Wisconsin firm buys ex-marijuana grotto for 'tasty' enterprise:

The auction was held in what had been one of the underground growing rooms in a previous marijuana operation. About 170 people, the majority of them spectators, came to watch the court-ordered sale unfold about 90 feet below ground.

"Look at the craftsmanship!" says the auctioneer.

Monks, Nudes, and Rollerskates: Life Begins at 40. Purchase it online at monksbook.com. (Hardcover. ISBN: 978-0-980055306 Rocket Squirrel Press)

“When some men hit the middle age crazies, they quit their jobs, buy red convertibles, divorce, and marry trophy wives half their years. James Cortese took a different route, economically and matrimonially, by following his dreams in real-life flights of fancy. What’s more, he did it during the Ozzie and Harriet 1950s–when “respectable working men” (if, ahem, newspaper columnists are included in such lofty circles) were supposed to be above this kind of nonsense.

Cortese’s fun-to-read book chronicles his adventures all over the map: everything from swimming across the Mississippi River, to playing Beethoven in the Grand Canyon, to roller-skating through Texas and much more, all culminating with his appearance on the CBS quiz show, To Tell The Truth.

Walter Mitty, eat your heart out.”

–Sam Venable, Columnist,Knoxville News Sentinel

more after the jump...

The Clean Water Protection Act (HR 2169) would reverse the Bush Administration’s 2002 decision that the toxic “waste” created by mountaintop removal could be defined as “fill material,” and recklessly dumped into our water ways. This practice has already destroyed over 1200 miles of American headwater streams, and eliminated access to safe, clean potable water for many communities. The CWPA (HR 2169) currently has 107 co-sponsors, and a lot of momentum. But we need more to get out of committee and onto the floor.

We have 3 of 5 Democrats from TN onboard, and we need to know if Lincoln Davis, Bart Gordon, and John Tanner are “wit’ us” or “ginst us” on stopping mountaintop removal.

If you have a moment, please take a moment to call Davis (202-225-6831), Gordon (202-225-4231), and Tanner (202-225-4714), politely but forcefully asking that they co-sponsor the Clean Water Protection Act (HR 2169), and take a stand against mountaintop removal.

A quick report on our TN Dems and mountaintop removal below…

Fluffy, but interesting piece about Steve Cohen from The Hill:

Link...

By John Mark Hancock
Copyrighted – All Rights Reserved

As 2007 gets into full swing, without much snow yet in the Great Smoky Mountains, the University of Tennessee men’s basketball team is finding tough sledding on the road after some major successes in December. It appears that Head Coach Bruce Pearl’s young team, while they overachieved in the early part of this still-young season, has been humbled and brought back to earth with three straight losses on the road, all of which were bitter and hard fought at the end.

The fiery Pearl, who nearly got tossed out of the game on the Plains when he was assessed a technical foul down the stretch while protesting an egregious call by a referee, lost three games in a row for the first time in his entire 15-year coaching career last night at Auburn. The Volunteers blew a 14-point lead late in the game, which when combined with the very poor officiating and the fact that star Chris Lofton never got to the free throw line while the Tigers shot multiple free tosses throughout the game, led to a 3-point loss.

Read more after the jump...

Our thoughts are with the communities and the families of West Tennessee who lost loved ones (and/or property) during last night's devastating storms.

Longtime Democratic state Senator Don McLeary ("D"-Humboldt), the deciding vote in voiding Ophelia Ford's election, appears ready to rejoin the Senate Majority -- although this time, as a Republican.

Asked yesterday evening whether he were jumping the political ship, a weary state Sen. Don McLeary, sitting on the couch of his Humboldt farmhouse, responded, "I will make a statement about my political future (Friday) afternoon at 5."

Ah, yes. Friday at 5. The most dead spot in the weekly news cycle.

"He said Republicans had been trying to get him to come over, but that he was not going to do that," Poteet said. "I can't say what he is going to do. I have not spoken to him since then. The Gibson County Democratic Party loves him."

So, I guess the question is, will the Gibson County Democratic Party be ready to switch affiliation as well?

If their support for McLeary is unbent by this announcement, that'd be the most honest thing they could possibly do.