TN Rep. Holt Fights Feds, Backs Militia Takeover

I don't know that I ever heard of Tennessee State Rep. Andy Holt prior to his being fined for a.) operating without a permit while b.) illegally dumping nearly a million gallons of pig poop into public waterways from his pig farm operations. Fined $177,000 by the EPA which he refuses to pay a few months later, now Rep. Holt is taking his fight against the federal government into high gear.

On Monday, he tweeted a question to the armed militants who have taken control of a federal bird sanctuary in Oregon "#bundymilitia Where can I send support to your effort?"

And today he sent a letter to President Obama, saying "take your gun control and shove it" and concluding with another hashtag  "#MolonLabe" which is Latin for "come and take it", apparently he feels the President wants to send Federal agents to take away any guns he might have.

It wasn't long after reading about the above events, I recalled I had heard of Rep. Holt before - back when somehow he convinced the state legislature of pass a resolution inviting Right Wing talk show firebrand Sean Hannity to come to Tennessee to live. I found among my bookmarked pages this gem from the Nashville Scene from last February:

"And last month, when throngs of women chanted in the Capitol hallways over women's reproductive rights, the adamant anti-abortion Republican scribbled and carried around a sign that read, "I love women ... and their babies."

Testing Requires More Testing

The Tennessee Legislature deploys some logic - because so much time in public school is spent on increasing testing scores in science and math and technology, other classes, such as in civics and social studies and history have been hampered. So, now students will have to take a citizenship test to graduate.

Too many tests, it seems, denotes a vital need for more tests. Of course, the new law says a student can take the test as many times as needed in order to pass it. 

The legislation is created by a the Joe Foss Institute.

Maybe students should be directed to learn how lobbying by large national foundations is so effective.

Greetings From the East Tennessee Ice/Snow/Slush Storm 2015

And record-setting below-zero weather, too!

(The 2015 storm slammed the town of Monterey in middle Tennessee.)

Tennessee's 1st Communist Town? Plz Don't Tweet or Repost!

Bad ideas - and perhaps a few good ones - thrive on the Internet.

Officials in the local government of South Pittsburg, TN are learning the hard way.

Earlier this month, for reasons as yet unknown, the town's elected folks voted to "ban" negative comments on social media about the town, applicable to  "all city elected representatives, appointed board members, employees, volunteers, vendors, contractors and anyone associated with the town in an official capacity who uses social networks."

Cue the avalanche of negative (if hilarious) comments.

"Guess we need to change the welcome sign..to say the first Communist town in the south," wrote one resident."

Fake social media accounts for Mayor Jane Dawkins (@NotJaneDawkins) have been created by one Reddit user, and another for Commissioner Jeff Powers. Hilarity and parody flow.

TennCare Requires Enrollment on Imaginary Online System

$35 million spent for a required online system to obtain TennCare - but it doesn't exist. Tennessee politicians have made sure to fight healthcare reform at every step, no matter who gets hurt.

"The state committed $35.7 million -- $32 million of that in federally allocated money -- to a three-year contract with global cybersecurity contractor Northrop Grumman to create a new system called the "Tennessee Eligibility Determination System," or "TEDS," which will result in a new TennCare application website.

But the project, which started in December 2012, is not completed -- and there is no projection as to when it will be finished, Gunderson said."

Sen. Alexander Hates Your Stupid Talking

I'm not sure how it happened, but Tennessee Senator Lamar Alexander really, really does not like to hear you talking on the phone:

"Stop and think about what we hear now in airport lobbies from those who wander around shouting personal details into a microphone: babbling about last night’s love life, bathroom plans, next week’s schedule, orders to an assistant, arguments with spouses. Imagine this noise while you travel, restrained by your seatbelt, unable to escape."

Rep. Roe's Weak Alternative to Health Care Reform

With enrollment options for the Affordable Care Act set to start in just days, Congressman Phil Roe is pushing a very weak alternative idea from Republicans which fails to offer much reform at all. Where has Rep. Roe been for the last 4 years? 

He's been actively blocking most any idea Tea Party Republicans tell him to block. Crafting legislation to assist East Tennessee is not his priority. This last-minute bill he's touting is far too little and so very, very late.

As noted in this report, the alternative has major flaws:

"No overall cost estimates for the bill were available.

Officials said the legislation contains no provision to assure insurance coverage for millions of lower-income Americans who are scheduled under current law to be enrolled in Medicaid, a state-federal health care program for the poor.

Nor are there replacements for several of the requirements the current law imposes on insurance companies, including one that requires them to retain children up to the age of 26 on their parents’ coverage plan and another barring lifetime limits on coverage."

TN House Leader Says No Debate for Legislation

Business owners in TN are facing new orders via the State - employees with handgun conceal permits are allowed to use their vehicles to store weapons on business property.

Any merits aside, TN House Speaker, Republican Beth Harwell banned comments on the bill from any who might be opposed.

"Republican leaders called a caucus meeting before this morning’s session to make sure lawmakers were with the program. Their basic message? Let’s do this fast before voters wake up and realize just how contemptible we are. Reporters, including Pith informant Andrea Zelinski, were allowed into the meeting and happily tweeted away as Speaker Beth Harwell made her case for minimizing media coverage and political fallout.

"The less you say the better. … Just stay quiet ..." Harwell told Republicans."

Rep. Harwell also limited this session the number of bills each member can introduced - though certainly keeping that number low seems laudable, it also limits business from state debate.

"Harwell's new 15-bill limit has reduced the number of bills filed this year, as compared to last, by about one-third. The speakers have set a goal of adjourning by April 19. Under the normal schedule of legislators working four days per week, there will be 28 more days to deal with almost 1,400 bills."

Go Hungry Says Sen. Campfield

Children in need are being threatened in legislation from Knoxville Senator Campfield. He wants to withhold food stamps from families if a child makes bad grades in school. Campfield wants kids in poverty to face more hardships, worse, face the prospect of going hungry, if they are also having problems with their studies.

Classy Campfield. Punishing kids is Ugly Government.

Another Tennessee government over-reach means lost jobs. The state wants to force private businesses to allow more weapons in the workplace. The massive investment and growth of the VW manufacturing complex in Chattanooga is in jeopardy thanks to this proposal.

More legislators, sadly including my new State Rep Tilman Goins, are refusing to allow funds for health care in the state from the Affordable Care Act go to those who might need it. Firstly, we've paid the taxes that create the funds and are obligated for the debt it creates too. The least we should expect in return is to receive the health care programs and expansions which would follow. Politics aside, even of the funds are turned away, other states will receive the funds, so why cut us out? The state's Federal representatives have made and are making calls for the repeal of the Act - but no go. Until or unless such a repeal takes place then don't let TN get less than their share. If the state refuses the money then residents will just have to find health insurance on their own.

U

2012: Days of Future Passed

As the new year approaches I tend to reflect some, as most folks do, on Past, Present and Future. In truth, I'm likely too reflective on a constant basis, perhaps part of the hard-wired nature of The Writer in My Head.

Given the purely tentative and fragile essence of Life itself, I confess to some surprise to still be a living creature here on this wee speck of a planet in an infinite Universe. Existence for more than a handful of decades defies the odds. Perhaps it is that I have felt as if I were an Old Soul since I was but a young boy. Now that I am far beyond young boyhood, the passage of Time perplexes me far more than ever.

This fading year, 2012, is one where I have realized I am aging to the point of cultural irrelevance, a fact which was driven deep into my thoughts rather too often for comfort. My time here has straddled two centuries, and the changes in how life is lived are radical and spectacular. A great many of the changes were expected, yet many more were not. (Not that such a state is uniquely mine.)

And there's the simple fact that the time which has passed in my life is now greater than the time which is ahead and yet to be lived. Spooky.

The year I was born, Time magazine proclaimed that the "Men of the Year" were Scientists. Scientists. 

Every day, new and startling discoveries are made about our world and how we manipulate it and use it and attempt to understand it. Sadly, this year, the dubious wisdom of the Tennessee state legislature decided that Science was a collection of random theories which were to be challenged and doubted by American grade school and high school students. 

Not that Science solves any and every problem, but the vast wealth of possibility and discovery has apparently been dismissed as if they were mere Superstitions while Superstition is now heralded as a beacon of Truth.

The men who were singled out in 1960 helped to create so many of the innovations which shape life today via technology and medicine, and much more, and hundreds of other inventors and innovators built on their ideas:

George Beadle, geneticist, Charles Draper, designer of the Apollo Guidance Computer, John Enders, "Father of Modern Vaccines", Donald A. Glaser, particle physicist,  Joshua Lederberg, artificial intelligence and genetics,  Willard Libby, chemistry,  Linus Pauling, quantum chemistry and molecular biology,  Edward Purcell, magnetic resonance creator and physicist,  Isidor Rabi, physicist and microwave developer, Emilio Segrè, physicist, William Shockley, "Father of Silicon Valley". Edward Teller, physicist, inspiration for "Dr. Strangelove",  Charles Townes, quantum electronics, James Van Allen, nuclear and astrophysicist, and Robert Woodward, organic chemist.

I often think that it will be the children who have been born in the last few or next few years who will provide the next major shift in how life on our planet is lived -- and I confess that I most selfishly want to live as long as possible just so I can be alive as our wee planet makes another monumental stride into and beyond the realms of possibility.

Here's to you 2013 and all the years and surprises yet to come. 

Sen. Niceley Wants Secret Armed Guards In TN Schools

Worst idea I've heard yet (and there is no shortage of bad ideas) in response to the massacre in Newtown, CT is from Tennessee Senator Frank Niceley, who wants to create secretly armed staffers and teachers in public schools. Worse, Governor Haslam seems to think this wackadoodle notion is worthy of consideration.

"Say some madman comes in. The first person he would probably try to take out was the resource officer. But if he doesn’t know which teacher has training, then he wouldn’t know which one had [a gun],” Niceley said by phone. “These guys are obviously cowards anyway and if someone starts shooting back, they’re going to take cover, maybe go ahead and commit suicide like most of them have.”

"Tennessee’s governor told reporters Monday that he’s open to including it on the agenda for a January conference to discuss school safety. Nicely said he expect the governor “to be receptive” to his plan to use tax money to arm and train teachers."

SEE ALSO: Newscoma points out that TN Senator Lamar Alexander says video games are to blame for the massacre in Newtown and former TN legislator Debra Maggert dared to oppose a NRA-supported gun-totin' bill and was quickly ousted from office.

You Can Help Finish the Documentary on The Farm Commune in Tennessee

Two filmmakers are hoping the last few days of fundraising via their Kickstarter page will bring success so their documentary on the largest commune ever in the U.S., known as The Farm and located in Summertown, Tennessee.

The film "American Commune" was made by two sisters who were born on The Farm, then their family relocated to California, and they decided to document their return to their origins:

"When we left The Farm as kids and moved to Los Angeles, we were catapulted into another world.  We had never smelled perfume, eaten meat, seen women with makeup or men without beards, and we’d hardly watched TV. We were taunted for being “hippie kids” and did everything we could to blend in.

"The impetus for making AMERICAN COMMUNE was born out of our simple desire to understand where we came from.  As luck would have it, working in the heart of commercialism in New York City compelled us back to our roots. Suddenly, we needed to learn about what our parents were doing in the backwoods of Tennessee and how they, along with hundreds of others, managed to create a massive alternative society out of no more than passion and an empty spot of land. As we interviewed The Farm’s founders, our parents, and our childhood friends, we developed a greater respect for how hard everyone worked to realize their dream."

Learn more about The Farm at their website:

"The 150 present-day residents of The Farm have not rested on their laurels, but continue to create and demonstrate low-consumption, high-fulfillment lifestyles within a caring, socially active community; to conceive, finance and launch daring business enterprises that revolutionize the fields they compete in; to reduce the burden of external government; to mitigate the negative environmental, health and economic impacts of unsustainable global patterns; to demonstrate and export a variety of integrated social development strategies which can encourage diverse cultures worldwide to bypass unhealthy transitions; and to become a living example of the healthy and fulfilling interdependence of human and natural communities."

Dozens of Bomb Threats Target Tennessee Counties

News reports in the last few hours from across the state say that at least 25 county courthouses across Tennessee received bomb threats via telephone calls this morning. So far, no injuries reported as each location evacuated and conducted searches. The calls included threats to Hamblen County and others in East TN, and also in Memphis too.

The Knox News Sentinel is tracking the story: "Dalya Qualls, spokeswoman for the Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security, said this afternoon ... she has no details about the contents of the calls, and that the Department of Safety and Homeland Security is assisting various local agencies in the investigation."

Last week, a similar batch of threats was made against 28 counties in Oregon, and earlier this month, another round of calls were made in Washington state and Nebraska.

Tennessee Designers Make Mars Rover Move

It's deeply gratifying to learn that some very smart folks in Ooltewah, Tennessee are responsible for making the massive, newly-landed mobile laboratory on the surface of Mars actually move around.

The American Bicycle Group in Ooltewah (population: 687)  designed the legs to withstand to the landing and be able to move around the surface for the next several years, according to the story in today's TimesFreePress:

"The Chattanooga team left its mark on Mars, too. Each one of their names is etched inside the legs they helped create that have now found a permanent home among the stars."

At KnoxViews, R. Neal noted today that the wheels of the car-sized rover will leave a "secret coded message" in the Martian soil.

As this new hallmark in robotic space exploration made it's landing, some thousands of folks gathered to watch it all live on the giant screen in Times Square. (click to enlarge)

More pictures of the evening here.

The rover has a nuclear battery which could power the robot for some 14 years - the graphic below, via Space.com, reveals how it is loaded with cameras and equipment. (click to enlarge)

Mark Clayton: Triple Tennessee Facepalm

Our humble state of TN made national political news - once again - for achieving a new level of Dangerously Stupid Acts. The cause this time was the election victory last week for a full-blown toon named Mark Clayton as a Democrat U.S. Senate candidate.

Seems the voters just plunked down their votes for Clayton because his name was first on the ballot - and when you add in the idiocy with which the state Dem party operates, as discussed by Southern Beale on her blog - well, it becomes clear that it was just about inevitable that Dangerously Stupid would win the day.

For many months, I was fairly certain that actress and activist Park Overall was going to win that primary - she campaigned with much energy and speaks so plainly, it seemed a no-brainer that she would make a very fierce competitor for the incumbent millionaire Senator Bob Corker. Never underestimate the power of ignorant voters is the lesson we are left with I suppose.

Add in the fact that it was not until after the election of Clayton that the state Dem party disavowed Clayton. I know of many smart Democrats in Tennessee and read some fine writing from many of them online. But the state party is as deaf as a post apparently. You folks might want to start crafting some standards and hiring some people who are competent.

It's bad enough folks would vote for someone they knew zip about. And it's mighty clear that for the last few years the state Dem party has zero ability to operate with any significance. (And for the record I have never been a member of any political party.) The official state Dem response to Clayton's win simply "urges Democrats to write-in a candidate of their choice in November.”

Like that's a good idea. They need to throw 100% of their effort into backing Park Overall, who would at the very least make mincemeat of Corker during a debate. 

But here's my real concern -  our state has loads of Conservative voters and party leaders, I get that. But I also know there are many, many of us non-Conservative, non-Republicans who live and work in our humble state and we get zero representation in government, from the city level to the state level and the federal level. Like many of us in this minority group, I still write and call my elected representatives to express my views on many topics - and at best, all we get back is a "thank you for writing" and "your views are important" replies. And that's a lie.

These folks will not ever stand up for us, will not ever even consider the merits of the issues we raise, and that dismissal is final and permanent. And electing a full-blown toon like Clayton will just make it worse.

Governor Haslam OKs Dress Code for Pants In Schools Which Already Have Dress Codes For Pants

Our state will now police your pants - and pretty much all clothes worn by students in Tennessee thanks to a new law our governor has signed.

See, even though every school in the state has dress code policies, now the state is ordering them to have - you guessed it - dress code policies.

Our ever-watchful state officials this year have decided junk science must be allowed in schools and that hand-holding leads to making babies, not to mention that boys and girls making eye contact might need to be banned as well.

The Constant Demonizing

Ir's pretty disgusting to witness the constant demonization of some "Other", which masquerades as social and political debate. The world seldom gets down to the Either/Or state of life, and when a person's world (or a group's) perspective is down to just two options, then one is surely in a battle royale.

The demonizations now seem to be the sole purpose of so-called cable news and talk radio, and yes, giant chunks of the Internet too have been swallowed up on the road to nowhere.

Like you, dear reader, I have been most recently bombarded with righteous and furious anger over the building of a religious center in Manhattan.

Truth is, religious buildings govern much in America -- one can't build an establishment where alcohol is sold unless a certain distance from religious buildings is maintained, a distance which in Tennessee which varies from town to town. 300 feet is too close, 301 feet is fine.

Truth is, some 80 feet away from where a crazed, radical group of terrorists slammed a fully loaded passenger plane into the Pentagon, Islamic services are held daily and have been since just after the horror of the Sept. 11th attacks. And those attacks were made possible by deeply deranged people who demonized all of America for ... well, for everything wrong in the world, I suppose.

And there are two mosques already quite near the site of the fallen twin towers - just blocks away. The one being planned now is meant to house the spillover of members, there isn't enough room for those who wish to attend. More hysteria is taking place here in Tennessee, in Murfreesboro, for a proposed expansion of a mosque and religious center, even though the group has been in Murfreesboro for decades.

Truth is, it is far easier to terrify and frighten people than it is to educate and illuminate them. Mark me down as someone who refuses to give power to those who want to terrify.

Today, I read about many celebrations marking the adoption of the 90th anniversary of the 19th Amendment to the Constitution, which allowed women the right to vote. A Tennessee fellow named Harry T. Burn cast the vote leading to victory for the movement, in part because his mother (Mrs. J. L. Burn (Phoebe "Febb" Ensminger) of Niota, Tennessee) admonished him to "be a good boy".

The state's archives notes:

"The nineteenth century witnessed the birth of two monumental movements in American history: abolition of slavery and women’s suffrage. While the two movements appeared to be distinct, both sought to secure the American promise of Liberty and equality for all people. Abolition was the mother of the suffrage movement and growing numbers of people actively supported both reforms.

A large number of women supported abolition and most men believed it was because of women’s high moral standards and their tender hearts. Frederick Douglass himself noted that women were key players in abolition. He believed that the true history of the antislavery cause would one day be written and when it was, women would take up the largest amount of space in that great tome because, “the cause of the slave has been peculiarly woman’s cause.”

During a time when social standing, race, and gender defined a person’s place in society, courageous women were involved in a common cause and dared to take a stand for freedom and equality."

The world is seldom simple. Yes, there are Rights and Wrongs. Knowing which is which, dear reader, demands we all be vigilant and resilient. Constant, bitter, hateful demonization only fuels ignorance and despair.

See Also:
Don't Follow The Terrorists' Script

You're Making the Mothers In America Angry

I noticed another truck here in East Tennessee this past weekend with the bumper sticker which reads "TN is for Jesus Not Obama". Funny thing though - that's never been a choice anyone I know (or don't know) has ever been given. Ever.

The rising (and highly publicized) anger of some Americans about President Obama has been both shrill and more than a little manic - I'm sensing a lot of fear and paranoia but fear of what exactly? The dissent bellows back the reply: "EVERYTHING!!"

Here's one huge, giant change I've noticed since President Obama has taken office: people who voice loud and angry dissent are not silenced, are not forced to stay inside designated fenced-in "freedom zones", and are even allowed to carry guns to their protests. That's a massive change from the previous eight years, when even sporting a shirt or bumper sticker could get the Secret Service crawling all over you.

I'm betting that's what really has some people terrified - they are being given enormous opportunity to offer their viewpoints but very few Americans are buying it. It's being told you're obsolete and that's always a bitter slab of American pie to swallow.

The last week saw the hysteria emerge anew as Conservative leaders and others of dubious intent whipped up some media frenzy over a speech President Obama was offering to kids in school. That may have been a huge mistake because now the Mothers in America are questioning the source of such hysteria and they're pretty mad about what they have learned. Here's two from East Tennessee:

"Yep, according to Uncle C, all good Christian Americans will reject Obama’s attempt to indoctrinate America’s youth to socialist ideas (you know, ideas such as education is important, stay in school, be responsible, work hard and other pervasively evil, similarly socialist shit like that) by declaring Tuesday “National Keep Your Child Home from School Day.”

In Hawkins County, this will be followed by “Steve, the Republican Attendance Supervisor, Hauls Your Sorry Ass To Truancy Court Day.”

You know, America, I’ve been quiet about a great many things that have occurred in this country since Obama was elected. I guess I’ve been a little dumbstruck by this highly publicized war between the radical factions, by the polarization of the American people, by the resurgence of racism which is poorly disguised as political opposition, by the complete lack of intelligent discussion, mutual respect or common decency and the easy acceptance of the deceitful propaganda, which has taken it’s place – all things which should be insulting to any free-thinking intelligent person, regardless of party, but isn’t or doesn’t seem to be.

Literally. Dumbstruck.

I cannot count the number of times over the past few months that the behavior of the people around me or comments made by those closest to me have been so outrageously stupid, so painfully offensive or were delivered with such a wild-eyed fervor (the type which is normally reserved for snake handling or healing in the name of Jesus) that I cannot find the words to combat it.

---

"But this controversy isn’t about Obama’s remarks or his method of delivery, is it? It’s about Obama, period – and the message you’re sending, I think, is quite simple: OH MY GOD, it’s a scary liberal BLACK guy with a foriegn-soundin’ name – RUN for your LIVES! BEFORE HE DEVOURS YOUR CHILDREN!”

Well, I’m tired of hearing that message. I’m tired of feeling defeated by dumbasses. I’m tired of remaining silent while radicals cry wolf. I’m tired of the media making those idiots spokespersons for us all – and I’m reeeaaallly tired of Republican leadership allowing the moderates, independents and people with half-a-brain to be shoved to the left of the center because that’s the only place where they feel safe from the crazies, the Klan and the state party chairpeople. Don’t believe me? Keep promoting yourself as the party of Grand Wizards and even grander fruitcakes, see how far it gets you."

That's from DeMarCaTionVille

And from Southern Female Lawyer:

"I am sorry, but there is NO WAY that this sort of crap is not at least partially race-based. Where was this fear and rage before? From now on I am calling it like I see it. Gloves off.

These are people who are afraid that they are losing their white christian hetero male advantage. They see a black President. They see hispanic folks at their grocery stores. They see gay couples on t.v. They see women in roles of power. In other words, they see change is coming and that there is NOTHING they can do to stop it. But that isn’t going to keep them from letting the wealthy and corporate interests use their fear and manipulate them. That won’t stop them screaming about ‘healthcare’ or ‘taxes’ or ‘constitution.’ Two of which have always favored the white and the wealthy. But you know what? The Constitution favors NO ONE above anyone else. We are ALL entitled to its protections. So suck it up people. You had your chance.

Change is here."

She also has another post you might like to read here.

Oh, and that speech which the President made today had some pretty basic and concrete typically Conservative components: Individual responsibility, setting goals, deciding to be your own boss.

"But at the end of the day, we can have the most dedicated teachers, the most supportive parents, and the best schools in the world and none of it will matter unless all of you fulfill your responsibilities. Unless you show up to those schools; pay attention to those teachers; listen to your parents, grandparents and other adults; and put in the hard work it takes to succeed.

And that's what I want to focus on today: the responsibility each of you has for your education. I want to start with the responsibility you have to yourself.

Every single one of you has something you're good at. Every single one of you has something to offer. And you have a responsibility to yourself to discover what that is. That's the opportunity an education can provide."

Full text here.

Tennesseans Prefer The Lies

A CNN story about residents of Polk County, TN shows a small but vocal group of seemingly intelligent folks who prefer fictions about Sen. Obama over facts. Dan Lehr writes about the story and the willful refutation of what's accurate for his blog for WTVC- TV. Others on the internet (here and here for example) have been on this report too and Tennessee comes off quite badly, all in all.

CNN reporter Gary Tuchman noted it was the mayor of the town which captured their attention:

"We called business leaders. We called mayors. And this particular town, Copperhill, has a very gregarious mayor who said he would be happy to go on camera.

And he guaranteed, everyone in town will want to talk to you.

And, indeed, they did. So, that’s why we went to Copperhill. But we could go to all 50 states and do the exact same story, Wolf.

Recently I was talking with a long-time friend, a very smart, thoughtful fellow who likewise spouted a stream of meaningless hooey about Obama he'd read and heard which have been talking points for the Tennessee Republican Party for months now. It was sad to hear him say these things, and worse, to realize he is far more ready to believe them. After a long talk, I hit a sizable obstacle in his logic which no amount of talking could alter, it seems - his unspoken fear of a non-white person being President of the U.S.

That's what it really is - a deep-rooted fear of another race. Period.

As for the folks in Copperhill and Ducktown - they are folks who a willing to commit to something no matter what the consequences. For decades, the operations of copper mines in the basin were conducted at a very high cost: for fuel, they "cut down every tree and burned it", and the resulting sulphuric acid by-product of the mining returned as rain which left a dead landscape where nothing could grow in the ground for a 50-mile radius. (See more on this from a children's history of Tennessee. If memory serves, at one time the bright orange scar in the Ducktown Basin was once visible from space. I understand they have been aggressively trying to replant trees and clean up the water since the early 1990s.)

Some folks seem to be willing to dig in their heels hold fast to an idea, no matter how destructive.

Image of Ducktown Basin circa 1912

Some In Lynchburg Spread Lies About Obama

I don't know what's wrong with saying of a particular candidate for public office "I just don't like them" and then moving on.

Instead, armed with every mass-emailed lie about Barack Obama, these church folk in Lynchburg have at him and call instead for an American theocracy. After all, as one gal says, "It says In God We Trust on our money!!" (via Rocketboom)



At least the videographer received a fine looking lunch.