Archive for March, 2008
COMMENT: Ragsdale’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy
This is a hilarious comment to my earlier post today about Knox County politics & priorities (and for the humor impaired, I feel compelled to point out that this is political satire - of the highest order):
Mayor says campaign donations for P-card reimbursements falls under “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy
Knoxville, TN. Knox County Mayor Mike [...]
Strange bedfellows to fight climate change together
Via Sharon Cobb:
Next week The Alliance for Climate Protection will start running ads which feature some unlikely bedfellows such as the Rev. Al Sharpton and the Rev. Pat Robertson, Toby Keith and the Dixie Chicks, and Nancy Pelosi and Newt Gingrich, to drive home the point that climate change is not a partisan issue.
[...]
Read More..>>Chillaxin’ with an uncommitted superdelegate
White’s Creek was pleasantly surprised by how laid back and open Rep. Lincoln Davis is with staff and constituents on a recent visit to Roane County:
Political candidates on the campaign trail are put in situations where they essentially have to perform for an audience and be very careful about what they say, lest they give [...]
Read More..>>In the vein of “Obama Girl”…
Hat tip to Newscoma
I’m sure you remember the much discussed Obama Girl video. Well, now it’s uhh, apparently raining McCain.
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A gunbloggity political endorsement
Say Uncle notes that a Tennessee blogger he knows and likes is now running for office
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I’ll take some tylenol, and these band-aids, and oh yeah, a paternity test…
Apparently an over-the-counter paternity test is on the horizon:
…the convenience of figuring out who the father of your child will be just a few blocks away at your neighborhood drug store.
After seeing this story, The Wife said, “Well, I guess that’s going to really cut down on the available guests for the Maury Povich Show.” [...]
White Democrats’ generational divide
Sean Braisted analyzes some interesting data on social values among white Democrats:
I think the most telling example is on inter-racial dating, which shows 21% of those over 45 disapprove, while only 3% of those 44 and under feel the same way. I would be interested to see it broken down even further, as I imagine [...]
Liberal indoctrination apparently not working
From Instapundit, some comments by a self-proclaimed “conservative professor” on a study he’s done on how university faculty attitudes impact students:
The main point of the study is not to dismiss all concerns about the left wing orientation of the faculty. Rather, our goal was simply to assess the impact that faculty ideology has on the [...]
Priorities, priorities…
Offered without comment, two stories from Knox County government during the past 24 hours:
Clinic offering free health services for working poor denied county grant funding
Mayor Mike Ragsdale reimburses county taxpayers for things like unused plane tickets and $76 car detailing services, using some of the $82,788.81 remaining in his campaign warchest.
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Read More..>>“Don’t do it” isn’t keeping kids from doing it
Leslie Snow says our culture’s approach to teaching adolescents about sex is getting us nowhere:
Earlier this month at a conference on preventing sexually transmitted diseases, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released the results of a new study that showed at least one in four teenage American girls has a sexually transmitted disease. [...]
Read More..>>What you get for your money
Here’s an interesting slideshow from MSN on what you get for $220,00 in various housing markets across the country at the moment.
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Conversing about Web journalism
Join “A Public Conversation On Web Journalism” at UT this week. I’m one of the panelists, along with all kinds of other interesting folks I’m looking forward to seeing/meeting.
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Al Gore playing his cards close to his vest
In Murfreesboro last night, he didn’t offer a hint as to which way he wants or expects the Democratic primary to go:
After the MTSU presentation, Gore spoke with The Associated Press, saying he sees no urgency in endorsing a presidential candidate.
But he told The AP that he expects the nomination fight to resolve itself before [...]
Newsflash: health care costs hitting most Americans really hard
The Washington Post digs deep to uncover the startling news that…many Americans are having a lot of trouble paying for health care:
…spiraling health-care costs have been whacking away at their wages. Even though workers are producing more, inflation-adjusted median family income has dipped 2.6 percent — or nearly $1,000 annually since 2000.
Employees and employers [...]
Another strike against coal
Our region’s coal miners face a lot of risks in their very difficult jobs. A new study confirms they also suffer from significantly poorer health:
“Residents of coal-mining communities have long complained of impaired health,” said author Michael Hendryx, associate director of the WVU Institute for Health Policy Research. “This study substantiates their claims. Those residents [...]
More East Tennesseans apparently migrating west
There’s been a sighting of a black bear just outside Nashville:
A black bear has shown up in Middle Tennessee’s Hickman County - less than 15 miles southwest of the Davidson County line - and wildlife agents say anyone seeing it should call them rather than trying to kill it.
Where the bear came from and how [...]
Fort Sanders 911
Reno 911 meets Highland Avenue.
I just randomly stumbled across this while looking for something else on You Tube. It’s pretty entertaining. I have no idea who these guys are.
(Be warned: some of the naughty bits and language aren’t appropriate for the kiddies)
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A legislator with a big stick
See, this is why Tennessee politics are just more interesting.
From The Nashville Post:
Dwana Pusser-Garrison, daughter of the late McNairy County Sheriff
Buford Pusser, has picked up qualifying papers and will run for the seat
in the Tennessee House of Representatives being vacated by State Rep.
Randy Rinks (D-Savannah). Pusser-Garrison will be running as a
Democrat.
For the unfamiliar, Pusser-Garrison’s father [...]
He’s become “a publicity addicted psycho”
No, no….not Bill Clinton.
It’s Knut the Polar Bear:
Markus Roebke said Berlin Zoo’s celebrity animal was obsessed with the limelight and howled with rage when denied an audience.
“Knut must go and the sooner the better,” he said, insisting that the bear should be sent to an animal park where he received less attention.
“He is [...]
Republicans salivating over Rinks “rumor”
Via Stacey Campfield:
Rumor mill - Word on the hill is is that Randy Rinks is going to announce today that he is not going to run for state rep again. Word is he is going to run for sec of state. That district is a Republican leaning area. With the right candidate it could be [...]
