Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Hannan / Politics @TwitteringTennesseePols Plz stop. K thx bai.
Posted by Caleb Hannan on Wed, Apr 29, 2009 at 12:15 PM
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A thousand apologies if the headline above makes your head hurt. It's a failed attempt at Twitterese, the pidgin tongue of the newest, faddiest social networking service Twitter. For the 13 of you who still don't know what that word means, Twitter is like a simplified version of Facebook's status update, where you tell people, in 140 characters or less, what you're up to at that exact moment. And yes, it's about as navel-gazing as it sounds.
So what's this have to do with Tennessee politicians? Well, like a lot of elected leaders, they're Twittering. (Seems politics and solipsism go hand in hand. Who knew?) Congressman Zach Wamp, State Senator Jim Kyle and Democratic gubernatorial candidate Ward Cammack are but three of the dozen (?) earnestly updating their constituents via Blackberry or Mac. And it's easy to understand why.
For a politician, the benefits of Twitter seem pretty obvious. If you're beholden to the people, why not communicate with them directly? It seems like a service completely in line with Democratic principles. A way to run end-around the traditional path of press release + summarizing article. For low name recognition candidates like Cammack, turning down any chance to bullhorn your way into the public consciousness would seem tactically negligent. And for politicians like Kyle, who we might otherwise know little about, Twitter can act as a "Stars, they're just like us!" humanizer; it's hard not to be endeared of a guy who proudly Tweets his daughter's third-place showing in a problem-solving tournament.
But, as political reporter Matt Bai points out in last weekend's New York Times Magazine, Twitter's blend of brevity and immediacy contributes little to meaningful debate. Which makes it the last thing politics needs right now...
Legislature / Woods Mayor Asks Legislature to Expand Charter Schools
Posted by Jeff Woods on Wed, Apr 29, 2009 at 11:03 AM
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Mayor Karl Dean came to the legislature this morning to plead for expanding the number of children who can attend charter schools. Under present law, failing students or students who attend failing schools are eligible. Additionally, at-risk students in grades K-3 can attend, but their numbers are limited to 25 percent of enrollment. A bill by Rep. Beth Harwell, R-Nashville, would expand eligibility to any child receiving federally subsidized lunches, which in Nashville is 70 percent of the kids.
Dean is bucking the state teachers' union, which denounced Harwell's bill during today's House K-12 subcommittee hearing.Tennessee Education Association lobbyist Jerry Winters called charter schools "outside operators" and said they would "cherry pick" good students and leave regular public schools in a financial bind.
"It opens the state up to cherry picking. They can go out and recruit these kids to blow the tops out of tests. There's no way this bill wouldn't have an enormous financial impact on what I consider to be regular public schools. It might be good politics. But it's not good policy. I find it rather offensive that we have to talk about going outside this state to bring in people to tell us how to run our schools. It's absolutely improper, incorrect. We've got some very smart people in Tennessee who can make the right decisions."Memphis school officials also are against the change. They say it would mean virtual open enrollment in Memphis, where 83 percent of students would become eligible. They want to postpone any reforms until a task force studies the issue. The task force hasn't yet met. Memphis probably will win this fight. Memphis legislators outnumber Nashville's five-to-one on the House Education Committee. The subcommittee is supposed to vote next week. Dean said the city could use 20-25 charter schools, but present law hinders Nashville's ability to recruit nonprofit companies to run them. National foundations are supposedly ready to help Nashville if student eligibility is expanded. He pointed out that Metro schools have failed to meet achievement standards for the past five years. Excerpts from the mayor's comments:
Law and Order Fair or Not: 16-Year-Old Girl Charged With Possession of a Weapon on School Property
Posted by Brantley Hargrove on Wed, Apr 29, 2009 at 10:59 AM
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It wasn't that many years ago when kids came to high school with gun racks mounted on the rear windows of pickup trucks and a rifle or shotgun cradled in plain view.
The sad truth is we live in a post-Columbine age where, right or wrong, every gun is a threat to the safety of the entire student population, as well as the faculty. But I had to scratch my head on this one and ponder, 'Is this going a tad too far?'
A 10th-grade girl was charged on suspicion of possession of a handgun at Hillsboro High School after security conducted a parking lot search. They found an unloaded, unholstered .22 pistol beneath the seat of her car. How they found a pistol concealed beneath the seat of a vehicle is unknown, but Pith has a call into Principal Rod Manuel, so we'll keep you posted.
Apparently the car is normally driven by her father, and the gun belongs to him. Still, the girl is being charged. What do you think, PITW readers? Justified prevention or excessive punishment?
Legislature / Politics / Woods Conservatives Kick Off Push to Take Over Tennessee Judiciary
Posted by Jeff Woods on Wed, Apr 29, 2009 at 9:42 AM
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Senate Republicans launched their long-awaited push for a conservative takeover of the state's judiciary this morning. With Lt. Gov. Ron Ramsey making a rare appearance to cast the tie-breaking votes, they rammed their judicial selection plan through the Senate Government Operations Committee.
The legislation would disband the bane of the right wing's existence--the 17-member judicial selection commission, which chooses the slate of candidates from which governors appoint new judges. Proponents say the commission has given Tennessee one of the most professional judiciaries in the nation. Conservatives say it gives too many seats to liberals and trial lawyers. They want to return the state to contested popular elections of all judges. They'd like to see home schoolers, bible school teachers and gun dealers deciding the meaning of our constitution.
Under the GOP plan, there would be contested elections of Supreme Court justices in 2014. Meantime, the governor would gain the power to appoint anyone he wants to fill vacancies on the bench. This raises the prospect of justices throwing fund-raisers, running TV ads and making decisions based on how they would play in a political campaign.
"Contested elections are a bad idea because they let money get to our judiciary," Rep. Henry Fincher, D-Cookeville, said immediately after today's action. "It appears that the judiciary, the last bastion of freedom, justice and equality, is up for sale."
Breaking News / Woods Morning Roundup: Cohen vs. Herenton Poll and Other Democratic Party Smackdowns
Posted by Jeff Woods on Wed, Apr 29, 2009 at 6:45 AM
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Steve Cohen stomps Willie Herenton in a poll. ... and the governor says a primary contest between the two would be healthy for democracy. ... Practice tests show Metro schools may stave off a state takeover. ... Charter schools bill goes to full Senate. ... Jim Kyle delays decision on governor's race. ... The Ethics Commission's budget moves forward but the agency's still under fire. Sen. Bill Ketron: "I was going to ask the question: 'Why does it take two hours to pass the minutes?'" ... Rep. Stacey Campfield rats out House GOP caucus chair Glen Casada as the source of libelous comments against a Democrat in the '08 election. Casada says:
"I'm just trying to rack my brain, and don't recall who would have told me or where I would have gotten that. I don't recall. But if Stacey says I did, then obviously I did. I'm confirming that if he says it, I must have."The University of Tennessee wants to sell the president's mansion to save money. ... The Supreme Court grants a killer a new review of his death sentence. ... The bill limiting driver's license exams to five languages fails in a House subcommittee. ... The bill closing handgun permit records appears headed for floor votes next week. ... AT&T deregulation clears House Finance Committee. ... Jackson Baker on the Democratic establishment's dissing of Chip Forrester:
Something had to give, and in the end it was the Chipper. The new arrangement makes him a de facto auxiliary to the Big Boys, who will run the state party according to their wont. Their governing philosophy was perhaps best expressed by a statement from state Representative John Litz, a Morriston Democrat who achieved some clout of his own this year as one of the brokers of the Democratic ploy that resulted in the election of maverick Republican Kent Williams as Speaker of the state House. Said Litz, by way of approving the terms of the "truce": "I don't think the Tennessee Democratic Party that I'm a part of is like a California Democrat. We're not baby-killing, gun-stealing tree huggers."
Daily Diversion / Silverman What the Hellams? Nashville Performance Artist Takes a Backseat to No One
Posted by Jack Silverman on Wed, Apr 29, 2009 at 5:31 AM
The above video, shot in downtown Nashville, features local artist David Hellams. We can't tell you what it means, but we hear Hellams holds a chair in performance art at Watkins.
Hellams, by the way, is involved with local arts and culture zine the (rabbit), which is celebrating the release of its fifth issue with a party this Friday, May 1, at the Dirty Eye Warehouse, 100 Taylor St. The art exhibit and film begins at 6 p.m., music at 9. Admission is $10. Check out Patrick Rodgers' preview here.
Congress / Kotz / Politics / The Economy Lamar Alexander Backs Nukes, Apparently Hasn't Heard of That Whole Green Thing
Posted by Pete Kotz on Wed, Apr 29, 2009 at 5:30 AM
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The Republican Party continues to struggle for new ideas -- or any idea other than "no." So Tennessee Senator Lamar Alexander is trotting out an old one: nuclear power. 
He's calling for the construction of 100 nuclear power plants, arguing that it's more practical than investing in renewable energy. He cites France, where 80 percent of its energy comes from nukes, and it has some of the cheapest and cleanest electricity in Europe.
Unfortunately, there are a few problems with the good senator's thinking. First, it's never good to take your cues from France, which is like an uppity Belle Meade matron, only in country form. And since no one's figured out how to get rid of nuclear waste, this kind of violates that whole green thing everybody's clamoring about. Since we're now screwed by the years we spent blowing off the environmental impact of our energy use, it's probably not a good idea to keep blowing stuff off.
But the upside is that Republicans are at least trying to contribute to the national debate -- even if their ideas came from a time capsule from 1972.
Kotz / Legislature / The Economy What? You Want to Eat Black Beauty?
Posted by Pete Kotz on Wed, Apr 29, 2009 at 5:21 AM
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Finally there's something Pith and Rep. Frank Niceley (R-Strawberry Plains) can agree upon. The arch-conservative legislator wants to create a law allowing horse meat processing in Tennessee. Prepare for the storm of outrage. 
It seems a perfectly natural move. There's an excess of old and otherwise unwanted horses that can't find homes. So why not use them for something productive, like food? Horse meat is eaten elsewhere in the world, and it's also used as animal feed. And we'd just be paying homage to that backbone of the natural world, the food chain.
But the problem is one of sensitivity. While it's okay to eat pork and beef, for some reason Americans have a problem chowing horses. Chalk it up to The Cute Animal Theory: We just can't seem to eat animals that make for pretty and loving pets.
So Niceley has inserted a poison pill in the bill to stave off lawsuits from "some fringe radical animal rights group." We'll let Tom Humphrey of the Knoxville News Sentinel explain:
The measure also declares that anyone who files a lawsuit against establishing a horse processing plant in the state must post a bond with the court equal to 20 percent of the cost of building the plant. If the bond is not filed, the bill calls for automatic dismissal of the lawsuit.
Red State Update Red State Update on Obama's New Best Buddy, Hugo Chavez
Posted by Pete Kotz on Wed, Apr 29, 2009 at 5:19 AM
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Legislature / Woods Naifeh Spars With Williams Over Gun Bills
Posted by Jeff Woods on Tue, Apr 28, 2009 at 2:16 PM
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After a long debate about yet another gun bill this afternoon in the House Finance Committee, Rep. Jimmy Naifeh took a swipe at the new Republican majority. Naifeh observed that handgun carry permit holders amount to 6 percent of Tennessee's population. "Six percent," he said, "and we're spending 70 percent of our time on gun bills and the other 30 percent on personal orders." Sitting next to Naifeh, a laughing Speaker Kent Williams responded: "Let's just go ahead and pass these out and we won't be spending so much time on them."
