Ran across this post on one of the other political messageboards I frequent. It makes some pretty salient points for us progressives. It's time for us to stop letting the GOP put us on the defensive. The failed policies of the Bush administration and the neo-conservatives need to rest solely on their shoulders.

Conservatives like to point out that the Dems have controlled Congress the last two years...we should remember to point out that even though we have a majority, it is NOT veto-proof, and we haven't even got enough of a majority to get a cloture vote in the Senate through. So, still, the GOP is blocking any attempts that the Dems in Congress might make to try to stop the slow slide downward of our republic by threatening filibusters and vetoes by the President.

I will not forget.

I will not forget that we were told we should attack Iraq after 9/11. I will not forget who told us that, and the reasons they brought forth for doing so. I will not forget who claimed that there were weapons of mass destruction. I will not forget the claims of terrorist ties in Iraq, and how attacking Iraq would be punishing those who perpetrated that horrible day in September. I will not forget who made these claims, and who controlled our government at the time. And I will not forget how wrong they were.

I Will Not Forget by EnderWiggin.

We will never forget and we must keep reminding those who do.

The Daily Show is the only "news" program that accurately covered what was really said during Thursday night's speeches.

In case you missed it, here's their report on McCain's speech. (Must see parts start at about 3:00 in.)

And Colbert has this report (good parts at 6:25 in).

News reports confirm a story by the Wall Street Journal yesterday saying that the federal government is poised to take over mortgage backers Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Forbes has more details. It could cost taxpayers tens of billions of dollars, and will virtually wipe out the value of stockholder shares.

These government-sponsored, publicly traded companies back half the mortgages in the U.S. and have made it possible for average people to participate in the American dream of home ownership. John McCain's economic advisor Phil Gramm is the mastermind behind turning that dream into a nightmare for millions of Americans, who are facing the worst foreclosure crisis since the Great Depression.

In related news, a Nevada bank is the 11th bank failure this year. According to this Bloomberg report, the rate of bank failure in John McCain's "mental recession" is at a 14 year high. John McCain's son was on the board of directors of Silver State Bank, the latest failure, until his resignation in July.

Flashback: The Keating Five scandal, and how John McCain skated.

We have a two part process to verify the petitions.
First, using the Petition Eligibility System developed by the County Information Technology Department, we look up each signer. We verify that the person is registered and has put down the address we have in our files. We also look to make sure that the other components required by law are there: printed name, date, and the complete wording of the amendment(s) on the page.
We call this Stage 1.
In Stage 1 we have processed 25,010 names on the White petitions.
19,268 are valid.
The rejection rate is 22.95%.
We have completed Stage 1 for 52.55% of the number needed to put the white petition on the ballot.
In Stage 2 we check the signature on the petition against the signature on the voter registration card. If the worker thinks they are not the same signature we make a copy of each signature and put them in the "Disputed Signature" file.
This is a very slow process.
I do not have any exact numbers for Stage 2 but after two and a half full days there are less than a dozen names in the Disputed file.

Greg Mackay
AOE

"Driver inattention is the leading factor in most car crashes"

Can cities pass laws regarding restricting using a cell phone while driving?

Or does that have to be at the state level?

If so are there any cities in Tennessee with restrictions?

CNN article regarding the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and Virginia Tech Transportation Institute report.

Link...

The local chapter of the League of Women Voters is sponsoring voter registration drives during the month of September at all public library locations in Knoxville and Knox County.

Volunteers will staff the following library locations on all Saturdays in September between 1-5pm: Beck Center, Carter, Cedar Bluff, East Knoxville/Burlington, Farragut, Fountain City, Halls, Howard Pinkston, Karns, North Knoxville, Norwood, Powell, Sequoyah, South Knoxville, and West Knoxville. Volunteers will staff the following locations on all Mondays in September between 2-5pm: Corryton, Mascot and Murphy.

To obtain addresses of the public library location nearest you, call 215-8750 or visit Link....

Come see me at the Carter Library this Saturday, Sept. 6th from 1-5 pm and bring someone who still needs to register to vote. It's quick, easy and painless!

After politely asking the McCain campaign to stop using their song Barracuda, Ann and Nancy Wilson issued a statement when the GOP closed their convention with it anyway last night...

EW.com Exclusive:

"Sarah Palin's views and values in NO WAY represent us as American women. We ask that our song 'Barracuda' no longer be used to promote her image. The song 'Barracuda' was written in the late 70s as a scathing rant against the soulless, corporate nature of the music business, particularly for women.

Ironically, the song's lyrics include the lines:

If the real thing don't do the trick
You better make up something quick
You gonna burn burn burn burn it to the wick
Ooooooh, barracuda

The U.S. Department of Energy's Energy Information Agency (EIA) projects that such drilling would add some 200,000 barrels of oil per day at peak oil production in about 20 years. This is about 0.2 percent of world production, and the EIA describes this as too small to have any significant affect on oil prices.

Check out the press release and report here at the Center for Economic Policy and Research.

This report attributes media reporting (or lack thereof) to American's opinions that off-shore drilling will lower gas prices, which is not true. The CEPR report shows, in Table 2, that of 267 major television news broadcasts mentioning oil drilling only one (less than 1/2 of 1%) mentioned EIA data refuting the claim that gas prices would be significantly affected.

Once again the media is manipulating public opinion. The media will possibly manipulate the outcome of this election.

When will we learn? What can be done?

Better late than never, here's a complete index of all KnoxViews 2008 Democratic National Convention coverage. Might be a good antidote to this week's festivities.

On running mate Alaska Governor Sarah Palin:

"I'm very proud to have introduced our next Vice President to the country. But I can't wait until I introduce her to Washington. And let me offer an advance warning to the old, big spending, do nothing, me first, country second Washington crowd: change is coming."

On his solving problems in Washington:

"The constant partisan rancor that stops us from solving these problems isn't a cause, it's a symptom. It's what happens when people go to Washington to work for themselves and not you.

Again and again, I've worked with members of both parties to fix problems that need to be fixed. That's how I will govern as President. I will reach out my hand to anyone to help me get this country moving again. I have that record and the scars to prove it. Senator Obama does not."

Full text of McCain's speech (as prepared for delivery).

Other GOP convention speeches.

Discuss...

Bump.

Window View
Jon Gustin
Photograph

Works of Mänya Pirkle and Jonathan Pirkle and Eclectia: Works by Charlie Daniel and Jon Gustin opens Friday, August 5, with a reception for both shows at the Emporium Center in downtown Knoxville. Visit the Emporium page on Art Museum Touring.com (Link...). Note: Art Museum Touring is upgrading its site and will be down for a couple of days this weekend.

Support your local galleries and museums! They are economic engines for your community.

Sherrie

On Friday, September 5th from 5pm to 8pm Blount Mansion will host a reception for the Knoxville Watercolor Society. Live Celtic music by Red Haired Mary, tours of Blount Mansion, wine and hor d’ oeuvres. This event is free and open to the public. Visit the Blount Mansion page on Art Museum Touring.com (Link...). Note: Art Museum Touring.com is upgrading its site and will be down for a couple of days this weekend

BlountMansion has been selected to participate in the Museum Assessment Program (MAP). “Of America’s estimated 17,500 museums, less than one-half of one percent participate in MAP each year,” states Blount Mansion Association’s Executive Director Billye Chabot. “Participation in such programs demonstrates to the community our dedication to professionalism and to our mission of preserving the Mansion for future generations.”

Support your local galleries and museums! They are economic engines for your community.

Sherrie

We have processed 18,837 on the white petition.
14,543 are valid.
That is 22.77% rejection rate.

This is 39.67% of the needed number.

Major speeches from the 2008 Republican National Convention (remarks as prepared).

Previously: Democratic Convention speeches

RNC, Day 3: 37,244,000 viewers
DNC, Day 3: 24,029,000 viewers

Source: Nielsen:

• The Sara Palin speech generated 37.2 million viewers, just a 1.1 million viewers short of Barak Obama’s record-breaking speech on Day 4 of the Democratic Convention. The Palin speech was carried on only six networks while the Obama speech was carried on ten (including BET, TV One, Univision and Telemundo).

• Palin attracted a large female audience (19.5 million women, or 4.9 million more than Day 3 of the Democratic Convention).

• Ratings for viewers 55+ (25.2) continue to be about ten times higher than for teens (2.2)

• Day 3 for the GOP attracted more Hispanic viewers (1.4 million) than Day 3 of the Democratic Convention (1.2 million), even though Univision and Telemundo did not carry the speech.

National Park(ing) Day is an opportunity to celebrate parks in cities and promote the need for more parks by creating temporary public parks in public parking spaces. National Park(ing) Day is Friday, September 19, 2008.

San Francisco art collective REBAR first created "PARK(ing)" in 2005 to re-imagine the potential of the metered parking space. In 2006, in collaboration with TPL [The Trust for Public Land], REBAR founded "PARK(ing) Day": a global exploration of the creative potential of streets.

Liberals! Progressives! This must be addressed to you. Who else, since it started in San Francisco and they are promoting "public" parks.

Sounds like fun.

Here's an archive of the full text (as prepared for delivery) of all the major speeches at the 2008 Democratic National Convention, plus a few others of interest.

If, like me, you feel soiled by the phony morality fest that is the RNC, the TVA&I fair has provided us with the ultimate opportunity bathe in the glory of tolerance that makes this country great.

THE VILLAGE PEOPLE!
Tennessee Valley Fair Sept. 5,
The concert will begin at 8 p.m., and is presented by B97.5, WVLT-TV and PreView.
Tickets are only FIVE DOLLARS.

Knoxville Voice has a kind of fun interview
Link...

Sony is recalling thousands of Vaio laptop computers due to an overheating concern. In the US Sony is recalling 74,000 machines and 440,000 worldwide.

The company said the recall is for its VGN-TZ100, VGN-TZ200, VGN-TZ300 and VGN-TZ2000 series.

US Consumer Product Safety Commission announcement:

Remedy: Consumers should stop using the recalled notebook computers immediately and contact Sony to determine if their notebook is affected. The firm will arrange for an inspection and repair, if needed.

Consumer Contact: For additional information, contact Sony toll-free at (888) 526-6219 anytime, or visit the firm’s Web site at www.sony.com/support

From the Guardian (UK):

Democratic vice-presidential nominee Joe Biden said yesterday that he and running mate Barack Obama could pursue criminal charges against the Bush administration if they are elected in November.

'09 could be a very interesting year.

A friend told me that in the past few weeks he has encountered two restaurants in town where he paid with a debit card and had the entire account number and expiration date printed on the receipt. His attorney provided him with a copy of TCA 47-18-126 which he presented to the cashier at the second establishment. The man was astonished and called his boss.

Oddly enough, the 'customer copy' met the requirement of the law. The cashier offered to keep that copy and give my friend the 'business copy.'

Wowser. From the first speech right on down, the GOP has made the Democrat's case about the economy and foreign policy. Which party and whose policies are we talking about again? They're ripping off Obama's talking points right and left.

I used to think Romney would be the nominee or at least the running mate. Now I see why he wasn't.

Rudy's first five minutes were the most effective so far tonight. Beyond that (about a half-hour later), wake me when he's finished.

Next up, that governor nobody's heard of before who this convention is now supposed to be all about.

Discuss amongst yourselves. I probably won't be awake.

Maybe I missed something but how did the digital billboard on Chapman Highway at Dishman's Curve not violate the city's billboard regulations?

This woman's a three-dollar bill.

Link...

Dorothy Bowles, U.T. Professor and member of the East Tennessee Society of Professional Journalists, alerts us to a proposal that would make it more difficult and expensive for citizens and journalists to access public records.

The deadline for public comment, which was only announced this week, is noon tomorrow (Thursday) and the hearing is on Friday. You can submit your comments here: open.records@state.tn.us

Dorothy has provided the following background info:

• Fee proposal summary

• Fee proposal issues

• ETSPJ comments on fee proposals

She explains more after the jump...

RNC, Day 2: 21,528,000 viewers
DNC, Day 2: 25,974,000 viewers

Source: Nielsen

Who said?

"On religious issues there can be little or no compromise. There is no position on which people are so immovable as their religious beliefs. There is no more powerful ally one can claim in a debate than Jesus Christ, or God, or Allah, or whatever one calls this supreme being. But like any powerful weapon, the use of God's name on one's behalf should be used sparingly.

The religious factions that are growing throughout our land are not using their religious clout with wisdom. They are trying to force government leaders into following their position 100 percent. If you disagree with these religious groups on a particular moral issue, they complain, they threaten you with a loss of money or votes or both.

I'm frankly sick and tired of the political preachers across this country telling me as a citizen that if I want to be a moral person, I must believe in "A," "B," "C" and "D." Just who do they think they are? And from where do they presume to claim the right to dictate their moral beliefs to me?

And I am even more angry as a legislator who must endure the threats of every religious group who thinks it has some God-granted right to control my vote on every roll call in the Senate. I am warning them today: I will fight them every step of the way if they try to dictate their moral convictions to all Americans in the name of "conservatism."

the speaker of these words after the flip...(hint: 1964)

By way of Michael Silence, bloggers at the RNC are complaining about access and accommodations.

They say they are isolated, there is no internet access on the floor, and the filing room is a dungeon with no monitors to watch the action. They are also complaining that bigger bloggers are getting preferential treatment. Oh, and the food is bad.

I was offloading photos and videos from my notebook PC and pieced together this highlight reel from the Democratic National Convention in Denver last week. I'm already nostalgic for it after tonight's extravaganza in St. Paul.