text:
December 2008
Woman threatens to blow robber's balls off
Baby born on transatlantic flight
Wow! She's considered Canadian because she was born in Canada's airspace.
BOSTON (AP) -- There were 124 passengers on Northwest Airlines Flight 59 when it left the Netherlands. There were 125 when it landed in Boston.
Well, that would be a point
Tam: The headline at the Hamas Ministry of Propaganda this morning said "Israel rejects call for truce; Gaza attacks to continue".
Hey, Zippy, they had a truce. Hamas kinda broke it by lobbing rockets into Israel, remember? Hamas could have peace any time it wants; all it needs to do is stop shooting and blowing stuff up.
Crotch-grabbing granny repels intruder
TN Gov: TVA got 'exaggerated deference' over the years
He's ordered a review of environmental regulations, which haven't been updated since the 1970s.
The morality police are out in force at Facebook
Senate hearing planned on TVA spill
The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, on which Tennessee Sen. Lamar Alexander serves, will hold a hearing Jan. 8 about the coal-ash spill at the Tennessee Valley Authority's Kingston Fossil Plant. More here.
Grandmother wins $1 million lottery
PULASKI -- A Giles County grandmother received an unexpected Christmas present this year -- $1 million from the Tennessee Lottery.
What is it with year-end reviews?
NC's governor must be smoking dope
North Carolina governor Mike Easley complains that newspapers -- particularly the News & Observer and Charlotte Observer -- haven't been very nice to him. "My job is to be nice to other people, and their job is to be nice to me. Just because they're not doing theirs doesn't mean I shouldn't do mine," he tells the News & Record.
Another round of blog postings on the TVA spill
School food to be prepared with bottled water.
Swan Pond drinking water update
One year in 40 seconds
One year in 40 seconds from Eirik Solheim on Vimeo.
(Via Unc and Les)
Winter's World Wide Web for kids
BooksForKidsBlog: In the depths of winter, when holiday toys pale and sunny days that beckon kids outside are few and far between, American Library Association's ALSC Great Web Sites for Children's new adoptions for 2008 are out, to be found at ALA's site.
These fifteen new sites for the master list offer plenty of variety--from Bob the Builder to the Harry Potter Lexicon, from Adolescent Literacy to Zoom by Kids, for Kids, there is something for everyone--games, activities, projects, videos, a safe seach engine (GoGooligans), finger-plays and read-aloud stories, and historic and nature sites for virtual visits.
KNS editorial on the TVA spill
The fact that it could have been worse is small comfort to Roane Countians, especially those in the immediate area. Residents need reassurance, but there is none forthcoming; TVA cannot yet explain the spill. How can the agency or anyone possibly offer reassurance? More here.
So, what was the winning bid?
First lawsuit filed over TVA spill
Oak Ridge attorney Michael Ritter has filed a $165 million lawsuit against TVA on behalf of property owners affected by the Dec. 22 spill of fly-ash from a pond at the Kingston steam plant. More here.
TN congressman tours TVA site, issues press release
U.S. Rep. Lincoln Davis*, D-4th: Our office has been in contact with the TVA and local elected officials since the accident occured. Today, Congressman Davis toured the spill area and was briefed on the accident and what is being done to remedy the situation. During the briefing, Congressman Davis called on the TVA to take care of everyone affected in any way, be sure to prevent any toxins from getting into the water systems, and to present a plan to the public with solutions so this does not occur again.
*Correction. It was not David Davis.
Knoxville Symphony to perform in the Smokies
They'll perform June 13 in honor of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park's 75th anniversary.
Elected officials' web sites mostly silent on TVA spill
Rep. Lincoln Davis, whose district the spill occurred in, has nothing up about it.
As of this posting, the Web sites for U.S. Sens. Lamar Alexander and Bob Corker and U.S. Reps. David Davis, Jimmy Duncan, Jim Cooper, Bart Cooper, Marsha Blackburn, John Tanner and Steve Cohen are all silent on the issue.
Kudos to Rep. Zach Wamp, who at least does have a brief statement up.
I find this appalling and pathetic, especially with Rep. Lincoln Davis. I know it's the holiday season, but communicating via the Web is becoming more and more critical. For example, providing constituents with a phone number to learn if their community is impacted would be useful. Providing informative links would also be helpful.
Unfortunately, all this does is reinforce Congress' image of being slow, inept and ineffective. In many situations, that's good for America. But not this one.
Get your checkbooks out
Mass Tort Litigation Blog: TVA Sludge Spill Results in High Levels of Arsenic & Heavy Metals in Two Tennessee Rivers
"Hurricane Creek Keeper" is mad as hell...
Via NiT. Here's some other HCK videos.
Could TVA leak scuttle Rep. Shuler's upscale development?
Mike Byrd at Enclave: Facing South reports that if Kingston steam plant ash were to reach Watts Bar Reservoir, North Carolina Congressman Shuler's multi-million dollar lakeside development investment could take a hit. I'll bet it is stopped well before it hits any wealthy developments.
Bloggers on TVA's toxic spill
R. Neal: It's sounding more and more like fly ash management and disposal needs better regulation and oversight.
Newscoma: Citizen journalists have kept this story from going away and I'm very impressed.
Enclave: Scientific American: Coal Ash More Radioactive than Nuclear Waste
Not a headline the state would like to see: Do Dead Ducks in Alberta Presage a Tennessee-Style Leak in Alberta?
R. Neal: This is ominous: "Since last year's inspection, ash was dredged into Cells 1, 2, and 3 to such levels that the divider dikes for Cell 3 were buried and now there are only two large cells (1 and 2). Dredging was stopped in mid-November 2007 based on recommendations from EDS and Geosyntec Consultants, Inc. This preventative measure was taken to reduce water levels in the dredge cell through the winter months in an attempt to avoid another blow out."
2.2 million pounds of toxic materials dumped in one year
NY Times: In a single year, a coal-fired electric plant deposited more than 2.2 million pounds of toxic materials in a holding pond that failed last week, flooding 300 acres in East Tennessee, according to a 2007 inventory filed with the Environmental Protection Agency.
The inventory, disclosed by the Tennessee Valley Authority on Monday at the request of The New York Times, showed that in just one year, the plant's byproducts included 45,000 pounds of arsenic, 49,000 pounds of lead, 1.4 million pounds of barium, 91,000 pounds of chromium and 140,000 pounds of manganese. Those metals can cause cancer, liver damage and neurological complications, among other health problems.
UPDATE: Thousands of pounds of toxic chemicals were released into the dredge cells at TVA's Kingston Fossil Plant last year, according to a report on the agency's Web site.
An ironic court ruling
A federal appeals court ruling last week reinstating Bush administration clean air rules undermines North Carolina's lawsuit seeking to force the Tennessee Valley Authority to cut pollution from its coal-fired power plants, the utility said in court papers.
Why not say don't drink the water on the front end?
This just moved on the AP's national wire.
KINGSTON, Tenn. (AP) -- Some water samples near a massive spill of coal ash in eastern Tennessee are showing high levels of arsenic, and state and federal officials on Monday cautioned residents who use private wells or springs to stop drinking the water.
Continue reading "Why not say don't drink the water on the front end?"
Blogger: friend detained at TVA spill site
Cathy McCaughan: Our friend wasn't just told to stay away, they were physically detained and interrogated. After being labeled an "ecoterrorist" our friend was finally allowed to leave without water samples or photographs.
I'd be curious to know if "authorities" are taking names and personal information? Are they photographing people? Taking license plate numbers? Sooner or later, we'll know.
TVA IG to scrutinize spill
More bloggers on the TVA spill
Haven't they learned anything from the way companies and utilities have handled other environmental disasters? The way to land on your feet in a situation like this is to send your Public Information Officer out there to offer maximimum information with minimum delay. More here.
Mike Byrd at Enclave continues to follow the issues.
R. Neal: Dig deep enough in the sludge and eventually you will find some truth
Joe Powell: Few Answers About Toxic Spill In East Tennessee
Ouch! Ouch! Ouch!
A Yankee columnist pens an uppity piece about the MSM vs. bloggers (so 2003) and in the process inaccurately portrays Knoxville's Glenn Reynolds' position on and attitude toward the MSM.
The scribe writes of bloggers: On the Internet and on the other form of "alternative media," talk radio, a disliked pundit has roughly a 50-50 chance of being derided as a "pundint," if my eyes and ears are any indication. The type of person who can't even keep track of the number of times the letter "N" appears in a two-syllable word is not the type of person who is going to offer great insight into complex issues.
Naturally, Reynolds responds: It seems that often when big-media types write about the failings of blogs, they engage in the kind of lazy inaccuracy they condemn.
I wasn't going to get into this but KNS online guru Jack Lail had a hilarious response* in an e-mail to me: Glenn Reynolds has proven himself repeatedly to be able to spell pundit and more than a few other words as well. And he appears to know quite a bit more about the economics of media than Paul Mulshine.
I'm gonna guess when Mulshine is job hunting he won't be getting a recommendation from Reynolds.
Now, can I get back to my Sunday column on blogging, and on a plan I'm putting together to more involve bloggers, Twitterers and others in the dead-wood edition? I mean, really, somebody has to give these inferior people with no lives something to do. Otherwise they'd never get out of their freakin' pajamas.
*He denies he was instigating.
A Knoxvillian Twittering the economy from Disneyland
Bobmissy07: Looking for evidence of economic downturn. Nope, not here!
TVA spill now has its own Wikipedia page
Tennessee coal sludge spill (Via a tweet)
Rev. Hooks retiring from the pulpit
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) -- Civil rights leader the Rev. Benjamin Hooks is retiring from the pulpit in Memphis.
Watch those bumper stickers if going to TVA spill
djuggler A friend drove to Kingston, was detained for 30 minutes in his car, and labeled an ecoterrorist b/c of his environmentalist bumperstickers. 5 minutes ago from twhirl
Blogger: Digital TV is no sound of music
Kay Brooks: You want to know why the transition to DTV and the fear of losing a television signal is meaning less and less every day? Here's a clue. When a family decides to settle in for a night of classic entertainment only to have it hijacked by inappropriate images that require the defensive use of a remote control it's just easier to use streaming Netflix or buy the video and dump the network broadcast altogether. Who cares if we lose a broadcast signal when the box still works to display the unadulterated (pun intentional) version of family programming?
Gas hits $1.37 in Middle TN; $1.39 in East TN
Terry Heaton has a report from Nashville. Yesterday in Cumberland County I saw a low of $1.39. Here's some East TN reports ranging from $1.35 to $1.41.
Using eminent domain for a 9/11 memorial?
SayUncle: Honoring freedom and sacrifice
By seizing land:
"Relatives of those who died aboard United Airlines Flight 93 want the Bush Administration to seize the land needed for a memorial where the plane crashed in western Pennsylvania during the 9/11 terrorist attacks."
Great way to honor their memories.
The irony is just so very sad.
East TN blogger: coal is our 'Wal-mart' of power
Throwing Like a Girl: I'll keep grumbling when I have occasion to drive by the smokestacks on I-40. And I'll continue to complain when I get my utility bill. But I like my computer, TV, washing machine and hot water too much to be proactive. And I'm too poor to go to solar or wind.
That's the Wal-Mart -- and TVA -- way. (Via ACK)
Suspect returns to crime scene to ask cops for help
You just can't make up stuff like this.
A burglary suspect badly cut after entering a convenience store through a shattered glass door returned to the scene two hours later to ask police for help.
TN blogger: CNN's spill coverage 'dismal'
Southern Beale: When I say CNN's coverage of the Tennessee ash sludge spill has been dismal, here's what I'm talking about. I perused their transcripts and noted how many times they covered the story:
Sunday, Dec. 28: zero
Saturday, Dec. 27: zero
Friday, Dec. 26: twice
Thursday, Dec. 25: zero
Wednesday, Dec. 24.: zero
Tuesday, Dec. 23: zero
Monday, Dec. 22: zero
Meanwhile, on Saturday the Santa shooting rampage in Covina, CA was covered five times, and then seven times on Friday. Yes I know, if it bleeds, it leads. Still, this is a bigger environmental disaster than the ExxonValdez--1 billion gallons of toxic sludge vs 11 million gallons from an oil tanker. You'd think that would register as more than a blip on CNN's radar.
P.J. O'Rourke on the proper behavior for the holidays
The proper behavior all through the holiday season is to be drunk. This drunkenness culminates on New Year's Eve, when you get so drunk you kiss the person you're married to. (Via Tennessee Bartenders)
Blogging the meeting with TVA's CEO
Tom Kilgore stated that the 1st priority is to those directly impacted by the "spill".
Will the cost of the cleanup be spread to the consumers? Kilgore stated TVA had insurance...
Once those from Kingston were given the opportunity to speak, the floor opened up to others. Questions became more focused on:
Water testing; testing started quickly, and continues every 2 hours. Other testing independently being done by EPA and others. Read more from an impacted homeowner who is keeping the online journal, Life on Swan Pond.
Tam: Well, India and Pakistan are flashing gang signs at each other again, and the Hamas Ministry of Propaganda (which is inexplicably headquartered in Atlanta rather than Gaza) is crying foul at the Israelis for hitting back, but Darfur continues to be one of the prime sources of suck on the planet. News from the region remains on the back burner, of course, because the oppressors are charmingly ethnic, the atrocities are happening in a particularly unphotogenic armpit of the earth, and nobody there has nukes.
Has media coverage worsened the economy?
Of course it has, says Nashville new media guru Rex Hammock.
That's because cable's talking heads and the nightly news readers don't do context. Their motto ought to be: "Breaking news without the perspective."
EPA: heavy metals, 'very high' levels of arsenic found
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency reported that "very high" levels of arsenic were found in a water sample collected from the affected area and that several heavy metals have also been found in quantities "slightly above drinking water standards."
The TVA CEO's meeting with community members
A couple of hundred people showed up to listen and ask questions. The TVA CEO, Ron Kilgore, is there, as is CNN and other media. If the meeting is handled as well as the private one I was at last night, it should be excellent at reassuring folks that TVA is acting in good faith. I hope so.
TVA president: 'We're going to clean it up right'
This is not a time that TVA holds its head up high. We're going to clean it up, we're going to clean it up right.
A roundup of what the blogs are saying on the TVA spill
Enclave's Mike Byrd: TVA's Coal Ash Dump May Not Be Energizing Tennessee's Elected Officials. But Kentucky's General Assembly is mobilizing to make some changes.
TVA detains citizen journalists at coal waste spill site
Building on my earlier post on this, police detain environmental activists at coal ash spill site:
Aunt B: We should just change our state motto to "Unless it's gay, we'll tolerate it, even if it kills us."
This was just a matter of time. Get your checkbooks out, taxpayers: The firm of environmental attorney and son of the 64th U.S. Attorney General, Bobby Kennedy, Jr., is joining with a Florida law firm to "investigate the Tennessee Coal Spill and will pursue claims on behalf of property owners living in the impacted area."
Some kudos to the TVA
RoaneViews: Tonight at 7 pm A few folks got to meet with and fire questions at Ron Hall, the Plant Manager for the TVA Kingston Steam Plant. TVA Senior Vice President Bob Deacy also took our questions. They answered everything we threw at them. The most refreshing answer I heard at times was "We don't know yet," with regard to exact details on how things will be handled beyond the initial stages.
I came away thinking that the people at TVA public relations should get out of the way and let everyone hear from the actual people at ground zero. It's far more honest reassuring than the corporate blather we've been getting filtered through the Knoxville media.
Some things I learned:
Media roundup on TVA's pond scum
KNS: "It scares people when they hear the rumors," he said. "We find out more from the news than we do from talking to TVA. It's not about getting money. It's about what's lost. You can't replace that. It's affected everybody here."
The Tennessean: Kingston City Councilman Brant Williams sent a notice of a public meeting at 4:30 p.m. Eastern time today to talk about how that nearby city, downstream on the Tennessee River, should approach the disaster.
"We simply cannot sit back and allow those with vested interests in minimizing the public perception of the impact of this spill to dictate the clean-up and reparation process," he wrote.
Amazingly, the state's largest newspaper, The Memphis Commercial Appeal, does not have a story on the spill today.
Nor does the Chattanooga Times Free Press, downstream from the spill.
Victim of TVA spill starts a blog
Monday morning @ 2 a.m. the phone started ringing. In rapid succession my children were calling me to make sure I was alright. All I heard when I answered the phone was "dike broke" and "flood".....
Well... try breathing after you hear those words.... when you live on a lake that is flood controlled.... I thought the dam had broke.
'Magic Negro' and 'Magic Cracker'
WASHINGTON -- The chairman of the Republican National Committee on Saturday admonished one of his potential successors for giving members a CD featuring a song called "Barack the Magic Negro."
Meanwhile, a Knoxville writer and Obama supporter blogs this: Ahh, Chip the Magic Cracker surfaces again, displaying his usual skill and political acumen.
Here's one of the definitions of cracker: Used as a disparaging term for a poor white person of the rural, especially southeast United States.
As I said yesterday, why even go there?
RoaneViews on TVA's spill
I've been negligent in not noting many posts at RoaneViews. Let's rectify that:
We tried to drive back to the spill site but TVA became irate when we pulled off the road and tried to take some pictures - Matt and I were detained for almost an hour at a check point yesterday - TVA personnel appear to be under great strain, which is understandable but IMO they over-reacted. All we were doing was taking photos. This is a similar situation to what happened in Martin County - they block the roads for "public safety." Even the media is having trouble getting access now.
Today's tweets on the TVA spill
djuggler: @sandranista was Twittering from the #coalash disaster and "got busted" by cops yelling at them. Lack of media coverage+arrests = coverup?
benintn: #coalash - http://www.dailykos.com/story/2008/12/27/13425/696/850/677483 - request for help at TVA spill site
We made it out alive! cops everywhere- on land, on water, in the air about 2 hours ago from txt
We got busted! more later about 2 hours ago from txt
Cops yelling @ us about 3 hours ago from txt
Twittering and photos from TVA's spill site today
The AP covering spill from more than 140 miles away
Okay, I know it's the holidays, but covering a major spill in East TN from Nashville?
Interesting video from TVA's spill site
Expert: TVA's cleanup to cost millions, take weeks
A South Carolina environmental cleanup expert says the TVA Kingston steam plant spill will cost millions of dollars and will take many weeks to clean up.
When was the last time you saw an early estimate like this prove to be accurate? As a general rule, take the early estimate and double or triple it.
Knoxville's Commando Rifle as described by Ian Hogg
From The Complete Illustrated Encyclopedia of the World's Firearms by Ian Hogg, Copyright 1978 by Quarto Limited, published by A&W Publishers, New York. ISBN 0-89479-031-5.
A self-loading carbine in .45 calibre, currently made by the Commando Arms Incorporated of Knoxville, Tennessee. In general appearance it resembles the Thompson submachine gun, but uses a different mechanism which fires from a closed breech. The barrel is 16 1/2 inches long, giving greater accuracy than the submachine gun, and there is a wide variety of optional magazines, grips and stocks available to suit the purchaser.
Firearms historian Hogg was British, hence the British spelling of caliber.
Couple of bonus links I've found here and there:
Water contaminated but not at treatment plant
The Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation said Friday evening the Kingston steam plant fly ash spill has contaminated area waters above regulatory limits for drinking water, though none of it has made its way into the city of Kingston's water treatment plant.
An Ouch! on the national media's TVA coverage
In the era of the continuous, 24/7 news cycle news organizations like the Times and CNN couldn't even manage to keep to the pre-Internet daily cycle, when news broke one day and wound up in the paper the next. With this story, they've gone back to the era when it took several days to deliver the news -- because it was delivered on horseback. More here.
Finally, NBC News tonight leads with the story.
Some Twittering tomorrow from the TVA spill site
Sandranista: please help me get more followers- will be twittering from the TVA disaster tomorrow @agahran @brianfeldman @MathewGross @evahernandez
And don't forget these tweets.
Twittering a packed mall
barner @djuggler I saw a big line of cars exiting at the West Town exit . . . I kept on going. about 1 hour ago from web in reply to djuggler
djuggler Mall parking lot full. about 1 hour ago from txt
TN GOPer, bucking to be RNC head, steps in it
Agree or disagree, why even go there?
Veterans to be trained as engineers in East TN
OAK RIDGE - A new program will bring military veterans to East Tennessee for education and training as engineers and then place them in jobs at one of the area's participating companies, including several based in Oak Ridge. (Via Frank Munger)
Blogger: don't go see 'Valkyrie'
KnoxvilleFilms: Tom Cruise gave a performance that smelled like rotting fruit.
More blogs on TVA's pond scum
Southern Beale: What happens when 300 million gallons of toxic coal sludge roars through your town? About what you'd expect:
Scope of TVA coal waste disaster grows
Joe Powell: There are many questions about current safety, officials ever-changing stories and what -if any - health issues are being aggressively pursued. Since TVA's CEO just earned a record multi-million dollar salary, let's see if he is worth it.
I Twitter to think about the demise of the 'old media'
There's a shift in the most prized "real estate" in DC. Extreme Mortman: Surely a Richard Cohen tribute to MySpace can't be far behind. After all, it's got that alluring personal pronoun going for it.
You mean this didn't happen until this week? Terry Heaton: This week's stunning Pew Research report "Internet Overtakes Newspapers as News Source" is a wake-up call for the broadcast industry.
'White light' intersection enforcement coming to TN
Good grief: When a motorist runs a red light, a white light flashes to signal a nearby police officer of the offense. Unlike camera enforcement, the officer pulls the motorist over to issue an immediate citation.
I thought one of the arguments for red-light cameras was that they free up officers for other duties? Hmmmmm. So now, in addition to revenue-light cameras, we have wallet lights.
A soldier's Christmas Day reunion with his family
Stacy Reeves and her daughters, Rose, 6, right, and Katie, 4, hug Chief Warrant Officer 2 John Reeves. Rose's screams of "Daddy, Daddy" could be heard across the airfield as her dad's plane landed. John Reeves returned from Afghanistan with 182 other soldiers from the 101st Combat Aviation Brigade to Fort Campbell on Christmas Day. (Robert Smith/The Leaf-Chronicle)
A truly marvelous story
Do yourself a favor and go read this, then pass it around: Mentor helps create former Central High player's route
Blogging 'Black Friday'
Frugal Shopping with Julie: Not only can you get many of the great Kohls After Christmas Sale bargains online on 12/26 and 12/27, but you should also be able to take advantage of select Kohls Early Bird Specials, which are supposed to be available online from 12 am - 4pm EST on 12/26.
Knoxville's 'The Rep' interviewed on Pajamas Media
Knoxville's Dr. Helen does the interview with state Rep. Stacey Campfield.
Blogging the breach
Clean Coal My A$$, TVA Lays an Eco Turd on Tennessee
Despite numerous reports from recreational anglers and television news video of a large fish kill downstream of the spill, Mr. Francis said the T.V.A.'s environmental team had not encountered any dead fish.
Twittering TVA's pond breach
Multiple tweets and links here.
'TVA Minimization Spin Begins to Unravel '
Enclave: It looks like TVA's attempts to contain the public relations damage by downplaying the magnitude of Tueday's environmental disaster in East Tennessee are failing:
* Knoxnews disclosed Thursday that the ash in the Kingston dredge cell storage area was 55 feet above the "pond" water level and that dredging continued after dike problems in 2003 and after a slope failed in 2006.
* The Tennessean reported Thursday that TVA's figures on the amount of sludge belched from their ash containment system have shifted three times since Tuesday, and the latest figure, 5.4 million cubic yards, is triple Wednesday's total.
* Sandranista tweets information--unconfirmed by the press--that one resident vomited for 12 hours after drinking coffee made from tainted water.
Photo gallery of TVA's pond scum
TVA's pond scum: Triple amount of sludge released
HARRIMAN - The TVA has tripled the amount of ash fly sludge released Monday when an earthen dike failed at a Kingston Fossil Plant retention pond.
National media on TVA's pond scum
Nashville's Enclave: Amy Gehran asks CNN's Rick Sanchez directly why he referred to the news of the TVA disaster as "just in" 48 hours after it took place.
And this: NBC Repeats Dubious Suggestion that Sludged Kingston Neighborhoods Should Boil Water for Home Use.
NBC News said on its 6:30 p.m. broadcast that Andrea Mitchell is coming to East TN and will have a report on Friday's newscast.
Christmas at Arlington
Black Friday sales
Make your own Christmas cards online
Earlier this year we bought a Nikon D40 DSLR. We've been getting great pictures from it, so my wife decided to make our Christmas cards using pictures of the kids.
She found a red tablecloth in our Christmas boxes to use as a backdrop. You can see how the tablecloth is draped over the couch in the picture below. The girls are already so tall that next year we'll need to hang the tablecloth from a higher point.
Our lighting couldn't have been simpler. For some of the pictures we used the camera's built-in flash, but we used available light as much as possible. We turned on all the lights in the living room and had the door and drapes open to let in morning sunlight. (One tip we've heard from multiple people is that kids are usually easier to photograph in the morning. As the day goes on they get crankier and less cooperative.) As a bonus, morning light and evening light comes in low, so it peaks in through the windows. You can see sunlight coming from a side window in the middle of that second picture above.
After taking the pictures I did some simple tuning in Google's free Picasa software. All pictures got Auto Contrast and one round of Sharpening. Each of those operations involves clicking a single button. A few pictures were cropped and a few more had red eye removed with the Red Eye button.
My wife printed the best pictures on a card from Walgreens.com using their online printing service and picked them up from a local Walgreens a few hours later. Cost was $10 for 20 cards.
Making our own Christmas cards online was quick, inexpensive, and fun. We liked the results so much we'll be doing it again next year. The only glitch was that Walgreens' site lost our card several times before successfully saving it, so my wife had to recreate the layout more than once. We're hoping Walgreens has that bug fixed next year.
Merry Christmas to all!
Spending Christmas with four generations of my family. I'll be offline until Friday morning. See you then!
More blogs on TVA's pond scum
From Middle Tennessee.
NYT sued over common linking practice
A publisher of mostly small, local newspapers has sued the New York Times Co. over its aggregation of news headlines on Boston.com, challenging the practice many sites use of linking to other sources.
Seems to me the publisher ought to be careful what he wishes for. No linky, no revenue.
TVA spill hits the Sierra Club's blog
A snippet: The coal industry's poor design and maintenance of its sludge ponds has a long and sordid history: In 1972, a giant impoundment collapsed in Logan County, West Virginia, causing a landslide that killed 125 people, injured 1,000 others, and left 4,000 people homeless.
Where's my daughter?
Now that's just dang funny
My gift-wrapping looks like it was done by a blind orangutan after a four-day bender.
Southern Beale: A half a billion gallons of toxic sludge, larger than the ExxonValdez spill. It was nice of the national media to notice this ... Guess they didn't want to lose out on all of that "clean coal" advertising money.
Environmental journo director critical of national MSM
CNN and the New York Times didn't post stories on early Monday morning's pond breach at the Kingston Steam Plant until Tuesday night. Read more.
News and blogs on TVA's pond scum
Here and here. And here's an update of Jack Lail's link roundup.
Twittering TVA's 'flood control'
Go on over and join the discussion.
jacklail: Latest revised estimate from TVA on fly ash breach disaster: 2.6 million cubic yards in pond....1.7 million cubic yards released #coalash
about 1 hour ago · Reply · View Tweet
jacklail: Fascinating real time news effort on Twitter involving enviro disaster in Tennessee. #coalash: http://tinyurl.com/98s3yf (expand)
about 2 hours ago · Reply · View Tweet
Mudslide from TVA pond breach closes Emory River
This is getting bizarre. Now the U.S. Coast Guard is involved.
'Bad Christmas gifts'
This is one of the funniest posts I've read in a while. Nicely written, too.
One Christmas, back in the dinosaur age, when Southern Beale was just a baby blogger waiting for Al Gore to invent the internet, my grandmother gave our family the strangest gift. With absolutely no irony whatsoever, she presented us with an electric inside the shell egg scrambler.
In. Shopping. Hell.
A Knoxville tweet: The Best Buy checkout line spans almost to the North Carolina border. It has its own area code: 666.
This borders on criminal
The 2008 'Lump of Coal Award'
And the winners are: Richard Swift and Wayne Wilkinson of Clarksville, TN "... for leading efforts to take the homes and businesses of Clarksville residents through eminent domain for a private redevelopment scheme that would line their own pockets."
Look at it this way: we're still home-delivering two more editions than the Detroit Free Press.
Link roundup on the TVA dam breach
Jack Lail has a collection of links about the TVA environmental disaster in Roane County with the breach of a pond dam at the Kingston Steam Plant.
Good question about West Knoxville traffic
Here's a Letter to the Editor that will run soon:
Just read the story about Smartfix and its progress.
I applaud the progress made and the planning that was done to minimize traffic issues.
That being said, how is it that traffic cannot be managed on westbound Kingston Pike between the traffic lights at Bearden Road and Northshore Drive. These lights are constantly out of sync and consistently cause backups in traffic as far back as Mohican Drive.
Calls to the signal division do not seem to address the issue.
By allowing traffic to move instead of sitting for as long as 20 minutes in crawling traffic there would be reduction in fuel consumption along with reduction in pollution.
Steve Hirschhaut
ACLU of TN urges 'paramour' restriction dropped
NASHVILLE - In a brief filed today, the American Civil Liberties Union is urging a Tennessee appeals court to remove a so called "paramour" restriction against a lesbian mother that is forcing her partner of 9 years out of their home every night the mother has custody and visitation of her children.
Continue reading "ACLU of TN urges 'paramour' restriction dropped"
Santas disable revenue-light cameras
Well, this sounds familiar
'Anywhere Voting' on its way
'Santa Clause, how much do you weigh?'
A um, er, Christmas classic.
Parents of nine girls finally have a boy
The 12 Days of Christmas
Blogger questions local media, TVA on pond collapse
R. Neal: I don't know which is worse - TVA misleading the public about the hazard, other unknown officials giving out bad information, or local media blindly accepting it and passing it on without explanation or even bothering to question or google it.
I realize local news operations are operating on a shoestring budget, but maybe they should just not report anything at all if what they report is misleading or potentially makes the situation worse than it already is.
I don't know any of the particulars here and I'm not involved in our coverage of this, but I know from experience these kind of stories are not wrapped up in a tiddy package in under 24 hours. In the span of about 22 hours, we producted constant Web updates and today's page one package, which has two lengthy stories quoting 11 people, including representatives from the EPA, the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, the American Coal Ash Association and Earthjustice, a California-based nonprofit law firm. Today's coverage also includes audio and video of interviews from the scene, aerial photographs and a detailed map showing the area and surrounding landmarks. By my informal count, we had at least eight people involved in our coverage.
Here's how online guru Jack Lail described it in an e-mail: We flooded our readers Monday with breaking news in the early morning dam break at TVA's Kingston Steam Plant. Saul Young went aerial early. Chloe White and Miles Cary went vertical in a TVA helicopter and then cross-country on foot in Roane County. Tom Chester didn't need coffee. Scott Barker, Erin Chapin and Talid Magdy pushed content to the Web throughout the day as photos and videos streamed in from Cary's laptop while White phoned in updated info.
In today's package, there's also a story by Josh Flory which is headlined: Ash leak fuels debate on risks of coal waste. Here's the lede to the story: The ash that burst out of a TVA retention pond on Monday is the sort of waste that has gotten scrutiny from federal regulators and lawmakers in recent months.
The mixture in question was made of water and fly ash, a fine particle that's one of the by-products of burning coal to generate electricity. The ash is collected by scrubbers that aim to clean up emissions from power-plant smokestacks, and it includes trace elements of materials like arsenic and lead.
Randy raises some natural questions, the same many others are raising. The coverage cited above is hardly the end of it. And to complement that, neither are the blog posts.
The arrogance of power
Russ McBee: How can the governor of New York make an informed decision on Hillary Clinton's replacement if the main candidate for the job won't even reveal how her income is generated, or to whom she is financially beholden?
This is the arrogance of aristocracy; people like Caroline Kennedy (or George W. Bush, for that matter) think they are entitled to hold public office due solely to their bloodlines. That arrogance has no place in a democracy. In fact, we fought a revolution (in part) to escape that brand of tyrannical crap.
I'm gonna guess he's not in the Holiday spirit
More here.
Legally Brunette: Holy crap. Someone sent an Orange Juice Cake to The Firm today, and I practically had to lock myself in my office to keep from eating the whole damn thing.
Flying the crowded skies
At the time of this posting, there are 12 flights in the air related to Knoxville's McGhee Tyson Airport. That's a bit higher than normal.
Recession hitting Christmas cards
BusyMom: I love to get Christmas cards and we have this holder thingy that's always overflowing each year and this year, we have very few.
Blogger: TVA misleading about waste in fly ash sludge
R. Neal: TVA is lying. This report on combustion waste from coal fired power plants says fly ash (assuming that's what this is) contains mercury, arsenic, and other toxic heavy metals such as beryllium and cadmium. If it's a holding pond for byproducts from washing coal prior to combustion it has even more toxic stuff.
Unfortunately, from what I understand it's all largely unregulated, the EPA does not consider it "hazardous" (which I guess gives TVA cover) and even promotes recycling it to make concrete.
'Connecticut Could Lose 30 Newspapers Within a Month'
'Connecticut Could Lose 30 Newspapers Within a Month'
With apologies to George Carlin
TN 'most improved' in campaign finance reporting
Tennessee got high marks for the electronic campaign finance program it launched earlier this year and was voted "most improved" among states by the Campaign Disclosure Project, an annual survey conducted by the University of California and funded by the Pew Charitable Trusts.
A growing crisis at our southern border
Drug killings throughout Mexico have more than doubled to over 5,300 this year, scaring off investment and tourists. The United States has sent hundreds of millions of dollars in aid to help its southern neighbor fight the cartels. . .
And, Beheadings, hangings and mass executions have become a nightly occurrence in this city known for its feminicidios-- the unsolved murders of more than 300 women since 1993.
And, Nine Decapitated Bodies Found Near Acapulco
And this, In 12 months, the Juárez we've known for decades has collapsed, its historic bond with us poisoned by so much brutality.
One has to wonder if our international priorities are a bit out of balance.
A Facebook story yet to hit the MSM
Rex Hammock: The emerging controversy -- already dubbed "Facebookgate" -- hit online meme status and is already being covered online by outlets ranging from the Chronicle of Higher Education to Inside Facebook.
Jack Lail has the details.
There's no bailout from criticism of this TN newspaper
Truman Bean: It is all too clear, through their use of article selection, content, tone, headlines, and even story placement, that the Tennessean editorializes throughout their entire product AND NOT JUST IN THE EDITORIAL SECTION.
Bear Creek Ledger: I'm not sure if the print media will ever wake up and smell the coffee but there's at least 50% of the population that isn't of the left wing variety. Most of us in that 50% do not subscribe or bother to read The Tennessean.
Top 10 media blunders of 2008
Here's number two: The New York Times' McCain-Iseman story: There was so much hype leading up to The Times front-page investigation of John McCain's relationship with lobbyists--dating back at least to a Drudge leak two months earlier--that without something concrete, the story was doomed to fail. Also, MSNBC makes a few appearances. My question is, why stop at 10?
Yet another editor who just doesn't get it
Newscoma: The editor of that work came to her blog and, in my opinion, had a meltdown. This is a curious study in how some folks see the blogosphere as the enemy.
And you wonder why you are losing readers? Go read all of Newscoma's post. She gets it.
Twittering the Denver plane crash
Amazing stuff: I made for the exit door as quickly as I could, fearing the right wing might explode from the fire. once out, i scrambled down the wing.
Memo to men: Stay out of the doghouse
Congress has saddled you with secret debt
WASHINGTON (AP) -- It's something any bank would demand to know before handing out a loan: Where's the money going?
But after receiving billions in aid from U.S. taxpayers, the nation's largest banks say they can't track exactly how they're spending the money or they simply refuse to discuss it.
Continue reading "Congress has saddled you with secret debt"
Fred Thompson to take over Bill O'Reilly's radio show
Details here.
The 'Because I am the mom' song
Twenty-four hours of mommyhood condensed into 2 minutes and 20 seconds, set to the "William Tell Overture." Billiant!
Teens use speed cameras as pranks
They make fake plates to nail those they don't like.
A day in which I turned even more stupid
Where I've been today: Target (two of them), Walmart (two of them), Best Buy (after church let out) and the mega-shopping complex, Turkey Creek. I'm now going to go play Frisbee on Interstate 40.
Editor: The KNS is here to stay
Jack McElroy: The headlines about the headliners have been grim. Tribune goes bankrupt. Detroit papers curtail home delivery. Rocky Mountain News for sale.
Knoxville readers see the News Sentinel trim content and reduce staff.
The question is inevitable: Are you guys going out of business?
The answer is unequivocal: No!
Regular readers know I don't hesitate to smack the MSM around. And I've certainly not shied away from noting the woes in the industry. My fairness barometer tells me I've let that get a bit out of balance, perhaps to some degree overcompensating for my direct connection to the industry. With that said, I'm more than happy to highlight Jack's sound, common-sense column.
Born to kill
Thirteen years after her murder conviction, the defense is still grasping at straws.
When an expert neurologist went crawling inside Christa Gail Pike's brain recently, he says he made a startling discovery: by the time she was born she'd begun developing the capacity to kill.
'Peace on Earth'
I bit the dust on this one.
Will lower interest rates help adjustable rate mortgage holders?
Will lower interest rates help adjustable rate mortgage holders? It depends on the type of adjustable rate mortgage (ARM).
Some of the option ARMs had crazy terms. Unlike a regular ARM, option ARMs don't just change the interest rate over time. They also delay principal or interest payments for years so that when the loans recast the price increase can be astronomical.
Dr. Housing Bubble - Option ARMs for Dummies: Why 4.5 Percent Mortgages Rates will do Absolutely Nothing for these Toxic Assets.:
It usually helps to look at a real world example. In a lawsuit filed by the State of California against Countrywide, examples of some real world option ARM mortgages show us how absurd these loan products really are. Let us look at the details first:
I know at a quick glance, you are probably shaking your head at the absurdity of the terms above. We are looking at an option ARM with a 1% teaser rate offered by Countrywide. The margin on this mortgage is 2.9%. That is why you saw people spending like A-list celebrities because with the initial one year payment of $1,479 a month, they had money to spend even though the mortgage itself was negatively amortizing. Little by little the payment went up until it hit the 5th year and explodes to $3,747.83.
- Mortgage problems in the UKBernanke in 2005: no housing bubble to go bustGreenspan in 2004: fears of speculative bubble in housing prices exaggeratedThis is where inflation fears are coming fromInternal Freddie memo even worse than I thoughtGood money after bad?Doris "Tanta" Dungey and the Calculated Risk blogCanada is having its own mortgage meltdownThe coming commercial real estate crisis
A rash of bank robberies in the Knoxville area
I paid a rare visit this morning to a bank. I was pleased to discover the bank had an armed guard just outside the front door. I guess due in part to the economy, there sure seems to be a rash of robberies lately, with banks and convenience stores the main targets. I count at least a dozen bank robberies in the Knoxville area since mid-August. No doubt cities and towns across the country are seeing the same pattern.
UPDATE: Another one this morning.
An Ouch! on Knoxville's real estate market
Realtor/blogger Suzy Trotta: The best gift to get your Realtor this Christmas may be a book on how to write resumes. Yeah, I said it.
KNS business writer Josh Flory: The Knoxville Area Association of Realtors reports that home and condo sales fell to 659 units in November, down from 1,045 units in the same month last year.
Realtor/blogger Jim Lee: It appears from the sales volume numbers that even though the unit volume is down from previous years, sales of homes in the greater Knoxville area is holding up fairly well especially compared to some other areas of the country such as southern California, Florida, Nevada, and some other states.
Jim passes on some news, too: You can now get a 4.5% FIXED RATE, 30 year home mortgage.
UPDATE: SayUncle: Interest rates are so low that money is almost free. I guess they'll soon be paying us to borrow.
Are you refinancing now? Or waiting? Or have no plans to do so? Hmm, sounds like a job for a poll:
Glenn Reynolds: My brother emailed that he locked in an amazingly low rate. We've got a very low rate already, but I'm still watching. Could we see 4% mortgages?
U.S. Rep. Duncan offers blunt words on the bailout
No matter what we did or did not do at the federal level, there was (and is) going to be a great deal of pain.
One other thing I would personally like to see is a requirement that no company receiving government money or loans can pay any employee, from the CEO on down, more than the President of the United States ($400,000 a year).
No company should be considered by our government as being "too big to fail." And I realize that if everyone had voted the way I have, some very big companies would have gone under.
However, socialism has not worked anyplace in the world. In my opinion, the pain, as great as it would be, would be a lot less and our economy would recover a lot sooner if we would simply let the free market work. Read his whole piece here. (Via BC)
There's a future Olympian living in East TN
Record low mortgage rates toss housing a lifeline
Here's a nice follow to an earlier discussion about home mortgage rates. I'm hearing expect rates to drop further.
NEW YORK (Reuters) - With the $500 of monthly savings Jim Hennessy of San Diego gained by cutting the rate on his $417,000 mortgage, he plans to rebuild his beaten-up retirement account and maybe even take a cruise.
This is the outcome the U.S. government was driving at when it said it would pump hundreds of billions of dollars into buying mortgage bonds, freeing up lenders to make new loans and lower-rate refinancings that spur consumer spending and the economy.
Music industry to halt its legal assault
In other words, it's tired of having a PR black eye.
After years of suing thousands of people for allegedly stealing music via the Internet, the recording industry is set to drop its legal assault as it searches for more effective ways to combat online music piracy. More here.
To refinance or not?
Yesterday, I asked the guy who handled my home loan nine years ago if I should refinance. I owe less than 50 percent of my home's appraised value. Here's his response: I do not think it would pay you to refinance, unless you are wanting to pull some cash out. Your balance is really not that high and your rate is really not all that bad. The new rate would about 5.25 which is not enough of a savings My rate is 5.87.
Dr. Helen tackles the topic today: SayUncle mentioned that interest rates are so low, the money's almost free. I wouldn't go that far yet, but it does seem that now is the time to refinance your house if you need to do so. He has a poll up asking people if they are refinancing. I won't steal it but you can go over and take a look. So far, over a quarter of the voters say they are waiting. I think the time to refinance might be when it hits 4%. What do you think? Is it better to jump in now or wait and see if the rates drop?
They're baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaack!
Two bloggers I greatly respect, Bob Krumm and DeMarCaTionVille, have new posts up. Now, maybe next time they go AWOL they're ask my permission first. Geeeeeez.
Cross-dressing bank robber strikes again
This afternoon's robbery marks at least the third time he has struck.
More on the intrusive TN government 'fuss'
Occasionally it's good that the government be exposed to some fuss so they know we're watching them.
A blogger on the bailout
Two predicitions: 1) we will never see that money again, and 2) we will give them more money within the next few months.
I'd say that pretty well sums it up.
Santa comes early for a young West Knoxville girl
A kind man, apparently anonymous, purchased this penguin for a young girl who admired it at a Farragut store but couldn't afford it. Frank Murphy has the delightful story.
A Rocky Top stroll
In Florida definitely, and possibly in Knoxville, people have been deliberately leaving rare coins in Salvation Army kettles.
Eastman Chemical Underfunded Pension Plan
Background checking run amok!!
Go see how verbose your TN congressman is.
Did you know that Knoxville averages 11 rainy days for the month of December?
Just got word that the federal 10th Circuit struck down Oklahoma's residency law 3-0! That's the third federal circuit court this year to UNANIMOUSLY overturn residency laws as unconstitutional.
The full-time RVing married couple who work at the See's Candies kiosk in West Town Mall.
Belmont basketball coach returns home to Knoxville on Saturday to face the Vols.
TN state government backs off intrusive info request
You buy this, don't you? The new forms inadvertently included three sections that requested the make of the gun, handgun serial number, and whether the school or student owned the handgun. This should not have been done and the sections were included in error.
"There was no intent by the Department of Safety to create any sort of gun registry." stated Commissioner Dave Mitchell. "The department regrets any confusion or misunderstanding caused by the issuance of the new handgun safety roster form." More here. Background.
Good question
Tam: Pride of lions, pack of wolves, flock of seagulls, crew of pirates, clan of ninjas, but what do you call a whole lot of zombies?
Some things you just don't blog about
Details about your newly neutered dog is most assuredly one of them.
(Have I said lately you really should be reading Painting Chef, even though she just violated one of the fundamental laws of blogging?)
I've died and gone to heaven
The top 20 top 10 lists of 2008.
Clinging to a newspaper, mocking modern technologies
Editor & Publisher: Hey, you. Yeah, you there, skimming the Drudge Report, reading your RSS feed of Yahoo News on your BlackBerry, trolling through the video clips on YouTube. You're a news junkie for the 21st century. Congratulations.
But on the day Barack Obama was elected president, what did so many souvenir-hunters turn to? A screen grab of the top of Google News? Don't think so. For posterity, they sought out a copy of a newspaper -- and, in particular, an archival copy of The New York Times.
Well, Americans always have had a fascination with ancient artifacts.
Blogging the Christmas deals
Here's the latest roundup from Frugal Shopping with Julie.
More government intrusion
SayUncle: The Tennessee Department of Safety has sent out letters telling instructors that teach the handgun carry course to fill out this roster. This roster records information about the gun used to take the course, including model, serial number and whether or not it belongs to the student. I received this info from a forwarded email sent out by the Tennessee Firearms Association, Inc., who notes that 'Nothing in the statutes authorize or direct the Department of Safety to collect or require this information.'
Hmmmmmm. I don't recall giving may car's serial number when I took the driving test.
Burger King launches meat-scented cologne
Knoxville blogger tees off on TVA's CEO pay
Russ McBee: The Postmaster General oversees a budget that is over seven times as large as TVA's ($75 billion in revenue versus TVA's $10 billion), and he manages 68 times as many employees (786,000 versus TVA's 11,600). The Postmaster General makes $258,000 per year, one twelfth the pay of Mr. Kilgore.
In the post, McBee takes a swipe, a bit tongue-in-cheek I suspect, at the KNS: Today, the Knoxville News Sentinel ran a press release (cleverly disguised as a news story) on the excessive and outlandish pay of TVA's superfluous CEO.
The KNS has provided ample coverage of Kilgore's pay here, here, here and here. As in any case, giving the subject of "negative stories" a forum to respond is only fair.
Besides, if we didn't, what would fine bloggers like McBee have to blog about? ;-)
More government secrecy on the bailouts
Ben Cunningham: So much of what is going on with the various bailouts can only be characterized as absurd. It sure would be nice if members of Congress could steal a few precious moments to actually OVERSEE what the hell is going on with these programs!!
Two bloggers' takes on the two shoes tossed
An Ol' Broad's Ramblings has a few words on a father offering his 20-year-old daughter to the man who threw his shoes.
Joe Powell brings us the 'shoe matrix.'
Headline of the day
Is it time for NASCAR to go belly up?
Jim Voorhies: Sure, it's followed by millions, but you have to remember at the end of the day, NASCAR is funded, not based on fans and merchandise (though there's plenty of both), but on an influx of buckets and buckets of dinero from Ford, Chrysler, and General Motors.
In SEC football, TN is Iraq
If only TN could throw footballs like Iraqis throw shoes. It could be worse, though. Florida is Syria. (Via The Modern Gal)
Knoxville's city council votes down Southern tradition
No more parking in your front yard. What? Do we have to build one of those car boxes now? Honey, get the cardboard!
Using the Marines to man DUI checkpoints
Quite understandable, there are those troubled by bringing in the military (feds) to perform civilian functions.
This little ol' federal act would seem to be pertinent: The Posse Comitatus Act is a United States federal law (18 U.S.C. § 1385) passed on June 16, 1878, after the end of Reconstruction. The Act prohibits most members of the federal uniformed services (the Army, Air Force and State national Guard forces (when such are called into federal service) from exercising nominally state law enforcement, police or peace officer powers that maintain "law and order" on non-federal property (states and their counties and municipal divisions) in the former Confederate states.
From the DUI Blog: A follow-up call to a Marine Corps public affairs sergeant resulted in assurances that the Marines would be there "as observers". Hmmmm.....military observers. Isn't that how it all starts?
(Via SayUncle)
Bloggers continue to dog the TN Democratic Party
I continue to be impressed with the way several left-leaning bloggers are filling a void by providing continious coverage of the party's selection process for a new chairman. No, it's hardly page one news, but for those who want to stay up to date the online scribes are doing a great public service.
Here's the latest from Newscoma: You know, the TNDP race for chair is funny to me in a lot of ways. Not Ha Ha funny butI'm having to depend on bloggers like Liberadio, Sean Braisted, KAG, R. Neal and Kleinheider* to tell me what the hell is going on. What limited information I have is the Chip Forrester has been traveling around to meet with folks, I know very little about Charles Robert Bone except through the efforts of bloggers.
When you use your google fu on Forrester, the first thing that shows up is KnoxViews. For Bone, it's his law firm and then KnoxViews is third in line.
I think, because both men can't be everywhere at once, that they do what R. Neal recommended and create an email database established to progressive Tennessee bloggers and get their PR on outside of urban areas. Andy Berke is on Twitter right now and checks in quite a bit. I've never met him either but I have sort of gotten a feel for him there and through his Tennessean article a few weeks ago. I joined his newsletter this morning at this site. Very smart.
*I do not consider ACK left leaning. Rather, I think he does an excellent job of keeping up with political issues in the state and presenting various points of views.
Unlimited coffee in downtown Knoxville for $100 a year
Knoxify: For $100 Remedy Coffee will give you free coffee for a year and a mug, crafted by a local artist, that you can paint to your liking. Sounds like a good Christmas present to me.
The future of newspapers
For a while now, readers have had the best of both worlds: all the benefits of the old, high-profit regime--intensive reporting, experienced editors, and so on--and the low costs of the new one. But that situation can't last. Soon enough, we're going to start getting what we pay for, and we may find out just how little that is.
John Norris Brown: According to a new poll from CNN, a majority of Americans think Obama should adopt a puppy from a shelter. That's some cutting edge journalism there.
TBI investigating small-town antics
CALHOUN -- The three controversial new members of the Calhoun City Commission are under investigation by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation after the town's police chief said the trio broke into her office, changed the locks and took a case file.
ALSO: Mayor Barnham, "I apologize to the citizens of Calhoun for any embarrassment that this has caused our community."
TN teens find $2,000, return it
They could have kept $500 each, but didn't.
Quote of the day
A morning tweet: Are we done printing money yet? I got knees to bludgeon.
Delivery of 'No Silence Here' delayed
Due to mechanical problems, some subscribers to NSH will receive their pixels later than normal this morning. If you see a NSH post linked at another blog and you've not received that post yet, it will be arriving shortly. Thanks for your patience and I do hope the check is in the mail.
Word of the Day: Liquidity Trap (Economics)
In monetary economics, a liquidity trap occurs when the nominal interest rate is close or equal to zero, and the monetary authority is unable to stimulate the economy with traditional monetary policy tools. In this kind of situation, people do not expect high returns on physical or financial investments, so they keep assets in short-term cash bank accounts or hoards rather than making long-term investments. This makes a recession even more severe, and can contribute to deflation.
In normal times, the monetary authority (usually a central bank or finance ministry) can stimulate the economy by lowering interest rate targets or increasing the monetary base. Either action should increase borrowing and lending, consumption, and fixed investment. When the relevant interest rate is already at or near zero, the monetary authority cannot lower it to stimulate the economy. The monetary authority can increase the overall quantity of money available to the economy, but traditional monetary policy tools do not inject new money directly into the economy. Rather, the new liquidity created must be injected into the real economy by way of financial intermediaries such as banks. In a liquidity trap environment, banks are unwilling to lend, so the central bank's newly-created liquidity is trapped behind unwilling lenders.
This WOTD is apropos of news yesterday that the U.S. Federal Reserve set a target range for the Federal funds rate to between one quarter percent and zero percent. That breaks the previous low set in 1977.
If loaning money at zero percent interest doesn't work there's nothing else the Fed can do to stimulate the economy. The loose money policy is as loose as it can get without paying banks to borrow money. We're now in a liquidity trap.
Previous WOTD - News Hole
Worst media feuds of 2008
More here.
So the TN GOP is taking over...
...and all I'm hearing about are new laws. Looks like they are following the lead of the national party: Hellbent on legislating and spending their way out of power. The state GOP has been out of power so long it is drunk on it already. And the problem is, we're the ones who will suffer the hangover.
Legislation filed to require voter photo ID
Seems to me R. Neal pretty accurately captures this one.
Newspaper corrections of the year
Dave Barry: In yesterday's column about badminton, I misspelled the name of Guatemalan player Kevin Cordon. I apologize. In my defense, I want to note that in the same column I correctly spelled Prapawadee Jaroenrattanatarak, Poompat Sapkulchananart and Porntip Buranapraseatsuk. So by the time I got to Kevin Cordon, my fingers were exhausted.
And another: In the June 20 "Culturebox," Jonah Weiner stated that Lil Wayne was the first hip-hop artist to fantasize about eating his competition. Other rappers have contemplated consuming their rivals.
See all of them here.
A warning and an oops
To the TN GOP: If you guys get in power and set up toll roads, you'll be out in two years.
Memo to local newspaper: My local paper: 'Park to see concealed guns in 2009.' Err, how? If they're concealed, I mean.
Irony of the day
Joe Powell: It seems we are poised to provide not only billions to foreign nations for fuel, but billions more for the very machines which use that fuel.
Report: Buy one car, get a second one free
Newscoma: I saw a commercial out of Paducah this morning where if you buy one car, you get one free. I'm not kidding. What's that all about?
A quick Google turned up very little. I've got an e-mail in to my fellow blogging journalist for more info on this. Boy, talk about a sign of the times.
Meanwhile, here's a similar deal by a car dealership in Brussels. And here's a report out of Miami.
UPDATE: Here's an e-mail I just got from Newscoma: WPSD in Paducah. It aired about 6:30 this a.m.
Associated Press journos go on byline strike
Well, this is good timing with newspapers and others looking at alternatives to the legendary wire service.
Flying mattress hits car, couple unhurt
Well this won't reinforce any stereotypes, will it?
TN Islamic center opens after being 'fire-bombed'
Rising from the ashes of hate, the Columbia Islamic Center opened its doors to the public for the first time, more than 10 months after self-proclaimed radicals fire-bombed the city's only mosque.
Several TN blogs new to me
I was browsing some blogrolls over the weekend in my continuing effort to build a comprehensive list of TN bloggers, Valley of the blogs, and came across several more. I'm gonna take a wild guess I ended up following a bit of a Libertarian thread with this latest batch of bloggers.
Way Out Charlotte Pike
Shelby Watchdog
Rustmeister's Alehouse
Right At Home
Contending with the Culture
Michael not Mike
Matthew Hurtt
Chris for Liberty
Politics in small TN town turn bizarre
A case file of an elected official is stolen from the police department.
The Nothing But Caroline network and why cable is winning
Clearly, NBC Nightly News is running the U.S. Senate campaign of Caroline Kennedy. In a jaw-dropping move, her run for the office was the network's lead story Monday evening. The American auto industry is on the verge of bankruptcy, President-elect Obama makes key cabinet appointments, Illinois is impeaching its governor and some fat cat bilks more than $50 billion from the rich and not so famous, and NBC chooses to launch Kennedy's campaign? Then, to cap off its pathetic cheerleading, the network ended its broadcast with a fluff piece on what would JFK think of his daughter running for the Senate.
And who did the story for the Nothing But Caroline network? Why, press secretary Andrea Mitchell, of course. At the end of the segment on Kennedy, network anchor Brian Williams noted her run will be a story that will be watched by the people of New York, Washington and the rest of the country. Well, perhaps he got the first two right.
Oh, yeah, I almost forgot. This came out yesterday: For the first time since Gallup began asking this question in 1995, significantly more Americans say they turn to cable news networks daily than say they turn to nightly network news programs.
Sen. Corker gets some blogger blowback
Joe Powell: Senator Bob Corker of Tennessee is learning that jumping up to shout "I can fix the automakers bailout program!!" was not his best idea.
R. Neal: First rule of negotiating: Make sure you are negotiating with the one who can sign on the line that is dotted.
Seen at Enclave: No, I'm not talking about Bob Corker, the Senator from Nissan -- I mean Tennessee -- and his fellow Republicans, who torpedoed last week's attempt to buy some time for the U.S. auto industry.
Seems to me the state of the auto industry in Michigan speaks for itself, as it does in Tennessee.
Tennesseans Twittering
Here's some tweets from today:
barner Learned yesterday that some classes at UT use a remote "clicker" device to track student attendance. I'm feeling old and out of touch.
BCKnoxify Casey Peters youngest on list http://tinyurl.com/56kut5
newscoma Huge Ice Storm headed our way. Trying to get the staff to bulldog it so they won't have to drive on black ice if it comes.
lasthome I continue to be pleased and flattered by Twitterers following me out of the blue :)
Busymom Entered contest on BizRate to win $25. Turned out to be a chance to "win" $25 in movie tickets when you apply for an AMEX card. Fail.
22 quarts of Christmas cookies
Major solar industry coming to TN
Merry Christmas, Tennessee: Gov. Phil Bredesen is expected to announce today that a new solar technology project that could be one of the largest investments in Tennessee history will be located in Clarksville.
Holiday blogging, Tennessee style
Frugal Shopping With Julie: Oh, you just have to love Ebates ! Just like they did on Black Friday and Cyber Monday, Ebates will be giving you Double cash back throughout their entire site on 12/15.
When do my decorations go up?!
Glenn Reynolds with a bacon-and-cheese roll and more.
Thirteen movies you should have seen by now.
Should Russ book a trip to Aruba?
Rich Hailey: An Iraqi journalist threw his shoes at President Bush. Not only are they adopting modern democracy, apparently they are adopting modern journalism as well.
WARNING: Bailouts and secret government
The Federal Reserve refused a request by Bloomberg News to disclose the recipients of more than $2 trillion of emergency loans from U.S. taxpayers and the assets the central bank is accepting as collateral.
Ben Cunningham: Lamar Alexander and Bob Corker and ALL Tennessee Reps MUST insist this secrecy STOP and STOP NOW. This kind of arrogance by OUR Government is simply NOT acceptable.
40 inspirational speeches in two minutes
This is great, and proof positive we're in the age of the Internet Attention Span.
(Via Rex Hammock)
An interesting blog new to me
The Posterity Project is a blog chronicling news and issues related to archives, history, civic responsibility, and open access to public records, with reflections on archives and history in the "Volunteer State" of Tennessee.
Quote of the day
Going from Herman's Hermits to Lena Horne is... jarring.
U.S. Senator attacks Knoxville's landmark airport
KnoxNews' Josh Flory: The Scope is generally appreciative of U.S. Sen. Tom Coburn's pork-busting ways, but this time he's GONE TOO FAR!
Back surgery thwarts Sen. Alexander's bailout vote
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -- U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander missed his chance to vote against a $14 billion auto bailout because he was home recovering from back surgery.
Continue reading "Back surgery thwarts Sen. Alexander's bailout vote"
Photoshopping Santa into your living room
Ah, the wonders of technology. It's amazing the creative ways people come up with to take your money for doing stuff you can already do yourself. Reminds me of Congress. Say, can we photoshop Pelosi, Reid and McConnell out of Congress?
Well this guy is just a bowl of cherries, isn't he?
We are in the middle of a very severe recession that's going to continue through all of 2009 - the worst U.S. recession in the past 50 years. It's the bursting of a huge leveraged-up credit bubble. There's no going back, and there is no bottom to it. It was excessive in everything from subprime to prime, from credit cards to student loans, from corporate bonds to muni bonds. You name it. And it's all reversing right now in a very, very massive way. At this point it's not just a U.S. recession. All of the advanced economies are at the beginning of a hard landing. And emerging markets, beginning with China, are in a severe slowdown. So we're having a global recession and it's becoming worse.
Things are going to be awful for everyday people. U.S. GDP growth is going to be negative through the end of 2009. And the recovery in 2010 and 2011, if there is one, is going to be so weak - with a growth rate of 1% to 1.5% - that it's going to feel like a recession. I see the unemployment rate peaking at around 9% by 2010. The value of homes has already fallen 25%. In my view, home prices are going to fall by another 15% before bottoming out in 2010.
For the next 12 months I would stay away from risky assets. I would stay away from the stock market. I would stay away from commodities. I would stay away from credit, both high-yield and high-grade. I would stay in cash or cashlike instruments such as short-term or longer-term government bonds. It's better to stay in things with low returns rather than to lose 50% of your wealth. You should preserve capital. It'll be hard and challenging enough. I wish I could be more cheerful, but I was right a year ago, and I think I'll be right this year too. (Via Les Jones)
The 'bailout' and some praise for TN Sen. Bob Corker
We can't continue to print money to get us out of tough economic times. If I do that, it's called counterfeiting. More from SayUncle.
Warning to Knoxville
I grew up in this town. KnoxNews online guru Jack Lail grew up in this town. If I were the city leaders I'd run us both out of town.
Sandwich-board wearing blogger scores a job
In a more hopeful sign of the times, Joshua Persky got rid of his sandwich board and demonstrated that creative people can bail themselves out without any help from the government. More here. (Via BC)
A Rocky Top stroll
There's politics going on inside a TN political party. Gee. Who knew? (Memo to bloggers: I'd be careful allowing yourself to be used by anonymous operatives.)
Jan Kemp, the English instructor at the University of Georgia who blew the whistle on the football team, has died.
Knoxville Trivia Blog: Corryton native, and former Alabama defensive coordinator, Ken Donahue, will be the recipient of the American Football Coaches Association's Outstanding Achievement Award.
Why Did Alexander Not Vote On The Bailout?
Oh, really?
Obama campaign manager: Delegates that are gained through a caucus are no different than through a primary--so every contest mattered.
Earlier on Post Politics: Laying Tennessee's Democratic Losses At Obama's Feet
Judge does hatchet job on the First Amendment
A Ventura County Superior Court judge issued a gag order against The Star late Wednesday ordering the newspaper to halt the printing of an article about the case of a man being held for the slaying last year of a 6-year-old boy in Newbury Park.
Jack Lail reacts: Judge takes meat cleaver to First Amendment
An outrageously unbelievable First Amendment development.
East TN county calls off school for Friday
It's raining misery in one West Knoxville home
cathymccaughan Basement flooded, grandfather detoured en route to college student, 3-y-o just knocked front teeth loose, no gifts bought, I scream UNCLE! less than a minute ago from web
Doug McCaughan
djuggler 3 year old fell on face and loosened front teeth. Dentist advised:wait and see. ER cancelled. In other news, basement flood waters receded. 1 minute ago from twhirl
Illinois' new rendition of 'The Jerk'
Source. Well, he does look like a fixer upper.
You know the economy is bad when...
...strip clubs are offering half-off on prices. Well, okay, just as long as it's just the price.
Putting the brakes on left-lane campers
At the start of the summer, the Washington State Patrol began pulling people over for violating the state's left-lane law, which prohibits "impeding the flow of other traffic."
"This a real big hot-button topic for the public at large right now," says Trooper Cliff Pratt. "We've had a lot of complaints" from drivers who've had to deal with left-lane campers.
So far authorities have been gentle with the $124 ticket; the drivers stopped were given verbal warnings. More here. (Via the Unc')
Anti-gunners for corruption
Blago is the second Brady Campaign endorsed state governor to take a fall for corruption this year.
Almost half-a-dozen MAIG (Mayors Against Guns) Mayors have fallen
In comments: Actually, it's not hard to see a connection there: it's just another instance of the big-people vs little-people divide, isn't it?
I think it's because they're more interested in attacking your wallet and property rights than defending them. Citizens having guns makes that much more, um, problematic.
Beat this one
Long-time Knoxville radio personality back at his blog
Back in the saddle soon
Who knew a nasty virus and dehydration could be a total downer? I lost 7 pounds in two days. It's not a weight-loss program I recommend.
The next person who comes at me with a needle has to listen to Geraldo for 24 hours, or, watch two hours of UT football 2008 "highlights".
Conversation at the new Cafe 4 in downtown Knoxville
WAITRESS: And what would you like, sir?
MY WIFE'S CO-WORKER: I'll have the All-American Burger.
WAITRESS: Excellent choice.
MY WIFE'S CO-WORKER: So you've had it?
WAITRESS: Well, no. I'm a vegan. But if I wasn't a vegan I think I'd really like it.
Bad bug going around
That's what I heard at my doctor's office this morning. I know it kicked the liquid out of me. I got dehydrated. Not good. Back later.
A poll on Illinois' politics
Myspace polls
BREAKING NEWS: Jet crashes in San Diego
SAN DIEGO (AP) -- Authorities say an F-18 military jet crashed in a residential neighborhood of San Diego.
Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Ian Gregor says the plane crashed shortly before noon Monday as it prepared to land at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar.
The crash occurred two miles from the base.
Gregor says the pilot ejected. It wasn't immediately clear if there were injuries on the ground.
The future of newspapers?
Maybe it's here: One other important note from that internal New York Times memo my colleague Zach got a hold of: The company reports it has "more than 10,000 paid subscribers" to an electronic edition of the newspaper on Amazon's Kindle ebook reader. To my knowledge (please correct me if I'm wrong), that's the first time a major newspaper has released numbers on how it's doing on Kindle -- a platform lots of newspaper execs are eager to see turn into a saving grace for their industry.
When will hyper-local blogging arrive?
I had a nice lunch today with Katie Granju, Randy Neal and Jack Lail. Several topics came up, including Katie's belief that hyper-local blogging, or neighborhood blogging, will finally arrive in Knoxville in 2009. In fact, she posted on that this morning. I hope she's right, but I remain skeptical. Ever since I started following blogs nearly seven years ago, that has been talked about and predicted. And there just aren't that many examples of it out there. In Nashville, there's Mike Byrd's Enclave, which is a good example. I would be very supportive of increased hyper-local blogs, so if you learn of any please let me know.
Late love and living
OAK RIDGE - Disabled by bad surgery and diabetes, Ron Ealy had given up on life and resigned himself to dying in a nursing home. That was before he met 95-year-old Evalyn Beer last spring.
Drip. Drip. Drip...
'Toys R Us' daily e-coupons
This is a site I really don't need to know about: Daily coupons you can print out, only good for 24 hrs. Take a look, updated each day.
Cathy McCaughan: I don't need newspaper blogs that dangle raw meat in front of angry people because any hit is a good hit. Leave the carnival of crazy to blogs and have the dignity to be above it if you are a professional media source.
Cathy McCaughan: I don't need newspaper blogs that dangle raw meat in front of angry people because any hit is a good hit. Leave the carnival of crazy to blogs and have the dignity to be above it if you are a professional media source.
University of North Carolina bans Christmas trees
At all of its libraries. I'm not surprised. It follows the school's fine tradition of banning Final Four victories and football seasons.
Les Jones: It's no wonder U.S automakers can't survive a downturn. They can't even turn a profit in the boom years.
For the 28th year in a row...
...John Lennon is still dead.
Lennon performing "Cold Turkey."
Double-breasted headlines of the morning
Tempest in a C Cup...Really!, and,
130,000 breasts missing at sea
A good example of micro-blogging
Some neighborhood residents keeping an eye on a "troublesome" market.
'Valley of the Blogs'
The collection of TN bloggers has grown. Go check it out, and drop me an e-mail if you're not on there.
VA man has served his country for eight decades
TVA rakes it in and doles it out to its execs
About a dozen of the Tennessee Valley Authority's top executives and board members are paid a total of more than $11 million a year - at a time when the utility is charging record prices for electricity.
During fiscal 2006-07 - the last year for which complete, audited information is available - TVA's top 11 executives and two former executives who left during that year received about $11 million in salaries, incentives and deferred compensation, according to salary and compensation records requested by the Bristol Herald Courier.
Chicago Tribune may file bankruptcy
How ironic I hear that from the Wall Street Journal.
TN bloggers remember Pearl Harbor
A grateful nation remembers a "date which will live in infamy".
Glenn Reynolds has a worthy link.
Donald Sensing on 67 years ago.
UPDATE: Pearl Harbor Survivors Project.
Holiday blogging and the shipment from hell
Those are some of the items in my Sunday dead-wood column.
Kentucky basketball and the GOP
Kentucky misses 23 of 25 three-pointers. Maybe they should run the RNC.
Online journos/bloggers jailed more often than others
As I've said before, as the MSM gets weaker, attempts to control the message will get stronger. Be careful out there.
Reflecting the rising influence of online reporting and commentary, more Internet journalists are jailed worldwide today than journalists working in any other medium. In its annual census of imprisoned journalists, released today, the Committee to Protect Journalists found that 45 percent of all media workers jailed worldwide are bloggers, Web-based reporters, or online editors. Online journalists represent the largest professional category for the first time in CPJ's prison census. (Via BC)
List of constitutional officers' candidates out shortly
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -- Legislative Republicans have changed their mind on delaying the release of the list of applicants to become Tennessee constitutional officers.
Continue reading "List of constitutional officers' candidates out shortly"
Pentagon to recruit aliens on visas
WASHINGTON - Struggling to find enough doctors, nurses and linguists for the war effort, the Pentagon will temporarily recruit foreigners who have been living in the United States on student and work visas, or with refugee or political asylum status.
Defense Secretary Robert Gates has authorized the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps to recruit certain legal residents whose critical medical and language skills are "vital to the national interest," officials said, using for the first time a law passed three years ago.
Gas upper $1.30s in at least one East TN county
That's what Frank Strovel in Campbell County tells me via a tweet.
Kudos to President-elect Obama
This kind of practice protects him, his administration and, most importantly, the American public.
WASHINGTON (AP) -- President-elect Barack Obama is making public details and documents of official meetings between his transition team and outside organizations such as interest groups.
The policy, outlined in a memo obtained by The Associated Press, goes into effect immediately.
The suckiest job in the nation
To be a journalist working for a Gannett newspaper in Detroit.
BREAKING NEWS: Carrying guns in parks
WASHINGTON - People will now be able to carry concealed weapons in some national parks and wildlife refuges.
The new Interior Department rules allow an individual to carry a loaded weapon in a park or wildlife refuge -- but only if the person has a permit for a concealed weapon. The state where the park or refuge is located must also allow guns in parks.
And speaking of guns... NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -- The state is examining whether more than 13,000 Tennesseans who have been served with orders of protection should be stripped of their gun permits.
More on Knox County's convenience voting
With the presidential election now out of the way, Knox County Elections Administrator Greg Mackay says he's ramping up for next year's contests with preparations for a nationally-unprecedented pilot program.
Mackay hopes to roll out the new Convenience Voting Plan during the town of Farragut's election April 7 and the city of Knoxville's elections Sept. 22 and Nov. 3.
Voters would be allowed a 20-day window to cast their votes at any of several locations, much like early voting sites, rather than a specific polling precinct. That anywhere convenience would be available throughout the 20-day period, including Election Day itself. More here.
KNS editor quoted on national journo Web site
NEW YORK -- More than 30 newspaper executives have flown home from the big CNN showcase earlier this week in Atlanta, after the TV news network pitched them on a new wire service. Now reports on reactions are starting to filter out.
Writing at a blog at his paper's site, Jack McElroy, editor of the News-Sentinel in Knoxville, Tenn., reflects:
"For years, CNN has operated an in-house wire to keep its many business units in sync on the latest news of the day. Knowing that newspapers are searching for ways to cut costs, the network has decided to tune up its wire and make it available to the ink-on-newsprint world at a discount price." More here, here and here.
As an aside: "Flown home?" Who do they think they are, auto execs? ;-)
Anti-gay marriage column illustrated with a sheep
Organizers of the University of Washington group "Students for a Hate Free Daily" expect about 300 people to show up for a rally today to protest a column that said "once you've legalized gay marriage, why not polygamy, incest, bestiality or any other form of union?" UW Daily editor-in-chief Sarah Jeglum says she wants a balance of views in the paper and isn't planning an apology.
You learn the darndest things from kids
Citizen Netmom: Delta introduced me to the concept that one doesn't "turn" the next year older until birthday cake is consumed. I haven't aged in a decade or so, having assiduously avoided birthday cake ever since.
Countdown to breakdown
Cathy McCaughan: In theory, advent calendars are an easy way for small children children to conceptualize the amount of time left until Christmas day. In reality, they are daily anxiety attacks for moms.
Looks like state GOP playing politics this weekend
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -- Legislative Republicans, who in the name of greater transparency created a formal application process for Tennessee constitutional officers, said Friday they won't immediately release the list of candidates when the deadline passes.
Continue reading "Looks like state GOP playing politics this weekend"
A week of travel with the toddler
Sarcastic Mom: Whine whine whine tantrums blah blah blah vomit simper wimper fuss diarrhea waaaahhhmbulance traffic jams, blah blah etc, etc, poor me, whine.
Isn't "sarcastic mom" redundant?
Local bloggers exchange verbal bullets over guns at home
Some snippets:
Here's what started it, from KAG: At a recent pediatrician's visit, the nurse asked me -- as part of a series of standard questions -- if we had any guns in our house. Like I always do, I answered with a quick, emphatic "no." I'm not sure why I lie, because we do, in fact, have a gun. My husband keeps one safely stored in a closet. It's unloaded and completely inaccessible to our daughters. Yet even though we are responsible gun owners, I guess admitting the truth makes me feel like a bad mother.
SayUncle: First of all, it's not their business. Second, you're not doing yourself favors by lying and staying in the closet. I think gun owners should out themselves so that we can show the world that we're not crazy survivalists with black helicopter fantasies and that we are normal people with normal lives who do normal things.
Rich Hailey in comments: Right now, Katie is unwilling to put in the time and effort to acquire the skills necessary to handle a gun in a crisis situation, so she
quite correctly decides that she should not go armed. Does this make her less of an adult than those of us who do decide to carry, and work to master not just the skills but the frame of mind necessary to do so effectively?
By some standards, maybe. At the same time, while it is no longer PC to notice, men and women do have different psychological make ups, and the process of planning, practice, and preparation to protect the family is a more masculine thought process.
KAG: With all due respect to Rich, this is baloney on several levels. The fact that I recognize my own strengths and weaknesses - and how to best apply them (and what I should avoid) doesn't make me "less of an adult." It means I know myself.
Read all the posts to get the full flavor and context. There's some good comments, too.
What's the most annoying gift your kid has received?
Dr. Helen poses that question after posting one high on her list.
'Convenience voting' coming to Knoxville
On Election days next year, you'll be able to vote at any precinct you want to. Here's some background.
If you don't have birthday cake...
Busy getting old
But, how in the world did it turn into this?
Busy Girl's out doing something, the boys are arguing downstairs, I have no idea what Busy Dad is doing and I've been in my pajamas since about 6pm.
Now that's just sad.
Someone hand me my false teeth and my cane.
BusyMom is just the best.
Knoxville.com is up and running
I think I'll hang out with the mommy blogs today
In my humble opinion, there's not a better group of blogs. Not the sports blogs, or the politics blogs, or the current events blogs, or the lefty blogs, or the righty blogs, or the gun blogs, or the journo blogs. None. Nada. If I had to follow just one group of blogs, it would be the MBs.
Take a mental health break
Photo by Insty.
Glenn's photo at the top took me back to where my wife and I got married. I'm not sure my head will return to the states today.
Las Rosas, Ensenada, Baja California.
Memo to self: bite lip
Scripps selling Denver newspaper
DENVER - E.W. Scripps Co. says it's putting the Rocky Mountain News up for sale after losing $11 million on the Denver operation in the first nine months of the year.
I'm not surprised. This has been speculated for years, and Scripps sheds a money loser. What's it mean for Knoxville? I don't know. It could be good news for the KNS in that the chain unloads a money loser, or it could mean it would make selling the newspaper chain more attractive.
Here's what Rich Boehne, president and chief executive officer of Scripps, says in a press release: The decision to seek a buyer for The Rocky would have been unthinkable until very recently but the operating conditions have become increasingly difficult in Denver, as is the case in all major metropolitan newspaper markets. Our 50 percent share of the cash flow generated by the Denver Newspaper Agency is no longer enough to support The Rocky, leaving us with no choice but to seek an exit.
Noted blogger: rural TN being ignored by Nashville
Newscoma: Guys, when I say the roads in Hoots are more empty than I've ever seen them, I mean it. When I say that we have issues, I'm not blowing smoke out my nether regions. When I tell you that I, personally, have been hit with a financial sledgehammer due to the economy that is debilitating, I'm not laughing about it because it's not a joke. When I see that rural Americans have ultimately been left out of pretty much everything in Nashville regarding politics, I'm saying it with a somber look on my face.
If I tell you my faith in a lot of things is dwindling, I'm not just saying it to get a rise out of you or to create a blogger thread. I'm living it.
I've followed Newscoma, a fellow journalist whom I hope to meet some day, for quite some time. I've never known her to hype or overstate issues. I've known her on many, many occasions to clearly recognize reality and to deal with issues straight on. She also consistently addresses issues in a calm and measured manner. So when she says something like the above, I listen.
You should be careful Michael Moore
Or someone might point out you put as much effort into what you say as you do your appearance.
Really, Michael, I tried to listen to what you had to say last night on Larry King Live but your, um, grooming ability was about enough to make me want to watch a Bill O-Reilly marathon.
Headline of the day
A rare move by the NYT on Rep. Charles Rangel
This is amazing. The New York Times has posted Rep. Charles Rangel's letter alongside a point-by-point takedown of his arguments. "You really have to read it to believe it," write Gabriel Sherman and Chris Rovzar. "Now the paper has moved beyond implying that Rangel has done wrong and is currently calling him a liar and a fantasist."
Proving yet again 'stupid criminal' is redundant
Police say Haggins put his pistol on a table, walked over to the man and snatched the bracelet. But while Haggins was taking the bracelet, police say another victim grabbed the gun and pointed it at Haggins.
Facing unprecedented budget cuts, the University of Tennessee has decided to eliminate all academic programs and concentrate on sports and student housing.
Well, that's what happens when you don't make a bowl game.
How do you finish 'Jingle Bells, Batman Smells'?
Once again, BusyMom is tackling the truly tough issues of the day.
Shameless self-promotions
If you want to be so bored out of your mind that you want to go play Frisbee on Interstate 40, then subscibe to my blog feed. If you desire to kill a bunch of brain cells without one drop of alcohol, follow me at Twitter. And if you want to do both at once, follow my Twitter blog feed.
If you want to tune in to something I've had absolutely nothing to do with, beginning Friday check out Knoxville.com.
Lean times prompt sale of the birthplace of country music
In a hat company building that once stood on a portion of the site, talent scout Ralph Peer made the first commercially successful country music recordings of artists including the Carter Family, Jimmie Rodgers and the Stonemans, which eventually led to Bristol's claim to fame as the birthplace of country music.
Les Jones: I remember when Netflix was the Internet's number 1 source of direct-to-your-door DVDs instead of the Internet's number 1 source of popup ads.
Carpooling to Congress, and an Ouch!
Of course, if Mulally, Wagoner, and Nardelli really want to improve their chances at getting federal aid, they'd carpool. When you're groveling to this group of clowns, it's a tactic that just might work.
A cop doing a prosecutor a 'favor'
We should be more concerned with the fact that favors done amongst those inside the system can so easily pervert justice. It's not a fairness issue. It's an ethics issue. And I'd bet it goes on way more than we'll ever know. Indeed, it does. Read more.
Giant Moon Pie to ring in the new year
Will there also be a RC Cola fountain?
A street named after Lane Kiffin
Since Knoxville will name a street after about anyone, what should the name be in honor of the new UT football coach? One suggestion in this poll: Lane Kiffin NFL Offramp.
Local blogger to investigate libel insurance
The Bailey Post will keep us informed.
Friends in high places - Knoxville style
A Knoxville police officer allowed a Knox County assistant district attorney general to drive home after a traffic stop although the officer told the veteran prosecutor who had been drinking that she was "in no shape to be driving."
Top 10 military movies
Nashville's Donald Sensing has the list. No. 10 is From Here to Eternity.
A journo spends all day following the links
HEH! I felt the way I think a gerbil would feel, running around that wheel. You're never done. Because if your only goal is to follow the news, you quickly discover that the news never ends. It just refreshes itself.
Yet another bank robbery
With another one today, it sure is proving to be a sign of the times.
Holidays on a budget
PC running amok
Small TN town tries to pull a Knox County maneuver
'We expect trouble.' New Calhoun commissioners attempt to take oath before regular meeting.
$100M lawsuit filed in homecoming queen's death
A $100 million lawsuit has been filed against a Knoxville hotel whose employee is accused of killing an Alabama homecoming queen in town to open a new restaurant, saying the hotel lied about a previous attack on a female guest.
Blood-letting at Gannett underway. You're up, bloggers
The loss of jobs is staggering, and what concerns me long-term is the guardianship of the First Amendment. Once that is weakened, guess what Amendments come next?
I also want to issue a warning to bloggers, a warning I so hope turns out to be inaccurate. Get libel insurance! With a gutted MSM blogs will play a more prominent role in the public eye, and with that will come lawyers looking to cash in and public figures and institutions wanting to bully blogs in order to shape or thwart or kill the message.
I really don't want bloggers to learn first-hand the effort involved in fighting off the legal attacks, financial threats and political pressures that newspapers have had to deal with for decades. I've walked down a courtroom aisle to face a judge over a prosecutor's attempt to subpoena confidential information. The prosecutor later admitted to me he was "testing" us. The implications are staggering, and the costs to the First Amendment and to the wallet can be enormous.
Some bloggers already have had a taste of that, and, sadly, many more will. As the torch gets passed, stay prepared and alert, and hope the Amendments don't become a house of cards at the hands of government and greed.
And let's also hope I'm more wrong with this post than I've been with many previous ones.
UPDATE: Cuts hit Tennessee.
"Obama had some pretty big coattails...
...but they seem to have gone by awfully fast in some places."
Early returns positive on hiring of Lane Kiffin
I'm not surprised by this. Mike Hamilton's hire is a bold and exciting move. And how refreshing to see Kiffin wanting to "spread the wealth." Damn smart move, and a trend-setter.
TN opinion on revenue-light cameras is not a court ruling
Contrary to what has been reported elsewhere (WBIR Channel 10 at 6 p.m. Tuesday) yesterday's state attorney general's opinion is not a ruling. It is an opinion. I can go down to the courthouse and get you 900 others and they'd all carry the same legal authority - nada.
As this commenter pointed out: The AG's opinion is of little use. Only courts decide what is legal and illegal. And there's this at the same link: Everybody remember that it was the AG's opinion that term limits in Knoxville wasn't legal too. It took the Supreme Court to overturn his opinion. I guess they'll have to do it on this one too.
For some context, let's review what is happening around the country with revenue-light cameras:
A third of the tickets were tossed by the city.
Red Light Cameras in Austin Could Be Illegal
Red-light camera tickets may be void
Former trooper challenges Springfield's use of red-light
Operator of city's red-light cameras facing lawsuit
Red light cameras, radar pull in $1.9M in fines
Here are several court rulings, not AG opinions, against the cameras.
10 Reasons To Oppose Red-Light Cameras
L.A. red light cameras clicking for safety or revenue?
Court Filings/Transcripts - Index - Illegal Red Light Cameras
Motorists Prove Red-Light Cameras Don't Work
Court May Wipe Out Stoplight Spy Cams
Red Light Cameras Kill Due Process
TN city in top five in country of text messaging markets
NBC's Williams needs to address the General problem
"You are seriously harming your credibility by avoiding addressing this, and that of NBC News," writes one Daily Nightly visitor. Another says: "Your failure, last night, to even acknowledge the prominent NYT article about NBC's relationship with Barry McCaffrey was cowardly and calls your credibility into serious question."
Well, they would have a point. But, then, when has network news ever been confused with ethics?
They're mad as hell and not gonna take it anymore
Like a scene out of a Hollywood thriller, tires screeched and bullets flew -- the drama caught on a 911 tape.
Via Katie Allison Granju, who sums it up: Stand Your Ground" laws growing. More people are saying "I've had it" when it comes to crime:
A Knoxville blog on bees
Well, they say blogs always have the latest buzz. (Sorry. I'll go to my room now.)
A penguin vs. killer whales
Via Bob Benz.
TN 35th in country's fastest IPSs
PCMag has the details.
Smithsonian Channel to feature TN
Byron Chesney has the details.
AG: Camera-based citations are legal
NASHVILLE - Tennessee Attorney General Robert Cooper reaffirmed Monday that citations based on traffic cameras are constitutional.
Well, of course he'd rule that way. Taxes are what fund his salary. Gee, no conflict of interest there, is there? I'll stick with my label, revenue-light cameras.
City considers 'do not deliver' newspaper law
Talk about overzealous lawmaking. Why enact a law on something soon to be obsolete?
Bush: "I think I was unprepared for war."
This seems to be getting underplayed in the MSM. I mean, really:
His "biggest regret" was getting the intelligence wrong in Iraq and conceding that he was not ready to be a wartime president when he first took office.
"In other words, I didn't campaign and say: 'Please vote for me. I'll be able to handle an attack.' In other words, I didn't anticipate war. Presidents -- one of the things about the modern presidency is that the unexpected will happen."
Bush said he wished "the intelligence had been different" on Iraq but declined to speculate on whether he still would have decided to go to war. "That is a do-over that I can't do."
Unfortunately, Mr. President, your election is a do-over the American public can't do. Perhaps you should have listened to Knoxville's congressman.
I guess Christmas has been cancelled
Via Ben Cunningham.
Some TN blogs new to me
Theology and Geometry, a blog by a graphic artist at the Memphis Commerical Appeal.
Watching and Listening, a graphic artist who works for Newscoma.
Craven's World, who also works for Newscoma.
Squirrel Queen, also with Newscoma.
Chez bez, a daddy blogger and a doorman whom Newscoma says "has a poet's soul."
A Natural Deficiency Of Moral Fiber, by Brian LeBlanc, a Nashville banker.
The Freaky Weasel from Nashville.
Lake Neuron, an employee at the Shelbyville Times Gazette.
A big, big thank you to Newscoma for her assistance in my continuing endeavor to stretch my brain on TN blogs new to me.
Is the Memphis newspaper no longer covering the Vols?
That appears to be the case, relying instead on the Associated Press and Scripps' sister paper, the KNS, for coverage. Boy, if that isn't a sign of the economic times for newspapers, then nothing is. If this keeps up, the traditional press box will become the press chair.
Blogging a $500 gift card to Kmart
Holidays on a budget
TennZen brings us Day 2 of her recommendations.
Holiday giveaways
Denese at Pawpaw Holler Home has the skinny.
One seriously screwed up Christmas delivery
What, is Congress handling this?
Three books not to give as Christmas gifts
Knoxville's Dr. Helen: Remember, titles mean a lot when giving a gift of a book. Make sure the gift comes across as an act of caring rather than one of criticism.
Two $2 million news stories at UT
Kiffin introduced as UT coach; will make $2 million in 2009
University of Tennessee buildings will be colder this winter and warmer next spring as UT aims to cut its annual energy bill by $2 million.
A snow picture from North Knoxville
Taken by Lisa Starbuck, via a tweet.
The Knoxville Nativity Pagent
Dec. 14, 15 and 16. Details here.
Secret government in TN and DC
In TN, legislators using secret ballots. In DC, Obama's secret.gov.
Secrecy breeds power, and an ill-informed public is a public in peril.
Next rhetorical question, please
Is there any limit to the shamelessness of NBC News?
Congress to tax itself?
The EPA proposal would establish a greenhouse gas "tax."
Retailer closing Knoxville stores
"Everything Must Go" signs greet shoppers who enter the B. Moss Clothing Co. stores at West Town and Knoxville Center malls.
Obama is stimulating the Knoxville economy
SayUncle: Stopped by my local Merchant of Death (Coal Creek Armory) to see if they had any deals on any death dealing gizmos and to grab a mag pouch. They had this up on their wall.
UPDATE: This is a wonderful example of a person who is not a journalist practicing good journalism. The picture speaks volumes about some local sentiment. And it's yet another example of why I support and applaud blogging.
TN veteran closer to proving Gulf War Syndrome
Quote of the day
Carry your gun - it's a lighter burden than regret.
A Rocky Top stroll
In case you thought it couldn't get any worse for poor little Anna He
Birmingham Mayor arrested. Ummmmm. Is an Auburn supporter?
Firefighter hit by truck while directing traffic
Two Tennesseans recovering from attacks in Mumbai.
Ouch!: The AP is no longer in the journalism business. They're an activist lobbying organization.
Blount County's blizzard.
Auto sales suck.
TN newspaper offering free classifieds to unemployed
I'm assuming this includes ex-journalists?
The Knoxville orchestra, a blog and bloggers' night
So, the Knoxville Orchestra is having a blog media night on January 15th for a Mozart and Mendelson performance. I'm also pleased to see that the Knoxville Orchestra has its own blog. What an awesome opportunity and a sign of innovative marketing for the Knoxville Orchestra. These are the things that make me love living in Knoxville- this scruffy little city has a creative, artistic, and classy side!
KnoxNews blogs
They had more than 565,000 page views in November. You can find them here.
From a tweet: I wonder how long it will take the genius posters on the KNS comment board to spell Kiffin's name correctly...
Perhaps this would explain: More cuts loom at UT
Or this: UT turfgrass students get opportunities for growth - $535,000 donation from Athletic Dept. will fund new teaching position
Some local Holiday blogging
Holidays on a budget - the countdown
Chocolate Fudge Mini Bundt Cakes with Chocolate Toffee Glaze
Daring Bakers: Caramel Cake with Caramelized Butter Frosting
Renaming Heath Shuler's Tennessee Valley Authority
It's snowing in Knoxville.
RELATED: Snow in the holler.
Just curious
Is it just me or does it appear the only economic stimulus to come from Obama is gun sales?
Cyber Monday deals
More here.
Top 10 political quotes of 2008
Chris Matthews: It's part of reporting this case, this election, the feeling most people get when they hear Barack Obama's speech. My, I felt this thrill going up my leg. I mean, I don't have that too often. The list here.
Obama's secret.gov
TN bloggers on the hiring of the Kiffen family
Dave and Thomas Daily Timekillers: While offensive coach at USC, Lane Kiffin was responsible for combing Pete Carroll's hair during TV timeouts. Lane also dated the entire USC Cheerleading squad.
Rocky Top Talk: Job One is this: RECRUIT ERIC BERRY. This guy is your team leader next year. He will follow you because you're his coach and he's that kind of guy, but the degree to which he is sold out for you will be mirrored by the remainder of the team.
Volnation: Several media outlets have reported that Monte Kiffin, Lane's father, will leave his position with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to become the Vols defensive coordinator. Clearly, that's a big deal and a +1 for Team Kiffin.
UT's football fiction
So you hire a head coach and then you hire his daddy to bail him out and his brother-in-law because the coach's wife told you to?
Memo to UT: The TV show All in the Family was fiction.
TN bloggers and RSS
I've been sporadically mining a few blogrolls, a tedious process, in search of active TN blogs I'm not aware of. It's part of my continuing effort to stretch my brain and compile an extensive list of Volblogs. If you know of any I may not be aware of please drop them in comments or drop me an e-mail, silencem at knoxnews dot com.
In the meantime, don't you dare subscribe to my RSS feed.
(Bumped for Thanksgiving weekend.)