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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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ARE TENNESSEE REPUBLICANS SET TO CLEAN HOUSE ON THE HILL?
November 11, 2008 -
November 19, 2008
The historic election of a 50-49 Republican majority in the Tennessee State House has left Republicans with several unexpected and difficult choices to make in the next few weeks. How they handle these organizational and political challenges may have a greater impact on whether they retain their slim majority in the next election than the legislative policies they will enact in the coming months.
Republican Minority Leader Jason Mumpower is poised to become the first Republican Speaker of the House since the Civil War-era but he will have to secure the votes of all fifty Republican legislators to accomplish that feat. If one vote slips away to current House Speaker Jimmy Naifeh, Republicans will be denied the fruits of their electoral victory.
Mumpower and his chief lieutenant, Rep. Glen Casada, are working furiously to line up the votes and have secured a written commitment from all of their Republican colleagues to vote for a Republican Speaker. However, some of those who signed that letter have signed written pledges to oppose a state income tax – and then promptly voted FOR a state income tax when their personal interests trumped their promise.
One of those “income tax backsliders,” Rep. Steve McDaniel, has reportedly been promised the position of Speaker Pro Tem in exchange for convincing five of his fellow Republican legislators to back Mumpower for Speaker. McDaniel and the other five are known as the “Naifeh Six” due to the fact that they have previously crossed party lines to back Democrat Naifeh for Speaker. Naifeh is working to sweeten the deal to lure at least one of them back across the line when the votes are cast in January.
Even if they back Mumpower in the Speaker’s battle can he count on them in the close legislative votes that will follow in the months ahead? Having succumbed to their political blackmail, will Mumpower see them coming back to the well time and time again with demands for more? Mumpower and his allies will also have to pick and choose between their friends in making committee assignments and selecting those who will Chair them. Many of those in the new Republican majority will be denied the spots they covet and may not be quick to help the “chosen ones” succeed.
Even if House Republicans successfully navigate the treacherous waters of legislative intrigue, they have other personnel decisions that may trip them up. With an overall majority in the House and Senate Republicans will have the historic opportunity to select individuals to fill three major Constitutional offices: the Comptroller, the Treasurer and the Secretary of State. These officials oversee budgets of tens of millions of dollars and employ hundreds to assist them in their duties. These positions have been filled by Democrats since the Civil War.
As they select a new Comptroller, Treasurer and Secretary of State the Republicans will make three people very happy…and leave dozens of disappointed hopefuls angry over being tossed aside. Democrats have made these difficult choices in the past with fairly significant majorities and a long history in power. Republicans will do so with little experience in handling animosity within the party and the narrowest of margins. After all of the initial organizational hurdles are cleared the policy battles that loom with Governor Phil Bredesen and the Democrats may look like a pleasant respite.
Republicans in the State Senate experienced many of these same challenges in the past few years and Lt. Governor Ron Ramsey may be able to help the Republican House leadership avoid missteps and errors. Legislative leadership has been properly compared to herding cats. Mumpower may soon learn that whatever difficulties Ramsey has had in corralling sixteen Senators is easier than keeping track of fifty House Members. But how he accomplishes that will likely determine whether that number grows or slips back below the water line in 2010.
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WILL AMERICA COME TOGETHER AFTER THE ELECTION? -
October 30, 2008 -
November 4, 2008
The 2008 Presidential election has been long and bitterly contested by both sides. The passions of the political season will not subside quickly for those who immerse both heart and soul into the effort as so many campaign volunteers and activists do each election cycle. That is not a bad thing; nor is it new. The insults and attacks that we see today are somewhat tame compared to the personal assaults that typified American politics in our first hundred years of campaigning.
In the not... |
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WHY VOTERS ARE FURIOUS ABOUT THE BAILOUT PACKAGE. -
October 5, 2008 -
October 11, 2008
For the past several weeks voters were told by the White House, the so-called leadership of the Democrats and Republicans in Congress, and numerous pundits on the airwaves that America faced utter economic collapse unless a $700 billion bailout plan conceived by Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson was approved immediately. Skeptics of both the “crisis” and the purported “fix” were denounced for not understanding the economic turmoil that would flow from delay of even a few more days.
Two... |
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BOGUS POLL INTENDED TO BOOST OBAMA. -
September 27, 2008 -
October 4, 2008
As we enter into the final month of the election, we will be bombarded with all sorts of information intended to sway our votes. We will, of course, be inundated with television commercials, direct mail pieces, radio ads, and automated phone calls. But we will also be subjected to numerous polls, many of which will be just as partisan as the political propaganda the candidates are relying upon.
A disturbing trend in recent elections has been the intentional use of skewed polling by the... |
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NANCY PELOSI IS A REAL GAS! -
September 18, 2008 -
September 24, 2008
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has recently developed a serious interest in natural gas, even though it is clear she is clueless about it. Never has someone with so little knowledge of an industry been poised to make so much money from it…at least since Hillary Clinton made a fortune from a one-time entry into the cattle futures market.
Pelosi’s personal involvement in the natural gas industry, other than as a recipient of contributions from donors and lobbyists acting on behalf of the indu... |
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OBAMA MILITARY STORY HAS A HUGE HOLE IN IT! -
September 8, 2008 -
September 14, 2008
During a weekend interview on ABC’s “This Week” with host George Stephanopoulos Democrat presidential nominee Barack Obama noted that he once considered joining the U.S. military. His decision not to pursue service in the military has never been mentioned by Obama on the campaign trail nor was it included in either of his two memoirs.
But when asked about whether or not he ever thought about serving in uniform Obama replied: “"You know, I actually did. I had to sign up for Selective Ser... |
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