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."

County Audit Shows Fiscal Nightmare

It's astonishing how no details of the Hamblen County's fiscal situation emerge in the local press. Instead, the public is fed non-information, such as a recent article noting the achievements of the county's finance director. And the one county commissioner who bothered to point out the problems has essentially been chased out of office and isn't seeking re-election.

I'd bet the majority of local residents have no idea an election begins here April 12 with early voting and few of those who know could identify the candidates. Oh sure, the names may be familiar as the same crop of old hands arrives to make sure no more mention is made of the critical errors discovered by the state auditors.

County Commissioner Linda Noe, a Republican, has kept a faithful blog of the issues, Noe4Accountability, however, she was forced to end open comments after vague and not so vague threats were constantly made against her.

What did the recent audits - conducted at a lower cost to taxpayers - actually find? The county ranked Number One for the most findings in any county of the state. The fiscal problems affect nearly every branch of local government, including the sheriff's office and the director of schools.

Massive deficits are just the beginning. Take just a look at her most recent post on the county's fiscal status, though I urge you to go the her page and read all the information there - and then ask why are no current candidates talking about these issues and why does the local press ignore them?

"It's really funny to look at the dramatic change in audit findings that occurred when the county started using the state auditors in 2003. The 2002 audit (1 solitary finding by the local private auditors) and then the 2003 audit (29 findings by the state auditors with numerous sub-findings) and then the 2004 audit (15 findings and again numerous sub-findings by the state auditors). Click here for 2004 audit findings.

Looking at the audit history, I find it very hard to believe that the county was operating just fine in 2002 with a glowing audit (1 finding) from the local private auditors and then suddenly in 2003 the county was violating state law, not budgeting money as required by law, spending more money than was approved, not controlling purchases, not maintaining a general ledger, totally unaware that the county had to go by the state comptroller's "chart of accounts," and boom there are 29 findings by the state auditors. It just seems more likely that all these violations and irregularities were occurring in 2002 but "somehow" went unreported.

Moving on to the 2004 audit, there were 15 findings. One finding reported problems in making debt payments--or actually making a debt payment for a debt that the county didn't even owe. The audit reported that the county made an interest payment of $45,326 in December 2003 for a debt that was actually owed by the City of Morristown, not Hamblen County. The city finally reimbursed the county for all but $408 in June 2004. The 2004 audit reports that the $408 was still owed to the county as of the audit report date.

There were major purchasing deficiencies. The Mayor's Finance Department apparently selected an employee to serve as a purchasing agent, but the agent didn't keep control over purchase orders. Blank purchase orders were just handed out to departments, so nobody knew what was being purchased (or how much had been spent) until after the bill arrived.

There were no employment work records for certain "exempt" county employees. County departments over the years had increasingly allowed more and more employees to be considered "exempt" employees. The "exempt" employees were salaried and didn't have to keep any time sheets. The state auditors said that all employees should be required to keep a record of time worked. They also pointed out that since vacation time was not tracked in some instances, "(exempt) employees [] obtain[ed] a higher benefit rate than the non-exempt (hourly) employees."

There were deficiencies in controls over travel. Apparently, nobody required an itemized receipt for meals paid with credit cards, so the county didn't know what it was paying for. It appears that the receipt total was submitted and paid without an itemized detail.

There were severe deficiencies in budgeting. The budgeting deficiencies were very important and included five different items (A-E)---four of which are discussed here.

(A) Despite state law, the audit states that the County Mayor didn't even present a budget to commission (and so didn't get approval to spend money) for certain funds (such as the sheriff's special revenue fund). Some budgets were brought to commission, but others weren't.

(C) The Finance Department overspent the legally approved spending amounts in several funds: the General Fund, the Highway Fund, the Special Debt Fund, the General Debt Fund, and the Hospital Debt Fund. If spending limits for county funds are going to be ignored, what's the purpose in going through a long, drawn-out budget process? And this occurred in 2003 as well--for example, the 2003 audit says that spending exceeded appropriations in the General Fund in amounts ranging from $737 all the way up to $296,964.

(E) There were huge budgeting problems. The beginning fund balance estimates provided to commissioners during the budget process were way off. Estimates of fund balance are estimates, but the auditors apparently think (and so do I) that county financial officials should be able to get at least reasonably close to the real figure.

When the county was preparing its '04 budget in July 2003, county financial officers estimated and told commissioners that the beginning fund balance for the general fund was $697,526 when it was really only $208,870. The Commission was told that the fund balance for the solid waste (garbage) fund was $56,265 when the fund really had a deficit balance of ($205,578). In an understatement, the auditors added: "County officials should better estimate the beginning fund balance when adopting the budget."

I've mentioned this problem several times at meetings because this is critical financially. If county officials can't come up with at least a close estimate of what's in the bank (fund balance), then it's no wonder that there is overspending and no one really knows what the county has or exactly where it's going.

(D) Finally, the audit also reported a finding where the County Mayor instructed the Finance Department to transfer money ($89,986) from the General Fund to the General Capital Projects Fund and to transfer money ($274,730) from the General Debt Fund to the General Capital Projects Fund without the required approval of county commission.

County commission not only never approved the transfers, but county commission apparently wasn't even told that the transfers were being made or that payments totalling $360,000 had been made in error for years.

In response to this finding, the Mayor told the auditors that he talked with the trustee and finance director (but not county commission) and then instructed his Finance Department to make the transfers to "restore" the accounts to what county commission had actually approved "over the years." It turns out that these wrong payments totalling over $360,000 included spending errors going all the way back to June 15, 1999 and continuing up to June 9, 2004.

It looks like the Capital Projects Fund was being used for over five years to pay for things that should have been paid out of the County's General Fund or the County's Debt Fund. In 2004, the Mayor talks with two county officials (but not to county commissioners) and instructs them to switch everything back around.

Why such secrecy--to the point that county commissioners didn't even know that $360,000 had been moved around until they read about it in the audit? Why did no one explain to county commission what had happened and then ask for the required approval to make the transfers?

That's just from one posting. Part One of her report is here. The uninformed voters of the county and the misinformed can expect to see the old reliable behind-closed-doors method of government return. I doubt 15% of registered voters will bother to participate in this upcoming election - that would be just about double the amount of city voters in Morristown who turned out for the last city election.

If the community has abandoned all hope of having their voices heard, then that is exactly what will happen - a community which sees no choice, no help and no representation.