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August 2008 - Posts

The weekly roundup, kitchen sink edition

Sunday, August 31, 2008 11:07 AM
This week's TennViews roundup of Tennessee liberal bloggers is three roundups in one: the first is on the Democratic National Convention, the second is on McCain's bizarre choice of Sarah Palin as his running mate, and the third is a roundup of everything
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McCain's momentous blunder

Friday, August 29, 2008 4:50 PM
John McCain made a stupefyingly wrong-headed strategic mistake today by naming Sarah Palin as his vice-presidential running mate. If McCain were elected, Palin would be one heartbeat away from the Oval Office, and given the fact that McCain turns 72 today
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Feel Good Friday: "Johnny B. Goode"

Friday, August 29, 2008 8:25 AM
For this week's Feel Good Friday, here's Chuck Berry performing "Johnny B. Goode": Yow. Share this post: Email | del.icio.us | Digg | Reddit
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Quote of the day (on convention coverage, and multitasking)

Thursday, August 28, 2008 3:24 PM
Commenting on the MSM coverage of the Democratic National Convention, Jim Voorhies said this (in comments here ): It’s so much easier if you don’t watch at all and just read about it online afterwards. That way you get to do something else. It’s almost
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Dennis Kucinich and the "Wake Up America" speech

Tuesday, August 26, 2008 10:03 PM
Since about February, I've done my level best to ignore this presidential campaign, and this week, I'm doing my best to ignore the Democratic Convention. The horrible choices of candidates and the scripted pageant happening in Denver have stripped this
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The Sunday roundup for August 24, 2008

Sunday, August 24, 2008 1:54 AM
I decided to dedicate this week's TennViews roundup to the selection of Joe Biden as Obama's running mate. Tennessee's liberal blogosphere has a wide and diverse spectrum of opinions on the subject; see how everyone has reacted here . Share this post:
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A quick thought on Joe Biden

Saturday, August 23, 2008 11:28 AM
A short exchange from Twitter : RussM : If there's a single VP choice that could make me even more weary of this campaign, Joe Biden would be it. vagredajr : @RussM: agreed. But maybe now the US can get a MasterCard to pay off the rest of its debts? Share
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Feel Good Friday: "You Send Me"

Friday, August 22, 2008 8:32 AM
For this week's Feel Good Friday, here's the legendary Sam Cooke singing "You Send Me:" Share this post: Email | del.icio.us | Digg | Reddit
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Katie's new gig

Thursday, August 21, 2008 10:42 PM
One of my favorite Knoxville bloggers, Katie Allison Granju, recently left WBIR for Scripps. Fortunately, her new employer has seen fit to set her a-blogging. Katie's new blog is called "Because I Said So," and it's located here . Bookmark her site, and
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Diebold admits to dropping votes

Thursday, August 21, 2008 8:31 PM
Diebold (now called "Premier," since their previous name has become radioactive) has admitted that their electronic voting machines contain a critical flaw which can drop votes : A voting system used in 34 states contains a critical programming error
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Court smacks down EPA-sanctioned pollution

Tuesday, August 19, 2008 10:43 PM
In 1990, Congress passed an amendment to the Clean Air Act which ordered a state to set more stringent limits on air pollution if that state determined that the Clean Air Act was insufficient inside its borders. The monitoring requirements and sufficiency
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The Sunday roundup for August 17, 2008

Sunday, August 17, 2008 9:18 AM
This week's roundup of Tennessee liberal bloggers is right here . Go see what everyone's been talking about this week. Share this post: Email | del.icio.us | Digg | Reddit
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Feel Good Friday: "Sexual Healing"

Friday, August 15, 2008 8:11 AM
For today's edition of Feel Good Friday, here's Marvin Gaye singing "Sexual Healing," one of the greatest soul songs of all time: He left us way too early. Share this post: Email | del.icio.us | Digg | Reddit
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Corporations are evading taxes

Wednesday, August 13, 2008 10:04 PM
The majority of US corporations are evading (or at least avoiding) paying their fair share of income taxes : Two out of every three United States corporations paid no federal income taxes from 1998 through 2005, according to a report released Tuesday
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Pelosi caves yet again

Tuesday, August 12, 2008 8:28 PM
Once again, Nancy Pelosi has demonstrated her utter lack of leadership skills by caving to the GOP; this time, it's on offshore oil drilling : House Republican Leader John Boehner on Tuesday urged House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to call lawmakers back into
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Backdoor repeal of the Endangered Species Act

Tuesday, August 12, 2008 1:28 PM
We're now witnessing a back-door repeal of the Endangered Species Act: The Bush administration yesterday proposed a regulatory overhaul of the Endangered Species Act to allow federal agencies to decide whether protected species would be imperiled by agency
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Richard Holbrooke on Russia and Georgia

Monday, August 11, 2008 10:23 PM
In today's Washington Post, Richard Holbrooke had this to say about Russia's invasion of Georgia: Russia's goal is not simply, as it claims, restoring the status quo in South Ossetia. It wants regime change in Georgia. [...] But its greatest goal is to
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To Scott Barker of the KNS: Bravo!

Sunday, August 10, 2008 7:45 PM
Here's something I don't say very often: a story in today's Knoxville News Sentinel is such a masterful example of beautiful storytelling, it brought a tear to my eye. This piece by Scott Barker describes the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra's Music And Wellness
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The Sunday roundup for August 10, 2008

Sunday, August 10, 2008 9:18 AM
For the remainder of August, I'll be substituting for R. Neal as author of the TennViews Sunday roundup. This week's edition is here . Share this post: Email | del.icio.us | Digg | Reddit
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Updated PGP key

Friday, August 08, 2008 10:32 PM
I've updated my PGP public key. Click here if you want it. Share this post: Email | del.icio.us | Digg | Reddit
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Feel Good Friday: "Chain of Fools"

Friday, August 08, 2008 9:03 AM
Given yesterday's election results, I think this week's Feel Good Friday post should somehow reflect the relationship between Knox County voters and many of our local elected officials. Aretha Franklin's "Chain of Fools" describes that relationship pretty
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Knox County voters fall asleep

Thursday, August 07, 2008 11:10 PM
The Knox County primary election in February seemed to send a message that voters in this county were still angry over Black Wednesday and intended to exert their control over elected officials run amok; today's county general election proved that assumption
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Justice denied

Wednesday, August 06, 2008 10:12 PM
Salim Hamdan was convicted today of providing material support to terrorists in a sham kangaroo court convened at Guantanamo. His "trial" included the admission of inflammatory, irrelevant evidence such as the 1998 African embassy bombings and the 9/11
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Paris responds

Tuesday, August 05, 2008 8:08 PM
Via Rex Hammock , Paris Hilton responds to McCain's recent sleazy ad depicting Obama alongside her and Britney Spears: Maybe I'm showing my age, but it seems like every presidential campaign becomes ever more surreal than the last one. Share this post:
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Feel Good Friday: David Sedaris reads "Six To Eight Black Men"

Friday, August 01, 2008 11:08 AM
For today's edition of Feel Good Friday, I thought I'd share one of the funniest things David Sedaris has ever written. Here he is reading his classic essay, "Six To Eight Black Men" (audio only): Source . UPDATE: SquirrelQueen and Ginger have today's
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