Bristolian

Just bored, so I thought I’d write about the most boring local primaries on earth, with the possible exception of Guam.
The following information was found at the Kingsport Times News

As of Tuesday afternoon, the following candidates had filed petitions for the following races with the Election Commission:

County mayor

• Incumbent Steve Godsey (filed for Republican primary)

• Mark Vance (filed for Republican primary)

The questions voters must ask themselves are:

Q:What has Steve Godsey done for Sullivan county?
A:Nothing.

Q:How is Mark Vance any different from Godsey?
A:He’s not.

County trustee

• Incumbent Frances Harrell (filed for Democratic primary)

• Peggy Bridgeman Campbell (filed for Republican primary)

Q: Has Frances Harrell performed her duties well or not?
A: Harrell has performed flawlessly

Q: Who is Peggy Campbell?
A: Who cares?

County clerk

• Incumbent Jeanie Gammon (filed for Democratic primary)

• Jim Holcomb (filed for the Republican primary)

Q: Has Jeanie Gammon performed her job well?
A: She is the greatest. If you have encountered her, she helped you out in some way.

Q: Who is Jim Holcomb?
A: One of John Gregory’s Taliban scumbags who has no business serving in an official capacity. I wouldn’t elect a Jesus-Pimping dirtbag like Holcomb to be a judge on American Idol. Much less a civil servant.
Electing Holcomb would be like electing David Davis.
Holcomb is the personification of the John Gregory extreme Right Wing (aka Bristol Taliban)’s efforts to remain relevant in the local political scene.
Other notable members of the BT are wannabe Speaker of the House Jason Mumpower and Lt. Governor Ron Ramsey.

If it’s John Gregory, it’s wrong.

Register of deeds

• Incumbent Mary Lou Duncan (filed for the Democratic primary)

• Bart Long (filed for the Republican primary)

Q:Has Duncan performed her duties well?
A:All the deeds are registered.

Q:Why is Bart Long a Republican?
A: Probably because there’s no Libertarian party in the area.
Bart Long is not a bad guy at all. But having a person who makes their living on real estate running the Deeds Dept. sounds a little conflicting.

Duncan should remain.

Commissioner of highways

• Incumbent Allan Pope (filed for the Republican primary)

Q:Why do our highways look like shit since Pope was last elected?
A:Typical Republican inaction. If you think one or two new lights on 11W makes up for the decaying shoulders and potholes you’re sadly mistaken.

If Pope has a plan for our end of the 100% Stimulus Highway Money TDOT is getting, he should speak out. The proper use of these funds could sway a vote or two.

County attorney

• Incumbent Dan Street (filed for the Republican primary)

Q:How has Dan Street handled his job thus far?
A:He has remained on the intelligent side of the “how the Hatch Act effects the county” argument.

County sheriff

• Incumbent Wayne Anderson (filed for Republican primary)

• David Steadman (filed for Republican primary)

• John Taylor (filed for Democratic primary)

Q:What kind of job has Wayne Anderson done as Sheriff?
A:A hearty mix of stupid, dishonest yet practical.

This one is tough. Wayne Anderson is an ass, no question about it. I have personally seen him come through the Felony cells at the main jail, moments ahead of the press, and tell inmates to pick their mattresses up off the floor and hide them under the mattresses on the bunks so the inhumane conditions of his jail aren’t so obvious.

At the same time, John Taylor (Democrat) made the statement that “Anderson’s drug arrests are way down". That makes Taylor a scary candidate (see jack-booted, third-eye-blind Drug War advocate).
We don’t need a drug crusader running around busting our kids for smoking pot and costing us mountains of money just to put them on probation and accomplish basically nothing. Especially since all applicable science proves that incarceration does nothing to rid the community of drugs or stop people from catching a buzz.
Anderson may, by virtue of experience, understand this.
Taylor seems to be unaware that Attorney General Eric Holder said that the Drug War was over. He is fear-mongering. That is a sure sign of a fool running for office.

Don’t know much about Steadman. We’ll see….

Circuit court clerk

• Incumbent Tommy Kerns (filed for the Republican primary)

Q:Do we know anything about Kerns?
A:No.

County Commission District 1 (one seat)

• Incumbent Randy Morrell (filed to run as an independent)

Q:Independent from what?
A:Good luck on ever getting an answer.

County Commission Disrict 2 (three seats)

• Incumbent Cathy Armstrong (filed for the Republican primary)

• Incumbent Buddy King (filed to run as an independent)

• Bryan Boyd (filed for the Republican primary)

Q:Who cares?
A:Who cares??

County Commission District 3 (one seat)

• Bob Neal (filed for the Republican primary)

Q:Hey, are you Bob Neal or is that just what you do?
A: Ok, ok I couldn’t resist. This is really getting boring. Sorry.

County Commission District 4 (three seats)

• Incumbent Linda Brittenham (filed to run as an independent)

• Incumbent Dennis Houser (filed to run as an independent)

• Ed Marsh (filed for the Republican primary)

• Billy J. Phillips (filed to run as an independent)

County Commission District 5 (two seats)

• Charles D. Phelps (filed for the Republican primary)

• Marvin Hyatt (filed to run as an independent)

County Commission District 6 (three seats)

• Incumbent Terry Harkleroad (filed for the Republican primary)

• Dean Harris (filed for the Republican primary)

• Matthew J. Johnson (filed for the Republican primary)

• Rodger K. Jones (field to run as an independent)

• Dewey Wayne Shaffer (filed to run as an independent)

County Commission District 7 (two seats)

• Baxter Hood (filed for the Republican primary)

County Commission District 8 (two seats)

• Incumbent Darlene Calton (filed for the Republican primary)

• Joshua K. Russell (filed for the Republican primary)

County Commission District 9 (two seats)

• Incumbent O.W. Ferguson (filed for the Republican primary)

• Incumbent Wayne McConnell (filed to run as an independent)

County Commission District 10 (two seats)

• Incumbent Bill Kilgore (filed for the Republican primary)

• Charlie Anderson (filed to run as an independent)

• John Crawford (filed for the Republican primary)

• Gary R. Free (filed for the Republican primary)

County Commission District 11 (three seats)

• Incumbent Clyde Groseclose (filed to run as an independent)

• Incumbent Joe Herron (filed for the Republican primary)

• John T. Gardner (filed for the Republican primary)

• Archie Pierce (filed for the Republican primary)

Party primaries are in May. The general election is in August.

LOL! Just Fuckin’ LOL!
Lamar Alexander has been fuckin’ up large lately. But it’s really getting deep now. Put yer waders on, East Tennessee. LAMAR! is making a mess again….

First voting to prevent victims of workplace rape from having legal recourse, he now has been caught in the sweetest example of Republican hypocrisy I’ve seen in a while.

From The Nashville Scene

The Washington Times reported: “Sen. Lamar Alexander, Tennessee Republican, who easily won re-election in 2008, said of the stimulus, “This is spending, not stimulus.” But in a letter to Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, the senator sought stimulus money for a project that he said would “create over 200 jobs in the first year and at least another 40 new jobs in the following years.”

Well, LAMAR!
You’ve really stepped in it this time. Certainly not the first or last time, but this is a whopper.

We have to get somebody to replace this useless incumbent.

H/T to Speak to Power

Just a quick thank you to those who have done such an excellent job of keeping our streets clear and drivable during record snowfall here in the Tri-Cities area.

Whether you work for gov’t or contract by the job, you folks have done wonderful work. I can’t remember the last time we had this much snow. Especially the eight inches we had a couple of weeks ago. Fifteen, maybe twenty years? 1995 had a good snow but still not this thick.
You were prepared and hit the streets quickly making them safe (for non-idiots) and navigable.

We at TN420 salute your dedication to the safety of our citizens. Stay ready, this will be a long, wet winter.

Thanx again.

That happened even quicker than most of us said it would. This is what happens when we elect morons and half wits to state legislative positions. Knee-jerk, back assward Conservatives legislating on a whim and not even considering the obvious.
Bar and Restaurant owners get a break from the Tennessee Big Gov’t Legislature’s lack of respect for their rights.

Good Job, Ms. Bonnyman.

From the BHC:

Since earlier this year, those with gun carry permits, could carry their weapon into restaurants and bars. Now a ruling handed down in a Nashville courtroom, will strike down that law.

Chancellor Claudia Bonnyman ruled that Tennessee’s “Guns-In-Bars” law was unconstitutionally vague.

She said that currently Tennessee has no legal definition for what constitutes a bar, or a restaurant.

The Tennessee Legislature enacted the bill earlier this year, over the veto of Governor Phil Bredesen.

Lieutenant Governor Ron Ramsey says the bill will be brought back up for a vote, with corrections made to make it less vague, when the legislature reconvenes on January 12th.

Once upon a time, a naive young girl went to work for a company called Halliburton. They sent her to Iraq. There, she was drugged and raped by her co-workers.

Recently, legislation was introduced to help such victims have legal recourse against the corporations that refuse to recognize the problem and take action.
The legislation, by Sen. Al Franken, passed. However, thirty Republicans voted against that legislation.
One of them was Lamar Alexander, our local Senator from Blountville.

First, were this young lady any less naive we might not even write about it. We have no sympathy for blood money contractors or any other kind of mercenary who sought to profit off the failed, illegal war in Iraq.
This young girl states that she “was serving her country". She wasn’t. Mercenaries do not “serve". They don’t know the meaning of the word.
This issue goes far beyond the individual involved.
This issue is about keeping young men and women who make the mistake of choosing to be employed by lawless, Godless corporations, safe from exploitation and physical abuse.

They didn’t send this young woman to Iraq to be a part of some whimsical, fantasy laden, pie-in-the-sky battle against all evil. They sent her there to be someone’s whore.
They sent her for the purpose of being raped. Some sort of abominable gift to certain contractors there. A sex slave.
Were it not for the compassion of one of her captors, she would not be alive today.

The video below explains it all in detail. A great injustice has been committed against the standards of decency that civilization requires that we all live by in order to survive.
Again, the legislation intended to help such victims passed. But those who voted on behalf of rape and against a young victim will not be permitted to just walk away.

The list of filth who voted in favor of rape reads like a who’s who of Right Wing sub-humanoid servants of the flesh…

Lamar Alexander (R-TN)
Barrasso (R-WY)
Bond (R-MO)
Sam Brownback (R-KS)
Jim Bunning (R-KY)
Burr (R-NC)
Chambliss (R-GA)
Coburn (R-OK)
Cochran (R-MS)
Bob Corker (R-TN)
Cornyn (R-TX)
Crapo (R-ID)
Jim DeMint (R-SC)
John Ensign (R-NV)
Enzi (R-WY)
Lindsey Graham (R-SC)
Gregg (R-NH)
Inhofe (R-OK)
Isakson (R-GA)
Johanns (R-NE)
John Kyle (R-AZ)
John McCain (R-AZ)
Mitch McConnell (R-KY)
Risch (R-ID)
Roberts (R-KS)
Sessions (R-AL)
Shelby (R-AL)
Thune (R-SD)
David Vitter (R-LA)
Wicker (R-MS)

From adulterers like John Ensign to effeminate powder puffs like Lindsey Graham and Ensign’s fellow “C” Street Members Brownback and Coburn,
every one of these Senators, including our own Lamar Alexander, has placed their stamp of approval on the corporate sex slave trade.

Who knows how many other young women, and men, have been held against their will as sex slaves for corporations they worked for? Perhaps too afraid to come forward.
This is a problem that, thanx to Sen. Franken, may now be given the full attention of the Justice Dept. Let’s hope so.
Because this shit is disgusting and cannot be tolerated.

Lamar Alexander, you approved of rape to please your corporate masters. You are the textbook definition of a coward.

H/T to Tim Valentine at TI&S