Persecution vs. Prosecution
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
When it comes to the Internet, the attitude too often is “can I do it” rather than “should I do it.” Full story »
Punishment Parity
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
It seems odd that the Knox County Commission is more concerned about money lost by the Kennerly, Montgomery & Finley law firm than misspent taxpayer money. Full story »
Do the Right Thing
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Knox County has spent millions of dollars on Eastbridge Industrial Park. It sits on Mine Road in Mascot with hundreds of acres of expensive graded land still empty. It is considered too far from the interstate to be successful. It sits in an area with 2,600 acres of idle land already zoned industrial, with water, sewer and a railroad line. Full story »
Play the Tennessee Legislation Game
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
The Legislature may wind up this week and I’m sure we all have opinions about what they did, what they should have done, and what they could have done better. Here’s a game for you: Pretend you are a legislator and draft your own bills. Here are some bills I would introduce, in the unlikely event that voters were crazy enough to elect me. Gubernatorial candidates are free to steal any of them. Full story »
Burchett’s Choice
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
State Sen. Tim Burchett remains a popular political figure in Knox County, if recent polling is to be believed, and remains the favorite to become the next Knox County mayor. But a couple of recent issues have elected county officeholders angry, and whether this translates into problems with the rank and file is the central question in next year’s mayoral primary. Full story »
Backpedaling
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
The first thing the new chair of the state Republican Party will have to do is to learn how to ride a bicycle backwards. Backpedaling is a difficult skill to learn, but it is essential if Chris Devaney is to get the state GOP back from the edge of a precipice. Full story »
Form vs. Functionaries
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Boy, who knew the structure of Knox County government was such a mess all those years. When Dwight Kessel was County Mayor and Tommy Schumpert was Trustee and Frank Leuthold was chair of the Knox County Commission finance committee, was there just a massive cover-up of a dysfunctional, corrupt, inefficient courthouse? Full story »
Get Guns Out of Parking Lots
Thursday, May 21, 2009
You’ve heard a lot about the “guns in bars” bill in the General Assembly, though it might more accurately be described as the “get guns out of parking lots” bill. Full story »
Ramsey Reconsidered
Thursday, May 14, 2009
When the field was set for the Republican gubernatorial primary, the consensus seemed to be that Bill Haslam was best positioned to lead the race. You often heard “It’s Haslam’s to lose.” He is an attractive candidate with executive experience and all the money he needs. Full story »
Tennessee Democrats Stirring?
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
It has appeared in recent months that the gubernatorial election next year would be decided in the Republican primary. But the state Democrats have been showing signs of life in recent weeks and they may get their act together and make it a real contest. Full story »
The Tea Party
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
The national tea party movement, exemplified by the protest on the World’s Fair site last week, is, according to its critics, an incoherent and illogical phenomenon invented and promoted by bloggers, Fox News, and talk radio hosts. Full story »
Pointers for Those in Tennessee's Governor's Race
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Due to the peculiarities of the Tennessee constitution, running for governor requires on-the-job training. Statewide candidates have never had any experience running statewide; there are no other statewide state offices. Full story »
Baker vs. Carr
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
In 1992 the Democrats in the state House redrew legislator boundaries and put 12 Republican members in six districts, thereby eliminating six incumbent Republicans. If they had not done it, the Republicans would have taken over the state House in 1994 instead of achieving a majority in 2008. Full story »
For Tennessee Valley, Hard Times Didn’t Start with Depression
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
My grandfather always said the Great Depression was the best thing that ever happened to the South. I’m sure he was just being his usual contrary self, but his point was about the historic difference between Wall Street and Main Street and the attention media and historians pay to one and ignore the other. Full story »
Knox County Business Practices Must Astound Local Managers
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
I’m sure there are middle managers around town who have been reading stories about county government for the last three years with their mouths agape. For a manager in any well-run organization, whether it be private business, a non-profit, or a government agency, financial controls are job one. Full story »