The Tennessean talks to several Tennessee bloggers about the state of blogging in Tennessee.

Do you recall the last time you saw Phil Bredesen stumping at a Wal-Mart on bread-&-butter issues?

Yeah. Me neither...

"I particularly hope he strengthens his economic message — even Senator Obama can speak more clearly and specifically about the kitchen-table, bread-and-butter issues like high energy costs," said Gov. Ted Strickland of Ohio. "It's fine to tell people about hope and change, but you have to have plenty of concrete, pragmatic ideas that bring hope and change to life."

Or, in the blunter words of Gov. Phil Bredesen, Democrat of Tennessee: "Instead of giving big speeches at big stadiums, he needs to give straight-up 10-word answers to people at Wal-Mart about how he would improve their lives."

[snip]

Mr. Bredesen, of Tennessee, said that while the Democrats had little chance of carrying his state — the Obama camp is sending Mr. Bredesen to campaign in other states — Mr. Obama could still take steps to appeal to undecided Democrats there that might increase his chances elsewhere.

"I would really like to see him do things in Tennessee that would help in other working-class and blue-collar places, like Ohio," Mr. Bredesen said. "Job security and health care are huge here. He needs to come to the aisle of Home Depot and show them that a Harvard graduate — which I am as well — knows how to help them."

Thanks, Phil. Thanks for using your leadership position to help keep Tennessee in the "net export" column for the Democratic Party.

(Surely a Harvard man like Phil ought to be able to quickly translate, "Qu'ils mangent de la brioche." Naturelment. Certainly, job security and health care are huge here - with an unemployment rate a full point & change worse than the national rate and 15.7% of the population currently uninsured - they're huge, festering problems. And in a lamentably predictable tradition befitting this deeply conservative technocrat, the "answer" is apparently to keep making deeper cuts.)

The Green Party of TN is honored to host Ms McKinney as she visits 4
communities across the state this week. “From community problems like
landfill issues in Dickson to community solutions like the Biofuels plant
in Memphis and community gardens in Nashville Ms McKinney will get to talk
to people who are impacted and those with community-based solutions, a
Green Party Key Value”, said Katey Culver Green Party of TN Co-chair.

Wednesday, August 20th McKinney will make 3 stops in Memphis.
That evening she will be in Jackson, Tennessee for a fundraiser hosted by
the Madison County Green Party.

Thursday, August 21st McKinney's first stop is in Dickson to meet with
representatives of the community who have been affected by the dumping of
toxic waste in their community. Then to Nashville for an 11:00 AM Press
Conference in Room 31, Legislative Plaza speaking to the press about her
campaign. This event is open to the public. Following the press
conference Ms McKinney will speak directly to the public and take
questions. This will also be in Legislative Plaza, Room 31.

That morning Greens will turn in their nominating petitions to secure her
position on the general election ballot in Tennessee. “Due to
Tennessee's oppressive election access laws Ms McKinney will be listed
on the ballot as an independent candidate which we can achieve with 275 valid signatures. It would take over 45,000 valid signatures to get her listed with the “Green” affiliation. The Green Party is currently a litigant against the state seeking ballot access laws that are fair”, said John Miglietta a delegate to the Green Party of the US and a Green Candidate for US House District 5.

Following the Press Conference she is scheduled to visit Tennessee State
University, Fisk University and Carver Food Park where Sizwe Herring of
EarthMatters Tennessee teaches children and community members about the
value of composting and principles of ecology.

Cynthia McKinney in her Chicago acceptance speech indicated why she had
chosen to go Green, saying, "In 2008, after two stolen Presidential elections and
eight years of George W. Bush, and at least two years of Democratic Party
complicity, the racket is about war crimes, torture, crimes against the
peace; the racket is about crimes against the Constitution, crimes against
the American people, and crimes against the global community. The racket
is even about values that we thought were long settled as reasonable to
pursue, like liberty and justice, and economic opportunity, for all."

As the Green Party candidate, issues of environmental and racial justice will highlight her Tennessee visit. “Cynthia has chosen to visit people and places that the Democrats and Republicans would would rather forget, such as the victims of environmental racism in Dickson, Tennessee. I think this is why Cynthia is the best choice this election season, because it is clear that she is the people's candidate," said Chris Lugo Green candidate for the US Senate.

Scheduled Itinerary Available Upon Request:

For More Information Contact:

Katey Culver, Green Party of TN,
Committee Co-chair, 615-416-1908
katey@gp.org

Chris Lugo, Green Candidate, US Senate,
615-593-0304, chris4senate@gmail.com

I haven't done any heavy number-crunching, but it appears to me that the Knoxville News-Sentinel's website gets more comments than The Tennessean's website.

Does anyone have an explanation for this, given that the latter has a larger circulation and market?

A new study by the Tax Foundation says Tennessee has the seventh lowest tax burden (as a percentage of income) of any state in the US, at 8.3%. The six states with a lower tax burden?

Alaska, 6.4 percent
Nevada, 6.6 percent
Wyoming, 7.0 percent
Florida, 7.4 percent
New Hampshire, 7.6 percent
South Dakota, 7.9 percent

link and some commentary here.

Mike Padgett came in third in the race for the U.S. Senate Democratic nomination. The News Sentinel reported on the front page that Padgett "tied for third," but the State of Tennessee Division of Elections begs to differ:

Bob Tuke 58946 32.3%
Gary Davis 38971 21.3%
Mike Padgett 33341 18.2%
Mark Clayton 32160 17.6%
Kenneth Eaton 14638 8.0%
Leonard Ladner 4668 2.6%

There was another interesting outcome over in Blount and Sevier Counties. In the Republican primary for the State Senate 8th District, Former Rep. Doug Overbey knocked off incumbent Sen. Raymond Finney by a scant 139 votes:

Jim Bishop 977 4.6%
Raymond Finney 10036 47.4%
Doug Overbey 10175 48%

Finney carried Blount Co. by a huge margin, but Overbey scored big in Sevier Co. Which is odd, because I would have guessed that nobody over there had ever heard of him. The 20th House district, Overbey's former seat that he gave up to run against Finney, is a relatively small part of Blount Co. Finney did not concede and says he wants a recount.

Some other incumbents got the boot, including U.S. Rep. David Davis in TN-1, who lost in the Republican primary to challenger Phil Roe by 460 votes. In the State Senate 14th district Democratic primary, incumbent Sen. Steve Roller lost to Eric Stewart by 131 votes.

Sen. Rosalind Kurita narrowly defeated Democratic primary challenger Tim Barnes by only 19 votes in a hotly contested race. Barnes is considering a challenge.

In another "turnout counts" election, Blount County school board candidate Patricia Bell lost by only 14 votes.

In the "poetic justice" department, incumbent U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen hammered Nikki Tinker, who drew national attention and the ire of Barack Obama for running racist ads, by more than 60 points in the Tennessee 9th Congressional district Democratic primary.

The Black Wednesday victories in Knox County were real puzzlers, especially some of the margins.

The most surprising to me was the race for Sheriff, with Republican J.J. Jones beating Democrat Randy Tyree by nearly 16 points. I really thought it would be closer than that, and that Tyree actually had a chance for a narrow victory. Again, low turnout was probably a factor, as were short memories and scandal fatigue.

The other disappointing result was Property Assessor. Andrew Graybeal was clearly the more qualified candidate, but Black Wednesday candidate Phil Ballard won by more than 25 points. Go figure.

Congratulations to Sam McKenzie in County Commission 1-A, Amy Broyles in 2-B, and Finbarr Saunders in 4-A for their decisive victories.

Something to look forward to:

The federal utility announced today a double-digit increase in its power rates this fall. The exact increase will be disclosed later this month, but it is expected to be the largest since TVA launched its fuel cost adjustment program in 2006. The program is set up to allow the power provider and its utilities to pass fuel price fluctuations on to customers.

TVA President and CEO Tom Kilgore said Wednesday in a conference call that customers could expect increases in electricity rates similar to those experienced by other utilities nationwide, citing a percentage range in the "mid-teens to mid-20s."

The higher rates will go into effect Oct. 1.

Someone should notify the Congressional Republicans, so they can give speeches before an empty chamber. Undoubtedly, such a protest would drive electricity prices down.

TDOT reaffirms its plans for the extension of the "Orange Route" east into Jefferson County, as per a blog a few days ago: Link...

A blogger posted that nobody would care until TDOT had it in its plans. In announcing that the Orange Route will not be a toll road (because of local citizen opposition!), TDOT makes it pretty clear that it has every intention of building the "Green Route" and, in so doing, forever destroying a huge part of east Knox and Sevier and Jefferson Counties. See:http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2008/aug/05/tdot-nixe s-toll-parkway/

As TDOT Commissioner Nicely put it: "We simply will not further consider tolling as a funding mechanism for this project nor for a possible extension of the parkway on to I-40 East."

Maybe all this will go away because TDOT will not find the money without tolls, or maybe TDOT will give up paving the state and spend money on railroads and maybe the Tooth Fairy will Rule. But I doubt it. There is too much money to be made "developing" and paving the state for people who care about sprawl and the ruination of east TN to stay indifferent.

ANCIENT BRONZES OF THE ASIAN GRASSLANDS closes Sunday at the McClung Museum. Visit the McClung page on Art Museum Touring.com (Link...). Ancient Bronzes of the Asian Grasslands is a traveling collection of steppe art from the collection of the Arthur M. Sackler Foundation, curated by Trudy Kawami, Ph.D. The exhibit has on display works illustrating the decorations and equipment of the ancient steppe dwellers.

Support your local galleries and museums! They are economic engines for your community.

Sherrie

Per Slate, not in Tennessee. Maybe it should be, especially given how polarized we have become and due to over-the-top hatemongering that's in vogue.

Another way we might use this tragedy to improve our world.

U.S. Senate Candidate Daniel Lewis Calls for a Repeal of all Federal Gun Laws
Nashville, Tennessee, July 28, 2008 – Daniel Lewis, the Libertarian Party of Tennessee’s candidate for United States Senate calls for a repeal of all Federal Gun Laws.
Tragically we live in a world where events such as Sunday’s (July 27, 2008) shooting at a Knoxville church do occur. Now is a time to reach out with compassion to the victims of this tragedy, their families and their community. Even more tragically opponents of gun rights always react to these events in the same way by calling for more gun laws. Federal gun laws are about 90 thousand words long (or 350 pages). One of these laws, the Gun Control Act of 1968 is very similar in wording to the 1938 Nazi Gun Control law. All tyrannies enact gun laws to leave the people defenseless against oppression and genocide. The American revolution started when the British tried to takes the colonists guns.
Gun statistics generally continue to follow the same trends. Crime is higher in areas where governments create strict gun bans and lower where gun ownership is unrestricted. This is just a logical conclusion criminals are more likely to try to commit a crime where they know they run a lower risk of facing an armed victim. After Washington D.C. passed a gun ban in 1976, its homicide rate rose 200%. Guns are used more often in defense against a crime then they are to be used in the commission of a crime. Tragedies such as the shooting in Knoxville could be prevented with less restrictive gun laws. Statistics tell us it is very likely the outcome would have been less tragic, and perhaps the criminal who committed this act of violence, would not even have considered committing this crime, if he would have been walking into a group of people that he knew might be armed. Only about 7% of carrier criminals obtain guns from a licensed gun shop. Only about 1% of crimes committed with handguns were committed by persons who legally had a right to even have the gun on them at the time. In conclusion it is time to repeal all Federal Gun laws. The right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.

Is a job at the VW plant in Chattanooga really worth $250,000.00 in public support? See Link...
ssee-subsidy-deal-are-taxpayers-being-taken-for-a-ride/

for the start of an analysis that I have not seen initiated by any media around here.

A real, honest-to-God nashville recording studio -- Dualtone, the same outfit that's releasing the Redstate UPdate CD -- is redoing John's CD and releasing it this summer. Here's a promo they've put on Youtube. I really, really like it. You'll see some familiar faces here, and one that might surprise you.

Link...

Now that the United States manufacturing base has eroded to next to nothing, and with the sharp spikes in the price of commodity items (owing largely to the fact that these are priced in heavily devalued dollars in commodity markets), the latest economic crisis is causing acute pain in the service industry.

What does it take to raise our collective consciousness about this? Well, it appears to be that Starbucks is poised to create what amounts to an inconvenience for many - having to drive out of the way to get a cup of second-rate, boutique-brewed coffee. This is not to trivialize the experience of the people losing their jobs; however, it does point up the sort of thing that will stir the populace into action.

I sort of had to laugh when I found out that people were organizing to "Save Our Starbucks," as if a community would be endangered by such an economic sucker punch. Could it possibly be that Starbucks has overextended itself, has become a victim of its own exuberance, and that they have passed the point of market saturation in many locales?

Never mind that businesses that have had major presence in Tennessee, such as Murray or Carrier or White Lily or Electrolux or Whirlpool or Modine or Superior Industries or Brown Shoe Company or Aleris or Horace Small Apparel or Huttig or Federal-Mogul or Siegel-Robert Automotive South or Eastman Chemical or GM/Saturn or La-Z-Boy or RH Donnelly or Goodyear or JC Penney or Paccar or Fedders or Levi Strauss have reduced or eliminated thousands of good paying jobs over the last decade...

And it occurs to me: We, as a country, don't really make goods anymore. We make coffee.

That's pretty weak tea for what used to be the most developed country in the world.

Early voting is underway, and election day is a little less than three weeks away. Here are our endorsements.

County General:

County Commission 1-A: Sam McKenzie (D)
County Commission 2-B: Amy Broyles (D)
County Commission 4-A: Finbarr Saunders (D)
County Commission 4-B: Steve Drevik (D)
County Commission 6-A: Kathy Bryant (D)
County Commission 9-A: Chuck Ward (D)
Criminal Court Judge Div. II: Ken Irvine (D)
Property Assessor: Andrew Graybeal (D)
Register of Deeds: Scott Emge (D)
Sheriff: Randy Tyree (D)

Primaries:

TN House 16th District: Barbara Nicodemus (D)
TN Senate 14th District: Steve Roller (D)
TN Senate 16th District: Jean Anne Rogers (D)
TN Senate 22nd District: Rosalind Kurita (D)
U.S. House 1st District: Rob Russell (D)
U.S. House 2nd District: Bob Scott (D)
U.S. House 4th District: Lincoln Davis (D)
U.S. Senate: Bob Tuke

Discuss...

When picking numbers for the Tennessee Powerball lottery game, there are 42 possible powerball numbers, 1 - 42. Scroll down to see a picture of a Powerbal lottery playslip. I recently purchase three quickpick Powerball lottery tickets. The Powerball numbers were 10, 38, and 42.

Out of the last 162 Powerball drawings (January 3, 2007 through July 16, 2008 ), numbers below 20 were picked 92 times (56.8%) and numbers 20 and above were picked 70 times (43.2%). There are 19 numbers below 20 (45.2%) and 23 numbers 20 and above (54.8%). Prior to 2007, powerball picks of numbers 20 and above were picked more often, as you would think they might be as there are more numbers. In 2007 and so far in 2008, powerball picks of numbers less than 20 have been picked more often (see counts after the Read more). Did something change in 2007 or is this just a phenomenon that happens with lotteries?

Also, how is that in the last 7 powerballs, three of them were 17? In 2008, the most picked powerball number was? 17, picked 5 times.

Do they still pick powerball numbers with the ping pong balls or do they now use a computer?

Does any of this really matter?

That's the apparent almost confirmed rumor at TennesseeTicket.com

Americans believe they have one of the best, if not the best, standard of living in the world. Indeed, some Americans have a fantastic standard of living, while millions of others live in near third world conditions. Many people who are poor, infirm, elderly or sick will turn to their family or community for aid and support in times of need. When that is not available they will turn to the government for help. The public welfare tradition of government support is a relatively new tradition, started in full force during the great depression of the 1930's through the recognition of government as a positive force for social change. Since that time, there has been a continuous dialectic between supporters of government as a basic safety net and detractors of government who feel that family is the basic social unit of society, and that government interference weakens the family and diminishes America.

At TennViews...

Necklace
Linda McLaughlin
Category - Metal

The Cumberland Valley Tennessee Association of Craft Artists opens Friday, July 11, their juried exhibition at the Metro Parks’ Centennial Art Center gallery in Nashville. Visit the Centennial Art Center page on Art Museum Touring.com (Link...) and view info about the opening reception on the Events page (Link...). It is a juried, group exhibit by twenty-nine members of the CV-TACA on display July 11 through July 31. The Centennial Art Center has just recently joined Art Museum Touring.com.

In Knoxville, the Blount Mansion (Link...) has the artists reception Friday for their current exhibition Unfound, a two man show featuring the works of Calvin Chappelle and Ryan Kelley that started on July 1. the Events page (Link...) will let you know the time if you are interested in going.

Support your local galleries and museums! They are economic engines for your community.

Sherrie

Today is the last day to register to vote in the Aug. 7th county general and state/federal primary elections. Early voting starts July 18th.

The Front Page Follies is an annual roast in which a cast of journalists, community members and a sprinkling of cameo appearances poke fun at newsmakers and events that amused us during the previous year. All ticket sales benefit journalism education through scholarships.

The Thirtieth Annual Front Page Follies will be staged July 19, 2008, at the Knoxville Convention Center. The honorees are “Sunshine Boys,” News Sentinel editor Jack McElroy and first amendment attorney Richard Hollow, caricatured at left. Please see “2008 Honorees” page for more about why they are our choice for this year’s honor.

Tickets are available at $100 each or a pre-reserved table of ten for $1,000. Your ticket proceeds go toward an endowment fund at the University of Tennessee, which is growing to a point where it will become self-perpetuating, generating funds for the scholarships in perpetuity. Our goal is to fund two endowments of $25,000 each and we are halfway there. Income from the Follies also funds a scholarship for a student at Pellissippi State Technical Community College who plans a career in journalism. We are excited to have come so far and hope you’ll join us in making this year’s show a success!

More info: Link...

Tennessean: Authorities found 747 live animals and 12 dead ones at Pine Bluff "Kennels."

Compare and contrast.

Sounds like they ought to add fraud to the list of charges.

George W Bush is perhaps the worst American president who has ever served. To this day it is a mystery to me how the man was able to gain the Republican nomination, steal the election, start two wars, get re-elected and then drag on a failed war for five years and drive the economy into the ground without getting impeached. Although the light is fading on the Presidency of Bush, it is not too late to impeach the man who lied to us about weapons of mass destruction. As of result of the President's deception, over four thousand American soldiers have died in Iraq and tens of thousands have been wounded, not to mention the one million or so Iraqis who have died directly or indirectly due to Bush's interference in their country.

Isn't this great! Yet another story about how wonderful and open-minded we are here in Tennessee.

The Young Husband: First Marketing
Painting
Lilly Martin Spencer

The exhibition of Lilly Martin Spencer Women’s Work closes Sunday at the Hunter Museum of American Art in Chattanooga. Visit the Hunter page on Art Museum Touring.com (Link...), also see their summer events on our Events page (Link...). This show examines the work of Lilly Martin Spencer. Spencer was one of the few women in 19th century America who earned her living as an artist. Today scholars of American art study her paintings to learn more about the dynamics of domestic life in the mid 19th century.

Support your local galleries and museums! They are economic engines for your community.

Sherrie

Big brother is watching you and his name is AT&T. Sometimes he goes by the name of BellSouth and at other times he is known as AOL-Time-Warner. Big brother goes by a lot of names. He is listening to you while you talk and watching you while you type and everything you say could be recorded so he can look at it somewhere down the line. Now everyone knows that it is not polite to intrude on people in their private moments. The problem is that big brother doesn't seem to know that peeking into people's private communication is wrong and it should be illegal. Unfortunately President Bush wants to continue to grant immunity to telecommunications companies in the name of the so called 'war on terror' which in actuality is a war on the American people and the telecommunications infrastructure is the front line in the gradual diminishment of civil rights that Congress has permitted in recent years.

Waterfall at Stone Fort, TN
Rod Shean
digitally enhanced photograph

The Centennial Art Center show of three Nashville area photographers - Joe Fizer, Randy Muir and Rod Shean - ends June 27 at Metro Parks' Centennial Art Center gallery. Visit the Centennial Art Center page on Art Museum Touring.com (Link...). They have just recently joined Art Museum Touring.com.

Support your local galleries and museums! They are economic engines for your community.

Sherrie

The Tennessean reports that local authorities working with the Humane Society of the U.S. have rescued more than 700 animals from a puppy mill in Hickman Co. just west of Nashville. They say it is the largest known puppy mill rescue ever conducted in Tennessee. A criminal investigation will follow.

Here's the Humane Society's press release.

Here's disturbing video from the scene for anyone who ever wondered what it looks like in a puppy mill.

Unfortunately, many of the pets you see in newspaper and internet ads, and in pet stores, come from puppy mills and their brokers. They are usually AKC "registered," and wholesale puppy mills are "licensed" and "regulated" by the USDA. Puppy mills that sell direct are generally not regulated.

The Humane Society of the U.S. has lots of information about puppy mills. Learn how you can avoid buying a puppy mill pet. The best way is to find a responsible breeder (they generally don't advertise and they definitely don't sell in pet stores), or better yet adopt through a pet rescue organization or your local shelter.

Joe Powell has an excellent interview with Rob Russell, the Democratic candidate for U.S. House of Representatives in the Tennessee First Congressional District. The seat is currently held by Republican Rep. David Davis.

There's a lot of talk about whether a Democrat can compete in this district, which Republicans have controlled since 1881. Davis is finishing up his first term, but faces a credible Republican primary challenger, Phil Rowe, who has raised a lot of money.

(See here for a list of all the candidates.)

Davis hasn't accomplished much, and he has a lot of ties to special interests, including the pharmaceutical industry. Last year, his office was caught "scrubbing" Davis' Wikipedia page to remove information about his ties to King Pharmaceuticals. And now there are accusations that the staffer got a bonus for his efforts.

King Pharmaceuticals was involved in a 2005 $124 million settlement with the DOJ regarding "allegations that it underpaid rebates owed under the Medicaid program [including TennCare] and overcharged various federal and state governmental entities for its drug products." There is also controversy surrounding campaign contributions and PACs operated by the company's CEO.

Davis also came under fire for voting in support of dog fighting.

According to GovTrac.us, "David Davis has sponsored 18 bills since Jan 4, 2007, of which 16 haven't made it out of committee." None were successfully enacted. Among the bills Davis sponsored are designation of "American Eagle Day" and expressing support of "National Carriage Driving Month." His first bill, "To enhance the integrity of the United States against the threat of terrorism," would have provided Homeland Security funds to state and local law enforcement for immigration enforcement. The rest of his bills appear to be related to import duties on chemicals used in the pharmaceutical and chemical industries. Davis is endorsed by the National Right to Life and gets an "A" rating from the NRA.

While it's conceivable that Davis could be kicked out in the primary, it will be a tough row to hoe for Democrats in the general. But go read Joe Powell's interview with Rob Russell, and ask yourself, why not a Democrat, and why not now? That's the question for voters in the Tennessee 1st Congressional District. Do they want more of the same, or is it time to try something different?