Progressive Nashville

Liberal blog roundup

Courtesy of TennViews

The "lipstick on a blog" edition of the weekly Tennessee progressive blog roundup...

• 10,000 Monkeys and a Camera: Back to the election: Eight years of simplistic, slow-witted leadership has been more than enough. I don’t care how much you’d like to hang out with these people, or how thirsty you are for a beer in their company, that doesn’t mean that they have what it takes to lead this country in the right direction.

• 55-40 Memphis: Let Hillary take on Palin: Hillary can righteously and authentically say that Sarah Palin is an insult to woman candidacies. ... the sexist media will eat it up. I'll bet a Hillary soundbite shows up in every evening news until election day.

• Andy Axel (at KnoxViews): A Tennessee Majority = 50% + 1 - 20. Give or Take.: In case you haven't heard, majority does not rule in Tennessee

• Aunt B.: My Morning Palin Thought: This, America, is why we still need feminism, because, when the chips are down, women need a stronger skill-set than "just flirt your way out of the problem."

• BlountViews: TPO Regional Mobility Plan 2035 Meeting: From a previous, informal survey, TPO determined bike transportation (27%) to be a primary concern, more transit (21%) and alternative transportation (17%) were next in line of importance. It was reported that 50 percent of respondents surveyed thought new roads were the least important.

• Carole Borges: Palin said religious views helping shape her state's future: If you believe that hearing the voice of God and speaking to God directly about political policy is a smart way to govern, then vote for McCain/ Palin.

• The Crone Speaks: Obama Doesn’t Support the Families of 9/11 and Other Outrageous Crap: This is a serious problem. Seriously, folks, when the media itself promotes the lies of the McCain campaign, without giving viewers/listeners factual information, there is a very serious problem. While we have to be on notice not to believe the media outlets, and do our own fact checking on every issue, Krugman notes that the actual lies are a sign of things to come, should the lying team somehow take the White House.

• Joe Powell: Narrative Fiction Rules The 2008 Campaign: It's both fascinating and a little sickening to see news reporters and their dubious pundits talk to each other about how they are being suckered and manipulated by the McCain campaign but are not posing those questions and concerns to McCain himself.

• Don Williams: Why Obama should get mad, get loud and get real, NOW: Voter caging, spoilt ballots caused by lousy machines in poor districts, vote suppression, an October Surprise, media turning blind eyes to McCain’s parade of lies, the Bradley Effect, Swift-boating and outright malfeasance all work to McCain’s advantage. So, unless media get serious about issues and lay off the beauty contest, I don’t see how Obama wins. Bonus:

• TNDP: Sen. Diane Black Wants to Deny Voting Rights: If you haven’t voted in the past three primary elections, at least.

• Enclave: I Wonder If Sarah Palin Ever Read BillHobbs.com in 2005?: Back in 2005, the prospect of using the porkbarrel airport as justification for the porkbarrel bridge to nowhere was frightening for a conservative blogger. Now that Bill Hobbs is in charge of communications of Tennessee's Republican Party, he does not seem too frightened by Palin's use of the justification. In fact, Hobbs is now defending her performance in the ABC interview and rationalizing that she did stop the bridge to nowhere.

• Fletch: Arrowmont for Sale: I was saddened to see the Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts in Gatlinburg put up for sale. It was one of the few things Gatlinburg had going for it culturally (after Panera Bread was replaced by a hot dog stand). The "oasis in a cultural desert" will most likely be turned into a few candle and t-shirt shops. Yes, I'm an elitist. Plus: Monuments

• KnoxViews: Workers concerned about jobs and health care, trust Obama to help: According to a recent survey, more than half of American workers are worried about finding a new job if they become unemployed, followed closely by concerns over their ability to pay for healthcare insurance. The poll also shows Barack Obama as the preferred candidate for tackling U.S. workplace issues. Plus: The shocking truth about Sarah Palin

• Lean Left: The score: ...if these analyses are a representative sample, the Obama camp attacks somewhat more often than the McCain camp, but their attacks are much more accurate (or much less inaccurate, depending on your perspective). ... Also, chew on those numbers for a minute: Only one anti-Obama attack out of nineteen could be scored better than "half-true."

• LeftWingCracker: It's time to raise and allocate resources: Yes, of course I support Bob Tuke; however, I presume you've noticed that the DSCC is treating him like plutonium, right? They're not sending money here, so I'm not looking for miracles. OK then. ... In Shelby County, we still need to crank it up large for the Democratic ticket for several reasons... Plus: YOU NEED TO CHECK YOUR REGISTRATION

• Liberadio(!): Podcast: September 8, 2008: Part 4 The Daily Show is not afraid of Karl Rove. Are you listening those of you in the real news media? Or will you show the “deference” required of you by the McCain campaign?

• Newscoma: Dear Tennessee Democratic Party: ...I think you need to come to Hooterville and talk to some of the people I’ve been talking to the past few days. Go to all of the Hootervilles, not just mine. You are blowing it, in my opinion, when it comes to rural voters and in many ways, you are disenfranchising younger voters here. This isn’t good, Nashville leaders. Plus: Fun With Newspapers

• The Pesky Fly: Seven Years and Counting: Failure is too generous a word to describe George Bush's efforts to deliver justice. He didn't fail. He and his minions have done exactly what they wanted to do. Capturing Osama bin Laden wasn't on their list. They had other priorities. There was a massive, world-changing event to politically capitalize. There was a country with vast oil wealth to pillage. There was a police state and one party rule to establish. There was an economy to crash so the broken pieces could be bought for pennies on the dollar.

• Progressive Nashville: Think America, think: One of the most depressing parts of the Republican national convention last week was the crowd chanting "Drill baby, drill" during former mayor Rudy Giuliani's speech that included calls for offshore oil drilling. ... The moment illustrated once again how the party is able to convince people to act against their own best interests to enrich private companies and individuals.

• Brian at Resonance: Sarah Palin, The Trojan Moose: I'll be more specific--every day not spent discussing the economy is a victory for McCain. It was no accident that the economy was barely mentioned at the Republican convention. The fact is that it is in worse shape than government statistics indicate. It's the trump card in the Obama hand, if the campaign stays on message. Therefore Obama must resist the temptation to be sidetracked by the Trojan Moose. Plus: Against Government, Yet Cashing The Checks

• RoaneViews: Flight of Heroes: Just for today, let's try not to think of a President reading "My Pet Goat", or the awful aftermath for our country and the world that these terrible attacks were used to justify. Let's honor the innocent victims and the heros...

• Russ McBee: Woodward's series on the "surge" and its real architects: After nearly eight years of witness to the Bush calamity, no one should really be surprised that the Bush administration sought and accepted military advice, not from actual military commanders, but from the same group of radical zealots who had helped cook the books to justify the invasion in the first place.

• Sean Braisted: The Monkey Trial: Had I been in Clarksville, I most likely would've voted for Barnes in the primary...but he didn't win, and I think Mr. Rochelle adequately refuted all the arguments made by Barnes' lawyers, except the one that I think this decision hinged on, and that was that Kurita wasn't a "good Democrat" for voting to make Ron Ramsey the Speaker of the Senate. Ultimately, it seemed clear that is what this farcical process came down to.

• Sharon Cobb: America, Don't Be Stupid Again: Eight years of George W. Bush wasn't enough for you? You want four more? Because if you vote for McCain/Palin, you'll get four more years and worse. You can't seriously be buying that McCain/Palin are the real mavericks, can you?

• GoldnI: Marsha Blackburn - Really A Man, Baby!: Moral of the story--when Sarah Palin is criticized, it's always going to be sexist and she has every right to be upset. When it's Hillary being criticized, the whiny crybaby needs to bite her tongue and get over it. It's nice to see that Marsha Marsha Marsha has become a feminist crusader all of a sudden.

• Southern Beale: It’s Gutter Politics As Usual: Sarah Palin as Vice President is a cravenly laughable political stunt. It’s wedge politics as usual. Hearing her snide jabs at Barack Obama in her RNC speech proved to me that Sarah Palin represents nothing more than the same divisive, anything-goes, culture-wars, red vs blue, "War On Christmas," fear-based, Karl Rove-style politics of destruction we've lived with for the past eight years.

• TennViews: Blackburn gets "dishonorable mention" on 20 Most Corrupt Members of Congress list: Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) has released their "20 Most Corrupt Members of Congress (and 4 to Watch)" list. Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN7) made the "watch list": Plus: Tennessee is a top 10 state legislative battleground state

• Vibinc: Seven: In the past seven years, we have seen one thing after another justified by the attacks of 9/11; two wars, domestic spying, torture, and a full frontal attack on the civil liberties that are the foundation of our nation. All of these things slipped by a nation rapt in a feverish nationalism masquerading as patriotism.

• WhitesCreek Journal: Good is Dead?...(Maybe Not!): Is there a light rising in America? Will we demand that our candidates for the highest office in the land, simply tell us the truth? Unless the referees in America blow the whistle, the cheaters will win.

• Women's Health News: PMSBuddy - Almost as Irritating as the Election Coverage: PMSBuddy lets you send and receive notifications to others that you have PMS, you know, so they know not to take you seriously. ... Okay, first, "recurring occurrences" are not really unexpected. Second, if dinner plates are hurled because PMS comes up, it’s because some jerk dismissively asked "Are you PMSing?" as a way to dismiss some woman’s thoughts and feelings. Third, menstruation is not shameful. Maybe you don’t want to talk about it over spaghetti and meatballs, but if you’re close enough to send alerts from PMSBuddy, you’re close enough to have an actual conversation. Like adults.

EDITOR'S NOTES:

1. There's so much good stuff this week it is hard to pick just a few posts to highlight. Go to the front page of these blogs and just start reading...

2. A couple of blog address changes:

• 10,000 Monkeys and a Camera is now at http://thorg.com/blog/

• Newscoma is now at http://newscoma.com/

• Vibinc is now at http://www.vibincblog.com/

Update your blogrolls and news feeds accordingly...

 

Words well said

Kudos to Elect Blue who says:

I, for one, am delighted that Obama is not backing down from his 'lipstick on a pig' metaphor. We Democrats have done too much -- way too much -- backing down in the past eight years. It is time  for us to stand up and push back hard against the schoolyard-bully tactics of the Republicans.

-- Jim Grinstead

Just to be clear

When John McSame talks about lipstick on a pig in reference to a comment about a Hillary Clinton proposal, it's just a figure of speech, but when Barack Obama does it, then it's a personal attack on Sarah Palin.

Yeah, right.

-- Jim Grinstead

Spanish only

English speaking Americans say it's unfair that a commonwealth's ballots are printed in Spanish only.

"I'm not trying to ram English down people's throats," said Robert McCarroll, one of the plaintiffs. "But to me it is a basic issue of fairness."

Did we mention this event happened in Puerto Rico?

It seems a U.S. federal court agreed with the plaintiffs and has ordered that ballots also be printed in English. The plaintiffs' attorney argued Spanish only ballots violated his clients' civil rights because it constituted discrimination against a group that is a minority on  the island, according to the Orlando Sentinel.

In his ruling, the judge referenced a 1975 amendment to the Voting Rights Act, which mandates that governments provide ballots in the language of a minority group if it constitutes 5 percent or more of the voting population.

-- Jim Grinstead

Think America, think

One of the most depressing parts of the Republican national convention last week was the crowd chanting "Drill baby, drill" during former mayor Rudy Giuliani's speech that included calls for offshore oil drilling. Giuliani said vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin favored drilling and he encouraged her to "Drill baby, drill."

The moment illustrated once again how the party is able to convince people to act against their own best interests to enrich private companies and individuals. Setting aside environmental concerns, offshore drilling isn't likely to have any impact on fuel prices for a decade or more. Even then, the amount if oil that is likely to be extracted will have only minimal impact on the country's current needs or prices.

The action that would have the greatest impact is conservation. While the GOP gave some notice to renewable energy sources, none of its leaders called for conservation. That's because conservation is not good for the private interests that drive the Republican party.

The rapid rise in the price of crude oil has caused a world wide transfer of wealth from countries which are not energy independent to those which have the resources. The Washington Post says, "Oil consumers are paying $4 billion to $5 billion more for crude oil every day than they did just five years ago, pumping more than $2 trillion into the coffers of oil companies and oil-producing nations this year (2007) alone."

This transfer is possible because of the major oil companies that provide the distribution system that links the fields where the oil is pumped to the engines in which it is burned. While the oil companies take only a fraction of the higher prices, the numbers are still so huge as to provide the companies with record profits.

Those that make their profits by selling oil and oil products don't want to see a reduction in demand. If we use less, they lose the power to boost their earnings by raising prices. Less demand will force them to compete with one another for sales and since fuel is a commodity, their only option is to reduce prices to attract buyers.

But what's bad for them is good for us. If we reduce our demand for oil and oil products, we get a cleaner environment and more national security -- something the Republican Party tells us they favor.

What we're not likely to see is lower prices and that's the dirty secret that neither party wants to discuss. Less demand will keep prices near current levels as companies seek to protect their earnings. There might even be tax increases to help fund conservation programs and development of alternative energy sources.

While none of us like the prices we're paying for energy, it makes more sense to spend that money on better air, cleaner water and greater safety than it does to send those funds to countries whose only goal is to move cash from our bank accounts to theirs.

That's the same goal as those who pull the strings of GOP leaders. They, too, have bank accounts that are hungry for cash that comes out of middle class wallets.

Drilling only provides ways those bank accounts can be funded in the future and it's sickening to hear an arena filled with voters clamoring for a policy that will only leave them poorer and less secure.

Instead of infantilizing the issue with calls to "drill baby, drill," we need to be shouting, "Think America, think."

-- Jim Grinstead

Sunday liberal blog roundup

Courtesy of TennViews

The "conventions are over and Obama v. Palin enters the home stretch" edition of the intermittently weekly roundup of what progressive Tennessee blogs are talking about.

SPECIAL NOTE: Our condolences to Katie Allison Granju, whose father passed away unexpectedly.

• 55-40 Memphis: 55-40 Memphis: Failin' Palin: Some are betting that McCain's current VP pick, Sarah "Failin'" Palin, won't last through Friday. Others are not so sure.

• Aunt B: Palin Thoughts: Okay, America, let’s have a brief talk about whether it’s wise for Palin to continue to harp on her "small town" roots. Those of us who grew up in small towns, who are watching her, know her. We recognize her. PLUS: Stacey Campfield, Put Up or Shut Up: This stuff Campfield claims? That the children of illegal immigrants are allowed to go to school without proper immunizations? It’s utter bullshit. Nowhere in the state law that I could find is that allowed.

• Carole Borges: A Republican star is born! But wait! Isn't celebrity vapid?: It is exactly the same old same, same old, only now it's wearing high heels and a skirt. As a feminist Sarah worries me.

• The Crone Speaks: Mortgage Delinquencies Rise, Health Care Costs Rise: The one thing I need to note is that all of these things that have seriously impacted people’s lives all come from the GOP’s mismanagement, and the deluded notion that free markets promote competition. As these reports show under GOP leadership, more people are hurt. PLUS: TN R. Delegates Vote for "George S. McCain" « The Crone Speaks: Why a Freudian slip? Because McCain, no matter how much he tries to distance himself, is so much like Bush, it keeps slapping him in the face. AND: Palin summed up here and here.

• Joe Powell: Political Mother: I did learn some reasons why Sen. McCain picked Gov. Plain to be his running mate. She's George W. Bush in heels, all hat and no cattle, and she did what McCain could not do - unify their party behind his campaign. PLUS: US Media FAIL says Brit Media: Meanwhile, England's Guardian newspaper says the best thing about American bloggers is they resemble Brit media in general.

• Don Williams: McCain’s heroic story isn’t the whole story, questions need asking: It won’t be easy to challenge this man who is rapidly becoming a living icon of military heroism. Still, here are a baker’s dozen pertinent questions -- plus corollaries -- that should be asked before it’s too late for our nation and the world...

• TNDP: Sarah Palin’s Speech Under Scrutiny: That bastion of liberal media bias, Comedy Central, no wait, the Associate Press, today reports that Alaska Governor Sarah Palin was lying in her Wednesday night Republican National Convention speech.

• Enclave: Revenge of the Community Organizers: So the question bears repeating: who is more worthy of scorn? Community organizers or the lobbyists who help Sarah Palin stay in office?

• Fletch: Angry

• KnoxViews (Rocketsquirrel): How Far the GOP Has Fallen: How far the GOP has fallen...Just as Eisenhower warned of the emerging military industrial complex, so too did Goldwater warn of religious extremists thinking they could control our public discourse and political decisions. PLUS: (Rikki): dunced around: This flagrant violation of Constitutional checks and balances persisted for months as Congressmen sent letters of protest and disgust to the White House. Finally, the House of Representatives voted to hold Bolton and Miers in contempt. Karl Rove was declared in contempt by a House subcommittee. Contempt was appealed, rejected and a stay denied. Miers is scheduled to appear before Congress Thursday. AND: Convention coverage archive.

• Lean Left: Why Does John McCain Hate America?: It’s not just Sarah Palin who’s the darling of the anti-government fringe. McCain himself is seeking lists of supporters and pledged delegates from a person who is simultaneously a flagship leader of an extremely radical fringe party and also a member of McCain’s own party. [..] Not only are McCain and Palin both on record as courting secessionist and anti-government groups, but the GOP is fine with having two of that group’s presidential nominees in its own ranks, and McCain’s platform is apparently close enough to the anti-government party’s platform to enable an endorsement.

• Left of the Dial: Meet Sarah Palin

• Left Wing Cracker: Heh. Think THIS may be how Palin was vetted?

• Liberadio(!): Misconceptions: A Reflection of Values: I’ll be glad to grant the Palins their privacy. But the circumstances they wish to keep private, they, and others like them, keep foisting on the public through cynical public policy that fails.

• Newscoma: Tennessee Soybean Festival ‘08: So, I’m guessing this is a Hooterville Exclusive.

• Pesky Fly: A Question for the Candidate, plus: Future Leader of the Republican Party

• Progressive Nashville: Judgement call: The McSame campaign wants us to believe this election is about the experience to make good decisions, but we've seen nothing but horrible decisions come out of the campaign and the GOP leadership. Even if we forgive McSame's role in the Keating 5 scandal, we still have to deal with the fact that he thinks George Bush is doing a swell job and that it might be good for us to remain in Iraq for 100 years.

• Resonance: The American Oil Refinery Shortage Myth: According to rightists, the second-most common response to energy crisis, behind "Drill! Drill! Drill!", is that gas prices are high because environmentalists have prevented America from building any new oil refineries in 30 years (or whatever duration it is). How does this claim square with marketplace reality?

• RoaneViews: Governor Bredesen Endorses Ruppe for State Senate PLUS: The Governor Campaigns for Becky Ruppe, with photos. (Ed. note: This one is a must-win, folks!)

• Russ McBee: McCain imitates Caligula: The nomination of Palin for the office of vice president sends exactly the same message to the American people and to the US Senate (in which Palin would be the presiding officer and tie-breaking vote): he thinks so little of them that he believes any random fundamentalist wingnut plucked off the street would be qualified to lead them. PLUS: Labor Day scorecard: American workers not doing well: That's the "ownership society" for you: workers get shafted, while one of the two main presidential candidates doesn't even know how many houses he owns.

• Sean Braisted: Kissinger Most Expensive Baby Sitter Ever: I'm sure Palin has at least basic knowledge of the national issues at stake (just like most Republican politicians), and so the "soft bigotry of low expectations," can only help her in the coming weeks. Given that Republican ideas are generally formulated by a select group of pre-schoolers high on glue, its not that hard to remember GOP talking points. Taxes bad, spending bad, liberals bad. PLUS: More Republican Comedy: Of course, its perfectly plausible that a 50+ year old man from Georgia has never heard that phrase used in a negative light towards black people...just as its perfectly plausible that David Duke didn't know what the Klan was all about...or its perfectly plausible that Sarah Palin was McCain's first choice for VP.

• Sharon Cobb: A Wrap Up Of Sarah Palin's Speech At The Republican Convention Wednesday Night.: Still half asleep, I rolled over and opened one eye and asked, "Why is Sally Fields speaking at the republican convention?" PLUS: Senator John McCain: A Hero, Yes. But A Maverick, No. The Republican Convention Speech Last Night: According to CNN, McCain had 169 lobbyists in the front of the auditorium during his acceptance speech. You simply cannot sell yourself as an agent for change when you've been a U.S. Senator for decades.

• GoldnI: Things I Learned Today: I was vetted more thoroughly by Wash U Law than Sarah Palin was by John McCain. PLUS: Republicans -- Make Up Your Minds: How is she going to handle foreign leaders if she can't handle "Meet The Press"?

• Southern Beale: Permission Not Granted: Should be the new slogan of the McCain-Palin ticket. The funniest is this statement from the principal of Walter Reed Middle School in North Hollywood, California... PLUS: Return Of The Wedge Issue: But really what Sarah Palin has done is bring the evangelical base back into the voting booth. And along with them come those rancorous, divisive social issues. Karl Rove is ecstatic.

• Vibinc: Joementum to Educate Palin: Palin will also not be available to the media for an undetermined time while she gets her affairs in order back in Alaska. I guess they’re going to use some of that time to get her up to speed on their Cold War era worldview of foreign policy. Personally, I don’t think she needs it.

• WhitesCreek: What are we changing here?: I thought I had seen the nastiest lies ever in the past two presidential elections, and somehow, I though John McCain would be slightly better at sticking with the truth. WRONG! PLUS: Moose and Snow: McCain's Veep pick seems to be up to her miniskirt in the rankest form of good old boy and girl corruption and cronyism.

• Women's Health News: Just a Thought on Palin: Sure, campaigning and being VP may be demanding. However, if, with all of the resources at Palin’s fingertips, the situation still seems inadequate for providing for a child, if the deck still seems stacked against working mothers, imagine how women without the luxury of these choices must feel.

 

Fact checking Palin

Blogger Mark Kleiman fact checks the Palin speech last night.

You can field dress a moose

Just in case you're jealous and want to feel vice-presidential, here's how to field dress a moose.

  -- Jim Grinstead

Judgement call

As the allegations about Sarah Palin swirl, it's easy to miss one important point -- what was John McSame thinking when he picked her as his running mate?

The McSame campaign wants us to believe this election is about the experience to make good decisions, but we've seen nothing but horrible decisions come out of the campaign and the GOP leadership. Even if we forgive McSame's role in the Keating 5 scandal, we still have to deal with the fact that he thinks George Bush is doing a swell job and that it might be good for us to remain in Iraq for 100 years.

But even those pale in comparison to this Palin mess. Let's consider:

• The process -- McSame has had months since he was the presumed nominee to consider a running mate. During that time, the spotlight was on Obama and Clinton, so there was ample time to consider his choices and do preliminary background investigations. Despite this, he picks an unknown with considerable baggage and makes the announcement in time to splash the fallout all over the Republican convention which should be the opportunity to rally the party faithful for the cause.
  
• The research -- Reports say the campaign didn't put anyone in Alaska to research the potential nominee until the day before McSame announced Palin as his choice for VP. While no candidate wants news of his/her selection to leak early, shouldn't McSame have some people that he trusts enough to do a Google search? It was relatively easy for casual researchers to dig up dirt on Palin over a holiday weekend. We're going to learn a lot more when the National Enquirer begins spreading money around for copies of documents. If he can't trust anyone to help him here, where will he turn when matters of the nation are at stake?
  
• The choice -- Palin is the best they've got? Not by a long shot. The choice was clearly engineered to appeal to women and evangelicals, yet both groups are being slapped in the face with this questionable candidate. Women particularly should be offended. When the GOP picks its first woman for a presidential run, they trot out someone who is under attack within hours of being presented to the public. It shows how little significance they give to the event and how unconcerned they were about selecting a strong candidate to pave the way for future generations.
  
• The handling -- The Sarah Palin story is about as bizarre as it gets. Have you heard the stories that son Trig may actually not be Sarah's child? It's an incredible story that generates enough smoke to suggest there is some fire beneath. If it is false, then why hasn't the campaign moved to beat it down with birth certificates and statements from doctors backing Palin's story? The Obama campaign knew it had to kill false stories quickly before they gained traction. Either the McSame campaign is inept at handling such things or they're trying to figure out how to spin the facts. And that's the easy stuff. They've been equally inept at handling the issues they knew about.

McSame wants us to believe he can fix what's broken with America, but he and the rest of the Republican leadership just wants to give us more of the same. We only need to think back to Bush's choices of Alberto Gonzalez and Harriet Meiers to understand why McSame's decisions offer nothing new. We don't need more bad choices and bad decisions.

The Republican leadership are the poster children for incompetence. One has to wonder what it will take for the party's rank and file to send these baboons packing.

-- Jim Grinstead

Answers, please

The son of former mayoral candidate and former U.S. Senate candidate Ken Eaton is complaining that Bob Tuke is wasting time with his U.S. Senate campaign.

Tuke is a solid Democrat and has been actively challenging Republican Lamar Alexander on the issues. That's anything but a waste of time.

But perhaps Eaton can explain why Ken requested a Republican ballot in the state primary in August 2006, yet has been a candidate on the Democratic ticket?

Who is wasting our time now?

-- Jim Grinstead

h/t Kleinheider