Deadly Silence - Proof Of Innocent Man On Death Row 11:13

Workman is scheduled to be executed on May 9. Please watch this video so you can see he is most likely innocent of the crime for which he is going to be executed on May 9.

The "eye witness" was not at the crime scene. Is that not enough to call this into question?

Help! Contact Governor Bredesen

Governor's Office
Tennessee State Capitol
Nashville, TN 37243-0001

Phone: 615.741.2001
Fax: 615.532.9711
Email: phil.bredesen@state.tn.us

From TomDispatch.com, I was taken by the featured article written by librarian, Chris Ward, The Public Library As Asylum For The Homeless. Although from Salt Lake City, Ward writes about two important issues here in Knoxville and Knox County.

Homelessness is described from Ward's position on the frontline at the downtown library. His voice also convinces us of the importance of the public space provided when a community commits to an urban library.

Ward recently retired as the assistant director at the Salt Lake City Public Library. He's a little preachy* but he's earned the right for his career commitment. He says, "I like to think of our library as the civic ballroom of our community where citizens can practice that awkward dance of mutuality that is the very signature of a democratic culture." The value of the library as a public gathering place is an overarching principle that makes it possible for him to persevere because some day’s encounters yield only frustrating despair.

Inseparable from discussion of downtown libraries are urban transients, the homeless, the outcast. We all know what this problem is – it’s the stinky ick factor or the awkwardness of being within earshot of a schizophrenic...

As if it wasn't big enough contradiction for a big "C" Conservative to propose a tax initiative, Rep. Campfield wants to put the squeeze on erotic speech and press with his Adult Materials Tax. ;)

Rep. Campfield doesn't have any idea that his tax initiative infringes the Constitutional protections of speech & press. IMO the ARKANSAS WRITERS' PROJECT v. RAGLAND case reads that way, but please read it and decide for yourself. (481 U.S. 221 (1987)).

This week, Rep. Campfield made several posts about his tax initiative including the one that finally got me commenting at his blog. The last was one of those roundup entries. It was just too much ...

According to today's KNS report, the Tennessee Attorney General has opined, and Bredesen has passed down the word to Ragsdale (pdf), that the Tennessee Constitution does not allow the legislature to alter the appointment process. So, no election of commissioners until '08.

In other sad news, Commission Chair Moore says, "The only people complaining are the people who lost."

Hard to argue with this one: Mayor Haslam hired Madeline Rogero to replace Kesler at the City of Knoxville Community Development Dept. KNS story here.

That's great news to a lot of us who thought highly of Rogero as a mayoral candidate.

Ms. Rogero starts Dec. 26. Hopefully, the quick action on the Mayor's part will keep important projects on track and ultimately increase the utility of the available monies.

A cool new car and a downtown Knoxville art shop combine for a national promotion -  who would have thunk it?

Test drive the new Toyota Yaris in downtown Knoxville & get a $15
YEE-HAW! gift certificate.

The new Yaris is an environmentally friendly and inexpensive car for
the socially aware. Priced at $10,000-$14,000 and gets 34 to 40 miles to the gallon.

Support the arts by joining in our event.
PROMOTION IS THIS WEDNESDAY, THURSDAY & FRIDAY ONLY
11AM - 7PM
(AUGUST 30-31 & SEPT 1 ONLY)

FIRST FRIDAY SEPT 1: test drives will only last until 7 pm!!! get there early.

The test drive location will be in the parking lot at 427 Walnut Street
(West side of the street between Summer Place and Union Avenue)
across Walnut Street from the Market Square Parking Garage

see article & pictures:
http://www.familycar.com/RoadTests/ToyotaYaris/

http://www.yarisworks.com

When former Knoxville Mayor Victor Ashe left for Poland as an GWBush appointee, one had to seriously question W's judgment. The ambassador job went to the best person for the job, right? Well ... let's just say if you knew Mayor Ashe's style, imagining him as an ambassador was highly dubious given his "diplomatic" skills.

Prior to his current position, W had placed Mayor Ashe on the Fannie Mae Board - appointed 2001. Now the latest on Ashe's stint as a Fannie Mae board member puts W's record of meritocracy in double doubt. While on the board, Ashe's fiduciary oversight was apparently nonexistent.

from the NYT
Fannie Mae to Pay $400 Million in Fines

...
Accusing former Fannie Mae executives of operating an "arrogant and unethical" corporate culture, federal regulators condemned the mortgage giant today for inflating its earnings to reward senior mangers with rich bonuses.
...
As the report concludes, Fannie Mae's financial results during that time were "illusions deliberately and systematically created by senior management."

The report also accused Fannie Mae's board of allowing the financial mismanagement to go undetected by failing to scrutinize the business decisions of senior executives.

Before I offer my thoughts on who should get your vote and why, here is the basic information about when and where to vote:

If you are not sure which voting district you should be voting in check here

Early voting ends on April 27^th

Early voting locations are listed here

If you’re not voting early, the Primary election will be held on May 2^nd

Voting locations are listed here

My recommendations in both the Democratic and Republican primaries appear after the jump...

Ford won her Tennessee Senate seat by 13 votes. An investigation into the shenanigans at the polls revealed 12 improper ballots.

The Senate voted to kick her out of office because of "incurably uncertain" results.

First of all, we don't even know who was voted for by the 12 improper voters. Second, toss them out, Ford is still the winner.

 13

-12

   1

The laws of arithmetic haven't changed have they? What am I missing?

On Wednesday, the KNS reported that the Christian fish license plate bill in the Tennessee Senate was losing steam. Efforts to pass the bill slowing, I suspected that we’d get see some bloglash from concerned Conservative Christians. But the story quietly took a two day breather.

On Friday, the Sixth Federal Circuit Court of Appeals cleared a specialty license plate passed by the Tennessee General Assembly that says “Choose Life”. ACLU-TN attempts to have it declared unconstitutional were rejected in a 2-1 decision.

As an aside, my personal opinion is that “Choose Life” as a motto is hard to argue with. There are two ideas in it that appeal to me - that we as humans have choice and that we should choose life.

Downtown Knoxville is on the inside and the end of the barrel is plugged with concrete.

With Gay St. blocked until 2007 to be humped up & ditched out plus Summit Hill Bridge closed until September 2007, businesses close, I fear.  East of the Old City isn't just isolated, coming from the west you can't get  into the Old City by Jackson Ave. either.

Forget how do you get to downtown, how do you get out? Read the official instructions from the TDOT site.

    *  Bridge detour- Take Central Street to Willow Avenue to Patton Street.
    * To downtown- From James White Parkway take the Cumberland Avenue exit to Gay Street to Summit Hill Drive.
    * From downtown- Take Summit Hill Drive to Locust Street to Clinch Avenue to Henley Street to access the tunnel and any direction of the Interstate.

The road industry/chamber wants driving easy and parking easier so they close all known connections to downtown. For what? For an 18 month re-do. 

Why? Because it's just what we need? Planning inertia?  Or back the profit motive. Just enough time to shake out the market. I can see it across 12 lanes of traffic, Tumbleweeds in the Old City! The award winning interstate entertainment district!

Old news.

In my despair over feelings of futility, the one thing I hope for is a quick successful population of the growing condo-honeycomb. If you were living there, you'd eventually be stuck by the concrete industry convention going on in the arterial barrels of downtown. Like a snow day for months, it could be a good party.

The best is yet to come:

James White Parkway closed for 10 months beginning December 2006. The Church Street Bridge is scheduled to be closed for 10 months beginning December 1, 2006. Interstate 40 is scheduled to be closed (to through traffic) for 14 months beginning May 2008.

Coming tomorrow! Photos of bridges we fixed a few years ago being blown up! 

I thought I was paying attention but then I read about the road construction of I40.

I knew the swath from Glenwood across 5th then I40 to Hall of Fame required a superstructure to traverse this treacherous ground.

But I didn't realize that the next phase involving the I40 its own badself was going to require making Gay St. into a ditch.

Complete upgrades to Gay Street, including dropping the road four feet for 350 feet near I-40, by Dec. 1, 2006, the same day the Gay Street viaduct should be finished. Gay Street must be dropped to accommodate the widened I-40 bridge overhead; KNS

Can you imagine how bad that will be coming north on the 100 block then on to the new hump bridge, over the railtracks, off it and into a 100 yard crevass. Sounds butt ugly.

How did we miss this before it was ready for bid?

If anyone runs across a rendering, let me know. I want time to prepare.

Conservatives pass more stop-gays-in-love laws than Abraham had wives.

Tennessee's popular vote concerning an amendment to our state's constitution is coming up. This heterosexual frenzy was pushed by state Republican Caucus leader Senator Jeff Miller. He's quitting the legislating business after this term because he has problems at home and a sincere, if belated, desire to spend more time with his family.

On the national level, VOLuntarily Conservative Rob Huddleston is peeved that Bush isn't whipping up the 28th Amendment. As for DeLay's abdication, Huddleston has spotted his new Majority Leader, a fellow named Shadegg. He acknowledges Shadegg's wife leavin' & staff assistant cheatin' "...but I have no problem with him based on the business-end of things"

OK, what's the business end, passing Constitutional Amendments to protect marriage? Too late for the Mrs. Shadegg.

The Conservatives need a new slogan, something like:

CHARACTER COUNTS SO WE MADE IT A LAW

S Carpenter