Monday Fireworks? Pt. II

I'm hearing from a second source that there should be some special "fireworks" coming up in Monday's House session stemming from Naifeh's actions on HB 0887. No details as what will happen exactly, but my interest is now piqued.

Also see yesterday's post: "More Fireworks Monday?"

Thursday Car Blogging on a Friday

Yes, it's the much anticipated Thursday Car Blogging...just on a Friday.

Last weekend I made the jump from having an engine sitting outside of the Land Rover to actually having it *in* the Land Rover. It took two people and lots of patience, but it finally went in.

The problem I keep running into is that I took this engine out about two years ago. When you do something that long ago, you can't always remember where everything goes....such as wiring...or extra bolts...etc.

So, on Easter weekend (when I took these pictures) I took several pictures of some Land Rover engines in their native form.

The only other issue is that that engine is from a North American export Land Rover while mine is a UK home market Land Rover. Things that would be on one side are on the other, the North American engines have more emissions controls, etc. However, they are close enough for me to at least see where the wiring goes.

Tomorrow I'll be trying to do as much as I can to get it going as next weekend I'll be busy with other things. I doubt it will be road worthy by next weekend though, or I'd be driving it around Belmont. If you think the chicks dig bloggers, then wait till they see a blogger driving around in this Land Rover...ok...well...maybe not.

More: Chris Wage does some car blogging here and here.

More Video - Yesterday's House Session

The TFA (who, by the way, may have taken my advice on starting a blog format web site) has posted a 15 minute, 40 MB video from yesterday's House session where Rep. Casada was able to bring a motion to reconsider the referral of HB 0887 back to subcommittee. Discussion ensues around why Naifeh wanted the bill sent back (the "time" issue).

You can download that video here (right click, save as to download).

As to the "time" issue, Bill Hobbs has a letter from House Judiciary Constitutional Protections Subcommittee member Rep. Jerome Cochran that gives a good explaination of what happened in that subcommittee regarding HB 0887.

Naifeh Media Coverage

Bill Hobbs has links and commentary on a couple of news stories out today regarding Naifeh's performance on HB 0887.

Naifeh Video

Ben Cunningham has come through and provided a one minute video clip of Wednesday's performance by Speaker Naifeh. I have uploaded it to my server so that you all can download, save and play it over and over again...especially during the next election.

It's 10.7 MB and in MPEG format.

Right click here and save to disk to download.

Be sure to share with your friends as well.

If you'd rather download just the audio portion (a 1 MB file compared to the 10 MB video file), you can get that here.

More Fireworks Monday?

I'm hearing that there may be even more fireworks in Monday's House session over "887-gate." I'll keep the video feed up and my ears open just in case.

More: I just noticed this in the News 2 scrolling headlines:

Controversy erupts over unflattering comparison between state House speaker and former Iraqi leader.

I didn't catch the story and it's not up yet, but who compared Naifeh to Saddam? And more importantly, I wonder if the reporter that filed the story did some background work to figure out *why* the comparison was made. We'll see once it shows up.

Update: It was Steve Gill who made the comparison to Saddam, and Bill Hobbs has a link to the WKRN video. Hobbs also caught a flagrant error in it by reporter Chris Bundgaard.

In the story, Bundgaard reported:

"On Wednesday, the House Speaker asked for and received a House floor voice vote that sent the bill back to a subcommittee where it passed earlier in the day."

Wow...talk about getting it wrong. Head over to read more.

More: Heh...Gill has apologized to Saddam for making the comparison between him and Naifeh.

One for Socialism

So, if you're Bush, how do attempt to please the masses when it comes to Social Security? You apparently make it even more socialistic than it was to begin with.

From a CBS news alert:

President Bush intends to prod Congress to consider raising Social Security benefits for low-income retirees while curtailing them for wealthier retirees.

Thursday Car Blogging

For my regular readers, Thursday Car Blogging will be on, well...Friday.

Or late tonight. Stay tuned.

Pre-K Sails Through House

If you haven't heard it by now, the pre-K program intiative sailed through the state House yesterday.

Naifeh wanted it, so there were no problems.

Bill Hobbs has more.

Rep. Stacey Campfield has more.

New blogger Kay Brooks (with an interesting education blog) has more (ht Hobbs on that one).

Also, if you didn't read my post a few days ago on the pre-K initiative, you should.

Casada Attempts to Revive HB 887

John Harris of the TFA sent out an email regarding today's session as a motion to revive HB 887 was brought up:

The bizarre and almost tyrannical events from April 27 in the House carried over to April 28. For those of you who missed it this morning (as I did) here is what has transpired.

A motion was made during session on April 28 (approximately 1 hour and 11 minutes into session if you view the streaming video from the legislative
website) by Rep. Casada to "reconsider" the motion to "re-refer" HB0887 to the subcomittee. After some procedural debate with the Speaker and some comments by various House members on the importance of the "committee system", the motion was finally allowed on a recorded vote. It failed with only 47 votes. We believe it would have taken a majority to pass the motion but Speaker Naifeh ruled on an inquiry from Rep. Odom (D) that it would take 66 votes to reconsider the event. The vote was mostly along party lines with Republicans supporting your basic rights and with most Democrats opposing them in favor of either "the Speaker" or the importance of the "committee system."

This incident has raised the ire of the TFA and the NRA, and because of this they are looking at an all out political war come next election...that you can count on.

Update: Rep. Campfield is on a roll. He's got his take of today's events up now. Head over and read it.

Traffic Court

Me - traffic court - today.

Only the second ticket I've ever gotten. Almost three years ago I got one within a half-mile of where I got this one.

Good times.

Attempted Robber Shot By Business Owner

This is a good story to start the morning with:

Police say Ralph Wade Fleming approached a convenience store and threw a brick through the glass door to gain access. After making his way inside, police say Fleming tried to rob the cashier with a gun he said he had hidden in his pocket.

The owner of the store, Brad Lewis, was still on the property and witnessed the attempted robbery. Lewis quickly drew his own weapon and opened fire, hitting Fleming in the arm and leg. Fleming fled the scene and collapsed in a nearby parking lot.

Good job to News 2 for reporting the facts without any extra statements on why it's bad for people to defend their life and property with the use of force.

Oh, and Fleming is a "habitual offender."

Read it all here.

Update: More from Channel 4.

"887-gate" Audio

The video is still up from yesterday's performance by Speaker Naifeh in sending HB 887 back to subcommittee (for its death). You can view that video here (that's a *direct* link to yesterday's video). It will starts at 20 minutes and 50 seconds with Naifeh recognizing Rep. Newton.

However, if you'd rather (or are unable to view the video), I have captured the exchange in mp3 audio format. I made one edit in shortening the length of time that Naifeh steps down to speak with Rep. Hargett before getting back up to continue on.

Download that here (1.03 MB - MP3).

You don't get to see the hands being raised nor the looks of disgust from the Republicans, but you can get an idea of what happened.

*Note: I'm working on getting the video recorded. I'll hopefully have that up later.

Update: No luck on recording the video stream. Bill Hobbs is currently working on getting a copy of it through an Open Records request...before it disappears.

More on Naifeh and the HB 0887 Saga

Rep. Stacey Campfield has a post up regarding the flagrant abuse of House rules today by Speaker Naifeh on HB 0887. Let's just say that my "conjecturing" earlier today was right on the mark...

Today a bill slipped through that Naifeh didn't want out of committee. Some legislators did not show up for the vote and a pro-NRA bill (conceal carry) slipped through the sub-committee system.

Speaker Naifeh flipped out! His people did not want to have to vote on this bill. Some might risk losing their perfect NRA voting record (0 for 0).

Speaker Naifeh went to the chairman of the committee to let him know that if he did not ask to move the bill back to the sub-committee where it had passed, it would NOT BE GOOD!

Head over and read the entire post asap! There's lots more...especially regarding what I was reporting earlier.

What started out as a firearms bill being sent to its death has now become a full blown case of abuse of power exerted by Naifeh.

This is your House Speaker in action.

Update - 4/28/05 - 12:01AM: Bill Hobbs has even more...

Naifeh's actions may cause the NRA to work harder then ever to help replace Naifeh's dictatorship with a Republican majority in the state House. And Chris Newton is in big trouble come next year's election - and deservedly so.

He also posts an email from TeamGOP.org that has the following statement:

...removing as many of these so-called Republican Representatives and State Senators who have prostituted themselves to the Democrats for power or position must be at the top of our goal’s list. These Republicans, like Chris Newton, do the bidding of their political masters like Naifeh, Wilder and Bredesen.

"Prostituted?" Yeah...that's probably a good description.

Back in the day, this thing would have probably just slipped by and no one would have been the wiser. However, today it's a different story. Because of the power of the Internet and blogs, we are able to call out such blatant abuse of power as it happens.

Oh, and we also have good memories come election time.

HB 0887 Update

In the last post regarding HB 0887, I had posted an email from the TFA that mentioned House Speaker Naifeh's ignoring of House Minority Leader Tre Hargett's objections to sending the bill back to subcommittee.

An unnamed reporter who was there informed me that there was a significant number of hands that went up ("dozens" in fact) and a definite commotion was made in attempting to object to Rep. Newton's motion...all of which was ignored by Naifeh.

It was conjectured that Newton's possible "confusion" (the reason for the motion) was over the fact that the bill had actually passed (perhaps despite Naifeh's wishes?).

This all is actually a good example showing that whatever Naifeh wants, he will get...a lot of times despite the rules.

Radio Free Nashville

As mentioned on Sunday night, I will be on Radio Free Nashville tonight at 9:00 promoting BlogNashville along with discussing blogs in general.

Radio Free Nashville is a low powered radio station located just west of town, so it's probably easier to listen in on the internet via their website.

Since it's primarily a music show that I'll be going on, I'm not sure what exactly to expect, but tune in if you get a chance.

HB 0887

I just got an email from the TFA regarding a similar bill to HB 2225, and this bill has actually made it out of subcommittee (for now):

HB0887 came out of the House Judiciary Constitutional Protections Subcommittee today. Votes are unknown at this time.

Link to bill

The bill is BROADER than HB2225 by Buck because it also address the school grounds issue. HB0887's summary is:

Firearms and Ammunition - Removes prohibition on possession of handgun in buildings where alcohol is served for on-premises consumption if possessor of handgun has permit and is not consuming alcohol; creates affirmative defense to prosecution for carrying weapons on school property where handgun is kept in vehicle. - Amends TCA Title 39, Chapter 17.

Note again we have predominately Republicans who are pushing to advance the Second Amendment in Tennessee

Soon after HB0887 came out of subcommittee, rumors started that the House Democrat leadership was planning to make a motion on the floor of the House (perhaps today) to send this bill back to the subcommittee (presumably so that it could be killed). Those of you who get this in time and want to may watch the House Floor procedings on streaming internet video:

Link

HB 2225's companion bill has already passed in the Senate, but this bill's Senate companion (SB 0960) would have to go through the Senate as well.

One would also have to take note that this bill was passed through the same subcommittee that didn't pass HB 2225. I wonder if this is somehow a slap in the face of Rep. Buck. Why would that be?

I'll pass along updates as I get them.

Breaking Update: Looks like the rumor was true. The bill was sent back to subcommittee:

This bill by Rep. Curry Todd was in the House Judiciary Constitutional Protections Committee passed out of subcommittee today. This afternoon, about 15 minutes into the full House session, Rep. Chris Newton (R) stood and made a motion to have the bill sent back to subcomittee because of "some confusion" - Speaker Naifeh immediately struck the motion granted "without objection" notwithstanding the fact that hands were flying up all over the House. I want to point out that Rep. Tre Hargett (R. Minority Leader) raised his hand and started to object for debate on the motion. Speaker Naifeh stated that Rep. Hargett was "out of order" and then, obviously upset, called Speaker Pro Temp to his station and went to the floor where he and Kim McMillan had a private discussion with Rep. Hargett. When Speaker Naifeh returned to his station, the proceedings moved forward without a vote of any type on HB0887.

I have no idea why Newton requested this bill to be sent back (presumably to be killed) as he personally told me via email that he had always supported similar bills in the past.

Pre-K "Indoctrination?"

If you've been paying attention to Bill Hobbs over the past few weeks, you would know that he is vehemently opposed to the governor's plan to take excess lottery money and use it for pre-K programs...and rightly so.

The Tennessean's editorial on the pre-K program is probably one of the worst I have read in a while. It's essentially saying, "We don't know how to pay for this program beyond next year, but we really don't care because it feels good, and if you are against it you hate kids." At least that's what I got from it. This is not really surprising as they are ignoring what detractors are saying anyway.

Blogging Representative Stacey Campfield has also joined in the argument. He makes several good points, and just browsing through the comments section you can see that his points connect with the people. I believe Campfield's most "sad but true" point is that though the program is "voluntary," all it will take is one person filing a suit before it become mandatory.

Let's just ignore the fact that lottery money was "supposed" to be used only on scholarships...and let's ignore the fact that Georgia has had a similar pre-K program in place for the past 10 years (costing $1.15 billion) without any significant results...and let's especially ignore the fact that outside of a couple of years there isn't a concrete plan to keep it financed (did someone say income tax?). What else could possibly be behind such a plan? Could it be that someone is trying to make themselves look better in comparison to another situation?

The media coverage of this is as biased as it comes. Yesterday the AP ran a story that pretty much lumps detractors of the pre-K program with a group that "advocates an independent nation of Southern states." In other words...if you are against pre-K then you are a racist...and probably hate kids. Roger Abramson over at Pith in the Wind even laments over this story.

On a more humorous note, Communists for TennCare have come out in favor of Pre-K "Indoctrination." Their rationale is that "spending money on children at such an early age will go a long way to show them that the government is there to take care of them not only when they are sick but from the very beginning of life until the end." Is that socialism they are describing? They also mention that this is probably a run-up to implementing a "progressive taxation of the rich's income."

This plan just comes down to bad policy and political posturing, and if you question such plans then you must be against the children. Unfortunately, it's the politicians who are pandering for votes that are against the children by using them as a polictical prop, and that's all it boils down to. Too bad the willing propaganda machines media is unable to see through that.

Update: An anonymous commenter said the following:

Wasn't the lottery revenue always earmarked for both college scholarships *and* Pre-K programs? I remember thinking during the run-up to its passage that they could have done without either and instead turned needed attention to K-12, not the before-and-after.

I did mis-state my "only on scholarships" statement, but this brings up another issue (which I really haven't seen mentioned elsewhere). Senator Cohen and Representative Newton (the sponsors of the lottery amendment) have come out against the pre-K initiative because they contend that the lottery money can not be used for anything else until the scholarships have been fully funded. That won't take place until after a cycle of four years of college classes after the amendment was implemented. After that, the excess money (barring any rise in scholarship payouts) can be used for K-12 capital projects, early learning (aka pre-K), or after school programs.

Hence, the use of the $25 million is still inappropriate considering the scholarships aren't fully matured yet. But I guess that waiting for four years would push any program implementation past the next gubernatorial election.

HB 2225 - Still a chance

As I mentioned last week, HB 2225 may still have a chance, but it will require some legislative finagling.

As of Thursday, there were 62 sponsors (yes, sponsors can be added even though it failed in committee). It is important that this bill gets to 66 sponsors. For one reason, the bill can be pushed to a full floor vote in the house if 2/3rds (66 members) vote in favor of doing so.

The issue with this is that not all of the sponsors may do this because they may feel that the committee process shouldn't be tampered with...even though the bill has enough support to pass the full House (representative of all of Tennessee) and is being blocked by three people in sub-committee.

33 states (almost 34) already allow valid handgun permit holders to go into places that serve alcohol. Where are the "blood-baths" in those states that detractors are saying will happen here if this law passes? It should be noted that HB 2225 is stricter than some states in that some states don't say that permit holders can't drink while carrying. Also, the chances are higher that your firearm would be stolen and used in another crime if you leave it in your car when you enter a place that serves alcohol.

It should also be noted that, for the first time ever, the Tennessee Restaurant Association is neutral on this bill. They apparently have finally seen that it will allow restaurant owners to make the choice themselves of whether or not to allow permit holders to carry in their *privately* owned restaurants.

If it doesn't pass this year, we may not have a chance of passing it until 2006 (after the next election cycle). If your Representative hasn't signed on to this bill, write them and encourage them to do so.

What was that about no new taxes?

No sooner had the Nashville Metro Council passed a resolution asking the Mayor for a no new taxes budget are they already seeking different ways to pass a tax increase.

Maybe I was wrong when I said it was easy to look good in comparison to the state legislature.

Bill Hobbs is asking if the Metro Council has the backbone to stand by the no new tax resolution. Probably not. Just as always, they will be a rubber stamp for the Mayor's office and give the Mayor whatever he wants.

Have Computer - Will Blog

Many of you may already know that Brittney from Sparkwood & 21 was just hired this past week to work for WKRN's blog, NashvilleIsTalking.com. I've had that in my blogroll for over a month now and have used its aggregator to keep up with some of my favorite "blogs about Nashville." I've just been waiting until they started using it to it's full capacity. It was first pitched as a blog of what's going on around Nashville and, more specifically, what Nashville bloggers are talking about, and it seems Brittney is going to fill that role.

This would make Brittney the first professional blogger in Nashville (as far as I know). Is this a sign that blogging is going mainstream?

Today Bill Hobbs pointed out a job listing for Target that, in its minimum requirements, asked for someone with a "Strong knowledge for Internet journalism, e.g., blogs." Business Week Magazine last week published an article on how businesses should leverage the power of blogs and use them to their benefit. Mainstream media outlets are citing blogs more and more, and WKRN may be starting a trend of media outlets hiring bloggers.

On the other hand, a search on Monster.com for the keyword "blogs" turned up only 35 results (even less with the variations "blog," "blogging," or "blogger") and none of the jobs were just for a primary position as a blogger. Although, one job posting for an Online Marketing Manager for a company in San Francisco required that the applicant read "at least two of the following blogs daily (talkingpointsmemo, dailykos, atrios, juan cole, wonkette, instapundit, brad Delong, MyDD)," but that was only a small part of the job description. Maybe it's too early to talk about blogging going mainstream.

Bruce Barry over at Pith in the Wind said, "More media blogging in Nashville is a good thing, and professionalization of the blogger's role is a very good thing." He later re-stated the "professionalization" statement after some in the comments section asked if that defeated the purpose of blogs in the first place. A good point was made though...would the professionalization of blogging be a good thing? I feel that professional blogs are a good thing (lending credibility to bloggers in general), but I don't think that blogging will ever become a completely professional, mainstream, outlet for information (notwithstanding government regulation).

The freedom to distribute information and opinions to a seemingly unlimited audience has taken a hold in the form of blogging. Even though more and more professional blogging positions might start popping up (or when all news outlets may have a blogger on staff), there will still be plenty of every day people sitting behind their keyboards at home (or at work) who will still be able to say what they want, whenever they want without the restrictions that would be present in a newsroom. It will still be an underground movement...separate from whatever the "mainstream" may or may not be doing.

Blogging has created a revolution in media, but like any revolution, the revolutionaries must eventually take the place of the ones that they have overturned. However, this revolution has given everyone a voice that wants one, and those voices won't be silenced. They will continue on no matter what.

Speaking of things "underground," I'll be on Radio Free Nashville on Wednesday night during the 9:00 hour promoting BlogNashville along with discussing blogs vs. the mainstream media. The show from 8-9 is mostly an Indie/local rock show, so I'm really not sure what to expect. Be sure to tune in nonetheless.

Update: Brittney just left a comment saying that the first, inagural post is up over at NashvilleIsTalking.com. Head over and check it out.

Metro Council Ethics

Nashville's Metro City Council may be looking at pushing their own ethics policy by the end of the month. A citizen's task force has proposed the fairly strict policy...now it's up to the Council...

Councilman-at-large David Briley said he welcomes the proposed changes.

''The basic idea behind the task force is that it would let the public establish standards for council conduct and take the council out of the role of setting those standards,'' he said.

''What I intend to do is file a bill that is identical to the recommendation of the task force and do my best to get that adopted without any change whatsoever.''

He said the proposed changes might stand a better chance of passing Metro Council in light of ethics bills working their way through the state legislature.

''The public's attention to this issue is raised,'' he said. ''I think it's an opportunity for the council to look good in comparison.''

The question that's being raised though, can anyone not look good in comparison to the state legislature?

Metro Council Requests No Tax Budget

Speaking of Ben Cunningham, I'd like to give him credit for spearheading an assault on the Nashville Metro Council in pressuring them to seek alternatives for the budget instead of going to the taxpayer's pockets (which they have been prone to do every four years in the past). They have passed a resolution asking the mayor to submit a budget for the fiscal year 2006 requiring no tax increase.

From News Channel 5:

...Tuesday night the Metro Council made it clear it was not interested in raising taxes. They passed a resolution by a count of 19 to 4, letting the Mayor know it would not support a budget that involves raising taxes.

Councilman Jamie Isabel said “If you operate a business, you can't go to the bank just because you fell short that you need more money. They want to see your profit/loss statements. They want to see how you operate your company."

To see who voted for the resolution (or actually, who voted against it), see this pdf document.

Civilian Gun Self-Defense Blog

Thanks to Ben Cunningham for sending me a link to this blog. It's a blog dedicated to pulling together news stories reporting the successful use of firearms in the course of self-defense.

That's going on my daily reading list.

T-DOT Contractor Puts Lives at Risk

Today comes disturbing news from Channel 4 regarding an investigation one of their reporters undertook for the last three months. Reporter Nancy Amons apparently went undercover in order to get inside information and evidence based on a single tip that a TDOT private contractor was improperly installing guardrails creating a deadly risk to millions of citizens around the state.

The AP released a write-up earlier today detailing the investigation:

A private contractor used by the Tennessee Department of Transportation is under state and federal investigation for improperly installing highway guardrails.

WSMV-TV reported Wednesday that the guardrails were sunk in the ground only 12 inches instead of the required 44, posing a safety risk.

Novice Cole Jr., owner of contractor Lu, Inc. of Kingston Springs, declined comment.

TDOT, in an internal audit April 12, said it had substantiated allegations that the guardrail posts had been cut before they were placed in the round.

Channel 4 has more on the story plus they have undercover video taken by Nancy Amons which should be aired tomorrow.

More information detailing just how big of an impact this story might have:

WSMV-TV of Nashville videotaped a crew from Lu, Inc., of Kingston Springs with a hidden camera. The video shows Lu’s crews using a chainsaw to cut wooden support posts short after they wouldn’t go into the ground easily. Guardrail posts are supposed to be six feet long, but WSMV’s investigation found Lu cutting both the wooden posts and the steel tubes that are supposed to support them by as much as thirty inches. According to experts, the shortened posts could result in a complete failure of the guardrail.

Lu, Inc. is under contract with the Tennessee Department of Transportation to repair damaged guardrails for 60% of the state. They have also worked as subcontractors installing $19 million dollars’ worth of new guardrail on some of the state’s largest construction projects.

One former employee of Lu asked about this practice and the explaination to him was that "it takes too much time" to do it right. Aside from the fact that this is pretty much indicative of any governmental work, "shortcuts" like this put everyone's lives in danger.

As of now, Lu's contracts have been revoked and they will no longer be allowed to bid on any future contracts. I've also received information that Lu's offices were raided this evening by authorities.

TDOT is now going to be digging up the guardrails Lu installed...all of which is going to be paid for by Tennessee taxpayers, no doubt.

Update: Bill Hobbs has more thoughts...

*Side note for the commentors:
Governmental money = governmental work = mediocrity

HB 2225 Fails

Just got out of the sub-committee meeting.

Unfortunately HB 2225 has failed in the Constitutional Protections sub-committee on a 3-2 roll-call vote down party lines.

Details later.

Update - 3:15 pm: Just got an email from the TFA with info on today's sub-committee vote:

Rep. Frank Buck, the sponsor on HB2225, did a very good job of presenting the bill for the benefit predominately of 3 of his Democrat peers who appeared predestined to vote against the legislation no matter what was said. Oddly enough, Rep. Henri Brooks asked to go into recess so that an assistance police chief from Memphis could speak against the legislation on behalf of the Chiefs of Police association.

After very little discussion, the vote on the bill was 2 in favor (Republicans Chris Newton and Jerome Cochran) and 3 against (Democrats Kim McMillan, Henri Brooks and Janis Sontany). That would normally kill the bill. However, with 60 sponsors we have potentially another option and that is to try and bring the bill into full committee or even to the floor. There are procedures to do just that but these procedures are seldom used by legislators to circumvent the committee system.

We will be preparing a list of the 39 legislators who have refused the opportunity to sponsor this bill at this time. We need to get abother 15 or so to sign on as sponsors before fully evaluating our options.

I'll keep a close eye on this situation. If your legislator isn't a sponsor of this bill in the House, contact them as soon as possible to consider signing on.

More on Traffic Cameras

Jakester sent along a link to a story on the use of traffic cameras:

Even with their impact on safety still up for debate, the ticketing shutterbugs can be attractive "revenue generators" for local governments and the private companies that make, sell, and maintain them. And though constitutionally sound, the cameras raise privacy concerns among Americans who are already wary of the government riding shotgun.

"The opposition to red-light cameras isn't that they're not useful, but the problem is they're too useful," says Neil Richards, a constitutional law professor at Washington University in St. Louis. "This is part of a trend where [lawmakers] are seeing there's a political advantage to not living in a police state."

When a bill came up before the New Hampshire legislature to allow traffic cameras, they laughed at the notion of the government photographing its citizens. Why can't more state legislatures be like New Hampshire?

Read the entire article...lots of good stuff there.

Yet Another HB 2225 Update

Again from the TFA:

I have heard from one source that HB 2225 may be rolled one week to April 27. I have not been able to confirm this at this time but wanted to let those of you who are planning to travel that there is a chance that the bill will not be heard on April 20. I will confirm this information as soon as possible.

Technically tomorrow's meeting is the last officially scheduled meeting for the Constitutional Protections sub-committee, but I talked with the offices of one of the members and they said that if there are too many bills to handle that they would schedule one more meeting for next week (the 27th).

I also got in touch with someone at Rep. Buck's office (the sponsor), and they didn't know if it would be rolled over till next week or not.

Update - 4/20 - 9:18 AM: It looks like HB 2225 will be coming up today. I'll be heading down there for the sub-committee meeting at 11:30. I'll pass along an update once I'm back near a computer.

Big Brother in Knoxville

Knoxville is now considering installing cameras to monitor traffic lights.

Glenn Reynolds took notice as well and said, "I suspect that it has something to do with the city's desire for revenue...."

I touched on that very thing last month when I found out that Nashville was considering traffic cameras (see here)...along with my usual comments on civil liberties and the possibility of abuse. Another issue I mentioned are the kickbacks that camera companies get with these systems.

Michael Silence has all the good links.

And for those in Knoxville...you should consider buying this.

Update - 4/20: I got an email from Michael Silence and he has informed me that the spray you use on your license plates to increase reflectivity is illegal in Knoxville. Info from Silence here.

I'm not going to officially recommend that you buy and use something that is illegal, but it's up to you if you decide to take part in any acts of civil disobedience.

New Pope Elected

White smoke and the ringing of bells at the Vatican have signaled that a new Pope has been elected. It was a lot sooner than I had expected.

Still waiting word on who it is.

Update: No surprise here. The new Pope is German Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger. Let's just hope that people who don't know anything about history (aka liberals) won't go crazy over the fact that as a child (age 14), he was a member of the Hitler Youth...which was pretty much compulsory in Germany during that time.

Oh...too late.

Update II: He has taken the name of Pope Benedict XVI. Story here.

Update III: More on his experiences during WWII:

In his memoirs, Ratzinger wrote that he was enrolled in the Nazi youth movement against his will when he was 14 in 1941, when membership was compulsory. He said he was soon let out because of his studies for the priesthood.

Two years later he was drafted into a Nazi anti-aircraft unit as a helper, a common taks for teenage boys too young to be soldiers. A year later he was released, only to be sent to the Austrian-Hungarian border to construct tank barriers.

He deserted the Germany army in May 1945 and returned to Traunstein — a risky move, since deserters were shot on the spot if caught, or publicly hanged as examples to others.

When he arrived home, U.S. soldiers took him prisoner and held him in a POW camp for several weeks. Upon his release, he re-entered the seminary.

As a student of WWII history, I would have to say that his experiences should be honored and not used against him.

It also looks like Benedict XVI will be very conservative.

As an aside, I haven't seen much talk about the prophecy of St. Malachy. Is this Pope "Gloria Olivae" (The Glory of the Olives)? It should be noted that the Order of St. Benedict is also known as the Olivetans.

More: Bill Hobbs has thoughts on the new Pope:

Eternal truth is eternal truth. If Pope Benedict XVI stands up for it, and stays committed to it, the world will be better off. The last thing the world needs is a post-modern pope who believes the church should change its teaching based on public opinion polls.

I couldn't agree more.

BlogNashville Party Announcement

For those attending BlogNashville in a couple of weeks, you won't want to miss the official BlogNashville welcome party organized by ThursdayNightFever.

It will be held in the spire at the Gaylord Entertainment Center. I scoped the place out with Mr. Roboto last week, and I must say...it's an excellent location.

Rex Hammock has more. That bottom picture was taken by me...check out that view. It's even better when you include a prime viewing spot of Broadway all the way over to the bridges...imagine that at night.

Disappointment will not be on the menu.

Update: Speaking of BlogNashville, The Knoxville News Sentinel has a story today on the event...with a couple of quotes from me. Read it here (free registration required).

Another HB 2225 Update

Just got this in an email from the Tennessee Firearms Association regarding previously mentioned HB 2225:

I have had it reported to me indirectly that Henri Brooks (Memphis) may be willing to let HB 2225 out of committee on April 20. If so, that would give us the 3-2 vote assuming everyone is there. Any of you who are (or think you may be in her district), please call her legislative office and see if can confirm this. The more calls from constituents the better.

I am also told that Kim McMillan's office is not responding to calls even from her district and that Janis Sontany's office is indicating that she is a "no" vote. Given the vote on Rep. Curry Todd's earlier bill, each of these two had been presumed no votes.

There are two more legislators who could use persuasive encouragement to help get the bill to the floor. Under House rules, the officers of a House committee can vote in any subcommittee. That means that Kent Coleman
(Murfreesboro) and Joe Fowlkes (Pulaski) could also vote either for or against the bill. Either of these two might be persuaded - given 60 sponsors on the bill - to help bring it to the floor.

By the way...you did read that right. The bill now has 60 sponsors.

Also, I plan on attending the sub-committee meeting on Wednesday when this bill is coming up. Contact information for the sub-committee members can be found here.

Ethics Bill up for Vote Tomorrow

From Tennessee Tax Revolt this morning:

What: HB1133, the lobbyist disclosure bill would require the 509 registered lobbyists at the General Assembly to disclose who is hiring them and how much they are being paid. This is the fourth time the bill has been on the agenda, having been moved or delayed three times.

When: Tuesday, April 19 at 9:30AM

Where: Room LP30 in Legislative Plaza, Downtown Nashville

Who: Members of Tennessee Tax Revolt, Inc. www.TnTaxRevolt.org will be there along with other citizens interested in more open, accountable government.

Many of the 509 lobbyists will be there. The lobbyists are against this bill and oppose open and accountable government.

Informational links:

HB1133

List of Registered Legislative Lobbyists (Excel Spreadsheet)

Rep. Frank Buck (sponsor)

State Government Sub-Committee

If you'd like to email the Sub-Committee members to voice your support for this bill, go here.

Tax Surplus to be Spent on Raises

Bredesen is planning on spending the state's revenue surplus on raises for state employees:

Officials believe state employee raises will make Tennessee more competitive.

That's why they're supporting Governor Phil Bredesen's plan to use state revenue surplus money to increase the pay of teachers, state and higher education employees.

In his budget for fiscal 2006, Bredesen has proposed about 44 (M) million dollars for a one percent pay raise for state employees, and earmarked the same amount for a one-time one percent bonus. If state revenue stays strong, the governor would like to double the pay increase.

Story here.

Light Blogging

There will be light blogging on Monday, but I may try to drop a post here and there before lunch time.

The rest of my day will probably involve dealing with this bright object:

Yes, that's close to the original color...more on Thursday.

Ide

After volunteering for Feed the Children yesterday evening, I went over to see some friends of mine play at Deep Blues (BB King's underground entrance). The band is Ide, and I don't think I can recommend a better local band to go listen to.

Last night's performance was a part of the Emergenza International Music Fest...a sort of battle of the bands, if you will (sponsored locally by 105.9).

I'm not plugging them just because I know them either. I'm saying this because they have a distinct sound that flows with energy unlike any unsigned band out there (any record label execs out there listening?).

Always ready to provide proof, I'm going out of character for this blog and providing MP3s for your download pleasure (with permission, of course):

-Consider This
-Divine
-In the Meantime
-Looking for Someone
-Something Going On
-Why Must I?

They will be playing in the final local round of Emergenza Saturday, May 28 at The Cannery Ballroom 8th Ave S. This will be an all day festival with Ide playing sometime around 9-10pm.

L Revue Review Update

Mr. Roboto has finally posted his take of Wednesday night's festivities...with pictures.

Check it out.

Great Grandma Teaches Thug Self-Defense

Great Grandma - 1
Thug - 0

A man accused of bursting into a convenience store demanding money was in the hospital Friday — shot, authorities said, by the great-great-grandmother working behind the counter.

Janet Grammer was filling in for the regular clerk Thursday afternoon when a man entered the store waving a gun and fired two shot at the back wall.

"I think he thought I was an old woman and would just give him the money," Grammer, 64, said Friday. "My life was at stake. I thought he was going to kill me."

So she pulled a pistol out from under the cash register and fired once, hitting the man in the chest. He fell to the ground, dropped his gun and then fled, leaving a trail of blood. Grammer fired two more shots as he was running away.

By the way...this took place in Jacksonville, Florida.

Feed the Children

Yesterday evening I, along with a few members from my church, went to do some volunteer work for Feed the Children.

Feed the Children is a non-profit Christian organization that provides food, clothing, school supplies, medical equipment, and hygiene products to the poor and needy not only for those in other countries but also for the poor and needy right here in the United States and even Tennessee.

Last night we packed boxes with hygiene products that will go out on trucks to different parts of the country.

No matter if you are Christian or not, I would urge you all to consider supporting Feed the Children. You can do so either financially as an individual or group or you could even get a volunteer group together to go pack boxes. Every little bit helps.

It's this type of organization that really makes a difference in people's lives, and even though I was just a tiny part of this great group, I was proud to have taken part.

Sponsors Aplenty

Wow! I just received word that HB 2225 now has 52 sponsors in the House.

The only downside is that 43 of the sponsors are Republican while only 9 are Democrat. I'd like to see a better bipartisan effort on this bill.

For those that haven't been paying attention, this is an update to my last post on HB 2225 here.

Bush Visit to East Tennessee

It looks like President Bush is going to be visiting East Tennessee next Friday in order to highlight Earth Day.

For some reason, the liberals are having a fit. Read here, the comments here, and I'm sure something will be showing up here soon. heh

Thursday Car Blogging

Not a long car blog, but I will tell you...today is a wonderful day for an MG.

Progress on the Land Rover is coming along. I painted the engine this past weekend and pressure washed the engine bay removing tons of mud (originating from MontEagle, no doubt). I probably won't be able to work on it for another couple of weeks though, but I'll be sliding the engine in next...hopefully.

Update: Chris Wage has some Thursday Car Blogging going on as well.

The L Revue Review

Last night I was honored to be a VIP guest of Thursday Night Fever to attend the opening performance of The L Revue at the Gibson Showcase in Opry Mills.

The show's motto is "Where Nashville meets Vegas." Live music accompanies a Vegas style show with singing and dancing that has a distinct Nashville twist. In a way, I felt as though I had just walked off the casino floor into the showroom (except that Opry Mills isn't a casino...nor the parking lot for that matter).

I, personally, enjoyed it, but considering the show's schedule (every Wednesday and every other Sunday through August), I'm not sure that they can keep the patrons filing in, and that's really a shame. The show business infrastructure is probably not in place to support a long running show such as this, but I could be completely wrong...the General Jackson seems to do a decent job of doing it, and the Grand Ole Opry runs once a week with plenty of people in attendance (although a different crowd than what L Revue is going for). Perhaps, combined with those two things and enough marketing of the event to tourists, it just might be successful.

After the show, and some mingling with the wonderful L Revue entertainers, we headed over to Jillians with several people (including the hilarious and entertaining Kimlai along with Mike Tarrolly from News 2) where people from the GMA's Dove Awards were filing in (it was apparently a big night in and around the Opryland area). There we ran into two friends of mine...Greg Hardin (new blogger and artist for Big Idea) and Amelia Consedine (works for the Gospel Music Association) who, we found out, is actually a big fan of Thursday Night Fever...which, for Mr. Roboto, confirming that he has fans everywhere was a good note to end the night on.

More: Read Mr. Roboto's early review of the show.

Barrett

SayUncle gives us another reason to love Murfreesboro's Ronnie Barrett of Barrett Firearms.

Very nice.

HB 2225 Update

According to a TFA email yesterday, HB 2225 now has 39 sponsors in the house (although that hasn't been officially updated on the legislature's web site).

This is the bill that would allow handgun carry permit holders (people who have gone through stringent background checks and have no prior criminal history) to carry into places that serve alcohol. This bill's counterpart (SB 1901) passed the full Senate last month by a 29-3 vote.

Want to support HB 2225 or read more about it? Go here and here.

TennCare Ruling

6th Circuit: Let the cuts begin.

A federal appeals court ruled Tuesday that state officials do not need a judge's approval to drop 323,000 adults from Tennessee's expanded Medicaid program.

A three-judge panel of the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said in a ruling issued from Cincinnati that a federal judge overstepped his authority in January when he stopped the state from making the cuts.

Surveillance Camera Story

Yesterday, Christian Bottorff from the Tennessean contacted me regarding Metro's Plans to install surveillance cameras. In today's Tennessean, the public outcry regarding the cameras is discussed as well as crediting that outcry for the Police Department's plans to drop audio surveillance on those cameras...which was first reported here.

Public pressure over a proposed Metro police surveillance network has led police to scrap plans for an audio monitoring system that would have allowed officers to randomly eavesdrop on conversations in public places.

A video network, without audio recording devices, remains on track, however.

Reports of the city's request for bids on the camera system generated questions and criticism from a variety of sectors, including some Metro Council members and Internet discussion forums.

''As we thought more about audio, and as we listened to public discussion about this entire subject, we didn't want the benefit of overt surveillance cameras being overshadowed by the audio issue,'' Metro police spokesman Don Aaron said.

While I do think it's good that the police department listened to public discussion, the plans to move ahead with the cameras is still very unsettling. Yes, it's a small victory that they will not be installing the audio, but just because they dropped the plan now, doesn't mean it won't reappear later once we get used to being watched by the cameras.

Initially, police will place six cameras in the Cleveland Park area of east Nashville and also downtown in the tourist-heavy Second Avenue and Broadway district.

If the system works out, the department plans to buy more cameras and build a more expansive network throughout the city.

As you can see, this is only the start of a bigger plan. In Chicago (the city Serpas is modeling our system after), what started out as cameras in a few neighborhoods has grown to the police installing cameras around the city. Now they have started installing audio surveillance devices in unmarked police cars that can listen in on people's conversations.

The article continues:

Blake Wylie, who operates an Internet blog called the Nashville Files, has seen readers of his Web site band together to oppose the Police Department's surveillance plan.

After an article in The Tennessean last month about the police plan, the blog's readers were generally unanimous in their contempt for the proposed system and posted their thoughts in his corner of cyberspace.

Like many of his readers, Wylie has called for police to abandon the surveillance network altogether, viewing it as a small step toward a larger erosion of freedom by government.

''It may seem like a small issue now — but where do we go next?'' Wylie asked.

I was actually quite surprised that the Tennessean contacted me, a blogger, in the first place to discuss the issue. As Bill Hobbs noted earlier this morning, the Tennessean "appears to be starting to wake up to the blogosphere."

More:

Hedy Weinberg, executive director of the ACLU of Tennessee, yesterday praised Serpas' decision as a ''first step.'' The group continues to oppose plans to move forward with random video monitoring.

''I think that one's right to privacy is not a liberal or conservative, or a left or right value,'' she said. ''All of us assume there is an expectation of privacy, and we don't believe that our private conversations or images should be captured by government cameras.''

Weinberg brings the point home here. This is an issue that both conservatives and liberals can rally around. In fact, I think it says a lot that this blog is in agreement with the ACLU.

I used the frog boiling in water example with Bottorff. Government entities can take a little liberty here and a little liberty there. These little things unto themselves may not seem like much to most of the population, but all combined together, it adds up. Those that support governmental use of surveillance cameras need to realize that they'll soon be sitting in a boiling pot of water and won't even know it until it's too late.

A Ramble on Blogs and Blogging

On Friday, SayUncle noted how strange it was to be talking about his "blog" with his friends.

I tend to agree that it's a strange thing. I've had my blog running for over a year now (that's not counting NashvilleFiles.com as a whole which has been longer), and I have hardly ever talked about it with the people I know.

In fact, several friends didn't know that I had a blog (much less a web site) until they saw the News 2 story the other night. I think the first time I've brought it up to a group was when I mentioned it to some church friends tonight when I told them that they should read tomorrow's Tennessean (oh yeah...be sure to read tomorrow's Tennessean for more on Nashville's Big Brother and blogging). It's interesting to see people's reactions...from, "What in the world is a blog?" to "Oh, you're one of those guys." Any of these responses requires me to explain the entire concept of blogging, what type of blogging I do, and so on...which I don't mind as it's a good, informative discussion to have.

This evening Rex Hammock links to a survey on blogging that was conducted the hosting company, Hostway. Among the questions: Have you ever heard of a blog? Have you ever participated in a blog? etc. I suspect that this survey's respondents were more than likely "computer savvy" (and I use that term loosley to mean someone who can get on the internet), and it's not surprising that 63% of them know what a blog is. Out in the "real world," and based on personal experience, that number is probably a lot lower.

Of course, the biggie is [Do] "bloggers have the same First Amendment rights (freedom of expression, protection of confidential sources) as traditional journalists do?” 51.7% agree, 27.3% neither agree nor disagree, and 21.0% disagree. This number I do find surprising. Call me crazy, but I do think that the Bill of Rights was meant for all citizens and didn't create special classes in the citizenry that had special or extra-ordinary rights above common citizens.

What blogging is doing is giving common citizens a voice that they wouldn't have had five or more years ago. It's promoting a huge network of people discussing and debating issues without the filter of a mainstream media outlet.

Detractors of blogs have the "any idiot with a computer" mentality saying that those "idiots" now have a voice and can say anything they want without an editor or fact-checking (even though it's the media that's being fact-checked by blogs on a daily basis). What's so wrong with that? Isn't this Republic supposed to allow for the free-flow of thoughts and ideas from the citizenry? Do you have to be a special kind of citizen to have that right? Was the Bill of Rights meant for only a select few? We all know the answer to that (at least I hope we do).

Blogging is new and innovative, and it will definitely evolve over the next few years. However, the concept of citzen journalism, if you will, has taken a hold...and there's no turning back.

Update: Oh yeah. When rambling about blogging how could I forget to mention BlogNashville coming in May? 300 bloggers from around the country will converge on Nashville for this one of a kind event. Be sure to check it out.

RTB Membership Update

More and more Tennessee-based blogs are popping up all the time.

See South Knox Bubba for a Rocky Top Brigade membership update.

Letter to the Editor

In today's Nashville City Paper, a letter to the editor written by Kenneth Mullins attacks the Metro Police Department head on for seat-belt "stings" by saying that they are mainly for the purpose of increasing revenue.

I couldn't agree more. In fact, I hit on the same subject last year just before the primary seat-belt law was passed.

He goes on to question Metro Police Cheif Ronal Serpas' priorities when it comes to solving real crimes vs. pulling in money via seat-belt laws all while setting up Big Brother surveillance cameras (my most recent favorite subject).

Be sure to go read it, and browse through all of the opinions posted in response to it.

Tennessee Ranked 47th

Tennessee is ranked 47th when it comes to its citizen's tax burden.

I, for one, am proud of such a ranking.

I believe this study is a little more encompassing than a story I pointed out back in September that stated Tennessee was ranked last.

(ht: Michael Silence)

Update: More from DocB on why he loves Tennessee.

Comments of the Week

Comment of the week goes to Les Jones:

The two scariest things you'll ever hear when pulling a trigger is a bang when you expect a click and a click when you expect a bang.

Can't argue with that.

The runner-up for comment of the week goes to old friend of the blog, Smantix, with a comment he left over at the Nashville Scene's Pith in the Wind:

Between the drug tax, the speeding, the paying informants to have sex with hookers and now this - we've made this city safe for burglars, rapists and thieves again. I look forward to the future crackdowns on smoking in public and litterbugs.

By the way, thank you to PITW for the links and the good job on helping bring the entire camera issue to people's attention. This thing isn't over yet, and I hope that the fight continues.

More on HB 2225

The Tennessee Firearms Association (TFA) is attempting to spread the word about HB 2225 (discussed below).

In one of today's emails from Executive Director John Harris comes a good letter from one of TFA's members regarding HB 2225 (click "there's more" to read) which details his contact with Democrat Rep. Sontany who earlier voted down a similar bill. He gives a good account of the conversation while at the same time providing some excellent arguments in favor of HB 2225.

Here is an email I received this morning. It is similar to many that I have received from other TFA members although perhaps with more detail. Here we see the forces that are at work against the gun owners of Tennessee and the Second Amendment. Use this for your encouragement and fortification. Use it as an example when you speak with your legislators to establish the fact that only 3 Democrats in the State House are deciding whether Second Amendment legislation ever reaches the House Floor for a vote.

----- Original Message -----
Sent: Thursday, April 07, 2005 11:16 PM
Subject: HB 2225

John - I hope that you will consider passing this email on to the entire TFA member email list in hopes that it will help people understand why it is essential they get actively involved concerning the passage of this bill. The members need to understand that the opinions of handful of politicians are deciding this important issue for the tens of thousand of gun owners in Tennessee. As you are aware, I did as you requested in a recent email and contacted my representative for the 95th District, Curry Todd to request that he co-sponsor this bill. The 95th District encompasses most of Germantown and Collierville, two suburbs of Memphis that that are historically Republican. I was preaching to the choir talking to Rep. Todd on this issue as he is very pro 2nd amendment.

I then began calling the members on the Constitutions Protections Subcommittee. Three of the members (Sontany, Brooks and McMillian) are Democrats and it is my understanding that these three are the reason why bills similar to HB 2225 introduced in prior years have died in this subcommittee. The only one of these three I was able to talk to was Rep. Sontany from Nashville. When I asked her why she was against the bill, her response was that alcohol and guns don't mix. I told her I agreed with her on that point and that no one has any business consuming alcohol and carrying a firearm. She then asked me "why would you go somewhere dangerous where you would need a gun?" I explained to her that that there is no such thing as a safe place anymore and that the present law is forcing honest law abiding citizens to decide between breaking a law that is a Class A misdemeanor (the most serious non-felony crime there is in Tennessee), or choosing to carry a firearm that may make the difference between life or death if confronted in the parking lot of a restaurant. I also advised Rep. Sontany that two recent carjackings here in Memphis occurred in the parking lots of grocery stores and both unarmed victims ended up with a bullet in the head after their ATM cards no longer worked. The thugs then set fire to the cars with the victims' bodies inside. Rep. Sontany was un-swayed from her opposition to the bill, even when informed that the existing law actually aids criminals in getting guns by forcing law-abiding permit holders to leave their guns in their cars providing an opportunity for those guns to be stolen while the permit carrier is dining inside the restaurant.

The only way this abhorrent situation will be resolved is if all gun owners, whether permit holders or not, get involved and put pressure on their representatives to co-sponsor this bill (the next bill may seek to classify your favorite hunting rifle as an illegal sniper weapon). In particular, TFA members who live in the districts represented by Brooks, McMillan and Sontany (Memphis, Clarksville and Nashville) have got to make their opinions known. If people choose not to get involved, then they have surrendered their will as Tennesseans and Americans to three representatives who apparently are not concerned about letting the will of the people prevail. The Senate version of this bill has passed and the only question to be answered now is whether the membership of the TFA is going to allow the ill-founded opinions of three representatives who are apparently oblivious to the concept of a representative democracy, decide this important issue for all Tennesseans. If gun owners refuse to take the time to make a toll free call to their representative to politely demand that their representative co-sponsor this bill, then this bill will likely die in committee again this year. If this occurs because we failed as a group to get involved, then we will have no one to blame but ourselves.

Thanks for your efforts on all our behalves,

Scott Frick
Collierville, TN

If you would like to contact the members of the Constitutional Protections sub-committee, I have provided their contact info here.

By the way...HB 2225 now has 28 co-sponsors in the House.

As a side note, most of TFA's updates are sent out via email. I think it would be beneficial if the TFA set up a blog on their site perhaps with a few contributors that can post Second Amendment news from the state and around the country. It would be easy to do and they could get more information out there that can't be sent via email every day as well as provide easy access to others who don't want to be on the list.

Something to think about.

Solar Eclipse

For those that are interested (and depending on the cloud cover)...today's solar eclipse will start in Nashville around 4:43 PM and end at approximately 5:50 PM. Maximum coverage will be 13% at 5:17 PM.

Data obtained from Sky and Telescope.

Car Blogging

FYI...Thursday Car Blogging should return next week.

Update: Be assured that I will probably have the MG out this weekend. Looks like it will be a beautiful one.

Capital Security

I wonder if the legislature is expecting tax protests anytime soon as it looks like they are putting the right people in security positions up at the state capital.

A Tennessee State Trooper who made national news for shooting her brother over a tub of butter is now in a fairly powerful position. Angelinette Crawford has been assigned to protect the governor and state lawmakers.

Last July, Crawford was placed on administrative leave with pay after shooting her brother at her Nashville apartment. Police say Crawford was angry because 19-year-old Jaison Bilbrew loaned a tub of butter to a neighbor. She says it was an accident.

Pope John Paul II

While not being Catholic, I have had the chance to visit Vatican City twice, and one of those times attended the Wednesday services. In fact, the week that I attended that service was the week after September 11, 2001 (I had been in Germany the prior week).

It was my understanding that the Pope only took the ride around St. Peter's Square surrounded by bullet proof glass. That day, he didn't. Perhaps he did this regularly...or perhaps he did it for some other reason. Either way, it was something that I will not forget.

News 2...Viewer's Email

Immediately after the newscast last night, I got an interesting email from someone named "C P."

In order to provide you, the reader, both sides of the story, I will repost CP's email in its entirety (unedited other than one word on the end due to my continuing effort to keep this a family friendly blog).

From: C P
Sent: Wednesday, April 06, 2005 10:09 PM
To: blake@nashvillefiles.com
Subject: What?

Why woudl you care if a camera is up in PUBLIC PLACES?
I mean what does it hurt? It can only help.....IT IS A
PUBLIC PLACE...you plannin on doing some lovin in
public......Im all about fighting the government but
if one camera stops just one crime at anytime over its
the life it is worth it to me. It does not hurt
anyones privacy because its in a public place. Pretty
idiotic if you ask me.........I loved the line at the
end "Some people critize the cameras because they tend
to only watch over high crime areas" Well, NO S***.

Good grief

Good grief indeed.

Story on News 2

Video from last night's story can be found here.

The text version will be coming around noon from what I have been told.

Update: The text story is now up here. Nice picture.

Update II: Had to post this...

Tonight on News 2

Be sure to tune in to News 2 tonight at 10 for a story on the Metro Police Camera issue and blogging. You might even see me, and I believe Pink Kitty is going to be interviewed as well.

The Death of the 4th Amendment

From the Washington Times:

The Supreme Court yesterday declined to consider whether police can have drug dogs sniff outside people's homes without any specific suspicion of illegal activity.

Justices let stand a lower-court ruling that allowed the dog sniff, rejecting an appeal from a Houston man who said it was an improper police ?search? that violated his Fourth Amendment right against arbitrary searches.

In so doing, the court declined to clarify the scope of police authority after it ruled 6-2 earlier this year that dog sniffs for drugs were OK outside a car if a motorist lawfully is stopped for a traffic violation. Justices David H. Souter and Ruth Bader Ginsburg dissented in that ruling, cautioning it could lead to much more intrusive searches.

More from the Agitator.

Also, from last year, I mentioned a story of an illegal search of a house where the electricity bill was too high and a "drug-sniffing dog showed interested in the home." There were no drugs, and the police didn't seem too interested in apologizing.

On a similar note, something else that needs to be reviewed further is the use of thermal imagers on private homes.

(ht: SayUncle)

Metro to Suspend Taser Use?

A few weeks ago, I referenced a few cases regarding the use of tasers and "non-lethal" by police officers.

Apparently, the Nashville Metro Council is considering a resolution that would suspend Metro's use of tasers.

Serpas Responds

I just received a letter from Nashville Metro Police Chief Ronal Serpas regarding their plan to implement a pilot program for street cameras (click on the Big Brother category archive for background info).

Bad news: The plan is going forward and they used Chicago as their example.

Semi-good news: None...other than that the cameras will not utilize audio as originally reported.

If you don't mind downloading a 2MB PDF file, you can click here to read the letter.

Update: Pink Kitty just sent me a letter that she received from Serpas today as well. It's the same thing...word for word.

Update II: Same thing for Jakester too.

Gun Blogging - HB 2225 Update

Today seems like a good day to do some gun blogging. I've got a few good stories lined up, so stay tuned throughout the day.

First, up to date news on HB 2225 in the TN House. This is the bill that would allow handgun carry permit holders to carry into places that serve alcohol (for background information on this bill, go here). This bill's counterpart (SB 1901) passed the full Senate by a whopping 29-3 vote.

The bill was scheduled to come up today before the House Judiciary Constitutional Protections Sub-Committee. I'm not sure if this is good or bad, but the bill has been pushed off until the 20th where it will again come before the same sub-committee. This could be good so that we can have extra time to convince the three Democrats (who voted down a similar bill earlier this year) to vote in favor of it.

On the other hand, there is some definite good news as in the fact that on Monday and today many new co-sponsors were added to the bill. Currently, in the House, the co-sponsors are Buck, Hargett, Stanley, Pleasant, Todd, Lynn, Maggart, Johnson P, Newton, McDaniel, Harrison, Overbey, Johnson R, Hill, Cochran, Hawk, and Fraley.

We need to get this bill out of this sub-committee so it can go on and be voted on by the full House (where it will pass). If you haven't emailed the members yet, go ahead and do so. If you have before, do it again. I also suggest faxing them.

Those email addresses (again) along with fax and office numbers are:

Chair, Rep. Chris Newton - R (has responded that he intends to vote for the bill)
rep.chris.newton@legislature.state.tn.us
Phone (615) 741-2371
Fax (615) 253-0209

Rep. Henri Brooks - D
rep.henri.brooks@legislature.state.tn.us
Phone (615) 741-5625
Fax (615) 741-8752

Rep. Jerome Cochran - R
rep.jerome.cochran@legislature.state.tn.us
Phone (615) 741-7450
Fax (615) 253-0310

Rep. Kim McMillan - D
rep.kim.mcmillan@legislature.state.tn.us
Phone (615) 741-2043
Fax: (615)741-7531

Rep. Janis Sontany - D
rep.janis.sontany@legislature.state.tn.us
Phone (615) 741-6861
Fax (615) 741-1041

In the meantime, you may want to read this article from the New York Times. I'll comment more on it later.

Light Blogging

Light blogging today. Back to normal tomorrow.

Quote of the Day

Pith in the Wind relays the quote of the day for us: "I wish we could create that image. I would love that."

What is that in relation to? Read on:

Public officials in Bellwood, IL, a village of 21,000 residents covering 3.5 square miles in Greater Chicago, have decided to join the growing list of cities using surveillance cameras to deter crime. Only Bellwood is taking their initiatives one step further. As reported in the Chicago Tribune, within two years, officials plan for Bellwood to be the first town in Illinois (and quite possibly the first in the entire country) "to have every public thoroughfare, sidewalk and alley under the watchful digitized eye of the Bellwood Police Department...[In response to criticism from the ACLU,] Bellwood's mayor said he welcomed the suggestion that his town might be considered something akin to a Big Brother-land. 'I wish we could create that image. I would love that,' Mayor Frank Pasquale said with a chuckle.

Read the entire article.

I've been doing a lot of Big Brother blogging lately, so go to the Big Brother category archive for background on Nashville's Big Brother situation.

Baby Name

Heh.

You can file this one under unfortunate baby names.

(thanks Mary)

ID Cards and Freedom

Mark Havener over at The Conservative Zone links to an article from yesterday's New York Post:

...the ID-enthusiasts remain convinced that requiring folks to show a document that can be altered or counterfeited will save the nation. To that end, they tinker endlessly with the document's format and the laws surrounding it, as though terrorists will be foiled by demands for ID.

The fanatics' latest attempt along this line is the "REAL ID Act" now before the Senate. It supposedly closes the loopholes the 9/11 terrorists exploited. But loopholes are the law's prairie-dog tunnels: Close one, and three more open.

Some ID proponents imply that because other countries have national ID cards, we should, too. Other countries also have higher gas prices and contaminated water, but we don't want to import those. Nor should we import national ID: Governments use these to track not foreign terrorists, but their own citizens. Knowing who you are and where you can be found chills dissent. And that's to be feared as much as terrorism.

(Emphasis mine)

This all goes along with what I've been saying about RFID,