Look who wants to move into the neighborhood …

the last thing I would ever wish for is Mountain Top Removal. Ugghhh… Save our Walden’s Ridge, Save our Mountains… please join I Love Mountains.
We need clean energy now.

IGTNT: We Won a kOscar

Thanks to Timroff for our beautiful logo.

Thank you, everyone, IGTNT (I Got The News Today) won the kOscar for World Community Service. I am deeply honored for this award. On behalf of the IGTNT team, thank you so much.

It was a thrilling moment, for just a bit of time, but then the realization happened about why we won, and this was not a reason to celebrate. IGTNT writes about our fallen in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars (Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom).

IGTNT started out with just one guy, I dunno, in April 2004; he wrote all by himself until January 2007. One day, after reading about one of our own fallen here in Chattanooga, Sgt. John Sullivan, I asked I dunno how he would do this series in light of the upcoming military escalation ordered by President Bush. I dunno wrote me back asking for help with the series. My first thought was no, I can’t do this; however, I struggled with how to tell him this.

I said yes, but did not want to do it because I did not think I was strong enough to do it. Also, I was not proficient in html so I thought that would doom me, it turns out the html is the easy part, the content is what is difficult. Writing about the fallen has been a rewarding and enriching time for me. Often, the fallen come from modest homes in rural areas and are well respected and loved by their community. They were courageous, unselfish, smart and kind, the loss is huge for their family, town and this nation. I am glad to write about how loved they were and how they are not forgotten. All of them had friends and family who loved and laughed with them. We must never forget their loss.

Karl Rove: Harold Ford, Jr. approached him about changing to be a Republican

A review of Karl Rove’s new book turns up this new gem:

Even so, such was his reputation as a kingmaker that shortly after the 2004 election, no less a Democrat than Rep. Harold Ford Jr.—back then a four-term congressman from Memphis—requested a meeting to discuss his political future in Tennessee. According to a knowledgeable source, Rove sat for three hours with the young congressman at the Washington home of mutual friends, where Ford floated the idea of switching parties to run for the Senate in 2006 as a Republican—that is, if President Bush could “clear the field” and prevent a contested primary. According to my source, Rove responded encouragingly, but nothing came of the secret session, and Ford ended up running—and losing—as a Dem.

Ford denies that he approached him about a switch, but rather states the GOP tried to court Ford. Given Ford’s recent changes on just about every stance he had in Tennessee in order to run for NY Senate, I am not so sure where the truth lies. I do feel a bit of betrayal as we were huge supporters of Ford and had a big party for him in our home. If I knew Ford was cozy with Rove, I would not have done such a thing.

Ford was the chairman of the DLC (Democratic Leadership Council) after he lost in 2006. This kind of information isn’t going to help the Blue Dogs.

C-Span’s Big Day

Tomorrow will be the big viewer day for C-Span. Check out the new action packed ad designed to attract new viewers. heh.

My LTE to the Chattanooga Times Free Press on Global Warming

Nearly 200 years ago, Joseph Fourier, discovered a phenomena known as the “Greenhouse Effect”, which is a warming that occurs from increases in certain gases in the Earth’s atmosphere. One of the gases is carbon dioxide, CO2.

115 years ago, Svante Arrhenius, a Swedish physicist, researched what caused the ice ages. His work showed an increase in CO2 combined with water vapor brought forth a warming in the atmospheric temperature. Arrhenius performed calculations to arrive at how much incoming radiation was absorbed by CO2 and water to heat the atmosphere; thus, climate science began over 100 years ago.

CO2 data have been collected and analyzed by scientists and the military for decades. The Pentagon collected data on the ice shelves and showed an average thinning trend of 40% since 1953. Ice core samples from 800,000 years ago to the present show CO2 levels increased from 180 ppm to 383 ppm. In 1960, it was 313 ppm and in 1990 it was 353 ppm.

This is not a hoax – it has been researched and verified through the use of scientific methods. It is an ugly truth that is not disproven by either a snowstorm in Tennessee or conjecture from Fox News.

A picture is worth a thousand words

Come on, GoOPers, let’s talk deficits.

and, hey, Who Dat? Oh yeah, the guy that left New Orleans to drown.

From Black Water Dog at the DK

Now, who are the big spenders? Which one gave us a surplus? Which ones are Republicans? Which one is a Democrat? Simple quiz. Please answer.

Sarah Failin 2012

AP photo.

First, she made a joke about not using a tele-prompter, ha! ha! ha! Then she segues into reading notes off the palm of her hand. What were those important, must not forget talking points written on her hand? Energy, tax cuts, and lift American spirits were the 3 must not forgets. Tax cuts originally said budget cuts but she crossed it off and replaced tax cuts. Note to self, Sarah: don’t bring up budget cuts because then there will be a follow up question of what programs specifically come to mind? And we know what that would be, but let’s hear it from her mouth: social security and medicare. Fortunately for Palin, not us, an advisor must have stopped her in the nick of time because she took the easy way out and replaced budget cuts with tax cuts. Surprise, surprise.

As Sam Seder twittered:

if Palin’s speech had aired & been covered like that on a weeknight- the generic democrat would have gained 5%

and

This has to be one of the least important most covered speeches in the history of american politics-

I’m sold. The best thing I can do for the democrats is to draft palin for every race in the country

From Huffington Post:

Here’s some more:

The Baggage Claim at Atlanta Airport

For once, there was something good that happened at the baggage claim area. A reader sent me this hilarious comment:

No surprise that two large bomb-shaped objects were able to get through security.

Too Cool. Way to go, Atlanta.

Oh Snap! Winter hits home.

My poor birch tree survived all kinds of horribly hot summers only to get injured by ice. These trees thrive in colder climates, sadly, the ice is another matter.

Brrr…. my house is cold.

Tasha enjoys the snow, reminds her of her roots in Alaska.

Horse is okay

and then there is Buddy. He loves the water in any season.

Boo- Hoo. No need for paid shills, anymore.

After last week’s SCOTUS ruling, a new class joins the unemployment line. Here is what we can expect soon: