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17 May 2010 10:18

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Politics: Did the mass media fly over the Nashville floods?

  • You get Tennessee pride and the feeling that if there was looting here, the national media would be all over it. I think that’s unfair, but that’s the way some people view it.
  • Tennessean editor Mark Silverman • Regarding the way that the mainstream media mostly glossed over a huge story – a massive flood in Nashville that killed 30 people. But why? The simple answer is that there were seemingly bigger, more nuanced stories happening that week, and a major flood seems old hat. It’s absolutely the worst way to think about it, but it seemingly couldn’t compete with terrorism (the failed Times Square bombing, where nobody died) or a slightly-more-epic disaster (the BP oil spill). The truth is, though, the story got underplayed by the usual suspects, to the point where Anderson Cooper took his crew down there later in the week and apologized for not getting down there sooner. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 2 Comments • Permalink

03 May 2010 17:45

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U.S.: How bad is the flooding in Tennessee? Some quick numbers

  • 51′ the level Nashville’s Cumberland River is expected to crest at
  • 40′ the flood stage for the river; many homes have been submerged
  • 12k sandbags have been used to hold back the flooding source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 2 Comments • Permalink

03 May 2010 17:37

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U.S.: A show of support to our water-drenched friends in Nashville

The heavy rains in the Southeast – as much as 20 inches – have already killed 19 people, most of them in Nashville and surrounding areas. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

07 Feb 2010 13:06

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Politics: The final word on the whole Sarah Palin Tea Party thing

  • I know many of you think I am over-estimating her and under-estimating the common sense of the American people. I hope to God you’re right.
  • Super-blogger Andrew Sullivan • Regarding the Tea Party convention. For some reason, Sullivan thought it was a great idea to live-blog her performance last night. Don’t get him wrong; he doesn’t like Palin, either, but he realizes her importance. Begrudgingly. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

07 Feb 2010 09:58

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Politics: Did Sarah Palin hijack the entire Tea Party movement? Maybe

  • Palin, while explicitly saying the movement had no leader, implicitly offered herself up as one. After this speech, which was widely covered on the internet and carried on television, the tea party movement and Sarah Palin will be inextricably intertwined.
  • Nashville Post conservative critic A.C. Kleinheider • Regarding this weekend’s Tea Party convention, which he says hurt the movement by giving it a de facto leader in the form of Sarah Palin. He was particularly annoyed that her speech invoked Ronald Reagan, who, among other things, was a huge spender while in office. It kinda goes against the message the Tea Party is trying for, he argues. Ultimately, that’s probably what’s going to happen to the movement – people who don’t understand that it’s against big government are going to try to co-opt it as a movement for Republican ideals. While we’re not exactly in favor of what the Tea Party is pitching, we definitely think there’s a lot of missing-the-point going on. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

06 Feb 2010 23:23

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Politics: Sarah Palin’s Tea Party speech is a freaking nightmare

  • Sarah Palin’s speech at the Tea Party Convention got these points across in its first minute and a half: 1.) Thanks to all our servicemen. 2.) Happy birthday Ronald Reagan!  3.) Hi to everyone watching on C-SPAN, which is airing this even when they don’t air the health care debate. 4.) References to barbecue and sweet tea (as well as an awful “Alaska is cold” iced-tea joke). It’s not as bad as her resignation speech, but we just had to stop watching at some point. Her voice makes our brain hurt.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

06 Feb 2010 20:10

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Politics: The Tea Party movement wants to win, but can’t seem to organize

  • The movement is maturing. The rallies were good for last year, because that’s what we could do last year. This year we have to change things. We have got to win.
  • Tea Party Nation founder Judson Phillips • Regarding his organization’s goals (along with the overall movement’s goals) for 2010, which they tried to push at this weekend’s convention in Nashville. They want a conservative congress in 2010 and a conservative president in 2012. Problem is, the movement doesn’t really have a leader and kinda shares disdain for Republicans and Democrats. “This movement doesn’t need a leader,” said Anthony Shreeve of the Tennessee Tea Party Coalition. “It’s a ‘We the People’ movement.” Too bad he undercut his point by protesting the convention outside. Get organized, kids. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 

05 Feb 2010 12:39

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Politics: Tom Tancredo’s speech not the best way to start a Tea Party

  • People who could not even spell the word ‘vote,’ or say it in English put a committed socialist ideologue in the White House. His name is Barack Hussein Obama.
  • Former U.S. Rep. from Colorado Tom Tancredo • At the beginning of the Tea Party convention in Nashville last night. Can we list the ways this statement is offensive? 1.) It’s borderline racist in not one, but two ways (three if you think the part about not being able to spell the word “vote” is a slight on a certain race), 2.) It points out Obama’s middle name in a way to discount him, and 3.) It suggests that people who voted for Obama are idiots. It’s not like he doesn’t have a history of incendiary comments, either; this is the guy who called Miami a “third-world country.” Is this the guy you want opening up your Tea Party convention? source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

14 Jul 2009 10:32

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U.S.: Phrase you don’t want to hear when flying: Football-sized hole

  • The cabin depressurized, but everyone’s OK. A Southwest Airlines plane headed from Nashville to Baltimore had to make an emergency landing in Charleston, West Virginia yesterday after a giant hole opened up above the cabin 34,000 feet in the air, causing the plane’s oxygen masks to come down. Despite how !#(&@*& scary that sounds, nobody was hurt. Whew. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

04 Jul 2009 16:59

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Sports: Former NFL star Steve McNair dead in apparent double-homicide

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  • Very sad story out of Nashville. Steve McNair, the former Tennessee Titans and Baltimore Ravens star quarterback, was found shot and killed with another woman. McNair went to the Super Bowl with the Titans and was a three-time Pro Bowl selection before retiring in 2008. He was 38. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
 
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