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Review Just say I dont to Bride Wars
Southern Ledger - January 9, 2009
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Meltdown 101 The importance of same-store sales
Southern Ledger - January 9, 2009
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Broadcasts to mobile devices to start in 22 cities
Southern Ledger - January 9, 2009
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New TV trends Internet movies, 3-D, power saving
Southern Ledger - January 9, 2009
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UN halts Gaza aid, truce resolution deal approved
Southern Ledger - January 9, 2009
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UN Security Council calls for Gaza cease-fire
Southern Ledger - January 9, 2009
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UN Security Council calls for immediate Gaza truce
Southern Ledger - January 9, 2009
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UN calls for immediate cease-fire in Gaza
Southern Ledger - January 9, 2009
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Pope Benedict jokes about hoarse voice
Southern Ledger - January 9, 2009
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DEMOCRAT FAIRNESS.
January 17, 2005 -
January 24, 2005
After the elections many Tennesseans were surprised when a couple of Republican State Senators announced that they planned to vote to re-elect Sen. John Wilder, a Democrat from West Tennessee, as Lt. Governor despite the fact that Republicans had gained a slim majority in the Senate for the first time since Reconstruction. Two so-called Republicans, Tim Burchett of Knoxville and Curtis Person of Memphis, claimed they owed Wilder their loyalty due to his “fairness” to Republicans over the years.
Granted, the 83 year old Wilder (who has served as Lt. Governor since 1971) has shared power between Republicans and Democrats in recent years. But “fairness” had nothing to do with it. When Democrats attempted to boot Wilder from his post in the mid-80s he made an arrangement with the Republicans to give them a handful of committee chairmanships if they would vote with a few of his Democrat cronies to keep him in power. Since that time a coalition of Democrat Wilder loyalists and Republicans desperate for a piece of the pie have kept the reins of power in his grubby hands. For Wilder the power sharing deal has always been a matter of necessity, not “fairness.”
Recently, the mainstream media has inundated us with stories about the “fairness” and “integrity” of Lt. Governor John Wilder. He has promised to continue to be fair and non-partisan in his dealings as Lt. Governor. It is not the first time that Lt. Governor Wilder has blatantly lied.
Four years ago, when locked in a tough re-election battle, Wilder promised his constituents he would adamantly oppose a state income tax. He went so far as to personally sign a written anti-income tax pledge. Then, after safely re-elected, he announced that he only made the tax promise in order to win. Later he tried, unsuccessfully, to pass one. Early last year, with an election looming again, he told voters that an income tax would be “unconstitutional,” again giving the impression he was opposed to the idea…at least until election day.
Last week the Senate convened in Nashville and began its business with the election of a Lt. Governor. Two Republicans crossed party lines to re-elect Wilder, but Curtis Person was not one of them. It turned out that Wilder had lied to him as well, initially promising to give Republicans the chairmanship of most of the Senate committees and the majority of members on those committees just as he had done when the Democrats were in the majority. It was that promise that had led Person to pledge his support to Wilder. But when another Republican, Micheal Williams of Maynardville, signed on with Wilder he no longer needed Person’s support to win. So he backed out of his promise. This is the man of “integrity” the Senate has placed a heartbeat away from the Governors office.
Now Wilder has announced his selection of committee chairmanships. First he paid off Williams by naming him Speaker Pro Tem, the number two position in the Senate. Then he gave Republicans chairmanship of just four of the nine Senate committees, the same number they had when they were in the minority. The most powerful committees, Finance and Commerce, will continue to be chaired by Democrats and are stacked with more Democrats than Republicans. Burchett and Williams were rewarded with seats on BOTH committees, so they can each expect a flood of lobbyist dollars as their compensation for their votes for Wilder. Wilder’s actions are neither “fair” nor non-partisan.
Wilder is a senile embarrassment to the state. Two years from now, if the Democrats have the votes, they will dump him like they wanted to do two decades ago. Burchett and Williams deserve the scorn that they have earned by their duplicity. Burchett must face the voters in two years and will most certainly face a REAL Republican in a primary. Williams won’t face re-election until 2008, but elephants have long memories.
The Republican “majority” in the Senate will apparently roll over and accept status as a majority in name only rather than fight for the power the voters of Tennessee intended to place in their hands. Rather than dismiss Burchett and Williams from their ranks, they will “go along to get along.” Instead of fighting the Democrats for every inch of turf they won at the ballot box, they will apparently accept their status as second class Senators by meekly proclaiming “thank you sir, may I have another” in the face of Wilder’s insulting actions. Without a serious attitude adjustment, their tenuous grasp of power will likely prove to be brief…and irrelevant.
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TOLD YOU SO -
January 3, 2005 -
January 10, 2005
Last August I had the opportunity to appear before the self-proclaimed independent Tennessee Tax Structure Study Commission. The Commission had been created after then-Governor Don Sundquist and his pro-income tax allies in the legislature failed to shove an unnecessary and unwanted income tax down the throats of Tennessee taxpayers. The Commission was purportedly intended to study the states tax structure and develop ideas for reforming the system. The real intent was to recommend an income... |
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THE TENNCAR DEBACLE -
November 20, 2004 -
December 26, 2004
No, the headline is not a typo. Just imagine if Tennessee had instituted a plan to provide car insurance to the poor, uninsured and uninsurable instead of health care insurance. And imagine that car insurance plan, let's call it TennCar, had been based on the same flawed premises and implemented in the same way as TennCare. And finally, imagine we allowed it to become the bloated, bureaucratic, fraud-ridden nightmare that we have today with TennCare. When you look at... |
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THE TENNESSEE INCOME TAX IS DEAD, RIGHT? -
November 8, 2004 -
November 15, 2004
A Tennessee income tax was not on the ballot this election year, but the issue was clearly not far from voters minds. Despite election year pronouncements that the issue is dead the contentious debate over a state income tax is still far from over. In fact, when the Tennessee Tax Study Commission issues an expected recommendation for an income tax in December, the issue will re-emerge just in time for a new legislative session. With Governor Phil Bredesens much touted TennCare reforms hittin... |
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WINNERS AND LOSERS FROM ELECTION DAY. -
November 1, 2004 -
November 7, 2004
The bitterly contested election of 2004 is finally over, but the fallout from the election will continue for a long time to come. There were plenty of winners, and losers, on election dayand many of them were not even on the ballot!
LOSERS
Governor Phil Bredesen. Governor Bredesen launched a vicious assault on several Republican candidates who ended up victorious, most notably Sen.-elect Diane Black, Sen.-elect Jim Tracy, Rep.-elect Curtis Johnson, and Rep. Judd Matheny, among... |
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DRAFT DECEPTION BY THE DEMOCRATS -
October 5, 2004 -
October 12, 2004
During the past several months the Democrat party underground has been spreading a bogus rumor claiming the Bush Administration is planning to revive a mandatory military draft immediately after the November election. CBS, in keeping with its peculiar standards of fair journalism (which seems founded upon what ridiculous story can we air this week to help the Kerry campaign), aired an item last week which was intended to give the rumor credence. As planned, the Kerry campaign pointed to the n... |
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