News Briefly
Lots of wheezing and hacking
Those who are wheezing right now already know this, but Tennessee is apparently an “asthma capital.” Knoxville actually ranks as the worst city in the country, according to a recent study by the Allergy and Asthma Foundation of America, but Memphis and Nashville are also in the top 10 of offending metropoli.
More good news
A study by the Tennessee Comptroller’s Office says that 53 percent of Tennessee adults are barely literate—that is to say, they have difficulty reading labels, directions and maps or can do those things but not much more. The study noted that literacy levels in the South are historically low. But it doesn’t help that Tennessee spends only about $3 million a year on adult literacy programs, compared to about $240 million in Florida, for example.
’Til they go home, none of us are safe
This is why the legislature should convene once every two years. Conservative Republicans in the General Assembly are busy trying to outlaw civil unions in Tennessee, even though Tennessee doesn’t recognize them in the first place. Legislators are apparently fearing that if people move from other states with more humane public policy approaches to same-sex relationships, Tennessee might be on the hook for recognizing them. Even one Democrat has joined the hunt—Rep. Nathan Vaughn of Kingsport, whom The Tennessean quoted as saying, “Scripturally, civil unions are an abomination under the sight of God. I believe it’s wrong and doesn’t represent the values of people I represent.” So much for the separation of church and state.
