No Longer A Pipedream

By Kleinheider Posted on May 4, 2009 at 7:28 am

Activists lobby legislators to end the practice of giving harsher sentences to those who possess crack than those who possess powdered cocaine:

Similarly, there was no arm wrestling when they met with U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen, D-Tenn. He’s already a co-sponsor of two drug sentencing reform bills.

Norman and Coleman-Davis also met with U.S. Reps. John Tanner, D-Tenn., and representatives for Tennessee Sens. Lamar Alexander and Bob Corker, both R-Tenn., and U.S. Rep. Zack Wamp, R-Tenn. (Coleman-Davis also met with staffers from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s office.)

Norman said he believes some politicians “don’t want to be perceived as easy on crime,” but he told them, “We want to be tough on crime, but just on sentencing.”

Both Coleman-Davis and Norman noted that powder and crack cocaine are the same drug pharmacologically.

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Tags: cocaine, crack, John Tanner, Lamar Alexander, powdered cocaine, Steve Cohen, Zack Wamp  

Zach Wamp Has Problems Come January

By Kleinheider Posted on December 4, 2008 at 8:04 am

If Bill Frist doesn’t give him a heads up regarding his gubernatorial plans:

“I’m very well known in East Tennessee — in both media markets there, Knoxville and Chattanooga, and I have represented a total of 18 counties. I’m in real good shape against any candidate in East Tennessee. Middle and West, I’ve got a long way to go and a short time to get there, as the country music song says. And so what may not be a hurry to him becomes a problem for me come January,” Wamp said.

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Tags: 2010 Governor's race, Bill Frist, Zack Wamp  

She Likes Wamp’s Words Like A Fat Kid Loves Cake

By Kleinheider Posted on July 24, 2008 at 8:37 am

KAG gives Rep. Zach Wamp kudos for his criticisms of No Child Left Behind:

He’s 100% correct that at a time when rates of obesity, diabetes, depression and other maladies are on the rise among our kids, we need to be getting them up and moving their bodies in a vigorous way every single day. Plus, as he pointed out, kids who don’t stretch and play and take a little break from sitting in a seat being tested all day aren’t very effective learners. Active bodies make for active minds.

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Tags: No Child Left Behind, Zack Wamp