I can’t even comment.
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On March 19, 2010,
in Media,
by Mary Mancini
On March 18, 2010,
in Health Care, National Politics,
by Mary Mancini
I just confirmed with his office in Washington – Congressman Bart Gordon has just announced that he will vote for the health care bill.
UPDATE: The haters may be blowing up his phone so please contact Congressman Gordon one more time to say “Thanks.”
UPDATE on all Democrats: Huffpo
UPDATE II: The Daily News Journal has the deets:
“The health care bill being considered by Congress now accomplishes three things: one, it reduces health care costs for families and small businesses; two, it improves access to affordable care, regardless of pre-existing conditions; three, it lowers our budget deficit. That’s why I am supporting it.”
On March 18, 2010,
in State Politics,
by Mary Mancini
Liz Garrigan tells us that the Farm Bureau is using “all their might to oppose proper penalties for animal abuse” and Aunt B wants to know, how could this NOT be a PR disaster for them?
How is this not a PR disaster for the Farm Bureau? “We can’t bother to have some basic protections for livestock we know are being harmed because it might inconvenience a few people.” That’s their stance? People who abuse animals also abuse their families. There is a direct correlation. Stepping in and identifying them and punishing them in a way that has some weight behind it just makes sense. Almost all of the farmers in Tennessee are not abusive assholes. They have nothing to fear from this legislation. But it makes you wonder about the people who make up the lobby, doesn’t it? If regular farmers have nothing to fear and tons of people in the state are clamoring for this, a gal starts to wonder about what’s going on with the people working against this.
From Liz’s report on the last hearing:
That’s when a Sumner County Animal Control officer, in attendance to testify in favor of the legislation, offered the money retort: “A lot of the people who are abusing their animals are also the ones who are abusing their children.”
The House Ag Committee will be voting on this bill. Like Liz says, call’em up:
Stratton Bone, 741-7086
Dale Ford, 741-1717
Willie Butch Borchert, 741-6804
Eddie Bass, 741-1864
Chad Faulkner, 741-3335
Curtis Halford, 741-7478
John Litz, 741-6877
Steve McDaniel, 741-1980
Frank Niceley, 741-4419
Johnny Shaw, 741-4538
Terri Lynn Weaver, 741-2192
John Mark Windle, 741-1260
Sen. Andy Berke, a Chattanooga Democrat, discusses the Green Jobs Bill (SB 3120 – HB 3654 by Rep. Mike Stewart) he is sponsoring in the Tennessee legislature.
Tennessee has a great opportunity to be first in the U.S. in providing good paying, long-lasting jobs that will help to create a better future for ALL Tennesseans.
Money quote: “We CAN do well by doing good.”
More from TAPTN and TN Conservation Voters on their magically delicious Green Jobs / St. Patrick’s Lobby Day.
On March 18, 2010,
in Health Care, National Politics,
by Mary Mancini
Contrary to the opinion of a certain insurance company, cancer is a catastrophic illness.
Call Congress now.
On March 18, 2010,
in Health Care, Media,
by Mary Mancini
FYI, despite what you are hearing (has it reached CNN yet?) the New England Journal of Medicine did not publish or produce the health care “survey” that right-wing talk radio and cable TV are citing as proof that doctors are not fond of the health insurance reform bill.
On March 17, 2010,
in Health Care, National Politics,
by Mary Mancini
Original Source Video: The Columbus Dispatch. On March 17th outside of Rep. Mary Jo Kilroy’s district office teabaggers mocked and threw things at a man who said he had Parkinson’s. They told him “he’s in the wrong end of town to ask for handouts”, called him a communist and threw money at him to “pay for his health care”.
How can these people justify this? It seems as if the behavior being modeled by Rush Limbaugh and his ilk IS having an affect on our civility. THE MAN HAS A LIFE-THREATENING CHRONIC ILLNESS AND PERFECTLY HEALTHY PEOPLE ARE TAUNTING AND THROWING MONEY AT HIM? IN AMERICA?
But what can you expect when false and misleading information on policy are being reinforced by people who make fun of a 12-year-old kid speaking for health insurance reform because his mother, who didn’t have access to affordable healthcare, is now dead?
On March 17, 2010,
in State Politics,
by Mary Mancini
For the prize of one “Honk! If you’d Rather Check My Birth Certificate than Govern” bumper sticker, can anyone tell me (enter in the comments section) in what century the above statement was made by a Tennessee State House representative?
Was it:
A) 18th
B) 19th
C) 20th
D) 21st
E) All of the above
Anarchival has both the date, the name and the context:
This statement was why I went to bed thinking about the biker gang who roams around Tennessee hunting down sex offenders. The legislative purpose of a sex offender registry is to notify the public of the presence of this certain type of criminal, so that hopefully they can take steps to protect themselves and their families. Very few people in the total population of Tennessee take advantage of this information. Even fewer are actually protected by it. However, there are plenty of sadistic people in this state who are happy to use the registry to find people no one really cares about to bully and victimize. Of course, for people like Eddie Bass (D-Prospect), that’s OK. As a good ‘ole boy from a rural county, he still believes that justice is best executed by lynching, not by the constitutional protections he has sworn to uphold. He will happily stand by shouting “Burn, Baby, Burn!” as Rep. [Debra] Maggart [R-Hendersonville] sets fire to that Constitution, because he believes all alleged criminals deserve is a stout oak tree and a sturdy rope…until he, of course, is accused of a crime. Then I’m sure he’ll want all the constitutional protections he can get. As the saying goes, “No one escapes when freedom fails. The best men rot in filthy jails. And those who cried, ‘Appease! Appease!’, are hanged by those they tried to please.” Luckily, we’re not to that point yet, even if this Bill passes. The worst that might happen is that a fifteen year old boy who was raped and beaten for eleven years by his stepfather, and then took out his own frustration on the neighbor kid, ends up being bludgeoned to death and left to die in a field by a biker gang. And who will care if they did? Not Eddie Bass.
Rep. Maggart and Rep. Bass are rapidly becoming members of Rep. Campfield’s “It’s my State, you just live in it” club where they get to decide – based on their whims – when Tennesseans abide by the U.S. Constitution and when we don’t. Tsk.
On March 17, 2010,
in Health Care, Media,
by Mary Mancini
Decades of building a message delivery system infrastructure is paying off today big time. From NTS Media Online:
As Democrats in Congress mount the final push to approve President Obama’s health care reform proposal, conservative Talk radio hosts across the country are mobilizing the “troops” to defeat the controversial bill. Premiere Radio Networks talker Rush Limbaugh deviated from his usual policy of not giving out DC phone numbers on his show and actively called for listeners to “flood Congress with calls and emails.” Fellow Premiere talkers and FOX News Channel personalities Sean Hannity and Glenn Beck have also called for active protests from their listeners,…Meanwhile, Salem Radio Network hosts Bill Bennett, Mike Gallagher, Dennis Prager, Janet Mefferd and Michael Medved have all placed “Say No To Obamacare” buttons on their websites to encourage listeners to email Congress. So far, the hosts combined efforts have generated nearly 1 million emails urging defeat of the pending legislation.
There. So now you also know how “death panels” became a talking point so quickly.
On March 16, 2010,
in Health Care, National Politics,
by Mary Mancini
Maria Brewer of the Decoder Ring has a perceptive retrospective of the long and winding debate:
For those of us who have been watching the misinformation stream coming out of the Obstructionist’s Party on the right, it has been a head-scratching fight. Though the Republican Party had ten years in the majority to study and pass health care reform legislation to their liking, they did nothing. They continued to let an ever increasing portion of America’s GDP get sucked out of our hides and into the pockets of an industry whose profiteering callousness knows no bounds. Every day American families spend 18% and still rising of our household budgets on healthcare. Well, those of us lucky enough to get it. And now the right’s rallying cry is a weak “Code Red.” Indeed, they have waited until the patient is dying on the table to start their inadequate wails of “save us,” blaming those who are trying to sort through a difficult diagnosis as if we caused the disease….
Now, as the Congress readies itself to pass legislation, we must look past the hype, the media moment of the day, the manufactured winners and losers of the horse race. No one thinks this legislation is perfect, but the Republican Party needs to start telling the truth about this issue. There is no time to start over, they had their chance, and they lost their majorities.
Perhaps we have reached the end of one battle, but this is really just another step on the long path of liberty and justice for all. Thanks to our Founding Fathers, we are no longer yoked by fealty to King or Crown, but my how the Framers would be appalled by our bent knees before the throne of Corporatism and Profiteering.
Go read the rest. Maria’s voice is one that has been hiding too long in Sumner County. She needs to be heard.
T/F/B: Speak to Power
The Network
- Setting the Record “Straight” on How Heterosexual People Can Prevent HIV/AIDS27 January 2012, 2:08 pm
You’ll be unsurprised to learn that it’s pretty much the same things gay and bisexual people can do. I find it a little annoying that the government is all “just don’t have sex with that many people, okay?” since there are enough non-sexual ways to contract HIV and rape is common enough that concern trolling [...]...
- An Evening with My History Boyfriend, Mark Twain27 January 2012, 3:14 am
As I said on Twitter, in black and white, Twain’s hair looks disheveled and old-man-y. In color, it looks like bedhead. Anyway, the back end of the book is apparently just Twain snarking on everything, including the Atheneaum in Columbia. I love his description of the mule race and wish we could have one here [...]... - Yes, Those Monkey-Screwing Airline Pilots. I Hate Those Guys.26 January 2012, 6:36 pm
What we can learn from this Metro Pulse post. 1. Stacey Campfield has some strange ideas about what airline pilots get up to in their free time. 2. While I don’t believe you should fuck Stacey Campfield just out of general principle, you should for sure now not fuck Stacey Campfield, because he doesn’t understand [...]... - I Now Kind of Get Why People Live in Giant Houses26 January 2012, 1:56 pm
I wanted to spend the evening with my new history boyfriend, Mark Twain, but the Butcher wanted to watch TV, so I got sucked into watching TV with the Butcher. Which is a fine way to spend an evening, don’t get me wrong. I love trying to guess in the first five minutes what the [...]... - Metro Pulse! I Love You!25 January 2012, 11:10 pm
I have just been enjoying the crap out of Knoxville’s Metro Pulse lately. Check out this story about Karen Dalton, which manages to talk about Dalton in historical context, compare her with other artists, and give you a hint of what makes her special (and limits her legacy) as an artist without the normal “Oh, [...]...
- Morning Coffee – Presenting Your New Republican Overlords – Pre-Legislative Session Edition28 December 2010, 3:53 pm
The upcoming session of the Tennessee General Assembly begins in just 15 days. Between now and then there will likely be a whole bunch of nothing news wise, except for the TNDP Chair election which is about as exciting as watching socks dry in the rain (no offense guys, but seriously). Considering the huge shift from a nearly 50-50 split house to the 64-34-1 Republican super-majority, there’s gonna be a lot of changes coming our way. As Jeff Woods reports in the Nashville City paper, they ... - Morning Coffee – Surrender? No Surrender? Edition20 December 2010, 3:39 pm
In this season of giving, I’ve decided that a current events version of “The Night Before Christmas” is in order. To that end, I offer the following… Twas the week before Christmas and all through the County, Leaders in the east were assessing their bounty, The Legislature won by the right wing with care, In hopes that a Special School District would be there. The schoolchildren enjoying their Christmas break, Awaiting decisions that deciders will make, And I at my comput... - Morning Coffee – Something in the Air Edition2 December 2010, 1:27 pm
I don’t really have a lot to say this morning. I think I said myself out yesterday. Speaking of yesterday, the “sense of the commission” resolution on consolidation passed 6-3-1. Two commissioners weren’t in attendance at the time of the vote. The matter comes up again on Monday. Send your Commissioner an email in support of the resolution. It’s been busy and that business isn’t gonna stop until after the 16th. Then it’s time for the “holiday busy&... - Morning Coffee – Sharpen Your Pitchforks Edition1 December 2010, 1:15 pm
Yeah, I know. You probably thought the pitchfork sharpening season ended with the November 2nd elections. I don’t think you could have been more wrong. We live in a 24/7/365 pitchfork readiness environment now and that’s not going to change until people start feeling more certain about their economic futures. The harsh reality is that, in times like this, people can get Balkanized, in ways that may or may not be in their best interests depending on a whole host of factors, but usuall... - Morning Coffee – Post-Turkey Day Edition29 November 2010, 2:16 pm
Now that the holiday that officially sanctions gluttony is over, we can get down to really important things, like buying stuff for Christmas. Retailers are licking their chops as we speak. Black Friday and Cyber Monday will ultimately give way to “Whoopsie Wednesday” (12/22) and “I can’t find anything I want Friday” (12/24). As someone who used to co-own a retail establishment, I can tell you this is the time of year that I most dreaded and looked forward to. When t...
- Bills, Bills, Bills10 January 2012, 3:40 pm
At first we started out real cool,(cool) Writing some good laws i ain’t never seen But now your getting comfortable Ain’t telling that truth that you did no more Your slowly makin me read your print Your Bills they all are captioning And now you ask me for my vote (vote) Call me all day [...]... - Five Shopping Days Until Slut-O-Ween27 October 2011, 1:24 am
As I tend to warn people a lot: I was raised Mormon. You might not realize it, but Mormons have a dress code. It’s based on the standard of modesty set by wearing temple garments (those “magic Mormon underwear”), although pre-garment wearing youth are also encouraged to follow it as preparation for being endowed in [...]... - Going Postal10 September 2011, 5:06 pm
I love mail. Real mail, that is, the type made out of paper and delivered to your box by a uniformed, oath-sworn mail carrier. Even before I could explain why I loved mail, I loved it so much that in elementary school I volunteered for the job of collecting it from our box and sorting [...]... - Metro CANDO18 May 2011, 5:36 pm
The Rev. Steven S. Nelson seems to be under the misapprehension that the Metro non-discrimination ordinance dictates to private businesses what they can or cannot do. That’s not true. Private businesses in Tennessee will still be free to fire people for being homosexual or being suspected of being homosexual, according to the religious beliefs of [...]... - Blaming the Victims24 January 2011, 5:50 pm
Why would rape victims not want to pursue prosecution? As I once heard the Assistant DA explain to victim after victim, justice takes years, and often even the victims and prosecutors who do everything right don’t get justice at all. The investigation and trial will be consuming. You’ll have to give up work, you’ll have [...]...
- Original Poetry30 March 2011, 7:59 pm
Inauguration Dayby maria BrewerStretching dreams Pop into realityand breathe deep. The air of now.Grunting, emerging, we blink.Anticipating beauty in the new expectation of fresh wisdom.Layers of caring, and percolating joy, anddeep strength surge and weRush forward to meet the calm:the sprout that pushes through the soil,the Beginning.... - Original Poetry30 March 2011, 1:30 am
To-Do Listby Maria BrewerBe radiantAlways find connectionBurn through limitsRemain out of controlDemand the room to laughHave awe for the infinity that fills creationSanctify the utter void it springs fromTransfigure self, standing on the cusp of both... - 29 March 2011, 3:35 pm
The American Dream is a noble ideal: equality and reward for hard work. Establishing values like fairness, independence, and empowerment, Americans have long sacrificed to better themselves. But in America, we have always dreamed of bringing along our communities: our palaces have been our public schools; our monuments not towering statues unless surrounded by broad public parks and playgrounds; our legacy is ensconced in public libraries, common thoroughfares, and rural electrification projects... - Take a Lunch with Democracy15 March 2011, 1:32 pm
Today is going to be Rally day on the steps of the Tennessee State House downtown. People are coming from all over Tennessee to be heard by their state legislators. And it's going to be live streamed at the website http://march15.info/What's the use of a rally? Well, haven't you heard? This is What Democracy Looks Like.... - Devastation comes in small packages as well...15 March 2011, 7:41 am
Since Friday's disaster in Japan began, we Americans have watched its unfolding. So far away, yet so close at hand; unimaginably vast disaster striking a society so much like our own. Many of the photos are of an unimaginable scale. The stuff of our civilization made wholly uncivil and unrecognizable.Unlike most of the pictures from Japan, this picture of baby and mother being checked for radiation holds a kind of devastation we can't see. I'm not a nuclear power fear-monger, but I am a realist....
- Register for TEP's Mardi Gras Gumbo and Bread Pudding Competition in Memphis25 January 2012, 12:04 pm
Tennessee Equality Project is proud to host its 4th Annual Mardi Gras Party on Sunday, Feb. 12, 2012, which includes our second Gumbo Tasting Competition and a new Bread Pudding Contest. The ingredients of Gumbo are as diverse as the LGBT and allied community, and we celebrate this in Mardi Gras style! Participation was so enormous last year that we've moved the competition to a larger space at Spectrum Memphis. Funds raised from the competition will benefit TEP to advance and protect the equali... - I'm angry24 January 2012, 8:51 pm
I'm angry today.I'm agonizing over yet another suicide of a young gay teen in Tennessee. It's the second loss in as many months. Phillip died because he could not escape the endless bullying from his peers. He died because he lived in a world where being gay made him a target. He died scared, hopeless and alone. Will Batts is the Executive Director of the Memphis Gay & Lesbian Community Center.I feel a rage building inside me. This is not the world we want for our kids. This is not... - TEP responds to tragedy in Gordonsville24 January 2012, 5:42 pm
As TEP leaders, members and supporters grieve the loss of Phillip Parker in Gordonsville, Tennessee Equality Project is taking steps to respond to the tragedy. Here's what we are doing:TEP joins the family and friends of Phillip Parker in grieving a senseless loss. TEP has contacted Smith County School Superintendent Roger Lewis and District Principals to advocate for more teacher training and revision of school anti-bullying policy. We are offering TEP Foundation's LGBT diversit... - Gordonsville student endured years of anti-gay bullying before ending his life23 January 2012, 1:27 pm
Late Friday night, Tennessee Equality Project began hearing reports that an 8th grader in Gordonsville in Smith County, Tennessee had completed suicide after enduring years of anti-gay bullying. Ironically, the news arrived as members of TEP's board attended the first Bully-Free Tennessee Conference in neighboring Putnam County with educators, parents and other safe school advocates.Local news confirmed on Saturday that Phillip Parker was the 8th grader who had ended his life.TEP Board members J... - What are the limits of natural human reproduction science?18 January 2012, 3:34 pm
Will an amendment to HB0229 prohibit abstinence education?At a hearing later today, the State House Subcommittee on Education will consider an amendment to HB0229, otherwise known as the "Don't Say G_y" bill. The amendment would match language approved by the Tennessee Senate last year in SB0049:Notwithstanding any other law to the contrary, any instruction or materials made available or provided at or to a public elementary or middle school shall be limited exclusively to natural human re...
- I’m Done28 April 2011, 2:37 pm
Even though I know I will disappointing millions of fans (like Oprah and the Soaps), I am suspending my blogging activities. Notice how serious and freaked out I look on my daily blog route, while those yoga blankets beckon behind me to open my chakras and forget the world-wide suicide I am witnessing on the [...]... - Trump…what else you got?27 April 2011, 1:38 pm
Filed under: Uncategorized... - An hour with Tina Fey26 April 2011, 11:43 pm
Filed under: Uncategorized... - FOX News Has Spoken. Period. End of Story?26 April 2011, 5:27 pm
“Fox News can confirm the President of the United States is a citizen of the United States”. Shep Smith (click for video) So, Trump, stick that info up there in your hair nest. Filed under: Uncategorized... - Palin’s SPED Plan25 April 2011, 6:24 pm
Despite Sarah Palin’s claims to the contrary, the main stream media has never seriously taken her on from any vantage point other than pop/political icon. The LA Times’ Meghan Daum’s friends wonder why the gloves have never come off with Palin. They demand she “admit the obvious”… …Palin’s rocket ride to political fame says less [...]...
- We are going dark today. Here's why.18 January 2012, 6:01 am
... - On This Day..16 January 2012, 3:51 pm
... - I am not fond of Democrat on Democrat violence14 January 2012, 4:34 pm
... - Maybe we need to take another look at the Redistricting Map.8 January 2012, 7:57 pm
... - Redistricting, the TNDP, and other bidness5 January 2012, 4:43 pm
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- TIVO alert: WBIR Inside Tennessee27 January 2012, 5:34 pm
WBIR's Inside Tennessee airs Sunday at 9:30 AM. This week's program features Dr. Mark Harmon, Katie Allison Granju, and yours truly (unless ... read more...... - Bridge over Tennessee River Destroyed by Cargo Vessel27 January 2012, 4:28 pm
And you thought the closing of the Henley Bridge was an inconvenience... When a 3,950 ton cargo vessel strikes a bridge, leaving the girders... read more...... - North side needs help with homeless problem27 January 2012, 11:43 am
Business owners and residents met with City Council members and police at the Time Warp Tea Room on North Central to discuss the homeless pr... read more...... - Knox County's curiously low rate of narcotics arrests and prosecutions27 January 2012, 11:33 am
In her ongoing effort to understand the breakdown of the Knox Co. justice system and advocate for reforms, Katie Allison Granju has some st... read more...... - Rogero questions Tourism and Sports Corp. operations27 January 2012, 11:21 am
Considers not renewing contract... ... read more......
- SchoolHouse Rock And Stephen Colbert21 January 2012, 3:53 pm
Every time that I see media on Stephen Colbert’s efforts in South Carolina I think of my Saturdays in the 70s watching SchoolHouse Rock. I aced memorizing the Preamble for a high school exam because of that show. I’ve imagine more people have learned about SuperPacs watching Colbert than anyone. Just an observation …... - Draft Beverly Marrero For U.S. Senate18 January 2012, 2:59 pm
There are a lot of reasons that I hope that Sen. Beverly Marrero will consider a run for the U.S. Senate. As a middle-aged woman myself who works in politics, I always find her to be inspirational because of her fearlessness and I consider her to be a role model. Anyone who is going [...]... - The Squeaky Wheel Always Gets The Grease15 January 2012, 3:30 pm
Campers, you may think people don’t want your advice and you don’t have a voice in policy issues. Give it to them anyway. Talk about what you know and you see because if you don’t advocate for your community, who will? Having grown up in Hoots where anyone who has never lived in a Hoots [...]... - The Hobo Nose Cold10 January 2012, 5:30 pm
Once upon a time, there was a girl who was really a middle-aged woman with frizzy hair because the water in Nashville is as hard as the rock holding up the Matterhorn, who caught cold. She believes that she caught it because the weather Gods were playing jokes with the seasons. Anyway, she went through [...]... - Changes, Next Exit7 January 2012, 4:01 pm
A politician thinks of the next election. A statesman, of the next generation. James Freeman Clarke I have redistricting map eye fatigue right now after looking at countless maps across the state. I think it’s about what everyone expected. The democrats haven’t had to go through this process before so I’m sure for elected officials [...]...
- A Note On The First Amendment18 August 2010, 5:06 am
(Yes, yes, I realize that I haven't written anything in over two weeks. I promise that I will get back into a regular schedule of posting once I get myself back on a regular schedule. There will also likely be some content changes around here come the fall, stay tuned for that.)This seems like an obvious point to me, but I guess it's not to Dr." Laura and her defenders:Dr. Laura Schlessinger announced Tuesday night that she would end her radio show following her N-word rant last week."My contr... - Shame On The Anti-Defamation League30 July 2010, 8:36 pm
The Anti-Defamation League was founded in 1913 to "fight anti-Semitism and all forms of bigotry, defend democratic ideals and protect civil rights for all.” Unless, apparently, if its the democratic and civil rights of people they don't like:We regard freedom of religion as a cornerstone of the American democracy, and that freedom must include the right of all Americans – Christian, Jewish, Muslim, and other faiths – to build community centers and houses of worship.We categorically reject... - The Tennessee Goobernatorial Race29 July 2010, 4:22 pm
(Note: I'm starting a movement to make #goobernatorial the official hashtag of the Tennessee governor's race. Please consider using it whenever you tweet about the campaign, REGARDLESS of which candidate you're talking about)Tennessee tends to not make national headlines unless something bad has happened, and I guess it was only a matter of time before the Colbert Report picked up on our goobernatorial race, a campaign tailor-made for late-night comedy shows:The Colbert ReportMon - Thurs 11:30p... - The Question Of Legitimacy, Deferred23 July 2010, 10:02 pm
Last week, I wrote about the proposed Israeli conversion bill that amounted to delegitimizing Reform and Conservative Judaism. Last night, it was announced that Prime Minister Netanyahu struck a deal to delay the bill for six months until an alternative plan can be worked out.Acting on instructions from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Cabinet Secretary Zvi Hauser reached an agreement with Israel Reform and Masorti (traditional) Jewish movements, persuading them to drop a petition to the High... - A Question Of Legitimacy16 July 2010, 12:21 am
Several months ago, Peter Beinart wrote a profound article in the New York Review of Books on the failures of the American Jewish establishment. The main "failure" he recognized is the failure to recognize how many rifts there are among Jews right now--between Israelis and the Diaspora, between secular Jews and the Orthodox, and between younger liberal American Jews and the more conservative establishment.The article set off a furious debate and discussion here in the U.S., although anyone who ...
- I've Moved20 May 2011, 1:59 am
Visit me at my new home at WordPress .... southernbeale.wordpress.com.Thanks!... - I Already Hate WordPress19 May 2011, 7:03 pm
Blogger got buggered again yesterday and I'm so over it. Had to do a bunch of crap to my cookies to be able to access my dashboard. So I've started setting up a new home at WordPress but I can tell you all, I already hate it. Despise it. It's completely illogical, totally not Mac friendly. This was created by people who use PCs, I can already tell with their instructions to "right click" this and that. I hate it. I can't get my freaking blogroll set up, and frankly at this point it may never hap... - Americans Live Within Their Means & Other Wingnut Fantasies18 May 2011, 4:13 pm
Of all the tired, old bromides which have worked their way into our discourse, the old “American families have to live within a budget, and so should the federal government” meme is one of the most annoying. It's annoying because it's so easily debunked; the very people spouting this bullshit are the ones riding mountains of credit card debt, for crying out loud!I’ve written about this before but my first response is always: No! No we don’t! Since when? American consumer debt, which does... - How Dare Those Uppity Plebes Forget Their Place18 May 2011, 12:13 pm
When I first read Felix Salmon’s “Ben Stein's Top 10 Lines About DSK” I thought these were humorous “summaries” of Steins’ column defending Dominique Strauss-Kahn.They were not. They were direct quotes. And oh my God. Without further ado:Was Riker's Island really the place to put him on the allegations of one human being? Hadn't he earned slightly better treatment than that? No, he has not. Justice wears a blindfold.If he is such a womanizer and violent guy with women, why didn't he ... - I’ll Take Things It Shouldn’t Take 30 Years To Do, Alex17 May 2011, 4:18 pm
Waaaaay back in 1990 a law was passed that required the Dept. of Defense to get its books in order so we can do a full financial audit, and yet even though their deadline isn’t until 2017 it seems they won’t be making that deadline. That would be 27 years to do a financial audit of the Pentagon.And they can’t do it.Whew. Okie dokie, well thank goodness we have a bipartisan group of Senators who have a little problem with that :“Based on the findings of today’s FIAR Plan, it appears unl...
- Compromise and Discourse in Redistricting18 January 2012, 1:06 pm
If you’ve been watching the news or reading the newspaper, you’ve probably seen a story or 12 about redistricting. Federal, State and Local levels of government are in the process of doing that very thing here in Tennessee. The photo to the left is House Minority Leader Craig Fitzhugh and Caucus Chair Mike Turner. Both [...]... - Whose District is it Anyway?13 January 2012, 2:01 am
An interesting exchange on the floor of the Tennessee State House today. Democrats introduced a number of amendments to the House Redistricting plan, all of which were placed on the table by the Republican majority; effectively killed. The final amendment was proposed by Jeanne Richardson. The amendment would have shifted 6 precincts into the new [...]... - Silver Spoon Endorses Silver Spoon12 January 2012, 1:59 pm
To the surprise of no one, TN Gov. Bill Haslam endorsed Mitt Romney in the Republican primary. Romney, who has been featured in a hit piece produced by Newt Gingrich’s “Winning Our Future” SuperPAC, which has, perhaps, done the 2012 Obama election team the biggest favor ever. It clearly draws a distinction between what some [...]... - Internal Matters5 January 2012, 4:21 pm
I love spirited discussions about internal matters that bore the paint off the walls. For some reason, they just give me a little joy. It tells me something about the people writing about them. It tells me they’re paying attention to the details and have actually thought about it and are interested in what others [...]... - Drawing Lines – State House and Senate Redistricting Released5 January 2012, 2:11 pm
Yesterday the State House and Senate released their proposed maps for the decennial redistricting that comes right after the decennial census. You can view the State Senate Maps here and the State House Maps here. There have been numerous reports about what’s going to happen to various locales. News outlets in Memphis have focused on [...]...
- Mad Libs18 June 2010, 2:15 pm
Dear TNDP, I’m not alone in saying it, but this is a problem. (That’s seven months, and many “Chip Forrester is Outraged on a Friday” pressers ago.) We know you know better. How about acting on it? Is…... - He’s So Excited! He’s So Scared!28 May 2010, 4:43 pm
I didn’t watch the Tea Party-hosted Republican gubernatorial debate, not only because I had other plans but because I figure such a thing would be as substantive as a pageant. While nobody emerged wearing a sash and tiara, ... - Just the Facts, Ma’am25 May 2010, 6:20 am
Last night the state House voted to commend Arizona on its upcoming centennial (in 2012) as well as for passing controversial legislation which many argue encourages racial profiling. Here’s the breakdown of how your state Democrats voted. …... - Liberal Blogger Afternoon on the Hill12 May 2010, 4:55 am
Everyone’s favorite Aunt B. did a great job summing up the Liberal Blogger Afternoon on the Hill at Tiny Cat Pants and at Pith. She fails to mention, however, the great restraint both she and I exercised in…... - Sandbagging the MetroCenter Levee4 May 2010, 5:30 am
Approximately 200 Nashvillians sandbagged the levee at MetroCenter today – despite MNPD officers explicitly saying we were entering the neighborhood “at our own risk,” and that if the levee went out we’d likely go out with it – with some…...
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