Webwalk Roundup - Blowout Preventer Fail Edition

It's going to be a long and ugly summer. And it might just go on for decades. BP may soon be the Bad Word of the Decade. Steve Benen writes:

"Robert Barham, secretary of the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, told the New Orleans Times-Picayune, "I think we're looking at many months of intense activity, but then years of follow-up work.... I've been told by the ocean experts this stuff could hang out there on the bottom of the Gulf for more than 100 years. And as long as it's out there, it can come ashore. We might not see big black waves, but we may be seeing a smaller, but serious problem, for years and years to come."

-- It appears clear to me no industry and no corporation and no government agency has the technology and scientific ability to "safely drill" for oil on the shores of America, whether in deep waters or shallow. The following report via NYTimes notes a recently announced "moratorium" on offshore drilling is truly meaningless.

-- Also - will criminal charges be filed against BP?

-- Consistently clueless half-term governor/celebrity Sarah Palin never fails to bring her brand of worthless forward.

-- Elsewhere, which is to say, in a couple of convention rooms in Gatlinburg, TN, state Republicans gather to worship at the altars of the government-hating angry folks who continue to hold Tea Parties. Or as R. Neal puts it in his "goobernatorial" coverage at KnoxViews, those who say government has no place in job creation in Tennessee are utterly out of touch:

"Here are the top ten employers in the Knoxville metro area:

• U.S. Department of Energy - 12610
• The University of Tennessee, Knoxville -9317
• Knox County Public School System -8104
• Covenant Health - 8000
• Mercy Health Partners -8141
• University of Tennessee Medical Center - 3225
• City of Knoxville - 2820
• County of Knox - 2500
• Clayton Homes - 2500
• State of Tennessee - 2401

-- Elsewhere, as in Nevada - chicken costumed protests will not be allowed at polling places this year.

-- Texas tries to corral history books.

-- Summer school trips and programs fall to the economic axe.

It's going to be a long, hot summer.

Paradise "Lost" No More

After more than 121 hours of viewing time, I'm about to finally watch the end of the TV series "Lost", which wraps up Sunday night. To be honest, I'm kind of exhausted - it's been a multi-year effort and while I have deeply enjoyed this program, it's also a relief to finally reach an end point which should (hopefully) wrap up the whole thing.

As much as I enjoy many of the guilty pleasures television offers, I don't think I've ever watched more than a few programs from start to finish. "Twin Peaks", "Buffy the Vampire Slayer", and perhaps one or two very short-lived sit-coms. My tastes are absolutely eclectic and personal. I think the only other shows I have seen all episodes for are the original run of "Twilight Zone", and that's only due to syndication and marathons on the Sci-Fi Network (whoops, Sy-Fy, since they have changed their name) and "Futurama" (which returns with a brand new season next month on Comedy Central!!)

So yeah, I lean towards the odd and the science-fiction/fantasy shows. ("Lost" is one of television's few shows to earn awards from such science fiction groups like the Hugos and the Saturn awards, as well as Emmys, and the Actors, Writers and Directors and Producer Guilds and many others.)

And "Lost" does have something in common with the previously mentioned "Twin Peaks" and "Buffy" -- the shows don't make much sense unless you start with the first episode and watch until the final episode. Some will surely tune into the ending not knowing all that has gone before, and don't expect me to explain it or justify my faithful viewership.

Bottom line: Sunday night will mean several hours of watching ABC, as the show ends with a 2 and a half hour finale. And I'll probably watch some of the Jimmy Kimmel Live show afterwards as he talks live with the cast for the show. And no, I offer no sweeping predictions for "what it all means" or "will all the questions and mysteries" be resolved. I've learned to just enjoy the work from the show's creators, and am fairly confident that they will wrap it up quite nicely, thank you very much.

Also - for me, this has been excellent television myth-making and few shows do that right. And as I said, I'm sort of glad to have the end at hand, so I can spend my Tuesday evenings without worrying about catching an episode. And I send my thanks to the cast and creators for their work, it's been very enjoyable and a hell of a ride.

Via Creative Screenwriting, one article by Peter Clines notes:

" 'Lost' was a game changer. It was the series that saved scripted television by showing there was still a market -- a big market -- for well-written, episodic shows that didn't aim for the lowest common denominator. LOST made its viewers think about its characters, their interconnectedness, and the many strange things they discovered. It did this by a masterful use of two storytelling elements: the mystery and the twist."


Articles and stories are offered below via IMDB:

• The Men Who Made "Lost" Last from NYTimes.com
• George Lucas Sends a Letter to "Lost" from The Live Feed
• 50 Questions "Lost" Really Does Need To Answer from io9.com
• Advice for the Writers of the "Lost" Finale from NYMag.com
• Storyboard: Unraveling the "Lost" Island's Paradox from Wired.com
• Lost Without "Lost" from HuffingtonPost.com
  

Will I have more later on "Lost'? That's a mystery I have no answer for ... yet.

America: The Freedom to be Awkward

I often wonder about the things I'm wondering about in the world around me. Much of these concerns could likely just be labeled "worrying", which is a sort of old-fashioned phrase for "anxiety attacks."

Here in the modern now-a-go-go times, many achieving Americans would advise me to drop the worries, make sure I carve out a long-lasting and hefty slice of the American Dream pie and "worry" about keeping that safe.

And there are surely times I wish I could do just that - buffered by a large enough slice, I could let everyone else figure it out for themselves, bask in my domain and revel in whatever it is large slice owners revel in.

All of which directly affects this blog and what appears in it. Who wants to read droning dreads and worries of corruption, greed, disaster, politics, etc etc? I might spend some time reading of such things, but repeating it for you, dear reader, could be most tiresome. Negativity begets itself.

Since day one of this blog, I have included this sub-title under the main - "Being an American requires constant vigilance". It's a warping of another far more famous comment often attributed to Thomas Jefferson - "The price of freedom is eternal vigilance" - but Jefferson never said such a thing.

It was instead an Irish lawyer and politician named John Philpot Curan who said "It is the common fate of the indolent to see their rights become a prey to the active. The condition upon which God hath given liberty to man is eternal vigilance; which condition if he break, servitude is at once the consequence of his crime and the punishment of his guilt."

As a writer and wordsmith of some leisure, one must dig into words and their origins and meanings, so it is worth noting a few things ... "Vigilant" is taken from the Latin "vigilāre" which means "to be watchful". But one the addition of one letter, the seemingly keen "vigilant" becomes the criminal act of one who is a "vigilante".

Curan, as the above link details, had a rather troubled and complicated life for his tireless devotion to principle and a refusal to compromise and was prone to dueling. Perhaps it is the condition of those who hold fast to principle to venture into troubled waters.

That all said as a forward and preamble for what follows as the actual topic of today's blog post - which is that much of what we do as individuals arises from our families, those we are born with and those we create for ourselves. And really, even that is not the actual point here today - it's that blogging and the internet offers far more than dreads and dire warnings, or at the least, they offer us some humor and less serious (far less serious) considerations too.

Today's Google Trends note that searches for "awkward family photos" are pretty huge. That's because the long-running blog of the same name has now been collected into book form for consumers and has already landed on best-seller lists.

Some examples of what you can see via AwkwardFamilyPhotos.com:


Ah, America!

Rep. Roe Suddenly Sees Flooding Disaster in TN

More shameful election huckstering continues to spill out from 1st District Congressman Phil Roe and land in my email inbox -- today he offered his first response to the massive flooding disaster that struck Tennessee on May 3rd. Maybe he finally read what was posted here on this page on May 4th (his office has been faithfully reading). Or perhaps he noticed the widespread relief efforts from the rest of the state and nation, or the telethons or the army of volunteers who have been toiling for weeks in Tennessee.

Don't get me wrong - I'm happy he's supporting legislation already submitted for additional funds to help the half of this state which has been devastate for weeks.

Still, he's just been sending me far more information since he's begun his re-election campaign than he ever did before. And still, things are wrong in his email -- for instance he writes:

"Nonetheless, the real story lies in the heart of the state’s motto: America at its best."

Technically, the State Motto is "Agriculture and Commerce", adopted in 1987 and the State Slogan is "Tennessee - America At It's Best", adopted in 1965.

It's just the kind of mistake that gives me grave doubts that his attention is ever on our area, much less on the half of the state which has been suffering greatly and continue to do so. He concludes by saying:

"Providing more relief funds for Tennessee is a vital request that needs to be addressed as quickly as possible.

It’s encouraging to see Tennesseans and people across this great nation raise money for disaster relief. Many are also sending supplies and volunteering in communities that have been affected by the flood. There will always be times of challenge; however, the way we respond to those struggles is what makes us great."

Indeed. How one responds to a crisis and when are surely vital issues to consider when casting a vote.

The Deepwater Disaster Was Preventable

An amazing story of survival on the Deepwater Horizon oil rig was presented via 60 Minutes last night and is a must see and read.

Mike Williams' story also details how the massive and unprecedented disaster which continues today to endanger the entire Gulf and likely beyond it could have been prevented, if only those in charge had paid attention to the critical mistakes which BP and Transocean made in the days and weeks before the explosion.

"Down near the seabed is the blowout preventer, or BOP. It's used to seal the well shut in order to test the pressure and integrity of the well, and, in case of a blowout, it's the crew's only hope. A key component is a rubber gasket at the top called an "annular," which can close tightly around the drill pipe.

Williams says, during a test, they closed the gasket. But while it was shut tight, a crewman on deck accidentally nudged a joystick, applying hundreds of thousands of pounds of force, and moving 15 feet of drill pipe through the closed blowout preventer. Later, a man monitoring drilling fluid rising to the top made a troubling find.

"He discovered chunks of rubber in the drilling fluid. He thought it was important enough to gather this double handful of chunks of rubber and bring them into the driller shack. I recall asking the supervisor if this was out of the ordinary. And he says, 'Oh, it's no big deal.' And I thought, 'How can it be not a big deal? There's chunks of our seal now missing?"

The utter damage and destruction is flowing even as I write, and even if the enormous flood of crude oil were to be stopped at this very moment, the devastation and effects will be felt for at least a decade -- or even longer.

Driven by greed and ego, both the businesses and the MMS government officials who sanctioned the work have dealt a crippling blow to our nation and our world, from microbes upwards to nearly every form of life in the region. The Center For Public Integrity reveals that BP has willfully ignored and violated safety plans, that the problem is systemic, and despite efforts of some in government and over $90 million in fines, dozens of lives lost in fiery infernos, the company continues on a path which endangers us all.

"Refinery inspection data obtained by the Center under the Freedom of Information Act for OSHA’s nationwide program and for the parallel Texas City inspection show that BP received a total of 862 citations between June 2007 and February 2010 for alleged violations at its refineries in Texas City and Toledo, Ohio.

"Of those, 760 were classified as 'egregious willful' and 69 were classified as 'willful.' Thirty of the BP citations were deemed “serious” and three were unclassified. Virtually all of the citations were for alleged violations of OSHA’s process safety management standard, a sweeping rule governing everything from storage of flammable liquids to emergency shutdown systems. BP accounted for 829 of the 851 willful violations among all refiners cited by OSHA during the period analyzed by the Center."

UPDATE: Speak To Power compares the disaster in the Gulf to another episode of worldwide destruction and the people who simply have no choice but to wait and see what happens. That's a real definition of horror.

Tennessee Ranked 'Most Corrupt State'

The Daily Beast has just released their rankings for Most Corrupt States here in the good ol' US of A.

The bad news -- Tennessee ranks Number One.

The criteria they cite include:

•Public corruption, 1998—2008: Convictions of elected and other public officials investigated by federal agents over an 11-year period, from the Department of Justice.

•Racketeering and Extortion, 1998—2008: Code for organized crime convictions, also investigated by federal agents over an 11-year period, from the Bureau of Justice Statistics.

•Forgery and Counterfeiting, 1999—2008: Arrest numbers for producing or distributing fake money and goods over a 10-year period, from the FBI.

•Fraud, 1999—2008: Arrests for false statements or documents produced for personal gain over a 10-year period, from the FBI.

•Embezzlement, 1999—2008: Arrests for surreptitious theft of money over a 10-year period, from the FBI.

By using a decade’s worth of federal data, we were able to minimize changes in local law enforcement efficacy, though some flaws remain: local cases go undocumented, and the FBI data is self-reported by local law enforcement. When combined, however, the data provides a fairly deep look into which jurisdictions are uncovering the most corruption. We leveled the playing field by calculating the numbers on a per-100,000 people basis.

Tennessee's score:

Public Corruption: 18
Racketeering & Extortion: 11
Fraud Rank: 7
Forgery & Counterfeiting: 5
Embezzlement: 9

The community they selected to highlight the dire conditions - Newport, TN:

"Recent Scandal: Here's a foolproof recipe for corruption: a former policeman commingling with gang members. Milburn Williams, a retired police captain from Newport, ringleaders Raymond Hawk and Grant Williams, and 20 others were indicted on racketeering, drug trafficking and a slew of other charges last year in Greeneville. The sting operation was headed by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and centered around a chop shop called "H-1 Auto", later renamed "A Automotive." For six years the chop shop was the command post for an operation that allegedly moved stolen property and goods across state lines and sold cocaine and marijuana. The most serious of the charges carry up to $2 million in fines and 40 years in prison.

The others in the Top Ten:

2 - Virginia
3 - Mississippi
4 - Delaware
5 - North Carolina
6 - Florida
7 - Nevada
8 - Pennsylvania
9 - South Carolina
10 - Oklahoma

I've Been Named A Beautiful Blogger

A recent reader for Cup Of JP, Kit at Keep It Trill, has done me a great honor and included me in her awards list for blogs she enjoys and respects and hence I have earned one of her awards.


I truly appreciate the consideration -- and she notes beside the nomination for my blog "One of my latest discoveries. I really like his perspective."


What a fine thing to hear and how generous of her to bestow me with the honor.

I've been enjoying reading her work too at Keep It Trill and urge you to visit. She's not shy, takes some most vocal and smartly written stands on all manner of topics. I'm delighted she likes my blog and I'll bet you'll enjoy her work too - plus she lists in her current awards many others for you to explore as well and I hope you do. She obviously has excellent taste.


Thanks Kit!! (PS - I'll be creating my own list of writers who deserve an award too and will post that ASAP)

A is customary, recipients can post the award pic on their blog, write a little about themselves, and pass this one along to others if they so desire. So ... a few things about me ...

- I'm working hard to do more than just write, write, write though sometimes I seem to take too long to create essays/posts here because it takes me time to ponder on how to say or if it even needs to be said.

-- I stink at doing math.

-- Blogging has allowed me to make friends all over the world.

-- I love watching movies and I want to start making more of my own again.

-- If friends are true wealth, I am fabulously well-to-do.

-- I wonder why we all still depend on a combustion engine, when just about every other technology of the last 100 years has made so many enormous advances. Maybe Apple needs to build an iCar.

Camera Obscura: Trouble Edition - Piranha 3D; Machete; A Gory Double Feature; The Wilhelm Scream Retires?

The last few weeks have been too full of bad news for so many - untold destruction in the Gulf, flooding destruction in Nashville, Icelandic volcanoes, inept evildoers in Time Square, inept politicos babbling and lawmaking, and then there are those daily woes of so many of us scuttling about the planet who become endlessly caught in struggles either brief or prolonged. It seems trouble need be written as Trouble.

Even I, your humble chronicler, had a wee misfortune recently as my nice shiny sedan was rear-ended by a negligent driver. None were hurt, thankfully, though I also noticed yesterday at that same bothersome intersection a wreck had occurred so massive a LifeStar helicopter was forced to land on the highway.

Trouble, Trouble, Trouble.

As the late, great Frank Zappa sang: "There's no way to delay that trouble comin' every day."

Or as the line in the movie Body Heat goes : "Sometimes the shit comes down so heavy I feel like I should wear a hat."

Well, perhaps if we peruse some upcoming movies, we can poke a bit of fun at trouble --

Like the utterly silly "Piranha 3-D", where we find former "Jaws" alum Richard Dreyfuss back in the waters of baaaad fish and addle-brained tourists. (Thankfully no piranha are threatening Nashville, despite earlier reports) --



Lawmakers in Arizona received a very special trailer for the Robert Rodriguez' new movie, "Machete", a Grade-B drive-in style action tale. I love such movies and where else can one see Danny Trejo scare the crap out of Robert DeNiro? Since the trailer is somewhat NSWF, you can click here to see it.

Although I find this very, VERY hard to believe, the most-used scream sound effect in motion picture history, termed "the Wilhelm Scream", may be out of the biz, according to this article. The history of the "scream" (often credited to one-time Hee Haw regular Sheb Wooley) is here. And here's a clip of just some of its uses in movies.



Two super gory horror films are on the loose -- the French film "Inside" and the more recent bizarro movie of a mad scientist sewing people together called "Human Centipede". Trailers are here and here (warning - not for the squeamish). If one wanted a mega-gory double feature, these are the current winners. And "Centipede" director Tom Six claims his if the first of a trilogy. (yeah, we need three of those monstrosities).


For a more upbeat finale, who among us has not wondered - "What if Mr. Potato Head Was The Star Of That Movie?" Full article/images here - sample image of Iron Man Potato Head below.

Flood Damage In Middle TN Offers Grim Picture, Music Stars Rally To Help

A map visualizing the widespread and deadly damage from the flooding in Middle Tennessee was presented via Speak To Power:



Steve Ross notes the damage both physically and economically is mind-boggling:

"The economic impact of this disaster is going to be felt throughout the state for some time. The losses in more rural counties, will likely go unnoticed by the majority of the state for even longer. It’s hard for people, particularly city folk (I know I’m one too) to understand the challenges faced by rural Tennesseans. Most have neither the population density, nor the economic diversity to bounce back quickly. Crops don’t grow faster just because you want them to…neither does livestock. That loss of income is going to take a huge toll on these areas."

Tonight, a host of country music stars and many others will aid in fundraising efforts and in offering support which viewers can take part in and many other music events are planned as well - for a complete rundown of the events, click here. Knoxville's WBIR-TV will also simulcast the event tonite.

Disaster In Middle TN Continues

image via The Tennessean

Floods in Middle TN have been a grim force and the devastation has claimed many lives, and there are fears the death toll will climb as flood waters threaten Nashville and surrounding counties - 52 counties are likely to be labeled disaster areas.

I'm sure many readers in Tennessee and beyond would like to help and there's some info on how to do that just below ...

Friends and family in the area are safe as of now, but the cost has been so high for so many.

The Tennessean has a wide range of reports and images here

KnoxViews has more information,

Southern Beale recounts a loss very close to home

No Silence Here has info on how you can help

More on how you can help from Nashvillest.

image via Nashvillest

No End In Sight For Massive Oil Leak in Gulf

No predictions for the oil well blowout in the Gulf offer much other than disaster. The following points to the situation being far worse than first forecast and the long amount of time before repairs can be effected.

"The Gulf of Mexico oil spill may be growing five times faster than previously estimated and is in danger of accelerating out of control, it was claimed yesterday.

Experts said satellite data indicated the oil was gushing from BP’s sunken Deepwater Horizon rig at 25,000 barrels a day. Previous estimates had put the leak at 5,000 barrels a day.

Professor Ian MacDonald, an ocean specialist at Florida State University, said the new estimate suggested the leak had already spread 9m gallons of heavy crude oil across the Gulf. This compares with 11m that leaked from the Exxon Valdez tanker when it hit a reef off Alaska in 1989.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said deteriorating conditions on the sea bed may result in an even greater flow of 50,000 barrels a day, sufficient to produce one of America’s worst ecological disasters.

Experts and officials said their greatest fear was that a disintegration of pipes close to the rig could produce an “unchecked gusher” that would ravage America’s southern coastline.

As the slick slowly drifted towards fragile shorelines from Louisiana to Florida, there was intensified criticism of BP for apparently underestimating the potential scale of the disaster.

The British oil giant faces questions over how much it knew about previous problems with “blowout preventers”, the giant underwater valves designed to shut down oil flow in the event of accidents.

The valves on the rig failed to work after it exploded on April 20. BP technicians have been unable to activate them even though they appear to be undamaged by the blast.

BP has calculated that it might take up to three months to sink a new well that could cut off the flow of the Deepwater Horizon’s oil.

The worst oil spill affecting US waters was caused by a 1979 blowout aboard the Ixtoc, a Mexican rig that discharged at least 130m gallons, 600 miles south of the Texas coast. It took nine months to plug the leak.

Dem Candidate Clark Calls FAIL On Rep. Roe

After I posted on the fact 1st District Congressman (R) Phil Roe made sure his picture was in the public view for a much needed renovation at East High School in Morristown, using funding Roe voted against, many have taken notice.

Rep. Roe went to his go-to PR machine, the Kingsport Times-News and "reporter" Hank Hayes to defend his shameless publicity grab this week, offering a confusing and somewhat lame defense and here are some excerpts:

"When asked for a response, Roe refused to admit he was wrong and insisted his appearance was not hypocrisy.

“We’re paying it back,” Roe, R-Tenn., said of the funds for the project. “The taxpayers in this district are paying the money back. It’s not hypocrisy. If we had put half of that (stimulus) money into roads, water, sewer, bridges and schools, I would have supported it. Very little of the stimulus package had anything to do with infrastructure.”

---

"It’s not that spending money on infrastructure is a bad idea,” Roe said. “I’m an ex-mayor. I absolutely understand infrastructure better than Mr. Forrester, who’s probably never been mayor of anything. I’ve been involved in instituting policies that have invested over $125 million in infrastructure in Johnson City.

“The question is was (the stimulus) the best way to spend the money?"

Meanwhile, the Democrat candidate Mike Clark who aims to unseat Roe (and yes, I'll be supporting Clark's efforts to change the 120-year-plus choke-hold the Republicans have had on this district) offers a response:

"Perhaps he has a perception problem, or perhaps it’s simply that once again, Republican Congressman Phil Roe doesn't understand the concept of what his constituents need and want.

According to a recent story by Hank Hayes in the Kingsport Times News, Dr. Roe is once again arguing - and defending - his 'No' on the stimulus bill.

Roe’s been caught taking credit and making appearances at projects he voted against - and apparently he doesn't feel the need to apologize to his constituents for his misdirection.

Think again, Mr. Congressman. You voted against job creation, and then took credit for that creation. You take credit for improvements in education, new school projects and other things - and you voted against the bill that made them possible. That's plain wrong. If there's anything the constituents of the 1st Congressional district despise it's a politician who attempts to take credit for other people's work.

Dr. Roe said in the recent Times News article: "The question is, was (the stimulus) the best way to spend the money? Could you have gotten more bang for your buck doing it a different way?”

Besides the obvious answer - that the economy needed to be boosted immediately, not at some point after the GOP had 'whittled on it' awhile, one has to wonder if Dr. Roe and his party bosses actually saw any need at all to fix the economy. Time and time again his party's spokesmen - such as Rush Limbaugh - have openly hoped the Obama Administration would fail at its quest to restore this great nation to its pre-Bush era prosperity. Is Dr. Roe in accord with Mr. Limbaugh's desires?

We do know that the way suggested by the Republican Party, as presented by Dr. Roe, is not the answer.

"What we should have done was go ahead and cut taxes for business, and cut capital gains taxes ... so businesses could create jobs and create wealth," he said. Don't be surprised if that sounds familiar; its the same recipe for disaster that created the massive deficit the Obama Administration was handed in January, 2008, the same Republican litany since the Golden Age of Ronald Reagan.

Most economists felt the stimulus package passed by Congress would work - and it has. The bill's passage created a new opportunity for businesses to create more jobs. In fact, many economists feel even more is necessary to keep the economy growing create more jobs and at the same time address our infrastructure needs. But that stands little chance of happening with the lock step Republican Congress and Senate.

According to the New York Times, some of the best-known economic research firms - IHS Global Insight, Macroeconomic Advisers and Moody’s - all estimate that the stimulus package implemented last year - which Dr. Roe was apparently against until he had to be for it in order to face his constituents - has added 1.6m to 1.8 million jobs so far - and it could ultimately create up to 2.5 million jobs. If that isn't enough, the Times adds that "The Congressional Budget Office, an independent agency, considers these estimates to be conservative."

Ask the folks in Morristown - that city received $11.2 million in bonds for school construction, according to the Kingsport Times-News, or ask the folks in Hawkins County - that county received more than $2.6 million for two middle school projects. Johnson City got $8.1 million for a project at Science Hill High School; Kingsport and Sullivan County received $1.2 million for renovations at Dobyns-Bennett High School and $15.4 million to renovate and expand Ketron Intermediate School.

Overall, 56,000 jobs in Tennessee were created through this year’s first quarter, with nearly $6 billion in stimulus money being committed to the state. In a state the size of Tennessee, that's a lot of jobs.

Dr. Roe, if your polling data tells you 87 percent of your constituents think the stimulus bill was a bad idea, perhaps you need to ask your polling company to change its methodology - because its made a lot of people in your district very happy despite your best efforts to paint it otherwise. Besides that, however - it comes down to leadership. A true leader will see the benefits to his constituents and vote for the people who put him in office, not for the Republican hierarchy who tells him how to vote.

As we've said before, it all comes down to what you value. And once again, Dr. Roe and his Republican bosses value politics over people - even while they try to take credit for others' success."

Vacationing A 'Human Right' Says Europe

Vacationing is a human right according to the European Union and they are launching a program to make sure those in Europe who might not be able to afford one will still get one.

EU member nations already mandate 4 weeks of vacation per year, and some countries mandate more (6 weeks in France). And the plan proposed by EU Commissioner Antonio Tajani calls for folks in southern Europe to travel North and vice-versa, meaning they are not calling for subsidized vacations to Tahiti or Vegas.

Yes, subsidized:

"The plan -- just who gets to enjoy the travel package has yet to be determined -- would see taxpayers footing some of the vacation bill for seniors, youths between the ages of 18 and 25, disabled people, and families facing "difficult social, financial or personal" circumstances. The disabled and elderly can also be accompanied by one other person. The EU and its taxpayers are slated to fund 30% of the cost of these tours, which could range from youth exploring abandoned factories and power plants in Manchester to retirees taking discount trips to Madrid, all in the name of cultural appreciation.

"The commission is literally considering paying people to go on holiday," Mats Persson, of pro-reform think-tank Open Europe, told Britain's News of the World. "In this economic climate, it's astonishing that the EU wants to bribe people with cheap holidays."

Since the nation of Greece is in financial meltdown, it's unclear if the entire EU will go along with this plan.

I am willing to travel (on a paid basis) to explore this topic further.

Arizona Wants To See Your Papers, Citizen!

Ill-conceived, thoughtless and dangerous, Arizona's new law on targeting illegal aliens is prompting much discussion. I doubt any resolution or repeal will occur short of a lengthy court battle. Still, a couple of blog posts from Washington Monthly raise some critical questions.

Here's one post:

"Linda Greenhouse, a Pulitzer Prize-winning Supreme Court correspondent for the New York Times, isn't known for writing provocative opinion pieces. But the new, odious immigration measure in Arizona appears to have genuinely outraged Greenhouse. Good for her.

...I'm not going back to Arizona as long as it remains a police state, which is what the appalling anti-immigrant bill that Gov. Jan Brewer signed into law last week has turned it into.

What would Arizona's revered libertarian icon, Barry Goldwater, say about a law that requires the police to demand proof of legal residency from any person with whom they have made "any lawful contact" and about whom they have "reasonable suspicion" that "the person is an alien who is unlawfully present in the United States?" Wasn't the system of internal passports one of the most distasteful features of life in the Soviet Union and apartheid-era South Africa?

Greenhouse's question about Goldwater's reaction to such madness also reminds me that there's another group of small-government-minded folks who claim to be concerned by authoritarian tactics. Reader B.H. emailed this poignant observation last night:

Just a question I haven't heard anybody ask: Shouldn't the tea party crowd be having a cow over this new immigration bill that Arizona just passed? Doesn't that sound like big government tyranny to them? Giving the police the power to demand "papers" from someone just on their own suspicion?

Any chatter from the tea party folk to this effect? I haven't seen any.

Nor have I. It's almost as if the right-wing crowd is only offended by government abuses when they're imaginary."

And more:

As the former Republican congressman [and talk show host Joe Scarborough] put it, '...It does offend me when one out of every three citizens in the state of Arizona are Hispanics, and you have now put a target on the back of one out of three citizens, who, if they're walking their dog around a neighborhood, if they're walking their child to school, and they're an American citizen, or a legal, legal immigrant -- to now put a target on their back, and make them think that every time they walk out of their door they may have to prove something. I will tell you, that is un-American. It is unacceptable and it is un-American.'

UPDATE: In comments below, Mike Silence points to one "tea party" blogger who speaks out against the Arizona law.

If Chickens Were Money: A GOP Health Care Reform Idea

Sue Lowden, former chair of the Republican Party in Nevada, and seeking to replace Sen. Harry Reid if she wins her primary, has been getting grilled and ridiculed for comments she has made that a barter system is the way to cut down costs for medical care -- notoriously quoted as saying that in "olden times our grandparents, they would bring a chicken to the doctor, they would say I’ll paint your house, they would do... that’s the old days of what people would do to get health care with their doctors. Doctors are very sympathetic people. I’m not backing down from that system."

Wow, our economy must really be tanking beyond the levels of the Depression from the 1930s if trading livestock or labor for medical care is seen as a viable and desirable plan.

The jokes are flying fast and furious, and there's a Facebook page wanting to provide Lowden with "one million virtual chickens". Or I suppose one could donate chickens rather than cash contributions to her campaign and she can convert those cluckers to dollars.

If you want to calculate your chicken-to-dollars abilities, a nifty calculator has been created.

Still, such weighty thinkers as those at the Wall Street Journal thinks she has a great idea which should not be dismissed:

"No less an authority than the American Medical Association’s own newspaper, American Medical News, wrote about it just last year, calling it a “creative way to collect from patients during difficult economic times.”

Kaiser Health News also tipped a hat to bartering last year, reporting that “health care is surpassing auto repair and advertising as the service in most demand, say people who run local barter exchanges.” One doctor in Vermont “swapped Viagra samples for maple syrup.”

Even Lowden’s reference to livestock may not be so far off the mark. As American Medical News reported, an office manager for an orthopedics practice in Wisconsin said one doc bartered surgery for “a full cow’s worth of beef.”

All of which leads me to ask ...
Q: Why did the chicken cross the road?

A: To avoid being used to cover a pre-existing condition.

TN Democrat Party Serves Up A Cup Of Joe

I received an email today from the TN Democrat Party mentioning a story reported on this blog and nowhere else this week (well, KnoxViews did link to my previous post too as did Speak To Power in West TN):

NASHVILLE - Tennessee Democratic Party Chairman Chip Forrester pointed out the hypocrisy of U.S. Rep. Phil Roe who appeared recently at a Hamblen County High School groundbreaking ceremony despite the congressman's vote against legislation funding the $11.1 million project.

Morristown-Hamblen High School East is receiving an interest-free loan to build additional classrooms through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, which has been credited for generating 2.8 million jobs since its enactment. Roe voted against the Recovery Act.

"It's more than a little disingenuous for Mr. Roe to show up at the high school and try to take credit for a project whose funding he voted against," Forrester said. "The congressman should be embarrassed for voting against a measure that is enabling local communities to stretch their dollars, reduce taxes and improve infrastructure.

"Too many elected officials like Congressman Roe are playing partisan politics instead of doing what is right for communities and the people who live and work there. Instead of grandstanding and trying to score cheap political points in Washington, Mr. Roe should focus on problems in his district."

The President's Council of Economic Advisers estimates that investments made through the Recovery Act have boosted employment in Tennessee by 56,000 jobs through the 1st quarter of 2010. Nearly $6 billion in federal stimulus money has been committed to Tennessee.

"In times like these, we need to put aside our political differences and solve our problems," Forrester said. Let's focus our energy and resources on creating jobs, ensuring our children get top-notch educations and making our communities stronger and safer.

"I hope Congressman Roe will admit he was wrong for voting against the stimulus funding," he added.

Rep. Roe Celebrates Funding He Voted Against

1st District Congressman Phil Roe made sure to attend the groundbreaking ceremony for much-need renovations at East High in Morristown on Monday - even though the 11.1 million dollars in funding came from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act which he voted against. As did every Republican in Congress.

Rep. Roe did not want that money to go to schools in Tennessee and continues to oppose the ARRA program. Unless he has a re-election campaign.

UPDATE: The Tennessee Democrat party picks up the story.

Congressional Candidate Challenges the Space-Time Continuum

1st Congressional District candidate Mike Clark of East Tennessee is not just running for office according to writer Hank Hayes at the Kingsport Times-News ... he is challenging the very order of the Universe!

Is that an exaggeration? Take a read of Hank's article: the headline reads "Clark Bucks History In Run For 1st Congressional District"

"ELIZABETHTON — Democrat Mike Clark kicked off his campaign Saturday to run against political history in Northeast Tennessee’s GOP-controlled 1st Congressional District.

At an event held at the Carter County Courthouse in Elizabethton, Clark announced he’ll challenge first-term GOP incumbent U.S. Rep. Phil Roe for a congressional seat Democrats haven’t held since Reconstruction in the 19th century.

I understand the thought pattern here, the "narrative" being spun by the politicos of East Tenn -- "why Joe, honey," they say to me while giving me the benefit of their Timeless Wisdom, "you just have to understand that no Democrat has been elected to hold that seat in Congress since, well, that awful war of secession, and we've always voted Republican since then."

Perhaps the politicos are right - voters today make their decisions based on events from the 19th century. I know a heap of folks who live up in here who never want to waver past the line demarcating the 19th and 20th, much less the 21st century.

But I also know that for this election cycle, Hayes and the KPT have been actually reporting on a Democrat candidate's existence, something they were loathe to do until most recently. (also see this follow-up)

So things can change, especially in the media and especially in our 21st century on that new-fangled YouTube page. And from what I'm reading in the Morristown newspaper, Democrat State House Representative John Litz, now seeking the Hamblen County Mayor seat, is raising more money for his campaign than his Republican opponent, Bill Brittain.

A full draft of Mike Clark's speech follows at this link, and here's a bit of it I thought a lot of residents here in East Tennessee might like to hear about:

"You know, as I'm beginning my travels across the First District of Tennessee, one question - well, besides, "Who the heck are you?" - that I keep getting asked is, "Does a Democrat actually stand a chance this November? After all, this is a red state and East Tennessee hasn't elected a Democrat Congressman since, oh, 500 years, or something like that …"


Actually, the last Democrat to go to Washington from East Tennessee was Robert L. Taylor, and he took office in 1878 and was defeated for reelection in 1880 - leaving office in early 1881. That's 129 years and counting since this district sent a Democrat to Congress.


Well, that's why we are here today. We didn't bring the DeLorean from 'Back to the Future,' we can't hit Mr. Peabody's WayBack Machine. We don't have the ability to go back and change the past - we have to create a new future ourselves. Starting here. Starting now.


Can a Democrat win in November? They say we can't. They say the odds are stacked against us. They say Democrats in East Tennessee are disheartened. There aren't enough Democrats to win, they say.


Well, let's look at a few other things they said:

They said an African-American could never be elected president … but he was. We made history.


They said we'd never get meaningful health care reform - and we did. We made history.


It isn't going to be easy. It's going to take dedication and a lot of hard work. But we know that. We need to build on 2008, return everyone we can to the polls this November and bring in a lot of new voters too. We cannot let our spirit down. We have to keep it in mind that we have the right values, we have the right views on the issues facing America, and the First District, today. And we have an outlook that is positive, not negative. Republican leader Newt Gingrich says that if and when the GOP gains the majority in Congress, they're going to repeal everything we've worked hard to obtain - not just health care, but in education, the economy, banking reform - back, back, back to the failed policies of the past; the nasty politics of the past.


You can't go back to the future, despite catchy movie titles. You have to move forward, dare to try - we have to fight like our future depends on it. There is no other choice than to reject the failed policy of the past and instead keep moving forward to prepare for the needs of the future. Yes to innovation, Yes to common sense solutions, Yes to America's children!


Our opponent is not a Yes person, apparently. He's hard to reach - forget the open door, he has open line Friday over the telephone."

"Beer Is A Popular Product"

"Beer is a popular product". So says Joe Priesmeyer. President of the N. H. Scheppers Distributing Company of Columbia, Missouri, in response to a scandal in Columbia city government.

This scandal has led to one city employee resignation, another facing disciplinary action, and police and prosecutors are attempting to determine what crime - if any - was committed.

The nefarious details are from the Columbia Tribune -- but here's what is known: some 1,500 cases of date-expired beer from Scheppers was sent to the city landfill and upon delivery some 800 cases were immediately destroyed.

The other 700 cases were "intact" and that's when, allegedly, two city employees pulled up in a city vehicle and took an estimated 50 cases of the beer away with the landfill. The whereabouts of the missing beer remain unknown.

"Buckler said the main issue is theft.

“Once it’s in the landfill, it is city property,” she said.

She said because the beer is city property, there could be liability issues should the employees share it with others. That remains a possibility because the city doesn’t know where the missing beer is.

Columbia police spokeswoman Officer Jessie Haden said police are working with city supervisors to determine whether it is criminal activity or just a policy violation.

“If we determine it’s a police matter, we will take some action,” she said.

Priesmeyer said despite the beer being past expiration, it was not in any way unhealthy and at worst “it loses some of its taste profile.”

He said it has been several years since Scheppers has taken beer to the city landfill, but Priesmeyer said there is nothing unusual about disposing of expired beer.

It also isn’t unheard of that people try to steal some of it.

“Every once in a while, we’ll have some beer get stolen by overzealous people off of our trucks,” Priesmeyer said. “Beer is a popular product.”

Be sure to read some of the comments at the end of the CT story.

Why I Don't Watch Local TV News

Here's a simple example of why I seldom watch local TV news broadcasts, other than to check the weather or maybe a sports score --

WBIR broadcast this "report" about the Greeneville Tea Party, as some locals gathered at their county courthouse to complain about taxes. I've no problem with that, it was an event where people attended and is was tax deadline day and all. But why did the reporter decide to hold up one of the signs created by the protesters? Plenty of their signs were visible.

And yes, the report's goal seemed to be to give air to the thoughts and opinions of the TP'ers.

One comment in particular was highlighted by attendee (and apparently a speaker at the event, judging by the video, but here again, the reporter never really identified the individual's role in the event). Anyway, the speaker was one Jeff Cobble - and he said "The majority of our taxes go to supporting the national debt."

Now that comment certainly intrigued me -- so I used this fairly commonplace tool available to most folks called the Internet, and Googled the phrase "majority of federal tax money is spent on" and in .35 seconds, what do ya know - a report dated April 15 2010 titled How Are Our Federal Tax Dollars Spent? is right there for anyone to read.

Sure, I'm wacko idealistic to think a local news report should supply more than just camera footage of unhappy folks and their opinions -- it just seems like a very good opportunity to provide accurate and detailed information on a topic that has many people talking and pondering. One would not have to include all the information - just some basic highlights on the video report, and hey, on WBIR's web site, they could have at least linked to the whole article.

So, as a public service, here's a good chunk of that article I found in .35 seconds of searching (and it's worth noting that approximately ten cents out of each tax dollar collected goes to paying on the national debt) -- the article is from the Live Science web site:

"Three main areas each accounted for approximately one-fifth of the budget, while two sections of spending each made up about one-tenth, and the remaining fifth of the budget was used to finance a variety of programs. According to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, here are the most expensive programs:

• Defense and international security: In fiscal year 2008, $625 billion, or roughly 21 percent of the government budget was spent on the military and other initiatives to protect the nation. This figure also includes the cost of supporting American operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.
• Social Security: An additional 21 percent of the budget, equal to about $617 billion, was earmarked for Social Security, one of the largest government programs in the world. Social Security provides retirement benefits, survivors' benefits and disability benefits to millions of retired or disabled workers, or surviving children and spouses of deceased workers.
• Medicare, Medicaid and CHIP: In 2008, $599 billion, or 20 percent of the government budget, was used to finance three health insurance programs – Medicare, Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP). Approximately $391 billion went to Medicare, which provides health coverage to people who are over the age of 65 or who meet other criteria such as disability. The remaining amount helped to finance Medicaid and CHIP, which provide health care or long-term care to low-income children, parents and seniors and people with disabilities. Both the Medicaid and CHIP programs involve the federal government matching payments made by the state.
• Safety net programs: The federal government supports so-called safety net programs that provide aid (other than, or in addition to health insurance and/or Social Security benefits) to individuals and families in need. Safety net programs accounted for approximately 11 percent of the 2008 federal budget, which equaled $313 billion. According to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, safety net programs include: the refundable portion of the earned-income and child tax credits; programs that provide cash payments to eligible individuals or households, including Supplemental Security Income; various forms of in-kind assistance for low-income families and individuals, including food stamps, school meals, low-income housing assistance, child-care assistance, and assistance in meeting home energy bills; and various additional programs that assist at-risk individuals and families.
• Interest on the national debt: For every dollar that taxpayers send to the federal government, about a dime goes toward paying interest on the national debt. The federal government is required to make regular interest payments on money it has borrowed to close past budget deficits. This borrowed money makes up the national debt, which currently exceeds $12 trillion. In fiscal year 2008, interest payments accounted for 8 percent of the budget, or roughly $253 billion.

The remaining fifth of federal government spending goes toward financing a variety of other programs and public services, including: providing benefits and health care to veterans and retired federal employees; investing in education, scientific and medical research, and basic city infrastructure such as roads, bridges and airports. A small amount – about 1 percent – went to non-security international programs, including those that provide humanitarian aid.