July 28, 2010 Tennessee: Still in the running for absurd politics Now, prominent members of the Hamilton County Republican Party have taken the bold step of endorsing…a Democrat!?! That’s right, a number of influential people behind the county party — with the largest Pachyderm Club in the country — endorsed Bill Knowles, Democratic incumbent, for county clerk. (more) (return to main page) Fallen soldiers' families denied cash as insurers profit Lohman, a public health nurse who helps special-needs children, says she had always believed that her son’s life insurance funds were in a bank insured by the FDIC. That money -- like $28 billion in 1 million death-benefit accounts managed by insurers -- wasn’t actually sitting in a bank. It was being held in Prudential’s general corporate account, earning investment income for the insurer. Prudential paid survivors like Lohman 1 percent interest in 2008 on their Alliance Accounts, while it earned a 4.8 percent return on its corporate funds, according to regulatory filings. (more) (return to main page) Where's tea party's outrage over billions that disappeared in Iraq? BAGHDAD – A U.S. audit has found that the Pentagon cannot account for over 95 percent of $9.1 billion in Iraq reconstruction money, spotlighting Iraqi complaints that there is little to show for the massive funds pumped into their cash-strapped, war-ravaged nation. (more) (return to main page) Ron Ramsey, Tenn. Lt. Gov: Islam may not be a religion At a campaign event in Chattanooga, Tennessee, Lieutenant Governor and gubernatorial candidate Ron Ramsey (R) said that freedom of speech, guaranteed by the First Amendment, may not apply to Islam because it could be considered "a cult." (video) (more) (return to main page) Republicans are 'addicted to Bush' Again, Republicans aren’t trying to rescue George W. Bush’s reputation for sentimental reasons; they’re trying to clear the way for a return to Bush policies. And this carries a message for anyone hoping that the next time Republicans are in power, they’ll behave differently. If you believe that they’ve learned something — say, about fiscal prudence or the importance of effective regulation — you’re kidding yourself. (more) (return to main page) July 27, 2010 GOP set to filibuster campaign funding transparency bill in Senate The bill would impose new donor and contribution disclosure requirements on nearly all organizations that air political ads independently of candidates or the political parties. The legislation would require the sponsor of the ad to appear in it and take responsibility for it. Obama argued that the bill would also reduce foreign influence over American elections. (more) (return to main page) Congress allowing jobs-creating program to expire Republicans, joined by a handful of Democrats in the Senate, voted down a reauthorization of the TANF Emergency Fund back in March, when deficit reduction fever was only beginning to catch on in Congress. HuffPost spoke to an employer in California who said she would have to lay off three people without a reauthorization. (more) (return to main page) White supremacists plan immigration rally in downtown Knoxville The Detroit-based National Socialist Movement has received the required parade and noise permits from the city for its planned demonstration Aug. 14. According to its permit application, the group expects to gather on Market Square and then walk to a subsequent rally on the steps of the Knox County Courthouse on Main Street. (more) (return to main page) July 26, 2010 2010 Tennessee government Pork Report NASHVILLE – The Tennessee Center for Policy Research today released the 2010 Tennessee Pork Report, exposing $260 million in waste, fraud, and abuse at all levels of Tennessee government. Tennessee’s free market think tank partnered with Citizens Against Government Waste, the nation’s leading taxpayer watchdog, to publish the report. This marks the fifth annual Pork Report published by the two groups. (more) (return to main page) Billionaire candidates run as Populists Call it the Great Recession paradox. Even as voters express outrage at the insider culture of big bailouts and bonuses, their search for political saviors has led them to this: a growing crowd of über-rich candidates, comfortable in boardrooms and country clubs, spending a fortune to remake themselves into populist insurgents. (more) (return to main page) Two more Republicans seem to think the unemployed are just lazy If you're unemployed, or know anyone who is unemployed, it should be gratifying to hear that a Republican Senator from North Carolina and the leading Republican Senate candidate from Wisconsin think so highly of you. According to them, it's probably your fault. The jobs are there, if you'd only go look for them. It's not the economy, it's you. (more) (return to main page) Alexander says he'll oppose Kagan's appointment to Supreme Court "I voted against the president's nomination of Elena Kagan to be solicitor general, and I will vote against her confirmation to the Supreme Court for the same reason: I remain deeply troubled by her aggressive opposition to allowing military recruiters the same access to Harvard Law School as other prospective employers when she was its dean," the Maryville Republican said in a statement released by his office. (more) (return to main page) Panel denies Eldridge right to vote CROSSVILLE — The brouhaha over one person's right to vote in the primary they chose spewed over Tuesday morning when the spurned voter returned to the county election commission office and again was denied the right to vote in the Republican Primary despite taking an oath to support the party. (more) (return to main page) Election judge refuses to sign challenge CROSSVILLE — The Cumberland County woman whose attempt to vote in the Republican Primary this week was denied has visited the District Attorney General's Office to file a complaint of official misconduct in connection with the incident. (more) (return to main page) July 22, 2010 TVA will raise electricity rates again in August Costs of electricity in Tennessee will continue to climb Aug. 1, leaving residents and businesses to face a sixth straight month of rate increases with above-average temperatures forecast for this month and next. In Nashville, a resident can expect about a $5.25 increase for every 1,000 kilowatt-hours used. Monthly electricity consumption double that amount is not unusual for a Middle Tennessee home in the summer. (more) (return to main page) Tennessee's tougher standards will mean lower test scores Most Tennessee parents can expect steep drops in their children's standardized test scores — which will arrive home in September — as a result of tougher questions combined with higher passing levels. (more) (return to main page) Historic financial overhaul signed to law by Obama WASHINGTON — Reveling over a new milestone in his presidency, a triumphant Barack Obama on Wednesday signed into law the most sweeping overhaul of lending and high-finance rules since the Great Depression, adding safeguards for millions of consumers and aiming to restrain Wall Street excesses that could set off a new recession. (more) (return to main page) July 21, 2010 Attacking Muslims is in vogue again among Conservatives And now, Glenn Beck has decided that he cannot tolerate the thought of American Muslims riding around on rollercoasters for fun! This is what Beck bleated out to the world, via email: (more) (return to main page) GOP leaders remind voters the economy does better under democrats On Meet the Press Sunday, born-again deficit virgins John Cornyn and Pete Sessions could not explain any steps they would take to stem the flow of red ink they helped produce. But this weekend, both Republican leaders were crystal clear about their nostalgia for the economic policies of George W. Bush. (more) (return to main page) Unemployment Extension: Republicans delay final vote Senate Republicans are holding up final passage of a bill to reauthorize extended unemployment benefits after Democrats broke the GOP filibuster on Tuesday. (more) (return to main page) Special interests pour cash into Tenn. governor race The four major candidates for governor have received more than $650,000 for their campaigns from political action committees, much of it from special interests. (more) (return to main page) Past Democratic voter denied ballot for Republican primary CROSSVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -- A Crossville woman has been denied the opportunity to vote in the Republican primary after a poll watcher challenged her GOP credentials. An election panel on Tuesday upheld the denial of Mickey Eldridge's eligibility to vote in the Republican contest because of her past support for Democrats, WBIR-TV reported. (more) (return to main page) July 20, 2010 Republicans plan to increase deficits by repealing health care reform "We all know that it's going to increase the deficit," said Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell at his weekly press availability, in response to a question from TPMDC. (more) (return to main page) Kagan passes Judiciary Committee test The Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday put a positive stamp on Solicitor General Elena Kagan's nomination to the Supreme Court, clearing the way for a floor debate expected to begin later this week. (more) (return to main page) Candidates pour own money into congressional races NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -- Primary contests for each of Tennessee's three open congressional seats feature at least one candidate spending a hefty amount of their own money in efforts to secure the Republican nomination. (more) (return to main page) Taxpayers pay for political mailings As Election Day nears, six figures in taxpayer money has been spent cranking out mail pieces, much of it touting the accomplishments of incumbent members of the state legislature. (more) (return to main page) Mosque ado about fear-mongering: Right wing takes on Muslim worship anywhere and everywhere Long story short: It's starting to become clear that some conservative groups think that if Muslims are able to worship on American soil, the terrorists have won. (more) (return to main page) July 15, 2010 Congress sends Obama sweeping Wall Street bill WASHINGTON -- Congress sent legislation to President Barack Obama Thursday that imposes sweeping new regulations on Wall Street and creates new protections for millions of consumers. The Senate's 60-39 vote came nearly two years after a financial crisis knocked the economy to its knees. (more) (return to main page) Corker: Financial reform bill a net negative for the American public WASHINGTON – After working for more than a year toward reform of our country’s financial sector, U.S. Senator Bob Corker, R-Tenn., today voted against the regulatory reform bill he had once hoped to cosponsor, saying the legislation is a “net negative” for the American public. Corker says the bill will make credit less available and more expensive, expand government bureaucracy, and hurt small- and medium-sized businesses. The bill, technically called “the conference report to accompany H.R. 4173,” passed by a vote of 60 to 38. (more) (return to main page) Drill, gamble, loot, starve: The Chamber of Commerce, the GOP, and the politics of plunder But Chamber-driven Republicans hope that the public won't understand what they're doing, counting on "fatigue" and confusion to provide a smokescreen for the Politics of Plunder. (more) (return to main page) Rand Paul’s fantasy: Paul, Sharron Angle, Jim DeMint, Tom Coburn form powerful teabagger “nucleus” The thing about doing interviews exclusively with right-wing outlets is that we can still read what you have to say. For example, here’s Rand Paul talking to the National Review about his plan to be less forthright. (more) (return to main page) Conservative pundits don't even pretend not to be racists anymore (more) (return to main page) July 14, 2010 Governor commutes sentence of Gaile Owens Bredesen said his decision was based on the fact that Owens had agreed to a plea bargain that was later rescinded and might have been abused by her husband. Owens was convicted in 1986 of hiring another man to kill her husband. (more) (return to main page) U.S. Appeals Court strikes down FCC indecency policy A federal appeals court in New York struck down the U.S. Federal Communications Commission's indecency policy, saying it violates the First Amendment right to free speech because it's "unconstitutionally vague." (more) (return to main page) Headless bodies and other immigration tall tales in Arizona Brewer's mindlessness about headlessness is just one of the immigration falsehoods being spread by Arizona politicians. Border violence on the rise? Phoenix becoming the world's No. 2 kidnapping capital? Illegal immigrants responsible for most police killings? The majority of those crossing the border are drug mules? All wrong. (more) (return to main page) Exclusive Poll: High interest, many undecided in Gov. primary The exclusive WSMV-TV Channel 4 News poll found that 89 percent of those surveyed were likely to vote in the primary. But only a week before early voting, the number of likely voters who called themselves "undecided" was larger than the number who named any one candidate. (more) (return to main page) Fears aside, gun rights thrive under Obama Despite fears on the right that Obama would trample the Second Amendment and take people’s guns, his presidency has so far been marked by a string of pro-gun victories and a reinvigorated gun advocacy movement — the result of a Democratic leadership that has proven unwilling to take on powerful firearm interests. (more) (return to main page) July 8, 2010 Primary battles in TN don't spur voter rolls About 50,000 people have registered to vote since January of last year in Davidson County and its four largest neighbors. But election administrators say registrations do not appear to be coming in any more quickly than in 2006, the last time Tennessee voters chose a governor. (more) (return to main page) Biggest defaulters on mortgages are the rich More than one in seven homeowners with loans in excess of a million dollars are seriously delinquent, according to data compiled for The New York Times by the real estate analytics firm CoreLogic. (more) (return to main page) Income gap between rich and poor is highest in decades, data show The gap between the wealthiest Americans and middle- and working-class Americans has more than tripled in the past three decades, according to a June 25 report by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. (more) (return to main page) July 7, 2010 TN GOP violated campaign finance laws, officials say WASHINGTON -- The Tennessee Republican Party failed to report thousands of dollars in campaign donations and spending in 2005 and 2006 and violated other campaign finance laws, the Federal Election Commission has determined. (more) (return to main page) Republican lawmakers caught playing golf on taxpayer dime NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Taxpayers pay lawmakers an $18,000 salary. They also pay them what's called a per diem, which covers their daily expenses while they're in Nashville. But what the Channel 4 I-Team found has some asking why lawmakers are being paid to stay in session so long if they have so much time to kill. (more) (return to main page) The Tennessee General Assembly passed an anti-unscrupulous contractors law NASHVILLE, TN – Lt. Governor Ron Ramsey released the following statement in response to the news that the Department of Justice, under the Obama Administration, will sue the state of Arizona over their illegal immigration law: (more) (return to main page) U.S. sues Arizona over immigration law WASHINGTON — In a move that raises the political stakes for the White House, the Obama administration launched a legal attack on Arizona's strict new immigration law Tuesday, arguing that only Washington can set the nation's rules for arresting illegal immigrants. (more) (return to main page) Infant mortality funding debate lives on Funding for an agency designed to reduce the number of babies who die in Tennessee survived the last round of budget cuts last month, but leading Republican lawmakers say it’ll have to do a better job proving its effectiveness to avoid being aborted in the future. (more) (return to main page) Illegal immigration may shape Tennessee elections Illegal immigration is emerging as one of the key issues in this year's state elections, with Tennessee Republicans planning to make the topic a pillar of their program to sweep state legislative and Congressional elections. (more) (return to main page) July 5, 2010 Irony alert: IRS fails government audit A new report from the Government Accountability Office inspected the tax agency's financial statements from the 2009 fiscal year with the exacting thoroughness of, well, of an IRS auditor, and found a few billion-dollar errors. (more) (return to main page) House votes in favor of financial overhaul bill; Senate stalls The bill follows a broad plan proposed by President Obama in the wake of the 2008 economic crisis. After the bill's successful passage in the House, the president issued on the White House website a statement that reads, in part: (more) (return to main page) Obama road-rage driver takes plea deal A Nashville man who gained national attention by allegedly ramming the car in front of him because it had a bumper sticker supporting Barack Obama's 2008 presidential campaign pleaded guilty yesterday to criminal charges. (more) (return to main page) Tennessee education office left in Limbo After winning $500 million for schools statewide, the Tennessee Department of Education got an unusual thanks: It will be shut down in one year unless lawmakers vote otherwise. (more) (return to main page) In Ugly Party, anyone can be a Nixon My political friendships and sympathies are increasingly determined not by ideology but by methodology. One of the most significant divisions in American public life is not between the Democrats and the Republicans; it is between the Ugly Party and the Grown-up Party. (more) (return to main page) Tennessee tips the scales as the second-fattest state in the nation KNOXVILLE - It's a second-place position we can't be proud of: Trust for America's Health and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation announced today that Tennessee is tied with Alabama as the second-fattest state in the nation. (more) (return to main page) Watchdog groups unveil $260 million in government waste NASHVILLE - The Tennessee Center for Policy Research today released the 2010 Tennessee Pork Report, exposing $260 million in waste, fraud, and abuse at all levels of Tennessee government. Tennessee’s free market think tank partnered with Citizens Against Government Waste, the nation’s leading taxpayer watchdog, to publish the report. This marks the fifth annual Pork Report published by the two groups. (more) (return to main page) Supreme Court's gun ruling may bring lawsuits to TN Tennessee may see a wave of lawsuits centered on the rights of gun owners after a Supreme Court decision Monday that limits the ability of states and cities to check firearms. (more) (return to main page) Governor signs immigration bill Gov. Phil Bredesen signed a bill (HB0670)Monday that calls on local jailers to report people whose immigration status they cannot verify, rejecting calls to veto the measure. (more) (return to main page) Archives: June 2010 May 2010 April 2010 March 2010 February 2010 January 2010 December 2009 November 2009 October 2009