Internet Destroying Democracy, Episode 4,012

At the ongoing national association of broadcasters convention, many are flummoxed and fearful about the new-fangled media monster called The Internet. With more choices in consumers hands, how can the media masters of today ever hope to keep up?

So I am hopeful that director Barry Sonnenfeld was being ironic and speaking with some tongue in cheek when he told the convention this:

"The really scary part is how hypnotic it is. The 'Net is so pervasive that kids are on it all day."

Sonnenfeld fears that children today will grow up with "no concept of the right to privacy and in fact not understand the need for it. Because the Facebook generation is not concerned with what people know about them . . . they will have no problem with additional governmental supervision, spying and intervention. They will be thrilled that the Internet will be able to follow their every move.

"I suspect," he said, "we are probably looking at the last generation of Americans that exist in a democracy. Totalitarianism is not far in our future, and the next generation will go down that road happily.

"My only hope is the Bush administration has screwed things up so profoundly -- socially, economically and environmentally -- that perhaps they will be angered by how our generation has selfishly destroyed their future and will put down that computer," he said.

Film at 11.

Bitter and Proud Of It

This knock-down-drag-out presidential race hit the national media with a news flash last weekend via some comments from Barack Obama: there's a heap of unhappy, frustrated and old-fashioned Bitter Americans.

A web site was quickly made (Bitter Americans) and they have a t-shirt for you.

And one writer for the Huffington Post proudly claims the Bitter landscape and says:

"Are we bitter? Hell, yes. We've been hung out to dry for so long we've come to feel like somebody's ragged, abandoned laundry. All those election year promises? We're worse off now than we were eight years ago-- and we didn't do all that well during the Clinton years. We thought we had a chance then, but attention to poverty-detail was diverted to extra-marital Scandalgate. Even a president with self-control and honesty issues has to survive, ya know. In the heat of the GOP/Ken Starr/Clinton Impeachment wars, we were left hanging on the line.

So we're easily led to acting out. To acting out in rage. And, since we've figured out we can't win the battle to improve our lot in American life, we latch on to any Gotcha! War we feel we can win. The GOP has been masterful at identifying that need of ours and feeding it. If they can redirect our rage (Don't pay any attention to that poverty behind the curtain!), make us focus on pseudo-morality wars, we'll direct all that rage against the candidate they tell us is the root of all evil. We vote for the guy who tells us "All Muslims are evil terrorists and we gotta fight 'em there so we don't have to fight 'em here!", "Homosexual unions will destroy the American Family!", "They're going to take away all your guns!", "God wants you to vote for me--He loathes liberals (and, by the way, they've even declared war on Christmas)!", "Women who want reproductive rights left to themselves, their partners, their doctors and their God are all baby killers!", and "Illegal immigrants are getting all those (factory and tech?) jobs you used to have--and some of them are terrorists!" If we don't vote the Right way, the "other guy", that anti-American, troop-hatin', anti-Christian liberal, will take away what little we've got left. Damned if we'll lose that battle.

We're desperate. We need to believe we can win something. If we can't hope for even a small version of the American Dream, then we'll buy into any fight that makes us feel we have some power left."

Looking at Square America

For the past few weeks I've been returning again and again to a great web site called "Square America" which provides hundreds and hundreds of photos of daily life, some on special occasions, some on the spur of the moment, all from the early use of cameras and the candid moments of American life. As the site's creator Nicholas Osborn says: "Square America is a site dedicated to preserving and displaying vintage snapshots from the first 3/4s of the 20th Century. Not only do these photographs contain a wealth of primary source information on how life was lived they also constitute a shadow history of photography, one too often ignored by museums and art galleries."

It's almost like time travel. If you've never had the experience of sifting through an old shoebox of family photos, where the pictures wait on little squares of paper, some with those funky scalloped edges, some streaked with nearly illegible writing to identify the time and place and people, then Square America is the next best thing.

Images of lives and events are presented with startling simplicity and yet evoke complexity too. For decades, this kind of photo record was the cutting edge in family history. Some years back I received a few boxes of photos from my own family and have found them to be a source of endless imaginings and a vivid documentation of where I came from.

Many categories are offered - for examples, I picked just a few of the huge amount of images offered. This site is one I'll return to often.

From the section called "The Neighbors":"




From a section called "The Pleasures and Terrors of Youth":

A "Palace Revolt" In An American Town?

I seldom take on the local city issues on this page - I live in Hamblen County and the city of Morristown is not under any representative form of government. A hired administrator calls the shots, the mayor and council members usually tackle only one duty: hiring/recruiting the administrator. For years and years I've heard many city residents clamor and complain, but taking action is seldom a priority.

Decisions are made by administrative staff and the mayor and council simply approve items via routine votes in meetings which are never broadcast on the public airwaves (even though the city has it's own cable television service).

But I almost spewed coffee when I read this sentence today about a push in city council to remove the current administrator:

"City Council members Rick Trent and Claude Jinks are trying to stage a palace revolt to depose Morristown City Administrator Jim Crumley, but right now, they're on their own."

A Palace Revolt? What an elitist view! If the local government is palacial, doesn't that make those who live in the city peasants, serfs, or even less?

Perhaps, it sadly is too true a metaphor- unknown machinations of the self-anointed battle while residents have no democratic representation, no voice, no input into the political world of their own community.

Much of the current rancor comes from the fact the city is pushing a local tax increase to offset years of bad spending policies which have left a $40 million (Correction: make that $70 million!!!) pile of debt, due mostly to long-needed $20 million sewer system repairs (which residents are now paying for with giant fee increases) and to the $20 million-plus in debt for building the city's cable television service.

The council created this mess, led knowingly or not over the financial edge, but the total burden of debt will strike hard on the backs of residents and businesses via ever-rising taxation or loss of services.

Will residents ever take control of their own community? It all makes me most thankful I live in the county instead.

Weekly Best of Tennessee Bloggers

Keeping tabs on Tennessee from many angles, it's the weekly roundup of the state's best blogging, via TennViews:

• 10,000 Monkeys and a Camera: Add my voice to the "Bredesen Blew It" Chorus: Disappointing is becoming a real habit for you.

• 55-40 Memphis: Scary: In fact, some days I'm not absolutely certain he's black, but I'll take Obama's word for it.

• Aunt B.: Why Does Nashville Have Such a High Incarceration Rate?: So, why is our jail a quarter full of illegal immigrants and Memphis’s jail not?

• BlountViews (yellowdog): TDOT Still Backwards After All These Years: The TDOT people and the consultants they hire are stuck in old and irrelevant system of transportation planning rules, and it will take public outcry and active engagement at the level of the regional transportation planning organizations (TPOs) to change it.

• Carole Borges: Mandated health insurance causing problems in MA: One thing we certainly don't need in America is another law that involves the government making choices for citizens. The crisis in MA should make people stop and think before they jump on the mandated health insurance bandwagon. It just might be going nowhere.

• The Crone Speaks: Uninsurance Third Leading Cause of Death for Near-Elderly: How many people should die because they don't have health insurance, before we recognize the need for a Medicare for All program?

• Cup of Joe Powell: Devilish Details In TN Cable Franchise Legislation: But it's rather obvious the state legislature has crafted a plan to serve the needs of business first and residents second. Given the solemn claim by Tennessee House Speaker Jimmy Naifeh to push this plan through, your voice and the voices of other Tennessee residents has little impact, and this proposal will likely become the law in Tennessee.

• Don Williams: As KnoxVoice reinvents herself, so am I: I’m optimistic or naive enough to believe our old world and country are headed for a gentler blooming. Springtime is the season for hope, renewal, for celebrating touchstones and anniversaries.

• The Donkey's Mouth: One more reason why Lincoln looks strong in ‘08: It does seem fishy that Lankford lives outside of the district and will probably be self-financed. A New York Times article, "Short of Funds, GOP recruits rich to run," talks about the significant dearth of fundraising and legitimate recruits at the RNC.

• Enclave: Senate's Foreclosure Prevention Act Forecloses on Families: Once again, in a crisis the U.S. Senate is going to come down on the side of the people who are hurting least in the housing industry. And as Republicans, the Senators of Tennessee can do no other.

• Fletch: Lackluster and Luster

• KnoxViews: State funded luxury hunting lodge audit findings: Apparently, most of the funds have gone to build a luxury hunting lodge and payment of Bittle's salary. (Bittle sponsored the bill that created the specialty license plate and directed the proceeds to his foundation while he was a member of the Tennessee House.) The state audit recommends changes to state law to require better accounting of how such funds are spent.

• Lean Left: Lean Left: They have violated laws and common decency with impunity. They will probably get away with it -- our press refuses to cover it and our Democratic leadership refuses to act. Plus: Petraeus and Crocker: Iraq Wrong War with No Way Out

• Left of the Dial: No Thanks: I received an offer to interview either Sean Astin or John Grisham tomorrow about their support of Hillary Clinton. I passed. I'm all for Hillary but, sorry, no free ad time.

• Left Wing Cracker: Stunning news from the Election Commission: This changes everything, folks, stay tuned...

• Liberadio: This week's Liberadio(!) podcast You know what else John McCain’s not so strong on? Giving Martin Luther King his props., plus more.

• Loose TN Canon: Colin Powell supports Iraq withdrawal and praises Obama

• NewsComa: Meeting Mike Padgett: an extensive report

• Progressive Nashville: Closed-minded legislators: The Tennessee legislature, which has spent an inordinate amount of time this session trying to close records and operate in secret, is at it again with a plan to make it more difficult to obtain public records. Plus: Thompson floated as veep

• Resonance: "Success" In Iraq: Here's my definition...

• RoaneViews: A Letter to Tommy Kilby, and His response: Don't exclude "limited resource waters" from "waters" of the state

• Russ McBee: On the Olympic torch protests: Although the Olympics are supposed to be beyond politics and are supposed to rise above international disputes, the Chinese government itself is assuring that this cannot happen.

• Sean Braisted: Alexander and "Big Oil": Bob Tuke, in an appeal for contributions, takes Sen. Lamar Alexander to task for being in the pockets of "big oil". Plus: DSCC Forgets Tennessee

• Sharon Cobb: Hey Tennessee, Jon Stewart is coming To Nashville, plus: Total Bullsh*t That Hillary Calls On Boycott Of Olympic Games Now: While I am in total agreement that the entire planet should boycott the Olympics in China, why didn't Hillary Clinton call for a boycott before this week?

• Silence Isn't Golden: Silence Isn't Golden: The Bitter Irony: Of all of the faux outrage over Obama's statement, this has got to be the most ironic. Plus: Define "Women's Issues"

• Southern Beale: Gus Puryear: Still A CCA Crony: Why is Democrat Thurgood Marshall Jr. endorsing Gus Puryear, Bush’s controversial pick for the federal bench in Middle Tennessee? Plus: Energy Saved Is Energy Found

• Tennessee Guerilla Women: Governor Rendell (D-PA): Obama Should Pay Keith Olbermann, plus: Photos of NYC Protest Against Hillary-Hating Media Bias

• TennViews: TN Senate 08 wrinkle: Questions arise whether Overbey is qualified to be on the ballot v. Sen. Raymond Finney. Plus: Republicans defeat Rural Health Act.

• Vibinc: Free Ride: The Tennessee Bush Dogs are on their way to re-election, some with less opposition than others.

• Whites Creek Journal: George W. Bush Should Stay Away from the Olympics!: No, I'm not proposing a boycott... I just don't want George W. Bush representing America any more. Plus: Stoopid Human Tricks: A close second behind coal burning in the stupid human tricks department is damming rivers.

• Women's Health News: 1) Think About Sex. 2) Design Undies. 3) Win!

New Monument for Space Dog Laika

Officials unveiled a monument Friday to Laika, the first dog (and first earthling) to travel into space. The announcement was timed to coincide with the April 12th anniversary of the flight of the first human into space, Yuri Gagarin, whose short journey took place in 1961.

Scientists collected a number of stray dogs for the test-flight in 1957 hoping to learn if a living creature could stand a roaring blast into orbit. Many details of the flight of Laika remained secret for decades, but the wee pup had to wait until this century for the entire story to be told. Due to some technical problems, she had to wait inside her small capsule for three days on the launch pad before blast off. While early reports said she lived for four or five days of orbit, we know now she died within a few hours when the cabin overheated. The capsule itself continued to orbit for 162 days before falling in a ball of fire through the atmosphere.

It's doubtful much was learned to benefit research from her trip into space. Over the years, her fame and her story have and continue to be memorialized. It's as if we all feel a little guilty about hurling the pup on a suicide mission.

Now while I would prefer having the companionship of a friendly lady astronaut were I to be selected for some space travel, a dog would be my second choice. (Some might choose a monkey, and the wee space monkey named Able is a mummified museum display these days.)

One of the dogs successfully sent into orbit and returned safely was named Strelka, and after her return she had a liter of pups, one of which was sent to President Kennedy as a gift for his kids.

I just like the fact that in a thousand years, the statue of Laika may still be here on Earth, a stray who found a home in the history of the world.

Camera Obscura: Reasons To See 'Southland Tales

No movie is better at tackling the mood and madness of the current age better than "Southland Tales". It's no wonder it's gotten reviews ranging from awful to the best of 2007. It's an opera of our times, a comedy-sci-fi-musical-satire apocalypse which starts with a roaring barrage of nuclear blasts, oppressive media over-stimulation, and a host of plot threads and ideas that hit viewers like a shotgun blast. The movie is not, as some critics claim, a disaster, but it's a view on the disastrous world we inhabit.

I was constantly reminded of the kind of fearless satire of writer Terry Southern - who gave us such classics as "Dr. Strangelove", "Barbarella", and "The Loved One". The sledgehammer of satire strikes again and again, not worrying about achieving wisdom but more about achieving an approximation of the lunatic surrealism so constant in our culture.

The basic story is of an America torn by war, the return of the draft, fringe political groups locked in relentless conflict, media consumed with fame, with itself, with shock and awe, a society under constant surveillance, a fierce rush for alternative energy, self-righteous demagogues, a presidential election and much more. Honestly, as the movie unspools it's version of television as The Breaking News hub of consciousness, I was glad to see someone else had the same view of media today as I do - a glut of the popularity of the mundane and meaningless and a catalog of political in-fighting which is impossible to accommodate.

Now add in a story about rips in the space-time continuum and you have a story that could have been penned by Kurt Vonnegut. This movie instead is from Richard Kelly ("Donnie Darko") and while the story gets incoherent, that's part of the point. There's a whale of a cast too - Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Justin Timberlake, Mandy Moore, Amy Poehler, Sean William Scott, Miranda Richardson, Jon Lovitz, Christopher Lambert and Rebekah Del Rio in the closing scenes doing an unforgettable version of the National Anthem.

Dwayne Johnson scores a bulls eye in the lead role here - playing a celebrity with political power and some mysterious amnesia who has a movie script which might save the world or destroy it. He's living with porn star Gellar, who is attempting to parlay porn into intellectual and commercial might. Johnson never winks or nods to the camera (nor does anyone else), playing the farce straight up.

There are some marvelous bits, like the references to T.S. Eliot and Robert Frost (and the Republican presidential candidates of Eliot/Frost versus the Democrat team of Clinton/Lieberman), a 'secret' energy source called Fluid Karma, and Justin Timberlake lip-synching The Killers. And a giant blimp.

Not A Torch Run, It's A Torch Flee

The chaos and confusion amid the Olympic Torch run in San Fran yesterday made trying to locate the troubled symbols of the Olympics like playing a game of Where's Waldo?

As I observed some of the events on CNN, I kept thinking how my friend Brittney Gilbert at CBS-5 was covering the story from the blogging world. Boy, did she nail it and posted many great videos and pics and stories from the scene - check it out at Eye On Blogs.

Oddly, as I was reading and watching this debacle unfold, I was reminded of a 'torch mystery' from the past ....

"Golly, Frank, what is a 'tibet' anyway??"

Devilish Details In TN Cable Franchise Legislation

A definition of the word Legislation: a solution to a problem which may, or may not actually exist, which may or may not actually create any observable results, and typically is a hand-stitched agreement crafted after some great length of time in order that the public be aroused or dulled and during which time money may be applied to preserve, alter or eliminate debate.

That thought kept running through my head as I was reading the proposal to allow AT&T to by-pass local control of franchises for cable television - especially since they could now today be offering 'competitive' plans to consumers across the state. Wading into and through the complex legal language is and always has been a chore. My brother is the lawyer, not me. And sometimes I'm not even sure what he says and/or means.

I wrote previously this week about this draft agreement. The plain fact is the plan does have some odd and downright wrong components. Keep in mind this bill was created to provide AT&T with a statewide cable franchise proposal, though there is much in the bill addressing the access to internet services, too.

For example, when it comes to verifying whether or not a franchise holder has attained the mandated deployment of broadband access to the internet, Section 12 (d) of the plan says that the state agency Connected Tennessee will be providing the information. I wrote recently about Connected Tennessee, since it's board members are former Bell South/AT&T employees. How handy the agency was created prior to this legislation - sure sounds like the fox watching the henhouse to me.

By the way, I wrote a few emails to Connected Tennessee's director, Michael Ramage some weeks back asking for some further details about the agency. But when I wrote asking for info on who is on their board as well as employees and contractors who were NOT previously with Bell South/AT&T I received no response.

A major concern among many is the concept of 'cherry-picking', allowing a provider like AT&T to simply offer services to the wealthiest of neighborhoods and ignore more rural and low-income areas. Under this new proposal, franchise holders would 'self-define' their areas of service. Also, a complex formula even allows for franchise holders to count households for their requirements twice or even four times whether or not that franchise actually offers service to them, just as long as someone does.

And there is no guarantee that Public Access, Education and Government channels would be in the most basic tier of channels. In other areas of the country, all PEG channels are lumped into one, and a viewer must call up a typically slow-running menu program and select a typically weak signal to tune in.

I also received an email from Bunnie Riedel of Riedel Communications, and former Executive Director of the National Alliance for Community Media, who has been reviewing and analyzing these franchise plans being pushed across the country state by state. She wrote that in reviewing the plans: "The worst bill to have passed is Nevada, TN's bill comes in 2nd to that one. AT&T is about to take TN on a nice long ride."

Her own blog is here. (My thanks to her for her input, and see below for her take on the most detrimental elements to the proposed plan.)

The Tennessee chapter of the National Alliance for Community Media is Keep It Local Tennessee. (CORRECTION: This TN group is not part of the NAM -- Please see the UPDATE at the end of this post!!!)

The more I read of this plan, the more it seems to be a program geared to look out for the interests of AT&T and not for consumers. We all want to be able to make a good choice when it comes to seeking services for cable and internet. The local franchise plans, and I know it's a complex process to make agreements one at a time, yet these local plans all demand service providers work hard to expand their service areas so that all residents of a community get that chance to make good choices. But it's rather obvious the state legislature has crafted a plan to serve the needs of business first and residents second. Given the solemn claim by Tennessee House Speaker Jimmy Naifeh to push this plan through, your voice and the voices of other Tennessee residents has little impact, and this proposal will likely become the law in Tennessee.

The following is from Bunnie Riedel of Riedel Communications, as she has been analyzing this state franchise issue for the National Association of Telecommunications Officers and Advisers, and is a selection of troubling elements found in the current draft of legislation in Tennessee:

- Certificate of Authority (CFA) holders self-define their service areas. In other words, AT&T can cherry pick where they will or will not provide service throughout the state or even within zip codes. This practice has taken place in Texas, Kansas, Indiana and other states, with AT&T choosing to obtain statewide franchises for very limited, mostly wealthy, areas.

- For the build out percentages, households that did not have access to the CFA holder’s broadband internet service count as two households and households that did not have any broadband service count as four households. This is deceptive because the definition for broadband in the bill is 1.5 Mbps. Therefore the actual percentage would be either 15% (two households) or 7.5% (four households).

- The bill’s broadband definition of 1.5 Mbps is inadequate. AT&T’s own website shows that at that speed it can be only used for emailing and downloading music.

- The CFA holder can count households that have broadband internet service toward their requirements to build out video or cable service, whether or not they offer those households video or cable!

- The bill sets up an organization influenced by the telecommunications companies, Connected Tennessee, as “verifiers” for AT&T’s broadband deployment. That is the fox watching the hen house. The Tennessee Regulatory Authority is then instructed to rely on Connected Tennessee’s reports and can only examine documents provided to them by Connected Tennessee….documents that were provided to Connected Tennessee by AT&T in the first place.

PEG CHANNELS SLAMMED FROM THE BASIC TIER, LOSS OF CHANNELS AND CHANNEL QUALITY AND LOSS OF PEG SUPPORT

- HB1421 details a convoluted formula for where PEG channels will be placed based on the number of channels activated by municipalities or counties in local franchise agreements. The bottom line is that the bill allows all PEG channels to be slammed out of the Basic Tier of service onto to any tier.

People who only purchase the Basic Tier will no longer receive PEG channels, unless they also purchase additional equipment.

- People who only purchase Basic Tier are typically lower income and the elderly.

- All channels are placed together on Channel 99, where viewers have to scroll through several menus to find their local PEG channels.

- The transmission of PEG channels is degraded to the same transmission quality as a cell phone video transmission.

-The channels take as long as 1 ½ minutes to “pull up.”

- They are not functionally equivalent to any other channel on the system.

- AT&T will not provide closed captioning or second language transmission for the PEG channels.

- Engineers say that AT&T can treat PEG channels exactly the same as any other channel, but choose not to do so for business reasons.
PEG support in the bill is woefully inadequate.

- The bill is written in such a way to make one think that CFA holders must provide up to 1% PEG support, however, that PEG support is limited to “paying capital costs of equipment.”

- PEG capital expenditures go beyond equipment to the “bricks and mortar” of PEG facilities and the cost of maintaining those facilities.

LACK OF REAL CUSTOMER SERVICE PROVISIONS

- While the bill says the CFA holders must comply with Federal Customer Service regulations (47 C.F.R. 76.309 (c)) it states that customer service complaints are to be handled in accordance with the service agreement contract between a customer and the video provider. What does that mean?

- Comcast customers across the country were forced to opt-in to arbitration and lost the right to seek court action (even small claims court) because Comcast changed the terms of the service agreement.

- Verizon customers in California have been told that if they wanted to pursue a claim, they would have to do so in the state of Virginia because that clause was included in their service contract.

- With this bill the CFA holders could put anything they wanted into the service contract, in the smallest print, and the customer would have no recourse.

- Further the TRA has no power to investigate or regulate customer service compliance by a provider, only to look at individual customer complaints.

UPDATE: I received the following email correction:

"Regarding your post, "Devilish Details" (http://cupofjoepowell.blogspot.com/2008/04/devilish-details-in-tn-cable-franchise.html), I see that you say:

"The Tennessee chapter of the National Alliance for Community Media is Keep It Local Tennessee. (http://www.keepitlocaltennessee.com/)"

This is not correct. There is no TN chapter of the ACM.

"Keep It Local TN" is the Tennessee version of a multi-state cable industry effort developed as a response to telco-inspired statewide video franchising legislation. There is also a "Keep It Local MA" (http://www.keepitlocalma.com/). There used to be a "Keep It Local PA" (http://www.keepitlocalpa.com/), but that site has been down for a couple months at least. I assume that's because the cablecos have now signed off on the legislation that has been filed in PA, although I've not been able to confirm that.

Actually, it's somewhat surprising that "Keep It Local TN" is still functioning, since the TN cablecos have also signed off on the new bill. While its most recent front page right column post is an April 7 press release from TCTA's Stacey Briggs supporting the bill, their front page left column is still calling for action opposing the bill!

Although the ACM links to all of these sites from our website because they support local channels and local control, they are not ACM chapters. There are also other state-based groups we link to in our "Saving PEG Access" blogroll, but they too are not ACM chapters. Our chapters are listed in the blogroll's second section, "ACM Affiliates."

Although there is no TN ACM chapter, there are a number of TN PEG access providers who are ACM members. I'm sure they'd be willing to speak with you about how this legislation will affect their communities. I hope you're able to include their perspectives in future posts. I've included them in the CC's, but they are:

Frank Bluestein, Germantown High School

Alan Bozeman, City of Murfreesboro

Gail Fedak, Middle Tennessee State University, Murfreesboro

Elliott Mitchell, Nashville

David Vogel, City of Knoxville

Again, thanks for continuing to call attention to this story.

~ Rob

Rob McCausland

Director of Information & Organizing Services

Alliance for Community Media

202-393-2650

web: http://ourchannels.org

wiki: http://peg.ourchannels.org

Wednesday's Web-Walk

A brief sample of things found on the Internet which may bring a smile or a grimace --

An American takes 15 million ice cream sticks, then 5 years of work from 5,000 students and makes a replica of a Viking ship which is setting sail. The ship, called The Sea Heart Viking, is loaded with toys and headed to London to visit some hospitals, too.

More information about the mission is here at the Sea Heart Foundation.

-----

Oh, those political games about the most political of games, the Olympics and its flame:

"The sportive, knightly battle awakens the best human characteristics. It doesn't separate, but unites the combatants in understanding and respect. It also helps to connect the countries in the spirit of peace. That's why the Olympic Flame should never die."

-----

A most prolific American writer earned a Pulitzer prize this week, though some care little for the way he sings his words. But the words have been the subject of endless debates and discussions. One of my favorite lines is:

"There must be some way out of here," said the joker to the thief,
"There's too much confusion, I can't get no relief.
Businessmen, they drink my wine, plowmen dig my earth,
None of them along the line know what any of it is worth."

and his take on an artist abroad has always been one of my favorites:

" Train wheels runnin' through the back of my memory,
When I ran on the hilltop following a pack of wild geese.
Someday, everything is gonna be smooth like a rhapsody
When I paint my masterpiece."

Kudos to Mr. Zimmerman.

-----

Speaking of music, did you know that Pat Summit is a Rock Star?

She is indeed.

-----

Dear Mr. Putz@OpenRecords.com

State Cable Franchise Plan Moves Ahead

Yesterday state officials provided information about a draft agreement for the state to start offering statewide cable TV franchises, just as AT&T wanted, and along the way the state will create a new oversight agency and a new fund to "promote" broadband internet access.

The document is a 67 page maze of legal-speak, which you can read here (thanks to R. Neal for the link). It will certainly take me some time to wade through it all and there is much to review. The proposal to allow for the first time a state franchise license doesn't mean much to consumers yet - though if the legislature OKs it, it is set to become law in July. The state commerce committee is scheduled to look at the proposals today.

I admit I am troubled that once House Speaker Jimmy Naifeh's wife Betty Anderson got a job with AT&T as a consultant, Naifeh then took the long-opposed plan through 3 months of closed-door meetings and magically came up with a plan he's now willing to shepherd through the legislature. Anderson and Naifeh are both on record saying just because she's a paid lobbyist, she does not exert undue influence on her powerful political husband.

That aside, some additions were made to the bill which aim to serve the public interest - such as keeping control of rights of way at the local level as companies try and bring/expand services; that franchise fees (capped at the federal maximum of 5% of a company's gross receipts of revenue; and provisions for providing local public access channels (PEG) are included.

Still, I'm reading though this complex document to learn more. Given the billions of dollars involved in this telecom business, and how economic and cultural impacts of internet access and availability are key components of this legislation, this will touch most every life in the state, it's a plan worth reviewing.

Some excerpts from Chattanoga Times Free Press media reports:

"But the speaker cautioned the legislation “is not a silver bullet to rising media prices, nor will Tennesseans see an immediate impact on the next cable bill.”

Stacey Briggs, the Tennessee Cable Telecommunications Association’s president, said in a statement that “AT&T and other companies have had the right to compete under local franchising rules for more than a dozen years. This new policy streamlines the franchise process, but it remains to be seen whether new entrants will compete in Tennessee.”

And from the Tennessean here:

"Starting service: AT&T will have to apply for a franchise within one year of the bill's passage and would have to roll out service within two years after that, although the company could apply for an extension.

Build-out requirement: Within three-and-a-half years of its first TV service rollout in the state, AT&T would have to provide access to 30 percent of residents within its phone service territory, about 600,000 households. The company could provide service to fewer customers by getting extra credit for households that don't have access to broadband Internet.

Broadband incentive: AT&T could get credit toward its 30 percent build-out requirement by counting one house without access to its broadband service twice, and a house without access to any broadband Internet four times. This creates the possibility of AT&T providing access to its U-verse service to a minimum of about 150,000 houses in Tennessee. There would be no requirement that AT&T provide broadband service to areas that don't have it.

Low-income households: Twenty-five percent of households with access to AT&T's TV service would have to be low-income, defined as households with income of $35,000 or less, within three-and-a-half years."

More from the Knoxville News Sentinel here.

GOP Battle for Congress in East Tennessee

Voters were provided a comprehensive and vast, link-filled assessment of the state House, Senate and federal candidates in Tennessee thanks to some very hard work from R. Neal at TennViews, which you can see right here. You can review each candidate statewide at that site and hope you take some time to find out something about the folks who want to represent you.

The biggest fight in East Tennessee will be for the 1st Congressional District seat now held by Republican David Davis, but it will be a fight within the Republican party. Davis barely won his primary in 2006 and he has had a poor record, which I have been happy to post about hear. From his tax-payer funded mailers, to his blatant lies and exploitation on the issue of immigration, to his lock-step voting record with the Bush administration on every issue, Davis's slim approval within the GOP is being challenged often.

A major contender for the challenge is Phil Roe, who isn't much different from Davis, as noted in this interview. He's been hammering at Davis for receiving much cash support from PACs devoted to oil and maintaining the status quo on healthcare in the U.S. Davis may have a tough time claiming he's achieved anything of value to East Tennessee residents.

Sadly, incumbents like Davis in Tennessee do have a huge advantage - East Tennessee Republicans are as prone to change as a broken-down washing machine stuck in the corner of the basement.

He will face challenges from Democrats and from Independents, but again, little changes in the 1st District. Republicans have held the seat for over 100 years and once in, are in for life.

I have a simple approach to casting votes for congressional candidates in the 1st District: I'd vote for a Flying Monkey before I'd vote for a GOP candidate. Their leadership keeps this district poor, under-funded, and prone to staying in the corner of the basement.

Inflamed by China's Olympics?

If all the people who are so interested in protesting the next Olympics because they are in China, and China is the poster child of human rights abuses and tyranny over Tibet, such folk have no need to wait to huff out the fires of the Olympic flame as it makes a worldwide tour.

If you want to hit them where it hurts why not just boycott buying any Made In China products? That is, if you can identify them and learn to do without them for a while. (Good luck with that.)

In one case, a person's adventure with a 'year without China' led them to a create a best-selling book. Maybe you too can turn those protest signs into good ol' American dollars!

Camera Obscura: Monsters Be Our Destiny

I can think of few writers and creators of our current age who have reflected the twisted, fearful nature of the modern mind better than Stephen King. For decades now he has consistently (though not always) made me shiver with terror with his tales. He's created an impressive mythology of American horror. Some tales work better than others, but when he is on the mark, he's one of the best ever at his trade.

Last year filmmaker Frank Darabont tackled a King novella called "The Mist", which is out now on DVD. The initial release of the movie made little impact at the box office, but I'd expect more folks will watch the DVD and I think the movie is another example of how his tales can unnerve us, make us afraid not only of unnameable monsters but afraid of other people. And while I did like the movie, I liked the experience of reading the novella more. Books are almost always better. But this movie works for several reasons.

Solid performances from the actors in "The Mist" are part of the success, and unlike the somewhat lyrical tone of Darabont's other King adaptations ("The Green Mile" and "The Shawshank Redemption"), his camera captures a sense of ordinary light and ordinary places in this film. Early on, we know this will not end well. The situation is quickly and simply presented - an immense cloud of fog and mist settles into a seaside town just as chaotic scenes occur. Sirens wail and troops from a nearby military post roll in by the truckload. A large group of townspeople inside a grocery store watch the chaos and a wounded man enters warning them of horrible dangers and death coming out of the mist.

Trapped by their own fears, it does not take long for paranoia to take hold of each of them. What is unknown is frightening, but it's the meltdown of social order which truly disturbs the townspeople and the viewer. King has often given this scenario before - remove the trappings of ordinary life and many people become capable of monstrous acts quite quickly. Some viewers have complained about the religious fanaticism which one character uses to dominate the others. Too often today the fruits of such fervor are far to common in our world, and not a wild indictment of the faithful.

I liked the movie, even with a different and harsher ending than the original story. Although, as with most of King's stories, I try and comfort myself that I would never, ever act the way those people did. It's a small indulgence I think most of us hold to when we encounter the really scary things in life and in the imagination.

Another apocalyptic tale arrived on DVD last week, "I Am Legend" starring Will Smith, a movie based more on the 1971 Charlton Heston movie than the original 1954 novel by Richard Matheson. Smith plays Dr. Robert Neville, lone survivor of a worldwide virus which has devastated the planet. The worse news is that others did survive but as mutated creatures who ... well, they look nasty and all, but there isn't much mention of their habit of vampirism from the novel's plotline. The creatures are unable to move in a daylight world, and are attracted by blood, but that's the only element in this version of the story.

Before I say anything else, I have to praise Smith's performance in the movie. He is nearly mad from loneliness and despair, which is brought out in several terrific scenes as he talks with mannequins he has placed around the city of New York and when he recites lines from the movie "Shrek" in another key scene. The narrative also goes back and forth between the times of the plague and the present of Neville alone, which does allow for a look at how Neville devolved (or evolved) into a Legend among monsters.

However, this movie is not the book. I liked the movie, mostly due to the way Smith plays his character and the ending originally made for the movie is far better than the one that got released to theaters (you can watch it here, but it will make no sense unless you've seen the film). It's too bad the filmmakers followed the Heston version more than the novel.

Oddly, one archivist I found claims that Heston was given the book to read by Orson Welles when the pair were making their film noir classic "Touch of Evil" and that Heston tried to cut a deal with the studio for Sam Peckinpah to direct. I would love to have seen that movie, as Peckinpah would have understood the story Matheson wrote - that a non-mutant human was the real Legend in a world populated by mutants, that he was alone and a relic of the past and not the present or the future.


OBSCURA MOVIE NEWS

40 years ago this week, the landmark movie "2001: A Space Odyssey" was released and an excellent collection of writings and memorabilia can be found here. Sadly, it arrives just days after the passing of writer Arthur C. Clarke. Both Clarke and director Stanley Kubrick achieved a unique moment with their movie. It is a monument to possibility and imagination, a spectacle which still inspires with awe and wonder, expands the ideas of cinema and fiction as no other movie has ever done.

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It is truly Frank Miller's time - following on the first-rate adaptations of "300" and "Sin City", Hollywood is awaiting "The Spirit", which Miller is also directing, based on Will Eisner's classic crimefighter. A website for the film is now online, with more features coming soon. Also, the movie which stars Samuel L. Jackson, Eva Mendes and Scarlett Johansson had some production photos leaked onto the web and you can still see them (for now) right here.

Also his graphic novel "Ronin" is getting lots of buzz and the director of "300", Zack Snyder is hard at work on an adaptation of of Alan Moore's cult classic "The Watchmen". Also this week, BoingBoing offered a vision of the cast of the story as enacted by the characters from "Peanuts" ... gotta love that!

Knoxville Library Installs Security Screening

I did not know that public libraries were hotbeds of violence - but apparently they are in Knox County. How else to explain a new program to screen visitors/patrons at random with a metal detector? I saw the report last night on WBIR, and I just can't see a reason for it. Are there some threats and dangers which the county knows but is fearful to speak of?

Library spokeswoman Mary Pom Claiborne said:

"People are getting used to (screenings) everywhere they go. You know, you can't get through the City County Building without going through one, any of the courthouses, of course, the airport, so they're really becoming a way of life in this day and age. It's unfortunate, but it's necessary," Claiborne said."

Well that worldview is sad, very sad. A way of life, she says. Given that violent acts have occurred in the locations she mentions, we should simply accept strict security measures at every location? I'm afraid the answer in America today is yes. We are afraid of each other as never before.

I noticed in their video report a few things - first, the security officer is not armed with a gun - what if a patron does try to enter carrying a couple of Glocks and and some pipe-bombs? Second, towards the end of the video, a patron empties their pockets and you can see him remove a hefty pocket knife and deposit it in the tray at the security station, a knife he then picks up to return to his pocket after being 'wanded'. Um. Isn't that a weapon?

Keep in mind that state officials have been pushing for the right of folks to carry a concealed gun into a bar. We need security checks at libraries??

Officials say this is just a test program. Of course, keeping employees and patrons safe from violent attack is a good intention. Other public libraries have similar programs, and there is of course a new 'industry model' where public libraries contract out for security measures. It's a fast-growing business.

Is the norm for the 21st century American life to be the increased reliance on private security firms and agents? As previously said, many of us seem to believe it is "unfortunate but necessary".

World's Fastest Hi-Res Printer

Starting next month, a printer which can rip out 16.5 high-resolution pages per second(!!!) is headed to consumers.

It's made by Kyocera and there is moer info here. (It must need a vast supply of ink, yes?)

Now if I just knew what piezoelectronics was ....

On A Sleepless Night

Time was when hit with some insomnia on a night in early Spring, I might have taken to the road and found some forgotten diner and sipped coffee, had some pie, maybe play the jukebox and strike an Edward Hopper moment of timelessness.

Or, more recently, there was television's endless surfing, no longer a domain where anything even close to a 'sign-off' ever appeared.

Instead tonight there is the unbounded internet, where time has no meaning, and someone has already created a page to document each soul and each soul's imagination.

A lot of silly things, really. Like the Techno Viking (he hits the streets about one minute into the video):


Or maybe French tecktonik craze, which invokes the pluralism of the intentionally ironic. (Here's a tutorial if you wish to learn how to do it right.)

I can see what people are doing these days with bacon.

Or I can read a brand-spanking new sci-fi story at Futurismic, called Mallory by Leonard Richardson (warning: profanity abounds) in a satiric jab at our connected un-connectedness.

Then there's the video presentation about the search and wonder behind the question "What did Leonardo Da Vinci really look like?"

If you seek a museum of the water-gun, or the tools of another age, or maybe old radio shows, or anything it's out there. Did you know if you just type in "what is everyone doing right now?" on Google you'll have 24 million options to choose from?

There is much to capture your attention and - wait a second ... I think my cat wants to play with some string. I'll just do that then and you keep drifting thru the web. We'll get together later.

Trucker Strike Update 2

While supporters were hoping for a response in the tens of thousands, the numbers were more in the hundreds for independent truckers attempting a nationwide strike this week. (See previous posts here and here, and a mention of this humble blog in today's Knoxville News Sentinel.) MSNBC reported a three-mile convoy of slow trucks outside Atlanta yesterday, but the protests were limited nationwide.

Talk about the frustrations, the fears, the plans and the overall impact - or lack of it - has been rising on the internet, according to Technorati's tracking, and if supporters can make a more cohesive approach to organizing online, they may draw the numbers they want (or need):

English posts that contain Truckers Strike per day for the last 30 days.
Get your own chart!

Being independent means often operating under contracts written before the high prices now at the pump, while drivers working with large corporate organizations have a simple remedy for such problems - they don't pay for the fuel costs, the company does, and when prices go up, the consumer of the products being transported are the ones who pay higher costs.

Let's say the independents can get far more participation from their own ranks. It won't bring fuel costs down. Will it spur some type of action or reaction in government or business? Or will it just put the average consumer at another disadvantage and hollow out incomes even more than they already are?

Trucker Strike Update

NOTE: For the most recent info, see this post - thanks!

I've spoken with a few friends in the trucking industry, and though they don't want to be identified, they have all said the proposed strike to protest high fuel prices hasn't got much participation in East Tennessee yet.

Still, it's worth noting that the calls for a nationwide strike by independent truckers have been constant since mid-March, such as the efforts found on a site called Trucker-To-Trucker.com.

Quite a few drivers are off the job now, and they have been talking about and debating the strike for weeks. Their effort is called Enough is Enough, and you can check out the debate here, with many comments over the last few weeks.

Independents still have major hurdles - coordinating a time for a strike, loss of income, getting the attention of the media, and the fact that the number of independent truck drivers are just a small percentage of the overall industry, about 10 percent according to estimates found here, and the writer sees the proposed strike may do more to reduce those numbers.

Some drivers may be off the road for days, some may just drive slowly to hinder traffic and gain attention, and another effort may be launched for May 1st.

I'll have some more info on this soon.

UPDATE 2:30 PM

More rumors swirl about the strike - but just as quickly as they rise, others bat them down as mere talk and speculation with little to no results.

I spoke this afternoon with Sharon Donald with Pilot Oil , who said of their Travel Centers "Everything is business as usual today. Absolutely nothing is happening," regarding a strike by independent truckers." She added the only talk about the strike she has been aware of is the talk from media sources like the cable news networks.

WBIR reports that the American Trucking Association says: Through a statement from the American Trucking Association, Tennessee's Trucking Association said they don't support the walk-off. "We would not participate in or condone any strike," ATA Public Affairs VP Clayton Boyce said. "It is hurting the wrong people and would not accomplish what they want to accomplish."

The comments on that report range from the frustrated and angry to statements of support. Also, some other sources I spoke with indicated to me they were being told to downplay any news and simply state there were more rumors than facts about the strike.

The Charleston newspaper The Post and Courier echoes the denial that a strike is taking place.

Still reports trickle in citing stoppages and delays from Chicago to Tampa though the number of those participating is very small.

One of the largest groups of independent drivers, the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association has been tracking the frustrations and the anger and hopes at least for increased awareness of the burden of high prices:

"We are repeatedly asked by the media if a strike will have an impact and so we remind them that it’s not just about one day, or one week; it’s about the longer term if diesel prices do not change. Truckers are consumers, too,” said Norita Taylor, OOIDA media spokesperson.

OOIDA leaders say that while the Association cannot legally support a strike, it can and does support individual truckers. The Association also encourages individual truckers to contact their lawmakers now about the fuel situation.

“We do not tell our members what to do; instead, they inform us of what they ARE doing and we support their decisions,” said Todd Spencer, OOIDA executive vice president.

Spencer said that truckers need to make it known to their elected officials that they are being exploited in the current fuel situation and that action needs to be taken to change the industry.

SEE ALSO: This message board on Topix has logged over 137 pages of comments about the calls for a nationwide strike since last week.

A Strike By Truckers Ahead?

I've seen it mentioned in the news, and likely you have too - rumblings and reports that independent truckers plan to stop driving today and are making convoys to protest the high price of fuel. Michael Silence is blogging about what's happening in Knoxville.

The Tennessean reports:

"There's nothing ever like this," said owner Derrell Clem, whose firm operates 23 trucks. "Fuel prices are unfair to the trucking industry.

Clem said he planned to close his business for two or three days starting today because of diesel prices that have soared 40 percent in the past year to a national average of $4.02 a gallon. Diesel prices in the Nashville area were $3.91 a gallon on average Monday, up from $2.76 a year ago, according to the latest AAA fuel price survey.

Clem said he pays $230,000 to $240,000 a month in fuel to keep his small fleet of trucks rolling, delivering merchandise to supermarkets, auto supply companies and other clients.

"I think if something doesn't happen they are going to put the small companies completely out of business," Clem said.

It was hard to gauge the extent of truckers' protests on Monday or predict whether there would be any economic ripple effects if products weren't delivered to stores, warehouses or factories on time.

In some states, independent haulers said they would park trucks for two or three hours or drive more slowly on the highway even if it meant disrupting traffic.

The Tennessee Highway Patrol said it plans to monitor the situation on highways here."

In Georgia, reports say plans are being made for a full nationwide strike on April 3rd. Congress has questions for the nation's oil industry (again).

After seeing so many emails in the past urging drivers to boycott one gasoline company or another for one day, this may be a good opportunity to make a more potent statement. Would you join these truckers for a one-day boycott of all driving and all gasoline purchases?