valley Authority. "Up and down the Tennessee Valley, the big-bucks crowd is lining up to get a crack at these choice, public (for now) properties."
Flippant Friday
Too bad SKBubba took this in last night and missed President Bush's TV appearance. The president was talking about the importance of some TN legislation that would allow guns in bathrooms! Here's a story saying something about that legislation "backfiring." I'm not sure why we need such legislation but he said his judicial nominees would uphold it if it passes.
UPDATE: I did some checking around and it's actually legislation allowing guns in bar rooms. Maybe I misheard the president. Thank goodness I checked because I thought our legislators were wasting time like they are on this. Guns in bars are a good thing. Now we have recourse for when some idiot switches the channel while UT is playing football!
Breaking news - TennCare cuts stalled
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — The state's plans to cut TennCare enrollment ran into more trouble in court Thursday when a federal judge ruled that patient notification and appeal procedures were inadequate.
U.S. District Court Judge William J. Haynes said he found eight areas where enrollees' rights weren't fully protected. The order that drew the sharpest reaction from state lawyers was that every patient the state tries to cut from the expanded Medicaid program could seek a hearing to appeal the loss of coverage.
Attorney Michael Kirk immediately asked for a stay and said if one wasn't issued the state would appeal. Haynes took the request under advisement and could rule later in the day.
Praise for a Knoxville state representative
Middle Tennessee blogger Matthew White offers some insight on state Rep. Bill Dunn, R-Knoxville. He also slams a reporter whom he says called Dunn "mean and hateful."
Cell phones on airplanes
The FCC is reconsiding the ban on in-flight calls.
"Hello? Hello? Hello? I'm on the plane. I'M ON THE PLANE! What? You're breaking up. Yes, hello? I'll call you back when I'm over the Rockies. Bye."
More here.
Blogger Jerry Brown
It's not news in the blogosphere that former Gov. "Moon Beam" is blogging, but here's a long piece on his new endeavor.
"It's the rare politician these days who doesn't have some Web presence, but they're only recently getting into blogs after watching Howard Dean use the Internet as a way to blast through the MSM (mainstream media) filter and communicate directly with voters."
Brown's site here.
RELATED: Here's sites for a TN state representative and a Knoxville city councilman.
More sarcastic Thursday
Photo source.
Authorities are monitoring you more.
Local blogging on a local protest
Here's a report on a rally at West Town Mall yesterday. (Via SKBubba)
Also, Glenn photoblogged it yesterday.
Hope Congress reads this
Gallup polled Americans on what they'd talk to President Bush about if they had 15 minutes with him.
Scroll way down the page and you'll find moral issues just got a response of 6 percent, and just 1 percent mentioned the courts and judicial system.
The war in Iraq, the economy and Social Security topped the list.
A significant ruling on downloading music
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) -- A federal magistrate has ruled that two North Carolina universities do not have to reveal the identities of two students accused of sharing copyrighted music on the Internet.
More here.
Sarcastic Thursday
Photo source.
The feds eye changes to the U.S. Intruders Act.
A local act of "civil disobedience"
Some folks in Farragut have banded together and they are doing something radical - they are driving the speed limit! I e-mailed "Farragut Republican" as to how many were participating, but I may have messed up the e-mail address. Perhaps the Farragut blogger will give us an update in comments here. The blogger also talks about three teenage driving deaths in Farragut within the last six months.
UPDATE: I just got this e-mail from FR: "Currently we have a small band of rebels. I would estimate about twenty five. But we are growing and that is what is important.
"We are vastly outnumbered but we hope this "civil disobedience" will spread. Ironically young people now see that it is cool to be different and they have joined the cause."
UPDATE II: "The root cause is the community mentality which apparently is to speed, drink & drive, speak on the cell phone, apply makeup read the paper (sometimes all at the same time!)." More here.
A quick Rocky Top stroll
A Knox County schools field trip to a baseball game.
Speaker Jimmy Naifeh, a blogging House rep. and shenanigans.
Consumer blogging: Did SayUncle get ripped off?
What are the priorities?
So we're going to pay to jail people, up to three years, for videotaping movies at a theater, and yet 20 million working Americans have no health insurance.
To paraphrase former Knox County Commissioner Madeline Rogero, if you are confused, then you must be paying attention.
TN 44th in state taxes
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Tennessee state tax collections rose about 8 percent in 2004, but Tennesseans continue to pay some of the lowest taxes in the country, according to a report Wednesday from the U.S. Census Bureau.
On a per person basis, Tennesseans paid $1,616 in state taxes in 2004. That ranks 44th lowest among the states and $408 less than the national average — despite a sales tax increase in 2003.
"The bottom line is Tennessee has been, is and remains a very low-tax state," University of Tennessee economist William Fox said.
Hey guys, don't read this
Pretoria - "We performed the wrong operation on you, we didn't look at your folder," a doctor is alleged to have told an aged man whose testicles had been removed instead of his prostate gland.
More here.
Another Rocky Top stroll
Too funny. "Dear Inventor of Glitter,
I can think of nothing nice to say to you right now. Your product should be illegal to minors." More here.
"As the grandson of a Catholic pharmacist..."
Sen. Ford did nothing wrong.
U.S. Rep. Harold Ford Jr. "most travelled."
City councilman not blogging.
"The Left is morally and ethically bankrupt."
Stop the nominees!
A lot of deep and detailed discussion is going on regarding President Bush's judicial nominees and the process.
I'll not add to that.
Instead, here's my take: As long as they are not nominated, we don't have to pay their salaries.
That's all. Move on along.
The ACLU, a Wiccan and a prayer
RICHMOND, Va. -- The American Civil Liberties Union of Virginia asked a federal appeals court to reverse a ruling against a Wiccan priestess who sought to offer the opening prayer at a county meeting.
More here.
Oak Ridge gets Onioned
Above: Gustaveson unveils the amazing new hyperbolic chamber.
OAK RIDGE, TN — After six grueling years of Herculean research, scientists at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory pronounced EHC-1 Alpha, the new hyperbolic chamber, "an unquestionably, undeniably, fantastically revolutionary milestone in the history of science, mankind, and the universe, all of which it will undoubtedly change forever."
Hyperbole researchers have arrived at, without possibility of argument or refutation, the single greatest moment in all of creation, now and forevermore," said the project's lead scientist, Dr. Lloyd Gustaveson, activating the hyperbolic chamber's gazillion-ultra-watt semantic resonator at a gala launch party Monday. "The divine flame kindled by our new hyperbolic chamber will cast its light down through the centuries, making the Promethean fire that brought forth life on earth seem like a brief and guttering spark. Behold—we recast the cosmos in the image of the ultimate!"
The Onion "story" here.
CNN may be spamming blogs
I posed this question in early February and got blasted in comments.
Now comes this:
"Last week, CNN attempted an unusual marketing campaign in the blogosphere. The campaign combined blackhat search engine optimization techniques, viral marketing tactics, and guerrilla comment spam." (Via SayUncle)
Pet crematory provokes anger
"Veterinarians across the Knoxville area scrambled Tuesday to comfort their clients after learning of an investigation into RossAnn Services, an animal crematory that served many veterinary clinics.
"At least six animal clinics are former clients of the North Knoxville business, shut down April 18 after a Knox County Health Department inspector discovered more than two-dozen animal carcasses inside the Van Street facility. He declared it a public health nuisance.
"Several local vets said they believed RossAnn served many of the roughly 60 animal clinics in Knox County."
More here.
Libraries and terrorists
"As Congress considers reauthorizing the Patriot Act, it explicitly should add libraries to the locations where federal investigators may hunt terrorists. Here are five reasons why: Marwan al Shehhi; Mohand, Wail, and Waleed Alshehri; and Mohamed Atta — September 11 hijackers, all."
More here.
UPDATE: "Send Homeland Security to Lawson McGhee Library Now."
A mindless tidbit
I ran across this yesterday: ilovejackdaniels, a techie blog in the UK. I spent some time in England years back and when people found out I was from TN, they wanted to talk about Jack, Elvis and Dolly. Apparently, JD is still very popular there.
Breaking news on TennCare
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Gov. Phil Bredesen announced Tuesday he had struck a deal with one set of lawyers representing TennCare enrollees that would protect 100,000 of the sickest patients from planned enrollment cuts.
Bredesen was surrounded by top Democratic lawmakers, including House Speaker Jimmy Naifeh, and the enrollee lawyer who helped craft the compromise, George Barrett, as he talked to reporters about the settlement.
The Tennessee Justice Center, which until this year exclusively represented TennCare patients, was noticeably absent from the announcement and planned a later news conference.
The proposed settlement faces a number of hurdles, requiring approval from two federal judges and officials with federal Medicaid, which provides two-thirds of the funding for the $8 billion health care program for the poor, disabled and uninsured.
Another possible sticking point is the price tag. The deal will cost $75 million beyond what the governor proposed for TennCare next year.
"I'm trying to be a good governor," Bredesen said.
No deal, Frist says
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Reacting to a Democratic offer in the fight over filibusters, Republican leader Bill Frist said Tuesday he isn't interested in any deal that fails to ensure Senate confirmation for all of President Bush's judicial nominees.
More here.
Tongue-in-cheek Tuesday:
Frist "interviews" here and here.
"Welcome Doctor Frist. Or, should I say Senator Frist?
"BF: I prefer Doctor Senator Frist."
Luxury blogging
More tongue-in-cheek Tuesday
Will the last newspaper reader please line the bird cage.
"Redneck Acres"
A Florida man is seeking to name his subdivision "Redneck Acres." (Via Ned Ferguson)
A Rocky Top stroll
A student busted for blogging with bad words.
I like consumer blogging, and here's one on giving out your info to retailers. UPDATE: More consumer blogging.
Sixteen-hundred pounds of pot and a conspiracy theory.
Rocky Mountain News editor is blogging.
A death at a school. More prayers here.
UPDATE: Here's a story on that TN dormitory fire.
Stupid-driving award
Driving home yesterday evening I witnessed one of most brain-dead driving examples I have ever seen. I was sitting at an intersection facing west and waiting to turn left. After my light turned green two SUVs, one from the north and one from the south, bolted through the intersection. In both cases, the drivers were on their respective cell phones. In order to avoid a being called sexist, I will pass on identifying the gender of the two drivers.
Newspaper presses charges against 83-year-old
Another PR nightmare for Big Media. A newspaper is pressing charges against a man who on his way to cancer treatment allegedly took four papers from a box instead of one. (Via Romenesko)
TN bloggers on Sen. Frist
"Frist sees the handwriting on the wall."
"The courts and the wingnuts."
Not a "Constitutional option."
Harold Ford Jr. speaks.
Tongue-in-cheek Tuesday
Photo source.
Knox County's new stormwater ordinance.
How the county is going to fund the new ordinance. (Hat tip: SKBubba)
Pet crematory investigated
"The FBI and authorities in two states are investigating a former North Knoxville pet crematory after the carcasses of 150 dogs were found dumped on the side of a rural road, according to Virginia officials."
More here.
More on traffic cameras
An Alabama House committee has "put the brakes" on a proposal to use cameras at traffic lights to catch red-light runners.
Background, links and comments here about Knoxville's proposal.
Meanwhile, I came across this argument on behalf of using the cameras.
Son accused of scamming 89-year-old father
ROGERSVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — A Rogersville man has been charged with scamming his 89-year-old father out of $68,000 that was supposed to be used to buy his dad a house.
Bernard Gajewski, 63, was charged with theft over $60,000, a Class B felony. His father, Joseph Gajewski, filed a complaint against his son seven years ago.
Bernard Gajewski was supposed to have used the money, which came from the sale of his father's house in Omaha, Neb., to buy a Rogersville home for the older man in 1998. Instead, police said, the younger Gajewski took out a mortgage on the house in the name of his wife and son and spent the remaining money on vehicles and other items.
Continue reading "Son accused of scamming 89-year-old father"
2008 a good time for a third-party candidate
Former Dean campaign manager thinks '08 presents a good possibility for that. Wouldn't bother me any.
"Trippi told the Los Angeles Times that a third-party candidate, through the power of the Internet, 'could come along and raise $200 million and have 600,000 people on the streets working for them without any party structure in the blink of an eye."'
More here.
RELATED: "A president from Indiana. It kind of has a little resonance to it."
-- Sen. Evan Bayh (D-IN), quoted by the Indianapolis Star-News.
UPDATE: Here's a story on "disappearing Democrats" in the South.
Excerpt: Rep. Harold Ford, D-Tenn., a conservative Democrat who challenged Pelosi for the party's top House job in 2002, says the problem is not the leadership, but the failure of Southern Democrats to demonstrate that they're not always in lockstep with those leaders.
"The national image of the Democratic Party does not sell well in the South," Ford said. "However, the position of national Democrats on fiscal matters, ironically, is more in line with where voters are. We have to do a better job of telling that story."
A Rocky Top stroll
Neyland Stadium in a satellite image. Les Jones has been all over Google's new service.
Also, Jefferson City imagery.
Do you think alcohol may have been involved?
Pre-K study being ignored.
File traffic complaints online
The city of Knoxville offers the service. If you try it out let me know how it goes.
Altered Pledge of Allegiance
"Instead of 'one nation, under God,' the voice said, 'one nation, under your belief system."'
Story here.
Taxing Internet sales
Plans are underway in several states, including Tennessee, but opposition has slowed those efforts.
Can you imagine having to put up with this?
"A pizza parlor located near a county border, for instance, would be forced to charge the tax rate of where the pizza is delivered - and keep track of which county or city it needed to send the money to."
Here's a group fighting those efforts.
UPDATE: SayUncle weighs in.
Flippant Friday, V
President Bush today at Knoxville's airport: "I'm sorry we're not at the Great Smoky National Park."
It's the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Transcript here.
(Hat tip: SKBubba)
Flippant Friday, IV
President Bush comes to town, and the University of Tennessee loses a quarterback!
Another story here.
My, what a stormy Friday.
Flippant Friday, III
President Bush gave a short speech. Nothing new said.
SKBubba blogged it.
FLIPPANT UPDATE: "Rumors that God did not want the President to speak in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park are completely unfounded," said the White House press secretary.
Also from above link: "Dr. Sen. Frist said he was 'disturbed by what could be a growing trend of thunderstorms against faith."'
"Year after year, Wal-Mart's low pay and meager employee benefits force hundreds of thousands of employees to resort to Medicaid, food stamps, and public housing. Call it the 'Wal-Mart Tax.' And it costs you $1.5 billion in federal tax dollars every year."
The new web site is here.
Bush's Cades Cove visit cancelled
But he'll still speak at the airport. Weather prompted the decision not to go to Cades Cove.
More here.
Weather alert here.
UPDATE: After Mother Nature joined the protesters, Air Force One has finally landed at Knoxville's airport.
Flippant Friday, II
Flippant Friday
Photo source.
An exclusive look at the Presidential motorcade in Cades Cove.
A poll on gas prices
WASHINGTON - Half the people in the country say record-high gas prices are starting to cause them problems. Who's to blame? Americans point a finger at the oil companies, foreign nations that control the oil supply, and politicians.
More here.
RELATED: From a TN blogger, "Inflation and interest rates are rising, stock values have plunged, a tank of gas induces sticker shock, and for nearly a year, wages have failed to keep up with the cost of living.
"Yet in Washington, the political class has been consumed with the death of a brain-damaged woman in Florida, the ethics of the House majority leader, and the fate of the Senate filibuster." More here.
Forcing weather info offline?
Apparently, proposed federal legislation would freeze out National Weather Service information. If true, this legislation needs to get hit by a public hurricane.
"The bill, introduced last week by Sen. Rick Santorum, R-Pa., would prohibit federal meteorologists from competing with companies such as AccuWeather and The Weather Channel, which offer their own forecasts through paid services and free ad-supported Web sites.
"Supporters say the bill wouldn't hamper the weather service or the National Hurricane Center from alerting the public to hazards — in fact, it exempts forecasts meant to protect 'life and property.'
"But critics say the bill's wording is so vague they can't tell exactly what it would ban."
More here.
Even more tongue-in-cheek Thursday
The Outhouse at Mt. LeConte.
President Bush while in the Smokies will dedicate the Democrats' new "white house."
Scales away!
PETA strikes again. We just got a press release decrying the serving of fish in the cafeteria at Ripley's Aquarium of the Smokies in Gatlinburg.
The press release is not online yet, best I can tell, but here's an excerpt:
"Serving fish at an aquarium is like serving poodle burgers at a dog show."
More tongue-in-cheek Thursday
In an exclusive, I have learned that during his Friday visit President Bush will announce the privatization of Cades Cove.
Teacher in bathroom-bucket case resigns
"Facing termination, a veteran Knox County preschool teacher has resigned after directing a 4-year-old girl to go to the bathroom in a bucket in front of her classmates."
Go see story and ongoing poll on the topic here.
Helicopters and the Smokies
SKBubba says there's speculation President Bush will be helicoptered in to Cades Cove.
Those who've been around these parts a few years know of the case of helicopters being banned in the park around Pigeon Forge. I've copied and pasted a 1998 KNS article on this below.
Well, now there is SOS, "Save Our Skies," on the North Carolina side of the mountains. Stories here and here.
TN investigation into guardrails
"A private contractor used by the Tennessee Department of Transportation is under state and federal investigation for improperly installing highway guardrails."
It is a situation that is "creating a deadly risk to millions of citizens around the state."
Blake Wylie has more.
AP story here.
UPDATE: "You know what is really sad about this story? That TDOT, which is spending about $1.6 billion of federal and state taxpayer dollars this year, has no quality control mechanism that would catch this kind of problem without being tipped off." More here.
Traffic-camera update
"A camera system to catch red light-running drivers could be operational by July 1 if all goes according to the timetable in a Request for Proposals drafted and released earlier this week by the Knoxville Police Department.
"Police officials are asking for a complete, digital-only photo system to be installed, operated and maintained entirely by a private vendor at no cost to the city." More here.
More background, comments and links here and here.
UPDATE: While no decisions have been made, about 25 intersections are under consideration. They are: Kingston Pike at Morrell, Alcoa Highway, Papermill, Gallaher View, Walker Springs, Cedar Bluff, Northshore and Montvue; Cedar Bluff at Peters; I-640 at Broadway, Old Broadway and Western; Henley at Cumberland/Main and at Clinch; Clinton Highway at Merchants, Old Callahan and Tillery; I-40 at Lovell and Cedar Bluff; Callahan at Clinton Highway; Western at Dale and at 44th; Papermill at Weisgarber; I-75 at Emory, and Gallaher View at Bridgedale.
Tongue-in-cheek Thursday
Photo source.
In Cades Cove, workers are clear cutt..., err, cleaning up in anticipation of President Bush's visit.
RELATED: "Bush visit action alert."
TN trooper, not a citizen, can serve
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — The state attorney general says it is legal for a Highway Patrol trooper who is not a U.S. citizen to serve on the force.
The opinion follows the suspension of six-year veteran Steve Sakarapanee, who was born in Thailand. Sakarapanee indicated he was not a citizen on an application for the job that he was sworn in for in 1998.
Jane Fonda spat upon
Vietnam Vet arrested.
More Sen. Ford fallout
"The president of a company that does business with TennCare said he would stop using a Memphis insurance broker if it continues to employ state Sen. John Ford because the relationship is 'problematic from an ethical standpoint.'" More here.
And then there's this:
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — TennCare says it won't renew a contract with one of the companies found to have business ties to beleaguered state Sen. John Ford.
Doral Dental, a Milwaukee contractor with the state's expanded Medicaid program, came under suspicion after it was learned officials had paid more than $1 million to a consulting firm where Ford is a partner.
Taser used to get urine sample
ORLANDO, Fla. -- An Orlando police officer has been charged with misdemeanor battery for allegedly using a Taser stun gun on a suspect tied and handcuffed to a hospital bed. More here.
Local teacher resigns over incident
"Facing firing, a Knox County preschool teacher has resigned after admitting she made a 4-year-old go to the bathroom in a bucket in front of her classmates."
More here.
Previous posting here.
More on traffic cameras
Nashville blogger Blake Wylie has been recommending people buy this if your local government starts using the cameras at traffic lights.
The city of Knoxville, which has issued a request for proposals on a camera system, has an ordinance that bans the use of "any substance that has the effect of altering the reflectivity of a registration plate, even if the information upon such license plate is not concealed."
It is Sec. 17-209 (B) here.
In looking at the city's RFP, if implemented the cameras would be used at 15 unspecified intersections, and perhaps more later. The fine for running a red light would be $50.
Disclosing background checks
"A division of ChoicePoint that conducts background checks for employers and other organizations will begin notifying individuals when it provides damaging personal information about them. The newly announced policy is designed to bring the company into compliance with a federal law that requires such notice in certain cases.
"Rapsheets, a Tennessee company purchased by ChoicePoint last year, provides instant criminal background checks to employers and organizations to help them screen workers and volunteers." More here.
BACKGROUND: "As data broker ChoicePoint wrestles with the fallout from the sale of personal data to identity thieves and an investigation into two executives' sale of company stock, it faces questions on another front: its background-checking services." More here.
A blogger's travails, err, travels today
"And, as with every time I travel, my bag was one of those searched so I got the courtesy your papers and effects have been searched without a warrant, without probable cause, and unreasonably notification in my bag. It's always a nice surprise to get to the hotel and discover that your constitutional rights were violated." More here.
Speaking of the TSA:
"WASHINGTON - The Transportation Security Administration allowed lavish spending on a $19 million building for its crisis management center, including $3,000 refrigerators and about $500,000 to acquire artwork, silk plants and other items, an inspector general's report said." More here.
And there's more:
"A report by the Department of Homeland Security says the Transportation Security Administration has not improved safety at US airports. The TSA says a lack of technology to scan passengers and their luggage puts their security screeners in a bind." More here.
Another Rocky Top stroll
Bill Hobbs on Gov. Bredesen's Pre-K plan.
Tennessee Values Authority, a quality site that needs more postings, on TennCare. "Note to Bill Hobbs: I don't think the Frist family and HCA want to hear that kind of crazy talk."
Gas prices all-time high, adjusted for inflation.
Frist's potential presidential bid.
Let the crawling begin!
SayUncle is facing the same thing that we are in the Silence household.
"Before, she'd crawl a little, maybe 2 feet to get a toy or something. Now, she's clearing entire rooms. Had to childproof cabinets and attach things that might fall to walls."
I'm looking for recommendations on devices to secure cabinet doors. Please leave any recommendations in comments.
Red-light blues
"A new survey being released Wednesday says the nation's traffic signal operations are largely inefficient, leading to frustration and unnecessary delays for motorists, wasted fuel and more air pollution as vehicles constantly stop and go."
Of 378 traffic agencies surveyed in 49 states, the study found, "68 percent said they have either no documented management plan for their traffic signal operation, or their plan is to simply respond to problem intersections as they happen."
Read more.
Hepatitis A cases in the area
There's one case in Anderson County, and shots being given today through Thursday. Previous story here.
Traffic cameras in Knoxville?
The City of Knoxville has issued a request for proposals on an "Automated Red Light Enforcement System." (34-page pdf)
Excerpt: "One of the largest causes of serious injury traffic collisions in the City of Knoxville is related to red light running. In addition to instituting significant engineering measures and additional enforcement, the city believes that automated enforcement is an effective supplement to existing city resources and these systems have proven to reduce red light behavior in other cities.
"The ultimate goal of this program is to reduce the number of collisions, focused on serious injury, at signalized intersections. Public participation and satisfaction is a key determinant of the project's success. It is critical that the program be administered with quality assurance and sensitivity to the public."
BACKGROUND: This has been kicked around for a few months here. Here's a previous posting with several related links, including a VA study that says the cameras increase rear-end collisions.
RELATED: "Big Brother Stuff" in Nashville.
UPDATE: Courts and legislatures taking on traffic cameras.
MORE BACKGROUND: A local city councilman last month called for legislation prohibiting the cameras.
UPDATE II: More from Nashville, with several links.
TN radio personality headed to Iraq
"One of Nashville's most popular radio talk show hosts is headed to Iraq - not to serve, but for his job. Steve Gill from WWTN will be spending the next week with troops from the Tennessee National Guard and the 101st Airborne Division. He'll also travel to the oil fields in Kuwait and visit Navy personnel on ships in the area." More here.
Wonder if he'll hook up with our TN blogging soldier, Lance in Iraq.
Unborn baby legislation
"The Senate Judiciary Committee has approved legislation to expand the definition of a person to include an unborn baby.
"Tennessee would join 18 other states including Kentucky and Virginia that currently protect unborn children, bill sponsor Sen. Doug Jackson (D-Dickson) said."
More here.
A Rocky Top stroll
What they are saying out there:
"Tennessee political blogs just got more interesting."
"Lunatic Legislators Propose Hunting As A Constitutional Right."
"Why the Judge Issue Matters."
A blogger's review of a new restaurant in Farragut.
"Man catches fire during surgery."
UT athletics needs a loan
"Last year the University of Tennessee Athletics Department took in roughly $67 million in revenue on everything from ticket sales to television money to concessions.
"After expenses, $10,310 was left.
"And that's not nearly enough to pay former UT basketball coach Buzz Peterson the $1.39 million buyout he was owed."
More here.
UPDATE: SKBubba weighs in.
Pamphleteers of the 21st Century
This is an excellent essay on bloggers and the First Amendment, drawing a striking comparison to Tom Paine, who of course wrote "Common Sense."
Some excerpts from the journalism professor's essay:
"In fact, bloggers stand squarely in a long-standing journalistic tradition. In this country, their roots go back to the authors of the often-anonymous writings that helped to found America itself by encouraging the rebellion against Britain."
"The pamphlets were crucial to the rebellion because they were cheap, because they presented provocative arguments, and because it was impossible for the royal authorities to find their authors and stop them."
"Common Sense and other pamphlets like it were precisely the kind of political journalism that Jefferson had in mind when he insisted on a constitutional amendment in 1790 to protect press freedom -- anonymous, highly opinionated writing from diverse, independent sources. In historical terms, today's bloggers are much closer in spirit to the Revolutionary-era pamphleteers than today's giant, conglomerate mainstream media. On those grounds, blogs deserve the full constitutional blessings that the First Amendment guarantees."
"What we think of as reporting – the pursuit, on a full-time basis, of verifiable facts and verbatim quotations – was not a significant part of journalism in the time of Jefferson and Paine. In fact, the practice of reporting began around 1833 in New York's "penny papers" and gradually spread during the nineteenth century."
More on "killer in the closet"
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — A judge stopped testimony by a wife whose husband was beaten to death after he discovered her boyfriend living in a closet at the couple's home, saying her statements could implicate her in the murder.
Davidson County General Sessions Judge Casey Moreland sent murder charges against Rafael DeJesus Rocha-Perez to a grand jury on Monday. Police contend Rocha-Perez, 35, killed Jeffrey A. Freeman on April 10 after the husband heard sounds of snoring and found the suspect living in a guest bedroom closet.
The victim's wife, Martha Ann Freeman, testified during the preliminary hearing that she saw Rocha-Perez pull her husband by his collar into a bathroom and heard "a lot of thumping and a lot of noise," but did not call police for about 18 hours because she was terrified.
On being a dad
A poignant post, and in my opinion he did not fail.
Who's the Greatest American?
The Discovery Channel will attempt to answer that question through a series of shows, and viewers can vote.
Here's the Greatest American blog. (Via Political Wire)
Police searches and consent
Well this looks like a very slippery slope.
"WASHINGTON - The Supreme Court on Monday said it will consider whether police may search a home when one occupant consents but another does not."
More here.
Another new local blog
It's the Farragut Independent.
Here's another Farragut blog that I'm aware of, where there is a restaurant review, and a review of the town's most dangerous intersections. Great local focus!
"Keep talking senator"
A stinging editorial today on Sen. John Ford:
"With every word from his mouth, Sen. Ford makes passage of tough ethics legislation even more likely.
"He needs to keep jawing, because controls on lobbying, consulting — or whatever you want to call it — have been needed desperately for decades in Tennessee."
More here.
Headline-of-the-day award
"Surveillance Cameras Reduce Private Space"
UPDATE: Now this is scary!
"IBM has won a $125 million deal that will put "black boxes" in tens of thousands of cars in the United Arab Emirates.
"The four-year deal, expected to be announced on Friday, calls for IBM to equip cars and trucks with a telematics device and GPS (Global Positioning System) that will provide information on a vehicle's location and speed to government agencies."
More here. (Hat tip: Ben Cunningham)
More Dogwood photoblogging
Education news roundup
"On Tuesday, most Knox County public school students will begin taking Tennessee's own special test, called the TCAP achievement exam, or the TerraNova. Some Knox County schools will begin testing on Wednesday."
"Tennessee is making it easier for people with real-world experience in hard-to-fill teaching areas such as math, science and foreign language to become teachers."
"MTSU has a below-average graduation rate compared to other Tennessee schools, according to a Tennessee Higher Education Commission report."
"A state with Tennessee's school dropout rate can't afford to let its alternative schools slide."
Hunting a constitutional right?
"The General Assembly is considering a bill that would make hunting and fishing a constitutional right in Tennessee.
"The Constitutional amendment was approved in the Senate Judiciary Committee last week and is scheduled for a hearing in the Senate Environment Committee Wednesday."
More here.
Curbing the Internet in Texas
There's legislation to "filter" the 'net at rest stops.
Dogwood photoblogging
Red, white and blue
It's Dogwood Arts Festival time.
Comcast sued for disclosing information
"Comcast, the top U.S. cable TV network operator, is being sued by a Seattle-area woman for disclosing her name and contact information, court records showed Thursday.
"In a lawsuit filed in King County, Wash., Dawnell Leadbetter said that she was contacted by a debt collection agency in January and told to pay a $4,500 for downloading copyright-protected music or face a lawsuit for hundreds of thousands of dollars.
"Leadbetter, a mother of two teenage children, was a customer of Comcast's high-speed Internet access service.
"The company, Settlement Support Center, based in Washington state, was using information that the Recording Industry of Association of America had obtained in a Philadelphia lawsuit over the illegal sharing of digital music files, said Lory Lybeck, the lawyer representing Leadbetter."
More here.
Rape avenger acquitted
"MARYVILLE - After more than 14 hours of deliberations, a Blount County jury on Friday acquitted a mother who killed her daughter's alleged rapist of first-degree murder.
"But Kimberly E. Cunningham, 33, of Knoxville is not in the clear. Jurors deadlocked on whether she should be convicted of a lesser charge."
Go look at votes and comments in the online poll on this story.
New rules protect Tom DeLay, 10 GOPers say
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Ten former Republican U.S. lawmakers on Friday urged a reversal of new House of Representatives ethics rules that they charged were changed to protect Majority Leader Tom DeLay from further investigation.
More here.
Also, "House of Scandal" went up today.
Great-great-grandmother shoots robber
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) — A man accused of bursting into a convenience store demanding money was in the hospital Friday — shot, authorities said, by the great-great-grandmother working behind the counter.
Janet Grammer was filling in for the regular clerk Thursday afternoon when a man entered the store waving a gun and fired two shot at the back wall.
"I think he thought I was an old woman and would just give him the money," Grammer, 64, said Friday. "My life was at stake. I thought he was going to kill me."
Two TN counties among 100 fastest growing
Fayette and Williamson make the U.S. Census Bureau's list.
Memo to the Northeast media and prez/VP candidates. Here's some interesting stats from the Census Bureau released this week:
# "Of the 100 fastest-growing counties between 2003 and 2004, 60 were located in the South, 23 in the West and 17 in the Midwest. None were in the Northeast."
# "Joining Florida in having at least 10 counties among the 100 fastest-growing were Georgia and Texas (12 each) and Virginia (10)."
# "California and Texas each had three counties among the top-10 numerical gainers. Only one county on this list — Will, Ill., near Chicago — was located outside the South or West."
# "Of the 100 most populous counties in 2004, 32 were located in the South, 27 in the Northeast, 25 in the West and 16 in the Midwest."
TN storm funds diverted
"A look at last fiscal year's Disaster Relief Fund - which was only for items relating to damages from the May 2003 tornadoes - shows three county vehicles were traded for newer ones for top officials using more than $30,000 from the fund. But none of the vehicles was damaged, according to a state audit of Madison County government."
More here.
A Rocky Top stroll
Why am I not surprised. A blog on curling.
Consumer blogging: A lesson in chicken and dumplins.
Tom DeLay:Snapping turtle.
The upcoming Ramp Festival.
Footblabbing on footbrawling
Steve Spurrier is back at it:
"This was not a full-blown fight. If you want to read about some full-blown fights, read about the Tennessee players, not our guys," said Spurrier, referring to the five Tennessee players who have been charged with assault since January.
And the normally reserved Phil Fulmer fires back:
Fulmer was asked whether Spurrier's comment made it seem like old times in the SEC.
"That doesn't bother me one bit," Fulmer said. "He's got plenty to do, I'm sure. Maybe it rained that day and he didn't get to play golf. I don't know."
Another story here.
UPDATE: Thursday South Carolina story here.
UPDATE II: The UT/USC is in Knoxville this year.
UPDATE III: "SS comes out punching himself and stands behind our team. About time, with all kinds of allegations about UT for years." From "Gamecock Forums," go to "Spurrier speaks."
President Bush to visit ET
He's scheduled to visit the Great National Smoky Mountains National Park on the 35th Anniversary of Earth Day.
UPDATE: "Unnatural haze."
New local blog
Do as I say...
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — A state senator sponsoring a constitutional amendment aimed at "solemnizing the relationship of one man and one woman" is accused in a divorce case of cheating on his wife.
State Sen. Jeff Miller, a Republican from Cleveland, is accused of "inappropriate marital conduct" in a divorce complaint filed Feb. 25 in Bradley County.
The senator's March 2 answer to the complaint "vehemently denies" any inappropriate marital conduct.
"He is very hypocritical, fighting for the sanctity of marriage and not keeping his own," the senator's wife of 15 years, Bridgitte Suzanne Miller, said in a report in the Chattanooga Times Free Press.
New downtown cinema
"Knoxville city officials will give the green light to a first-run movie theater downtown in a project that will save the S&W Cafeteria and other buildings on the 500 block of South Gay Street.
"Officials plan to announce the project, considered the linchpin of downtown redevelopment, at a 2 p.m. press conference today.
"Speaking on the condition of anonymity, a source close to the city's negotiations with Regal Theatre Group, Knox Heritage and other interested parties said this morning that the S&W, a striking Art Deco building that once housed a popular eatery, would not be razed."
More here.
SKBubba was first on the scene.
The cinema has long been in the works. Here's a story from three years ago.
"The University of Tennessee Orange and White Game for this weekend is rumored to have some important new twists."
Silencing of the blogs
"Web hosting company Hostway this week released the results of its poll of 2,500 respondents on blogging. Eighty percent of respondents did not believe that bloggers should be allowed to publish home addresses and other personal information about private citizens.
"A further 72 percent favoured censorship of personal information about celebrities, and 68 percent information about elected or appointed government officials such as judges or mayors.
"However, more than one-third of respondents had never heard of blogs before participating in the survey, and only around 30 percent of participants had actually visited a blog themselves."
More here.
But then there's this:
"Today in the House of Representatives, Congressman Jeb Hensarling (R-TX) introduced a companion piece of legislation to Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid's bill (S.678) to exclude the Internet from the definition of "public communication" in the Bipartisan Campaign Finance Reform Act of 2002.
"This is a bill that deserves bipartisan support, and it's exciting to see it off to a good start."
More here.
And there's this:
"THE BLOGOSPHERE SHOULD GET BEHIND THE ONLINE FREEDOM OF SPEECH ACT, which has bipartisan support in the House and Senate. Tell the FEC to keep its grubby laws off your computer!"
More here.
Pet and pet food taxes
NASHVILLE - Pet food would be subject to a new tax and persons selling more than 25 dogs or cats would have to be licensed under legislation debated to a standstill in a Senate committee on Tuesday.
More here.
Here's the bill.
"60 Minutes" on TN "pork"
"Local public safety and government officials watched attentively Sunday night as the CBS news program "60 Minutes" featured Tiptonville in a story about "pork-barrel spending" by the Department of Homeland Security.
"Uniformly, they agreed that the program failed to address the harsh realities police and first responders in rural areas must face when they are charged with protecting Americans from terrorism. They also felt that if the current focus in Washington continues along its current path, the nation would ultimately be more at risk from terrorist attack than it was prior to Sept. 11, 2001."
More here.
Why did Coach Fulmer apologize?
In the wake of more footbrawling, Middle Tennessee blogger Donald Sensing has this:
"My question is this: why did Fulmer apologize? Does the dean of student life apologize for every UT kid picked up for D&D on weekends? Does the chair of the English department apologize when a senior majoring in literature is arrested for shoplifting? No, you say? Proves my point. Yes, Fulmer recruited these yardbirds and brought them to the university, but he's not their mother. They are legal adults. Fulmer is not responsible for their conduct."
Read more.
A "legal minimum amount" to sell gas?
Apparently, Minnesota has such a law:
"The owner of an Anoka Exxon gas station filed suit Tuesday seeking damages from the Star Tribune and four other media outlets that reported that the state was investigating whether the station was selling gas below Minnesota's legal minimum price." Emphasis added.
Read more.
Brink's coming to Knoxville
"Brink's Home Security Inc., a leading international provider of residential and business security systems, is expanding to Knoxville.
"The Irving, Texas-based company will spend more than $10 million building and equipping a new alarm monitoring and customer care center in the Pellissippi Corporate Center in West Knox County. When fully staffed, Brink's Knoxville operation will employ more than 350."
More here.
TN trooper suspended
The "hard-working and conscientious" seven-year veteran is not a U.S. citizen.
Some surprising satellite images
Google's launch of satellite imagery is producing some surprises.
And in Knoxville, look, a couple of landmarks.
South Knox development
SKBubba has a long take on potential long-term plans for South Knoxville.
"I hope the City of Knoxville follows through on this, even though I'm not likely to see much in the way of results in my lifetime. But as I have said time and again, the South Knox waterfront could be a new Jewel of the South." Emphasis added.
Secret Service visits art show
"Organizers of a politically charged art exhibit at Columbia College's Glass Curtain Gallery thought their show might draw controversy.
"But they didn't expect two U.S. Secret Service agents would be among the show's first visitors.
"The agents turned up Thursday evening, just before the public opening of "Axis of Evil, the Secret History of Sin," and took pictures of some of the art pieces -- including "Patriot Act," showing President Bush on a mock 37-cent stamp with a revolver pointed at his head."
More here.
Tennessee Williams poem found
ST. LOUIS - A previously unpublished poem by Tennessee Williams, described as having been "written out of absolute, complete despair," has been discovered in his blue test booklet from a college course in 1937.
More here.
Sen. "Pacman"
NASHVILLE - State Sen. Tim Burchett sounded the death knell Monday for House-passed legislation that would for the first time restrict donations to political parties and political action committees in Tennessee.
More here.
A blogger's conviction
A blogger's words come back to haunt him:
"Earlier that day, Gerald Velardi had written in his weblog 'I'm going to trash some s**t tonight, maybe my damage will be shown on the news.'"
Jeff Blogworthy has more.
More on spying cameras
They are using them in England now.
Nashville backs off a plan.
A blogger's efforts makes the news.
A marriage ban?
This seems a bit over the top:
"The debate over how best to tighten ethics rules took a personal twist in the state Senate yesterday as lawmakers reworked a major piece of ethics legislation to include what amounts to a ban on legislators and members of the governor's Cabinet from being married to lobbyists."
More here.
More on a church's "Pope" sign
NEWPORT, Tenn. - Two days after being posted, a church marquee message that questions the purpose of the papacy is still attracting attention in this small community.
"What I am trying to do is to let people know there's only one way to heaven through Jesus Christ," said the Rev. Cline Franklin, pastor of Hilltop Baptist Church. "There's no need for help. God sent his son, Jesus Christ. We're all priests if we're saved. I don't need to go to anybody else to pray."
More here.
Previous posting and picture here.
Breaking news on TennCare
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — A federal appeals court ruled Tuesday that state officials don't need a judge's approval to cut 323,000 adults from TennCare.
A three-judge panel of the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said in a ruling issued from Cincinnati that a federal judge overstepped his authority in January when he stopped the state from making the cuts.
Tennessee Gov. Phil Bredesen wanted to cut the rolls to save money on the $8 billion expanded Medicaid program, and he got approval last month from the federal government, which pays two-thirds of the bill.
Lawyers for TennCare enrollees went to court to stop the enrollment cuts, and U.S. District Court Judge William J. Haynes granted their request pending a hearing last week.
The court said Haynes improperly restricted "the state's substantive policy choices in altering the TennCare program." It said the consent decree only spelled out the procedures for disenrollment, but didn't prohibit the state from eliminating people from the program.
Tobacco wins again in TN
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Anti-smoking advocates saw a setback Tuesday when bills that would raise cigarette taxes and prohibit smoking in certain areas were deferred or defeated in the House Agriculture Committee.
Two bills that would increase cigarette taxes were delayed for a couple of weeks, and members of the committee overwhelmingly voted against legislation prohibiting smoking in most enclosed public places and college dormitories.
Bizarre TN murder case
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Police said a man living in a closet at his married girlfriend's house was charged Tuesday with brutally beating and killing her husband after snoring sounds tipped off the victim to the arrangement.
"From time to time, you come across a case with very unique — even bizarre — circumstances," Nashville police spokesman Don Aaron said. "This one probably rates right up there with them."
"The sick world of the pro-assassination Left"
"'Oh, but it's all in good fun,' the libs will shrug. Yeah, just like the Guardian's call last fall for someone to kill Bush. Just like the wave of campus attacks on conservatives. Just like the vicious anti-troops, anti-Bush slogans: 'We Support Our Troops, When They Shoot their Officers" and "Bush is the disease. Death is the cure.'
"'Where's your sense of humor?' the libs will ask.
"Where's their decency? Their sanity?"
More here.
"Poop happens"
This Tennessee blog is new to me, and it is quite good. Blogging about real life from a very real perspective. Go read about moseying with her dad. And read "Quiet Girl."
Cops on video
Middle TN blogger Gunner over at No Quarters has a very interesting post.
"The days of cops doing what they want are numbered due to cheap video cameras. My cell phone has a camera and I have even seen zippo lighter size video cameras. There will still be more Rodney Kings occurring, but now we will have shots from different angles to see every blow.
"In a lot of amateur videos I have seen the cops like to throw out commands "turn that camera off", but is it a crime to not turn it off? Can they arrest you for not following a legal command? I honestly thing legislation that protects people with cameras from the police should be put up in Washington."
Not a good sign
This is from a church in Newport, TN, about 50 miles east of Knoxville.
Here's a paragraph from the story:
"An assistant pastor at the church says the sign's main message is that people shouldn't put their hope in the pope alone. He insists the church isn't trying to say the pope is in hell. He says people are misunderstanding the sign."
More here.
Biblical dolls
One2Believe will begin selling talking Jesus, left, and Moses dolls in May.
More here.
YMCA bans cell phones
In Middle Tennessee, they are banned in locker rooms.
More on Tom DeLay
"'The Hammer' is getting hammered."
UPDATE: "The end is near."
UPDATE II: "Democrats should save their money. Why murder someone who is committing suicide?" said a senior GOP lawmaker, on condition of anonymity. More here.
Evangelicals reclaiming America
A TN preacher in Union County is mentioned in this lengthy piece by the Rolling Stone.
"Cass points to the Rev. Gary Beeler, a Baptist minister from Tennessee who got permission for thousands of students to skip class and attend weeklong events that he calls 'old-time revivals, with preaching and singing and soul-saving and the whole nine yards.' Now, with support from Kennedy, Beeler is selling his house and buying a mobile home to spread his crusade nationwide. 'It's not exactly what I planned to do with my retirement,' he says. 'But it's what God told me to do.'"
Union County allowing students to get out of school to attend Beeler's revival became the subject of a lawsuit. Below is a story we had in November 2004.
Some good news from Iraq
TN soldier Lance Frizzell is in Iraq, and is blogging. He posts about some soldiers helping with a fundamental issue.
He's also got pictures of Charlie Daniels performing, and a posting on a rift among insurgent factions.
RELATED: Farragut soldier awarded the Bronze Star.
No organized prayer at graduation
Down the road in Putnam County:
"Michael Martin, director of Putnam County Schools, said that in 1992, the US Supreme Court ruled in Lee v. Weisman that school districts may not have any involvement with prayer at high school graduation ceremonies.
"In compliance with the First Amendment and Tennessee Code Annotated 49-6-1004, the Putnam County Schools willl permit private, voluntary prayer or meditation by individuals, he said."
More here.
Police drop plans to eavesdrop
Just down the road in Nashville:
"Public pressure over a proposed Metro police surveillance network has led police to scrap plans for an audio monitoring system that would have allowed officers to randomly eavesdrop on conversations in public places.
"A video network, without audio recording devices, remains on track, however."
More here.
Nashville blogger Blake has been all over this topic. Scroll down.
RELATED: Here's an item he has on "seat-belt stings."
Alcoholic beverage ads
The TN Attorney General has opined that Alcoholic Beverage Commission rules regulating advertisements infringe upon the First Amendment.
Read the opinion.
New Rocky Top Brigade members
This loose-knit collection of bloggers in Tennessee or with TN ties is now up to 137 members, SKBubba said. That's 55 more than just last June.
Four of the new members are female, bringing the total number of women in the RTB to 24, SKBubba estimates.
Here's a couple of things I wrote for the newspaper about the RTB last year:
Some scary venom
Conservatives last week teed off on Justice Anthony Kennedy, and in the process handed Dems more ammo for '06 and '08.
For example: "Not to be outdone, lawyer-author Edwin Vieira told the gathering that Kennedy should be impeached because his philosophy, evidenced in his opinion striking down an anti-sodomy statute, "upholds Marxist, Leninist, satanic principles drawn from foreign law."
"Ominously, Vieira continued by saying his 'bottom line' for dealing with the Supreme Court comes from Joseph Stalin. 'He had a slogan, and it worked very well for him, whenever he ran into difficulty: 'no man, no problem,' Vieira said.
"The full Stalin quote, for those who don't recognize it, is 'Death solves all problems: no man, no problem.' Presumably, Vieira had in mind something less extreme than Stalin did and was not actually advocating violence. But then, these are scary times for the judiciary. An anti-judge furor may help confirm President Bush's judicial nominees, but it also has the potential to turn ugly."
Read the whole thing.
Local "pork"
Tennessee Values Authority has a nice roundup of federal monies in the area.
Excerpt: "For the record, I'm not calling anything on this list 'wasteful.' I'm just pointing out that the same organization that is going to get everyone riled up this week about indoor rain forests in Iowa is lumping that same rain forest in with the above projects."
"Village idiot" award
STORY, Ind. - The competition was fierce and foolish, but a man who accidentally sawed through a live wire and topped that by wrecking his truck hours after buying it more than earned the honorary title "Village Idiot."
More here.
New Smokies blogs
We've added two new blogs about our national treasure, the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. They are Notes by Ole Slew Foot, with great pictures, and South Florida Mountain View.
Two University of Tennessee football players involved in a scuffle.
From our story:
"Tennessee quarterback Brent Schaeffer and receiver Bret Smith were arrested Sunday night for assault concerning an incident at a UT dormitory early that morning, according a UT police arrest report.
"According the report, the incident took place at 5:15 a.m. Sunday at Clement Hall lobby. The cause of the disturbance was unclear but a videotape of the incident shows UT student Quantavious T. Emerson, 18, carrying a metal baseball bat as he approaches Schaeffer and a female also believed to be a UT student."
More at GoVolsXtra.
Also, two University of Georgia players charged over the weekend.
Excerpt: "Georgia football players Kedric Golston and Derrick White face the possibility of suspensions following their arrests early Sunday morning stemming from a fight at a downtown Athens bar in which pepper spray was used to gain control of the crowd."
UPDATE: Here's the AP story on the UT incident.
TN 47th in taxes
At least according to this analysis.
A Delayed exit?
WASHINGTON — The near-solid wall of public support that Republicans have displayed for beleaguered House Majority Leader Tom DeLay began to crack Sunday, with a Senate leader saying the Texas Republican needed to "lay out what he did and why he did it" and a House member calling on him to step down from his leadership post. More here.
UPDATE: "Delaying the inevitable."
UPDATE II: Thoughts and links galore here.
UPDATE III: "Distraction from the distractions, damage control, and containment. That's the ticket."
A "youthful" downtown
The Rossini Festival on Saturday was clearly a success. One thing that stood out to me, and perhaps it's because I'm a parent now, were the number of couples with kids at the event.
Clearly, downtown Knoxville is budding, and there's 1,500 people living there now. We ducked into the Tennessee Theater and it is fabulous. Also, one of our favorite stores has opened on Gay Street.
The attendance Saturday was surprising, too, since the festival was competing with this. And by the way, we had no trouble parking.
The Rossini Festival
By early afternoon, Gay Street was packed for the festival.
My wife and daughter on Market Square. If we knew who the boy was we'd send his parents a copy of this picture.
Downtown festival
I may try to photoblog this, but that depends on what schedule our one-year-old daughter sets for us today.
Top 10 rock films
Can you believe "Tommy" and "Jesus Christ Superstar" are not among them?
The worst experience at Best Buy
Man arrested for paying with $2 bills, and that's not all.
PB&J patent denied
WASHINGTON - There's only so far you can go in trying to patent the ever-popular peanut butter and jelly sandwich. On Friday, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit rejected an effort by J.M. Smucker Co. to patent its process for making pocket-size peanut butter and jelly pastries called "Uncrustables."
More here.
Another paid columnist
BOSTON - A columnist for the Boston Herald has been awarded a contract worth up to $10,000 from the administration of Gov. Mitt Romney to promote the governor's environmental policies.
More here.
Knox County's GOP history
And you thought it was long, rich and storied, but apparently not. (Via John Brown)
Charlie's cartoon today
Teacher on leave after "humiliating" pre-schooler
"She admits to making a four-year old girl 'go to the bathroom' in a bucket in front of other students."
More here.
"Rednecks rule"
Two Blount County bloggers are all over the tensions at William Blount High School.
SKBubba: "The next time somebody tells you racial hatred and bigotry is a thing of the past, ask them where these kids learned this stuff. Suggest they look in the mirror for the answer."
SayUncle: "Teachers are too quick to call the police these days. Kid has a knife, call the cops. Kid has a BB gun, dial 911. Call the five-0 because some kid has over the counter drugs. I guess they're so damn scared of another Columbine that the don't want to take chances."
A couple of new blogs
New to me, at least.
There's Evan Erwin in Oak Ridge, who notes there's an auction underway on eBay for the naming rights of a "cinebar."
And then there's "Can Farragut Change?"
Cell phones on planes
WASHINGTON -- As the din of cell-phone chatter spreads in public areas, Americans say they strongly oppose allowing cell phone use in one of the most crowded of public places _ airplanes.
In a survey released Thursday, 63 percent of respondents said they do not want airlines to allow in-flight cell phone use. The Federal Communications Commission is considering lifting its ban on cell phones. Only one in five survey respondents said they favor that action.
More here.
Editors had to know of fabrication
"Mitch Albom's editors had to know he was fabricating scenes, notes Eric Deggans of Poynter's St. Petersburg Times."
More here.
Is this really necessary?
WASHINGTON - New passenger cars must have tire pressure monitoring systems in place by the 2008 model year, the government announced Thursday.
More here.
Iraqi democracy will prevail, TN doctor says
KINGSPORT, Tenn. (AP) — The Iraqi people have the same hopes and desires as Americans — to live without fear in a society where they can make something of themselves — says a Kingsport doctor who served in the country with the Army Reserves.
But Americans should "cut Iraq some slack" in comparing the fledgling democracy's plight to that of colonial America, said orthopedic surgeon Galen Smith, who served with the 67th Combat Support Team in Mosul and Tikrit for four months last year.
"We prevailed, and I believe the Iraqis will as well," Smith said, but the hurdles are great.
Continue reading "Iraqi democracy will prevail, TN doctor says"
An 11th-year senior
And he's returning for his 12th year. Frankly, I don't blame the guy for the delay of facing reality.
"Lechner has completed 234 college credits, about 100 more than needed to graduate and so many that he's now paying the so-called 'slacker tax.'
"System students who exceed 165 total credit hours - or 30 more than their degree programs require, whichever is higher - pay double tuition. The Board of Regents instituted the surcharge this school year as a none-too-subtle hint that a state-subsidized education has its limits."
More here.
TN ethics commission gaining steam
"A little known piece of legislation calling for a citizens committee to police ethics in the Tennessee General Assembly is starting to get noticed amid the legislature's ongoing ethical imbroglios and a push Monday night by legislators to address them."
More here.
Extending Daylight Saving Time
WASHINGTON (AP) -- If Congress passes an energy bill, Americans may see more daylight-saving time.
Lawmakers crafting energy legislation approved an amendment Wednesday to extend daylight-saving time by two months, having it start on the first Sunday in March and end on the last Sunday in November.
More here. (Via Cube, who has some thoughts that I guess a lot of people share)
TennCare cuts ready to happen
NASHVILLE, Tenn. An official with Tennessee's public health care program testified today in the state's effort to cut 323-thousand adults from the rolls.
TennCare policy director Patti Killingsworth said the state could immediately begin producing and mailing eligibility forms, if the court approves.
More here.
Another GOPGate?
A letter writer to UT's Daily Beacon alleges college Repubs abused the campus e-mail system.
SKBubba has more.
Heath Shuler for Congress?
ASHEVILLE, N.C. (AP) — Former pro football player Heath Shuler is considering a run for the U.S. House, a family friend and adviser said.
"He is considering it," Randy Flack said. "There's a chance of him saying, 'I am not interested.' His main consideration is the fact that he has young children. He wants to be active in their formative years."
Shuler, 33, is father to a 3-year-old son and 6-month-old daughter.
Death of a local soldier
Lance in Iraq, with the 278th, weighs in on Staff Sgt. Kennedy.
Excerpt: "Decades from now, when the old men of the 278th return to a democratic Iraq to remember what we did here, SGT Paul Thomason and SSG Stephen Kennedy will be the names we honor."
My reappraisal
In the last two weeks, I've written three articles on reappraisals, the most recent one today. I've also done a posting on the topic.
It is a topic that easily confuses, so I thought I'd use my reappraisal as an example of how to calculate your new annual payment.
My property increased in appraised value 6.9 percent from $124,200 to $132,800. It appears the countywide average of property value increase will be around 12 percent. So the city and county tax rates will drop from $3.01 and $2.96 to $2.65 and $2.60, respectively. Our annual property tax payments are based on 25 percent of the appraised value, which is known as the assessed amount.
Under my old appraisal, that is $31,050. Taking that amount times .0301 and .0296, I paid a total of $1,853.68 in city and county property taxes last year.
Under my new appraisal, my assessed amount is $33,200. So if the city and county rates drop to the above as is speculated, my total city county payment will be $1,743.
Hope I haven't added to the confusion.
Shiavo memo writer resigns
The legal counsel to Sen. Mel Martinez (R-Fla.) admitted yesterday that he was the author of a memo citing the political advantage to Republicans of intervening in the case of Terri Schiavo, the senator said in an interview last night.
More here.
UPDATE: The left pounces: "Egg on their keyboards."
A victory for a blog
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - A patient unhappy with the results of a hair-loss treatment can set up a critical Web site containing the name of the medical institute that treated him, a U.S. appeals court ruled on Monday.
More here. (Hat tip: Ben Cunningham)
The changing of the guard
Old media mantra: "More at 11."
New media mantra: "More at 11, 11:01, 11:02, 11:03, 11:04, 11:05, 11:06, 11:07, 11:08, 11:09, 11:10, 11:11, 11:12, 11:13, 11:14, 11:15, 11:16, 11:17, 11:18, 11:19, 11:20, 11:21, 11:22, 11:23, 11:24, 11:25, 11:26, 11:27, 11:28, 11:29, 11:30, 11:31, 11:32, 11:33, 11:34, 11:35, 11:36, 11:37, 11:38, 11:39, 11:40, 11:41, 11:42, 11:43, 11:44, 11:45, 11:46, 11:47, 11:48, 11:49, 11:50, 11:51, 11:52, 11:53, 11:54, 11:55, 11:56, 11:57, 11:58, 11:59;
12, 12:01, 12:02, 12:03, 12:04, 12:05, 12:06, 12:07, 12:08, 12:09, 12:10, 12:11, 12:12, 12:13, 12:14, 12:15, 12:16, 12:17, 12:18, 12:19, 12:20, 12:21, 12:22, 12:23, 12:24, 12:25, 12:26, 12:27, 12:28, 12:29, 12:30, 12:31, 12:32, 12:33, 12:34, 12:35, 12:36, 12:37, 12:38, 12:39, 12:40, 12:41, 12:42, 12:43, 12:44, 12:45, 12:46, 12:47, 12:48, 12:49, 12:50, 12:51, 12:52, 12:53, 12:54, 12:55, 12:56, 12:57, 12:58, 12:59;
1, 1:01, 1:02, 1:03, 1:04, 1:05, 1:06, 1:07, 1:08, 1:09, 1:10, 1:11, 1:12, 1:13, 1:14, 1:15, 1:16, 1:17, 1:18, 1:19, 1:20, 1:21, 1:22, 1:23, 1:24, 1:25, 1:26, 1:27, 1:28, 1:29, 1:30, 1:31, 1:32, 1:33, 1:34, 1:35, 1:36, 1:37, 1:38, 1:39, 1:40, 1:41, 1:42, 1:43, 1:44, 1:45, 1:46, 1:47, 1:48, 1:49, 1:50, 1:51, 1:52, 1:53, 1:54, 1:55, 1:56, 1:57, 1:58, 1:59;
2, 2:01, 2:02, 2:03, 2:04, 2:05, 2:06, 2:07, 2:08, 2:09, 2:10, 2:11, 2:12, 2:13, 2:14, 2:15, 2:16, 2:17, 2:18, 2:19, 2:20, 2:21, 2:22, 2:23, 2:24, 2:25, 2:26, 2:27, 2:28, 2:29, 2:30, 2:31, 2:32, 2:33, 2:34, 2:35, 2:36, 2:37, 2:38, 2:39, 2:40, 2:41, 2:42, 2:43, 2:44, 2:45, 2:46, 2:47, 2:48, 2:49, 2:50, 2:51, 2:52, 2:53, 2:54, 2:55, 2:56, 2:57, 2:58, 2:59;
Offshore drilling in states hands?
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. states could allow drilling for natural gas in restricted offshore waters under legislation proposed on Wednesday by Republican Sen. Lamar Alexander.
Most U.S. coastal states -- notably Florida and California -- are subject to a federal moratorium that forbids offshore oil and natural gas drilling.
More here.
Border militia claims 141 caught
Quote of the day
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Tennessee's unregulated title loan industry would be subject to some state oversight in a bill that a Senate committee approved but a senator studying predatory lending described as weak.
"It's like getting them to agree to stop murdering, but they're still going to continue raping," said Sen. Roy Herron, D-Dresden, chairman of a special legislative panel studying predatory lending.
The Senate Commerce Committee unanimously passed the bill that would give the Tennessee Department of Financial Institutions regulatory oversight over lenders who use motor vehicles as collateral for short-term, high-interest loans.
Food blogging
Here's a story on several blogs about food and cooking:
"Like the recipe exchanges that used to take place over backyard fences, food blogs are ways for cooks to brag about their culinary triumphs or ask for advice when a cake falls. Mostly by amateur cooks - some are by professional chefs - food blogs are ways for ordinary people to write about what they cook, what they eat and what they are passionate about.
"The major difference is, with the Internet, that backyard fence opens to the entire world."
More here.
Stun guns and a sheriff's search
ORLANDO, Fla. - Orange County's sheriff used driver's license records to contact a woman who wrote a letter to the editor of a newspaper citicizing his staff's use of Taser stun guns and describing him as fat.
Some say Orange County Sheriff Kevin Beary violated federal privacy law when he had his aides use the records to get the address of Alice Gawronski. He sent her a letter accusing her of slander.
More here.
UPDATE: SKBubba locates the woman without resorting to the sheriff's tactics. Go to comments.
UPDATE II: Nashville considering taser ban.
New feature
Another Internet hunting ban
In California. (Hat tip: SayUncle)
It's being considered in Tennessee, too.
UPDATE: Add North Carolina to the list.
"Seething cesspool of pollutants"
From a KNS story today:
"Chapman Highway isn't just dangerous. It's downright poisonous.
"Long maligned for its tricky curves and nonexistent turn lanes, this miles-long swath of roadway was pegged Tuesday by a Knoxville city attorney as a possible culprit in the contamination of water wells in the Burnett Creek community.
"Steven B. Johnson portrayed Chapman Highway as a seething cesspool of pollutants. He told a federal magistrate judge at a hearing Tuesday that he expects to have an environmental expert back up his contention if and when a half-billion-dollar lawsuit filed over the dumping of Coster Shop debris goes to trial."
More here.
This begs the question, what about Kingston Pike?
More revelations on Tom DeLay
This, from the Washington Post, is getting a lot of blog traffic:
"A six-day trip to Moscow in 1997 by then-House Majority Whip Tom DeLay (R-Tex.) was underwritten by business interests lobbying in support of the Russian government, according to four people with firsthand knowledge of the trip arrangements.
"DeLay reported that the trip was sponsored by a Washington-based nonprofit organization. But interviews with those involved in planning DeLay's trip say the expenses were covered by a mysterious company registered in the Bahamas that also paid for an intensive $440,000 lobbying campaign."
More here.
And here's more from the liberal DailyKos.
Immigration legislation
Amid a hubbub of chatter and the music of three mariachi guitar players, a crowd of immigrants and refugees from Mexico, Sudan, Laos and elsewhere gathered recently to talk with lawmakers about the immigration bills now in the General Assembly.
One, co-sponsored by Sen. Tim Burchett (R-Knoxville), would extend the minimum duration of the immigrant driving certificates created last year for legal and illegal immigrants from one to three years.
The other, co-sponsored by Sen. Henry (D-Nashville), would permit immigrants with work authorization to obtain actual driver licenses.
More here.
Biotech boom in Nashville?
As an economic magnet, the Nashville area is primed for the coming biotechnology boom, according to a recently released Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) report.
The study looked at specific attributes of the eight largest population centers in the Tennessee Valley to determine how each accommodates the needs of various business stages of the biotech industry.
In addition to Nashville, the areas evaluated include Knoxville/Oak Ridge, Chattanooga, Memphis, the Tri-Cities in east Tennessee, Huntsville/North Alabama, Southwestern Kentucky and North Mississippi.
More here.
CDs going extinct
That's what Mark Cuban thinks.
A new "use of force" law
TALLAHASSEE, Florida (AP) -- Gov. Jeb Bush said Tuesday he intends to sign a bill that would allow people who feel threatened -- even on the street or at a baseball game -- to "meet force with force" and defend themselves without fear of prosecution.
More here.
Online regulation
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — A new Tennessee law targeting small businesses that rely on eBay for their livelihoods is unfair and a threat to commerce, a spokesman for the online auction company says.
"These people are not auctioneers, and therefore applying auction regulations to them is no different than it would be applying them to anybody doing business in Tennessee," said Hani Durzy of the California-based eBay.
The law requires storefront businesses that assist eBay sellers with marketing, pricing and shipping their wares to get a state auctioneering license.
TV indecency is a criminal act
SAN FRANCISCO -- The chairman of one of the entertainment industry's most important congressional committees wants to take indecency prosecutions into the criminal realm.
Rep. F. James Sensenbrenner III, R-Wis., told cable industry executives attending the National Cable & Telecommunications Assn. conference here on Monday that criminal prosecution would be a more efficient way to enforce the indecency regulations.
"I'd prefer using the criminal process rather than the regulatory process," Sensenbrenner told the executives.
More here.
"In Cold Blood" 40 years later
A group of journalism students take an in-depth look of the landmark Truman Capote book, with exclusive interviews. It is an impressive package. (Via Romenesko)
HST's final blast
DENVER - Hunter S. Thompson's ashes will be blasted from a cannon mounted inside a 53-foot-high sculpture of the journalist's "gonzo fist" emblem, his wife said Tuesday.
More here.
Oil prices
"Greenspan: Oil Prices Strain Energy Markets"
WASHINGTON - High oil and natural gas prices have put energy markets under a degree of strain that hasn't been seen in a generation, Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan said Tuesday.
More here.
Bredesen would have lost to Henry?
Supposedly that's what he said shortly after his 2002 election. More here and here.
Talk of a letter about that surfaced yesterday on a Nashville radio show. Here's audio.
Suspect's cell phone dials 911
ROGERSVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Hawkins County authorities were waiting for two would-be burglars after a cell phone in a suspect's pocket accidentally dialed 911 and dispatchers overheard them plotting the crime.
Authorities arrested Jason Anthony Arnold, 29, and James Keith Benton, 38, both of Church Hill, and charged them with burglary and theft over $500.
Officer said they two tried to steal a refrigerator from a mobile home dealership.
Bizarre turn in "WH reporter" case
"Jim Rothstein, a retired New York City police officer and longtime investigator on the Gosch case, said becoming a White House reporter is completely in character for a former victim of the pedophilia ring."
More here.
Home schooling and school sports
Big Orange Michael has the skinny on proposed TN legislation that would allow home-schooled kids to participate in after-school activities, such as sports.
"First, letting the kids join the football team, next thing you know they'll want to participate in graduation ceremonies. Better yet--turns out that little Johnny who was home schooled had the highest GPA and is now taking that spot from the kid who earned that in the public school curriculum."
Another blogger's reaction here.
Also, here's the Tennessee Home Education Association web site.
Here's a story on the proposed legislation.
Here's the Senate bill, and the House bill.
Parking lot woes
"A lot of people are angry after paying to use a private parking lot off the UT strip and returning to find their vehicles booted."
More here.
Property reappraisals
Many of you have gotten or will be getting in the mail reappraisal notices from your county property assessor's office.
A lot of people are inferring the notice is a property tax increase, prompting the Knox County mayor's office to post this statement today.
The notice is not a tax increase, although some property owners will pay more if their property increases at a higher percentage than the countywide average.
Here's a handy Q and A I put together a couple of weeks ago:
Videotape of autopsy for sale
MEMPHIS, Tenn. - A videotape of James Earl Ray's autopsy is up for sale, the brother of Martin Luther King Jr.'s confessed killer said Monday.
More here.
Take solace, Lady Vols
A new requirement is on the way: "No Child Left Behind - The Basketball Version"
Excerpt: "All teams must advance to the Sweet 16, and all will win the championship. If a team does not win the championship, they will be on probation until they are the champions, and coaches will be held accountable."
Social Security update
Memphis blogger Mick Wright has this poll update.
Gore TV
It is set to launch in August.
"Tennessee's most scandalous senator"
That's the headline on this AP story, which seems a bit overboard to me. Regardless, here's a long piece on what's facing Sen. Ford. Sorry, couldn't find a link yet.
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — Over three decades in the Tennessee Senate, John Ford has lost paternity lawsuits, given a political job to a girlfriend and been successfully sued for sexual harassment.
So it was not entirely surprising last year when the 62-year-old lawmaker testified at a child-support hearing that he has two households — one with a pregnant ex-wife and their three children, and another with a longtime girlfriend and their two children.
That's in addition to another young child he has with a third woman.
But what caught the eye of fellow lawmakers was the release of Ford's tax returns at the hearing, showing he got more than $230,000 from a consulting company with financial ties to TennCare, the state's Medicaid program for the poor.
Stop the seizing
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court ruled today that creditors may not seize Individual Retirement Accounts when people file for bankruptcy, giving protection to a nest egg relied upon by millions of Americans.
More here.
A Rocky Top stroll
Time for another Tennessee listening tour.
Downtown Morristown, with pictures.
More on Schiavo: "This says it all."
Family used by network to push "homosexual agenda."
West Coast blog assault.
Bredesen on Sen. Clinton's chances.
Conservatives gone wild
I was traveling Friday and I'm just catching up these party animals.
Battle over billboards
Park of East Tennessee's landscape is again under fire:
"A number of East Knox County residents waged a successful four-year court battle against two billboards. But a decision last month by the Board of Zoning Appeals allows the billboards to remain in place on East Governor John Sevier Highway near Interstate 40 and the Holston River."
More here.
More consumer blogging, on cars
SKBubba provides a nice roundup of an auto show.
Consumer blogging is catching on as I've touched on here and here.
A blogger is back
Adam Groves, whom Tyler Harber said had his computer seized, is back blogging.
An order to dispense birth control
CHICAGO - Gov. Rod Blagojevich approved an emergency rule Friday requiring pharmacies to fill birth control prescriptions quickly after a Chicago pharmacist refused to fill an order because of moral opposition to the drug.
More here.
RELATED: In the TN General Assembly, the "Pharmacist's Freedom of Conscience Act" is pending.
School uniforms supported, but why?
About two-thirds of Knox County parents said school uniforms would be "acceptable," according to results of a professional survey released Friday.
But exactly why 63 percent of parents support standardized dress is unclear. Less than half of those surveyed said uniforms would improve the learning environment in schools or prevent behavior problems.
On the flip side, one of the biggest concerns voiced by students - that uniforms would limit their creativity - did not worry at least 79 percent of parents.
The full KNS story here.
New website on downtown
It's DowntownKnoxville.
"Turkey hunter" gets 16 years
A 51-year-old man who was caught with a shotgun in a turkey blind on his family's property in North Knox County was sentenced to 15 years in prison Thursday.
Eddie Joe Grissom, who was convicted last year of possessing a firearm despite being a felon, was also sentenced by federal Judge Thomas Phillips to five years of supervised release and 500 hours of substance-abuse treatment.
Grissom was caught "in a turkey blind on his own family's property at 5 in the morning, helping a friend hunt his first turkey" in April 2001, according to a legal motion filed by Grissom's attorney, Paula Voss.
More here.
World's ugliest car
After 50 years, the Aurora has been restored.
Taser deaths increase
PHOENIX - There were 103 Taser stun gun-related deaths in the United States and Canada between June 2001 and March 2005, according to an Amnesty International report released Friday.
In the first three months of this year, there were 13 Taser-related deaths — compared with six during the same period last year, the report said.
More here.
The use of tasers and other stun guns has been a topic in the blogosphere here and here.


text:
Welcome God's presence into our lives as we worship and honor the Lord with beautiful church bulletins. Worship bulletins help worshipers prepare their hearts and minds as we celebrate the birth of the nation.
One Nation Under God
And the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Isaiah 9:6 (KJV)
Independence Day bulletin is shown folded (8.5" x 5.5"), exactly as church members and guests will receive it. Worship bulletins arrive packaged flat 8.5" x 11" to fit into your printer or copier; shrink wrapped in packages of 100.
Please note: Colors shown above are approximate and may vary somewhat with the settings on your screen or monitor.
Bulletin Categories: Patriotic / July 4th / Independence Day

subset: commoncrawl


text:
There are many ways to give to the Hospital, including a gift by check, credit card, and appreciated securities or by participating in a donor affinity program. Gifts may be given to pay tribute to a doctor or nurse, a relative, friend, colleague or in memory of a loved one. We will work with you to determine the best way to recognize your generosity.
Your tax-deductible gift will enable our extraordinary community hospital to undertake further initiatives, as well as allow us to keep hiring the best medical staff and employees and provide you and your loved ones with the finest medical care available today.
By Check or Credit Card
Please download a donation form and mail check or credit card info. to:
Nyack Hospital Foundation
160 North Midland Avenue
Nyack, NY 10960
Secure credit card donations may also be made by clicking here.
Gift of Appreciated Securities (shares of stock)
Please call the Foundation office at 845-348-2237 for stock transfer instructions.
A Planned Gift
When you make a planned gift, you become a vital partner in Nyack Hospital's future. Best of all, your gift can help you plan for tomorrow while receiving maximum benefits today.
Planned gifts such as a bequest, charitable gift annuity or a gift of life insurance can yield benefits such as:
Explore our planned giving pages for more detailed information about how planned giving can blend your family's financial security with your philanthropic vision.
Save on Energy Costs While Supporting the Hospital
Nyack Hospital Foundation has partnered with Hudson Energy Services on a special donor affinity program that enables you to save on your monthly gas and electric bill. Hudson Energy makes monthly corporate donations to the Foundation based on the number of participants and their energy usage. Call the Foundation office for more information about this program.


text:
It was a good year for the Buffalo Bills' special teams in 2011. The Bills ranked 11th overall on special teams, according to the annual Dallas Morning News survey, which is considered the standard for bomb-squad units in the NFL. Given the fact the Bills put 17 players on injured reserve during the season, it's a particularly impressive ranking.
Highlighting the Bills' special teams efforts for the season was the kickoff coverage unit, which ranked No. 1 in the league, holding opponents to an average of 20.4 yards per return. The Bills scored once on returns, thanks to Leodis McKelvin's 80-yard punt return for a touchdown in the win against Denver. Buffalo had no giveaways on punt or kickoff returns. Coach Bruce DeHaven's units also had only 11 penalties on kicking plays, tied for the fourth fewest in the league. The ranking takes into account 22 categories of special teams production. Buffalo has ranked No. 1 in the league four times since the survey began in 1990. DeHaven's units were No. 1 in 1996. Former Bills aide Bobby April's units were No. 1 in 2004, 2005 and 2008.
The Bills ranked fourth in punt return average and 23rd in kickoff return average. Buffalo got to return only 37 kickoffs, tied for sixth fewest in the league. Punter Brian Moorman ranked fourth in gross average. The Bills were 22nd in net punting average. The Bills allowed one blocked punt, at Miami. The Bills blocked three kicks themselves, two field goals and an extra point. The Bills probably would have been in the top 10 in the ranking if place-kicker Rian Lindell hadn't gone down for the year with a shoulder injury while making a tackle on a kickoff in the eighth game of the year. Replacement Dave Rayner was 10 of 15 on field-goal tries (66.7 percent), and the Bills ranked only 31st on field-goal accuracy percentage.
The San Francisco 49ers won the season title for special teams. Niners special teams coach Brad Seely has had the top ranked unit with three different teams, including Cleveland in 2009 and Indianapolis in 1992. The Niners were No. 1 in kickoff returns, net punting and field goals made. Ironically, the Niners' season ended in the NFC title game on two muffed returns. Miami was second, Chicago third, Tennessee fourth and New England fifth. The bottom three were Carolina (32), Detroit (31) and Kansas City (30).
---Mark Gaughan


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Patrick Buchnowski
Two brothers who owned a defense contracting business in Windber pleaded guilty in federal court Tuesday to defrauding the government.
William Kuchera, 58, of Summerhill, and Ronald Kuchera, 51, of Johnstown, appeared before U.S. District Judge Kim Gibson. Both men waived their rights to be indicted and to have a jury trial.
They both pleaded guilty to major fraud against the government and conspiracy. They face up to 15 years in prison and millions in fines and civil penalties.
Government investigators outlined their case against the brothers who operated Kuchera Defense Systems Inc.
The pair claimed lobbying costs, hunting trips and a private airplane as business expenses. Some of those expenses were invested in a game ranch.
The Kucheras also submitted a false invoice for $650,000 to Coherent Systems International Inc., which was a defense contractor owned by Richard S. Ianieri.
As a prime contractor, Coherent was responsible for an $8 million defense contract for the Ground Mobile Gateway Systems. The invoice sought payment for a component that was never delivered.
After receiving the $650,000 from Coherent, the brothers kicked back to Ianieri about $200,000.
In July 2009, Ianeri pleaded guilty to soliciting kickbacks and was sentenced to five years probation and ordered to pay $200,000.
Each brother has agreed to pay a $50,000 fine.
Richard Kuchera agreed to the civil forfeiture of an additional $450,000 and agreed to make payments to the IRS of $121,313.
William Kuchera also agreed to the civil forfeiture of $450,000 and pay restitution to the IRS of $257,168.
The Kucheras and KDS will also pay $2.7 million to resolve their civil liabilities with the Defense Department.
"The Kucheras cheated the government by claiming improper reimbursement, submitting a false invoice, and then kicking back $200,000 to the prime contracter," U.S. Attorney David J. Hickton said in a statement.
"Such blatant and outrageous fraud against the United States cannot and will not be tolerated," he said.
The Kucheras will be sentenced Oct. 7. They are free on unsecured bond.
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