(NOTE: I have no official confirmation of this. I am merely linking to local Internet chatter. I repeat, this is not news, but a link to discussion on a local message board):

They’re dropping like flies all around me. A layoff of about 10%. I haven’t noticed any real pattern except one by one, people are stopping by my cubie to say good bye. Some of the best and brightest IT professionals too.

I haven’t heard anything yet…

on pins and needles as I write.

UPDATE: The News Sentinel has confirmed the layoffs.

He quotes James Carville, after being gifted with a UT football jersey bearing Peyton Manning’s #: “I will wear the jersey, but reminded you that Peyton Manning is from Louisiana. He was our gift to you, and the last one you’re going to get.”

And on John McCain and that infamous “It’s 3am commercial” run by the Hillary Clinton campaign: “The most important hour in this campaign is three o’clock in the morning. Everybody wants to know what they’re doing at 3AM. I’m a 63 year old male and I know exactly what John McCain is doing at three o’clock in the morning. He’s looking for a damn bathroom. He’s not answering the phone.”

That’s….something.

TNDP Chairman Gray Sasser calls on TNGOP to cease “grotesque” campaign tactics

“‘They were grotesque,’ Corker said of his own ads in an interview this week. ‘It was just the same old stuff.’ . . . The senator has advised Republican colleagues in tough races this year to resist national party ads that mention their opponents.’” [Washington Post, E.J. Dionne, “Brand on the Run,” Feb. 27, 2008]

The Boy asked me the other day if “sexist” is a curse word. “No, ” I said, “why do you ask?”

He explained that a table of girls wouldn’t let him sit at the table during lunch one day last week. Apparently it was “girls only.” He told them they were being sexist. One of them went to tell a teach that The Boy had said a bad word to them, but returned and said, “Okay, you can sit here.”

No, seriously.

However, lest you think it’s inappropriate for the Commander in Chief to jest in this way during a time of war, don’t worry. I mean, after all, he did give up playing golf out of respect for our war dead.

It would seem that our august State Senator, who is in a desperate fight for re-election, has decided to use his franking privileges to send out what amounts to campaign literature at taxpayer expense. While it is quite true that during the course of a term some legislators send out “updates,” Mike Williams’ latest salvo sounded blatantly political in nature:

“I work with my colleages of both political parties because doing what’s right is more important than partisan politics.”

That is a fine sentiment in principle, but what is really means in Mike Williams’ case is:

“I’m a sellout. I’ve managed to peeve off thousands of my heavily-Republican constituents by voting for a Democrat for Lieutenant Governor in 2005 even though the Republicans had a clear Senate majority. I voted for Ron Ramsey in 2007, but only after a Democrat, Rosalind Kurita, padded the vote for Ramsey to insure he would win so that the election results were actually validated. Far worse than that, however, is the fact that I promised my constituents that I would never take PAC money, but now that is nearly all the money I am taking since you all are angry with me and won’t give me any of yours. Because I can’t raise lots of money because you won’t give me any, I’m sending campaign literature at taxpayer expense and calling it an update. Now re-elect me-you owe me, even though I embarrass the Heck out of our entire district by acting like a complete fool on a daily basis. I’m Mike Williams and I approve this message, paid for at taxpayer expense.”

Newscoma blogged about her idea that, since Cousin Oliver’s arrival may have caused The Brady Bunch to jump the shark, maybe he could endorse McCain and get a Democrat elected.

And lo and behold, Cousin Oliver himself, the now-all-grown-up Robbie Rist actually commented on Newscoma’s blog, saying:

You make jokes about me joining the McCain campaign to sink it.

Imagine the careers I could end……

Another recipient of harsh criticism from the generally affable candidate was the No Child Left Behind act. And then, on the subject of education, came one of the boldest proposals of the day: public school teachers taking students into their homes, in very small class sizes (say, eight), for grades K-5. Pupils would learn basic home skills (making beds, paying bills) in addition to more traditional subjects. Then, said the candidate, larger class sizes and a “college-like” learning format would be suitable for older children, because they would have learned “the system.”

There’s no doubt about it: TNGOP Communications Director Bill Hobbs knows how to get some attention for the Republicans of the Volunteer State.

But my guess is that state GOP insiders are getting increasingly uncomfortable with this stuff. After all, everyone knows there’s a role inside political parties and campaigns for the Karl Rove guy - that guy who quietly and stealthily drops the bombs on behalf of the party or campaign, without getting party leaders’ hands too dirty by tying their names directly to the attacks. But that guy generally keeps a very low profile. You probably don’t know his name, or even where his office is located. He’s the party hitman, and like all good hitmen, he keeps his head down and moves through crowds unnoticed.

But Bill Hobbs is the face and voice of the entire Tennessee Republican Party. He’s also a known entity in state politics via his popular and very controversial political blog, which he operated long before being hired as the state GOP’s mainstream PR guy.

So is Hobbs mixing up to the two roles to the detriment of the party’s credibility? Is he trying to be both stealthy hitman and party cheerleader to the mainstream media? Can he do both successfully, or does the mix just make a mess?

I suggest the latter.

Your thoughts?

AN UPDATE: Kleinheider thinks Hobbs’ hardball-maverick ways in approaching his role as state party spokesman are a mark of courage and conviction.

(Yet another correction: my pal, the Kleinheider, refers me to the TennViews database which actually lists a total of SEVEN Dems vying for this seat)

The rewriting of air-quality rules would ease the way for the construction of 33 coal-fired power plants within 186 miles of 10 national parks, including Great Smokey Mountains, left, according to the National Parks Conservation Association.

The initiative is the latest in a series of administration efforts going back to 2003 to weaken air quality protections at national parks, including failed moves to prohibit federal land managers from commenting on permits for new pollution sources more than 31 miles away from their areas and to protect air resources only for parks that are big and diverse enough to “represent complete ecosystems.”

For 30 years, regulators have measured pollution levels in the parks, over both three-hour and 24-hour increments, to capture the spikes in emissions that occur during periods of peak energy demand. The new rule would average the levels over a year so that spikes in pollution levels would not violate the law.

A slew of National Park Service and EPA officials have challenged the rule change, arguing that it will worsen visibility in already-impaired areas, according to internal documents obtained by the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.

In one set of comments, the EPA’s regional computer modeling staff wrote that the proposal “would allow for significant degradation” of the parks’ air quality. An e-mail from National Park Service staff called aspects of the plan “bad public policy” that would “make it much easier to build power plants” near Class 1 areas, which include some Fish and Wildlife Service-protected land.

The Knoxville Chamber has sent letters to a number of Knoxville-area legislators urging them to vote against Rep. Niceley’s bill, which would have the superintendent voted by the public, rather than appointed by the school board. Here is a copy of the letter, sent from Mike Edwards, which states the Chamber’s position:

To sustain our economy and continue our economic prosperity substantial improvements are necessary in public education. We need to increase academic rigor and improve the skills of high school graduates so students are ready for the workplace or post-secondary training. These improvements will not come easy and will require the focused effort of a strong, professional school superintendent.

The current legislative effort to allow for an elected school superintendent (Amendment 3 to HB 3857) is bad public policy. The Knoxville Chamber is opposed to this legislation and would look at its passage as hostile to public education. I hope you will not allow such a vote to become part of your public record.

Knox County’s superintendent of schools needs to have academic improvement and execution of strategies to increase the skills of graduates as his/her singular focus. That professional cannot be distracted by periodic elections.

Photo by Carie Thompson

Join up! Upload your Knoxcentric photos! I plan to start featuring at least one picture a day here at Knoxville Talks, and possibly elsewhere at WBIR.com.

If you don’t understand Flickr, or need help uploading or viewing the pictures, just e-mail me at kgranju@wbir.gannett.com.