Congressman Jenkins Scoffs At Crime

Back in June 14 of this year, 1st Dist. Congressman Bill Jenkins ridiculed law enforcement inTennessee and Washington for wasting time on shutting down the illegal gambling in the Del Rio community of Cocke County -- telling the Knox-News Sentinel:

"The government should focus on terrorism and fighting methamphetamine instead of 'diverting FBI agents' to investigate cockfighting."

Congressman Jenkins sees no value in a Four-Year investigation that has led to criminal charges against 143 people, and Federal investigations that have led to investigation into racketeering, corruption, organized gambling, prostitution, chop-shop operations, drug-trafficking, and the hijacking of interstate commerce.

Oh, and also the ongoing investigations allegations that law enforcement officers in Cocke County may be engaged in drug-trafficking, bribery, etc., etc. Congressman Jenkins has been busy outsourcing TN jobs with the passage of CAFTA. Maybe he sees Crime as the next Economic Boom to Tennessee. It has certainly been big biz in the Nashville.

Just look at the T-shirt business that is now offering apparel to east Tennessee, with t-shirts that show a crowd waving flags that read "Go Cocks!" and also show two roosters with boxing gloves sparring and the phrases:

"Raid on innocent cockfighters $400,000 -- Money confiscated $40,000 -- and the price of living in Cocke Co-- Priceless."

These Blogs Are Made Of People!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

A Right war of words is taking place because of Bill Hobbsian logic. Find out the details by clicking here.

See how many times BH changes his story and explains that his invititation for "Tennessee bloggers" gets changed to "I only have room for 12 people". There are waaaaaay more than 12 writers in TN, and certainly, not all deal with politics. It is just hilarious stuff to read -- tip of the hat to Hard Right, a fellow member of the Rocky Top Brigade for keeping an eye on this ever-changing story. It reminds me of that old Nixon quote about "knowing what you think you might know but not knowing or actually understanding what I meant."

Three more additions to the debate about political blogging -- one other state legislator also gives voters a chance to follow activities via the Internet (see "Boycotts, Ethics, and the Blog" of Aug. 9 on this page). Longtime State Senator Roy Herron also has a page for you. Thanks for Hamblen County Commissioner Linda Noe for that addition.

Second, the Lance In Iraq web log says, if you the read the "about me" section, a former Republican "lobbyist/party organizer" as if you could not tell from the postings ripping party politics in TN while sitting in Iraq doing .... not sure about that part, really. What he wrote was "Before that gig, I was Legislative Director for the TN Republican Party in 2000 and Political Director in 2002." And is it just me, or does the picture he posted on Bill Hobb's web log dated Aug 10th look just like Col. Kilgore in "Apocalypse Now"??? BH says he got the pic from Rush Limbaugh's "Club Gitmo" photo collection. Is Limbaugh still working? Isn't he due in court for buying prescription drugs in a parking lot?

One More Tidbit -- If you are reading this, then studies are showing you are among the brightest and the best.

And oh yes, thanks to Michael Silence at the Knoxville News Sentinel for mentioning yer Cup of Joe on his roundup of news regarding the bloody shootout in Roane County.

Lifetime of Failures

After the shootout in Roane County and the re-capture of George Hyatte and his wife Jennifer, a few items seem clear as clear can be -- the TN Corrections system and George and Jennifer Hyatte are all part of years and years of Failure. Reading the AP stories alone tell volumes about this case:

"It was at least the fifth time he had gotten way from law enforcement officials. The other escapes were from local authorities in east Tennessee in 1990, 1991, 1998 and 2002. In the escape three years ago, Mr. Hyatte and another prisoner fled from a county jail after threatening guards with a knife made from toothbrushes and a razor blade.

When one guard turned over keys to the inmates, they then used them to beat another officer until he was unconscious. The two escapees were captured in Florida a few days later.

Mr. Hyatte was 9 when he first entered the court system, for school truancy and unruly behavior. By the time he was 17 he had already been through a treatment program for alcohol and drug abuse.”

Not to say it is all the fault of the Corrections System, but he has spent plenty of time under their questionable tutelage and his only expertise is in being a professional criminal.

Writers On The Storm

As one of the newer members of the Rocky Top Brigade (122 and counting) I have been dutifully been readin' thru the many many writers and wordsmiths who have been writing about their lives and the news of the world. There are vast amounts of information of all kinds and some darn fine writers. You don't have to be Southern to write well, but after you live in Tenessee just a little while, the stories you tell start to stretch out and relax and move as natural as a river.

This is just an introduction to a nicely told tale which I read on this site. I found it courtesy of a mention on the Soulfish Stew blog. I don't endorse everything you read/find on the RTB, but there are some fine writers out there if you have time to look and read. Their words won't likely sell a bajillion copies a minute like Harry Potter tale, it's just mostly free people telling you how they see the world.

One lucky writer/traveller has been hauling his Irish perspective all over the world and I also found those perspectives addictive reading. He's not an RTBer, but being Irish can also make you a fine storyteller.

Kutztown and Klutztown

The Kutztown 13 are kids who easily figured out computer codes on the free laptops their school gave them. School officials say it is a felony while the kids and their parents have taken the battle online. I keep looking for a phrase in these press reports about how all this will "go on their permanent record!!" Oh wait -- that's what a Felony means -- even though the school's internet tech people are the ones who left the password taped onto the laptops. Luckily stupid is not a Felony.

If it were I would have been up on charges long ago. Oh, and of all the readers out there (more than two, less than a nation) only one told me about some problems on my blog (thanks Lee) even though it took me a day to actually listen. Fun to watch me twist in the wind isn't it, especially since I have become one of those "critical" people. Truth be told, I have never needed any assistance to reach Stupid.

Boycotts, Ethics and The Blog

Ever wonder what goes thru an elected official's mind as they help craft policy? Some very revealing snapshots of what happens in those seldom-seen committee meetings can be discovered at the web log of Hamblen Co. Commissioner Linda Noe. Here is a sample from Monday's Audit Committee meeting -

The main agenda item was a letter that had been prepared by Chairman Osborne and that was addressed to Finance Chairman Herbert Harville. The letter remarked on the difficulty (impossibility?) in getting answers to 2004 audit questions from the County Mayor or Finance Director. It said that the Audit Committee is at an impasse and noted that County Mayor David Purkey had "willfully" encouraged other elected officials and departments heads not to respond in writing to the Audit Committee and not to attend Audit Committee meetings.

The Mayor's statement urging officials and departments heads to boycott Audit Committee meetings a couple of months ago was very effective. No one attended the Audit Committee then, and no one attended the Audit Committee today. Today, as the Audit Committee prepared to meet, the Mayor told county employee Jeff Atkins and local news person Paul Meador, "let's go," and they did. They skeedaddled out of there, so you probably won't hear anything about what happened at the Audit Committee on tomorrow's radio news."

You can also take a peek at the state legislature thru the web log for State Rep. Stacey Campfield, and I'm pretty sure he's the only TN rep trying out the blog approach. He's been outspoken on the "Ethics" debate in the Legislature -

"I still believe Lois Deberry should step down from her leadership position in the House and in her party. If she can't see that stepping down from those positions is the right thing to do, then I call on all ethical democrats to ask her to step down.

This would be a good first step in showing Tennesseans that it isn't just Republicans, but Democrats who want real ethics change.

As the old saying goes, all it takes for evil to rule is for good people to do nothing. In the continuing wake of the Tennessee Waltz, silence speaks volumes."

Silence is the rule in TN, I'm afraid.

The Internet and it's Many Wonders can provide anyone with lots of information the sound-bites and coordinating cheerleading press releases seldom provide. Want to know more about the 2003-2004 state audit in Hamblen County? It's right there on the Comptroller's pages. Look for your county audit information on the state map.

Finances and auditing are as Dry as Mummy Dust to most of the public. However, you don't have to be an accountant to see that there were findings that caused the state some concern about financial issues in Hamblen Co. government -

B. The county’s budgeting policies provide for the finance director to post certain transfers of appropriations between major categories without County Commission approval. This policy appears to conflict with Section 5-9-407, TCA, which requires that all transfers of appropriations between major categories be approved by the County Commission. The county has no authority to adopt policies that circumvent state statutes.

C. Expenditures exceeded appropriations in various major categories (the legal level of control) for the General Fund, Highway/Public Works Fund, Special Debt Service Fund, General Debt Service Fund, and Hospital Debt Service Fund

I told a friend just yesterday that the best thing about the Web and the World 'o Bloggers is it provides a chance to view events Unfiltered by "mass media" and instead allows readers to learn and discover all on their own.

More on this later, but also worth noting is that the TN Senate race already boasts the first nationwide Web Log advertising. Pith In the Wind has the details.

Van Hilleray's Fonda Desire

Ever the political hopeful and desperate for Media blessings/attention U.S. Senator candidate Van Hilleary vows to debate Jane Fonda. Poor Van must have been sure that a plan to debate Jane would push him to the forefront of the ......(snicker) ....(cough) ... oh I can't do this with a straight face. What in the Sam Hill is he doing?? Imploding? I met Van many years ago and have had many interviews with him, seen him work the crowds, etc. But during his failed run a governor of TN, I noticed how he seemed ...well, desperate.

And poor Jane, too. Even a movie with J-Lo and an autobigraphy that admits, yes, she's been kinda wacky, can't seem to bring Media Satisfaction and so she is planning on a "tour" on a bus that runs on vegetable oil. WHO writes this stuff?? Ends up making Sen. (I'm A Doctor, Really!) Frist seem almost normal.

All the Tennessee leftovers that have been served up for the U.S. Senate make ya wonder if we have politicial leadership or just another casting call for "Dukes of Hazzard." There ya go, Van - Debate Johnny Knoxville!! Debate Jessica Simpson!! Get a guest spot on the "O.C."!! Cut a duet with Dolly Parton!!!

9 out of 10 Tennessee residents have no idea who is running for U.S. Senate. So even a crumb of attention must seem like a banquet.

How's That Cup of Joe?

Every day you can find new things as the Cup of Joe is being built before yer very eyes.

Thanks to Tenn. Jed for the work ya see here.

A hot, steaming cup of you-know who is always the best way thru the day.

The Fearful and The Weak

The wailing and hand-wringing about NASA and space travel is showing up as Yellow streaks down the back of Americans. Gone, apparently, are the courageus, fearless and innovative views of America and American science. At least, that's what TN "opinion" writers like Frank Cagle think. He frets like a momma over the first chick out of the nest in his latest ramblings in the MetroPulse chatterbox: Risk? Oh no!!! Unacceptable, Unacceptable!! If God had meant for us to fly, we'd have wings!!!

"I still believe, as I always have, in space exploration. But given the immensity of space, would we be better served by more Voyagers, an army of them launched with specific missions? Or will we continue to believe that space can be a hospitable place for humankind and that we must continue to send astronauts out there?

I would be more of a mind to continue manned space flights and send a team to Mars, except for one thing. After two and a half years of safety checks and billions expended, the Discovery “mission” has turned into a mission to find out if Discovery can get home safely. The success of the flight will be judged by whether we get seven astronauts home without them being killed."

Wait until he/or you, dear readers, hear from what most people in my generation say, but first a few glaring Facts. NASA reduced by 80% the falling debris from Shuttle launches with this mission. They also showed the relative ease in performing repairs on the outside of the craft. The Shuttle is operating because Congress has failed to provide the full funding requests of NASA for a new spacecraft, and we have a delivery system that was supposed to have been phased-out so newer technologies could be used -- imagine getting an extra half-million miles on the life of your truck. Is that failure?? So yes, the launches and returns of a transport system operating far beyond the time anyone thought possible is a notable feat. Not a moment for despair. Also to be noted are the bold non-NASA spacecraft developers -- they are reaching for the stars.

I guess Frank watches NASCAR for wrecks, boxing matches in hopes of death -- in other words, it's trendy to report the shipwrecks as opposed to the successful voyages. Garsh, spanky, those sailors could fall of the end of this flat world if they a'keep on 'splorin' like that!!!

Hear's a great view from an email I received from a friend this week, tweaked a tad-bit for 'family reading":
"We were first on the moon. The only ones on the moon. Cling to that memory.
'Cause now we're the Space Puss#*%s.
We sent John Glenn aloft on a rocket that was 30% sure to blow up underneath him.
We sent Apollo 8 into lunar orbit even though we didn't know how to do it at the time.
We sent Neil Armstrong to the surface of the moon without being totally sure he wouldn't just sink through the lunar surface like it was talcum powder.
Now we're spending billions of dollars building camera booms and having unnecessary space walks to make sure the Space Shuttle didn't chip any paint during liftoff.
More people die in automobile accidents in the United States every hour than have died in the entire history of the U.S. and Russian space programs combined.
Let's spend more time checking our tire pressure and less time harrowing our already dwindling Space Program to death.
Did anybody notice they've discovered a new planet in our solar system, or were we too occupied with the latest episode of The O.C.?"

Also, former Apollo flight director Eugene F. Franks, author of "Failure Is Not An Option - From Mercury to Apollo 13 and Beyond", had a very perceptive editorial in the New York Times last week, which you can read by clicking Here. Check out Eugene's powerful perspective versus Cagle's cowering timidity:

"There are many nations that wish to surpass us in space. Does the "quit now" crowd really believe that abandoning the shuttle and International Space Station is the way to keep America the pre-eminent space-faring nation? Do they really believe that a new spacecraft will come without an engineering challenge or a human toll? The path the naysayers suggest is so out of touch with the American character of perseverance, hard work and discovery that they don't even realize the danger in which they are putting future astronauts - not to mention our nation."

Eugene and NASA have said it best - "Failure is not an option."

Orange You Breathing OK?

The East TN Regional Air Coalition has issued an Alert about the bad air quality for the next few days, putting us at the Orange Alert Level. Check out their Link, right Here or over in the Links section to the right.

You don't have to be a scientist or even suffering from breathing problems to know that we are sucking down some lousy pollution. Just take a look around. Try looking at the horizon lines, or if you can see them, try looking at the mountains surrounding our fertile - er, polluted valley. Just look around at the haze that is obscuring anything more than 100 or 200 feet away. (We used to just call this Smog, but now it has names like "particulate matter" and '"unhealthy effects of ozone." That keeps the meaning nice and obscure, just like the Smog!!!

Don't get me wrong, I am glad to have the ETNRAC -- we do get Alerts now, usually folded into a weather forecast, as if this were all just ... weather. It isn't. It's pollution. At the Orange level (GO BIG ORANGE!!!!!) it is dangerous for "sensitive groups", such as "children or adults who are active outdoors", and people with respiratory disease. That seems like a pretty big chunk of population here in the Valley, but the Alert also notes - "Even healthy adults involved in moderate or strenuous outdoor activites can experience the unhealthy effects." So that's pretty much anyone who GOES OUTSIDE and breathes.

Again, just look around. Sure, we have the Smoky Mountains, but they got that name because you could SEE them long ago. And you could see water vapor around their rolling slopes and inclines.
So if you live in Hamblen, Jefferson, Sevier, Cocke, Grainger, Knox, Anderson, Blount, Loudon, Roan or Union counties, make a note of the ETNRAC web site. (Located in the Links section of this page).

There are several suggestions made in the Alert (GOOOOO BIG ORANGE!!!!) about how you can help prevent .... well, it is Your fault isn't it.

Relax, breathe deeply (if you're inside) and enjoy the beautiful scenery (if you can see it,)

Original Child Bomb

This weekend marks the 60th anniversary of the atomic explosions in Japan which brought about their surrender and the end of World War 2.

At the Editor and Publisher website site, you can read an account of once lost, once secret film footage of the two events at this link.

The story follows the long and winding path of film footage shot in the aftermath of the explosions, and this weekend you can see a broadcast on IFC television made from some of that footage. If you don't have the Independent Film Channel, I'm sure you can find a copy of the movie online to buy. (Yes, I said pay money fer it!)

The explosions, what they mean, resonate throughout the world to this very day. And Tennessee is home to the bomb's creation, and will again be a site for protests and remembrances. Yes, Tennessee is home to "The Secret City."

I am glad I did not endure the horrors of World War 2. When I was born in 1960, America was involved in an Arms Race that had folks digging shelters in the yard, ducking under desks in grade school, and, as my Mom says, it was makin' folks as nervous as a long-tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs.

I am a member of the same college frat (Lambda Chi Alpha) whose national membership includes Harry S. Truman, the man who gave the go orders for dropping those bombs. I remember seeing the greenish irradiated penny in a plastic box my older brother David got on a school tour of Oak Ridge. As an adult, I've witnessed the rebuke of pleas of Oak Ridge workers, who gladly worked in dangerous conditions, pleas for assistance with health care due to the exposures to atomic testing.

The Japan I grew up with gave the world transistors, popular cars, A Fistful of Dollars (better known as "Yojimbo'), The Magnificent Seven (originally "The Seven Samurai'), and that Sony Playsation 2 by the television. We won't even get into the popularity of anime books and magazines, like Shonen Jump, which young people eagerly buy in any grocery store or even K-Mart, from Morristown, TN to Nagasaki, Japan.

The stories from friends and family, and the images of that horrifying time of World War, are just as deeply ingrained as my own personal experiences. The residue of the atomic explosions, as I said, still shape the human condition today. Surely I am not the only one to sense the irony and oddity of seeing World War 2 games being played on PlayStation game systems in just a 60-year turnaround of world affairs. The Optimist inside says the explosions made the world a lot smaller and people a lot smarter. The Pessimest says, Oh No, it made us all more afraid, full of the dread that we truly live in a Time marked by Atomic Clocks constantly ticking towards midnight.

The story of that film footage is also a part of world history, and whatever your opinons about atomic weapons, it is important to know how that history was censored, withheld, hidden away for fear of how it might make us react. It is important to understand what happened then, and what atomic Power, in the political sense means today. It is so very hard to grasp loss of those tens of millions around the world who died in that not-so-distant past. That is part of the history too.

Much of the success we had in World War 2 was also about Secrecy -- secret codes, secret cities, secret missions, Enigma machines, secrets so encrypted it literally powered the creation of computer systems just to keep up. Whatever your views of using atomic weapons at that time, I think we should all remember we still are getting new information from those who were there. Secrecy has it's price too.

Links, Links, and More Links

You'll notice the links at your right are being added all the time.

Some are local, some state, some news, some Right and some Left and, this first week I had to include one of the Godfathers of Movie Information sites you can find, the Internet Movie Database. If all you know about a favorite movie is an actor, a title, a crew member, even just elements of the Plot, they can find it for you.

I am, and I remain the Master of Motion Pictures in East TN. I have forgotten more about movies than most people know. In coming weeks and months, you'll have a chance to try and stump me with Movie questions and I'll have some gifts for those lucky, lucky few.

This site is growing daily, and you'll always find plenty of info here. And there will always be a place for you to share info and comments too --
No Secret Handshake Required!

Tennessee - Birthplace of Music

I am sure most folks don't know how much fine music was created by the efforts of tireless musicians like Little Milton Campbell and Sun Records producer Sam Phillips. Once you dig into it just a litle bit you will find an astonishing wealth of powerful influences.

This is just my attempt to note the passing of Little Milton, who died at the age of 71 on Thursday. He cut his first hit at Sun Studios with Sam about the same time Sam was laying down tracks of another newcomer named Elvis Presley. Just last night PBS aired an American Masters program on the late Sam Phillips, a wiley and brilliant producer who oversaw the blending of Gospel, Blues, Bluegrass and Country and made something brand new called Rock and Roll.

The names are legends -- Elvis, Little Milton, Rufus Thomas, Johnny Cash, Carl Perkins, Billy Riley, Roy Orbison, Jerry Lee Lewis -- not to mention all the blues greats he made time and room for with such energy, such as Little Milton. The energy was hot as a Sun in those studios that Sam called 'a cathedral.'

So many that got that proverbial foot in the door from Sam, usually left and made it to Legend status elsewhere, taking the sounds with them that Sam and his studio helped to nurture into life. Needing to keep the doors open, he sold Elvis contract to RCA for 30,000 dollars, but for my money, the best sessions he ever cut were in that cathedral.

I know that 50-Cent is the Legend today, but he's walking the path cut by Little Milton and Sam.

I'll be mentioning Sam, Sun, Memphis, Stax and Tom Dowd in coming days -- they made Tennessee the birthplace of great American music.

Even Tax Money Won't Tempt Them

A month or so ago, I mentioned an announcement from Toyota about the expansion of their business into Canada on the now defunct South Knox Bubba web log. SKB kindly reprinted the peice and it did generate some good comments. Today I see that the web log Facing South has a story about it and a link - (alwayts interesting stories there, by the way)

http://southernstudies.org/facingsouth/2005/08/toyota-reveals-limits-of-great.asp

Basically, Toyota refused lots of fresh, hot new tax dollars from the Southeast because they simply cannot get a workforce who understands the work required. Here is a sample of the reasons why Toyota decided to go to Canada -

"The level of the workforce in general is so high that the training program you need for people, even for people who have not worked in a Toyota plant before, is minimal compared to what you have to go through in the southeastern United States," said Gerry Fedchun, president of the Automotive Parts Manufacturers' Association, whose members will see increased business with the new plant [...]

Several U.S. states were reportedly prepared to offer more than double [the] subsidy [Southern states were offering]. But Fedchun said much of that extra money would have been eaten away by higher training costs than are necessary for the Woodstock project.

He said Nissan and Honda have encountered difficulties getting new plants up to full production in recent years in Mississippi and Alabama due to an untrained - and often illiterate - workforce. In Alabama, trainers had to use "pictorials" to teach some illiterate workers how to use high-tech plant equipment.

Now, before you say, give the schools money, remember TN and other states have been gushing millions into education in the last 10 years, while never really improving the Quality of Education. Why? It is more profitable for schools to keep the money flowing in and the best way to do that is make sure the Quality of Education never improves.
It is about growing Jobs in Education.

Make That 15,000 Plus One

Just a short note on day One of this Cup Of Joe:

Meanwhile, Pew Internet & American Life reports a new weblog is created every 5.8 seconds. That roughly translates into 15,000 new blogs every day.

Secrets In Morristown

Every town, home, place can have secrets, can't they?

Here's a story by Kimberly Miller for the Tennessee Idependent Media Center published July 30 that has been kept quiet in the so-called news. (The TN Independent Media Center also has lots of info on the ongoing TnCare Sit-In Protest that has been lodged in the State Capitol Building for more than a month, which you can read here:http://www.tnimc.org)

Seven Hundred and Fifty Poultry workers at two Koch Foods Plants have filed a petition for a Union Election in Morristown, Tennessee. Workers have been organizing for over a month despite intimidation and racism within the community. Most of the poultry workers in this area are Latino. On Sunday, local residents rallied in support of the United Food and Commercial Workers Union. Over 200 workers and community members stood in solidarity.

Poultry Plants are notorious for violating workers’ rights. In January, the organization Human Rights Watch, issued a report on the dangers of working in the poultry industry. The report says Poultry plants exploit the vulnerabilities of a predominantly immigrant labor force and are Rife with unfair labor practices. In November of 2004, The Morristown Poultry workers brought formal complaints before the Tennessee Occupational Health and Safety Administration. Workers complained of a lack of bathroom facilities and breaks and cited the company¹s failure to properly guard and lock-down dangerous equipment. In addition, workers were not trained in the safe use of the equipment. Marta, a poultry worker from Hidalgo Mexico, believes that standing together is the only way conditions in the plant will improve : “We're here because we have a big problem at Koch Foods & more than anything we¹re demanding our rights - We Want Support & We want to Support Others. We can't do this alone.” -Marta The Latino community has recently faced opposition from the Vigilante Group the minutemen, and two County Commissioners. Many Morristown citizens are not pleased with the growing Latino population and believe immigrants are having a negative impact on the local economy. Jobs with Justice, Interfaith Worker Justice, and other community groups were in attendance on Sunday to show the workers they were not alone in their struggle.Bill Troy, a member of Jobs with Justice, disagrees with local views of immigrants. He says A Latino presence can improve the local economy - Bill Troy - "If People have better wages and better working conditions they have a bigger stake in the community and a lot of these other issues that are being talked about here , you know like schools and healthcare and so forth will take care of themselves the more people have better wages" - Aside from attending the rally, citizens have been writing letters, attending workshops, and hosting workers in their congregations to show support . So far, Koch Foods has been unreceptive to the workers' previous petitions but is expected to respond later this week.The UNION election could happen within 10 weeks.

Hamblen County News

Here are just the first few thoughts on local politics. More soon.

THE HBOE

It is insulting how the School Board and Dr Lynch behave with taxpayer dollars. More is never enough. So far this summer, they have blamed the parents for “not participating”, or immigrants in the education system, and of course, they always hammer away at the Hamblen Commission (with the perverse help of local media outlets). Wasn’t it last summer they blamed the teachers themselves, locking them into high-pressure, federally mediated contract negotiations they dragged on for months and months?

To them, Education means one thing – Jobs, which is to say, Their Jobs. As the largest single employer in the county, they wield tremendous power. Funds are dispersed in a dizzying pattern from the Federal, State and Local levels. Millions and millions and millions pour in.

When they work on their budget, again with the perverse help of the local media, there is scant coverage on their decisions, such as spending money for new windows at their building, a building they are eager to leave for a newer, more expensive home. “We would not want a prospective business to see those ugly windows,” emerges as a veiled threat that Jobs depend on the school board.
The ‘news’ reports escalating costs, but never the actual funding decisions the board makes.
The ‘news’ cheers the board for establishing an additional pre-school program as a ‘state model’, handling a few dozen children at a cost of tens of thousands and cries of ‘we need more.’ There is no perception that the Board and Dr Lynch eagerly increase operating costs despite being unable to keep their growth in line with community needs.

Sadly, the public is so confused and distracted by all the wailing and finger wagging they never get the chance to focus on the facts.

Tennessee and Hamblen County, like most public school system operations remain stuck in an endless loop of demanding more and more tax dollars with steadily decreasing results and less and less accountability.
Recently, on May 18, 2005 while the Texas legislature was working on the details of a school finance bill, Gov. Rick Perry (R) addressed more than 300 educators and activists at the Texas Public Education Foundation's Education Summit. Below are excerpts from his comments, provided by Connie Sadowski, director of the Austin CEO Foundation.

On financial accountability: "If the taxpayers are going to pick up the tab, they ought to be able to look at every item on the receipt. The only way to ensure more dollars make it to the classroom is to make sure classroom expenditures are disclosed in plain terms. I think taxpayers deserve to know how much is spent on administration and instruction and how much they are paying lobbyists and lawyers to extract more tax dollars from their pockets. Taxpayers should also be empowered to control future spending by having the authority to vote on future property tax enrichment increases. The decision to spend more local tax dollars on local schools should be made by local voters."

Rather than cope with current needs, there is always a new ‘model’ to be tested which needs YOUR money.

Rather than pay teacher increases, they’ll fight them in mediation with YOUR money.

Rather than cooperation, there are dire warnings, fears heaped upon fears. What is a concerned parent to do?
Most who have raised any questions will tell you a tale about blame being leveled everywhere and zero accountability.
For a Teacher – the nightmare of beauracracy is deeply intimidating. To even join their colleagues for collective bargaining power is presented as something that threatens the public good.
With a government-controlled monopoly, a Parent’s choice or a Taxpayer’s choice is eliminated. Imagine your child is in a private school. The tuition costs go up every year, 6 to 10 percent, from First grade thru Twelfth grade. But when testing scores are revealed, or actual graduation rates are revealed (not GEDs), or when your child can’t make it into college – would you not take your child from that unsuccessful and expensive school and find something better for them?

You are absolutely right, Commissoner Linda Noe, that this is a game they have perfected over the course of many years. This county is now subject to the whims of second-generation board members who inherit positions from a public plainly left in the dark.
Parents who take issue (or just don’t cheer the board’s demands) find their children’s education being dangled in mid-air – ‘They could be in trouble!!! They’ll never get jobs!! We know who the agitators are!!”
Any question from the public or the county or any parent is immediately seized as proof of hostile intent.

Who will they blame next??

The Show That Never Ends

Welcome back my Friends to the show that never ends
we're so glad you could attend, come inside, come inside!

This is a brief welcome. Much of this site is under construction, but the issues and my itch to write will not wait any longer. More Friends than I ever knew I had have made my entire life better. You deserve the things you all wish for. You make it happen. Thank You all.

Despite error-filled news reports, this free exchange of ideas and information has not ended.
The Press always gets it wrong. Or blinds your view.

There will be places for you to speak out here too.

And movie reviews, music, and much more.

God Bless the web log and the internet. And you.