"Who does the poll affects the results. Some. These are called "house effects" because they are systematic effects due to survey "house" or polling organization....

"The largest pro-Obama house effect is that of Harris Interactive, at just over 4 points. The poll most favorable to McCain is Rasmussen's Tracking poll at just less than -3 points. Everyone else falls between these extremes....

"The impact of house effects isn't always so small. Looking back along the trend we see that the red and blue lines diverged by as much as 1 point in late June, an effect due significantly to the large number of Rasmussen and Gallup tracking polls during that time and few polls with positive house effects in that period."

Link...

"On the whole, Republicans are either the victims of incredibly bad luck, or lousy economic policy. But either way, they are not the Party of growth. Macro-economic growth seems to be faster when Democrats are in office."

Warning! This link leads to a concise, well illustrated argument that is sure to piss off ardent right wing ideologues (Tin Cup-please count to ten before responding and when you do, I challenge you to give a response that is genuinely thoughtful and longer than fifty words).

Link...

We need to address the following:

community mental health needs
how to replace hate-media with more inclusive forums/discussions
joblessness
gun violence
probably a whole lot of other things I've overlooked (please suggest more)

We need a public forum, sponsored by local government, where people can express themselves, not just listen to speeches.

We need action, from concerned citizens as well as local govt that addresses our vulnerability to this sort of crime so that people who want to move/stay/return here can do so without feeling afraid.

I personally would like to see a drive to support more understanding and inclusive programming on local AM stations.

Link...

2 seriously, 4 not so seriously.

This really hurts.
That is my church.
And it had to happen during a children's production of Annie.
Who knows what the motivation was.
I guess we'll find out.
Apparently members of the congregation tackled the guy.
Long blond hair in his 40s

ED. UPDATE: KNS: One fatality reported

"Make sure everyone knows that Greg McKendry was a hero, a total hero," Taylor Bessette said of the man who has been his foster father just a few months.

Witness Barbara Kemper said, "Greg McKendry stood in the front of the gunman and took the blast to protect the rest of us."

ED. UPDATE: News now reporting two fatalities. No word yet on who the second victim is.

ED. UPDATE: According to the updated KNS report, the shooter is identified as Jim D. Adkisson, a 58-year-old Powell man. He is being held on $1 million bond. Reports of a second fatality are unconfirmed by the KPD.

ED. UPDATE: WBIR: Second fatality confirmed

A second victim in the church shooting has died. Linda Kraeger, 73 years of age, has died from her wounds, according to city of Knoxville spokesman Randy Kenner.

ED. NOTE: KNS article says Linda Kraeger was 61.

Something struck me the other day at an Obama house party as I heard people going around the room, explaining why they support Barack, and in so doing obeying the culture of his campaign and delicately dancing around the subject of race.

The ideal of being color-blind is a joke. No one does it because no one can.

What is the Green Route? Think Orange Route (a highway that is a toll-road designed for big trucks) but going through a more densely populated, more rugged area in east Knox Co and Sevier Co. It makes the orange route into a genuine beltway around Knoxville.

Think of that nice whining sound that truck wheels make when they barrel down the road at 70 mph. Now think of that sound...in your back yard!

Judging by the route proposed
Link...

the following communities should start organizing unless they want to be paved over:

MPC fails to calculate the “cost of community services” for new development

Metropolitan Planning Commission (MPC) makes NO EFFORT to figure out the costs of serving new residential development with basic services such as roads, sewer, schools, fire, police, etc. As a result development occurs in parts of Knox county that are very costly to serve. 500 million dollars a year more costly! A report put out by Rutgers estimated that Nashville would save almost a billion dollars a year by managing all its growth so as to minimize the "cost of community services". At half of Nashville’s size, Knoxville could probably realize half as much by doing the same.