February 29, 2008

A Middle Name

I received the following from one of my most eloquent readers, who often emails me fantastic and wonderfully-written pieces only to ask me not to publish them. This one arrived under the subject line Appalling ignorance in the MSM!, and the writer gave me permission to share it with you.

Sadly, if predictably, hACK, over at Nashville's Channel 2, and Blake Fontenay, at the Commercial Appeal, find themselves, again, historically challenged.

Algernon Sidney was a magnificent champion of liberty, martyred for his courage and his cause. Our Founders ranked his intellectual contributions to liberty alongside those of John Locke.

John and Samuel Adams, George Mason, James Madison, and Benjamin Franklin all acknowledged Sidney's influence on American political thought. A group of Virginians (Patrick Henry included) founded Hampden-Sydney College in 1776 and named it in his honor (and John Hampden's). And in 1825, as founder of the University of Virginia, Thomas Jefferson issued this statement: "Resolved, that it is the opinion of this Board that as to the general principles of liberty and the rights of man, in nature and in society, the doctrines of Locke, in his 'Essay concerning the true original extent and end of civil government,' and of Sidney in his 'Discourses on government,' may be considered as those generally approved by our fellow citizens of this, and the United States." [LINK]

Read the entire article on Sidney at the link immediately above. Also, it is informative to consult the last will and testament of Josiah Quincy who, together with John Adams, Robert Auchmuty, and Sampson Salter Blowers, defended the British Captain Thomas Preston and his Redcoats when they were accused of killing Crispus Attucks, Samuel Gray, James Caldwell, Samuel Maverick, and Patrick Carr at the Boston Massacre (March 5, 1770), winning the soldiers' acquittal.

I give my son, when he shall arrive at the age of fifteen years, Algernon Sidney's works, John Locke's works, Lord Bacon's works, Gordon's Tacitus, and Cato's Letters. May the spirit of liberty rest upon him! - Last Will and Testament of Josiah Quincy, Jr., 1774

Algernon Sidney's Discourses Concerning Government, written in response to Sir Robert Filmer's Patriacha (1680) which was an apology for royal absolutism and the divine right of kings, remains one of the most powerful classical defenses of republicanism and popular government ever published. It was the evidence which cost Sidney his head, which he gave to his cause without flinching. The entire work is found online here.

The historical ignorance of our contemporary press is unforgivable. John Sidney McCain III is possessed of a middle name worthy of his own self-sacrifice in the cause of liberty.

- By An Old Whig or classical liberal like Sidney, Madison, and Hayek

The second is this: Many journalists don't pay much attention to history - they are too busy writing the first rough draft of future history, a task that suffers greatly from their failure to know much about or the past. A great weakness in traditional college journalism programs is that they teach students the basic skills of journalism - interviewing, story structure, editing, headline writing, and such - but rarely require them to get an education in something substantive such as history, economics, poli-sci or science that might give their writing more weight.

I studied American history twice as long as it took me to complete me journalism degree requirements. Frankly, it's made writing about politics and government much more interesting and fun.

Here's the Wikipedia page for Algernon Sidney.

That Giant Sucking Sound

Have you heard the joke about Georgia trying to move its border northward into Tennessee? Here's the punchline: It's no joke. And it's time Democrats in Nashville start taking it seriously. Because Georgia isn't the only neighboring state that isn't being so neighborly when it comes to taking Tennessee's water. Mississippi is angling to grab more water from the Memphis aquifer with a legal case that the Bredesen administration, inexplicably, failed to step in to help Memphis.

As the southeastern United States continues to grow in population and economic development, access to water is going to be an increasingly important political issue, often involving cross-border political battles. Tennessee is blessed with abundant water. Georgia wants some of it. Other states will too. And this isn't just about water for drinking and doing the laundry - water is a key to economic development. If Georgia - which is to say Atlanta - somehow gets a court to give it access to the Tennessee River, every billion gallons sucked southward to Atlanta is a billion fewer gallons available for economic development in Tennessee and, downriver, Alabama.

The giant sucking sound of Georgia draining the Tennessee River would drain Tennessee's and Alabama's economic development prospects proportionally, and sail that economic growth on down to Atlanta.

Jokes about settling the Georgia border dispute with a college football game, or photo-ops sending bottled water to the Georgia legislature are fine - but Georgia's serious, folks. They're already embroiled in a long-running legal battle with Florida and Alabama. It's a safe bet they're planning on added Tennessee to that list.

Too Green

Hillary Clinton has launched a devastating new ad, titled "Children," suggesting - rightly - that Barack Obama is simply too green to handle a major international crisis. Though polls show that, even more than Sen. Clinton, it is John McCain whom Americans most trust right now to handle issues such as terrorism and the war.

New data from the Pew Research Center underscores those other polls:A solid majority of voters (56%) says Obama has not provided enough information about his plans and policies; in contrast, most voters say Clinton and McCain have disclosed enough information about their plans. Moreover, a plurality of voters (43%) says that Obama would not be "tough enough" in dealing with foreign policy and national security issues.So, there is fertile ground for Clinton to build on the feelings many Americans already have that Obama isn't the best choice for keeping us safe.

Clinton's ad is good. It's reminiscent in tone to Ronald Reagan's fabulous "Bear in the Woods" ad from the 1984 campaign and, 24 years later, still one of the best political ads ever made.

But I don't think Clinton's new ad is going to do her much good. If she was facing an inexperienced thin-resume empty-suit like Obama in the general election it might, as the ad's message might appeal to swing voters for whom terrorism, the war and national security are big issues. That's not the people whose support she's battling with Obama for. Obama is being propelled by anti-war Democrats, who don't care about his inexperience because, frankly, they don't think there is a threat. Just as 24 years ago, there are those on the Left who do not believe there is a hostile bear in the woods.

Still, nice ad.

February 28, 2008

Polls

Some conservatives ain't happy with John McCain as the likely Republican presidential nominee, and Barry O's campaign is trumpeting "Obama Republicans" who plan to vote for him rather than McCain. Yeah, okay, but the polls right now show that Johnny Mac's got the inside track to the White House with the American people as a whole.

Rasmussen Poll, Feb 27:

With the general election campaign season coming soon, voters currently trust John McCain more than Barack Obama on issues of National Security, the War in Iraq, the Economy, and Taxes. Obama is trusted more when it comes to Reducing Government Corruption. The Republican hopeful has a slight lead over the Democratic frontrunner in the Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll.

When all voters are asked to look ahead to the general election, Mr. McCain, the likely Republican nominee, is seen as better prepared for the presidency, better able to handle an international crisis and more equipped to serve as commander in chief than either of the Democratic candidates.

Solutions Not Soundbites

Republican Legislators Offer Long-Term Healthcare Reform Plan. And that's certainly more than Democrat Gov. Phil Bredesen has done in five-plus years in office. Despite his vaunted healthcare business acumen, Gov. Bredesen has done nothing - absolutely nothing - about reforming long-term care for the elderly despite the fact that reform could save taxpayers tens if not hundreds of millions of dollars, and give consumers more and better choices.

More Freedom, More Guns; More Guns, More Freedom

A comparative study of 59 countries finds that "the nations with the highest rates of gun ownerhsip tend to have greater political and civil freedom, greater economic freedom and prosperity, and much less corruption than other nations."

Now do you understand why liberals hate guns?

Lottery News

Interesting bit of data in the latest MTSU Poll: “Most Tennesseans (65%) approve of the current requirement that college students maintain a “B” average or better to keep a lottery-funded scholarship."

Democrats in the state legislature want to lower standards for the scholarships and turn them into a lottery-funded entitlement program that would eventually have to be augmented with tax dollars. Republicans want to keep the program as a true merit-based scholarship program. Sounds like its the Republicans who are in tune with the people of Tennessee on this one.

Hey, Obama, Al Qaeda's Not Just In Iraq, They're In America Too

From the Wednesday Washington Post: Imam From Va. Mosque Now Thought to Have Aided Al-Qaeda

Schooling the Legislature

Public outcry against his legislative attack on home-schoolers has forced a Memphis Democrat legislator to back off a bit. Public protest can stop legislative tyranny in its tracks. Those home-schooled children who went down to Legislative Plaza yesterday to protest learned more yesterday about politics, government and democracy yesterday than children in public school learn all year. I daresay the Memphis Democrat who wants to chip away at home-schooling rights in Tennessee got a bit of an education too.

Give Guns A Chance

Student journalists at Vanderbilt University endorse allowing students to carry guns on campus. "We cannot let the fear of guns themselves prevent us from protecting ourselves," the writer says. Well-written and smartly argued.

Sweeping Out The Trash

What does a link from Daily Kos and attention from the Left get you? A flood of appalling comment-sludge. Not spam. Sludge, dumped by angry left-wingers who can't seem to make an argument without using a bucket full of foul language and without engaging in personal attack. Comments like that came in by the hundreds yesterday, each one a testament to the refusal of the Left to debate the issue of Barack Obama's coziness with terrorist supporters and focusing instead on the use of Obama's middle name. My blog's comments policy bars such language and personal attack, I deleted them. All of them. Because I simply didn't feel like wasting my time reading every single comment. Even supportive, favorable comments and non-supportive but reasonably-stated comments were deleted, and the comments sections to those posts were closed. To those commenters, I'm sorry, but the hostile, infantile, potty-mouthed Left turned the comments sections into a room full of obscenity-screaming crazies and I'm not required to allow that on my blog.

To those of you who sent supportive emails - and there have been many - I thank you. We will fight on. You can join the fight here.

February 27, 2008

Not In Position to Know

Barack Obama: Naive about Al Qaeda in Iraq. Though, to be fair, Iraq probably wasn't a big issue before the Illinois state senate, where Obama was in office back when such issues were being decided.

Thought For The Day

"I can't spare the man. He fights." - President Abraham Lincoln, to the critics of Gen. Ulysses S. Grant. Like an army that doesn't fight, a political party must fight or it can't win.

What's In A Name?

The Tennessee capital press corps has apparently just discovered a Tennessee Republican Party press release that they previously ignored when it was issued two days ago.

Apparently, using Barack Hussein Obama's middle name is a no-no. The TN GOP received back-to-back phone calls minutes ago from reporters for the Chattanooga Times-Free Press and the Nashville City Paper, asking the same basic questions, all of which ignored the main point of the press release, which is that Barack Hussein Obama is not a friend of Israel.

One of Obama's foreign policy advisers, Robert Malley, is anti-Israel and pro-Hamas. Hamas is an Iranian-funded Islamist terror organization dedicated to the eradication of Israel. Malley thinks we should do support Hamas. Malley is advising Obama on Middle East policy.

Did the media cover that? Ask about that? No. They fixated on Obama's middle name. Apparently, a story post at NashvillePost.com sparked the calls. The story is headlinedMcCain apology raises questions about state GOP, but NashvillePost.com didn't bother to actually pose those questions to the Tennessee Republican Party. No, they went and interviewed Democrats.

Silly, of course. Run a Lexis-Nexis search for the number of times the media has used Hillary Rodham Clinton's middle name, often to underscore her feminist leanings and independence from her husband. Do a search for how many times during the 1988 and 1992 campaigns the media called the first George Bush "George Herbert Walker Bush," to underscore the media's protrayal of Bush as a preppie elitist. Ditto the media's reference to Dan Quayle as "J. Danforth Quayle."

Don't looking for the media to show any consistency or logic in this, because it ain't there.

Update: It's gone national. Fox News Channel. XM Satellite Radio. JTA. Daily Kos.

Update: Obama's Wikipedia page uses his middle name.

Great Loss

The great William F. Buckley Jr. has died.

The Vision Thing

With Democrat candidates running around making promises to usher in the era of government-subsidized "universal healthcare," it's an open question whether they truly understand basic economics. For example, why is the cost of Lasik corrective eye surgery coming down while the cost of most all other healthcare going up? Sally Pipes explains.

Barack, Hillary and "Minister Farrakhan"

Did Barack Obama blow his "Sister Souljah" moment in last night's debate with Sen. Clinton? Did Clinton then blow her chance to make him pay for it? Fans of debate tactics and language may be debating that question for a long time.

Talk is Cheap.

The Kingsport Times News takes state Rep. Nathan Vaughn's side in its story about the battle over a proposed pro-life amendment to the state constitution. But the KTN ignores the elephant in the room: The Kingsport Democrat talks pro-life, but when the time came for action yesterday, he wasn't in the room. As Teddy Roosevelt might say, Vaughn wasn't "in the arena" when it counted.

Vaughn is like a lot of Democrats who claim to be pro-life - he's pro-life on the campaign trail, pro-life in his speeches, and pro-life in his rhetoric, but not pro-life in action, when it counts.

To put it another way: What has Rep. Vaughn ever done to actually help pro-life legislation pass in the Tennessee legislature? Nothing. What has he done to stop pro-life legislation from passing? Plenty, starting with voting for Jimmy Naifeh for House Speaker. Naifeh, another Democrat who claims to be pro-life but routinely sends pro-life legislation to be killed in a specially chosen House subcommittee.

Vaughn thus puts partisanship ahead of his pro-life views - and nevermore so than Monday night and Tuesday morning at the state capitol. Monday night Vaughn asked to be a co-sponsor of the House version of Senate Joint Resolution 127, a proposed constitutional amendment that would - if passed by the legislature and approved by voters - write into the state constitution a provision that nothing in the constitution can be interpreted by judges as creating or protecting a right to abortion. The amendment is necessary because in 2000, in the case Planned Parenthood v. Sundquist, the state Supreme Court - stacked with unelected liberal judges - struck down commonsense provisions like parental notification, informed consent and a waiting period.

The SJR 127 amendment would reverse that and leave abortion policy in the hands of the people's legislature rather than in the hands of a few liberal and unelected judges. It has passed the state Senate with an overwhelming majority vote, but in the House, Speaker Jimmy Naifeh routinely sends pro-life legislation to die in an obscure House subcommittee whose sole purpose seems to be to give the legislature's most rabidly pro-abortion female Democrats a subcommittee of their own where they can kill pro-life legislation.

Thus, the House version of SJR 127 was doomed from the start, and everyone - including Rep. Vaughn - knew it Monday night when Vaughn, who is known for being pro-life, asked the House sponsor to sign on as a co-sponsor.

It was pure cynical partisan theater.

Rep. Vaughn - and other Democrats who claim to be pro-life - want to sign on as co-sponsors to give themselves political cover, knowing the subcommittee would kill the legislation and it would never come to a floor vote. Most political observers in Nashville believe SJR 127 would pass the House by a large margin if Naifeh were to allow it to come to a floor vote.

A floor vote is never going to happen because the Democrat leadership in the House does not want a pro-life constitutional amendment on the ballot statewide in Tennessee ever, fearing it would bring a lot of social conservatives to the polls and threaten Democrats' majority.

Democrat legislators like Vaughn who want voters back home in their districts to believe they are pro-life want to sign on as co-sponsors for political cover, so they can campaign claiming to have co-sponsored pro-life legislation, all the while knowing Naifeh will abort the legislation in the subcommittee created for that very purpose.

The House sponsor of SJR 127 is willing to let "pro-life Democrats" sign on as co-sponsors if and when the bill reaches the House floor. That makes political sense - if they can't sign on as co-sponsors for political cover just before Naifeh kills the bill, they might actually work to pressure Naifeh to let the bill come to the floor for a vote.

The bottom line is that the legislature is full of pro-life Republicans and pro-life Democrats, but there's a difference between them. The Republican-led Senate passes pro-life legislation; the Democrat-lead House kills it.

And rhetorically pro-life legislators like Democrat Nathan Vaughn enable the pro-choice Democrat leadership to kill the legislation by electing Jimmy Naifeh as House Speaker every two years.

Rep. Vaughn may, in his soul, be pro-life. He may give pro-life speeches. He may pray every night to God to end abortion. But when push comes to shove - when Rep. Vaughn is faced every two years with casting a meaningful vote that affects the future of pro-life legislation - he votes for Jimmy Naifeh for Speaker. The vote for Naifeh for Speaker is the first vote Vaughn cast at the opening of the current General Assembly, and it was a pro-abortion vote. And Speaker Naifeh then sets about to kill the pro-life legislation that Vaughn says he supports.

Talk is cheap.

Rep. Vaughn hasn't done a blessed thing in the legislature to be actively pro-life. And he has done MUCH to harm the pro-life cause, including vote for Naifeh for Speaker as Naifeh routinely executes all pro-life legislation.

He did not even go to the subcommittee hearing Tuesday to urge his fellow legislators to pass the resolution and allow it to go to the House floor for a vote.

He may claim to be pro-life. He may say all the right words to all the right people, but actions matter more than words, and when it came time to act, Rep. Vaughn failed to back his words with action. He is pro-life except when it counts - just like a lot of "pro-life" Democrats in the Tennessee General Assembly.

Pro-life voters need to understand this clearly: If you vote this fall for pro-life Democrats for the state House, you are undermining the pro-life cause because they will vote for Jimmy Naifeh for speaker, again, and he will send pro-life legislation to die in his subcommittee guillotine.

In Tennessee a vote for a pro-life Democrat for the state House is a pro-abortion vote.

Postscript: A single line jumped out at me over and over as I read the Dr. Seuss classic Horton Hears a Who to my son at bedtime last night:

"People are people, no matter how small."

500,000 of Tennessee's smallest, most helpless and vulnerable people have been killed in the state's abortion mills since 1978, according to Tennessee Department of Health data. That's almost equal to the the population of Nashville-Davidson County. Many of those abortions have been subsidized by an annual state budget appropriation for Planned Parenthood, the state's largest abortion provider.

Half a million dead babies. That's what electing "pro-life Democrats" gets you.

February 26, 2008

Dirty Money

My post earlier today regarding former Tennessee Democrat Party chairman Bob Tuke entering the race for the U.S. Senate prompted a reader to remind me of a story involving Tuke, the TDP and dirty money. Back in 2006 the Tennessee Democratic Party accepted more than $50,000 from a corporate CEO who was busy looting retirement funds managed by his company, 1Point Solutions. Tuke expressly refused to return the money - no surprise, given the company had deep ties to the Bredesen administration, the Bredesen 2006 re-election campaign and Tennessee Democratic Party.

More details here and here.

Tuke's successor at the TDP has, likewise, refused to return more than $50,000 accepted from convicted felon Norman Hsu, who earned the money through various scams. Hsu wrote the TDP the checks while a fugitive.

Not What He Had In Mind

When we let freedom ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God's children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of that old Negro spiritual, "Free at last! Free at last! Thank God almighty, we are free at last!"

Somehow, I don't think bail bonds is what Martin Luther King had in mind when he spoke those famous words to cap his stirring "I Have a Dream" speech on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial on August 23, 1963.

Photo snapped with a cell phone, Tuesday, Feb. 26, 2007, in downtown Franklin, TN.

The Long War

Today is the 15th anniversary of an event that, in hindsight, should have been more of a wake-up call than it was. Today is the 15th anniversary of the first attack on the World Trade Center by the Islamic jihadists. It was their declaration of war on us. Unfortunately, the Clinton administration treated it like a criminal matter rather than the act of war that it was, and so the United States did not begin to wage war against the Islamic terrorists until after the second attack on the WTC.

A Promotion for the Captain

Ed Morrissey, writer of the highly successful Captain's Quarters blog, is moving his bloggery to Michelle Malkin's even more successful Hot Air, where he'll blog alongside Malkin and the Allahpundit. Captain's Quarters was a high-impact conservative blog, as is Hot Air. Morrissey will be replacing Bryan Preston, who has left to take a position as a producer for Laura Ingraham. Details here.

Tuke & Tinker

Here's a picture of former Tennessee Democrat Party chairman Bob Tuke posing with the cowboy hat-wearing Nikki Tinker at the 2004 Democrat National Convention. Tinker currently is running for the 9th District congressional seat in Tennessee, against incumbent Democrat Steve Cohen. Tinker's primary rationale for her candidacy seems to be that the district is majority-African American and Cohen isn't. Recently, Tinker declined to strongly condemn an anti-Semitic flier circulated in the 9th district attacking Cohen for being Jewish.

When I asked Tuke, off air, Feb 15 during a taping of Bob Mueller's WKRN show Inside Politics about Tinker and the flier, he said he was unaware of the incident.

Tuke is planning to run for the U.S. Senate seat currently held by Lamar Alexander.

Questions

As former Tennessee Democrat Party chairman Bob Tuke prepares to announce that he's going to run for the U.S. Senate seat currently held, firmly, by Lamar Alexander, I'm reminded of a strange incident from 2004 where Tuke, on a radio show, seemed to imply he knew beforehand that CBS was about to smear President Bush with some documents regarding Bush's National Guard service. The documents proved later to be fakes. Frauds. Forgeries. I chronicled the whole incident here back in Sept. 2004. The post is still the numero uno search result if you Google for "Bob Tuke" - even above the TDP's website.

February 25, 2008

The Discovery Network

Ever wonder, when you're reading a news story about the presidential race, who some of those folks are who are advising Obama and Clinton? Ever wondered about their history, their connections and their paper trail? Wonder no more - know more, by visiting DiscoverTheNetworks.org.

February 24, 2008

Honesty in Budgeting

Stacey Campfield's got a rather illuminating snippet of video from the Tennessee legislature, and reports,Our leadership caught this video of two Democrats talking honestly about the governor and some wasteful spending between two committees. I wish they would be as free with their opinions when it came time to vote for this pork. Most people know that John Wilder is one of the main beneficiaries of the three million dollar boll weevil eradication fund. We have not had a boll weevil infestation in over 40 years. The left says "Look how well its working!" And laugh all the way to the bank.

Don't be surprised if the Democrat leadership in the House changes the rules to require the video system be shut off as soon as the gavel comes down to end committee meetings and floor sessions.

Tuke vs. Alexander

In a story about former Tennessee Democrat Party chairman Bob Tuke running for the U.S. Senate against Republican Lamar Alexander, Tennessean writer Bonna Johnson says Tuke hopes "to ride a wave of Obama-mentum and an electorate fed up with a failing economy."

The economy isn't failing. Has it hit a rough patch? For certain. The subprime mortgage crisis, though it affects about 2 percent of all current mortgages, has put a dent in the housing market. But employment remains strong and inflation remains low. Nationally, the economy has not yet suffered one month of negative growth, much less the two consecutive quarters (six months) that are required before the economy can be said to be in recession. In Tennessee, most economic signs remain reasonably healthy.

Most economists predict the national economy will continue to grow in 2008, albeit at a slower pace than in the five previous years of the economic boom that started with the passage of the first of the Bush tax cuts.

And therein lies Tuke's primary weak spot. He's an Obama supporter. Obama is promising all sorts of new spending that will require big tax increases. If Obama wins the White House, the Bush tax cuts - which slashed taxes for all taxpayers including the middle class and removed tens of millions of lower-income taxpayers from the income tax rolls entirely - will expire. The resulting tax increases will make it all the more difficult to keep the economy growing.

It will also make things more difficult, economically, for taxpayers who are most definitely not "the rich" that Democrat rhetoric will target.

If the Democrats do not extend the Bush tax cuts, a single mother of two children making $40,000 a year will have her income tax burden increase by $1,800 annually. That's $150 a month, which might equal that mother's day care bill for one child, or her electric bill or the cost of putting fuel in her car.

In short, Tuke is likely to campaign claiming the economy is collapsing and the solution to fixing it is big tax hikes. Neither is true. Most folks know that. And that's why Lamar is going beat Tuke like a drum.

Tuke knows he's going to lose, of course. The mere mention in the Tennessean story that he's aiming to raise $5 million for the race tells you he isn't expecting to win. It would take at least $10 million to make a serious race. But Tuke isn't running to win. He's running to keep Alexander from rolling up a huge victory margin, in order to boost Obama's thin chances of winning Tennessee and also to try to prevent an Alexander landslide from carrying Republican candidates to victory in other races on the ballot, especially in state legislative races.

February 23, 2008

Smearing McCain

This was entirely predictable. Conservatives have disagreements with John McCain, but they loathe the The New York Times. So when the NYT publishes a smear piece written to the journalistic standards of the worst supermarket tabloids, a surge in support for McCain was virtually guaranteed.

February 22, 2008

New York to Los Angeles on Three Tanks of Fuel

Click the pic and see the (possible) future of commuting. A German-made two-seat diesel that gets 150 mpg. It's one of the competitors for the Automotive X Prize for development of a commercially viable super-efficient vehicle. It's expected to go on sale in the U.S. in 2010, for about $23,000.

February 21, 2008

Hope and Change

Regarding Barack Obama's mantra of "Change" and "Hope" :

"All change is not growth, as all movement is not forward." - American novelist Ellen Glasgow

"But what is Hope? Nothing but the paint on the face of Existence; the least touch of truth rubs it off, and then we see what a hollow-cheeked harlot we have got hold of." - British poet Lord Byron

"Don't go changin', to try and please me..." - American songwriter, performer and piano man William Joel

February 20, 2008

The Obama Tax

If Barack Obama manages to get elected president, American taxpayers can look forward to paying a trillion dollars in additional taxes in the next decade to fund a huge increase in foreign aid, writes James Pethokoukis at U.S. News.

TN Dems Quote Famous Republican

That's right, a very famous Republican.

Looking For a Fresh Angle on the Ballroom Story?

A challenge to the press corps down at Legislative Plaza in Nashville: Poll the members of the legislature, Republican and Democrats, to find out how many of them are opposed to the ballroom project. Let your readers or viewers know how many lawmakers - and how many Republican lawmakers and Democrat lawmakers - favor or oppose the multi-million dollar underground ballroom that Gov. Phil Bredesen is insisting be constructed at the Tennessee governor's mansion at great expense to Tennessee taxpayers.

Incumbent Democrats who want Gov. Bredesen to help in their re-election fund-raising and campaigning later this year will obviously be reluctant to go on the record with opposition to the project, so to get an accurate count you should make it just a head-count poll, with no legislators' names attached to opposition to or support for the project.

It shouldn't take more than a couple hours to get an answer from most of the 132 legislators.

The people of Tennessee have a right to know.

Playpen Politics

Tennessee Democrats get downright petty with a bill designed to affect just one business in Tennessee, which happens to be owned by a Republican state legislator and her husband. As the City Paper reveals, the idea to play politics with legislation designed to slap a single prominent state legislator originated with the kids in the daycare at 223 Eighth Ave. No., Suite 200, in Nashville. But state Rep. Beth Harwell, R-Nashville, takes the high road in response - and comes off looking like the only adult in the story.

CON Job?

State Rep. Susan Lynn has some thoughts about Tennessee's "certificate of need" process for permitting new hospitals and medical facilities, over her blog. Multiple posts. Follow her links. Her history of the certificate-of-need process is very good.

February 19, 2008

Ballroom Press Conference Video

Video from Tuesday's press conference at the Tennesseee Governor's Mansion with several state legislators calling for cancellation of the costly underground ballroom project is now online at the Tennessee Republican Party's YouTube web page

Or you can view it here:

Part 1, Part 2

Here is the Tennessee Republican Party's statement issued shortly after the press conference.

Update: WSMV Channel 4 News had a good story on the press conference and controversy.

Just Another Example of Supply and Demand

Regarding the subprime mortgage crisis that I wrote about yesterday, Ilya Somin at The Volokh Conspiracy comments on new research showing that restrictive zoning and other government land-use restrictions have played a major role in causing the subprime mortgage crisis. "Zoning helped cause the crisis in two ways: by artificially inflating the price of real estate, and by increasing the likelihood of a 'boom-bust' cycle in real estate prices," Somin writes. ...

Portland, Oregon, is a prime example of how restrictive land use policies drive up housing prices.

Several years ago, the "smart growth" anti-sprawl movement captured the minds of Portland's political elites and they limited the growth of suburban development via a "smart growth" urban boundary, outside which land could not be subdivided into plots smaller than 5 acres.

The result was housing prices in the city shot sky high and created an acute shortage of affordable housing.

This didn't hurt the well-off, as they could merely go outside the "urban growth" boundary and buy 5 acres and build a house. The poor and lower-income working class, however, were greatly impacted as a larger and larger share of their limited resources was consumed by housing costs, or they had to move into crappier homes because that's all they could afford.

Portland's answer wasn't to cancel the "smart growth" plan that was forcing up housing prices by placing an artificial limit on the available supply of developable land, but to use taxes to subsidize affordable housing. Taxes, I should add, that increased the cost of buying a house in Portland.

Next Year in Havana

When I read the news this morning that Fidel Castro, who has kept the Cuban people imprisioned in 1959 for half a century, has decided to retire, one of the first people I thought of was Carrie Ferguson Weir, a former Tennessean reporter and Cuban-American now running Los Pollitos Dicen, a company that markets Latino-themed apparel for babies and toddlers, and blogging at Bilingual in the Boonies. Sure enough, she has some thoughts... And some good news.

From Hell to Paradise
Raul Malo/The Mavericks, 1992 For thirty years they sang the song
of promised victory
But who they've fought and who has won
Didn't matter much to me

I see them driving down the streets
In their fancy shiny cars
Crowds of people to their feet
Their faces full of scars

No pleasantries, no luxuries
No little children's milk

While minister's wives spent
all their lives
In China's finest silk

My back's been broken many times
But my spirit lingers on
The day it comes my way on
freedom's ship
I will be gone

From hell to paradise
I'll always pay the price
From hell to paradise
I'll always pay the price

This ninety mile trip
has taken thirty years to make
They tried to keep
forever what was never theirs to take
I cursed and scratched the devil's hand
As he stood in front of me
One last drag from his big cigar
And he finally set me free

From hell to paradise
I'll always pay the price
From hell to paradise
I'll always pay the price
From hell to paradise
I'll always pay the price
From hell to paradise
I'll always pay the price

Con ojos tiernos algun dia te mirare
Con brases abiertos algun dia abrasare
Hay mi Havana cuando pueda regresare

(With tender eyes someday I'll look at you
With open arms someday I'll embrace you
My old Havana someday I will return)

Dead Newspapers

Tomorrow marks the 10th anniversary of the death of the Nashville Banner, as I mentioned last week. I also mentioned that I had 10 copies of the final final edition available. Now I have six. Email me at bill-at-billhobbs-dot-com if you are interested in having one.

Also, I have a last-day edition of the Richmond, Va., News Leader, which died May 31, 1992, and was combined with the Richmond Times Dispatch, along with the June 1, 1992, edition of the Times Dispatch, which ballyhoos the debut of the "new" combined paper. It would make a nice framed set if you're connected with the Richmond journalism community.

I also have a last-day edition of The Anchorage Times (June 3, 1992), the Knoxville Journal (Dec. 31, 1991), and the Spokane Chronicle (July 31, 1992). All of them are in perfect condition, having sat in a box ever since I got them. (The Spokane Chronicle does have a white postal address sticker on the top left corner, but it probably can be steamed off.) All are available for purchase.

1992 was a bad year for newspapers - newspapers were going the way of the dodo bird long before the Internet came along.

Global Warming Update

"January was Wicked Cold." Colder planet-wide. And the Arctic ice is growing and thickening.

February 18, 2008

Home $weet Home

The Nashville City Paper reports today that Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tennessee, is co-sponsoring legislation that would give a $15,000 tax credit to anyone purchasing a newly constructed home, a foreclosed home or a home where foreclosure is pending. The goal: boost the troubled housing market, which is somewhat of a drag on the economy right now.

I'm not sure why the City Paper is covering this story today - Alexander's office issued the press release Jan. 31.

From that release:

"Providing Americans with this $15,000 tax credit over three years would provide a much-needed boost to the housing market and the economy," Alexander said. "This incentive will restore confidence in the housing market while preventing a housing disaster by reducing the number of unsold and foreclosed homes on the market that threaten to lessen home values and reduce homeowner equity."

The legislation, S. 2566, provides a direct tax credit for the purchase of a single-family home in the amount of $5,000 a year for three years on homes purchased between March 1, 2008, and February 28, 2009. Buyers must occupy the homes as their primary residences to be eligible, and purchases of homes from investors or by investors are ineligible. Homes eligible for the tax credit include:

New homes where the building permit was issued and construction began on or before September 1, 2007;

Owner-occupied homes whose first mortgage loan is in default; and

A single-family home that has been foreclosed on and is owned by the mortgagor or its agent.

Update: The foreclosure wave is primarily hitting the subprime mortgage market. Subprime loans are loans made to people with sub-par credit, often with low initial monthly payments that, under the terms of the contract that the buyer knowingly signed, ballooned to much-larger payments in a few years. Subprime mortgages tend to be adjustable-rate or interest-only adjustable-rate loans.

According to a fact sheet (PDF) published in the third quarter of 2007 by the Mortgage Bankers Association, 35 percent of homeowners own their home outright; 48 percent are in fixed-rate mortgages. Only 15 percent of homeowners have adjustable-rate mortgages (ARM). Only 5 percent of homeowners are nonprime borrowers with adjustable-rate mortgages. And only about 1.7 percent of all loans are in the foreclosure process.

Says the MBA:

Historically, delinquency rates tend to peak in the first three to five years after origination. Because more than half of outstanding loans are less than five years old, it stands to reason delinquency and foreclosure rates may rise as they age.

Nonprime borrowers have always had higher delinquency and foreclosure rates, and ARM borrowers have higher delinquency rates even when rates are falling. Nonprime borrowers also represent a higher share of ARM borrowers; it stands to reason that nonprime ARMs have a higher delinquency rate.

Most mortgages aren't subprime, most homes are not being foreclosed on, and most mortgagees have fixed-rate mortgages, making them less likely to be forced into a foreclosure situation. The "mortgage crisis" is really just a shakeout of some bad deals in one very small corner of the overall mortgage market.

A tax credit would make those homes more attractive to buyers. But, then, so will their falling prices. That's the way it always works.

A few years ago, Nashville was a buyer's market for houses, with homes sitting unsold for months, and desperate sellers dropping prices like mad. 18 months later, it had flipped completely to a sellers' market, with houses selling for their asking price or higher, often days or even hours after they hit the market.

This year's mortgage crisis-induced housing slump is creating the next buyer's market, which in turn will fuel another record-setting wave of home-buying, creating a seller's market and sparking more new home construction. And it will happen sooner than you think.

Ballroom Update

There is bipartisan opposition to the construction of an underground ballroom at the Tennessee governor's mansion - costing taxpayers around $8 million - but it appears that it is only mostly Republican legislators who are willing to make their opposition loudly public.

All Tangled Up

I took some time today to review what all I pay currently for land-line telephone service, satellite television and high-speed Internet service, in order to compare it to bundled packages available from competitors such as Comcast, and in addition to realizing I'm way overpaying, I found something else rather interesting.

Last month, we used our AT&T long distance service - for which we pay $23.99 per month as part of a bundled package - to make a total of just 12 minutes of long-distance calls. That works out to $2 per minute.

We generally use our cellphones for long-distance calls. In fact, I rarely use the land-line phone at all anymore, even if I'm sitting at my desk in my home office, a mere 18 inches from the phone, I generally pull out the cell phone.

I'm thinking it's time to ditch the land-line phone entirely, though that will make the price of my BellSouth DSL and DirecTV go up as they won't be part of a bundled service anymore. But the bundle-based discounts on those total just $19.95 per month. And our total local/long distance land-line service with AT&T costs $50.99 per month (not including taxes.)

There's also a $5.11 "Tennessee Satellite Privilege Tax" that I never realized existed until today. (Is there a corresponding cable tax?)

Perhaps Comcast for TV and Internet is the way to go. They currently have an Internet/Cable bundle that's $59.99 a month for the first 12 months, rising to $95.45 per month after that. It would still be cheaper than what we're paying now.

And we could keep our old landline phone number by simply paying $10 a month to add it as a third number on our cell phone account. We never use all our minutes, and routinely have a few thousand "rollover" minutes.

Anybody out there have any advice?

Update A reader suggested the Verizon FIOS service - TV, Internet, phone and wireless - as a good alternative, but it isn't available where I live. I'm coinsider a Voice over Internet Protocol (VOIP) option - Lingo - which would be a low-cost alternative to AT&T, and going with Comcast for TV and 'net.

Hey, Neighbor...

I'd love to see Nashville get this potential GM test project. Mainly because I want one of these. Far-fetched? Probably. But we do have a GM plant nearby...

Tennessee Democrats Discover Water

After six years of ignoring the growing water infrastructure crisis in Tennessee, the state's Democrats are finally starting to pay attention.

That's right, six years after the Tennessee Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations (TACIR) put the total water infrastructure needs statewide at $2.83 billion, and three years after the Tennessee 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 - Gov. Phil Bredesen and House and Senate Democrats have suddenly discovered the water problem.

It's about time, as TACIR estimated late last year that the total water infrastructure needs statewide have risen 13 percent, to $3.19 billion, an increase of $364 million.

Until now, the Bredesen administration's response to the state's deficient water infrastructure has been, quite literally, a drop in the bucket. The Bredesen administration put less than $2 million into the state's Drinking Water State Revolving Fund - which local governments can borrow from to finance improvements - in fiscal year 2006.

All of these facts were included in a press release issued by the Tennessee Republican Party on Nov. 7, 2007. Within two weeks, Gov. Bredesen - who had previously said local water infrastructure was not the state's responsibility - was suddenly running all over Tennessee handing out federally-funded Community Block Development Grants for water projects. And now a number of top Democrats in the legislature are suddenly talking about water.

Turns out, you can lead donkeys to water - and make 'em drink!

Hankerin' For Mr. Cooper's Seat

Lynn Sebourn has launched his website, SebournForSenate.com, for his run for the Republican nomination for state Senate district 14. The seat is currently held by a Democrat appointed by the Warren County Commission to complete the final year the term of Sen. Jerry Cooper, a corrupt Democrat who stole more than $94,000 before retiring.

Sebourn's issues page has an interesting twist: He not only tells you his basic stands on various big issues - taxes, immigration, abortion and more - he also states, specifically, "What I Will Do" on each of those issues.

There are other potential candidates for the Republican nomination for the 14th District senate seat but, so far, Sebourn is the only to officially jump into the race that I'm aware of. The Tennessee Republican Primary does not take sides in a primary.

Balance of Power

The Tennessean previews the upcoming campaign battle for control of the Tennessee state Senate, and also looks at the House side, stating the opinion that "all 99 state House seats are up for re-election this year, but chances of a leadership upset there are slim."

Actually, changes of the Republican Party taking a majority in the state House are growing. Democrats currently hold a 53-46 edge, so Republicans need to pick up just four seats to gain a majority.

The recent announcement by two Democrats, Frank Buck of Dowelltown and John D. Hood of Murfreesboro, that they are not seeking re-election, opens up two districts in which a Republican win is possible, and the Tennessee GOP has a good chance to knock of at least two other incumbent Democrats in districts where Democrats do not greatly outnumber Republicans.

February 17, 2008

Laffer Unplugged

The Tennessean has an interview with Arthur Laffer, the economist whose supply-side economic theories lead the Reagan administration to cut taxes - leading to a major economic boom. Laffer lives in Nashville now, having fled high-tax California a few years ago.

Only One Drink

Is Gov. Phil Bredesen misleading the public - and costing the state millions in federal highway dollars - with his stance on proposed tougher DUI laws? State Rep. Stacey Campfield thinks so. First, the Knoxville News Sentinel had this to say in a Tom Humphrey article on Friday:

While there are multiple proposals for strengthening the state's drunken driving laws pending in the Legislature, Gov. Phil Bredesen says he decided to set priorities and focus on just one.

Bredesen's budget plan for the coming year includes $2.2 million in funding to implement an "administrative license revocation" system in Tennessee, but nothing for other DUI legislation - including some recommended by a DUI task for he established two years ago.

"You have to pick from all the good things available," Bredesen said Thursday.

The license revocation proposal, HB4213/SB4196, provides that motorists charged with drunken driving would have their driving license confiscated by law enforcement officers upon arrest. Under current law, the license is surrendered only after the accused motorist is convicted.

Bredesen said members of his task force told him that the legislation is the single most important measure in a package of recommended bills. Bredesen acknowledged that he earlier thought a license revocation bill had passed last year, but "it somehow fell through the cracks."

Among other pending DUI-related bills are measures lowering legal blood-alcohol content levels for conviction in some cases, mandating use of ignition interlock devices for all of those convicted of DUI, a ban on open containers of alcohol in vehicles, and tougher penalties for offenders.

Campfield:

Some of the DUI bills that have been killed, like tougher penalties and the "pass the bottle" bill actually don't cost the state money. They actually bring money into the state from the federal government. This is called a positive fiscal note. The fed is withholding transportation money because Tennessee won't pass tougher DUI laws. You would think with all the gnashing of teeth we hear about there not being enough money for road building that the Gov would be all for these changes. I guess toll roads or raising the price of gas even higher are a more pleasant idea for him.

The governor saying we have to choose is not honest. It is not a lack of money issue that these things are not getting done, it is a lack of will.

Two Good Bills

The Tennessean has stories today about two pieces of sensible legislation, including state Rep. Stacey Campfield's bill that would prohibit public school teachers from discussing homosexuality and transgenderism with elementary and middle school students, a bill that has been batted around the state's political blogosphere for a few weeks now. The other sensible legislation is a bipartisan bill that would ban unmarried couples - straight or gay - from adopting.

February 16, 2008

Worshipping a False God

Ed Morrissey slams a speech from Michelle Obama::

It's the notion that only Barack Obama can save our souls that is the most offensive part of the speech, by far. Government doesn't exist to save souls; it exists to ensure domestic tranquility and provide for the common defense. If I feel my soul needs saving, the very last place I'd look (in the US) for a savior would be Washington DC or Capitol Hill. I'll trust God and Jesus Christ with my soul, and I'm not going to mistake Barack Obama for either one.

The Blogs of Hazzard

Knoxville journalist Jack Lail has some thought about bloggers and Boss Hogg.

Stupidity Kills

Associated Press: Colleges feel helpless to prevent shootings. And yet they aren't willing to let faculty, staff and students who have gun carry permits to go armed in self-defense. As long as the criminal element knows that campuses are, essentially, undefended, on-campus shooting sprees by deranged individuals are going to continue to happen.

Democrats Put Politics Before National Security

Rich Galen explains why the Democrats are wrong to stall on passing the FISA legislation - and, for those of you who don't know what FISA is, he explains that, too. Also, the Tennessee Republican Party issued a statement yesterday regarding FISA and the failure of the Democrats in Tennessee's Congressional delegation to put national security before politics. It isn't posted on the TNGOP.org website yet, so I've included the text in the extended portion of this blog entry.

TENNESSEE DEMOCRATS PLAY POLITICAL GAMES WITH VITAL NATIONAL SECURITY LEGISLATION

NASHVILLE, TN - Yesterday, the Democratic Members of Tennessee's Congressional Delegation left town after repeatedly voting to block a vote on the U.S. Senate's bipartisan Protect America Act (FISA), which is set to expire this Saturday. This vital national security legislation gives our intelligence professionals the tools they need to monitor threats to America's security, specifically terrorists' communicating and plotting abroad.

"Tennessee's Democrats in Congress are being reckless and irresponsible in playing politics with our safety and national security," said Bill Hobbs, communications director for the Tennessee Republican Party. "Each day they refuse to act on this bipartisan anti-terror legislation is another day our families are more vulnerable to real terrorist threats."

"It is time for Congressman Davis, Cooper, Gordon, Tanner and Cohen to reject the political games being played by the Democratic leadership and their candidates for President. Some things are more important than politics and the security of our nation is certainly one of them. The Democratic Members of Tennessee's Congressional Delegation ought to do the right thing and return to Washington to vote on this important piece of legislation."

February 15, 2008

Looking Back at the Banner Years

Next Wednesday (Feb. 20) will mark the 10th anniversary of the death of the Nashville Banner. NashvillePost.com recalls the newspaper's life and death, with articles from Tom Wood and former Banner scribes Kay West and Beverly Keel.

I moved back to Nashville in 1988, armed with a journalism degree, a year of experience at a Texas newspaper, and a singular goal: to work for the Nashville Banner, which I had always enjoyed reading when I was a college student here in the mid-80s.. In the 10 years that followed, I would work for the Clarksville Leaf-Chronicle, the Nashville Business Journal, and The Tennessean - and freelance for a dozen or more publications here locally and around the country. The Banner is about the only publication in town that I never worked for.

But I read it every day, and was sad, though not surprised, to learn 10 years ago tomorrow of its impending demise.

Now would be a great time to mention that I have about 10 copies of the last-day issue of the Banner - and they are in perfect condition, having sat untouched in a closed box since that day, when I bought them at a long-ago-closed coffee shop in downtown Nashville's Arcade. I'm willing to part with a few of them, for a reasonable price. Just email me at bill-at-billhobbs.com.

Update: Only eight seven left. Get one before they're gone!

Primary Colors

Duncan Mansfield's AP wrap-up on the Republican presidential primary in Tennessee looks at the role of religion, race, gender and regional roots in voters' choices.

Long Term Care Update

Tennessean reporter Theo Emery reports on the governor's "me too!" proposal on restructuring TennCare to offer more long-term care options than just nursing home care.

Also, the AP ran a story on it, but the only place I could find it, on the website of the Memphis Daily News, was a truncated version of the much longer - and better - story that the AP actually put on the state wire.

The truncated version did not include the comments from Tennessee Republican Party Chairman Robin Smith responding to the governor's proposal:

State Republican Party Chairwoman Robin Smith offered unexpected praise for Bredesen's comments.

"Governor Bredesen spoke very eloquently today about long-term care, and I want to congratulate him because that's been something that's been a priority on the Republican side for years," she said. "He's doing the right thing."

(I also can't figure out why newspaper website stories don't link to press releases and other documents that they mention - so that readers can decide for themselves if the newspaper story's summary is enough information or if they want to read the whole press release or document for themselves. Essentially, structure the online version of a story as if it were a blog post.

Sure, I'd like it if they linked to the press releases I issue for the clients and organizations I represent, but, as a news consumer, I'd like it if they linked to such documents even from clients and organizations I don't work for.

A newspaper that routinely did that would, in my estimation, become a much more valuable and popular resource for its readers by serving as both news summarizer and information guide.)

February 14, 2008

Bredesen Comes Around to GOP Position on Home-Based Care

Gov. Phil Bredesen addressed the Tennessee Press Association winter convention in Nashville this morning and announced that he would be proposing legislation, the "Long Term Care Community Choices Act," that would begin to shift TennCare nursing home dollars to home-based care for elderly and disabled people on TennCare who would prefer it.

The governor talked about how home-based care is less costly, and more preferable for most elderly people.

"People simply need more choices," Bredesen said. "In the months ahead we're going to fundamentally restructure how our state deals with long-term care in the TennCare program."

Noting that under the current system, 98 percent of state dollars for elderly care go to nursing home care, Bredesen said the lack of home-base care options means "We end up forcing people into nursing homes who would prefer to remain in their own homes."

Bredesen is absolutely correct.

And better late than never.

Advocacy groups have long urged the state put more dollars into home-based care options, and Republican state Sen. Diane Black of Gallatin has been the leading voice in the state legislature for doing just that for the past three years.

Home and Community-Based Services (HCBS) is universally acknowledged to be much less expensive than nursing home care - but under Bredesen's watch less than 2 percent of the more than $1 billion that Tennessee spends (including federal dollars) on long-term care for the poor, elderly and disabled goes to HCBS. That's the lowest rate of any state in the country.

The rest goes to nursing homes - the most expensive form of care. None goes to assisted-living, which is an intermediate step between HCBS care and nursing home, and costs less than nursing home care.

Sen. Black's legislation would significantly increase the use of in-home health care for the state's Medicaid-eligible elderly population - which would both lower health care costs for the state and increased care alternatives to nursing homes for the state's elderly and disabled, but the governor, despite his legendary health care business expertise, has shown no interest in it over the five years he has been in office.

In a press release from the Tennessee Republican Party last year, Sen. Black criticized the governor's inattention to the issue.

The good news: Bredesen has changed his mind and now agrees with Sen. Black and the Republicans on this issue.

Update: Bredesen's promised forthcoming legislation may not be necessary - the state Senate is already moving two bills toward passage that address the same issue. A press release out this morning has the details:

State Senators moved passage of two key health care bills this week aimed at helping elderly or disabled Tennesseans receive more options in their health care, including staying in their homes for as long as possible. The long term care legislation is part of a series of bills aiming to help citizens "age in place."

"We must look at all of our laws to help give citizens more options regarding their health care so that they can age in place in their homes with dignity," said General Welfare Committee Chairman Rusty Crowe (R-Johnson City). "This is one of several bills we hope to pass this year aimed at providing more choices and options to elderly and disabled Tennesseans to help them stay in their homes as long as they can."

One bill, SB 1157, approved by the Senate General Welfare, Health and Human Services Committee, calls for a pilot program for a "self-directed care program" where individual patients get the opportunity to choose services they think they need and who provides them. Consumers would receive a monthly budget based on their needs, and could use this money to hire personal assistant services, make home modifications, and more.

The self-directed care program requires consumers to develop plans that show how they would use the allowance to meet their personal care needs. It would provide counseling and financial assistance to help them plan and manage their responsibilities. Consumers who are unable to manage their care themselves may designate a representative, such as a family member, to help them or do it for them. These features make this program adaptable to consumers of all ages and with all types of impairments. Basically, it gives frail elders and adults with disabilities the option to manage a flexible budget and decide for themselves what mix of goods and services will best meet their personal care needs.

...

"Tennessee has been last in the nation for too long in the number of healthcare choices for elderly and disabled citizens on Medicaid-supported services, a problem that has kept them from being able to stay in their homes and age with dignity," said Senator Diane Black, sponsor of the legislation. "I know from speaking with citizens in my district that this is an issue that concerns many of them, and I can sympathize with their lack of options."

...

Tennessee spent approximately $1.1 billion on long term care last year. Out of the 22,000 seniors on Medicaid in Tennessee, only a few thousand get home- and community-based care services.

The second bill approved this week to help provide more options for elderly and disabled citizens was SB 2614, which was approved by the full Senate on final consideration. The bill, sponsored by Senator Diane Black (R-Gallatin), broadens the definition of assisted living to include hospice services. This bill would make it clear that any assisted-care living facility resident who qualifies for hospice care under Medicare can continue those services and also receive reimbursement for assisted living services.

Update: Tennessee Republican Party press release on the above:

Governor Shifts To Republican Position On Long-Term Care Reform

February 13, 2008

Bredesen Sees Gas Tax Ahead

Tennessee Gov. Phil Bredesen is talking about the need to raise the gas tax. But Tennesseans are already getting only 60 percent of the roads they already pay for through the current gas tax.

Why Taxpayers Migrate

State's tax rates appear to play a role in the migration of Americans from some states to others, says the Wall Street Journal.

Politicians who think taxes don't matter might want to explain the Dakotas. North Dakota ranked second worst in out-migration last year, while South Dakota ranked in the top 10 as a destination. The two are similar in most regards, with one large difference: North Dakota has an income tax and South Dakota doesn't.

The Munday Message

This is "Mike." Mike showed up at a kickoff event at the Campbell County Courthouse for Ken Yager, the Republican former Roane County Executive who is running for the 12th District state Senate seat being vacated by Democrat state Sen. Tommy Kilby, who is retiring. Yager, who served more than 24 years as the Roane County executive, kicked off his campaign with events in all six counties in the 12th district Monday. Mike tagged along to some of the events to videotape things. According to multiple witnesses, Mike identified himself as "Mike," and said he was a "Vanderbilt grad student" who was there "studying local politics."

Mike's real name is Wade Munday, and he's the communications director for the Tennessee Democrat Party. And yes he is wearing a Ken Yager sticker.

Munday was hired in February 2007 by the TDP. Previously he worked as a research analyst for Fletcher, Rowley, Chao, and Riddle, Inc., a Nashville Democrat campaign consulting firm with a reputation for slashing attack ads, below-the-belt tactics and a heavy reliance on negative campaigning. At the time he was hired by the TDP, Munday was reported to also be pursuing a Masters of Divinity degree from Vanderbilt University - not studying politics. And his name ain't Mike.

As the campaign season heats up, candidates and activists of both parties won't be surprised to see folks from the opposition showing up at their events. Both sides will use "trackers," often armed with video cameras, to record their opponents, hoping to gather some bit of info or video to use against that candidate in the campaign. It's all part of modern politics and it's perfectly fair and fine.

But lying about your identity isn't.

Update: Wade Munday called. Says he never said his name was Mike. Multiple witnesses say otherwise.

Bredesen Longs For Higher Gas Tax

The Daily News Journal report on Gov. Phil Bredesen's speech to the Murfreesboro Rotary Club includes mention of Bredesen's support for increasing the state's gas tax.

Bredesen also spoke about the eventual need for a possible increase to the 22-cent per gallon gas tax to help pay for roads. "I don't think it will happen this year," he said.

The previous gas tax was enacted in 1989, but rising construction costs have made it difficult for the Tennessee Department of Transportation to keep up with needed road projects, Bredesen said.

The governor said restructuring the gas tax will take a bipartisan effort by the Tennessee General Assembly. "I think everyone has an interest in roads being completed," he said.

The Knoxville News Sentinel reported on that latter possibility recently:

Tennessee transportation officials are facing a shortfall of more than $5 billion in the next eight to 10 years because of stagnant fuel revenues and skyrocketing construction costs.

"We are facing, along with every department of transportation across the country, financial issues," Tennessee Department of Transportation Commissioner Gerald Nicely told a gathering Friday of state and local government officials."We have a trend where our costs are growing three times as much as our revenues," Nicely told the group at the annual Knoxville Transportation Planning Organization Legislative Luncheon.

Although Tennessee hasn't increased its gasoline tax of 21.4 cents per gallon since 1989, Nicely said Friday he has no plans to push for a hike in the existing tax. The fuel taxes provide the state about $644 million a year, with $383.2 million of that going to TDOT, according to budget statistics.

But Nicely noted Gov. Phil Bredesen is looking at other sources of revenue, including toll roads, to keep the transportation infrastructure from spiraling into disrepair.

Over eight to 10 years - the time period in which Nicely says TDOT faces a shortfall of more than $5 billion - that adds up to more than $2 billion.

Better Late than Never

Tennessee needs to give residents more long-term health care options beyond nursing homes, Gov. Phil Bredesen told members of the Murfreesboro Rotary Club Tuesday, reports the Daily News Journal in the 'boro. Republican legislators have been pushing for exactly that kind of reform, including home-based care options, for years. Still, better late than never, Gov. Bredesen.

A Long, Long Time Ago...

State Rep. Frank Buck, D-Dowelltown, is retiring after 18 terms in the state legislature - which means that, for the first time since 1972, the year Buck was elected, the voters in the 40th House District won't have an incumbent on the ballot.

The last time Buck wasn't on the ballot was the year 1970, the year that Paul McCartney announced the Beatles had disbanded. Also that year, the Kansas City Chiefs won Super Bowl 4, President Richard Nixon sent the troops into Cambodia, four students were shot at an anti-Vietnam War protest at Kent State, the Ford Pinto made its debut, as did Garry Trudeau's comic strip Doonesbury, the first Earth Day was celebrated, the ill-fated Apollo 13 lunar mission was launched, and construction workers topped out the North Tower of the World Trade Center at 1,368 feet, making it the tallest building in the world.

I was six.

The 40th House District includes Macon, Smith and DeKalb counties. In 2006, Buck survived a strong challenge from Republican Terri Lynn Weaver. She got 42 percent of the vote. Buck got 58 percent, but his vote total of 9,650 was 2,424 votes fewer than fellow Democrat Phil Bredesen got in the district en route to being re-elected with 70 percent of the vote statewide. House District 40 is a definite pick-up opportunity for Republicans, who are just four seats shy of taking a majority in the state House. Weaver plans to run again.

Longtime readers of my blog know I've had nice things to say about Rep. Buck in the past. A conservate Democrat, Buck was, by far, one of the best Democrats in the state House. He opposed the income tax when Democrat House Speaker Jimmy Naifeh pushed it to a vote in 2002, but Buck made his biggest impact with his career-long focus on legislative ethics. Buck was championing ethics reform long before the Tennessee Waltz investigation forced the Bredesen administration and the House Democrat leadership to focus on it too.

I wish Rep. Buck only the best in his retirement from the legislature.

February 12, 2008

The Happy Party

A story in last Saturday's Washington Post explores an interesting phenomenon: On average, Republicans are happier than Democrats.

A 2006 Pew Research poll found that 45 percent of Republicans describe themselves as “very happy,” compared with only 30 percent of Democrats (and 29 percent of independents). This is a sizable gap and a remarkably consistent one, too. Republicans have been happier than Democrats every year since the General Social Survey, conducted biannually by the National Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago, began asking about happiness in 1972.

The most obvious place to look for an explanation is, of course, with money. Wealthy people are marginally happier than poor ones, and Republicans, according to some surveys, tend to be wealthier than Democrats, so that must be why they're happier, right? Nice try, but no dice. Even after adjusting for differences in income, the Pew researchers still found a marked happiness gap: Poor Republicans are, on average, happier than poor Democrats, and wealthy Republicans are happier than wealthy Democrats.

Maybe the answer is power. Republicans have controlled the White House for most of the past 35 years, and nothing spells happiness like p-o-w-e-r. Wrong again. Republican bliss persists even if a Democrat -- be it Jimmy Carter or Bill Clinton -- resides in the White House.

You can practically hear the researchers at Pew scratching their liberal heads. They put the findings through a rigorous process called multiple-regression analysis in an attempt to isolate the relevant variables. But try as they might, they could not wash that Republican happiness out of their hair.

Basically, Republicans have in spades all the things that combine to make us happy. Church attendance is particularly crucial. People who attend religious services regularly are more likely to report being "very happy" than those who don't -- 43 percent vs. 26 percent (a happiness boost, by the way, that cuts across all the major religious denominations). In addition, Republicans are more likely to be married than Democrats, and married people are happier than singles.

If this isn't depressing enough for liberals, it turns out that some of their own pet policies are to blame for their unhappiness. Once in power, Democrats tend to focus on issues that, according to the science of happiness, have little effect on our contentment -- income equality, for instance, and racial diversity. Neither is linked to greater happiness.

Starbucks to Offer Free-ish Wi-Fi

Customers at Starbucks across the nation will have free wireless access later this year, through a deal with AT&T. Well, sort of "free." You'll have to have an "active Starbucks gift card" to get 2 hours of free wi-fi access per day. Details here.

Suing a Blog

A Nashville couple is suing bloggers who they say libeled them on a blog. I've never heard of the blog or know anything about the case, but there are a few basic things to know about libel law. 1. Truth is an absolute defense. 2. Opinion, no matter how derogatory, is protected by the First Amendment. 3. It is very difficult for public figures to win libel cases.

February 11, 2008

The Great Divide

Susan Estrich - the former Mike Dukakis campaign strategist - looks at latent racism in the Democratic Party and the effect it is having on Barack Obama's campaign results.

Trial Lawyers Still Love Briley

THe Nashville City Paper combs through the latest campaign finance disclosure of state Rep Rob Briley and finds something interesting: While the Tennessee Trial Lawyers Association dumped their chief legislative lobbyist after it was revealed that she was having an affair with Briley, a Nashville Democrat, while he was chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, Briley is still their boy, politically speaking.

The trial lawyers' PAC, Lawyers Involved for Tennessee, gave Briley $5,000 in campaign contributions through two separate installments last year after Briley's DUI and alleged evading arrest incident.

One $2,500 check came in October, a few weeks