September 30, 2005

Memo to Rusty

Rusty, with the email address rustysntn@yahoo.com, please read this site's comments policy before you post again, and keep your comments specific to the content of the post to which you are commenting. This site is not a free-for-all discussion board where you can start a new thread if you so desire. I start the threads here, period. Comments must be specific to the content of the post, or they will not be accepted for publication. I'm sure you'll whine and call that "censorship," but it isn't. I paid for this microphone. You can write whatever you want on your own site and I won't try to stop you or even tell you what you should or should write. But this is my website - it doesn't exist so you can post whatever you want about any topic you chose, and I don't desire to provide my bandwidth and server space so you can do so.

Flack for Harold Ford Jr. and the Tennessee Democratic Party someplace else. Or, if you're so desperate to reach my readers, buy an ad.

Thank you.

Nuts!

There are people who think the mainstream media went out of its way to sink John Kerry's presidential campaign and boost the re-election of President Bush last year. Normally, such people would belong in an institution for being hopelessly, completely delusional, but didn't, like, President Reagan or somebody cut the funding for in-patient mental healthcare? So... it's Reagan's fault that such people are allowed to roam free, and blog their delusions.

Firing Back

My congressman, U.S. Rep. Marsha Blackburn, was attacked in an editorial in last Monday's Tennessean for proposing that federal hurricane relief spending be offset by spending cuts. She fires back today with a withering response that indicts the paper for writing an editorial based on untruths - because it didn't report the truth in the first place.

I'm going to repost here in the extended portion of this entry because you really ought to read every word of it.

Blackburn: War on waste is neither mean nor is it new
By REP. MARSHA BLACKBURN

After serving four years in the state Senate and almost three in Congress, I'm rarely shocked by what is printed in the newspaper about my work and political philosophy.

In 1999 when I proposed across-the-board spending cuts for Tennessee, it was implied that my policies were mean-spirited and therefore invalid. My opposition to the state income tax was roundly criticized by seemingly everyone - everyone except Tennessee taxpayers and voters.

It appears some things never change. Today, my call for balancing our hurricane relief spending with reductions in government elsewhere is being portrayed as callous and insensitive.

In a recent editorial, The Tennessean asked why it had taken the expense of a hurricane to make us worry about the deficit. I ask, why has it taken the expense of a hurricane to make them hear my call for reduced spending?

Whether serving on Capitol Hill in Nashville or Washington, I've consistently supported less government spending. But, as in the past, some in the news media believe no action has been taken and no news has been made unless they report it. Some would call that an ignorant perspective. Some would call it arrogance.

Last Congress, I introduced three bills to require across the board spending reductions in non-defense, non-homeland security discretionary spending. The bills included a 1%, 2% and 5% cut and would have saved us anywhere from $4 billion to $21 billion a year. Most in the news media failed to report on those bills.

This week, I re-introduced my 1%, 2% and 5% across-the-board spending reduction legislation. Like my state Senate proposal, this method of spending reduction would let each agency determine what it could most afford to cut.

The assertion that I have only recently begun speaking to this issue is simply not true. It's only now that some - on both sides of the aisle - have chosen to listen.

In recent years, those reductions I proposed in the state Senate have been acted upon in our state. I will thank The Tennessean for noting at the time that reductions were enacted that I had been proved correct, even though in their words, "my math was simplistic."

In the nearly three years I've served in the U.S. Congress, I have helped lead the charge to target waste, fraud and abuse in federal spending.

My freshman year in Congress, a few of us new members co-founded the Washington Waste Watchers group. No matter what committee we served on, each member of the group vowed to search for ways to cut spending.

This year, the House passed a 2006 budget containing a 0.8% reduction in non-defense, non-homeland security discretionary spending. Discretionary spending is on track to be lower than last year's levels, which is something we've not done since President Reagan's administration. Are these enough reductions? No.

When we operate with a deficit, we should be actively working to cut spending. When we operate without a deficit, we should actively be looking for ways to reduce government growth. That is my philosophy, and it has not changed.

The recent editorial implied that my calls for spending cuts were something new and that I was being insensitive to the plight of those suffering in the aftermath of this devastating hurricane season. Nothing could be further from the truth. In fact, later this week, I will introduce a bill to provide federal guarantees for state-issued hurricane relief bonds. These bonds will give affected states the means to raise additional funds for rebuilding projects.

Residents all across the Seventh District and Tennessee have pitched in to help evacuees, but I don't think it's asking too much that we find ways to fund recovery using existing funds instead of piling on more debt. My family and I have traveled to Mississippi to volunteer with cleanup efforts, and I will continue supporting our friends and neighbors along the Gulf Coast.

-30-

Ethics Report

The special commission appointed by Gov. Phil Bredesen to make recommendations on ethics reforms for legislators and lobbyists has released its final report. Here it is. The Tennessean's report on it today is here.

State Sen. Rosalind Kurita, a Clarksville Democrat currently running against Harold Ford Jr. for the Tennessee Democratic Party's nomination for the U.S. Senate, is quoted in the paper saying, "The recommendations of this panel are sound, but they just don't go far enough. I was disappointed that they did not address secret meetings or the legislative work schedule. And we need online access for all votes. The panel did some good work, but I believe Tennessee deserves better."

But state Rep. Bill Dunn, a Knoxville Republican and House Minority Leader, notes the irony of a Democratic governor's commission making recommendations for reforms that Republicans have long sought - but Democrats in the legislature have routinely killed. Dunn: "I've seen most of this before. These were each brought before the House last session by Republicans, but Democrats, unfortunately, defeated each during committee hearings. It is my hope that the governor will bring his party alongside these sound proposals so that we can continue to take steps forward in ensuring the trust of all Tennesseans."

It's worth noting that all but one of the current and former lawmakers arrested in the FBI's Operation Tennessee Waltz public corruption probe are Democrats.

Go Vols

It was one of the greatest come-from-behind wins in University of Tennessee football history, their win on the road at No. 4 LSU Monday night. I missed it. Oh, and ESPN Classic aired the game again last night. I missed it. Figures.

September 29, 2005

RSS Glitch Solved

I have been made aware that the upgrade to the latest version of Movable Type has altered the RSS feed URL and that people who get BillHobbs.com via RSS readers such as NewsGator haven't been getting it for the past week or two. Here is the new feed URL - http://billhobbs.com/index.xml - and the RSS link in the button bar has been corrected. Of course, if you get BillHobbs.com via RSS, you won't get this message.

Thanks to Doug Petch for alerting me to the RSS problem. Petch thought I was on extended hiatus. Doug, take next week off - you have a lot of catch-up reading to do!

What Would Jesus Do?

I'm ashamed that Lipscomb University, a school I attended for three years, hasn't stepped forward to reject the $3 million federal subsidy it is supposed to get to build a parking garage, so that money can go to hurricane relief. A wealthy private Christian university really ought not to be asking taxpayers to fund its parking garage.

Lipscomb is currently in the middle of one of those alumni giving drives. I received the pledge/donations mailer just the other day. Until Lipscomb returns the $3 million, or donates it to hurricane relief, I won't be donating another dime to the school - and I'll be urging other alumni to take the same stand.

For more on Lipscomb's taxpayer-subsidized parking garage, see John Hutcheson and Bob Krumm..

Lipscomb's news website includes a section headlined Katrina Provides Opportunities For Service and Missions.

Yes it does - and there are a lot of people who lost everything and need help more than Lipscomb University needs a taxpayer-funded parking garage. Keeping millions of dollars while encouraging others to give to the needy seems rather hypocritical.

I look forward to the day that Lipscomb announces it has asked Congress to take back the $3 million and use it for hurricane relief and reconstruction - or, if it is not possible to return the federal subsidy - an announcement that the school will donate an equivalent amount to hurricane relief. If you are a Lipscomb alum and agree with me, please contact the school's administration via email addresses on this webpage

Tough On Crime

The defense attorney who negotiated the extremely lenient plea deal for the sicko child molester in this story in today's Knoxville News Sentinel is holding a $250-a-plate fundraiser for U.S. Senate candidate Harold Ford Jr. tomorrow night. I bet Blogging For Bryant has some thoughts about this soon. Speaking of Blogging for Bryant, they're urging readers to give $20.06 to Ed Bryant's senate campaign before the end of Friday, September 30. I did. Click here.

Porkbusters Update

My favorite vote I ever cast remains my vote in the 1984 election for President Ronald Reagan. I was too young to vote in 1980, so I only got to vote for Reagan once in my lifetime. I've already been able to vote for U.S. Rep. Marsha Blackburn twice, and those are my second-favorite and third-favorite votes of all time. She was a great state senator who helped stop a state income tax and whose fiscal proposals for spending restraint in the state were adopted by the state's Democratic governor. And now she's blogging about federal spending reduction at RedState.org. She really ought to have her own blog...

The blogosphere's "Porkbusters" campaign that's rocking the mainstream media and Congress encourages bloggers to contact their congressman and senators and urge them to spcifically identify what pork they'd be willing to cut in order to keep hurricane relief spending from adding to the federal deficit. The idea is to spotlight legislators who talk the talk about fiscal sanity but don't walk the walk. I don't have to worry about that with my congressman. There's none with a more consistent record on spending and tax restraint.

Sky High

This was the morning sky yesterday at about 7 a.m.over Brentwood, Tennessee, just south of Nashville. It looked about the same this morning. First person to ID the building in the picture gets a free subscription to BillHobbs.com. Click image for a larger version.

September 28, 2005

Loathing Linksys

At home, my desktop PC, a Gateway that has given me zero problems since I bought it three years ago, is connected to the 'net via Westell DSL modem from BellSouth. As I also have a Dell Inspiron 700m laptop and like to work in various locations in and around my house, I bought a Linksys Wireless-G 2.4 GHz router, and followed all the instructions and procedures to add it to my system, between the modem and the PC. It worked rather well for awhile, but lately I can't get it to keep a stable connection, and often the PC has "limited or no connectivity" to the net, unless I remove the Linksys modem (a Cisco product) and connect the modem directly to the PC.

Tonight, I re-installed everything, and while all the signals say it's working fine, my laptop's wireless signal-sniffer doesn't see the wi-fi network I created - even if the laptop is sitting mere feet away from the wireless router.

I reinstalled everything because earlier it was spotting the wi-fi signal, but dropping the connection repeatedly.

I ordered BellSouth's wireless networking kit - figuring that if the Linksys wireless router is somehow incompatible with BellSouth's modem, certainly BellSouth's router would not have that problem. The BellSouth gizmo arrived this morning, but is still sitting in its unopened box because I don't like the thought of paying BellSouth $5 a month, every month, from now on if I could either get the Linksys router to work properly and without glitches, or purchase another router that is compatible with BellSouth's modem. I prefer a one-time purchase to renting BellSouth's wireless box and for a never-ending monthly charge.

Any suggestions?

Better Than Krispy Kreme

Here's some very good news for anyone in Nashville who thinks Krispy Kreme is a poor excuse for a donut.

Supreme Court to Consider Tax Incentives

The U.S. Supreme Court yesterday announced that it would decide the constitutionality of tax breaks used by cities and states to attract large employers and manufacturers when its new term begins Monday. The Tennessean explains the case - and its potential ramifications - in its story today.

if the Supreme Court decides that tax incentives as an economic development tool violates the U.S. constitution's "Commerce Clause," it might be good thing in the long term. Currently, states use tax incentives to lure big companies' headquarters or new facilities - and high-tax states often use incentives as a way to be more competitive with lower-tax states. If no state could do offer tax breaks for individual business, more states might feel the need to lower their overall taxes. And there is no state in the nation that couldn't benefit economically by lowering taxes on its people and its businesses.

Denied the ability craft tax incentive packages for specific businesses, Tennessee's economic development officials and policy makers would have to focus much more intensively on lowering overall business taxes, reducing regulation, and keeping personal taxes low. And if other states are barred from using tax incentives to offset their business-unfriendly high corporate tax rates and higher personal income taxes, Tennessee's lack of a state income tax will become an even more powerful competitive advantage versus the 43 states that tax personal income.

Rather Silly

Dan Rather is still in denial about the forged documents he and CBS used to lie about President Bush. So is his former producer, Mary Mapes. More from PowerLine

Ka-Ching!

Jeff Blanco has some thoughts about Louisiana, hurricanes and money. If it wasn't so true and sad it would be funny.

September 27, 2005

What He Said

Tennessee Gov. Phil Bredesen has "ruled out" seeking the creation of a state income tax in a second term, if he's re-elected, according to an AP story. in today's Tennessean. Oddly, the AP story provides a reaction quote only from a group that favors the income tax, critical of Bredesen for ruling out an income tax. No opponents of the income tax are quoted in reaction to what Bredesen said. The Nashville City Paper story is no better on that score - but it does provide more of what Bredesen said.

Here is what Bredesen said to reporters after a speech to the Nashville Rotary Club:

"I'm not interested in an income tax in a second term . I don't think you need it. ... I don't think one is warranted and, frankly, I don't intend to propose one. ... I'm more convinced today than when I took office that it's not needed and that we can proceed just fine without it,"

A Big-Government liberal who has a history of raising taxes, Bredesen is ideological predisposed to support a state income tax, even if he is currently opposed to it for political reasons - namely, supporting one openly would get him beat in November '06.

Though the Tennessee Democratic Party that he leads has stated publicly - and never rescinded - its support for creating a state income tax, Bredesen is a smart politician who knows that the majority of Tennesseans do not want a state income tax. But as his predecessor showed, it is easy to create the illusion of fiscal crisis in state government, merely by proposing big spending increases that even the state's tax revenue coffers - growing at record rates - can't fully fund. Then, cry "shortfall!" and trot out the tired and data-deficient claim that the sales tax is "inelastic" (though states dependent on income taxes had worse deficits during the last recession than did states dependent on sales taxes). Then layer on a claim that the sales tax is "unfair" even though everyone pays, rich and poor, pays it - even tourists - and propose "tax reform" to solve all those problems and - as a bonus - make sure to designate all the extra revenue to "fix" our education system "for the children."

It almost worked four years ago. And although the intervening years have seen a raft of pro-income tax legislators defeated or convinced to retire rather than face certain defeat, the playbook is still there, waiting for the next economic slowdown to give the pro-income tax forces new life.

Will there be such an economic slowdown over the next five years? Probably. The only way to guarantee Bredesen won't then change his mind, decide one is needed and become interested in a state income tax in a second term is to deny him a second term.

The second commented posted by an online reader of the City Paper's story notes that Bredesen's statement falls short of an adamant declaration of active opposition to any future income tax proposal:

In politics, the trick is not who proposes legislation, rather who fails to oppose legislation; allowing it to become law. I have yet to see or hear Bredesen state that he will adamantly opposes a state income tax and more important, that he will defy his fellow Democrats from proposing or enacting a state income tax

Still, Bredesen's statement opens the door to more questions on the issue.

A Republican candidate for governor ought to test the depth of his commitment on the issue by proposing and running on a fiscal platform that includes a proposed constitutional amendment to limit the growth of spending by state government, and making it more difficult to raise taxes, and a second constitutional amendment to explicitly ban the legislative creation of a state income tax.

It's highly likely that Bredesen would oppose either provision.

UPDATE: Bob Krumm points out in his comment below that Tom Humphrey's story in the Knoxville News Sentinel has more of Bredesen's statements about the income tax, which are more adamantly opposed to it. From the KNS story:

Going a step beyond previous statements, Gov. Phil Bredesen on Monday ruled out pushing for a state income tax if re-elected to a second term next year. "I'm not interested in an income tax in a second term," Bredesen told reporters. "I don't think you need it. I don't think one is warranted and, frankly, I don't intend to propose one."

Asked if he was flatly ruling out support for a state income tax in a second term, the governor replied, "That's what I'm saying." He added: "In answer to all the people who say, 'Oh, I know what you're doing. You're just waiting 'til your second term.' I'm just saying: No, that's not right. I'm more convinced today than when I took office that it's not needed."

The KNS story notes that Bredesen has refused to sign a pledge to oppose an income tax.

Having made his statement opposing the tax, Bredesen can not now be allowed a free pass on the issue. His predecessor made much stronger statements against the income tax, and then pushed hard to pass one. Bredesen's opposition to the anti-income tax pledge, and his recent statements opposing limits on state taxes and spending should be more thoroughly explored by the Republican Party's candidate for governor. Will Bredesen back his opposition to the income tax with active support of a constitutional amendments to ban the income tax? Will he actively support and campaign for other taxpayer-protection measures such as amending the state constitution to strengthen the "Copeland Cap" controling the growth of state spending?

Probably not - and voters ought to know that.

September 24, 2005

Blogging Disaster

Disaster News Network - an online news service "that tells the story of disaster response and suggests appropriate ways the public can help survivors (and) also facilitates information sharing among disaster responders" - is looking for a freelance photojournalist/reporter to cover natural disasters for their website. They have a blog too.

September 23, 2005

Glitch!

BillHobbs.com was hit by a big technical problem in recent days with a corrupt database, which interfered with comment-posting and also affected publishing to the site. In the process of repairing it, we upgraded to the latest version of MovableType, but in the process my category archives were destroyed. Everything I've published on this site is still on the site, but the category listing is now gone. I will be rebuilding categories - slowly in the weeks ahead. In the meantime, if you are looking for something specific, please use the search function. Thank you. By the way, the tech glitch cost me money to have repaired. That's what the PayPal and Amazon donation tip jars are for...

Tennessee's Failing Fiscal Grade

The Americans for Prosperity foundation has published a study grading the states' tax-and-spending limitation provisions. Tennessee got a "D" - which is not surprising. Economist Dr. Barry Poulson, the nation's preeminent authority on tax-and-expenditure limitation laws, says Tennessee's mechanism for fiscal discipline, the "Copeland Cap", is weak and ineffective in promoting fiscal responsibility.

I've said pretty much the same thing in these two white papers

Spending Spree: The Bipartisan Assault That is Killing The Constitutional Cap on the Growth of Tennessee's State Budget, a 2005 research paper on the failure of Tennessee's constitutional limit on spending to actually reign in spending, and proposals for reforms.

The Case for a Real Tennessee Taxpayers Bill of Rights, a white paper on constitutional limits on taxing and spending, and why the time is right for such a law in Tennessee.

I continue to believe that a credible candidate running on a platform of passing a stronger limitation on the growth of taxes and spending in Tennessee - at the state level with the option for local communities to opt-in and have the same limitations apply at the local or county level via a petition drive and referendum - could win the governor's mansion on such a platform.

Ethics Update

The Citizen Advisory Group on Ethics in Government, appointed by Gov. Phil Bredesen and stacked with governmental insiders and the politically well-connected, surprisingly appears set to offer a fairly sweeping set of ethics reforms governing the relationship between state legislators and lobbyists, reports today's Tennessean.

The group's recommendations will be presented to Bredesen next week. The proposals would have to be voted on by the General Assembly, which is also discussing ethics reform with its own bipartisan panel.

Among the expected recommendations: barring lobbyists from buying meals or gifts for legislators, requiring lobbyists to disclose who they work for and what they're paid, requiring a waiting period before a legislator can leave office and take lucrative positions with companies that have interests in state policy, and creating an independent ethics commission with audit and subpoena powers to investigate claims.

All four are potentially good proposals if structured properly - and enforced. The second proposal - requiring lobbyists to make financial disclosures, is good only if it includes banning "contingency fee" income arrangements under which lobbyists make more if they are successful in passing or blocking certain legislation.

One proposal that isn't there bought ought to be: a requirement for full disclosure of the actual provenance of legislation that any legislator introduces. It is no secret that much of the legislation "sponsored" by various legislators is actually drafted by lobbyists and the entities they work for. A very valuable ethics reform would make all documents leading up to the introduction of legislation - drafts, memos, etc. - that are in a legislator's possession be covered by open records laws, and that concealment or destruction of such documents be deemed a felony.

Legislators sponsoring or signing on as a co-sponsor of any piece of legislation ought to be required to file a disclosure statement listing all non-legislative members or staffers who contributed to the drafting of the legislation, and the organizations they work for - and providing copies of all drft documents, memos, etc. Filing an incomplete or inaccurate such disclosure statement should be grounds for some sort of stiff penalty.

Related: former state Sen. Roscoe Dixon, indicited for taking bribes in the Tennessee Waltz FBI probe, faces additional charges And he is comparing himself to Jesus. Got news for ya, Rep. Dixon: Jesus was sinless. The evidence is mounting that you aren't.

Hey Rita: Hit New Orleans, Please

A subtext to much of the news coverage of Hurricane Rita is fear that Rita might hit New Orleans, re-flood the city, and heap more misery on that metropolitan area. But ... at the risk of offending a lot of folks from Louisiana ... wouldn't it be better if Rita were to hit the Big Easy instead of somewhere else along the Gulf Coast?

If you pray for Rita to miss New Orleans, you are praying for it to hit somewhere other than New Orleans, and that means ... Corpus Christi, or Galveston, or Houston or some other stretch of the heavily populated Texas Gulf Coast. If Rita were to veer north today and make a direct hit on New Orleans, the results would be a smashed city would get a little more destroyed - while Houston, Galveston and other heavily populated areas would receive relatively light damage.

New Orleans is already evacuated - Katrina took care of that - and the cost of rebuilding the city would not go up significantly if Rita came through and re-flooded the mostly already destroyed city. Much of the Katrina-flooded areas of New Orleans are going to have to be completely bulldozed and rebuilt anyway - re-flooding it wouldn't increase the cost of doing so, except the cost and extra delay of having to pump out the extra water.

Oh, The Irony

"We still want to make sure the black community gets the representation it needs. But it's not just the black community. We represent people as a whole. When you start dividing people up into race, if you're not careful you can get yourself into a lot of trouble." - State Rep. Johnny Shaw, D-Jackson, Chairman of the Tennessee House of Representatives Black Caucus. Shaw said this to a reporter after discussing why he denied state Rep. Stacey Campfield, R-Knoxville, can't join the group. Campfield - who has a "substantial number" of African Americans in his House district - is white. If there was a "White Caucus" Shaw would be screaming racism.

UPDATE: NashvilleIsTalking.com has a round-up of links and commentary on this story. The Knoxville News Sentinel had the original story on it. And Campfield, who has a blog, says the story is actually something that happened months ago, and he wonders about the timing of the story coming out now. Campfield's version of events is much different than Shaw's, and he concludes by saying:

The timing is quite interesting since about a week ago on this site I posted a story about how Johnny Shaw (who is serving on the ethics committee) was pushing a bill through the legislature that would personally and directly benefit him financially in his radio business. I guess Shaw didn't like the message, so he tried to shoot the messenger. In other words, he didn't like that I pointed out his questionable ethics regarding the radio bill.

I have emailed Tom Humphrey, the writer of today's Knoxville News Sentinel piece, to ask him if Shaw approached him about writing the story about Campfield and the Black Caucus. Did Shaw use a reporter to retaliate against another legislator raising legitimate questions about his ethics? Did Humphrey allow himself to be used? Perhaps we'll find out...

UPDATE: Tom Humphrey responded to my email with the following:

No, Rep. Shaw did not call me about his encounter with Rep. Campfield. I heard about it in making the usual rounds chatting with folks, then called both Shaw and Campfield to ask them about it. I got Johnny Shaw first, so had spoken with him when I called Campfield.

I look at the Campfield blog every now and then - yours, too, by the way - but don't have a memory of noticing the reference to Shaw.

Stacey called me the day after the story ran to voice the suspicion about Shaw being in a retaliation mode and i told him the same thing. After talking to him, went back and looked at his blog entry and believe I read only the first graph or two, not getting down to the place where Shaw is mentioned, in my original look at the site.

Shaw's broadcast bill, of course, has been reported elsewhere and earlier than the blog entry. (I have mentioned it in stories and, believe I recall the Tennessean touched up on it, too, in an ethics story.) Back in session, it was notable as a conversation topic as an odd lobbyist squabble - Tennessee Press Association lobbyists on one side, Tennessee Broadcast Association lobbyists on the other - but didn't rise to the public interest level (in my view) of writing about. As I recall, Rep. Matthew Hill, whose family is in the broadcast business, allied with Shaw on the bill despite the two being somewhat polar opposites in the political arena.

By the way, despite what some commenters suggest and what I wrote in my original post, I really don't think there should be a "White Caucus" in the state legislature. But, then, I don't believe there should be a "Black Caucus" or a "Hispanic Caucus" or a "Women's Caucus" or a "Men's Caucus" or any other race or gender-based caucus either.

September 22, 2005

Argh

...database problems. luckily, everything is backed-up. i have a tech genius working on it...

A Tale of Two Cities

This picture - of Galveston school buses carrying evacuees out of the Gulf Coast city before Hurricane Rita strikes - sure puts the picture below in perspective. The picture below shows some of the 255 New Orleans school buses destroyed by Hurricane Katrina after New Orleans and Louisiana officials decided not to follow their pre-hurricane evacuation plan's directive to use such public vehicles to evacuate the city's poor residents, thousands of whom had no other way out of town.

Those on the Left who criticized my and other bloggers' focus on the failure to use New Orleans buses, saying using the buses to evacuate people simply wasn't feasible can shut up now. Galveston is proving that it could have been done.

The photo of the Galveston buses was published on the front page of today's Tennessean, with a caption that reads, "Galveston Independent School District buses carry evacuees north on Interstate 45 as Hurricane Rita approaches the coast." Click image to enlarge.

Update: Mike of Mike's America has another photo of buses being used to evacuate people from Galveston. It's an Agence France Presse photo via Yahoo!News

Also, various news media are noting the use of public vehicles to evacuate people in advance of Rita. Note the efficiency and speed with which Galveston was able to evacuate residents who had no other way out. There won't be a parking lot full of destroyed buses in Galveston after Rita passes through, nor will a fifth of the city's population be stranded on their rooftops or in hellish "shelters of last resort," as they were in New Orleans due to the failures of the city and state leadership.

From the Houston Chronicle:

Galveston Mayor Lyda Ann Thomas and Galveston County Judge Jim Yarbrough told the crowd that thousands of their neighbors will need help and the local governments plan to give it to them. But they said there's work to be done before they can assure that everyone who wants a ride out of town will get one. The officials vowed that the city and county will use various means - from going door-to-door to find those in need to signing up people through their churches - to identify people who have no transportation or who have medical needs and can't evacuate on their own. Residents also can sign up for transportation by dialing 211 and detailing their special needs, Thomas said.

Galveston City Manager Steve LeBlanc said the city will provide its buses, Galveston Independent School District buses and others to carry thousands of people to safety. The evacuation of people who lack transportation will begin 72 hours before a storm is predicted to hit in the area, he said.

A News8Austin story, Galveston residents bused out, notes that, "From the time the first bus pulled up, to the time the last of the 80 buses left, just before lunch, it took two hours to get everyone on board to head north."

And they started early , as the Los Angeles Times reports toda

"About 2,500 of Galveston's elderly and carless citizens poured into public transportation - bright yellow school buses, plush charter numbers with powerful air conditioning, little shuttles - provided by the city to carry them to safety and shelters well north of Houston. They started boarding around 8 a.m. at the island community center. By noon, about 1,000 had departed. And by evening, the city was down to just a few stragglers...

September 21, 2005

Porkbusters

I haven't done much on the Porkbusters initiative that's sweeping the sensible side of the blogosphere, but I agree heartily with John Hutcheson and Bob Krumm about this: As politicians look for federal spending to cut in order to pay for rebuilding the Gulf Coast after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, Lipscomb University - where I was enrolled for three-plus years back in the mid-1980s - ought to step up and give back the $3 million it is getting from the government to build a parking garage.

There are a lot of people who lost everything and need help more than Lipscomb University, a private Christian university, needs a taxpayer-funded parking garage. As a bonus, the $3 million was put in the most recent congressional transportation bill at the request of the previous president of Lipscomb, who left to take a job in the corporate world. His successor could set a new tone right away by canceling the project and asking Congress to redirect the money to Katrina and Rita relief and reconstruction. As Krumm says, it would be a very Christian gesture.

Lipscomb touts on its website that it wants to collect stories for the alumni magazine about how membrs of the Lipscomb community are helping out with Katrina recovery. "With service and missions being a part of Lipscomb's core values we know you are praying, donating and volunteering to help the victims of Katrina. We would like to collect your stories. The Torch magazine is planning to highlight and honor the servant heart in an upcoming issue."

A wonderful page-one story would be one that announces Lipscomb has asked Congress to take back the $3 million and use it for Katrina relief and reconstruction. If you agree - and especially if you are a Lipscomb alum - you can contact the school's administration via email addresses on this webpage.

For more on Porkbusters, see Glenn Reynolds and N.Z. Bear.

Bredesen's Approval Rating Under 50 Percent

Tennessee Gov. Phil Bredesen's approval rating continues below 50 percent in the latest SurveyPoll. Among all 50 governors, he's 34th in popularity. Here's the tracking data from SurveyUSA.

Lunch With Ed

Former U.S. Rep. Ed Bryant, running for the Republican nomination for the U.S. Senate, was the guest at today's meeting of the Nashville citizens' editorial board, a/k/a, the monthly Nashville Area Political Bloggers lunch. Thanks to Randy Rayburn and Sunset Grill for allowing us the use of the private room for nothing other than the price of whatever we ordered from the menu. (Chicken Quesadillas for me - very good!)

I'll have my thoughts later about the issues discussed. First, some links to the writings of other bloggers who where there:

Michael Hickerson, a/k/a "Big Orange Michael," wrote mostly about the value of the event rather than the specific issues discussed:

What I found the most fascinating is in the day and age of soundbytes and seeing candidates for maybe fifteen or twenty seconds on TV, that to get a chance to sit down, break bread with Mr. Bryant and watch him share his ideas with us in a reasonable, polite and intelligent discourse was a refreshing change. So many times we sit around and say--I'd like to vote for so-and-so, but I am not sure exactly where he or she stands on this issue or that. And I think that those of us who came out for the luncheon meeting got a chance to get beyond the plain rhetoric and the political soundbyte speech that we live in today and to hear the candidate talk frankly, candidly and honestly about the issues he sees as important to our state and nation. And he came out and did it to a crowd that wasn't necessarily all going to be ardent supporters of him or his campaign. He came out to where there were going to be critics and those who'd ask hard questions and not allow him to give easy answers and then move on.

Brittney Gilbert of WKRN's NashvilleIsTalking.com provides a pretty good summary from a liberal perspective, though it's strange to see her say Bryant doesn't differ much from the Republican agenda right after noting that his stance on illegal immigration is sharply at odds with that of President Bush. She also describes Bryant's pro-life stance on abortion as a "moral quandry" when juxtaposed with his support for the death penalty. I guess it doesn't occur to some folks that an unborn baby is both innocent and defenseless while a convicted murderer is neither innocent nor defenseless.

Sharon Cobb promises a transcript.

John Hutcheson doesn't see much of a difference between Bryant and rival candidate Van Hilleary (though A.C. Kleinheider spells it out pretty well in Hutcheson's comments).

More to come...

They Don't Let Nashvillians Run Peru, Do They?

Nashville Mayor Bill Purcell appointed a non-citizen to the Metro Charter Revision Commission, which recommends potential changes to the city government charter, even though as a non-citizen he is ineligible to vote in any election in Nashville. After questions are raised, the nomination is withdrawn.

The man in question is here legally - he is not an illegal alien. Still, until he becomes a citizen, he should not be allowed to be involved in the making of our laws. [Hat tip: Blake Wylie]

Nagin, Blanco Decide to Use Buses

Well, how ironic. It seems that New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin and Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Babbling Blanco have decided to use buses to evacuate people from New Orleans as Hurricane Rita possibly approaches the already-devastated city. Here's a copy of a memo from U.S. Rep. Jack Kingston, vice-chairman of the House Republican Conference, circulating, on Capitol Hill that notes the difference.

It's a pity they didn't use the buses before Hurricane Katrina struck.

September 20, 2005

Taxing News

Republicans in the Georgia state legislature are proposing "a sweeping initiative to lower taxes and limit spending by state and local government," reports the Atlanta Journal Constitution.

The measure, similar in concept to Colorado's Taxpayers Bill of Rights, would tie state spending increases to the rate of inflation and population growth; and also place limits using similar formulas on city, county and school district spending - and tax collections above what governments were allowed to spend under the law would be returned to taxpayers, possibly as direct rebates. Voters would have to approve any tax increases, long-term debt or exceptions to spending limits.

By the way, that basic concept has been a boon to Colorado's economy.

Here in Tennessee, House Speaker Jimmy Naifeh wants local governments to have more power to impose or increase more kinds of taxes. Details here in the Knoxville News Sentinel.

Bredesen's TennCare Cuts Killed Man, Doctor Says

There is now at least one patient whose death is documented as having been caused by Tennessee Gov. Phil Bredesen's meat-axe slashing of TennCare. The Tennessean reports:

An East Tennessee man's lack of needed medicines — which had been capped by TennCare — was a contributing factor to his death last month, his doctor found, noting it on the death certificate.

James Bryant, of Rutledge, Tenn., was a very sick man, with a hereditary bleeding disorder similar to hemophilia, hepatitis C from blood transfusions, heart problems, diabetes and cirrhosis of the liver. He had been taking a dozen medications a month until TennCare capped prescriptions on Aug. 1. Bryant, 50, was hospitalized three weeks later and died a week after that.

Many questions remain about Bryant's illnesses and his plight, but it is clear that TennCare advocates believe Bryant illustrates what they have been saying for months — that people would die because of the cuts to TennCare.

Sharon Cobb, who says she has documented four deaths as a direct result of Bredesen's TennCare cuts, has much more on Bryant's death, including a chilling conversation with Bryant's widow:

We asked Mrs.Bryant if she tried to get her husband's medicines from any of Governor Bredesen's safety nets.

Mrs Bryant: "I tried. I called the 800 number to see about getting his medicines and all I got was a recording that said 'Leave your number and we'll call back.' Nobody has called back and he's been dead since August and it is now Sept. 19. I don't even know if they know he is dead or not, but they should have called back."

How many will die before election day in November 2006?
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For more scrutiny of the Bredesen record, see Bredesen Watch.

Thanks

BillHobbs.com gets a mention in today's Memphis Commercial Appeal.

What's Wrong With This Picture?

A union paid non-union temp workers at $6 an hour to stand in 104 degree weather and protest outside a Las Vegas Walmart where workers average $10.17 and hour, reports Las Vegas Weekly.

Soak the Rich!

In The American Enterprise, Robert M. Dunn Jr., a professor of economics at George Washington Universities, thinks a little wealth redistribution is in order in higher education. Read the whole thing.

September 19, 2005

Lunchtime Links

A few political links for you today...

Memphis Mike Hollihan looks at the possibility of fraud in Ophelia Ford's state senate special election win in Memphis. Ford is U.S. Senate candidate Harold Ford's aunt, and the sister of disgraced, indicted and virtually-certainly-corrupt former state Sen. John Ford, who is Harold Ford Jr.'s uncle. ... Bob Krumm think's Ophelia's win is bad news for Harodl Ford Jr.

Matt White wants to know why Tennessee Gov. Phil Bredesen is stalling on calling a special election in the state House district recently vacated by a Republican. Bredesen wouldn't be stalling so the interim representative appointed by the county commission - a Democrat - can stay in office a while longer, would he?

Perhaps Bredesen is too busy letting people die - Sharon Cobb says she has "been able to confirm four deaths as a direct result of Governor Bredesen's cuts to TennCare." That's not going to be good for the re-election campaign...

Or maybe Bredesen was too busy writing on his blog about the reason he ran for governor. It wasn't to fix the budget or fix TennCare after all...

And, finally, out of leftfield today: Cindy Sheehan has gone nutso - referring to New Orleans as an "occupied" city. The Left, by the way, thinks Cindy Sheehan is sane and that we ought to be taking foriegn policy advice from her.

Livin' Large

One final shot from DC - the giant Oprah head looming over the cityscape was a bit unnerving...

UPDATE: As a commenter points out, indeed the photo was taken in the DC suburb of Rosslyn, not in DC itself. Picky picky picky...

September 17, 2005

People Movers

The Washington DC Metro is rather photogenic - not to mention frequent and fast. It certainly beats the Philadelphia transit system I grew up with. Unfortunately I was in a hurry and couldn't stick around, but I was able to grab these shots as I passed through. The impossibly tall and steep escalator is at the Rosslyn station. I hung out at the Freedom Forum offices for about an hour, then headed on to Reagan National Airport for the flight home. Click images for larger versions.

September 16, 2005

Where In The World Is Bill Hobbs?

I was near here today.

September 15, 2005

On Travel...

Well, here I am in Washington DC, on a brief business trip. Flew in to Reagan National Airport on one of those American Eagle "regional jets," a 37-seat Embraer ERJ-135 with an aisle ceiling too low for me to stand up. A decent ride, though, and the seats are surprisingly wide for such a narrow jet. Unrelated factoid: Wynonna Judd was one of the passengers who deplaned from the jet in Nashville before I boarded.

Even when you leave Nashville, it follows you. I stopped in an airport gift shop upon arrival here in DC and Kenny Chesney was playing on the store's music system.

Blogging will be nil tomorrow until after 2 p.m. central. Then I'll have about five hours to kill in Arlington, Va., before flying back home.

Here's a photo of the inside of the Reagan National terminal. It's one of those wonderful airport terminals that makes you feel like you're flying even though you haven't yet left the ground. You can click the image for a much-larger version.

President Bush just started his televised speech from Jackson Square in New Orleans with that beautiful cathedral as a backdrop. I am at a loss to understand why his staff thinks a speech with no audience is a good idea. Still, Bush is proposing the largest rebuilding effort in the nation's history, and that's entirely appropriate as Katrina is one of the largest natural disasters in the nation's history.

UPDATE: I watched part of the the DVD of Friday Night Lights, the story of the Odessa-Permian High School football team during the 1988 season, on the flight, and finished it in the hotel. Excellent film. I enjoyed seeing shots of Abilene's Shotwell Stadium in the film - it's not only where Abilene-Cooper HS and Abilene HS play their games, it's also where my alma mater, Abilene Christian University, has played its football games for the past 46 years.

But mostly I loved seeing the gorgeous shots of West Texas - if a flat, arid, nearly treeless and unrelentingly brown landscape covered by a huge arc of high blue sky can be described as gorgeous. When I'm there, I feel simultaneously at home and as if I'm an alien in a strange land.

There's a complete lack of pretense about West Texas - it is what it is, and the people are wonderful. I miss it even though I can't imagine ever living there again.

As for the movie, it's excellent. And I loved the definition that Coach Gary Gaines (played by Billy Bob Thornton) gave for what it means to "be perfect."

Watch the movie. He's right.

Give 'Til It Hurts The Opposition

Not one, but two liberals have declared their intentions to run against state Rep. Stacey Campfield, the Tennessee legislature's first and best blogging legislator. Campfield, a conservative, tells it like it is on his blog, and that seems to upset folks on the other side of the partisan divide for some reason. With two folks running against him, Campfield is going to need help. And help is spelled m-o-n-e-y. He's put a PayPal button on his site.

Go. Give. Generously.

And please end your donation with six cents - example: $10.06, $25.06, $50.06 - so that Campfield can tell which donations came from BillHobbs.com readers.

My site is read by about 30,000 people every month. If half of you gave Campfield $3 between now and the end of the year, he'd raise $45,000 - or more than triple the $14,100 that he raised for his 2004 race.

Three dollars, folks. It ain't gonna break you. Neither will $3.06.

If you're one of my many readers outside of Tennessee, I'm still asking you to give even if only just a a few bucks, and here's why: Rep. Campfield is one of the good guys, he blogs about the legislature without varnishing the truth, and he gives the bad guys fits.

$3.06, at a minimum, please.

"Producers of Freedom"

Some people reach the end of their lives still wondering whether they ever made a positive difference in their country or the world. Marines don’t have that problem, and neither, of course, do soldiers, sailors, airmen or Coast Guardsmen. My son and his fellows are producers of freedom, not mere consumers of it. - Donald Sensing

September 14, 2005

Bloggers: You're Invited to Lunch With Ed Bryant

The second meeting of the Nashville area's citizen's editorial board is set for lunchtime W