You Should See My Sad Face
Posted on September 30, 2009 at 7:23 pmAmerica’s super rich are getting poorer. For only the fifth time since 1982, the collective net worth of The Forbes 400, our annual tally of the nation’s richest people, has declined, falling $300 billion in the past 12 months from $1.57 trillion to $1.27 trillion.
No Love For Shield Laws
Posted on at 7:21 pmFrom Bob 55-40:
I do have a problem with press shield laws to begin with, especially since the PROFESSION of journalism has pretty much gone down the crapper. When so many journalists are no more than stenographer-outlets for anonymous sources, I don’t see any need to give them an immunity badge to wave around. Press-shield laws are only a recent development anyway, so it’s hard to make the claim that they can’t do their jobs without them.
But if journalists and bloggers would all get together and agree on a set of professional standards and a written code of ethics, maybe I could be less hard-hearted.
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Dude, Did You Wake Up China?
Posted on at 5:33 pmSen. Mark Norris shares more from his trip to the Far East:
President Hu will address millions attending a parade here in Beijing later this morning. More than 100,000 participants will march in what is billed as a bigger spectacle than the Olympics.
Security is extremely tight. We were required to move to a hotel inside the security zone late last night, and columns of tanks, missile launchers and other mechanized weaponry awakened us around 3 A.M., thundering into position on the parade route.
Yesterday was packed with diplomacy and economic development meetings as well as an obligatory visit to The Great Wall. Today, however, China’s only endeavor is to celebrate and communicate its success as a superpower.
Napolean was right. He said, “There lies a sleeping giant. Let him sleep! For when he wakes he will move the world.”
China sleeps no more.
New Website For Tennessee History
Posted on at 5:03 pmWBIR:
The Tennessee State Museum is planning to launch a new website devoted to the history and culture of the people of Tennessee.
The website, www.tn4me.org, begins with prehistoric times and continues through the present day. It features 600 different articles and nearly 4,000 images all related to the history of the state.
The curatorial staff at the Tennessee State Museum created the site with school-aged kids in mind.
Corker: France And Canada Have Parasitic Relationship With US
Posted on at 4:41 pmCNN:
During a hearing of the Special Committee on Aging, the Tennessee Republican told Canada’s former Public Health Minister, Dr. Carolyn Bennett, that her country is “living off of us” because they set lower prices for health care and “all the innovation, all the technology breakthroughs just about take place in our country and we have to pay for it.”
“It is not really our country so much is the problem, it’s sort of the parasitic relationship that Canada, and France, and other countries have towards us,” Corker said. “…You benefit from us, and we pay for that. And I resent that, and I want to figure out a way to solve that.”
Yarbro Should Quit Downtown Law Gig If He Wins Senate Seat
Posted on at 4:07 pmThat’s what Jeff Woods thinks anyway:
We asked Yarbro if he will quit the firm if he wins the election. “To be honest, I’m not sure,” he said. “I don’t have any intention to step down, but I haven’t made any sort of final decision on that.”
To be fair, Yarbro is a litigator. He doesn’t lobby for Bass Berry. Still, does anyone really expect this guy to keep an open mind when his lobbying colleague Dick Lodge walks into his office to ask for his vote for legislation benefiting, say, Gaylord? Clearly, Yarbro should promise right now that if he wins, he’ll leave Bass Berry.
That’s the decision Rep. Mike Stewart made last year when he was running to succeed Rob Briley. When Stewart won the election, he promptly quit Waller Lansden, another lobbying/law firm, to avoid any ethical conflicts. He didn’t want to look like Waller’s Manchurian candidate.
No Cutting: Jason Holleman Endorses Doug Henry Over Yarbro
Posted on at 3:39 pmThe Councilman lists the accomplishments of the state Senator from Belle Meade in a letter to friends:
I am writing to ask you to join the Committee to Re-Elect Senator Douglas Henry. If you are willing to lend your good name to this cause, it will make a difference in the election next year. He would like to compile a list of supporters for use on his website and in his fundraising invitations. You won’t be asked to raise money, but he does need your support in his upcoming campaign.
Senator Henry is one of my personal heroes. He is a man of unwavering principles who has served our state with dignity and courage, and I am unabashedly proud to say that he has been my State Senator throughout my entire life. Even when I have disagreed with his position on a particular issue, I have respected the process by which he arrived at his conclusion; he votes for what he believes is right, not what he believes is popular or politically advantageous.
If I have a criticism of Senator Henry, it is that he flat refuses to promote any of his contributions, and because he won’t do that, I feel like I should tell you a few that make me proud of him and that make me believe he should continue serving us in the General Assembly:
- Defeating the English Only proposition as a means of promoting multiculturalism is an achievement many of us in this city worked hard to accomplish in January. In 1986 — a time when multiculturalism was far less of a popular cause in Nashville — Senator Henry was a quiet force for advancing linguistics diversity. He was instrumental in establishing the Tennessee Foreign Language Institute, the only agency of its kind in any state government throughout the United States. TFLI provides ELS, translation, and other linguistics services to help citizens and businesses throughout our state reach intercultural communication goals. And, for anyone that doesn’t know, Senator Henry leads by example on this front ashe speaks 7 languages (English, German, French, Spanish, Italian, Greek & Latin). He even uses his free time to read the classics in the original Greek text.
- Radnor Lake is one of the recreational and ecological assets that makes Nashville such a special place to me. I spent a lot of time there as child and continue to do so as an adult. Without Senator Henry, there would be no Radnor Lake. The area once belonged to the L&N Railroad, which declared it to be a “Wildlife Sanctuary” in 1923. However, the property was sold to private investors in the 1960’s who planned to develop the area into a large subdivision. Senator Henry took action and played an integral role both through the personal expenditure of funds and through advocacy in state government — in the land being preserved in 1973 as the State’s first natural area and protected ecosystem.
- In his almost four decades of service, Senator Henry has never taken any per diem or travel expenses (even though he has represented the Tennessee General Assembly in several organizations that required national and international travel), and he has given hundreds of thousands of dollars of his legislative salary back to the people of Tennessee.
- In 1972, Senator Henry authored the first child restraint law in the United States, and it became a model for states across the country. Though no one would consider this bold legislation today, it was at the time The next time you buckle your child into his or her safety seat, think about the number of lives Senator Henry’s leadership has saved.
- Senator Henry has an unparalleled — and almost incomprehensible — knowledge of the state budget.
- Senator Henry is 83 years old . . . but he still goes out on a limb when his constituents need him. When the May Town Center was proposed earlier this year, Senator Henry filed a bill in the General Assembly that would have created a Rural and Natural Resources Area from Beaman Park to the bottom of Bells Bend. Within that area, development would have been limited to one dwelling or primary structure per 10 acres if two-thirds of area residents elected to have the RANRA designation.
Filing this bill lost Senator Henry friends and supporters. Senator Henry didn’t have to file the bill. He could have have very easily taken a pass on the issue, as conventional wisdom says that land use is primarily the purview of the Metro Council. However, he didn’t take a pass. He did what he thought was right.
Senator Henry would be most grateful for your endorsement. I hope that you will give it to him. Please email me and let me know.
Thank you,
Jason Holleman
Metro Council, District 24
4210 Park Avenue
Nashville, Tennessee 37209
Yarbro Bags 50K On Act Blue
Posted on at 3:10 pmJeff Yarbro, the Nashville attorney who announced on Tuesday that he would be challenging longtime incumbent State Sen. Doug Henry in next year’s August Democratic primary, has raised more than $50,000 online in the one day since he announced his candidacy.
State Health Commissioner Gets The Bug
Posted on at 3:06 pmTom Humphrey reports:
State Health Commissioner Susan R. Cooper believes she had a case of H1N1 flu, which should leave her immunized against a recurrence, but still plans to be inoculated against the ailment when vaccine becomes available later this year.
Making A Memory
Posted on at 2:58 pmFrom the Times Free Press:
About 160 Democrats feasted on pinto beans and turnip greens Tuesday night to signify “hard times” and rally for 2010 gubernatorial and state legislative candidates.
Former state Sen. Jim Lewis, D-South Pittsburg, organizer of the dinner, said it was a reprise of the “hard times” dinner the county party had in the early 1980s. He said people were hurting economically then and they’re hurting now.
“I thought we’d create some memories for some younger Democrats,” he said.
Um, That’s Awkward
Posted on at 2:17 pmSouthComm’s in-house (figuratively) chronicler and critic talks about what he sees an an inability by Nashville media to get their political coverage in order:
Even so, the absence of any print or broadcast reporters affiliated with press outlets based in Nashville — the state’s capital and largest metropolitan area — raises questions about the health of serious journalism here in Music City. The problem is perhaps more institutional than individual: Nashville has some talented political reporters, but the papers and stations they work for aren’t creating the conditions for aggressive, full-time beat coverage of state government and politics.
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Gore Vidal On Obama
Posted on at 1:36 pmHe’s adjusted his tune a wee bit:
Vidal originally became pro-Obama because he grew up in “a black city” (meaning Washington), as well as being impressed by Obama’s intelligence. “But he believes the generals. Even Bush knew the way to win a general was to give him another star. Obama believes the Republican Party is a party when in fact it’s a mindset, like Hitler Youth, based on hatred - religious hatred, racial hatred. When you foreigners hear the word ‘conservative’ you think of kindly old men hunting foxes. They’re not, they’re fascists.”
Pining For Elitism
Posted on at 1:30 pmThe quote of the day:
Only if the elites had any power. But the elites have either left or have thrown their lot in with the populist maniacs.
Ron Paul, Perot-Style
Posted on at 1:00 pmBut Republicans could also suffer from dealignment. I’m already thinking that Ron Paul is hatching various alternative schemes that could make 2012 another 1992, when Ross Perot’s insurgent campaign cost George H.W. Bush his reelection. Recently, Paul installed one of his high priestesses, Debra Medina, in the Texas gubernatorial race, adding to the field that is already too crowded with Rick Perry and Kay Bailey Hutchison. So why would Paul do this? He may be currying favor with Rick Perry. Perry probably benefits by having another female in the race, to rob a few feminist votes from Hutchison.
So if Perry prevails because of Paul’s sidekick, the Texas governor will owe the doctor favors in case he runs for president in 2012 as a Republican. But who knows? Perry, the secessionist, could join Dr. Paul in an even more probable scenario.
My better guess is that the Medina candidacy is a Paul stunt to justify his leaving the Republican Party in 2011 to run a Perot-style campaign for president.
Do We Need To Know The Salary Of Every State Employee?
Posted on at 12:17 pmRob Robinson doesn’t think so.
Right-Wing Radio Talker Tells Fellow Wingnuts To Simmer Down On Obama
Posted on at 12:16 pmMike Slater on the mic:
Conservatives, enough ripping on Obama for going to Copenhagen to try and get the Olympics in Chicago. Are you telling me that if you were president you wouldn’t also want the Olympics in your hometown?
“But he’s flying all over the world when we have stuff to take care of here!” Really? He doesn’t have a phone? This is the same nonsense the Left whipped out when Bush went to Crawford, complaining about his long vacations, as if he didn’t do any work when in Crawford. The President can do what he needs to do on the plane and in Copenhagen. And I thought we didn’t want the President with his hands on everything?
Message To Karl Dean
Posted on at 12:13 pmIt’s no secret that I am a political conservative, and I’ve never been afraid to speak my mind, even living in a moderate city and council district. I am slightly to the right of my neighbors, although you know as well as I that West Meade is not exactly a breeding ground for firebrands either way.
And yes, I voted for your main opponent, but you were slowly growing on me, until lately.
That being said, if you are actively recruiting an opponent for my Metro councilman, Emily Evans, even a conservative one, you are going to have a fight on your hands.
And you will lose.
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National Republican Think They Have A Shot At Tanner And Gordon
Posted on at 12:10 pmGordon’s 6th District gave Obama just 37 percent of the vote, down from John Kerry’s 40 percent performance in 2004.
Tennessee Democrats note that Gordon has never lost a county in any of his congressional campaigns dating back to 1984. And he has plenty of campaign cash — $1.19 million on hand at the end of June — to fend off competition.
Democrats question Zelenik’s political viability, pointing to her loss in a Republican state House primary in 2008. She also has a habit of making provocative comments — her blog has referred to Obama as a Nazi and a socialist — that excite activists but aren’t likely to appeal to independent-oriented voters.
“The tea baggers in Tennessee are a small, well-organized group, but they don’t reflect the real feelings in that district,” said state Democratic Party Chairman Chip Forrester.
Tanner has taken a different tack from Gordon by actively distancing himself from the Democratic leadership. He was one of three Democrats on the House Ways and Means Committee to join Republicans in voting against the health care bill, and he has met with White House officials to inform them he can’t support health care reform as it’s currently constituted.
Leadbetter Says Publicly He Will Challenge Campfield
Posted on at 12:04 pmCampfield was the first Republican to announce plans to succeed Burchett, who represents the 7th District, largely in northern and western Knoxville and Knox County.
Leadbetter said he believes voters will prefer his style to Campfield’s, which he said can be combative.
“I’m a Ronald Reagan Republican. He was very good about standing firm with what he believed in, but also could work with people he did not agree with,” Leadbetter said.
Leadbetter ran against Campfield in 2008 for the 18th District House seat, with Campfield defeating him in the Republican primary with 53.5 percent of the vote. Leadbetter received 43 percent and a minor candidate got 3.5 percent.
Cohen And King Willie Agree To Debate
Posted on at 11:59 amFrom the Appeal:
Former Memphis mayor Willie Herenton and incumbent U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen have agreed to at least one televised debate next July, both said this morning.
Herenton said he has been formally invited by WREG-Channel 3 general manager Ron Walter and plans to accept.
“I have affirmatively agreed to do that,” Herenton said in a telephone interview.
Cohen said it would be “a treat” to debate the former mayor if it doesn’t conflict with his Congressional responsibilities. He said July is so far off that “there are people who are going to get pregnant and have children by then.”
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