John Ford, Tennessee's most corrupt politician, will probably never leave prison alive.

...unless or course there's some interference and intervention by some other politicians. Again.

(Because I couldn't find an appropriate prison shower scene, and that 'dropped soap' meme is so...gauche...)

Mr. Ford was sentenced to 66 months in prison in August 2007 for bribery charges; he started serving time in a Louisiana prison in April (after another State Senator (Cohen) intervened to keep him 'closer to home' and out of a Texas Federal Prison) (see what I mean by 'interference and intervention'?)

Just last Friday, July 19 2008, Harold John Ford was convicted of further corruption charges. He could face up to 60 more years in prison. Unless Cohen storms the prison and frees him, of course.

From the Knoxnews article...

"Prosecutors said the decision shows government corruption will be vigorously pursued.

"This sends a clear message that public corruption will not be tolerated in this district," said Assistant U.S. Attorney David Rivera.

...

"Prosecutors told the jury that Ford had a duty to the people of Tennessee but chose instead to serve himself. Ford's attorney, however, asked jurors not to convict his client just because he may be controversial.

[emboldenings mine] Huh? Controversial? Is that the new euphemism for "lying weasel scumbag dirtball crooked politician"? And if so, can a defense attorney hope for a dismissal because that word seems less threatening?

Nah, we the people got what we deserved: a conviction. And M. Ford is getting what he deserves as well. With or without dropped soap.

Canz we hav more Tennessee Waltz plz?

---

Jimmy Naifeh, under pressure because...he lied!

Jimmy Naifeh is back in the news...caught in a(nother) lie.

What, a career politician lies? Who knew?

This time he should've known better. It seems that Jimmy lied about having a concealed carry permit, while he was in the midst of killing legislation that favored gun owners and legal carry holders. And, the Tennessee GOP (surprisingly discovering that it's good to have teeth) called him on it.

Instapundit points to Michael Silence, who's collating the damage. Even Hard Right(!) Kleinheider has managed to find his way to correct thinking on this one (well, he does cover his ass and say 'fudge'. Gotta keep all his escape avenues open, no?)

I don't know if we'll have enough evidence to unseat this unpleasant scoundrel via impeachment, but surely we'll have enough ammunition to convince voters to send his scurrilous ass home for good. Next election: November 2008. You're Out the Door, Jimmy!

---

Rob Briley whines, bashes the evil Media and...blogs?

This guy is a piece of work. A Tennessee State Representative, DEMOCRAT, gets caught driving drunk (makes a complete fool of himself during the arrest), and again with his pants down, having an affair with a lobbyist. So what does he do? Cry and complain on the floor of the House, threatens the press (and 'those things called "blogs"'), with sanctions if we can't behave. From Kleinheider's new digs...

“The right to a free and open press though comes with a responsibility, and from my experience over the past year, that responsibility is not being lived up to,” Briley (D-Nashville) said from the main House podium.

“We used to talk about the politics of personal destruction. Well that’s no longer what’s going on. It’s the publishing of personal destruction, and we owe it to ourselves to do better than that. We owe it to the rest of our society to do better than that.”

….Briley said that government needs to be “as open as possible.”

“But the press needs to understand that if they’re not responsible with that information, that they’re not going to have access to it anymore,” Briley said.

What a flaming anal pore!

This guy should never have been elected in the first place. A scion of Beverly Briley (Metro Nashville's first mayor), Rob must have thought that last name would shield him from scrutiny and give him more free rein than an 'ordinary' Rep should have.

He's gone, now, resigned.

Let's hope his political future stays as dim as his reasoning.

---

h/t Insty

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Phil Bredesen: What happened, Bunker Boy?

Yes, our esteemed Governor Bunker is forced to cut State jobs to save save teh budget. NTTAWWT, but I think he should have kept a lid on all State...expenditures, for both of his elected terms. It seems that the lid came off after that re-election; legacy-building was in the plans.

Now, the layoffs are scaring rank-and-file Democrats who want to slather more largess on the unfortunates who will soon be out of work.

So much for Phil Bredesen's (the uber-savvy BUSINESSMAN candidate!) legacy.

Let's hope this financial disaster keeps M. Bredesen from seeking future political office. Unless he's also lost the wisdom that this certain shame will bring, as he's lost all his judgment in matters of fiscal responsibility.

There's plenty of Democrats who can mismanage ever-bloating local, state and federal government budgets, but this Democrat came in credentialed and supposedly vetted, a 'fiscal conservative'. What happened, Gov?

Bunker envy?

---

Tennessee GOP slaps visiting Mrs. Baracky (PROUD for the First Time!) Obama

Mrs. PROUD Obama was in town last night for a fundraiser; the welcome mat was offered by the Tennessee GOP...

Of course, the crybaby Baracky fires back: 'Racists! HUSSEINISTS!!'

From a post at American Thinker titled "Broaching That Other Off-Limits Obama Topic"...

You may recall the furor in January over a pre-Nevada primary "robocall" [MP3] that dropped the full name of Barack Hussein Obama four times. Or the outcries the following month when Cincinnati radio personality Bill Cunningham spoke those same three words repeatedly at a local McCain town-hall meeting. And who can possibly forget the widespread media rush to assure the public of their hero's baptism when a photo of him clad in traditional Muslim garb surfaced on the web that same month?

Not surprisingly then, shortly following the media and blogosphere-pressured condemnations by both Hillary and McCain, mention of Obama's middle name or Muslim heritage became de facto taboo amongst politically correct company.

Well, that's fine for that sort of company, I suppose. But I'm PROUD of my non-compliance with Political Correctness, and I imagine there's a couple more who can get around without wearing Political Correctness blinders.

Oh, and thanks to the Tennessee...did you say, GOP?

Who are these guys again? Tennessee has a GOP??

Who knew?

---

h/t Six Meat Buffet.

---

Oh. I just noticed this comment at American Thinker....

"Yes, but it's not the only question that needs to be addressed. Another is 'what would his foreign policy towards the Muslim world be'? You see, Islam is not the only part of his heritage, another is his Arabic composition. Obama is not a Negro. Obama is an Arab. His father's side of the family tree is exclusively Arabic, and that fact is signified by their names and the name of Senator Obama himself: Barack Hussein Obama. His first name is Muslim also. Not just the middle name. Real Kenyan Negros have Christian names. By giving his son a Muslim name, Obama's father has sent a signal: he may live among Kenyan Christians, but he is not one of them."

"Moreover, he is only 6.25% Negro. He's 50% Eurocaucasian (after his mother) and 43.75% Arabic. The federal law of the US says that to claim minority status, you must be at least 12.5% (1/8) of the race you claim to represent. Senator Obama is half the legal treshold. He could honestly say, 'My father was a Negro.' His father was a member of the last generation able to claim to represent the Negro race."Obama is guilty of lying to the Harvard Admissions Committee to get in; lying to Chicagoians to get elected to IL state senate; lying to IL citizens to get elected to the Senate; and lying to all Americans to get elected President (but luckily, he hasn't won yet).

"He is also guilty of lying in his book 'The Audacity Of Hope'."

...[emboldenings mine]

Nice.

RACIST LIAR!!!111!!!!

---

Tennessee: Strong for McCain

If you really want to believe statistics, Tennessee will overwhelmingly vote for John McCain for President. Just as George Bush received the majority (and the state's 11 electoral votes) in 2000 and 2004...

"John McCain enjoys a strong double digit lead over both Democratic Presidential hopefuls in the state of Tennessee. The latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey in the state finds McCain leading Barack Obama 58% to 31%. The presumptive GOP nominee leads Hillary Clinton 52% to 38%.

"McCain is viewed favorably by 65% of Volunteer State voters while Clinton earns favorable reviews from 45%. The numbers for Obama are bleak—39% favorable and 59% unfavorable. That latter figure includes 40% with a Very Unfavorable opinion of the Democratic frontrunner."

Because of Baracky's continued exposures as a false prophet.

Brings a smile to my stone face.
;D

---

Naifeh does it again...kills another pro-gun House bill; he uses his Republican-granted powers as House Speaker to kill the CCP Confidentiality Bill

Why does this West Tennessee career politician continue to thwart the will of the people? Why does he 'have it in' for gun owners? And, most importantly, when are Tennesseans going to vote him out of office? Or are we stuck with this sad sack as with a bad hemorrhoid?

Jimmy Naifeh again kills a pro-gun bill, and in the process endangers Concealed Carry Permit holders by allowing Leftist rags like The Tennessean to publish CCP holder's names and addresses.

From today's NCP...

Naifeh shoots down latest gun permit bill

House Speaker Jimmy Naifeh pulled out the big guns Wednesday, using the powers of his post to shoot down a bill making the records of handgun carry permit-holders confidential.

After a House panel Wednesday had unexpectedly approved sealing from public inspection permit-holders’ information, Naifeh took action. He effectively appointed a new member of the House — just sworn in Wednesday — to the panel that had just approved the bill.

Once appointed, Naifeh and the new representative, Rep. Karen Camper (D-Memphis), voted to reconsider the panel’s previous approval of the bill, and then Naifeh and Camper gave the opposition enough votes to kill the measure.

As a result of the new member and Naifeh’s vote, the bill was defeated on a 5-4 vote.

Naifeh uses some of the strange tricks inherent to the Tennessee legislature. Tennessee House rules allow the Speaker of the House to vote in any committee or subcommittee he wants to, giving him some overwhelming power that he does not even deserve. He used the same tricks to defeat three earlier pro-gun bills .

Almost a year ago, The Tennessean published, online, a link to names and addresses for all Concealed Carry Permit holders in the State of Tennessee. There was a hue and cry, thousands of people called and complained and canceled their delivery (I was one of those) and the silly Publisher (President and Publisher Ellen Leifeld (615)259-8303, eleifeld@tennessean.com) finally had to withdraw the link. A bit late...that published link cost The Pravda on the Cumberland some revenue, the only recourse we have to their leftist leanings.

Publishing a list of CCP holders and their addresses is just a mean-spirited method The Tennessean uses to forward their leftist agenda. Look for yourself...The Tennessean has never supported the 2nd Amendment's pro-gun stance.

Now, with Naifeh again pulling tricks to get his own pet politics passed, we must lament the Republicans who allowed him to assume the role of House Speaker. I posted this just a couple weeks ago...

Jimmy was re-elected as Speaker of the House with help of weak, soft, puny Republicans... "However, Republican party discipline was totally lacking, when the issue came to a vote. Seven Republicans joined with all of the Democrats to reelect Naifeh."

Here's the names: State Rep.s Mike Harrison (Sneedville), Joe McCord (Maryville), Steve McDaniel (Parkers Crossroads), Richard Montgomery (Sevierville), Doug Overbey (Maryville), Dennis Roach (Rutledge), and Kent Williams (Elizabethton). Can't these guys be voted out of the Republican party? Weak, soft, ineffectual; you listening, Bill Hobbs?

What a lousy, miserable partisan politician, Naifeh. Also lousy, those sorry Republicans who crossed party lines to ensure his continued dominance as our State's top leftist.

If ever a politician needed flushing, this floater does.

Yep. But there's not much chance of that happening. Tennesseans seem to like backwoods idiocy.

---

crossed to TennesseeFree

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Could we stand to see another Al Gore meltdown (after he loses, again, in November?)

Liz Garrigan, blogger at the Nashville Scene's Pith in the Wind (heh) titles her post "An Inconvenient Truth: Gore Has Jumped the Shark". Since this was my first visit to Pithdom, I can't tell you if Liz is pleased or no; she immediately links to Joe Klein's Time piece on Mr. Gore's possible re-emergence as a viable political candidate..."And so I'm rather embarrassed to admit that I'm slouching toward, well, a theory: if this race continues to slide downhill, the answer to the Democratic Party's dilemma may turn out to be Al Gore." Slouching, indeed.

Fast break to Ed Morrissey, writing at HotAir..."Dems open the smoke-filled room, and Gore pours out"

I don't care much for Joe Klein, but Ed Morrissey, of the fabled Captain's Quarters blog, is magnificent in his drop on Al Gore...

What could be less democratic than a major political party nominating a candidate for President who didn’t receive a single vote in the primaries? That would create the biggest example of smoke-filled-room politics and the biggest underhanded manipulation by a political party in decades. And ironically, it’s the Democrats who have begun laying the groundwork for exactly that scenario by pushing Al Gore as an alternative to the two candidates who have raised hundreds of millions from their followers to finish in a virtual dead heat

...

Desperation leads the unwise to folly, and this is perhaps the best example yet seen. The party establishment, which created the superdelegate conundrum that now threatens to split the Democrats, want to avoid that result by pushing not one but both popular candidates out of the race. Rather than having the establishment choose between Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, which threatens to have a significant portion of both camps defect to John McCain, they want to enrage everyone by offering the loser of the 2000 campaign as their hand-picked alternative.

Loser. Al Gore. 2000. There's not a chance in hell Al Gore could win this election. We watched him stalk off after 2000, only to have to trundle back (with the help of suspensors or need of a moo moo, take your choice) and catapult himself into 'mending fences' by embarking on a quest to destroy our economy with his newfound religion of "Global Warmalism". Can he win on that? No.

More, from Ed...

Gore’s biggest issue has already been negated by John McCain, who supports American action on global-warming issues. Gore has done nothing on any other public policy over the last eight years. He played footsie with Hollywood and flew private jets all over the world to scold people over their energy use, and turned himself into a one-note activist who won’t even be able to play that single tone in an election against McCain.

A one-note activist...I wonder, how sour is that note?

If this mistake is what gets the Dems fired up, go for it. Pick a guy to run who didn’t get a single primary vote, a proven loser who was kept under Bill Clinton’s thumb for eight years (backstage to Monica’s skirts, too, eh?)

Remember the BDS, remember the hate and snark from the left for the past seven years?

With Al Gore back in the political kitchen, those chickens will come home…to roast!

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crossed to Tennessee Free

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Naifeh. Sucks. As do the Republicans who crossed and got him re-elected Speaker of the House (16 years of 'Coon Suppers')

From the NRA-ILA news link in my sidebar...

Naifeh's votes help kill gun bills

House Speaker Jimmy Naifeh made an unusual visit Wednesday to a subcommittee hearing to cast votes that killed several handgun bills, including one that would have allowed diners to carry guns into restaurants.

Naifeh, who can cast votes in any House committee or subcommittee of his choosing, voted in three roll call votes that helped defeat bills in the Criminal Practice Subcommittee, as well as in a voice vote that defeated a fourth bill.

This little Democratic 'Coon Supper' provider has run the Left side of the Tennessee politics for 16 years, as Speaker of the House. He's held office since 1976! You can't say "career politician" without thinking of Jimmy Naifeh.

Jimmy is married to powerful lobbyist and Betty Anderson...of course! What do you expect from Democratic Southern good-ole-boy slap-on-the-back smoke-filled-rooms politicos? Have your cake, and it'll do your laundry too.

Jimmy was re-elected as Speaker of the House with help of weak, soft, puny Republicans... "However, Republican party discipline was totally lacking, when the issue came to a vote. Seven Republicans joined with all of the Democrats to reelect Naifeh."

Here's the names: State Rep.s Mike Harrison (Sneedville), Joe McCord (Maryville), Steve McDaniel (Parkers Crossroads), Richard Montgomery (Sevierville), Doug Overbey (Maryville), Dennis Roach (Rutledge), and Kent Williams (Elizabethton). Can't these guys be voted out of the Republican party? Weak, soft, ineffectual; you listening, Bill Hobbs?

What a lousy, miserable partisan politician, Naifeh. Also lousy, those sorry Republicans who crossed party lines to ensure his continued dominance as our State's top leftist.

If ever a politician needed flushing, this floater does.

Obama Hussein Flap: Democrats cry foul, Republicans want distance

From today's Nashville City Paper...

Tennessee Republicans appear to be a divided house over a controversial state party press release attacking Democratic presidential hopeful Sen. Barack Obama.

The ordeal centers on the use of Obama’s middle name of “Hussein” in a Tennessee Republican Party press release issued this week, entitled “Anti-Semites for Obama,” as well as the posting of a picture of Obama in traditional Somali garb.

The GOP’s press release, issued Monday, has caused a national stir and been picked up by some international news outlets.

Nationally, Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, has repudiated using Obama’s middle name when referencing him, shining more light upon the GOP’s release. The McCain campaign has also been critical of the Tennessee Republican Party.

Much ado about nothing.

Democrats want to insulate Obama from any sort of criticism, and it seems Republicans are so fearful of getting caught in a political correctness trap that they are distancing themselves from anything that might stick to their collective shoes. Democrats cried foul over our Tennessee GOP's handling of Obama, including the Obama-in-a-headdress photo, his relationships with Louis Farrakhan, and his membership in that Racist! Church. All of this happening just after John McCain, titular head of the Republican party (NOT the conservatives, mind you) threw Bill Cunningham under a bus for 'Husseining' Obama.

Karl at PW sees right thru 'em...

"After I noted Josh Marshall’s effort to impose a double-standard on the campaign under which John McCain must ritualistically repudiate any person or any comment about Barack Obama deemed to be inappropriately racial or ethnic, while Obama is excused from discussing his less savory associations, Allahpundit flagged a piece at TNR by Historian4Hillary Sean Wilentz, noting how Obama has played the race card against Hillary Clinton (though I agree with AP that Wilentz overdoes it a bit). Allah writes:

If you want to see a politician remaining ostentatiously above the fray while winking at cretinous race-baiting by his supporters, look no further than the TNR piece about how deftly the “post-racial” candidate has leveraged ye olde racial playbook these past few months.

Obama’s positioning as the “post-racial” candidate is a key factor in the strategy.

When The Future King has no clothes, we are forced to view him as transparent.

Because of his color!

These episodes are simply Democrats digging a moat around Obama, and raising the drawbridges against any criticisms. An opening salvo for their November run for the Whitehouse and Obama's antiness ascension. We are to ignore this Future King's lack of clothing, because of his racial makeup. The mentioning of the unfortunateness of his middle name (and of his familial muslim heritage) is off limits. We can blame his grandmother for the name, his mother for her strange marriages, but Obama is not to be criticized.

Jeff Goldstein seems to realize Obama's exact makeup, and McCain's as well...

"Obama’s experience, such as it is, has been in getting elected to ever-higher offices on the strength of a charisma that, to me at least, is as grating and affected as anything even Mike Huckabee might ooze.

In the end, McCain can certainly show that his experience far outweighs Obama’s — and is of far greater heft, if only for its, um, bipartisan nuance. [cough cough hack]

None of which will matter if this turns out to be a Fox Mulder election, wherein enough voters buy into Obama’s platitudes and conclude, ultimately, “I WANT TO BELIEVE”!"

It's a shame our nation's voting public (and even our Republican party) (especially "Titular Head" McCain) are weak enough to fall for it.

---

PimPing out, Chelsea?

This one's h/t glendean...

;D

---

UPDATE:
Dan Collins has it up.
Crossed to Tennessee Free; from comments, Bubba at KOS East is furious. See my comment to Bubba at TF.
We go back. No love lost.

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Tennessee falls to Huckholio...

Unfortunately.

But, look at this...Romney won Rutherford County, by 12 votes! That's a close finish. I'm one of those 12...

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Tennessee State Senate passes an anti-abortion amendment (to howls of wrath from shameless people who weren't aborted) UPDATED

From our best Nashville Daily, the Nashville City Paper...

"For the fourth time in seven years, the state Senate passed a constitutional amendment Wednesday to remove any guarantees for a right to an abortion within the state constitution.

“This is something that I think is a good day for the people of Tennessee to restore to the people the power of their constitution,” said Sen. Diane Black (R-Gallatin), the sponsor of the constitutional amendment. “And I’m looking forward that this will get full debate over in the House and hopefully passage there.”

"Since a 2000 state Supreme Court decision struck down some abortion restrictions, the state Senate has passed a constitutional amendment similar to the one passed Wednesday every General Assembly — 2001, 2004, 2006 and now 2008.

"Each time, however, that the Senate has passed the amendment, known as Senate Joint Resolution 127, it has either been defeated in a House subcommittee or not been acted upon.

"When asked why this year should be any different, Black tried to show optimism: “You never know what’s going to happen.”

"Yesterday, the Senate passed the amendment 23-9. All 16 Republicans supported the resolution, as well as six Democrats and one Independent.

The amendment would not ban abortions in Tennessee, but would allow the Legislature to enact “common sense protections” regarding them, such as a 48-hour waiting period prior to an abortion, proponents say."

Thank God we have some common sense in our General Assembly! (At least on the Senate side...)

Of the 50,000,000 abortions since Roe v. Wade, how many of those were for 'legitimate' reasons (rape-incest, and the actual 'save the life of the mother' theme we hear so much about?) and how many were actually for after-the-fact birth control? That's the vast majority of abortions...those that could have been avoided in the first place.

In those 'spurn the baby for the rights of the selfish and greedy' we have a great collective shame of abortionists, those aborting 'mothers', and of everyone alive in this country who doesn't speak out.

Since everyone reading this is obviously not in any danger of being aborted, abortion isn't a threat to you. But the threat is there, eating at the core of our collective system of values. If our government can't at least try to protect an unborn child with a minimum of intervention, a 48-hour waiting period, then truly our governing system is fatally broken.

We should not discard that future person, a God-created receptacle of a new soul, without some small consideration. That's all this effort is about...a small consideration for a tiny unborn life, the weakest voiceless link to our future.

"Vital signs should be observed regularly, and a Doppler [for listening to the fetal heartbeat] inaudible to the patient should be used at intervals to determine the presence or absence of fetal heart tones.. This [informed consent] is a controversial area, but most professionals in the field feel that it is not advisable for patients to view the products of conception, to be told the sex of the fetus, or to be informed of a multiple pregnancy".

--Abortionist Warren Hern in "Abortion Practice" J.B. Lippincott Company, 1984 pgs 145 and 304

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from the comments at the link above...

By: girliegirl on 1/31/08

having made the choice, I can tell you from experience.... you lie awake at night and wonder... what might've been.... what if it had lived? Would it be a darling little girl in the next room or maybe tomorrow's Peyton Manning? Could he have cured all cancer, AIDS, what??? But in just a few hours, you can murder a child in your womb without the father's consent~ If the daddy made you mad, watched some porn, talked to a girl at a bar, you can go murder his baby. Is this okay with y'all? Does anyone else out there see the morbidity in this whole process? The clinic here never called it a baby...not once. Even after 3 months gestation, it's NEVER a baby, just an unwanted pregnancy.

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Ron Paul Worker Bees...I hear a building buzz...

I'll give 'em this...you see these pollinators everywhere. I mean, every single thoroughfare I travel has some "Ron Paul" decorations. No other candidate has as much visible support, at least not in Kentucky and Tennessee.

In Soddy Daisy, yesterday, a fresh paint job on the Ron Paul election HQ (which also passes for the animal clinic, it seems...)
[click for larger pictures]

Ummm...yes, the local Vet must be a Ron Paul supporter.


When I saw this, my first remark was "...the paint won't dry before Ron Paul pulls out of this race!"

On reflection, that's just not true.

Ron Paul hasn't a chance to become our next President, but he can certainly influence who might become President, as did Ross Perot in 1992. I've posted my thoughts on that scenario already.

What's changing today, at least for me, is the Fred Thompson weakness thingy...I'll know more about Fred's Fate after South Carolina's primary results come in tonight, but to say I'm disappointed in Fred's lack of momentum is understatement.

Fred should have gotten off his duff and pushed, hard, early in 2007. I was there for him in March. The political climate today isn't the same as what we're accustomed to. A candidate is expected to show energy, early and often. This isn't the day of the old Red Truck that Fred rode to his Senate victory in 1994, coming back from a 21-point deficit to whip some clown who's name I can't remember. Today, we have this internet thing, and everything has to keep pace. Old Red Fred and his truck may see some early parking.

Fred could have used some of Ron Paul's worker bees. And Ron Paul's stamina. And Ron Paul's internet savvy. And Ron Paul's tenacity.

If Fred falls today, who's going to be left, palatable, to take the Republican Nomination? Mitt (I was for Gun Control, now I'm against it, at least until I get some nice Republican support) Romney? Or (unlikely) (even more Gun Control) Giuliani? After Bush's Backstab, I definitely won't support another Republican who doesn't remember who his friends are, and only courts votes with rhetoric. Screw Mitt, and Rudy.

I can't support any Democrat; they are synonymous with Gun Control.

I may yet don a Bee costume, a la Belushi.

For the protest!

2007...goodbye. Recap, Image style

I can't do a 2007 Year in Review, after reading dAVe barry's syndicated column here. He's hit every high and low with teh funny. Just a sample...

"It was a year that strode boldly into the stall of human events and took a wide stance astride the porcelain bowl of history.

In short, 2007 was a year of deep gloom, pierced occasionally by rays of even deeper gloom. And as is so often true of bad years, it began with ...

January

... when Democrats, having won the November elections, take control of both houses of Congress with surprisingly little loss of life.

Upon taking power, the Democrats, who campaigned vigorously against the war in Iraq, and who hailed their victory as a clear voter mandate to get the troops out of Iraq, immediately get down to the business of being careful to not do anything that might actually result in the removal of troops from Iraq, in case that might turn out to be a bad idea. This is fine with President Bush, who calls for a "troop surge," based on his understanding of the comprehensive Iraq Study Group Report, as interpreted for him by aides equipped with 20,000 G.I. Joe action figures.

As the debate over Iraq intensifies, the eyes of a worried nation turn to another trouble spot: New York City, where Donald Trump and Rosie O'Donnell are locked in a bitter high-stakes battle to determine who is the bigger horse's ass.

In sports, a Los Angeles team signs glamorous British soccer star David Beckham to a $250 million contract. This raises eyebrows, both because of the amount of money and because the team is the Dodgers. But Beckham's glamorous presence quickly boosts ticket sales; within days the Lakers sign Angelina Jolie.

Sports remains in the news in ...

February..."

That's world-class tease, folks.

My own little look-back will be spartan, comparatively speaking. Since I'm into imagery, I'll just dump my favorite item from each month's posts, not exactly tying into dAVe barry's outline, but close enough.

January (Saddam was still on my mind)



February (Premature Infant...Abortion really sucks)


~*~

March "I closed my eyes, and it slipped away..." Brad Delp, RIP



April Nappy-headed jackass, indeed.



May Paris, in Jail. Lovin' every minute...


aimez le modèle, Paris~!


May McNair, Pacman, Vick...with their weaknesses exposed.



June We lost one of my favorite bloggers, Barking Moonbat Early Warning System's Skipper. His knowing post...

Allan C. Kelly
1949-2007
R.I.P.

In one of the Skipper's final posts, he described his pending back surgery, and left these thoughts:

"Meanwhile, while you slept a few thousand more Mexicans crossed the border last night, Wal-Mart built six more stores somewhere, the trade deficit with China increased by a few billion dollars, the North Koreans and Iranians came up with seventeen more plans to prove they are barking mad and several thousand more non-Muslims were murdered in Darfur by followers of the Prophet For Profit.

"Then again, you already know all this and just need a place to get together and figure out what we’re all going to do when the roof caves in - and make no mistake, the rafters are crumbling. Depressing? Sure, but what are we going to do?

"We can start to fix our government eighteen months from now in the 2008 elections. The interim is going to be dicey as somebody out there decided in the last election to install a whole bunch of really crazy people in the Congress and Senate. That was not my fault, by the way - and neither was it George Bush’s fault.

"As for the rest of the sitrep, we can wall ourselves off from the rest of the world and experiment with isolationism again or we can continue to muddle our way through the minefield of international relations - and that is where the problem comes in. We’re just no damn good at realpolitik. Not this administration, the whole country has never been real good at the devious games diplomats play. We haven’t been at this game long enough to understand all the rules.

"All I can really tell you is (a) keep a firm grasp of right and wrong, (b) stay involved in government and watch the bastards in Washignton every minute, (c) use every legal means to make sure you can defend yourself in the event of real internal trouble, and (d) keep talking to each other, whether here or elsewhere."

Damn, he was succinct, and unnervingly right on the money. And that last paragraph is....knowing.

July Scott Beauchamp, liar, gets nailed to the wall by Jeff Goldstein. (Click on the pic for the links)



August Michael Vick... "Yonder goes a man with a dog collar on, think we ought to throw old Spike a bone? Hey, Spike! whadda you like!"



September Iran's Blood Fountain, Black Friday...click the image for the background info.



October The Nobel Peace Prize Jumps the Shark (again...)



Novmeber Lame Hollywood Movie Leaves Hollywood Limp...


December Hey, I made the paper!



That's a wrap. I've got much to do.

See you next year!

Governor Bredesen (D, TN), wants a Bunker at his Mansion

(thanks to Id at the City Paper for the suggestion)
Yes, that's our illustrious Governor. I've pretty much ignored Governor Bredesen's Bunker Boondoggle until today, given he hasn't really done anything egregious over the years, politically, that would cost the taxpayers (me) a lot of money. He's managed to avoid much partisan angst because, well, he was a successful businessman, and businessmen in general usually are fiscally conservative. With their own business. That's changed, it seems. Bredesen has fed at the Tax Trough, and he's lost his good business sense.

Today, from the City Paper, we see a loose coalition of State Republicans finally getting some cajones...

"With construction slated to begin next month, a contingent of five Republican lawmakers asked Wednesday that plans to build an underground ballroom at the governor’s mansion be delayed.

"The Republicans want the project halted from breaking ground until “concerns can be addressed” during the upcoming legislative session.

“We commend the First Lady and the governor on renovating a home that needed it — a new roof, an updated kitchen — Tennessee needs to be proud of the home it provides its governors,” said Rep. Beth Harwell (R-Nashville). “But as a member of the House Finance Committee, I believe that this project has gone too far with a disregard to both the neighbors and the taxpayers’ money.”

This is Bredesen's second and final term as Governor, and I think he's gotten some Big Head. Napoleonic, even. What with the 'legacy' thing, and maybe even some promises from state Democrats that he might be harrumph...'Senatorial material', and there's a possibility he might be floated as a Democratic VP candidate (a sure way to a Big Head; just look at Al Gore...)

So, this new, partisan, fiscally irresponsible boondoggle.

A bit of history, from the Nashville City Paper's John Rodgers...

"Gov. Phil Bredesen hunkered down in his proverbial bunker today, saying he expects a planned underground ballroom at the governor’s mansion will still be built despite increasing partisan attacks and public scrutiny.

"The controversy surrounds “Conservation Hall,” a 14,000-square foot underground facility scheduled for construction in the front yard of the Executive Residence on Curtiswood Lane. Its main feature will be a 3,000-square foot ballroom able to hold 160 guests.

"The plan to build what critics call the “bunker” is part of a larger drive to renovate the Executive Residence. So far, $19.2 million ($12.8 million state dollars/$6.4 million private contributions) has been either spent or budgeted to renovate the mansion and construct Conservation Hall.
...

“Somebody sees this as an opportunity to rub a little dirt on her [First Lady Andrea Conte], a little dirt on me,” Bredesen told reporters. “But in the end, I think people will be sensible about this.

"It’s not for her own purposes. She’s trying to do the right thing here and to leave something for the state to be able to use effectively for a long time in the future.”

(emboldenings mine)

Stand back and look at this thing, and think about it...why does our Governor want to tear up a perfectly fine mansion in an exclusive neighborhood to build an underground facility to entertain (and secretly at that) politicos, the media, cronies, whoever gets an invite (won't be any ordinary taxpayers that's for sure) when there's plenty of ballrooms and facilities in this city one could rent for that purpose?

I believe our Governor is a bit out of line on this one.

Fiscally conservative. Nevermore.

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UPDATE!

Your humble 'Smyrna-based Blogger' made The Tennessean (and just a few pages away from the Editorial page, mind you...)

click to embiggen
;D

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TennViews, KnoxViews, DailyKOS...Welcome LEFTARDs!

This expansion, courtesy Randy (South Knoxville Bubba) Neal, of the originally inappropriately-named "KnoxViews" to the now-even-more-inappropriately-named "TennViews" is just about complete. KOS East-Tennessee is now KOS-Tennessee.

I want to point out that the name isn't even right: Knox- and Tenn-Views are just a subset of leftard liberals who wish they had the entire State wrapped up to their leftist Views.

If leftists 'owned' a bit more of the State, other than just Memphis and Davidson County, then they could claim KnoxViews or TennViews, and not be such a damned bunch of liars (well I suppose they would definitely still be liars, just not in the name choice...)

Remember, 'tards, this is a Red State. Gore lost here in 2000, his 'home' state, and lost his chance to be President, went on to become a fatboy without a clue, and invented Globull Warming. And Harold Ford? Still trying to pass the bar?

So, my welcome to TennViews!

What I knew: Rasmussen Poll, Tennessee; Thompson Leads Hillary, but Hillary Leads the Pretend Conservatives Giuliani, Romney

That's the gut feeling I've had since February. Giuliani just doesn't impress much as a Conservative, and Romney has a Massachusetts birth (!) mark a mile wide running through his campaign. Romney can't even win his Home State, much less anything in the South (well, Massachusetts is a liberal hellhole, there's nothing going to change there. Land of the Lost, higher and higher taxes, nanny-stateism and the MSM is accepted as gospel. Hillary will deflower Massachusetts, and take her for her own.)

From today's Rasmussen Reports:

"If former Tennessee Senator Fred Thompson is the Republican nominee in 2008, the Volunteer State is likely to cast its Electoral College votes for the home town boy. A Rasmussen Reports statewide survey finds that Thompson leads Democratic frontrunner Hillary Clinton by fifteen percentage points (54% to 39%). He leads John Edwards by twenty-one points (56% to 35%) and Barack Obama by thirty points (60% to 30%).

"However, if the Republican nominee is Rudy Giuliani or Mitt Romney, Tennessee’s eleven Electoral votes could conceivably end up in the Democratic column. Clinton has a statistically insignificant two-point edge over Giuliani (46% to 44%) and a six-point lead over Romney (46% to 40%). Clinton also has an edge over Republican hopefuls in three other southern states—Arkansas, Virginia, and Florida. If any Democrat is able to win Southern states in Election 2008, it will be a long night for the GOP."

It may well turn out to be a long night, and if a Democrat Hillary does take the Office, then we should have many more long nights of party reform. Or a brand-new, Conservative Party, with no 'Neo-cons' around to muck up the place.

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h/t Ace

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Steve Gill attacks...the Penny!

In this morning's online read of the Nashville City Paper, I see Steve Gill's guest commentary column with interest. Steve, a conservative radio talker (who is associated with WKRN News Channel 2, a decent-enough ABC affiliate; they run the local blog aggregators Nashville is Talking (a liberal failure) and Volunteer Voters (supposed to be 'Hard Right', but hosted by Kleinheider, who is anything but 'Hard Right'...so it's pretty much a failure too...) actually wants us to call for the elimination of the penny.

Steve opines

"The penny is not what is used to be. Congress 25 years ago eliminated most of the copper from the coin due to a big spike in the cost of the metal. Since then, zinc has been the main ingredient — over 97% — with copper being limited to a thin coating into which Abraham Lincoln’s face in engraved.

Now, with the price of zinc soaring, it costs taxpayers over 1.7 cents to make each 1-cent coin. In other words, it costs nearly twice as much to make a penny as the thing is worth."

And goes on for the elimination of the esteemed 1¢ coin.