Citizen of the Month

What a circus. I wonder how many of them would fit in a Volkswagen.

It’s a sad state of affairs here in Tennessee, TN-1 in particular. This is the greatest state in the disUnion, we just need and enema (or maybe a douche) to wash out all the Stacy Campfield’s, Marsha Blackburn’s, David Davis’ and other such excrement/infection.

We, as a state, have that “not so fresh feeling".

What a bunch of clowns. Just a short expose on the ills and infirmities of Tennessee Republican leadership and it’s staggering incompetence and moral turpitude.

George W. Bush Hypocrisy Award Winner: Congressional Rep. David Davis R-TN1

This man is so foul he should really consider setting up his offices in Hell. He already has a one way ticket on the next Down-Bound express.
If going back to his first campaign and reviewing the way he exploited Jesus Christ for personal and political gain isn’t enough, one can always consider his anti-Troop, anti-Children, anti-Environment, anti- Freedom and anti-Christ voting record.

And if that doesn’t do it, here’s the latest offering to the ways of Baal from Congressman Davis.

Even the Right-Leaning Bristol Herald Courier couldn’t take it…

By Bristol Herald Courier Editorial Board

Published: July 23, 2008

U.S. Rep. David Davis has said he sees nothing wrong with federal earmarks as long as the process is “transparent.”

So why won’t he reveal his 2009 earmark requests? Is he hiding further evidence of his slavish devotion to moneyed special interests? We don’t know.

Davis was one of just 33 House members who refused to disclose their earmark requests for the upcoming budget to the nation’s premier pork-busting group, Citizens Against Government Waste. That’s down from 94 House members who refused disclosure in 2008.

It appears that openness is catching on in the halls of Congress. Davis is just a bit slow to get the message. Perhaps he believes in transparency for others only, not for himself.

Davis, a one-term incumbent, saw his reputation tarnished earlier this year when it was revealed that he scored a $4 million earmark for a private company that donated heavily to his campaign. That chunk of pork went to BAE Systems, the defense contractor that runs the Holston Army Ammunition plant in Kingsport.

Davis defended his actions, noting that the munitions plant provides jobs for many of his constituents. This explanation would have been more convincing if Davis hadn’t pocketed the company’s campaign donations around the same time he was pushing the earmark. Such an arrangement looks like a quid pro quo deal.

The BAE earmark wasn’t the only one that Davis secured in the 2008 budget. Along with an Ohio congressman, he obtained a $1 million earmark for another private corporation, Seaman, to make collapsible urethane storage tanks.

He also brought home another $4.5 million in federal funds for a variety of local projects, including construction of a children’s hospital at Johnson City Medical Center, renovation of a church-affiliated food pantry in Hancock and Hawkins counties and work on the East Tennessee State University College of Pharmacy. On their face, these worthwhile projects will serve the greater good, but because they were funded through earmarks, they were not subjected to congressional debate. There is no way to determine whether they were the highest-priority projects in the region, state or nation.

Citizens Against Government Waste, a taxpayer watchdog group, objects to all earmarks for philosophical reasons. The group describes its mission this way: “to eliminate waste, mismanagement and inefficiency in the federal government.” The group is non-partisan but hews to a fiscally conservative policy.

Why do Tennessee Republicans vote for shit like this?
A tax break? Is that all you people care about?

So sad….

George W. Bush Hypocrisy Award Runner-Up: Ron Ramsey R-TN1 State Legislature

I knew Davis was scum, but Ron Ramsey? Poor, innocent little Ronnie Ramsey?
Just another local hypocrite with nothing productive to say, much less do.

Recently we at TN420 sent a few emails out asking simple, clear questions of candidates and other pols as we always do. That’s what helped us expose Harold Ford Jr. for the lying goof he is.
This time we inquired of Ramsey. Got more than we expected too.
The two questions were simple.

“…Could you please clarify your positions on the following issues? :

1) Medical Marijuana: Should it be legalized as medicine in it’s smoked form?

2) Stem Cell Research: Necessary for the common good, or morally unsound?”

Doesn’t sound too hard, does it?
The reply to the Medi-Pot question was expected. We knew Ron Ramsey was pro-suffering already.
What we didn’t know was that Ramsey is apparently against Embryonic Stem Cell Research and Implementation.
Excerpt from original Ramsey reply via e-mail:

Subject: RE: Research Assistance.
From: “Ron Ramsey” lt.gov.ron.ramsey@legislature.state.tn.us
Date: Mon, July 21, 2008 10:59 am
To: admin@tn420.org
Priority: Normal

Dear Mr. Kona,

Thank you for contacting me! I am against any legalization of marijuana. The ease of abuse and dependency is too great. Stem cell research is a federal issue for the most part. However, hypothetically, I would be opposed to stem cell research if the cells come from aborted fetuses.

I am always interested in hearing from my constituents and listening to their needs. Please feel free to contact my office if I can be of further assistance.

Sincerely,

Ron Ramsey

Heh, of course, the anti-Medical Marijuana excuse was nonsensical as it usually is with politicians, but the response to the Stem Cell question caught us by surprise. Especially since Ron Ramsey takes political donations from a company called Novartis. A pharmaceutical company that is preparing to undertake Embrionic Stem Cell Research…

NOVARTIS PAC
701 PENNSYLVANIA AVE., NW, SUITE 725
WASHINGTON,
DC 20004 P General 12/05/2007 $500.00

Uh huh….
From Reuters:

Tue Nov 7, 2006 12:27pm EST

By Bill Berkrot

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Novartis AG (NOVN.VX: Quote, Profile, Research,
Stock Buzz) has begun testing the waters in the controversial field of
embryonic stem cell research in the hope it will be ahead of its
rivals when marketable therapies begin to emerge, the drug maker’s head of corporate research said on Tuesday.
“A company like ours must follow the field so when the
breakthrough happens and it starts to become commercially usable, we are already
there,” Paul Herrling told the Reuters Health Summit
by telephone from
Shanghai, China.
Herrling cautioned that
the research was still in its infancy and that
Novartis has dedicated
only a dozen or so primary researchers to the
technology.

“We’re still very far from any drug discovery applications. It cannot
be a major research area for Novartis at this point – it’s too early,” Herrling said.

Still, Novartis is one of
the first major pharmaceutical companies to
admit to involvement in
the embryonic stem cell field that has so far
been left to academic
laboratories and small biotechnology companies.

“Many companies are very reluctant to talk about it because of the ethical issues surrounding it, but I’m sure all those companies that have a really strong innovation-based research culture are all doing something similar to what we’re doing,” Herrling said.
Because of fierce opposition to embryonic research from religious and anti-abortion groups, Novartis has established an external ethical advisory board to oversee its research in the field.

But there is also great enthusiasm over the potential that embryonic stem cells can someday be used to regenerate specific tissues that
could be used to treat the likes of heart disease, diabetes, spinal injuries and neurological disorders.

“In Europe, we are
working on specifically trying to differentiate
human embryonic stem cells eventually for use in neuro regeneration for (diseases) like
Parkinson’s and maybe Alzheimer’s,” Herrling said.

In California, Novartis researchers are trying to understand how
undifferentiated human embryonic stem cells can be pushed to become
one kind of tissue and not another.

Did you Tennessee Republican voters know about this?
Doesn’t this fly in the face of all you believe? Do you believe in anything other than tax breaks? Why do you vote for these people?

Tennessee Republicans. Some things never change.

Now, accidents happen. No doubt. Sometimes the timing just screws you up and there's not much you can do. You look at the stereo for a split second and in that same split second, the other guy did the same thing and you wreck. Shit happens, that's a fact.....

The real question is, Why do some people seem intent on causing an accident? What ever happened to commuter courtesy? Respect for other drivers on the road?
There are still plenty of people that drive like they DON'T have their head up their ass, but here in Bristol, of all the places I've ever lived, there is a remarkably large amount of people that for whatever reason cannot seem to get it. Driving is so easy, and often a pleasurable experience. At least until the you encounter The Idiots.

On only two occasions in my life have I seen worse displays of driving than I have right here at home. When I lived in the then still developing United Arab Emirates, I used to revel in watching Pakistani taxi drivers run into each other, run off the road, run over anything in their path. They only had cars there for about four years when I was there. Just imagine thousands of three year olds on giant Big Wheels...thus was the Pakistani Taxi Driver of Abu Dhabi.

Then there was Tijuana, Mexico. The word for "STOP" in Mexico is "ALTO". Either Tijuana Mexicans can't read, or all the drivers there are blind. No one in Tijuana has ever stopped at a stop sign. I can't figure out why the Mexican gov't even bothers to pay for the signs. Just take them down, nobody bothers anyway and there's still a wreck on every corner.

Then there was Southern California in the early Ninties. Cell Phones had just gone compact. There were so many accidents caused by goofballs arguing with their wives while driving, California was forced to outlaw the use of cell phones while driving.

Unfortunately, we seem to have our fair share of "Pakistani Taxi Drivers", "Tijuana Mexicans", and "Cell Phone Goofballs" right here in beautiful Bristol.

Time for a little Driver's Ed:

1) Hang up and drive, moron. I have seen you people that have cell phones glued to your empty heads cause other drivers to run off the road and you never even realized what you did. The last time I saw some bozo nearly cause a wreck the bozo was a cop. He was running his motor-mouth so much he caused another driver to come to a screeching halt and never once even looked back. Didn't even notice. And can't you young ladies shut your ever-running fly traps long enough to get from point A to point B? You're going to get yourself or someone else killed. Get a Blue Tooth, or some super glue! Have the fucking thing molecularly bonded to your ear or some shit! Just keep your hands on the wheel and your eyes on the living beings in front of you. It's not a video game.

2) Stop rounding off your turns! What kind of moron can't pull up to an intersection, apply the brake a little, actually move their arms so that the steering wheel turns, and make a turn without ripping someone's quarter panel off? Do you know how stupid you look?!
One idiot in the Fairmont area, as I pulled up to the stop sign and actually stopped, had to slam on his breaks, stop, maneuver around my car and out of my lane and go around. Just to make a simple left turn on a surface street.
Then this fucking clown gave me a dirty look as though I was the one driving in the wrong lane. It happens too often. Even the Pakistani Taxi Driver is smarter than that.
Quit rounding off your turns! Rude, discourteous, hap-hazard lazy bastard!

3) The sign says "STOP". Do you speak English? Can you read? If you managed to make it past My Pet Goat and See Spot Run, you should know what the word "STOP" means. It's painted right there on those big, red, octo-shaped signs that often appear at smaller intersections. They're called "STOP" signs, Joe Bob. They're there to keep vehicles from slamming into other vehicles. Sound fair? Does that make any fucking sense to you, you complete and total half-wit?! Then, these buffoons get mad at you because you don't run the stop sign too!
Are you from America or from Tijuana? It's hard to tell because you look American but drive Tijuana Mexican!
Stop signs are in our neighborhoods to protect our children, pets and others from fucking tire-spinning morons that shouldn't be allowed to ride anything other than a fucking bus!!

Now, for those of us that pull over to talk on the phone, actually stop at stop signs, aren't to lazy and stupid to move our arms and turn the wheel, and actually make an effort to show people some basic respect while driving...I salute you.

As for Mr., Miss, and Mrs. Tijuana-Pakistani-No drivin' Cell Phone Air-Head...For all you do, this blog's for you.

Wow, that felt good.

I've recently been motivated to contemplate how often I see "The South" being bashed and blamed for all the governmental ills we're suffering these days.
There are many grotesquely ignorant people on the net, but those that cherish a "Red State Blue State" mentality, and those that seem to feel that the SE United States with our "approval of slavery" and "rampant racism" are somehow running the country.

Wow. I run into it often. Disgruntled bigots of all races and creeds that shout "redneck", "goat fucker", "slave driver" etc, at anyone indicating that they're Southern. Seems like the new thing to do.
As much as I hate to admit it, I can't blame the Right Wing for this one. No, it's my own fellow Liberals (just a few of them) that routinely hand out this back-assward, uninformed opining about Dixie.
It's a shame. People who are supposed to be entertaining a philosophy that's free of such broad assertions and social stereotypes find themselves in the heart of the hypocrisy zone.

I find it more appalling than usual due to a recent debate I engaged in with some of my fellows elsewhere on the net. BushCo was compared to some sort of rising of the new "Nazi", "racist" South. The bigots also went on to mutter something about being part of the "Union".
But as I checked on a few things, I came to find that there is a serious shortage of "South" in the White House these days...

George Bush - Connecticut
Dick Cheney - Nebraska
Karl KKK Rove - Colorado
Scooter Libby - Connecticut
Michael Chertoff - New Jersey
Michael Mukasey - New York
Paul Wolfowitz - New York
Robert Gates - Kansas
Alberto Gonzales - Texas
Condi Rice - Texas

Texas, being "South" in association only, there's a tremendous lack of Southerners in that particular list of ingrates, miscreants and megalomaniacs.
Actually reads like the new "Union" rising. The Union that committed genocide of the American Indians more like.

Neo-Cons anyone?...

Bill Kristol - New York
Norman podhoretz - New York
Gordon Liddy - New Jersey
John Bolton - Maryland
Richard Perle - New York
Joe Lieberman - Connecticut

With that group of yankees and westerners running the show more Southerners like Jimmy Carter, MLK, George Washington, Steve Cohen, Thomas Jefferson, John Edwards, and Al Gore would sure come in handy right about now.
And of course, if Texas is to be considered part of the "South", it gave us President Johnson and The Civil Rights Act of 1964.

Bottom line? Most of the good done in America's history, with the clear exception of attempting to cling to slavery, was done by Southerners.

Recently, the FBI released Hate Crime statistics for 2006 and I think the good folks out west and up north might be interested in them. Or perhaps not. Hate crimes are up during the Bush era and not in the places most people would think...

http://www.fbi.gov/ucr/hc2006/table12.html

Entire South - 1539

Mississippi - 0 Alabama - 1 (Virginia is worst by far at 341 reported hate crimes)

Entire North - 3244

West Coast - 1385
California - 1297 (worst in the nation by far)
South West - 518
Mid West - 1280
Plains States - 177
Alaska - 6
Hawaii - ?

Interesting. The "Union" up north there has the South beat by a mile when it comes to racial and social hate.
"Liberal" California is a disgrace according to these stats.
Peaceful, beautiful Vermont had 21, but that "cesspool of racism", Mississippi, has none? None.

I've lived up north, out west and everywhere in between. I made and have good friends, and your states are great places to visit for the most part. But these statistics reflect exactly what I always experienced. The west, the north...more violent, colder, more unforgiving than the dreaded, evil, racist, "Red" South.

Give it up non-Southerners. You have no clue just how many genuine Liberals there are in the South. We have inter-racial peace and love in "The South". We have understanding, acceptance, and more tolerance than you'll ever know way down yonder in the land of cotton.
So for all the yankee, inner-city and surfer-boy bigots out there in the rat race, take a good long look in the mirror. Yep, that's the face us "rubes" are laughing and shaking our heads at.
We got peace. When are you going to catch up?

For all you do, geography Nazis. This blog's for you.

It's not often that we get a first hand look at the ugly face of the scam that is the American corporate health care system. Always links to other sites on the net and such.
Today we have a little personal experience to relate about a company called Resp-I-Care and how they take full advantage of elderly people, even to the point of pure rip off....

Resp-I-Care is a medical supply company in NE Tennessee with close ties to Congressman David (Jesus Pimp) Davis (TN-1). Owned by Richard W. Clark of Jonesborough (a contributor to the Davis campaign in '06), Resp-I-Care provides all sorts of medical equipment at considerable expense to Medicare, and patient too it seems.

My Great Aunt lives in Church Hill. I was there visiting this afternoon when I noticed she had a new chair in the house. One of those electric lounge chairs that's designed to help folks with leg problems stand up easier.
I could tell there was something bothering my Aunt, at 87 years of age you don't hide your anger so well.

As I inquired of her, I began to see the problem. First, I noticed the "Resp-I-Care" letter head which I related to David Davis due to research on his background. A big, bright red flag, of course, went up.
So I asked to see the paperwork.
Meanwhile, my Aunt explained how she ordered the version of the Medi-Lift chair that has a backup battery so's not to get stuck in it if the power goes out.
Problem is, they brought the chair that did not have the battery. That was a week ago and my Aunt has yet to be able to contact anyone about the problem. They just don't call back.

At that point the scam came shining through like the first rays of the new rising sun.

1) Medicare only pays 80% for the "electric motor" that operates the chair. Not the chair it's attached to. As a result, my Aunt had to pay for the chair herself, in full, before delivery. She was not told at first that Medicare wouldn't cover 210.00 for a cheap chair.

2) My Aunt is 87. She cannot walk, much less drive or visit the Resp-I-Care outlet to be measured for the chair. Resp-I-Care charged her 35.00 to measure her at home, though she cannot go out. One would think an invalid (God, I hate that word) would be exempt from such a charge. Not at Raspy Care. Too handicapped to leave the house? You're payin'. If you can walk and go down there, it's free. WTF?

3) Now get this, these clowns charged her 175.00 to deliver the featherweight chair, from only about three miles away. That's highway robbery any way you fucking slice it.

Now obviously, Resp-I-Care brought the wrong, cheaper chair hoping an old woman living by herself wouldn't notice, or wouldn't want to make a fuss, or have no one to defend her. Now, after overcharging Medicare and my Aunt for the chair, they don't return phone calls.

No wonder I'm not rich, I'm not in the Fuck Over the Elderly racket.

So by the time Raspy Care was through, my Aunt paid 210.00 for the wrong chair, 175.00 for delivery, 35.00 for not being able to walk, and 20% or 200.00 apx. of the Medicare on the electric motor for a grand total of 620.00, she's on social security.
Now, my roommate and his partner own an appliance store. They will deliver and install a new Refrigerator, haul your old one off, and perform a service check thirty days later all for forty bucks.

This is why we need national health care. Not-for-profit national health care. With the proper gov't oversight these type of companies that exist solely for the purpose of milking MediCare, TennCare, and patients at their mercy, out of exuberant amounts of money can be controled or shut down entirely.

If you deal with Resp-I-Care, or know someone that does, watch them. Better yet, avoid them altogether for the sake of general principals. They may be pulling the ol' Bait and Switch on one of your loved ones too.
Now we know where the "I" in Resp-I-Care comes in.

So, Raspy Care. For all you do, this blog's for you.

The annual volunteer cleanup at Boone Lake takes place soon. TN420 salutes all the fine people who join in this very intelligent, very Green activity....

Boone, Holston, Watauga Lake...If you've ever seen what Florida looks like since they decided to pave the whole fucking state and build corporate high-rises overlooking the lakes and glades, you'll know just how lucky we are in NE Tennessee to have TVA and the pristine environment and largely unadulterated National Parks they maintain.

South Holston Lake, Bristol TN

It's beautiful on the lakes around here. It feels natural just to be out there.
The cleanup effort and all involved are a credit to these communities and we thank God for them.
Now, after hearing PSA's on the radio and TV about the cleanup effort, I noticed that there's always something missing. Something lacking in the narrative...

The jackasses that put the trash there in the first place.

Why don't we ever talk about these pigs? I realize, of course, that a certain amount of rubbish gets blown into the lakes by the wind. Not to mention a variety of other reasons. But let's face it, there's some real dirtbags recreating on our lakes, creeks, and rivers.

It's bad enough that us boaters pollute the waters with our engines (we have gone Four Stroke). We don't need to be throwing refuse of any kind in the water or the land. That's the actions of a lazy sack of shit who has no respect for the gift God gave us. I have personally witnessed some sick, twisted vermin dumping their toilets in the lake.

I suggest this summer that we assist those fine people with their cleanup effort by beating the shit out of anyone you catch littering on or near our lakes.
It's no effort to take a trash bag and put your fucking Coke cans and Fried Pie wrappers where they belong. If you have to take a dump, go in the bag or pull up to a marina you fucking shit machine. They all have bathrooms!

There's no excuse. None whatsoever.
TN420 declares "Smack Down Summer" on the litterpigs that foul our beautiful state parks. Litter at your own risk, because we encourage everyone who loves the lakes to participate.

So, Litterpigs, for all you do, this blog's for you.