Wednesday, May 05, 2010
God Taking Out the Best Cities?
Jon Stewart asks - why New Orleans and Nashville?
| The Daily Show With Jon Stewart | Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c | |||
| Nashville Flooding | ||||
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Labels: Nashville, Natural Disasters, New Orleans, Videos
Tuesday, May 04, 2010
Tennessee House Session Cancelled
The headline here is not surprising, nor is the decision to delay the elections in Davidson County for a week or two. Both actions seem rather automatic given the tragic circumstances.
But am I the only one who got a chuckle out of Speaker of the House Kent Williams' e-mail? You know, Mr. Speaker, when people think that you're a moron functioning as a puppet of Jimmy Naifeh, it's probably not the brightest thing in the world to admit that you ran this - one of the easiest decisions for a chamber leader to ever make - by him. I mean, buddy, he was the only other legislator mentioned in the e-mail.
If you're thinking (as I am) that Speaker Williams needs to return full-time to his restaurant in Elizabethton, consider a donation to a real Carter County Republican:
Jerome Cochran for State Representative
116 South Main Street
Elizabethton, Tennessee 37643
Labels: Kent Williams, Naifeh, Nashville, Natural Disasters
Red State Update: Middle Tennessee Flooded
Only hours after I was complaining that no national figures seemed to care that one of the 25 largest cities in America was underwater, two world-famous celebrity-types adopted the Nashville flood as their cause.
Thanks, Jackie and Dunlap!
Labels: Nashville, Natural Disasters, Red State Update, Videos
Monday, May 03, 2010
Another Sign that the Apocalypse is Upon Us
As many of you know, Angela, the boys, and I were in Nashville Saturday for the Republican State Executive Committee meeting. We were there when the rains came - and came - and came. Thanks to God's grace, our way home - Interstate 40 - was the only major road out of Nashville that wasn't inoperable due to the flooding. While the drive home was difficult, I've driven in worse in Chicago and the Shenandoah Valley. When looking at pictures from friends in Middle Tennessee over the past couple of days, it would be ridiculous for me to complain about the drive taking nearly four hours to complete given the destruction that my fellow Tennesseans are experiencing, the aftershocks of which will be felt for months and perhaps years to come.
What really upsets me, though, is that no one outside of our own seems to care. Tennesseans - our family among them - gave from our wallets, with our time, and through our prayers when such disasters as Hurricane Katrina and September 11th hit our fellow Americans. Our response was swift and significant. Does anyone feel that anyone - the media, the government, our fellow Americans - are overly concerned with the death and destruction that have ravaged the Volunteer State over the past couple of days?
Perhaps we are at the end of the world and I didn't notice. Reinforcing that statement is that MSNBC's Keith Olbermann - yes, THAT Keith Olbermann - seems to be the only person bringing attention to Tennessee, a state that in no way resembles his political perspective. (You can look out your window for the flying pigs now.)
Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy
This video is just one of many amazing accounts that will be relayed over the next few days of landmarks that we all have seen or frequent. In fact, this past Saturday, we stopped by Opry Mills for a late lunch on our way out of town. (I had promised Leo that if he was a good boy during the trip that we would eat at Rainforest Cafe, so I was keeping my promise in the face of what I knew would be a difficult trip home.) It now appears that where we were was under 8-10 feet of water within hours of us having been there. Incredibly sad, folks...
Labels: Apocalypse, Liberals, Nashville, Natural Disasters, Opryland, Pigs Flying
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Out of My Element This Weekend
So, the UT football team has a bye week this weekend. No one was happier than my lovely wife, who was able to talk me into attending her reunion at Vanderbilt University.
Egads. That truly is scary.
At least (assuming I survive the "football game" between a team that lost to Army last week and a team that got beaten like it's mascot had run into Michael Vick) there is something to look forward to. Box seats for Dane Cook at the Sommet Center on Saturday night should be a fun time.
Not knowing what to expect when hanging around the financial elites, I solicited advice from my network of friends as to how to survive this weekend, which, I dare say, is probably a little different from the blasty blast reunions at the University of Tennessee.
I was shocked at what I was sent. Take a look at what awaits me this weekend, courtesy of a Duke alum.
Egads. That truly is scary.
At least (assuming I survive the "football game" between a team that lost to Army last week and a team that got beaten like it's mascot had run into Michael Vick) there is something to look forward to. Box seats for Dane Cook at the Sommet Center on Saturday night should be a fun time.
Pray for me, Vol fans. Pray that I return from Nashville with my Wranglers on, pick-up truck in working order, and conservative values intact.
Labels: Football, Nashville, Vanderbilt
Friday, January 23, 2009
"English Only" Goes Down to Defeat in Nashville
The "English Only" amendment - which, from my understanding, would have required that all government business in Nashville be conducted in the English language - went down to defeat in a special election yesterday.
Admittedly, I haven't been following this debate much, save the 10,000 posts over at Kleinheider's blog. I don't feel especially strong on the issue only because I'm not sure if legislation is the best way to have people speak in one language without erasing Title VI (which I might be in favor of). I experience communication difficulties every day with clients who do not speak English. I see the courts constantly having to scramble for interpreters, who end up getting paid more than the attorneys in the case. Just Thursday, I represented a native of the Sudan who only spoke Dinka. Do you have any idea how difficult it is to find a translator that speaks Dinka? I do. And it's not cheap for the State, I can tell you that.
The curious parts of this debate for me have been the posts of my friend Nathan Moore. Nathan has posted that conservatives could not support the "English Only" amendment. I have read his posts against the amendment, basically stating that this is bad politics for conservatives and won't save Nashville much money. That's all well and good, but what Nathan has failed to do in his various posts is explain how his position of opposition is conservative in nature. I can see the political arguments, but if this saves money for governments that are already suffering economically, how can it not be a fiscally conservative policy?
I ask only because I do not know. If the money is a wash (which I tend to doubt), then perhaps "English Only" is a politically neutral policy, neither conservative nor liberal in nature.
Would someone like to explain this to a guy who doesn't think he has a stake in the controversy (given that I don't live in Nashville and can't see this happening in Knox County, where we're too busy perfecting Republican-on-Republican crime)?
Admittedly, I haven't been following this debate much, save the 10,000 posts over at Kleinheider's blog. I don't feel especially strong on the issue only because I'm not sure if legislation is the best way to have people speak in one language without erasing Title VI (which I might be in favor of). I experience communication difficulties every day with clients who do not speak English. I see the courts constantly having to scramble for interpreters, who end up getting paid more than the attorneys in the case. Just Thursday, I represented a native of the Sudan who only spoke Dinka. Do you have any idea how difficult it is to find a translator that speaks Dinka? I do. And it's not cheap for the State, I can tell you that.
The curious parts of this debate for me have been the posts of my friend Nathan Moore. Nathan has posted that conservatives could not support the "English Only" amendment. I have read his posts against the amendment, basically stating that this is bad politics for conservatives and won't save Nashville much money. That's all well and good, but what Nathan has failed to do in his various posts is explain how his position of opposition is conservative in nature. I can see the political arguments, but if this saves money for governments that are already suffering economically, how can it not be a fiscally conservative policy?
I ask only because I do not know. If the money is a wash (which I tend to doubt), then perhaps "English Only" is a politically neutral policy, neither conservative nor liberal in nature.
Would someone like to explain this to a guy who doesn't think he has a stake in the controversy (given that I don't live in Nashville and can't see this happening in Knox County, where we're too busy perfecting Republican-on-Republican crime)?
Labels: Conservatism, English, Nashville
