"Politicians can sometimes be the root of all evil in each country. - YOR Health"
ynelrheyse143
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Yeah, perhaps Senator Stacey Campfield is right....the UT administration ought to be spending some..."
ElmerGantry@eas...
"The IRS Commissioner during the 2011-2012 federal election cycle was President..."
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The "Rep. Curry Todd Act of 2014"..."
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The "Rep. Curry Todd Act of 2014"..."
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The Tangled Webb Of Vice-Presidential Politics
With his nomination all but certain, Sharon Cobb has taken to pondering who might be the best Vice-Presidential choice for Illinois Senator:What about Joe Biden, who has more foreign affairs experience than any of the original people running for President with the exception of Chris Dodd? Would an older, established white man with a plethora of experience help Barack more than Hillary or John? Biden or Dodd might make a good balance, though I'm not sure either would benefit Barack in the states where he needs help. On the other hand, both men have been fully vetted as well. Bill Richardson, anyone? Aside from his experience in negotiating with North Korea and other troubled spots, he could be most helpful in picking up the Hispanic vote, a group where Obama is relatively weak. Hillary is strong with Hispanics, so she would help there as well. What do you think? Who do you think should be Barack's running mate?
May 8, 2008 7:49 AM
Open Container Bill Had Opposition
A bill that would have ceased the legal practice of automobile passengers consuming alcohol was killed -- but only just barely:Five members of the 11-member panel had themselves officially recorded as voting no on Rep. Johnny Shaw's motion to send the bill to "summer study," effectively killing it for the 2008 session.
May 8, 2008 7:43 AM
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Drilling Lamar
Senator Lamar Alexander makes the supply-side argument for energy independence arguing for increased oil drilling off the coasts of American shores. May 8, 2008 7:37 AM
Ford Family Fracture
Jackson Baker reports that Harold Ford, Jr.'s younger brothers, Jake and Sir Isaac, did not attend his wedding likely because of a very public interfamilial spat over some racial charged comments brother Jake made recently while campaigning as an independent for Junior's former congressional seat:Conspicuous absentees were the groom's brothers, Jake and Isaac Ford, both of whom had been present, along with numerous other Memphians, at a pre-nuptial reception at the Brooks Museum in early April. Intervening between that event and the wedding itself, which took place on Saturday, April 26th, was a public disagreement between Harold Ford Jr.'s siblings, on one hand, and their brother and father, former congressman Harold Ford Sr., on the other. That disagreement concerned remarks made by the two younger Fords on the occasion of Jake Ford's filing as an independent for his brother's former congressional seat. Candidate Ford was quoted as making racial and religious references concerning the 9th District's need for black representation that were repudiated by brother Harold and by his father. Harold Ford Jr. called the remarks "insulting," and Harold Ford Sr. termed them "not representative of the family."
May 8, 2008 7:34 AM
Keeping It Classy On LED
Nate Rau reports that Charlie Tygard's quest to allow those flashy Light Emitting Diode (LED) signs in residential neighborhoods will likely be turned back:“The end goal is to take a comprehensive look at the sign ordinance to revise and revitalize it based on how things have changed since the last time we did it in 1992,” Barry said. “The whole reason we had some of these sign issues is because the [Board of Zoning Appeals] has said we’re seeing these issues and we don’t know how to deal with them and need more guidance.” Tygard introduced a controversial bill earlier this year to allow Light Emitting Diode (LED) signs in residential areas. That bill, disapproved by the Planning Commission, is deferred indefinitely after substantial resistance from neighborhoods across Davidson County. But Tygard has vowed to modify the bill to limit its scope and to work with Barry on a compromise as to when and where LED signs should be allowed. It’s all but certain LED signs won’t come into residential areas once Tygard’s bill is amended.Our hyper-local blogger friend, Mike Byrd, of course, has been all over this issue from the get-go.
May 8, 2008 7:23 AM
Pollution Shell Game
Brandon Berger takes issue with Lamar Alexander's contention that "plug-in" electric cars are demonstrably more environmentally friendly than our current gas-guzzlers:Though true that the overall carbon footprint of an electric car is less than that of a fossil-fuel burning one, an electric car does have a substantial emissions cost. It is simply occurring at another location. The energy they use is derived from the local sources providing electricity to a region. Here in Tennessee, this means electricity from the TVA energy grid, and, although the TVA is renowned for massive hydroelectric projects, they only provide 7 to 10 percent of the region's electricity. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, 66 percent of my energy as a Nashville resident is provided by coal-burning plants, a notorious source of air pollutants and global warming contributors.
May 8, 2008 7:15 AM
Problems Primarily Among The Proles?
Don Fenley links up to a study that reveals that economic insecurity these days seems to be focused among those on the lower end of the socioeconomic ladder:While the latest labor statistics reported fewer job losses than analysts expected, the American public is expressing increasing concern about job availability. But those worries are not as widespread as in the 1992 election-year downturn, when majorities at all income levels judged jobs to be in short supply. Instead, today's worries are far more heavily concentrated in the lower portions of the income spectrum.
May 8, 2008 7:07 AM
Kefauver Keeping On
Rep. Stacey Campfield schools us on a bit of Tennessee political history that might serve to give Hillary Clinton a bit of hope as she continues her now quixotic quest to snatch the Democratic Presidential nomination away from Barack Obama:In the 1952 Democratic Party presidential primaries, Estes Kefauver of Tennessee won all but three state primaries. He received 3.1 million votes, Democratic presidential nominee, Illinois governor Adlai Stevenson, received only 78,000 votes and won the nomination at the convention.
May 8, 2008 7:04 AM
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Shrugging Off The Violence Inherent In The System
A study from the National Science Foundation reveals that those with right-wing ideological predisoposition tend to be a happier lot:If your beliefs don't justify gaps in status, you could be left frustrated and disheartened, according to the researchers, Jaime Napier and John Jost of New York University. They conducted a U.S.-centric survey and a more internationally focused one to arrive at the findings. "Our research suggests that inequality takes a greater psychological toll on liberals than on conservatives," the researchers write in the June issue of the journal Psychological Science, "apparently because liberals lack ideological rationalizations that would help them frame inequality in a positive (or at least neutral) light."
May 8, 2008 6:59 AM
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Supremes Hear Some Smokin' Arguments
Jamie Satterfield reports on the Tennessee Supreme Court's hearing of oral arguments on the "crack tax" among other cases:The state's highest court paid a visit to Knoxville today to consider two legally novel issues in two separate cases: What is the relational benchmark for holding someone criminally responsible for a child's welfare, and is the state's so-called "crack tax" unconstitutional? The state Supreme Court's five justices took the bench in Knoxville to hear arguments in two East Tennessee cases that have statewide implications.
May 7, 2008 7:04 PM
