VOLuntarilyConservative

Things have simply been too busy to focus on VOLuntarilyConservative recently. I'm referring to the following:

• A new (old) partner at The Huddleston Law Firm. After some blatant (and even admitted) discriminatory actions by Phil Bredesen's Department of Children's Services - all of which run afoul of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 - Republican State Executive Committeewoman Angela Huddleston has rejoined the firm. Her focus will be on juvenile matters and child support petitions. There is always a great deal of work on the front end of bringing anyone into a small firm, and I have been reminded of that over the past month. (I can't really go into any further details on the actions of DCS, as it hasn't been decided whether or not Angela will pursue this through litigation. I will say that the irony is not lost on me that the State's agency that is statutorily charged with the protection of children is so blatantly against them in specific situations. I'm sure there will be more to come on this at a later date.)
• A growing boy. Little Leo ain't so little anymore. He's gone through another growth spurt, and he's probably pushing 15.5 lbs - at least. Leo also has the two earliest endorsements ever, too - both Mike Faulk and Lamar Alexander have endorsed him for Governor! No word on when Leo will start raising funds for his campaign (although he does have quite a bit of Dad's change in his piggy bank)...
• Hearings, trials, and prelims. Work has been nuts lately. My New Year's resolution was to work less this year. I did the math yesterday after court, and I am actually marginally ahead of my pace for 2007. Oh well. Just another New Year's resolution that I wasn't able to keep...
• Political disillusionment. Although this blog was founded with a multidimensional focus on politics, sports, religion, and the like, it has become primarily a political and policy blog. While I love writing about sports, I simply had too many people (mostly female readers) who told me all over the state that they wanted more policy and family posts and fewer sports posts. Over the past year, I have tried to accommodate that. The problem becomes when the politics dries up. I have made no secret about my disdain for the three remaining presidential choices. I won't vote for any of them. Lamar's future dismantling of the Democratic sacrificial lamb will spawn a few posts later on in the year, but there's not much there now. The only real race that has me fired up is Mike Faulk's return of Mountain 'publican ideals against the charlatan Mike Williams in the 4th District. Which leads me to...
• Not liking being in Knox County that much. Angela and I have attended many Lincoln Days and other political events throughout Tennessee this year, and we have come to the conclusion that we are certainly loved everywhere in Tennessee - with the exception of Knox County. And that doesn't really both me that much. It has become apparent to me that the ills that have afflicted Knox County politics will not be cured this year, or any other time in the near future. The culture of corruption runs too deep. Even those who you believe to be your friends are involved in some way that helps out their individual interests, and all will put themselves above conservative ideology. Take the most recent kangaroo court meeting of the Knox County GOP Executive Committee. Technically, this group is supposed to meet every quarter, but they haven't met since Irene McCrary took over as Chairman in early 2007. An emergency meeting of the committee was called with an eye towards rejecting the charter amendments. Some members were not able to attend due to the sloppy nature in which the meeting was called, and it appears that some members weren't even notified. However, all of those who wanted to keep the size of Knox County government big and bloated were there. A quorum was declared present, although no one has ever been able to provide a copy of the Knox County GOP by-laws to me or Angela. The rejection of the charter amendments was ramrodded through (although not unanimously - Angela voted against it). But this is the Knox County GOP - it stands for big government and personal gain over smaller government and liberty for Tennesseans everywhere. Heck, at a recent gathering, it was actually discussed that candidates should pay into the Knox County GOP coffers, as the county party is looking at bankruptcy due to its lack of a fundraiser (other counties hold Lincoln Days to raise money- the Knox County version has nothing to do with the county party, as per the Tennessee Republican Party and my own investigation). Given its failures, I am strongly considering bringing the matter to the State Executive Committee at its next meeting in July, as the local party needs to be demolished and rebuilt from the ground up.
• The wettest drought I have ever seen. I've never had to mow my grass every 5 days during any other droughts. I wish the National Weather Service would quit talking about this drought, because it seems to rain every day after they do so.

So, yeah, it's been busy around here...

Labels: 2008 General Election, 2008 Tennessee General Assembly Campaigns, Baby, Firm Life, Knox County GOP, Knox County Politics, Weather

Sigh...

Fred's out. Now I have to lampoon the GOP nominee from the Republican National Convention until Election Day. Not sure which candidate I will be backing during the savaging of the as-not-yet-known moderate GOP nominee, but I'm sure that it will add to my already cramped schedule.

Pearl's Vols lost. Got their butts handed to 'em in the second half by a pathetic Kentucky team. I love what Pearl has done with our program, but I think he might need to look at adjusting the rotation a bit. I've (of course) been to every home game this season, so I have a basis for my opinions. Ryan Childress - who made outstanding progress last year - isn't the same player this year. I'm hopeful that Duke Crews eats into Ryan's minutes when Crews is allowed to play, which would mean both Chism and Crews on the floor at the same time. Chris Lofton needs more minutes, too, as long as he is being aggressive, as we he was during the first half and end of the game last night. If that comes at the expense of JaJuan Smith, so be it. Finally, for every alley-oop that J.P. Prince and Tyler Smith miss instead of just putting the ball in the basket, the whole team needs to run stadium steps. Last night proved that Tennessee isn't in the same class as Memphis (after all, our coach has class) and Kansas. We're still good, and all that matters is peaking at tournament time, but we're not a Top 5 team at this point in time.

The weather sucks. It's 4:00 A.M., and I have no idea if I will be in court today or not. Sevier County Schools are on a 2-hour delay, and there isn't a weather policy on the Sevier County website. Maryville City Schools seem to be on schedule, which is what the Blount County courts follow. Not sure if I can get there, though, since it appears that the streets in my subdivision are still icy.

My elbow hurts. Yes, I made fun of falling yesterday, but I really did land on my elbow yesterday morning. I figured since the Knox County Schools were still on regular schedule that things would be OK. Nope. I don't think my elbow is broken, and I won't be without an X-ray. I guess that's the problem with a high pain tolerance.

Heath Ledger is dead. That sucks. After seeing the trailers, I was really looking forward to seeing Ledger as The Joker in the new Batman movie, The Dark Knight. Ledger was a very talented actor, and the thought that he died from an overdose is downright depressing.

Just a series of bummers, folks.

Labels: Firm Life, Fred Thompson, Movies, Weather

I've got a strong cold right now, and the VOLConWife told me that I should take the day off and recover. However, I just don't do things like that. I didn't take a whole day off for sickness in all of 2007, and I didn't want to start today by missing the conclusion of depositions in Sevier County.

So I stepped out the door, and then I hit the pavement. Yeah, don't go outside in Knox County this morning if you can help it. I had heard that there were wrecks galore throughout the area, but I figured that it was the usual overblown winter weather precautions. Not this time.

My front steps and sidewalk were a sheet of invisible ice. Files flew, my briefcase flew, but I did not. Luckily, my elbow broke my fall.

I should have listened to my wife - as always.

Labels: Weather