text:
June 2006
Zocor and BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee
I received a letter from BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee concerning co-pays for the cholesterol-lowering drug Zocor, which just came out of patent protection. Merck is lowering the price of Zocor, and BCBS is charging its lowest copay level for the drug. This seems to be an interesting and novel approach for drug and insurance companies to work together. I don't take Zocor myself, but this should save quite a few people money.
There's some controversy over Merck's plan. Some people are worried that - by lowering their price to below that of generics - Merck may be trying to stifle competition. I'm not so sure I worry about that, since they're essentially taking the adage "destroy your old business or your competition will" to heart. If even one other maker offers a generic then Merck will be prevented from monopolistic pricing.
Because Zocor is now so cheap, some insurance plans are creating financial disincentives that encourage customers to use Zocor or its generics rather than the more-effective but more-expensive Lipitor. I have somewhat mixed feelings about that, but I can't think of any other way for insurance companies to control costs without passing some of those costs along to the end-user. Markets don't work without prices.
The letter follows:
Continue reading "Zocor and BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee"
Blogging the debate
Rich Hailey took his laptop to the U.S. Senate debate last night.
Light blogging
"The people formerly known as the audience"
A must-read for media types, and consumers of the news. Here are some selected tidbits:
The people formerly known as the audience wish to inform media people of our existence, and of a shift in power that goes with the platform shift you've all heard about.
The people formerly known as the audience are those who were on the receiving end of a media system that ran one way, in a broadcasting pattern, with high entry fees and a few firms competing to speak very loudly while the rest of the population listened in isolation from one another— and who today are not in a situation like that at all.
But we're not on your clock any more. Tom Curley, CEO of the Associated Press, has explained this to his people. "The users are deciding what the point of their engagement will be — what application, what device, what time, what place.�?
We graduate from wanting media when we want it, to wanting it without the filler, to wanting media to be way better than it is, to publishing and broadcasting ourselves when it meets a need or sounds like fun.
You don't own the eyeballs. You don't own the press, which is now divided into pro and amateur zones. You don't control production on the new platform, which isn't one-way. There's a new balance of power between you and us.
The people formerly known as the audience are simply the public made realer, less fictional, more able, less predictable. You should welcome that, media people. But whether you do or not we want you to know we're here.
Blogging tonight's U.S. Senate debate
They're gathering in Knoxville for the debate, and local blogger Rich Hailey informs me he's taking his camera and laptop.
"Blog-broadcast synergy"
New media continues to meld and evolve, especially in the political world. Here's the latest example:
On July 4, Salem Communications, one of the country's largest radio-station owners, will relaunch an old Web war horse called Townhall.com as a hub for its stable of stars (including Bill Bennett, Michael Medved and Hewitt himself). The hope? That "Web 2.0" wherewithal can transform what was once an op-ed clearinghouse into a single nerve center serving the separate conservative communities of talk radio and the Internet. To Hewitt, a valuable White House ally, the math is simple: add 6 million Salem fans to Townhall's 1.4 million unique monthly visitors and you've got an audience six or seven times the size of liberal site Daily Kos, the Web's biggest political blog. "We will overwhelm them," he says.
More here.
A request
Would you please use a different headline?
Congress to tax itself?
Senator seeks tax on pimps, prostitutes
(Remember, it's tongue-in-cheek Thursday!)
On Sunday, the South Florida Sun-Sentinel incorrectly reported that U.S. Rep. John Murtha told a crowd that American presence in Iraq is more dangerous to world peace than nuclear threats from North Korea or Iran. A correction was published three days later. By then, conservative pundits John Fund, Vincent Carroll and others had already jumped on Murtha. Bob Norman writes: "As soon as the newspaper heard from readers that the Murtha story was wrong, it should have investigated thoroughly and gotten a correction up much more quickly."
Via Romenesko.
"Not to Alarm Anyone, But,"
Have you noticed that war has broken out between Israel and Hamas over the kidnapping of an Israeli soldier? Lots more today at Drudge. Now that the Palestinians have a government, it looks like Israel is showing them the consequences for a government committing acts of terrorism. It turns out governments are easier to punish than terrorist groups.
From Les Jones.
R. Neal has a handy voting guide up. In other news, he endoreses two Republicans, John J. Duncan, Jr. and Phil Bredesen.
From SayUncle.
Sick daughter
Panicky dad.
Calm mother.
Back later.
UPDATE: Okay, maybe I overreacted. Our doctor found nothing other than a low-grade fever. Probably a common viral infection.
Resuming regularly scheduled programming.
Are Democrats more wordy?
I'm working on a voters' guide to be published July 16. One of the questions is for candidates to list issues of priority. Generally speaking, I'm noticing Democratic candidates are writing more on that question than Republicans. Hmmmmm. I guess that could be read several different ways.
More breaking news on the Knox County charter
A federal judge today asked the state Supreme Court to decide whether Knox County's charter is invalid.
Using a federal lawsuit as a legal basis, Senior U.S. District Court Judge James H. Jarvis has sent what is known as a "certified�? question to the state's highest court.
That question is simple: Was Knox County Chancellor John Weaver correct when he struck down the charter?
Jarvis added a second question should the Supreme Court justices opine that Weaver is right. If the charter is invalid, Jarvis asks the justices to determine if there is any other legal mechanism to prop up Knox County's government.
Jarvis' power to ask the high court to immediately settle the charter debate comes through a pending lawsuit in Jarvis' court involving adult businesses whose owners have been challenging the constitutionality of a county ordinance seeking to clamp down on the businesses.
Brain-dead husbands
I know, that's redundant.
You've gotta love a husband who, not five minutes after you tell him you are starting the meat for tacos, says:
"What's that burning smell? Are you cooking something?"
From Mel's Diner.
A judge, a penis pump and a trial
BRISTOW, Okla. (AP) Serving on the jury in an indecent-exposure trial unfolding in this conservative Oklahoma town has been a giggle-inducing experience.
Former Judge Donald D. Thompson, a veteran of 23 years on the bench, is on trial on charges he used a penis pump on himself in the courtroom while sitting in judgment of others.
Over the past few days, the jurors have watched a defense attorney and a prosecutor pantomime masturbation. A doctor has lectured on the lengths the defendant was willing to go to enhance his sexual performance.
The white-handled sexual device sits before the jury box for hours at a time. Occasionally an attorney picks it up and squeezes the handle, demonstrating the ``sh-sh'' sound of air rushing through the contraption's plastic tubing.
More here.
BREAKING NEWS: Progress in Iraq?
BAGHDAD, Iraq - Eleven Sunni insurgent groups have offered to halt attacks on the U.S.-led military if the Iraqi government and President Bush set a two-year timetable for withdrawing all foreign troops from the country, insurgent and government officials told The Associated Press on Wednesday.
The demand is part of a broad offer from the groups, who operate north of Baghdad in the heavily Sunni Arab provinces of Salahuddin and Diyala. Although much of the fighting has been to the west, those provinces have become increasingly violent and the attacks there have regularly crippled oil and commerce routes.
More here.
BREAKING NEWS: Knox County granted more time
Knox County Chancellor John Weaver granted the county's request for a stay Wednesday of his ruling that invalidated the county charter. Knox County officials had asked for the stay so the charter could be amended in the November election. In a written opinion, Weaver said the stay would be in effect for 180 days or during the duration of an appeal, whichever takes longer.
More here.
A major ouch!
It's not real comforting to know that the US Senate is only one vote from abject stupidity.
From SayUncle.
More from TN bloggers on the NYT leak
N.Y. Times should be held responsible for their actions, along with reporting information that can and will help our enemies. I believe that the President's Administartion or Congress should look into this matter and charge, jail and put on trial for Treasonl the responsible person or persons.
More from Paul Herrmann.
Every supporter of this administration, including the administration has demonized the editorial board for doing their job. Oh, yes, the "librul media" NYTimes is solely responsible for alerting the people to another potentially illegal program that spy's on you.
More from C.E. Petro.
Make no mistake about it, this is treason. This is an active move helping the enemy in a time of war. No other word describes the action. The NYT, in their efforts to embarrass "Bushitler" has crossed the line. The only thing that lets them get away with this heinous act is the fact that they published it in their paper instead of giving it to Al Qaeda covertly.
More from The Conservative Zone.
Banning pizza? Heresy!
So, the Sumner County School Board has decided that for birthday parties, reward days, and other special things, pizza parties and any kind of sweets can't be consumed. This means that "healthy" snacks and treats will have to be served. I'm anxious to see what they come up with.
More here.
"I was hoping this would be an interview of me rather than an interview of you."
-- Sen. Carl Levin (D-MI), quoted by Think Progress, at the end of a heated segment with Fox & Friends host Brian Kilmeade.
From Political Wire.
Headline of the day
Hey, YouTube. The '90s Called. They Want Their Business Plan Back
From Les.
More on the immigration protest
A Morristown veteran was arrested this week after he attended a protest against immigration. He was told that the flagpole he had with a flag on the end could be a potential weapon so they told him to get rid of it. He, of course, refused to give it up so the police arrested him. They arrested him despite the group of protesters had a legal permit to demonstrate. Nearly 100 police officers were stationed at the rally at the Hamblen County Courthouse, and a Highway Patrol helicopter flew over that drowned out anything the protesters said. County Commissioner Tom Lowe will be filling a lawsuit claiming that the group's right to peaceful assembly was violated. Isn't this a great view of America? People are getting arrested just for stating their views and exercising the right that thousands of Americans have died for. The officers of Morristown and the state of Tennessee should be ashamed of themselves of denying such a basic right to this group. I don't care what cause a person has; everyone has the right to peaceful assembly.
From Mr. Rocky Top.
Warning, warning!
You may want to make this next week a special one.
Feel free to swim with the dolphins, see the pyramids, or simply punch that guy at work who slaps on way too much aftershave and always walks around with one of those earpiece cell phone things that you just pray is giving him a brain tumor. Take up smoking again and eat all the ice cream you want. You can even make it the full fat good stuff with the four-digit calorie count. Forget about hygiene. Max the credit cards. Lose every shred of social restraint you've been showing for your long and quiet life.
What I'm saying is that you need to go utterly batshit crazy and then make peace with a God of your own choosing.
I don't mean to be an alarmist here, but a huge asteroid is slated to "make an exceptionally close approach to our planet early on Monday, July 3".
So go ahead and shoot off all those fireworks while you're at it.
From TN blogger Rex L. Camino.
An editor on the NYT controversy
In the end, newspapers almost always decide to do what they are meant to do, and that is publish. Consider this: Would you really rather have The New York Times collaborating with the White House, administration after administration, deciding what to tell the American people and what to keep secret?
More from KNS editor Jack McElroy.
A reader responds in comments: Why would ANYONE expect a left-leaning newspaper with left-leaning writers like this one to take ANY other stance than this one?
Also, for no reason whatsoever, I thought I might point out that this appeared in the June 20 NYT:
WASHINGTON, June 20 — It has red states and blond pundits; home schoolers and The Human Life Review; originalists, monetarists, federalists and evangelists; and no shortage of people named Kristol.
It is a big deal, in terms literal — 997 pages — and metaphorical. Few insults have stung the movement's thinkers as much as the barb from Lionel Trilling, the literary critic, who said conservatives had no ideas, "just irritable mental gestures."
A half-century later, 251 contributors have weighed in, not so irritably, with a four-pound response.
"Feel the heft of it," said Lee Edwards, a former aide to Senator Barry Goldwater, who appears in the volume with a byline and an entry. "It's more than a book. It is, if you will, an estimate — it shows the maturation of the conservative movement."
In addition, for no reason whatsoever, I thought I would remind folks what I posted last week:
Thomas Jefferson: Were it left to me to decide whether we should have a government without newspapers, or newspapers without a government, I should not hesitate a moment to prefer the latter.
BREAKING NEWS: Death sentence halted
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — A federal judge has issued a stay of execution for Paul Dennis Reid, one of two Tennessee inmates scheduled to be put to death Wednesday.
Upcoming story:
NASHVILLE — In the past 45 years, Tennessee has executed one death row inmate. On Tuesday, the state was preparing to administer lethal injection to two condemned murderers on the same day. Sedley Alley, convicted of the 1985 rape and murder of a Marine who was out for a jog, and Paul Dennis Reid, a serial killer sentenced to death seven times for a 1997 killing spree, were on death watch at Riverbend Maximum Security Institution in Nashville with their executions set for early Wednesday.
More here.
Another update: The Tennessee Supreme Court has refused to stop Sedley Alley's scheduled Wednesday execution by lethal injection. Alley, 50, turned to the state's highest court Monday, asking for both a stay of execution and for the court to overturn a lower court's ruling and order DNA testing.
Hey Republicans, put your seatbelts on!
"It is almost impossible to overestimate the anger of swing voters." An amazingly high 73% say the country is on the wrong track and 66% disapprove of President Bush's job performance.
And this,
The battle for the Senate, "influenced disproportionately by Republican travails in Ohio and Pennsylvania," looks even worse for Republicans (53% to 31%).
More here.
More consumer blogging: Prescription drugs
This should be good news for consumers, but Big Pharma is not going to lay down without a fight.
This story from Forbes.com tells of the occurrence of expiration dates of branded drugs between now and the year 2011. The story was prompted by the fact that today, June 27, 2006, is the day that Zocor goes off patent protection.
More from GEOTENNCARE.
Deadline approaching to register to vote
From TN Ticket:
While the likelihood is low that readers of TennesseeTicket.com aren't already active voters, it's nonetheless imperative that as many people are registered for the 2006 elections as possible. This includes being ready to participate in the county general election on Thursday, August 3.
I therefore respectfully request that you take whatever action is necessary to become registered by the end of this week. (Technically, the last day is Monday the 3rd, but too many people will want to be in the throes of a four-day weekend for that day to be effective.)
Furthermore, spread the word to your friends and relatives, and let's pack the polls on Election Day.
Here's the Knox County Election Commission.
BREAKING NEWS: Positive development in Iraq?
AMMAN, Jordan (AP) — Iraqi tribal leaders say the deputy prime minister has met secretly with exiled Sunni leaders to win their support against the insurgency.
Developing story here.
AMMAN, Jordan (AP) — Iraq's deputy prime minister met secretly with exiled Sunni leaders to win their support for national reconciliation and to try to quell the insurgency, community leaders said Tuesday.
Salam Zikam Ali al-Zubaie met with several sheiks from the volatile Anbar province — an insurgent stronghold — before Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki unveiled a 24-point national reconciliation plan earlier this week.
That initiative offered amnesty to insurgents who renounce violence and have not committed terrorist attacks.
The three-day meetings in the Jordanian capital, which ended Saturday, focused on "efforts for reaching national reconciliation and asserted the need that all sides must cooperate to achieve a civil peace, especially in Anbar," said Abdul-Latif Hemayem, one of the sheiks who attended the secret meetings.
"Mr. Al-Zubaie was eloquent and had clear ideas on how Anbar, as a very important province in Iraq, should engage in the political process," Hemayem told The Associated Press in an interview.
He declined to spell out the ideas, saying they were in a "preliminary phase."
BC-APNewsAlert, CORRECTION,0052
TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — State TV reports that supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei says Iran does "not need" talks with the United States over its nuclear program (Corrects APNewsAlert that said Khamenei rejected talks with the United States).
TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iranian state TV says supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has rejected nuclear talks with the United States.
That's so confusing it makes my head hurt. Here's a story.
Sen. Clinton hires a blogger
Sen. Hillary Clinton's (D-NY) re-election campaign has hired Peter Daou, "one of the most prominent political bloggers in the nation, to help disseminate her message in a forum that has not always been that hospitable to her," the New York Times reports. "The move underscores the degree to which bloggers... have begun to transform American politics."
The Fix calls it "a major coup in her evolving relationship with the liberal blogosphere."
Daou writes: "As blog influence continues to grow, we can expect more intense fire directed at the blogosphere by those who have a vested interest in undermining it."
Via Political Wire.
More on the NYT leak controversy
This opens up yet another left-wing irony. Back in April, the left condemned President Bush for authorizing a CIA leak, when it turns out he did no such thing. Furthermore, the left had Karl Rove tarred-and-feathered for the same reason, and it turned out to be much ado about nothing. But when the New York Times actually does leak classified information not just to the press, but to the entire world, including our enemies, the left yawns and makes excuses.
More from Mark A. Rose.
Go vote in this poll: Should publishers or employees of the NY Times be prosecuted for reporting on what the U.S. government is doing?
UPDATE: From Brian Arner: You'd think that by now elite journalists, especially the Washington press corps, would have had enough with the treatment and threats its received from the Bush administration. But apparently special government access carries an awfully high price.
Blogging the illegal immigration rally in TN
MORRISTOWN — One man was arrested during a protest against illegal immigrants that organizers say was disrupted by a large number of law enforcement officers.
About 100 officers were stationed at a rally organized by Concerned Citizens of Hamblen County at the county courthouse.
Ted Mitchell, 61, was arrested Saturday after authorities told him he could not bring a flagpole onto the courthouse lawn where the rally was held. Flags were allowed, but flagpoles were not because they could be used as weapons. He was charged with disorderly conduct and resisting arrest.
More here. (registration required)
From Joe Powell: Like others, I don't think much of the anti-immigration stand, but they did have a permit and this IS still a free nation (isn't it?).
From R. Neal: I'm probably not aligned much with the politics of these protesters, but since when did "the right of the people peaceably to assemble" get thrown out the window? And since when is it a crime to carry an American flag onto a courthouse lawn? And why does it take four strong young police officers with tasers and SWAT backup to take down an elderly, disabled veteran? It seems like these peaceful assemblies only turn disorderly when the cops show up.
Wasting time in D.C.
What is the best way to express screams of frustration through the written word?
The United States Senate is going to spend time this week debating a Constitutional amendment to ban the burning of the American flag. I would be more than happy to send the text of the First Amendment to any of the senators who have lost their copy.
More from Sarah Moore.
A funny e-mail today
A friend of mine sent me this:
I'm not sure why I do things like send this to the entire office…
Is anyone else having trouble focusing after hearing that Kevin Richardson is leaving the Backstreet Boys?
A Rocky Top stroll
From Busy Mom: Has anyone seen these commercials for "Head On"? They are so bizarre, it's hard to know what it's for. I mean, how do I know if I need it? Marketing genious.
From Mr. Rocky Top: The US and Japan announced today that they will jointly install Patriot interceptor missiles in Japan. This comes amid concerns that North Korea is preparing to test fire long-range ballistic missiles.
From the Conservative Zone: The United Nations, in their "concern" over illicit trade of arms, is calling for an ultimate ban on private gun ownership. Oh, they're not going to say that out loud, not in that way, but if you read between the lines, that's what they want to do.
From Frank Strovell III: First Sting, then John Mellencamp and then Bon Jovi found their way onto the country charts in recent years. Brace yourselves for Steven Tyler's foray into the Nashville scene.
Too funny! Your gender based on your domain name.
Quote of the day
I often encounter this perspective from hard core Party Faithful. The truth is I have never been and never will be a member of a political party. It is far more sensible to examine politicos and candidates on their own merits, as both Parties, in my opinion, suffer from too much self-annointed power madness.
More from Joe Powell.
TN blogs on "net neutrality"
Or, perhaps I should have given you the word of the day: Neutricide.
Friday, the senate commercer committee delayed a vote on net neutrality, thus giving the public a little extra time to make their voices heard.
More from C.E. Petro.
I posted a link called Understanding Net Neutrality which presented a video in favor of net neutrality. A commenter pointed to a video against net neutrality. Both videos seemed to leave out critical information in my mind. Tom Maszerowski point us to Larry Lessig who links us to a must watch video by Tim Berners-Lee. The summary:
More from Doug.
More woes in the anti-blogging state of KY
When Kentucky Gov. Ernie Fletcher (R) finishes a day at the office "instead of walking through the idyllic scene across the street to the Governor's Mansion, he gets into a Lincoln Town Car to be chauffeured to his door," the Lexington Herald Leader reports. The entire distance is a few hundred feet.
"Across the country, several governors who live near state Capitols routinely walk to work. Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack sometimes jogs the three miles from the Capitol to his home. Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer walks, with his dog Jag, seven blocks to his office. And Nevada Gov. Kenny Guinn routinely walked the 10 blocks to his office before he had hip replacement surgery."
Via Political Wire.
Previous posts: "The People's Republic of Kentucky" and "More blog banning in KY."
TN bloggers on weekend storms
A lightning strike at our house killed the cable box, cable modem and one of three connected desktop computers. Oh and our Linksys wireless router, both garage door openers and a couple of switched circuits.
Cell phones, lightning and nonsense
You might have seen a few stories lately linking cellphone use with a greater risk of lightning injury, which included quotes from doctors. Here's an example, which was a Reuters/MSNBC story:
More here.
Consumer blogging
We have two porcelain tubs, both more than 40 years old. In one of them, someone years ago decided to put in some of those flower stickers unfortunately popular in the '70s. Those things were made to last longer than uranium!
I tried about every cleaner I came across with very limited success. Then I found Pumie Scouring Stick. That's the best product I've found for tackling such a job. The stick is $2.44 at Lowe's.
Spying eyes
In an unprecedented proliferation of public spying, government is casting its watchful eye on millions of ordinary Americans through largely unregulated surveillance cameras trained on public spaces throughout the nation.
A Scripps Howard News Service tally found that at least 200 towns and cities in 37 states now employ video cameras - or are in the process of doing so - to watch sidewalks, parks, schools, buses, buildings and similar community locales. That number excludes the approximately 110 other municipalities, including Knoxville, that use traffic cameras to catch speeders and red-light runners.
Story here. (registration required)
Elkmont's Synchronized Lightning Bugs
At dinner the other night Jay had told us he had been at Elkmont the previous Monday and the synchronized lighting bug flashing was in full swing. This is a rare phenomenon in which the lightning bugs in an area flash in unison. Saturday night we drove to Elkmont campground to see the light show.
Unfortunately, Saturday was a bust. It's possible the fireflies called the game due to rain, but it's more likely it was just too late in the season. A guy I talked to in the parking lot said that it's best to come the week before Father's Day. During that time the park runs a trolley service from Sugarlands Visitor Center a few miles down the road to Elkmont to accommodate more people. The trolley service described at that link runs from June 9 to 18, which would suggest those are the prime viewing days.
When I talked to Jay today he noted that not only was last Monday closer to Father's Day, it was June 19 and therefore closer to the summer solstice, which was Wednesday, June 21 this year. The summer solstice is the day the sun reaches its highest point above the horizon. For points near the equator it's also the day with the longest period of sunlight. I'm guessing that the summer solstice is a more significant event than Father's Day for insects that shoot light out of their butts.
According to an article published by the National Parks Conservation Association, synchronized flashing was once thought to only occur in Southeast Asia. It wasn't until the 1990s that amateur naturalist Lynn Faust noticed the same behavior around Elkmont and contacted a scientist she had read about in relation to the insects. That scientist suggested she contact University of Georgia biology professor Jonathan Copeland. Copeland confirmed Faust's sightings in 1995.
I had read in numerous sources that Elkmont was one of only two places (or three or four, depending on the source) in the world where you could see synchronized lightning bugs. However, the phenomenon seems to be more widespread, just not well documented. Not only is the Elkmont discovery recent, but in 2005 it was discovered that the synchronous flashing can be seen in other areas of the Smokies.
"Based on field work conducted last year, the synchronous firefly species was found to occur in all of the major watersheds in the Park," explained Park Entomologist Becky Nichols. "There are areas in the Park," she continued, "with nearly equal numbers of individuals displaying as at Elkmont.
The phenomenon seems to be elevation-dependent. I had read that the Elkmont popuation was at 2200 feet, and the Odyssey's GPS navigation system confirmed it. Another source mentions the same behavior in Congaree National Park in South Carolina occurring above 2000 feet. If you're looking for another place in the Smokies or elsewhere to catch the show next year it would seem wise to check your topographical maps and look for sites in the vicinity of the 2000 to 2200 foot contour lines. I'd bet that other synchronous lightning bug populations will be discovered now that people know when and where to look.
Venable: "Incongruous, incognizant, not ingenious"
Allow me to add a few more i-words to the "incomplete, invalid and ineffective" governmental situation in Knox County.
"Ill-advised" would do for starters.
"Insidious" also comes to mind.
Also "inane," "ignorant," "infamous," "inconscient" and "inconceivable."
Not to mention "idiotic."
More from Sam.
Travel-fund increase for County Commissioners nixed?
A move to get Knox County commissioners a 51 percent increase in travel funds appears dead after coming to light Friday.
Commission Chairman Scott Moore, a backer of the funding request, said he would pull it after other commissioners objected to the timing.
As a result, Moore said he would question other funding requests at Monday's monthly commission meeting.
Revelation of, and opposition to, the request started around noon Friday with an e-mail from Commissioner Phil Guthe to his colleagues:
More here.
Quote of the week
Normally we keep disagreements to ourselves, where the only rule is that no one throws anything that could possibly damage the television.
More from Nathan.
Contrasting quotes
On the NYT's story: A secret program has given counterterrorism officials access to financial records involving thousands of Americans, officials said.
Michelle Malkin: NYTIMES BLABBERMOUTHS STRIKE AGAIN. Dammit. These people don't know when to stop.
Thomas Jefferson: Were it left to me to decide whether we should have a government without newspapers, or newspapers without a government, I should not hesitate a moment to prefer the latter.
More on Knox County's woes
I just got his email from Knox County Commissioner Phil Guthe:
I've just learned there may be a proposed increase in travel allowance for Commissioners slipped into the budget to be voted on at Monday's meeting. I don't think anything of the sort was proposed by the Mayor in his budget presentation so it must have come about as an amendment offered by someone. As you know, I will not be present at this month's meeting but if I were, I would make certain my colleagues knew what a ridiculous idea I think this is. And because I won't be present, I am asking that you forward this message to my fellow Commissioners and encourage them not to support ANY increase in travel allowance this year for Commissioners.
Here's the proposed Knox County budget.
Like you and me, only better - unless it's politically expedient
Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca has revoked the concealed weapons license of a retired sheriff's captain who waged a fiery but unsuccessful campaign to unseat him in last week's election, a move the candidate's lawyer called "blatant retaliation."
And this is why I don't like may-issue CCW. It's subject to abuse. In this case, it was abused by giving it to a privileged person and again abused when it was revoked for political purposes.
Bloggers have more fun
Is anyone in journalism having fun any more? Bloggers are, says William Powers. "While mainstreamers cry in their beer -- or their herbal tea -- about the sorry state of journalism, those troublemaking bloggers are, in the finest tradition of hackdom, simply having a blast."
More here.
"The People's Republic of Kentucky"
Looks to me like open government is going the way of their basketball programs.
FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — Kentucky officials are blocking state employees' Internet access to a political blog that has been critical of Gov. Ernie Fletcher, who was indicted earlier this year in connection with a state hiring scandal.
The blocked Web sites include entertainment and humor sites, online auctions and blogs, but Mark Nickolas, operator of www.bluegrassreport.org, said he believes his site was targeted for its political content.
"It's outrageous; it shows that we are in the People's Republic of Kentucky now — that government will block political speech that it does not approve of," Nickolas said.
State Finance Cabinet spokeswoman Jill Midkiff said officials were not targeting particular sites but entire categories to prevent inappropriate employee access. She said the sites were blocked following a review about two weeks ago of the sites most accessed by state government.
People can appeal the restrictions, which took effect Tuesday, she said.
Fletcher spokeswoman Jodi Whitaker referred questions about the action to Midkiff.
Nickolas' site has been critical of the Republican governor who had been a target in an ongoing attorney general's investigation into allegations that protected state jobs went to the governor's political allies.
Fletcher was indicted on misdemeanor charges of political discrimination, official misconduct and conspiracy and has pleaded not guilty. He issued a sweeping pardon last year to other administration officials who might be caught up in the investigation, but not to himself.
A grand jury has returned 29 indictments in the case, 14 of which remain sealed.
Previous post here.
The press is much harder on other businesses that sacrifice the public interest for profits.
From Glenn Reynolds.
Bill Hobbs jumps in: NYT Helping Terrorists Again. The New York Times has compromised national security - which means, they've compromised your security and put your life at increased risk of terrorist attack - again.
More on term limits
I was talking with one of the non term limited Knox co. Commissioners today on the latest appeal. He told me a decision should not be available for about 50 days.
If you are not up to speed that will be after the election goes off as scheduled without changes. If the charter is returned to life the term limited commissioners who won again would get the boot and those left on commission after that would make the call as to who would replace them.
More from The Rep.
From an editorial today: "Let's get it decided, get this whole mess straightened out," Jarvis said. Our advice: Go for it, judge.
Bloggers copywriting their work
Embed a Creative Commons license into documents created with Microsoft Office.
More from Paul Herrmann.
A free press versus national security
They didn't hold the story. Good for them. Can't we have an open media and deal with national security issues?
I think we can, campers.
More here.
Friday Bird Blogging - Pileated Woodpeckers
Taken near the horse stables in Cades Cove during last weekend's trip to the Smokies. I went to look for a wild turkey I glimpsed and found these pileated woodpeckers foraging for woodpecker vittles. Near the end of the video you can see one bird feeding the other behind the tree.
This next is a short video of one of the birds pecking at a log.
Kelo, property rights and eminent domain
Friday marks the one-year anniversary of the infamous Kelo decision in which the Supreme Court determined that governments have the authority to use eminent domain to take homes, businesses and places of worship for private profit.
Tennessee lawmakers responded to the public outrage against the Kelo decision by passing eminent domain legislation. According to the Tennessee Center for Policy Research, however, the new law does not protect property owners enough.
"Tennessee's new eminent domain law is a joke-and the joke is on property owners across the state," said Tennessee Center for Policy Research president Drew Johnson. "Tennesseans aren't any more secure from having their property taken than before the law was passed."
In particular, Johnson says that the law's failure to clearly define blight and its outright encouragement of eminent domain use to acquire land for industrial parks makes it particularly threatening to property owners.
The bill, which was signed into law by Governor Bredesen earlier this month, also specifically allows for government taking of private property for playgrounds, recreation centers and land that may one day be turned into a lake.
In the year since the Kelo decision, more than 4,000 properties have been threatened or condemned by governments that hope to transfer properties from their owners to politically connected developers.
"A year after Kelo, Tennesseans must remain vigilant in the defense of their private property rights by encouraging state lawmakers to pass genuine eminent domain reform as soon as possible," Johnson said.
From the Tennessee Center for Policy Research. More on Kelo.
A blogger/mother eats her words
"Television is not a babysitter."
Screw that. Television is an AWESOME babysitter. As a matter of fact I've been increasingly frustrated that NikkiZ hasn't acted interested in any of the TV we've shown her yet. Barney? Nope. Dora? Nope. Big Bird? Nope. Gil Grissom? Nope.
More from Miss Zoot.
More evidence the natives are restless
I remember the contract with America in 1994. The Republicans have forgotten. I remember the Republicans' pledge to smaller government and less government spending, yet the Republicans hand in hand with the Democrats have led us to the largest multi-trillion dollar budget in history. I know that the President and every member in congress took an oath to defend this nation and her constitution against every enemy foreign and domestic. Yet many of the Republicans including the President are content to make half hearted efforts to secure our borders and let millions of criminal invaders remain in this country with no plan for removing them or punishing employers that give them jobs, punishing developers that rent or sell them houses, punishing lenders that lend them money, and on and on and on.
Give me a Republican Party that will give me a small unobtrusive federal government that will stop telling me what to eat, what to drive, how to act, and stay out of my business and my pocket book, and I will contribute again. Give me a Republican Party that will rid our nation from this cancer of illegal immigration that thumbs its nose at our laws and sucks the life out of our welfare and healthcare systems, and I will contribute again.
More here.
I'll give him the Republican party, as long as he takes them far, far away. (Gee, am I in a snotty mood today?)
Air advisory for the Smokies
This seems earlier than usual, but it has been awfully dry, too. Or did I miss it and Congress visited the area?
GATLINBURG, Tenn. (AP) — A pollution advisory was issued Thursday in Great Smoky Mountains National Park warning visitors of unhealthy levels of ground-level ozone.
Ozone concentrations exceeding health standards were recorded overnight Wednesday at two higher elevation monitoring stations and conditions were expected to continue Thursday.
This would mark the third unhealthy day of the 2006 summer ozone season in the Smokies, the country's most visited national park on the Tennessee-North Carolina border.
Similar alerts were issued for Chattanooga, Knoxville and the Tri-Cities.
The park recorded an eight-hour average ozone concentration Wednesday night of 88 parts per billion at Clingmans Dome, the park's highest peak, and 85 ppb at Look Rock. Anything above 85 ppb is considered unhealthy for children and people with respiratory problems.
Ozone, a component of smog, is a colorless gas formed when nitrogen oxides and volatile organic compounds mix in the presence of sunlight. Vehicle exhaust, industrial emissions, gasoline vapors, chemical solvents and vegetation all contribute.
More here.
A downright amusing tiff
I'll have you know that Nathan killed a spider for me just this morning … and it was a big one, too! No scared bee-atch in this house!
More from Sarah Moore.
Tongue-in-cheek Thursday
More evidence privacy is dead
AT&T has issued an updated privacy policy that takes effect Friday. The changes are significant because they appear to give the telecom giant more latitude when it comes to sharing customers' personal data with government officials.
The new policy says that AT&T -- not customers -- owns customers' confidential info and can use it "to protect its legitimate business interests, safeguard others, or respond to legal process."
More here.
From yesterday: So when exactly did privacy die?
More blog banning in KY
Why doesn't he just take a stick and smack a hornet's nest?
Political bloggers "have joined pornographers, casinos and hate groups" on Kentucky Gov. Ernie Fletcher's (R) "list of Web sites that state employees are blocked from visiting," the Louisville Courier-Journal reports.
The Lexington Herald Leader: "The ban sent the political sector of the cyber world into a tizzy, attracting attention from national blogs, some of which were added throughout the day to the list of sites state workers couldn't access."
Earlier, we noted that the Fletcher administration blocked the Bluegrass Report. If any Kentucky state government employees can confirm that Political Wire is also blocked, I'd welcome the information.
From Political Wire.
Take a mental break in the mountains
We had a very nice riverside site at Elkmont. The weather was wonderful, it couldn't be any more pleasant - about 10 degrees less than the lower elevations and much less humid.
The dance of the Fireflies was extraordinary and truly majestic. It wasn't 'synchronistic' in the manner that I thought it was be - blinking at the same second at the same time, but they where moving in waves all at the same time, as if to some beautiful music. It really was a site to behold and if you ever have an opportunity to see it, you should do so. Thank you everyone for the bday wishes and for a wonderful bday!
Thanks for sharing that Julie.
Overweight kids, a water park and toddlers
SayUncle has a long rant I can relate to.
The times they are a-changin'
Who would have thunk it?
I didn't mean for this to become a habit, but you folks won't let me drop it. So gird thyself for another dose of "What Are the Odds?"
This all started in April when I wrote about a Knoxville man who attended a preseason baseball game in Florida and wound up sitting next to a Korean War buddy he hadn't seen since they were discharged from the Army more than 50 years earlier.
That opened the floodgates. I followed with more strange coincidences. And the weird events continue to arrive. Consider:
More from Sam Venable.
Lileks Does Tennessee Hotel Postcards
For months now blogger and pop culture rag and bone man James Lileks has been scanning and annotating hotel postcards from the 50 states in alphabetical order. He finally made it to Tennessee. Here's a postcard sent from the Admiral Benbow Inn that used to be in Knoxville.
If you like this sort of thing, you should definitely visit Swank Pad's Knoxville Then and Now, Vanishing 1950s America, and Highway 11.
UPDATE: Swanky writes: "AH, you missed the Admiral Benbow: http://forum.hukilau.org/viewtopic.php?t=201. It's in the holding bin on the forums and I have not offiically added it to the site."
Today's twist in the term limits case
A federal judge said today he would cut through the confusion surrounding the Knox County charter by asking the Tennessee Supreme Court to rule on the charter's validity as soon as possible.
Senior U.S. District Court Judge James H. Jarvis said he wants the state Supreme Court to settle the matter once and for all so he can hear a lawsuit challenging the county's adult business ordinance.
Though a federal judge, Jarvis can ask the state's highest court to intervene to settle a matter of state law that is crucial to the federal lawsuit.
Under court rules, Jarvis can send a "certified question�? to the state Supreme Court. The court can refuse to answer, but such a decision would be rare.
"It's a perfect question to be certified,�? Jarvis said.
Jarvis has given attorneys for the adult bookstores one week to amend their lawsuit to reflect the recent decision invalidating the county's charter. He said he will then immediately draft a question for the state Supreme Court to answer and send it to the high court.
More here.
Local blogger Rich Hailey was prophetic earlier this month: I'm not a lawyer, but it seems to me that if term limits are invalid, then most of the legislative actions of the Knox County government over the last few years is also invalid, including the regulations passed in Knox County limiting the operations of adult businesses. This means that even though your vote no longer counts in Knox County, at least you can look at nekkid women after midnight again.
KnoxViews has some info, too.
A TN blogger researches guns and women
Armed females of America, Annie Oakley and Pinehurst, N.C.
Gunner has the fascinating connection.
A blog new to me
She is Marsha Loftis, a native Tennessean living in New Mexico. She was in the Air Force for six years and she's the mother of five children.
Goodyear exiting TN?
This is definitely not of the good for northwest Tennessee. I'm trying to get more information out right now as this develops. Goodyear is economically important to this region of the state. And then news out of Ohio is being monitored as well (link below.)
More from newscoma.
So when exactly did privacy die?
WASHINGTON - Numerous federal and local law enforcement agencies have bypassed subpoenas and warrants designed to protect civil liberties and gathered Americans' personal telephone records from private-sector data brokers.
These brokers, many of whom advertise aggressively on the Internet, have gotten into customer accounts online, tricked phone companies into revealing information and even acknowledged that their practices violate laws, according to documents gathered by congressional investigators and provided to The Associated Press.
Story here.
Giving away the farm in Oak Ridge?
Recently the Oak Ridge City Council voted 5-2 in favor of a $250,000 loan and an 8 year, $250,000/yr property tax abatement for some company called Pro2Serve, who wanted to move from a spot on the Turnpike near where Roane State used to be to the ORNL campus.
Now, abatement is a big word, so I looked it up, and it means exactly what I thought it did, which is that the city is going to forgive $250,000 worth of property taxes a year for 8 years, so in 2014, Pro2Serve will have made at least two and a quarter million dollars. In return, Pro2Serve looks to hire 200 more employees, and…?
In the meantime, the city couldn't afford for little Jimmy to ride the bus next year.
What the hell kind of priorities are these? We can talk about budgets and placements and ins and outs and cash flows all damn day, but when the sun goes down, what I'm taking home is that Oak Ridge cares more that Pro2Serve and ORNL manage to get a new technology park off the ground than taking care of the existing citizens. Councilman Beehan, one of the two dissenting votes, tends to agree with me:
More here.
Censoring a blog?
The Bluegrass Report, an excellent blog covering Kentucky state politics, has apparently been censored from all Kentucky state government computers. The site is highly critical of Gov. Ernie Fletcher's (R) administration.
Writes blogger Mark Nickolas: "I'm getting flooded with e-mails and a couple of phone calls from readers in other cabinets -- and other elected constitutional offices -- that the site has been blocked. But what's interesting is there's no problem allowing state workers to access the Republican Party of Kentucky or Fox News or Drudge Report or at least one conservative Kentucky blog."
-- From Political Wire.
Dan Rather and the truth
Heck, we should have all seen how it was going to end a long time ago. When I was in high school, 'way back in the '80s, the Camaro in the assigned parking space next to mine had a bumper sticker that read "Frankly, Dan, I'd Rather have the truth."
-- From Tam.
UPDATE: Ouch, again. "If the documents are not what we were led to believe, I'd like to break that story."
They weren't, Dan, but you didn't break that story. It broke you.
Things are getting testy in TN
TeamAnonymousSourcing still doesn't get it - I keep this story going only so that everyone can continue to see how publicly sick this group is, and how they're more interested in attacking good people than advancing Republican candidacies. Those who have seen the documents I posted yesterday, and everyone who has most of their neurons firing, already knows their full of it.
And this:
As a commenter recently noted, they are truly the National Enquirer of Tennessee politics.
More from Nathan Moore.
More on Truthout and Karl Rove
Last month Truthout.org (motto: "Out, out, damned truth!") published a story by Jason Leopold claiming that special prosecutor Patrick Fitzgeralnd had indicted Karl Rove and would charge him within 24 hours. The "scoop" included the docket number of the sealed indictment.
When the 24 hour deadline passed without an arrest, Truthout revised their claim to 24 "business hours," whatever that is. Days went by, and Truthout apologized for the story. Then last week (a month after the apology) Karl Rove's attorney told reporters that Fitzgerald had given him a letter saying no charges would be brought against his client, making the demolition of Leopold's fantasy complete. It appeared to be over once fat's lawyer sang, but now Truthout is claiming the story is still alive.
More from Les Jones.
Somebody is pretty honked off
If your not MAD as HELL…..
then your not American and your not a Patriot.
It is time for ALL Americans to go to War!
The Military is stepping up the offensive and I call on ALL reading this to do ALL you can to fight these sub-animal like Terrorist.
I, from this day forward, intend on hunting down ALL Liberal/Socialist Blogsites that think these courageous Soldiers got what they deserve.
More here.
I couldn't agree more!
Thank goodness, our annual long national nightmares are over. Miami Heat wins NBA finals, Carolina something-or-others win NHL finals.
-- From Barry.
"A great nation gets taken over by crazy people"
So what happens when your right to keep and bear arms, keep a loaded assault weapon at the ready to defend your home and family, clashes with the government's Supreme Court granted ability to crash down your door without knocking, not announcing that they have a search warrant, or even letting you know who they are?
And this:
Our Constitution was set up to protect the people from situations like this but it cannot enforce itself. America needs sane people to come to its aide.
More on Knox County's term limits
I've got my second article in the paper tomorrow since my return from surgery. Here's part of it:
Knox County is asking a chancellor to put on hold his decision voiding the charter, saying in part that a county commissioner's appeal a day earlier has no standing.
The county is asking that Knox County Chancellor John Weaver place a 180-day hold, or stay, on his 59-page opinion issued on June 9.
Triple ouch!
"Together, they form the most maritally challenged crop of presidential hopefuls in American political history."
More here.
Where do the judges stand on hot-button issues
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — A new conservative group headed by a Republican state senator has asked Tennessee Supreme Court justices and appeals judges seeking re-election to provide their views in writing about same-sex marriage and abortion.
"Family Action Council seeks your views on a number of political and legal issues and requests you to respond," the new group's executive director, Sen. David Fowler, R-Signal Mountain, wrote in the June 5 survey.
Fowler, who isn't seeking re-election, said in the survey that judges can answer questions about specific issues in response to a 2002 U.S. Supreme Court decision in a Minnesota case involving First Amendment rights of judicial candidates. He didn't immediately respond to a telephone message Tuesday
Tennessee voters in August will decide in August whether to retain three current members of the five-member state Supreme Court as well as about two dozen intermediate appeals court judges. Two Supreme Court justices are retiring and won't be on the ballot.
Continue reading "Where do the judges stand on hot-button issues"
Another TN Waltz arrest
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — Former Memphis city school board member Michael Hooks Jr. has become the 11th official indicted in the public corruption investigation known as Tennessee Waltz.
His father, Shelby County Commission Chairman Michael Hooks Sr., has already been indicted on charges that he took bribes from undercover FBI agents.
Hooks Jr., whose great uncle was NAACP executive director Benjamin Hooks, was indicted Tuesday on four counts, including embezzlement, impeding an investigation and lying to FBI agents.
The indictment says Hooks and two unindicted co-conspirators fraudulently obtained property worth $5,000 or more from the Shelby County Juvenile Court clerk's office in 2001.
No wonder he said late last year he was stepping down. Here's background on TN Waltz.
Bloggers Brittney and A.C. Kleinheider are following it, too.
UPDATE: Adams Groves is on it.
UPDATE II: Developing AP story here.
"Over the top" coverage?
That's what is being asked about this picture from Bonnaroo.
"VERY open carry"
Explanation here.
Tuesday trivia
How many cop shows can you name?
More here.
OK, so who had the best breakdown over the past few days?
Britney Spears on NBC's Dateline... Connie Chung on MSNBC's Weekends with Connie & Maury... or Phil Mickelson at the U.S. Open?
From Frank Strovel III.
Women, blogs, freedom and the Middle East
I have long been of the opinion that it is the women of the Middle East, not other countries, that will impact positive change in that region. Here's further evidence that we should leave the region alone. It's also another example of a country versus blogs. My money is on the latter.
In this country where women are forced to completely cover themselves in public, are barred from driving, and need permission to travel abroad, it's small wonder many are embracing the freedom of anonymity on the Internet. As Internet usage continues to climb here, so do the numbers of women who have started Web logs, or blogs, to express themselves in ways they might never do in public.
Story here. (Via Bill Hobbs)
The Knoxville parkway
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — The Knoxville parkway project known as the "Orange Route" took a major step forward Monday as state Transportation Commissioner Gerald Nicely announced that design recommendations by a citizen review panel had been accepted.
The panel said the 28-mile beltway linking Interstates 40 and 75 southwest of the city to I-75 north of the city should be a four-lane, divided highway with a 52-foot-wide median, 12-foot-wide shoulders and a scenic designation prohibiting billboards.
The 19-member group, which included local government, business and resident representatives, also recommended two interchanges at Clinton Highway or U.S. 25W and Pellissippi Parkway or Interstate 140.
Gov. Phil Bredesen, whose administration undertook a review of the Orange Route and 14 other controversial highway projects after taking office in 2002, said in a statement that the recommendations "represent the best option encompassing all considerations from right-of-way impacts to environmental concerns."
The panel spent nearly two years on the assignment, deciding the best location for a 300-foot-wide path within a 1,000-foot-wide corridor selected by the Tennessee Department of Transportation.
The beltway was conceived in the 1970s to help reduce highway traffic passing through downtown Knoxville.
In late 2003, the Bredesen administration approved the Orange Route alternative, which cuts through semi-rural Hardin Valley. Critics say the route still is too close to the city.
Groundbreaking is expected in three or four years and construction is expected to take 15 to 20 years. The cost is estimated at $500 million to $600 million.
Here's the parkway's web site. Here's the team's report and recommendations. (pdf)
Blog activity bites
Boy there hasn't been much activity lately. I hope it's due to June being a vacation month and not an indication that bloggers are burning out.
You know it's bad when Busy Mom has to ask: Where is everyone today?
BREAKING NEWS: Knoxless County
I'm just back from a long meeting of Knox County Commissioners. They approved Mayor Mike Ragsdale's request to seek a stay on a ruling the Charter is invalid in order to have time to fix the problems. The motion to reconsider will be filed this afternoon. Ragsdale said term limits must be part of the Charter. He said they must "restore the will of people.
Also, shortly after the meeting, Commissioner John Schmid filed an appeal to his lawsuit asking that a court overturn Chancellor John Weaver's decision invalidating the Charter. More soon at KnoxNews.
UPDATE: Knox County Commissioner John Schmid filed an appeal Monday of Chancellor John Weaver's ruling nullifying the county charter moments after his commission colleagues endorsed an attempt to gain time to make revisions to the document.
Schmid said he decided to move forward out of concerns that a newly formed Charter Review Committee might tinker with the term limits provision approved by voters in 1994.
More here.
Does Your Pee Stink When You Eat Asparagus?
Take the poll, then read the post.
Continue reading "Does Your Pee Stink When You Eat Asparagus?"
A media confession
The May 13 story on the Web site Truthout.org was explosive: Presidential adviser Karl Rove had been indicted by Special Counsel Patrick J. Fitzgerald in connection with his role in leaking CIA officer Valerie Plame's name to the media, it blared. The report set off hysteria on the Internet, and the mainstream media scrambled to nail it down. Only . . . it wasn't true.
As we learned last week, Rove isn't being indicted, and the supposed Truthout scoop by reporter Jason Leopold was wildly off the mark. It was but the latest installment in the tale of a troubled young reporter with a history of drug addiction whose aggressive disregard for the rules ended up embroiling me in a bizarre escapade -- and raised serious questions about journalistic ethics.
In his nine-year reporting career, Leopold has managed, despite his drug abuse and a run-in with the law, to work with such big-time news organizations as the Los Angeles Times, Dow Jones Newswire and Salon. He broke some bona fide stories on the Enron scandal and the CIA leak investigation. But in every job, something always went wrong, and he got the sack. Finally, he landed at Truthout, a left-leaning Web site.
I met Leopold once, three days before his Rove story ran, to discuss his recently published memoir, "News Junkie." It seems to be an honest record of neglect and abuse by his parents, felony conviction, cocaine addiction -- and deception in the practice of journalism.
Leopold says he gets the same rush from breaking a news story that he did from snorting cocaine. To get coke, he lied, cheated and stole. To get his scoops, he has done much the same. As long as it isn't illegal, he told me, he'll do whatever it takes to get a story, especially to nail a corrupt politician or businessman. "A scoop is a scoop," he trumpets in his memoir. "Other journalists all whine about ethics, but that's a load of crap."
More here.
My condolences to the family of Dr. Newton
Dr. Kenneth R. Newton passed away Saturday, June 17th at his home in Lakemoor Hills. He was 83. Dr. Newton was a professor of psychology at the University of Tennessee until his retirement in 1988, after which he continued his work in private practice. He leaves his wife Mary to whom he was married 61 years, six children (one deceased), seven grandchildren, and five great-grandchildren.
More here.
A Saturday trip to the Smokies
Pete's has a map of the United States and encourages customers to put a pin on the map to show where they live when they're not in Townsend. As expected, there are lots of people from Tennessee. It's also no surprise to me that so many visitors have Ohio plates. I've known for a long time that lots of people from the Buckeye State visit the Smokies. Ohio's neighbor Indiana likes the Smokies, too, apparently.
The big surprise for me was that so many people were from Florida. Who knew?
More from Les Jones, including photos.
I did a story on this a few years ago. A lot of those Florida folks are originally from the Northeast or Midwest. Several have moved out of Florida to such states as TN. They are called "halfbacks," they move to Florida, then for reasons like weather they move halfway back.
Congrats Tom!
My friend and colleague Tom Chester is being honored tonight at Front Page Follies. A long-time source of mine once said of Tom: "He's the soul of the newsroom." I could not have put it better. Thanks, Tom, for your dedication to fairness, the First Amendment, ferreting out details and information, and accuracy. You are a true leader and a very special friend to Mary Anne and me!
This is from a recent story:
The East Tennessee Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists sponsors the annual roast. The fund-raiser provides communications scholarships to students at the University of Tennessee and Pellissippi State Technical Community College.
The 2006 scholarships are named in honor of News Sentinel Deputy Managing Editor Tom Chester.
Chester has been with the News Sentinel for 19 years, and prior to that was at the old Knoxville Journal.
His accomplishments include winning First Amendment awards in 2000 from the Associated Press Managing Editors and the Scripps Howard Foundation for coverage of the Thomas "Zoo Man" Huskey murder trial. Under Chester's leadership, the News Sentinel filed suit and won access to information on lawyers' fees for the long-running trial.
Here's the caption for the above photo:
News Sentinel Deputy Managing Editor Tom Chester is being honored at Saturday's Front Page Follies, and a painting by Gov. Phil Bredesen, which Chester holds, will be auctioned to raise funds for scholarships.
Knoxville's congressman and the war
Once again, Congressman Duncan has shown the courage to oppose the worst instincts of his own party. He said on the House floor that "I believe 80 percent of Republicans would have opposed the war in Iraq if it had been started by President (Bill) Clinton or (Al) Gore, and probably almost all the Democrats would have been supporting it, as they did the bombings in Bosnia and Kosovo (during the Clinton administration)," and proceeded to vote against the attempt by House Republicans to turn the war from a liabilty to a political plus. Daniel Larison has the goods on the new House Majority Leader and his scheme:
More from Clark Stooksbury.
The defination of classic rock
As I've said before, great rock music died sometime in the early to mid-1980s.
Melusina pegs it:
As my husband and I were flipping channels this afternoon, we discovered that VH1 was counting down the top 100 Classic Rock videos. Now, I don't know what anyone else thinks of when they think of Classic Rock, but in my mind I think of Pink Floyd, the Who, Jethro Tull, Genesis, Yes, etc., etc.
More on the kids of Frist and Corker
Do I think any of this stuff should reflect poorly on their parents? No. But it's on a zillion Web sites now. It's too bad the kids have been singled out because they belong to political families. And after all, they weren't exactly busted for cocaine or arrested in a DUI. But that's life in the Internet age: Nothing is truly private.
More from Howard Kurtz.
Overheated rhetoric
The Hamilton County Democratic blog offers amusement now and again. Today they wear sackcloth, rip out their hair, and scream to the heavens.
More from Nathan Moore.
Bloggers get old, too
That's two friends now that have posted happy reviews of their swell new vehicles, rambling on about cubic feet of storage instead of cubic inches of displacement; waxing eloquent about how well it'll hold a child seat instead of how well it'll hold your face against the window glass on a cloverleaf on-ramp; enthusing about getting third-row seating rather than getting rubber in third gear.
For the record, the cupholders in my ride absolutely suck.
Then again, if I'm doing my job, my passenger won't be worried about holding onto their drink; they'll be worried about holding onto their lunch.
More from Tam.
More on Knox County's woes
Kudos to the county for putting updated information on its web page. Here's a snippet from a posting earlier Thursday:
The process for creating a Charter Review Commission is outlined in Article VIII, Section 8.05 of the Charter and calls for a nineteen-member body. The Charter Review Committee must include a County Commissioner from each of the nine commission districts, and 10 citizens, with one each from every commission district except the Fifth Commission District, which has two.
Mayor Ragsdale contends that the technicalities can be corrected without throwing out a Charter that has served the county well for 16 years.
More here.
And here's the county's latest posting, a Q&A:
The Knox County Mayor's Office has received a number of inquiries regarding the process used to select the proposed Charter Review Committee. We have summarized the responses to a number of the most commonly asked questions.
Frank Cagle needs to breathe into a paper bag: Chancellor Weaver's ruling has ensured that self-serving politicians, who are willing to destroy the county government they swore to uphold, will be able to stay in office for one more term. It's hardly a good day's work for a man who is not supposed to have a political agenda.
Sandra Clark has the top 10 list on the whereabouts of the Charter:
10. Knox County sent the charter via carrier pigeon which sadly stopped to drink in Fort Loudoun Lake and was swallowed by a carp.
Today's KNS story: They have called. They have written. And, boy, are they mad.
Another story today: A Knox County judge said in a hearing Thursday he would consider taking action next week in the first challenge to decisions made under the authority of the county's court-shredded charter.
(Registration required on the KNS stories)
Advocating blogging decorum, or censorship?
Rob Huddleston takes issue with what several TN bloggers have linked to.
Blogging his brother's kidney transplant in Knoxville
Thank you everyone for your nice comments. As Doug and Izaak are lucid and able, they are reading some of your nice words. Because of Doug's immunosuppressant medication, his room has to be very sterile, so he does not have flowers and such lining his rooms. Instead, Doug is able to read all of your kind words that have been posted throughout.
Much more here.
"Text of al-Zarqawi Safe-House Document"
The situation and conditions of the resistance in Iraq have reached a point that requires a review of the events and of the work being done inside Iraq. Such a study is needed in order to show the best means to accomplish the required goals, especially that the forces of the National Guard have succeeded in forming an enormous shield protecting the American forces and have reduced substantially the losses that were solely suffered by the American forces. This is in addition to the role, played by the Shi'a (the leadership and masses) by supporting the occupation, working to defeat the resistance and by informing on its elements.
Blogs changing political coverage
The Internet is changing the way in which information is spread, and that means elected officials or political candidates and their families are put before the public eye, new media experts said.
An Internet Web log, or blog, called Wonkette, has posted pictures of public officials and political candidates' children. Glenn Reynolds, a University of Tennessee College of Law professor who runs the Instapundit blog, said politicians have less privacy than they did before the advent of the Internet.
"In a world where the rest of us have less privacy, that seems only fair,�? Mr. Reynolds said.
On Wednesday, the Wonkette blog posted pictures purportedly from the Web site Facebook.com of one of former Chattanooga Mayor Bob Corker's daughters. In one picture, the daughter is kissing another female.
Todd Womack, political director for Mr. Corker's U.S. Senate campaign, said in a statement, "Bob's teenage daughter was acting silly, and it's very disappointing when media outlets usually thought to be responsible bring attention to this.�?
The Wonkette blog, at www.wonkette.com, previously has posted a picture of one of Senate Majority Bill Frist's sons at a party wearing a belt ringed with cans of beer.
Sen. Frist's spokesman, Matt Lehigh, declined to comment.
"Senator Frist's sons are private citizens, and as such the majority leader's office will not comment on their activities,�? he said.
From the Chattanooga Times Free Press.
A request of Al Gore
I'm currently on vacation on the beach in North Carolina and the temperature outside is about 68 degrees. This makes getting into the ocean kinda tricky because with the constant winds, hypothermia is a real issue. Since you seem to have too much of it on your planet, could we borrow a cup or two of that global warming you keep preaching about? We'd really appreciate it.
-- Rich Hailey.
The 100 most inspiring films
A jury of 1,500 film artists, critics and historians selected the classic IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE, starring James Stewart, as the most inspiring movie of all time.
Here's the top 5:
More here.
Breaking Away is ranked 8th. My older brother and several other fraternity brothers at Indiana University are in that 1979 film.
Finally, a good ranking for TN
TN Ranks 10th in Tech Exports
I'm glad to see that a push from the Governor's office focusing on development of high tech business in Tennessee is paying in huge ways, according to reports from the state's Economic and Community Development office. Since the Export Tennessee program was put into place, small and medium sized biz can educate themselves about how to make the global economy work for them, and rather than see jobs outsourced, there's now attention on making jobs selling products abroad.
More from Joe Powell.
Knox County: "Send lawyers, guns and money..."
Confusion over the validity of Knox County's charter spilled over into its courtrooms Wednesday, with one lawyer alleging an appointed General Sessions Court judge shouldn't be allowed to preside over cases.
It's the first direct challenge to a county government action since Chancellor John Weaver tossed out the charter Friday.
In papers filed late Wednesday afternoon, lawyer Gregory P. Isaacs argues that General Sessions Court Judge Jimmy Kyle Davis shouldn't hear cases because he was appointed by County Commission under the authority of the charter.
More here. (registration required)
The "Incumbent Protection Bill"
From Bob Krumm: The people's representatives have no business protecting themselves from the people.
From Bill Hobbs: For more on the incumbent-protection bill and how Naifeh broke the rules to pass it, click here. Bredesen also might not veto that big pension increase that lawmakers passed for themselves at the last minute.
His toddler's first spanking
I feel SayUncle's pain.
"Gore's circumstantial arguments are so weak that they are pathetic. It is simply incredible that they, and his film, are commanding public attention."
Of all places, a view from Canada.
Say it ain't so!
You mean politicos actually attend an opponent's event?
Hardly earth-shattering news but Nashville blogger and candidate Bob Krumm does a tongue-in-busting:
But I'm left with some questions for Bob Tuke.
1. I have to file quarterly statements with the Tennessee Registry of Election Finance. Do I have the right name and employer in my files, or do I need to change them so that I can render an accurate report?
2. Will you be listing a campaign contribution to the Committee to Elect Bob Krumm as an expense of the Tennessee Democratic Party on your next quarterly report? I can't wait to see that.
3. Should I address future invitations directly to you at your home or at the state Democratic Party headquarters? You're welcome to attend–especially the fundraisers. Please bring plenty of friends to those!
A new KNS blog
Christina Southern sounds off on motherhood, career, family and faith.
Welcome, Christina.
Here's all the KNS blogs.
When you're standing in front of the mailbox in unzipped 5.11 Tactical boots, a rumpled Nine Inch Nails tee shirt, and green surgical scrubs, and you reach in and grab the Victoria's Secret catalog, and the catalog bursts into flame, it's just the Universe's way of telling you that you are a fashion disaster...
From Tam.
Journos ordered to leave Gitmo
If you can't control the message, shoot the messengers.
In the aftermath of the three suicides at the notorious Guantanamo prison facility in Cuba last Saturday, reporters with the Los Angeles Times and the Miami Herald were ordered by the office of Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld to leave the island today.
A third reporter and a photographer with the Charlotte Observer were given the option of staying until Saturday but, E&P has learned, were told that their access to the prison camp was now denied. An E&P "Pressing Issues" column on Tuesday covered an eye-opening dispatch by the Observer's Michael Gordon carried widely in other papers. He had listened in, with permission, as the camp commander gave frank instructions to staff on how to respond to the suicides.
A Pentagon spokesman, J.D. Gordon, confirmed the order to leave the island this morning, but told E&P it was unrelated to the stories produced by the journalists, while admitting that Gordon's piece had caused "controversy." He asserted that the move was related to other media outlets threatening to sue if they were not allowed in. He did not say why, instead of expelling the reporters already there, the Pentagon did not simply let the others in, beyond citing new security concerns.
More here.
New blogs on downtown Knoxville
Go check out Knoxville520 Blogs. There are other blogs on the right rail.
He founded blogs, NOT!
Richard Roeper wrote on Monday (last item): "Many years ago, before anyone heard the term 'blog,' I came up with the idea of running multiple items in a single column." Not true, says Eric Zorn, who tells the Sun-Times scribe: "Rich, buddy, put away your horn. Let others do the tootin'."
From Romenesko.
You gotta love a blog like this
Blogs now mainstream?
When it comes to at-work media use, the Internet dominates television, the next closest medium, and is the only medium that ranks among the top two at both work and home.
The study found that the Internet had 54.6% reach at work, compared to television's 21.1%, a sizable gap.
More here.
And there's this related item from blogger Bill Hobbs on the Southern Baptist Convention in Nashville: Blogs = change.
More on Knoxless County
Knox County Mayor Mike Ragsdale nominated a 19-member committee Tuesday that would retool the County Charter if Chancellor John Weaver stays his decision to scrap the document.
The proposed charter review committee would not have the authority to write a new charter, Ragsdale said in an interview, but would be authorized to correct deficiencies identified by Weaver.
Story here.
Also, there's this from GOP chair Brian Hornback: The Brian's Blog team will be doing some research to determine what if any advantage there is for Knox County having a Charter. A review of pros and cons. County Commissioner Mike Hammond of Friday remarked in an interview. "I'm not sure we need a Charter."
These sentiments have been shared by public officials and citizens to Brian throughout the weekend and week. Keep in mind that before Friday only 2 out of 95 counties in the state had a Charter form of government. There has been a decline throughout the country in local governments having a Charter form of government.
A proper first step would be to have a refrendum with a simple question of Shall, Knox County have a Charter form of Government? If it passes then pursue a Charter Commission, if it fails than begin prepartion to revert to the normal structure.
Blogger Joe Powell has a long post: There is an unholy mess in government in Knox County since their charter was never properly filed (for reasons of "I dunno") and just about everything enacted since then is in question as well. Voters everywhere can learn a tremendous lesson in the current state of disaster, chiefly that citizens must never assume it's all okay and that the principles of inertia are too often the dominant form of governing today.
UPDATE: From the Swap Blog: With that said, this current Knoxville charter deal is a joke, but I do think that they, the county government, will and can fix it in the end though. I think that this end result, resolution and solution, will likely be due to the fact that a vast majority of local citizens want charter government and the citizens will not let the government just walk away from it.
UPDATE II: Barry has a long response to Hornback: Didn't the citizens of Knox County fairly decisively determine they wanted a charter back in 1988? Have there been any significant calls for revocation or amendment to the charter in the intervening years (save the metro government initiative a few years back)?
Boldly blogging Bonnaroo
Our own Lauren Spuhler will be blogging the event, multimedia fashion, with audio, video, text and photos.
She's off to a candid start:
70,000 people, 130 performers, 11 stages, 4 days to mingle. What better place to find an easy fling that you won't have to call next week?
Some tips to think about as you ready yourself for some temporary love:
Less is more at Bonnaroo. We've seen topless, bottomless, you name it. Anything goes so have fun with it.
If you're planning to take your fling to the next level, remember to pack your contraception before you leave. Quick trips to the corner store won't be an option.
Let's be honest here: if you find someone you are interested in, you probably won't see them again after Bonnaroo, so be bold about hooking up. Don't hold back because this is your one chance to get turned down and not have half the town hear about it.
"Baptists & bloggers"
If you want to live you life in peace and harmony: (A) never tell a Baptist that you have an opinion that differs from leadership, (B) never get emotionally involved with Baptist activities, and (C) definitely never give a Baptist your blog address because they certainly don't like 'em. I speak from personal experience. Others are feeling the same pain. Apparently, big riffs are going on with the Southern Baptists over bloggers:
More here.
Another good reason to turn our money over to the feds
WASHINGTON - The government doled out as much as $1.4 billion in bogus assistance to victims of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, getting hoodwinked to pay for season football tickets, a tropical vacation and even a divorce lawyer, congressional investigators have found.
Prison inmates, a supposed victim who used a New Orleans cemetery for a home address, and a person who spent 70 days at a Hawaiian hotel all were able to wrongly get taxpayer help, according to evidence that gives a new black eye to the nation's disaster relief agency.
Story here.
Mayor Ragsdale on the term-limits decision
The county has posted his remarks from yesterday. Scroll down to the bottom for video of his press conference.
Animation of hurricane damage
Doug has the details:
Since it is hurricane season, an animated reminder of what to expect from the different categories of storms. We hear a lot of talk about global warming causing increased storm intensity. I grew up being told that storm seasons come in 20 year patterns. We just recently came out of a calm 20 years and are now seeing the types of storms to expect for the next twenty years. This chart shows quantity not intesity so it doesn't really support or dispute that claim.
Wow. Talk about sweeping generalizations:
I despise Utopianism. Marxism, Libertarianism, Christian Reconstructionism -- it's all the same in the end.
Boggin' Bonnaroo
Katie Allison Granju will be blogging from the annual event. She notes that there is even live streaming coverage.
Consumer blogging
I have completed my two-year Sprint PCS agreement, and I am eligible for a $150 rebate when I upgrade my phone. The phone in which I am interested is the Samsung A940, which is no longer offered by Sprint stores or on the website. If I purchase this handset new from the manufacturer or from another retailer, will I still be eligible for the $150 rebate? If so, how should I go about receiving the rebate?
More here.
Newly added to my Bloglines feed
Cup of Joe
Left of the Dial
Six Meat Buffet
Bill Hobbs
View from the Porch
Now, get busy so I can continue to pilfer other work!
Local TV news
As for Don Dare, it's a legit story, of course. But I snicker at the sensationalized tack 6 News has taken the past year or so. It makes Inside Edition look serious.
Explanation here.
Scientist says he's found God
This is starting to burn up the blogosphere:
THE scientist who led the team that cracked the human genome is to publish a book explaining why he now believes in the existence of God and is convinced that miracles are real.
Francis Collins, the director of the US National Human Genome Research Institute, claims there is a rational basis for a creator and that scientific discoveries bring man "closer to God�?.
Oh, those sinister feds
I got a notice from the IRS regarding my grandmother's taxes. They said I needed to file a 2003 tax return so that I could get the $250 tax credit. How often does the IRS send you a letter saying that they want to give you money?
Nu-huh. I'm not stupid. I'm not contacting you. You keep the money. I call it "protection." If I were to file it, you would tell me that I owe some freakishly large amount of money or something.
Nope. Not gonna do it.
Bush's other surprise visits
After leaving Iraq, Bush plans some other stops.
He'll stop here in the continuing quest to increase the deficit.
Then he'll visit Blount and Sevier counties and urge them to invade Knoxless County. He'll offer some freshly-minted aide in that effort, too.
He then plans to distribute some checks to mysterious investigators somehow connected to some guy named Karl Rove.
Bloggers on the Rove news
Well, scratch this whole thing.
Fitzmas Is Cancelled: Bad news for hopeful/spiteful liberals everywhere.
From Mark Rose: With the announcement that Karl Rove will not be indicted, another hysterical left-wing prediction has fallen by the wayside. This gives me a terrific idea for a column: hysterical moonbat predictions that have fallen by the wayside. I'm going to start collecting them.
BREAKING NEWS: Bloggers seize Knox County
A contrary bunch of generally disagreeable bloggers conducted an overnight keyboard coup of hapless Knox County.
R. Neal is attempting to install Madeline Rogero as mayor, but is being thwarted by some of the right-leaning bloggers.
SayUncle abolished the Sheriff's Department and is giving away firearms for free.
Les Jones seized County Commission and did away with all taxes.
Barry is claiming ownership of the Tennessee Theater, and makes clogging the official county dance.
Glenn is the first to blog about it, and proclaims: "Heh!"
In rare agreement, they unanimously approve a proclamation officially declaring dead wood dead.
Stay tuned. Updates as I learn about them.
UPDATE: The Knox County Cavalcade of Incompetents.
Good blog writing
Good blog writing is something I have a great deal of admiration for. Communicating clearly in quick fashion is an art form, and its importance is multiplied with the advent of blogs. We are bombarded more than ever with information and opinions, which increases the emphasis on rapid clarity.
Instapundit is one of the early trailblazers in the blogosphere of quick and concise communication.
But let me offer three others in TN who are in my humble opinion excellent writers: Andy Axel, Bob Krumm and Rich Hailey. Axel also regularly blogs at KnoxViews, which is the location of some of his strongest work.
There are others, of course. Busy Mom quicky comes to mind.
So if you are looking for good models of clear and concise writing in this new age of communication, those are my recommendations.
A roundup of TN General Assembly races
Joe at Tennessee Ticket has some quick hits on the races here and here. It's a nice summary. Also, down the left side of his main page there's a list of candidates with blogs.
Knoxless County moving to revive charter
In an attempt to salvage the county charter, Knox County Mayor Mike Ragsdale said Monday he would most likely ask Chancellor John Weaver to stay his ruling invalidating the document so officials can fix any flaws.
If that doesn't work, the county could appeal Weaver's ruling, he said.
Either way, Ragsdale has asked County Commission Chairman Scott Moore to call a special meeting of commissioners next week to chart a course of action.
Story here.
Hacker hits Oak Ridge
OAK RIDGE - About 100 Oak Ridge workers may have had their Social Security numbers and other information compromised by a hacker who gained entry to a government computer system last fall, a spokesman at the National Nuclear Security Administration confirmed Monday.
All of the Oak Ridge workers are employed at the Y-12 nuclear weapons plant, Bryan Wilkes of the NNSA said in a telephone interview from Washington, D.C.
Overall, 1,502 individuals may have been impacted by a breach in the computer system at the NNSA's service operations at Albuquerque, N.M.
Story here.
Good marketing using blogs
A new BBQ place opens in Nashville and they invite bloggers. Smart move. Some reviews here and here.
Of course, it doesn't hurt when the owner is a blogger. And here's the BBQ joint's blog.
A local blogger's online poll
This year will be Phil Fulmer's chance to:
Restore faith in UT Football
Take advantage of early retirement
Become a spokesman for Jenny Craig
Go vote here.
More on the use of a blogger's work
R. Neal provides an informative update on the use of copyrighted photos from bloggers. In addition to informing people, it seems to me all he's basically doing is advocating common courtesy.
Well, at least he's honest
"When I become chairman [of a House appropriations subcommittee], I'm going to earmark the shit out of it."
-- Rep. Jim Moran (D-VA), quoted by the Arlington Sun Gazette, on how he would use his power if Democrats capture the House of Representatives in 2006.
From Political Wire.
Time well spent in D.C?
Yes, I know, a rhetorical question.
WASHINGTON -- Sometime between now and the Fourth of July, the Senate plans to revisit what over the course of 17 years has become a seasonal rite of patriotism on Capitol Hill: a vote on whether to amend the Constitution to ban protesters from burning the American flag.
Each time, the arguments on both sides are passionate. Each time, the support needed to move ahead with an amendment falls short.
But this year could be different, as two important trends cross paths.
For one, proponents of the amendment appear to have more support than ever in the Senate. They say they are within one vote of the two-thirds majority they need. The House already has backed the amendment. A majority of Americans say they support a flag amendment, and over time all 50 states have passed some form of resolution urging Congress to act.
Story here.
How bizarre for the NYTimes web report this morning on the case of rape at Duke to have a huge banner ad for Victoria's Secret?
More from blogger Joe Powell.
BREAKING NEWS: TN death penalty
WASHINGTON (AP) — A Tennessee death-row inmate can use DNA evidence to attempt to show his innocence 20 years after he was convicted of murdering a neighbor, the Supreme Court ruled Monday.
The high court's decision is significant because numerous exonerations in recent years of death-row and other criminal defendants through DNA testing have raised concerns among civil libertarians, prosecutors and Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens that an innocent person may be executed, or already has been.
Justice Anthony M. Kennedy, writing for the court, said the evidence in the case was a "close" call for a jury. But he said that inmate Paul Gregory House could proceed with a lawsuit in federal court claiming innocence for the murder of Carolyn Muncey, a young mother of two, in Union County, Tenn., in July 1985.
Twenty years after his conviction, DNA testing revealed that semen found on the murder victim's nightgown and underwear belonged to her husband, not House.
Back in the saddle
Fire Fulmer now?
Wouldn't you agree the University of Tennessee should go ahead, do the prudent thing and fire Phillip Fulmer immediately? Why wait until the end of the season when you can beat the rush and get rid of him now?
Sounds preposterous, considering his record and résumé. Well, from the sounds of things in Big Orange Country, the thought may not be as far-fetched as some people think.
The drumbeat has already begun, and Fulmer is squarely on the hot seat. And in case you haven't noticed, the temperature in that part of the world won't be going down anytime soon.
More here. (Via Voluminous}
Term limits and adult businesses
From Rich Hailey: I'm not a lawyer, but it seems to me that if term limits are invalid, then most of the legislative actions of the Knox County government over the last few years is also invalid, including the regulations passed in Knox County limiting the operations of adult businesses. This means that even though your vote no longer counts in Knox County, at least you can look at nekkid women after midnight again.
Another blow struck for freedom!
He needs some help
We spent some time over the weekend with our friend, Kelvin Moxley. At one point we were describing to him our daughter's love of Barney, the animal character popular with kids. Moxley rolled his eyes in disdain and said the only way he'd watch Barney "would be through a scope." I think Kelvin may be taking his support of the Second Amendment a bit too far!
Cow tippin'
If someone from my college days says I know anything about this, they have me confused with someone else!
SO IF KNOX COUNTY'S CHARTER has been ruled invalid, I guess it's too much to hope for that I won't have to pay my property taxes.
-- Glenn Reynolds.
Sounds like the start of a movement to me!
More on the "bombshell" term-limits ruling
From the KNS: Let the appeals begin.
Sixteen years after its adoption, the Knox County Charter was ruled "incomplete, invalid and ineffective" by Chancellor John Weaver in a bombshell ruling Friday that's sure to leave more questions than answers.
But for now, the charter and its term-limits amendment are out.
The written opinion upholds the argument of five term-limited county commissioners who filed a lawsuit in April challenging the charter's validity.
From blogger Barry: Top 10 Effects of Knox County's Charter Being Ruled Invalid. From the Home Office in the smoke-filled basement of the 5th Avenue Hotel... Top 10 Effects of Knox County's Charter Being Ruled Invalid. 10) Anderson County immediately invades Karns and Farragut, Union County moves in on Halls and Fountain City and Blount County cuts off the Northshore Drive supply line. Sevier County makes slight mistake, releases Seymour into the wild.
From WBIR: The foundation of Knox County's government is invalid, according to a Friday ruling from Knox County Chancellor John Weaver.Advertisement
From WATE: A judge has ruled the Knox County charter is invalid. So term limits do not apply, some local laws enacted over the last 16 years could be challenged and most local initiatives would now have to be approved at the state level.
From WVLT: In a 60 page decision released late Friday afternoon, Chancellor John Weaver ruled Knox County's Charter is invalid and so too are term limits.
BREAKING NEWS: Term limits decision
The decision on the challenge to whether some Knox County commissioners are term limited is being released as I type this. It will be posted soon at KnoxNews.
UPDATES: R. Neal has an early take on the decision: The Knox County Charter has been ruled invalid.
Here's the KNS report:
A chancellor ruled today that Knox County's charter is "invalid and ineffective," meaning the county would revert to the form of government outlined in the state constitution.
The ruling also invalidates term limits, which restricts the number of terms an elected official may serve.
Appeals from the various parties are expected.
The county won't lose any offices authorized when the government changed form in 1990, Law Director Mike Moyers said in an earlier interview, including his own.
That's because the charter language regarding those offices, like many of the ordinances passed during the past 16 years, mirrors the language in the law in effect at the time.
Here's the decision (pdf), via R. Neal.
ANOTHER UPDATE: An interesting take from comments at KnoxViews: I've just skimmed the 60-page opinion so this is hardly a definitive take. But like most opinions from Chancellor Weaver, it appears thorough and thoughtful. And it pretty clearly explains that the county charter's preparation, adoption, filing, and administration were all deeply flawed enterprises. The statutes are reasonably clear but those charged with creating the charter seem to have found a way (actually, multiple ways) not to follow them. Reversal appears a toss-up at best, and if compelled to bet I'd bet against it.
It gives me zero joy to say any of this, as I'd like to see the voters' will respected and enforced and term limits imposed. But it looks like, if you want term limits, you're going to have to start all over again.
UPDATES: From blogger Adam Groves: Because the Chancellor ruled the county never properly adopted the charter, term limits for County Commissioners must be approved by a private act of the legislature - which means that incumbent lawmakers who suspended their campaign following the Supreme Court ruling will be eligible to serve additional terms.
From Barry: I know the legal specifics are complicated, but it looks like in Knox County if you vote for something, it ain't necessarily so. Especially when various clerks and legal officials forget to turn in the charter to the state for 18 years. How can we expect them to cross the t's and dot the i's?
So we continue, and barring appeals the county commissioners who should by all rights be sitting at home planning their next ventures are back in the saddle again. Probably for another 8-12 years each.
From the blog of Knoxville state Rep. Stacey Campfield: Term limits no longer apply. I doubt they will go back in when the new charter is applied for.
Using a blogger's work
A.C. Kleinheider or someone at Nashville's WKRN-TV News2 has improperly made a copy of a copyrighted photo from this website and hosted it on WKRN's servers from where it is republished without permission in violation of U.S. copyright law under USC 17.
More from R. Neal.
This is an interesting issue to watch. It started unfolding late yesterday afternoon and the photo is still up.
It doesn't seem that difficult to abide by the author's request but then who am I to apply common sense to the issue.
TN blogs on Zarqawi's death
From SayUncle: Abu Musab al-Zarqawi is now being scraped off soldiers' boots.
From Glenn Reynolds: Good. I hope his end wasn't entirely painless, though it seems likely that it was swift.
From Nathan Moore: Zarqawi is dead. Which, at this point in the war against militant Islam, is far more significant than would be getting Osama bin Laden.
Personally I can't work up any emotion about this and I'll be surprised if it makes an ounce of difference. For every fanatic killed, there are 10 lined up to replace him.
UPDATE: From R. Neal: They say success has a thousand fathers. They are all on CNN right now.
From the Conservative Zone: Al-Zarqawi came face to face with a 500 pound bomb yesterday, dropped from an F-16. He bought it at the hands of his own people, who turned him in.
There's still some life in that rag
From Jack McElroy:
How dead are the dead-wood media, the old ink-on-paper dinosaurs of the communications ecosystem? There's no question that newspapers are facing unprecedented challenges. But reports of our demise may be a bit premature.
An article making the rounds from Presstime magazine, the publication of the Newspaper Association of America, argues that the print media are alive and pretty darn healthy. http://www.naa.org/pdf/PRESSTIME/ptime_JUN06_Trends_Numbers.pdf Sixty percent of ad spending last year was on old-fashioned printed images, 27 percent went to television and radio, and the "new media" of cable and Internet captured 13 percent.
Now, it would be the height of folly to suggest that newspapers don't face significant changes. But Wednesday is my birthday -- my 53rd -- and I have some hope of making it to retirement -- at least if I keep on blogging.
New policy on religion for Knox County schools
If students in a Knox County public school think their religious rights have been violated, they now have a clear-cut way to seek a remedy.
The Knox County school board on Wednesday unanimously approved, on second and final reading, a policy that tells students exactly what to do if they feel persecuted or harassed because of their religious beliefs.
First, the student, parent or guardian should lodge a complaint with the school's principal.
If that doesn't work, the policy says, they should file a complaint in writing with the superintendent, and he is required to respond within 30 days.
The new "Religious Expression" policy, which board member Karen Carson helped to re-write, also states that the district "neither advances nor inhibits religion," and that it strives to protect students.
Story here.
Inside the head of a political panderer
Well, Karl, that there gay cooties banning didn't work out. So, plan B:
Bush says immigrants must learn English
Man, these guys can pull non-issues from their hindquarters faster than Puff Daddy can ruin a bitchin' song riff.
Our resident troll Fred seems fond of asking, "Why are liberals so full of hate?�? My question for him is, When did Ann Coulter become a liberal?
-- From tgirsch.
A programming note
I'm just not up to speed yet on blogging full time. I'll be back to work the 12th and hope to pick up the pace then. This surgery kicked my butt more than I anticipated. Plus, I've been able to spend some priceless time with my wonderful daughter! Thanks for your patience.
Another reason Blount and Sevier should take over Knox County
From Barry:
More evidence that nobody anywhere has any idea what they're doing anymore.
You'd think once in the past 18 years someone in the local or state government would've, you know, like, noticed.
If a document that had to be filed with the state hadn't been filed in my company for 18 years, heads would roll. In Knox County, you smirk, shrug, and start digging through the filing cabinets.
A review of this year's General Assembly
Joe Lance at Tennessee Ticket offers a lengthy wrapup of what TN state legislators did and did not do this year. Some samples:
The 2006 legislative session ended on Saturday, May 27. In order that we voters make the most informed decisions in the upcoming elections, it's good to review what did and did not happen in Nashville. The most generous take on the proceedings would demand no less than a leadership change. The challenge will be to convince y'all to take a look around, without the aid of your partisan blinders, and find the most appropriate replacement.
Could you use a tax break on food? Some hapless soul (Sen. Doug Jackson, D-Dickson) chose to ignore the muscle in the tobacco corner and introduced a measure that would have traded some of the burden from food to tobacco purchases. The bill died by one vote in committee. Cartoonist Charlie Daniel (Knoxville News-Sentinel) reacted this way, using parent-child dialogue: "I'm hungry, Ma; what's for dinner?�? "Shut up and smoke your cigarette.�?
The session that started with a special ethics conference ended with a day of "blatantly corrupt self-aggrandizing,�? to paraphrase a recent local opinion letter. Go team. Multiple accounts of the final, extra day of lawmaking in the House of Representatives describe a scene ruled by nothing other than an arrogant political machine.
Speaking of the comprehensive ethics package: it doesn't seem to have stemmed the flow of wine nor diminished the mountains of free food given to the legislature. Though one-on-one and small group dinners are strictly taboo, the big boys can still legally entertain lawmakers, so long as they merely invite all 132 of them. And they have, this session, spent nearly a quarter million dollars doing just that.
Blogging Gov. Bredesen's Knoxville kickoff
Randy Neal shows what a person can do with a camera and a keyboard. He has a long report and does some extra work and tosses this in: I also spoke with Knox County Elections Administrator Greg Mackay, who needless to say has had a hectic couple of months during which he says his phone has been ringing off the hook. He said things are settling down a little now, and he's just waiting for the final rulings so he can put together a ballot.
Greg also brought one of the new E-Slate voting machines that will be used in the August elections for the first time. He and his crew were demonstrating how to use them to interested voters. They were also registering new voters.
What are you trying to do, Randy, put me out of business?
Also, Knox County GOP chair Brian Hornback has some thoughts here, including: Gov. Phil Bredesen made Knoxville one of his first official stops Tuesday in kicking off his statewide re-election campaign, pledging firmly his opposition to an income tax, but "leaving open" other tax avenues, such as levies on cigarettes and gasoline.
Uh oh!
Well Frank had to just come along and ruin my day!
On this sixth day of the sixth month of 2006, is it surprising to anyone that the Devil Rays are taking on the Angels tonight in Major League Baseball?
More on Jim Bob Cooter
From Semantix: Faster than you can say Roscoe P. Coltrane, negative Southern stereotypes come alive as University of Tennessee walk-on QB Jim Bob Cooter was arrested for DUI last night:
From Swap Blog: We all knew Jim Bob was here to get some experiance to go into coaching, i.e. being behind the stable for QB's that Fulmer has recruited in the last 3 years starting was never a option for Jim Bob, but this is a tough way for the kid to go. Cooter is suppose to be a smart kid, have a good grasp of the game, and is in graduate school at the moment – i.e. read working on coaching leads post graduation. I hope he lands on his feet, learns from the mistake, does not do something this stupid again, gets clean and sober, and has a good life in the future.
Here's a press release I received:
KNOXVILLE, TN – Congressman John J. Duncan, Jr. (R-TN) is pleased to announce that Loudon County Schools has received a $996,963.00 federal grant to improve American history education programs. The grant was recently announced by the United States Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings.
"Our Nation's founding fathers believed the study of history and citizenship should be at the core of every American's education,�? Secretary Spellings said. "Yet, with studies showing less than one-quarter of American students are proficient in either subject, far too few U.S. students are learning the lessons vital to life in our democratic society. History education under No Child Left Behind is essential to help students gain an understanding and appreciation of our Nation's history and government.�?
This year, the Teaching American History grant program will award 124 grants worth $118.2 million to school districts across the Country.
"I am very pleased that schools in East Tennessee will benefit from the Teaching American History grant,�? said Congressman Duncan. "The history of our Country is of the greatest importance and should be treasured by all of our citizens.�?
Loudon County Schools is the lead educational agency representing the Tennessee River Valley Consortium (TRVC), which includes Blount, Bradley, Loudon, McMinn, Monroe and Polk County Schools and Lenoir City and Sweetwater City Schools.
The funding will be used to increase teacher knowledge of content and use of primary materials, local resources and technology, and improve student understanding and skill level in American history. The TRVC offers a series of academic year mini-institutes and methods workshops, as well as summer institutes for master and mentor teachers.
"This grant will ensure that our students understand the sacrifices and victories that have shaped our great Nation,�? said Duncan.
TN trivia
Question: Which is the only county in Tennessee named for a woman?
Answer here.
A network of corruption
Bob Krumm notes the corruption that resulted in the Tennessee Waltz sting is vast:
Dixon, in effect, is bragging to FBI agents that they've not just bought a state senator, they've purchased an entire web of corruption that includes powerful players at the local, state, and federal levels.
Ponder for a moment that the effort to catch these criminals involved an FBI sting that was, by some accounts, three years in the making; involved establishing corporations; involved extensive wiretaps; and it netted five prominent politicos. And this thing runs that deep. It took a great deal of time, money and effort to catch these guys. Obviously, we're not extending that much effort on everyone. So, if it takes that much effort to catch these guys, imagine what isn't being caught.
I'm sorry, but with a name like Jim Bob Cooter, you're bound to get arrested for something.
More here.
A push in a local murder case
We're still asking for signatures in our fight to get Sheriff Hutchison to cooperate with America's Most Wanted.
If you'd like to help us, please click the link below and urge Sheriff Tim Hutchison to do what's right for Johnia.
More here.
Is Knox County legal?
I still say Sevier and Blount counties should invade and take over the county. Wouldn't our taxes be lower?
Eighteen years after the fact, Knox County Law Director Mike Moyers asked local election officials Monday to forward a copy of the county charter for approval by the Tennessee secretary of state.
State law required that the Knox County Charter and the results of the referendum vote that approved it in 1988 be sent to Nashville. An official proclamation declaring the charter's adoption also would have been returned.
Yet for whatever reason, none of that apparently ever happened, Greg Mackay, Knox County administrator of elections, testified last week during the contentious three-day trial over the charter's validity. At least he couldn't find any evidence that it happened, Mackay said.
The revelation was enough for Mary Ann Stackhouse, deputy law director, to urge Mackay in court to fulfill the law and forward a copy of the charter immediately.
Story here. (registration required)
Global chilling
You'll often hear the left lecture about the importance of dissent in a free society.
Why not give it a whirl?
Start by challenging global warming hysteria next time you're at a LoDo cocktail party and see what happens.
Admittedly, I possess virtually no expertise in science. That puts me in exactly the same position as most dogmatic environmentalists who want to craft public policy around global warming fears.
The only inconvenient truth about global warming, contends Colorado State University's Bill Gray, is that a genuine debate has never actually taken place. Hundreds of scientists, many of them prominent in the field, agree.
Gray is perhaps the world's foremost hurricane expert. His Tropical Storm Forecast sets the standard. Yet, his criticism of the global warming "hoax" makes him an outcast.
More here.
Does linking to something constitute an endorsement?
No. That's about like saying if one links to a story on a murder then that's an endorsement of the murder.
But that's not what some believe:
Nathan Moore notes that A.C. Kleinheider at WKRN's Volunteer Voters has in recent days linked to and excerpted from two anarchists, including one who argued that every U.S. soldier who died for his country in the history of the country represented a "colossal waste." Moore is right in stating that the lack of further comment on these excerpts implies tacit approval.
This continues a disturbing trend by Kleinheider of making use of sources from the lunatic fringe, either without comment or with favorable comment. In addition to anarchists, Kleinheider has made use of anti-Semites and Nazi war criminals.
The charitable view is that Kleinheider's pathological hatred of all things Bush impairs his judgment in choosing allies. The less charitable view is somewhat darker. Because he appears to be a reasonably nice guy, we will choose to take the charitable view unless further evidence requires otherwise. Nonetheless, it can be wished that he would be more careful.
Or, perhaps I'm just posting this to instigate.
A blogger dissects a NYT editorial
The NY Times' lead editorial today is a delicious example of early 21st century elitists saying one thing, meaning another. I shall interpret it as we go along:
Much more here.
"Christian mothers" and 6-6-06
Freehold, Iowa - A number of panicked Christian ladies across America are scheduled to give birth on June 6th, 2006. This date raises concern among church members since the numbers of that day also identify the son of Satan, the "Beast" from the book of Revelation. No decent, Christian family wants the little red bottom of the devil's spawn perched on a limb of their family tree, taking a dump on the branches below, much less sitting in a high-chair at the dinner table listening in on family prayers while quietly finalizing plans to sodomize mommy with the family vacuum. As such, Landover Baptist Creation Scientists have put together a checklist of recommended actions one should take if their baby is being born or was born on 06-06-06.
More here.
Isn't this a rhetorical question?
Why does Doug find it funny that Evan's diaper changes now include the use of duct tape?
Help an online cartoonist
From Cathy: I have been a fan of David's cartoons (I love this little guy) ever since I discovered blogging and bloggers. David is a wonderful political cartoonist who needs some help. I think he might be talked into commissioning a unique work for your website or organization. I know you could talk him into putting some of his cartoons in his cafe press store.
A blog on a roll today
That would be CE Petro at Thoughts of an Average Woman.
Not my daughter too?
What is it with women? My daughter is now taking after her mom and leaving shoes in my way. Is it in the genes?
A new photoblog
Andy Axel is launching one. Go visit.
Two items I'm late getting around to
Blake Wylie is video blogging. To the best of my knowledge, he's one of the first TN bloggers to launch such an endeavor.
Bill Hobbs is back blogging and I've returned him to my blog roll on the right.
A local plea to save the Internet
It deeply saddens me to think that the wonderful, competitive, and free nature of the Internet could be coming to an end. We as a people need to keep the greedy hands of large corporate entities away from the helm of our wonderful network know as the Internet. Allowing these corporate giants to control the Internet is putting a foot to the throat of free speech and small business. New sites and services like Google and Yahoo!, both of which were started by students with small pockets, will cease to exist. Letting large corporations take control of our Internet will allow them to decide the content that we see, use and download. So please, do not give control of the Internet over to the few. Help us keep the Internet an exciting place to explore; a place where the little guy has a chance to compete with the big guys; a place where everyone can speak freely on his or her blog or podcast. To do your part got to savetheinternet.com and contact you officials.
From Rainey at etricities.
Double ouch!
"I have done more for the 17th District lying on my back taking chemo than Bob Rochelle did in twenty years." -- State Senator Mae Beavers (e-mail communication)
From Mark A. Rose.
"All of the lies that Bob Rochelle is going to tell about me is nothing compared to the truth we're going to tell about him." -- State Senator Mae Beavers, as quoted on page two of yesterday's Lebanon Democrat
"Quickie votes" by the TN legislature
Blogs and newspapers are a-buzz about the last-minute "votes" in the Tennessee Legislature to pass self-serving legislation with little or no public discussion.
A lot of newspapers are calling for the Governor's veto on some of the last-minute measures and rightly so.
One bill increases the governor's salary from $85,000 to $155,000. It makes adjustments in state employee benefits, raises the pay for former governors, and links future pension increases for lawmakers to cost-of-living increases.
More from Linda.
Looks like Clark Stooksbury is contributing to KnoxViews. Another good reason to read KV.
Fewer watchdogs means more corruption
WASHINGTON – About 70 reporters, editors, photographers and newsroom administrators have taken early retirement offers from The Washington Post Co. amid declining circulation at its flagship newspaper.
The New York Times Co. is cutting 700 company-wide jobs. Tribune Co., which publishes 11 newspapers including the Los Angeles Times, said last week that it would use layoffs to cut costs. Last year, Tribune newspapers eliminated 185 positions through buyouts and layoffs.
Story here.
TN bloggers on the Ohio voting article by RFK Jr.
From Les Jones: It's true that a man was found guilty of election fraud in Ohio, but he was working for the NAACP,which last time I checked was aligned with Democrats. In fact, in every case I've found of election fraud in 2004 where charges were filed, it was by Democrats, not Republicans.
Democrats like to imagine election fraud in Ohio,where Bush won handily by 140,000 votes. They don't like to talk about Wisconsin, where Kerry squeaked by with an 11,000 vote margin, and where there were massive voting irregularities:
From Brittney: "I am committed to helping Ohio deliver its electoral votes to the president next year." - former Diebold CEO and Republican fundraiser Wally O'Dell
From Glenn Reynolds: RFK, JR. GETS A BAD REVIEW FROM DAN RIEHL: "NPR debunked it a week ago before it was even published."
From R. Neal: RFK Jr. has compelling evidence that the 2004 election was stolen.
Uh oh!
Do we have a blogging Tennessee anarchist in our midsts?
One fine mess
I say just let Blount County invade and take over Knox County. Blount's first official act would be to topple the Sunsphere.
Whether the Tennessee secretary of state's approval of the Knox County Charter was needed in order to make it official has become yet another issue in the ongoing court case to decide the charter's validity.
Attorneys could produce no evidence Thursday in Knox County Chancery Court that the state proclamation was ever issued, as required by the charter. This latest wrinkle came amid continued arguments that have pushed the trial into a third day of hearings, set for today.
In the initial lawsuit that started it all, five Knox County commissioners contend that the charter and its term limits are invalid because the charter was never properly adopted.
Story here.
Bloggers on the TN legislature
From Bob Krumm: This story has legs. It involves a powerful lobbyist who also serves on a state commission (didn't we already correct that conflict of interest?), favoritism, and hunting.
From Mark A. Rose: How stupid does Bob Rochelle think the voters are?
From SayUncle: After the rather tame law that supposedly addresses ED abuse, we find that Nashville's hands are bloody when it comes to property rights:
From R. Neal: Just days after killing a minimum wage increase for Tennessee workers, the Tennessee General Assembly voted to give themselves a 9.5% raise, nearly three times the raise voted for state employees. They also voted to increase the governor's pension by more than 83%, from $42K to $77K annually, and to raise their own pensions.
From CE Petro: Last week I ranted about our state lawmakers increasing their retirement accounts, after denying workers in this state an increase in the minimum wage. Today's local paper, shows the people in east TN, that lawmakers really don't give a crap about workers in this state, because their retirement account increase is tied to a 10% wage increase.
Blogging is addictive
Oops. I got to blogging this morning and forgot to take my meds!
Back later with a different attitude.
In case I'm arrested
One of the byproducts of being laid up for nearly two weeks is weak legs. As a result, I couldn't walk a straight line right now if you paid me a million bucks. So in case I'm arrested for public intoxication, all of you are my witnesses!
Thank you and carry on.
Pouring cold water on global warming
Global warming alarmists are sure showing the rest of us how you win in the arena of ideas.
"Hundreds of concerned citizens and leaders from across the nation will join Hurricane Katrina survivors Wednesday to call for the resignation of the heads of the National Hurricane Center (NHC) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) at the NOAA Headquarters just outside of Washington, D.C. During an 11 a.m. demonstration, advocates will demand that NOAA stop covering up the growing scientific link between severe hurricanes and global warming while insisting on real solutions to the problem of global warming."
Folks, global warming alarmists follow this stuff like a religion.
From Mark A. Rose, who also has this:
Global warming is spreading poison ivy. I kid you not.
And this:
Word to the wise: don't trust the press to handle science correctly.
A local political rumor
From Knox GOP chair Brian Hornback:
This morning, I posted this. I am not retracting my post, I am updating it. My sources in Nashville have informed me that the "buzz" (or talk for those of you that do not use slang words) is that the Republican leadership are planning to have some candidates in specific house districts run as write-ins and qualify as Republican candidates to catch the Demo incumbent off-guard and knock them out of office in November. The Democrat leadership are planning to have some candidates in specific senate districts run as write-ins and qualify as Democrat candidates to catch the Republican incumbent off-guard and knock them out of office in November.
Seen in comments here:
...Drug legalization: the Communism of the Libertarian movement.
Teacher on leave after religious comment
Karns High School teacher and football coach John Fulkerson has been placed on indefinite administrative leave stemming from allegations that he belittled a student's religious beliefs in the classroom.
The 52-year-old was placed on paid leave Friday after allegedly telling a student to "just read your Bible," according to a letter placed in Fulkerson's personnel file and obtained Wednesday by the News Sentinel.
The letter offers no details on the incident, such as when it occurred. But it does include a copy of the Knox County Board of Education's policy on the recognition of religious beliefs, customs and holidays.
Part of that policy states: "No religious belief or non-belief shall be promoted by the school system or its employees, and none shall be belittled. All students and staff members shall be tolerant of each other's views."
Story here.