January 10, 2006

Full Stop

UPDATE March 10:
If you're visiting here for the first time because you read the March 2006 cover story of Business Tennessee magazine and its sidebar mentioning me, well, hi. You're probably a tad confused as you just read that this is the most-read political blog in Tennessee, except for Glenn Reynolds' Instapundit, and yet you find it hasn't been updated since Jan. 10. The truth is, Business Tennessee started working on that cover story back when this blog was active, and when I shut it down I didn't know how long the hiatus would be. I still don't. I'm still working on other things, looking for clients, maintaining a full-time gig and being a husband and a dad. I'm also still trying to figure out which direction to go with blogging - journalism, consulting or public policy. Your thoughts are welcome - just email me at bill-at-billhobbs-dot-com. Now, here is what I posted back on Jan. 10...

Gone Fishin'

Effective at 8 a.m. Tuesday, Jan. 10, I am suspending publication of BillHobbs.com, after four years and more than 6,200 entries. The site will remain up with all archives available for the foreseeable future (I've paid the hosting charges for the next few years already) and there's no way of knowing or predicting if or when I'll return to blogging here in the future or not. A few months ago I ceased doing original reporting and in-depth analysis of the state legislature and various issues before it, but continued to link to news articles and others bloggers' articles that I thought were worth reading on those and other topics. But ... too much else on my plate right now, and too many other possibilities that need pursuing.

I will continue to work with Sharon Cobb to arrange the bi-partisan Nashville Area Political Bloggers monthly lunch series, and also plan to work with others to arrange a bi-partisan "day of blogging" at the state legislature during the regular session, after the special session on ethics reform. Beyond that, if you're looking for Nashville and Tennessee political bloggering, see Bob Krumm, Blake Wylie, Sharon Cobb, Nathan & Sarah Moore, Mark Rose, Knoxvillian David Oatney, Rob Huddleston, Adam Groves for starters, and follow their links. And the blogging legislator., of course, Rep. Stacey Campfield. Groves' Tennessee Politics is shaping up to be a daily must-read this year.

For intelligent coverage of the war, read Donald Sensing, for starters, and follow his links to various milbloggers, and Little Green Footballs, too. For intelligent coverage of media and blogging, start with Jeff Jarvis and Terry Heaton and go from there. The Tennessee blogosphere is strong and healthy, offering such talents as Vorticity and Jeff Harrell and Mike Hollihan. Read 'em regularly. Put money in their tip jars if they have one. For good small-biz advice and commentary on the state of the economy, bet on Jeff Cornwall. I got him started blogging and am proud to have done it. His site routinely gets more traffic than mine does, and I'm proud of that, too.

For good round-ups of the Nashville and Tennessee blogospheres, check in with Nashville Is Talking and with Michael Silence, respectively. And respectfully.

I've left many good blogs out, especially those that cover the national political scene, such as PowerLine, Hugh Hewitt and Captain's Quarters. Please check out my blogroll, click the links, and check out their blogrolls.

A big tip of the hat to Glenn Reynolds. I think he'll do just fine without my occasional Hobbsalanches sending traffic his way.

Heh.

Comments threads on this blog will close one week from today. Guest bloggers will not be filling in for me.

I'm not sure what's next for me in blogging, though I hope to do some additional blog-and-PR-related consulting for corporate, media and political clients in the months ahead. If you're a potential client of that kind of service, contact me at bill-at-billhobbs.com.

I've been fishing in the blogosphere for more than four years. Now it is time to teach others how to fish.

It's a Conversation

I've been so busy lately, that I didn't notice until today that the Nashville City Paper has added a blog to its online offerings. The blog is set up to feature postings by various City Paper writers, and does accept comments - just as the paper's online articles allow readers to post comments. Good for them, though Will Williams might consider using the blog to say something rather than just query readers.

The next step for the City Paper should be to train its reporters to integrate the blog with their reporting - use it to post additional information that fit into a story's printed version, post story updates, and gather additional information and commentary from readers, and link to what area bloggers are saying about the day's news. Make Nashville City Paper Blogs a conversation with readers about the news of the day, as well as an outlet for extra content that didn't make it into the paper. (And that slogan - "Read What's On Our Minds" - is atrocious. If you treat your blog like just another way for the media to tell the people what it thinks, they'll ignore it. Better slogan: "Read What's On Your Mind."

The good news, City Paper, is that you're the only daily newspaper in Nashville that is doing anything with blogs right now. You have the lead. Build on it.

At least he didn't name it "Mary Jo"

The dog in the new children's book by U.S. Sen. Ted Kennedy, D-Chappaquiddick, is a Portuguese Water Dog named Splash.

January 9, 2006

Cookie Cutter

Kentucky blogger extraordinaire Doug Petch writes: "In order to be successful, citizens media must be built from the ground up by those who would benefit from its existence." Well, yeah. Read the whole thing. Nashville is involved.

The Oncoming Train

From today's Nashville City Paper, a story that won't make the proponents of Nashville's new commuter train very happy:

Federal transportation subsidies encourage local governments to squander money on under-utilized transit projects, according to a new study released last week by the Cato Institute.

"Total inflation-adjusted subsidies to transit - buses and trains - have more than doubled since 1990, yet total ridership has increased by less than 10 percent," argues Randal O'Toole, an adjunct scholar of the Cato Institute, a libertarian think tank. In his paper, O'Toole writes that, before 1964, public transit was largely owned by private entities. Now it is largely funded with taxpayers' money.

"Today more than three of every four dollars spent on transit come from taxpayers, not transit riders," he writes. "The effectiveness of local transit systems is undermined by federal subsidies, which encourage the construction of highly visible and expensive services such as light-rail trains to suburban areas despite the chronically low number of riders on those routes."

When government builds mass transit to low-density suburban population areas - such as Nashville's new "Music City Star" service to the suburbs east of Nashville - one of two things follows, and often both: the amount of taxpayer-funded subsidization of the system rises - often at the expense of bus service that serves neighborhoods with a higher minority population - or the government begins to enact policies to force the redevelopment of the service area to a higher population density.

Five years ago yesterday, the Nashville City Paper published a column I wrote headlined "Why Nashvillians Should Oppose Commuter Rail." Every word of it is still relevant, and I urge you to read the whole thing. Just in case you don't, here is an excerpt...

New commuter rail service will be pitched as a major civic advancement with promises of inducing large numbers of people to abandon their cars and take the train to work each day, greatly lessening highway congestion and air pollution. Years later, we will realize it was mostly just hype.

Fixed rail service is the single most expensive way to move people, does little to impact highway congestion and has little impact on air pollution. However, it does have one big impact: Usually the cost to build and operate the service comes at the partial expense of existing bus services, harming the people who depend on those buses.

Consider the following popular myths of commuter rail service. Light rail, it is claimed, gives people more transportation choices. But in fact, rail rarely expands options for commuters. Instead it often replaces low-cost buses with high-cost service. Government transit providers pushing rail do not want bus service competing with its own trains, so often they will alter or reduce bus service in order to increase train ridership. Often, bus routes will be reconfigured to take bus riders to a rail station, rather than to their destination, extending their ride times. In other cases, low-cost bus routes are closed and replaced by higher-fare rail transit.

In many cities rail replaces a low-cost bus system - which is used by many lower-income inner city residents for all of their transportation needs - with an expensive train used primarily by upper-class professionals for recreational and shopping trips from the suburbs to downtown. In fact, a study of 14 mass transit systems released [in 2000] by the A. Alfred Taubman Center for State and Local Government at Harvard's John F. Kennedy School of Government was especially critical of Portland, Ore.'s, transit agency Tri-Met for pumping up its light rail use with former passengers of the better, cheaper, but dismantled city bus system.

Make no mistake: If Nashville proceeds with rail service to its higher-income suburbs, our city's working poor will likely find the bus service they depend on suffering. Even more services will be reduced, which has characterized Metro Transit Authority for more than a decade, and the fares will rise.

Six million dollars in federal money have been secured for the project, far less than the $26 million needed from Washington just to build the first phase. Yet every dollar that comes from Washington means more tax dollars must also be spent by local residents and the state. A rail system isn't a one-time budget item but a perennial money-sucking budget buster that must be paid for whether anyone rides it or not. And Uncle Sam will only pay 80 percent of the huge cost.

Yet few people are going to ride this train. Projections show only 90 daily riders from Lebanon and about 400 riders a day on the Mt. Juliet-to-Nashville leg.

The City Paper story today quotes a local transit official hinting the transit system will soon seek a dedicated regional funding source - a tax - to provide it more revenue and more federal matching funds. It is interesting to me that, as the Nashville commuter train project's need for taxpayer funding grows, the official projections of daily ridership are growing as well.

If I was a reporter, I'd be asking if the ridership projections are being inflated to justify the requests for greater and greater taxpayer funding...

The Trough

In the January 2006 edition of the Cato Institute's Tax & Budget Bulletin, tax expert Chris Edwards investigates the bureaucracy of state governments and argues that the "nation's 16 million state and local government workers form a large, growing, and well-compensated class in society." According to Edwards, the number of government employees has increased by 13 percent from 1994 to 2004, and the number of employees in public education and public safety has swelled by more than 20 percent during that time.

In Tennessee, 11.6 percent of total employment is in state and local government. That's higher than the national average.

Is Osama Dead?

The invaluable Michael Ledeen writes:

According to Iranians I trust, Osama bin Laden finally departed this world in mid-December. The al Qaeda leader died of kidney failure and was buried in Iran, where he had spent most of his time since the destruction of al Qaeda in Afghanistan. The Iranians who reported this note that this year's message in conjunction with the Muslim Haj came from his number two, Ayman al-Zawahiri, for the first time.

January 8, 2006

Blowing It

Glenn Reynolds has an interesting post, with multiple links, on how the military is blowing it with bloggers. Also, here's a related development.

Loopholes

On the eve of a special legislative session to enact tougher ethics rules for state legislators and lobbyists, The Tennessean today has a story examining how the main proposed ethics legislation would outlaw "actions taken in the past year by at least 27 members of the 132-member General Assembly." It's an entertaining read though - demonstrating the separation between newsroom and opinion editors - the same paper has an editorial today saying that while two indicted legislators ought to resign, until they do they shouldn't be asked to refrain from participating in the special session on ethics reform.

Related: Adam Groves has a good preview of the special session.

Memphis Catholic Schools receive $30 mil donation

By Ben Cunningham
The Memphis Catholic Diocese received a $30 million donation which will allow them to serve more inner city kids with their Jubilee Schools program. Here is a quote directly from the text of the news article:

"In many urban communities across the country, Catholic schools have been credited with giving inner-city children an educational alternative to failing public schools. Memphis Catholic school officials said the donations support the work they've done to improve performance among the city's most at-risk students."

Would anyone argue that this $30 milllion should have been given to the public school system instead of the local Catholic Diocese? Probably not .

Green Lite

By Donna Locke
Tennesseans for Immigration Control and Reform
Wintermute, a Memphis-area blogger, has a post about overpopulation. A news story he links to is worth reading.

That story reminds me of a letter to the editor I sent to Sierra Club Magazine in November 2004. The Sierra Club used to talk about overpopulation and massive immigration as threats to the environment. Well, no more. Not for a long time. Here's an excerpt from my letter:

"I read your magazine's article 'A Tale of Two Immigrants' online and was struck once again by the illogic of efforts like yours to discount population numbers, and particularly unchecked immigration, as a major factor in environmental degradation and destruction. I wonder how much of that illogic is powered by the desires of the Sierra Club's big-money donors. For that kind of green - like the $100 million the Sierra Club reportedly got from D**** G****** on condition that immigration never be counted as a negative - would I don blinders, too? No."

I don't think that magazine ever published my letter. I don't know why that didn't surprise me.

The Sierra piece profiles my friend Yeh Ling-Ling, executive director of Diversity Alliance for a Sustainable America. Tennesseans for Immigration Control and Reform is a member of DASA.

"Poetry in Motion"

By Donna Locke
If you like the country and rockabilly music from the Fifties and Sixties, you can hear it Sunday nights on Lawrenceburg's WLX Radio, FM 97.5 and 100.7/AM 590. WLX plays current country music other days, except on Saturday nights when they play rock, pop, doo-wop, etc., from the aforementioned era. I've listened to a lot of oldies radio, but I've heard gems on WLX I haven't heard since I was a kid in the Fifties and Sixties. They have a treasure trove there. I'm glad I can pick up that station in Maury County. I had to stop listening to WSM when they wouldn't let Eddie Stubbs play what he wanted to play.

Which reminds me: I ordered Johnny Tillotson's 25 All-Time Greatest Hits from Amazon.com recently. Still sound so fine.

January 7, 2006

Design and New Product Blogs

By Ben Cunningham
The internet is such a wondrous explosion of creativity and free expression. The synthesis and evolution that occurs every second of every day is darn near overwhelming....well, in fact, it is overwhelming. And it renders almost every attempt at classification and critique to be an instant cliche. About the best that can be hoped for is that you will have a small window on the change that is ocurring. Here are some of the blogs that I enjoy that cover the synthesis of art, design, and new products.

Ektopia

Funfurde

Productdose

You couldn't make this stuff up even if you tried

By Ben Cunningham
In an interview this week Memphis Mayor Willie Herenton was asked about a new ordinance approved by two thirds of Memphis voters last year. The law requires city employees to live in Memphis. Apparently this is causing some problems in recruiting. Mayor Henrenton said:

"Now it's easy to say, 'Well, they want to work here, make them move to Memphis.' I understand that. But there are some people who are in the marketplace, they have other choices. They might decide they've got a nice house somewhere, they're not going to pay city and county taxes."

Yes, you read that correctly. The mayor says that people don't want to work for the city because they would prefer to live in a city with lower taxes. Wonder how your average taxpayer feels?

Update: Just remembered this audio clip which we posted on our TnTaxRevolt web site last year. Its from a TV interview of Mayor Herenton. He was asked what he thought about residents of Memphis who said they would move out if his 53 cent tax increase proposal was approved. This (MP3 file) is what he said.

The first photo blog by a robot dog

By Ben Cunningham
The first photo blog by a robot dog. Technology just keeps marching forward.

Why we can never fall for tax hiking rhetoric

By Ben Cunningham
Back in 2003, Alabamians overwhelmingly defeated a $1.2 billion tax increase proposed by Gov Bob Riley. Actually, it was more than defeated, it was crushed. Virtually every demographic voted against the bill.

The result: loud screams of self-righteous outrage declaring that life as Alabamians had known it would end, the sun would never rise, the sky would never be blue again...yada, yada, yada.

Flash forward two years and what is going on? That same Gov. Riley is now talking about a SURPLUS and "if there is a surplus, he wants to give it back to taxpayers."

Now comes gubernatorial candidate and former Supreme Court Justice Roy Moore and he says, "the money should be returned 'to the taxpaying people of this state now' rather than waiting until fiscal 2007, as Gov. Bob Riley has proposed, because Montgomery officials tend to spend any money that is sitting around."

Ok, a thought experiment: What if the $1.2 billion tax increase had passed? Would we now be talking about returning $1.7 billion to the taxpayers? (Thats the $1.2 billion tax increase plus the $500 million projected surplus without the tax increase).

Of course NOT. We would much more likely be talking about another tax increase because of all the new programs and employees that would have been created with the original tax increase. Once a government program is created there is simply no way to stop its growth. The very best that can be hoped for is to limit its growth and that typically doesn't happen.

I sure hope the politicians in Alabama will show more concern for the family budget than they do for the government budget and return the surplus but the odds on that happening are VERY long.

January 6, 2006

"Tax freedom" = 1984 Newspeak

By Ben Cunningham
Memphis Mayor Willie Herenton and Shelby County Mayor AC Wharton say they need more "tax freedom". They "made a unified plea to state lawmakers, asking for the power to create new taxes."

Ok, class, lets review: Shelby County already has the highest property tax rate in the state (followed very closely by Davidson County in second place). Memphis has the highest combined city/county property tax rate in the state. Shelby County is $1.8 billion in debt. Shelby County has more net outmigration than any county in the state according to the last census.

And they want more "tax freedom"...???

Boston Tea Party was about corporate welfare

By Ben Cunningham
This doesn't surprise me.

"That colonial exercise in civil disobedience was certainly a protest against oppressive taxation, but it was also a revolt against tax preferences. Specifically, the tea party was sparked by an 18th century version of corporate welfare..."

US taxpayers have never liked the idea of government handing out tax breaks to minor league baseball owners or any other companies. If commercial ventures can not make a profit without taxpayer subsidies then they don't need to be in business.

End of life, pensions, and hospitals

By Ben Cunningham
At least these three items seem to me to be related but maybe its just my "temporal perspective": 1- IBM has stopped offering defined benefit pension plans and will now only offer an enhanced 401K plan. Goverment employees will likely soon be the only people who have old fashioned defined benefit pensions. 2- Interesting polls on attitudes about end of life decisions. Most people seem to want to make their own decisions. Get those living wills and related documents drafted ASAP. and 3- While we take hospital choice for granted in the US, they are still having problems defining it in the UK.

Feel Safe Yet?

By Donna Locke
Tennesseans for Immigration Control and Reform
While Congress is in recess, President Bush has picked his crony Julie Myers, who has no actual law enforcement experience, to be Assistant Secretary of Homeland Security, heading up U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). What an outrage. Here was National Review's take on Myers as nominee.

UPDATE: Here's a Washington Times story about the Myers appointment.

Best New Medical Technology Blog IMO

By Ben Cunningham
Best New Medical Technology Blog: Medgadget. Also, very well designed layout and graphics, simple but interesting.

Breathtakingly beautiful.

By Ben Cunningham
Winners of the National Wildlife Federation photo contest.

January 5, 2006

Ahmadinejad and Robertson

By Nathan Moore

Pat Robertson and President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran are both finding justifiction in Sharon's stroke, and seemingly see no reason not to uncork the champagne if he dies. Ahmadinejad first

TEHRAN, Iran - Iran's president said Thursday he hoped for the death of Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, the latest anti-Israeli comment by a leader who has already provoked international criticism for suggesting that Israel be "wiped off the map."

"Hopefully, the news that the criminal of Sabra and Chatilla has joined his ancestors is final," President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was quoted as saying by the semiofficial Iranian Students News Agency.

Ahh, then Robertson

The Reverend Pat Robertson says Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's massive stroke could be God's punishment for giving up Israeli territory.

The founder of the Christian Broadcasting Network told viewers of "The 700 Club" that Sharon was "dividing God's land," even though the Bible says doing so invites "God's enmity."

Robertson added, "I would say woe to any prime minister of Israel who takes a similar course."

He noted that former Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin was assassinated.

Robertson said God's message is, "This land belongs to me. You'd better leave it alone."

Sarah notes over at MooreThoughts

Pat Robertson continues to be an embarrassment to the Christian faith by stating the Sharon’s massive stroke is punishment for giving up Israeli territory.

You’re on quite a roll there, Reverend!

I believe Bob Krumm addressed the global characteristics of the nutty ends of both sides of the political spectrum, calling it a political sphere. Thinking the death of Ariel Sharon is justified is ridiculous no matter which side you view it from. But to see Pat Robertson cheering along with an Islamocrat is too much. And too Old Testament, for my taste.

Endorsement .. And A Little Football

Lynn Swann is running for governor of Pennsylvania. If I still lived there, he'd have my vote. By the way, he's a native of Tennessee and got his degree in public relations from the school of journalism as USC, where he played on two Rose Bowl teams and won a national championship before going on to a Hall of Fame career with the Pittsburgh Steelers, winning four Super Bowls.

Speaking of football and USC ... Hook 'em Horns!. A great game, but, to me, the best college bowl game this year was the Orange Bowl, with Penn State defeating FSU in a game for the ages. Though the best player in college football is VInce Young, and he'd make a great successor to Steve McNair on the Titans.

TN GOP again asks Gov about indicted members

Posted by Ben Cunningham
The Tennessee Republican Party sent a follow up letter today asking Governor Bredesen to ask the indicted legislators to sit out the special session on ethics. Here is the text of the letter:

Dear Governor:

Yesterday, I sent you a letter encouraging you to ask indicted members of the state legislature to step aside from the upcoming special session on ethics.

As Governor of our state, it is time for you to lead and ask those indicted members to not participate in the special session.

Your party's spokesman and former employee has said it is "absurd" for you to make such a request. Tennesseans need to know if you think it is absurb for state legislators, indicted on bribery charges, to participate in an ethics special session.

Concerned Tennesseans await your response.

Signed Bob Davis, Jr.
Chairman

"Intimate Electric Fence" funded with your tax dollars

By Ben Cunningham
Drew Johnson at the Tennessee Center for Policy Research does a magnificent job of documenting the folly and mismanagement of our state tax dollars. This is not for children. For that matter, it would be difficult to explain this to anyone.

"The Tennessee Arts Commission granted $32,500 to offset the operating expenses of the Memphis-based National Ornamental Metal Museum. A portion of that money is funding "Impenetrable Devices," a sculpture exhibit of stainless steel genital prostheses and undergarments intended to maim would-be sexual partners or attackers."

You can just hear the conversation that must have taken place deep in the recesses of the capitol, "now let me see, do we spend this money on public health or education or.....wait, I know, lets spend it on a sculpture exhibit of stainless steel genital prostheses."

More or Less

By Donna Locke
Tennesseans for Immigration Control and Reform
As we fill in for the blogfather, I've cast about for topics and have decided to write about, well, immigration. Immigration is actually my least favorite thing to write about, but most of my nonfiction writing during the past seven years has dealt with that subject. Here are some bits of information and commentary I posted on my old Web sites.

We've heard the U.S. Chamber of Commerce tell us we face a severe shortage of workers. Back in 1995, immigration agents removed thousands of illegal-alien workers from six Southern plants, and most of those jobs were filled within days by American workers. Just after that, such workplace enforcement essentially ceased upon orders from our federal government and never resumed, except for a few token prosecutions each year. During the 1990s, illegal immigration to the United States increased to unprecedented levels. Logic tells us that the massive influx of people from other countries has created the need for many, if not most, of the jobs these folks are filling as U.S. population skyrockets, driven almost entirely by immigration. We are caught in a seemingly endless and destructive cycle.

According to Monica Heppel, former director of research for the U.S. Commission on Agricultural Workers, American natives, particularly black Americans, were systematically rooted out of farm work by the relentless "Latinization" of the fields. As late as 1985, the agricultural industry was profitable using American labor, mainly black Americans. Between 1965 and 1992, Mexican workers succeeded in establishing footholds in every important crop production region in the United States. This story has been repeated in several other industries. Mechanization in U.S. agriculture has been delayed because of dependence on cheap, often illegal, human labor. When I get a chance, I'll post links to some stories about the mechanization situation.

The United States has taken in 1 million legal immigrants and 1 million or more illegal aliens every year for a number of years now. During our Colonial Era, the annual average was 3,500 immigrants. The largest wave of immigration before 1965 was between 1880 and 1924, when 584,000 people a year came in. Between 1925 and 1965, the annual immigration average was 178,000. Our traditional levels of immigration ensured assimilation and many other things critical to our national survival.

In May 2002, the United Nations reported that human development "across more and more areas of the planet is not sustainable. Unless we alter our course, we will be left with very little." The report, based on contributions from more than 1,000 scientists, says a quarter of the world's mammal species could face extinction within 30 years, and millions of people could suffer severe water shortages unless firm political action is taken to protect the environment. Earth faces more rapid, dramatic, and devastating environmental change over the next three decades. Those 30 years will determine the future of our planet and the fate of humanity.

Full time legislature and lobbyists

By Ben Cunningham
Many argue that having a full time legislature, with lots of staff, will decrease the influence of lobbyists. This article indicates that is not the case.

"Let's get it nailed down, people!"

Big Media's latest credibility-killing debacle, it's erroneous reporting that 12 trapped miners had been found alive when, in fact, they were dead, reminds me of the moment that, more than any other, crystallized my desire to be a journalist.

The year was 1981 and it was the day President Reagan was shot. I was watching the coverage on ABC News - this was in the precambrian pre-cable era - when someone gave Reynolds a note saying that Reagan's aide, Jim Brady, also shot in the assassination attempt, was dead. Other networks were reporting Brady was dead and running obits. Then, from off camera, another note is passed to Reynolds saying Brady was not dead.

Reynolds blew a gasket, on-air, refusing to go with information that wasn't confirmed.

"Let's get it nailed down, people!" he screamed at the off-camera staffers. "Let's get it right!"

Or words to that effect - a Google search isn't conclusive and a quarter century later I don't recall the exact words. But I do remember with perfect clarity Reynolds' message that day: Getting it right was more important that getting it first.

It's too bad that, too often, the MSM today puts being first ahead of being right.

Just Do It

Here's more on the refusal of Kentucky legislative officials to grant media credentials to bloggers from Caleb O. Brown of KentuckyVotes.org, who writes:

Kentucky's Legislative Research Commission has denied bloggers press credentials for the upcoming legislative session.

I also applied for a press credential for the upcoming legislative session as director of KentuckyVotes.org and was denied. The argument offered by the legislature's research arm was interesting. They argued that I was not a media outlet. I argued that KentuckyVotes.org was a new kind of media outlet and I wanted all the benefits that such an outlet deserves. With thousands of visitors each week, who is to say that KentuckyVotes.org isn't a member of the media?

... When I inquired about the benefits of being a Government-Approved Member of the Press, the answer the LRC gave to my request went something like this: The only thing reporters get is a tag for their jackets that say "press" and a listing on the LRC's web page devoted to press. I've heard from bloggers that you get better seating, but who cares? If you need anointing by the government as a reporter, aren't you missing the point? Why allow them to anoint you in the first place? Demand your access as a citizen. Don't seek some special designation from the very people you want to scrutinize. Just scrutinize 'em and get on with it.

Years ago, my career goal was to become a reporter covering the state legislature full time, but my career evolved in a different direction and that's no longer a goal. Instead, one of these days, I may start offering weekend classes in basic journalism for Tennesseans who want to become effective "citizens' media" bloggers.

Flash overload

By Ben Cunningham
My nominee for the most over the top flash animation intro to a Tennessee city web site. Be sure to turn up the volume.

Thoughts

Bob Krumm, who is considering a run for the state senate, has some thoughts today on a campaign finance scandal, ethics reform and the upcoming Tennessee governor's race.

There Be Guest Bloggers Here

More travel for me the latter half of this week. The Guest Bloggers have all been invited back, and some will be posting here..

January 4, 2006

Laws, Sausage and Blogs

This post at NationalJournal.com's Beltway Blog, reporting that the Kentucky legislative officials are refusing to grant media credentials to the state's political bloggers, reminds me of a project I have in mind for Tennessee political bloggers during the legislative session. If you're a Tennessee political blogger interested in gathering with others for a surprise day of blanketing the Tennessee legislature with wall-to-wall coverage on blogs, contact me at bill-at-billhobbs.com. Republicans, Democrats, Libertarians, Curmudgeons, conservatives, liberals, moderates and commie pinko bloggers are equally encouraged to participate.

Legislative Plaza is a public place. You don't need no stinkin' press passes.

Update: Doug Petch, the best unofficial Nashville blogger ever to live just a wee bit north of the Kentucky line had the bloggers-denied-media-passes story before the Beltway Blogger. Doug, when you have something that good and juicy, email me the link!

Petch, by the way, is in the process of redesigning his blog - only his home page seems to be working properly with the new design as of Wednesday night, but it's going to look very good. He also has an update on the bloggers-denied story, noting from an official correspondence between legislative officials and a Bluegrass State blogger that the legislature is restricting press credentials to print and broadcast media and not giving them to "online-only outlets."

And the special parking spaces for the media are only for those members of the media arriving in horse-drawn carriage or one of those bicycles with the really giant front wheel.

Fruit and Carpet in Court

By Donna Locke
Tennesseans for Immigration Control and Reform
The end of 2005 delivered unto us the first-ever settlement of a RICO lawsuit over illegal hiring (of illegal aliens). "RICO" refers to the federal Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act.

William Zirkle has agreed to pay $1.3 million to settle a lawsuit accusing him and two other executives at a Selah-based fruit company of conspiring to hire thousands of illegal immigrants in order to keep wages low. The executives admitted no wrongdoing in the settlement. The corporation, Zirkle Fruit, was not a defendant.

The U.S. Supreme Court's decision last week [mid-December] to hear Mohawk Industries Inc.'s contention that it shouldn't face a civil racketeering suit could resolve disagreements about how courts handle similar suits by workers complaining that their employers drive down wages by hiring illegal immigrants willing to work cheap. This is the claim made by former and current hourly employees of the Calhoun, Ga.-based carpet giant in their 2004 class action filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia. The employees' case already has survived Mohawk's challenges in the district court and the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

January 2, 2006

BellSouth's Customer Disservice

Regular readers of this blog know that I have, intermittently, had problems getting my Westell DSL modem from BellSouth and my Linksys wireless router to play nice together. After having dealt with BellSouth's tech support, and Linksys' tech support, on this issue several times, I finally took the advice of the BellSouth tech support people and ordered BellSouth's combination all-in-one-box DSL modem and wireless router. I was told this would solve my problem.

Yesterday I installed it. The install was easy - er, except that it doesn't work very well.

Today, I found that my nearly-new Dell Inspiron 700m laptop with its state-of-the-art built-in wifi card, won't connect with BellSouth's wireless network if the laptop is more than about 18 inches away from the wireless antenna.

Worse, when I contacted BellSouth through their online tech support chat service, they tried to blame the incompatibility on Dell - even though the only time my Dell has trouble connecting to an available wifi network is when it is trying to connect to a wifi network broadcast by equipment provided by BellSouth.

Memo to BellSouth: Dell sells a lot of computers. A big DSL provider might consider making sure that the wireless routers it is selling to its customers are compatible with them.

Here's the complete text of my chat with BellSouth's tech support, with key bits in bold....

BellSouth eAgent > Good evening, Welcome to Bellsouth Fast Access DSL eAgent, my name is Alexandria and I'll be more than happy to assist you with your issue, but first may I have your ten-digit DSL telephone number please?

Bill > 615xxxxxxx

Bill > oops. 615-xxx-xxxx

BellSouth eAgent > Thank you kindly.

BellSouth eAgent > Have you tried to change the wireless channel to see if the signal is better?

Bill > I don't know how to do that.

BellSouth eAgent > With your permission, I would like to use our Remote Control feature to access your PC. It's simple! Click on the Start/Stop Remote Access button. By enabling Remote Access, I will be able to share control of your computer to make the necessary changes to solve your problem. The status box indicates you have have enabled permission. Please close any programs you do not wish for me to see. Would you like to use this service?

Bill > Customer has enabled Remote Control

BellSouth eAgent > ty\

BellSouth eAgent > Thank you kindly.

BellSouth eAgent > One moment please.

BellSouth eAgent > While I am accessing your computer, if you can please not move your mouse because it might disrupt the access.

BellSouth eAgent > Thank you for waiting patiently.

BellSouth eAgent > I have changed the wireless channel for you. Try to see if your Dell will reach a signal more than 10 ft away for me please.

Bill > No. It says it's getting a good signal, but won't load any web pages

Bill > When I have my laptop on the same desk as the Westell it works great!

Bill > although, with it right next to the westell wireless modem, it's only getting 24 mps

BellSouth eAgent > Hmmmm.. does you house have any lead built into it?

Bill > i doubt it. brand new house

BellSouth eAgent > Have you ever tried your wireless connection away from the house?

BellSouth eAgent > Yes.

Bill > you mean on other wifi networks? Yes. It works just fine.

BellSouth eAgent > Alrighty.

BellSouth eAgent > What might be the case is that the wifi card isn't able to receive a good signal from the modem due to it being of different vendor.

Bill > that's crazy.

BellSouth eAgent > Do you have any other wireless devices in the house that are using the Westell's wireless signal.

Bill > no

BellSouth eAgent > Sometimes it can happen like that unfotunately, or there might be something in your house or neighborhood that is interferring with your wireless signal.

Bill > i just switched from the Intel ProSet wireless network app to the Microsoft client on my laptop, to see if it connects better, but it's asking for my network key

Bill > should i use key 1

BellSouth eAgent > Are you using a Dell inspiron laptop?

Bill > yes

Bill > 700m

BellSouth eAgent > Yes please use key 1.

BellSouth eAgent > You might have to either switch out your modem because dell and versalink aren't really compatible with each other.

BellSouth eAgent > You might want to contact Dell about your wireless.

Bill > I just swtiched TO the Versalink because the Westell non-wireless modem wasn't compatible with my Linkys wireless router.

Bill > In that case, BellSouth blamed Linkys. Now you're blaming Dell. But the only constant in incompatibility is Bellsouth's Westell modems.

BellSouth eAgent > We do as well have a 2wire modem, which should be compatible with your laptops wireless card.

Bill > Well, why didn't they send me that?

BellSouth eAgent > agreed. Again, the Dell has a connectivity issue with the Westell. Since the wireless component is provided by Dell, our support is rather limited.

BellSouth eAgent > However, when using our hardware, then we provide full support as this is a trusted device.

Bill > Well, then, someone needs to send me the right modem. I'm paying Bellsouth too much money to not have good service.

Bill > When I had the linksys problem I called and ordered the wireless modem and thought I was getting "BellSouth's wireless modem" not another Westell.

BellSouth eAgent > Unfortunately, the Westell Versalink is currently the only modem that we send out. I do apologize for the inconvenience, if you would like I can send you a link on some reports about the Versalink and Dell combination.

BellSouth eAgent > www.techspot.com/vb/topic19287

Bill > I thought you just said Bellsouth has a two wire modem that's compatible with my wireless card?

BellSouth eAgent > Yes we do unfortunately as I just looked in our system we just sent out the last one about a couple of days ago. I do apologize for the misinformed information.

Bill > Argh. Forget it. I'll switch back to Comcast.

BellSouth eAgent > Would you like to purchase one of our wireless cards?

BellSouth eAgent > So that you will have full support?

Bill > I can't cut and paste that web address from the chat - can you email me the text of the chat? billhobbs@---------.---

Bill > NO! I'm sick of paying BellSouth for things that don't work, and then getting up-sold.

BellSouth eAgent > Sure sir, I will email it to you right now.

Bill > I just got it to copy. thanks

BellSouth eAgent > Alrighty. I do apologize for the inconvenience, is there anything else that I can help you with?

Bill > yes. you can tell bellsouth to make products and services that work.

BellSouth eAgent > cl

BellSouth eAgent > Thank you so much for choosing BellSouth, you have a wonderful day!!

Yes, that's the actual "smiley" that the BellSouth eAgent ended the chat with.

I really don't want to go back to Comcast. What I want is simple: broadband service and a wireless network in my house that works throughout the house and the small back yard, and works with the wireless card in a new laptop from Dell. What I don't want is a service provider whose equipment is incompatible with the wireless card in a laptop from one of the world's largest computer makers, and whose "solution" is always to try to up-sell me to another piece of hardware because the last piece of hardware they sold me didn't work right.

Anyone have any suggestions? EarthLink, perhaps?

Quadruple Bogey 2

Today's Tennessean examines the politics behind the poor location of four money-losing golf courses the state built as tourist attractions, but which instead have become leeches on taxpayers' wallets. It's a story that BillHobbs.com readers first learned about on Dec. 15 and Chattanooga newspaper readers learned about on Dec. 17. Here's an excerpt from Trent Seibert's Tennessean story today:

Taxpayers looking to find out what went wrong will see some of the blame being laid far from the golf course. Instead, fingers are pointing at a tall hill in downtown Nashville topped by blocks of imposing limestone - the clubhouse, of sorts, of the Tennessee General Assembly.

The ball started to slice off-course when the decision was made to site the Bear Trace's courses not based on good golf sense, but instead to put courses in the districts of powerful state legislators. And the Trace's gorgeous scenery and its Nicklaus pedigree haven't been strong enough to overcome golfers' reluctance to tramp to rural locations, such as Henderson and Crossville. In other words, the Bear Trace turned out to be political pork. And now taxpayers will have to eat it.

In 1994, before the courses were built, Barnett and Orville Bach, an economics professor at an Eaststate community college, crunched the numbers on the Bear Trace. They concluded that the state's $20 million loan would be a major risk for taxpayers.

"We did a great deal of research," Barnett said. "Our big concern was that the Tennessee taxpayers were taking all the risk. What we predicted has occurred."

Not only did they raise the red flag, they waved it like mad, notifying state Comptroller William Snodgrass, showing up at public meetings and sending copies of their study to each of the state's 132 legislators. They received a response from only one lawmaker, he said.

Snodgrass wrote to them but only to dismiss their concerns. Plenty of golfers will want to travel to these courses and pay higher greens fees than at other state courses, Snodgrass wrote in a Dec. 21, 1994, letter, because "our staff felt these projections are very realistic, given the prestige of Jack Nicklaus signature courses."

Snodgrass has since retired from state service. House Speaker Jimmy Naifeh, D-Covington, who was also a member of the State Building Commission that signed off on the contract to develop the courses, could not be reached for comment.

UPDATE: Bob Krumm has 12 great questions that the Tennessean ought to be asking about the Bear Trace golf course boondoggle. I have a 13th - did state Sen. Doug Henry, chairman of the Senate finance committee, ask questions like those before before greenlighting the $20 million bond issue for the Bear Trace courses? If not, then, a 14th question: Wouldn't Bob Krumm make a better senator?

The Nashville Knucklehead has some thoughts as well.

Knowledge is Power

The Nashville Scene has named the students, teachers and administrators of Nashville's KIPP Academy its Nashvillians of the Year for the just-completed 2005, and deservedly so. Often, public school administrators will defend the teachers and administrators of poorly performing urban schools and say it is because the students are largely poor and from dysfunctional homes, but KIPP is proving that a lie in its chools here and in cities nationwide. The only reason inner-city public schools are bad is because the teachers and administrators and the teachers' union are collectively refusing to run them the right way.

January 1, 2006

Happy New Year!

And may 2006 be better in all respects, for all good people, than was 2005.