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April 27, 2006

Best of Knoxville 2006

Metro Pulse has released their Best of Knoxville. Selected as second best newspaper in Knoxville: Hellbender Press

Congratuations to Rikki Hall and the entire staff of the Hellbender.

On a related note, PF Chang is a lot better than Stir Fry Cafe. Combo Fried Rice made spicy. Yum!

Posted by Paul Witt at 10:11 AM

April 25, 2006

Truman Day!

I just heard that Joe Biden has confirmed for Truman Day! This is great news! He's a great speaker and should really draw people in. Apparently we've also confirmed with Jonathan Alter from Newsweek.

To attend:

Tickets are $50 each or a table of 10 for $450.

Tickets By Phone: Please call 540-4001. The message will direct those interested in tickets to press "0."

Tickets By Mail: Print out this form and mail to the address on the form.

Congratulations to Jim Gray and Emily Singer for the hard work they put into finding a speaker.

Posted by Paul Witt at 01:50 PM

April 18, 2006

When Stupidity Attacks

Via Instapundit we have this gem...

I'm no religious scholar but this is the most idiotic thing I've read in a long time.

Having risen through the echo chamber of "higher" education and survived the ruthless but quiet vetting process of their "profession," these editors knew full well that what they were putting out into the world was not a "gospel." They also knew that calling it a "gospel" would ensure greater attention and greater sales. Beyond that, the editors, secular cultists all, also got a quiet little tingle by having, in their minds, "stuck it" to the Christian church once again. As usual, such secularists love to stick it to Christianity. Addicts of auto-erotic spiritual asphyxiation, their onanistic pleasure in these deeds is only enhanced if they can be performed during the most holy days of the Christian calendar. Only then can maximum profit and pleasure be assured.

Google is your friend.

But beyond these considerations, the publication of the "Gospel" of Judas has another, deeper and more lasting benefit to our neophytes of nihilism. It puts one of the final elements of their anti-morality play at center stage. It seeks to sanctify treason.

Good lord. This is just plain sad.

Posted by Paul Witt at 01:35 PM

April 16, 2006

KNS endorses Martin

The chummy little post-interview chat that was recorded on the original unedited podcast (available unedited here) left little doubt about who the paper would endorse. Today we have confirmation. The News Sentinel has endorsed H. Lee Martin for the School Board in the 6th District. Let me rephrase that... The News Sentinel has endorsed a candidate for School Board who sends his own kids to private schools.

Needless to say, it's my opinion that the paper got it wrong. Thomas Deakins has kids in public school and even Martin thinks he's a good candidate. But I suppose the pragmatic choice for a business like KNS is to endorse the personal friend, and hand-picked choice, of a popular county mayor that will most likely stay in power.

Posted by Paul Witt at 07:22 PM

April 15, 2006

An Inconvenient Truth

The trailer for Al Gore's new movie is available here.

Edit: Review/commentary here.

Posted by Paul Witt at 06:52 PM

April 14, 2006

Commission race details

Today's article in the News Sentinel seems to have confused some people. This wasn't a rules change at all. Here's a breakdown of the races:

Commission District 1-A

On the ballot:
Diane Jordan (D) - term-limited

Write-Ins:
Stacey Diamond (D)
Stephen Dupree (D)
Charles Frazier (D)
Jim Garland (D)
John B. Foster Jr. (D)
Stan Johnson (D)
Helen Diane Lewis (D)
Nick Della Volpe (R)
Albert O. Baah (R)
Clarence A. Cash (R)
Mark Saroff (R)

Likely Outcome:
Jordan will win the Democratic primary. The KnoxDems Executive Committee will select her replacement for the August ballot. One of the 4 Republican write-ins will be on the August ballot, as will Pete Drew who is running as an independent.

Commission District 2-A

On the ballot:
David Collins (R) - term-limited
Mark Harmon (D)

Write-Ins:
George J. Steffaniak (D)

Likely Outcome:
Mark Harmon will win the Democratic primary. KnoxGOP will select Collins' replacement.

Commission District 2-B

On the ballot:
Billy Tindell (D) - term-limited

Write-Ins:
Amy Broyles (D)
Jonathan Wimmer (D)
Deborah W. Porter (R)

Likely Outcome:
If Porter gets 5% then she's in. Tindell will win the Democratic primary. The KnoxDems Executive Committee will select his replacement for the August ballot.

Commission District 3-A

On the ballot:
Michael Daugherty (D)
Wanda Moody (R) - term-limited
Tony Norman (R)

Write-Ins:
Brenda J. Riley (D)

Likely Outcome:
Daugherty will win the Democratic primary. KnoxGOP will only be able to select a candidate if Moody wins the primary.

Commission District 4-A

On the ballot:
John Schmid (R) - term-limited
Mike A. Alford (R)

Write-Ins:
Joan M. Wagner (D)

Likely Outcome:
If Wagner gets 5% then she's in. KnoxGOP will only be able to select a candidate if Schmid wins the primary.

Commission District 4-B

On the ballot:
Phil Guthe (R) - term-limited

Write-Ins:
Elaine Davis (D)
Lisa Bogaty (R)
Archie Ellis (R)
William Sherrod (R)
Ed Shouse (R)
Holly Foutch Wolfe (R)

Likely Outcome:
If Davis gets 5% then she's in. Guthe will win and KnoxGOP will select his replacement.

Commission District 5-C

On the ballot:
John Griess (R) - term-limited

Write-Ins:
Tom Salter (D)
Leonard Brown (R)
Alexander Cain (R)
Larry Danner (R)
Garry Strand (R)

Likely Outcome:
If Salter gets 5% then he's in. Griess will win and KnoxGOP will select his replacement.

Commission District 6-A

On the ballot:
Mark Cawood (D) - term-limited
Chuck James (R)
Scott Russell (R)

Write-Ins:
None

Likely Outcome:
The KnoxDems Executive Committee will select Cawood's replacement for the August ballot.

Commission District 7-A

On the ballot:
Mary-Lou Horner (R) - term-limited
James A. McMillan (R)
R. Larry Smith (R)

Write-Ins:
David Amburn (R)
Steve M. Rogers (R)

Likely Outcome:
If Mary-Lou wins again then KnoxGOP will select her replacement. The write-ins are wasting their time.

Commission District 8-A

On the ballot:
Mike McMillan (R) - term-limited
Phil Ballard (R)

Write-Ins:
James Brian Pirtle (D)
James C. Eubanks (R)

Likely Outcome:
If Pirtle gets 5% then he's in. If McMillan wins then KnoxGOP will select his replacement. Eubanks is wasting his time.

Commission District 8-B

On the ballot:
John Mills (R) - term-limited
Kay Frazier (R)
Gary Sellers (R)

Write-Ins:
Thomas Pressley (D)
Roger William Bates (R)

Likely Outcome:
If Pressley gets 5% then he's in. If Mills wins then KnoxGOP will select his replacement. Bates is wasting his time.

Commission District 9-A

On the ballot:
Larry Clark (R) - term-limited

Write-Ins:
Steve McGill II (D)
Johnny Chamberlain (R)
Peggy S. Loflin (R)

Likely Outcome:
If McGill gets 5% then he's in. Clark will win and KnoxGOP will select his replacement.

Posted by Paul Witt at 02:28 PM

April 09, 2006

Bible courses

Via Michael Silence we have this little gem.

I agree with this guy.

Posted by Paul Witt at 03:46 PM

April 07, 2006

The Plame Leak

So the President authorized the declassification and leak of information from a document concerning Joe Wilson's trip to Niger. How exactly does his authority to declassify documents get him or someone in his administration off the hook for leaking Valerie Plame's identity? I'm working under the assumption that he doesn't have the authority to unilaterally "declassify" an intelligence operative.

Posted by Paul Witt at 12:42 PM

Endorsements

Hmmm... I wonder which political party will get the most endorsements from the Knoxville News Sentinel.

Posted by Paul Witt at 10:08 AM

The missing 12 minutes

From Betty Bean yesterday:

District 6 school board candidate Lee Martin is as smooth and polished as a tumbled stone, as borne out by the recording of his News Sentinel editorial board interview on the newspaper’s podcast site.

After the friendly grilling was over, however, Martin, who mentioned several times that he was recruited into the school board race "by a dear friend in county government" and that he has been endorsed by Mayor Mike Ragsdale, kept on talking.

Someone asked him about his opponents, and Martin, who is seeking the seat being vacated by Chuck James (who is running for County Commission), went on to deliver what amounted to a glowing endorsement - of one of his two opponents.

He blew off one of them - Freddie Dillon - as "Chuck James’ brother-in-law," but he heartily approved of his other opponent, Thomas Deakins:

"The other young man is very much on the ball - but you can’t put that on the podcast. I've got nothing but good stuff to say about this fellow, he’s young and he’s bright. ..." Martin said.

Deakins promptly proved Martin right by blasting out e-mails directing folks to the podcast so they could feast their ears on the unusual endorsement.

Alas, however, the jig was soon up, and by Tuesday morning, the last couple of minutes had been trimmed from the Martin interview.

Here's the unedited MP3 of the podcast with the original 12 minutes intact.

Posted by Paul Witt at 09:55 AM

Another traffic complaint

The Westland Drive exit off of Pellissippi is a mess. In the afternoon, the southbound traffic coming off that exit and trying to turn east, is frequently backed up 20 cars deep. That exit badly needs a traffic light.

Posted by Paul Witt at 09:52 AM

April 04, 2006

Gleason and Gallaher View

Letter from today's KNS:

I'm writing to draw attention to the serious need for a traffic light at the intersection of Gallaher View Road and Gleason Road in West Knoxville.

Currently, it is a four-way stop. This is not working.

Few of the drivers I've observed seem to know when it's their turn, so you either all sit waiting or you go and risk getting hit.

Add to this problem that traffic is getting increasingly heavy, and you see the situation.

FRAN MADISON
Knoxville

I couldn't agree more. I deal with this intersection every day. What a mess. Plus my biggest driving related pet peeve is people who don't know who's turn it is at a 4-way stop.

Posted by Paul Witt at 09:39 AM

Tom Delay Resigns

This is a great day for America!

Posted by Paul Witt at 09:19 AM

April 03, 2006

"Dean Democrats"

Betty Bean has a rundown of the term limited races. One interesting statement though...

"Dean Democrats" want to choose replacements for incumbents Mark Cawood, Tindell and Diane Jordan. The "Dean Democrats" are mad at "Haslam Democrats" (like Jordan and Tindell) who supported Bill Haslam in the (non-partisan) 2003 mayoral election.

I'm not sure who gave Ms. Bean the "Dean Democrats" line but I'm sure they meant it as some kind of insult.

Allow me to clarify. We "Dean Democrats" simply consider ourselves to be just "Democrats" and those people that support Republicans, non-partisan race or not, to be "non-Democrats". So yes, when it comes time to select Democratic candidates for the August ballot we real Democrats will do everything we can to prevent non-Democrats from having a significant say.

Posted by Paul Witt at 02:14 PM

April 02, 2006

KNS interviews Lee Martin

Mike Ragsdale's friend Lee Martin, who's own kids attend private school, is running for school board in the 6th district. The Knoxville News Sentinel is interviewing all the local candidates as part of their endorsement process. Lee Martin's podcast is up on the KNS website and he had this to say about his opponent, Thomas Deakins:

"The other young man is a salesman with Oracle. very much on the ball. Good fella, but you can't put that on the podcast. *laughter* ... I've got nothing but good stuff to say about this fella. He's young and he's bright and he's got kids in the system and more power to him."

I attend church with Thomas Deakins and have to say, I agree.

The odd part is that this supposedly post-interview discussion is included in the podcast. I discussed this with Thomas Deakins earlier today and he's pretty happy about Lee Martin's opinion of him. But he is concerned with the News Sentinel's endorsement process and that this little off-the-record discussion wasn't part of his own interview.

The KNS election page lists all the podcasts that are currently online. The Lee Martin interview is available in streaming audio or mp3 format. Listen to the last 12 minutes for the off-the-record portion.

I'm just waiting for the yard signs that say:
Thomas Deakins
School Board
"I've got nothing but good stuff to say about this fella" - Lee Martin

Posted by Paul Witt at 03:23 PM

April 01, 2006

Term limits update

Michael Silence has an update this morning on the term limit issue. The state election coordinator informed our county election commission that they do not have the authority to alter the ballot so close to election day. What this apparently means is that if an ineligible candidate wins their primary they'll be removed from the August ballot and replaced with a candidate of their party's choosing.

In these races the parties will get to install a new commissioner:
Dist. 1-A - Diane Jordan (D)
Dist. 2-B - Billy G. Tindell (D)
Dist. 4-B - Phil B. Guthe (R)
Dist. 5-C - John C. Griess (R)
Dist. 9-A - Larry Clark (R)

In these races the challenger will be facing a different candidate in the general election:
Dist. 2-A - David Collins (R) -> new (R)
Dist. 2-A - Mark Harmon (D)

Dist. 6-A - Mark Cawood (D) -> new (D)
Dist. 6-A - Chuck James (R)
Dist. 6-A - Scott Russell (R)

(assuming Wanda Moody wins here)
Dist. 3-A - Michael Daugherty (D)
Dist. 3-A - Wanda Moody (R) -> new (R)
Dist. 3-A - Tony Norman (R)

In these races the challengers could lose and then get elected by the Republicans anyway. Or not. Don't know which would be worse really:
Dist. 4-A - John Schmid (R) -> new (R)
Dist. 4-A - Mike A. Alford (R)

Dist. 7-A - Mary Lou Horner (R) -> new (R)
Dist. 7-A - James A. McMillan (R)
Dist. 7-A - R. Larry Smith (R)

Dist. 8-A - Mike McMillan (R) -> new (R)
Dist. 8-A - Phil Ballard (R)

Dist. 8-B - John R. Mills (R) -> new (R)
Dist. 8-B - Kay Frazier (R)
Dist. 8-B - Gary Sellers (R)

I'm still wondering how write-ins could work here. Will people be allowed to run as a write-in candidate for those first 5 seats? It simply doesn't seem right to let those races go unchallenged.

Posted by Paul Witt at 11:11 AM