Thursday, July 29, 2010
Politics Poll Analysis: Haslam's Momentum Stopped by Wamp Attacks
Posted by Jeff Woods on Thu, Jul 29, 2010 at 8:23 AM
• The Haslam campaign has stalled. After spending millions on television between a July 8 WSMV-TV poll and Sunday’s poll, the Haslam number hasn’t moved. A total of 32 percent support in the last poll and 36 percent in this poll is within the margin of error.• Zach Wamp’s negative ads achieved the purpose of stopping Haslam’s momentum. The ads are also moving undecideds—moving them to Ron Ramsey. Wamp’s numbers between the two polls went from 21 percent to 25 percent, also within the margin of error.
• Ron Ramsey appears to be the default position. He moved from 11 percent earlier to 20 percent in this poll. He’s the only candidate to show a gain beyond the margin of error. Evidently, undecideds looked at the Haslam-Wamp battle and decided to look elsewhere. Ramsey’s problem is that he doesn’t have the money to capitalize on his momentum. Can you win just being “not the other guys”?
The problem here is that Cagle is comparing the Mason-Dixon poll with the Channel 4 poll, and the latter may be flawed. Conducted by a market research firm, not professional political pollsters, it probably didn't screen too closely for likely Republican primary voters. That would explain its high percentage of undecided voters.
Politics Marceaux Speaks to Growing Legion of Fans
Posted by Jeff Woods on Thu, Jul 29, 2010 at 7:57 AM
Voters “like my gun views,” he adds. “I want everyone to have a gun. If I think that someone doesn’t have one, maybe I’ll fine them $10.”
Marceaux also clarifies for his fans that he doesn't want to eliminate gold-finch flags. No, in that Channel 4 video he was saying gold-fringe flags.
Internet bloggers obsessed over the flag reference, mistakenly thinking he said “gold finch flags.” Because he is missing several teeth, Marceaux noted, it is sometimes difficult for people to understand him.
The article points out that while Marceaux was polling at only 1 percent last week, he's stomping his Republican rivals in Google hits—125,000 to only 76,900 for Wamp, his closest competitor.
Former Hamilton County Sheriff John Cupp, who Marceaux once threatened with a citizens' arrest, says the Internet attention “tells you how sad the news is on other things, that he looks like a ray of hope.”
Marceaux said he knows he sounded discombobulated in the video, but notes that he had to whittle down his prepared six-minute statement and that he was distracted by producers constantly reminding him how much time he had left.Marceaux, a former Marine, said he does not drink alcohol, and that his speech is sometimes hard to understand because he only has three teeth. In the end, he said, the issues are more important than his appearance.
"It's not about how I talk, or how my cowlick sits up on my hair, or anything like that," he said. "It's about doing something good for the right reason."
Politics Ramsey Denies Bashing Muslims for Political Gain
Posted by Jeff Woods on Thu, Jul 29, 2010 at 7:51 AM
Media Colbert Pokes Fun at the Mentally Challenged
Posted by Jeff Woods on Thu, Jul 29, 2010 at 7:39 AM
| The Colbert Report | Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c | |||
| Republican Gubernatorial Primary Battle Watch '010 - Tennessee | ||||
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h/t JR Lind
Politics Wamp Goes Godly in Latest TV Ad and Rusty Returns to Defend His Guy
Posted by Jeff Woods on Thu, Jul 29, 2010 at 7:29 AM
Phillips Some Thoughts on White Supremacists, In No Particular Order
Posted by Betsy Phillips on Thu, Jul 29, 2010 at 5:00 AM
—Why would white supremacists rally in Knoxville in support of tougher anti-immigration laws? Do you think they don't know that Knoxville's not the capital of Tennessee, or do you think they were like, "Fuck going to Nashville. They have a bunch of minorities there!"
—Will the National Socialists wear their black fatigues to an outdoor rally in the middle of August, or do you think they have some summer duds? When I was coming up, you could find neo-Nazis wearing tank tops and long shorts in the summertime. But black fatigues seems like an unwise fashion choice.
—Whenever I hear stories like this, where someone recognizes a Klan member by his shoes and calls out to him, I always wonder what went through the mind of that Klan member. Was he proud to be recognized, to be known as being a part of this powerful group? Embarrassed that his hood didn't provide him anonymity? I don't know. It's a minor thing, but I wonder about it.
—John Lamb analyzes the parallels between what Catholics in Murfreesboro went through and what Muslims there are going through.
—On a side note, you may have read this
In 1953 the local Catholic congregation moved to new facilities and the original church was sold to the James A. Ridley family. The church steeple and portico were removed and the remainder of the structure was converted to a private residence, which continues to be owned and maintained by the Ridley family.
and wondered. The answer is "yes." That's our Jim's grandfather.
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Politics Chris Matthews on Basil Marceaux: 'He's Out There'
Posted by Jeff Woods on Wed, Jul 28, 2010 at 5:28 PM
Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy
Film Three Days Only: The Complete Metropolis at The Belcourt
Posted by Jim Ridley on Wed, Jul 28, 2010 at 5:10 PM
Unless someone finds the missing reels of The Magnificent Ambersons stashed away in someone’s garage within the next nine years, the film restoration event of the decade will likely be the new version of Fritz Lang’s landmark 1927 science-fiction epic Metropolis — a major discovery that comes one giant step closer to repairing a mangled masterwork. Now touring the country in limited release, the restored version opens tonight at The Belcourt for a three-day run.
Using elements from a near-complete 16mm print found in a Buenos Aires film archive in 2008, this Metropolis restores more than 25 minutes of footage, bringing the film within minutes of the 153-minute running time reported at its Berlin premiere. Not only did this discovery clarify plot points and beef up characters (including Fritz Rasp’s enigmatic “Thin Man”), it served as a blueprint for editing strategies that have been reapplied to the existing film. (A detailed list of the 96 added scenes can be found on distributor Kino International’s website at www.kino.com.)
Even without the additions, Lang’s vision of class revolt and mechanized dehumanization in a skyscraping dystopia of the future (inspired by the director’s view of the Manhattan skyline from New York harbor) remains one of the most eye-popping and influential films ever made. And in recent restorations, Eugen Schufftan’s pioneering photographic effects — which use partial mirrors to combine swarms of actors and dazzling miniature sets within the same image — have never looked more impressive.
You've got until Thursday to see the restored Metropolis. In the meantime, check out this Salon.com slideshow by Matt Zoller Seitz that traces the movie's ripples throughout 80 subsequent years of pop culture.
UPDATE: Film scholar David Hinton, a longtime student of German cinema, will introduce the 9 p.m. screening Thursday, July 29.
Politics Ron Ramsey—Nithing of the Week
Posted by Betsy Phillips on Wed, Jul 28, 2010 at 1:21 PM
- Those Vikings were always making something out of nithing.
For those of you not up on your Viking insults, a "nithing" is a person who is completely without honor. Back in the day, if you ran into a dude like Ramsey, you could curse him by raising a "nithing pole." Famed occasionally-irrationally-irate poet and berserker Egill Skallagrímsson laid a nasty nithing pole curse on King Eric and Queen Gunnhilda and the spirits of the land they inhabited by nailing a horse's head to a rune-inscribed pole.
Bless Ramsey's heart, but I doubt any pagan these days would find him worth the horse.
Politics But What If We Did Secede?
Posted by Betsy Phillips on Wed, Jul 28, 2010 at 12:46 PM
We'd lose all our military stuff. People from Fort Campbell wouldn't live and shop in our communities anymore, and anything related to the military would immediately get yanked. We're landlocked, so the U.S. could make it very difficult for us to trade with people. Yes, we could wreak havoc on U.S. commerce on the Mississippi, and on the electric grid. But it seems like they could come up with ways around that.
Food would get much more expensive, as we could not grow enough food locally to feed us all, especially once conservative Christians got more power and outlawed birth control and abortion.
Sports would suck, as we'd have no opponents to play and we'd be stuck recruiting in-country.
Presumably, we'd still have country music and religious paraphernalia to export, but, when tourists were faced with coming to our fair country vs. just standing in Kentucky and peering over the wall and laughing at us, I'd have to think they'd choose Kentucky.
Really, about the only benefit I can think of to seceding is that there'd be plenty of jobs, because we'd have to hire a shit-ton of guards to stand at the borders and make sure Tennesseans don't try to escape.
