BillHobbs.com

A Tale of Two Cities

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

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

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

Continue reading "A Tale of Two Cities"

Porkbusters

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

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

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

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

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

Bredesen's Approval Rating Under 50 Percent

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

Lunch With Ed

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

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

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

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

Bruce Barry of the Nashville Scene's blog PithInTheWind.com thinks Bryant is a "scary dude" because he believes that illegal immigrants ought to leave the country, unborn life should be protected, and the election process - a state and local matter since the founding of the country - shouldn't be federalized.

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

Sharon Cobb promises a transcript.

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

More to come...

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

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

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

Nagin, Blanco Decide to Use Buses

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

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

Taxing News

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

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

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

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

Bredesen's TennCare Cuts Killed Man, Doctor Says

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

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

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

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

TennCare's spokesman says Bryant got all the medicines he needed, and the TennCare cuts didn't kill him. They may be right - although I'm more likely to believe the doctor's expertise than TennCare's spokesman when it comes to such things. Still, even if the Bredesen administration can spin away from the blame for this death, there will be more - many more - and they won't be able to escape blame for all of them.

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

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

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

It's a sorry legacy for a governor who ran for office promising to use his "healthcare expertise" to reform TennCare. But, then, we shouldn't be surprised. Because Gov. Bredesen has no "healthcare expertise." He started and operated HMOs. HMOs make a profit by collecting premiums and then rationing healthcare. The less care they deliver, the better the bottom line. It's the same approach he's brought to TennCare. And people are dying because of it.

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

Thanks

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

What's Wrong With This Picture?

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

Soak the Rich!

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

Lunchtime Links

A few political links for you today...

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

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

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

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

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

Livin' Large

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

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

People Movers

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

Where In The World Is Bill Hobbs?

I was near here today.

On Travel...

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Watch the movie. He's right.