TennViews Weekly Round-Up

Russ has done a great job again rounding up liberal bloggers thoughts on the Democratic Convention in Denver, Sarah Palin and other goodies.

Head over to Tennviews and catch up with a cup of coffee, a good book and your cyber buddies.

A Round Of Applause For Russ McBee

Let’s all say Yay for Russ, who has been doing a bang up job of rounding up the hippie liberals for the last few weeks.

Given the large number of blog posts discussing the choice of Biden and the diversity of opinions on the topic, this week’s roundup is devoted exclusively to that subject.

• 10,000 Monkeys and a Camera: Biden! and Senator O’Biden [Ed. note: The RSS feed for 10,000 Monkeys and a Camera has moved to this link.]

• 55-40 Memphis: It’s official now

• Carole Borges: Joe Biden is perfect! I’m excited once again.

• The Crone Speaks: Obama Says it is Biden, I Say More of the Same

• Don Williams: Obama-Biden’s a brilliant ticket, but only if they win, natch

• Enclave: Wealthy Elite vs. Middle Class: Pick Your Biden Scorecard and Biden His Time: Delaware Senator Brings Commoner Cred to the Ticket

• KnoxViews: Joe Biden

• Lean Left: Hello, Joe! (Whadda ya know?)

• Left Of The Dial: Hey Barack

• Left Wing Cracker: I think it’s going to work..

• Nashville for the 21st Century: Asshatery at Fournier’s “Associated Press”

• Newscoma: Obama Chooses Biden and LA Times Gets Its VP Story Wrong and Breaking Down The Biden Factor

• Russ McBee: A quick thought on Joe Biden

• Sharon Cobb: BREAKING: Obama Picks Joe Biden!

• Silence Isn’t Golden: It’s Definitely Biden

• Southern Beale: So It’s Biden and IOKIYAR: Veepstakes Edition

• Tennessee Guerilla Women: Obama Picks a Bro: It’s Biden

• Vibinc: The Veep-Stakes Fiasco [Ed. note: OK, the Vibinc post isn’t a reaction per se, since it was written on Friday, but it’s still relevant. Sue me.]

And finally, Katie Allison Granju blogs on the subject from her new home at KnoxNews.com, “Because I Said So“:

• Because I Said So: Obama didn’t get this one right

Round-Up

As usual, this week’s roundup of Tennessee liberal bloggers covers a wide range of topics, so grab a cup of coffee and set aside some time to read the finest blogs in the state.

• 10,000 Monkeys and a Camera: An International, First-Hand Perspective (“Want to find out what bloggers who write in a language you can’t read are saying? This is a great place to start.“) and Running on Stolen Property

• BlountViews: Tennessee Division of Elections: No election (“But we assume nobody will press the issue with Blount County to seek further clarification, and they will do whatever they want to do as usual.“) and MDT: You get what you deserve (“Do we get what we deserve, or do we get what the backroom mechanics of the local political establishment and the MDT decide we need?“)

• Carole Borges: John Edwards and what seperates a man from a boy (“I’m so mad at John Edwards I could spit.“) and Bush’s pastor rebukes the Republican favorite son (“The Republican Right should be appalled at McCain’s record when it comes to having decent morals and values.“)

• The Crone Speaks: Rapists Get a Pass in Knoxville: It’s Her Fault (“This isn’t logical reasoning, it’s simple brutality that is not being acknowledged by juries.“) and Bush-dog Schuler Profiting From TVA Oversight Position (“This is a pretty substantial investment, and the approval by the TVA for the land swap will greatly increase the lining of Bush-dog Schuler’s pockets.“)

• Cup Of Joe Powell: Debating Student Rights and Southern History (“Can a school system’s dress code policy curb your free speech?“) and Kitchen Sink Bath At Burger King (“Thank God the internet allows stupid to be shared on a global scale.“) BONUS: Rep. David Davis can’t believe he lost here, here, and here.

• Don Williams: Putin and Bush doomed to waltz thru history in each other’s eyes (“No doubt, Putin saw his reflection in Bush’s vacuous eyes, for this is a man who, like Bush, views war as the natural state of humankind.“)

• Donkey’s Mouth: Chairman Dean Responds to Arkansas Democratic Party Shooting

• Enclave: 13,000 Children Abandoned by the United States Government (“Uncle Sam is one cruel bastard to el niños.“) and English Only is Astroturf, Not Grassroots

• Fletch: Hanging Around and Bigger is Better [Ed. note: Holy crap!]

• KnoxViews: Jesse Helms a great American? (“What editorial devil possessed the KNS to publish the “Citizen’s Voice” tripe by June B. Griffin in today’s (Aug. 16) edition?“) and Doughy yet suave man about town seeks sociopathic presidential aspirant and Online convention coverage and McCain embraces Bush, supporters defect (“Saying “nobody likes a funeral,” prominent Republicans are staying away from their convention.“)

• Lean Left: Is It Just Me? and Testing the Limits

• Left Of The Dial: Hyper Local and Summer Blog Blues

• Left Wing Cracker: OK, how about NOW? Here’s the MMHF 2008 SCHEDULE!! and Who owns McCain? Hint: it’s not you.

• Liberadio(!): An Open Letter to Rep. David Davis, Candidate Tim Barnes, Nashville Public Radio, and the National Media (“Since the story broke of potential recount challenges by both candidate Barnes and Rep. Davis, a couple of things have happened.“)

• Loose TN Canon: Top CIA official confesses order to forge Iraq-9/11 letter came on White House stationery‘

• Nashville for the 21st Century: 80’s Night at the TNGOP (“What is funny is that in 1984 the Soviet Union was on the brink of collapse. They were a paper tiger, not a bear in the woods. So, in that regard, Hobbs’ comparison is fairly accurate.“) and No Speaky Spanish (“Oh, and just to pour salt in the wounds of TIRRC, Crafton is proposing an interpreter fee for those who need language services. But remember, his wife is Japanese and his Brother-in-law is Hispanic, so its OK.“) and Republicans Attempt Voter Suppression in Ohio (“[T]he prospect of shorter lines in minority areas and easier access to vote is keeping some GOP officials up late at night.“)

• Newscoma: AT&T = Epic Fail and Random Thoughts and Martin Plant To Close (“A plant that has been around for most of my life is closing. … This is just another huge loss for this community.“)

• The Pesky Fly: Things I’m not buying for $1000, Alex and Presumptuous? Maybe. Dangerous and Wrong? Oh Yeah!

• Progressive Nashville: It’s just plain mean (“These knuckle-draggers who claim they are defenders of Judeo-Christian values clearly don’t understand the concept.“) and Spin control (“The Tennessean wants the story to be about numbers, but rezoning is a story about people.“)

• Resonance: NeoCon Dreams (“Yesterday Senator McCain said: “In the 21st century, nations don’t invade other nations.” Today comedian Limbaugh, et al., are framing (and condeming) the conflict as Russia’s quest to control oil flows. The irony is overwhelming.“)

• RoaneViews: Roane County Industrial Park causing Water Problems and Dear Tina E*****s

• Russ McBee: Pelosi caves yet again (“Pelosi is more than willing to substitute meaningless gimmicks for substantive policy, all based on her phobia of being called names by Republicans.“)

• Sharon Cobb: To Be President In America–Must Be Born In America, 35 Years Of Age,….AND CHRISTIAN! Rick Warren With Obama And McCain (“In a 2008 America, one clearly has to be a Christian to be elected. And that’s wrong.“) and Where Does The TnGOP Stand On Us Heartless Jews? and Day 3:The Tennessee GOP Still Won’t Reply To The Jewish Community Regarding It Being A Christian Organization

• Silence Isn’t Golden: How Many Times Can The Straight Talk Express Derail? and I Think I’d Rather Be A Turtle (“I did my first ever scuba dive in Bora Bora.“)

• Southern Beale: Saying No To Sean Hannity and Still Dropping (“This reminds me that back in April when gas prices started climbing into the stratosphere, local conservative yakker Steve Gill said it was the Democrats’ fault. Well, bless his heart. So, now that gas prices are falling, do Democrats get the credit?“)

• Tennessee Guerilla Women: CNN: Is Obama the AntiChrist? (“Oh, my aching head. If we weren’t stuck inside the borders of a giant insane asylum, CNN would be laughed off the air.“) and Hillary’s Name to Be Placed in Nomination and Sexist Olympic Photos of the Day

• TennViews: Unemployment continues up: shockingly so in some Southern States (“We have less than six months until someone new is in the President’s seat. How bad can it get in six months?“) and National English-only group congratulates Nashville on ballot initiative, takes credit for helping (“When even the local Chamber of Commerce doesn’t agree and instead takes the “progressive” point of view, it’s a pretty good signal that you’re on the wrong side of the issue.“) and A call for party unity (“For the sake of party unity, Rob Huddleston calls for 1st District Republicans to unite and tell David Davis to shut up and go away.“)

• Tiny Cat Pants: Some Child Left Behind (“I keep thinking how history will judge us, what the folks will make of the ways in which we lied to ourselves about what we’re doing and why we’re doing it.“) and Stupidity and Women’s Health

• Vibinc: Getting in a Wreck Teh Suk and Take Ice Cream off the Menu

• West Tennessee Liberal: Disrespect

• WhitesCreek Journal: Search Me and T. Boone’s Boy: “Will Lie For Money” and Running From Red (“John McCain is a half assed Conservative, even if he does lie like one.“)

• Women’s Health News: Tennessee Women to Have Fewer Options for Reproductive Health and HHS Sec. Leavitt Responds Further to Objections, Ignores Substance (“Clearly, Leavitt values a “social statement” just as much as women’s access to care, while completely ignoring objections that the proposed regulation may extend that refusal of care to very basic needs such as contraception. If that doesn’t send a chill up the spine of America’s women and families, I don’t know what will.“)

Progressive News, Tennessee Style

Russ is doing the heavy lifting this week for all of us libs out there.

Let’s rock:

Courtesy of TennViews

The proprietor of this site has a lot of other stuff on his plate right now, so I’ll be doing the TennViews progressive blog roundup for the remainder of August. If I’ve left anyone off the list, please let me know in the comments.

• 10,000 Monkeys and a Camera: Regarding Edwards (“Perhaps if he had taken a look around once in a while, at all the good people who were helping him up, he might have realized that he didn’t get where he was all alone. Then perhaps he wouldn’t have felt so much like superman.“) and Wordless Wednesday

• Andy Axel: Wires and Wood

• BlountViews: South Blount Utility: Consider bottled drinking water (“A resident in the South Blount Utility District said they got a notice of violation of safe drinking water standards indicating their drinking water was contaminated with high levels of lead.“)

• Carole Borges: First Lady aka Miss Buffalo Chip (“It was a touching moment and a lovely display of Republican family values. Cindy blushed of course and looked flattered. You could almost see her already measuring the thongs she will wear in the White House.“)

• The Crone Speaks: Racism Thriving?!? (“The very sad thing is, there are people that one wouldn’t readily categorize as being racist in any other situation, that do feel that Obama being president would “end” this country.“)

• Cup Of Joe Powell: Davis Not Conceding To Roe (“One thing about Davis – he has consistently blamed Democrats for all the national and regional ills, and now he blames them for not being re-elected. Perhaps there were some cross-over votes, but he simply need look in the mirror to discover the reason for his loss. His inability to accept the outcome of the vote, to accept responsibility for himself, says volumes about his failings.“) and Thoughts on Alexander Solzhenitsyn

• Don Williams: Bush puts Double-I brand on the Olympics–Insulting Incoherence (“Taking a stand against China’s big redemptive PR show by declining to attend would’ve been consistent and coherent. But complaining all the way to the show, and even at his reception in China this morning, smacks of incoherency, bad manners and outright hypocrisy.“)

• Donkey’s Mouth: The Dems Respond

• Enclave: But the tallest candle stick ain’t much good without a wick (“Let’s set aside the question of whether our expectations have sunk so low that we actually give kudos to politicians for just doing the right thing.“)

• Fletch: Elkmont In August and Cool

• KnoxViews: KAG, signing off (“Katie Allison Granju signed off for the last time at Knoxville Talks yesterday. She did a fantastic job creating a great new local media sponsored blog and set the bar high for her successor.“) and WBIR declares Bryant winner in Commission 6-A? (“Katie’s only been gone one day and look what happens!“) and Green Route Alert, Again! (“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.“) and Technology corridor not working out (“High tech companies aren’t going to move to an area that doesn’t support education and only graduates people qualified to work in call centers.“)

• Lean Left: Send a Message in a Language They Understand (“Glenn Greenwald, along with Jane Hamsher of firedoglake and a variety of other pro-democracy bloggers and activists, is helping establish a new organization dedicated to targeting vulnerable Democratic candidates who work against progressive interests and civil liberties.“)

• Left Of The Dial: Olympics Freak (“Only I would be watching judo, badminton, Chinese women lifting weights and some dude trotting around on a horse doing half-circles simultaneously, live from Beijing on a Saturday morning.“)

• Left Wing Cracker: An open letter to Nikki Tinker (“How amazing it was to watch as you turned within 48 hours from an attacking Congressional candidate to a national pariah; “Worst Person in the World”, indeed. As Vito Corleone once said, how did things ever get so far?“)

• Liberadio(!): The Not-So-Veiled Partisanship of Congresswoman Blackburn (“And speaking of honesty, she and her friends standing in the dark in the House chamber might want to stop claiming that off-shore drilling will give us immediate relief from high gas prices. ‘Cause it won’t.“)

• Loose TN Canon: Republicans obstruct vote to lower gas prices (“Once again, the GOP leadership sided with oil profiteers and used their power to help keep oil prices and profits high, while hurting the average American.“)

• Nashville for the 21st Century: Election Day Is Here (“If passion alone won elections, it would be a landslide for Tuke this fall should he get the nomination.“)

• Newscoma: Grief Brings Out The Best In People (“This is my second funeral in three weeks of people I grew up with. We drove our cars fast, hid out on back roads talking about our future and drank beer bought by those a couple of years older than us in corn fields still smelling of a fresh harvest. We were going to take on the world. We wanted to own it.“) and Personal Reflections On Edwards Scandal (“Baby Boomers in politics amaze me. I’m not one of them, but I have to say, they have changed the world. I don’t necessarily mean that as a compliment.“) and Advice To The Young ‘Uns (“Don’t sweat the small stuff. Treat other people the way you want to be treated. Do things you are afraid to do. Don’t listen to Bill Hobbs, and eat more fruit.“)

• The Pesky Fly: Delusions of Adequacy (“If this is the Chairman’s take on the craziest sh_t to come down the pipe since, oh, I don’t know, a member of the TNDP Executive Committee accused the Democratic presidential nominee of ties to terrorism, it will be very revealing indeed when Mr. Sasser finally does find something that puts a fire in his belly.“)

• Progressive Nashville: Thank heavens for the white kids (“Thank heavens the white kids in Nashville’s public schools are doing so well academically. If they weren’t, our schools would look much worse.“)

• Resonance: CBS News: “Bicycle Mania!” (“The piece discusses the increased interest in bicycling that has accompanied higher gasoline prices. I have noticed more people riding on the roads this summer; unfortunately, a few of them appear to have not yet mastered safety rules on riding with traffic.“)

• RoaneViews: My letter from the Roane Alliance (“I have trouble understanding the separation between the Roane Alliance, a County Government function supported by our tax dollars, and the Chamber of Commerce.“)

• Russ McBee: Knox County voters fall asleep (“Today’s message is simple: all the GOB’s have to do is wait long enough, and the voters of this county will forget whatever transgressions may have angered them in the past.“) and Justice denied (“To shield itself from public accountability, the White House crafted rules which ignored centuries of legal precedent and tossed aside even the barest semblance of justice in favor of a system automatically tilted toward the prosecution.“)

• Sharon Cobb: John Edwards: You’re A Piece Of Sh*t (“Politics aside, let me tell you about Elizabeth Edwards.“) and Let The Games Begin (“Also, please ask whomever is your choice for President why he bought 5-6 million dollars in advertising during the Olympics, knowing what China is doing in Darfur, Tibet, Berma, and other human and animal rights violations.“)

• Silence Isn’t Golden: Tyson Caves To…Someone (“Sorry wingnuts, you still lose.“)

• Southern Beale: Tyson Plant Revises Holiday Plan AGAIN (“Of course the Malkin-tents are going to claim another victory, but hey, look at it this way: we liberals can snicker at them for defending a holiday with communist/socialist origins founded by the evil labor unions.“) and 22 Days & Counting (“Here in Nashville I saw $3.69 at a Pilot station earlier this week. That’s a 40-cent drop from the high of $4.09/gallon back in July. Funny none of the stories about that Republican kabuki theater on offshore oil drilling bothers to mention that.“)

• Tennessee Guerilla Women: NBC Says Bill Clinton Will Speak at Convention in Order to Get Media to Shut Up (“Gawd. Can we please get term limits for the pundits?“) and Hillary: 18 Million Cracks in the Glass Ceiling (Video)

• TennViews: The ballots are set and we’re off to the races (“We’ve updated the TennViews 08 Candidate Central database to advance the primary winners and set the field for November.“) and Volunteer State 39th in Volunteering (“Forty-five percent of volunteering in Tennessean is performed in the religious sector, whereas that number is 63% in Utah. Are Tennesseans heathens or is that just a Mormon thing?“)

• Tiny Cat Pants: Like a Coat You Somehow Slip On Without Noticing (“This, this I believe explains the virulent anti-Mexican sentiment here in the South. Who doubts Faulkner, right? And when he says “The past is not dead. In fact, it’s not even past.” don’t we believe him?“)

• Vibinc: Cashing in at MCS (“In an editorial over a the CA newly installed Superintendent, Kriner Cash lays out his plan to help the districts most at risk students find success. The prescription, 2000 college aged tutors. I have to say, this is a brilliant idea.“)

• West Tennessee Liberal: I’m Proud of Memphis (“I’d hate to be an incumbent Republican in two years. It’s going to be a bloodbath.“)

• WhitesCreek Journal: Yeah! (“The whole world loves Barack Obama. He’s really popular. That’s why we shouldn’t vote for Obama.“)

• Women’s Health News: HHS Secretary Mike Leavitt Issues Blog Post on Proposed Regulation (“Regardless of intent, the regulation certainly could functionally allow the defining of contraceptives as abortion.“) and Lying Liars Who Lie (About Reproductive Health) (“I’ve come across several blog entries recently that recount stories of women being lied to by their healthcare providers and/or being lectured on the basis of their provider’s personal values.“)

The VW Edition of TennViews

The “Fahrvergnügen because it’s a funny word” edition of the Tennessee progressive blog roundup with a look at what the best Tennessee bloggers are talking about this week

• 10,000 Monkeys and a Camera: Fahrvergnügen! (a comprehensive roundup of VW Chattanooga news)

• Andy Axel: Bait and Switch

• Tiny Cat Pants: As we all know, Bill Hobbs is on his great crusade to defund Planned Parenthood and instead move all that money into government-run services, because the TNGOP loves government-run healthcare, except when it’s proposed by Democrats.

• BlountViews: Finney or Overbey? Who does a progressive support? PLUS: Lazy election coverage

• Carole Borges: New Yorker loses its sense of humor

• The Crone Speaks: It seems that when doctors themselves stop accepting insurance, their patients get better care at a more reasonable cost.

• Cup Of Joe Powell: A blistering editorial on 1st District Congressman David Davis by the Editorial Board of the Bristol Herald Courier is out today and makes some excellent points: BONUS: Coffee War AND: Camera Obscura: Batmania (and more)

• Don Williams: Al Gore’s daring challenge — an ‘Apollo program’ to save the Earth

• Tennessee Democratic Party Blog: The Associated Press released an article today explaining how a 30% increase in voter turnout for Obama in the black community could swing the South, including Tennessee, into the blue column.

• Enclave: It’s clear to me from this research that if you want a stronger economy that includes job creation, you have to run with Democratic Presidents. All of the conservative campaign rhetoric that moderate-leaning-left administrations will destroy American jobs is unsubstantiated in this research.

• Fletch: Seagull Contrail PLUS: Still Life

• KnoxViews: You can look up your bank or credit union at the following links to a) make sure they are insured, and b) check their financial statements and ratio reports, which are a quick snapshot of their performance. PLUS: John McCain posting on his blog. AND: Clinton (and Edwards) should be on the ballot in Denver

• Lean Left: Massachusetts is now in the process of repealing the racist and obsolete law that Mitt Romney invoked to continue to limit marriage rights for gays after the state legislature removed the overt bar to marriage in the law.

• Left Wing Cracker: Endorsements

• Liberadio(!): Leave Robin Smith Alone!

• NewsComa: Stewart Byars

• The Pesky Fly: Atrios wonders why the image of the burning twin towers is seen by Republicans as a powerful image of their strength and resolve.

• Progressive Nashville: Tennessee could save nearly six dollars in health care costs for every dollar spent on prevention according to a new study by the Trust for American Health. PLUS: Glass Houses AND: TNGOP Declares Victory in Iraq

• Resonance:: What will it take to instill in our elected leaders a sufficient sense of urgency to act? $160/barrel oil? $180? $200? Whatever it is, it will come too late.

• RoaneViews: Lincoln’s Republican opponent, Whatshisname, doesn’t live in our district and won’t be our next Congressman.

• Russ McBee: Not surprisingly, the EPA intends to stonewall the issue long enough to avoid taking any action until after Bush leaves office; nevertheless, it’s astonishing that the EPA has finally dropped its hostility to nearly universal scientific consensus. PLUS: The phantom promise of offshore drilling

• Nashville for the 21st Century: Congress-stakes: If A) Obama wins, and B) he offers Cooper a cabinet position, and C) he accepts…who would run for the open seat? I’ll throw out some potential candidates, and follow with a poll. PLUS: Will Pelosi and Dean Block Hillary at Convention?: The DNC can’t and won’t change the rules so that only Barack Obama’s name can be thrown out there.

• Sharoncobb: Oh. You Have To See/Hear What Larry Craig Just Said: Oh Dear Lord. No one could make this stuff up. Here’s what Larry Craig just said, and it’s captured on tape:

• Silence Isn’t Golden Netroots Nation dispatches here, here, here, and here. BONUS: You are so Nashville if…

• Southern Beale: Okay, kids, it’s time for that wacky new game: Elitist: Yes or No? PLUS: Memory Holes

• Tennessee Guerilla Women: Sounds good. Except for the fact that for weeks now the media has been reporting that Hillary’s name on the ballot is not assured, rather the question will be determined by negotiations between the Clinton and Obama camps. PLUS: Breaking MSNBC Political News: Hillary Clinton Has a New Hairdo!

• TennViews: Voters say more focus needed on children’s issues PLUS: Tennessee Senate 8th

• WhitesCreek Journal: Republican Chair Robin Smith is a symptom of what is so wrong with our political process. There is a deep dishonesty in her half of the process and a willingness to let it slide on the part of most news media, and a massive double standard that examines Democratic candidates in minute detail but lets republican candidates get by with slanderous conduct. PLUS: Species Count for Whites Creek

• Women’s Health News: HHS Attempts to Define Contraception as Abortion PLUS: Open letter to Obama:: I’d also like a pledge to not put anti-science, anti-woman yahoos in charge of, you know, science and women.

Weapons Of Mass Distraction

I haven’t weighed in on the New Yorker cover that caused such a stir yesterday. I don’t know, spiders were eating on my foot and I was a bit distracted.

My first thought was pretty much what Joe Lance wrote about. I thought of the Tennessee GOP and how Bill Hobbs’ recent actions have formed some of this. Did I see the satire? Yes I did. Did I think it was funny?

No, not really. Lucille Ball also doesn’t make me laugh. And I hated the Titanic movie. Just saying.

With that said, Joe said this:

The Tennessee Republican Party has created no small stir with its less-than-ironic attempts to paint Senator Obama and his wife as terrorist-connected America-haters. I thought of the TNGOP immediately when I saw the New Yorker cover. I wonder if the artist had them in mind.

A sad part to this story is that those targeted truly won’t get that they are the butt of the joke, and will fail to see themselves as the asses they have been, despite this clever mirror that has been held before them.

I don’t think people being upset is wrong at all. I also know that political satire can turn on a dime. I can’t help but think that Jeffraham made a good point.

The one thing about offering change is reacting differently that what is expected. I’m not discounting that the cover was offensive but let’s remember that the same artist, Brian Blitt, did these covers. That’s was political cartoonists do. In news, at least, if you have everyone hating on you, you did your job well.

Images from The Huffington Post

We are still living in the world of weapons of mass distraction. For Tennesseans, we can see the stamp of the Tennessee GOP’s smear campaign working here. The deep wounds that have been created by some of the GOP’s antics have hit a national audience. I don’t like it but it is what it is.

But less remember that the GOP is working on untrue stereotypes of Barack Obama. Which is no different that being Captain Obvious and saying that John McCain is old.

Let’s move on and get back to the issues of $4 bucks for a gallon of gas, Iraq and health care.

This election has become like the television show “Big Brother” and it shouldn’t be. Creating drama where this isn’t any. We have too much at stake in this country.

Gramm, FISA And TennViews

The “saluting a mentally deficient nation of whiners without a FISA warrant” edition of the Tennessee progressive blog roundup with a look at what the best Tennessee bloggers are talking about this week.

• 10,000 Monkeys and a Camera: Phil Gramm, the author of John McCain’s economic policies, the man who brought us the Enron loophole, which in turn has led to $4.00+/gallon gasoline, the man who probably doesn’t have a friend with a net worth under a million dollars, thinks that Americans who have lost their jobs, who can’t decide whether to buy a prescription, a tank of gas, or a week’s worth of food with their last $60 for the month, who have been forced out of their homes by a mortgage crisis that Gramm created — that these people are just a bunch of whiners who can’t get past a mental disorder that makes them only think that they are suffering economic hardships. Seriously. Take a moment to really absorb that.

• Andy Axel: The Fish Hawk

• Tiny Cat Pants: 287(g) Means Stealing Babies from Mothers

• BlountViews: Willie Nelson cancels PLUS (IMPORTANT): Allman Bros., Please!: Please vote for the Allman Bros. here.

• Carole Borges: It’s 3 A.M.. What if McCain can’t even remember where the phone is?

• The Crone Speaks: So, it’’s important to note that when the people that have been harmed by the current economy, that was spurred by Phil Gramm’s legislative blunders, they get little help. When Bear Stearns cries, the Fed bails them out.

• Cup Of Joe Powell: A peek at Kingsport Times-News reporter Hank Hayes’ email on why he does not cover Democrat candidates for Congress…, plus: Kingsport Newspaper Still Refuses Coverage of Candidate Rob Russell, bonus: Mega-Micro-Blog-Feed-Mobile-Alert-Pod Nation

• Don Williams: But he was much more than that — author, artist, hunter, trapper, fisherman, farmer, developer, columnist, merchant, musician, yodeler, storyteller, botanist, broadcaster, poet, husband, father, seeker, dreamer and prophet — and still more yet. For once you tramp around in the body of lore that falls under the name Wiley Oakley, you encounter variations on a theme that boil down to this: Wiley was a part of these mountains.

• TNDP: Sen. Diane Black needs a coat

• Enclave: According to Forbes, Nashville cannot compete with peer cities like Charlotte, N.C. in providing unemployment benefits to jobless workers who qualify for federal aid.

• Fletch: Summer on the Salt Run

• KnoxViews: Harold Ford Jr. responds to Gramm’s “nation of whiners” remark

• Lean Left: That makes my cost basis on that account $1,075. As of today, the balance in that account is $1,203.13, a profit of $128.13, and an ROI of 11.9%. Considering the age of the account (ten years), that makes my annual yield a whopping 1.1%!

• Left of the Dial: I’m trying to determine which group has me shaking my head more this week: iPhone fanatics, villagers and tourists running with the bulls in Pamplona or my Baltimore Orioles.

• LeftWingCracker: So, on that basis, whom would I rather see in that seat? Well, since A) I believe Blackburn should have gone to jail for inciting the near-riots surrounding the income-tax vote in the State Senate, and B) she is a Bush-Cheney parrot, and C) she lives in that most right-wing county, Williamson, I would go for Leatherwood.

• Newscoma: Sen. Gramm, let me ask you sir, could you come over here to northwest Tennessee? I can show you about seven empty plants, downtowns with more closed businesses than open ones and — awww, forget about it. You don’t get it. I understand that. Plus: I Want Immunity Too

• The Pesky Fly: Headlines to Remember: Bush Readies Pen; Relishes Signing Wiretap Bill

• Progressive Nashville: I suppose that now that I’ve mentioned Hobb’s name here, he officially is a Progressive. Time to resign Bill, Progressives have no place on the GOP payroll. Plus: Alexander vs. McCain on Pork

• Brian Arner’s Resonance: Bush Administration: You Are Worth $1 Million Less Than You Were Five Years Ago – Accelerated depreciation? Plus: Fortune ponders the doomsday scenario of Fannie Mae and/or Freddie Mac folding. I smell a massive, taxpayer-funded rescue in the air.

• RoaneViews: Whites Creek is Closed for Maintenance: There are several rare, threatened, and endangered species of various sorts living in and around Whites Creek. We’ll have underwater cameras and other cameras and will try to document everything and report back on what these folks find.

• Russ McBee: However, there may be one silver lining in all this: now that the telecommunications companies no longer face lawsuits for their (previously) illegal actions, they can be subpoenaed to testify before Congress in depth about their spying activities against Americans. Since they have immunity, they can no longer plead the Fifth when asked pointed, specific questions about their collusion.

• Sean Braisted: get that people are upset with this, but c’mon, the death of the 4th amendment? Setting aside telecom immunity, what is so damned bad about this bill? Plus: Diane Black Getting Nervous

• Sharon Cobb: I could deal with his move to the middle to get elected. I could deal with him not having the best health plan. But voting FOR FISA? No. I can’t deal with that. … You can go ahead and tell me “I told you so,” but out of compassion, please wait a day or two to do so. Plus: It was only a matter of time before the election to see which side was going to put the fear of war into American voters so they might elect a warmonger instead of a peacemaker. This is going to be big news later on today, because it’s just breaking now, and I had to go to Aljazeera English website for the information, as CNN is running something about Madonna.

• Silence Isn’t Golden: And wouldn’t you know it, Troy King also happens to be the Alabama chairman of the John McCain campaign. This whole scandal is just way too perfect! Plus: Joe Lieberman Admits He’s A Lying Schmuck

• Southern Beale: By the way: is this elitist? Because I can’t tell anymore. I think these kind of statements are only elitist if a Democrat says them. It certainly shows how out of touch Phil Gramm is from the lives of ordinary Americans. Plus: McCain’s Free Pass: That teflon suit that George W. Bush has worn for the past seven years has been handed down to John McCain 100% intact.

• Tennessee Guerilla Women: If you can believe it, Obama adulator Andrew Sullivan recently suggested that the Barack Obama campaign is “far too cocky for its own good.” Like many conservatives, Sullivan, expert on the subject of self-absorption, is occasionally worth listening to.

• TennViews: TN Senate Dem fundraising update Plus: Sen. Finney to launch “family friendly” lobbying effort: It doesn’t say whether same-sex couples will be welcome, or whether the group will lobby for adoptions by same-sex couples , or promote marriage or at least equal rights for same-sex couples, etc.

• WhitesCreek Journal: Rich people, corporations, and foreign governments, are the folks who would lose Trillions of dollars is Fannie and Freddie go into bankruptcy. Having already doubled the National debt by borrowing more money than all 42 presidents that came before him, George W. Bush and his Republican buddies look like they will double it again, in one form or another, trying to keep Rich people, Corporations, and FOREIGN GOVERNMENTS from losing a lot of money. Plus: Whites Creek Journal is really about the largest unpolluted watershed in the State of Tennessee, outside the Smokies…And the struggle to keep it that way.

• Women’s Health News: I don’t care about legal status – I think it’s better for all women, legal immigrants or not, to receive prenatal care than not to – at least to have the option. This event sends a message to the community of immigrant women that there will be no discretion, no compassion, that they risk being jailed, giving birth in custody, and having their baby taken away if they take the simple step of seeking medical care while pregnant.

Independence Day TennViews Edition

The “let freedom ring” edition of the Tennessee progressive blog roundup with a look at what the best Tennessee bloggers are talking about this week.

But first…

SPECIAL BONUS: The progressive blog roundup made the paper in this Sunday editorial section column by Michael Silence: To the best of my knowledge, it is the strongest, or most active, coalition of bloggers in the state dealing with issues and politics. On the right side of the aisle, I’m not aware of any group blogging as widespread as the one at tennviews.com.

We now resume our (ir)regularly scheduled program…

• 10,000 Monkeys and a Camera: Because what is more patriotic…: … than being 110% heterosexual?

Aunt B: The Three Best Inventions: I mean, we talk a great game as a country about how families need men. But, if we’re not raising men with basic understandings of stuff, like history, like baseball, like what to do with yourself other than get into trouble, then what benefit are they to a family, really?

• BlountViews: In fact, Judge Meares is part of a growing nationwide movement for judicial campaign finance reform, led by former U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor who is campaigning for massive changes to the way judges get elected.

• Carole Borges: Dear Keith Olbermann, please put your ego back in the box.: I have always liked Keith Olbermann’s snarky, edgy political take on the mad mad world of politics, but lately his ego seems to be getting so large it is blotting out the good points he often makes.

• The Crone Speaks: Is Rush Limbaugh Worth $50 Million a year?: Seriously, this family is the poster child of everything that is wrong for the “little people” under Republican control of government, and they never saw it. Why? Because they were sucked into the rhetoric of Rush’s rhetoric.

• Cup Of Joe Powell: Tennessee’s Official Rockabilly Highway: Tennessee now has an official Rockabilly Highway, thanks to efforts of those in the state legislature. On Friday, officials unveiled the signs which will now mark a 55-mile stretch of Highway 45, from Mississippi to Interstate 40. See also: The Power of Clothes

• Don Williams: On Barack Obama and ‘the art of the possible’: So how does Obama repay you? He does the utterly predictable thing and steps down off the pedestal you put him on, and so you feel all betrayed.

• TNDP: Lamar Alexander fails to follow through on Environmental Policies: A self-proclaimed champion of the environment, calling it one of his “passions”, Lamar’s pitiful voting record is revealed as the article garners comments from the League of Conservation Voters.

• Enclave: Local Community Not Waiting for Federal Government to Address Mortgage Crisis: I don’t see anyone in Metro Nashville making these kinds of plans. We would rather subsidize our mildly supported hockey team. And, God knows, the first thing a family whose adjustable rate mortgage has just rocketed skyward wants to do is to catch a Predators’ match. See also: Liberal blog readers…

• Fletch: Barefoot on the Beach

• KnoxViews (Doug McDaniel): Iraq Veterans Say Wes Clark is Correct: As a veteran (Desert Storm) myself, I get cranky when Democrats tuck tail on issues related to the military. As Brandon Friedman states eloquently on the Vote Vets blog, there is no reason to cede authority on military matters just because of John McCain’s service during Vietnam. See also: Republican essay contest, and Puppy mill raid update

• Lean Left: “If Waterboarding Does Not Constitute Torture, Then There Is No Such Thing as Torture”: Probably quite a lot of people would smile at the thought of Christopher Hitchens being tortured by agents of the insane and illegal war he cheered into being. It is tempting to view it as ironic justice.

• Left of the Dial: Pyro Mania: Over 1,100 people bought tickets for a train ride to downtown for the city’s annual display along the Riverfront but the train only holds 750. That left many waiting at stations in Lebanon and Hermitage as a full train blew past them. And they’re pissed:

• LeftWingCracker: OK Tennessee Democrats, it’s time to bring your focus back home for a minute!: We are five weeks and one day from the actual election, and two weeks and two days from the start of Early Voting in Big Shelby, and almost THREE in FIVE Democratic voters have not made up their mind?? Whatcha waitin’ on, folks, CHRISTMAS???

• Liberadio(!): Who Killed Estelle Richardson?: The Davidson County Medical examiner ruled her death a homicide and her murder still remains one of Nashville’s unresolved cases. On Monday, we interviewed prison rights activist, Denver Schimming, about the case.

• Newscoma: Winston Rand – He Was A Pretty Good Guy: I have to say that Winston was always kind, smart and clever. He will be missed and our thoughts and prayers go to Roomie. See also: Snickering ‘at the sheer effrontery’

• The Pesky Fly: The Full DLC Looks like Obama is in full DLC play-not-to-lose mode. Let’s just hope he doesn’t go windsurfing.

• Progressive Nashville: Patriotism, Part 2: Republicans look at the strength and wellbeing of America, while Democrats concentrate on the strength and wellbeing of Americans. See also: America at its best

• Resonance: Monday Gloomy Economic Outlook Blogging: People (including high-ranking officials in the U.S. government) have been suggesting that the worst of the financial mess is over. It’s not. To that point, Lawrence Summers: “It is quite possible that we are now at the most dangerous moment since the American financial crisis began last August.”

• RoaneViews: Pyro Patriot: West Roane Volunteer Fire Department has plenty of stuff you can blow up to show how patriotic you are. Their supplier in China is so patriotic that they blew up a whole fireworks factory.

• Russ McBee : Byron Dorgan, oil speculators, and the supply question: The speculators may simply be acting as canaries in the financial coal mine, sending a message that they expect supplies to decline (and prices to skyrocket) in the near future.

• Nashville for the 21st Century: Bredesen-O-Meter: Now, perhaps people won’t be stupid enough to think McCain is literally George Bush’s clone, but any careful observer could see that over the past few months Sen. McCain has abandoned his Maverick credentials in favor of adopting positions close to, or mirroring, those of the Worst President in the History of the United States.

• SharonCobb: My Thoughts On Rush Limbaugh’s Record Breaking Deal Through 2016.: My first thought when I read that Rush Limbaugh has signed with Clear Channel for a gazillion dollars through 2016, is Clear Channel wants to have Rush on the air through the two terms of President Obama’s tenure in the White House to keep the fighting between the left and the right going. See also: What Does It Mean To Be Pro Israel?

• Silence Isn’t Golden: Hobbsie Steps In It, Again: It must be tough to be so unable to find anything about your own candidate to praise that you’re reduced to outright lying about your opponent. See also: Advice For Someone Who Probably Won’t Take It

• Southern Beale: Obama’s Faith Based Idea Will Work: Count me among those liberals welcoming Barack Obama’s announcement about giving faith-based groups a role in his administration. See also: Never Give Up! Never Surrender!

• Tennessee Guerilla Women: Trouble in Obamanation: Liberal Angst: A growing number of longtime Obama supporters are withholding financial and other forms of support for Barack Obama until he comes back to the left. .. Gee, does this mean all these liberals are really Republicans? Must be! See also: Can Wives Be Presidents?

• TennViews: Surprise, surprise! AT&T files first statewide cable franchise application: Yes, and thanks to the lobbyists and consultants, who include… See also: Chris Lugo on Independence Day

• Vibinc: Tough Financial Medicine: So while you’re out there bitching about trials and triangulations, I know I will be, don’t forget the harsh reality that gas has surpassed the price of milk, which will most certainly start rising faster. That means everything else gets more expensive, and I need to start lobbying to allow farm animals in the city with all my backyard space. I should probably fix the fence first…

• WhitesCreek Journal: Forward Backward Reverse Inward Twist: I am thinking that McCain is pretty flexible for an old person, and in order to get an adequate description of his abilities, we should be watching the Olympic Diving trials now taking place in Knoxville for some ideas.

• Women’s Health News: Her Name was Esmin Green: Esmin Green sang gospel music at church. Esmin Green was a mother with six children. Esmin Green was a black woman who died on the floor of one of New York City’s public hospitals while waiting for psychiatric care and being ignored.

Head Over To This Week’s TennViews

Lots going on this past week from the progressive bloggers around the state at TennViews.

Go on, get on over there.

Summer Solstice – TennViews Style

It’s back. R. Neal is rocking the house.

The “Summer Solstice” (Copyright (C) Associated Press, All Rights Including Yours Reserved) edition of the weekly unpredictable Tennessee progressive blog roundup with a look at what the best Tennessee bloggers are talking about.

• 10,000 Monkeys and a Camera: with Democrats like these, who needs Republicans?

• 55-40 Memphis: We could achieve more progress in the coming months than in all of the 40 years since Martin died.

• Tiny Cat Pants: I’m sure “We’re still pissed about things that happened before you were born” will make a stirring campaign slogan for the Republicans this fall.

• BlountViews: Swiftboating a local judge candidate

• Carole Borges: Prescription drugs are becoming a menace to society and patients don’t know who to trust anymore

• The Crone Speaks: We all know, that for years, Jeb is being “groomed” to follow in daddy’s footsteps. [..] Corporations, especially the oil companies, want a Bush in office.

• Cup Of Joe Powell: The first rule about Congressional Elections in the 1st District is – You don’t talk about Congressional Elections in the 1st District. Plus: Rep. Davis Dodges Debate

• Don Williams: …this is about electric moon spiders and giant rainbows that wade ocean waters in order to show you the whole round realness of wonder that only a vacation can provide by reminding you of who you were before you became what you do…

• TNDP: Tennessee Young Dems look to capture 5,000, plus TNDP Chairman Gray Sasser: Lamar Alexander is wrong on energy

• Enclave: It would be a shame if the next President was more of an advocate for programs that support Metro Nashville than our own elected representative.

• Fletch: Realization

• KnoxViews (Rocketsquirrel): Currently, oil and gas companies hold leases on nearly 68 million acres of federal land (both onshore and under OCS waters) that they are not developing.

• Lean Left: If the President tells a company it’s legal, it’s legal.

• Left of the Dial: “Staycation” is the new buzzword for the summer of 2008.

• LeftWingCracker: I can see THAT now: LOOK HOW SAFE I’VE MADE SHELBY COUNTY! That’s a winner, bubba, I’d take that and really run with it if I were you. Oy. Next, other than the Baker-Alexander-Thompson tribe, who knows Gibbons outside of Big Shelby? Anyone? Anyone? Bueller? I digress.

• Liberadio(!): …tonight’s 500 foot swim, which is scheduled for 5:00pm at Riverfront Park, has already served its purpose – prompting Nashvillians to start chattering about the state of the river and its environs.

• Newscoma: wish just once that Tanner voted the way I wanted him to vote. Cohen just may be the only lifeline that Tennessee has for calling foul on this sort of stuff. This isn’t about warrantless wiretapping. It’s about saving corporations money.

• The Pesky Fly: The real traitor here is Steny Hoyer. And Nancy Pelosi.

• Progressive Nashville: …a brief overview of some of McCain’s 2007 votes on children’s issues…, plus: What does it take to get fired in Memphis?

• Resonance: I was not at all surprised to see Senator McCain flip-flop with yesterday’s announcement that he now opposes the federal moratorium on offshore oil drilling. I expect more politicians to follow this path as public pressure to do something about the energy crisis builds.

• RoaneViews: Here’s a “Predict the Race” spreadsheet for the Ruppe-Yager Senate race.

• Russ McBee: Just like their recent obstruction of the carbon reduction bill, today’s actions show that the GOP have no intention of doing anything meaningful about our most pressing environmental and energy issues.

• Sean Braisted: …I still don’t get the argument by some against immunity. There seem to be two thoughts.

• Sharon Cobb: I can tell you I know first hand Obama has been in and out of Nashville visiting Al Gore during the past year, and Gore advised him, as he did other candidates.

• Silence Isn’t Golden: Everyone’s buzzing about the new Quinnipiac poll numbers that show Obama not only handily winning in the swing states of Pennsylvania and Ohio, but also have him up in Florida.

• Southern Beale: Isn’t that special! The four largest Western oil companies are preparing to sign no-bid contracts in Iraq, bringing them back to a position they had 36 years ago. Is that some long-range planning or what!

• Tennessee Guerilla Women: What with Michelle’s dangerously feminist habit of speaking her mind, or sounding altogether too much like First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton, extreme stepford, um, I mean steps are being taken.

• TennViews (Chris Lugo): Abstinence only until marriage curricula is censorship, pure and simple. Any school program that withholds scientifically valid information does not present young people with the full range of options they will actually face in life.

• Vibinc: Ahh, but constituents aren’t good at Change™ either. They want to balance their household budgets while owning the biggest big screen HDTV with 4 picture in pictures and total immersion surround sound. They want rock solid abs after a mere 20 minute workout and to eat that carton of Twinkies in one sitting. It’s a startling contradiction.

• WhitesCreek Journal: A message to Tennessee Democrats, “Get on the Love Train now, cause the good seats are going fast.”

• Women’s Health News: Thoughts on the AMA Homebirth “Ban,” Ricki Lake, and Midwifery

BONUS ROUND: The AP v. blogger dustup – a sampling…

• Enclave: At the Risk of Violating Rexblog’s Fair Use Policy

• « The Crone Speaks: Ass.Press’s Desire to Re-write Fair Use

• Newscoma: Connecting The Dots

• Newscoma: The AP vs. Bloggers

• KnoxViews: AP, bloggers, and the fair use controversy

• Russ McBee : AP follows RIAA and MPAA into the gutter

• The Crone Speaks: Heavy Hand of the AP

DOUBLE BONUS ROUND: The Hobbs (no not that one, the other one) controversy…

• TennViews (WhitesCreek): Fred Hobbs Seems intent on destroying Lincoln Davis Gubernatorial chances

• KnoxViews: Obama connected

• The Pesky Fly: Just Speechless

• Silence Isn’t Golden: What The Hell Is Going On Here?

• LeftWingCracker: Feel Good Friday this is NOT, not today

• Sean Braisted: Benefit of the Doubt

• Sean Braisted: The Wheels On The Bus Go Round and Round

• Silence Isn’t Golden: Here’s How It’s Done

• Sean Braisted: Fred Hobbs Apologizes

• Sean Braisted: Glass Houses

• Sean Braisted: More on the Hobbs/Terrorist-Gate

• Sean Braisted: The Commish Says Fire Hobbs

Baby It’s Cold Outside: April Version

It’s colder than a well digger’s butt version of TennViews. It’s back.

The Sunday “spring has sprung but why is it so cold?” edition of the TennViews weekly blog roundup showcasing the best bloggers in Tennessee and what they are talking about…

• 10,000 Monkeys and a Camera: Add my voice to the “Bredesen Blew It” Chorus: Disappointing is becoming a real habit for you.

• 55-40 Memphis: Scary: In fact, some days I’m not absolutely certain he’s black, but I’ll take Obama’s word for it.

• Aunt B.: Why Does Nashville Have Such a High Incarceration Rate?: So, why is our jail a quarter full of illegal immigrants and Memphis’s jail not?

• BlountViews (yellowdog): TDOT Still Backwards After All These Years: The TDOT people and the consultants they hire are stuck in old and irrelevant system of transportation planning rules, and it will take public outcry and active engagement at the level of the regional transportation planning organizations (TPOs) to change it.

• Carole Borges: Mandated health insurance causing problems in MA: One thing we certainly don’t need in America is another law that involves the government making choices for citizens. The crisis in MA should make people stop and think before they jump on the mandated health insurance bandwagon. It just might be going nowhere.

• The Crone Speaks: Uninsurance Third Leading Cause of Death for Near-Elderly: How many people should die because they don’t have health insurance, before we recognize the need for a Medicare for All program?

• Cup of Joe Powell: Devilish Details In TN Cable Franchise Legislation: But it’s rather obvious the state legislature has crafted a plan to serve the needs of business first and residents second. Given the solemn claim by Tennessee House Speaker Jimmy Naifeh to push this plan through, your voice and the voices of other Tennessee residents has little impact, and this proposal will likely become the law in Tennessee.

• Don Williams: As KnoxVoice reinvents herself, so am I: I’m optimistic or naive enough to believe our old world and country are headed for a gentler blooming. Springtime is the season for hope, renewal, for celebrating touchstones and anniversaries.

• The Donkey’s Mouth: One more reason why Lincoln looks strong in ‘08: It does seem fishy that Lankford lives outside of the district and will probably be self-financed. A New York Times article, “Short of Funds, GOP recruits rich to run,” talks about the significant dearth of fundraising and legitimate recruits at the RNC.

• Enclave: Senate’s Foreclosure Prevention Act Forecloses on Families: Once again, in a crisis the U.S. Senate is going to come down on the side of the people who are hurting least in the housing industry. And as Republicans, the Senators of Tennessee can do no other.

• Fletch: Lackluster and Luster

• KnoxViews: State funded luxury hunting lodge audit findings: Apparently, most of the funds have gone to build a luxury hunting lodge and payment of Bittle’s salary. (Bittle sponsored the bill that created the specialty license plate and directed the proceeds to his foundation while he was a member of the Tennessee House.) The state audit recommends changes to state law to require better accounting of how such funds are spent.

• Lean Left: Lean Left: They have violated laws and common decency with impunity. They will probably get away with it — our press refuses to cover it and our Democratic leadership refuses to act. Plus: Petraeus and Crocker: Iraq Wrong War with No Way Out

• Left of the Dial: No Thanks: I received an offer to interview either Sean Astin or John Grisham tomorrow about their support of Hillary Clinton. I passed. I’m all for Hillary but, sorry, no free ad time.

• Left Wing Cracker: Stunning news from the Election Commission: This changes everything, folks, stay tuned…

• Liberadio: This week’s Liberadio(!) podcast You know what else John McCain’s not so strong on? Giving Martin Luther King his props., plus more.

• Loose TN Canon: Colin Powell supports Iraq withdrawal and praises Obama

• NewsComa: Meeting Mike Padgett: an extensive report

• Progressive Nashville: Closed-minded legislators: The Tennessee legislature, which has spent an inordinate amount of time this session trying to close records and operate in secret, is at it again with a plan to make it more difficult to obtain public records. Plus: Thompson floated as veep

• Resonance: “Success” In Iraq: Here’s my definition…

• RoaneViews: A Letter to Tommy Kilby, and His response: Don’t exclude “limited resource waters” from “waters” of the state

• Russ McBee: On the Olympic torch protests: Although the Olympics are supposed to be beyond politics and are supposed to rise above international disputes, the Chinese government itself is assuring that this cannot happen.

• Sean Braisted: Alexander and “Big Oil”: Bob Tuke, in an appeal for contributions, takes Sen. Lamar Alexander to task for being in the pockets of “big oil”. Plus: DSCC Forgets Tennessee

• Sharon Cobb: Hey Tennessee, Jon Stewart is coming To Nashville, plus: Total Bullsh*t That Hillary Calls On Boycott Of Olympic Games Now: While I am in total agreement that the entire planet should boycott the Olympics in China, why didn’t Hillary Clinton call for a boycott before this week?

• Silence Isn’t Golden: Silence Isn’t Golden: The Bitter Irony: Of all of the faux outrage over Obama’s statement, this has got to be the most ironic. Plus: Define “Women’s Issues”

• Southern Beale: Gus Puryear: Still A CCA Crony: Why is Democrat Thurgood Marshall Jr. endorsing Gus Puryear, Bush’s controversial pick for the federal bench in Middle Tennessee? Plus: Energy Saved Is Energy Found

• Tennessee Guerilla Women: Governor Rendell (D-PA): Obama Should Pay Keith Olbermann, plus: Photos of NYC Protest Against Hillary-Hating Media Bias

• TennViews: TN Senate 08 wrinkle: Questions arise whether Overbey is qualified to be on the ballot v. Sen. Raymond Finney. Plus: Republicans defeat Rural Health Act.

• Vibinc: Free Ride: The Tennessee Bush Dogs are on their way to re-election, some with less opposition than others.

• Whites Creek Journal: George W. Bush Should Stay Away from the Olympics!: No, I’m not proposing a boycott… I just don’t want George W. Bush representing America any more. Plus: Stoopid Human Tricks: A close second behind coal burning in the stupid human tricks department is damming rivers.

• Women’s Health News: 1) Think About Sex. 2) Design Undies. 3) Win!

Blogging In Tennessee

A couple of things this morning.

First of all, as one of my favorite bloggers/news guys, I just wanted to say that Michael Silence’s new role at Knox News is inspired. I think this is a great move and he’s on my “must” list daily. If you break it down further, it’s interesting to watch progressive news organizations embracing the online community.

Katie Allison Granju wrote recently about the changes in newsrooms which is a must read as well. I’ve written before about personality driven blogging. I think it’s important.

I think we are seeing that happen although it could be said that Nashville is Talking began it with Brittney and a plethora of guest bloggers (I was one and it was an amazing honor) which began some of the trends here in Tennessee.

But it is evolving. We are seeing a lot of blogging activity out of the Knoxville area. We are also witnessing a shift in the way things are happening online. Joe Lance and Alice are keeping it interesting in Chattanooga with some insightful and targeted blogging which are also must reads. In Memphis, we see a community of folks blogging who have created an amazing network of not only information but who are also friends. Everyone needs to swing by Drinking Liberally on Thursday nights at Dish on the corner of Cooper and Young. It’s always some of the most insightful conversation on a weekly basis. The Drinking Liberally don’t update their site too often, but are very active on Facebook.

Also, I’m eagerly waiting for Kleinheider’s daily return at The Nashville Post. I hope it’s not behind a subscription wall. We bloggers vote but we be poor. So far, so good.

It’s an interesting time here in Tennessee when it comes to your daily dose of politics. If politics isn’t your thing, then here is a picture that I think Lindsey and Killa will appreciate. There is a lot more going on than I listed here. I guess I’m thinking of location today outside of the state’s capital.

Spring Break For R. Neal Is Over

And R. Neal is back with this week’s round-up at TennViews

The Sunday “spring break’s over, back to work” edition of the TennViews weekly blog roundup showcasing the best bloggers in Tennessee and what they are talking about…

• 10,000 Monkeys and a Camera: Five Years. 4000 Dead.

• 55-40 Memphis: So the Clintons want Obama to lose to McCain, so Bill is still in power and Hillary has a shot at the presidency in four years.

• Aunt B.: Why, you may ask, are toll roads in Tennessee a stupid idea?

• BlountViews: Our education system is preparing students for jobs that do not even exist.

• Carole Borges: At a time when our economy is grinding to a halt, why outsource this plum contract to a foreign firm?

• The Crone Speaks: Shorter version, protect the companies, screw the people, and let’s not deal with correcting the economic bubble.

• Cup of Joe Powell: My Congressman thinks I’m an idiot.

• Don Williams: How Arthur C. Clarke’s voice of cosmic wonder changed OUR lives.

• The Donkey’s Mouth: The scurrilous claims made by a fellow Republican about the inappropriate use of campaign funds could be a problem for Blackburn further on down the road.

• Enclave: The voters are leaving party leaders in the dust today, in the rodeo dust of a Ft. Worth Coliseum.

• Fletch: The Tao of Dinghy

• KnoxViews: Scenic Vista Act update (Bonus: Spirited Democratic primary strengthens candidates and the party)

• Lean Left: But, aside from setting the Republican double standard in concrete for all to see, Rice’s remarks are kind of amusingly pathetic.

• Left of the Dial: More lottery suspicions

• Left Wing Cracker: After this, it doesn’t matter. She can win in Pennsylvania but it doesn’t matter, her campaign will end unsuccessfully.

• Liberadio: Dana Perino is so uncomfortable answering for President Bush’s crimes against humanity that I almost feel sorry for her.

• Loose TN Canon: Hobbs deleted my comments!

• NewsComa: Newspapers, this is the new world of communication and how news is evolving.

• Pesky Fly: The only credible conclusion I can come to is that Mark Penn, whose lobbying firm is run by one of McCain’s top advisors, is simply teeing up Obama for a general election sweep.

• Progressive Nashville: Insurance companies don’t want you to use the insurance. They just want you to pay for it.

• Resonance: What’s the point in holding elections if the delegates need not honor the results?

• RoaneViews: Congressman Lincoln Davis… Relaxed

• Russ McBee: In Dick Cheney’s mind, the misguided and mendacious decisions made by his “boss” are somehow more of a burden than the loss felt by those 4,000 families.

• Sean Braisted: Now, in an effort to show that Hillary Clinton is the only person left running for President who can answer a phone past 2:30AM, she tries to tie the economy to late-night/early-morning phone calls:

• Sharon Cobb: Another day, another lie from Hillary

• Silence Isn’t Golden: (W)ine in the grocery store won’t drive the big-spending customers away from the retailers.

• Southern Beale: President Bush and his economic advisers assume that people will rush off to WalMart to load up on more cheap Chinese-made crap they don’t need as soon as the check arrives.

• Tennessee Guerilla Women: If the old guard Democrats were to succeed at pushing the woman off the Democratic ticket only to face a Black woman on the Republican ticket, that would mean there really is a goddess and she really is pissed.

• TennViews: New challenger in TN Senate 4th District

• Vibinc: No one is going to heal the divisions, fix the crime, educate our kids, stop the cycle of poverty, or lower teen pregnancy and infant mortality for us Memphis, we have to do it for ourselves.

• Whites Creek Journal: There is a serious problem for both Clinton and McCain in this election cycle… They are both up against an honest person.

• Women’s Health News: Nipple Ring as National Security Threat

 Glad to have him back.

Penguins

Lizzie linked to this last week and I hadn’t seen it before.

As you know, I dig penguins.

Incidentally, I adore reading Lizzie on Twitter. She is so enthusiastic and it gives me a happy.

Third-Party Watch In Tennessee

Here’s what the fab Joe Lance has to say:

After all, if we fail to preserve our liberty, not much of the rest of this stuff matters. Yes, I support Barack Obama, and I hope he becomes President; but if and when he does, I will be among his leading dissenters should he fail to adequately restore personal freedoms that have been damaged. I’m more flexible on the economic side of things: a little bit of collectivism certainly goes a long way, but it hasn’t been demonstrated to me that peace and security can’t exist without some. I think people are just greedy, but: whatever. My supply of energy is directed toward the civil liberties side of things, and I’ll let others fret about taxes (though I’ll join them in decrying wasteful or unnecessary spending).

Blogging is about what we think, I think?

Isn’t it?

With that said, he’s talking about this.

Good post from our cyber friend in Chattanooga.

Everybody Dance Now …

It’s a Sunday kind of thing …

The Sunday “clash of the Titans and we’re not talking just politics” edition of the TennViews weekly blog roundup showcasing the best and brightest bloggers in Tennessee and what they are talking about…

Listing under the jump, campers.

• 10,000 Monkeys and a Camera: McCain: the Aftermath: The straight talk express hits a speed bump. Plus, the buzz on the Wisconsin and Hawaii primaries.

• 55-40 Memphis: Clinton supporters are “the Rottweilers of politics.” Plus: MO-bama!

• Ablogination: Hang it up, Hillary: Why Clinton should exit gracefully.

• Andy Axel (at KnoxViews): Home-Grown Terrorists Face Federal Charges: Charges pending in mosque firebombing, and how you donate to help rebuild it. Plus: McCain feels for the family.

• Aunt B.: Is helping take care of her dad and reminiscing.

• BlountViews: Liveblogging the TDOT Pellissippi Parkway Extension hearing, and commentary. Also, The Blount County Children’s Home is at risk because of politics and development, and new immigration laws are working to create an invisible fence.

• Carole Borges (a new addition to the blogroll and roundup): According to the League of Conservation Voters John McCain has earned himself a big fat zero. Also, the “poverty draft.”

• The Crone Speaks: Slave Labor: Moving Down the Economic Ladder: Growing poverty is creating a “slave labor” class. Plus: Some compelling reasons to vote for Hillary, and Bush’s support of Musharraf.

• Cup of Joe Powell: Are Connected Tennessee backers a front for AT&T? Plus, the immigration situation in Hamblen County prompts. Rep. David Davis (R, TN-1) to call for Homeland Security intervention. Also, check out this week’s Oscar edition of Joe Powell’s weekly Camera Obscura series on films and film making.

• Don Williams: An open letter to Hillary’s most ardent Obama bashers: Obama supporters have the high moral ground.

• The Donkey’s Mouth: Conservation Voters give high marks to Tennessee Congressional Dems, plus TNGOP’s Bill Hobbs says one thing on blogs and another in official press releases. Plus: The nominee must answer to TNGOP Chairwoman Robin Smith.

• Enclave: Questioning Bill O’Reilly’s lynching remarks, the Darwinian tone of reporting on Nashville’s homeless, and an unnoticed story about the Texas debate.

• Fletch: Gullscapes, Storms on the Horizon, A Dream and the Wind.

• KnoxViews: Campfield reports House wasting valuable time!, lively Texas debateconvenience voting project in East Tennessee. discussion, and a

• Lean Left: Kevin: Mixing the Races is a Communist Plot!, KTK: Feeling Michele Obama’s frustration, and Tgirsch: Chris Matthew’s job is not journalism, it’s to stir up…

• Left of the Dial: “I’m glad Bruce Pearl isn’t a cult leader because otherwise I might be selling all my worldly possessions right now.”

• Left Wing Cracker: LWC goes to 11 in naming his ten favorite blogs and why.

• Liberadio: Bold general election predictions, Obama robbed in New York, and the year of the underdog in which Democrats growl.

• Loose TN Canon: Wisconsin primary says GAME OVER for Republicans.

• NewsComa: It’s not about the sex, it’s about the political favors. Plus, blogs are changing the rules.

• Pesky Fly: Nikki Tinker surrogate attacks against Cohen are the moral equivalent of receiving stolen goods, and more on the “are bloggers journalists” question. Plus: How to protest.

• Progressive Nashville: Life after Castro won’t begin just yet, psychology of the candidates, and NYT dropped the ball.

• Resonance: Revealing campaign website traffic. Plus, an Obama/Bloomberg insurgency?

• RoaneViews: Thoughts on The Game. Plus: Eclipse of Sanity?

• Russ McBee: Serbian punk nationalists on the rampage, plus some interesting numbers.

• Sean Braisted: It doesn’t look like Clinton intends to salvage her dignity. Plus: [R.] Neal over at Knox Views seems perplexed as to why Hillary couldn’t “bring on the wonk to expose Obama’s lack of depth on policy.” This is a fascinating quote to me, because I think it sums up the arrogance of the Clinton camp really well. [..] Hillary is banking on the uneducated white vote to boost her campaign.

• Sharon Cobb: Karl Rove trolling in Alabama, Obama wins the debate, and Clinton and McCain are trying to “boil the hope” out of you.

• Silence Isn’t Golden: Some working people are more important to Clinton than others. memo to Hobbs: Better Uses For $8 Million , On O’Reilly’s racist remarks silence is complicity, plus Act Now To Save RIF!. Oh, I almost forgot. GoldnI exclusive: Tuke in!

• Southern Beale: It seems John McCain’s “straight talk” is as crooked as a dog’s hind leg. Plus, a bright future for solar energy.

• Tennessee Guerilla Women: Clinton: Shame on you Barack Obama, Hillary’s accomplishments, and Women Have Seen this Movie, We Know the Drill

• TennViews: Pam Strickland is looking for leads for a project on how “health care and legal issues contribute to the cumulative problems of poor children, particularly children of color.” Plus: Student voter registration: Yes you can, and, Clinton at the State of the Black Union, and Brian’s Memphis showdown preview, with a rundown of what Tennessee had to do, which they did.

• Vibinc: Crunches the delegate numbers and comes to some interesting conclusions.

• Whites Creek Journal: Whites Creek Steve’s impressive Great Backyard Bird Count list, plus more commentary on the bill to require DNA testing of fathers listed on Tennessee birth certificates.

• Women’s Health News: Rachel critiques CNN’s Tips for Savvy Medical Web SurfingDNA testing for birth certificates with some valuable tips of her own, plus more on .

The Keg Is Iced …

The Sunday “fire up a pot of chili and ice down the keg super tailgating” edition of the TennViews weekly liberal blog roundup showcasing the best and brightest bloggers in Tennessee and what they are talking about…

Sunday Liberal Link Love

This week’s version, campers, has some R. Neal commentary, which I think is better than groovy.

 The “things are heating up and it’s not just Global Warming” edition of the TennViews weekly liberal blog roundup and what the best and brightest bloggers in Tennessee are talking about:

• 10,000 Monkeys and a Camera: US Elections in Crisis: “We are supposed to be the greatest nation on earth and yet we appear to be incapable of holding an election and then having confidence in our returns.”

• Andy Axel (at KnoxViews): Fred Thompson is losing to this guy?: “It speaks volumes that the hapless Thompson can’t put up even a one-point victory on this lunatic…”

• BlountViews: Why they come here: “Immigrants from Mexico do not come to Tennessee to live out their lives. They come to work.”

• The Crone Speaks: Economic downturn?: “So, it’s no wonder I’m looking at these reports and saying “what the f*** took you economists so long to realize the reality?”

• Cup of Joe Powell: The spelling disqualification: “Question: What’s the first sign of the return of the TN State Legislature? Answer: A flurry of goofy, useless and grandstanding bills from Teh Rep, aka Stacey Campfield of Knoxville.” ALSO: The good, the bad, the primaries: “…good news is that how a person votes matters more than the opinions of the bobble heads.”

• The Donkey’s Mouth: Tennessee Republican Party Advocating Legislator Pay Raises: “From the keystrokes of TNGOP communications director Bill Hobbs, comes perhaps a new GOP initiative — legislative salary increases.”

• Enclave: The Monster Tennessee Media Could Become : “…if his numbers and prominence start to rise, we should be as vigilant of the closing distance between media noses and Mr. Thompson’s own bum.” ALSO: Extensive coverage of the Davidson Co. election office breakin and identity theft.

• Fletch: Long-haired Middle-Aged Dude and the Sea: “This outing was my first on a small sailboat on the open ocean…”

• KnoxViews (Bill Young): The Democrats in Michigan: “We got a battle in Michigan – Uncommitted vs Clinton”, ALSO (metulj): Obama on My Block: “I asked her if hope was important right now. She said that the last 7 years was like being held captive by aliens.”

• Lean Left: ACLU: Close Gitmo Now: “The prison camp at Gitmo is a symbol to the world of our leader’s cowardice and viciousness and it is the single most effective propaganda tool the terrorists have.” ALSO: New Hampshire: Beating the Press: “With its focus on trivia and personalities, with its mistaking high-school level jealousies and phobias for insight, with its insistence on substituting story lines for reporting, the political press in this country is an enormous threat to the health of our democracy.”

• Left of the Dial: Meth Seizures In East Tennessee: “While the number of meth labs seized in Tennessee decreased in 2007, the numbers are still staggering especially in east Tennessee.”

• Left Wing Cracker: Jim Kyle, you da man!: “Look, something has to be done here; as I have noted previously, the citizens of District 29 have no representation, and the Senate, even though tied at 16-16-1, could be run roughshod by the Republicans, and that is NEVER a good thing.”

• NewsComa: Don McLeary, Convictions and Not So Smart Politics: “Trust is important in politics because it’s hard to discern. And in partisan politics, loyalty is everything.”

• Pesky Fly: Two Feathers Short of a Full Chicken : “There’s an openly racist anti-Obama email making its way around the internets.” (Ed. Note: I got it, too.) ALSO: Power Blackout : “I believe that Barack Obama is much smarter and more shrewd than anyone is giving him credit for. I would make the case that Obama is first and foremost a student of power, and that his conciliatory approach is intended to disarm his opposition rather than wave a white flag of surrender.”

• Progress Nashville: Bush becoming a dangerous joke: “Nearly a year is left in the Bush administration and like a cornered, wounded animal, it is at its most dangerous.”

• Resonance: Another Electoral Compass Quiz: “One notable aspect of the grid is how closely the candidates within each of the two parties are clustered together. In other words, primary voters aren’t being offered substantive choices on the issues.”

• RoaneViews: Wild and Scenic Environmental Film Festival: “Patagonia is cosponsoring the event with the Tennessee Clean Water Network…”

• Russ McBee: The topsy-turvy state of human rights: “Today, a mere sixteen years after the Soviet Union collapsed, the US is the country building gulags, and the former Soviet republics are abolishing the death penalty because it’s barbaric.” ALSO: FBI wiretaps canceled for not paying the phone bill: “Neither Congress nor the courts seem willing to stop warrantless wiretapping, but apparently the phone company will.”

• Sean Braisted: Custer’s Last Stand: “As his aides most elegantly put it, South Carolina’s is Thompson’s “Custer’s last stand.” The place where Custer went to die.” ALSO: Republican Circus: “The predictable fare of “taxes bad” and “me kill terrorists” was on full display, with the occasional interjections of Ron Paul calling for a return to a 19th century economic system.”

• Sharon Cobb: CNN Poll: Clinton or Obama would beat any Republican, ALSO: Watching The Republican Debate Last Night Reminded Me Of The Importance Of Getting A Democrat Elected In 08 For President: “All and all, it was a huge, macho hate fest.”

• Silence Isn’t Golden: Will he or won’t he?: “Allowing someone to run unopposed shows weakness, complacency. The Republicans know this–they knew damn well that they couldn’t beat Phil Bredesen in 2006, yet they still ran someone anyway.” ALSO: Candidate lightbulb jokes: “How many McCain supporters does it take? We don’t know. They’re still in shock over the fact that the lightbulb didn’t go out in New Hampshire.”

• Tennessee Guerilla Women: Without Writers, Bill Maher is Still a Sexist Pig: “And there you go, when you have a lefty comic who behaves like the Rush Limbaugh of the Left, even Tony Snow gets to have rational moments.” ALSO: Hillary’s Victory — Women Vote Against Misogyny: The Tweety Effect: “…there can be no doubt that the misogyny oozing from media pundits like Chris Matthews got New Hampshire women good and mad and they showed it with their votes.”

• TennViews (Joe Powell): Real ID Redux – Still A Bad Idea: “While DHS now says it will reduce the cost of implementation, a cheaper bad idea is still a bad idea.” ALSO (in case you missed it): New Hampshire reaction from Tennessee liberal bloggers

• Vibinc: What I Want in a President: “What we want, as Democrats, is more important than who we want as the nominee.”

• Whites Creek Journal: Not again…: “Does [Kucinich] think he’ll pick up 120,000 votes and win it? Hell no! he sees this as a perfect opportunity to test the reliability of electronic voting machines against a paper ballot.” ALSO: Iranian Speedboat incident “Probably Faked”: “The only conclusion I can come to is that our Country’s International Policy is in the hands of amateurs. Stupid ones.”

• Women’s Health News: Education of the Pregnant Teen: “One advocate for the change was told, ‘You can’t have maternity leave. If you have your baby on Wednesday, you better be back on Thursday.'”

The Round-Up

R. Neal is calling it the corn-fed edition:

• 10,000 Monkeys and a Camera: Almost spot on prediction, and The Kids are Alright

• Andy Axel (at TennViews): The latest unbelievable wingnut spin

• BlountViews: Respect for Dodd and Biden

• The Crone Speaks: Electability over issues, and Voter turnout is the big story

• Enclave: The Obama Edwards dilemma

• Fletch: The Gaussian candidate

• KnoxViews: Down to the wire, and Knoxville News Sentinel has a sense of humor

• Lean Left: Caucus thoughts: A mess for the GOP, a remarkable win for Obama, and The “Not Clinton” problem

• Left of the Dial: Sick babies and loose meat sandwiches

• Left Wing Cracker: So much for Iowa being a Republican state

• NewsComa: Going against the grain, and Bold predictions for the aftermath

• Pesky Fly: Interpreting the tongues, and Fear of success

• Progress Nashville: Status quo: 0, Change: 1, and The young and the restless, plus Two miracles

• Russ McBee: Thoughts on Edwards, bonus: Quote of the day

• Sean Braisted: The awesome power of hope, and The defeat of absolutism

• Sharon Cobb: Iowa votes for change, plus Cause and Kucinich/Nader effect?

• Silence Isn’t Golden: Post Iowa scenarios

• Tennessee Guerilla Women: Only fools are dancing on Hillary’s grave and a Hillary provides baby sitters for caucus goers, right wing whines

• TennViews: Results and observations, and More questions than answers?

• Vibinc (a new addition to the Tennessee liberal blogroll): Snakes on a campaign, and About last night, and Live Blogging the Iowa Caucuses from Drinking Liberally Memphis, bonus: Hilarious predictions

• Whites Creek Journal: What happened

There you go, campers!

Because It Is The Way Of Sunday

Yup, it’s time for hippie, liberal fun, very most progressive Sunday, which I am most gratefully a member.

Courtesy of R. Neal.

An abbreviated “on-the-road live from Memphis” edition of our weekly sampling from some of Tennessee’s best and brightest bloggers:

• 10,000 Monkeys and a Camera: Authentic Russian dinner for the holidays (yum!)

• Andy Axel (at TennViews): Red pickup on fumes

• BlountViews: Blount one of seven Tennessee counties to pass new property tax freeze for seniors

• The Crone Speaks: Who benefits?

• Cup of Joe Powell: Liberal fascism

• Enclave: Davidson Co. Election Commission data theft

• Fletch: Favorite 2007 photo

• KnoxViews: Fair tax discussion

• Lean Left: A holiday we should celebrate in America

• Left Wing Cracker: It’s a cultural celebration, not a religious one

• Loose TN Canon: Bill Maher at Berklee

• NewsComa: Happy blog anniversary to NewsComa!

• Progress Nashville: Top 10 Progressive New Year’s Wishes, Day 8

• Resonance: 2008 Energy outlook

• RoaneViews: Clinch River protection pact

• Russ McBee: Musharraf walks a tightrope

• Sean Braisted: (back at home) Fun with framing

• Sharon Cobb: Analysis: candidates react to Bhutto assassination

• Silence Isn’t Golden: Right of refusal does not extend to infants

• Southern Beale: Davidson Co. voter data theft casts shadow over next election

• Tennessee Guerilla Women: Ron Paul considers third party bid

• TennViews: Democratic candidates on health care

• Whites Creek Journal: Off the grid

• Women’s Health News: Women’s Health year in review