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.

Newscoma’s Best Look

One of 1000 reasons not to take me out can be seen on Brittney Gilbert’s photostream here.

Look at the loveliness of Ginger but ignore the chick in the hat. I think she might be psychotic but on the other hand, the hat is smashing.

Face for radio, campers.

Blogher Nashville

I want to go to Blogher.

I don’t know if I will be able to, but I want to.

My pal, Ivy, is speaking there. She announced it last night on Twitter.

Feeling a bit land-locked in Hoots today, forgive me.

That is all.

Astute Media Observation On Politics

Aunt B. likes Michelle, but what she says later is very important in the big scheme of things.

2.  I watched the speech this morning.  On Youtube.  The whole thing.  I was just thinking about what a monumental change that’s going to be/already is: that you can watch the whole thing for yourself whenever you want to and make up your own mind, instead of having to rely on the news to play soundclips and analyze it to death.

As usual, she makes a very good point.

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

Journalist Uses Blog To Ask For Help

Here is an example of  journalist, Cara Kumari, trying to get a message out to folks.

Do I think this is a good idea?

Yes. Yes I do.

Usually, I try to use this blog to get news out.   Right now, I want to use it to collect news.  The Department of Safety is supposed to be contacting the 182 people whose records were accessed by Trooper Ronnie Shirley.  That list is supposed to include state employees, journalists and a country star.

Read the rest here.

Annoying Autobiographical Pause In Photos

I’m doing some cleaning and thought I’d share some photos with you from 2007.

First out, I need to apologize ahead of time. Gov. Ned McWherter was looking at the back of my T-shirt. Completely innocent.

Meeting Left Wing Cracker the first time.

In Memphis

And a lovely surprise. A picture I found of my friend Stewart Byars that I didn’t know I had.

May 2007

And, umm, just go here to see CeeElCee being talked about in San Francisco.

Will It Be Joe Biden?

So it’s Vice-President Tuesday or is it? Well, at least that’s what MSM is pontificating about today.

I only have a couple of random observations about the next step in the road to the White House. I think whoever is placed on the ticket for both candidates is going to be key in rural America.

Of course, I’m just talking about my rural America but I do think it’s key.

Joe Biden is relatively well-liked and respected by some of the Dems over here but so is Hillary Clinton. I think Biden has more of the edge. I hear more people around here talking about having Clinton fatigue, but I don’t really think she is on the short list at this point but that’s just me. I’ve been wrong before.

I mention Clinton Fatigue but I think it’s more about having election fatigue in general. This race has been going on for what seems like forever. With two years of campaigning, at this point I believe everyone is pretty sure of whom they are going to vote for anyway.

But those undecided will be watching the VP choices.

Sharon has a poll for you to go and add your two cents to the pot regarding whom Barack Obama is going to choose.

Think of it as voting early and often.

Rural Voting

Read the Coyote and thank me later.

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.“)

Tennessee Political Blogs Marked As Spam

Left Wing Cracker, Sharon Cobb and Vibinc are all reporting that they were marked as spam yesterday.

LWC has a thread over at his house about what happened.

And I don’t think my liberal blogging buddies won’t come out swinging because they don’t think this is a coincidence. Pissed might be the most accurate word.

We’ll see if more were reported as spam.

UPDATED: Blue Gal has a more comprehensive list which includes Skippy the Bush Kangaroo, which Sharon reported over at LWC.

It’s apparently happening to different kind of blogs on both sides of the political aisle.

Also Tom Guleff has been locked out according to LWC.

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.

Patricia Ann Pierce To Replace Robin Smith

I have to agree with Progressive Nashville and Aunt B. about Tennessee GOP head Robin Smith.

You can read the letters she sent to Bredesen and Post Politics here.

If you aren’t familiar with what’s going on, Kleinheider breaks it down:

Patricia Ann Pierce of Harriman, director of the Opportunity Development Center at Vanderbilt University, was appointed today by Governor Phil Bredesen to serve on Tennessee’s Human Rights Commision. Pierce fills the expired term of Tennessee Republican Party Chair Robin Smith who was appointed to the Commission by Gov. Don Sundquist in 2002.

Smith’s position on the board had come under fire recently due to her actions as party chair. Under her watch, at least two communications were released out of her shop at the TNGOP which made national news for their incendiary nature.

We wish Patricia Ann Pierce well in her new appointment.

‘Can’t Be Allowed To Go By Without Comment’

Jon says it better than I can about Barack Obama shift to the middle.

Anyway, it’s not yet enough to lose my vote. But it can’t be allowed to go by without comment. He has to take the lumps he’s asked for. “My Candidate, Right or Wrong” is how the last regime worked — no thanks.

There are people watching. They aren’t going to agree with everything that Obama does and, at least right now, we have the right to say it out loud when we don’t agree.

It’s good to have a dialog. We live in some odd times. But so did my parents and my grandparents, I guess.

But if we don’t talk about it, then we are lemmings.

And we’ve had eight years of that mentality.

The Human Factor of Higher Gas Costs

I realize that at this moment and for roughly 36 days, my car, Steve Austin, has been AWOL.

I was already carpooling before Austin’s disappearance but with news like this, I’m wondering if I should just set him free.

Oil’s historic ascent from $100 to nearly $150 a barrel in just six months is lending weight to a far grimmer prediction: Crude could reach $200 a barrel by the end of the year.

I have been telling you guys this for awhile.

There are no utilities and no public transportation in this unincorporated town of a couple hundred people along a narrow road that winds through the mountains 314 miles north of Sacramento. Many people here buy gas for their vehicles and gas or diesel for generators that power their homes.

“I’m scared to death” of rising fuel prices, Hanley says. At the store, the hub for visiting whitewater rafters and residents of other isolated towns, gas cost $5.30 a gallon on a recent day when the national average was $4.07.

This community may be an extreme example of how rising gas prices are hitting rural Americans particularly hard, but people in small towns from Maine to Alaska are in a similar bind as those here.

Aunt B. wrote awhile back about how the suburbs of urban cities were also going to be hit.

I can sit and talk about this all day. I have no idea what rural Americans are going to do. My income has only gone up slightly in the past three years. My cost of living has skyrocketed. Due to a very good network of friends and family, we are doing okay.

But what about the folks that make roughly $7 bucks an hour? It might not be common in larger cities but it’s very common in rural America. Salaries are just not as high. It used to not matter. It does now. Food expenses, which have to be trucked in, have gone through the roof in small towns across this country.

The options are limited. Do folks like Squirrel Queen and I move to a place with public transportation? I took the trains and trams in Amsterdam and Montreal when I lived there. It was no problem. I actually kind of liked it.

And this happened recently. We will no longer be able to go get a Commercial Appeal (which is having it’s own problems) or a Tennessean, which will cut services to northwest Tennessee on July 27. Fuel costs are just too high although they say it’s only a “factor.” Many folks who deliver papers are subcontracted out, including route delivery people, and the cost of that I’m sure was just too much.

It’s a cost-cutting measure, of course, but it’s still frustrating. I liked the Sunday papers.

No Sunday papers in a ten-county area, gas prices looking like they’re pushing towards five bucks a gallon, and I just noticed my dog’s usual (and previously relatively inexpensive) dog food has gone up nearly an entire four dollars a bag. My salary’s certainly taken a big hit this year catastrophically – and I’m obviously not a “normal” case – but even if I was still working the same job, I’m pretty sure my salary wouldn’t have gone up much (if at all), and I imagine many others are in the same boat. What’s next? I’m honestly beginning to dread to even wonder.

What’s next?

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.

Sick Puppy

I’m reading a Carl Hiaasen book that came out several years ago called “Sick Puppy.”

I’ve read some of this other stuff and occasionally, when I want a fun, snarky read, I’ll pick up one of his books and go to town. I liked “Native Tongue” quite a bit as well.

If you have ever read a Hiaasen book, you know the politicians are corrupt, the protagonists are extremely flawed (or a little bit crazy) and the politicians are corrupt. Usually, Hiaasen’s novels are about dirty developers who could give two flips about the environment. (In this particular book, there is a hooker that will only do “business” with Republicans which I thought was pretty funny.)

Hiaasen has no sympathy for politicians and apparently thinks lobbyists are the dog poo on the bottom of America’s collective shoes. I bring that up because he’s hard on both the left and the right. He writes, in most of the books I’ve read, that when politicians get to any state capital or to Washington, they relinquish their party lines and become more of an overall blob that dams up government for nefarious and mostly selfish means. They ultimately become part of a parasitic and egotistical pool of greed. And that the lobbyists are the ones that rule much of the country, using elected folks as puppets. Politicians are thin-skinned and clueless about what’s going on in the districts they were elected to.

With the recent antics I’ve seen coming from our government recently, I can’t help but think that Hiaasen’s book is more on target than the biting satire it is written as.

Because, my friends, I don’t think our government has a clue what’s going on because they are so immersed in the life of living in either Nashville or Washington.

Yeah, I’m not feeling the love for any of them today.