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

Bob McDonnell, the Republican nominee for Governor of Virginia, had to have a dirty past. He had to. All Republican politicians do.
And now, thanx to Amy Gardener at The Washington Post, we know what it is.

And it comes as no surprise whatsoever.

It has been discovered that McDonnell wrote a Master’s Thesis, at age 34, for an Evangelical school in Virginia Beach, VA, that contained some language that could only be described as Un-American to it’s very core.
It seems that Mr. McDonnell, at age 34, felt that

“working women were detrimental to the family” and that “government should penalize unmarried “cohabitators, homosexuals or fornicators,". That divorce should be further restricted, and that family is “God-ordained government” untouchable by civil law.”

Creigh Deeds: American/Bob McDonnell: Taliban

Ahhhh, I love it when the beast unwittingly shows it’s devilish face for all to see. “There is no lie that will not be uncovered". The words are true and span the ages.
What better disguise for Satan than that of a servant of God?
This is the Evangelical mindset. McDonnell is now exposed for the fraudulent “person of faith” he’s been found to be.

In a stammering attempt at damage control, McDonnell told the media that “the idea that a 20-year-old academic exercise somehow represents my 18-year career in public service is just a flat misrepresentation,”

He was 34 when this was written. It contained 96 well developed pages that he considered an “action plan for the religious right". Or Taliban, if you will.
I don’t think the “I was young and stupid” argument is going to fly here, Bobby boy. 34 is a seasoned adult anywhere in the world.
My views have not changed significantly in the last twenty years. There’s no reason to believe his did.
Either McDonnell was lying to the church, or he’s lying to us now.
Either way, he’s a liar. And his history of supported legislation in Virginia supports his “thesis” handily.

Take another look, Virginia. McDonnell is exposed for the America hating Evanganoid whack-job we all knew he was deep down inside.

Deeds isn’t perfect. But at least he’s not Taliban.

The rest at The Washington Post:

Va. GOP Candidate Wrote on Women, Marriage and Gays

By Amy Gardner
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, August 30, 2009

At age 34, two years before his first election and two decades before he would run for governor of Virginia, Robert F. McDonnell submitted a master’s thesis to the evangelical school he was attending in Virginia Beach in which he described working women and feminists as “detrimental” to the family. He said government policy should favor married couples over “cohabitators, homosexuals or fornicators.” He described as “illogical” a 1972 Supreme Court decision legalizing the use of contraception by unmarried couples.

The 93-page document, which is publicly available at the Regent University library, culminates with a 15-point action plan that McDonnell said the Republican Party should follow to protect American families – a vision that he started to put into action soon after he was elected to the Virginia House of Delegates.

During his 14 years in the General Assembly, McDonnell pursued at least 10 of the policy goals he laid out in that research paper, including abortion restrictions, covenant marriage, school vouchers and tax policies to favor his view of the traditional family. In 2001, he voted against a resolution in support of ending wage discrimination between men and women.

H/T to Slate and TPM.

Well done, council members. This is the kind of good lookin’ out we elected people like David Shumaker for.
It’s comforting to know that there are those who will stand up to the fools and degenerates in the TN Legislature and protect our citizens on a community level.

The Bristol Herald Courier has done a fine job of supporting sanity in this community and they bring us this fine statement from the Editorial Board…

By Bristol Herald Courier Editorial Board

Published: July 10, 2009

Getting a statewide bill passed that allows citizens to carry firearms into parks became one of the most drawn out and messiest battles of the 2009 Tennessee General Assembly.

Gov. Phil Bredesen ultimately vetoed the bill, the legislature swiftly overrode it and the law will take effect Sept. 1.

But Tennessee lawmakers left an opening for localities to decide for themselves, which begs the question: Why did they spend all those weeks fighting and wrangling?

On Tuesday, the Bristol Tennessee City Council took advantage of that loophole. On a 3-2 vote, council members said bring the picnic basket when you enter a city-owned park, but leave the gun at home.

Johnson City officials approved a similar handgun ban last week. Other cities, including Memphis, Chattanooga and Nashville, are considering their own measures.

Bristol Tenn.’s decision was supported by City Manager Jeff Broughton and Police Chief Blaine Wade.

Council members David Shumaker, Margaret Feierabend and Mayor Fred Testa voted to ban firearms in city parks. Joel Staton and James Messimer opposed the measure.

Shumaker said he was uncomfortable with people bringing guns into public parks because they are “a weapon designed for a human being to kill another human being.”

Staton called Shumaker’s view “ridiculous” and said the resolution unfairly targets legal handgun owners who are properly trained and would carry them openly.

We support the City Council’s decision on a variety of levels, including safety and local autonomy. The Tennessee legislature left the final decision to the localities. The City Council’s vote considered the recommendations of the city manager and the police chief, both of whom oppose people carrying firearms into city parks.

Some supporters have argued that the ban is an infringement on Second Amendment rights. Perhaps they will challenge the law.

But they should begin in Nashville, where state lawmakers agreed to create this loophole for localities. And Bristol, Tenn., is among several so far that have decided to ban firearms in city parks.

Opponents also should consider the parallels with other places – like public schools – where firearm prohibitions already exist with public support.

Public parks, like public schools, are designed for children and families – and that justifies a different set of rules regarding firearms.

We believe the Bristol Tennessee City Council acted in the interest of safety for the majority of its residents when it voted to ban firearms from city parks. Shumaker, who noted that he owns firearms, said he sees no reason for residents to carry handguns in heavily populated areas such as parks.

We believe the presence of guns in such places could lead to escalated harm if people carrying the weapons overreact to confrontations. It’s one thing if an argument leads to a fist fight, but what if both people are carrying firearms?…

I do appreciate the courage of the Bristol City Council on this issue.
The last thing we need is a bunch of trigger-happy Conservanoid goofballs endangering our children in our city parks while they play John Wayne with they’re new gun.

The thing that amazes me with these types is that they seem to think that they would be capable of stopping some criminal element in a worst case scenario.
Fact is, these hide-in-the-gun-cabinet types would either open fire and hit nothing but innocent bystanders (probably children), or you’d find them and their gun hiding under a picnic table peeing themselves in fear.
Paper silhouette targets don’t prepare people for battle. These people are much like the gang members in big cities that pull drive-by shootings and hit everyone but the intended target. A bunch of loose cannons and walking time bombs.

We don’t need them making our recreation areas dangerous when they’re not.
Get it through your heads, trigger tarts. YOU are the element that’s dangerous to our families.

Honorable mention to a man I was previously unsure of, Councilman Fred Testa. I never expected intelligent decision making from Testa after having met him. But I’m pleased to be found wrong in this case.

Joel Staton’s seat will be the next target when elections roll around again.

Good job BCC.

Ahhh, what a party. If it takes me three days to recover it means one of two things. Either we partied hard or I’m gettin’ old. Or both.

Not as many people as we would liked to have had, but what a grand time it was. Bleu and the band were awesome. Just awesome. Some of the cleanest sound I’ve heard outside in a long time.
Even yours truly managed to jam with Bleu and The R&B Band for a few minutes and I still feel honored to be allowed on stage with such a tight band.

This hill is a great place to have a show. And we promise there will be more.

I want to thank Bleu and the band for being here, all those who came up to see the show, and the really cool cop that visited us around 10pm and told us of one complaint they had about the noise.
I guess we did pretty good if only one scumbag complained. So we thank the people of Bristol for tolerating us for the evening.

Also want to pass along our prayers and support for our friend and Bleu’s manager, JR Worley, as he is experiencing some serious difficulties in his life at the moment.
We are with you, JR.

Thanx again to Sonic Drive In for their support and fellowship and to Ellen and Mike, Lyle, Gerbert, Todd Foster of the BHC and everyone who supported this event in both action and word.

Rock on!

For those who live in the Tri-Cities area, especially Bristol, we have some real good news.

On Friday, June 26th 2009, we will host the very first of what we hope to be many live concerts right in the middle of our parking lot.

Johnson City’s own Bleu Jackson will go on stage at 6pm and lay down the old time, Johnny Winter style blues that he plays so very well.
Bleu has a solid band and a lot of original music to offer.
We are very proud to have Bleu Jackson as the first ever artist to play our outdoor stage.

What: Bleu Jackson Live

When: June 26th, 2009 6pm to 10pm

Where: The TN420 Emporium parking lot.
1009 Volunteer Pkwy, Bristol TN.
High on the Hill.

How Much: 5$ per head.

Why: Because we really care.

Parking is in the Big Lots parking lot and behind Quiznos.
DO NOT use Volunteer Pkwy.
Enter the Big Lots parking lot from Bluff City Hwy and exit the same way.
Attempting to use Volunteer Pkwy or Cox Street will prove disastrous for you. Bad intersection and lots of cops.

Park behind Quiznos and walk over via Sonic Drive In’s parking lot.
They have lots of great beverages at Sonic that you can bring with you.
DO NOT park on a street or in front of an open business. YOU WILL BE TOWED! (per BPD)
Parking is in the Big Lots/Quiznos area ONLY.

Bring a folding chair and a good attitude because this will be a great time for all. Security personnel are on duty for your convenience and safety.

This is an ALCOHOL FREE event. Persons under 21 are welcome! Persons under eighteen should be accompanied by an adult.
No weapons are permitted at this event with the exception of law enforcement.
Alcohol and weapons rules will be strictly enforced.

Accommodations are available for handicapped persons. Call to confirm (423) 878-6420

The Planet Caravan Hookah Lounge will be open.

Bleu Jackson in Concert is brought to you by TN420 and Planet Caravan.
JR Worley management.

Thanx to:
Gary Gross
The City of Bristol
Captain Austin and the Bristol Police Dept.
Todd Foster and the Bristol Herald Courier.
Big Lots (great place to by a folding chair)
Quiznos
Don Powers
Jerry Burns
and the music loving people of Bristol Tennessee.

A night of peace and music.
Let the good times roll.

For questions and info please call the TN420 Emporium at (423) 878-6420 12pm to 8 pm

Just wanted to chime in.

We support , Margaret Feierabend and David Shumaker.

Both of these fine citizens have worked hard to support and develop commerce in the city while being as careful as possible to preserve our fragile environment.

There is no reason, other than Republican greed, to vote otherwise. If you love Bristol, you will vote accordingly.

That is all, carry on.

UPDATE:

I decided I needed to add more to this…

People, Bristol, TN is a beautiful place. Small, easy going city that’s far enough away from the freeway to limit the number of miscreants that tend to follow the system.

Not perfect, but I know what shit for a city looks like and it ain’t pretty.
I’ve lived in Houston, LA, Orlando…
What’s been done to some of the most beautiful areas of the nation in the name of “development” is nothing short of sin. There’s a balance that must be observed between progress and nature. Cities that have disregarded the necessity of natural surroundings have paid the price.
Houston is an arm pit. They mowed down everything and now even the weather has changed there. Hotter due to the excessive concrete.
Dirty, smoggy, crime riddled….

If you don’t appreciate the aesthetic value of communities like ours you’ve never been anywhere to see the damage.

There is an element in Bristol that aims to over-develop the area. That element has been trying, once successfully, to install it’s minions into the city council for their own personal gain. That wouldn’t be such a big deal if not for the fact that their gain equals the decimation of our local environment. It does.
Not enough evidence to name names. But they’re there.
Feierabend and Shumaker know who they are.
That’s why we strongly suggest supporting them when you vote if you haven’t already.

The threat is real. If you’ve ever been to Houston you know exactly what I mean.