Published by jen November 30th, 2006
in National.
It’s official: James Baker and the bipartisan Iraq Group is recommending withdrawal from Iraq. From the NY Times…
The report, unanimously approved by the 10-member panel, led by James A. Baker III and Lee H. Hamilton, is to be delivered to President Bush next week. It is a compromise between distinct paths that the group has debated since March, avoiding a specific timetable, which has been opposed by Mr. Bush, but making it clear that the American troop commitment should not be open-ended. The recommendations of the group, formed at the request of members of Congress, are nonbinding.
A person who participated in the commission’s debate said that unless the government of Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki believed that Mr. Bush was under pressure to pull back troops in the near future, “there will be zero sense of urgency to reach the political settlement that needs to be reached.”
Continue reading ‘Breaking: Iraq Group Reaches Consensus’
Published by jen November 22nd, 2006
in Local.
Maynardville native, and Republican state senator Mike Williams, is the target of GOP speculation and scorn. The reason? Two years ago Williams along with Sen. Tim Burchett of Knoxville broke from the GOP rank and file and voted in democrat John Wilder for Lt. Gov. Now, after the recent midterms the stage is set for a repeat and Williams has yet to decide which way he’ll vote.
The rumor mill, name calling, and bloodletting has started and Williams finds himself in a very tenuous position with fellow Republicans threatening to run a primary candidate against him if he doesn’t vote their way. But with hyper-partisan sites setting up Mike Williams “watches,” as if he were public enemy number one, my guess is they’re going after him no matter which way he decides to vote.
Continue reading ‘Maynardville’s Native Son has a Target on his Back’
Published by jen November 22nd, 2006
in National.
As may of you may recall Scott Ritter is the former US intelligence agent and UN Weapons Inspector that warned the world before the Iraq invasion that there were no WMD’s. For this, he was publicly skewered, humiliated, and written off as a kook. Years later, it turns out he was right about Iraq’s lack of WMD’s all along.
Now he’s speaking out again but this time about Iran and the US’s plans there. The interviews below are eye opening and well worth your time.
Here’s a tease in regards to what is inside… (1) Did you know the Supreme Leader of Iran asked for normalized relations with both Israel and the US? (2) President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is pretty much a figurehead who’s views don’t align with the Supreme Leader (3) The Supreme Leader of Iran has condemned nuclear weapons even issuing a Fatwa to that effect. Continue reading ‘Scott Ritter on Iran: The Canary is singing again….’
Published by jen November 20th, 2006
in Uncategorized.
I don’t normally write about fictional characters nor do I normally join in when voices decry the moral bankruptcy of Hollywood but Sacha Baron Cohen’s new film, Borat : Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan, has inadvertently brought to light a feature of modern society that needs to be discussed, expounded upon, and condemned.
A quick search of google news will turn up thousands of glowing reviews hailing Borat as the height of comedic genius filled with heavy doses of irony and satire at its best. It is a film, most critics contend, that takes a hard look at American culture and exposes the nasty, often hidden norms, of American racism, sexism, and anti-semitism along with other countless absurdities that comprise modern life in America. Further, they state, anyone, that doesn’t “get it” either lacks the intelligence to enjoy irony or has an ego that is too fragile to laugh at what is purported to be a reflection of the American self.
Translation: if you don’t like it you’re either an idiot or incapable of taking an introspective look at your and your countries flaws.
However, what is unsettling about Borat is not well placed irony that punches America in the gut for having faults; it is the film’s, and by extension its audience’s, celebration of cruelty. Borat is not comedy but the height of exploitation and cruelty at the expense of the goodness and dignity of unsuspecting strangers.
Continue reading ‘Celebrating Cruelty: Borat’
Published by jen November 18th, 2006
in National.
….and apparently it is to, “Be On The Lookout For Any Statements From The Iraqi Insurgents…Thrilled At The Prospect Of A Dem Controlled Congress.” I guess everyone’s gotta have a plan. This one includes the exhortation to be on the lookout for all kinds of democratic bloodletting. Read the full memo at the Huffington Post. My question is, does anyone still believe the “Fair and Balanced” line?
Published by jen November 16th, 2006
in National.
After the midterms, it’s all the rage. What is it? Economic populism. At the most basic level, economic populism is the idea that economies and economic policies should exist to serve the people, or more specifically, the middle class and working classes of American society rather than the powerful few. In short, it puts the welfare of the average American on par with, and often above, the interests of the wealthy elite. It acknowledges that corporations and the market have but a singular goal: to make money, and that singular goal shapes every decision that is made. The well being of America simply isn’t any more of a factor to large corporations and the decisions they make than the fight you had with your spouse is to the person standing beside you in the check out line on Christmas Eve.
Gone also are the days when American corporations and enterprise focused on product. Wanna know why the pair of jeans you bought three weeks ago is worn out but the pair you bought in high school is still pristine? One guess…got it? That’s right: money. Denim with a lower thread count is cheaper to manufacture and unskilled labor sewing it together in Mexico is dirt cheap. With NAFTA in place it’s just like it was made in America. Who cares if they miss a line of stitching? Hell, if the things fall apart in a few months they’ll have to buy another pair!
All the better for jeans companies, but not all the better for you and I. Especially, considering that your job making jeans is now sitting in Mexico, the pair you are wearing costs more than ever despite all the promises and claims that “we have to do it to compete,” and since it was manufactured using crap you’ll have to buy the same pair over and over again.
Continue reading ‘Lou Dobbs Talks Economic Populism’
Published by jen November 14th, 2006
in Local.
A traveling exhibition called “Between the Fences” will be on display at the Roy Acuff Museum in Maynardville, December 27, 2006-February 7, 2007. The exhibit is part of the Smithsonian Institutes’s “Museum on Main street” program that aims to bring Smithsonian exhibitions to rural areas. The exhibit, “Between the Fences” is designed to examine such aspects of American life and history as:
“…the defining of home, farm, and factory; the settling of the United States; the closing of the range in the South and its meaning to former slaves; and the making of fences, including a look at why Abe Lincoln became known as a rail splitter. It examines human relationships on an expending scale: neighbor versus neighbor; gated communities; and the Mexican and Canadian borders of the U.S. The exhibition tells American stories through diverse fence types. “
Through looking at the use and evolution of such a mundane and everyday object as a fence, the exhibition hopes to inform viewers on some of the history, culture, and politics of America and American life.
More information on the exhibit, including background and teaching guides, can be found at the Smithsonian’s “Museum on Main Street” website.
Published by jen November 11th, 2006
in National.
Bob Moser at the Nation has finally said something that many Southerners have been screaming since the 2000 election: Democrats can win in the South. McCaskill and Webb have proven that with their recent victories as did Ford (despite his loss) with the numbers he pulled in his race against Bob Corker. Where the differences lie are in success and failure, McCaskill and Webb made it in where Ford did not. Although much of that can be attributed to the quirkiness of the Tennessee electorate, in all things we do it our way, some of it is due to the campaigns that the respective candidates ran. Ford tried to be “more conservative than thou” whereas McCaskill and Webb relied on old school democratic policies with a mix of moderation on various social issues thrown in.
Moser points out what those of us around these parts have known all along; you can’t write off the South if you want to compete at the national level.
I recommend the read to everyone.
Published by jen November 11th, 2006
in Local.
Just letting you know that we’ll be covering Maynardville City Council on the 14th and Luttrell City Council on the 20th of this month for the Union News Leader. Entries concerning these meetings will be categorized under “Local” so you should be able to access them easily. We’ve also added a “print” function for those of you that don’t like to read online or want a hard copy for future reference.
Published by jen November 4th, 2006
in National.
Just in on the ticker from CNN.
The Rev. Ted Haggard has been forced out as pastor of the 14,000-member New Life Church, whose board cited his “sexually immoral conduct.”
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