10
“I have a confession to make. At least once a day I threaten to kill The Bob. Yep. I am a verbal serial killer … ‘
07
As this is the only place in Hoots to buy stuff, it’s a sad day.
It’s what I and others have been speculating for days, if not weeks: Goody’s Family Clothing is shutting its doors for good.
The hometown success story — starting right here in East Tennessee more than 50 years ago — has ended with the news that Goody’s will be liquidating. Going-out-of-business sales could start as early as Friday.
Carly Harrington is following the story. I have to tell you, in many ways I’m bummed.
07
And you wonder why some news scares the bejebus out of me:
The reduction in force represented about 10 percent of the organization’s workforce and included 13 newsroom employees.
Newspapers nationwide have been struggling with a variety of economic issues that have affected profitability, including sharply rising newsprint prices, increasing costs of pension and health care contributions, changes in the nation’s retail sector, shifts in classified advertising and the overall slowdown in the economy.
“The KNS Media Group and the News Sentinel have been taking steps to address the changes happening in the media industry with new information and advertising solutions,” said News Sentinel Publisher Bruce Hartmann. “However, current economic conditions and challenges based on cost realities make internal staffing changes necessary.
The Knoxville News Sentinel is cutting staff. Everyone is.
But I did take note of this:
The News Sentinel’s family of Web sites, including knoxnews.com, knoxvillebiz.com and govolsxtra.com, will be unaffected by the changes.
“Traffic to our online sites is growing rapidly, and, as a result, we are reaching more readers than ever before,” Hartmann said. “We are committed to continuing to expand this vital part of our business and to being East Tennessee’s first source of news online.”
“Although these are challenging times for the newspaper industry,” Hartmann added, “We are confident that, after a period of transition, a bright future lies ahead for the News Sentinel and its associated products.”
Where you get your news is changing. I tell members of my staff that news is still news regardless of where you get it.
03
Jack Lail has this over at his personal blog, Random Mumblings.
Nearly three times as many people ages 18 to 29 mention the internet as mention newspapers as a main source of election news (49% vs. 17%). Nearly the opposite is true among those over age 50: some 22% rely on the internet for election news while 39% look to newspapers. Compared with 2004, use of the internet for election news has increased across all age groups. Among the youngest cohort (age 18-29), TV has lost significant ground to the internet.
That’s from a new Pew Center for the People and the Press survey.
I think the Internet has dominated this election. In 2004 we saw the rise and fall of Howard Dean but his race was revolutionary as it helped mold what we have seen today. All of the presidential candidates have benefited well with fund raising, viral videos and grassroots Internet interest. Bear with me the next two days, because I for one see a lot of history being made and not for the obvious reasons you might think.
My only hope though is that the presidential race for 2012 doesn’t start on Nov. 5.
26
I’m having terrible FTP problems, so I will just link to Katie Allison Granju who’s father’s tribute which reminded me of my mom.
It is just wonderful.
25
Michael Silence wrote some nice words about some bloggers including yours truly earlier this week and I just wanted to say I’m humbled by his kindness.
And Mabel thanks him too.
25
Michael Silence on Bush’s speech last night.
I found it unnerving. I didn’t like the way he was talking at us, as opposed to talking with us.
24
Go read Frank right now! And, when you are done there, go directly to Rex Hammock’s abode.
That is all.
19
Missy reports that some of the K-Town bloggers who were going to BlogHer in Nashville (which was sadly canceled) have a new cunning plot.
… Because she was the one who suggested that maybe us Knoxville attendees might want to consider going to the DC meetup. “Hmmmmm” I said, with a gleam in my eye, and that’s when the improvisation machine kicked into gear. So, instead of a trip to Nashville (which I still want to make some time, maybe when you guys have another Blogger thing like you’re having this weekend? Keep me in mind, mkay?), now we (me, Cathy M, & the lovely Sarah) are making a trip to DC!!! Three weeks before the election!!! And the meeting up there has a political lean to it!!! And I think I’m all out of exclamation points now, so it’s safe to take your hands off your ears.
Pretty cool if you ask me. Good for them for turning it around.
17
I guess it’s pretty obvious that I’ve changed the digs around here under the empowering and teaching skills of Sadcox, who rocks because he’s helping me learn new things.
There will be a few more changes in the next couple of days but nothing drastic.
Also, I need your funnies for the Red State Update giveaway, so be sure to bring on the hilarity.
Now, for your Hump Day Moment of Zen, it’s Mabel, once again, in a bar.
14
The “lipstick on a blog” edition of the weekly Tennessee progressive blog roundup…
• 10,000 Monkeys and a Camera: Back to the election: Eight years of simplistic, slow-witted leadership has been more than enough. I don’t care how much you’d like to hang out with these people, or how thirsty you are for a beer in their company, that doesn’t mean that they have what it takes to lead this country in the right direction.
• 55-40 Memphis: Let Hillary take on Palin: Hillary can righteously and authentically say that Sarah Palin is an insult to woman candidacies. … the sexist media will eat it up. I’ll bet a Hillary soundbite shows up in every evening news until election day.
• Andy Axel (at KnoxViews): A Tennessee Majority = 50% + 1 – 20. Give or Take.: In case you haven’t heard, majority does not rule in Tennessee
• Aunt B.: My Morning Palin Thought: This, America, is why we still need feminism, because, when the chips are down, women need a stronger skill-set than “just flirt your way out of the problem.”
• BlountViews: TPO Regional Mobility Plan 2035 Meeting: From a previous, informal survey, TPO determined bike transportation (27%) to be a primary concern, more transit (21%) and alternative transportation (17%) were next in line of importance. It was reported that 50 percent of respondents surveyed thought new roads were the least important.
• Carole Borges: Palin said religious views helping shape her state’s future: If you believe that hearing the voice of God and speaking to God directly about political policy is a smart way to govern, then vote for McCain/ Palin.
• The Crone Speaks: Obama Doesn’t Support the Families of 9/11 and Other Outrageous Crap: This is a serious problem. Seriously, folks, when the media itself promotes the lies of the McCain campaign, without giving viewers/listeners factual information, there is a very serious problem. While we have to be on notice not to believe the media outlets, and do our own fact checking on every issue, Krugman notes that the actual lies are a sign of things to come, should the lying team somehow take the White House.
• Joe Powell: Narrative Fiction Rules The 2008 Campaign: It’s both fascinating and a little sickening to see news reporters and their dubious pundits talk to each other about how they are being suckered and manipulated by the McCain campaign but are not posing those questions and concerns to McCain himself.
• Don Williams: Why Obama should get mad, get loud and get real, NOW: Voter caging, spoilt ballots caused by lousy machines in poor districts, vote suppression, an October Surprise, media turning blind eyes to McCain’s parade of lies, the Bradley Effect, Swift-boating and outright malfeasance all work to McCain’s advantage. So, unless media get serious about issues and lay off the beauty contest, I don’t see how Obama wins. Bonus:
• TNDP: Sen. Diane Black Wants to Deny Voting Rights: If you haven’t voted in the past three primary elections, at least.
• Enclave: I Wonder If Sarah Palin Ever Read BillHobbs.com in 2005?: Back in 2005, the prospect of using the porkbarrel airport as justification for the porkbarrel bridge to nowhere was frightening for a conservative blogger. Now that Bill Hobbs is in charge of communications of Tennessee’s Republican Party, he does not seem too frightened by Palin’s use of the justification. In fact, Hobbs is now defending her performance in the ABC interview and rationalizing that she did stop the bridge to nowhere.
• Fletch: Arrowmont for Sale: I was saddened to see the Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts in Gatlinburg put up for sale. It was one of the few things Gatlinburg had going for it culturally (after Panera Bread was replaced by a hot dog stand). The “oasis in a cultural desert” will most likely be turned into a few candle and t-shirt shops. Yes, I’m an elitist. Plus: Monuments
• KnoxViews: Workers concerned about jobs and health care, trust Obama to help: According to a recent survey, more than half of American workers are worried about finding a new job if they become unemployed, followed closely by concerns over their ability to pay for healthcare insurance. The poll also shows Barack Obama as the preferred candidate for tackling U.S. workplace issues. Plus: The shocking truth about Sarah Palin
• Lean Left: The score: …if these analyses are a representative sample, the Obama camp attacks somewhat more often than the McCain camp, but their attacks are much more accurate (or much less inaccurate, depending on your perspective). … Also, chew on those numbers for a minute: Only one anti-Obama attack out of nineteen could be scored better than “half-true.”
• LeftWingCracker: It’s time to raise and allocate resources: Yes, of course I support Bob Tuke; however, I presume you’ve noticed that the DSCC is treating him like plutonium, right? They’re not sending money here, so I’m not looking for miracles. OK then. … In Shelby County, we still need to crank it up large for the Democratic ticket for several reasons… Plus: YOU NEED TO CHECK YOUR REGISTRATION
• Liberadio(!): Podcast: September 8, 2008: Part 4 The Daily Show is not afraid of Karl Rove. Are you listening those of you in the real news media? Or will you show the “deference” required of you by the McCain campaign?
• Newscoma: Dear Tennessee Democratic Party: …I think you need to come to Hooterville and talk to some of the people I’ve been talking to the past few days. Go to all of the Hootervilles, not just mine. You are blowing it, in my opinion, when it comes to rural voters and in many ways, you are disenfranchising younger voters here. This isn’t good, Nashville leaders. Plus: Fun With Newspapers
• The Pesky Fly: Seven Years and Counting: Failure is too generous a word to describe George Bush’s efforts to deliver justice. He didn’t fail. He and his minions have done exactly what they wanted to do. Capturing Osama bin Laden wasn’t on their list. They had other priorities. There was a massive, world-changing event to politically capitalize. There was a country with vast oil wealth to pillage. There was a police state and one party rule to establish. There was an economy to crash so the broken pieces could be bought for pennies on the dollar.
• Progressive Nashville: Think America, think: One of the most depressing parts of the Republican national convention last week was the crowd chanting “Drill baby, drill” during former mayor Rudy Giuliani’s speech that included calls for offshore oil drilling. … The moment illustrated once again how the party is able to convince people to act against their own best interests to enrich private companies and individuals.
• Brian at Resonance: Sarah Palin, The Trojan Moose: I’ll be more specific–every day not spent discussing the economy is a victory for McCain. It was no accident that the economy was barely mentioned at the Republican convention. The fact is that it is in worse shape than government statistics indicate. It’s the trump card in the Obama hand, if the campaign stays on message. Therefore Obama must resist the temptation to be sidetracked by the Trojan Moose. Plus: Against Government, Yet Cashing The Checks
• RoaneViews: Flight of Heroes: Just for today, let’s try not to think of a President reading “My Pet Goat”, or the awful aftermath for our country and the world that these terrible attacks were used to justify. Let’s honor the innocent victims and the heros…
• Russ McBee: Woodward’s series on the “surge” and its real architects: After nearly eight years of witness to the Bush calamity, no one should really be surprised that the Bush administration sought and accepted military advice, not from actual military commanders, but from the same group of radical zealots who had helped cook the books to justify the invasion in the first place.
• Sean Braisted: The Monkey Trial: Had I been in Clarksville, I most likely would’ve voted for Barnes in the primary…but he didn’t win, and I think Mr. Rochelle adequately refuted all the arguments made by Barnes’ lawyers, except the one that I think this decision hinged on, and that was that Kurita wasn’t a “good Democrat” for voting to make Ron Ramsey the Speaker of the Senate. Ultimately, it seemed clear that is what this farcical process came down to.
• Sharon Cobb: America, Don’t Be Stupid Again: Eight years of George W. Bush wasn’t enough for you? You want four more? Because if you vote for McCain/Palin, you’ll get four more years and worse. You can’t seriously be buying that McCain/Palin are the real mavericks, can you?
• GoldnI: Marsha Blackburn – Really A Man, Baby!: Moral of the story–when Sarah Palin is criticized, it’s always going to be sexist and she has every right to be upset. When it’s Hillary being criticized, the whiny crybaby needs to bite her tongue and get over it. It’s nice to see that Marsha Marsha Marsha has become a feminist crusader all of a sudden.
• Southern Beale: It’s Gutter Politics As Usual: Sarah Palin as Vice President is a cravenly laughable political stunt. It’s wedge politics as usual. Hearing her snide jabs at Barack Obama in her RNC speech proved to me that Sarah Palin represents nothing more than the same divisive, anything-goes, culture-wars, red vs blue, “War On Christmas,” fear-based, Karl Rove-style politics of destruction we’ve lived with for the past eight years.
• TennViews: Blackburn gets “dishonorable mention” on 20 Most Corrupt Members of Congress list: Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) has released their “20 Most Corrupt Members of Congress (and 4 to Watch)” list. Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN7) made the “watch list”: Plus: Tennessee is a top 10 state legislative battleground state
• Vibinc: Seven: In the past seven years, we have seen one thing after another justified by the attacks of 9/11; two wars, domestic spying, torture, and a full frontal attack on the civil liberties that are the foundation of our nation. All of these things slipped by a nation rapt in a feverish nationalism masquerading as patriotism.
• WhitesCreek Journal: Good is Dead?…(Maybe Not!): Is there a light rising in America? Will we demand that our candidates for the highest office in the land, simply tell us the truth? Unless the referees in America blow the whistle, the cheaters will win.
• Women’s Health News: PMSBuddy – Almost as Irritating as the Election Coverage: PMSBuddy lets you send and receive notifications to others that you have PMS, you know, so they know not to take you seriously. … Okay, first, “recurring occurrences” are not really unexpected. Second, if dinner plates are hurled because PMS comes up, it’s because some jerk dismissively asked “Are you PMSing?” as a way to dismiss some woman’s thoughts and feelings. Third, menstruation is not shameful. Maybe you don’t want to talk about it over spaghetti and meatballs, but if you’re close enough to send alerts from PMSBuddy, you’re close enough to have an actual conversation. Like adults.
EDITOR’S NOTES:
1. There’s so much good stuff this week it is hard to pick just a few posts to highlight. Go to the front page of these blogs and just start reading…
2. A couple of blog address changes:
• 10,000 Monkeys and a Camera is now at http://thorg.com/blog/
• Newscoma is now at http://newscoma.com/
• Vibinc is now at http://www.vibincblog.com/
Update your blogrolls and news feeds accordingly…
27
The government is beginning to make me wonder if all those years my grandfather hid money in old jackets that were in the back of the closet wasn’t a bad idea.
Today the IRS chose to empty one of my bank accounts. Any funds I put in that account go straight to Uncle Sam. I apologize to anyone whose checks bounce (Knox County Schools) because of this but I have no control over my government that is so desperate to fund an illegal war that it is willing to starve a 7 person household and threaten to put them on the streets. And all of this over not filing taxes for one year that I didn’t make any money and another year that I barely made enough money to sustain myself.
For the record, they overdrew my account by $102 dollars.
I know best wishes to the McCaughan family won’t help, but I do want them to know that I’m glad they shared this story.
The government really doesn’t care about the little guy, does it. Feeding one’s family isn’t important? This is outrageous. Couldn’t they have tried to work something out.
Kids need milk, dammit.
This is much scarier than zombies, my friends.
Photos From Hoots
