Gobsmacked in America; or The Tweetering Inferno

Oh blog, poor blog, you have been mightily not been much present for the Dear Readers of the world in 2017.

It's not your fault. Wailing negativity each and every day has dominated the news and the talk and politics and the personalities which a battered modern America has brought forth are fairly depressing. I really do not want to add even more weight to the self-manufactured drowning stones being looped around America's neck. So I've kept my mouth shut, my keyboard untouched.

And the information flowing from the political distortions of reality presented as fact is a likewise river of sewage pretending it's a princess. The emperor may have no clothes, to quote the fable, but in today's world none care but we will video him with their phone as he goes walking past. The screen is running the show.

So I've just been working on real human interactions. Not writing about it, not observing, living. Such tends to severely limit writing.

And the good and the positive which I have encountered this year, I've kept clutched silently to myself, as if such things were tattered remnants of a nation once proud and mostly honest. Festering sores aren't much use to share with one's fellow humans. Though if your fellow human is indeed covered in festering sores, maybe one should speak to it.

In more simple terms. the cheese has fallen right off the American cracker.

It's on the floor, even if you like, clean it off, put it back on the cracker, you'll know.


PS - Fear not dear reader. Your  Cup of Joe is here, even when quiet. There's 12 years worth of archives to read - just click on a month in the sidebar on the right. You can see how many dead links and dead websites and music and video sites that aren't around anymore. But I am still here. I be back.

TrumpBrand - America For Sale

The tweeted idiocies, outright lies, and deceptions gurgling up out of the TrumpBrand Government might appear entertaining, but the real, daily, and constant work to dismantle America is growing by leaps and bounds. Six months into this wrecking ball approach to government and the damage is already immeasurable. What a horrifying mess the TrumpBrand Government is making.

The Big Lie (aka the Blame Them Game)  which many Republicans and most Conservatives cling to, demands all problems or issues are merely the fault of any and every one except themselves - the reason those who hold office can't affect change is you, bucko, you and your crowd are bad hombres. It's the media, it's the previous administration, it's students, it's China, It's Germany (but it's isn't Russia), it's the immigrants, it's refugees, it's lazy poor people who make the problems that won't go away.

Oh and it is also the governed and those who govern. They - they - they - it's a mantra of blame throwing.

Meanwhile the real work to transform and elevate the control of business over government and the governed is on a stampede, noted in this report from Washington Monthly:

"The Trump/GOP effort to shrink the civil service plays on a narrative the American people have been hearing for decades: the federal workforce is bloated. As Mulvaney’s guidance put it, there are “too many Federal employees stuck in a system that is not working for the American people.” Press secretary Sean Spicer, announcing Trump’s executive order in January, explained that the hiring freeze “counters the dramatic expansion of the federal workforce in recent years.”

"The only problem with this narrative is that it is the exact opposite of the truth. As a share of the U.S. workforce, the federal civil service is actually smaller than at any time since before World War II. In absolute terms, it has been about the same size for half a century. In 1966, there were about 2.1 million executive branch civil servants (not including Postal Service employees). Since then, the country’s population has increased from 196 million to 323 million. The annual gross domestic product, along with annual government spending, more than quadrupled. And the workforce? In 2016, there were still only 2.1 million federal employees.

"There’s no rule that says the number of civil servants has to rise in lockstep with the population or the economy. Many federal jobs in the 1960s were clerical positions that computers have made obsolete. But still. In 1966, there was no Environmental Protection Agency, no Department of Homeland Security, no Federal Emergency Management Agency. Medicare and Medicaid had been signed into law just a year earlier. It’s hard to believe that the same number of people we had in 1966 can run such a radically larger government enterprise.

"And, in fact, they don’t.

"While the number of federal employees has basically flatlined for a half century, the government has ballooned if you include another group in your tally: private contractors. As the size and scope of federal programs grew, but the number of civil servants stayed fixed, that labor had to get done by someone. Congress’s answer has increasingly been to contract with the private sector. So when Trump and the Republicans say they’re going to shrink government by cutting federal workers, do a mental autocorrect. What they’re really saying is, we’re going to be shoveling a lot more money out the door to federal contractors."

For the record, anyone who says government should run like a business does not know what government is actually for or what it does. 

" ... there are between 600,000 and 800,000 service contractors; the government spends more on them than it does on the salaries of the entire civil service, which has three times the number of people. Contracting accounted for 40 percent of all discretionary spending in 2015, and service contracts accounted for 60 percent of that (even more at nondefense agencies). And it’s rising. Even the Defense Department spends twice as much on contracts for services as it spends on aircraft, ships, and land vehicles. According to a 2015 Congressional Budget Office (CBO) report, spending on contractors nearly doubled from 2000 to 2012, and the subset “that grew the most in dollar terms was contracts for professional, administrative, and management services”—that is, service contracts."

Baltimore Boils Over After Years of Corruption

image via

The grim reality on the streets and in the neighborhoods of Baltimore currently stem from not simply one incident about police conduct and tactics. The Baltimore Sun last fall provided a lengthy investigation into years of brutality and civil rights violations by law enforcement:

"Over the past four years, more than 100 people have won court judgments or settlements related to allegations of brutality and civil rights violations. Victims include a 15-year-old boy riding a dirt bike, a 26-year-old pregnant accountant who had witnessed a beating, a 50-year-old woman selling church raffle tickets, a 65-year-old church deacon rolling a cigarette and an 87-year-old grandmother aiding her wounded grandson.

"Those cases detail a frightful human toll. Officers have battered dozens of residents who suffered broken bones — jaws, noses, arms, legs, ankles — head trauma, organ failure, and even death, coming during questionable arrests. Some residents were beaten while handcuffed; others were thrown to the pavement.

"And in almost every case, prosecutors or judges dismissed the charges against the victims — if charges were filed at all. In an incident that drew headlines recently, charges against a South Baltimore man were dropped after a video showed an officer repeatedly punching him — a beating that led the police commissioner to say he was “shocked.”

"Such beatings, in which the victims are most often African-Americans, carry a hefty cost. They can poison relationships between police and the community, limiting cooperation in the fight against crime, the mayor and police officials say."

Also worth reading, an overflowing crowd attends a meeting, prior to Freddie Gray's death, held by the city and the Department of Justice:

" ... hundreds of Baltimore residents gathered to air grievances over years of harassment, beatings and other mistreatment they say they have endured from city police.

"They turned out for a meeting convened by the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate, at the city's request, complaints about Baltimore's Police Department. When a former San Jose, Calif., police chief hired to lead the meeting told the crowd he wanted to know whether they "trust" the city's police, a woman shouted "No."

"From that point on, dozens of residents — most of them black — inundated federal officials with their assertions that city police have been brutalizing residents with impunity."

More on the years of corruption in law enforcement:

"What's crucial to understand, as Baltimore residents take to the streets in long-simmering frustration, is that their general grievances are valid regardless of how this case plays out. For as in Ferguson, where residents suffered through years of misconduct so egregious that most Americans could scarcely conceive of what was going on, the people of Baltimore are policed by an entity that perpetrates stunning abuses. The difference is that this time we needn't wait for a DOJ report to tell us so. Harrowing evidence has been presented. Yet America hasn't looked." 

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.

People Who Eat Food Are At Risk

In this week's New Yorker, a fascinating and slightly disgusting story of one man who encountered a nasty little thing called Salmonella Heidelberg - the writer also details the confusing and often self-defeating maze of food safety oversight ... some excerpts are below ...

"In September of 2013, Rick Schiller awoke in bed with his right leg throbbing. Schiller, who is in his fifties, lives in San Jose, California. He had been feeling ill all week, and, as he reached under the covers, he found his leg hot to the touch. He struggled to sit upright, then turned on a light and pulled back the sheet. “My leg was about twice the normal size, maybe even three times,” he told me. “And it was hard as a rock, and bright purple.”

"When a doctor examined his leg, she warned him that it was so swollen there was a chance it might burst. She tried to remove fluid with a needle, but nothing came out. “So she goes in with a bigger needle—nothing comes out,” Schiller said. “Then she goes in with a huge needle, like the size of a pencil lead—nothing comes out.” When the doctor tugged on the plunger, the syringe filled with a chunky, meatlike substance. “And then she gasped,” Schiller said.

"In the U.S., responsibility for food safety is divided among fifteen federal agencies. The most important, in addition to the F.S.I.S., is the Food and Drug Administration, in the Department of Health and Human Services. In theory, the line between these two should be simple: the F.S.I.S. inspects meat and poultry; the F.D.A. covers everything else. In practice, that line is hopelessly blurred. Fish are the province of the F.D.A.—except catfish, which falls under the F.S.I.S. Frozen cheese pizza is regulated by the F.D.A., but frozen pizza with slices of pepperoni is monitored by the F.S.I.S. Bagel dogs are F.D.A.; corn dogs, F.S.I.S. The skin of a link sausage is F.D.A., but the meat inside is F.S.I.S."

Who's up for some lunch?

SIDE NOTE - a never identified Tennessee correctional facility was hit with this problem in 2014, Tyson issued a recall, 15 states involved, details here.

Gov. Haslam Needs History Lessons

For some years I've been a fan of Betsy Phillip's writing, she's wicked smart and has a razor sharp style and calls out BS for what it is. I'm sure some readers get a little uncomfortable with her honesty and her views since she doesn't shrink away from tough issues. Her work at Pith In The Wind has been a must-read.

Example - her take-down of what she calls our "beloved rich-person governor", Bill Haslam. 

"He can't claim that things are worse now than it was 50 years ago, which anyone who's had a decent recent US history class would know is just laughable on its face, and expect that claim to have rhetorical weight AND to want more people to have the opportunity to have good educations. Governor Haslam, either you need a state full of people who don't know better to believe your campaign speeches or you can have an educated populace. But you can't have both."

Her post takes issue with this quote from The Gov:

"The Republican answer — I think, the smart answer — is to say we’re going to give everybody the opportunities that they deserve,” he said. “There’s some people who say ... we can just tax more people at the top end and that can help more people at the bottom end, (and) it’ll all work out.

"But we’ve been trying that for the past 50 years, with the Great Society and all of that. The problem has only actually gotten worse.”

That idea that Republicans are going to "give everybody the opportunities that they deserve" ... I don't think most folks see that as the role of government. Isn't it more "protect the opportunities" of state residents? And oh yes, 50 years have seen huge improvements in most every aspect of life for Tennesseans, not a spiral down into Doom and Gloom. Always defining lifestyles and politics as stuck in the landscape of Us vs Them circa 1960s is a losing and deceptive game for all.

Betsy's right - coming from a family worth a billion dollars, The Gov has a disconnect when it comes to income inequality - mostly because he just hasn't brought any wisdom to the issue. He's kept everything status quo, same as it ever was. Longtime party leaders are calling the shots and defining the state's policies. The Gov is just along for the ride and too often he sounds deeply misinformed.

Did Bribery Bring Red Light Cameras?

A lawsuit points to widespread bribery and gifts paving the way for the arrival and use of red light cameras in Tennessee and other states.

KnoxViews has some details.

Nashville Scene notes the cities in Tennessee - including my own here in Morristown - which should be examined.

Sen. Rand Paul Ignores 30 U.S. States Wanting Drones of their Own

Some faux drama brought out by Sen. Rand Paul wailing about the use of surveillance or armed drones ignored a basic fact - U.S. states want their own drone systems. That includes Tennessee.

"It's a race to see which state will be the first to pass legislation governing domestic drone use. Coming out of the gate first was Florida, which passed a bill through several committees in the Senate back in January. This is notable since the Florida legislature didn’t officially convene until March 5—they thought this issue was so important that they moved the bill during their committee organizing sessions. Then Montana pulled up from behind, passing two drones bills all the way through their Senate by mid-February. But, Virginia raced ahead, sending two bills to their governor’s desk by the beginning of March, where they currently await signature.

"Drone legislation has been proposed in at least 30 states so far. As part of my job working with ACLU affiliates nationwide to analyze and respond to the various proposals, I have read every single one of these bills, and I thought it would be useful to summarize what we’re seeing in this legislation.

The good news is that the vast majority of the bills require a probable cause warrant in order for law enforcement to use drones to collect information to use against someone in court."

The status of all such legislative action is here.

As for Sen. Paul, given that the Senate and House cannot even agree on creating the basic budgetary needs of the nation, perhaps other issues should prompt filibusters first.

Gun Myths Present And Past

I watched in amazement a C-Span coverage of a public hearing on gun violence aired this weekend recorded in Santa Rosa, CA.

For about 2 and a half hours a large number of half-truths and bizarre claims of impending doom and conspiracy were expressed by average folks - claims about secret CIA projects using laser mind control devices to create deranged killers who are used to promote gun restrictions was one such theory, and more were also offered.

Not all claims were so bizarre but often the comments were based on errors and emotions rather than reality.

A Tennessee man who claimed to be a "tactical security expert" got his gun permits revoked after posting a video online warning he'll kill folks who might seek ownership restrictions. Oh, his "training" isn't actually certified by anyone. Just another maniacal mythmaker.

Gun myths are common though the anger aimed at any who might challenge the myths uncommonly powerful.

Southern Beale points out a few of them, including the nature of some "training" classes:

"The classes I took taught me almost nothing about how to defend myself with a gun. One, taught by a man who said he refuses to get a carry permit because “I don’t think I have to get the government’s permission to exercise my right to bear arms,” packed about twenty minutes of useful instruction into four long evenings of platitudes, Obama jokes, and belligerent posturing. “The way crime is simply out of control, you can’t afford not to wear a gun all the time,” he told us on several occasions."

More mythical history pointed out here.

It will be ridiculously tough to enact common sense gun laws since it appears there is a stunning lack of reality among all the myths.

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.

Gov. Haslam Confused About How Laws Are Made

Seems Gov. Bill Haslam does not know how government works.

I sent him a letter encouraging him to not sign the anti-science bill which is on his desk right now. He sent back an email today saying:

"After careful review of your letter, I have determined that the Tennessee Department of Education is the appropriate agency to address this type of inquiry, and therefore have forwarded your letter to Commissioner Kevin Huffman's office for consideration."

No, see, the new law before you, right now, is your responsibility since the legislature stripped away the ideas of debating policy from the state's Dept. of Education.

Now if this response means that Gov. Haslam will not sign Senate Bill 0893 and instead veto it and say "this is a decision best left to the Dept. of Education" then I would be stunned. And will write an apology.

Gov. Haslam does seem to comprehend and understand political games though - check out how he handles the anti-science bill as reported by Tom Humphrey:

"Haslam was asked his views on the bill last week after announcing plans to use federal funds to build three new Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) schools in the state.

"I don't know that I have any great insight there for you on that one," Haslam said, adding that he had heard of the bill but knew little about what was involved. The governor said he plans to ask state Board of Education officials about it.

"I think it is a fair question as to what the General Assembly's role is, I think that's why we have a State Board of Education," he said. "I think the General Assembly, though, does represent people and their votes and thoughts matter there."

Way to say nothing at all, Gov. Haslam.

Rest assured, you will be saying plenty - and none of it good - if you sign the bill and make it a new law. 

UPDATE: The Goldilocks Complex


See Also:

" ... these attempts to rewrite our curriculum by some legislators are not about helping our children become independent, rational thinkers capable of understanding and evaluating alternative theories of life; witting or not, these legislators are stooges for an agenda that would shackle our children to a life of ignorance."

Legislation for Hillbillies

An Open Letter to Gov. Haslam and the Tennessee Legislature

An Open Letter to Gov. Haslam and the Tennessee Legislature:

As a lifelong resident of the state of Tennessee, educated in public school as well as at a private Baptist college, I am compelled to write and express my deep disappointment and grave concerns over pending legislation, Senate Bill 893, regarding how Science is to be taught and not taught in our state.

Since it was brought forward in 2011, the aims of this law are crystal clear - it seeks to add room in our Science programs for non-scientific information. Our education system - and our young students - requires the strongest support from our Governor, our Legislature, and our communities, but this legislation instead claims that Biology and Science are flawed and mistaken at every level. It assumes controversies exist at their very foundations. It devalues Education itself.

If the state demands we "teach the controversies" regarding Science, then why not demand that the clergy preach about the controversies of their Religion? That would be ridiculous for the state to mandate, wouldn't it? This proposed law is equally ridiculous.

Holding Science accountable to Religious or Social systems will not encourage or nurture Education. 

It's worth noting that educators and scientists or biologists across the state did not propose nor support this legislation. Certainly, all our educational curriculums should - and for the most part already do - encourage critical thinking and respectful debate. Do you, Governor Haslam, believe otherwise or have any such proof of a dire lack in our schools? Or do you work instead to increase the level of skill and understanding demanded today in Science, Math, and Technology?

I understand and accept that political landscapes are constantly changing - allowing the ebb and flow of politics to override our Education system can only create errors in critical thinking.

So I encourage you to defeat this measure and to provide a stronger voice for Education and Science in Tennessee. 

This legislation stands in stark opposition to the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) Programs your office has been actively supporting. I feel you have to make a choice, sir, as to which educational approach you support.

Sincerely,

Joe Powell

Best Political Video of the Year

So very much of the talk from our leaders in government from the state to the federal level suffers a debilitating lack of vision. Instead, with the help of media reports aimed at the lowest levels, we are hearing instead about policy debates on personal behaviors and the limp campaigns for elected office.

Government and business are mired in a relentless pursuit of money - we all deserve so much more and we should be demanding it too.

To learn more about how you can join the real Progressives of the world for just one penny, go here.

Time For Congress to Telecommute to Work?

In November of 2010, The Telework Enhancement Act was signed and adopted by the Federal government. It requires Fed agencies to develop policies and guidelines so that all Fed employees can use our Internet to telecommute to work. Democratic Congressman John Sarbanes of Maryland sponsored the bill, which aims to reduce the cost of agency operations and allow employees to work from home or other locations to get their jobs done. Rep. Sarbanes has more on the new law here.

Today, Oak Ridge resident and writer Richard Cook takes the next logical step in this area and proposed in his editorial in the Tennessean that Congress itself needs to adopt telecommuting to conduct business too. It would keep them at home in their districts more often, and keep representative in closer touch with constituents and reduce the time they spend being surrounded by lobbyists - and perhaps offer much more to the nation:

"Members now live in Washington. They get soaked in the power, the money and the lobbyists with the money. It stains their perspective and warps their judgment. They forget whom they work for. A virtual Congress will have them live among the people they serve.

The public's business can be conducted online, while politicians attempt to be in line with their constituents.

Committee meetings can be held online, with members participating from their offices or even a local elementary school. That will be a wonderful civics lesson.

Citizens can travel a few hours to attend these Internet committee meetings. Lobbyists can attend those committee meetings, too. That would be a civics lesson of a different sort.

A virtual Congress will give members real time feedback on their decisions. Congressmen will vote online in the late morning and then will have to defend their vote at the local Rotary Club luncheon a few minutes later.

Richard is not alone in his call to consider such a change.

Of course, the Always-Oppose-Obama crowd sees nothing but horror when it comes to any change in the way government works, as evidenced by this response to telecommuting from Instapundit, who worries it would make it impossible to fire someone.

Since Congress has required every Federal agency to develop telecommuting practices, then why not Congress itself?

Connected TN Backers A Front for AT&T? (Part 2)

I have a couple of updates to add on my post from last week regarding the creation of state and national programs focusing on expanding internet access which also seems to work not only as a PR machine for AT&T but as a lobbying agency as well. A flurry of activity has been taking place and rapid changes are ahead.

Here is my original post, and I did share some of these concerns via email with Michael Ramage, a former BellSouth employee, who now heads Connected Tennessee. I truly appreciate his willingness to correspond with me about these issues.

My email to Mr. Ramage:

Michael -

Thanks very much for your email. My previous email apparently had the wrong address! So a few questions:

First, in Kentucky, your company backed House Bill 337 allowed the Bell companies to get into the pay television marketplace in Kentucky without having to obtain franchises from municipalities across the state.

Similar legislation is being promoted in TN as well. It seems curious to me the legislation is preceded by the creation of the Connected organization.

The usual build-out requirements which cities/counties require of current cable and cable internet providers is excluded from such legislation. I think the term usually used is “cherry-picking” customers, which means more poor and rural areas will receive service last, if at all.

By receiving government funds to operate, it’s as if some of those funds are being used to lobby for changes favoring AT&T expansion into the internet/cable markets.

Also, Connect Kentucky CEO Brian Mefford, before the Senate Commerce Committee on April 24, 2007, reported that Kentucky is on track “to be the first state with 100 percent broadband coverage,” with Leichtman Research Group data showing that, at the beginning of 2007, Kentucky was 46th of the 51 states and Washington, D.C., in residential broadband penetration.

The mapping project being public is important, certainly, and making it available to the public is also vital. But how often is such mapping used to encourage legislation which would provide tax breaks?

Mostly my concerns are that former BellSouth employees are leading the Connect efforts - in Kentucky, in Tennessee and at the national level too - and that encouraging support for legislation creating a national program are simply part of the lobbying efforts to change laws regarding existing franchise agreements.

If the TN legislature seeks info today regarding broadband availability and reach, a report from a government-funded organization such as yours would support AT&T's efforts would they not?

Are any current cable-internet representatives on the boards of the Connect organizations? Or representatives from municipal-owned franchises?

Thanks for your time and I appreciate very much your responses.
Joe Powell

Mr. Ramage's response:

Joe,

I appreciate the email. I am glad to have the opportunity to help clarify Connected Tennessee's purpose and role.

Connected Tennessee received a grant to implement Governor Bredesen's Trail to Innovation based on the recommendations of the State Broadband Taskforce. The Taskforce had representation from state government, telephone, wireless, cable, municipals, cellular, CLEC and more. The pending bills were not issues that weighed on the taskforce during their recommendations that led to the creation of Tennessee. Later, the taskforce determined they would not get involved with the video franchise issue.

Connected Tennessee has not and will not take a side on the issues you mentioned in Tennessee. It is important for us to work with all providers. Our goal is to expand the presence of broadband. That service may come from a telephone company, a cable company, a wireless ISP, a CLEC or a
municipal provider. We are technology and vendor agnostic. Our only goals are for the expansion of broadband services into unserved areas and the increased adoption of those services everywhere. In order for us to be successful, we will need the help of all providers.

Connected Tennessee has worked with all types of providers and will continue to do so. The purpose of our mapping efforts is to show where coverage is, but more importantly to show where gaps are. While the mapping is on-going, we are also leading grassroots demand creating and aggregating efforts in every county. We are already at work in more than a third of Tennessee counties. Based on our local findings, we can promote measures to encourage build out into rural areas. Our legislative recommendations would naturally be focused on helping extend broadband into unserved areas. We are not promoting any bills during this year's session. We will examine all available data and determine if anything should be promoted in next year's session.

Connected Nation and Connected Tennessee have partnered with a number of organizations. Among them are Comcast, National Cable Telecommunications Association, Communications Workers of America, AT&T, and the CTIA. Our partners, both at the state level and national level, cross various platforms and technologies. For us to be successful, it is important for us to remain neutral to any provider or platform.

I hope that this helps to address some of your concern. I do appreciate your interest and would encourage you to let me know if you have any questions regarding our efforts.

Regards,
Michael Ramage, Executive Director
Connected Tennessee

I can't say he answers eliminated my concerns and doubts. For instance, I asked about representatives on the existing Connected boards from other internet providers, and Mr. Ramage replies that Connected has "partnered" with other communications companies, but the response is really "No - they are not our boards".

Info on board members for national program here, the TN program here, and KY is here. Other than BellSouth and officials from the policy and government offices in KY, no other communications corporation appears to be placed in any position on the company's boards.

I admit I am hardly an expert in the fields of IT or ISP - I simply noticed some curious correlations. And yes, I was not happy to appear to be hostile to the spread of access to the internet, because I am not. And I am not the only one who sees problems with Connected.

Broadband Reports wrote last week:

"If Connected Nation is a for-profit incumbent lobbying and sales vehicle dressed up as a national broadband policy, it would be one of the most ingenious business ploys in the history of telecom. It would kill multiple birds with with stone by preventing more progressive and substantive policy changes from taking root, funneling state funds away from local providers and into the hands of incumbents, and allowing the nation's largest carriers to game penetration statistics to mask half-hearted rural broadband deployment.

All on the taxpayer's dime."

And a press release yesterday regarding the state of TN and AT&T about medical records got some attention - but as the Nashville Post noted, what was truly being reported was an ever-closer relationship between AT&T and Tennessee government. And recall what Ramage wrote in my email regarding legislation? "Not this year ..." which leaves plenty of room for the years after.

R. Neal wrote at KnoxViews yesterday on the announcement:

"So it is good to see Tennessee taking the initiative. But this deal looks more like a way to funnel federal grant money to AT&T than any kind of breakthrough statewide electronic medical records system. It also takes more money out of our health care system in the form of profits for AT&T. But, the state can't operate it's own internet, so it makes sense to outsource that and to negotiate the best deal. Were other backbone providers invited to bid?"

I too applaud and encourage efforts to expand access. It is vital for economic and cultural development, for tech and industry, for education, for medical care -- billions of dollars are at stake and so are millions of jobs. With so much at at stake, then even greater care must be taken as the state and the nation write laws and create programs. The decisions and consideration being made today will affect the state and the nation for decades to come.

The rapid rise of internet usage has been made thanks to many innovators from all types of creators and owners - corporate, government and also from those outside such ranks too. The internet is a challenge to traditional forms of media power. Including voices in these decisions from all of these levels of development - from ordinary and talented American minds - isn't just a nice gesture.

Illegal Wiretaps Started Before 9-11?

Allegations are emerging now that the NSA, authorized by the White House, began using warrantless surveillance programs months and months before the terrorist attacks on Sept. 2001. The program was widespread and threats were leveled at phone companies who did not comply. A report in the Washington Post says:

"[Former Qwest CEO Joseph] Nacchio's account, which places the NSA proposal at a meeting on Feb. 27, 2001, suggests that the Bush administration was seeking to enlist telecommunications firms in programs without court oversight before the terrorist attacks on New York and the Pentagon. The Sept. 11 attacks have been cited by the government as the main impetus for its warrantless surveillance efforts.

The allegations could affect the debate on Capitol Hill over whether telecoms sued for disclosing customers' phone records and other data to the government after the Sept. 11 attacks should be given legal immunity, even if they did not have court authorization to do so.

Spokesmen for the Justice Department, the NSA, the White House and the director of national intelligence declined to comment, citing the ongoing legal case against Nacchio and the classified nature of the NSA's activities. Federal filings in the appeal have not yet been disclosed.

Wired Magazine has more, noting others who have made the same claims about the date when these programs actually began. The information completely undercuts claims by the president that warrantless wiretaps are vital to a war on terrorism, since he began authorizing prior to the terrorist attacks.

Does this explain why the White House is pushing hard for full immunity for those telecoms who allowed for the illegal eavesdropping?

UPDATE: Kevin Drum writes:

"Unlike, say, MoveOn ads or Rush Limbaugh shows, this really does seem like a worthy object of congressional investigation, doesn't it?"

When The State Breaks The Law

It is beyond depressing to see how Americans are steadily agreeing to abandon our Liberty and our Law to accommodate the wishes and policies of our own government. I was reading a post from No Silence Here this morning about how the TN Dept. of Environment and Conservation was breaking the law by recording conversations without telling those being taped.

It is illegal in Tennessee to tape someone without telling them you are doing so. Period, The End. (Please refer to the NOTE at the end of this post for the pertinent laws. Seems to me permission is required, but perhaps other arguments could also be made, depending on how a court might define 'reasonable expectation.')

And once this story was presented by a WSMV reporter, the TDEC issued 'new guidelines' to stop their illegal act. 'New guidelines', yeesh. So does that mean if you are arrested for stealing or for assault, all you need tell the investigating officers that you have adopted a 'new guideline' and will no longer do such a thing? They would simply say OK and you have a nice day?

Check out the following from the WSMV report:

"Is it good government to record the public without their knowledge?” [reporter Demetria] Kalodimos said.

“Well, our department is a regulatory agency and part of our charge is to enforce the law. So, I would say that, you know, in the exercise of carrying out our duties, that it is good government to do that. I see it as much ado about nothing,” said TDEC attorney Joe Sanders.

After Channel 4 started asking questions TDEC made a change.

Deputy Commissioner Paul Sloan issued a statement on Wednesday that said: “Because the issue has been raised, our department is committed to ensuring that as a matter of policy, we will disclose routine recording of conversations between members of our department and the public.”

Notice how the official says "since the issue has been raised". If the reports of their illegal taping had not been made public, then the illegal taping would continue. After all, it was routine, it was convenient, it made the agency's job easier to break the law. Their attorney views breaking the law as 'much ado about nothing.'

Again, what happens when you offer that defense if accused of breaking the law?

A comment on Mike Silence's post about the illegal taping is even more disturbing to me:

"Who cares if they records or listen to our conversations. . . I don't do anything illegal.

There is a bigger picture here. . . Finding illegal immigrants, illegal activities, illegal abuses (to woman and children), TERROR PLOTS, etc. . . If you look at the big picture and you are not conducting yourself in an inappropriate manner then you should not care of your conversation. The important issue is how it affects others and our country."

This mantra of 'only the guilty have anything to hide' has been often repeated in recent years, which is deeply deceptive and astonishingly cowardly, in my opinion. Abandoning your rights and liberties is necessary to achieve ... what? Obedience? Blind allegiance? A lack of concern for anyone except yourself?

Perhaps this view that the state is always innocent is one that has grown from Washington as states and their agencies mimic the philosophy that government is above the law. The ongoing debate to make permanent a law to provide warrantless wiretaps and surveillance seems to lack any sense of how the law is meant to function. The reason Congress is being pushed to adopt the law is that existing law has been violated:

"But we don't actually live in a country where private actors are permitted to commit crimes and violate laws provided that the President tells them that they should. The President has no greater power to authorize others to break the law than he does to break the law himself. Quite the contrary, Article II of the Constitution imposes the opposite obligation: "he shall take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed." Lawbreaking is still illegal even if George Bush says it should be done. Does that principle really need to be explained?"

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"A Congressional grant of immunity for past lawbreaking would amount to a bipartisan endorsement of Bush's illegal eavesdropping program. To remove consequences for illegal behavior is, by definition, to approve of that behavior. Laws with no consequences for violations are meaningless. And those who seek to shield lawbreakers from accountability are endorsing the lawbreaking."

Are we, as a nation, so eager to gain even the most illusionary moment of perfect safety from the unknown potential of possible attack, that we willingly surrender our basic fundamental structure of Law and Liberty?

For some time now, we have been casually accepting a fatal premise - that the state and the corporation have rights which trump those of the individual. "You're already being watched and tracked pretty much everywhere you go and whatever you do," I am told by usually very smart and informed people. To believe that is to believe you have no rights and no hope for rights, or privacy or self-determination. It is one of the most cynical ideas ever to be embraced by America.


NOTE: Here are the most applicable laws regarding audio and videotaping without consent which I could locate:

Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-13-601: A person who is a party to a wire, oral or electronic communication, or who has obtained the consent of at least one party, can lawfully record a communication and divulge the contents of the recorded communication unless he has a criminal or tortious purpose for doing so. Violations are punishable as felonies with jail sentences of between two and 12 years and fines not exceeding $5,000. Tenn. Code Ann. §§ 39-13-602, 40-35-111.

Under the statute, consent is not required for the taping of a non-electronic communication uttered by a person who does not have a reasonable expectation of privacy in that communication. See definition of "oral communication," Tenn. Code Ann. § 40-6-303.

Anyone whose communications have been unlawfully intercepted can sue to recover the greater of actual damages, $100 per day of violation or $10,000, along with punitive damages, attorney fees and litigation costs. Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-13-603.

Recording or disseminating a communication carried out through a cellular or cordless telephone, or disseminating the contents with knowledge of their illegal origin, without the consent of at least one party, can be punished as a felony with a potential prison sentence of between one and six years and a fine not to exceed $3,000. Tenn. Code Ann. §§ 39-13-604, 40-35-111.

It is a misdemeanor to photograph, film or observe a person without consent where there is a reasonable expectation of privacy, when the photographing, filming or viewing "would offend or embarrass an ordinary person" and is done for sexual purposes. Tenn. Code Ann. §§ 39-13-605, 39-13-607. Dissemination of a photograph or videotape taken in violation of these provisions is a felony. Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-13-605(2).

Constitution Week 2007

This week has been designated Constitution Week, meant to encourage the reading of the document and to enhance understanding of this simple yet complex statement of the foundations of our government. Intense debate marked it's creation and many opposed various elements as it moved toward it's final ratification, as our government formally adopted it in 1789.

Historically, we mark the date of Sept. 17, 1787 as the day the document was completed.

The National Archives has a fascinating section of questions regarding the document and it's creation, which I have been perusing some this week. I noted for the first time that some 19 citizens selected to attend the Constitutional Convention never bothered to show up at all. Most of those at the Convention were lawyers, but not all. I have read and re-read the document for years and years, and still I learn from it, and I think each of us can if we bother to exert our brains and consider the words and the declarations within it. (Read the document here.)

Of all the questions posed at the NA site, I liked this one best:

"Q. Does not the Constitution give us our rights and liberties?

A. No, it does not, it only guarantees them. The people had all their rights and liberties before they made the Constitution. The Constitution was formed, among other purposes, to make the people's liberties secure-- secure not only as against foreign attack but against oppression by their own government. They set specific limits upon their national government and upon the States, and reserved to themselves all powers that they did not grant. The Ninth Amendment declares: "The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people."

It's most important to know that each of us already have rights, liberties, freedoms which exist not because of a document or a government, but simply because we exist. The government and it's foundation are simply tools to secure and protect what we already have.

Part of the promotion of awareness of The Constitution this year is a project called "I Signed The Constitution", as copies of the document travel the country. In Greeneville at the Andrew Johnson National Historic Site Visitors Center, visitors can view and sign the document. While I appreciate the intent of encouraging citizens to affirm the tenets of the document, I rather wish we were instead promoting "Read The Constitution and Know What You Are Signing."

I also think it would be a fascinating experiment to ask those who go view it to come up with one amendment of their own to add. What additions would we make? Something insightful, something selfish, something which could never have been imagined in 1787?

For example, I have long thought it would be appropriate to require that members of Congress should live in a dormitory-style setting. Two to a room, very sparse accommodations, like bunk beds, common rooms, a TV room, a laundry room, and a cafeteria with a limited budget, no chefs and no maid services. No visitors in the rooms, no lobbyists or media allowed in the dorms, curfews, and no outside residence would be allowed. They work, they come back to the dorm, and when the congressional session is ended, they go home. Payment for the dorm's operations would come from the pay of each member, a percentage of what they earn. Likewise, congressional staff would have their own dorms as well.

And maybe when the return to Washington, time would be provided for dorm residents to present an oral report on What I Did During Recess To Learn About My Home District.

What might you add to the Constitution?

Tracking Failure In The Gulf Coast After Katrina

The information and facts reveal little but staggering failure in the promises made to the cities, states and vast populations in the Gulf Coast region following the landfall of a natural disaster called Katrina two years ago.

Thank goodness that writers with Facing South have been covering the details of chaotic response and scant rebuilding with great skill. An assessment on the 2nd anniversary has a truly distressing conclusion - our government has deep structural flaws and has failed far more than it has succeeded.

As noted in this article, pollster James Zogsby says:

"Our polling shows Americans, faced with a major disaster, don’t want the federal government to solve all their problems by dominating state and local governments with bureaucratic dictates from Washington. Instead, they want a nimble federal government that acts as a clearinghouse, an organizer, a traffic cop for all levels of government and other organizations, including faith-based groups and non-governmental organizations."

Americans on the Gulf Coast received the worst after the disaster. And I can't help but notice the wounds in the South are like those in downtown Manhattan at 'ground zero', that no rebuilding has occurred and as late as last week, decaying buildings nearby are still deadly.

What has (or has not) happened in the coastal U.S.? What about the $116 billion meant to aid in the repair and recovery? Some answers in other reports from Facing South:

"Although it's tricky to unravel the maze of federal reports, our best estimate of agency data is that only $35 billion has been appropriated for long-term rebuilding.

Even worse, less than 42 percent of the money set aside has even been spent, much less gotten to those most in need. For example:

* Washington set aside $16.7 billion for Community Development Block Grants, one of the two biggest sources of rebuilding funds, especially for housing. But as of March 2007, only $1 billion -- just 6 percent -- had been spent, almost all of it in Mississippi. Following bad publicity, HUD spent another $3.8 billion on the program between March and July, leaving 70 percent of the funds still unused.

* The other major source of rebuilding help was supposed to be FEMA's Public Assistance Program. But of the $8.2 billion earmarked, only $3.4 billion was meant for nonemergency projects like fixing up schools and hospitals.

* Louisiana officials recently testified that FEMA has also "low-balled" project costs, underestimating the true expenses by a factor of four or five. For example, for 11 Louisiana rebuilding projects, the lowest bids came to $5.5 million -- but FEMA approved only $1.9 million.

* After the failure of federal levees flooded 80 percent of New Orleans, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers received $8.4 billion to restore storm defenses. But as of July 2007, less than 20 percent of the funds have been spent, even as the Corps admits that levee repair won't be completed until as late as 2011.

The fact that, two years later, most federal Katrina funds remain bottled up in bureaucracy is especially shocking considering that the amounts Washington allocated come nowhere near the anticipated costs of Gulf rebuilding.

For example, the $3.4 billion FEMA has available to recover local public infrastructure would only cover about one-eighth of the damage suffered in Louisiana alone. But this money is spread across five states -- Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas -- and covers damage from three 2005 hurricanes, Katrina, Rita and Wilma."
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"Included in the $116 billion figure is $3.5 billion in tax breaks to jump-start business in Gulf Opportunity Zones -- "GO Zones" -- across 91 parishes and counties in Alabama, Louisiana and Mississippi. But many of the breaks have been of questionable benefit to Katrina survivors, like a $1 million deal to build 10 luxury condos next to the University of Alabama football stadium -- four hours from the Gulf Coast."

The critical failures may seem far removed from you or your town or your state. At least today. Who knows what lies ahead and who can you count on? Stacking up loyalists to leaders in Washington only serves that leader and those loyalists. Serving America, protecting American lives, all that seems of little concern.

(hat-tip to R. Neal at KnoxViews for sharing the info at Facing South)

SEE ALSO: video accounts and a Flickr photo petition