With Minnesota's U.S. Senate race recount now in its third day, the kind folks at Minnesota Public Radio have put up an interactive guide to challenged ballots that invites you to play election judge with some actual ballot challenge examples. No hanging chads, but lots of stray marks (and at least one lizard).

It's worth noting that Minnesota, unlike Tennessee, has a system of voting that makes it possible for this to be a hand recount of every single ballot cast in the race. It isn't quick and it isn't easy (see MPR's senate recount FAQ for details), but when all is said and done voters can be satisfied that every vote was counted, and that in an agonizingly close race the election was done right. Maybe we should take a stab at that democracy thing here.

Surprise. Surprise. Republicans trying to look all fresh and new and appealing after their Election Day drubbing have decided that Fred Thompson probably isn't their most attractive public face. So according to his little buddy Scooter Clippard, Thompson is returning to acting and dropping his bid to chair the Republican National Committee.

It hasn't been an especially uplifting year for ol' Fred. He sucked several million dollars out of the pockets of Tennessee Republicans for a pathetically lame presidential campaign. Now, there's this new indignity.

But don't despair. There's still hope that another home state boy, Chip Saltsman, could become national party chair. He's billing himself as the guy who knows how to broaden the party's base. We're guessing he learned how to do that by managing Mike Huckebee's campaign to become president of all White Married Christian Nutjobs.

Worried Democrats across the state are watching what happens this weekend in Nashville, where the party’s state House caucus will elect a new leader. Many say the caucus ought to think twice before choosing Gary Odom. Didn't he help lead Democrats to their dismal state of irrelevancy? So how should he know what to do now?

In making excuses for losing the legislature, Democrats point to racism, and that's the only way to explain how John Kerry in 2004 did so much better than Barack Obama in 2008 in many places in Tennessee. John McCain’s larger margins put Republicans over the top in a number of legislative races. There’s no disputing that.

The problem with this analysis, true as it may be, is this: In blaming factors out of their control, Democrats are getting no closer to finding a way back to respectability. For that, they ought to follow the wise Aunt B’s advice: "Democrats, look in the mirror!"

That’s right, we’re talking about the Culture of Sleaze that Jimmy Naifeh, Odom and all the rest of the Democrats’ legislative leaders were guilty of tolerating at the Capitol. Under their watch, Democrats have taken bribes, driven blind drunk, smashed up their cars, fallen off bar stools and generally acted out for years. All the while, they were special-interest slot machines, doing the bidding of big business in return for campaign cash. Republicans may have ridden into power on McCain’s coattails, but you also could argue that voters were ready for change in Nashville.

It took them years but Republicans finally may have succeeded in making Naifeh radioactive to voters, and he certainly helped by failing to control the crazy shenanigans that attracted headlines year after year.

There’s bound to be some truth to what state GOP flack Bill Hobbs tells Pith:

The Obama campaign beat the drum for change for two years, and the Democrats have been running the legislature almost uninterrupted for 140 years. … What people began to realize is that Jimmy Naifeh was running the state House in service to the special interests with which he was allied. He wasn’t running it in the best interests of the majority of Tennesseans, so they voted for change.

Odom enjoys a following of rogues who are fond of the Culture of Sleaze. The point here is that House Democrats need change too, not to mention hope, and Odom won't bring either.

Action Andy Sher updates the Odom-Fitzhugh fight.

It was one of the least talked about issues of the election. It also may be one of the most transformative. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce considered it so dangerous it spent $30 million at the end of the campaign to stop Barack Obama. But within the next year, it will likely be coming to a workplace near you.

It’s called the card check system, and it may prove to be the rebirth of the American union movement, dramatically changing the way organizing drives are conducted.

Under current rules, union elections are held like conventional ones, via secret ballot. But card check allows unions to sign up members over weeks or months. Once they’ve signed 51 percent of an organizing unit—say, the janitors of an office cleaning company—the union is official. It may not sound like much of a change, but union leaders believe it will finally even the field for labor, which has been getting its ass kicked for more than 30 years running.

The problem with the current system is one of intimidation, says Doug Collier, president of the Service Employees International Union-Local 205 in Nashville. Since the Reagan era, non-unionized companies have forced their employees into group and one-on-one meetings, where the company warns them of the catastrophes of organized labor.

“Ninety-percent of workers under the current system are required to make mandatory meetings with employers,” Collier says. There they will listen to “threats of closing down the facility, moving to Mexico, having to take tests to see if their going to be a member of the union.” He’s also seen instances where companies were “following people home, surveilling employees to see if they’re talking to union organizers.”

Precautionary measures

Not to fan the flames of gun control hysteria that seem to have driven some Nashvillians into fits of assault rifle purchasing, but this just in from Politico: One teensy-weensy little question on the job app for Obama administration appointees asks about gun ownership. But in politics, nothing is ever teensy-weensy. The NRA is predictably throwing a shit-fit. One Republican senator is talking about legislation to prevent discrimination based on gun ownership. Wow. That got outta hand fast.

Obama's transition team says the question exists solely to ensure appointees are within the letter of the law. Here's the question:

“Do you or any members of your immediate family own a gun? If so, provide complete ownership and registration information. Has the registration ever lapsed? Please also describe how and by whom it is used and whether it has been the cause of any personal injuries or property damage.”

Honestly, that is sort of a fishy question. I scoff at jobs that demand pee tests, much less a job that asks whether anyone in my immediate family owns a gun. Seems like a bit of a blunder. Some folks in rural states are already stockpiling weapons for another round of Clinton-esque policy. Why a question that obviously stokes those fears was added to the application is beyond me.

Rep. Tim Ryan (D-Ohio) said perhaps it was Cheney's itchy trigger finger that prompted the weird addition. After all, it might be wise to know if any prospective appointee has ever, say, shot a hunting partner. For a new president trying to avoid bad publicity, that's something he might wish to know.

Clarksville mayor Johnny Piper, on one of the rare occasions he's without his varsity letter jacket.

Clarksville, Tennessee's fifth-largest city, home to Jimi Hendrix and Austin Peay University is now in big, big trouble.

At issue is hilariously villainous sounding(*) Mayor Johnny Piper's redevelopment plan. In May, Piper and all but one of Clarksville's council passed a bill that effectively blighted two square miles of downtown that includes 1,800 homes and businesses.

The mostly black, mostly elderly, mostly low income families who live there already don't want to be forced out (weird, right?) to make way for private development. Neither do they want their homes classified as blighted because everyone knows that's Step One in the Candyland-style board game that eventually leads to the "End" box, otherwise known as eminent domain.

(FYI: Step Two is when they offer you a quarter of what your house is worth as "compensation." Why? Because it's blighted, duh!)

Last night, members of the U.S. Department of Justice and Department of Housing and Urban Development held a fact-finding meeting in Tennessee's Top Spot! (emphasis theirs) to determine what role, if any, they could play in helping to bring about a resolution. It remains to be seen just what HUD or the DOJ can do about any of this; the level of discourse has gotten so bad that one councilperson even sued a citizen for slander, and a bunch of suits aren't going to be able to solve those kinds of petty disputes.

One thing's for sure, Clarksville: You better hope we don't have to call your parents.

*We're not trying to imply the Mayor is evil. But if you were writing a John Hughes-esque '80's high school dramedy and had to come up with a name for the uppity jock who finally gets his comeuppance in the third act, you could do worse than Johnny Piper.

Sharing is for commies.

Last week a press release went out that began thusly:

Tennessee Gov. Phil Bredesen signed into law today a bill aimed at curbing the disproportionate amount of music theft occurring on state campus networks via peer-to-peer (p2p) services. Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) Chairman & CEO Mitch Bainwol, along with several other members of the music community, participated in the signing ceremony and welcomed the enactment of the legislation, SB 3794, which passed the state legislature earlier this year.

Feel free to read the whole thing at your leisure over at the friendly Recording Industry Association of America website, or just follow the jump. CNET has also picked up the story, as has P2PNET.

In essence, the law "requires that Tennessee public and private colleges and universities exercise appropriate means to ensure that computers connected to their campus network are not being abused for the purpose of illegally downloading and distributing copyrighted material through p2p file-sharing programs." The phrase "appropriate means" is what you might call a gray area. There's also that question of how to pay for all the snoopers and the doggy-doggers it's gonna take to peep on P2Ps. And there's also the question of whether there any fucking more important things to worry about at Tennessee universities, some of which may see tuition increases in the neighborhood of 25% this year.

But at least there's a law now. I know I feel safer knowing that college kids are going to completely stop downloading music because it's, like, illegal and against the rules. Have any of you college students heard anything from your schools?

Former Memphis cop Bridges McRae

The former Memphis cop who used handcuffs like brass knuckles to beat a transgendered woman into insensibility found himself on the wrong side of a grand jury indictment Wednesday. Officer Bridges McRae, court documents say, used unreasonable force and a dangerous weapon to deprive Duanna Johnson of her Fourth Amendment rights after an arrest on a prostitution charge.

The unprovoked jail beat-down was caught on tape and broadcast by news stations in Memphis back in July. When Johnson declined to respond to some epithets hurled by McRae regarding her gender identity and sexual preferences, he meted out a little corporal punishment of his own. Sounds like a hate crime to me. It's too bad Duanna never got to see this. She was shot to death earlier this month. No arrests have been made.

If this turns you on, seek psychiatric help immediately.

There's a bad joke that's been making the rounds for years:

Q: What's meaner than a pitbull with AIDS?
A: The guy who gave it to him.

It seems the joke has come to life (hopefully minus the HIV).

Yes, it's true. A warrant has been issued by Davidson County's Metropolitan General Sessions Court for the arrest of Michael C. Anderson, who allegedly "did unlawfully engage in penile sex with a female pit bull dog."

And to Dr. James Dobson, we'd like to point out that at least it was a female pit bull.

h/t WKRN's Andy Cordan

From Phil Bredesen's press secretary this morning comes the startling news that the governor has "trust issues" with Gary Odom. That's putting it euphemistically. We'd say the governor thinks Odom is a disreputable goofball.

As the AP observes, Odom "has had strained relations with Bredesen ever since Odom was a Nashville councilman and Bredesen the city's mayor. Matters came to a head last year when Odom became a vocal critic of the governor's plan to close a tax loophole for family-owned businesses."

To be more precise, those were fabulously rich families who own lots of land, and Odom killed Bredesen's attempts to make them pay their fair share of taxes . One example is Nashville’s May family, who tried to pave thousands of acres of tranquil green land in Bells Bend to build a Cool Springs-like shopping paradise. The AP continues:

The failure of that measure forced Bredesen to raid $12 million from the wetlands acquisition fund-a cause he has long championed-to help fill holes in the state budget.

Just to complete the story, Odom then raised a bunch of money from the Bells Bend developer crowd, including $4,000 from the May family, $3,000 from would-be bridge builder Bell Construction, and $2,500 from Waller Landen’s PAC. He gave that money to various Democrats running for the legislature, and he's demanding that they vote for him for minority leader in return.

Now, it's time for the governor to pay back Odom, and his aides are working behind the scenes to help Craig Fitzhugh become the new House Democratic leader.

See also the view from the unofficial state GOP website.

Now that's what I'm talkin' 'bout!

I must confess that I was taken aback Monday when our No. 1 go-to source for political news, CMT, reported that Hank Williams Jr. intends to run for the U.S. Senate as a Republican in the next primary election. But the more I'm thinkin' about it, what Tennessee really needs is a senator who's down with some Cadillac pussy.

You heard me right. Hank Jr. joined renowned Nashville strip club aficionado Kid Rock on Kid's 2003 live album for a rousing version of "Cadillac Pussy," and Hank belted out the choruses with the same inimitable, pitch-perfect gusto he exhibited during this spine-tingling performance of "The McCain-Palin Tradition" at a Sarah Palin rally.

In case Kid and Hank's poignant duet was more than you could handle without getting choked up at work, here's the chorus that our prospective senator belts out so passionately.

She had some Cadillac pussy
Some Cadillac pussy
She had some Cadillac pussy
She had some Cadillac pussy
Man it would drive you wild

Sure, maybe The New York Times was right about our on'ry, ignernt, redneck ways. But I'm tired of fighting to keep my liberal, diversity-appreciating, woman-respecting ideals intact down here in Dixie. Hank II, you can count on my vote.

And those of you still clinging to your failed socialist ideology, don't you dare think of using this as some sort of Jeremiah Wright moment to scare those God-fearing, church-going masses in small-town Tennessee who might be offended by Hank's repeated use of the word "pussy" to refer to a woman's genitalia. Those kind of negative campaign tactics don't work around here, my friends.

"I'm Hank Williams Jr. and I approved this pus...um, I mean, message."

Daily deadlines. I've been there. Makes news out of crap and mountains out of molehills. For some reason, a dust-up at Hunters Lane High School is front and center. Here's how the headlines should read. Two kids engage in fisticuffs, a crowd swells and shoves and jostles to get a look. An unfortunately assigned school resource officer panics, envisions riots, gang signs as students gawk.

News is made. Some scratch heads absentmindedly.

On the 145th anniversary of the Gettysburg Address, wanna see several guys in stovepipe hats, bristly whiskers and long coats in one room? Stop by the Belcourt tonight at 7 p.m. for the screening of Being Lincoln: Men with Hats.

In his lighthearted documentary, Nashville filmmaker Elvis Wilson delves into a nationwide subculture of Abraham Lincoln presenters—men who study, dress and perform in character as the 16th president. Their members include several Nashvillians, including Dennis Boggs, a familiar face (heh) at local historical events, and retired home inspector John Mansfield, whose quest to win a Lincoln look-alike contest is one of the movie's narrative threads.

Above is a clip of the Lincoln of Lower Broad, Mike Cox. A fixture in the city's boisterous downtown tourist district, where bouncers and bartenders see him as a calming influence—would you pick a fight with Abe Lincoln?—Cox hopes he inspires the people he meets in honky-tonks to reconsider their wicked ways.

"I get a lot of satisfaction knowing I've touched other people's lives—maybe they won't take drugs or do whatever they do," Cox says. "When they sober up the next morning, maybe they'll think about changing their lives."

Or maybe they'll swear off the bottle if they remember chatting with Abe Lincoln at Tootsie's. Whatever the case, Cox and other Middle Tennessee Lincoln presenters will probably attend tonight's screening, so be sure and make them feel at home. After all, they're bound to be somewhat uneasy attending the theater.

Stephen Dubner, nerd rock star.

Last night, Stephen Dubner, one-half of the pop-psych duo behind the 2005 bestseller Freakonomics, spoke at Vanderbilt's student life center. Dubner, if you recall, is Mr. Hyde, the stenographer slash translator to University of Chicago economist Steven Levitt's mad scientist Dr. Jekyll.

Together, they're the guys who predicted Jackson and Emma would be 2015's most popular baby names and sought to explain reduced crime rates as a result of increased abortions.

Whether they're right or wrong is immaterial. What matters is that they make theories, back them up with data and, as such, provide us lesser minds with countless hours of cocktail-party chatter.

Because Dubner asked that the roughly 800 Vandy students and professors in attendance not spill any details about their follow-up (titled, naturally, Super Freakonomics), we're forced to reduce the contents of last night's speech into a handful of truisms:

- The big "No Vacancy" sign on Wall Street will force would-be egghead bankers to find different jobs, thus having unintended positive consequences in fields like education
- A doctor wearing a tie is the single biggest threat to your health in the hospital
- Econ students, and their professors, are cold-hearted bastards

And...

- Al Gore's method for global climate change is ultimately doomed (shocked face) because it asks for too much behavioral change

Basically, if you've never heard an economist, or a journalist who's co-opted an economist's way of thinking, speak, your take-away is this: People are not necessarily good or bad, they're just lazy, incentive-driven creatures. All of which relates to Dubner's final point, after a student asked him his thoughts on the Big Three Bailout.

Based on conversations with people in the know, Dubner said there was "no way politically" they'd allow GM to sink into bankruptcy. He also offered an explanation for the automakers self-inflicted wounds.

"It's called moral hazard," he said. "If you think someone's going to bail you out, you'll do something wrong. There's no consequences."

Freaky, indeed.

Republicans are promising more openness in state government now that they're running things. OK, I'm willing to buy that until they prove otherwise. But is anyone fooled by all this chest-beating over the fabulous new process for selecting the constitutional officers?

“We are honored and humbled that the voters of Tennessee have trusted Republicans to hold a constitutional majority in selecting these officers, and we take that responsibility very seriously,” said Leader Mumpower. “Tennessee voters asked for change and they are ready for transparency and accountability in government. A new day has dawned on our state and our opening up this process of selecting Tennessee’s constitutional officers is the first step in bringing about a positive change in state government.”

Please. Maybe I'm wrong, but I don't see how the end result here is going to be any different. Republican hacks will replace Democratic hacks in those jobs, right?