November 30, 2007

More Demo Plants

More of the people whose questions CNN featured on the CNN/YouTube Republican Presidential Debate are turning out to have connections to various Democrat campaigns. John Fund at the Wall Street Journal's OpinionJournal.com writes:

Last week, CNN's Anderson Cooper quipped in an interview with Townhall.com that "campaign operatives are people too" and that CNN wasn't worried if political partisans posed questions at the upcoming GOP debate he was moderating. "We don't investigate the background of people asking questions (by submitting video clips). It's not our job," is how he put it.

But now CNN's logo has egg splattered all over it, as it scrambles to explain how a co-chair of Hillary Clinton's veterans' committee was allowed to ask a video question on gays in the military at Wednesday's debate and was also flown by the network from California to the debate site in Florida so he could repeat his question to the candidates in person. CNN claims it verified retired Brig. Gen. Keith Kerr's military status and checked his campaign contribution records, contradicting Mr. Cooper's blasé attitudes. Still, they somehow missed his obvious connection to the Hillary campaign which any Google search would have turned up. CNN later airbrushed Mr. Kerr's question out of its rebroadcast of the debate, indicating that it apparently doesn't think "campaign operatives" are legitimate questioners at the network's debates.

Now it appears that an amazing number of partisan figures posed many of the 30 questions at the GOP debate all the while pretending to be CNN's advertised "undecided voters." Yasmin from Huntsville, Alabama turns out to be a former intern with the Council on American Islamic Relations, a group highly critical of Republicans. Blogger Michelle Malkin has identified other plants, including declared Obama supporter David Cercone, who asked a question about the pro-gay Log Cabin Republicans. A questioner who asked a hostile question about the pro-life views of GOP candidates turned out to be a diehard John Edwards supporter (and a slobbering online fan of Mr. Cooper). Yet another "plant" was LeeAnn Anderson, an activist with a union that has endorsed Mr. Edwards.

It seems more "plants" are being uprooted with each passing day. Almost a third of the questioners seem to have some ties to Democratic causes or candidates. Another questioner worked with Democratic Senator Dick Durbin's staff. A former intern with Democratic Rep. Jane Harman asked a question about farm subsidies. A questioner who purported to be a Ron Paul supporter turns out to be a Bill Richardson volunteer. David McMillan, a TV writer from Los Angeles, turns out to have several paens to John Edwards on his YouTube page and has attended Barack Obama fundraisers.

Given CNN's professed goal to have "ordinary Americans" ask questions at their GOP debate, how likely is that it was purely by accident that so many of the videos CNN selected for use were not just from partisans, but people actively hostile to the GOP's messages and candidates?

Memo to GOP presidential candidates: CNN has no credibility and low ratings. Their audience is, largely, Democrats. If you're trying to reach Republican voters before the primaries, CNN ain't the place to waste your time. Do FOX, do ABC, NBC and CBS, and do local TV news.

November 29, 2007

Eclectic Eco-News

It's an eclectic mix of stuff at Ecotality Life today, as several posts I wrote over the past few evenings have finally been moved from "draft" to "published." I've got a look at eco-friendlier fireplaces, an update on the fight against wind power, plus another post about a new option that may make wind power more attractive, a post about a solar-powered toothbrush, how nanotech is contributing to better solar cells, and why eating Frito-Lay potato chips is good for the environment.

For an archive of all my posts at Ecotality Life, click here.

Winning in Iraq

Austin Bay examines the emerging defeat of al Qaeda in Iraq.

More CNN/YouTube Debate Plants

Michelle Malkin is exposing more of the planted Democrat questioners in the CNN/YouTube Republican Presidential Debate. The questioner who asked about abortion is a declared supporter of Democrat John Edwards. The "Log Cabin Republican" questioner is, it turns out, not a Republican at all but, rather, a declared supporter of Democrat Barack Obama. The questioner who asked about lead toys is a prominent union activist for the United Steelworkers, who have already endorsed Democrat John Edwards.

CNN portrayed all of them as undecided Republicans. Either CNN doesn't know how to do a basic web search or even click a few links to find out this kind of stuff, or they knew the YouTube questioners were announced supporters of Democrats and decided to lie to viewers. Neither speaks well of CNN's credibility.

If it's the former, CNN needs to upgrade its web research talent big-time. If it's the latter - if CNN really thinks it can still control the message in this age of grassroots media - then CNN is run by ignorant fools.

Update: Related commentary from Steven Green.

Update: Jay Bush - I haven't linked to him in too long a while - has a pretty good analysis of the debate.

Update: Bryan at Hot Air comments on the serial planting of questioners in the various presidential debates: "There’s one difference this time around. Last time, the debate was for Democrats and the plants were all Democrats. This time, the debate was for Republicans…but the plants were still all Democrats."

New Data Released on the Illegal Immigration Crisis

nearly one third of the nation's 37.9 million immigrant residents are here illegally, says the Center for Immigration Studies in a new report that examines the size, growth, and characteristics of the nation's immigrant, or foreign-born, population as of March 2007, based on new Census data.

The report, "Immigrants in the United States, 2007: A Profile of America's Foreign-Born Population," provides a detailed picture of overall immigrant population, and of the illegal immigrant population specifically. One key finding: half of all Mexican and Central American immigrants in the United States are here illegally; and one third of South American immigrants are here illegally.

The CIS analyzed data collected in early 2007 by the Census Bureau's Current Population Survey 2007. The CIS stresses that the data is considered reliable as it relates to illegal immigrants because, "There is agreement among policy experts, including the Department of Homeland Security, that roughly 90 percent of illegal immigrants respond to Census Bureau surveys of this kind." That fact, says CIS, "allows for separate estimates of the size and characteristics of the illegal immigrant population."

Take note, Republican presidential candidates: The report breaks out detailed data on immigrants and health insurance, welfare usage, education attainment, poverty and other indicators for 14 states - Texas, California, Arizona, Massachusetts, Colorado, Georgia, North Carolina, Washington, Florida, Illinois, Nevada, New Jersey, Virginia, and Maryland. Nine of those states - California, Arizona, Massachusetts, Colorado, Georgia, Florida, Illinois, New Jersey and Nevada - have presidential primaries on or before "Super Tuesday" on Feb. 5.

The report doesn't break out that kind of data for Tennessee, but does say that Tennessee now is home to 286,000 immigrants. Nationally, one third of immigrants are here illegally, which would suggest that Tennessee has somewhere around 95,000 illegal immigrants. Also nationally 64 percent of illegals lack health insurance - which suggests that Tennessee has arond 60,000 uninsured illegals.

There are illegal immigration apologists who claim illegals don't put a big strain on public health services and hospital emergency rooms, but 60,000 uninsured illegals is a lot of uninsured illegals relying on public health services and emergency-room care, driving up the cost of healthcare for all of us and likely forcing more legal residents onto the taxpayer-funded TennCare rolls.

Some key data follows...

Among the report’s findings:

Update: The New York Times story on the CIS report.

Did Hillary Plant Another Debate Question?

CNN - the C doesn't stand for Credibility - may have let the Hillary Clinton campaign plant a question in the CNN-YouTube Republican Debate. Wizbang has the details.

November 26, 2007

Security Issues

Can gun rights be a winning wedge issue for Republicans at the national level in '08? Jeff Soyer considers the question... I wrote 10 days ago about immigration as a wedge issue that helps Republicans. The illegal immigration crisis and the threat of gun control are both are security issues. Illegal immigration affects national security, your economic security and your personal security, and anything that undermines your Second Amendment right to own a firearm for self-defense undermines your personal security. Republicans historically do well when security issues are big on voters' minds.

Eco Update

Over at Ecotality Life, I've got a post about a car maker based in the Nashville area that even most Nashvillians have probably never heard of. Plus a look at the future of zeppelin travel. And a post looking at the future of wind power.

November 23, 2007

The Risk of Media Downsizing

Terry Heaton is writing about the unintended consequences of media downsizing. Additional thoughts here.

Boycott Target?

I prefer shopping at Target rather than Wal-Mart - the Wal-Mart shopping experience is horrendous while shopping at Target is a pleasant experience - so this boycott call would cause me problems, except... I don't generally do boycotts. Boycotts generally don't work, and to the extent they have any impact they harm the wrong people. Boycott a retailer over its management's social policies and most of the negative impact will fall not on management but on store employees, in the form of fewer hours and fewer jobs.

If the AFA wants to change Target's policies, I suggest they do the one thing guaranteed to work: Rather than urging its followers to boycott Target and buy at Wal-Mart, the AFA should urge its followers to buy Target stock, and keep buying it until they have leverage.

Update: Dennis Alpert, Senior Manager of Public Affairs for Wal-Mart, emailed, "At Wal-Mart we realize people have a choice where they shop and we're pleased that more than 125 million customers choose Wal-Mart every week. We save people money so they can live better lives and are committed to providing a positive shopping experience while at the same time, always looking for ways to improve upon it. We encourage our customers, and you in this case, to speak with store management (or me directly) about your shopping experience in hopes that we can not only meet your expectations but exceed them in the future."

I should add that I actually do shop at Wal-Mart - a lot - mainly because of the low prices, although the large size of the stores is a drawback for me thanks to injuries to both knees in my youth that make walking through the usually huge Wal-Mart stores requires a lot of walking.

I also shop a lot at Target because there's one right up the street.

On the other hand, as a parent I often find myself needing something - usually for a child's school project - late at night after most other stores, including Target, have closed. On those occasions I always find myself at the 24-hour Wal-Mart. That's actually my favorite time to shop at Wal-Mart because it isn't as crowded.

Lots of special interests often call for boycotts of this retailer or that company. In recent years organized labor has tried such tactics to bring Wal-Mart down a peg because it doesn't do the labor movement's bidding on wages or health care benefits. Never mind that Wal-Mart's pay and benefits are, comparatively, quite good, within the retail sector.

And never mind that Wal-Mart's low prices save American consumers billions that they can use for other things, including health care costs. Save $100 shopping at Wal-Mart and that's $100 you can spend on something else, use to reduce your debt, or save for your children's education. When my son was a baby, we bought his formula at Wal-Mart instead of the local grocery because Wal-Mart had it for a dollar cheaper per bottle. If you have a baby and buy formula you know that's huge savings.

And those savings went into things like baby and toddler clothes, and Pampers, which were generally cheaper at Wal-Mart, too.

Wal-Mart's economic impact on America has been the equivalent of a pay increase for every American who shops there regularly - not to mention the many jobs it has created. It has brought jobs, lower prices and greater selection to countless American small towns.

Update<: Upon further reflection, Wal-Mart's returns policy is superior to Target's. Essentially, Wal-Mart makes it easier to return things than does Target.

Face Time

The Tennessee Republican Party gets a mention in the newspaper. The Toronto Globe & Mail newspaper.

November 22, 2007

Green Bean Casserole

Here are ten ways to have a Green Thanksgiving. Brett Favre is involved.

November 21, 2007

Green Fast Food, Clean Fast Cars

Over at Ecotality Life today I've got one post about eco-friendly fast food, and another about the next Honda I'd like to own, a hydrogen fuel cell-powered sedan called the Honda FCX Clarity. Other recent posts look at "green" cosmetics, wind-powered web sites, and why Amazon's new "e-reader" digital book device isn't green enough. My complete Ecotality Life archive is here.

A Simple Deduction

Here's a link to WKRN reporter Chris Bundgaard's story that sprang from this TN GOP press release and related press conference today regarding the very real possibility that the Democrat-controlled Congress will let the law expire that made state sales tax deductible from one's federal income tax - an action that will cost more than half a million Tennessee families $400 or even $550 in higher taxes next year. Bundgaard reports that sales tax deductibility has "bi-partisan support" in the Tennessee Congressional delegation.

Sure, Tennessee's Democrat congressmen have said they support keeping the deductibility. But their "support" rings hollow as they simply haven't done much to preserve it. From their lack of action or effectiveness on the issue, you can deduce that they either don't really support it, or are ineffective.

Full disclosure: I work for the TN GOP.

November 19, 2007

Ooby Doobie

The Saturday edition of The Tennessean carried an AP story about Democrats in the state legislature pushing legislation to legalize "medical marijuana." As written, though, the Democrat legislation would make it extremely easy for just about anyone to get a prescription from their doctor allowing them to grow marijuana - which is, you know, the real goal of the bill.

The legislation is a big fave with the hippie pot-smokers and '60s refugees on the Left, of course. I guess they figure that legal pot-smoking + universal health care would = a realization of everything they fought for at Woodstock: Free weed for everybody, man.You think government is expensive now, just wait 'til the Woodstock generation has an unlimited supply of weed paid for by the tax dollars of the non-pot-smokers who actually have jobs.

Medical marijuana is completely unnecessary of course as there already is a legal "medical marijuana" drug called Marinol which has the same active ingredient as pot - a chemical called THC. Marinol has been approved by the Food & Drug Administration after rigorous medical testing and it is often prescribed for cancer patients to relieve nausea during chemotherapy.

No Debate

Congratulations to Belmont University for landing one of the three presidential debates in 2008. It's a huge deal for the university and the city of Nashville and I was thrilled to be sitting on the front row today at the press conference where Belmont announced it had been selected. Sitting to my right, Tennessee Republican Party Chairman Robin Smith. To my left: Tennessee Democratic Party Chairman Gray Sasser. The debates are a bi-partisan event. Elected officials and political people from both parties helped Belmont land the debate.

That's why the downer of the press conference was, without a doubt, U.S. Rep. Jim Cooper, D-Nashville, whose ad-libbed comments were rather partisan in tone (and rather rude to Vanderbilt University too).

Congratulations, again, to Belmont. I know and have a lot of respect for many people who work there and I know how hard they worked to get this because I saw how hard they worked four years ago, only to come up just a bit short. They deserve this, and Nashville does too.

Screamers

When I took my current job at the Tennessee Republican Party - becoming only the third blogger nationwide to run communications for a state Republican Party - a wise political sage with decades of experience told me "You are going to drive the dems crazy. I predict they will soon try to do something to counter-act your efforts. They will probably claim your blog represents some obscure violation of political party expenditures. Whatever they do or say, one can determine your effectiveness by how loud and desperate their screams."

Well, they're starting to scream.

Sounding the Alarm

If you were listening to the Michael Delgiorno show on Supertalk 99.7 WTN this morning, you heard Michael and I discussing how the Bredesen administration is spending Tennessee into another fiscal crisis. There's more information on that topic here.

November 17, 2007

Revenue Crisis Update

Today's Tennessean carries the AP report on the state's growing tax revenue "shortfall," which doesn't mention at all the role of the state's over-spending in creating the new fiscal crises. The Tennessee Republican Party issued a statement to the media yesterday regarding the revenue numbers shortly after the revenue numbers were released, explaining how the Bredesen administration's decision to over-spend the constitutional spending limit by $723 million this year has contributed to the growing fiscal crises. The AP report did not include any comments from anyone other than Gov. Bredesen's finance commissioner.

I've tried to post the TN GOP's statement on the Tennessean's reader comments forum for the AP story but it won't let me log in. Update: Brief glitch - it finally did let me post a comment.

November 16, 2007

Growing Budget Crisis Exposes Bredesen Administration's Excessive Spending

Gov. Phil Bredesen's administration announced today that, three months into the fiscal year, the state budget has a $135.9 million revenue shortfall, and blamed lower-then-projected tax collections.

What they won't tell you is that the shortfall isn't a revenue problem.

The truth is that the shortfall was created by the excessive spending of Gov. Bredesen and his Democratic allies in the legislature.

Republican legislators urged fiscal restraint during budget negotiations in the General Assembly in May, but Democrats stuck with the Bredesen spending plan and passed a budget that exceeds the state constitution's "Copeland Cap" limit on the annual growth of spending by a whopping $723 million, or $60.25 million every month.

If Bredesen and the Democrats had kept spending within the constitutional limit, Tennessee today would not have a $135.9 million revenue shortfall three months into the fiscal year - it would have a surplus of nearly $45 million.

The spending cap exists to keep the cost of government from growing faster than the ability of the average Tennessee taxpayer to afford it. Unfortunately, Bredesen and the Democrats in the legislature have Tennessee on a path of excessive spending, which leads to shortfalls and tax increases.

Update: The adminstration claims the revenue numbers are evidence of a slowing economy, and yet just yesterday the state reported that unemployment continues to decline and is now half a percentage point lower than a year ago.

Immigration Politics

The Politico says:

Immigration is becoming for the 2008 election what affirmative action/racial preferences was 15 years ago - the kind of emotional wedge issue that offers Republicans a way to split rank-and-file Democrats from their leaders.

Republican candidates who promise more of this in order to reduce this will increase their chances of victory in '08 at the local, state and federal level.

Fredroots Aim for Ron Paul-Style Moneybomb

Here's an interesting grassroots attempt to use viral marketing to raise big bucks for Fred Thompson. Could they top Ron Paul's astounding $4 million day? Well, yes they could. Fred's received donations from more than 100,000 people so far in the race. If each gave another $100, they could raise $10 million in a single day. Will they? Probably not. But either way the era of grassroots online fundraising has arrived. Where once the non-rich could only be small contributors to a political campaign, now they can be bigtime fund-raisers too.

Divine Painting

I photographed this fall scene Nov. 8 along Mack Hatcher Parkway in Franklin, Tennessee.

November 15, 2007

Coddling Corruption

David Oatney thinks that the way Tennessee Democrats have handled the scandalous and criminal behavior by state Rep. Rob Briley and state Sen. Jerry Cooper bespeaks a party that has grown arrogantly comfortable with power.

Oatney's right, the Democrats have coddled Briley and Cooper rather than condemned their behavior. Have you read a single public statement by the Tennessee Democratic Party condemning Sen. Cooper for stealing nearly $95,000 in campaign funds? Have you read any statement from top House or Senate Democrats suggesting that Cooper's efforts to steer a $300,000 state grant to his own personal financial benefit - building a railway spur to some industrial land he owned, so he could sell it for a higher price - might have been just a tad abusive of his power?

No.

And you won't. Because Tennessee's top Democrats don't roll that way. They're perfectly happy to let bribe-taking lawmakers like Ward Crutchfield and Kathryn Bowers stay in the legislature, voting on legislation. If the monstrously corrupt Sen. John Ford hadn't resigned, they wouldn't have tried to push him out the door either.

Sen. Jerry Cooper was fined $120,000 yesterday by the Tennessee Registry of Election Finance for stealing $94,350 from his campaign account over a two-year period. Showing just how little he respects the law and the authority that's supposed to enforce it, Sen. Cooper ignored a Registry request that he attend the hearing.

He ought to resign and let the people of the 14th District pick someone - Democrat or Republican - who has the integrity and honor that Sen. Jerry Cooper so obviously lacks. If Cooper doesn't resign, the Tennessee Democratic Party and top Democrats in state government, starting with Gov. Phil Bredesen, ought to be urging him to do so.

Don't hold your breath. The silence from Gov. Bredesen, from the Tennessee Democratic Party and from top Tennessee Democrats regarding Cooper speaks volumes about how little they really care about one of their own grossly abusing the public trust.

For Tennessee Democrats, it seems, corruption is just a cost of staying in power and coddling it in the name of retaining power is no vice.

Cooper Coverage

Here's NewsChannel5's story on the record $120,000 fine levied on state Sen. Jerry Cooper, D-Morrison, for his theft of nearly $95,000 from his campaign account. (Hit the play button after the page loads. If it doesn't load properly, you can find the video link here.

November 14, 2007

Hydroplane Blogging

A view at the lake that was 21st Avenue just after the torrential rain and hail slacked off enough to see the road from my office window.

Making Crime Pay

This is George Harding of Lebanon, Tennessee. He was the only member of the Tennessee Registry of Election Finance to vote against fining state Sen. Jerry Cooper, D-Morrison, $120,000 for diverting nearly $95,000 in campaign funds to his personal account over a two-year period. The $120,000 fine is the largest in TREF history.

Harding - the House Democratic Caucus appointee to the TREF - wanted to fine Sen. Cooper a maximum of $10,000, leaving Cooper a net profit of about $85,000.

That, of course, would send a message to other legislators that they could make money by diverting more than $10,000 in campaign funds to their personal accounts. Why does the House Democratic Caucus appointee to the Tennessee Registry of Election Finance want to make it profitable for legislators to steal campaign funds for personal use?

During today's hearing, Harding said he wanted to cap the fine at $10,000 because he "didn't want to kick a man while he's down." But Sen. Cooper - who was a no-show at the TREF hearing today- is only "down" because of his own unethical and perhaps illegal choices, most especially his choice to violate the trust that campaign donors across the 14th state senate district placed in him.

Update: Here's the Tennessee GOP press release.

Another Top Bredesen Official Gets Ticket Favor

If you're a leadfoot driver and don't want to have to pay your speeding tickets, you might want to apply for a job in the Bredesen administration. Added bonus: If you sell THP promotions for campaign donations you won't get fired, and if you sexually harrass employees the governor will order the files and investigative notes shredded.

November 13, 2007

The Rep Goes to Greece

"The Rep" Stacey Campfield reports on his ongoing international trade mission to Greece. Read the whole very funny thing.

Did Crutchfield Vote Illegally?

Did former state Sen. Ward Crutchfield, one of three Democrat state senators convicted for taking bribes in the Tennessee Waltz investigation, cast a vote illegally in the special state senate election in the 10th district to pick his replacement? Felons can't vote in Tennessee before they complete their sentence, yet Crutchfield claims he already voted, for Democrat and fellow trial lawyer Andy Berke of course.

On the Radio

I just finished a call-in to Michael DelGiorno's show on Nashville radio station Supertalk 99.7 WTN. I'm going to be doing a by-phone appearance on his show weekly, every Monday, shortly after 10 a.m., discussing politics of course. You can listen to the show live online, but they don't archive the audio.

November 12, 2007

More Questions for Sen. Cooper

State Sen. Jerry Cooper faces a hearing before the Tennessee Registry of Election Finance this week (Nov. 14th) regarding his illegal diversion of $95,000 in campaign funds to his personal bank account several years ago. Registry officials ought to expand their probe beyond just those transfers and ask Sen. Cooper some hard questions about his campaign account today.

Cooper's last campaign report showed a current balance in his campaign account of about $200,000. Given that we now know the prominent Democrat senator illegally withdrew $95,000 from his campaign account several years ago, without disclosing it on his campaign finance reports, the question is this: Is Cooper's current reported campaign account balance accurate, or does it overstate the true balance by $95,000?

Or did Cooper put the $95,000 back into his campaign account at some point between the original illegal diversion and now?

If Sen. Cooper did put the money back into his account, did he report it? If he did but did not report it, that would constitute a campaign contribution into his account that he, illegally, did not report. If he did put the money back, that would raise other questions - such as, where did Cooper, whose personal financial problems apparently led to him taking $95,000 of his campaign funds for personal use, get $95,000 to put back into the account?

If he never put the money back, and never reported the $95,000 being moved out of the account, then his current campaign funding report would appear to be inaccurate - his current balance would actually be around $105,000.

The truth in this case matters, no matter whether Sen. Cooper intends to resign, to serve out his term or to run for re-election. If Sen. Cooper were to resign or not run again, he has the right to distribution his campaign funds to other campaigns and to the Tennessee Democratic Party.

If Cooper somehow collected $95,000 and slipped it back into his campaign account without reporting it, then the question arises of who gave him the money, and whether their contributions violated the limits.

On the other hand, if Cooper really has only $105,000 and not $200,000, that would make challenging Cooper, in a primary or general election, more attractive to potential candidates from either party.

November 11, 2007

Open Meetings Law Update

The Associated Press takes a look at efforts by some elected officials trying weaken the state's Open Meetings law, and by others to protect the law or even strengthen it and give it some teeth.

Bootstrap Blogging

Jeff Cornwall's column in the Sunday Tennessean looks at the value of blogging as a marketing tool for small business.

Blogging has become a popular tool for bootstrap marketing. One recent survey found that 10 percent of small businesses were using or planning to use blogs for their businesses. Blogging allows for a highly targeted, personal contact with a customer base. If done properly, it can build strong customer loyalty.

I write a blog on entrepreneurship. Although this was not an original motive, it has proved to be a way for me to help get the word out about our entrepreneurship program here at Belmont. It is a great marketing tool for a small but growing program. Many prospective students have found out about our program by discovering and reading my blog.

Through the blog, Dr. Cornwall became the public image and personality of the entrepreneurship program, and also a go-to source for local and national business media, as he mentioned in his column today:

Blogging can be a good public relations tool, too. It can set you apart as an expert in your field, which can lead reporters to your site when looking for content for their articles. It is likely that I would never have been called for interviews by The Wall Street Journal, Business Week or U.S. News & World Report had I not been a blogger. When they did web searches for stories they were working on, my blog came up.

It was an entrepreneurial move on Cornwall's part to agree to write a blog, a real up-by-the-bootstraps decision, and it has paid off as the blog is, without a doubt, the single most cost-effective marketing tool that the program (and Belmont) has.

November 10, 2007

How Much Tax Money Is Being Spent on the "Privately Funded" Renovation of the Governor's Mansion?

NewsChannel5 reports on how difficult it is to get to the truth about just how much tax money is being spent on the renovation of the Tennessee Governor's Mansion, a project that was asserted for years as being funded by private donations but which now appears to be consuming millions of tax dollars too.

Let Them Drink Sand II

The AP reports that Tennessee Gov. Phil Bredesen says the state won't help communities improve their water systems. Which begs the question of why the state bothers to regularly compile updated reports on the status of public water systems infrastructure across Tennessee - reports showing worsening conditions over the past five years which the Bredesen administration has ignored. Here's some info the AP could have included to counterbalance Bredesen's attempt to avoid sharing in the blame:

A review of reports from the Tennessee Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations (TACIR) shows that the water infrastructure needs have increased by nearly 13 percent across Tennessee under Bredesen's watch, a sign of the Bredesen administration's neglect of this critical infrastructure.

TACIR estimates that total water infrastructure needs statewide have increased from $2.83 billion as estimated in the report issued in April 2001 to $3.19 billion today, an increase of $364 million.

In 2005 the Department of Environment & Conservation counted more than 112,000 households across Tennessee that lack access to a public water system, and put the cost of fixing that problem at $1.7 billion. The Bredesen administration put less than $2 million into the state's Drinking Water State Revolving Fund in fiscal year 2006.

And consider this fact: the Bredesen administration, through the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development, is willing to spend millions of your tax dollars to upgrade water systems in order to accommodate new industry, but when it comes to upgrading water systems to help ordinary people in small communities that can't afford to do it on their own, Bredesen cares not at all.

I'm beginning to think Bredesen's new multi-million-dollar party bunker, costing taxpayers $3.86 million, is really just meant to be a place where he can hide from the people he's trying to pretend don't exist.

November 9, 2007

Trumpeting a Worthless Poll

The Tennessean trumpets the MTSU poll showing Fred Thompson leading Hillary Clinton by eight points in Tennessee, 50-42, and stresses that the race is "a statistical dead heat" because of the poll's four-point margin of error.

The poll is worthless, but let's pretend for a moment that it is accurate. The MTSU pollsters also stressed that the margin of error means Hillary and Fred could be tied - but if the margin of error swung the other way, it would mean that Fred leads Hillary 54-38 in Tennessee.

The poll is worthless, but as we pretend it is accurate, consider what it really says: It says that Fred Thompson is the only candidate in the Republican field who can beat Hillary Clinton in Tennessee. After all, while Fred leads Hillary by eight, she's tied in the poll with Rudy Giuliani at 43 percent. Factor in the poll's margin of error and it's possible that Hillary actually leads Giuliani 47-39. The margin of error could also mean Rudy actually leads her 47-39.

What all that tells us - if the poll wasn't worthless - is that Hillary can't crack 50 percent against either of the Republican front-runners in Tennessee. It also tells us that Fred is the only front-runner in Tennessee, of either party, who can. If the poll wasn't worthless.

But the poll IS worthless. Here's why: The MTSU students doing the poll merely did a telephone survey of 593 adults in Tennessee. They didn't limit the poll to only registered voters, much less to just "likely" voters, which good political polls do. And as Bob Krumm noted in the comments to yesterday's post at VolunteerVoters.com about the MTSU poll, the poll's data was weighted to reflect the U.S. Census Bureau's latest available projections for age, race and gender proportions within the state population.

The MTSU poll didn't weight the results for voting propensity. Says Krumm, "An 18-34 year old's opinion was identical mathematically to a 65+ selection, even though the latter group is much more likely to vote."

The MTSU poll is worthless.

November 8, 2007

Dueling Banjos

State Rep. Debra Maggart, R-Hendersonville, has issued a press release criticizing the state Comptroller's recent study asserting that illegal immigrants are a net-plus for the Tennessee economy. Maggart notes the discrepancies between the Comptroller's report and a report from the Federation for American Immigration Reform which calculated that illegals are a net-minus for Tennessee economy. The FAIR report was based on more data then the comptroller's report, but the media covered the comptroller's report more than it did the one from FAIR. Go figure.

A Poll Question For Tennessee Taxpayers

The goal of the Green Island Corridor Network grant program is to place biofuel stations no more than one hundred miles apart along Tennessee's interstates and major highways.

Titan Global Holdings, a California-based holding company, will receive a $190,000 grant.

The company says it will use the funds to help pay for installing underground storage tanks and dispensers to sell either E85 (ethanol) or B20 (biodiesel) at three refueling stations owned by its Appco subsidiary in Johnson City, Unicoi County and Sullivan County.

But are the grants really necessary? Might Appco have installed biofuels pumps anyway, without Tennessee taking $190,000 from taxpayers' pockets and handing it over to Titan Global Holdings?

The company has already been seeking "opportunities to lead our markets in the provision of cleaner, more environmentally friendly fuels," according to Marty Anderson, President and Chief Executive Officer of Appco. He is quoted in the press release saying, "We recently signed agreements improving pricing and access to ethanol and we are developing other plans to leverage our efficient distribution network to lead our markets."

"We applaud the Governor's strategic plan to provide the citizens of Tennessee with environmentally friendly choices at the pump," said Bryan Chance, President and Chief Executive Officer of Titan Global Holdings. "We look forward to ensuring that these grants are leveraged to make the state of Tennessee a leader in the alternative energy movement. These grants are tremendous for the state of Tennessee, the customers of Appco and Titan's shareholders."

In fact, Titan Global Holdings announced two months ago that it had completed a biofuel supply agreement with NewGen Technologies, Inc., giving NewGen's Refuel America subsidiary a 10-year contract to supply biofuel products to Appco or its affiliates. And on Oct. 24 Titan announced what it called "a milestone agreement with leading international ethanol manufacturer Tate & Lyle to supply significantly increased quantities of Ethanol at reduced price levels for calendar 2008."

The agreement is a foundational achievement in Titan's strategic plan to source and distribute biofuels to address the fast-growing demand for newer, more environmentally friendly fuel sources. As the nation increases its consumption of ethanol and other biofuels, Titan believes its supply agreement with Tate & Lyle will significantly advance the Company's efforts to establish secure sources of such biofuels and a higher margin product channel.

But would they have installed biofuels pumps in Tennessee? At this point we can only speculate, but you'd have to lean in the direction of answering "yes" to that question.

Appco, after all, is the Appalachian Oil Company, a homegrown company based in East Tennessee, where those three taxpayer-subsidized biofuels pumps will be installed. In fact, Titan Global Holdings bought Appco for the express purpose of getting into the business of selling biofuels.

The Appalachian Oil Company was formed in 1923 and is based in Blountville, Tennessee. Until its acquisition by Titan Global Holdings, a deal completed in September, Appco was a privately held company. Appco owns and operates an extensive petroleum product distribution network. The company distributes petroleum products to more than 160 dealers in the southeastern United States and owns and operates 60 convenience store locations.

And it is profitable. Titan currently currently projects that Appco will generate $433 million in revenues in the 2008 fiscal year, and Titan says it believes Appco will "generate stronger cash flow and margins as it increases the distribution of biofuels through its established distribution channels."

The extent of the improvement in Appco's cash flow and margins will be, among other things, subject to the availability and deployment of such biofuels.

David Marks, Chairman of Titan Global Holdings, said: "Appco has a history of consistent profitability. Marks said Titans intended to "market biofuels through its established retail and wholesale distribution channels."

So, you've got a big company that expects to make big profits on big revenues this coming year, and which already planned to install biofuels pumps at its fuel stations, and here comes the state of Tennessee offering $190,000 in free money. You can't blame them for taking it.

But it probably wasn't necessary to offer it.

Let me stress, I'm not casting any stones at Titan Global Holding or its Appco subsidiary here, nor am I by inference criticizing another other companies in the fuel business that have received these grants or receive them in the future. Frankly, if I managed a big and profitable fuel company and the state offered me free money to do something I already planned to do, I'd take it.

I'm also not against biofuels.

I'm just suggesting that state government might want to rethink the wisdom of subsidizing something that's already happening thanks to market forces and private-sector entrepreneurs.

Playbook

Chris Adamo has written a great piece about what the Republican Party should learn from Bobby Jindal's victory in the Louisiana governor's race. Here's a part of it...

Consider Jindal’s position on the “controversial” issues of the day. He is as staunchly pro-life as he can possibly be, and is bold and unapologetic about it. On illegal immigration, he rejects any watered-down policy, aimed at finding “middle ground,” and steadfastly supports measures to restore the integrity and sovereignty of the United States and its borders.

Moreover, he ran on a platform that proactively confronted the corruption in Louisiana government, blaming it, and not President Bush and FEMA, for the unnecessary disasters, misery, and suffering related to Hurricane Katrina. Such a stance, if we are to believe the “conventional wisdom” of the day, should have been soundly rejected by the people of Louisiana who ought instead to be basking in their ill fortune and the flood of federal pork it has provided.

Apparently, citizens of the Pelican State want something more. Perhaps they actually intend to correct the problems and better their lives, rather than continue accepting the tired liberal/Democrat mantras that predictably assert more good money after bad as the only workable fix. As a result, the people of Louisiana see Bobby Jindal as the person to address such issues with an eye towards actually improving life for themselves and their posterity.

His philosophically consistent and unapologetic conservatism clearly did not prove to be a liability. On the contrary, in a field of eleven candidates, it was Jindal’s blunt and unwavering assertion of “traditional values” that decisively separated him from the rest of the field.

Rudeness

Gov. Phil Bredesen has always been a tad thin-skinned, and it shows in today's AP story about the proposed underground party room he wants to build at the Governor's Mansion, a project that will cost taxpayers $3.86 million. "They were rude to my wife," the governor says of neighbors who are opposed to the project, and had the audacity to say so at a meeting Bredesen's wife, Andrea Conte, held with them to discuss the project tell the neighbors what was about to be shoved down their throats.

Governor, with all due respect, it is you and your wife who have been rude to your neighbors. Oh, wait. They aren't your neighbors. You don't even live at the mansion. You won't be affected by the blasting, the construction noise, or the traffic and noise from all of the many events that will be held in the new party room.

November 7, 2007

Democrats Play the "We Too" Game

Statehouse Democrats got some decent media play this week for their proposal to give $1,000-per semester lottery-funded scholarships to veterans of the War on Terror, but the media didn't tell readers that Republicans pushed legislation in the House and Senate last spring that would have made war veterans eligible for scholarships worth double the Democrats' proposal. Details here. Democrats: Six months late, and $2,000 short.

32 Minutes of Jeb

The Hoover Institution's Peter Robinson has a very good - and deep - interview with former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush. It's the latest installment in the irregular series Uncommon Knowledge.Bush is a Republican who won election and reelection by comfortable margins in Florida, where Democrats outnumber Republicans, and recently completed what most political observers believe was a highly successful governorship. During his eight years in office, Jeb Bush reformed education, cut taxes, and stood up for traditional moral values. He left office after eight years with an approval rating above 60 percent. Robinson speaks with Jeb about what it means to be a conservative, his views on America's current domestic agenda and foreign policy challenges, faith and politics, and the 2007 Republican presidential candidates.

Here's the link at the Hoover website. Here's the Hoover website link.

Switcheroo

The Tennessean has changed its mind and will sponsor the Middle Tennessee Regional Spelling Bee after all. Kay Brooks has the details.

Let 'Em Drink Sand

Gov. Phil Bredesen is spending $3.86 million in tax dollars for adding a party room to the Governor's Mansion. That's ten times what it would cost to install a new water pipeline so the drought-stricken people of Orme, Tennessee, could have enough water. But Bredesen didn't allocate a penny of state funds to help Orme. The Bredesen administration: Millions for parties, nothing for parched people.

November 6, 2007

The Grand-Standing Governor and the Town That Almost Died of Thirst

Democrat Gov. Phil Bredesen's grand-standing on the issue of protecting Tennessee River water from being taken by other states doesn't make up for his administration's gross neglect of the state's water infrastructure needs for five years running, the Tennessee Republican Party said today. Read the full press release here. It's a humdinger. I wrote it myself. I even quoted myself - accurately, of course.

The Story of a Bell

There's an old church bell that sits affixed to the top of a low brick platform behind Fourth Avenue Church of Christ in Franklin, Tennessee. The church building has been there at the corner of Fourth and Main since 1928, but the bell's history goes back to before the Civil War. And yet there's no plaque that tells the history of the bell and why it has been preserved. The church's website does provide a brief history of both the congregation and the bell.

It seems the bell was part of the first church building built at the corner of Fourth and Indigo streets - Indigo being the former name of what is now called "Main Street." Construction of the building began 1851, and the first worship service was held there September 5, 1852. According to a letter from one present that day, the building was a "brick structure about 40 by 60 feet-elegantly furnished." It had a bell tower with a bell that which was rung regularly.

The building survived the Civil War and the 1864 Battle of Franklin. It was remodeled around 1885 and again in 1914 - beautiful stained glass windows were added A tornado destroyed the building in 1927. The church rebuilt - the building built in 1928 is the one that stands there today. While some of the beautiful stained-glass windows from first building were preserved and incorporated in the present structure, the bell was not.

Some time later, though, church members missed the old bell and searched for it, finding it mounted on a pole on a farm fourteen miles away. The farmer who had bought the old bell gave it back to the church.

That's the history of the bell.

And this is too: For years, a Franklin resident and merchant named O.T. Craig rang that bell every Sunday to call members of the church to services, even during the Civil War when church attendance had dwindled to a very few.

And here is where the story gets interesting. O.T. Craig died in February 1899. An obituary/editorial published in the religious paper the Gospel Advocate - written by David Lipscomb, the namesake and co-founder of David Lipscomb University (and an outspoken pacifist before, during and after the Civil War) - tells this story about O.T. Craig and that bell:

During all the excitement of the war, when all the other churches ceased to meet, he never failed to call the little band together for worship. One Sunday morning, early, there was a battle in the streets and upon the Public Square of Franklin, between some of the cavalry of the two armies. The town was in a fever of excitement. A man of the world, telling me of it, said every one was wild with excitement until "your Brother Craig rang that bell for church."

He said, "It sobered the town." The man said, "I believe he would ring that bell when the time came, if both armies were carrying on a fierce cannonade in the streets of Franklin. He is determined to die close by that church."

That's the mystery of the bell.

April 10, 1863, was a Friday. But November 30, 1864, was a Wednesday. And the 1864 Battle of Franklin was one of the few nighttime battles of the entire war. It began at 5 p.m., and continued for about five hours, and has been called the bloodiest hours of the war. (More men of the Confederate Army of Tennessee were killed in five hours at Franklin than in two days at the Battle of Shiloh. For a good history of the 1864 Battle of Franklin, I recommend James Lee McDonough's book Five Tragic Hours - though, actually, nothing compares to getting a guided tour of the battlefield from McDonough because you took his Civil War history class in college like I did back in 1984, not knowing that 23 years later I'd be living in a house built on ground where some of the Confederate troops encamped before launching their suicidally futile attack on the federal position in Franklin.)

When I heard the story of O.T. Craig and the church bell, I thought that he rang the church bell to call people to services during the Battle of Franklin, considered one of the most horrific slaughters of the war.

But the Battle of Franklin was not fought on a Sunday.

Did the obit writer get the story right but the day wrong? Did O.T. Craig ring the bell to call people to Wednesday night services? Or was there some other skirmish between Confederate and Federal cavalry in downtown Franklin on some long-forgotten Sunday during the war?

I wish I knew. After all, O.T. Craig was my mother's father's grandfather - and my great-great grandfather.

Where There's Smoke...

Yet another state official appointed by Democrat Gov. Phil Bredesen needs a refresher course in ethics and conflict-of-interest. This time its Education Commissioner Lana Seivers.

November 5, 2007

Alcoholic Beverage Commission Runs Amok Under Bredesen's Management

The Sunday Tennessean report on the cozy relationship between the state Alcoholic Beverage Commission and liquor and wine wholesalers caught breaking the law more than 300 times exposes yet again the managerial incompetence of the Bredesen administration - as does a recent audit of the agency by the state Comptroller.

The Tennessean reports that "the middlemen who sell alcohol to Tennessee's liquor and wine merchants have repeatedly ignored laws protecting consumers and competition, but they will escape stiff penalties under a deal reached quietly with the agency that regulates them."

Wholesalers treated favored retailers to junkets to places like Chile and Australia, provided gallons of free booze and cut special deals that hurt smaller shops, according to investigators' files. Such actions violate state laws designed to protect consumers from high prices. But as agents in 2005 began compiling dossiers on 19 wholesalers, the head of the state Alcoholic Beverage Commission and the wholesalers' lawyer-lobbyist met and agreed that the agency would go lightly on those who cooperated and would not report violations to federal authorities.

The wholesalers will be fined $3,000 each, for a total of $57,000. The Tennessean's conservative count found 313 violations in case files, which could have cost $626,000 in fines if proved and prosecuted.

Also during the investigation, the TABC started working with the industry to loosen the laws this coming legislative session.

Bredesen said that agreeing to go easier on offenders in advance of an investigation is questionable, and pointed out that he does not have power of review over the ABC.

And yet, he hasn't done it. You might wonder if the $38,400 Bredesen's campaign fund received from all but one of the wholesalers under the state's investigation had anything to do with it.

As for the state Alcoholic Beverage Commission, the Bredesen administration has known for months know that the agency is wracked with problems. The state Comptroller of the Treasury published a scathing 37-page audit of the agency in July 2007 which found numerous problems, including:

The auditors also were highly critical of the TABC on conflict-of-interest issues, saying the commission "has not developed comprehensive conflict-of-interest policies, and compliance with existing policies is not adequate."

The Bredesen administration has controlled the TABC for five years now, and many of the issues found by auditors were repeat findings from previous audits, meaning the Bredesen-controlled TABC has not addressed the problems.

The audit's complete section on the TABC's failure to develop a comprehensive conflict-of-interest policy follows...

CONFLICTS OF INTEREST
The objectives of our review of conflict-of-interest policies and procedures were to determine whether

the commission has established a comprehensive, written conflict-of-interest policy for commission members and employees, and

signed conflict-of-interest disclosure statements had been completed.

4. The commission has not assessed and mitigated the risks of related-party transactions

(a) No person shall be eligible to be appointed as a member of the commission, and no person shall be employed in any capacity by the commission, if such person shall have any interest, financial or otherwise, either direct or indirect, in any distillery, wholesale dealer or retail dealer licensed as such in the state of Tennessee. No family member, including spouse, child or children, father or mother, niece or nephew by blood or marriage, son-in-law or daughter-in-law, shall be employed by any distillery, wholesale dealer or retail dealer, nor shall any family member hold or have issued to them any alcoholic beverage license in the state of Tennessee.

(b) No such person shall have interest of any kind in any building, fixtures, or in the premises occupied by any person, firm or corporation licensed under the provisions of this chapter.

(c) No such person shall own any stock, nor shall have any interest of any kind, direct or indirect, pecuniary or otherwise, by a loan, mortgage, gift, seeking a loan, or guaranteeing the payment of any loan, in any distillery, wholesale dealer or retail dealer licensed under the provisions of this chapter.

Only requiring the statement to be completed every four years is not adequate. In addition, the commission"s conflict-of-interest policy and disclosure statement are not adequate. Although the statement addresses commission members, the policy only mentions employees. Also, the policy and statement quote part (a) of the statute mentioned above but do not include parts (b) and (c). Neither the policy nor the statement addresses other potential conflicts of interest discussed in Section 12-4-101, Tennessee Code Annotated:

(a)(1) It is unlawful for any officer, committee member, director, or other person whose duty it is to vote for, let out, overlook, or in any manner to superintend any work or any contract in which any municipal corporation, county, state, development district, utility district, human resource agency, or other political subdivision created by statute shall or may be interested, to be directly interested in any such contract.

(b) It is unlawful for any officer, committee member, director, or other person whose duty it is to vote for, let out, overlook, or in any manner to superintend any work or any contract in which any municipal corporation, county, state, development district, utility district, human resource agency, or other political subdivision created by statute shall or may be interested, to be indirectly interested in any such contract unless the officer publicly acknowledges such officer"s interest.

Federal Judge Orders Forensic Review of Bredesen Administration Computers in Huge TennCare Lawsuit

The Tennessee Journal reports today that U.S. District Judge Joe Haynes has ordered the Bredesen administration to allow a forensic inspection of computers used by Gov. Phil Bredesen, Finance Commissioner Dave Goetz, and 158 other "key custodians" of records related to TennCare as part of a class action lawsuit against TennCare filed by the Tennessee Justice Center.

The order came in a dispute between state officials and the Tennessee Justice Center over what information is or should be available in the case. The Justice Center, a not-for-profit advocacy group led by Nashville lawyer Gordon Bonnyman, contends the state improperly failed to preserve pertinent records. ... Under the order, forensic copies will be made of computer hard drives. The copies will be searched for children's services documents, including deleted files.

It is unusual for a court to order a forensic inspection of this magnitude in a non-criminal case, but ESI is a relatively new area of law. Haynes' order allows the Justice Center to have its own expert present when the defendants produce the ESI and to step in as necessary to help produce metadata - which shows when files were created and changed. The expert, Thomas Tigh, or his designee also will be allowed to inspect the state's computer system to "assess whether any changes have been made to hinder the ESI production."

The State failed over an eight-year period to implement an effective litigation hold, resulting in the routine destruction of responsive electronic and hard copy documents by both state agencies and their contractors. The Governor's counsel and the state's Attorney General's office issued a litigation hold shortly before the Washington firms were hired in May 2004. But the court found that the litigation hold was not effectively implemented.

That would be the same Bredesen administration that once systematically - and without apologies - shredded documents related to sexual harrassment allegations against administration staffers.

Judge Haynes should reject the Bredesen administration's attempt at continued secrecy and cover-up in this TennCare lawsuit.

The Tennessee Journal is available only by subscription.

Refocusing Government on Its Spending Problem

In 2003, the voters of Spring Hill, Tennessee, approved a city charter change that requires that property tax increases be approved by voters in a referendum. Today, the city of Spring Hill is facing a bit of a revenue shortfall - but not because of that charter change. Instead, a key reason is that the government of that city was lax in in its spending controls. But the charter amendment is having an impact: Although some people are suggesting a property tax increase, city officials and elected leaders seem to be talking more about how to cut expenses.

That's a refreshing change in how government usually works.

Nashville voters passed a similar amendment to the city charter in 2006. Next time Nashville faces a revenue crunch, pay attention and see if that amendment doesn't force city officials and elected leaders to turn first to spending cuts rather than the old stand-bye of tax increases.

November 4, 2007

Minuteman Founder in Nashville Monday

Chris Simcox, founder of the Minuteman Civil Defense Corps - the volunteer organization established to help stop the flow of illegals across the Mexican border - is scheduled to speak at Belmont University Monday morning.

TACIR Report Comes Under More Fire

The Shelbyville Times-Gazette continues to expose questionable data in the recent report released by the Tennessee Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations estimating the cost of future public infrastructure needs across the state.

But while TACIR corrected figures for Bedford County schools, other amounts remain unchanged. Local officials are still scratching their heads, wondering where TACIR got its data. One utility said it has not even submitted data to the state body.

The report claims that officials in Bedford County reported their top areas of need to be transportation at $87.1 million and water and wastewater at $21.1 million. David Crowell, general manager of Shelbyville Power, Water and Sewer, told the T-G Wednesday that his office had not sent any records to anyone regarding infrastructure. "I guess we need to find where these came from," he said, speaking about the TACIR figures.

Given that that TACIR report is guaranteed to be used in coming years to support calls for higher taxes, and given that all the problems being exposed with the latest TACIR report just involving its data from one of Tennessee's 99 counties, the media across Tennessee needs to dig into the rest of the report and find out if the Bedford County errors are an isolated problem or the tip of the iceberg with the report. Republicans in the legislature may wish to hold hearings on the report's data errors and methodology before accepting any of its conclusions as accurate.

Wealthy Bredesen Accepts Taxpayer-Funded Healthcare

Here's Tom Humphrey's article in the Knoxville News Sentinel on the financial disclosures filed by Gov. Phil Bredesen and U.S. senators Lamar Alexander and Bob Corker in which it is revealed that Bredesen - whose net worth is somewhere above $100 million - allows the taxpayers of Nashville to pick up the tab for his health insurance. That's actually kind of ironic in that Bredesen made his millions by owning and running HMOs - and HMOs make money by spending less money on members' healthcare than they take in from members in premiums. Every time one of his HMOs refused to pay for some members' medical treatment, it made Bredesen wealthier.

(P.S. - if you read the whole story, make sure to read the posted reader comment from Jill Bader
Sen. Alexander's press secretary, noting two rather significant errors in the article regarding Alexander's financial disclosure.)

November 3, 2007

Bad Medicine

The administrators of the publicly-owned hospitals in Williamson and Maury counties continue their quest to deny the people of Spring Hill, Tennessee, the option of having a close, convenient hospital.

November 2, 2007

TACIR Report Update: More Errors?

Earlier today I blogged an article in Thursday's Shelbyville Times-Gazette which revealed that the Tennessee Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations had grossly over-estimated the amount of new school construction is needed in Bedford County, and questioned whether the rest of the TACIR report, a look at public infrastructure needs statewide, was error-free.

I'm not the only one asking that question. Brian Mosely, the Shelbyville reporter who wrote the intial reporter, not only came back today with a follow-up story on how TACIR over-estimated the needs of the Bedford County school system by $81 million dollars - he also is prepping a story for tomorrow about TACIR's estimates for Bedford County's infrastructure needs for transportation and water/wastewater. Says Mosely, "Officials I spoke with are also wondering about where the data came from that was used to compile these figures."

If the TACIR report has multiple errors just in the figures used for one county, how can we trust that it is accurate for the other 98 counties? The Shelbyville Times-Gazette is doing good work, but this story deserves an examination of TACIR's figures statewide by the state's capitol hill press corps.

Bush Economic Boom Accelerating?

Economist Larry Kudlow says the economy is booming - and he's got plenty of data to support it. In fact, some of the data suggests economic growth is accelerating, Kudlow blames the Bush tax cuts for the boom. I do too.

Tennessee Schools Report Card Released

Is our children learning? You can find out by sifting through the Tennessee Department of Education's Statewide Report Card for 2007, online here.

From the TDOE's explanation of the report comes this:

The Tennessee Education Improvement Act of 1992 established accountability standards for all public schools in the state and required the Department of Education to produce a Report Card for the public to assess each year.

Tennessee state law (Tennessee Code Annotated 49-1-601) has since been amended to match regulations in No Child Left Behind (NCLB) for meeting required federal benchmarks for all schools, school systems, and the state. Additionally, the State Board of Education has revised its performance standards and requirements to meet performance criteria in the new federal law.

The goal of NCLB is to ensure that all students in all schools are academically proficient in math, reading and language arts by 2014. Until that time, schools, school systems and the state will be measured on their ability to move toward that goal. In other words, schools, school systems, and the state must show that a greater percentage of its students are meeting required proficiency standards.

And at the other end of the scale, many of today's students will have dropped out before 2014.

I'm at a loss to understand why the goal is to not have our schools up to snuff for another seven years. I mean, we're told endlessly by the public education system's teachers' union that they are hard-working professionals who are all so uniformly good at their jobs that the notion of merit-based or performance-based pay is an affront to the profession.

If they're that good, then why aren't their students academically proficient in math, reading and language arts now? After all, isn't teaching students math, reading and language arts the core of the teachers' job?

It isn't Gov. Phil Bredesen's fault that the federal No Child Left Behind law settled for a slow timetable for improving public schools. But a truly visionary governor would have asked the Tennessee legislature to demand a more rapid pace of improvement.

TACIR Overstates Tennessee's Infrastructure Needs

A new report released by the Tennessee Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations (TACIR) claims that Tennessee needs at least $5.7 billion spent on new infrastructure for education - that means new, expanded or renovated school buildings between now and 2009. But almost as soon as the report was issued, officials in Bedford County were pointing out that the report grossly overstated their county's educational infrastructure needs.

The Shelbyville Times-Gazette reported that TACIR claimed Beford County schools need $159.9 million in new infrastructure, overstating the actual needs by tens of millions of dollars. The county is in the early years of a 10-year school construction program estimated to cost about $83 million.

TACIR said it was going to correct the report but, as of today, it has not done so.

The big question is this: If TACIR made an error that large on just one school system's needs - apparently pulling the figure out of thin air - what are the chances that the rest of the report is free of similarly significant errors?

Accurate data matters, because TACIR's report will be used by Democrats in the state legislature to justify calls for higher taxes and continuing to spend in excess of the state constitution's limit on the annual growth of the state budget, a provision designed to keep state spending from growing faster than the paychecks of the average Tennessean.

Gov. Bredesen Ignores the Sad Truths About China

Knoxville News Sentinel columnist Greg Johnson says Gov. Phil Bredesen's gushing about China