Ongoing news media coverage of the ability of doctors to test children for a gene to determine if they'll be super athletes is not a way to make better human beings to create a better world.
Any coach will tell you that it's not the genes that determine a great athlete. It is his or her heart -- the kind of courage and determination they are taught by their parents, faith or life.
Consider the damage to children if they are forced into sports if they're not interested in the competition. What is Albert Einstein had tested for the gene to be a great soccer player? Or Madame Currie had tested to be a gymnast? Or George Washington Carver to be a great baseball player?
Perhaps science can one day determine the gene that makes it more likely that a child will be a doctor, humanitarian, Marine or community organizer. Or just a good father or mother.
Testing for the sports gene is a giant step back for humanity ... and our children.
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
Corker says Big 3 automakers should seek bankruptcy to reorganize and not take billions from taxpayers
On CNBC this morning, Tennessee U.S. Sen Bob Corker said the nation's Big 3 automakers -- slated to beg today before Congress for a $25 billion Christmas gift -- said he does not see how their debt can be turned into securities and high labor costs be lowered without Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization for these companies.
"I want to see the plans," Corker said. "We can tell whether they are making serious steps. I am very doubtful they can do it on their own. If you look at their numbers, they should have been having meetings a year ago. They have not addressed the issues."
When the automakers were on Capitol Hill last month, they could not answer Corker's question as to whether they would be back for more money after getting bailed out now.
Corker said he has been meeting with analysts for the past two days, and most everyone has been talking about pre-arranged bankruptcy. Another problem for the automakers is the gross number of dealerships for them across the country. State laws prevent the closing of such dealerships. Bankruptcy law can remedy that.
"The test is after they have done all this, will anyone invest in them," Corker said. "If they are able to restructure so that people will invest in these companies, then that's another thing. I can't think of any company paying people in manufacturing more than anyone else and the taxpayer picking up the bill."
Corker, however, did not have good answers when it came to the big bailouts he supported for Wall Street fatcats. The Tennessee Republican is the 23rd richest member of Congress.
"The rescue efforts have been there so that the financial system works for everyone," he said. "But these companies cannot continue (to operate as they do). If we move into individual industries, that is pretty scary for our government."
As for the automakers: "We sat down with analysts all day yesterday ... GM argues that if you go into bankruptcy, no one will buy our cars. The place for U.S. government may be debtor in possession position."
"I want to see the plans," Corker said. "We can tell whether they are making serious steps. I am very doubtful they can do it on their own. If you look at their numbers, they should have been having meetings a year ago. They have not addressed the issues."
When the automakers were on Capitol Hill last month, they could not answer Corker's question as to whether they would be back for more money after getting bailed out now.
Corker said he has been meeting with analysts for the past two days, and most everyone has been talking about pre-arranged bankruptcy. Another problem for the automakers is the gross number of dealerships for them across the country. State laws prevent the closing of such dealerships. Bankruptcy law can remedy that.
"The test is after they have done all this, will anyone invest in them," Corker said. "If they are able to restructure so that people will invest in these companies, then that's another thing. I can't think of any company paying people in manufacturing more than anyone else and the taxpayer picking up the bill."
Corker, however, did not have good answers when it came to the big bailouts he supported for Wall Street fatcats. The Tennessee Republican is the 23rd richest member of Congress.
"The rescue efforts have been there so that the financial system works for everyone," he said. "But these companies cannot continue (to operate as they do). If we move into individual industries, that is pretty scary for our government."
As for the automakers: "We sat down with analysts all day yesterday ... GM argues that if you go into bankruptcy, no one will buy our cars. The place for U.S. government may be debtor in possession position."
CityPaper fast becoming print press watchdog as Nashville leaders spend your money recklessly
If you connect the dots from fine reporting by Richard Lawson and Amy Griffith Graydon of the CityPaper, a Nashvillian can see why the city is in such trouble in its schools and in its finances.
Lawson delivered another bravado performance in breaking down the deal that brought the NCAA Women's Final Four to Nashville. The bid that got the event depends on a whopping $1.75 million in public financing. And the new tax sports officials are counting on to finance the event covers only part of the cost.
Now switch to Griffith-Graydon, who reported today on discussions before the Metro Nashville school board on how to cover an $11 million deficit in the current budget year. Right now, members are hearing about places to cut in new textbooks and administrative costs. But everyone knows that cuts will have to reach the bone of educating children in a district failing to meet standards under the No Child Left Behind Act.
So now let's place the two different stories against each other. Why is the city spending money it does not have on a sporting event when the education of its children needs dramatic fiscal rescue? Worse, Nashville Mayor Karl Dean, who believes he is competent enough to run local schools, is planning to build a convention center that will easily top $600 million in cost. And the city's bid to win the NCAA Final Four is based on that center being built.
The city can't afford the center, which will cost a lot more than the projected $600 million because of the credit crunch across the globe. City-issued bonds would have to pay an extraordinarily high interest rate. And taxpayers already pay $4 million annually on bonds for LP Field.
Expect Titans owner Bud Adams to soon push his demand for $176 million in improvements to the stadium. The city must do so under the contract negotiated by former Mayor Phil Bredesen more than a decade ago. How can the city afford the Final Four and the convention center?
Meanwhile, children continue to suffer. And so will Nashville as more children fall out of school and into prison or on welfare and fathering or bearing children as teens.
Nashville cries out for compassionate and common sense leadership that has priorities for investment of public dollars such as in public education that pays off the best and the longest.
Lawson delivered another bravado performance in breaking down the deal that brought the NCAA Women's Final Four to Nashville. The bid that got the event depends on a whopping $1.75 million in public financing. And the new tax sports officials are counting on to finance the event covers only part of the cost.
Now switch to Griffith-Graydon, who reported today on discussions before the Metro Nashville school board on how to cover an $11 million deficit in the current budget year. Right now, members are hearing about places to cut in new textbooks and administrative costs. But everyone knows that cuts will have to reach the bone of educating children in a district failing to meet standards under the No Child Left Behind Act.
So now let's place the two different stories against each other. Why is the city spending money it does not have on a sporting event when the education of its children needs dramatic fiscal rescue? Worse, Nashville Mayor Karl Dean, who believes he is competent enough to run local schools, is planning to build a convention center that will easily top $600 million in cost. And the city's bid to win the NCAA Final Four is based on that center being built.
The city can't afford the center, which will cost a lot more than the projected $600 million because of the credit crunch across the globe. City-issued bonds would have to pay an extraordinarily high interest rate. And taxpayers already pay $4 million annually on bonds for LP Field.
Expect Titans owner Bud Adams to soon push his demand for $176 million in improvements to the stadium. The city must do so under the contract negotiated by former Mayor Phil Bredesen more than a decade ago. How can the city afford the Final Four and the convention center?
Meanwhile, children continue to suffer. And so will Nashville as more children fall out of school and into prison or on welfare and fathering or bearing children as teens.
Nashville cries out for compassionate and common sense leadership that has priorities for investment of public dollars such as in public education that pays off the best and the longest.
Monday, December 1, 2008
WSMV's Finley scores coup with new Ford outrage
In Tennessee politics, the surname of "Ford" conjures up thoughts of scandal instead of success in serving the people.
And so WSMV's Jeremy Finley added another sorry chapter tonight to the Memphis family's political history. State Sen. Ophelia Ford, who has suffered from an assortment of "health" problems while in office and missed much of last session, found time to take five trips at a cost of $12,000 to taxpayers this summer.
Sen. Ford was not one bit apologetic, and responded to Finley's questions with a "Oooeeee! Alleluia! That's all I spent?!"
Because of a fiscal crisis facing state government, state employees have been ordered not to travel. Yet Ford and several other lawmakers took trips costing taxpayers more than #100,000 during the summer. The lawmakers also received per diem payments for food and lodging.
Finley's reporting is a prime example of fine watchdog reporting. Ford's conduct is indicative of a political family more accustomed to self service than the public kind.
And so WSMV's Jeremy Finley added another sorry chapter tonight to the Memphis family's political history. State Sen. Ophelia Ford, who has suffered from an assortment of "health" problems while in office and missed much of last session, found time to take five trips at a cost of $12,000 to taxpayers this summer.
Sen. Ford was not one bit apologetic, and responded to Finley's questions with a "Oooeeee! Alleluia! That's all I spent?!"
Because of a fiscal crisis facing state government, state employees have been ordered not to travel. Yet Ford and several other lawmakers took trips costing taxpayers more than #100,000 during the summer. The lawmakers also received per diem payments for food and lodging.
Finley's reporting is a prime example of fine watchdog reporting. Ford's conduct is indicative of a political family more accustomed to self service than the public kind.
Bridgestone/Firestone to lay off 158 employees
WSMV Channel 4 reports tonight that Bridgestone/Firestone at its La Vergne plant will lay off 148 workers and 10 staff members on Dec. 18.
More layoffs could be forthcoming next year as new car sales plunge due to the economic downturn.
Tennessee's overdependence on the auto industry could make the recession hit harder here than in other parts of the nation. The Big 3 automakers will be back on Capitol Hill tomorrow asking to be bailed out with $25 billion in taxpayer money. GM will present plans to close more plants and conduct more layoffs. Its Spring Hill plant could be affected.
Layoffs mean less spending. And less spending means less sales tax collected by state and local governments. Tennessee lawmakers could well be facing a $1 billion deficit in the current budget year when they return in January. And expected cuts in the local share of state aid will force local lawmakers to cut services and raise property taxes.
This recession will leave no one untouched.
More layoffs could be forthcoming next year as new car sales plunge due to the economic downturn.
Tennessee's overdependence on the auto industry could make the recession hit harder here than in other parts of the nation. The Big 3 automakers will be back on Capitol Hill tomorrow asking to be bailed out with $25 billion in taxpayer money. GM will present plans to close more plants and conduct more layoffs. Its Spring Hill plant could be affected.
Layoffs mean less spending. And less spending means less sales tax collected by state and local governments. Tennessee lawmakers could well be facing a $1 billion deficit in the current budget year when they return in January. And expected cuts in the local share of state aid will force local lawmakers to cut services and raise property taxes.
This recession will leave no one untouched.
Stock market takes giant hit for Christmas future
I hope you didn't buy into the stock market last week, because today's giant loss in the financials wiped out everything you gained.
I hate to be right about this trending down. But I get so damn tired of listening to talking heads on CNBC telling people like you and me about how the market is feeling its bottom.
The bottom is not going to come until the Dow falls below 7000. It feel almost 700 points today. I'm still sticking to my prediction of 6300 for the Dow.
That's because the worse is yet to come in the economy. A financial expert on CNBC -- not working on mutual fund commissions -- said giant credit card debt run up by consumers and being held by some of the financial institutions that already have been bailed out is the next shoe to drop.
People will lose their credit card liquidity at the worst time -- when they are losing their jobs and their homes are falling into foreclosure. So consumer spending will dry up even further this holiday season and through at least the first quarter of 2009. Less buying means less manufacturing and supplier jobs.
There still is time to get out of the market and get into cash. And if you've been on the sidelines, stay there. It's still not safe to invest in any securities unless you are a day trader.
Keep your money in cash. And still get out of the market abd put your money in money market funds and wait to get back in financials in March or later.
I hate to be right about this trending down. But I get so damn tired of listening to talking heads on CNBC telling people like you and me about how the market is feeling its bottom.
The bottom is not going to come until the Dow falls below 7000. It feel almost 700 points today. I'm still sticking to my prediction of 6300 for the Dow.
That's because the worse is yet to come in the economy. A financial expert on CNBC -- not working on mutual fund commissions -- said giant credit card debt run up by consumers and being held by some of the financial institutions that already have been bailed out is the next shoe to drop.
People will lose their credit card liquidity at the worst time -- when they are losing their jobs and their homes are falling into foreclosure. So consumer spending will dry up even further this holiday season and through at least the first quarter of 2009. Less buying means less manufacturing and supplier jobs.
There still is time to get out of the market and get into cash. And if you've been on the sidelines, stay there. It's still not safe to invest in any securities unless you are a day trader.
Keep your money in cash. And still get out of the market abd put your money in money market funds and wait to get back in financials in March or later.
Hispanics in Clarksville, TN., show we're givers, too, when it comes to immigrants in America
Last month, The Tennessean newspaper in Nashvile ran a large, front-page photo of Hispanic children waiting in a car parked outside of a food bank while mom and dad were inside getting free food.
The message being reinforced was obvious. Hispanic immigrants come here and take, take, take. The Tennessean front page has had features on local people as patriots on the Fourth of July and laborers on Labor Day. Yet not one American of Hispanic ancestry was featured. Crime and deportation stories, however, feature Hispanics on the front page.
A local councilman, Eric Crafton, has to love the newspaper. He is pushing an English only referendum in the conducting of Nashville business for a Jan. 22 vote.
Thankfully, not all newspapers owned by Gannett Co., Inc. operate this stereotypical way. The following story about Hispanics as givers on Thanksgiving in the Leaf-Chronicle was a most welcome relief when it comes to creating a fair and balanced image of Hispanics in America.
The message being reinforced was obvious. Hispanic immigrants come here and take, take, take. The Tennessean front page has had features on local people as patriots on the Fourth of July and laborers on Labor Day. Yet not one American of Hispanic ancestry was featured. Crime and deportation stories, however, feature Hispanics on the front page.
A local councilman, Eric Crafton, has to love the newspaper. He is pushing an English only referendum in the conducting of Nashville business for a Jan. 22 vote.
Thankfully, not all newspapers owned by Gannett Co., Inc. operate this stereotypical way. The following story about Hispanics as givers on Thanksgiving in the Leaf-Chronicle was a most welcome relief when it comes to creating a fair and balanced image of Hispanics in America.
The Hispanic Organization for Progress and Education and its volunteers and sponsors are hoping to put those frightening, stressful thoughts to rest for 50 local families.
"I've never seen people hurting as I have recently," said the Rev. Tommy Vallejos.
"We hope to put an end to their hurting, and that hurting is called hunger pain."
For six years, three consecutively, H.O.P.E. has solicited donations to help create baskets that include everything people need for a Thanksgiving dinner — rolls, sweet potatoes and even a bird.
Last year, the group provided for 30 families.
Board member Rosa Ponce said, as a realist, she wanted about the same number this year, but they decided to set their goal at 45.
"Pastor Tommy said, 'Let's just make it 50,'" Ponce said.
Ponce said it's worth the effort to see the smiles on people's faces when they receive their basket.
She said she called one person letting her know a basket was available for her, and she was humbled by it.
Tennessean making more than 20 percent profit while preparing to layoff 100 workers Wednesday
In a stunning revelation, gannettblog.blogspot.com has published profit numbers versus ad sales for 80 Gannett Co., Inc. newspapers across the country, including here in Nashville.
The numbers are for the first three quarters of 2007, ending Sept. 30. And here they are:
The Tennnessean made a profit of 21.38% on ad sales of $93.1 million.
Does your business advertising with The Tennessean makes this kind of profit? Do you get this kind of return on the high rates you pay to advertise in the newspaper in Davidson, Williamson and other counties?
Do you as a reader feel that you have been receiving a better product for all the profit being made? Or do you find less coverage of things important to you along with the width of the newspaper?
To be constructive in my criticism of The Tennessean's outrageous profit margins as it prepares to layoff 100 employees Wednesday, cut out the greed instead of jobs. Return to the workers, readers and advertisers real value for all that they invest to build better communities and families.
It gets worse. The No. 1 profitable newspaper in Gannett was in Green Bay, returning a 42.1 percent profit to its corporate masters.
Shame. Shame. Shame. And please, someone save, save, save the citizens of this republic who need a Press that puts its watchdog role ahead of outrageous profit and its own employees' lives.
The numbers are for the first three quarters of 2007, ending Sept. 30. And here they are:
The Tennnessean made a profit of 21.38% on ad sales of $93.1 million.
Does your business advertising with The Tennessean makes this kind of profit? Do you get this kind of return on the high rates you pay to advertise in the newspaper in Davidson, Williamson and other counties?
Do you as a reader feel that you have been receiving a better product for all the profit being made? Or do you find less coverage of things important to you along with the width of the newspaper?
To be constructive in my criticism of The Tennessean's outrageous profit margins as it prepares to layoff 100 employees Wednesday, cut out the greed instead of jobs. Return to the workers, readers and advertisers real value for all that they invest to build better communities and families.
It gets worse. The No. 1 profitable newspaper in Gannett was in Green Bay, returning a 42.1 percent profit to its corporate masters.
Shame. Shame. Shame. And please, someone save, save, save the citizens of this republic who need a Press that puts its watchdog role ahead of outrageous profit and its own employees' lives.
Knoxville becoming prosperous with Hispanics
The Knoxville News-Sentinel -- the state's best newspaper -- again showed its superiority today with a fascinating roundtable discussion with a Hispanic business executive, restaurant owner and radio station manager.
Unlike Nashville, Knoxville does NOT have the punitive 287g deportation program. The business community in Knoxville is delighted with Hispanic workers and their contributions as workers, families and taxpayers. This decade, the Hispanic population has increased by 55 percent in Tennessee. Memphis, Tennessee's largest city, also does NOT have the 287g deportation program.
The trio of Americans of Hispanic descent in the roundtable discussion told an uplifting story of the Hispanic presence in Knoxville that we don't get here from the supposed mainstream news media in Nashville. And Knoxville is a Republican city. Nashville is a Democratic one, and faces an English only referendum for the conducting of city business on Jan. 22.
The News-Sentinel in its Business section devoted a lot of space to this roundtable discussion. For just the sake of enlightenment and what a city can be with tolerance for all, read the roundtable discussion at: http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2008/nov/30/area-ltigtofltigt-opportunity/
Unlike Nashville, Knoxville does NOT have the punitive 287g deportation program. The business community in Knoxville is delighted with Hispanic workers and their contributions as workers, families and taxpayers. This decade, the Hispanic population has increased by 55 percent in Tennessee. Memphis, Tennessee's largest city, also does NOT have the 287g deportation program.
The trio of Americans of Hispanic descent in the roundtable discussion told an uplifting story of the Hispanic presence in Knoxville that we don't get here from the supposed mainstream news media in Nashville. And Knoxville is a Republican city. Nashville is a Democratic one, and faces an English only referendum for the conducting of city business on Jan. 22.
The News-Sentinel in its Business section devoted a lot of space to this roundtable discussion. For just the sake of enlightenment and what a city can be with tolerance for all, read the roundtable discussion at: http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2008/nov/30/area-ltigtofltigt-opportunity/
Watching Mom and Dad grow old; more sons are stepping forward to provide care and love
The bittersweet part of Thanksgiving gatherings for families last week was watching Mom and Dad move just a little slower and remember a little bit less.
We remember them when they were giants, vibrant, the pillars of our play and moments of our peril. Now we face the prospect of what we -- as their older children -- will do when they can't care for themselves like they did for us decades earlier.
Yesterday's New York Times featured a most poignant trend piece about the emergence of men as caregivers for their parents. In 1996, 16 percent of men provided such care. Now it is up to 40 percent. Please read the story at http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/29/us/29sons.html?_r=1
I have no shame in admitting that I am a Momma's boy. And when my father died in 2003, my oldest brother asked, "what are we going to do with Mom?"
I replied: "I want her."
My mother was my best friend besides being the best parent ever created. She got me into writing, particularly the political kind. She loved people. She flirted even into her '80s. She loved to tell me how much she hated George W. Bush. And in an interview when then AG Alberto Gonzales, I told him that my mother hated her boss but liked him. He laughed and sent her an autographed picture.
I had a condo picked out for Mom just a few minutes from my home and work. I would be able to go over and take her to lunch every day and cook her dinner every night while still providing her privacy and independence.
Then in my plans, she would go with me on the speaking circuit I maintained as a columnist then for The Tennessean. I'd speak on politics for 20 minutes, then I'd give her the floor so she could tell everyone how full of shit I was. The people of Tennessee would have loved her.
It has been written that if you want to make God laugh, tell him your plans. And I had to get leukemia before my mother could come here.
The worst thing about my disease was not all the chemo which I still take, all the spinal taps nor almost dying two years ago. The real killer was that I could not be there for my Momma. And the guilt I still carry cuts so deeply.
So I am heartened by The Times story about men stepping forward in larger numbers to care for their parents, particularly their mothers. The story talks of how isolated the men feel. But I hope that any of you out there experiencing the same will realize that having the opportunity to do right by your parents in their last years is a great blessing.
It is one blessing I wish I would have had.
We remember them when they were giants, vibrant, the pillars of our play and moments of our peril. Now we face the prospect of what we -- as their older children -- will do when they can't care for themselves like they did for us decades earlier.
Yesterday's New York Times featured a most poignant trend piece about the emergence of men as caregivers for their parents. In 1996, 16 percent of men provided such care. Now it is up to 40 percent. Please read the story at http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/29/us/29sons.html?_r=1
I have no shame in admitting that I am a Momma's boy. And when my father died in 2003, my oldest brother asked, "what are we going to do with Mom?"
I replied: "I want her."
My mother was my best friend besides being the best parent ever created. She got me into writing, particularly the political kind. She loved people. She flirted even into her '80s. She loved to tell me how much she hated George W. Bush. And in an interview when then AG Alberto Gonzales, I told him that my mother hated her boss but liked him. He laughed and sent her an autographed picture.
I had a condo picked out for Mom just a few minutes from my home and work. I would be able to go over and take her to lunch every day and cook her dinner every night while still providing her privacy and independence.
Then in my plans, she would go with me on the speaking circuit I maintained as a columnist then for The Tennessean. I'd speak on politics for 20 minutes, then I'd give her the floor so she could tell everyone how full of shit I was. The people of Tennessee would have loved her.
It has been written that if you want to make God laugh, tell him your plans. And I had to get leukemia before my mother could come here.
The worst thing about my disease was not all the chemo which I still take, all the spinal taps nor almost dying two years ago. The real killer was that I could not be there for my Momma. And the guilt I still carry cuts so deeply.
So I am heartened by The Times story about men stepping forward in larger numbers to care for their parents, particularly their mothers. The story talks of how isolated the men feel. But I hope that any of you out there experiencing the same will realize that having the opportunity to do right by your parents in their last years is a great blessing.
It is one blessing I wish I would have had.
Don't be lulled into getting back into market, or staying in; December will be disastrous month
In a year in which most investors refused to open their 401k statements every month, the stock market begins its final month of the year after a week of impressive gains.
And just like a poker game setup in which the novice is allowed to win the early hands, the market is setting up a lot of investors into believing it has hit its bottom and is heading up and out of a Bear territory.
Don't be fooled.
The economic data coming out this week is going to show an economy worsening beyond earlier projections. Job losses are going to be staggering. They're why reports are coming in from around the country that children are asking Santa for their parents not to lose their homes and to get new jobs.
Christmas buying numbers will falter by mid-month. Retailers will retrench. We'll actually see deflation on big ticket items. Gas prices will begin to rise again as the nation experiences a colder than usual winter and more oil goes into heating oil.
All these factors mean that the market will fall below 7,000 by year's end or in the first quarter. You'll be wishing you would have sold out of your mutual funds now, near 9,000, instead of losing another 20 percent.
Don't continue to be greedy. Take your losses -- if you're not in a 401k -- off your tax return for 2008. And then get in cash and buy at the market's low next year.
And just like a poker game setup in which the novice is allowed to win the early hands, the market is setting up a lot of investors into believing it has hit its bottom and is heading up and out of a Bear territory.
Don't be fooled.
The economic data coming out this week is going to show an economy worsening beyond earlier projections. Job losses are going to be staggering. They're why reports are coming in from around the country that children are asking Santa for their parents not to lose their homes and to get new jobs.
Christmas buying numbers will falter by mid-month. Retailers will retrench. We'll actually see deflation on big ticket items. Gas prices will begin to rise again as the nation experiences a colder than usual winter and more oil goes into heating oil.
All these factors mean that the market will fall below 7,000 by year's end or in the first quarter. You'll be wishing you would have sold out of your mutual funds now, near 9,000, instead of losing another 20 percent.
Don't continue to be greedy. Take your losses -- if you're not in a 401k -- off your tax return for 2008. And then get in cash and buy at the market's low next year.
Why did GOP sweep Tennessee? Because Democratic leaders here stand for nothing
In an incredibly tardy and lazy analysis of why Republicans did so well in Tennessee on Nov. 4, The Tennessean yesterday offered comments from a few members of the state's congressional delegation.
And those of Jim Cooper of Nashville were most telling. Cooper, Representative Easter Bunny because he is inoffensive and unproductive on Capitol Hill for his constituents, said that he has been getting a lot of grief nationally because Tennessee went in the wrong direction.
Cooper is indicative, however, of why. Democrats here are nothing like those nationally -- and that's why Democrats in Tennessee lost control of the legislature and let candidate John McCain roll up huge margins.
Cooper is a Bredesen Democrat, which means one resembles little of what the party represents nationally. Both support choice, but then run so close to the Republicans that the two parties seem the same.
Cooper is a big supporter of the punitive 287g deportation program in his congressional district and said nothing when a pregnant Hispanic woman was tortured by local law enforcement before and after she delivered her American citizen child. Cooper brings no appropriation earmarks back to his district. And his most prominent position taken during the past two years has been against Rural Electric Cooperatives -- of which none are in his district.
Cooper was an early supporter of Obama, which hopefully means the new president might find some place where he needs a stand-for-nothing accountant in his White House.
Bredesen, the governor here, told President-elect Obama not to campaign in Tennessee. Yet Democrats still have the gall to say that a lot of the vote for McCain in Tennessee was racist. That's bullshit. A vote for McCain was an honorable one. He was the most experienced candidate and did come to Tennessee.
To be constructive in my criticism, I'd recommend The Tennessean offer political analysis of a major election at least the following Sunday, not almost in December. Also, get your writer out into the areas of the state where McCain did roll up big margins and ask the voters why they made their choices.
The truth is better than more political spin from a sad, silly group of politicians led by Cooper.
And those of Jim Cooper of Nashville were most telling. Cooper, Representative Easter Bunny because he is inoffensive and unproductive on Capitol Hill for his constituents, said that he has been getting a lot of grief nationally because Tennessee went in the wrong direction.
Cooper is indicative, however, of why. Democrats here are nothing like those nationally -- and that's why Democrats in Tennessee lost control of the legislature and let candidate John McCain roll up huge margins.
Cooper is a Bredesen Democrat, which means one resembles little of what the party represents nationally. Both support choice, but then run so close to the Republicans that the two parties seem the same.
Cooper is a big supporter of the punitive 287g deportation program in his congressional district and said nothing when a pregnant Hispanic woman was tortured by local law enforcement before and after she delivered her American citizen child. Cooper brings no appropriation earmarks back to his district. And his most prominent position taken during the past two years has been against Rural Electric Cooperatives -- of which none are in his district.
Cooper was an early supporter of Obama, which hopefully means the new president might find some place where he needs a stand-for-nothing accountant in his White House.
Bredesen, the governor here, told President-elect Obama not to campaign in Tennessee. Yet Democrats still have the gall to say that a lot of the vote for McCain in Tennessee was racist. That's bullshit. A vote for McCain was an honorable one. He was the most experienced candidate and did come to Tennessee.
To be constructive in my criticism, I'd recommend The Tennessean offer political analysis of a major election at least the following Sunday, not almost in December. Also, get your writer out into the areas of the state where McCain did roll up big margins and ask the voters why they made their choices.
The truth is better than more political spin from a sad, silly group of politicians led by Cooper.
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