The fact that he's trying to prevent criminal activity is a plus. The big question is, would he treat white predators the same as black predators? I'm betting he would if they were a problem and he could find them.
Not sure this writer knows anymore about business other than the spelling. Of course, that the case with most Journalist even some of those within the Financial Journals. These constant attacks on the Gov. over this current investigation is totally bogus, and it's an amazing waste of time and ink with so many other more relevant situations that needs coverage.
@davidlongfellow: You must be Islamaphobic. Otherwise you would ignore those sort of things.
@Kosh III: If you had ever read the Book of Mormon you'd have a better idea of what you're talking about. Whatever, historically Mormons are the most persecuted religion in America even though its members as a whole are the epitome of what successful citizens are all about. (No, I'm not a Mormon.)
Neither Christians nor people of other faiths should give a rat's ass about whether or not they make the newspaper. Somehow I don't imagine there are a lot of local Buddhists who are saying, "Why don't they write about us in the paper? It just makes me so ANGRY!"
Chris Allen: Are you saying that what is in effect "less government" really does not work and can actually cause the state to malfunction? WOW, what a concept. Bet that makes xray/zoombah/gastthesilent/vladtheineffectuallibertarianmonkey's butt bleed!
Congrats! I'll have to check out the restaurant.
http://kck.st/YgwzvJ
The article was amazing.
I am curious about his claim that the govnerment is committing genocide on white people, though.
Why does joining a cult have to look so pretty, but be so ugly?
Dorothy Morrison, an Important Spiritual Figure, has a cash flow potion for sale on her website for $10.95. Bury it outside and you'll be amazed at the results! You can't make this stuff up.
"Dozens" is exaggerating by quite a bit (here's the search results: http://www.google.com/search?as_q=Bob+Smie…)
However, Betsy was criticizing the entire Faith and Values page, not just one columnist.
California is a fantastic example of why too much direct democracy is a bad thing.
How about reposting Ferrier's breathless tweets? I think if anything reeks of Sweeps Month sensationalism, it's that.
Although, to be fair, Ferrier always reeks of Sweeps Month sensationalism, whether it's actually Sweeps Month or not.
By the way, Xray, California's direct democracy system IS the primary reason they are having problems. You can deny that all you want, but if you need to pass a 2/3 majority in the legislature, have the governor sign off on it, and get the citizens to approve it, it is practically destined for failure.
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/…
Or as another commenter put it: "To begin with, the state's government and political system are designed to malfunction. A series of ill-conceived constraints and incentives have created weak and unaccountable public officials, even as they have set California on a course to fiscal disaster. In the state legislature, for example, a two-thirds majority is required to pass a budget. The original law creating this requirement was passed in the 1930s, and invoked the two-thirds rule only for budgets that grew by 5% or more over the prior year. But that qualification was dropped in the 1960s, and the two-thirds majority is now an annual necessity. Because California's political districts are thoroughly uncompetitive (in 2004, 153 state or federal legislative seats were up for election, and none changed parties), members of the legislature tend to come from the parties' ideological poles. And since this static landscape also leaves each party short of a two-thirds majority, budget negotiations inevitably devolve into a Mexican standoff."
Look, we can all find various lists of various topics of different states and post endlessly about them. If your idea of "quality of life" is just low taxes, than yes, you should be living in only red states. There are other factors though and I've met many people in blue states, and socialized European countries like Sweden for that matter, who love where they live. I was traveling in South America several years ago and talked with a guy from Sweden who has been to the U.S. many times who would never trade his country for ours. I worked with a guy from Seattle who couldn't stand Tennessee and moved back several months ago. I know several Californians who are dying to go back to that state. Everyone has a point of view and to each his own. Blue states have higher taxes. Red states are less educated and less healthy. Blue states may have more debt (although that's debateable). Red states tend to have less access to healthcare, more crime and more environmental problems. Blue states have more governmental services- and they pay for it more. Red states take more back from the federal government than they pay in, than do blue states. Most blue states have vast portions of them that are actually red. Most red states have major pockets of blue (like Nashville). I live in Nashville because it is a blue island in a sea of red. Many people wouldn't be caught dead living here, would rather live in the more homogeneous suburban counties. I could go on and on. It's all about perception and what you value. We should stop beating people up about things like this. But, at the very least, we should be willing to see both sides of the coin and stop letting our prejudices and confirmation biases dictate how we interact with others.
"It ain't necessarily so that TV stations practice shoddy journalism during sweeps. It is true, however, that the pressure to produce grabby, promotable stories during sweeps is enormous."
Obviously sweeps periods are enormously important to stations. If not, why would they also give away throusand of dollars to viewers only during these times?
Bob Smietana is the guy Betsy is criticizing. He's written dozens of articles about Middle Tennessee's non-Christian community for The Tennessean. Type his name and any faith in Google and you'll see that this is the truth. This criticism just doesn't hold up to the facts.
I'd say the hats are more BILLY JACK, but that fits into the whole hippy-cult thing too. Hippie Cults are the best.
Not to quibble tooooo much but Mormons are NOT Christian: they are a polytheistic religion which uses Christian terminology.
Goose! Great post. Fear of Music is a fantastic read. Also, read Lethem's Fortress of Solitude if you haven't.
Re: “Hey, Gov. Haslam — CEOs are Accountable to Shareholders, Right?”
Jim, I do think that the "less government" crowd generally does not think about the concept a whole lot. It's why Free Republic, Breitbart, Drudge, and the Daily Caller are so popular. They confirm their readers biases and keep them coming back for more.
Anyways, would you rather live in Sweden, with their huge safety net and high taxes, or Somalia, with virtually NO government? Somalia should sound great. Some of Pith's most notorious gadfly's, who breathlessly peck away on their keyboards anytime someone says something mean about guns, could probably go over there and make great pirates.