Williams told The Associated Press at a fundraiser for his political action committee in Knoxville on Friday night that he has several colleagues working toward a decision as soon as possible.

In the Elizabethton restauranteur’s words: “I just want to know where I stand.”

“I am grateful to the thousands of Nashville-area residents who have shared their opinion on health care reform with me. Everyone feels strongly because health care is so important to our lives. Having read the pending bills and having taught health policy at Vanderbilt business school for twelve years, I have made the following decision:

I will vote yes on H.R. 3962. My vote is not an endorsement of all the provisions of the bill because I find much of the bill to be deeply flawed. There is little chance that H.R. 3962 will become law due to the long legislative process.

My reason for voting yes is to advance the cause of health care reform by forcing the Senate to act. Without passage of this House bill, the Senate could delay reform indefinitely. That would be the worst possible outcome because our current health-care system is not sustainable. Congress needs to pass good health legislation in the next few months for the good of the country.

Passing legislation is a little like writing a term paper in school. The first draft is usually not very good. The second draft is better — H.R. 3962 is the second draft. The bill that the Senate will vote on will be the third draft, which I expect to show major improvement. The final draft will be written next month when the House and the Senate vote on the same bill. I will continue to work hard to make sure that the final legislation helps all of our families get quality, affordable health care.”

SEE ALSO: Jeff Woods

Haslam sent people and bought tables, but a conservative event in his own hometown was not good enough for him to be there and actively stump for himself. Bill Dunn is one of the few reputable conservatives openly supporting Haslam and gave a good speech and actually made a decent argument for the Mayor. When Dunn’s speech was over, I wanted badly to put Dunn’s name into nomination in place of Haslam.

Police said a female Fort Campbell soldier was killed by her husband in an apparent murder-suicide at an Oak Grove, Ky., home Friday afternoon.

A hypothetical: If Hasan were Jewish or Christian, would the religion have been notable? Well, no, unless he were a radical Zionist or a fundamentalist Christian. Even these distinctions, however, still hinge on some related or external motive (Iran, abortion, whatever).

Hasan could be a Seung-Hui Cho — a seriously overlooked mental instability waiting to explode. His politics, while influenced by his faith, could have been the largest contributing factor. It is, clearly, possible to have an irrational, bitter hatred of U.S. policy in the Mid East in the last decade. It’s possible to imagine a scenario involving dogmatic political views, mental instability, perhaps a personal crisis, and an impending deployment to a war zone without religion touching the thought process.

“In recent months, I have discussed with countless Tennesseans their ideas for how we can achieve the overarching goals of health care reform: to keep what works in the present system and fix what is broken.

“All Americans should have access to affordable, quality health care, and those who already have health coverage they like should be able to keep it. Most of us also agree that the sky-rocketing costs of medical care pose financial problems for families, small businesses, states and the federal government. Addressing these costs, which will continue to rise, should be the primary goal of any bill passed by the House.

“After careful review of the current legislation pending in the House and the Congressional Budget Office’s analysis, I believe the bill will not help control the long-term costs of health care and puts in place an infrastructure that is not fiscally sustainable over time. I am unable to support this legislation in its present form.

“Most of us realize that serious reforms are needed to fix what is broken in our health care system. Specifically, we should work to reform health insurance; ensure no one can be denied health coverage because of a pre-existing condition; and slow the upward curve of health care costs. I will continue talking with Tennesseans and working with others to achieve these goals, improve our health care system and ensure our reforms help solve, rather than contribute to, our nation’s long-term fiscal challenges.”

Its chairman, Lloyd Daugherty, said today that despite Ramsey’s straw-poll win, “It’s my sense that conservatives have not consolidated behind one candidate yet. I think it’s up for grabs. I think it had a lot do with Ramsey becoming a known quantity with regard to state issues.”

Daugherty said it indicates conservatives are still mixed over Haslam, partly because his father, Knoxville businessman Jim Haslam, is a major financier of moderate Republicans.

“I think with conservatives, he’s got to prove he’s his own man. Most people think he’s done a good job as mayor but I don’t think anybody can say he’s governed as a conservative but more as a businessman. I think his strength is not of philosophy but of style, and people just like the guy,” he said.

Speaker Kent Williams (R*-Elizabethton) met with committee chairmen and other House leaders Wednesday to discuss a timetable for shutting down committees.

The goal is to end the session in April or at the latest early May. Of course, early May also was an initial goal in the 2009 session, which ended June 18…

…Crucial to chances for a short session will be the consideration of Gov. Phil Bredesen’s budget. The proposal won’t be pretty. It likely will include layoffs. But unless someone comes up with a better idea, senior lawmakers will want it viewed as Bredesen’s plan rather than theirs and passed early, so they can get back to their districts.

In the House, to speed things along, several rules changes are being considered, including one to cut down on “special presentations” on the House floor — which this year included such things as gospel music performances, recognition of youth sports teams, an appearance by the Mule Day queen, and a cheerleading routine by a high school squad, complete with a girl tossed in the air. Another idea is to limit the number of bills members can file.

Radio station WVOL-AM ran an ad, voiced by Pam Murray, that says attorney Jamie Hollin has exhibited bizarre behavior and associates with drug dealers.

Hollin said that claim is ludicrous but explained that he does have some reformed felons volunteering on his campaign.

“We saw some increase I think as a result of the change in the law but I think we were starting to get some increase anyway,” said Alan Coverstone, the district’s executive director of charter schools and private schools.

“What we haven’t seen yet is the really experienced applicants, who will be forthcoming,” he said, adding the current applicants all have work to do.

On Monday, November 2, 2009, nine citizens of Tipton County were indicted by the Tipton County Grand Jury for the Class D Felony offenses of illegal Voter Registration and/or Illegal Voting.

The indictments result from a cooperative investigation by and between the State Coordinator of Elections from the Tennessee Secretary of State’s Office, the Tipton County Election Commission, and the 25th Judicial District Attorney General’s Office and charge the following people with illegally registering to vote and/or illegally voting at various times during the election cycle of 2008, after they were convicted of disqualifying felony offense.

All six defendants appeared Thursday in the Tipton County Circuit Court for arraignment on the charges, upon criminal summonses issued by the Court. Three unnamed defendants have been indicted, but have not yet been served with process or arraigned. Their identities will be released upon proper service and arraignment.

District Attorney General D. Michael Dunavant would like to thank Tennessee Secretary of State Tre Hargett State Coordinator of Elections Mark Goins, and Tipton County Election Administrator Linda. Burnett for their diligent work and cooperation in identifying, investigating and documenting these cases of election fraud in Tipton County.

See the full release with the names of the arraigned and the full list of charges here.

Sen. Alexander “is an invited guest and is not a contributor,” said Mike Alder, a Republican activist involved in the Williams fundraiser. “We are all very pleased he is coming and this underlines the Speaker’s determination to strengthen our Republican majority.”

SEE ALSO: Humphrey

[State Rep. Judy] Barker - a first-term Democratic lawmaker from Union City - told KYTN radio she was unaware the per diem rate for expenses such as food and lodging for legislators on state business was going up 8.1 percent until she learned it from news reports.

Barker said she can’t deny the increase, but will send it back.

They know what the elitists refuse to understand. “Bigness” inevitably leads to corruption. Bigness inevitably leads to a diminution of personal freedoms. The rules that the rest of America abides by, whether paying taxes or not using cell phones while driving, are not followed by the elites. Indeed, at the elitists’ core is a fervent belief of themselves as somehow better — or at least more privileged — than the “little people.” They are getting the shaft while the elites are riding the elevator.

Ronald Reagan as early as 1977 took it to the tattered remains of the GOP, calling for a “New Republican Party” that was not the party of the country clubs and the corporate boardrooms but, rather, of the “individual” and not of the “group.” In order to win, the party needed to reach out to the men and women of Main Street — to the cop, the homemaker, the religious leader, the shopkeeper.

The GOP has a simple choice: Continue to be the party of “Big Government Republicanism” and of Bushism, or be the party of freedom, of the individual, of a community of shared values — and a party of the future.

Amid increasing incidents of climate protesters disrupting the operations of fossil-fuel industries and airports in Britain and elsewhere, Gore suggests the scale of the emergency means non-violent lawbreaking is justified. “Civil disobedience has an honourable history, and when the urgency and moral clarity cross a certain threshold, then I think that civil disobedience is quite understandable, and it has a role to play,” he says. “And I expect that it will increase, no question about it.”