A Twisted Case of Abuse, Life and Death

There is an astonishing legal case unfolding in Massachusetts, involving a nearly dead 11-year-old girl, and whether or not she should be removed from life-support, and the pleas of the suspect in the beating of the child, her step-father, who wants legal custody of her. His lawyer says if the girl dies, his clent then faces a murder charge.

The grim and grisly details of what happened to young Haileigh Poutre at the hands of her step-father, Jason Strickland and her adoptive mother, Holli, who was her aunt, indicate the child was beaten with a baseball bat and thrown down the stairs more than once. According to the news report, her aunt was killed shortly after Strickland and Holli were released on bail, but that incident is also still being investigated:

"Within two weeks of the couple pleading innocent to the beating, Holli Strickland was dead, fatally shot in her grandmother’s West Springfield apartment. The body of her 71-year-old grandmother, Constance Young, was beside her. The possible double suicide or murder-suicide is still under investigation.

In a legal brief filed before Tuesday’s hearing, Strickland, 31, asks to be declared Haleigh’s de facto parent. His lawyer, John Egan, insists his client is not motivated by the chance he could be charged with murder if the girl dies."

Holli, who had a degree in child care, and Strickland, both attacked the child, according to one witness:

"But Alicia Weiss, a baby sitter for Haleigh, testified at a hearing in Strickland’s criminal case that she saw Holli Strickland kick the girl down the stairs repeatedly and hit her with a baseball bat. She said she also saw Jason Strickland hit the girl twice with an open hand and once with a plastic stick.

Although he has not been accused of dealing any particular blows to the child, court documents accuse Strickland of watching as his wife abused Haleigh."

The state's Supreme Court heard the case Tuesday, though Justices indicated Strickland had no real standing in a custody claim.

The state's Department of Social Services now has legal custody of the comatose child, and doctors are saying she will never come out of her vegetative state.

Within the maze of abuse and abandonment and legal rights, the child remains in the center spotlight. What will the courts do? Will more state officials argue for the girl's life-support to be suspended? And is there any punishment which might suit this string of brutal crimes?

A War On Christmas?

UPDATE 2 - From the Press Briefing at the White House:

"Q: Scott, you very graciously answered seven questions from two reporters, and I have a mere three-part question. First, at the National Christmas Tree lighting last week the President said, "Each year we gather here to celebrate the season of hope and joy, and to remember the story of one humble life that lifted the sights of humanity. Santa, thanks for coming." And the question: Will the President apologize to Christians offended by his referring to Jesus as Santa?

MR. McCLELLAN: The President meant exactly what he said, Les."

UPDATE: First, what the heck is a MegaChurch (outside of a Japanese anime series) and second, why would they close on Christmas Sunday?
Now on to the rest of today's post .....




A comment last week on the Very Unscientific Survey noted the current effort to remove the word Christmas from our language. So I did some checking - seems the White House is in on it.

Even using the word Christmas and Winter together are, apparently, wrong.

Maybe the real issue is this ever-evolving (or if you prefer, Intelligently Designed) use of the word War. There's the Culture War, the Cola War, the non-War against non-insurgents in Iraq and the Axis of Evil, the Diet War, the Red-State, Blue-State War, the obesity War, the anti-War, the pro-War .... I'm dizzy, lemme sit down for a moment.

Whew. (And thanks to all those, by the way, who took time to take that survey. I promise to ask fewer questions next time.)

Perhaps the American mind is jes' gettin' a little paranoid. Any viewpoint contrary to your own is reason enough to invoke War. I'm more than a little tired of it. It's like a bunch of whining children in the playroom - "Are too!!" "Am not!!" "Uh-huh!" Nuh-uh!" "Waaaaaaaa ......."

Somebody changes these diapers, give them a cookie and some coloring books and lets see if the rest of us can reclaim some normalcy.

Worst of the Worst

He's been called the "Worst of the Worst," and he even has a "little list" he's keeping on the folks he says are out to get him. And he says, that Christmas itself is under attack.

Bill O'Reilly may be the Fox News equivalent of Howard Stern -- people love him or hate him and there is no middle ground.

Both of these "media masters" are proof that controversy, no matter how ridiculous, sells.

Camera Obscura - I Am King Kong

With a new version of the classic "King Kong" on the way from Peter Jackson, a new documentary about the man who made the original Kong is a treasure trove of a seldom-celebrated innovator. Turner Classic Movies aired the documentary last week, "I Am King Kong: The Exploits Of Merian C. Cooper," and it is part of a new DVD set. (And not to forget, there's an East Tennessee connection to King Kong lore, but more on that later.)

Merian C. Cooper did far more than create a lasting iconic image of a Beast stuck atop a city skyscraper - he was an old-fashioned explorer and adventurer, a bomber pilot who even years after Kong became a Brigadier General, who helped turn Hollywood into a Technicolor marvel and that's barely the story. During World War 2, he and director John Ford met and returned to Hollywood to make movies that created another enduring American Icon - the cowboy. The two paired up for some of Ford's best work, from "She Wore A Yellow Ribbon" and "Fort Apache" to "The Quiet Man" and one of the best Westerns ever made, "The Searchers."

Why does Kong endure? It is a brilliant bit of insight into the collision of the old and the new, and modeler Willis O'Brien also made an excellent and articulate creature - the nuances of character are vivid and funny and almost human. There are also insights into Obsessions and Mythmaking in an America on its way to becoming a World power. The movie leaps from Hollywood to the Prehistoric and then back to the modern city and never misses a beat. The Great Beast, as was said in the film, was killed by beauty -- but to me it was the Ape's encounter with Greed which led to his demise. (And yes, I know there was a re-make in the 70s but it has all the power of a broken light switch.)

Here are some excerpts from TCM's profile of Cooper:

Before he fell under the spell of the movies, Cooper served as a bomber pilot in WWI. While flying in a mission over German lines, his plane caught fire. Though he succeeded in landing it and saving the life of his wounded gunner, he was taken prisoner by the Germans. Thinking him dead, the military sent an official death notice to his family. After the war, Cooper joined a group of American volunteer fliers committed to defending Poland against Russian aggression. He once again became a war prisoner, this time of the Russians. After being sentenced to death, he managed to escape, walking 400 miles across hostile terrain. After refusing honors from a grateful Poland, Cooper embarked on a life as an adventurer. He joined forces with cameraman Ernest B. Schoedsack and went deep into Persia to record the migration across river and mountain of the Bakhtiari tribe. Never before witnessed by westerners, this event became the landmark 1925 documentary Grass and led to a contract with Paramount. For their next project, 1927's Chang, Cooper and Schoedsack lived for a year in the jungle of Siam, filming the story of a family's struggle to survive amongst the marauding animal life. The way they photographed animals in the wild broke new ground, especially when it came to the climax, an astonishing sequence in which a massive herd of elephants stampede through a native village. Their third film, 1929's The Four Feathers, interpolated their trademark location shooting, this time in Africa, with the telling of a classic adventure yarn.
---
With Europe at war once again, Cooper was convinced it was only a matter of time before the United States joined the conflict. In June 1941, six months before Pearl Harbor, he once again put his film career on hold and left his family to return to active duty. When war was declared with Japan, Cooper was posted to the legendary Flying Tigers in China, where he became chief of staff to General Claire Chennault. Despite his age, Cooper was determined to see action from a cockpit and not just a desk. This fighting spirit may have impressed those who served around him, but it caused problems with those above, who consistently blocked his promotion. It would not be until several years after the war's end that he would be promoted to the rank of Brigadier General, but by then he was back in Hollywood. Cooper had joined forces with John Ford before the war, and with the war now over, they could revive their production company, Argosy. Though Ford could be the most difficult of people, he had enormous respect for Cooper.
---
As a fitting cap to his career, Cooper produced and co-directed the film that would launch the widescreen revolution: This Is Cinerama. It was Cooper, the daredevil adventurer, who startled audiences with the thrilling rollercoaster ride that opened the show, and it was Cooper, the patriotic aviator, who stirred their hearts at the climax, as the camera soared in a plane from coast to coast

Cooper also had to place himself in the Kong movie as he pilots the plane that fired the fatal shot and left the Beast to tumble to the ground.

Sequels followed, and as mentioned, a massive remake was released in the 70s, and here is where East TN joins in on the Ape Legend.

"King Kong Lives," the sequel to the 70s film, was shot in Fall Creek Falls State Park - 2009 Village Camp Road, Pikeville, Tennessee, and in Pigeon Forge. And it is really, really awful. I mean really. Although, I should also mention the very odd and funny "King Kong vs. Godzilla" (1962), which is like watching a bad wrestling match, the kind you might find in some odd and forgotten roadside attraction late one some summer's night, when the workers put on weird outfits and play games -- only Japan could have made this one.

Kong's story is also a part of "Gone With the Wind". When the city of Atlanta burns, filmmakers burned tons of old sets around the movie lot, including that massive wooden fence from Skull Island which was supposed to keep Kong at bay -- but as has often been noted, why did they build a huge wall and then put a door in it big enough for Kong to walk thru?

A Very Un-Scientific Survey

I want to know more about you, dear readers, and what burning (or at least piping-hot) issues tumble through your thoughts. Back in Ye Olde Radio Days, I used to conduct what I called a Very Un-Scientific Survey and today this event lands smack dab in the middle of your Cup of Joe.
Answer as many or as few as you wish - if you want to explain your answer go ahead and do so or just add your comment and go about your business.

Remember - This is Very Un-Scientific.

Questions For Readers:

1. On a scale of One to Ten, with One being lowest and Ten being highest, what score would you give the changes and reform in TennCare or Medicare?

2. Which issue would you say should be the top priority for state government funding - Education or Health Care or another issue?

3. Again on a scale of One to Ten, what score would you give the success of President Bush in leading the country?

4. Name at least three politicians, state or national, under ethics or criminal investigation. Is this normal, abnormal or unheard of?

5. Where do you get most of your news/information - Television, Internet, Radio, Newspapers, Friends, Blogs, etc etc.

6. What news story or recent information you've read and or heard in the last month made you angry?

7. What story made you happy?

8. What has been the best movie you've seen this year?

9. What has been the best music you've heard this year?

10. If you were fortunate enough to have a Thanksgiving feast with friends or family, what food made you happiest to eat?

Okay, that's it. That wasn't too bad, was it? I may try this type of survey again or I may not, depending on what you, dear readers, tell me.

Not So Much A Secret in the Secret City

The proof of the power of words continues to swirl in the "Secret City" over the infamous high school editorial. According to the Knox News-Sentinel, (reg. required) the offending (and accurate) information about birth control has been replaced with an Editorial about a play being performed at the school - Oscar Wilde's "The Importance of Being Earnest". Now that's just too funny!

The censorship and outrage and the publicity have likely made the student's comments become much more widely read and discussed than anyone may have imagined possible.

Say Uncle has some good points on the issue - as well as mentioning that the issue will be debated on WBIR-TV this weekend.

Shocking News! Teens Talk About Sex!!!

Over in the "Secret City", aka Oak Ridge, the state and national media has been alerted!! Teenagers talk about sex! And birth control!! And how NOT to get pregnant and NOT get diseases. Outraged school officials immediately seized copies of the school's paper (The Fig Leaf? no, wait, The Oak Leaf) and promptly ended any further student discussion about sex.

Riiiiiiight. Sure they did.

You can read the "horrifying" (and factual) editorial by a student on birth control and how to get it (thank God children never see these items in a store or anything) via this page from Whites Creek Journal.

More information is at Tennessee Guerilla Women, who notes that here in America, teen pregnancy rates have dropped to 34% -- which according to a 2004 study is the highest rate among developed countries. (Thank God we're developed!)

Juliepatchouli also blogs her views on the topic, as have others in Tennessee and beyond. In the "Secret City", there's fear the ACLU may appear on the horizon like Satan on horseback, probing the mystery of the Censored Student News.

Of course, I also heard the obligatory parent complaint that they did NOT want schools to be involved with communicating information about sex to THEIR kid. I hate to rain on that illusion, but teens and pre-teens (and even adults) learn about everything from each other all the time. Teens and adults alike just won't shut up - kids talk about their parents' divorces, and ask questions and generally talk about everything.

Thank God most teens can come home to watch the TV in their room while surfing the internet and talking on cell phones. You know, safe stuff like that.

The State Tax Turmoil

With projections of as many as 4,500 new pieces of legislation headed for the next session of the state's upcoming legislative session, one or two issues are once again getting some discussion including one debate sure to return with renewed energy -- the so-called Taxpayer Bill of Rights (TABOR).

Other states as well are trying to create ways to limit the rapid growth of government spending while coping with growing demand for more increases to handle the ballooning costs of health care and education alone. However, the state has so many court orders on just how to fund these agencies, the legislature is operating under pressures from beyond the ballot box.

Truth is, the state already has language in the law to limit spending growth based on population and revenue growth, however the courts have made decrees about teacher pay and school funding and health care that step outside those boundaries.

And we are hardly alone in this maze of taxation -- Colorado, which has been the poster-boy for TABOR saw voters agree to changes in TABOR for a five year period, essentially limiting any potential state tax refunds in order to insure the state can provide a fully funded budget. The argument that TABOR is in fine shape in Colorado is made here by the Colorado State Treasurer.

Another view of whether or not TABOR is beneficial to states and taxpayers can be found here.

Other states are also in conflict over what to do and how to do it.

If you ask most residents of Tennessee, you'll find there are two key issues on their minds - jobs with better pay and consistent availability, and the nightmare of health care costs. Who should set the priorities of spending and at what levels of funding they receive are being stacked and prepared for the next election-promise cycle, but will any real changes occur?

No Sunshine On Tennessee Secrets

How often do your elected city, county or school board officials meet in secret to make decisions?

Keeping track is nearly impossible. Many meetings are held when the public is least able to attend, and many times officials meet in small groups to make decisions prior to any public debate or awareness.

The vast majority of Tennesseans have been kept in the dark for so long, they have no concept of how much their rights are violated. The Tennessee Coalition for Open Government's most recent report shows secrecy is increasing.

One story on that report is here.

Holidaze

Stuffed with food like the turkey we devoured on Thanksgiving Day in Georgia, I fell into a deep and dreamful sleep, chasing cranberry relish visions and scampering slabs pumpkin pie, which sought to flee from my fork all to no avail.

The dream swirls with images, packed bumper to bumper like the traffic down I-40 and I-75, families and really-not-so-much families in cars and SUVs crammed to the ceiling with gifts and tupperwared remnants of sweet potatoes and mashed potatoes and casseroles and hot-buttered-but-now-cold dinner rolls. A bounty of feasting and a parade of the leftovers traveling north and south and east and west across America as the holiday blurs into the shopping days where retailers dream of profits of Christmas future.

I make a stop in South Knox to decompress from families and the battle of the endless traffic, sipping wine and laughing with my new best friend until the wee hours of the morning. I have so much to be thankful for and I hope I say it enough. She makes me smile and we listen to Johnny Cash and Van Morrison and the sometimes wee barks of a tiny dog who finds the oddest things to gnaw upon in the early dawn hours.

Then back on the road to Home, stopping to get necessities at a nearby MegaWhopperRetailWarehouseStore where men and women wearing Christmas sweaters and Grinch T-shirts shove shopping carts thru a maze DVDs and trainsets and specially boxed-sets of shampoos and bath-oils and techno-gadgets, steering their carts through the aisles like Captains on a boundless sea, searching for the discounts which will soon find their way into boxes wrapped in shiny paper, the shoppers like neo-hunter/gatherers tracking the spoils of discount sales.

Home now, and in this dream of the Holi-daze, I look for a nap as the dream has been exhausting in itself. But I know it is only the beginning of a month of carving paths between the shopper/hunters who track elusive bargains armed with lists and pencils and I know again this year, I will be focusing instead on gifts I can make myself, collections of words and music and perhaps candles made to give flickering lights as December nights turns slowly moment-by-moment into the Year to Come.

The bloggers have hung their posts with care, wondering if the Technarati Saint Nick will lead a Google-Search-Sleigh down the chimneys and curl into their mailboxes and e-links.

But yes, Home now, both in the dream and awake - and I feel the stirrings of feasts and fellowship ahead, count my blessings and drift into another nap.

If home is where the heart is, I have found I have homes to numerous to count, and I try to express my gratitiude and send my best thoughts to all. Soon so many houses and neighborhoods will twinkle with lights and giant blow-up snow-globes gathered on lawns like totems to happiness and hope.

And I hope your first steps into the world of gifts and wishes will bring the Joys you seek for yourself and for others.

(oh and look for some posts next week about Faith Hill who hugged my brother-in-law Fred on her TV special )

A Trailer Is Worth 1,000 Words

It's the fall movie season -- which movie will rise to the top? A feel-good hit of the year? More Harry Potter Magic? Johnny Cash? Thanks to a heads-up from The Poor Man's Weekly, I found this teaser-trailer about a movie called "Dubya." (It's a QuickTime and funnier/scarier than you may want to admit.)

Check out the movie here.

Pay Raises Not A Part of Trimming Fed Budget

I'm sure you've seen this news already, but I have to offer some thoughts on it. Some years back Congress came up with a way to get yearly raises by NOT voting for them. They get these raises automatically unless they vote to not receive them. Wonder what the anti-worker crowd would say if union and non-union workers could get such a provision in their work agreements? And this year's non-vote increase occurs as Congress works to decided what U.S. programs to cut money away from.

And I was most happy to see Congress reconsidering the plan to make key elements to the so-called "Patriot Act" go on and on, with some calling for a seven year extension. But voters have been very loud about ending some of these provisions by year's end.

"I didn't come to Washington, D.C., to expand the police powers of the federal government," said Representative Dana Rohrabacher, Republican of California. "To make these temporary expansions of police power permanent as our way of life, changing our way of life in America, altering the balance of liberty and police powers, is outrageous."

Since most lawmakers are taking off for the holidays, this gives you a chance to make some of those hockey-puck shaped sweet potatoes with marshmellows on the top (Yuck!) and take them over to their homes (unless they are all at vacation hideaways) and say "Here's something for the holidays and by the way, I don't want that Act extended!")

Which also leads the burning question I ponder each Thanksgiving -- What is the difference between a "sweet potato" and a "yam?" Its these kind of things that keep me awake at night.

UPDATE: The wise and witty Julie helped ease my concerns about the debate over yams and sweet taters -- discover the facts for yourself here.

Camera Obscura - Just Weird

Some things the world does NOT need:

A TV-movie remake of "The Poseidon Adventure", which hits NBC Sunday night. At least its not a reality show and it hits the airwaves just before next year's big-screen remake which features a gay couple. People get paid for this crap??

Fox has ordered up a series based on the "Terminator" movies and plan to call it "The Sarah Connor Chronicles." My advice to anyone involved in the production is cash those paychecks quickly and then get ready for the entire 6-episode DVD set soon to follow. Yeesh.

The current season of "The Simpsons." Please stop this show. I am hopeful the big-screen movie in production now is getting all the good writing and satire missing from the show for last year or so. The first eight or ten seasons are priceless, but it just isn't aging well and the bite is gone. And try as hard as they might, "Family Guy" and "American Dad" just don't make the grade for me. I think the shows are satires of how bad TV shows can be -- but that's like shooting fish in a shot glass. Let the bashing of my opinion begin.

Now for some more interesting viewing choices.

At least, I think this could be interesting. The NBC show "Medium" has a 3-D episode on Monday, and features a CGI-altered Rod Serling introducing the show and telling you how/when to wear the 3-D glasses (which are in the new magazine format TV Guide). I sort of like this show which is a cross between "Bewitched", "Columbo" and "Memento," but it is a guilty pleasure.

Speaking of 3-D, let me get nostalgic. Back in the early 80s, a highly profitable (and utterly silly) group of 3-D movies were released, "Friday the 13th 3-D" and "Jaws 3-D". A small theatre in Morristown somehow then followed that up with a re-release of the 1973 release "Andy Warhol's Frankenstein" in 3-D. I nearly wrecked my car as I saw that title up on the marquee -- wha???? Someone thinks Morristown is gonna go for Andy freakin' Warhol??? Of course, I HAD to go see this, if only to watch the revulsion grow faster than kudzu thru the audience. I was not disappointed. Folks brought their kids to see this one -- I laughed so hard I had a nosebleed as the movie unspooled and all the weirdness stomped into the room and the audience kept up a mantra of "Dang! What the heck is this?" Sadly, some of my favorite lines are not suitable for this blog. Suffice to say that by the time the credits rolled, the theatre which had been packed to capacity, consisted of myself and two friends (who had both wanted to leave.) Now, Udo Kier shows up in everything - I'm waiting for guest shots on "Desperate Housewives" and "The West Wing."

Just one more thought unconnected to anything else in this post - Oone of the funniest movie titles my double-entendre mind has encountered lately: "Tarzan's Magic Fountain." Heh heh.

Oh, one more great moment in Celebrity History - Rex L. Camino's post this week about Paris Hilton's monkey attacking her in a lingerie shop. Yes, that's what I said. God Bless you Rex, and God Bless that monkey too. (Paris named the monkey Baby Luv.)

Crumbling Conservatives?

While the mind-numbing CIA case about Valerie and Scooter now includes the Washington Post and Bob Woodward, there are some keen observations about the Conservative stance in the current administration and in Congress from columnist George Will. (WaPo reg. required)

Part of his opinion piece focuses on that fact that voters in PA booted the school board members who abandoned Science in favor of the utterly mis-named "Intelligent Design" approach. That board opted for the teaching of the "supernatural" and deleted from the definition of science the phrase "a search for natural explanations of observable science." Ummmm -- that IS science isn't it??

And he also notes that spending under the Republicans is an out-of-control machine, where "pork spending" in 1991 was numbered at 546 projects for a total of $3.1 billion, and in 2005 the pork projects number 13,997 at a price of $27.3 billion.

What's a voter to do? Is any political party addressing real issues? Dissent is Evil, says the V.P., and now I suppose Dissent is yet another arm of the Axis of Evil.

And whatever "agreements" are made in Congress regarding the provisions of the mis-named "Patriot Act", I defy anyone to name a single reason to by-pass explicit Constitutional Laws about ammending our Constitution or at best why on earth we would need to deem these fundamental changes as Permanent ones.

Tiny factions of active and loud fanatics have seized the policymakers by their endless Fundraising Balls.

Say Wha ????

Found a nifty bit of political insight at Nashville is Talking, about radio talk show host Steve Gill, who says the East Tennessee Republicans are the ones who empower and will re-elect Gov. Bredesen.

"In Middle Tennessee and West Tennessee, I think the Republican base is not fond of Bredesen. And the Democratic base isn’t particularly fond of Bredesen,” Gill says. “What’s holding his numbers is that East Tennessee Republican base."

I know radio hosting can give ya the impression of Always Being Right -- but Steve, who failed on a few runs at Congress should also note that few residents outside of the mid-state know diddly-squat about him.

The again, who knows? Maybe the ET GOP is full of Bredesen Love. (snicker!)

The stumping for the hallowed halls of Eternal Office Holders is certainly underway, and my money is going on the spot that says "Nationwide Cat-Fight". Sadly, the Loser is always the same - the voter. They are outnumbered by the apathetic and the pathetically rich.

East Tennessee has to cope with comments like this from GOP Senator Steve Southerland, speaking Monday in Greeneville to supporters as reported in the Greeneville Sun:

"Southerland first read some of those comments by Greeneville lawyer John T. Milburn Rogers to his audience.

Rogers had told a recent meeting of the Greene County Democratic Women’s Club, “Republicans have somehow, due to inept Democratic leadership, hijacked Christians.” In addition, Rogers had said, “I don’t believe God is a ruler of man, and man the ruler of woman.”

The Greeneville attorney had charged fundamentalist Christians “want you (women) powerless, and only to speak when spoken to.” Southerland responded to Rogers’ comments by saying, “I believe God is the creator of man ... and I will put Him first” as a state senator if re-elected.

Rogers also previously had said, “The greatest threat to our system of democracy ... particularly to the American woman, is the attack (Bush advisor) Karl Rove and the far right (are leading) against a clear demarcation of church and state.”

Rogers also said, “Your rights as American women (to have abortions) may be abolished by the Supreme Court” if Bush succeeds in placing conservative judges on the nation’s highest court.

Responding, Southerland said, “I’ve always voted pro-life, and always will vote pro-life.”

In addition to describing himself as “right-to-life” on the abortion issue, Southerland said he has voted consistently to keep taxes low, and that he was proud to serve as a member of the state Senate’s Ethics Committee, and as chaplain of the Senate Republicans’ caucus."

It does get confusing -- Southerland went on to say this:

"Southerland said his Democratic critics who complain that Tennessee is 48th in the nation in terms of spending for public education are being shortsighted, because students overall in the state are being better educated.

To prove that, he said Tennessee was ranked 12th nationally last year in terms of SAT scores for high school students."

That's an argument I've been making for years as the local school board consumes ever more dollars and points accusing fingers at anyone who dares hold THEM accountable for their constantly rising costs.

And since I'm on the local topic of county politics - Here in Hamblen County, another down and dirty catfight is ahead as every seat on the County Commission is up for re-election, and so are the offices of County Mayor and Sheriff. Hopefully, you've not been caught up in the tornado-spin of cursing aimed at the most recently elected members of the Commission and realize that voters in each district need to hold their representatives accountable, that's VOTERS and not the MEDIA spin.

But realistic and pragmatic views tell me: party politics always outweigh the needs of the public. Who knows, by election day there may be so much Chaos over non-issues and emotional wailing that party nonsense will galvanize more folks to actually come forth and think for themselves. That my friends, is called Foolish Optimism.

Guess I'll jes grab my popcorn and watch the catfight.

On Anonymous Blogging

It's pretty obvious I am not an anonymous blogger -- my name is part of the title, much to the dismay of my mother - "You're using your real name?" To which I replied I have been writing and reporting and otherwise shamelessly self-promoting myself for years and see no reason to stop.

Both Say Uncle and No Silence Here (see the specific links further in this post) have noted an outraged resident, who accuses an anonymous blogger of being akin to a "terrorist" and it seems to highlight a particular madness in 21st century America -- that Free Speech and Constitutional Rights are bothersome roadblocks to something-or-other, and should be controlled and contained and restrained. It's a truly deranged mindset and rolls back American History like it was a dirty, smelly rug to be tossed into the trash.

I urge you to read the entire post from Say Uncle here, in which he concludes with the thoughts:

"Keep it up pesky anonymous bloggers. We are the new press. Somebody had to step up because the politicians took over the old press. Remember the lesson learned by South Knox Bubba, the politicos will lean on you if they can."

No Silence Here weighs in with his take on the issue here.

In 1995 the Supreme Court issued an opinion on a case, McIntyre vs. Ohio Elections Commission, regarding a woman who was issuing an anonymous pamphlet opposing a proposed school tax. The Court held her actions were protected by the First Ammendment.

In an article byJulie Hilden at FindLaw.com, she considers the threats to Free Speech on the Internet in general and the McIntyre case in particular, noting:

"Accordingly, the Court could have written a very narrow opinion had it chosen to do so. But, significantly, it did not. Instead, six of the majority Justices including moderate-to-conservative Justices Sandra Day O'Connor and Anthony Kennedy joined an opinion, penned by Justice Stevens, that not only protected but applauded anonymous speech.

The opinion proclaimed (as had an earlier case) that [a]nonymous pamphlets, leaflets, brochures and even books have played an important role in the progress of mankind, and cited numerous examples of the positive uses of anonymity in, for example, the Federalist Papers while taking little notice of anonymity's bad side."

When Knox County GOP leader Brian Hornback offered up this view via Say Uncle, it got my attention:

"“My point is this, bloggers that have enough intestinal fortitude to put it out there, knowing that their identity is on the line have far more credibility than those that want to remain anonymous. When I look at a blog and the person is a coward that refuses to reveal who they are. I ignore them and tell others to ignore them, they have NO credibility. If you are going to spend your time to affect public opinion and public policy then be man or woman enough to identify yourself.”

And no, it is hardly surprising that Hornback won't allow comments on his blog.

Speech must be controlled, seems to be the opinion. That, as I said, is an idea that ignores history, limits personal freedom and the First Ammendment, and marginalizes the fact that citizens rights are vital to our nation.

Do I support every viewpoint expressed on the Internet or around the corner? No. But I do support the freedom of expression. Read it or not, write it or not -- Free Speech is the conerstone of our rights. There have been deafenening wails that money contributed to a political campaign is Free Speech and should be protected -- I doubt it. Money is a form of influence and affluence, but nothing, not even money, can reach the power of Words.

That's why some folks fear them.
Write,
Speak.
Talk.

You may find those who agree with you, or you may find your views are utterly rejected.

Doubters, Part 2

"Reasonable people can disagree about the conduct of the war, but it is irresponsible for Democrats to now claim that we misled them and the American people," President Bush aboard Air Force One.

"To announce that there must be no criticism of the president, or that we are to stand by the president, right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American public." President Theodore Roosevelt, 1918

"I believe that there can be no doubt that criticism in time of war is essential to the maintenance of any kind of democratic government..... Too many people desire to suppress criticism simply because they think it will give some comfort to the enemy.... If that comfort makes the enemy feel better for a few moments, they are welcome to it as far as I am concerned because the maintenance of the right of criticism in the long run will do the country more good than it will do the enemy, and it will prevent mistakes which might otherwise occur." Senator Robert Taft.

"In the name of protecting us, this administration is abandoning our historic values, cramping our personal freedoms, violating our privacy, making a mockery of justice and asserting a right for the president, as commander in chief, to ignore U.S. law if he wishes to." from the editorial by Tom Teepen in the Times Union.

Here are some more excerpts from Teepen's editorial, titled "Scrapping Civil Liberty in the Guise Of Patriotism."

"Is Bush really against torture? He is threatening to use his first veto if the House accepts a bill that would formally outlaw "cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment or punishment" of prisoners. The legislation passed the Senate 90-9.

And Vice President Dick Cheney has been lobbying fiercely behind the scenes to carve out a specific exemption for the CIA if the legislation does move forward. Presumably the administration could then claim that the United States doesn't torture but the CIA just might, as if the agency were a mini-state itself that only happens to be in Washington, in U.S. government buildings staffed with U.S. government employees.

As you may have noticed by now, none of this makes any sense. And not only is it incoherent, it is worse than pointless. It puts the military at odds with its own proud traditions and sets up captured Americans for the same kind of treatment. The abuses have made our country a stink in the world."

Doubters - Why Do They Worry You So?

Kevin Drum and Glenn Reynolds have had a disagreement.

You can read about their arugment thru the links above - and yes, this is my first attempt at the mini-post style. Your job? Link, Read and Discuss.

Congress Has No Thanks For Vets

Today is Veteran's Day, and while across East Tennessee families and friends and communities have shown much appreciation and love for our troops, Congress just decided they no longer want to hear about their concerns, their suggestions, or their ideas for improving the state of our military.

The change was implemented by House Veterans' Affair Committee Chair Steve Buyer, who was appointed by Tom DeLay.

The press release from the Disabled Vets reads:

"WASHINGTON, Nov. 10 /U.S. Newswire/ -- A proposal to end the long-standing practice of veterans groups addressing a joint session of the House and Senate Veterans' Affairs Committees is an insult to all who have fought, sacrificed and died to defend the Constitution, according to the Disabled American Veterans (DAV). And in a strongly worded letter to House Veterans' Affairs Committee Chairman Steve Buyer (R-Ind.), the DAV has urged him to continue the joint hearings as an invaluable tool in formulating public policy toward America's veterans.

Chairman Buyer recently announced that veterans service organizations will no longer have the opportunity to present testimony before a joint hearing of the House and Senate Veterans' Affairs Committees.

"The tradition of legislative presentations by veterans service organizations dates back to at least the 1950s. And the timing of this announcement -- just before Veterans Day -- could not have been worse," said DAV National Commander Paul W. Jackson.

For several decades now, these joint hearings have been held each year to allow the elected leaders of veterans groups to discuss their organization's legislative agenda and foremost concerns with the lawmakers who have jurisdiction over federal veterans programs. Senators and Representatives who serve on those committees also get the rare opportunity to address the hundreds of constituent members from these organizations' who make the annual pilgrimage to Capitol Hill.

"The right to fully participate in the democratic process is a cornerstone of our nation," said Commander Jackson. "Eliminating these joint hearings is an insult to the men and women who have fought, sacrificed and died to protect our Constitutional rights, including the right to petition the government."

This important dialog between veterans and their elected representatives is crucial to the democratic process and a unique opportunity for the men and women who've put their lives on the line for America. Many of the veterans who take part in the hearings view it as their patriotic duty, as well as a fundamental right"

Law Enforcement Losing Credibility

Day by day and year by year, the indictments and allegations of corruption grow against law enforcement and justice officials in the Cocke County community. A third indictment was just handed down against one deputy, according to the Knoxville News Sentinel, this time for witness tampering.

Too many area residents -- along with 1st District Congressman Bill Jenkins who complained In June of this year that the Feds are wasting time investigating illegal activities - say this is all a waste of time and resources. I suppose since the local law enforcement agencies turn a blind eye, Jenkins approves and does the same.

There are staggering amounts of crimes, convictions and allegations against many who are charged with serving and protecting and they are noted in a vast timeline, again reported by the Knox News Sentinel. While this Timeline does indeed go back to the latte 1960s, anyone who reviews the numerous allegations reported just in the last four to five years should be astonished at the range of the charges, which include federal civil rights violations, illegal gambling, drug trafficking, falsifying records, money laundering, prostitution, witness tampering and on and on it goes. The Newport Civil Service Board says these "good men" need tax payer dollars and called for their reinstatements.

Residents of this mountainous community have reason to be deeply disturbed about such a long history of allegations of corruptions and crime. But too many local officials just want to sweep all this under the rug and let the environment of corruption grow. While many of these allegations are being investigated, other criminal cases will likely be dropped due to a "lack of credibility" from law enforcement:

"These officers are innocent until proven guilty under the law, but obviously these charges will hurt their credibility in court," Schmutzer writes. "If the officer's testimony is not critical to conviction or can be independently corroborated, we will prosecute it. Otherwise, it will have to be dismissed." Schmutzer asks for written statements from each of the officers indicating "whether or not they will testify" in pending cases despite the possibility that they could be questioned by defense attorneys about the federal charges. Schmutzer writes: "For these reasons I must ask that, if you intend to keep working these officers, they not be assigned to law enforcement or investigative duties that might require their testimony in future cases until their federal cases are resolved." Schmutzer says as many as 21 criminal cases may have to be dismissed in Cocke County due to credibility issues about the officers’ testimony but adds that the majority of the cases are misdemeanors."

The Newport newspaper, The Plain Talk, reported Wednesday that an employee with the county's ambulance service has been indicted by a grand jury on charges of taking drugs out of ambulance supplies:

" ... is alleged to have taken the drugs meperidine theft of morphine and Demerol from Allied’s drug supplies, according to the indictment.
The defendant is also alleged to have filled the empty drug vials with saline solution and returned them to the drug storage area, grand jurors allege. That action led to th charge of reckless endangerment of potential patients of the ambulane service who may not have received the medications they needed ...."

County residents need to consider the thought their safety may be at risk.

Tennessee Regulator Gets Nod For FCC

The President has announced his plans to nominate current Tennessee Regulatory Agency member Deborah Tate to the FCC. Tate has a long career in Tennessee, serving as an Assistant to former Gov. Sunquist, as well as Counsel for fomer Governer Alexander. A full state biography is here. She was also appointed by Sundquist to oversee patient services to TennCare and has been Director of State and Public Policy at Vanderbilt.

Voters Boot School Board

Voters in PA were not going to wait and see what a court might say about the questionable non-scientific teachings in the classroom. The idiotic phrase "intelligent design" brought out the voters who booted 8 school board members who demanded that science education take a powder, so three cheers for the voters.

In Kansas, they have different approach - just change the schools' definition of science.

How often are students in elementary and high school drilled with the idea that a handful of Pilgrims shaped the history of America, when in truth hundreds of thousands of inmates in Europe's prisons were dumped on the shores of America? How many indentured servants came to America seeking freedom? Why not discuss this in America's classrooms?

Anyone remember when students and teachers in public school debated science and biology and civics and students and teachers in churches debated religious issues?

On Torture

While touring nations south of the Equator, President Bush has had to face some big questions that the U.S. media has left by the wayside, most notably about reports of torture and secret prisons and recent actions in the War on Terror.

While the President fielded such questions, he defended U.S. Policy with the comment "There's an enemy that lurks and plots and plans and wants to hurt America again. So you bet we will aggressively pursue them but we will do so under the law. We do not torture." My comment is this - when has the U.S. NOT had enemies that lurk and plot against us???

Andrew Sullivan has some probing questions too:

"The president's only defense against being a liar is that he is defining "torture" in such a way that no other reasonable person on the planet, apart from Bush's own torture apologists (and they are now down to one who will say so publicly), would agree. The press must now ask the president: does he regard the repeated, forcible near-drowning of detainees to be torture? Does he believe that tying naked detainees up and leaving them outside all night to die of hypothermia is "torture"? Does he believe that beating the legs of a detainee until they are pulp and he dies is torture? Does he believe that beating detainees till they die is torture? Does he believe that using someone's religious faith against them in interrogations is "cruel, inhumane and degrading" treatment and thereby illegal? What is his definition of torture?"

You can also hear an in-depth inverview with General Janet Karpinski, who was removed from her duties at Abu-Ghraib prison, here.

UPDATE: Sen. Frist thinks maybe there should be an investigation into how the non-confirmed report of secret prisons got released in the first place.

UPDATE 2 : Sen. Frist might want to recall the 50-plus times the Senate has gone into a closed session, including the 6 times it happened regarding former President Clinton. And there's the fact that the Frist WhineBlog won't let non-supporters comment.

Make The Facts Fit After We're Done

A new study has compiled some statistics about childhood amputations, though hopefully we all know how such "compilations" seldom provide accurate pictures. Usually, the stat-quoters use the information to make people push some new law or new standard into place. So after reading this report, I'm waiting for the new law -- if doors are the most common cause of amputation incidents among children, the Ban Doors in America. Oh, and Ban Bicycles, Lawnmowers, etc. Let's get the Babyproof America Lobby up and running people!

I suppose I am too paranoid, maybe because I've seen to many End-Of-The-World movies, but a report about the discovery of an ancient Christian church in Meggido (where the battle of Armegeddon is apparently supposed to take place) makes me nervous. We'll be fine, right? ...... Right?

File under Ironic News: Bush Administration officials ordered to take Ethics Classes. (The article comes via a link from Tennessee Guerilla Women.) We'll all be fine, right? .... Right?

The Editor and Publisher has the story about Sen. Harry Reid's challenge to the Senate last week, indicating Sen. Reid and other Democrats have some proof that Congress and the American Public were fed a stack of lies about WMD, Iraq, etc, etc. I'm sure it doesn't really matter if the facts were faked, because our cause is Just. We'll all be fine, right? . .... Right?

News You Should Know

A reporter asked a simple question of President Bush and the answer was a telling one - the answer was "empty". Anything important is in someone else's control.

While many supervisors, administrators, or elected officials are all engaged in maintaining the status quo of corruption, private citizens continue to enforce the laws -- a task that also brings cash rewards. Gosh, what if more individuals began to think and act for themselves?

Camera Obscura - Man In Black Approaches

Ah, movies, movies, movies. My little french raison d'etre. I have some recommendations for you and some reviews too, and yes, some are leftover from the Halloween movie festival, some are not. And then, there's Johnny Cash. Shall we get to it then, oh patient ones?

First, I did watch the Showtime Masters of Horror kick-off episode, "Incident On and Off a Mountain Road" and boy howdy was that a ripping good start. If other episodes, which air weekends on Showtime, are as good or better as this first one, pre-order the DVD set today. "Incident" showed off how fine a director Don Coscarelli can be and the blunt-trauma style of writing Joe Lansdale does so well. If you saw it and liked it, its worth the effort to find his story collections and novels and bring them home. The next episode of Masters of Horror is "Dreams In The Witch House" by director Stuart Gordon and based on the H.P. Lovecraft short story.

Next up, a DVD released this week that's a classic and crammed with true extras. George Pal's 1953 version of "War of the Worlds" has been carefully restored for this new edition, including the original stereo sound. The extras on the DVD include the Orson Welles radio production of 1938 that terrified the east coast, plus Joe Dante hosts a commentary roundtable, and from lead actors Gene Barry and Ann Robinson, and a behind the scenes feature, and another feature with commentary by writer/director Nicholas Meyers. This version has held up very well over the years and looks fantastic on this new edition DVD. In other words, you can check out the Tom Cruise/Steven Spielberg homage to parenting or head to more classic landscape with George Pal.

Now I know most people will be searching for the last of the Lucas-made "Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith" DVD -- however, let me suggest another DVD set that will make it even better. The award-winning animated "Star Wars: The Clone Wars Volumes 1-2" by Genndy Tartakovsky is action packed entertainment and takes for its story the "meat" of Lucas' backward stroll through Time. It picks up as Episode 2 ends and takes you right to the opening moments of Episode 3. It really is crucial to the overall story and is exceptionally good.

As for Episode 3, well..... like my sister Claudia said "Thank God this is over," which means she didn't like it. I did stand in line for this finale this summer, I admit it. And I loved the opening battle sequence, the scenes where soon-to-be Darth Vader goes to the Jedi HQ and literally wipes out the future of the Jedis, and that final battle between soon-to-be Darth and Obi-Wan, backed by John Williams' operatic music. That really was satisfying. And yes, I am a geeky fanboy.

Onwards.

I also love the old movies that modern audiences and critics have abandoned. This takes me to this week's favorite actor -- Paul Muni. Let me give you the short and simple here. The actor brought incredible power to the original "Scarface" as a manical killer and could also provide the acting chops to play the compassionate chemist Louis Pasteur in "The Story of Louis Pasteur." It's very hard to believe its the same actor -- and both movies are compelling, sharply made and very entertaining.

"How well I have learned that there is no fence to sit on between heaven and hell. There is a deep, wide gulf, a chasm, and in that chasm is no place for any man."
Johnny Cash

Ah yes, am I looking forward to seeing the bio-pic of Johnny Cash, "Walk The Line." Personally, I can't imagine how they can possibly do Johnny justice but .....We'lll see. In the meantime, on CMT on Saturday you can catch the impressive "Johnny Cash In San Quentin" concert. Johnny is The Man in this documentary. For real devotees of the Man In Black, see if you can find a copy of "Door-to-Door Killer" from 1961 with Johnny as nutcase killer. I know his music seems to be all over the movies of late, from "Kill Bill Vol 2" to "Starsky and Hutch" to "Dawn of the Dead" and "Jackie Brown."

We miss you Johnny.

These Blogs Are Made of People!!!

I want to say thanks to a few folk who have been very supportive and helpful as I unsteadily wander out onto the Web and teeter-totter about while trying to sound off about whatever crosses my small but busy mind.

Most recently, Rex L. Camino was good enough to link to my post about horror movies and politics on Nashville Is Talking, where he subbed for a weekend.

The mastheads I have used come from the kindness of The Editor, so go to her page there and urge The Editor to keep on posting since she has been absent somewhat and busy. We all wants to know more from her insights.

Some other artwork which helped launch this site came from Tennessee Jed and TJ has also been a constant and valued supporter. Much thanks go as well to Life Is A Comedy, who has been working on a Triskabiblios deal which I have yet to understand.

It's really amazing where connections get made, and amazing as well the people I've met online and off since I started this just a few short months ago. One such connection was with Juliepatchouli, who is both funny and compassionate and is mighty pretty in person too.

It's also been good to converse back and forth with folks like Mr. Silence, and so thanks to him for his work and hope you feel better soon. In fact, the entire Rocky Top Brigade has been a source of constant information, news, humor and perspectives, not to mention a great gathering place for readers and writers in Tennessee and beyond.

From somewhere out in the Web, the folks at the Stinkhorn Rodeo arrived, and have likewise added links to this Cup. The Rodeo is quite a fun place to go - I love their subtitle which reads "We put the stink in Distinction."

I do encourage you to visit all the links on this page, as all are good reads. I am still building this blog and have far to go. It's good to find so many people who are getting their viewpoints and thoughts out -- I don't have to wait for a reporter or a TV camera. We share information and ideas without a lot of interference and with tremendous freedoms. It scares the bejesus out of publishers and corporate high-hats that we can talk to each other, and yes, I know it takes a lot of corporate tech for all of us to write and publish on the Web. But the opening has been made and people are everywhere.

So thanks for watching these baby steps here and not laughing where I could see it. And keep your cards and letters coming. I has yet begun to write.

TN Firm Overcharges Feds and You for Drugs

Billions of dollars in overcharges for Medicaid, for the Veterans Administration and other government agencies are to be repaid by U.S. drug companies, including Bristol, TN-based King Pharmaceuticals, which has settled and agreed to pay back $124 million. And which oversight agency caught this fraud? None. The cases are part of a suit filed under the federal False Claims Act by former King employee Edward Bogart.

The AP story is here, a U.S. Newswire press release is here, and as the Knoxville News-Sentinel notes, this story has major impact on the umpcoming Tennessee legislative committee hearings on campaign finance. The company's founder and former CEO John Gregory has already been taking heat for the millions he has funneled to the state GOP. State Dems have been calling it "dirty money".

The nationwide anti-fraud investigation by the Justice Dept. has brought settlements from King and other companies to just over $3.1 billion. One group happy by the news about King, is Mylan Laboratories, which had made a bid earlier this year to by King. But Mylan has issues to cope with on its own, facing similar complaints from Florida, Kentucky, Alabama, Wisconsin, New York and on and on it goes.

Good thing we citizens have the False Claims Act and at least some interest in the Justice Department for the fraud, the theft, the old-fashioned hijacking of tax dollars to benefit big business and the Republican party.

As for Edward Bogart - the man who blew the whistle on King - he stands to earn a percentage of the settlement since he used the False Claims Act with his suit. And there are other legal firms who are focusing on just these types of cases, which you can read for yourself if you search for the phrase "False Claims Act" with your favorite internet search engine.

Accusers Face El Salvadoran Colonel In TN

Colonel Nicholas Carranza, accused of torture and crimes against humanity for his role in the violence that swept thru El Salvador in the late 70s and 80s, has been living untouched and unnoticed for 20 years in Memphis, TN. However, on Monday Carranza was in court, facing charges and facing his accusers.

Questions about the murder and torture and crimes against humanity have been avoided over the last 20-plus years, as have questions about the CIA's claim that Carranza, who became a U.S. citzen in 1991, was a paid informant. The bloody destruction in Latin America in the 70s and 80s and CIA involvement has always been a murky story, no clear information, no desire in Washington to pursue it.

The lawsuit is jointly by the Tennessee-based firm Bass, Berry & Sims, PLC and the Center for Justice and Accountability. Lead counsel David Esquivel, recently named pro bono attorney of the year by the TN Bar Association stated:

“Finally these plaintiffs will have an opportunity to tell their stories of survival to the jury. They have waited too long for justice, and I am honored to represent them in this action.”

More on the story here, and the TN Independent Media Center is tracking the trial as well.

Given the nature of the crimes - wartime acts and torture - hopefully more reporting on this trial will occur.

New Year Pumpkins

Happy Celtic New Year!! Some history of the holiday is here, via MetaFilter.

Some pumpkin pics for you here, and here, and the North Carolina Pumpkin Wall is back, and a computer in a pumpkin too.

Does anyone know what year this Celtic New Year's is???

And don't forget to check out the pumpkin art from Tennessee Jed. He did a fine homage to the late great Bob Denver.

A Maze of Corruption

After some reading of various views on the crimes the vice-president's long-time associate and chief of staff "Scooter" Libby has been accused of, I thought I'd share the ones that seem most notable. The best of the bunch is here at Once Upon A Time. Albert also includes a full text of Patrick Fitzgerald's comments. The Bush administration appears to be caught in some dirty tricks, and a willingness to compromise national security and also to cover it up.

More info is here.

The war in Iraq and current foreign policies were shaped by Libby, Vice-President Cheney, Donald Rumsfield and a few others -- a hard push toward nation-building that has not been handled well. Corruption in contracts and missing money have been noted more than once in the government's audit reports. And this just days after the U.N. announced some 2,200 companies, including international corporations such as Siemens, Volvo and Daimler Chrysler made illicit payments of $1.8 billion to Saddam Hussein's government under the oil-for-food program.

Fitzgerald has been investigating the case of the breach of national security for 2 years. The U.N. investigation by former Federal Reserve Chair Paul Volcker has taken 18 months. How long until Americans get all the facts on this war?

Camera Obscura - Reel Scary Movies

Last week, I offered you a chance to vote on some your favorite horror movies as we take our daily steps towards Halloween. Many responded and you can read that post and their comments here.

Some good suggestions, without a doubt.

I also offered a TRUE or FALSE question for you -- More horror movies are made in the U.S. when a Republican is president. It isn't a partisan thing, it's just been sort of an ongoing debate my brother David and I have had for years. By going back and checking with dates and presidents, the Republicans win hands down. Here is a brief list to illustrate my point (for instance, I did not include the first President Bush, mainly to save space and some movies, especially in the 1950s are also science-fiction fear films, and I only listed movies most folks would know or recognize).

Horror Classics and Presidents

Herbert Hoover 1928-1932
Dracula
Frankenstein
The Mummy
Freaks

Dwight Eisenhower 1952-1961
Pyscho
The Thing
Them
Earth Vs The Flying Saucers
Invasion of the Body Snatchers
Day the Earth Stood Still
House On Haunted Hill
Macabre
13 Ghosts
Black Sabbath
Black Sunday
Roger Corman's Poe movies (1960)
Little Shop of Horrors
Bucket of Blood and on and on
from HAMMER STUDIOS -
Frankenstein and Dracula features

The arrival on TV of Twilight Zone
The arrival on TV of Outer Limits

Richard Nixon 1968-1974
Night of the Living Dead
Rosemary's Baby
Texas Chainsaw Massacre
Exorcist
Willard

Gerald Ford 1974-1977
Jaws
The Hills Have Eyes
Suspiria
Rabid
The Omen

Ronald Reagan 1981-1989
Scanners
Videodrome
The Fly (remake)
The Thing (remake)
Poltergeist
Freddy Krueger movies
The Shining
Friday the 13th movies
Halloween sequels
Hellraiser
Re-Animator
Day of the Dead


G.W. Bush 2000-2008
The Ring
The Grudge
Land of the Dead
House of 1,000 Corpses
Queen of the Damned
Resident Evil
28 Days Later
Jeepers Creepers
Dawn of the Dead (remake)

Starting this Friday on the Showtime Cable Network, they are offering some of the best of the horror genre's writers and directors a chance to scare you good in one-hour specials. The first airs tonite,"Incident On and Off A Mountain Road," written by a real master of horror, Joe Lansdale, and directed by the creator of "Phantasm" and "Bubba Ho-Tep" (which Lansdale also wrote).

You can find a full rundown of the movies and the air-dates at thee "Masters of Horror" official site. Future episodes include directors Dario Argento, Tobe Hooper, John Carpenter, Joe Dante, John Landis, Takashi Miike, Mick Garris and a host of fine writers like Lansdale and David Schow.

The Ethics Waltz

As the state circles around and around real reform for Ethics or Lobbyists or TennCare, the finger-pointing continues -- "He/She is worse than I am!" Truth is, all legislators are suffering from a lack of public confidence and an over-abundance of influence of Lobbyists. Take the following from the state Democratic Party newsletter:

"The Tennessee Republican Party shot itself in the foot last week with a clumsy attack on State House Majority Leader Kim McMillan. The story goes like this: GOP Chairman Bob Davis sent a letter to McMillan, a Clarksville Democrat, alleging a conflict of interest because the law firm where she works represents an East Tennessee utility seeking state regulatory approval. Aside from the fact that no conflict exists, Davis failed to take into account that a hostof Republican lawmakers have day jobs that actually do pose potential conflicts with their legislative duties.

-- Among them: State Senator Mark Norris, a Collierville attorney who represents hospitals before the state Health Services and Development Agency.

--State Representative Glen Casada, of Franklin, who introduced legislation to benefit his employer, a unit of drug maker Schering-Plough Corp;

-- and State Representative Joey Hensley, a Hohenwald doctor who filed a bill to put more TennCare money in the pockets of physicians despite the fact that his medical practice collected hundreds of thousands of dollars from the program over the years. Norris, in a report by the Commercial Appeal, seemed perturbed by Davis'attack and acknowledged some legislators' day jobs will intersect with government from time to time. Unless the state wants to shift from a citizen legislature to a professional legislature, well have to continue to deal with these issues, Norris said."

I love that last sentece -- "Unless the state wants to shift from a citizen legislature to a professional legislature ...." Sure seems like the Professional Politicians are what Tennessee has and the concept of a "citizen legislature" is scoffed and derided. "Why, Joe, imagine how much a new member would have to learn about how business is done?"

Newsflash - the public does know about how business is done -- the so-called "Tennessee Waltz" FBI probe is one of several on-going into business-as-usual in government, linking with the FBI probe of law enforcement statewide called "Operation Tarnished Shield" and the on-going FBI probe into the former Sundquist Administration.

It DOES NOT matter which party has members under review, and sadly, I don't think the voters give one hairy rat-tail of the outcome. Voters know their voices are ignored and unwanted. The ever-decreasing voter turnout shows they understand their votes soon do not matter.

Somehow, the notion that a Campaign Contribution is an act of exercising the Rights of Free Speech has taken root and is flowering across the country. It's a critical mistake.

Hamblen Taxpayers Lose In Media Spin - Again

Hamblen County taxpayers got stuck once again with a new and ever-expanding schools funding bill, though the local media cheered the barely-approved costs by a razor thin margin. The spin says the state gives all and Hamblen taxpayers don't give enough. The spin says costs are matched by donations for three years. But what that means is after this short period, the full funding costs will fall squarely on the local taxpayers.

Commissioner Linda Noe pegs the problem in her web log. Here is an excerpt from her post about this issue:

"There will be, and has been, "spin" galore about the ELL teacher situation. As Commissioner Phillips pointed out yesterday, if the school system had followed the BEP funding guidelines in this area (11.5 teachers), we would only be 2.5 teachers short of the 14 that will be required for ELL students in 2006-2007 instead of being 6 short! Another item that the Board likes to "spin" is to say that the state/local BEP funding doesn't cover the full costs of these ELL teachers in Hamblen County.

Well, the fact is that the state provides 62.7% of the BEP funding for these teachers and Hamblen County provides the required BEP local funding match of 37.3%. The school system says that this level of state/local BEP funding doesn't cover its teacher and benefit costs. What is not mentioned is that Hamblen County provides additional funding over and above the required BEP local funding match of 37.3%. Hamblen County provides approximately $5 million dollars in additional funding above the required match and has done so for several years through maintenance of effort provisions. And on top of the $5 million provided above BEP local match requirements, Hamblen County also provides additional money to the schools every year through the payment of school construction debt on behalf of the school system---principal and interest payments that are paid from the county's debt service fund. (If you hear it said that the school system helps pay the school construction debt, that is correct but only to a small degree. The school system agreed years ago to contribute $500,000 of its BEP money to help in the payment of the huge school construction debt that was incurred by the county with the recently completed $35 million school building program--this $500,000, however, does not begin to cover the principal and interest costs that the county incurs and pays each year for school debt outside of the BEP and school budget.)

There will be a dozen different and carefully worded explanations for the current "crisis" and shortage of ELL teachers. Putting all this "spin" aside, the simple fact is that the school system shorted this program area for at least two years and has now put together a plan to start a brand new school for "newcomers" --a plan that will involve bussing 120 students from all over the county to and from a site at Walters State with loss of instructional time and ever-rising costs to the local taxpayers in future years."

The bottom line is, a handful of long-time commissioners approved a funding nightmare, which will only continue to grow the county's budget woes and sticking it to taxpayers. With the current priority the county had previously given Education Costs - providing over 85% of the county's entire budget alloted to one agency - it is never ever, ever enough. As Superintendent Dr. Dale Lynch likes to say "Let me assure you" .... however to me this cost to the county taxpayers continues to soar higher and higher.

American Troops, Not War, Supported

I'm sure you've noticed them, those magnetic yellow ribbons stuck on the backs and sides of cars and SUVs and trucks, which read "Support Our Troops." It seems a significant precision of phrasing that Americans have found - these ribbons do not say they "Support The War In Iraq" or "Support The War in Afghanistan". Certainly Congress has given approval for the war in it's constant funding of the war's cost, regardless of any public posing they may take with the media. But Americans have chosen their words wisely, it seems, and carefully.

U.S. Troops are also leaning on that support, though their morale seems to be in an ever-weakening state, some due to the usual military confusion and incompetence, but they have also taken to the blogging world and their stories provide intimate details and a picture of a military campaign that seems to be losing traction.

Operation Truth has been a firm chronicler of the experiences of vets from Iraq and Afghanistan and has detailed information about the slipping morale.

Col. Lawrence Wilkerson, former Chief of Staff at the State Department, in a speech last Wednesday, noted the harmful nature of a "secret cabal" making foreign policy decisions at the White House and the dangerous nature of American's secret or "flummoxed" strategy in the war.

"....my army right now is truly in bad shape – truly in bad shape. And I’m not talking about the billions and billions of dollars of equipment it’s burning up in Iraq at a rate 10 or 15 times the rate its life cycle said it should be burned up at, but I’m also talking about when you have officers who have to hedge the truth, NCOs who have to hedge the truth. They start voting with their feet, as they did in Vietnam, my war. They come home and they tell their wife they’ve got to go back for the third tour and the fourth tour and the wife says, uh-uh, or the husband says, uh-uh, and all of a sudden your military begins to unravel. And the signs are very concrete right now that the Army and the Marine Corps – to a lesser extent the other services because they’re not quite as involved in the deployments that we’re talking about here and the frequency thereof, the op tempo as we say it – problems are brewing."

Also worth noting is Brent Scowcraft's scathing view of our lack of military strategy:

"The neoconservatives -- the Republicans who argued most fervently for the second Gulf war -- believe in the export of democracy, by violence if that is required, Scowcroft said. "How do the neocons bring democracy to Iraq? You invade, you threaten and pressure, you evangelize." And now, Scowcroft said, America is suffering from the consequences of that brand of revolutionary utopianism. "This was said to be part of the war on terror, but Iraq feeds terrorism," he said."

And most assessors see the U.S. stepping now into yet another country, Syria.

How Much Is This Blog Worth?

I linked to this post via Crooks and Liars, submitted the URL and lo and behold, this Cup Of Joe Powell has cash value!

My blog is worth $6,774.48.
How much is your blog worth?

After only some three months, and over 6,000 page views, I'm glad to mark this a decent start.

Thanks to all of you for reading along! And get ready to see some ads and donation opportunities!