Myths of Offshore Oil Drilling

Trotted out like yet another cutesy dog and pony show from the Bush administration is the Amazingly Magical Offshore Oil Drilling Miracle - loaded with Campaign Flash and Wonder, and very short on any practical purpose. (NOTE: See also More Myths.)

I'll let Kevin Drum spell it out:

"The immediate, direct impact would, of course, be zero, since it takes years to bring new oil sources online. But what about the indirect impact that new drilling permits might have on perceptions of future supply? Might that help lower oil prices in the near term?

Maybe, but it's unlikely. Take ANWR first. A recent EIA study took a look at the impact that drilling in ANWR would have, and they concluded that it would probably reduce oil prices by 75 cents a barrel in 2025. A change that small two decades in the future almost certainly wouldn't have any effect on commodity traders today.

Offshore drilling is a little harder to get a handle on. Offshore reserves are larger than ANWR, which means their impact on oil prices would also be larger. The problem is uncertainty: even if the federal ban on offshore drilling were rescinded, that doesn't automatically mean there would be any additional offshore drilling. It just means individual states would get to decide what to do. California and Florida are unlikely to allow much offshore exploration, and other states on the Atlantic and Pacific coasts are question marks too."
-----
"Offshore oil reserves affected by the federal ban are estimated at 18 billion barrels, which is indeed larger than ANWR. However, EIA projects that offshore production rates would be about half of ANWR production rates, which means that lifting the ban on offshore drilling would probably have an even smaller effect on future oil prices than ANWR's 75 cents a barrel in 2025. In other words, "tiny" was probably the wrong word in my concluding sentence above. "Minuscule" is more like it.

But the dog and pony show hit the media like it was a Bold and Beautiful Miracle.

Let's be honest: there is no "ban" on offshore drilling:

"Ban" is just more GOPer-speak. In reality, there is a moratorium on drilling in certain coastal areas. Other areas are not only open to drilling but leases and drilling permits have already been issued.

And they are not being drilled.

In fact, only 17% of the leased areas is in production. So, with about 33 million acres of offshore areas already available to drill and not being drilled, why does the oil and gas industry need to have access to still more? The fact is that nearly 25 BILLION barrels of oil off the coast of the United States is currently available for drilling...and industry is not drilling it.

Not to mention natural gas. Most of the natural gas occurring offshore (over 328 TRILLION cubic feet – an eleven year supply at current consumption rates) is currently available for leasing and development.

And they’re not going after it.

This is the story throughout the country, more than 44 million acres of onshore public lands are leased for oil and gas development and yet most of it is not being drilled. All told (onshore and offshore), 68 million acres are leased and sitting idle. Over 10,000 permits are currently 'stockpiled' by industry. But still they want more.

Between 1999 and 2007, the number of drilling permits issued for development of public lands increased by more than 361%. And did you see your gasoline costs drop? How about your electricity costs? Propane? natural gas? Uh...no. There is absolutely no correlation between the industrialization of public lands and the price of fossil fuels.

It has been estimated that if all of those currently inactive leases were drilled, the USA would produce an additional 4.8 million barrels of oil and 44.7 billion cubic feet of natural gas EVERY DAY, accounting for a doubling of US oil production and a 75% increase in US natural gas production. The Minerals Management Service tells us that about 80% of fossil fuels available in offshore are currently available for development.

What's going on here is yet another cynical attempt by the GOP and the oil and gas robber barons to increase and assure huge industry profits at the expense of the American people. These companies don’t want to drill these areas. They want to hold them as assests to limit the amount of oil and gas on the market so that prices rise still further - and they make more money. They want to hold on to these areas so that they can drill them ten or fifteen years from now and make an even bigger fortune."

KBR Incompetence = More Government Contracts

Just how is that government contractor KBR still gains hundreds of millions in tax dollars?

Most recently, auditors found "shoddy" and "substandard work" from KBR in responding to the needs of U.S. hurricane victims:

"Efforts by defense contractor KBR to repair hurricane-damaged Navy facilities were deemed shoddy and substandard, and one technical adviser alleged that the federal government "certainly paid twice" for many KBR projects because of "design and workmanship deficiencies," the Pentagon's inspector general reported in an audit released yesterday."
-----
"The inspector general reported that its audit of KBR's work found:

· The Navy entered into an illegal "cost-plus-percentage-of-cost" contract with the company. Higher costs meant more profit for KBR, which rewarded the company for "inefficiency and non-economical performance," the report said.

· KBR paid $4.1 million for services and meals that should have cost $1.7 million, and it awarded sole-source or limited-competition subcontracts that overpaid hourly rates to roofers.

· The company was paid nearly all contract amounts despite "marginal-to-average performance."

The inspector general recommended that the Navy try to recoup about $8.4 million in "excessive" equipment lease payments and material profits, and another $1.4 million for more than 110,000 meals that were paid for and thrown away over a 34-day period.

The audit report noted several unusual costs, including monthly employee cellphone charges of $540 during roof repairs, $720 per month in gas charges -- even as the Navy was already paying for work-site fuel expenses -- and expensive meals, including steak and eggs (full meal prices were redacted from the report)."

NOTE: Southern Beale has more on this bizarre tale.

And even worse, far worse as I see it: Their lousy work just to provide shower facilities for U.S. troops in Iraq have led to multiple deaths of our troops:

"Potentially lethal electrical wiring problems on U.S. bases in Iraq have been known to military officials since October 2004. That’s when an official Army bulletin went out, citing the deaths by electrocution of two soldiers due to poorly grounded wiring.

Since then, several more soldiers and Marines have been killed by faulty wiring and many more injured. The latest confirmed death was Jan. 2 in Iraq, when a Green Beret died taking a shower after a badly grounded water pump short-circuited.

The blame for these deaths rests squarely on KBR, the American defense contractor responsible for base maintenance in Iraq and Afghanistan. There’s evidence that KBR was fully aware of the problems, did little to address them, fired at least one whistle-blower and may even have fabricated paperwork to make it look like proper wiring repairs had been performed when they hadn’t..
-----
One former KBR electrician said the company’s standard excuse for the shoddy electrical work was, “This is a war zone. What do you expect?”

How much more worse will KBR have to perform before every contract they have with American taxpayers gets taken away?

Oh How Sweet It Is

pic via the Celtics website

I seldom write about sports, but after waiting a few decades, I took much joy in watching the Boston Celtics win over the Lakers in the NBA finals yesterday -- their 17th win of the finals, more than any other NBA franchise.

Plus I had to respond to the witless writing pointed out by the KNS Michael Silence, who blogged about this inane comment from ESPN's Jemele Hill:

"Rooting for the Celtics is like saying Hitler was a victim. It's like hoping Gorbachev would get to the blinking red button before Reagan."

Oh, really? (let me repeat that with more snark "Oh, reeeeeeeeeeally?" There, that's better. I avoid the urge to say "neener-neener-neener".)

How the heck Hill saw any wisdom to her claim is beyond reason. With 16 and now 17 titles to their claim, not to mention the longest winning streak - 8 back-to-back title wins, more than any sports organization in North America - Hill needs some basic world history training and sports history training, too.

I became a Celtics fan back during the 1976 NBA finals. That Game 5 triple-overtime game is likely one of the best NBA games ever and one which inspired me for many years. It isn't June in my mind unless the Celtics are in the Finals. And ya know what, it is a fine, sweet June in 2008.

Did I have to wait a long time - since 1986 - for the Celtics to win the title again? Yes.

Did the 2008 Celtics drill the Lakers in 2008? Yes.

Does Hill need to eat giant heaping plates of crow? Yes.

Court Says White House Agency Exempt From Law

A D.C. judge has ruled that the White House can keep hiding their emails, declaring the group tracking and holding the documents are a "non-agency." Just ignore the previous 30 years of law.

In suit filed by CREW (Citizens for Ethics and Responsibility) against the Office of Administration, the court says millions of "lost emails" don't actually need to follow the laws of the Freedom of Information Act. CREW was quick to respond:

"After initially agreeing to provide records, OA changed course and claimed it was not an agency and, therefore, had no obligation to comply with the FOIA. OA made this claim despite the fact that even the White House’s own website described OA as an agency and included regulations for processing FOIA requests.

While acknowledging the question is a close one, Judge Kollar-Kotelly has found that OA is not an agency on the grounds that it does not exercise substantial independent authority.

OA has admitted that it functioned as an agency and processed FOIA requests until August 2007. Although CREW filed its FOIA request in April 2007 – four months before OA changed its position – the court found that OA had no duty to respond to CREW’s FOIA request because OA was never an agency in the first place.

CREW’s executive director Melanie Sloan said today, “CREW has appealed the decision. The Bush administration is using the legal system to prevent the American people from discovering the truth about the millions of missing White House e-mails. The fact is, until CREW asked for documents pertaining to this problem, the Office of Administration routinely processed FOIA requests. Only because the administration has so much to hide here, has the White House taken the unprecedented position that OA is not subject to the FOIA.”

Writers at Reason Magazine offer this:

"For 30 years, the Office of Administration has been subject to FOIA. But once they discovered that the Office of Administration may have paperwork showing how or why the Bush administration was able to dispose of millions of possibly incriminating emails, the White House conveniently decided the office was no longer subject to FOIA."

The usual laws mean nothing under current White House leadership. Just keep moving the records around until enough delays take place to muddy any investigation.

The Decider is, after all, The Decider.

ET Newspapers Trade Insults

The first rule about Congressional Elections in the 1st District is - You don't talk about Congressional Elections in the 1st District.

Instead we have a fierce word battle between the managing editor at the Bristol Herald Courier, Todd Foster, and a Hank Hayes, reporter for the Kingsport Times News, over a BHC report about Congressman David Davis.

"Kingsport Slimes News Lives Up To It's Reputation"

"Kingsport Times-News reporter Hank Hayes has a bright future flacking for politicians. Lord knows, he’s better at it than at journalism.

Hayes used the news columns of his newspaper on Thursday to attack an investigative article we published a week ago about U.S. Rep. David Davis, R-Tenn., and his congressional earmarks. That same day, we published an editorial that noted the amount of special-interest money Davis was socking away."

-----

"MY ADVICE to Hayes is to cash in on his boosterism. If Davis does the right thing and fires his press secretary, Ryan Tronovitch, as we editorialized he should on Friday, then Hayes could at least join the Davis payroll officially.

Why did we call for Tronovitch’s firing?

Because the news release attacking our editorial was posted on the congressman’s Web site under a URL – or Web address – that ended in “bhcjerks.”

THE URL quickly was removed by Davis’ staff after Hayes’ article quoted me as saying the “bhcjerks” reference was immature and undignified.

Tronovitch has more problems than his immaturity (he can be forgiven for being 23 years old). The Broome (N.Y.) Community College Web site has a photo of Tronovitch as a member of the men’s soccer team and quotes him under “Favorite Things To Do” as saying, “I like to play soccer, sleep, eat, listen to music and that’s about it.”

Notice that learning the English language was not included on Tronovitch’s list. Many of the Davis news releases under Tronovitch’s byline include rampant misspellings. (Note to Ryan: There’s a new invention out; it’s called SpellCheck. You might want to use it.)"

Sadly, while the media is reporting on itself, no other news media are checking into the allegations about Rep. Davis taking money from a business he then worked to get a government contract for ... that's not news, I suppose.

And yes, there are other candidates for the office of 1st District Congressman. Yet, past history shows that voters will simply look for a Republican to vote for, and they'll likely vote for the incumbent first, regardless of any allegations.

Home Again

After a most busy week in Wonderland, I am back in the digital saddle. (sounds kinda painful ..)

Blogging will resume shortly.

I did enjoy my extended stay in Wonderland, where there was little to no talk at all of politics and the Internet was merely a place to find music, see funny videos, and talk to friends.

I did take note that it does seem most expensive to live at the technological level - a 12 year old with iPod, cell phone and portable gaming devices is a 12 year old with working parents who dole out many dollars.

I'm so old, I remember when it was a tough job just to remember my home phone number, games came in a cardboard box, and the best musical devices were also home furniture and were called "consoles."

I've Tumbled Down The Rabbit Hole

It's true. I tumbled down a rabbit hole a few weeks back and I have not been here to post with my normal regular schedule. The Wi-Fi in Wonderland is sketchy, ya know. (Above are pictured Alice, The March Hare, The Dormouse and The Mad Hatter -- duh, who else would that be??? Alice is played by Autumn Leming, and her brother Josiah was a contestant on "American Idol" this year so we all feel connected to Hollywood-style Fame and Fortune; the March Hare is Candice Keller, The Dormouse is Jamie Afghani, and The Mad Hatter is Kylian Andrew.) Oh and be sure and click on all the photos in this post to see larger versions.

Now to explain: I've been most busy in Wonderland, which means I've been directing a stage version of Lewis Carroll's classic story for the Rose Center Summer Players program in Morristown. This is the 17th production of their annual summer program and I am deeply grateful to Rose Center for the opportunity to work with 18 young actors, ranging from 12 to 18 years of age. They are terrific performers, plus they have been hard at work making costumes, selling ads for the programs, helping with the set and props, and just doing whatever necessary bringing life to the wild world of Wonderland.

We perform the show for one weekend only, this weekend, with shows Friday and Saturday at 7 pm and matinees on Saturday and Sunday at 2 pm. Tickets are only $5 and can be purchased in advance or at the door, just call 423-581-4330 for the details.

I have such high praise and esteem for the young actors in this show. They work hard and play hard and have been so willing to try all manner of slapstick comedy and wacky antics, to wrestle with the impossible and nonsensical language, all to create an unforgettable journey to Wonderland. The cast comes from all over East Tennessee and they make me laugh and laugh, and they often laugh at me, too. Best of all they allow me to be a part of their creativity and wit.

Did I mention they make me laugh really hard?? They are very funny, on-stage and off.

From now thru Sunday I will be mostly in Wonderland and not here on the blog, so I wanted you, dear readers, to know. Also, I wanted you to know about this show so you could make some plans to attend at least one performance. Don't worry if you live far away -- it's worth the drive, even if gas is a bajillion dollars a gallon.

I'm adding some more pictures below from rehearsals this week. The set is not complete in these images and some costumes are still getting finishing touches, too. The photos were taken by my good friend Roger Fleenor and I should have a link to his Flickr album soon, so check back.

Many thanks go to the parents of the entire cast and crew for all their work and time. Thanks goes to Eileen Bowers who is the Education Coordinator for Rose Center and has been producer for every Rose Center Summer Players production. She makes my job very, very easy. (And she's mighty funny too and also makes me laugh a lot.)

Here's a shot of some of the Wonderland cast as they are rehearsing a scene where they play a version of croquet ....


Next a peek at Tweedledum (Candace Davis) and Tweedledee (Adreanna Bailey):


The Frog (Austin Pratt), The Knave (Spencer Husk) and the King of Hearts (Preston Husk) all take a moment to ponder on life in Wonderland:

On behalf of the entire cast and crew, we would love to see you in Wonderland too. We'll have plenty of home-made tarts for sale at the concession stand (just don't tell Tana McClain- I mean The Queen of Hearts!!).

PAC Donations Bring Votes From Rep. Davis

"Michael Owens at Tricities.com reports that U.S. Rep. David Davis, R-Tenn., is this election season’s leading congressional recipient of donations from a billion-dollar global defense contractor accused of bribing Saudi officials with call girls and money.

BAE System’s $11,000 worth of donations to Davis began trickling into his campaign fund after he requested $4.4 million in federal funding for the contractor. After cuts in the congressional appropriations process, the arms dealer landed $4 million.

The London-based defense company’s political contribution arm, USAPAC, is among the largest donors to Davis’ campaign."

DeMarCaTionVille has the more on this story.

"Of course, when told of the allegations against BAE Systems, Davis said an investigation does not mean that the company is guilty of any wrongdoing. Likewise, he doesn’t know anything about the coincidental timing of BAE Systems’ contributions. Davis also told the Herald Courier he is comfortable accepting money from a defense firm, which manufactures arms the world over, as long as neither the company nor its customers defy American ideals."

Camera Obscura: Fear Itself and NBC's Horror Contest; Vampire Hamlet

The makers of the award-winning "Masters of Horror" series on Showtime have now moved to NBC on Thursday nights this summer. Mick Garris and his team have again gathered some top names in the genre - Stuart Gordon, John Landis, Darren Bousman (director of the "Saw" movie series), Mary Harron ("American Psycho") and some top acting talent too. Showtime's loss is NBC's gain.

The first episode, "Sacrifice", by director Brick Eisner, aired this week and you can watch it online at NBC right here. The story about vampires and gun-runners was quite grisly and well done, I thought. Future episodes of the 13-episode series are Thursday nights at 10 pm. I am delighted to see Garris and his team still crafting shows which are envelope-pushing horror tales for the small screen, bringing a much-needed jolt to original anthology programming.

Also, NBC's Chiller TV, their online all-horror channel has just launched their new short horror film contest, Dare To Direct - details are here on how to enter - and $5,000 goes to best films, best monsters and other categories too. The link also includes the work of last year's winners. You could be "America's Next Top Monster"!!!!!

-----

A new movie blending Shakespeare, hipsters and vampires called "Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Undead" looks like a perfect little indie horror comedy. There's a trailer (see below) but no word yet on a release date. The official website is here.

Tropical Night

It's 7 pm and the temperature is just over 92 degrees here in this part of the lush Tennessee Valley, but this feels more like a tropical heatwave. So why not gather some friends and some tiki torches and ease into the weekend with some style?

Here's something to help. First, a nice tropical kinda painting suitable for an indoor or outdoor tiki lounge setting.



Now a list of 53 excellent tropical drink recipes.

And now the music:


SeeqPod - Playable Search

Fact-Checking Rep. David Davis on Energy

In a speech to Greene County Republicans, the incumbent 1st District Congressman David Davis made some claims which capture the imagination, but blur the facts.

He says "There is more oil in Colorado than in the entire nation of Saudi Arabia".


Well - Saudi Arabia has crude oil aplenty, yes. Colorado and other western states have huge shale oil deposits, which could create trillions of barrels of oil. Emphasis is on "could". In the 1980s, the Exxon corporation spent some $8 billion on the Colony Oil Shale Project, which ultimately failed. The cost of production plus the then-low price of oil per barrel made it a losing game.

" ... the plan to develop synthetic fuels was to be another Manhattan Project, a dramatic, accelerated national effort to meet energy needs from American resources and help make the U.S. less dependent on foreign crude."

Ah, the well-worn "Manhattan Metaphor" sure has been around for a long time. And experts agree the oil from shale does not make gasoline quality products. But the hopes remain that it could ... one day .. be viable.

Many patents exist to try and make it a more worthwhile project - but we aren't there yet.

The current pricing for crude oil may change that, and a 2006 federal program called for development of such technologies, but again, we're just not there yet. A 2006 Congressional report on the shale oil deposits in the western U.S. says:

"However, because oil shales have not proved to be economically recoverable, they are considered a contingent resource and not true reserves. It remains to be demonstrated whether an economically significant oil volume can be extracted under existing operating conditions."

But saying all of that is not nearly anywhere as catchy or as quotable as what Rep. Davis says, is it? (He's also on record saying OPEC sets oil prices, when they do not.)

Rep. Davis goes on to say "China is 90 miles off the coast of the U.S. drilling for oil, and the (Democratic-led) U.S. Congress won't let us drill there ourselves".


Well, again, that's not a factual statement.

China has partnered with Cuba's national oil company to allow Cuba to use Chinese-made equipment to explore and drill, and they (along with Spain and Canada) are drilling off of the coast of Cuba. Last time I checked, that would make it a Cuban coast and not a U.S. coast. True, though, that getting to Cuba from the U.S. is a 90-mile trip.

Once again, the facts just don't make the same snappy campaign talking points as Rep. Davis makes.

Oh, and it's the state of Florida which has prevented more oil exploration and drilling off of their coasts and Congress has agreed with them.

Alternatives to imported oil, alternatives in all areas of energy creation, are absolutely needed. But fudging the facts to score campaign-trail points serves only to keep the public ill-informed.

A Progressive Turn In America?

One thing I've noticed here in the South during the presidential campaigns for Senator Obama and Senator Clinton: the fairly quick withering worldview regarding non-whites and women. The good thing here is that the comments I've heard quickly ID the speakers as having some serious prejudices -- good to know who they are and that their days of power are dissolving. Clinging to past prejudices in light of change is a sure sign of extinction.

I recently overheard a county constable, who has been on the county payroll since sometime before Eisenhower I think, tell a most nasty joke about these two major contenders for the presidency. And no, I'm not going to repeat it. The joke, if you want to call it that, fell flat among the listeners, and none rebuked him. Was it mercy for the old geezer whose views and his days of power are fading fast? It was most generous if it was mercy, then.

Publius at Obsidian Wings made some noteworthy comments on the very historic event of Senator Obama's rise to prominence:

"And all of this was accomplished by a black man named Barack Hussein Obama, in a nation of former slaveholders in a post-9/11 world.

I pride myself on being fairly cynical. Like any good child of the 90s, I’ve watched more than my share of Larry David. And I understand the frustrations that Clinton supporters and more hardened, cynical Obama supporters feel when they hear all the naive gushing praise for him — particularly from young people.

But they need to understand that many of us have never had a moment like this. We’ve never really been inspired — we’ve never “looked up” at candidates in a Paul Fussell “Romantic” sense. Candidates have never been bigger than us — we look down on them, we criticize, we tell dry jokes, we watch the Daily Show. We’re just not that inspired.

But for the first time, a lot of people are inspired. I don’t really remember 1992, and I didn’t exist in 1960. So I don’t know what this feels like. But I’m excited — I’m not in cult-like worship mode, but for the first time in my political life, I’m genuinely excited about the opportunities ahead. Maybe that will prove silly — maybe the proverbial 1968 lies just ahead. For now, though, I’m excited.

But even if 1968 lies ahead, who cares. When you see your teenage children experiencing crushes for the first time, you hopefully don’t call them over and say “these emotions you’re feeling now, they will soon be crushed.” You pat them on the back and wish their doomed enterprise well, and maybe savor a few youthful memories of your own.

And who knows, maybe this time, the good guys will win. Maybe in this version, there is no Nixon -- no 1968. Maybe Mercutio survives. It’s a historic and exciting time — progressivism appears to be in an intellectual revival. The Democrats — having shed its Dixiecrat wing — are poised to command the most progressive majority in American history."

I on the other hand remain a cynic. I do recall watching the '68 convention and the aftermath, I've seen the continued evidence of endless corruption and abuse of federal powers, I've seen great ideas rise, flourish and fall to the wayside when needs get a new focus. (Isn't it appropriate here to also say "I've seen the best minds of my generation ...."??)

I do see much optimism with an Obama presidency, but I also know that change is seldom legislated. It can happen, up to a point, and then the non-elected Americans will have to continue the job.

Few Vote, Sales Tax Hike Approved

With little to no news coverage of the event, city officials won approval of a sales tax increase in Morristown on Tuesday. A of 1,504 voted in the special election. Some 979 voted yes on the measure with 525 voting no. The referendum wins approval, but could not get even 15% of city voters to come to the polls.

Does one vote matter? A few hundred certainly does.

The vote means property taxes will drop 15 cents from a recent 40 cent increase. How long until that amount increases? With ever-rising city government costs and an a community unconcerned with voting, I'd say the increase will happen as soon as possible with no fear of repercussion.

Defending Congressman David Davis

Blogger David Oatney says 1st District Congressional Congressman David Davis has done a stellar job in his first term, simply a man who represents his constituents:

In the case of the First District Primary, it isn't so much that Phil Roe is a poor choice, but that an effective case against Davis from a conservative perspective can't be made-David Davis is a conservative, and his views on issues such as taxes, immigration, abortion (and other social issues), national defense, and unfunded federal mandates are similar those of most of his constituents.

David Oatney's post takes on this post from DeMarCaTionVille on Rep. Davis and the 1st District:

"I do think the area is changing, but it’s changing at about the same rate as the climate. Therefore, I don’t expect see any significant breaks in district voting patterns - at least not over the next five years or so.

Two reasons: (1) the Republicans have all the money and (2) political party is a family tradition.

I know it sounds crazy but it’s true. People in this district pass down their “Conservative Republicanism” like its heirloom silver. Some, who have inherited the party, embrace the values with which they grew up. Others have no clue what the Republican party stood for, how it’s changed or what it means nowadays - but they cling to it nonetheless. It belongs to them as much as their family name or their Grandpappy’s pocketwatch. For the most part admitting to this crowd, you prefer a Democratic candidate is akin to wearing a Mexican Flag shirt and singing “Big Ole Butt” to the preacher’s wife at the Baptist Homecoming.

It’s not gonna make you popular."

Blogger Rob Huddleston writes today:

"I think the dogfighting vote acknowledged by Oatney - the vote where Davis appeared to take the untenable position of being pro-dogfighting - could be bigger than the other votes that Davis has cast in the last two years. In the wake of Michael Vick, public sentiment was on the side of those who wanted to come out stronger against interstate dogfighting. To be the only Tennessean voting against the dogfighting bill could be portrayed as being out-of-touch with Tennessee voters.

Only time will tell if this becomes the race I think it could. However, Davis should not rest on his laurels, because 78% of Republican voters in 2006 didn't pick him in the primary."

I have taken issue several times with Rep. Davis' public comments (more illegal immigrants in Hamblen County than anywhere in the world!!) and voting record (what dogfighting??). He takes the party line most of the time. He sends me bulk mail telling me how to battle the high cost of gasoline, but won't vote to reduce tax breaks for oil companies.

Some other votes:

No on increasing the minimum wage.

No on allowing the government to negotiate with drugmakers for lower prices for those on Medicare.

No on the Children's Health Care expansion.

No on a resolution (HR 1591, which the president did veto) which would set benchmarks for the war in Iraq and set a timetable for withdrawal, as well as provide funding for improving health care for returning veterans, address needs for recovery relief due to Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, increase funding for vehicles and armor used in Iraq to withstand roadside bombs.

Yes on expanding eavesdropping authority without court order.

More on the bills above and the votes are listed here. Also, plenty of info is here on his voting record on a host of social and political scales - some with very high ratings, some very low.

And honestly, most of the grumbling from the GOP in East Tennessee about Rep. Davis comes from the Tri-Cities area. And truly, Rep. Davis has been making appearances for just about any grant program or announcement he can.

I know my views are not in the mainstream of East Tennessee voters - but I will vote for change in this district and right now the candidate I like is Rob Russell, a Morristown native. I don't agree with his views 100% -- but after 100-plus years of a single party, the republicans, in charge of this district, our area isn't all it could be, in my opinion. Low wages are a key concern - or should be - for the residents.

From Russell's web page:

"Make access to affordable healthcare and freedom from medical bankruptcy a reality for all Americans.

Enforce fair trade policies that will protect East Tennessee jobs.

Reduce energy costs and end our dependence on foreign oil through investing in renewable energy technologies.

End the war in Iraq and repair the damage it has done to our diplomatic standing, military strength, and domestic economy.

Provide our children with the world’s best education and improve educational opportunities for hard-working college students and adults re-training for 21st-century jobs.

Put an end to corporate welfare and tax loopholes that allow foreign and US-owned corporations to avoid paying their fair share.

Guarantee a living wage for full-time workers– “working poor” is a shameful phrase that should never have to be used to describe hard-working Americans!

Buried In A Pringles Can

Well, if you have the patent on the Pringles can, why not be buried in one? R.I.P Fredric J. Baur.

And some other news stories to which I can say "I did not know that!"

-- Your high school graduation speech was stolen (and your principal stole one too).

-- Riots between gangs of Emos and Punks are making the news in Mexico.

No Debate On Morristown Sales Tax Referendum

City residents in Morristown have a sales tax increase referendum on the ballot for their vote on Tuesday, but there is pretty much zero information about the ballot. A county-wide vote was defeated earlier this year, despite much huffing and puffing to promote it in the local press. Most in the public just won't vote to increase taxes. All those temporary measure taxes, like for a wheel tax, voted for in county after county were really votes for a permanent tax. Voters learn quickly from such experiences.

For Tuesday - not even the city's web site has one word about the upcoming vote. The only listed event for Tuesday June 3rd is a city council meeting. Is the measure more likely to pass if fewer people vote? Until the vote is counted Tuesday, we won't know. It sure seems like a low turnout is being hoped for.

Blogger Linda Noe has reported on the mass mailed letters to "property owners" asking them to support the tax increase, an effort paid for by tax dollars. Has the city decided the less said about the sales tax increase the better?

Part of the push from City Hall is that their recent massive 40-cent property tax increase would be rolled back some 15 cents if this vote passes. But given the budget mess they have on their hands, how long before that 15 cents gets added back in again? Or 25 cents? Or more? The sales tax increase is permanent.

Ben Cunningham at Taxing Tennessee writes about the city's registering itself as a committee to promote the proposed increase:

"I wish I could find words to describe the arrogance of these Morristown officials."

I am not a city resident and will have no vote on Tuesday. However, I can and do vote by deciding where I go to spend money, as do so many others in the area. Knowing I could travel into the city limits to make a purchase at a higher price or travel about the same distance to Jefferson County and Jefferson City ... well, with everything costing more and more, I look for savings wherever I can. Some folks can't afford to pay for the extra cost of gas to travel outside the city for a small savings on sales tax, but I wonder how many non-city residents will decide to not make a purchase while in Morristown?

Whether or not the city needs an increase in sales taxes, needs to cut spending, needs to reconfigure their operations - all that is a topic for debate, certainly.

But I hear no debate at all.

Camera Obscura: Al Gore's Opera; New Coen Brothers; 'Stuck'; Learn Filmmaking Secrets; A New Futurama Movie

More crackling comedy is ahead from Joel and Ethan Coen in the movie "Burn After Reading", a farce about the CIA and would-be spies starring Brad Pitt, John Malkovich, George Clooney and Frances McDormand and Tilda Swinton. A brand new trailer hit the internet this week:



Opening this week is a sort of comedy/thriller/true story called "Stuck", from director Stuart Gordon, whose career stretches from the H.P. Lovecraft cult hit "Re-Animator" to a very shocking adaptation of playwright David Mamet's "Edmond". But for "Stuck", he turns to true crime for the story of a woman who hits a homeless man with her car, embedding him in the windshield and then just decides to drive home and deal with the whole thing later. Yeah, can't make up a tale like that. You've got to see the trailer to catch what's happening here at IGN.

IGN also has a trailer for the Pang Brothers American remake of their thriller, "Bangkok Dangerous", due out soon. The movie is still about the dangers of being a hitman, but the deaf-mute killer in the original is now Nicolas Cage, who is not deaf or mute. The trailer is here.

---

Oscar-winning cinematographer Roger Deakins has his own web site where he gladly dives into forums to talk about every aspect of filmmaking - lighting, using cameras, and much more - which you can explore right here. It's a mini-filmmaking class loaded with insights.

---

Al Gore's movie "An Inconvenient Truth" is going to be an opera. No I am not kidding.

---

The Beast With A Billion Backs is the title of the new movie from "Futurama", the second of four DVD movies, and is out in late June and picks up once again with the gang from Planet Express. Here's a trailer:

Will The 1st District Ever Emerge From The Shadows?

After decades of empty-handed, self-serving Congressmen in the 1st District, I too am wondering if the seat might fall to a Democrat this fall. Randy Neal at TennViews points to some of the elements in this year's race. And as I have been saying for a while, many in the East Tennessee GOP want Rep. Davis to be a one-term federal representative. Randy points to the primary battle underway, as reported in The HIll:

"Johnson City Mayor Phil Roe (R) finished fourth in 2006 with 17 percent of the vote, but has quietly become one of the few challengers in the country this year to out-raise an incumbent. He reported collecting $120,000 between January and March, compared to $80,000 for Davis, who still holds a 2-to-1 advantage in total cash.

Davis has signed up Bill Snodgrass as his campaign manager. Snodgrass served as district director for former Rep. Bill Jenkins (R), who served in the seat for five terms before retiring in 2006. Also, Keith Spicer, a co-chairman of Davis’s campaign last cycle, is now an adviser to Roe.

Davis’s campaign did not respond to requests for comment for this story.

Bruce Oppenheimer, a political science professor at Vanderbilt University, said it’s generally tough to beat incumbents in the state but that Roe does have an advantage in that the district is focused on a singular media market in the Tri-Cities area of Bristol, Johnson City and Kingsport.

“That’s the one district where there is largely one media market, although you might have to do Knoxville as well to hit the whole district,” Oppenheimer said. “So it’s probably an affordable district to campaign against the incumbent.”

Despite the challengers’ enthusiasm, David Wasserman, a House race analyst for the Cook Political Report, said Davis will likely have to do something wrong for the voters to kick him out.

The incumbent has had legendary staying power in the seat over the last 90 years, including being held for three decades by both Reps. B. Carroll Reece (R) and Jimmy Quillen (R) and then by Jenkins."

One would have to be deeply uninvolved to realize that Rep. Davis has had a lousy term. And also worth noting is that the GOP machine, which really runs this district is split over Rep. Davis. I know this area is totally filled with Conservative voters - but they too are angry with their leadership. Our area has been changing quite a bit lately in terms of who is living and working here.

If a GOP challenger or if the Democrats would organize a smart campaign converging on how this section of the state has been allowed to dissipate into the far background instead of a priority for state attention and national concerns, I think that person could win by a landslide. But with precious few media outlets, local control also in the hands of a few party leaders and their crony-filled staff, new ideas and new directions are very hard to market.

Donut Terrorism

Leave it to right-wingnuts like Michelle Malkin to vigorously blend donuts, scarves and Rachel Ray into examples of terrorists taking over America, resulting in a recipe of sheer madness.

That may be one of the most insane sentences I've ever written, and trust me, I have worked hard at times to write some crazy stuff.

Worse, crazier even - the Dunkin' Donuts company was rendered so helpless and fearful by the insane concepts spewed by Malkin, they yanked ads of Rachel Ray wearing the Heinous Scarf.

Says Dunkin' Donuts:

"In a recent online ad, Rachael Ray is wearing a black-and-white silk scarf with a paisley design. It was selected by her stylist for the advertising shoot. Absolutely no symbolism was intended. However, given the possibility of misperception, we are no longer using the commercial."

To which Malkin cheered:

"It's refreshing to see an American company show sensitivity to the concerns of Americans opposed to Islamic jihad and its apologists."

Jihadi donuts????

The Epi-Log on Epicurious writes:

"It's probably hard for many people to decide who deserves the lion's share of their wrath: Malkin for ignorant (and, as always, borderline racist) demagoguery, the insipid Rachael Ray for aggressively embracing the role of foodie icon while shamelessly peddling nutritional nightmares, or Dunkin' Donuts for manufacturing said fare in the first place and for backing down in the face of Malkin's toothless swagger."

Donuts, people. And scarves.

The murky historical origin of the donut, or doughnut, obviously hides some nefarious plot ....

And clothing, well, that all started with a fig leaf meant to hide from the shame of Original Sin.

And let's not even talk about the evils of eating ice cream:

"Worst of all from this point of view are those more uncivilized forms of eating, like licking an ice cream cone --a catlike activity that has been made acceptable in informal America but that still offends those who know eating in public is offensive."

In Memory of Fallen Soldiers

I'd like to think most of us have moved past the idea that support and encouragement of our troops - the men and women who volunteer to serve in the military and not the hired contractors who serve to make a profit - does not mean support for the war in Iraq. I have never supported it and still cannot. But make no mistake - I have friends and family who serve now and have served in decades past. I've seen them used and abused and I simply hope for their safe return home and for greater wisdom to direct our armed forces.

I don't sport bumper stickers or yellow ribbons, but I know many who do. Sometimes, they are presented by the wives and husbands and parents and children and brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles and more who wait here at home anxious for their loved ones to return home. I tell my elected representatives in government when they've been wise and when they've been unwise when deploying the military.

On this Memorial Weekend, I am grateful for the freedoms we have and enjoy as folks vacation and barbecue with great ease and pleasure, and I know many folks who never really think about how we came to such ease. There are voices at home and abroad who work unselfishly in preserving such freedoms.

Some folks today, however, are grieving for their losses.

I read about one woman, Kristen Nelson, a widow at age 20, who saw her Marine husband return home in a flag-draped coffin one day after their first-year anniversary. Her story and that of her husband, Cpl. Richard Nelson is told with images in this report from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

More on the story behind the images is here. A young American widow and her family will be spending this weekend and many more to come marking the loss of Cpl. Nelson. A life-sized cardboard image of the young Marine haunts their home today. And for this Memorial weekend, I hope you take some time to consider the real lives, the real people, whose loss is keen and whose futures are uncertain. (NOTE: I received an email from Cpl. Nelson's brother Dave today, which I appreciated, and he included a link to a website of remembrance for his brother - I encourage you to visit and sign the guestbook there.)

There are so many stories of real people, typical Americans all, which deserve to be recognized. One place to read about them is here, in a continuing series called I Got The News Today.

Don't wait until the events of our time are history to think about what is happening today.