According to Mike McWherter’s new ad, violent crime is up. However, Tennessee Bureau of Investigation statistics do not support his contention. According to their latest report, Group A offenses were down 4.5% in 2009 from the previous year. Crimes against persons were down slightly, 0.57%, between 2008 and 2009, but between 2007 and 2009 have declined 3.47%. In fairness to McWherter, the murder rate has increased during this time period, but McWherter’s claim that violent crime is on the increase is not supported by data.

From a political standpoint, I find it strange to see McWherter making crime an issue, given that it normally benefits Republicans, while the economy (an issue that typically benefits Democrats but may not do so this year) is on the minds of more people. Perhaps he is trying to triangulate by “stealing” the crime issue from Republicans. If so, I don’t think he will be successful. The issue of gangs, however, may earn him more support in urban areas (which usually go Democratic) where gangs are a more serious problem.

Zach Wamp must be getting desperate, as he suggests that if things don’t go the right way in ‘10 and ‘12, secession may be in the cards (because, you know, it worked out so well the last time it was attempted):

“I hope that the American people will go to the ballot box in 2010 and 2012 so that states are not forced to consider separation from this government,” said Wamp during an interview with Hotline OnCall.

He lauded Gov. Rick Perry (R-TX), who first floated the idea of secession in April ‘09, for leading the push-back against health care reform, adding that he hopes the American people “will send people to Washington that will, in 2010 and 2012, strictly adhere” to the constitution’s defined role for the federal government.

“Patriots like Rick Perry have talked about these issues because the federal government is putting us in an untenable position at the state level,” said Wamp, who is competing with Knoxville Mayor Bill Haslam (R) and LG Ron Ramsey (R) for the GOP nod in the race to replace TN Gov. Phil Bredesen (D).

Look, I’ve liked Wamp for a long time. He used to be my congressman. But this kind of nuttery is not helpful and should make voters think twice about supporting him.

Via Outside the Beltway

If you’ve been following Tennessee politics the past few days, you’ve probably heard about the supposed “scandal” involving alleged “pantless” photos of Julia Hurley, seeking the Republican nomination for the state house from Tennessee’s 32nd district. The story caught my attention as I live in the 32nd district.

Hurley, it should be mentioned, is a model by profession.

Blogger extraordinaire David Oatney has obtained the the photos in question, requests for which I’m sure have been burning search engines that last couple days. I won’t post them here because I’m not sure about copyright issues, but if you want to see them, head over to David’s blog. But I have to tell you, you’ll probably be disappointed. They’re completely work safe.

David Oatney sums up my views on the matter:

I’m sorry, but these pictures just aren’t scandalous, especially considering Ms. Hurley’s line of work. Neither of them show Hurley naked, despite the efforts by some people to pass them off as nude photographs-they are not, and it is a disservice both to Julia Hurley and to the voters to pass them off as such. It can certainly be argued that the pictures are “suggestive,” as some might say, but they are modelling pictures. Any man or woman who has ever seen a copy of the Victoria’s Secret catalogue has seen pictures that are far more suggestive than this.

Apparently it was a slow news day at the Roane County News, which ran a really over-the-top article about the matter. Hurley’s primary opponent offered this response to the photos: “I’m speechless right now… I’m surprised,” indicating he’s never seen a PG-13 movie before or spent very little time looking at photos on Facebook.

At the end of the day, I doubt this whole brouhaha will have much impact on the primary, other than perhaps discouraging good people from seeking elective office, lest some otherwise innocent photo be portrayed as evil by the media and her opponents. It’s a shame that campaigns (and newspapers) can’t focus on issues instead of tabloid-worthy non-stories.

As you may have heard, Nashville is Talking is going dark. To be honest, it had long been a shell of its former self, but nevertheless, it’s sad to see it go. In the good old days, when Britney Gilbert was at the helm, it really was a local treasure.

Once upon a time, Tennessee bloggers had a close knit community. It seemed everyone read everyone else’s blog and commented and linked. That was due in large part to NiT and the Rocky Top Brigade, plus the fact that blogging was new and innovative. These days, it’s routine. I don’t see nearly as much cross linking as I once did. I try to keep up with other Tennessee blogger, but I admit I fall behind much more than I used to.

I don’t think I’m the only one. Volunteer State bloggers still have a community, thanks mostly to the great work of ACK and Michael Silence, but it’s just not the same anymore. Maybe it’s just me, but it seems Tennessee bloggers have gone our own ways. No more Rocky Top Brigade Tailgate parties. Longtime blogger–myself very much included–rarely post any longer. Twitter, which I still don’t fully “get”, seems to rule the roost these days.

As anyone else noticed this, or have my own exploits outside the state simply isolated me? And if everyone feels the same way, is it time to reform our community? Maybe revive RTB? I’d love to hear some thoughts (if anyone even reads my blog anymore ).

Tennessee head coach Lane Kiffin is the new head coach at Southern Cal. This comes as a big surprise given that Kiffin had only coached one season in Knoxville, guiding the Vols to a 7-6 season.

A new coaching search will begin immediately, I assume. It’ll be interesting to see who Tennessee finds, as well as how Kiffin does at USC. As someone who liked Kiffin and generally defended his, shall we say, feistiness, I hate to see him go. Of course, if he doesn’t have any greater commitment to the Vols than that..

UPDATE: Kiffin gives one minute press conference announcing his departure, does not allow television cameras. Tomorrow he’ll be in California and never look back. Tennessee deserves better.

A friend also passes along the following:

Sources are now saying that both Kiffin and Orgeron spent much of this evening talking to early enrollee’s (recruits already on campus and registered) to start transfer papers to USC. No telling the damage this is going to cause the program. It’ll be interesting to see all of his recruits bolt for USC.

Donn Jones, candidate for Congress in Tennessee’s 8th district, announces he will not run in the Republican primary, instead switching to an Independent to run as a ‘Tea Party’-aligned candidate in the general election. In his press release, Jones is critical of the two party system and of the GOP’s lack of commitment to conservative values.

I’m not sure what Jones’s motives are. If he is attempting to advance the conservatism in Congress and defeat the Obama agenda, then this move will probably have the exact opposite effect, as he’s likely to  siphon votes away from the Republican nominee, ultimately helping the Democrats to retain this seat. If, however, Jones’s goal is simply media attention and self promotion (the more likely scenario, in my opinion), well, he’ll certainly succeed at that.

The Tennessee Valley Authority is getting some Christmas presents this year: lawsuits over their ash spill from last year. The Scrooges at the TVA, though, are having none of it. They claim, that as a government entity, they are immune from such damage claims. Must be nice to not have to pay for the destruction they caused.

One year ago today the TVA gave a Christmas gift to the residents of Roane County: the largest fly ash spill in U.S. history, which destroyed the Swan Pond community. It hasn’t gotten as much attention as it would had it happened in, say, Alaska (or just about anywhere else; anti-rural Appalachian bias, perhaps?), but anyone who visits can see what a disaster it is. Hopefully TVA will be held to account for this, but don’t bet on it.

RoaneViews has been following this situation closely.

Another one of those meaningless studies we all love to read has been released, ranking states from the happiest to the least cheerful. The happiest state in the Union? Louisiana, followed by Hawaii. New York comes in dead last, with Connecticut faring only slightly better.

Tennessee does very well, coming in as the fourth happiest state. You can view the entire list here.

Michael Silence has a roundup of news and reaction to the NCAA’s probe into UT’s use of ‘Hostesses’–hot co-eds–to lure prospective football players. The New York Times broke the story yesterday. The gist of the alleged violation appears to be this:

In one case, hostesses traveled nearly 200 miles to attend a high school game in South Carolina in which at least three Tennessee recruits were playing.

Not to necessarily exonerate UT here (we don’t have enough information yet to make any judgments), but this rule baffles me. It’s long been an accepted practice by universities to use pretty girls to encourage athletes to sign with their programs. Virtually every major university does this. The NCAA has no problem with it, so long as it’s done on campus. If done off campus, it’s a recruitment violation.

So that begs the question: why is it acceptable for universities to use attractive co-eds as bait for recruits in any situation? The true scandal is that universities are allowed to do it in the first place.

Sevier County is sometimes considered a top redneck honeymoon destination. Elitist? Yes. Unfair? Not in the least:

Police say two Campbell County newlyweds were arrested on their wedding night for burglarizing the Sevierville chapel where they were married.

WATE-TV reported that Brian Dykes and Mindy McGhee were married Wednesday at the Angel’s View Wedding Chapel at the Black Bear Ridge Resort. Following the wedding, the couple rented a cabin at the resort.

According to the Sevier County Sheriff, an employee noticed the couple’s car back outside the chapel around 1 a.m. and lockbox with cash was missing.

Deputies found the couple at a restaurant, where they confessed and turned over the missing $500. They are being held in jail on bonds of $10,000.

That’s what some are saying. The backlash has already begun. I, for one, hope Bredesen gets the nod. He’s the Democrat least likely to take us down the road to socialized medicine.

A few thoughts on the top news items of the day:

1) Kent Williams. Really, what can I say? The guy signed a pledge to back his party’s nominees for speaker and House speaker pro tempore and broke his word simply to gain power. His stint as speaker will be short. Either the Democrats will pick up seats in 2010, in which case they won’t need him any longer, or the GOP will pick up seats and send him packing. And that’s assuming he can win what will probably be a tough reelection battle. Either way, he’ll be banished to obscurity, a banishment he richly deserves.

2) The goings-on in Gaza. I know it’s en vogue to bash Israel, and I certainly don’t think the Israelis should be untouchable, but if Canada or Mexico were shooting rockets into American cities we all know how we’d react. Israel was attacked, and Israel should defend itself.

3) The TVA ash spill in my hometown is a mess to be sure. I drove over and looked at it when I was home right after Christmas. Definitely a tribute to human stupidity. The TVA messed up. And they will pay. And so will everyone who gets their power from the TVA.

4) An opening salvo in the 2012 campaign?

5) Bush’s place in history. His legacy will be mixed, I suspect. No terror attacks on American soil since September 11, 2001 is a big deal. But so is runaway government spending. The surge has worked, but why did it take three years to implement it? And the prewar intelligence was botched to say the least. His judicial appointments will also be divisive. Bush will be as controversial in the future as he is now.

My own grade for Bush would be a C. He’s not the worst president we’ve ever had, as some would claim, but his job performance has undeniably left a lot to be desired.

6) Congrats to the Gators, although I think Texas, Southern Cal and Utah all have just as compelling a case for the title as Florida. We need a playoff system.

Did the son of a Tennessee State Representative Mike Kernell (D) hack into Sarah Palin’s e-mail account? The FBI and the Secret Service are investigating:

State Rep. Mike Kernell declined Thursday to respond to online allegations that his son — a student at the University of Tennessee Knoxville — hacked into Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin’s personal e-mail account.

“My son’s the one in question, and I can’t comment on him,” said Kernell, a Memphis Democrat.

Bloggers have alleged that David Kernell, 20, is the one who has claimed responsibility for breaking into the Alaska governor’s e-mail account.

The article notes that the evidence is “tenuous,” and I suspect we’ll know the truth soon. Using computer records and whatnot, it seems like this would be fairly easy to check out. If he is guilty, he certainly deserves to be punished. If he is innocent, his life is ruined.

Yesterday morning I turned on CNN International (the only station I get that broadcasts exclusively in English) to learn of a horrendous church shooting in Tennessee. Naturally I was shocked, so I immediately went online to find more details. The details I found were quite disturbing..

On Sunday a gunman entered Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church and opened fire, wounding nine people, of which two have died. While a student at UT I drove by this church almost everyday.. I never imagined something like this could happen.

The slime responsible is a “man” named Jim Adkisson, a local nutcase who apparently disagreed the liberal stances taken by the TVUUC, was frustrated about his lack of employment, and who dislikes Christians in general.

I’ve also learned that this lunatic grew up in my hometown of Harriman. As if Roane County needed in any further negative publicity.

We should all keep the TVUUC and the victims of this shooting in our thoughts and prayers.

It looks like my hometown of Harriman might soon boast a gay nudist resort:

A small Harriman community may seem like the last place for an adult only, alternative lifestyle, nudist resort, but an investor from Ohio says it’s perfect.

The Rosebud Lodge Resort and Campground would cater to the gay, lesbian, bi-sexual and trans-gender community.

The resort is planned to be built on 60 acres of property along the Clinch River on Skyline Drive.

However, the property still needs to be rezoned as a commercial area.

I personally don’t care if it opens or not. It seems to me there are more important things to worry about. But I suspect the county commission will refuse to rezone the property, thus killing the deal.

This is a real shame. Jeff Woods puts it in perspective:

With a coal company essentially promising to mine by blowing off the tops of Tennessee mountains, lawmakers inexplicably refused to act and all but guaranteed great swaths of ecologically important woodlands will be laid to waste.

The National Coal Corp. threatened to shut down in Tennessee if mountaintop mining were banned. So to save 234 jobs, the sum total of the company’s workforce, lawmakers decided to sacrifice the natural beauty that underpins a gazillion-dollar tourism industry.

There is some hope for next year, but tragedy looms if the legislature doesn’t act soon:

Environmentalists say they’ll present their bill again next year, and the governor has indicated he might help this time. There’s a sense of urgency. Mountaintop mining is about to become more familiar to Tennessee. National Coal sold its operations in Kentucky this year to focus on mining in this state. The Tennessee Valley Authority’s coal-fired power plants are about to be fitted with newer pollution scrubbers, making this state’s high-sulfur, dirty-burning coal more marketable, according to Barger.

Via ACK (cross posted at Hillbilly Savants)

A.C. Kleinheider, formerly of Volunteer Voters, is now blogging at Post Politics, the Nashville Post’s blog. We all knew A.C. would land on his feet, and it’s great to see him blogging again.

This doesn’t speak well of Congressman Marsha Blackburn:

U.S. Rep. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., on Tuesday acknowledged failing to report more than a quarter-million dollars in campaign expenditures over the past six years while at the same time failing to report $102,044 in contributions.Blackburn, seeking her fourth term and facing both Republican and Democratic opponents, told The Commercial Appeal she plans to reveal the errant Federal Election Commission reporting in a series of amendments to disclosure reports dating back to her first run for Congress in 2002.

I doubt anything sinister is afoot. It’s probably just an innocent mistake, but it’s one that shouldn’t have been made. I don’t know if she was ever seriously being considered for the VP spot on the McCain ticket, but if so this will probably eliminate her from the running.

Via TPB

An effort to ban mountaintop removal looked dead in the water less than two weeks ago. But now it has been revived:

A Senate committee today approved a bill to put new restrictions on surface coal mining in East Tennessee, even though a House subcommittee had killed the measure earlier.

Sponsor Sen. Raymond Finney, R-Maryville, said he now expects an effort to have the House Environment Subcommittee hold a special meeting and consider reversing its earlier vote to kill the bill.

The measure passed the Senate Environment and Conservation Committee today by a vote of 8-1. The lone no vote was my state senator, Tommy Kilby, who continues to be a major disappointment but who is happily not seeking reelection. Senator Finney deserves a lot of credit for keeping this effort alive.

I was critical of Bill Hobbs’ decision to make an issue of Barack Obama’s middle name, but this brouhaha is silly. Anyone fair minded person would understand that Hobbs was referring to the people being Obama’s boss, which is (at least in theory) true of all elected officials.