My Time As A Hunter; or, The Days I Carried A Gun

Pardon me if I get a bit jumpy reading headlines like "Saturday Is Free Hunting Day" in Tennessee. No permits or such are needed, and it sort of conjures visions of some unwise folks shooting up the countryside. And the headline is not really accurate either.

This day, meant to encourage hunting, coincides with the beginning of squirrel hunting season, so it's okay to shoot (excuse me, 'hunt") squirrels and a few other critters according to the TWRA:

"In addition to squirrels, those species that have a year-round season will be open as well. The year-round species are armadillo, beaver, coyote, English sparrow, groundhog, nutria, pigeon, starling, and striped skunk."

Way back when I was a young teen, I did plenty of fishing and a small amount of hunting with a friend of our family, a fellow who was in his late 20s, and we had such great times and he was a very smart fellow, teaching me much about how to fish and how to hunt. We only hunted squirrels a few times, and we went frog-gigging many times. I remember one of those nights when I was out much of the night with my friend and I was carrying this plastic bag which was soon holding about 10 pounds (or so it seemed) of frog bodies. I was wearing this white t-shirt, and when I came back home my mom nearly fainted at the sight of me. Seems there was a leak in the bag and I was coated and spattered in frog blood. I thought it was pretty funny, but my mom, not so much.

My friend's wife cooked up a fantastically tasty platter of frog legs after our adventures, and I tried not to think about the frog carnage we created.

Our adventures hunting were a bit ... different. He taught me about how to always be safe while hunting, how to carry and shoot a shotgun (I got the smallish .410, but I have never thought of any shotgun as a "small" weapon.) I recall a few days of practice and such prior to going out, again, proof that my friend was a most wise and conscientious person.

Anyway, my friend said he knew some prime places to hunt and soon we were in some gorgeous woods nearby on a mild and sunny day in early Fall in middle Tennessee. It was so quiet, other than various woodland kinds of sounds, and such a beautiful spot he had found. We separated, maybe 30 yards apart, and he advised to just sit quiet for a bit and the squirrels would soon be all around us. ("Good thing I'm armed" I thought and laughed to myself, "because, you know ... squirrels ...")

I heard my friend firing his shotgun a few times, but I still saw no critters at all. I did as instructed though, simply sitting and waiting. Pretty soon, I noticed a squirrel, maybe 20 feet or so away on the side of a large tree trunk. My heart began to race and I closed the breech quickly and quietly and took a careful aim ... and that wee critter did this crazy squirrely twist and hanging off the side of the trunk turned it's head right toward me. It did a full-on, warm-hearted, Disney-cute pose and looked me dead in the eye as I sighted him with the gun.

But that pose it took stopped me cold. It was too dang cute. Blink, blink went the eyes, the tail swished a little wave at me and I could not have shot that critter no matter what. Would have been like shooting some kid's teddy bear.

It was not like I had (or have) some rare fondness for squirrels. It's just that it was watching me in this weird friendly way.

Ah well, I lowered the gun, the squirrel vanished, and I went back to watching the woods, hoping no one had seen me blow my chance to be a hunter.

Maybe half an hour or so later, my friend walked up and asked how it was going and I totally lied and said I had not seen any. He said the spot seemed to be kind of vacant and we would go to another. Soon, we were strolling back to his truck, both of us had the breeches open, though we still had ammo in the guns.

Suddenly this squirrel was racing over some branches above our heads and the noise made us both jump a bit, and in a nanosecond the breeches were closed and I fired. Sadly I had not calculated the distance between my gun and the critter -- a distance I realized afterward was pretty short -- maybe two feet between the squirrel and the end of my barrel. Yes, I pretty much atomized that squirrel. There were no parts or pieces, it was just ... gone.

"I think you got him," my friend said in that ultra-dry way of talking I love in Tennessee. He finally cracked a smile and I quite shaking and laughed too. He kept up the dry humor all the rest of the way back to the truck. By the day's end, he had bagged the limit and I never fired another shot.

His wife cooked up a mess of squirrel to eat and I remember thinking how nasty it tasted, and I was glad I did not depend on squirrel meat for sustenance. We went hunting a few more times, but as I never shot at anything again, we soon returned to fishing, something I was much better at doing. He and I have remained friends over the years and we always share many laughs and smiles at our adventures.

I did learn so much from him over the years, but one of the things I learned best was that I was a Hiker and not a Hunter.

Cat-Trashing Lady Brings Internet Rage

A woman in England needed police protection once the Internet fired up it's guns over a video purportedly showing the woman placing her neighbor's cat inside a trash bin. The cat's owner had CCTV installed outside his home and took the video footage of the woman hiding the cat and posted it on YouTube. That's when the fur began to fly.



What's truly strange to me is how she pets the cat, looks around and then chunks the kitty into the trash.

A Facebook page calling for her death has been removed, the US press has been following the tale as reported by British tabloids.

Internet watchers via 4chan really are the ones who stoked anger worldwide.

The woman has apologized - but ...

"I cannot explain why I did this, it is completely out of character and I certainly did not intend to cause any distress to Lola or her owners. It was a split second of misjudgment that has got completely out of control.”

Earlier in the day, the British-based Sun newspaper reported that Bale put the cat in the can as “a joke” and didn’t understand what the big deal was. “It’s only a cat,” Bale said, adding that she thought the cat would be able to wiggle its way out.

Too bad the dog killers Newscoma reported about in West TN were not captured on video.

Miss Universe Lands Hard In Tennessee

My attempt to lighten the mood a bit with this most recent post is a big FAIL.

An East TN couple apparently decided watching the Miss Universe Pageant was a doorway to Hell.

Or at least a doorway to jail.

"Shortly after Jimena Navarrete was crowned Miss Universe on Monday night, a Bristol woman was arrested for allegedly assaulting her boyfriend and calling him, "a Mexican lover."

Smell Like Lando, Drink Buffy, and Nations as Dresses

A company will allow you the chance to buy some Star Wars Perfume so you could smell like Princess Leia (slave princess that is) or you could go for the Eau Lando Cologne and smell like Lando - it even has it's own cape.



Or, as offered at the recent San Diego Comic-Con, drink some sodas named for Buffy the Vampire Slayer characters. They really sound awful and even I don't want one.

Apparently, a common thread to the Miss Universe competition is a parade of contestants wearing dresses designed to represent their home nations. Looks like Switzerland is ready to stop being neutral:

And I'll let the ... um ... "fabulous bloggers" at Tom and Lorenzo provide their own caption below for the ... dress?? worn by Miss USA, Rima Fakih:

EAT IT, WORLD! IN AMERICA, OUR STRIPPERS CAN FLY!

Using Fear To Crush America

I do not like having to write some things I've posted here - I spent days trying to put my thoughts together over the madness in America about religious buildings, and I very nearly deleted the whole thing. Why bother? With 145 bajillion blogs to read, it's like scratching at Mt. Everest with a toothpick.

Most people around me seem to be hellbent on vengeance and anger at Others. I don't really want or need any more anger aimed at me. I'm a very creaky construction of ideas, full of doubts, seldom as wise as I wish to be, and like most everyone else I know, it's a real struggle, this journey we all share. I don't want trouble.

But I posted my thoughts anyway. And today I read another bit of writing at Obsidian Wings which I think is worth sharing:

"Whatever some rabble-raising politicians say about one mosque doesn't trump what America really stands for--the values enshrined by our constitution that guarantee equality and freedom for all, whatever your race, religion or creed.

And the Republican Party is almost uniformly against it. And its opposition is manifesting in ways that are as vile as they are counterproductive in terms of keeping us safe.

That's really quite remarkable. The GOP is willing to risk American lives in order to sow hatred and bigotry for a short term boost to electoral prospects."

POSTSCRIPT:
For the next few days, I'm vowing to work harder to write about our world without hand-wringing and worries. Rather than stare right at some horrible thing headed toward my personal vehicle, I'm going to focus on the part of the road I want to be on instead. It can't hurt to try and studies show my vehicle will likely avoid that horrible thing.

The Constant Demonizing

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The state's archives notes:

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

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

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

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

See Also:
Don't Follow The Terrorists' Script

Indentured Servitude via TDOT Part 2

The Vanderbilt Landscaping company, awarded contracts by the Tennessee Dept of Transportation using money from the federal Stimulus programs and other programs, accused of making legal migrant workers live and work in vile conditions akin to indentured servitude has offered a response to the claims (original post here and on KnoxViews).

Channel 5 News reports:

"Joffery and Larry Vanderbilt said they could not believe the accusations when Hilario Jimenez and a group of protesters from the New Orleans Workers' Center for Racial Justice started protesting outside the company Thursday.

"All the allegations that they were stirring up were just -- it was crazy," said Larry Vanderbilt

They believe Jimenez was trying to retaliate for discipline he received at the end of June.

Vanderbilt Landscaping employs 60 people. The company has several contracts with the Tennessee Department of Transportation to cut grass along highways and interstates.

The H-2B program lets American companies bring people into the country as guest workers if they can't find Americans to fill the jobs.

Jimenez was one of them. Among his accusations -- Vanderbilt Landscaping doesn't pay overtime.

"Hilario made $12.33 an hour. We always pay our guys time and a half, and time and a half equals $18 and something cents an hour," Joffery Vanderbilt said.

The Vanderbilt's showed us Jimenez's last paycheck showing three hours of overtime. They also showed us a payroll journal showing how much he made.

The Vanderbilt's said workers get half hour lunches and two 15 minute breaks in addition to other breaks when they get too hot. As far as the accusation of working at gunpoint, the Vanderbilt's said that too is totally false.

"That is all false. None of us carry guns. That is false," Joffery said.

A Nashville Union leader also brought up the issue of taking jobs from American workers. The Vanderbilt's said they ran ads in newspapers in Nashville and Memphis for three weeks. They said they did 70 interviews, and said most of the applicants decided the work was too hard."

So not one, not one of the applicants accepted the job offered? That seems a real stretch of the imagination, and the firm got numerous contracts from TDOT and more money by claiming no one save migrant workers would take the jobs.

"What you have to understand is that the U.S. guest worker program binds workers to one employer. That means that no matter how badly a company mistreats a guest worker, he or she can't leave to work for anyone else. If they do, they can be arrested and deported back home, where they face crushing debt.

The other thing you have to understand is that Vanderbilt Landscaping got the guest worker visas by claiming to the U.S. Department of Labor that it could not find a single American worker to fill these landscaping jobs. I know a few that would have been interested, but neither Vanderbilt nor the Department of Labor ever gave me a call.

Hiring exploitable guest workers and locking U.S. workers out of jobs let Vanderbilt undercut the competition, and they won $2.48 million in state landscaping contracts paid for with our tax dollars. On top of that, Vanderbilt got $900,000 in guaranteed loans through the federal stimulus program. And instead of putting all that money toward good jobs for struggling Tennesseans, they locked American workers out and locked legal guest workers in.

Why has TDOT not responded to these allegations, or the State of TN? Though complaints have been filed, how long until an actual investigation occurs?

Southern Beale is on the story.

So is Coyote Chronicles.

Indentured Servants via TDOT Contractor

I added the following post at KnoxViews yesterday and am reprinting it here today.

Workers for a Smyrna company TDOT contracted for landscaping say they are being treated to horrible conditions, according to this report from the Daily News Journal. One worker, here on a work visa, was "rescued" this week by a group based in New Orleans. It's a truly grim tale - TDOT is trying to distance itself from the company's actions.

From the report:

A Mexican guest worker says a landscaping company with Tennessee state contracts and a federal stimulus loan guarantee held him and fellow workers like indentured servants, confiscating their passports and subjecting them to constant surveillance by managers who were often armed.
---
At the company housing in Smyrna, 13 or 14 people are lodged in a small house with one bathroom and no beds, Jimenez said. Workers built their own beds, he said. They each pay $100 a month rent, which is deducted from their pay.

They routinely were driven to the office at 6 a.m. and sometimes did not return until 8 p.m., but were not paid for any of the time spent waiting for assignments, going between the office and worksites or cleaning and maintaining the equipment, Jimenez said. Paychecks were often for only about 25 hours of work a week.

TDOT spokeswoman Julie Oaks said in an e-mail that most of the claims made about Vanderbilt Landscaping were outside the purview of the Transportation Department, but it was preparing to review the company’s payroll records

Full story here.

Abbey Faces Criminal Charges For Making Wooden Coffins

Even though St. Joseph's Abbey in Louisiana has been making and selling wooden caskets, by hand, for over 100 years to earn income, the state of Louisiana (at the urging a state board) says they are criminals and are demanding the group must now:

" ... apprentice at a licensed funeral home, learn unnecessary skills and take a funeral industry test. They would also have to convert their monastery into a "funeral establishment" by, among other things, installing equipment for embalming human remains."



Keep in mind, all these monks do is make the caskets and sell them to individuals.

And this LA claim seems to fly against Federal Law:

Before making a trip to a funeral home or casket showroom, you should be aware of the Federal Trade Commissions Funeral Rule. Central to the Funeral Rule is the General Price List (GPL). Directors of funeral homes are required - by this law - to provide a copy of the GPL to anyone who makes a request in person for information about goods and/or services of the establishment. This information is not merely shown to the individual in a bound folder in the office of the funeral home but a GPL copy must be given to the consumer to take home.

Additionally, the funeral home may not refuse to use a casket purchased elsewhere. Nor are they allowed to add a “handling fee” if you order a casket on your own. By Federal Law, you have the right to purchase your casket anywhere you choose. However, it is possible that you will meet with resentment at the funeral home since they will be losing a large percentage of profit on this transaction.

More background here at Institute for Justice.

Tennessee Republicans Vote No on Funding for Teachers, Police, Jobs

All of Tennessee's congressmen and senators voted NO for receiving millions of dollars in funding for Tennessee teachers.

This despite the fact the monies would be taken from a program which eliminates a loophole which allows for U.S. multinational firms to receive foreign tax credits. Some Congressional members called this a 'bailout for special interests'.

Tom Humphrey writes:

"Under a $26 billion "state aid" package given final approval by the U.S. House on Tuesday, Tennessee's share of K-through-12 assistance funding is shown as $195.8 million.

A second part of the package provide money to states based on Medicaid spending. Tennessee's share of that portion is pegged at $240 million and the state budget for the current fiscal year, as enacted, included a "contingent" plan for spending that money. In fact the final figure is less than the $341 million in "contingent" spending envisioned in the Tennessee budget as possible in new federal aid.

The education aid portion was added - and the Medicaid-based portion reduced - after earlier attempts at passage in Congress failed. The final version was opposed by both of Tennessee's Republican U.S. senators and all Republican members of the House who voted. Rep. Jim Cooper, D-Nashville, joined the Republicans in voting no.

---

"If $240 million is received, it would apparently cover $100 million for new and improved buildings at community colleges and state technical schools, $9.6 million toward preparation of a West Tennessee industrial megasite, $10 million for "critical access" hospitals, $10 million for a "jobs opportunity fund" and $90 million for a new Highway Patrol radio communications system.

Steve Benen writes:

"In a statement, DNC Chairman Tim Kaine raises a noteworthy point: "There could not be a better example of the differences in priorities between Republicans and Democrats than this legislation. While Democrats are working to help preserve the jobs of hundreds of thousands of teachers, firefighters, police officers and others, Republicans continue to obstruct legislation while supporting tax cuts that would only benefit Wall Street CEOs and other wealthy Americans. Even after Democrats made every effort to reach out to GOP lawmakers, Republicans fought tooth-and-nail against this critical legislation -- refusing to help those who continue to struggle because of the failed Republican economic policies of the past. This stark difference in priorities could not be more clear to the American people, who now have yet another reminder of which party is on their side."

WVLT has more, including some spread sheets on the program.

UPDATE: My Congressman, Phil Roe, defends his No vote, saying more jobs for teachers and police is an example of wasting money.

Pop-Tart Sushi?

I did not ask for it. Did anyone ask for Pop Tart sushi?

Why not just grab a 5-pound bag o' sugar and chomp into it?

Next Wasilla Mayor - Levi Johnston??

Ah, the Palin Tragi-Comedy Entertainment Machine just never, ever stops.

So what's next for the PTCEM??

Spin-off celebrity Levi Johnston says he wants to run for Mayor of Wasilla, yes, the same town where Sarah herself gained the ability to become a half-term governor and failed V.P. nominee, and it will be a TV show too!!

"Stone and Co., which describes Loving Levi as a "real inside look into who he is as a father, a skilled hunter, an avid dirt biker, and his journey down the road of small-town politics... right after he gets his high school diploma," has already started shooting the pilot, according to Variety.

And though Johnston didn't look as if he was kicking off a political campaign last night at the 2010 Teen Choice Awards, he says that he will fulfill his duties as mayor if elected.

"It's hard to figure me out," he said. "You've got to follow me around. I'm very different. I lead a crazy life. But it will basically be both worlds, my life in Hollywood and back home, the real country boy that I am."

Well, you don't have to follow him around, but apparently somebody's going to.

The 22-year-old father of one ... said that he and Bristol were indeed looking for the right reality-show opportunity during the brief time they were back together, but that they "weren't thrilled with any of the ideas. We got a lot of offers. But the fact is we didn't want to do it."

Too bad "Love Boat" and "Fantasy Island" are off the air ... but I'm kinda thinking none of the PTCEM crew knows that. Or maybe they just think they are all on both shows now.

High School Grad Shreds Public Education System

A valedictorian speech at a New York high school is gaining national attention:

"And now here I am in a world guided by fear, a world suppressing the uniqueness that lies inside each of us, a world where we can either acquiesce to the inhuman nonsense of corporatism and materialism or insist on change. We are not enlivened by an educational system that clandestinely sets us up for jobs that could be automated, for work that need not be done, for enslavement without fervency for meaningful achievement. We have no choices in life when money is our motivational force. Our motivational force ought to be passion, but this is lost from the moment we step into a system that trains us, rather than inspires us".

Tea Party 'Refudiated' In TN Elections

Despite hosting 'national tea party conventions' over the last few months in Tennessee, the so-called 'Tea Party' earned blistering losses in the elections and primaries on Thursday.

Lt. Governor Ron Ramsey, proud Tea Party candidate, landed a distant 3rd place in the Republican primary, just ahead of Basil Marceaux. Other candidates in the mostly mythical 'tea party' got support from media celebs like Sarah Palin and New Gingrich were also ignored by voters.

"Perhaps also the Tennessee race can put to rest the piece of media conventional wisdom that the Tea Party is a significant political movement. They're going to need to start winning some actual elections for that to be true."

NOTE: "Refudiate" is Palin-speak.

NOTE 2: Tennessee Democrats still could not gain ground among voters despite the splintering of the Republican party.

Rep. Roe's Health Care Plan: 'Heal Yourself'

Busy seeking re-election to Congress, 1st District Republican Phil Roe offers his Health Care Plan to the Johnson City Press -- if you're sick, it's your fault and you should heal yourself.

"He said instead, to lower health care costs, Americans should take more responsibility for their own health by using a health savings account, which would provide care up to a set amount using an individual’s personal savings toward their health care."

Forget health insurance. Just save some money up and spend it yourself. And stay away from a doctor and just don't make the mistake of being sick.

TN Urged To Vote Basil Marceaux Thursday!!

The Colbert Report	Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c
Republican Gubernatorial Primary Battle Watch '010 - Basil Marceaux.com
www.colbertnation.com
Colbert Report Full Episodes 2010 Election Fox News

Starting Year 6 of Your Cup of Joe Powell

Five years ago today I started this humble but lovable blog, posting three times that day, which I seldom do these days. My final post that day noted that studies at that time indicated 15,000 web logs were being launched daily. That number has likely fallen too. (Though one poorly designed page I found claims some 35,000 blogs are created each hour as of 2009 but I doubt that.)

The goals from day one remain as the Cup of Joe Powell Guidelines -- writing about news, writing about politics, writing about writing and all of the arts, exploring the Internet, and one more goal: push Joe Powell's views and ideas into the global marketplace. The Internet has allowed me to move far beyond annoying people in my community, and I annoy globally today.

I take much pleasure in the fact that as the years have rolled past, many of the most popular posts I've created have been about movies and entertainment and music. I have a deep passion for movies which has now been shared with almost every nation on the planet. Thanks for visiting and come back often!

I've also been greatly supported by many news outlets, other bloggers and writers, and others who quite often share what I write here and I thank them too. And thanks to each and every reader!!

And I'm pretty confident that today, if you click on any random collection in my Archive list, you'll find a heap of stories worth reading and re-reading, tales which will inform and amuse and capture your imagination.

On to Year 6 and Beyond. And Happy Birthday to Cup of Joe Powell!!

BONUS GIFT: While I remain mostly opposed to offering current images of myself, here's one someone posted to Facebook from sometime in the early 1990s, taken backstage at the Morristown Theatre Guild as I was about to play the role of a 1960s hippie director named Ralph in the play "Butterflies Are Free." I look nothing like this person at all. Nice mustache, too. Enjoy!!

UT Project Turns TN Newspapers Digital

Expected to take 2 years to bring the newspapers online, the project will transfer state archived microfilm to digital files, focusing first on the years 1836-1922.

The Tennessean incorrectly notes that Knoxville was home to the 'first newspaper' in TN, The Knoxville Gazette founded in 1791 (though really it began in Rogersville and did not arrive in Knox-vegas until 1792). (And come on, Tennessean - I found that info in 0.32 seconds via Google.)

On the state's huge library of holdings statewide I discovered there have been at least 19 newspapers in Morristown I had not known about, including The Daily Pilot, also known as The Tennessee Pilot, which described itself as "The Republican Organ of the First Congressional District". Later years brought out The Christian Democrat. Good to know there was never ANY media bias until now.

UT's press release on the project.

National list of newspaper holdings on microfilm.

In Which We Say Goodbye To Pooh and Friends

It's always a bit sad to say farewell to friends -- and the cast for "Winnie The Pooh" has but one more performance -- at 2pm today at Rose Center. But don't tell Eeyore it's almost over. He can be slightly gloomy, you know.

And three giant cheers for a cast of young actors who made my summer so much fun!! Thank you all very, very much!!

Only Two Shows Left for Winnie The Pooh

Kanga gives Piglet a Bath

Eeyore, Piglet, Rabbit and family join Pooh

Winnie The Pooh is Thinking

Thanks to my friend Roger Fleenor, an terrific photographer, I can provide a few photos from opening night for Winnie The Pooh. Only two shows left! Saturday night at 8 pm, and Sunday at 2 pm at Rose Center in Morristown. Tickets will be available at the door for only 5 dollars!!

This is the 19th year for the Rose Center Summer Players program, and is the best possible way to spend your summer vacation. My thanks to Rose Center and to the entire cast and crew for their hard work and many talents.

'Winnie The Pooh' Arrives In Morristown

For one weekend only -- join us at the Rose Center in Morristown for the annual Rose Center Summer Players program, as we present "Winnie The Pooh".

The cast are all kids from here in East TN, showtimes are Friday and Saturday at 8 pm, 2 pm on Sunday. We've had a great time working on this show and the cast and I have been laughing and laughing for weeks at our combined silliness. Tickets are only $5. Call 423-581-4330 for reservations.

Does The Internet Never Forget?

A giant slab of self-aggrandizing pride tends to surround the Internet and those who use it.

One thing is for sure - some, like the writer of this NYTimes article, think the Internet is already an Eternal Keeper of All Things Which Will Last Forever.

Yeah, and they told me in grade school that everything I did would go on my "permanent record." Which never existed.

The NYTimes article's headline is utterly wrong: "The Web Means The End Of Forgetting".

But such an 'eternal memory' will work only if you can always access the Web, search it, find information, retrieve it and re-present it to the world. Otherwise, all that info exists in a place none can touch.

Here's the finale to the NYTimes story:

"In the meantime, as all of us stumble over the challenges of living in a world without forgetting, we need to learn new forms of empathy, new ways of defining ourselves without reference to what others say about us and new ways of forgiving one another for the digital trails that will follow us forever."

I suppose not even NYTimes reporters can remember the past ....

"My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings:
Look on my works, ye mighty, and despair!'
Nothing beside remains. Round the decay
Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare,
The lone and level sands stretch far away".

How Hot Is It?

Looks like a horrible summer all around the globe:

- 71 drown in a single day in Russia: "71 people drowned in Russia in a single day, officials said on Tuesday, as many sought relief from a prolonged heatwave by jumping into lakes and rivers. ... Russia has seen a prolonged heatwave with temperatures reaching 35 degrees Celsius in Moscow on Saturday. Almost 2,500 people have drowned already this year, 1,244 of them in June alone. So far in July, the toll stands at 689. The Interfax news agency said that in recent weeks Mondays had proved by far the most lethal day of the week for swimming in Russia this summer, with 52 also killed on Monday, July 12."

- Sizzling summer shrinks spuds in Germany

- Global rise in heatwaves: "According to the study, the frequency of "heatwave days" will jump from an average of two days per summer during 1961-1990 to around 13 days for 2021-2050 and 40 days for 2071-2100.

- Baltic Sea turns into tropical stew: "A blue-green algae bloom the size of Germany has formed in the Baltic Sea, threatening marine life and even posing a danger to humans, authorities warned this week.

What's Wrong With Getting Unemployment Pay?

Nothing.

Not one thing - and thankfully the Senate today squeaked out a bill to continue payments to 2.5 million jobless Americans. The money - $34 billion - will be quickly spent, yes, but that also means recapturing cash in local economies via spending and local taxes, and reductions in other assistance programs like food stamps and other safety net programs are a likely byproduct too.

And it really galls me that the Republican leaders like Sen. Mitch McConnell who approved and cheered the $700 billion TARP bailout for business, won't extend debt one more penny for unemployment paychecks. We all know that the vast majority of jobless weren't half-assed workers - they were loyal employees dumped in a horrible economic disaster.

I know - and so do all those who receive those checks - that it isn't meant to be a permanent replacement, and it usually is just enough to keep lives together. But I absolutely think the millions of people still jobless deserve some extra time and payment. And it's a great incentive for better governing when the costs and the voices from a battered economy are loud and long.

Little To Celebrate In Latest BP 'Cap'

image via

They've done studies, you know. 60% of the time it works, every time.

And let's check out that tote board and see just how close we are the that magic number of unrecoverable disaster!!



Well, looky there -- as of 9 pm EST June 15, even the BP cameras show no oil or gases escaping.

Now, so long as this new pressure seal on top holds, and does not make the well bore explode some thousands of feet below the surface thus making an unhealable sieve of an endlessly leaking sea bed before they can successfully (and for a record-setting first) connect two relief wells down a couple of miles to seal off the endless Fountain of Filth ... so long as all those firsts and dozens more actually work, then maybe it will all stop for good.

At least, stop the leak, that is.

We still face massive years of millions of work hours (and billions of dollars) to clean and re-claim pretty much all the Southern coastline and many, many more miles of inland waterways.

And so very sad amid all of this -- Americans know much about the disaster, but so few know even the names of those 11 workers who lost their lives aboard the Deepwater Horizon for no reason other than a deep desire to make an oil well flow:

Donald Clark
Shane Roshto
Dewey Revette
Adam Weise
Wyatt Kemp
Dale Burkeen
Jason Anderson
Karl Kleppinger
Stephen Curtis
Gordon Jones
Blair Manuel

More Thoughts From The 100 Acre Wood

As I mentioned, I've been wandering about the classic world of Winnie The Pooh and his friends this summer as I'm directing a stage version of the Pooh stories for the 19th annual Rose Center Summer Players program - which runs for three performances only July 30, 31 and Aug 1. And you are invited to attend our show!!

(yes, there is real life outside the binary coded creations the Internet offers ... who knew?)

And of course it has been a very long time for my old self since I first found and read the stories of A.A. Milne. And then, as now, I keep encountering some of the very thoughtful and downright Zen attitudes of all those creatures in the 100 Acre Wood.

Here are a few quotes from the Pooh stories worth remembering:

-- some conversations between Pooh and Piglet:

"When you wake up in the morning, Pooh," said Piglet at last, "what's the first thing you say to yourself?"

"What's for breakfast? said Pooh. "What do you say, Piglet?"

"I say, I wonder what's going to happen exciting today?" said Piglet.

Pooh nodded thoughtfully.

"It's the same thing," he said.
-----

"Lots of people talk to animals," said Pooh.
"Not that many listen though."
"That's the problem."
-----

"If the person you are talking to doesn't appear to be listening, be patient. It may simply be that he has a small piece of fluff in his ear.”
-----

"It is more fun to talk with someone who doesn't use long, difficult words but rather short, easy words like "What about lunch?"
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"Poetry and Hums aren't things which you get, they're things which get you. And all you can do is go where they can find you.”
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--And some thoughts from Eeyore (don't discount him as a a pessimist):

"It's snowing still," said Eeyore gloomily.
"So it is."
"And freezing."
"Is it?"
"Yes," said Eeyore. "However," he said, brightening up a little, "we haven't had an earthquake lately."

-----

"I'm not saying there won't be an Accident now, mind you. They're funny things, Accidents. You never have them till you're having them."

In Which I Recreate the 100 Acre Wood in Morristown

What has your humble narrator been busy working on the last month or so? I've been working on the 19th Annual Rose Center Summer Players production of "Winnie The Pooh", which runs for three (count 'em, three) performances only July 30, 31 and Aug 1 in Morristown, at Rose Center's Pater Hall. (call 423-581-4330 for ticket information)

This is my third year as director for an immensely talented group of area students, grades 6 to 12, who do more than just audition for a role in the play - they help create costumes, sets, makeup, even develop ad sales for the programs. And, once again, the cast's fierce commitment in all those areas makes for a most wonderful production. It's a very energetic and imaginative process for both myself and the cast and a great way to spend a summer! And the Rose Center, the arts and cultural heart of Morristown, cannot be praised enough for their tireless devotion to supporting the arts and arts education in our community.

And, as before, I consider myself to be most fortunate to have been asked to serve as director for these shows. Last year, we worked on creating a gigantic moving peach and an octopus attack for "James and the Giant Peach", and before that, the fantastical world of "Alice In Wonderland." I selected Milne's story this year for a kinder, gentler world of children and wonder and discovery. True, some of the cast laughingly wondered if the gloomy Eeyore was a "suicidal donkey", which highlights how all the Pooh characters are really more than meet the eye.

In fact, since the Summer of 2010 has woes aplenty in the real world just stacking up, it will be a most welcome change to come visit us in the relaxing and only slightly chaotic 100 Acre Wood. You are invited!

I'll do my best to have some pics up and other details soon, as the July 31 opening is drawing closer.

Iran Fears Mullets

The mullet does not meet the standards for men in Iran ... if a new hairstyle guide is made law.

True, the mullet is frightening. But if it holds power over Iran, I say surround 'em with a million mullet marchin' army.

Atheist iPhone Apps

From the NYTimes:

"For religious skeptics, the “BibleThumper” iPhone app boasts that it “allows the atheist to keep the most funny and irrational Bible verses right in their pocket” to be “always ready to confront fundamentalist Christians or have a little fun among friends.”

"In a dozen new phone applications, whether faith-based or faith-bashing, the prospective debater is given a primer on the basic rules of engagement — how to parry the circular argument, the false dichotomy, the ad hominem attack, the straw man — and then coached on all the likely flashpoints of contention. Why Darwinism is scientifically sound, or not. The differences between intelligent design and creationism, and whether either theory has any merit. The proof that America was, or was not, founded on Christian principles."

Republicans Protect BP From Subpoenas

If there is one, just one, good reason for the Senate Republicans to refuse to allow congressional investigators to have subpoena powers as they probe the potential crimes associated with the massive - and ongoing - oil spill in the Gulf by BP, then wouldn't they tell us what that reason was? Senator Jim DeMint refuses to even say out loud the names of the Republicans who want to protect BP.

Steve Benen at Washington Monthly says it best:

"Given the 420 to 1 vote [as it passed in the House] , Senate Democrats sought unanimous consent yesterday to resolve the issue and let the commission do its job. It's an easy one, right? Wrong. Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) refused, objecting on behalf of others in the Republican conference that he would not name.

"I have to conclude by the objections that there are colleagues on the other side that either don't want to get to the bottom of this -- or are standing on the side of the oil companies and not of the victims and their families," Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) told reporters.

I've long since run out of adjectives to describe these folks. The commission can't get answers without subpoena power, and Congress has routinely extended subpoena power to related commissions -- including panels investigating the JFK assassination, the Three Mile Island disaster, and the 9/11 attacks. And yet, Senate Republicans yesterday blocked the authority for the BP commission, and wouldn't say why."

The 'Crazed Sex Poodle' Roundup

Things I never expected anyone to say -- "Al Gore is a 'crazed sex poodle'.

It does not help the accuser's case that she bowed out of police interviews several times, and now four years later, attempted to sell the story for $1 million to the National Enquirer.

---

A flying car (or is it a plane that folds up?) that runs on unleaded gas will be on the market next year.

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Now you can have your cheese tessellated on a Subway sammich.

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Tennessee will soon be home to the world's first bass pyramid.

Crunk to the Country Music!

So is there some new thang where the boot scootin' dancers decide to go all crunk to a Brad Paisley hit?? I did not know that. I was hoping for maybe a Bus Driver or a Sprinkler move at least.

WARNING: Eye-damaging video ahead!

(courtesy the ever elusive NoSilenceHere)

Rep. Marsha Blackburn Wants To Kill PBS

West TN Rep. Marsha Blackburn joins the looney circle - again - linking hands with the deeply strange Rep. Michele Bachmann of Minnesota to co-sponsor legislation to kill all funds for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting - an idea which might save about 2 one-hundredths of one percent in federal spending.

It's as if Rep. Blackburn had no idea that the CPB's operations provide work and income for families and individuals all across the country, including Tennessee. Thousands more work to provide material for broadcast, and online as well. Tens of thousands And this is far more than Rep. Blackburn voting to cut funding - she's a sponsor of this proposed new law.

Bad move - it's also not just pointless, but mean.

"Currently, the government spends approximately $420 million dollars on the CPB. That $1.43 per person covers about 13% of the CPB’s total funding.

Cutting funding to the CPB would reduce the 2010 $1.5 trillion dollar federal deficit by 0.028%, and the $13 trillion national debt by .0032%. “That is a grain of sand on the federal budget beach, and you are not going to solve deficit reduction problems by cutting public broadcasting funding,” said Wick Rowland, president of Colorado Public Television.

Still, Lamborn was adamant that public media be put on the chopping block. “Federal spending cuts need to start somewhere,” he said in a statement. “CPB may produce worthwhile content. That is not the issue.”

Twelve Republican congressmembers have joined Lambon’s bill. Among the supporters are Rep. Michelle Bauchman (R.-Minn.), fresh off her assertion that BP “shouldn't have to be fleeced and made chumps to have to pay for [the consequences of the oil spill],” and Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R.- TN.)."

Hamblen County Mayor, Sheriff Candidates Debate Tonight

Debates between Hamblen County Sheriff Candidates followed by debate between Hamblen County Mayoral Candidates will be held tonight at 6 pm at the West Hamblen Volunteer Fire Department at 6301 W. A. J. Highway, sponsored by the local group, Citizens for Accountability

6:00 PM Candidates for Hamblen County Sheriff
Ernie Burzell, Democrat
Esco Jarnagin, Republican

7:00 PM Intermission

7:20 PM Candidates for Hamblen County Mayor
John Litz, Democrat
Bill Brittain, Republican

Gulf Apocalypse Now!

Time to check in with the Apocalypse Meter, aka the ongoing gallons-of-oil count via this handy ticker from PBS.



Worth noting that when I posted this on June 2nd, the low end was set to about 500,000 gallons leaked each day, and that estimated amount (the low end) has now tripled. And in the last few days, pretty much all the information I have been able to gather and discover tends to indicate that the good ol' US of A is poised most precariously over an abyss and the ultimate damage is going to be far beyond catastrophic and we may soon call the Gulf of Mexico the Gulf of Doom. (For more on the photo shown above, see Southern Beale.)

Sadly, only recently have news and other agencies begun to report what was being reported on your Cup of Joe back in May -- BP knew how unstable the geologic structure of the seabed they were drilling was, that leaks were prominent before the explosion, that officials with BP and Transocean and Halliburton all knew the interior well casings located thousands of feet below the seabed itself were improperly made and not working ... and really, all that info came from the interview on "60 Minutes" which aired May 16th:

"The tension in every drilling operation is between doing things safely and doing them fast; time is money and this job was costing BP a million dollars a day. But Williams says there was trouble from the start - getting to the oil was taking too long.

Williams said they were told it would take 21 days; according to him, it actually took six weeks. With the schedule slipping, Williams says a BP manager ordered a faster pace. "And he requested to the driller, 'Hey, let's bump it up. Let's bump it up.' And what he was talking about there is he's bumping up the rate of penetration. How fast the drill bit is going down," Williams said.

Williams says going faster caused the bottom of the well to split open, swallowing tools and that drilling fluid called "mud."

"We actually got stuck. And we got stuck so bad we had to send tools down into the drill pipe and sever the pipe," Williams explained. That well was abandoned and Deepwater Horizon had to drill a new route to the oil. It cost BP more than two weeks and millions of dollars. "We were informed of this during one of the safety meetings, that somewhere in the neighborhood of $25 million was lost in bottom hole assembly and 'mud.' And you always kind of knew that in the back of your mind when they start throwing these big numbers around that there was gonna be a push coming, you know? A push to pick up production and pick up the pace," Williams said.

Asked if there was pressure on the crew after this happened, Williams told Pelley, "There's always pressure, but yes, the pressure was increased." But the trouble was just beginning: when drilling resumed, Williams says there was an accident on the rig that has not been reported before. He says, four weeks before the explosion, the rig's most vital piece of safety equipment was damaged."


The only hopeful note I can detect in this mad symphony is that perhaps one or both of the two relief wells being made which seek to connect with the escaping oil -- perhaps by the end of August, perhaps much later. And no guarantees. The Worst Case Scenarios that are now playing in the Gulf are too terrible to even consider ... and truth is, I sense no one involved really can say just how badly BP screwed up here - if the seabed above the current well collapses ...

Worth noting too is just how much methane gas is pouring into the ocean as well, up to 40% of the spill is made of methane, compared to a 5% level normally found in oil deposits.


"The question is what's going on in the deeper, colder parts of the ocean," he said. "Are the (methane) concentrations going to overcome the amount of available oxygen? We want to make sure we're not overloading the system."

BP spokesman Mark Proegler disputed Joye's suggestion that the Gulf's deep waters contain large amounts of methane, noting that water samples taken by BP and federal agencies have shown minimal underwater oil outside the spill's vicinity.

"The gas that escapes, what we don't flare, goes up to the surface and is gone," he said.

It appears that comment means an unknown quantity of methane gas is (daily) venting out over the surface of the Gulf. And people have become suddenly ill working in the region ....

I continue to wonder what horrifying tipping point is needed to push this nation into a total retreat from Fossil Oil Addiction - elected officials have trotted out enough empty words about "Energy Independence" for decades and still our science and our politics clings to the technologies of the 19th century.

SEE ALSO:
TVA abandons Green Power programs

The Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA), says industry-wide goal of installing 10 gigawatts of solar capacity annually by 2015 expected. " The leaders of the solar industry have set this target to show Americans that solar can and will become the nation’s largest source of new electricity generation by 2013. We are already cost competitive with fossil fuels, and by 2015 we expect solar energy to be the lowest cost source of retail electricity in all fifty states. But to reach our goal, we need to ensure that effective policy mechanisms are in place to give consumers the choice to go solar – a choice more than 90 percent of Americans support.

Music for a Summer Weekend

Yes, I know the first day of Summer 2010 is Monday, but Summer is here already. So ... some music for summer nights and days ahead for all of you who stop when ya can and have a Cup of Joe.

Rocket Dentistry

Well finally.

Something besides the horrible news dominating the Summer of 2010. Just don't tell mom.

Sen. Alexander Says You Are Not Grown Up Enough to Understand Energy Policies

Senator Lamar Alexander spoke out this week on U.S. Energy issues and policies, and it's a fine example of "sound and fury signifying nothing". One East TN newspaper, The Daily Times thinks his ideas are sheer genius.

Sen. Alexander made his thoughts known on the floor of the Senate chamber, ideas he called "steps for Grown Ups". It's a mish-mash of nifty talking points, prompted by the massive destruction created by the BP oil gusher currently turning the Gulf of Mexico into a dead zone, and they really fall apart under scrutiny. (The Notes cited below are mine, not the Senators.)

1 - Figure out what went wrong and make it unlikely to happen again. We don’t stop flying after a terrible airplane crash, and we won’t stop drilling offshore after this terrible spill. Thirty percent of U.S. oil production (and 25 percent of natural gas) comes from thousands of active wells in the Gulf of Mexico. Without it, gasoline prices would skyrocket and we would depend more on tankers from the Middle East with worse safety records than American offshore drillers.

NOTE: Someone should notify the senator we know what went wrong in the BP disaster, as the company faked records detailing safety plans, moved too fast, and ignored warnings from workers on the rig itself. And those tanker spills He bemoans do not match the facts - "Thus, it is apparent from the table below that the number of large spills (>700 tonnes) has decreased significantly during the last 40 years, such that the average number of major spills for the decade (2000-2009) is about three. Most notably, for the first time since ITOPF began collating tanker spill statistics, the number of major oil spills involving tankers reached zero in 2009.

The average for the 2000s is less than half of the average for the 1990s and just an eighth of the average for the 1970s. The same is true for medium sized spills from tankers (7-700 tonnes) where the average number of spills occurring in the last decade was 14, half of that experienced during the previous decade."

2 - Learn a safety lesson from the U.S. nuclear industry: accountability. For 60 years, reactors on U.S. Navy ships have operated without killing one sailor. Why? The career of the ship’s commander can be ended by a mistake. (The number of deaths from nuclear accidents at U.S. commercial reactors is also zero.

NOTE: A reactor aboard a ships would never create the amount of destruction of a nuclear power plant on land. Plans now exist to start establishing seven floating nuke plants off Russian coastlines. Of course, I am sure their safety measures are beyond reproach (cough, cough).


3 - What was the president’s cleanup plan and where were the people and equipment to implement it? In 1990, after the Exxon Valdez spill, a new law required that the president “ensure” the cleanup of a spill and have the people and equipment to do it. President Obama effectively delegated this job to the spiller. Is that a president’s only real option today? If so, what should future presidents have on hand for backup if the spiller can’t perform?

NOTE: Senator, the real question for grown ups is what was BP's plan, where was their equipment? Should Americans expect the President, whomever that might be, to be the the point man on massive industrial disasters? What are the plans for ALL the corporations now engaged in offshore drilling to address disastrous events?

4 - Put back on the table more on-shore resources for oil and natural gas. Drilling in a few thousand acres along the edge of the 19-million-acre Alaska National Wildlife Refuge and at other on-shore locations would produce vast oil supplies. A spill on land could be contained much more easily than one mile deep in water.


NOTE: The Prudhoe Bay pipeline spill in Alaska in 2006 (an operation headed by BP, of course, took place despite 8 years of warnings. Press reports at the time said "another black eye to a firm that has fashioned an image as a responsible, environmentally concerned company, and it drew new criticism from pipeline experts and environmentalists who have been saying for years that the company had failed to do the maintenance needed to keep the pipeline free from sludge and protect it from corrosion in the harsh Alaska conditions. The Environmental Protection Agency has launched a criminal probe to determine whether the company was negligent in managing the pipeline, said sources who had talked to government investigators. However, then President Bush shut down the criminal investigation by the Department of Justice.

5. Electrify half our cars and trucks. This is ambitious, but is the best way to reduce U.S. oil consumption, cutting it by one-third, to about 13 million barrels a day. And a Brookings Institution study says we could electrify half our cars and trucks without building one new power plant if we plug in our cars at night.

6. Invest in energy research and development. A cost-competitive 500-mile battery would virtually guarantee electrification of half our cars and trucks. Reduce the cost of solar power by a factor of four. Find a way for utilities to make money from the CO2 their coal plants produce.

7. Stop pretending wind power has anything to do with reducing America’s dependence on oil. Windmills generate electricity — not transportation fuel. Wind has become the energy hula hoop of the 21st century and a taxpayer rip-off. According to the Energy Information Administration, wind produces only 1.3 percent of U.S. electricity but receives federal taxpayer subsidies 25 times as much per megawatt hour as subsidies for all other forms of electricity production combined. Wind can be an energy supplement, but it has nothing to do with ending our dependence on oil.

NOTE: I'll let The New Republic answer the senator on those topics -- " ... if half our cars are electric, then electricity would be transportation fuel. Still with me? No? Okay, I'll break it down. The wind would turn the windmills round and round. This would generate electricity, which would be sent to people's houses through wires. The electricity could then be used to run electric cars.

This is not the only problem with Alexander's piece. He outlines goals, like increasing conservation and electrifying half the automobile fleet -- but he has absolutely nothing about how to obtain these goals. His electric car plan is literally what you read above: "Electrify half our cars and trucks." Who would do this? How? He does not say. Cars and trucks run on gasoline because gasoline is the cheapest fuel available. If you wanted half the cars to run on electric power, you'd have to change this so that gasoline was no longer the cheapest fuel available. It could be a tax on carbon emissions, enormous subsidies for electric batteries, regulatory fiat, something. Likewise, if you want people to conserve energy, you need to increase the cost of using energy.

I'm not sure how you have a debate with people like this."

Steve Benen comments too:

"What a great idea! Kevin Drum explained, "There's just gotta be something we can do with all that CO2! I dunno. Freeze it and sell it to Spinal Tap for their live shows? Mount a campaign to increase soda sales a hundred million percent? Build a time machine and then hire some alchemists to figure out how to turn it into liquid gold? Honest to God, where does this stuff come from?

Remember, Lamar Alexander is not only supposed to be one of the more responsible members of the Senate Republican caucus, but the piece was labeled, "An Energy Strategy for Grown-Ups."

Grown-ups who don't really understand energy policy and brush over inconvenient details, perhaps?"

8. If we need more green electricity, build nuclear plants. The 100 commercial nuclear plants we already have produce 70 percent of our pollution-free, carbon-free electricity. Yet the U.S. has not broken ground on a new reactor in 30 years, while China starts one every three months and France is 80 percent nuclear. We wouldn’t put our nuclear Navy in mothballs if we were going to war. We shouldn’t put our nuclear plants in mothballs if we want low-cost, reliable green energy.

NOTE: I like how the senator says "IF we need more green electricity ..." which clearly shows he considers TVA customers as quaintly confused thinkers. Also, the massive costs of building new nuclear plans is so large, it would likely triple the rate of current U.S. utility rates. Which is simply more proof that Sen. Alexander's 'grown up' ideas are fine examples of meaningless blather. Honesty and tough decisions lay ahead of us, and the senator's suggestions offer no real solutions.

9. Focus on conservation. The Tennessee Valley Authority could close four of its dirtiest coal plants if the region reduced its per capita use of electricity to the national average.

NOTE: IN other words, it is YOUR fault, Tennessee, for needing electricity. And just what Mr. Senator have you done to address the horrible destruction from TVA in Roane County's toxic ash spill??

10. Make sure liability limits are appropriate for spill damage. The Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund, funded by a per-barrel fee on industry, should be adjusted to pay for cleanup and to compensate those hurt by spills. An industry insurance program like that of the nuclear industry is also an attractive model to consider.

NOTE: Limiting liability for oil companies was always a bad idea. But the real failure was that army of bureaucrats who signed off on non-existent or wildly inflated claims from companies like BP. Adding a layer of more and more forms and promises are utterly meaningless when those requirements are purposefully ignored.