World Press Freedom Day

Many contrasts exist in reporting today, as many journalists have been facing death and kidnapping in the Mideast, riots ensued after some calculated propaganda regarding the publication of cartoons, and the ever-expanding and seemingly endless arrival of new web logs every hour. Some may write of recipes or lifestyles, some provide commentary on what they read elsewhere, and some sites offer wide ranges of information from hundreds of blogroll members.

A recent study notes some of the newer trends regarding "trust" in the media, including the following:

"News sources:

• Almost three-quarters of people (72%) said they followed the news closely every day, with national TV (82%) and national or regional newspapers (75%) the most trusted news outlets, according to the poll.
• Online news sources were the first choice among 19% of 18-24 year-olds, compared to just 3% of those aged 55-64.
• Some 77% prefer to check several news sources rather than simply rely on one, a habit particularly evident online.
• Blogs:
• Blogs are among the online sources that people are consulting, although few place ultimate trust in their content: 25% said they trusted blogs, with almost the same number (23%) distrusting them.
• Just 3% of all respondents said blogs were their main news source. The only exception to this trend was in South Korea (17%), where online news is highly popular.
• Younger web brands were also shown to have won significant public trust: Google (30%), Yahoo! (28%) and Microsoft/MSN (27%).

Here's to ever-growing freedoms worlwide and more and more individuals expressing their views via the internet.

Time Out For Our Weirder Web

After the irritation of immigration reforms and protests, a day of election primaries (still waiting in some places, and still waiting for percentages of registered voters who did vote, likely to be a small number) it's time for news that will offer up the wackier side of the old U.S. of A.

First, this East TN headline is too funny. And yes, I know I'm juvenile to chuckle at it, but did anyone really want to see that picture??

Next, one of the more unusual candidates in politics today is a wanna-be independent candidate for governor in Alabama. She offers to flash her bodacious ta-tas if you make a donation. At least she is a distinctively different type of candidate from ousted Judge Roy "10 Commandments" Moore. She also keeps a blog, which reads like one of the funniest Southern novels of the last decade, especially her attempt to see her brother in jail, which she couldn't, 'cause she and her mom were't wearing panties.

A recent study shows students don't really understand where they are or how to locate any other place on the map. Even Iraq. The good news of the study is that if the student uses the internet, they be smarterer.

For some good news, it appears as if the National Park Service won't totally open up the wilderness to widespread advertising signs.

And if nothing else cheeers you, take comfort in the fact that Free Comic Book Day is ahead on May 6! At current prices, each comic is valued at about a gallon of gas, so go find some freebies!

Reforms Could Affect Everyone Seeking Jobs

It simply feeds my natural sense of paranoia when the stats on visitors to this page record that in the last 24 hours I've been visited by someone in the Air Force, the Dept. of Health and Human Services, and the Halliburton Corp. Fortunately, the Air Force reader read the post about Rumsfeld's poetry, the HHS reader came here searching for info on Dolly Parton and Porter Waggoner, and Mr. Halliburton was searching for "immigration reform craig estes". My page popped up there because the words "immigration" and a reference to Craig's List appeared in a post. (And I have no idea who "Craig Estes" may be.)

My mom warned me months ago I was nuts to use my real name on this blog, she says I have a knack for stepping on toes. Which I do - but she and my dad raised me to place a value on speaking the truth, which, doubtless has made me unwelcome in politics and business.

While I do attempt to find encouraging information as well as share information that should raise concerns among most Americans, some folks say I cast a gloomy shadow on the world. Yet, to me, recognizing a problem or issue is the first step to resolving it. I do hope and expect people to read this page, for whatever reasons, and I do try and temper my thoughts and writings with some pragmatism and hopes that information shared will result in opportunities for improvement. And yes, sometimes I'm just a smartass, though far less now than years ago. Honest.

And yes, at the risk of raising more corporate and government eyebrows, there is another point to this post, which is a crucial element and as I see it a powerful flaw in all the current federal legislation regarding immigration.

A fine piece of work at Reason magazine puts it plainly:

"Anyone convinced that America is suffering from excessive diversity should troll through the seven immigration bills now floating around the Capitol. Traversing the conceptual distance, roughly, between the minds of Lou Dobbs and Bill O'Reilly, Congressmen on both side of the aisle are debating how high the walls should be, how onerous the fines, how long the wait to legality. Amid all this robust debate, one steadfast conviction unites the almost-distinguishable ravings of center-left and center-right: The need to keep closer watch on those radical patrons of social unrest, American business owners.

Pick your acronym—EEVS (Electronic Employer Verification System) in the Senate bill, the BEVP (Basic Employer Verification Program) in the widely condemned House version, NEECS (New Employment Eligibility Confirmation System) in the alternate McCain/Kennedy rendition. Each represents a federal database system that will bestow a yea or nay upon every would-be worker in the Land of the Free, whether she is surnamed Rogers or Rodriguez, born in Manassas or Mexico City. The system the ACLU calls "permission slip to work" requires verification from not one but two federal agencies; the Social Security Administration (SSA) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). If any of the prominent immigration measures pass as they are now written, every hiring decision will become a matter of public concern, subject to dual bureaucracies, two databases, and an untold number of deciders."
----
"How does the government that brought you the prescription drug benefit debacle plan to manage an electronic system involving every employed person in these United States? The GAO needs a color-coded map to explain, but here is the basic summary: Employers send data for every new hire to DHS, which then sends information to SSA, which then sends information back to DHS, which sends info back to the employer, who can either contest any rejected applicants and begin the process anew, risk fines for not complying, or accept the findings. The burden of contesting mistakes and keeping records lies with employers. The cost, says the GAO, will be about $11.7 billion '—annually' with employers bearing much of the cost."

Lessons From A Day Of Protests - UPDATED with Corrections

While some Hispanic-owned businesses stayed open in Morristown, Koch Foods closed on May 1, according to WATE's report. The report noted as well that "the plant manager spoke by phone with 6 News and confirmed they closed because of the immigrant day off, but he hung up when asked how many immigrants they employ." Oddly, that information was not reported at the local paper's website.

The company's employees voted in favor of forming a union to protect worker's rights last September, a story which was reported in the NYTimes and on this site. The employees are standing together for their rights - whether others agree with their efforts or not.

Given that the city has a "local" chapter of the Southwest's citizen-led border patrol organization who call themselves "Minutemen", it's not surprising to see few Hispanics taking to the streets to express opinions. However, around the nation, walk-outs and marches are attempting to give voice to the concerns of many.

I have a few thoughts about the immigration issue and on the power of protests and boycotts.

It's utterly counterproductive to begin training the state's Highway Patrol to be immigration and border patrol agents. Not only would it detract from their current responsibilities regarding public safety, it also requires even less effort from the federal INS agency (CORRECTION: Thanks to a commenter to this post, the agency was re-organized in March of 2003 as ICE, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which you can link to here. My apologies for the error.) located in Memphis (NOTE: the new ICE office held a formal opening in June of 2005, with info on the operations available at this link). Likewise, adding tens of thousands of border patrol agents in the Southwest seems a mistake, given that so many immigrants, legal and illegal are already scattered throughout the nation. Why not allow for more ICE agents and offices within each state to search for illegals and punish businesses that use illegal labor? (UPDATE: As newly re-organized under the Dept of Homeland Security, which has a regional office at Walters State Community College, it would appear to me that greater enforcement levels would be available to this section of the state, and I'll see what I can find out regarding such programs. Thanks again to the commenter below who set me straight on the current immigration enforcement information.)

One lesson from the events of May 1st is that people who take to the streets with common goals get tremendous attention. And there are pertinent issues that should motivate millions of Americans.

Here's an example. Yesterday, the President spoke before the American Hospital Association, touting his "success" in modernizing the Medicare system, while his Treasury Secretary held a press conference announcing the program will be "belly up" in 2018, two years earlier than previously forecast. He also noted that Social Security will likewise be insolvent in 2040, also earlier than forecast. Proposals for a "commission" of congressmen to study the problem still has no commission members and with no members, of course there has been no meeting or "study". More on that story here.

Now imagine what might happen if all those who receive or pay into Medicare and Social Security were to take a day nationwide to register publicly a call for action and reform. A blog, an editorial, a special news hour on TV won't achieve what citizens can achieve - if they only make use of their rights and their voices.

See The 'Hokey-Pokey' At China's 1st Hooters

Sometimes it is impossible to fabricate or fictionalize the world around us when the actual daily events reach the depths featured in Reuters video odd news round-up titled "And Finally."

Where else could you learn that the first Hooter's eatery opened in China (and check out that amazing rendition of the wait staff singing "The Hokey Pokey"). Or that a life-sized replica of the robot from the old "Lost In Space" TV show can take residence in your home. Or visit the newly created Museum of the Heartbroken. Yeah, I want to pay to view someone else's pathetic memories of Love Gone Wrong.

You can access the video link here. (And yes, there is a commercial first. They're running a business, ya know.)

At least here in America, you can't be jailed for being married because of some angry in-laws. A Pakistani couple was finally released today after five years in jail for the crime of love and marriage. Can an Asian Jerry Springer be in the future?

The Angry Start Of May

Judging by the temper of this first day in May, it's going to be a rather hot, unruly season for Summer 2006. Boycotts, walkouts, war in Darfur or Iraq or fear of Iran, high gasoline prices, and labor disputes in America and Asia .... the political battles between the two party system - you name it and some group is furious.

One editorial via the Tennessean cites a lack of historical knowledge and the presence of immigrant hysteria on this day when Hispanics are protesting.:

"The anger rising from many Tennesseans and Americans over illegal immigration would be comical if not that their response represents a gross ignorance of history.

And that elevates passion and anecdote over perspective and reality, dooming any fair immigration reform legislation from Congress this year. It only ensures polarization over an issue that has plenty of room for compromise."

Another writer via the Knox News Sentinel asks, "Why isn't English the most common language on blogs?"

In Asia, today marks a day for protests about making it tougher for workers to strike.

Perhaps it's no surprise that when even a comedian can rattle the White House and the national media, no one has a sense of humor about much of anything.

Perhaps this is just the kind of world birthed by the endless blaming and hating from drug addled radio talk show land.

Or perhaps, as I have mentioned previously, the Howard Beale Party of the Outraged is gathering strength. But to what end, I could not say. If you Google the news with the word "angry", you'll get plenty of hits. If you substitute "happy", there you'll find some good news, but many of those hits include "not happy with ...."

The name of a recent new hit TV show seems to express the either/or philosophy of all the world of angry folks - "Deal or No Deal".

Contempt for Law and The Constitution

This was rather obvious to many Americans:

"WASHINGTON -- President Bush has quietly claimed the authority to disobey more than 750 laws enacted since he took office, asserting that he has the power to set aside any statute passed by Congress when it conflicts with his interpretation of the Constitution."
-----
"Phillip Cooper, a Portland State University law professor who has studied the executive power claims Bush made during his first term, said Bush and his legal team have spent the past five years quietly working to concentrate ever more governmental power into the White House.

''There is no question that this administration has been involved in a very carefully thought-out, systematic process of expanding presidential power at the expense of the other branches of government," Cooper said. ''This is really big, very expansive, and very significant."

For the first five years of Bush's presidency, his legal claims attracted little attention in Congress or the media. Then, twice in recent months, Bush drew scrutiny after challenging new laws: a torture ban and a requirement that he give detailed reports to Congress about how he is using the Patriot Act."


More on the story here. (And who else in the TN Blogworld but Newscoma would have already tagged this collection of horrors?)

Why Not Katie Couric For Press Secretary?

Talk about missing opportunities - with media darlings like that li'l Katie Couric up for grabs, why didn't President Bush jump in the bidding wars and offer her the job of White House Press Secretary? The endlessly self-referential national media loves talking about her and if The Pres had hired her, can you imagine the gushing love-fest from the White House Press Corp??

We'd get info like what the Commander In Chief thinks about Cruise, Pitt, Paris, hip new diet prgrams, and American Idol!! You know, the stuff Americans are really concerned about. And they could have held press conferences with windows open to fans of the Katie Show, holding signs that read We Luv U! and Bush Rocks Topeka, KA.

Maybe the offer was made and li'l Katie chafed at the term "secretary."

Or maybe he could have gone with the graphic-and -sound-effects laden "Insider" with Pat O'Brien to wow the press corp!

Or how about one-upping the loss of Meridith Viera from "The View" by naming Star "I-Love-Plastic-Surgery" Jones! Imagine the ratings boost for press conferences then.

In all, only 12 presidents have ever used a "press secretary," starting with FDR back in 1937. The second press secretary, J. Leonard Reinsch, used his accumen to later become CEO of Cox Broadcasting Association (now known as Cox Communications.)

Former President Clinton holds the record for highest number of Press Secretaries at four, but President Bush is closing in with Tony Snow marking number 3. I'd bet cash money numbers 4 and 5 are likely.

One person I know who won't be appointed is pretend news anchor Stephen Colbert, who at a recent roast of the President doled out far too much Truthiness in his comedy ("reality has a well-known liberal bias") and many on the dias were heard to mutter "We are not amused."

The Top Poems of Donald Rumsfeld

My creative writing prof waaaaaay back in college once said that the best poetry provides a "gesture of information and emotional intent." And via this article in Slate, the Poet Laureate of America today is a title befitting Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld. As statements made via press conferences, the language is nearly incoherent, but as poetry, old Rummy is Singing the Body Electric. Now that's some truly powerful stuff. Some samples:

The Unknown
As we know,
There are known knowns.
There are things we know we know.
We also know
There are known unknowns.
That is to say
We know there are some things
We do not know.
But there are also unknown unknowns,
The ones we don't know
We don't know.

—Feb. 12, 2002, Department of Defense news briefing

Glass Box
You know, it's the old glass box at the—
At the gas station,
Where you're using those little things
Trying to pick up the prize,
And you can't find it.
It's—

And it's all these arms are going down in there,
And so you keep dropping it
And picking it up again and moving it,
But—

Some of you are probably too young to remember those—
Those glass boxes,
But—

But they used to have them
At all the gas stations
When I was a kid.

—Dec. 6, 2001, Department of Defense news briefing

A Confession
Once in a while,
I'm standing here, doing something.
And I think,
"What in the world am I doing here?"
It's a big surprise.

—May 16, 2001, interview with the New York Times

Happenings
You're going to be told lots of things.
You get told things every day that don't happen.

It doesn't seem to bother people, they don't—
It's printed in the press.
The world thinks all these things happen.
They never happened.

Everyone's so eager to get the story
Before in fact the story's there
That the world is constantly being fed
Things that haven't happened.

All I can tell you is,
It hasn't happened.
It's going to happen.

—Feb. 28, 2003, Department of Defense briefing

The Digital Revolution
Oh my goodness gracious,
What you can buy off the Internet
In terms of overhead photography!

A trained ape can know an awful lot
Of what is going on in this world,
Just by punching on his mouse
For a relatively modest cost!

—June 9, 2001, following European trip

The Situation
Things will not be necessarily continuous.
The fact that they are something other than perfectly continuous
Ought not to be characterized as a pause.
There will be some things that people will see.
There will be some things that people won't see.
And life goes on.

—Oct. 12, 2001, Department of Defense news briefing

Clarity
I think what you'll find,
I think what you'll find is,
Whatever it is we do substantively,
There will be near-perfect clarity
As to what it is.

And it will be known,
And it will be known to the Congress,
And it will be known to you,
Probably before we decide it,
But it will be known.

—Feb. 28, 2003, Department of Defense briefing

Now that's some truly powerful stuff. Maybe the whole administration should consider the elements of Poetics to communicate.. Who knows, it might even get favorable features on The Writer's Almanac. (hat-tip to Tits McGee for bringing this poetry to my attention.)

FEMA Tells TN To End Housing Aid For Evacuees

A press release from the state's Dept. of Finance and Administration blasts a FEMA directiive to effectively end housing assistance for evacuees from Hurricane Katrina.

The statement says:

"As directed by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), Tennessee is contacting Hurricane Katrina evacuees whose housing is supported by FEMA to tell them that the Federal program is changing – and by May 31, many of them will have to once again make other arrangements for housing.

Over 3,000 evacuee families in Tennessee now depend on FEMA for the leasing or rental of apartment dwellings through the Federal 403 Public Assistance Program. Despite protests from state officials – and an alternative plan for staggered lease terminations with individual case management – FEMA is shifting some eligible evacuees to the Individual Assistance 408 Program. Those who are eligible for the program will receive less federal housing assistance, and FEMA is dropping all support for utility hook-ups or bill payment.

“A large concentration of the evacuee population is in the urban areas of Nashville and Memphis and we, along with local government representatives, are concerned about the very real risk of homelessness for this population of adults and children,” said Tennessee Emergency Management Agency (TEMA) director Jim Bassham in an April 21 letter to FEMA. “As this program ends, and evacuee families lose their rental assistance, we will no doubt be forced to open shelters, particularly in the urban areas, to provide services to those evacuees with no other options.

“We expect FEMA to fund these shelters as well as the necessary case management services required to integrate affected evacuees into existing Tennessee services. These evacuees will become and have become Tennessee citizens, but this should not occur without adequate acknowledgement and support from the federal government.”

As the Federal program transitions, state officials are planning to move quickly to open shelters if evacuees become homeless in late May or early June. The state is also developing a plan to provide case managers to work with any shelter population to transition them to permanent housing. The state is also notifying Tennessee’s Congressional delegation of the expectation that FEMA fund any shelter operations and transition cost.

The state has conducted a risk assessment on each evacuee family, and found that as many as 60 percent are unemployed with 80 percent being at high risk of being homeless without rent and utility payments.

Tennessee was second only to Texas in the number of people who came to the state for shelter after Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast in September 2005. Tennessee is the only state that coordinated the response on a statewide basis, as opposed to shouldering local government with the burden."

Camera Obscura - James Bond and Some Hustle Fu

Let's just get some of the obvious movie stuff out of the way first, then it's on to the real (reel) stuff, including a crime drama that offers an excellent performance by the soon-to-be James Bond, Daniel Craig and this week's must-see comedy-action movie.

On a weekend when most of America is pig-biting mad about the relentless rise in gasoline prices, it's not the best time for a good-natured family film about the fun to be had in an RV, with the gas mileage of 4 miles per gallon. Yet that's the plan for the Robin William's comedy "R.V.", a clone of "National Lampoon's Vacation". If your feeling more pain than comedy at the pump, wait til you plop down 50 bucks for the family to see "R.V." (that's what, the price of an SUV fill-up?) Williams may be able to save some of the lightweight comedy here, and maybe the hackneyed jokes will give viewers another form of gas.

As mentioned last week, a new JJ Abrams version of the old "Star Trek" story is in the works, but Abrams is pretty ticked that details about his involvement and the script details:

"He explains to Empire online, "The whole thing was reported entirely without our cooperation. People learned that I was producing a Star Trek film, that I had an option to direct it, they hear rumors of what the thing was going to be and ran with a story that is not entirely accurate." Abrams won't reveal the true storyline, but hints that it won't feature characters Captain James T. Kirk or Mr. Spock at all..."

Empire also says Jon Favreau is working on an adaption of the comic "Iron Man," and "Shaun of the Dead" director is working on "Ant Man." Also getting a new script is "Nick Fury" (oh please do this right) by Andrew Marlow, writer of "Air Force One" and "Hollow Man." And Will Smith is set to star in a new version of Richard Matheson's "I Am Legend."

(Obligatory "Poseidon" joke: is it more than coincidence that just as Rosie O'Donnell did a gay cruise documentary we get a new ship disaster movie??)

Set for release much sooner is "Talladega: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby", from the same makers of "Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy." Check out the details and trailer here.

Now, onto the sneak peek of the new James Bond, Daniel Craig. In a seldom-seen award winning crime drama from 2005, Layer Cake. Akin to early Scorcese pics, and in the brutal and oddball crime world of "Snatch" and "Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels," this movie is likely the one that got Craig the job as the new Bond. Lean, tough and above all, a very good actor. His character is a super-smug drug dealer who is attempting to retire, but his companions and his boss have other plans. His best efforts splinter into the worst of all possible situations and while the storyline may seem familiar, Craig reveals some first rate acting chops, along with a host of British character actors (hey, was that Colm Meaney from "Deep Space 9''??)

Twists and turns keep the viewer guessing (if you can follow the VERY british slang) and Craig shows he'll make a compelling and both brutal and witty Bond. The movie also has an excellent soundtrack.

One more recommendation for this week, which asks the question: What do you get if you blend the humor and style of an MGM musical, a Looney Tunes cartoon and a Kung Fu movie? (Yeah, like you've ever asked that.) The answer is a startling, hilarious and highly entertaining romp called "Kung Fu Hustle," from writer, director, actor Stephen Chow.

Set in the 1940s in a cul-de-sac, rundown tenement, which looks like an old set on the lot of MGM, this truly funny spoof of kung-fu and movies in general is loaded with enough jokes to almost land it in the filmmaking school of "Airplane." The story follows what happens in this community of ultra-poor luckless folk when they are accidentally forced into a confrontation with the notorious Axe Gang. Chow plays the lead, a witless con-man who pretends to be a member of the Axe Gang and inadvertently draws that gang into the run down tenements.

What helps keep the visual and scripted surprises flying is the cast of characters - a landlord (played by old Bruce Lee stunt double Yuen Wah) and his pushy wife, a gay tailor and Chow's overweight companion. First time I've seen a kung fu master played as a mouthy woman with her hair in rollers and a perpetual cigarette dangling from the corner of her mouth. In fact, all the ragged residents of the tenement don't look or act like anything fierce, but that's part of the charm and the comedy.

As the story brings about fight scene after fight scene, the jokes pile on top of each other, just as the fighters pile on top of each other. Using very funny CG effects and sharp camera work, even non-fu fans will really enjoy this romp. Chow stands out too, almost like a Buster Keaton character who does far more damage to himself while trying to act tough. Attempting to throw knives, the knives all land on Chow himself.

Imagine Mel Brooks and Chuck Jones making "Enter The Dragon". I found the movie much funnier than Chow's last American release "Shaolin Soccer" and I think you'll be astonished at how funny this parody can be.

One last note for this Friday - some years back, some friends and I used to try and find outlandish or unusual movies to challenge each other. The other night, I watched the unrated horror flick "Hostel." Whew! Grim barely describes it. A couple of dim-witted American tourists head to Europe in search of the most hedonistic adventures they can find - then they find themselves the main course in a hedonistic European Let's-Hate-American buffet. It's what I used to call a Clear The Room movie, as few people could withstand how vile the movie becomes. Watch at your own risk,

Me, I'm watching "King-Fu Hustle" again.

Surreal Nature Of FEMA

Some U.S. Senators are calling for the total dismantling of FEMA in favor of yet another, newer, better emergency response agency as the next hurricane season looms for the U.S.

"The first obligation of government is to protect our people," said Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, chair of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs investigation. "In Katrina, we failed at all levels of government to meet that fundamental obligation."

She added: "We must learn from the lessons of Katrina so that next time disaster strikes, whether it's a storm that was imminent and predicted for a long time, or a terror attack that takes us by surprise, government responds far more effectively."

The inquiry's final report, given to lawmakers Thursday, faulted New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin and Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Blanco for failing to protect sick and elderly people and others who could not evacuate the city on their own. It also concluded that Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff and Michael Brown, who then headed the Federal Emergency Management Agency, either did not understand federal response plans or refused to follow them."

The proposal is laid out in a 28-page document, to be called the National Preparedness and Response Authority, and would fall under the Dept. of Homeland Security, though it would also have the status of a "distinct entity" such as that of the Coast Guard or Secret Service. Among the document's comments:

"The new organization should bring together the full range of responsibilities that are core to preparing for and responding to disasters. These include the four central functions of comprehensive emergency management – preparedness, response, recovery and mitigation – which need to be integrated. Actions in recent years that removed preparedness grants from FEMA and separated preparedness from response weakened FEMA’s relationship with state officials and undermined its ability to utilize “the power of the purse,” in the form of grant funding, to encourage states to improve their preparedness and response functions. A more comprehensive approach should be restored. If NPRA is going to effectively respond to major events, for example, it needs to have been involved in the preparations for such events. The Director, moreover, must be responsible for the administration and distribution of preparedness grants to state and local governments and for national preparedness training, as these are key tools for ensuring a consistent and coordinated national response system."

Gee, ya think??

Confusions abound. A recent attempt to talk to residents in Lousiana in a FEMA trailer park offers a glimpse into the absurd:

"SECURITY GUARD: Yeah, he -- he can't. That’s not his privilege.

AMY GOODMAN: He’s not allowed to talk?

RENAISSANCE VILLAGE RESIDENT: What's wrong? What's wrong?

SECURITY GUARD: You can go -- get that -- you’ve known the deal since --

RENAISSANCE VILLAGE RESIDENT: No, I don't know the deal. Tell me. What is the deal?

SECURITY GUARD: You can go get interviewed as long as it’s off post. Otherwise, you, like I said, I can call the 800 FEMA number and have them come in --

AMY GOODMAN: You mean, he has to come off of the property?

RENAISSANCE VILLAGE RESIDENT: What is -- there’s a problem being interviewed?

SECURITY GUARD: Turn it off.

Another good location for info on the bizzare aftermath on the Gulf Coast and efforts to restrict just who may or may be eligible to rebuild homes in Louisiana have been tracked by Facing South, one of many posts available here.

Torture In Tennessee

Slowly but surely, several bloggers in the state have been discovering the incident in Campbell County where law enforcement officers went way beyond the norm while on a "drug raid" at the home of Eugene Siler, who was beaten for over two hours - and Siler has an audio tape that should burn your ears off.

Links to the event and the tape and transcripts are here at Volunteer Voters:

"You’re not f***ing listening. You hear what I told you? I told you not to be talking. Didn’t I tell you not to be talking? That’s just the f***ing beginning. This motherf***er right here, he loves seeing blood. He loves it. He loves seeing blood. You’re talking too much. Listen to what I’m telling you. He loves f***ing seeing blood. He’ll beat your ass and lick it off of you."

NIT has a link, as well as Blake Wylie.

The officers involved were sentenced, according to Wylie's post, to sentences ranging from 3 to 5 years.

How often does this happen? Having worked as a reporter since 1985, I could not name all the times allegations of illegal behaviour and scandalous tactics landed in my lap. Ultimately, those invovled decided to stay silent out of fear of reprisals.

One interesting element of this story arrives in a report from Feb. 2005:

"This incident is just another example of the increasingly rampant abuses of power by Byrne grant-funded drug task forces. The Byrne grant program was created in 1988 to provide federal funds to help states fight violent crime and drugs. The largest proportion of Byrne grant funding is used for regional narcotics task forces in which federal, state, and local drug law enforcement agencies and prosecutors coordinate their drug-fighting efforts. There is little federal oversight of Byrne Program grants, and lack of federal supervision has been blamed for recent scandals involving regional narcotics task forces.

Siler's case exemplifies a pattern of controversial and corrupt practices by drug task forces across the country in the name of drug law enforcement. The lack of oversight of these drug task forces not only enables abuse but also creates a lack of financial accountability. Campbell County's Chief Deputy, Charlie Scott, recently admitted that former Deputy, David Webber, the county’s primary narcotics officer and one of the officers involved in the Siler incident, failed to account for $4,000 of the department's drug fund money in 2004, which he received for "undercover drug investigations."

During that same month, Webber helped to organize the biggest drug bust in Campbell County’s history, during which 144 suspects were arrested. Since being hired in 1997, Webber has helped the Campbell County Sheriff's Department become nationally recognized for its zealous "war on drugs" and almost-daily arrests of drug offenders, despite criticism of the Byrne grant criteria, which bases their funding on the number of arrests made.

The Computer Tounge Port

After years of study and experiments, a Florida-based company has (they say) devised a machine which allows for massive sensory and nueral input to be received and processed by the human tongue.

Reports claims the device provides additional visual info, may make night vision goggles obsolete and the military is taking a close look (or should that be "lick"?) at the new technology.

" ... the Florida Institute for Human and Machine Cognition's 30-year neural interface project is yielding fruit -- the kind you can taste. Their Brain Port machine / sensory interface uses 144 microelectrodes to transmit information through sensitive nerve fibers in your lingua, enabling devices to supplement your own sensory perception."

Sad News and Some Good News

A few items worth noting in the lives and events of Tennessee bloggers.

Sad news via Nashville Is talking regarding the sudden death of Terry Heaton's wife. Much sympathy and condolences.

Also, Michael Silence has some hospital woes as well.

And some good news, marking the first anniversary of NIT.

Workshops, panels and more as Progressives plan a state gathering.

And a Hilbilly blogs from the Himalyan Mountains expedition to Everest.

Update On Open Records

A proposal on creating a fine for officials who knowingly obstruct access to public records has been delayed until Wednesday, though another proposal to defer all action to a committee and have it report back next February is likely to trump the bill itself.

The "Sunshine In Government Improvement Act of 2006" has minimal support, sadly. Fears that it will hamper business as usual and deter potential candidates for office are often cited.

The proposed committee to "study" the issue would include members of the TN Press Association, TN Association of Broadcasters, League of Women Voters, The TN Muncipal League, TN Coalition for Open Government as well as elected officials. Interesting too, that this proposal includes these comments acknowledging the lack of ability in providing access to records:

"WHEREAS, Tennesseans get no assistance in navigating and enforcing complex open government laws and rules; and
WHEREAS, a statewide survey of public records compliance in 95 counties showed that many public employees lack training and knowledge about the rights of citizens under Tennessee’s open government laws and transparency mandates of the General Assembly;and
WHEREAS a recent survey of newspaper reports by the Tennessee Coalition for Open Government showed complaints of alleged open meeting law violations increased 45% between 2003 and 2005; and
WHEREAS, a series of appellate court decisions since 1976 have upheld and further defined these citizen rights under the Tennessee Constitution, they are nowhere reflected in statutes to better serve the citizens of the state ...."

If such a committee is approved by legislators - will their meetings and discussions be open to the public? Will the TPA and TAB report on the discussions? Or is this an effort to assign a committee to drain away the current attention placed on the rights of citizens?

Controlling Internet Content

A cynic might say that attempts to control internet content and erase the "neutrality" of search engines was inevitable. A bona fide cynic might say content is already under the control of faceless corporate weasels and government regulations.

Matt has a host of info on the players involved, and the what's at stake, as well as how you can get involved, starting at SaveTheInternet.com. It certainly appears that all users and the many voices of opinon on the internet are bringing tremendous attention.

On their site, details emerge like this:

"Internet Freedom is under attack. Congress is pushing a law that would abandon Network Neutrality, the Internet's First Amendment. Network neutrality prevents companies like AT&T, Verizon and Comcast from deciding which Web sites work best for you -- based on what site pays them the most. Your local library shouldn’t have to outbid Barnes & Noble for the right to have its Web site open quickly on your computer.

Net Neutrality allows everyone to compete on a level playing field and is the reason that the Internet is a force for economic innovation, civic participation and free speech. If the public doesn't speak up now, Congress will cave to a multi-million dollar lobbying campaign by telephone and cable companies that want to decide what you do, where you go, and what you watch online."

Will TN Have Open Govenment ?

Will the state's legislature enact a bill aimed at making the refusal to comply with requests for public records an offense with a $50 fine? Is that even close to the correct action? Also in the bill up for consideration, "Sunshine in Government Improvement Act of 2006", it states that officials may not meet privately to debate/discuss business, and recently the Attorney General has issued several opinions that the law applies to a wide range of government and advisory boards.

Sadly, an ammendment filed by Sen. Cohen would defer all action on the bill to a committee whose final report would not see the light of day until Feb. 2007. Seems that if this is approved, those seeking re-election could avoid the entire issue.

A $50 fine seems too little, in my opinion. Give this bill some teeth by making the punishment removal from office for those who refuse access and resolve this lack of accountability in government. And the same punishment should apply to elected officials who meet outside of public view to discuss the people's business.

Or will we wait until another federal investigation finds more bribes and influence peddling at the state capitol?

More here.

UPDATE: Sadly, numerous county commissions across the state, as well as some city and school officials, have gone on record as opposing this legislation. This despite actions by elected officials taken almost daily to observe and correct behavior of it's residents - whether in traffic, seeking medical assistance, or buying cold medication. While residents comply the state hides from scrutiny.

Chattanooga Mayor Shames City

Chattanooga's Mayor Littlefield has been stinking up the concept of open government in Tennessee by banning a reporter the mayor claimed was asking too many questions and Alice has been all over the story. The editor of the Chattanooga Times Free Press has taken the battle for open government to the front page.

Sadly, refusing the public access to information is the norm in Tennessee, as the TN Coalition for Open Government has been reporting. Simply put - the majority of government agencies, from school boards to elected officials and law enforcement constantly provide barriers to compliance with the law.

The mayor's "ban" occured just as the newspaper was researching a story on an unregistered lobbyist, paid $15,000 a month by Chattanooga. The lobbyist is also a former Littlefield campaign manager and as for registering with the state, as demanded by law - well, the application is in the mail.

It isn't some random event - it happens daily in every county and city. Too often, elected officials hold themselves above the law.

Attempts to strenghten the current laws concerning "open government" include a weak $50 fine and that's hardly enough, as noted in the Kingsport Times News editorial:

"If it can be proven that a public official has knowingly denied an appropriate request for a public record, why not relieve that official of his or her job? If public officials violate public meetings law, the court should be empowered to remove them from office.

Some elected officials and even some members of the public may wonder why the workings of government have to be conducted in public view. The simple answer is that a government that can avoid public examination on difficult issues, that never faces the risk of an embarrassing question, or is never called upon to justify its decisions, will soon cease to care or consider views other than its own."

UPDATE: The state legislature is slated to take up the issue of additions to the current laws on Monday - thanks to Christian Grantham for keeping me up to speed on this in the comments below. As he says: "Sunshine In Government Improvement Act of 2006" (SB2471) will come to the floor, that is if Senate Majority Leader Ron Ramsey allows it. Several Republicans have signed on as sponsors despite his opposition. What is going on in Chattanooga right now is a clarion call for passage of this important piece of legislation.

The Gasoline Blame Game

Blame China, blame India, blame Iran-fears and summer blends and higher than ever corporate profits, blame whatever comes to mind for the staggering jump in prices at gas pumps and record high prices for crude oil.

Shortages are hitting the east coast, which is blamed on not enough trucks to take new fuel supplies to market. Some call it a near perfect petro-storm.

Congressional leaders say they'll look at the problem, but don't expect much there since Exxon was a major contributor to House Speaker Hasbet's campaign, and the GOP overall had money gushing in their direction. Money flows from Chevron, from the Pilot Corp., and many more.

There has been some talk on capping oil company profits (never happen) or the government mandating price controls (nope, gives a false ceiling which will only increase inflation).

Oil addicts have no room to wiggle away. Pay what the Man charges and move along as best you can. And over the next few weeks, watch other prices start to move up as well. It takes more to move all those goods to the market. If you haven't bought your hybrid vehicle, you're part of the problem right? Not to worry, the President is on the job.

As one blog notes:

"It isn't as though people don't recognize the difference between what Bush says, and reality on the other side. We're just resigned to this administration making up its own narrative to keep things bobbling along--at least until the next disaster.

What's odd is the Associated Press's own construction of a narrative that--if not in total agreement with the administration's--makes Washington out as a passive, rather than active, player in the story.

Whose concern over Iran's nuclear ambitions, after all, is driving this "crisis," anyway?"

Camera Obscura - "Star Trek' Gets "Lost"

Hopes are high for Paramount that writer/director/producer J.J. Abrams (creator of "Lost" and "Alias") can once again go into the vast inky spaceways and breathe life into one of their most popular franchises, "Star Trek." Though many studio heads have given up on new life for the old space operatics, Abrams, fresh from his version of "Mission:Impossible" is bringing along the same scriptwriters from "M.I.3" for a new adventure. According to reports, the story will focus on the early days of character favorites James T. Kirk and the inscrutable Spock as it details their first meeting and their wild and crazy days in the Starfleet Academy. Both William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy, the one and only Kirk and Spock for legions of fans, are experiencing massive career surges and I'm sure they are both trying to find ways to get themselves inserted into this new movie.

Just ahead of the "DaVinci Code" movie is the movie of the other book of religious mystery that was an international hit, "The Celestine Prophecy." The movie opens today in limited release and stars Annabeth Gish, who admits the way she was drawn into the movie of spiritual hijnks was downright spooky.

The Internet, or at least those who use Craig's List, is the star in the upcoming DVD release "24 Hours On Craig's List." Filmmakers picked a day at random in one city and attempt to track down all the folks who posted requests for help or items or events and filmed the results. My favorite element from the promotional materials from the DVD:

"An Ethel Merman drag queen searches for the perfect backup band for her Led Zeppelin covers. Doors for sale, one night stands, compulsive roomates, transsexual erotic services. The mundane and the sublime, the ridiculous and the profound, all come together to paint a portrait of a thriving, humanistic community in the midst of an ever-accelerating culture."

OK then.

The big news in movies this week though (despite the I Hate/Love Tom Cruisers hysteria) is the Tribeca Film Festival in NYC. New Yorkers will take their first tentative steps into movie versions of the events of 9/11 as festival patrons view "United 93." A review of the horrific tale of a doomed airliner is here. Also of note is the large number of fake documentaries unspooling at this year's festival. Moc-docs, as they are known, include "Air Guitar Nation" and there are several films examining the War in Iraq and the Bush presidency. A rundown of the movies can be read here.

More Use Internet For Decisions

A new study notes the huge increase in people who make "important" life decisions by use of the internet, thanks to the wider availability of broadband internet access. (I just love phrases like "life decisions" and what that may or may not be.)

The study notes:

"Specifically, we found that over the three-year period, internet use grew by:

54% in the number of adults who said the internet played a major role as they helped another person cope with a major illness. And the number of those who said the internet played a major role as they coped themselves with a major illness increased 40%.

50% in the number who said the internet played a major role as they pursued more training for their careers.

45% in the number who said the internet played a major role as they made major investment or financial decisions.

43% in the number who said the internet played a major role when they looked for a new place to live.

42% in the number who said the internet played a major role as they decided about a school or a college for themselves or their children.

23% in the number who said the internet played a major role when they bought a car.

14% in the number who said the internet played a major role as they switched jobs.

If nothing else, working online sure beats paying nearly 3 bucks a gallon for gas to drive around paying bills, and while years ago I could almost always be found at a library reading and researching, it is much easier to use the Web and have any and all kinds of libraries here on my desktop.

Also the White House has been using Open Source Web hunts and blogs and finds the intelligence vastly rewarding. So much so that the President now has daily blog and internet briefings. I'm all in favor of adding to the intelligence (pun intended) for government. With so much info and attitudes of national and international minds available on the Web, it makes little sense to start spreading around secret and illegal spying and searches. The new government office on Web research is paying off in spades. (hat-tip to Newscoma for this story.)

Given this fact, I wonder how long it will be before we have a Presidential Blog Secretary to work with the Press Secretary?

And in a marginally related story, I didn't really need the results of a sicentific study indicating that most men are so distracted by the sight of a pretty lady that they end up making bad decisions. But a study was made and yep, it's true. Truth be told, I prefer the "distractions" to tasks and decision-making, as most any acquaintance of mine will tell you.

China's Hu Turns Starbuck's Promotoer

I was glad to read I'm not the only one who noticed that China's leadership is focusing more on business as China's top man, President Hu Jintao tours the U.S. this week. A stop in Washington is last on his list of objectives. I can almost hear him defending this tour as the "It's the Economy, stupid!" business trip.

First, Bill Gates and Boeing (siging contracts worth $16 billion and $4 billion respectively), then the White House. With a record $202 trade defict with China, they've got all the cards, the playing table and most of the chairs in the current economic game.

Hu knows his target demographics well, making jokes about Starbucks, and making Bill Gates happy by putting Windows operating systems on Chinese computers, which also pushes away the Linux-based and cheaper software.

Meet The Professional Video Game League

As popular as watching poker or racing on television has become, there is a new entry in the professional sports world coming to your television. The MLG - Major League Gaming - has a deal with the USA networks to air videogame competition from a host of cities in a series of playoffs meant to determine the champion gamers, with some $800,000 plus in winnings possible.

More here, where observers note:

"The good players and quirky personalities are certainly out there," said gaming expert Michael Goodman, a Yankee Group analyst who noted that video-game competitions already draw big TV audiences in Asia. "It's like the 'World Series of Poker' -- no one would have thought that people want to watch a bunch of people sitting around a table playing cards, but it has become very popular."

And I'll gladly admit it - I've been a videogamer ever since the ancient times of Atari and Commodore 64s. (Yes, I played Pong, too.) My PS2 has provided not only goofy and entertaining fun, it's also brought some truly intense challenges and experiences mentally and physically via a host of games too numerous to mention. Today's gamers can choose from almost every level of game experience - 3-D realities, racing, historic war games, alien encounters, board games, on-line role-playing and on and on.

In addition to the rise of degreed study programs available and the high level of computer engineering available for tomorrow's game designers, there are some deep studies on the nature of videogames via such web sites as Ludology.org. A study of theory and a clearinghouse for the philosophy of this media are offered, with info from Christian gamers to the current round-up of political games where you run for office, the site is a regular stop for gamemakers, players and designers.

What would a game be without a corresponding Philosophy? Not a game, certainly.

A Walled Border Is Ridiculous

It's just ridiculous to think some kind of giant wall stretching across the border with Mexico would halt illegal immigration. I noticed this post, citing a case proving need for a wall, because ... well, I'm not sure what the logic here is at all. I do know this - if the federal and state government OKs such a plan, corporate contracts will fly, and illegal immigrants will be on this side of the wall earning money to build it.

Georgia's Governmor just signed into law that state's own new reforms regarding illegal immigrants, phased in over a two-year period. The legislature approved sweeping changees, though no one in the government could give anything close to precise numbers on just how many illegals might be in the state.

Question: if law enforcement arrests a suspect and finds them to be an illegal immigrant, would they not already report that capture to the Immigration Agencies? Apparently not, as that's part of this new law. Though I can't imagine why officials would not report an illegal in custody to INS.

Since every legislator and the Gov. is facing re-election this fall, call this a Brochure Campaign - meaning, those seeking re-election can claim they fought for and enacted immigration reform on bulk-mail brochures they'll send to voters.

Columnist Cynthia Tucker has pegged just why currrent laws aren't enforced and new programs are riddled with failure. Too many folks profit from the current use of illegals:

"So why haven't Congress and the White House fixed a broken immigration system? Because it works for so many — illegal workers, business interests and middle-class Americans alike. Industries such as construction and agriculture get a cheap and docile work force, poorly educated men and women who'll work Sundays and holidays and never report their employees for labor violations. Middle-class Americans get the benefit of cheaper products and services, everything from lawn care and domestic work to homegrown fruits and vegetables. And houses. Since home sales are keeping the economy afloat, politicians don't want to do anything to interfere with the massive housing-construction-and-sales complex."

UPDATE: A more in-depth look at Georgia's new law is examined by R. Neal over at Facing South, and is very much worth the read. He notes that although a worker may apply for a temporary visa for working in the U.S., provided the proper forms are filled out and submitted, except that such classifications for temp. visas from Mexico are currently "closed" according to State Department info. Just read the post!

The Rise of the Howard Beale Party

Outrage over politics is about as old as humanity itself, the players and outrages change from time to time, though in recent years - really since the mid 1990s - more and more people are looking for something besides the single party systems of Repubs and Dems. Single party because other than an occasional vote, the behavior and tactics are mostly alike for the Right and the Left. Thanks to a stream-lined process of endless fundraising and manufactured hysterics from the "Contract With America" crowd, federal representatives and senators must run high-dollar national campaigns. The concerns of a state or region of a state are by-passed to meet the needs of the national party.

No, I never liked the proposals of the architect of the new Right Wing, Newt Gingrich - the man who taught Tom DeLay how to grab power. There already exists a "contract" between voter and government, called The Constitution. And if we decide it needs changing, there is a process for doing so. Trouble is - it takes time, years really, to change it. So attempts to by-pass that process via Executive Orders or Patriot Acts race ahead, quicker than a streak of lightning. Few people read the thousand-plus pages of that so-called Patriot Act before it was approved - with enough bluster and bureaucracy, it's easy to overwhelm the senses.

Shallow tactics aimed at "control" are obvious, however, even celebrated. But the Grand Old Propaganda has truly failed - even exploded over the last few years and there are hopes the Democrats may take the majority in the fall elections

" ... Democrats face a far more forbidding challenge in attempting to nationalize the election. Reapportionment has left fewer contested districts. The political machine built by the right still has no Democratic equivalent. In 1994 the country was at peace. Now the Iraq War--even as Americans turn against it--divides Democratic politicians from their voters. Rebuilding after the Katrina catastrophe blurs partisan differences on the role of government. Yet the potential for a landmark election is clear. The corruption and crony capitalism of the Republican Congress and Administration are sources of unending scandal; it is simply the way they do business. The folks who came to make a revolution stayed to run a racket, and independent voters might well conclude that it's time for them to go. Moreover, Katrina exposed the tragic costs of the conservative scorn for government, and it brought to public attention the spreading poverty that marks Bush's failed economic policies.

Just as Clinton and the Democratic Congress's failure to deliver on a central promise--affordable healthcare--turned voters off in 1994, heading FEMA with incompetent cronies exposed the fact that Bush and the Republicans punted on the central promise they made after 9/11--that they would keep America safe. And the response to Katrina revealed how out of touch the antigovernment crowd is. To defend the Administration's ineptitude, they sang from the conservative hymnal, charging that the Administration's failures prove big government doesn't work (the Cato Institute even called once more for abolishing FEMA). They blamed the victims, or as Linda Chavez, head of the Civil Rights Commission under Reagan, said of those who were stranded: "You are dealing with the permanently poor--people who don't have jobs, are not used to getting up and organizing themselves...and for whom sitting and waiting is a way of life." Senator Rick Santorum called for "tougher penalties on those who decide to ride it out." (He later amended this to exempt the one-fifth of the population in the Katrina disaster area that did not own a car.) But Karl Rove realized this wouldn't sell, so Bush vowed to spend whatever it takes to rebuild the Gulf Coast, while ruling out any rollback of his top-end tax cuts to pay for it. Conservatives then detailed offsetting spending cuts--mostly in Medicaid and Medicare, as well as other poverty programs--that would only add to the misery of the most vulnerable.

The Outrage, oh the Outrage.

The wild cards in the upcoming election cycle belong to the "outraged" and the blog-writer activism, noted in the Washington Post recently and extremely evident on the Web. Plainly put - the candidates that can give a voice to the ever-more angry public may have an edge.

However, I also have a theory that this particular viewpoint, given birth as the GOP's Martyr - Richard Nixon - collapsed in Watergate, and public doubts have grown in all the many many other "gates" that have followed. The Outraged already have a slogan, from a 1976 movie about politics and popularity, the demise of journalism and the rise of the Fed Up American - "Network". Just change the reference from television to the internet "network" and you'll be amazed at what you find, too.

I vividly recall sitting in a theatre in Atlanta in the fall of 1976 as the brilliantly insightful screenplay by writer Paddy Chayefsky (already schooled in the Fear of Communism craze from the 1950s). He wrote not only to capture the terrorism-filled and fearful American mind of the 1970s, but he expertly captured the ideas that have been dominant in politics ever since.

In the movie, Howard Beale, a veteran news anchor (one imagined Walter Cronkite at the time, whose daughter played a Patty Hearst-styled character in the movie) decides to announce his despair filled plans for suicide on the evening news. Wild curiosity follows, and the network sees a chance to boost it's ratings by letting the man ramble on and on - which does in fact bring huge ratings. A savvy programmer and the network bosses seize the moment and build on it - a TV landscape of shows structured of gossip, terrorism, fake reality shows and prophetic spin on the news. It's like tuning in to television in the 21st century.

After prepping his audience with a rant on how bad it all is and how helpless Americans feel, he offers the first step of recovery:

"Get up out of your chairs and go to your window. Right now. I want you to go to the window and open it and stick your head out and yell, 'I'm as mad as hell, and I'm not going to take it anymore!' ... Things have got to change. But you can't change them unless you're mad. Go to the window."

When Beale does a rant about corruption in the corporate world, noting how "Arabs" own more of corporate America than anyone really understands, and this time he tells viewers get up and send telegrams to the White House, expressing opposition to a proposed merger plan, he gets a whopper of a speech from his own corporate boss, who explains there are no nations, only a system of currency which must be served.

Howard Beale ultimately falls victim to the corporate world, who arrange for terrorists to kill him on live television. The movie left the entire audience speechless that night back in 1976, a few hundred Americans sitting in utter quiet at the end.

Now, thirty years later, more and more people are recalling Howard Beale, whether they know it or not. They are mad and if one side or another can channel the anger to power, it will happen. The real fear in the political world is that the Outraged have figured it out - that something new must happen.

Who will win in the battle for the hearts and minds?

Time Travel Possible via Internets

Time travel occurs often on this here internets deal. I can sit in relative comfort here at my desk and move backwards and forwards thru time, which is both exhilarating and disturbing, makes a person kind of queasy shifting thru time.

Medieval texts are available online, or you can join the birthday parties held this week in 33 countries celebrating the 45-year history of human space travel, "90 global space parties", complete with temporary Yuri Gagarin tattoos. See, right there is a name that has a bookmark in my own mind, a name most people under the age of 40 just don't know at all. I still recall the brilliant and jaw-dropping achievements of space travel and exploration and wonder why now the nation yawns or groans with tax-despair if you mention a space program.

But the Web is grabbing up all manner of information and media and thankfully I can skate over to that moment in the past as easily as I cross the room to get my coffee cup. Names like Yuri G. arre stuck in my past, just like "Hud" and "Midnight Cowboy," and yeah, I can find places where people write about them, too.

What set my thoughts this direction was the following link to a performance by the Cowsills band doing Johnny Cash's "Folsom Prison". Two of the four brothers in the band died recently, Barry was killed during Hurricane Katrina and frontman for the Cowsills, Bill, died in Feb. 2006. The band was all wholesome supposedly, and served as the inspiration for the "Partridge Family" TV show - though I never blamed them for that.

And I was never even sure at the time when they were all over TV how they had this squeaky-clean image, since their biggest hit was a cover of the tune "Hair", from the counter-culture musical (and isn't that a contradiction in terms -?). And yeah, "Folsom Prison": early gangster rap, except most good country and bluegrass tunes are about someone getting killed or dying from heartbreak at least. On the link above, you can also find a performance they did for Playboy After Dark, and if my own weak memory serves, they used to play Vegas all the time - the old, dangerous Las Vegas.

Why did the Cowsills band get stuck in my brain as I traveled in Time from there to here? Maybe it was that little Susan Cowsill on the bass that captured my attention.

Stooopid Still On Sale At Bargain Rates

Some truly witless people out there are apparently discovering the internets for the first time based on what these chuckleheads are using as Search entries for blogs. They must either be horny adolescents or just newbies, but most likely the former. It's what I get for having the word Sex in the headline for yesterday's post. However, since at least a few dozen originated from corporate and government online access - then there are some mighty stooopid adults on the internets.

Sometimes stooopid is on sale at bargain basement prices and the whole world buys it, I suppose.

Here's a funny but stooopid political rant.

Here's a Stooopid Story of the Week - In Science!! Someone's gonna get a government study program fund for investigating prehistoric ... well the headline sums it up nicely.

A Stooopid Idea - fake the births of sextuplets. Yeah, who'd ever see thru that hoax?

Um ... the government made a secret of secretly classifying non-secret archives as secret. ????

One question in a math study guide causes a community college to tremble, just for posing a mathematical query about Condoleeza.

And in a related story, Belmont U. gives Hobbs the heave-ho in another chapter of The Great Cartoon Controversy of 2006. More on that story later.

Camera Obscura - TN's Sex Siren, Bettie Page

This is a jammed-packed movie post this Friday, with lots to talk about including the ever-growing fame of pin-up star Bettie Page, the little gal from Tennessee who gets her own Hollywood major release this week - only fitting as the talk on the blogs this week has been about politics and Bettie's fame was insured by a Tennessee Senator who wanted to be president and held hearings about the outrages of Miss Page and them dirty nasty comic books which the non-family-value juvenile delinquents were reading all over America.

What captured my attention was that the Tennessee Encyclopedia of History and Culture devotes a page to Bettie, who turns 83 on April 22nd. And according to the Official Site of Bettie Page, her fame is worldwide phenom, citing over 626 million hits since August of 2000. That sure got Hollywood's attention. (Though not, apparently, in her home state, where I could find no mention of this movie opening today or playing anywhere soon in a theatre near you).

She was born in Nashville and attended George Peabody College for Teachers where she earned her degree in teaching .... odd, isn't it that all these years after the 1950s conservative rage against her there were thousands and thousands of searches on the Internets yesterday about the recent arrest of a teacher-turned-child-molester Pamela T. Rogers.

Not that Bettie ever went for kids, no, just kinda sorta happened into a career in the All American publishing trade in the 50s for pin-up models. A Victoria's Secrets commercial on TV reveals far more female flesh than Bettie did in the majority of her work. But she did some (for the times) mind-bending photos of bondage and S & M -- just bringing that sexual concept into print, saying those words was enough to outrage the good, God-fearin' folk of the 50s. Today - she is hailed as a kind of sexual template, innocent yet kinda kinky, and untold dozens of wanna-be stars in Hollywood today in movies and music use that Bettie Page template. Yeah, you know who I mean.

She gained true infamy for some pics published of her by Irving Klaws, who was called before a U.S. Senate sub-committee headed by Democrat Senator Estes Kefauver, who had gained fame in 1952 in his campaign for president because he went around wearing ... well, check out that Time magazine cover in the link above. No one campaigns in a coonskin cap these days, huh? (and I must give a personal aside here, that the first time I encountered the Kefauver name was in National Lampoon's High School Yearbook Parody, where the kids attended C. Estes Kefauver High School ... but I digress).

The movie opening this weekend, "The Notorious Bettie Page", is not endorsed by Bettie, who abandoned the modeling world and worked for many years as a Christian evangelist. She won't be doing red carpet walks for this release, which follows the early days of her career and her encounter with Sen Kefauver. Actress Gretchen Mol shed her blonde locks for Bettie's dark black hair, and Knoxvillian John Cullum plays the role of a minister in the movie. You can link here for an interview with filmmaker Mary Harron heard on NPR this week.

Another Bettie-related movie was based on Dave Stevens comic "The Rocketeer", and Stevens based his lead female, Jenny Blake, played by Jennifer Connelly, very much on Bettie.

It is a shame, though, that her home state keeps her at a distance. Not that I'm saying their should be a statue of her or Graceland-like fans lining the streets ... but I'm betting most everyone in the nation over the age of 15 knows of her image and her influence on pop culture continues to grow around the world. Who knows, maybe in another 50 years, we'll be able to talk about sex in America a little more freely.

OTHER MOVIE NEWS:

A movie which doesn't open until August has already become a massive cult hit just because filmmakers threatened to change the name of the movie last fall when filmming wrapped. A giant yell from the Blog World made producers re-think it, and they kept the title and even made them go back and shoot more footage for "Snakes On A Plane", starring Samuel Jackson. Jackson was quoted as saying he made the movie simply because of the title and apparently, a large number of folks love the title too. Get ready for it to be a massive hit when it opens in August. Check out the trailer here.

Lucky filmgoers in Japan will get to smell "The New World" when it's released there. Yeah, I wanna smell a movie. "A floral scent accompanies a love scene, while a mix of peppermint and rosemary is emitted during a tear-jerking scene. Joy is a citrus mix of orange and grapefruit, while anger is enhanced by a herb-like concoction with a hint of eucalyptus and tea tree."

Oh and dear li'l Buffy the Vamp Slayer, Sarah Michelle Gellar, has her 29th birthday today. And while some critics applaud other TV shows with strong young female stars, "Veronica Mars" ain't no Buffy.

For a DVD suggestion, let me recommend the 1999 comedy cult wonder, "Office Space", written and directed by Mike Judge. Sick of your job? Who isn't. From it's opening dance-routine of traffic jams (which, by the way, is a perfect example of what it's like to drive into Pigeon Forge) to the pitch-perfect acting of a range of excellent character actors like Stephen Root ("I want my stapler") and boss-from-hell Gary Cole ("Yeah ... What's Happening?") and many more, the movie is about those ugly rhythms of work and life people often get stuck in. One of the best and most underrated comedies from the 1990s.

Not Dullsville Anymore

When I was growing up in middle TN, it was the dullest place in the world. Of course, any small town or mid-sized or any size has that creepy underbelly, weird scenes and characters from a David Lynch nightmare. But in the way-long-ago times of the 1970s, the string of towns along I-40 between Nashville and Knoxville were at best a home to a McDonald's ... maybe a Pizza Hut that served beer.

Today, stop in Crossville for instance, and you'll have many choices of espresso bars to choose from, some sushi or micro-brew pubs. Franchise eateries, massive shopping complexes, cyber-cafes dot the midnight landscapes of 24 hour and 21st century life.

Still, it was shocking to hear the case last year of the junior high teacher caught having sex with students - Pamela Rogers Turner made national news and she's making it again complete with a MySpace web page where she claims to be from France. Hat tip to Nashville Is Talking for this link. If the page truly is her creation - WOW - what an idiot. Not just for writing like a 7th grader ticked off at her parents on a bored Tuesday night, but also for advertising herself and her love on the Interwebs. And I said "If the page is her creation."

The wildest thing I ever knew a 9th grade, mid-20s female teacher to do was to sneak me a copy of "Catcher in the Rye", which was banned at our wee schoolhouse.

Still, life can be dull to anyone - which is why I liked The Dullest Blog In The World.

Why The Majority Is Wrong

There are many times in these days when I'm confident that the cheese has fallen right off the National cracker, that the legends and the myths of the current majority have overwhelmed all but a few. Then I read something like this, and I see glimmers of hope:

"So: according to our Attorney General, the nation's top law enforcement officer, it might be legal for the President to authorize the government to listen to your purely domestic conversations without getting a warrant, without consulting a judge, without obeying any of the safeguards that our system puts in place. A few short years ago, when conservatives were claiming that returning Elian Gonzales to his father was a harbinger of tyranny, one might have expected some real outcry at anything remotely resembling this revelation. Now, it's just normal.

And that really breaks my heart. What's at issue is our Constitutional system of government, in which the President has to obey the laws just like anyone else, and the enormous power of the federal government is restrained by the requirement that it be exercised within boundaries set up by Congress and subject to judicial review. Now the President just asserts that he has the "inherent authority" to disregard the laws, and Congress just rolls over and plays dead.

It is wrong of the President to disregard the Constitution, the laws, and the separation of powers. It is also wrong for members of Congress, including those in my party, to enable him to get away with this. I don't say this because I want President Bush, in particular, to pay a price for this. I think he should, but that's not my main concern. What worries me is the precedent this sets for the country. No one, of any party, should take it lightly; and I cannot imagine why our elected representatives can't see this."