The Satanic Lunch Program of Doom!

"Hawkins County school officials assure me that students participating in the biometric identification system will be under no obligation whatsoever to swear allegiance or worship the school lunch lady. In fact, the Hawkins County School system advises against the worship or religious-type following of any staff or board member - as this would be just really weird.

Okay, they didn’t actually say that. They were mostly offended by the notion that half the county thinks they’re acting as a mark distributor for the devil. But the point here is: you are not and will never be required to kneel before anyone wearing plastic gloves and a hair net."

Read the whole story at DeMarCaTionVille.

My Speech to the 2008 Democrat Convention

Hello convention delegates!

Thanks for the invite to speak to you all.

I salute your party today because your primary campaigns offered, for the first time, viable contenders for the office of President who were not White Males. I think that is a most historic event, worthy of praise and admiration, and points to a nation lead more by ideals than any other thing.

I am an Independent voter, sort of. I decided to vote in the primary in Tennessee back in February and in order to do that I had to pick a political party primary to vote in. (Of course, I was also voting on a local sales tax increase, which I voted against, which really meant nothing, since the city voters decided in June to vote again and passed it and now the county says they want the increase too and it is on the ballot in November, but I wonder how it can be on the ballot twice in one year, and sorry I digress here.)

So as of this moment, I am still an Independent but a peek at my voting record would show I voted this year in the Democrat primary and am thus, I suppose, a Democrat. (The state's Democrat blog links to my page while the GOP's blog does not link to me, whatever that is worth.)

(Jeez-oh-Pete, look at these parenthetical remarks ... that's what happens to my writing and speechifying after I've just read a Robert Heinlein book. Ah well. Anyone who finds the use of the word or the form of parenthetical writing are all gone now, so it may be safe to continue.)

I mention all this as a form of full-disclosure. I have never been a dues-paying, card-carrying member of any political party, but I did vote in the primary and most folks who know me who are members of the two-party system have always labeled me a "liberal democrat", mostly as a short-hand way of expressing distaste for my views, meaning not so much they are 'liberal' as they are individual.

Since so many bloggers, texters and jillions of other event-recorders are at your convention, and since your candidate, Sen. Obama, is intent on including more than just delegates at his acceptance speech, I decided to make my virtual attendance and provide a speech. Thanks for thinking of me.

(Oh, and for those who think the Senator's speech in front of "Greek columns" is a grab at the power of Godhood, what? Have you people even been to Washington, D.C.? The style of our government's architecture is purely Greek temple.)

Here is my plea:

Don't blow it.

Our current Republican President and V.P. and his appointees have greatly abused the powers of their offices. Never thought I would see such abuse in my lifetime. Centralizing authority in a single political office is utterly opposite the reasons our Nation was founded. And they led by stirring fear and suspicion and woe and still, even with all that power, they are inept; so inept that 3 years ago they could not muster a response to a hurricane in the Gulf Coast and still can't; so inept they cannot conduct a military campaign to victory even after they have claimed it; so inept ... well, you get the point and I am no Great Orator.

My concern is that much of the conduct of this official and his crew were all made possible by the elected representatives in Congress. It was allowed to happen and accountability has been sorely absent. So I'm saying - Do Not Blow This Opportunity.

Our Nation has been stained with the acceptance of torture, of acting without legally obtained warrants, and all the while telling me to get some duct tape and plastic to make myself safe in my home and to take off my shoes to be safe in an airplane. The last eight (well, seven and change) years have been surreal. More so than normal.

I'm about twelve years past the median age in this country, so this ain't my first rodeo. Political conventions are as engaging to most folk as oral surgery. Now that you have had your time to gather some unified energy, it is time to hit the streets and get some face time with voters who are unsure of what to do after having the bejesus scared out of themselves. And should you be fortunate and blessed and obtain the office of the Presidency, then boy oh boy the real work starts. And it will not be easy to undo the damage. I will be watching closely and you can check what I think by visiting this page often and thank you for that.

Still, I speak today to support the Obama/Biden ticket. Your choice is highly optimistic about our Nation. I surely hope that is what you begin to spread among the masses and truly bring back into government.

As a great British writer once wrote: "God bless us, every one."

G'night.

(Can you get your house band to play this as I leave the stage? Can I pretend to conduct, too? No? Ah well, play on, play on.)

Why I Feel Justified Fearing New High-Tech Cellphones

Tales Told By Idiots

After the 24-hours of comments left on this Knoxville News Sentinel story, I may have to take back my comments yesterday that the good outweighs the bad on the internet.

Crikey. I sure feel sorry for those who have to moderate the comments there. Must be like cleaning out Ancient Septic Tanks of the Damned.

I did note one comment worth repeating:

"Sounds like most of you took the day off from working on your GED's."

UPDATE: I'm embarrassed. KNS blogger Michael Silence writes this morning that I was more right yesterday. I should not read news and comments until I've had more coffee and sleep, maybe??

It's a Madhouse!!

"It's basically become a mudpit and it's very loud," he said of the blogosphere. In his final post, he wrote, "Today the blogosphere is so charged, so polarized, and so filled with haters hating that it's simply not worth it. "

From Jason Calacanis, founder of Weblogs and CEO for Mahalo, in the Washington Post article Monday.

Since I began scouring the Internet via a 9600 baud dial-up connection in the early 1990s and all the way to today, what I have discovered is you can find whatever you wish to find - mudpits, nitwits, genius, talent, scum, glory, community, isolation and an opinion on any topic. Managing sites can be thankless, brutal work, and it can also be incredibly rewarding.

The real crux of the WaPo article above is that marketing directors, CEOs, large and minuscule, companies all compete on the Internet now. This humble page is one of millions of daily blogs, nearly impossible for anyone to find, right? Nope. Readers arrive from every corner of the planet to view this page, from all manner of sources and queries and searches. As many as hate, just as many offer something better than that.

For me, what I continue to see is an ever-expanding creativity. And yes, some folks just scrawl dirty limericks on the walls, but the larger truth is about creation and not destruction.

Talking About Michelle Obama

I only got to see some of the event last night, but one thing did really creep me out: those silhouettes along the railing above the stage and in front of the big screen look really weird.

Anyway ...

I think Michelle Obama did something fairly amazing in her speech last night at the Democratic Convention - she made a mostly critique-proof speech. It wasn't a rant on the failures of Republicans, or a huge promotion of policies and platforms. It was a kind of fluffy talk about how her family made her strong, how her marriage and her children made her strong, and that those kinds of strength are the best of American Life.

Mom, Dad, Home, Kids and Apple Pie. As both the Tennessee and the national Republican PR-geeks have worked to create the image of Michelle Obama as a deranged and bitter and angry woman, she effortlessly deflected such claims, gave huge emotional and symbolic salutes to the role of women in American Life - as sisters, mothers, and daughters - and still gave salutes to her man, too, in a way that is hard to smack down with criticism, like this bit:

"He's the same man who drove me and our new baby daughter home from the hospital ten years ago this summer, inching along at a snail's pace, peering anxiously at us in the rearview mirror, feeling the whole weight of her future in his hands .."

Every parent who heard that probably got a bit misty on that line. Making her a target at that moment would be a major error. It also made me think perhaps she had wished he would move a little faster, too.

Likewise, a salute (emotional and symbolic) to Sen. Kennedy, whose health is failing, was tough to knock apart too. Kicking a man when he's down, when his family shows a bittersweet hopefulness for the future, would be political suicide.

So critics were left with little to actually say about last night other than it was "a wasted night", as Bill Kristol said on FOX. Yeah, see, he wants to attack and be attacked. A solid image of families whose lives are measured in small and large moments, sometimes historic, sometimes mundane, leaves critics with nothing to fight about.

UPDATE: Be sure to read R. Neal's observations on Monday night, part of his continuing coverage.

ET Unemployment Hits 5 and 10 Year Highs

Unemployment in Morristown hit a 10-year high at 13%, the highest rate since Jan. 1998, and other metropolitan and county communities likewise saw the summer bring on high rates, according to a report in the Kingsport Times-News:

"With the exception of Johnson City and Kingsport, unemployment rates for East Tennessee cities with population above 25,000 are the highest rates since Jan. 1998 - the date the current Bureau of Labor Statistics report begins.

"Morristown's unemployment rate was 13% - the highest since Jan. 1998.

Kingsport weighted in with 8.2% in July.

Bristol's July rate was 6.6% - the highest since Jan. 1998.

Johnson City's July rate was 6.2%, down from June's 6.3% rate."

The KTN also spoke with ETSU Economist Steb Hipple, who says that even though there were more jobs available this summer than there were in 1998, it's the constantly rising cost of living and inflation which is bringing more and more job seekers out into the marketplace:

"The higher cost of living has decimated family living standards. The only recourse is to put additional family members to work, so in the second quarter millions of Americans entered the labor market trying to find work to augment falling household incomes.”


The announced 20% rate hike in utilities this fall from TVA, and an economy which isn't adding jobs as fast as costs rise mean these numbers may well stay high into next year. And expect your taxes to increase as well.

Ben Cunningham posts about two new increases - one on a so-called 'streamlined-sales-tax' on internet purchases, and another on the coming increase in gasoline taxes in Tennessee as well.

Seems the government, along with most of the rest of us, are searching high and low for ways to provide enough money to cover ever-increasing costs.

Blogging The Democratic Convention

The voices and views of many hundreds of bloggers, the instant texting, the live feeds, the YouTube cameras, and much more hi-and-lo-tech touches are making this year's political nominating party conventions something new.

East Tennessean R. Neal is already in Denver, posting many activities as the event gets underway. A sample photo of the convention center and the security fencing is show below, BUT I want to stress a few things about this new kind of political coverage so peek at the pic, but please read on.
What's happening this week via Neal's reports and comments (which you can easily track with this nifty feed full of links he's provided) and the reports from all those other folks means we're getting fresh perspectives on how our political, social and technological actually works, far ahead of the typical dry old media approach. He's already made numerous posts about just how the convention works, a view from the inside which will be uniquely his own. It's a civic lesson of sorts and I am already learning things -- and he is hardly alone in reporting and writing and photographing a complex political creation.

An article in today's NYTimes calls this the Year of the Political Blogger:

"While many Americans may watch only prime-time television broadcasts of the convention speeches, party officials also recognize the ability of bloggers to deliver minute-by-minute coverage of each day’s events to a niche online audience.

“The goal is to bring down the walls of the convention and invite in an audience that’s as large as possible,” said Aaron Myers, the director of online communications for the Democratic National Convention Committee. “Credentialing more bloggers opens up all sorts of new audiences.”

Many raised the money for the travel and other needs online, some paid for it themselves, and even the so-called 'credentialed' bloggers concept was expanded in recent weeks to allow for even more bloggers to get that inside look. One person with a laptop and a wee camera can do what used to take an army of media employees, hefting cameras and trailing microphone cords at the direction of some producers in van parked outside a convention center. And there are hundreds of folks at the convention with that kind of media power now - not professional.

So, as this week unfolds, I'll be attending the convention too, as I never could before. And I'm working on my own speech which I will present as well. It is gonna be a doozy.

Weekly Best of Tennessee Blogs

Bloggers across the state, like many others, are pondering on the selection of Sen. Joe Biden as the V.P. candidate for Sen. Obama. One way in which Sen. Obama scored a huge win with his announcement was they way in which the media and the public and the bloggers made his choice a huge story for much of the last week.

Here are the thoughts of those in Tennessee who wrote about the event, courtesy of Russ McBee via TennViews:

Given the large number of blog posts discussing the choice of Biden and the diversity of opinions on the topic, this week's roundup is devoted exclusively to that subject.

• 10,000 Monkeys and a Camera: Biden! and Senator O'Biden [Ed. note: The RSS feed for 10,000 Monkeys and a Camera has moved to this link.]

• 55-40 Memphis: It's official now

• Carole Borges: Joe Biden is perfect! I'm excited once again.

• The Crone Speaks: Obama Says it is Biden, I Say More of the Same

• Don Williams: Obama-Biden’s a brilliant ticket, but only if they win, natch

• Enclave: Wealthy Elite vs. Middle Class: Pick Your Biden Scorecard and Biden His Time: Delaware Senator Brings Commoner Cred to the Ticket

• KnoxViews: Joe Biden

• Lean Left: Hello, Joe! (Whadda ya know?)

• Left Of The Dial: Hey Barack

• Left Wing Cracker: I think it's going to work..

• Nashville for the 21st Century: Asshatery at Fournier's "Associated Press"

• Newscoma: Obama Chooses Biden and LA Times Gets Its VP Story Wrong and Breaking Down The Biden Factor

• Russ McBee: A quick thought on Joe Biden

• Sharon Cobb: BREAKING: Obama Picks Joe Biden!

• Silence Isn't Golden: It's Definitely Biden

• Southern Beale: So It's Biden and IOKIYAR: Veepstakes Edition

• Tennessee Guerilla Women: Obama Picks a Bro: It's Biden

• Vibinc: The Veep-Stakes Fiasco [Ed. note: OK, the Vibinc post isn't a reaction per se, since it was written on Friday, but it's still relevant. Sue me.]

And finally, Katie Allison Granju blogs on the subject from her new home at KnoxNews.com, "Because I Said So":

• Because I Said So: Obama didn't get this one right

Camera Obscura: "Doomsday" Rocks; New Heinlein Film; "Appaloosa"; and More Movie News

After a few weeks of uninteresting movies and/or news of films on the way, it's great to have some goodies to offer.

Question: what happens when two of the world's most outlandish directors- Takashi Miike and Quentin Tarantino - join to make a movie? You get "Sukiyaki Western Django". Sort of looks like a MGM-Technicolor musical version of Sergio Leone. Opens in limited release on August 29th. Are you ready for the trailer??


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The recent DVD release of the unrated action-packed movie which had some of the worst marketing of the year and left the movie to die quickly at the box office is a must-see for sci-fi and action fans. "Doomsday" is the most recent from Scottish director/writer Neil Marshall. His first two films are likewise excellent genre pieces, "Dog Soldiers" and "The Descent". He's inventive, imaginative and makes some truly intense movies (meaning you should make the effort to see all three movies). He makes sharp choices in casting, composition, pacing and each of his movies deliver far more than you might expect.

"Doomsday", as Marshall explains in the DVD, is his homage to early John Carpenter movies, especially "Escape From New York" and to "Road Warrior." The result is high-octane fun and mayhem and easily rests very well with those other two classics. And yes, the car-chase finale is almost as good as the end of "Road Warrior". He's not ripping off these movies, he's saluting them.

In "Doomsday's" futuristic world, the Snake Plissken/Mad Max part falls to actress Rhona Mitra (as Colonel Eden Sinclair) and she is every bit as tough, world-weary and relentless as those guys. The story begins as a brutal viral outbreak in Scotland causes the U.K. to wall it all off, leaving the dead and any survivors to fend for themselves in hopes of halting the killer disease. In the evacuation at the time, the young girl Eden is separated from her mom and even has her eye shot out. But, decades later, the disease starts to appear in London and turns out corrupt government officials have known that survivors are thriving in the walled-zone. Maybe there's a cure. Time to send in Snake - I mean Col. Eden (complete with an eye-patch and a cyber eyeball to boot).

Like "Escape" and "Road Warrior" all the set-up for the movie rolls out fast to get you into the action of her adventures. She's joined by a top-notch military squad (who last a bit longer than usual in such action yarns) and discovers a world overrun with madness and cannibalism. One of the leaders in this nightmarish landscape is a character named Sol, and in one amazing scene, he takes to the stage like a rock star, the descendant of Iggy Pop and Mick Jagger, and super-charges the crowd into a frenzy.

The movie isn't mean to be more than it is - escapist sci-fi, a little social commentary, and loads of atmosphere. Add in some fine character performances from Bob Hoskins, Malcolm McDowell, and David O'Hara (who did great work in "The Departed") and this is more than just B-movie hijinks. It's a roaring good time. Director Marshall has turned in 3 great flicks, and his next projects are directing Hugh Jackman in the thriller "Drive" and a horror-themed western called "Sacrilege" (which he calls "Unforgiven" as told by H.P. Lovecraft).

Folks, I've picked many a director/writer in the past based on their skills with basic genre movies and predicted they would make major marks in cinema and haven't been wrong yet. Just two such names include David Cronenberg and Peter Jackson. So check out Neil Marshall's work and I'm sure you'll see just what I mean.

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An actor who both Cronenberg and Jackson helped make a star is Viggo Mortensen and he has two movies on the way this fall which will likely make him even more well-known and respected. The first is the much-anticipated adaptation of Cormac McCarthy's novel "The Road".

And also out this fall is a western he stars in with Ed Harris, "Appaloosa", based on Robert Parker's best-selling book about two hired guns brought into to battle an no-good rancher, with Harris also directing. Co-stars include Jeremy Irons and Renee Zellweger. The trailer was just released:


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Director Alex Proyas ("Dark City" and "I, Robot") is tackling one of the biggest names ever in the sci-fi field, Robert Heinlein. It's one of his lesser-known novels, first published in 1942. "The Unpleasant Profession of Jonathon Hoag". Hoag has a disturbing mystery to solve - he has no memory of what he has been doing during his waking hours, and so hires a detective team to find out. The discovery, of course, has consequences which no one expects.

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One of the legendary names of Bad Cinema is Herschell Gordon Lewis, famed for ultra-low budget drive-in fodder with gallons of really cheesy blood and gore effects. I've seen more than a few of them, and unless you're some kind of horror-movie fanatic, I can't suggest one worth watching. Of course, here in the 21st century, Hollywood (or maybe Burbank or some place in Idaho, I'm not sure) thinks that it's remake time.

HSG's single great accomplishments were his titles: "The Gore-Gore Girls", "2000 Maniacs", "Blood Feast", etc. etc.

But a new remake just landed on DVD of "The Wizard of Gore". And it actually has some decent reviews and that's due to some strong production values and a casting coup of the ultra-strange actor Crispin Glover in the lead role of Montag The Magnificent, a magician whose show is pure Grand Guignol as he goes about dis-assembling the bodies of volunteers from the audience. Glover is joined by some other famous odd actors, like Jeffery Combs and Brad Dourif, plus Bijou Phillips and top billing is also given to the 21st Century .... um .... models, known as The Suicide Girls. Sort of the pierced-and-tattooed Playmate wannabes.

I almost rented it -- almost. But after reading some reviews, hey, it might be more fun than say, sticking a fork in my eye. There's a trailer for the movie which you can see here - it's a bit too bloody/nasty for this humble yet lovable blog. Check it out here. I have to admit it, Glover and Dourif look like they chew up the scenery with wild abandon.

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For you honest-to-Pete horror fanatics might like to take a look at the 3-Disc Amicus Collection. Director Roy Ward Baker offers some fine and funny commentary about the company which was sort of the low end of Hammer films.

That's No Bigfoot - It's A Rubber Gorilla Suit

Very few Tennessee bloggers are as devoted as my dear friend Newscoma to the nuances and incidents which is the legend that is Bigfoot. Last week she experienced some bona fide joy regarding the reports that some hunters/entrepreneurs in Georgia (the one in the U.S.) had indeed obtained the remains of just such a creature, aka The Georgia Gorilla.

She posted a pic of the critter on her blog and even to my untrained scientific eyes I detected some pretty hinky things about that image which were taken as the critter lay nestled inside a freezer packed with ice. Newscoma was close to traveling to California last week to witness the news conference heralding the event, which was to feature DNA samples.

So I must offer my condolences to her and share my dismay when the Reuters News Agency reported the following: it was simply a rubber gorilla suit:

"No wonder Bigfoot failed a DNA test. Researchers said on Tuesday the hairy heap claimed by two men to be the corpse of the mythical half-ape, half-human creature was actually a full-body rubber gorilla costume.

The discovery adds another dimension to what appears to be an elaborate hoax by Matthew Whitton and Rick Dyer, the owners of a company that offers Bigfoot merchandise, that sparked an Internet frenzy last week.

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"Steve Kulls, executive director of the Web site Squatchdetective.com and host of Squatchdetective Radio, said in an online statement that the rubber suit was discovered after the researchers thawed the "corpse."

In a detailed statement, Kulls said researchers had used heat to speed up the thawing of the shaggy remains. Within an hour, they realized at least part of the head was hollow and, over the next hour, a break appeared near the feet.

"As the team and I began examining this area ... I observed the foot which looked unnatural, reached in and confirmed it was a rubber foot," said Kulls.

The whereabouts of Whitton and Dyer were not known on Tuesday."

Ah, for the lack mystery in our humble nation. Seems the oddest and most unexplainable events still occur in the Congress and the White House.

Seldom Seen Background of Attorneys In Flag Controversy

There's a few factors not to be read in media reports regarding the Anderson County federal lawsuit filed by a student against the school system, claiming his First Amendment rights were violated because school officials sent the student home for repeatedly wearing clothing the system deemed in violation of the school's dress policy - clothing depicting a Confederate flag.

The now-former student, Tim Defoe, hired as attorneys representatives of a group called the North Carolina-based Southern Legal Research Center: Knoxville-based attorney Van R. Irion and SLRC founder Kirk D, Lyons. The SLRC has constantly taken up similar cases with the constant arguments of the "freedom of speech" variety.

The SLRC site list multiple legal battles on such cases, though with typically unfavorable and confusing results (as noted by the the Southern Poverty Law Center).

Lyons himself is a most controversial figure, with reports from the Southern Poverty Law Center that Lyons was married some years back in the Idaho-based Aryan Nations Compound, and has often attempted to join legal battles involving members of the neo-Nazi skinhead groups like The Order, and aiming to link himself, as mentioned above, to a variety of high-profile cases.

The Sons Of Confederate Veterans also has been split by Lyons' involvement, as Lyons' goals often go far beyond preserving 'heritage or history', as Lyons makes claims that :

"He defines himself as "an unreconstructed Southerner from Texas and a Christian." That means, he said, "that my family didn't surrender in 1865 and I haven't surrendered."

Mr. Lyons said that if he had defended Klansmen and neo-Nazis, it was because they, like all Americans, deserve representation. If he has spoken to extremist groups, he said, it is because they have shown interest in his work.

That said, he admits preferring that the country "be run with Christian, European traditions." He also admits disapproval of his brother's marriage to a Filipino.

Some of Mr. Lyons's opponents said they suspected that his real goal was to use increased influence in the Sons to win financial backing for his law firm. As it is, the vast majority of the firm's $200,000 budget is generated by his regular solicitations of the organization's chapters and members. But his work, he said, is hardly making him rich, and he takes a salary of only $36,000.

Mr. Lyons, who now holds a lesser leadership post in the Army of Northern Virginia, seems to hold considerable support within the Sons. Roger W. McCredie, the group's chief of heritage defense, backs him because "he has succeeded in making other people see that instead of always reacting, we have got to seize the initiative." Patrick J. Griffin 3rd, the immediate past commander in chief, said he admired Mr. Lyons because "it takes a true person of character to stand up and defend unpopular individuals."

Using black Southerners as a model, Mr. Lyons said, he will continue to assert "that Confederate Southern Americans are no longer going to take the back seat of the bus."

"A lot of people have asked Southerners, `Why do you keep fighting the war?' " he said. "Because a lot of people haven't stopped attacking us, that's why. We're tired of being second-class citizens and the stereotype for our good friends in Hollywood and the media. And we're tired of being the whipping boy for the race problems in this country."

The strategy of defining a school dress code policy as a Constitutional issue seems to have initially been a winner in Tennessee, as the jury in Anderson County ended up in a deadlock.

I would hope the local news media in East Tennessee might decide to dig deeper in to the players in this federal suit to better inform the public of what agenda is truly being pushed here.

(Note: My thanks to a reader who pointed out the SLRC board and goals via an email. Also, I am keenly aware this post is likely to attract the worse kinds of comments and attacks. Such does not detract from the fact the above mentioned attorneys and organization have backed Defoe's legal efforts.)

Weekly Best of Tennessee Blogs

Time for the weekly roundup of the best in blogging across Tennessee, as presented by Russ McBee, who is handling the chores this month at TennViews. (Note: Russ, I am not sure that somewhat wacky Burger King bath is noteworthy, although I did see that some local Knox TV stations did feature the tale as well. Not that I'm unhappy to be in the round-up, especially as many of my posts were on Rep. David Davis highly publicized meltdown. Still, as always, topics of all types are covered by Tennessee's best.

Here be the roundup:

• 10,000 Monkeys and a Camera: An International, First-Hand Perspective ("Want to find out what bloggers who write in a language you can't read are saying? This is a great place to start.") and Running on Stolen Property

• BlountViews: Tennessee Division of Elections: No election ("But we assume nobody will press the issue with Blount County to seek further clarification, and they will do whatever they want to do as usual.") and MDT: You get what you deserve ("Do we get what we deserve, or do we get what the backroom mechanics of the local political establishment and the MDT decide we need?")

• Carole Borges: John Edwards and what seperates a man from a boy ("I'm so mad at John Edwards I could spit.") and Bush's pastor rebukes the Republican favorite son ("The Republican Right should be appalled at McCain's record when it comes to having decent morals and values.")

• The Crone Speaks: Rapists Get a Pass in Knoxville: It’s Her Fault ("This isn’t logical reasoning, it’s simple brutality that is not being acknowledged by juries.") and Bush-dog Schuler Profiting From TVA Oversight Position ("This is a pretty substantial investment, and the approval by the TVA for the land swap will greatly increase the lining of Bush-dog Schuler's pockets.")

• Cup Of Joe Powell: Debating Student Rights and Southern History ("Can a school system's dress code policy curb your free speech?") and Kitchen Sink Bath At Burger King ("Thank God the internet allows stupid to be shared on a global scale.") BONUS: Rep. David Davis can't believe he lost here, here, and here.

• Don Williams: Putin and Bush doomed to waltz thru history in each other's eyes ("No doubt, Putin saw his reflection in Bush's vacuous eyes, for this is a man who, like Bush, views war as the natural state of humankind.")

• Donkey's Mouth: Chairman Dean Responds to Arkansas Democratic Party Shooting

• Enclave: 13,000 Children Abandoned by the United States Government ("Uncle Sam is one cruel bastard to el niños.") and English Only is Astroturf, Not Grassroots

• Fletch: Hanging Around and Bigger is Better [Ed. note: Holy crap!]

• KnoxViews: Jesse Helms a great American? ("What editorial devil possessed the KNS to publish the "Citizen's Voice" tripe by June B. Griffin in today's (Aug. 16) edition?") and Doughy yet suave man about town seeks sociopathic presidential aspirant and Online convention coverage and McCain embraces Bush, supporters defect ("Saying "nobody likes a funeral," prominent Republicans are staying away from their convention.")

• Lean Left: Is It Just Me? and Testing the Limits

• Left Of The Dial: Hyper Local and Summer Blog Blues

• Left Wing Cracker: OK, how about NOW? Here's the MMHF 2008 SCHEDULE!! and Who owns McCain? Hint: it's not you.

• Liberadio(!): An Open Letter to Rep. David Davis, Candidate Tim Barnes, Nashville Public Radio, and the National Media ("Since the story broke of potential recount challenges by both candidate Barnes and Rep. Davis, a couple of things have happened.")

• Loose TN Canon: Top CIA official confesses order to forge Iraq-9/11 letter came on White House stationery'

• Nashville for the 21st Century: 80's Night at the TNGOP ("What is funny is that in 1984 the Soviet Union was on the brink of collapse. They were a paper tiger, not a bear in the woods. So, in that regard, Hobbs' comparison is fairly accurate.") and No Speaky Spanish ("Oh, and just to pour salt in the wounds of TIRRC, Crafton is proposing an interpreter fee for those who need language services. But remember, his wife is Japanese and his Brother-in-law is Hispanic, so its OK.") and Republicans Attempt Voter Suppression in Ohio ("[T]he prospect of shorter lines in minority areas and easier access to vote is keeping some GOP officials up late at night.")

• Newscoma: AT&T = Epic Fail and Random Thoughts and Martin Plant To Close ("A plant that has been around for most of my life is closing. ... This is just another huge loss for this community.")

• The Pesky Fly: Things I'm not buying for $1000, Alex and Presumptuous? Maybe. Dangerous and Wrong? Oh Yeah!

• Progressive Nashville: It's just plain mean ("These knuckle-draggers who claim they are defenders of Judeo-Christian values clearly don't understand the concept.") and Spin control ("The Tennessean wants the story to be about numbers, but rezoning is a story about people.")

• Resonance: NeoCon Dreams ("Yesterday Senator McCain said: "In the 21st century, nations don't invade other nations." Today comedian Limbaugh, et al., are framing (and condeming) the conflict as Russia's quest to control oil flows. The irony is overwhelming.")

• RoaneViews: Roane County Industrial Park causing Water Problems and Dear Tina E*****s

• Russ McBee: Pelosi caves yet again ("Pelosi is more than willing to substitute meaningless gimmicks for substantive policy, all based on her phobia of being called names by Republicans.")

• Sharon Cobb: To Be President In America--Must Be Born In America, 35 Years Of Age,....AND CHRISTIAN! Rick Warren With Obama And McCain ("In a 2008 America, one clearly has to be a Christian to be elected. And that's wrong.") and Where Does The TnGOP Stand On Us Heartless Jews? and Day 3:The Tennessee GOP Still Won't Reply To The Jewish Community Regarding It Being A Christian Organization

• Silence Isn't Golden: How Many Times Can The Straight Talk Express Derail? and I Think I'd Rather Be A Turtle ("I did my first ever scuba dive in Bora Bora.")

• Southern Beale: Saying No To Sean Hannity and Still Dropping ("This reminds me that back in April when gas prices started climbing into the stratosphere, local conservative yakker Steve Gill said it was the Democrats' fault. Well, bless his heart. So, now that gas prices are falling, do Democrats get the credit?")

• Tennessee Guerilla Women: CNN: Is Obama the AntiChrist? ("Oh, my aching head. If we weren't stuck inside the borders of a giant insane asylum, CNN would be laughed off the air.") and Hillary's Name to Be Placed in Nomination and Sexist Olympic Photos of the Day

• TennViews: Unemployment continues up: shockingly so in some Southern States ("We have less than six months until someone new is in the President's seat. How bad can it get in six months?") and National English-only group congratulates Nashville on ballot initiative, takes credit for helping ("When even the local Chamber of Commerce doesn't agree and instead takes the "progressive" point of view, it's a pretty good signal that you're on the wrong side of the issue.") and A call for party unity ("For the sake of party unity, Rob Huddleston calls for 1st District Republicans to unite and tell David Davis to shut up and go away.")

• Tiny Cat Pants: Some Child Left Behind ("I keep thinking how history will judge us, what the folks will make of the ways in which we lied to ourselves about what we're doing and why we're doing it.") and Stupidity and Women's Health

• Vibinc: Getting in a Wreck Teh Suk and Take Ice Cream off the Menu

• West Tennessee Liberal: Disrespect

• WhitesCreek Journal: Search Me and T. Boone's Boy: "Will Lie For Money" and Running From Red ("John McCain is a half assed Conservative, even if he does lie like one.")

• Women's Health News: Tennessee Women to Have Fewer Options for Reproductive Health and HHS Sec. Leavitt Responds Further to Objections, Ignores Substance ("Clearly, Leavitt values a "social statement" just as much as women's access to care, while completely ignoring objections that the proposed regulation may extend that refusal of care to very basic needs such as contraception. If that doesn't send a chill up the spine of America's women and families, I don’t know what will.")

Camera Obscura: Call It No Music Television (NMTV)

Man, I know I'm about two days older than dirt since I often land on the MTV channel and wonder "Where the heck are the music videos?" Oh sure, there are reruns of America's Next Top Model, The Hills, and a variety of Uncomfortably Forced Dating Shows Which Are Mostly Scripted, and the phenomenally narcissistic My Parents Are Skeezy Losers For Not Spending Half-A-Jillion Dollars For My Birthday Party And Did Not Invite The Jonas Brothers To Dance Nekkid For Me.

Still, the network is hoisting ads for their annual Video Music Awards. So are they awards for videos one could see on YouTube or see on a DVD you bought at Target?

(I am not too ancient - I thought the new album this summer from Beck, Modern Guilt, is a very fine thing, and you can sample some of the tracks here. So I'm not totally in the yard yelling You Kids Stay Offa My Lawn!).

I did a quick look-see at their daily schedule for the next week and saw not one listing for anything about music videos. There was mention of TRL, which is a studio-filmed teenage angst/hysteria as celebs appear to promote their movies. And I did see something the other night called FNMTV, which is a cringe-inducing collection of "hosts" who have emo hair cuts (aka The Em-Over, a teen equivalent of the Comb-Over) and did show a clip of some "new" video and heaps of "live" performances by music groups/lip-synched soliloquies, where you can't really see much other than a foreground forest of fists sporting cell-phone hoisted mini-screens.

I did actually see at Miley/Hanna/Whatever Her Name on that show doing a rockin' tune called Fly On The Wall, which had the li'l superstar in a wee school-girl uniform singing about how she knows ya wanna see/know/touch her. Just yer basic I-Rock-You-Suck tune.

I know, I know, you say I should watch MTV2, which is where the videos are -- but just barely. I see videos to be played between 3 am and 5 pm and then a day chock full of the "reality-buddy" show called Rob and Big. (Did these guys rob the station of the videos? I dunno 'cause I ain't watching that crap either.)

So now the MTV folks are promoting their Video Music Awards show. Press reports say li'l mamma Britney Spears has a video up for an award and some BBC comedian is hosting, named Russell Brand. Never heard of him. I know he had a part in a movie out this year called "Forgetting Sarah Marshall" and that Adam Sandler thinks he's a comedy genius. And when he tried to get on the David Letterman show he got booted by immigration because of his old heroin possession arrests, so I guess that makes him popular/rebellious.

In reading about the VMA show, I see that Brit has a video called "Piece Of Me", a video in which she eschews dancin' for some shoulder-wiggling and sings about how the magazines want pictures of her butt. And another video in nomination was for a band called The Ting Tings, "Shut Up and Let Me Go", which looks like an ultra-cheap bad early-80s video and the tune made me think of Romeo Void's "Never Say Never (I Might Like You Better If We Slept Together)", which has a finer-tuned sense of bored irony.

And I know I'm old because a band called The Ting Tings reminds me of George and Judy Jetson and Jet Screamer (aka Howard Morris, aka Ernest T. Bass) singing that groovy 60s tune, Eep Opp Ork Ah Ah:

Davs Finally Concedes He Lost Re-Election

Given the total lack of support from the leadership of the Tennessee Republican Party, and the rather dubious legal claims of his challenge and the likewise weak "anecdotal" evidence of voting hijinks, 1st District Congressman David Davis has awoken to smell the coffee and has dropped his plan to challenge the outcome of the election in which he lost to Phil Roe:

"I am announcing today that even though I have the law on my side, I have decided not to pursue an election contest with the Republican Primary Board. I love East Tennessee and I love America, therefore it is in the best interest of everyone concerned that I concede the election to my primary opponent. I have contacted Mr. Roe and made him aware of my decision."

(via Tenn Views)

DeMarCaTionVille points to a Tri-Cities.com report, too.

Now it's time to rally for Rob Russell.

UPDATE: TNGOP spokesman Bill Hobbs forwarded an email with a press release from Robin Smith cheering Davis' decision (which, as I mentioned previously is proof the state party wanted Davis to back away from his challenge):

"Congressman Davis’s decision to let the voters of the First District, rather than a parade of lawyers, courts and committees, have the final say on who they wish to represent them in Congress represents the best traditions of American democracy,” said Robin Smith, Chairman of the Tennessee Republican Party.

“State law permits voters to declare at the polling place which party’s primary they wish to participate in, a system that allows Tennesseans to vote for the man or woman they believe is best for the job and, unless an election result has been compromised by actual voter fraud such as false identity or votes cast by the dead, we believe the will of the voters as expressed at the ballot box on election day should be respected,” Smith said. “David Davis has served his community honorably and with distinction first as a state legislator, then as a member of Congress, and now by his decision to let the people’s vote stand without challenge.”

Debating Student Rights and Southern History

UPDATE: Judge declares mistrial in the case due to jury deadlock.

Can a school system's dress code policy curb your free speech? An Anderson County student says so and is suing over the way he was treated because he wore clothes with images of the Confederate Flag, and he wants to change the policy and seeks punitive damages to boot.

The Supreme Court has weighed in on the issues of students' rights and those of school officials several times, with varying results.

Today, the KNS reports the jury in the case is rather stumped on what approach to take to the case:

"Is there a better way to resolve this than common sense?” the jury foreman wrote.

The panel also asked whether wording in various legal definitions and instructions had connotations other than the typical definitions or understandings of those words, which included material and substantial.

Attorneys on both sides said they were uncertain how to answer the jury’s query.

“I don’t know if the case law answers this,” attorney Arthur F. Knight III said. He represents school officials.

Defoe’s attorney, Van R. Irion, remarked, “These words are in the dictionary. I don’t know how to answer this question to the jury. I suppose the answer is keep talking about it.”

Varlan agreed. He sent back a note to the jury with the following instruction.

“Please continue to consider all the instructions as a whole given you.”

The flag certainly has a context of history, but like it or not, that history also includes the emblem being used in bigoted attacks. To see only part of the history is the student's right, but don't schools historically have the right to determine dress codes?

The comments from folks at the WBIR website on the story is full of heated talk, argument and sheer hysteria.

It reminds me of a something a friend told me a long time ago - "High school is tough, but I got over it."

Republicans Tell Davis To Drop Election Challenge

Republican bloggers as well as Republican officials are calling for 1st District Congressman David Davis to wise up, admit defeat and walk away from challenging primary election returns.

He isn't taking their advice -- yet.

Blogger Rob Huddleston:

"It will only come back to hurt you - and your party - in the end."

And David Oatney says:

As distasteful as it might be in many cases, it isn't against the law for outside groups to "influence" an election so long as they don't attempt to do so less than 100 feet from a polling place. Do I think it is good that there may have been some "outside influence?" No, but I have my doubts as to whether Davis will be able to prove that such influence existed in large enough quantities to question Roe's victory in any sense, let alone a legal one. David Davis' notion of how Tennessee election law actually works is a blatantly false one."

GOP leader and Lt. Governor Ron Ramsey advises him to end it, telling him his challenge is a "major mistake."

Election officials say Davis' challenge is full of holes.

Davis released a press statement anyway, calling the election "perverted":

"I believe that there is clear and overwhelming evidence that the integrity of this primary was violated unlawfully by huge numbers of Democrats voting to change the outcome of the Republican primary,” said Congressman David Davis."

Huge numbers of Democrats in the first district? Just over 6,000 took part in the Democrat Primary, compared to a low turnout of some 50,000 for the Republican Primary.

The current law gives political parties the authority to challenge outcomes and call for recounts, but someone has to pay for that:

"As recently as last year, two Republican candidates challenged primary results - one in the 1st Congressional District and one in a state house race. State Republican Party officials says both matters were resolved without a full recount because either the candidate couldn’t pay for it or because the committee ruled it inappropriate."

On the plus side, Davis' complaints have brought more attention to the 1st District than I've ever seen. For much of his term in office, Davis found it effective to blame Democrats for just about everything. At least Davis is consistent.

Maglev Train Project In Tennessee

The cost of a high-speed maglev train from Nashville to Atlanta is estimated at over $5 billion and could take a decade to complete.

A report in today's Tennessean says the project is not a high priority yet, more likely one from Las Vegas to Anaheim will be the first.

This news arrives as the state is considering privatizing parts of the Department of Transportation in a money-saving effort. Could the savings be diverted to the rail project?

Kitchen Sink Bath At Burger King

A young man with funky hair and lots of tattoos (known as Mr. Unstable) working at an Ohio Burger King decided to take a bubble bath in the BK's kitchen sink. And is videotaped. And posts it to MySpace. Firings and sterilizing follows.

The video is here, along with the local news report on the event.

I like the lady stopped at the drive-thru who says after being told of the bubble bath episode "I don't want to eat my sandwich now."

Thank God the internet allows stupid to be shared on a global scale.

Rep. Davis Still Can't Believe He Lost

Still refusing to admit he lost his re-election bid, 1st District Congressman David Davis is continuing to seek scapegoats and claiming laws were violated. But Brook Thompson, state election coordinator says these efforts are all wrong:

"Thompson said he is sure that Davis is referring to a law whereby "somebody can be challenged based on their party affiliation when voting in an election."

But, the state election official stated, "The process is to challenge them at the polls on election day."

An election-day challenge would involve poll-watchers who, based on their own knowledge, could challenge someone who has always voted in one party's primary when that person suddenly seeks to vote in the other party's primary.

"It doesn't happen very often at all," Thompson said. "That's the law I'm sure he's referring to."

The state coordinator said the law allows for challenges on election day, but not afterward, adding, "I don't know of any election that has been challenged after the fact based on that law."

While Johnson City Mayor Phil Roe won the primary over Davis, my advice to voters is to cast your vote this fall for Rob Russell.