Congressman John Murtha has died at age 77, apparently from complications related to gall bladder surgery last week. I remember him being a vocal opponent of the Iraq War, his opposition given greater weight as he was a decorated Vietnam War hero.
Naturally, right wing hate mobsters like Ann Coulter tried to Swift Boat him.
RIP, John Murtha.
If you watch this and not run for a tissue, you did better than I did.
Five years ago today I launched Enclave with a quote from and reflection on Peter Taylor:As one walks or rides down any street in Nashville one can feel now and again that he has just glimpsed some pedestrian on the sidewalk who was not quite real some…
1. This is possibly the most irresponsible piece of journalism I’ve seen in a long time. Mosques in this state get burnt down for less and Channel 5 is hyping that these folks might be terrorists? If someone gets killed, that’s blood on Channel 5’s head. Speaking of murder, who gives a shit what Maury [...]
Right here, right now. Willie Herenton will win the race for the Democratic nomination and thus the 9th District Congressional seat. He doesn’t deserve it by any stretch of the imagination for the reasons Wendi has said. Herenton is running because …
THIS IS THE PROJECT I have been telling you about, working with my cohorts Trace Sharp and Steve Ross, and I want you to go check it out.
Pretty much everyone I’ve read or talked to about the majority of the Superbowl ads found them bizarrely hateful towards women (on a side note, I have to believe that, if you didn’t already know what the Tebow ads were about, you would have thought the Tebow family bought the time in honor of itself. [...]
It really does not matter whether anyone at the Tennessean ever told Michael Cass what or how to report on the Mayor’s Music City Center project. What matters is that the Tennessean donated $15,000 to the Music City Center Coalition and that Mr. Cass w…
Is Metro General the African American budget line item and is Vivian Wilhoite the African American choice for Juvenile Court Clerk? Does a certain mainstream media columnist write of certain ethnic communities as if they are monolithic special interests?
Great game. Great performances by Brees, Colston, Addai, and of course, Manning. Excellent coaching, which may have been the difference. Brees reminds me so much of Joe Montana, both in his ability to “feel” a pass rush, and his poise on the field. I knew Manning could get rattled, and he threw a Favre -like [...]
It’s true. And some of us even care more about the game than the commercials, especially when the game gives us a chance at a rare sighting of Peyton Pouty Face (not so rare tonight though!). Hell, at the Super Bowl party I went to last year, the gir…
So, I wanted to watch Ghosthunters as they explored Mark Twain’s house. The Butcher did not.
“But it’s Mark Twain,” I said. “We might see Mark Twain haunting his house.”
“Mark Twain hated golf.”
“Um… so?”
“I’m pretty sure that a man who hates golf is not going to be a ghost.”
“What?”
“Well, if you don’t want to wander around [...]
What nightmares youthful indiscretions can cause in other people’s homes:Tired of years of public urination, assaults and vandalism, residents near UC Berkeley’s southern edge last week sued dozens of the university’s fraternities.The lawsuit, filed in…
Nobel-prize winner Paul Krugman on constant whining about assumed market fragility:Gah. I hate, hate, hate it when people say that we have to do something, not on its merits, but because otherwise we would damage market confidence. Nobody really knows …
It’s like when you hear about your new boyfriend from his ex.
For once in our fine land of Hoots Proper, we have a sports bar for one day only. (I should mention one that isn’t playing Nascar.)
I will be there. I have been told that I must support the Saints but I will also look joyfully at the Manning Boy (which I’m going to start calling [...]
Mayor Karl Dean’s best answer to fixing Metro schools has been to promote the charter school fad, the hot latest big distraction in public education. Well, a new report on charter schools in 40 states and the District of Columbia reveals information ab…
A new edition of the Carnival of Feminists is up at Zero at the Bone – thanks to the host for including a couple of OBOS posts!
Last week, NPR ran a piece on new book, “The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks,” which I heard and posted about. I really should have one ahead and put [...]
If I’m going to be in Memphis more, I need to know where to go and eat.
I think I found something to guide my way through the dark tunnels of learning a new place and it’s called LunchBrag.
Welcome Crooks & Liars!
[UPDATE]:
For further perspective, note that in another part of the sprawling Opryland complex this weekend a group of 500 women bloggers, many of them “mommy bloggers,” gathered for their sold-out convention. To my knowledge no national news media covered the event. 500 women bloggers vs 600 right wing nutjobs in white wigs and tri-corner hats. Which one gets the national news media’s attention?
The New York Times did an awesome job of buying the spin that this is just a mainstream group of folks. Clearly they did not listen to any of the keynote speeches, in which we heard homophobic rants about morality, anti-immigrant bigotry from Tom Tancredo, and birther conspiracy theories.
So thanks, New York Times. Way to mainstream the Obama hate.
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So everyone says around 600 people showed up for Nasvhille’s Tea Party Convention, right?
For some perspective, the first Netroots Nation drew over twice that amount:
But even after acknowledging this relevant context, what we’re left with is an event with 600 participants and a grand total of zero current House members, senators, or governors. There were, by some estimates, 200 journalists on hand to cover this convention, creating a bizarre dynamic — one reporter for every three participants.It’s all terribly odd. The first Netroots Nation gathering (the conference formally known as Yearly Kos) had 1,400 attendees. The Tea Party convention had less than half this total.
The media attention seems a little disproportionate to what, by all appearances, was an underwhelming get-together.
Indeed it does. But this is just another case where the “liberal media” lie is shown in all of its glory.
And let’s remember the national media’s coverage of the left’s anti-war protests was tepid, at best. It seems if a bunch of liberals get together, it’s not news. But some wacko anti-gay, anti-immigrant right wing nutballs gather for three days of hating on the President and 200 media representatives descend on the convention hall.
Weird.
Atrios is right, the right wing rules their world.
It appears you’ve stumbled upon our site. We’re still in development at the moment, but feel free to take a look around. Over the next several weeks we’ll be making improvements and an official announcement. Until then, thanks for helping us kick the wheels, we’ll see ya on the flip side.
admin @ January 16, 2009
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I spent some of Saturday and tonight watching Tennessee Home & Farm’s video gallery.
In a video for Twin Forks Farm Artisan Breads Artisan baker David Tannen talked briefly about quitting his job four years ago, building his own oven and baking breads.
What sucked me in were stories about small businesses like Tannen’s, Ratliff Candy, and Wood-n-Strings Dulcimer Shop. It’s the story of their life’s passion.
Christian Grantham @ February 8, 2010
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I cannot believe I live in a place that has received this much snow yet lacks universal healthcare and a robust social safety net.
Southern Beale @ February 8, 2010
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Brother Carroll's fire and brimstone post about Steve Cohen's challenger was interesting, but I am not sure I can go there with him.
LeftWingCracker @ February 8, 2010
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...apparently they say, "Hey, fuck you Democrats and your "consumer protection" laws...gimme Scott Brown!"
Sean Braisted @ February 8, 2010
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I could not love this story more and I feel cheated CHEATED that I have not gotten to meet a football rootworker.
(I hope you all remember the awesome story of the hoodoo woman who got me a raise?)
Aunt B. @ February 8, 2010
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An excellent interview this afternoon with Brittney Gilbert at Pith in the Wind by Betsy Phillips on the demise of Nashville is Talking.
I’m just going to say it. I miss those first giddy days of blogging and what Betsy said rings true to me as well.
From my perspective, when I was just starting out as a blogger, NiT was a huge deal. There was a vibrant community, people saying a lot of interesting things, and great discussion. The first few times you linked to me, I felt… I don’t know… really thrilled that some important media person was validating my ideas.
I agree. It was a fun time in Tennessee and if I hadn’t have been a part of that community, all the wonderful bloggers I know now I might now have met at all.
As I said at Speak To Power, it truly is the end of an era.
newscoma @ February 8, 2010
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Have you ever had one of those times in your life that basically the best that you could honestly do was only muster up the strength to put one foot in front of the other and that was it.
That’s been me for a bit. January was a sumbitch as the locals say, but February always comes in, gray and relentless, to kick me in the patootie. Don’t get me wrong, it’s just regular February stuff. I was talking to Homer the sister this morning and we agreed that most people have a little S.A.D. during this time of the year. Will we see the sun again? My sister and I are like day and night, but we are similar when it comes to cold. We don’t like it and it gives us the blues. It 
is what it is. I am actually more of a fall person, but damn it all if I’m just a tad more emotional than usual, a bit more sensitive in February. What I end up doing is hiding out. This, my friends, is my hermit month where I feel I’m waiting for something although I have no idea what it is.
Some of you may or may not know about a new blog that some of us have been working on called Speak To Power. I’m pleased with it thus far. We have a vision and we are all getting our sea legs under us as we work toward a common goal of unity.
With that said, I also read this post by one of us this weekend and I had to put the computer down and walk away from the online world for a bit. What I mean is, that once you read something that hits you really hard, it’s best to just take a step back. I keep thinking of the chili because, as I’m his friend, I knew that this would happen. The chili was representative of more than words can express. There are real people behind each and every blog you read. Human beings that feel joy and pain, despair and happiness. It’s our curse and our gift that we must endure such extremes.
It reminded me of, when my mother died 12 years ago this very month, that I sat in her closet, smelling her clothes and wondering what was to become of us.
What would we do?
I’m gonna tell you, I wonder about that each and every February.
The snow finally arrived late today and there were those few moments of giddiness as snow has not visited us much since Homer and my childhood years. I do not know if it will stick, but I do believe that it makes the world brighter, like it’s cleaning the ground and hugging the trees.
Maybe the snow whispers to us that spring will eventually come back by giving us a clean, white slate.
newscoma @ February 8, 2010