April 26, 2006

Josh is in town from Washington, D.C. for the next few days. Posting will be lite as we slither around Nashville getting drunk, so enjoy these random images from the past few years of ChristianGrantham.com.

For better or worse: click the image to view slideshow

April 26, 2006

As the White House announces today their pick for new Press Secretary, FOX News commentator and now White House Press Secretary Tony Snow had this to say in his April 26, 2006 column.

One of the things that always made me feel good in the morning was waking up and realizing I did not belong to the same political party as Chuck Schumer. It made me feel clean -- even before I took a shower. But now, with my Republican president pulling a "full Schumer," even a series of showers will not help.
[Bush and Schumer together -- oh my - TownHall - 04-26-06]

"My Republican president pulling a 'full Schumer?'" Let the press corps questions begin.

UPDATE 8:17AM: Conservative 2008 Presidential hopeful Sen. George Allen (R-VA) just made the following comments on FOX in response to the White House announcement that hints at the Senator's possible picks as president for the most wacky cabinent in American history.

I think it's a great choice. The best thing that Tony's going to do is bring the pulse of the American people into the White House in those deliberations. People like Laura Ingram, and Tony, and Hannity and, uh, Rush Limbaugh, they understand what's going on in the world, and I think that's going to be very helpful for the White House as they develop policy to move this country forward. So I congratulate Tony. Great choice by the President, and I think it will be good for the American people, too, to have one of their advocates clearly in the White House having the pulse of the people in the real world.
[Senator George Allen - FOXNews - 04-26-06]

April 25, 2006

The grass is looking great. For weeks it seemed we would go through a typical first year with new yard. We bought this place brand new in December 2005, and they had just finished leveling the top soil and seeding. Twice over the winter, all the straw had blown away. And twice we replaced it and re-seeded.

Sometime in January, Vince bought earthworms online. I had no idea what he was up to, but in the time they were being shipped I started to get worried about where we would put them. I began to research more and more online, and the more I read the more I fell in love with what these little creatures were about to do for us.

A few months later, we have a full vermicomposting system processing all of our vegetable scraps into a rich worm manure called vermicast. Eager to start using more than we had, I found a worm farmer in Shelbyville, TN, about 40 minutes south of here. Last week, Vince and I used all the vermicast we bought from him in both the solid form and making a worm tea that has really made our grass and garden take off without getting into the cycle of depending on chemical solutions. With that, Vince and I paid the farmer another visit this afternoon.

Luckily, he and his wife still had plenty of vermicast left, but the sad news is that the couple is selling the worm farm, all 16 acres for $200,000, including a 2,000 square foot double wide trailer, two ponds, a barn, and the worm farm business. As they admited to us both, they are just getting too old to manage it and never really had the marketting drive to make it all work.

April 25, 2006

'Open Meetings' Reform Delayed
The Tennessee Senate vote on the "Sunshine In Government Improvement Act of 2006" (SB2471 / HB2495) has been rescheduled for Wednesday.

Confronting Cronyism Delayed

Bills that would make it illegal for lawmakers and others to help troopers get promoted based on politics, as well as a bill that would restrict troopers' political activity, both hit brick walls last week in a House Transportation subcommittee.
[Lawmakers slowing down bills curbing THP cronyism - Tennessean - 04-25-06]

The TRA launched an investigation after the state attorney general's office complained, saying the company was making a higher rate of return on its investment than comparable utilities in Tennessee.
[State says Atmos natural gas rates too high - Tennessean - 04-25-06]

County mayoral candidate Steve Hall had just carried campaign signs to his vehicle Sunday and was returning to his office when an unidentified person fired shots at him in front of his downtown business, police said.
[Pieces of bullets fired at councilman analyzed - Knoxvill News Sentinel - 04-25-06]

Thousands of TennCare recipients could get dropped from the program unintentionally because of a new federal law aimed at keeping illegal immigrants off the nation's public health rolls, state officials say.
[Law could hit TennCare - Commerical Appeal - 04-24-06]

April 24, 2006

The Mayor of Murfreesboro, TN today confirmed that he opposes "open meetings" reform that goes before the Tennessee Senate today.

"I believe the current statute is adequate," Murfreesboro Mayor Tommy Bragg said in an email asking whether he opposes or supports the "Sunshine In Government Improvement Act of 2006" (SB2471 / HB2495). The bill proposes to fine elected officials who fail to comply with the current "open meetings" law.

Mayor Bragg confirmed that neither he nor his office communicated his opposition to "open meetings" reform to the state legislature. "I have had no contact with the County Services Association," Mayor Bragg asserted. "The City of Murfreesboro does not employ a lobbyist."

Mayor Bragg was re-elected without opposition and will be sworn into office on May 1, 2006. Although voter turn out was a disappointing 13%, Mayor Bragg pronounced the silent majority's consent.

"Silence usually means consent," the mayor said. "I think the citizens understand government has been open and responsive in Murfreesboro. We try to include as many people as often as possible."
[Voters stay away from polls - Daily News Journal - 04-20-06]

Tennessee recently received an "F" among government agencies for openness and accountability, allowing many elected officials to operate behind a veil of secrecy.

First, the good news: Thanks to changes to state ethics laws, a watchdog group has moved Tennessee from 44th in the nation to 32nd in how much lawmakers are required to disclose about their business and financial interests.

Now, the bad news: Despite its improved ranking, the Volunteer State still has an F grade, scoring only 57.5 out of 100 possible points for disclosure requirements.

The ranking came out this week from the Washington-based Center for Public Integrity.
[State gets good, bad news in latest ethics ranking - Tennessean - 04-22-06]

The three candidates who won election to the Murfreesboro City Council, along with the Mayor, were among those candidates that received the most money from developers.

Of the almost $170,000 in receipts reported by the 11 council candidates on their preliminary financial disclosures, $29,000 was generated by $1,000 contributions, the maximum allowed per individual per candidate. Five candidates — Tim Davis, David Edwards, Leslee Dodd Karl, Shane McFarland and Doug Young — had two or more $1,000 contributions. There were 50 contributions in the $500 to $975 range which accounted for $26,625. All but six of the contributions in this range were for $500.

John Floyd, president of Ole South developers made a number of those contributions, including $1,000 to McFarland and Young and $500 to Edwards. Since preliminary reports were filed, he has made additional contributions to Karl and Davis.
[Pro-growth donations total $30K - Daily News Journal - 04-16-06]

Also Read:

• A Clarion Call For 'Open Records' Reform in TN Government - April 23, 2006
  
• Tennessee Government Gets 'F' For Accountability - April 22, 2006
  
• The Cost of Secrecy in Tennessee Government Increases - April 20, 2006
  
• TCOG Responds to Chattanooga Mayor's Actions - April 19, 2006

April 24, 2006

I'm a complete late bloomer to a lot of Google's awesome online tools. I'll never use Yahoo or Mapquest maps since Google Maps launched its dragable vector art maps with hybrid satellite views. When it first came out, I typed in my address and saw me and my partner's cars parked in the driveway from Google's eye in the sky. How weird is that?

The latest Google tool that has me hooked is IG, the customizable Google homepage. I've place all my favorite blogs on my IG, along with the weather, news sources (including DrudgeReport) and a couple of other really cool modules you can choose from. Everything I need is now on one page like a virtual dashboard view into my online world.

The funny thing about using this tool is I've noticed I haven't surfed as much as I did last week. Now, I just sit on the shore and watch the waves of online information come in.

April 24, 2006

10 days to go, and the bids are going up for TN Governor Phil Bredesen's master bathroom toilet. JLB2729 has the bid up to $75.

Blogs That Boldly Go. Thanks to the following blogs for promoting this "unique opportunity to purchase a piece of history from The Tennessee Residence."

• SixMeatBuffet
  
• TennesseeTicket
  
• VolunteerVoters

April 23, 2006

Last week's actions by Chattanooga Mayor Ron Littlefield point to a disheartening arrogance among a handful of elected officials in Tennessee. By banning city employees from communicating with a Chattanooga Times Free Press reporter, who aggressively sought records on a $90,000 lobbying fee the Mayor paid to his former campaign manager out of tax-payer money, Mayor Littlefield flagrantly thumbed his nose at the media, the citizens he was elected to serve and Tennessee's open records law.

Mayor Littlefield's disgraceful justifications for this action, spelled out in his own press release, represent why the Tennessee legislature must pass the "Sunshine In Government Improvement Act of 2006" (SB2471 / HB2495) next week. The needed improvements impose fines for government officials who violate the law and allow the court to force offending government agencies to pay court costs in lawsuits filed to obtain public records.

If it were not for reporter Michael Weber and Tennessee's open records law, there is no telling what lengths Mayor Littlefield and other elected officials will continue to go to operate behind a veil of secrecy away from the average citizen whose business they are supposed to represent.

ACT NOW: On Monday, April 24, 2006, the "Sunshine In Government Improvement Act of 2006" comes up on the Tennessee Senate's calendar, and it is up to the Senate Republican Majority Leader Ron Ramsey to choose which side of open and accountable government he and his party will stand. Despite Ramsey having called the bill "way too stringent," several of his Republican colleagues disagree with their leadership and have signed on as sponsors.

Call your state Senator and urge them to vote FOR this bill (SB2471). Also call your state Representative in the House and ask them to recommend passage of the House companion bill (HB2495) currently on the calendar for Tuesday April 25 on the House State & Local Government Committee.

Also Read:

• Tennessee Government Gets 'F' For Accountability - April 22, 2006
  
• The Cost of Secrecy in Tennessee Government Increases - April 20, 2006
  
• TCOG Responds to Chattanooga Mayor's Actions - April 19, 2006

April 23, 2006

Don't say I didn't warn you. Here is more from TennesseeTicket.com on the Chattanooga Times Free Press editorial that slaps the Mayor with a dose of reality.

So why would Mayor Littlefield issue such a public edict, particularly one that used such defamatory and inflammatory rhetoric and that depicted such deplorable bias against the person and background of Michael Weber?

Well, it could be because Mr. Weber was seeking records to document the lobbying contract by which Mayor Littlefield has managed to steer a $90,000 sweetheart fee to an old friend, Duane Smith, under a $180,000 contract to the Washington, D.C.-based lobbying firm of Akerman Senterfitt, which the city hired last September.
[The mayor’s wrongful ban - TFP - 04-21-06]

UPDATE 10:30AM: 10,000 Monkeys links to today's Chattanooga Times Free Press piece from Publisher and Editor Tom Griscom.

The Times Free Press retains lawyers to gain access to public documents, but most citizens do not have the resources to sue their elected officials to receive the information that is supposed to be readily available during normal working hours.

Tennessee’s Open Records Law was established to provide citizens with unencumbered access to public information. When a newspaper like the Times Free Press challenges bureaucrats who throw new hurdles in the way, the result is not something that favors the media, but that opens the way for Chattanoogans to review and obtain public information.
[City Hall's chilly wind - Chattanooga Times Free Press - 04-23-06]

Also read:

• Chattanooga Mayor Bans Reporter - April 14, 2006
  
• Chattanooga Times Free Press Reporter Strikes Back - April 18, 2006
  
• TCOG Responds to Chattanooga Mayor's Actions - April 19, 2006
  
• Chattanooga Mayor 'held hostage' by Reporter? - April 19, 2006
  
• The Cause of a Banned Reporter - April 20, 2006

April 23, 2006

Isn't it time for President Bush to "get on the phone with the OPEC cartel and say we expect you to open your spigots?" What ever happened that hollow promise to American voters of tough foreign diplomacy?

BUSH WALK:

US President George W. Bush has warned rising oil prices will mean a "tough summer" for US consumers as the high cost of gasoline (petrol) showed signs of becoming a big political issue.

But even as more Americans expressed discontent over the price of filling up their gas tanks, Bush suggested there was little his government could do in the short term about the problem.
[Bush warns of 'tough summer' with higher petrol prices - AFP - 04-22-06]

"What I think the president ought to do is he ought to get on the phone with the OPEC cartel and say we expect you to open your spigots. One reason why the price is so high is because the price of crude oil has been driven up. OPEC has gotten its supply act together, and it's driving the price, like it did in the past. And the president of the United States must jawbone OPEC members to lower the price."
[First in the Nation: The New Hampshire Debates -- GOP Presidential Candidates Square off - CNN - 01-26-00]

April 22, 2006

Uhhh, do I have to remind you that this toilet, THE very throne from Tennessee Governor Phil Bredesen's master bathroom, is very similar to a $900 toilet? I know it has a chip on its base (don't ask) and has literally been crapped upon by the gubna, but don't flush this opportunity. You have 12 days left, and here is a little piece of code you can place on your site to remind you each and every day:

<a href="http://www.govdeals.com/eas/itmDisplay.cfm?itemID=20&acctID=720"><img border="0" src="http://www.christiangrantham.com/images/govseat.jpg" width="150" height="243"></a></p><br /> <p>"I hope Tennesseans will take advantage of this unique opportunity to<br /> purchase a piece of history from The Tennessee Residence."<br><br /> ~~ <b>First Lady of TN Andrea Conte</b>

April 22, 2006

It was only four miles up the road, and besides that, what a perfect reason to take a shower. I did get my hair cut for this, afterall.

With gas at almost $3 a gallon, I convinced Vince to tag along to the Middle Tennessee Bloggers and Podcasters Meet-up so we could make a grocery stop all in one swoop. As soon as we entered Espresso Joe's in Smyrna, I could smell them. BLOGGERS! They were all crammed around a small table in a corner booth cackling over a tiny computer to which one of them was plugged and talking into a microphone, narating the entire experience. How spooky is that? I think it's called a podcast or something like that.

It was great to finally put a face to the online pseudonyms.

April 22, 2006

I'm all for the pro-life movement having the right to promote their message, but the ACLU is right about this. There are two choices, two political messages, and the state has no right to suppress either of those messages no matter what side we take.

If the state of Tennessee provides space on state property for the expression of a political view point while denying access to that space for an opposing political view point, this is a classic case of violating the First Amendment of the United States Constitution.

A federal appeals court has delayed Tennessee's production of a specialty license plate reading "Choose Life" while the American Civil Liberties Union pursues a legal appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.

"We are quite grateful that the court has decided to stop production of the plate while the case is under review," said Brigitte Amiri, a staff attorney with the ACLU Reproductive Freedom Project. "It confirms that state laws cannot promote one viewpoint while silencing another."

The legislature approved the program in 2003 on a request from New Life Resources, an anti-abortion nonprofit organization.

At the same time, it rejected an effort to create a pro-choice specialty plate
['Choose Life' plates put on hold - Tennessean - 04-22-06]

April 22, 2006

I have absolutely no sympathy for people who speed and then complain that it's too difficult to follow the law when they get a ticket. Maybe Coopertown Mayor Danny Crosby is right.

Some residents of this Robertson County town blame their flamboyant mayor for giving their small, country community a bad rap, and they want him out of office.

Over the past month, about 500 people have signed a petition to oust Mayor Danny Crosby, organizers of the ouster effort say.

"He has embarrassed our town and made a lot of people victims," said Sam Childs, an organizer who lost to Crosby for the town's top job two years ago. "I think everybody who lives here loves this place. The only reason any of this is going on is that we don't like to see our neighbors victimized."

In public and on the Internet, Crosby's been accused of running speed traps for city profit, misusing city funds and bullying town residents — charges the brash mayor says are without merit.

"I pay them morons no attention. … If I'm doing something wrong, come in here and tell me I'm doing something wrong," Crosby said.
[Traffic-trap flap spurs petition to oust mayor - Tennessean - 04-22-06]

April 22, 2006

Tennessee Senate Majority Leader Ron Ramsey will have an opportunity on Monday to demonstrate a commitment to openness and accountability by supporting the "Sunshine In Government Improvement Act of 2006" (SB2471).

Previously, Sen. Ramsey described the proposed improvements to the open records law as "way too stringent." Not exactly the kind of words the electorate wants to hear from elected officials sent to Nashville to work on their behalf.

First, the good news: Thanks to changes to state ethics laws, a watchdog group has moved Tennessee from 44th in the nation to 32nd in how much lawmakers are required to disclose about their business and financial interests.

Now, the bad news: Despite its improved ranking, the Volunteer State still has an F grade, scoring only 57.5 out of 100 possible points for disclosure requirements.

The ranking came out this week from the Washington-based Center for Public Integrity.

Senate Majority Leader Ron Ramsey, who is chairman of the Senate Ethics Committee, said the General Assembly has "really taken great strides" recently on what its members are required to disclose to the public.

"We've gone from generalities, like saying you work in 'consulting' or 'real estate,' to disclosing the name of the company you work for," the Blountville Republican said. "We've made it illegal to do consulting, and we've lowered from $1,000 to $200 the financial investment or interest in a business you have to have for it to be disclosed."
[State gets good, bad news in latest ethics ranking - Tennessean - 04-22-06]

Also read:

• The Cost of Secrecy in Tennessee Government Increases - April 20, 2006
  
• TCOG Responds to Chattanooga Mayor's Actions - April 19, 2006

April 21, 2006

I'll place labels on my website after Attorney General Gonzales is done putting stickers on library books.

Web site operators posting sexually explicit information must place official government warning labels on their pages or risk being imprisoned for up to five years, the Bush administration proposed Thursday.

A mandatory rating system will "prevent people from inadvertently stumbling across pornographic images on the Internet," Attorney General Alberto Gonzales said at an event in Alexandria, Va.

The Bush administration's proposal would require commercial Web sites to place "marks and notices" to be devised by the Federal Trade Commission on each sexually explicit page. The definition of sexually explicit broadly covers depictions of everything from sexual intercourse and masturbation to "sadistic abuse" and close-ups of fully clothed genital regions.
[Gonzales calls for mandatory Web labeling law - ZDnet - 04-20-06]

April 21, 2006

Speaking of toilets...

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) -- Utility workers trying to blast out a grease clog from a sewer line forced 3,000 gallons of raw sewage into a couple's home, forcing them to abandon their house while hoping that the city makes good on a promise to clean up and repair the damage.
[House Blasted by 3,000 Gallons of Sewage - Wyoming Tribune-Eagle - 04-21-06]

April 21, 2006

"I hope Tennesseans will take advantage of this unique opportunity to purchase a piece of history from The Tennessee Residence."
~~ First Lady of TN Andrea Conte

14 days to go! Copy and paste the following code onto your website for a countdown to the end of TN Gov. Phil Bredesen's toilet auction. You can see this on the right ad panel here. Proceeds go toward needed renovations of the Governor's mansion.

<a href="http://www.govdeals.com/eas/itmDisplay.cfm?itemID=20&acctID=720"><img border="0" src="http://www.christiangrantham.com/images/govseat.jpg" width="150" height="243"></a></p><br /> <p>"I hope Tennesseans will take advantage of this unique opportunity to<br /> purchase a piece of history from The Tennessee Residence."<br><br /> ~~ <b>First Lady of TN Andrea Conte</b>

UPDATE 12:30PM: OUCH - After returning from the Supercuts to get my hair did for tomorrow's Middle Tennessee Bloggers and Podcasters Meet-Up in Smyrna, I got an email from an angry reader about Bredesen's Toilet Auction Countdown.

This is nothing more than a distasteful stunt. What is your point tying the governor to a toilet auction countdown? Aren't you a Democrat? I wish you would take it down and stop embarrassing our governor.

Democrats believe in a "pay as you go" approach to getting the people's business done. The First Lady of TN could have taken the "borrow and spend into record deficits" approach by giving our property to a charity of her choice and using our tax money to buy a new toilet.

Even after the Tennessean's story about this auction, the toilet remained at a measly 6 bids, up to $55. I personally want to see this toilet turn into a $500 throne over the next 14 days. I bet the First Lady of TN does, too. It's a $900 toilet, setting aside a chip on its base and its private moments with the Governor.

April 20, 2006

The "Sunshine In Government Improvement Act of 2006" (SB2471) has been placed on the Tennessee Senate Regular Calendar for Monday April 24. Where does Senate Majority Leader Ron Ramsey stand on an open and accountable government?

An opinion last week from the General Assembly's top Republican may explain quite a bit about why things are the way they are on Capitol Hill.

Senate Majority Leader Ron Ramsey described legislation that would clarify and strengthen Tennessee's open meetings law as "way too stringent." He told the Tennessee County Services Association, whose members would be impacted by the bill, that he had a problem with fining people and putting the burden of proof on officials accused of participating in a closed meeting. He said he wouldn't support the bill without serious revisions.

The legislation calls for fines of $50 against officials who violate the open meetings law. The TCSA is opposed to the bill and hasn't participated in negotiations over the bill with the group pushing it, the Tennessee Coalition for Open Government.

Fortunately, Ramsey's opinion isn't shared by all of his colleagues. Ten Republican senators, to their credit, have signed on as sponsors of the bill.
[GOP leader should support openness bill - Tennessean - 03-22-06]

April 20, 2006

Whether or not the proposed "Sunshine In Government Improvement Act of 2006" (HB2495) becomes law, paying the legal costs for those denied access to public records by offending government agencies could far out weigh the proposed penalties.

Courts can make government agencies that violate open-record laws pay for all legal costs, the state's attorney general said in an opinion released yesterday.

While there are no penalties written into the state's open-record laws, Attorney General Paul Summers wrote that courts may require agencies to pay the legal fees when officials "knew records were public and willfully refused to disclose them."
[Agencies may be liable if records held - Tennessean - 04-18-06]

On Tuesday, the Senate State & Local Committee recommended Senate Bill 2471, the companion to HB2495, for passage on a 9-0 vote. As Frank Gibson, Executive Director for the Tennessee Coalition for Open Government (TCOG), tells me, "It could be on the floor of the full Senate as early as Monday night."

April 20, 2006

(from TNPoliticsblog) Count me as one of the many "citizen journalists" who "barraged the [Chattanooga City] offices with questions" and focused attention on this story. Tennesseans deserve an open government accountable to the people and the reporters that shine the spotlight on the people's business.

What’s the atmosphere at City Hall now that the one trouble-making reporter has been given the boot? Are “key staff” breathing sighs of relief? Here’s the thing: they had better think twice before exhaling. What will most certainly happen now – that is, if this little column has anything to do with it – is that dozens of additional professional journalists, citizen journalists, and curious townsfolk will barrage the offices with questions: about the ban, about the stories that were being investigated, and about the relationship between the people’s right to know and the government’s duty to tell them. If Michael Weber is not allowed to ask about lobbyists and contracts, then it is upon the rest of us to make sure the line of questioning continues.
[Banned-Aid - Patching up the Michael Weber story - The Pulse - 04-19-06]

Also read:

• Chattanooga Mayor Bans Reporter - April 14, 2006
  
• Chattanooga Times Free Press Reporter Strikes Back - April 18, 2006
  
• TCOG Responds to Chattanooga Mayor's Actions - April 19, 2006
  
• Chattanooga Mayor 'held hostage' by Reporter? - April 19, 2006
  
• The Cause of a Banned Reporter - April 20, 2006

April 20, 2006

Oh, the stories you could tell about this throne. "This toilet was originally installed in the Governor's master bathroom. It is very similar to a current production Kohler model K3398."

The governor's throne is on the auction block.

Two of them, actually: a duo of toilets, one black and one white, along with dozens of other items and fixtures from the governor's official residence in exclusive Oak Hill — all for sale to the highest bidder on GovDeals.com.

The Internet sales are part of an extensive renovation of the Executive Residence by first lady Andrea Conte. Bidding began yesterday and runs through May 5.
[Governor's wife selling pieces of mansion - Tennessean - 04-20-06]

April 20, 2006

The candidates who appeared to receive the most backing from developers won their elections for Murfreesboro City Council. The voter turnout was a only 13%.

While the low turnout is disappointing, it was probably as much as could be expected, said Mayor Tommy Bragg. Bragg, who ran unopposed Tuesday, was returned to office with 4,494 votes.

"Silence usually means consent," the mayor said. "I think the citizens understand government has been open and responsive in Murfreesboro. We try to include as many people as often as possible."
[Voters stay away from polls - Daily News Journal - 04-20-06]

One of the biggest challenges facing the new city council is growth and development.

Rutherford County is experiencing the fastest job growth in America, statistics released Thursday by the United States Department of Labor show.

The number of jobs in Rutherford County jumped 9.2 percent for the third quarter of 2004 compared to 2003 as measured in September, with 91,600 jobs provided at 3,700 places of employment.

David A. Penn, an assistant professor of economics and finance at MTSU, said that the area's employment increase is "monumental."
[Jobs growth No. 1 in nation - Daily News Journal - 04-15-06]

It would be a mistake for those elected to translate a 13% turnout as majority consent for irresponsible development and budgetting to keep up with growth. As the public becomes better informed of the council's decisions, any increase in voter turnout in the next elections will have a profound impact.

April 19, 2006

One day after a Chattanooga Free Times Press reporter exposed the city's hiring of a lobbyist for $90,000 a year, Chattanooga Mayor Ron Littlefield has pledged he will end the contract if it's not productive.

Last week, the Mayor had banned all city employees from communicating with the reporter, Michael Weber, as he was investigating the lobbyist for a story. It just so happened the newly hired lobbyist was a former campaign manager for Mayor Littlefield.

Chattanooga Mayor Ron Littlefield said Tuesday the city will cancel its contract with a Washington, D.C., lobbying firm after one year if it is not successful in influencing legislation that benefits the city.

"We will not carry on into the second year if it’s not productive," the mayor said during the City Council’s Legal and Legislative Committee meeting.

Mr. Littlefield presented the committee with a report authored by him concerning the city’s one-year contract with Ackerman Senterfitt that began Oct. 1. The city is spending $15,000 a month, or $180,000 a year, for the firm’s services, and at least one member of the council had questioned the expenditure.
[Mayor defends city’s lobby firm contract - Chattanooga Times Free Press - 04-19-06]

Also read:

• Chattanooga Mayor Bans Reporter - April 14, 2006
  
• Chattanooga Times Free Press Reporter Strikes Back - April 18, 2006
  
• TCOG Responds to Chattanooga Mayor's Actions - April 19, 2006
  
• Chattanooga Mayor 'held hostage' by Reporter? - April 19, 2006

April 19, 2006

In an email to me from Chattanooga Mayor Ron Littlefield's communications director, Michelle Michaud defended the Mayor's actions last week stating their administration "will not be held hostage by one journalist."

The press is making an ill informed response when they say this is about denying public access. It is not about denying access, it is about professionalism. Every journalist and citizen has a right to public information. This administration is and has been more than willing to produce information in a timely manner and will continue to do so. However, it will not be held hostage by one journalist.

As a former member of the press for more than a decade, and now as the spokesperson for Mayor Ron Littlefield, I have enjoyed working with the media. On any given day I chase information for two Times Free Press reporters, and three television reporters. So you can imagine when one reporter calls and expects you to drop everything for his story, then accusing the administration of hiding information or breaking the law, life gets a little interesting. Reporters that show up unannounced, demanding to talk with the Mayor and threatening to go to press with information because of deadlines are unprofessional and give journalists the bad wrap they battle to dispel everyday.
[EMAIL: Michelle Michaud, Communications Director for Chattanooga Mayor Ron Littlefield - 04-19-06]

*** Read more about what the Chattanooga Times Free Press reporter, Michael Weber, was investigating prior to the Mayor's decision to ban all city employees from communicating with him.

*** Learn more about the "Sunshine In Government Improvement Act of 2006" (HB2495) and how it would provide penalties for government officials in Tennessee found violating this much needed re-tooling of the law.

April 19, 2006

In an email to me earlier, Frank Gibson, Executive Director of the Tennessee Coalition for Open Government responded to Chattanooga Mayor Ron Littlefield banning city employees from communicating with a Chattanooga Times Free Press reporter.

The "Sunshine In Government Improvement Act of 2006" (HB2495) would provide penalties for government officials in Tennessee found violating this much needed law.

It's my understanding the mayor has ordered city employees not to talk to the TFP reporter. Would be an interesting question about whether the city could deny a public records request filed in writing by that reporter unless mayor would call that "communicating."

The mayor is emboldened by a recent U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals which ruled that the rights of a Baltimore Sun reporter and a columnist were not violated when the Republic Governor of Maryland ordered all executive branch employees to not talk to those two journalists.
[Frank Gibson - 04-18-06]

April 18, 2006

Closed fist rage from a "female black congresswoman."

The official police report on Rep. Cynthia McKinney's clash with a Capitol Hill police officer three weeks ago says the DeKalb County congresswoman struck the officer "in his chest with [a] closed fist."

The "event report" — obtained Tuesday by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution — describes the altercation as an assault on a police officer.

The officer involved in the incident, identified as Paul McKenna, filed the report with his supervisors immediately after the incident occurred at 8:55 a.m. March 29.
[McKinney report cites assault with 'closed fist' - Atlanta Journal Constitution - 04-19-06]

April 18, 2006

Last week, Chattanooga Mayor Ron Littlefield banned city officials from contacting Michael Weber. Today, the reporter struck back with a story that appears to explain the Mayor's disgraceful assault on Tennessee's Sunshine Law.

Mayor Littlefield hired his former campaign manager, Duane Smith, as a $90,000 lobbyist for the city. On top of that, Smith had apparently been working without registering with the state until the newspaper began investigating.

Mr. Smith is working under a subcontract with Washington, D.C.-based lobbying firm Akerman Senterfitt, which the city hired last September under a $15,000-per-month, or $180,000 a year, contract.

According to Mr. Littlefield and Mr. Smith, the Akerman Senterf itt f irm then hired Mr. Smith to lobby in Nashville and to work as a liaison with Akerman Senterf itt’s Washington lobbyist Richard Spees.

Mr. Spees referred questions to city officials about how much Mr. Smith is being paid. The mayor said he did not know.

Mr. Smith declined to say, noting "that’s really a private matter between me and the firm." But he said some of the information would be available under new lobbying disclosure laws.

Mayoral spokeswoman Michelle Michaud later said Mr. Smith effectively is being paid $90,000 a year. It was unclear whether that would include expenses.
[Lobbyist for city not registered - Chattanooga Times Free Press - 04-18-06]

April 18, 2006

Murfreesboro votes today for City Council while Rutherford County votes in May 2 primaries.

Why anyone would abrogate this last line of defense against those who supposedly represent you, I have always failed to understand. Voting is such a simple maneuver that anyone eligible can do it. Honest!

It is often a last chance to rid yourself of crooks, hangers-on, rubber stampers, ineffectives, big spenders, opportunists, malingerers and any number of those who just like to hear themselves talk, and those who like to be a part of the "good ol' boys."

The voter turnout in our city and county is so pathetic that it's almost an embarrassment to show up at the polls, but I'm going to do it anyway, each and every voting cycle.
[Time to change the city's system with votes - DNJ - 04-18-06]

April 18, 2006

Bill Hobbs is starting to point fingers, according to Kleinheider, while Half-Bakered bakes up more blame-the-media muffins with a Democratic-conspiracy filling.

April 18, 2006

The White House shake-up is really hitting home.

April 18, 2006

Meanwhile, in Murfreesboro...

Daniels told Phillips a woman drove up to him and stopped as if she planned to offer him a ride. She mumbled but he could not understand her.

"She then pulled a revolver from her side and shot the victim once in his right upper thigh," Phillips reported.

Daniels walked to his girlfriend's home. A neighbor took him to the medical center.

Daniels described the woman as a black woman in her late 20s with messy long hair. She was about 5-foot-4 and weighed about 225 pounds. She had gold front teeth. She wore a white T-shirt and blue jeans.

She drove a gray or white four-door Chevrolet Caprice.
[Driver shoots walker in thigh - DNJ - 04-18-06]

April 17, 2006

(from VolunteerVoters) Wow, according to a blog for Tennessee Republican Ed Bryant's U.S. Senatorial bid, a Democratic conspiracy is behind the largest Christian university in Tennessee and Bill Hobbs mutually agreeing to part ways after Bill Hobbs self-published an invitation for the public to join him in denigrating Islam. Who knew?

It's been noted elsewhere that Spragens is soon going to be leaving the Nashville Scene to take a job as Congressman Jim Cooper's press secretary. Kopp managed Cooper's failed U.S. Senate campaign against Fred Thompson in 1994 and continues to maintain close ties to the Nashville Congressman. He's blogged about his close relationship with Cooper many times. All of this leads me to believe that Kopp engineered the Spragens article in an effort to hurt Hobbs and link him to Jim Bryson because he viewed the pro-Bryson effort in the blogosphere as a threat. My only question is whether or not the smear Kopp orchestrated against Bill Hobbs was part of his work as a paid consultant for Gov. Bredesen?
[Blogging for Bryant - He Did It For The Children... - 04-17-05]

For some people, the fact that Bill Hobbs himself published a hand-drawn cartoon denigrating religion in the most widely available medium for global public consumption on the planet, along with a broad invitation for the world to join him, isn't a reality worth factoring into their conspiracy theories.

Mind you, the cartoon would never have been seen had Kopp and Spragens not taken it upon themselves to get it published.
[COMMENT on VolunteerVoters - JB - 04-17-06]

more...

Kopp found an offensive cartoon that had never been publicized or viewed, took it out of context and ensured that it was published in the Nashville Scene for anyone to see and has the audacity to claim he "did it for the children!"
[Blogging for Bryant - He Did It For The Children... - 04-17-05]

UPDATE 2:11pm: Incase you haven't seen Bill Hobbs making the rounds in comments on various blogs, here is a excerpt of a comment on Tennessee Political Pulse.

The bottom line is I stupidly put an offensive cartoon online and left it there where Kopp found it. It was Kopp, not me, who shared it with the world, allegedly on behalf of the smiling Muslim kids in his neighborhood. (*cough*).

And then his political ally at the Scene wrote a slanted and partially inaccurate story and the rest is history.

If I had been a PR advisor telling Belmont what to do in this situation, rather than the employee involved, I would have told them to part ways with the employee - even though I think Mike Kopp is a sleazeball for what he did.
[COMMENTS on Tennessee Political Pulse - "Bill Hobbs" - 04-17-06]

April 16, 2006

What does $1,000 have to do with John Floyd, president of Ole South developers, and candidates for the Murfreesboro City Council?

Of the almost $170,000 in receipts reported by the 11 council candidates on their preliminary financial disclosures, $29,000 was generated by $1,000 contributions, the maximum allowed per individual per candidate. Five candidates — Tim Davis, David Edwards, Leslee Dodd Karl, Shane McFarland and Doug Young — had two or more $1,000 contributions. There were 50 contributions in the $500 to $975 range which accounted for $26,625. All but six of the contributions in this range were for $500.

John Floyd, president of Ole South developers made a number of those contributions, including $1,000 to McFarland and Young and $500 to Edwards. Since preliminary reports were filed, he has made additional contributions to Karl and Davis.

"I supported five different candidates," Floyd said. "These candidates want to be the leaders of this community. It's in my best interest to support people like that."

He rejects the idea the contributions come with strings attached.

"I have only one expectation: For the candidate to return my call and let me state my case," Floyd said. "I know we're not always going to agree, but you're not going to know my position if you don't return my call."
[Pro-growth donations total $30K - Daily News Journal - 04-16-06]

April 15, 2006

Here are some interesting perspectives on the resignation of Bill Hobbs from the largest private Christian university in Tennessee following revelations of his self-published invitation to the public to join him in denigrating Islam.

Under the United States Constitution, we are all free to say whatever we like in America without the fear of reprisal from our government. The First Amendment protection of free speech doesn't protect us from the consequences of our speech in the private sector. Personal accountability for speech isn't something of which the United States Constitution absolves us in protecting the right to say what we want. In America, you have the right to be a fool.

Bill Hobbs exercised his right to free speech without weighing the consequences of being employed at Tennessee's largest Christian University. Both Belmont and Bill Hobbs mutually agreed that Bill's opinion about Islam and his desire to exercise his right to publicly express his views on Islam no longer served Belmont's best interests. As a private religious university, that's their right, and not many Americans who get that would want it any other way.

Mike Kopp

I called the Tennessean reporter to tell her that had I not pointed out the insensitivity of the blog, I would have had trouble facing my neighbors; the children and their parents who walk our sidewalks each day and call out in friendship at every opportunity. "Shame on me," I told the reporter, "if I hadn't taken a stand on this matter."
[A footnote on Mohammed Cartoons - Tennessee Political Pulse - 04-15-06]

Half-Bakered

Whew! So, a blogger caught another blogger in a "gotcha" by digging up an obscure, forgotten and unnoticed page. He then smeared by association a political candidate with no substantive links to the blogger and feigned outrage. It's a typical post from the less-upright part of the blogosphere The story seems to have spread some in the blogosphere, but not really gone anywhere.
[A Detailed Case Study of Press Abuse - Half-Bakered - 04-14-06]

Captain's Quarters

Why, though, did Belmont feel the need to do so? Hobbs hadn't posted or linked this cartoon to the university, nor did he post it there. He wrote that on his own blog as a private citizen and political activist. Does supporting free speech in Denmark automatically make one ineligible for it at Belmont?
[Free Speech And Employment - Captain's Quarters - 04-15-06]

Instapundit

I call it a defining moment for Belmont University, in which that institution squandered all the goodwill and interest among bloggers that it spent the past couple of years building up.
[Instapundit - 04-15-06]

My Quiet Life

The root “problem” as it pertains to free speech here is not that Bill shouldn’t have posted a stupid cartoon, and neither is it that Spragens shouldn’t have publicly pilloried him for it. The problem is that we’re so bound and subordinated by our employers that we feel compelled to check our speech, lest we bite the hand that deigns to feed us for the time being.
[My Quiet Life - free speech - 04-14-06]

RexBlog

I'm really hurting for the person Bill Hobbs (I'll say more about that in a moment), but I don't think this is a "free expression" issue. Rather, it's a poor judgement issue. Unlike some very articulate folks jumping to Bill's defense, I do not believe Belmont University is out of line for inviting Bill to leave (if that is, indeed, what happened). I especially do not believe they are cowardly, as Liz had suggested, if they fired him. In fact, I believe the PTB (powers that be) at Belmont have been very flexible in allowing Bill to (on "company" time and with "company" equipment) maintain an extremely partisan and political and advertising-supported weblog over the course of several years.
[Where's my "Bill Hobbs post"? - RexBlog - 04-14-06]

April 14, 2006

They had to pay him some how.

Soaring gas prices are squeezing most Americans at the pump, but at least one man isn't complaining.

Last year, Exxon made the biggest profit of any company ever, $36 billion, and its retiring chairman appears to be reaping the benefits.

Exxon is giving Lee Raymond one of the most generous retirement packages in history, nearly $400 million, including pension, stock options and other perks, such as a $1 million consulting deal, two years of home security, personal security, a car and driver, and use of a corporate jet for professional purposes.
[Retirement Package Amid Soaring Gas Prices - ABCnews - 04-14-06]

April 14, 2006

Nevermind that the Tennessee Department of Transportation already requires applicants for drivers' licenses to understand roadsigns in English only. There is just something about sticking it to immigrants that gets Sen. Bill Ketron (R-Murfreesboro) excited.

A bill that would have required the Tennessee driver's license exam to be printed only in English was apparently derailed yesterday by opponents in the state Senate.

The bill, introduced by state Sen. Bill Ketron, R-Murfreesboro, would have required anyone who wanted a driver's license to understand enough English to complete the test.

But during debate on the Senate floor, an amendment was proposed that would have increased — not limited — the number of languages in which the exam could be written. Currently, the exam is available in English, Spanish, Korean and Japanese.
[Senate rejects English-only driver's tests - Tennessean - 04-14-06]

April 14, 2006

Today, conservative Tennessee blogger and Belmont University Marketting and Communications staffer, Bill Hobbs, has resigned his position with the private university.

I am resigning from Belmont University in an amicable and mutual parting of the ways, effective Monday. I wish Belmont University, a truly fine university and a Nashville treasure, only the best in all things. Well, except basketball as I, a Lipscomb alum, will now resume rooting for my alma mater when the two schools meet on the basketball courts.
[Bill Hobbs - NashvilleFiles.com - 04-14-06]

Hobbs' resignation from Belmont University, described as "the largest Christian university in Tennessee," comes after scathing criticism of his feelings toward Islam.

Hobbs’ online street cred and apparent respect for religion make it even more surprising that he would post a cartoon lampooning the Islamic faith on one of his websites. In late February, at the height of Muslim furor over cartoons of the prophet Mohammed, Hobbs created a contest in which he invited readers to submit drawings of Mohammed. “Exercise your right to free expression by drawing pictures of Islam’s ‘Prophet Mohammed,’ ” Hobbs wrote, “before the West gives in to Islamist intimidation and fear of Islamist violence and makes it illegal to do so.” To kick things off, he posted a stick-figure drawing of Mohammed holding a bomb. Underneath the cartoon, in crude lettering, he wrote, “Mohammed Blows.”
[A political Web - NashvilleScene - 04-13-06]

None of this would matter much if Hobbs wasn't so closely associated with the Republican gubernatorial challenger to Tennessee's popular Democratic Governor, Phil Bredesen.

This week State Senator Jim Bryson announced that he's running for the republican nomination to face incumbent Governor Phil Bredesen. Bryson's announcement statement and subsequent comments to the media were sprinkled with use of the words "faith" and "prayer."

At the same time Bryson's announcement was occuring, a different launch was underway on the web - the launch of a new blog called Bryson For Governor Blog. This blog is founded and edited by Bill Hobbs, an editor and news writer on the marketing and communications staff at Belmont University and a local blogger whose been promoting various GOP political propaganda for several years.
[Jim Bryson, Jesus and a Mohammed cartoon - Tennessee Political Pulse - 04-05-06]

The sad fact is the consequences of this story are those of Bill Hobbs alone. The reasons for his resignation have nothing to do with the media focus on his own published actions and everything to do with Bill Hobbs choosing to exercise his right to free speech to express his disdain for Islam. God Bless America for the right to be a fool.

UPDATE 4:21pm: Michelle Malkin thinks it's just horrible Bill Hobbs was "fired" over a cartoon. As a private institution, the largest Christian University in Tennessee is not obligated to employ anyone who chooses to publicly exercise their First Amendment right for the purposes of denigrating religion. I suspect if Bill Hobbs was a Muslim sketching Jesus in precarious situations and inviting the public to join him, Michelle Malkin would all of a sudden get it.

Recourse under the First Amendment is afforded citizens denied this right by the government, not a private organization or employer. Otherwise McDonalds might have a problem being forced to employ cashiers honestly telling customers how much the food truly sucks. You have the right to say it just as McDonalds has the right to fire you for exercising that right in whatever public manner you choose.

April 14, 2006

After proclaiming a commitment to "transparency in government," Chattanooga, TN Mayor Ron Littlefield "banned" city officials from communicating with Times Free Press reporter Michael Webber. Whether the Mayor realizes it or not, the city is legally obligated to comply with Tennessee's Sunshine Law making the workings of government "open to the public at all times," including "annoying, distracting" Mr. Webber.

“I’ve instructed City Personnel they are to have no further contact with Times Free Press Reporter Michael Weber. Mr. Weber has approached key staff in an abrasive and accusatory manner. He is obviously on some personal mission and is chasing ghosts and goblins that don’t exist except in his own mind. His usual mode of operation is to call and leave some gloriously inaccurate message then claim he is on deadline and filing for publication unless he hears otherwise. Perhaps this is a tactic that worked for Mr. Weber in Brooklyn, but it won’t work here, it won’t work for me. My guess is that it really didn’t work for Mr. Weber in Brooklyn and that is why he is here in Chattanooga.

“This is annoying, distracting, and counter to our efforts to deal honestly and openly with all media. If Mr. Weber wishes to publish irresponsible and inaccurate information he will do so without my participation. When Mr. Weber learns to behave in a more professional fashion as a journalist in the future I’ll reconsider this ban.
[Mayor Ron Littlefield Bans Times Free Press Reporter from Interaction with City Officials or Employees - 04-13-06 - City of Chatanooga]

April 14, 2006

"A very fine job..."

"The president believes Secretary Rumsfeld is doing a very fine job during a challenging period in our nation's history," Bush spokesman Scott McClellan said as two more retired generals called for the secretary's resignation Thursday, bringing the number this month to six.
[Ex-General: Rumsfeld Deserves Criticism - AP - 04-14-06]

... must be President Bush's Orwellian way of saying "a very fine mess."

"Again, I want to thank you all for -- and, Brownie, you're doing a heck of a job."
[President Arrives in Alabama, Briefed on Hurricane Katrina - White House - 09-02-05]

I think I prefer the straight forward assessments of people who know much better and tell the truth.

April 14, 2006

One thing you won't find Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-TN) doing this year is siding with recent Pentagon brass calling for Rumsfeld's resignation and a rethinking of our failed strategy in Iraq. In Frist's world view, Tennesseans making the ultimate sacrifice simply don't deserve that kind of leadership.

Enter Harold Ford Jr.

U.S. Rep. Harold Ford Jr., D-Tenn., called for Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld's resignation and urged President Bush to replace him with former Secretary of State Gen. Colin Powell.

Ford said if he were President Bush, "I would do whatever I could to persuade Powell to take the (position)."
[Ford wants Rumsfeld to quit - Leaf-Chronicle - 04-14-06]

The statement from The Ford Report:

“For the sake of our country and the safety of our troops, President Bush should accept the resignation of Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld. Rumsfeld has lost the confidence of his peers, subordinates and the thousands of men and women who bravely and selflessly serve this country.”
[Ford: Rumsfeld Should Resign - The Ford Report - 04-14-06]

April 13, 2006

In case Rumsfeld didn't get it in 2002, this is what they meant by "overwhelming force."

Today, Maj. Gen. Charles H. Swannack Jr., who led troops on the ground in Iraq as recently as 2004 as the commander of the Army's 82nd Airborne Division, became the fifth retired senior general in recent days to issue a public call for Mr. Rumsfeld's ouster.

"We need to continue to fight the global war on terror and keep it off our shores," General Swannack said in an interview. "But I do not believe Secretary Rumsfeld is the right person to fight that war based on his absolute failures in managing the war against Saddam in Iraq."
[Rumsfeld Faces Growing Revolt by Retired Generals - NY Times - 04-13-06]

April 13, 2006

Davidson County Criminal Court Clerk David Torrence ought to do more than suspend two judicial employees for a week without pay. He ought to fire them. Elaine Ragan and Rena Upton were caught on audio tape threatening to fire employees who did not help Torrence get re-elected to the County Clerk position in upcoming elections.

In this country, you're supposed to be free to vote for anyone you like. But secret tapes obtained by NewsChannel 5 reveal that, in one Metro office, employees have been warned they could be fired if they don't get their politics right.

Inside the Davidson County Criminal Court Clerks Office, taxpayers pay the employees to keep the criminal justice system running efficiently.

But with longtime Criminal Court Clerk David Torrence running for re-election, some of his top managers say that, if the boss's campaign isn't run as efficiently, those employees' jobs could be in jeopardy.

The proof comes in the form of a secret recording of a staff meeting in which Torrence's supervisors lecture workers about their lack of participation in the political campaign.

"I talked to you," one supervisor tells workers. "I've tried to encourage you. I've tried to nag you. I've tried everything. No response. No yard signs and no ticket sales. I'm sick of that."

And the employees are warned that, if things don't change, they could be fired.

"If you don't support him, I am telling you.... I know who you are," another supervisor adds.

"I'm not taking no excuses. There's not a person sitting in here that wants to lose their job. I know I don't. But I'm gonna help you lose it."
[Secret Tape Reveals Political Threats Against Metro Workers
- Newschannel5 - 04-12-06]

VolunteerVoters has an audio clip.

April 13, 2006

It's a matter of time before the conservative fringe proclaims those who serve our country to be living in an "Orwellian world," "drinking the kool-aid," or whatever conservatives' latest rhetorical cliche is to explain their drunken defiance of the facts.

The retired commander of key forces in Iraq called yesterday for Donald H. Rumsfeld to step down, joining several other former top military commanders who have harshly criticized the defense secretary's authoritarian style for making the military's job more difficult.

"I think we need a fresh start" at the top of the Pentagon, retired Army Maj. Gen. John Batiste, who commanded the 1st Infantry Division in Iraq in 2004-2005, said in an interview. "We need leadership up there that respects the military as they expect the military to respect them. And that leadership needs to understand teamwork."

Batiste noted that many of his peers feel the same way. "It speaks volumes that guys like me are speaking out from retirement about the leadership climate in the Department of Defense," he said earlier yesterday on CNN.

Batiste's comments resonate especially within the Army: It is widely known there that he was offered a promotion to three-star rank to return to Iraq and be the No. 2 U.S. military officer there but he declined because he no longer wished to serve under Rumsfeld. Also, before going to Iraq, he worked at the highest level of the Pentagon, serving as the senior military assistant to Paul D. Wolfowitz, then the deputy secretary of defense.
[Rumsfeld Rebuked By Retired Generals - Washington Post - 04-13-06]

The Pentagon counters with the following blather. Perhaps Mr. Di Rita will enlighten the American people by pressuring the Commander-in-Chief to declassify the full spectrum of facts rather than selectively declassifying discredited information that sells a predetermined justification for war.

Lawrence T. Di Rita, a counselor to the Defense Department, disagreed with the retired generals' characterizations of Rumsfeld's style. "People are entitled to their opinions. What they are not entitled to is their own facts

April 13, 2006

The Fraternal Order of Police is not only helping the officer Rep. McKinney assaulted. They are also going after Rep. McKinney's driver who impersonated an officer on camera to a reporter to move him away from the elected official.

Union officials are also looking into the run-in between one of the congresswoman's employees and Channel 2 Action News reporter Scott MacFarlane.

They're looking into the background of the man who claimed on-camera to be a police officer.

The union says he should be prosecuted for impersonating a police officer.

Rep. McKinney's office says the man is her driver, not a police officer.

“We rail against people who use police authority when they don't have it,” says Canterbury.

“It's dangerous for police officers. It's dangerous for the public. Imitating police is not a good thing,” he added.
[Officer Considers Legal Action Against McKinney - WSB - 04-12-06]

April 12, 2006

As Fred Kapln writes in Slate, the officer corps is getting restless. Take a look at the latest admission of regret in the pages of the latest edition of TIME, then ask yourself who you believe: the people who were asked to fight the war in Iraq or the selective reality of drunken, fawning partisans.

I now regret that I did not more openly challenge those who were determined to invade a country whose actions were peripheral to the real threat—al-Qaeda. … [T]he Pentagon's military leaders … with few exceptions, acted timidly when their voices urgently needed to be heard. When they knew the plan was flawed, saw intelligence distorted to justify a rationale for war, or witnessed arrogant micromanagement that at times crippled the military's effectiveness, many leaders who wore the uniform chose inaction. … It is time for senior military leaders to discard caution in expressing their views and ensure that the President hears them clearly. And that we won't be fooled again.
[Why Iraq Was a Mistake - TIME - 04-17-06]

April 12, 2006

The man Republicans praised as their moral and political leader throughout Republican control of the United States Congress, Representative Tom Delay (R-TX), recently said Republicans have no vision or agenda.

They do where I live.

My district here in Rutherford County is represented in the state Congress by Republican Donna Rowland whose vision for Rutherford County is the same vision most Republicans have for America: borrow and spend into record deficits.

The Rutherford County Commission will vote Thursday on whether to borrow up to $70 million to pay for schools and other capital projects planned in the coming year.

Except for renovations and expansions to Riverdale and Oakland high schools, which will be voted on Thursday, the projects that $70 million will pay for have all been previous approved by the commission, County Finance Director Lisa Nolen said.

Without the Riverdale and Oakland renovations, the county would need to borrow $53 million. That sum would have less impact on the budget, but Theresa Davenport, the mother of a Riverdale student, said the school needs and deserves the work.

"The staff that work there, the students, they all deserve so much better," she said. "There's a lot of issues that have been brought up about raising taxes, but I firmly believe that you won't find a taxpayer that would mind an increase if they knew the money was going specifically to these schools. If we can't spend money on our kids, it's a sad state of affairs. They are our future.
[County takes up $70M in projects - Daily News Journal - 04-12-06]

April 12, 2006

When it came to intelligence on WMD, newly revealed information shows President Bush preferred his own version of facts and preferred leaking only intelligence that helped him dupe the American people into making the ultimate sacrifice.

On May 29, 2003, 50 days after the fall of Baghdad, President Bush proclaimed a fresh victory for his administration in Iraq: Two small trailers captured by U.S. and Kurdish troops had turned out to be long-sought mobile "biological laboratories." He declared, "We have found the weapons of mass destruction."

The claim, repeated by top administration officials for months afterward, was hailed at the time as a vindication of the decision to go to war. But even as Bush spoke, U.S. intelligence officials possessed powerful evidence that it was not true.

A secret fact-finding mission to Iraq -- not made public until now -- had already concluded that the trailers had nothing to do with biological weapons. Leaders of the Pentagon-sponsored mission transmitted their unanimous findings to Washington in a field report on May 27, 2003, two days before the president's statement.

The three-page field report and a 122-page final report three weeks later were stamped "secret" and shelved. Meanwhile, for nearly a year, administration and intelligence officials continued to publicly assert that the trailers were weapons factories.
[Lacking Biolabs, Trailers Carried Case for War - Washington Post - 04-12-06]

Why doesn't President Bush declassify the currently classified report "Final Technical Engineering Exploitation Report on Iraqi Suspected Biological Weapons-Associated Trailers?" Why does the President only chose to declassify discredited intelligence that makes his case for war in Iraq while keeping the facts and the truth classified and away from the American people?

April 11, 2006

Meanwhile, in Murfreesboro...

Suspect Jose J. Diaz, 50, of 622 Cardinal St. was charged with second-degree murder this morning after he allegedly stabbed roommate Christopher Knox, 26, overnight.

A witness told police Diaz became mad because beer was missing from the refrigerator. Officer Shaun Greene reported the men got into an argument. Knox subsequently picked up a stick and Diaz stabbed Knox.
[Man charged with killing roommate - Daily News Journal - 04-11-06]

April 11, 2006

"Mistakes" is the conservative theme these days for those brave enough to admit it. Yesterday, at USD, the father of the "Republican Revolution," Newt Gingrich, honored the "father of modern conservatism," Edmund Burke, by echoing the theme.

Newt Gingrich, the former Republican Speaker of the House, told students and faculty at the University of South Dakota Monday that the United States should pull out of Iraq and leave a small force there, just as it did post-war in Korea and Germany.

"It was an enormous mistake for us to try to occupy that country after June of 2003," Gingrich said during a question-and-answer session at the school. "We have to pull back, and we have to recognize it."

Gingrich was at USD for the inaugural Edmund Burke Lecture, named after a man who is known as the father of modern conservatism.
[Gingrich at USD: Pull out of Iraq - Argus Leader - 04-11-06]

April 10, 2006

Worm tea brews using tea bags Vince sewed.

This five gallon bucket has two tea bags with one cup each of vermicast (worm castings) in it. It's being aerated with a fish tank pump for about 36 hours and has about 5 ounces of molasses mixed in.

The aeration and molasses feeds a quickly growing population of beneficial microbes present in the vermicast. Using a three gallon sprayer, we'll apply it to the lawn as an alternative to chemical fertilizers. The "worm tea" naturally conditions the soil, prevents disease and returns much needed microbial biomass to the soil without the negative impact of chemical solutions.

April 10, 2006

It seems like every time the President tours America making anew the discredited case for justifying war in Iraq, the rhetoric-weary American people place him at all time lows. Maybe, just maybe, it's because the American people are as smart as the very architect of the war in Iraq himself, former Deputy Secretary of Defense, Paul Wolfowitz.

Wolfowitz: -- there have always been three fundamental concerns. One is weapons of mass destruction, the second is support for terrorism, the third is the criminal treatment of the Iraqi people.
The third one by itself, as I think I said earlier, is a reason to help the Iraqis but it's not a reason to put American kids' lives at risk, certainly not on the scale we did it.
[Paul Wolfowitz DoD Press Conference Transcript - 05-09-03]

And then there is the conservative fringe explanation for how we feel that insults America's intelligence in the same manner they mishandled intelligence justifying war in Iraq: stupid Americans are just living in an "Orwellian world" and are overwhelmingly "Bush-haters." At least the conservative fringe is consistent even in desperation.

President Bush's job approval rating is at a career low in this latest ABC News/Washington Post poll amid continued broad public skepticism about the Iraq war.

Just 38 percent of Americans now approve of Bush's overall performance in office; it's the lowest mark of his presidency, albeit by a single point. Sixty percent disapprove of how he's handling his job, matching the highest disapproval of his tenure.

One of the primary drags on the president's job approval rating has been the public's negative assessment of the war in Iraq, and in this poll 58 percent say the war was not worth fighting  a majority sentiment for the past 16 months.
[Bush Approval Rating at New Career Low - ABC - 04-10-06]

April 09, 2006

It seems committing American soldiers, their families and the nation to war in Iraq was just a matter of nuance for the Bush Administration. As long as intelligence challenging their discredited case for war was kept from the American people, the American people continued to sacrifice and believe in the cause. Americans no longer believe the President did the right thing for a reason. The American people are weary of hollow rhetoric and are awakening to the facts.

President Bush declassified sensitive intelligence in 2003 and authorized its public disclosure to rebut Iraq war critics, but he did not specifically direct that Vice President Dick Cheney's former chief of staff, I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, be the one to disseminate the information, an attorney knowledgeable about the case said Saturday.

Bush merely instructed Cheney to "get it out" and left the details to him, said the lawyer, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the case for the White House. The vice president chose Libby and communicated the president's wishes to his then-top aide, the lawyer said.

It is not known when the conversation between Bush and Cheney took place. The White House has declined to provide the date when the president used his authority to declassify the portions of the October 2002 National Intelligence Estimate, a classified document that detailed the intelligence community's conclusions about weapons of mass destruction in Iraq.
[Lawyer: Bush Left Leak Details to Cheney - AP - 04-08-06]