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It’s That Time of Year Again

Local people will hate me for writing this, and most non-locals won’t get why it’s a big deal.

It is really sad funny, but I didn’t know that football season started today until about 30 minutes before the UT game. This is what is considered the real football season around here by the way, not the NFL. I’m risking my status as a Knoxville resident by admitting that I wasn’t really aware and don’t care that much about UT football.

Now for the fun part. The start of football season means that it’s time to start listening to sports talk radio again. See, I’m not really a football fan, but I’m a huge “Members of the Knoxville Chapter of Mensa talking about football on the radio” fan. It’s hard to believe the entertainment they provide is actually free.

I just checked the scores and saw that the Vols lost, so it should be good this week of radio. The chicken littles will be out en masse, not realizing that win or lose, they still have to go to work on Monday. I’ve never understood how people can get so emotionally invested in something over which they have no control. Maybe that’s it? The fact that they don’t have control is what makes them freak out over it? Dunno.

Anyway, here’s a quick stab in the dark of some things we may here this week:
“Phil Fulmer should be fired”
“I don’t understand why they ran _____ on that 2nd and 4 during the 3rd quarter”
“How many games does Phil have to win this year to keep his job?”
“Let’s just hope Cal wins out.”
“If Fulmer gets fired or resigns, who should we go after as a coach?”
“I just want to say GO VOLS! I’ll hang up and listen to your comments.”
“If the NFL comes after Phil, what are the chances of him leaving?”

See a common theme here? Tennessee fans do love them a good coach firing!!!

***UPDATE***
As sure as the sun rises. The first comment on the article in the KNS I linked to:
“it just goes to show that we pay top dollar to overrated coaches (phill fulmer mostly)”

I love this time of year! It’s better than Christmas and Arbor Day combined!!!

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In the KNS Today…

There is some pretty good stuff.

More of the same from Knox County Government with dissolved entities being funded by the County.

The state’s Charitable Solicitations Act mandates that all nonprofit organizations register — or file for a state-approved exemption — before seeking donations or grants, including government grants.

According to state records, there is no history of Knoxville Neighborhood Housing and Commercial Services Inc. registering or seeking an exemption to solicit donations or grants in the state of Tennessee, said Todd Kelley, director of the Division of Charitable Solicitations and Gaming.

Did the KNS have to dig through records to find this story, or do they have a source? Interesting. Like sands in an hour glass…

Illegal Immigrants are being unlawfully evicted from an apartment complex in Blount County.

Ramirez is pastor of the Church of God, Mountain Assembly in Maryville and a member of an ecumenical group of clergymen who minister to Blount County’s growing Latino community.

Hmm. Word on the street is that this may be only a partial job description. I’ll leave that up to the investigative reporters.

Someone is lobbying the federal government to save the penny for all of us who love it so.

Weller also said past polls have shown a majority of Americans favor the coin, which was first produced in the United States in the 1790s.

And just who does he happen to work for? A company with merely a passing interest…

The nation’s sole supplier of zinc “penny blanks,” Greeneville, Tenn.-based Jarden Zinc Products, is lobbying the federal government to protect its interests.

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Hang On Tight

We are about to go on a wild ride. The Knox County Ethics Committee is requesting an investigation of County Mayor Ragsdale’s office. Full story at WBIR.

It is surprising the Knox County Commission has time for this considering they have their own problems.

The upside to all of this is that if they are busy with lawsuits and throwing rocks at one another they may be too busy to raise taxes or do anything else “productive”.

“The government that governs the best governs the least.” Thomas Paine? Thomas Jefferson? No one seems to know for sure. It’s a damn good quote though.

Keep your hands and feet inside The Mixer AT ALL TIMES!

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Patriot Act Keeps Us Safe From Fighting Cocks

Whew! Good thing we have the Patriot Act to keep us safe from those radical Islamic…chickens?

Just after midnight on May 13, 2004, a small team of FBI agents crept into the legendary Del Rio Cockfighting Pit in Cocke County.
…
Acting under the authority of the Patriot Act, the agents had obtained a search warrant that allowed them to clandestinely enter the property, search for evidence and not tell anyone about it until the government or a judge was ready to let the owners know they’d been there.

This is unreal. It is bad enough that this is what our law enforcement stays busy with this, but the Patriot Act? C’mon. Guys involved in a cock fighting ring may have a lot of undesirable traits, but being unpatriotic probably isn’t one of them.

The full story is in the KNS. by way of Michael Silence

*** UPDATE ***
More on this important national security issue from Knoxviews and
Tam,

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Webkinz–Who Knew?

It seems like the frenzy may not have fully hit Knoxville/East Tennessee yet, but I think a full blown Webkinz craze may be coming. It may actually already exist here, but I was unaware of it. I am admittedly out of touch with what is “cool” with young kids, and I have been for quite a while. I know of, but am not completely knowledgeable about Thomas the Train and Dora the Explorer, but I had never even heard of Webkinz until this weekend.

My sister in law and her kids, 10 and 7 years old, are visiting from Florida, and they were super excited the other day after they got home from Dollywood. Not because of the rides they rode, but because of the huge selection of Webkinz that were available for purchase there.

I got a quick rundown from them about Webkinz, and it actually sounds like a pretty cool idea. It is a pretty simple concept, and is completely viral in terms of web use and marketing.

First, you buy a Webkinz plush toy. This toy comes with a code that you enter online where you then adopt and name a virtual version of this “pet”. You get to build a room for your virtual pet, then participate in all sorts of activities online that allow you to build up virtual cash to buy more cool things for your pet.

If you are like me and had not heard of Webkinz before, look out. It seems to be the latest thing, and I actually get why.

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Half Full in Knoxville, Half Empty in Nashville

A report called Kids Count was released today that ranks states on child welfare, infant mortality, etc. There were headlines about the report in both the Knoxville News Sentinel and The Tennessean, but they put opposing spins on the story.

According to the KNS:
Report shows state improving on health of children, teenagers

But The Tennessean says:
Tennessee ranks low in well-being of kids

Oddly enough, these stories seem to be working towards the same end, glorifying the use of state funds to improve the well being of our children. It’s always about the children, isn’t it?

Minnesota ranked at the top. It will be interesting to see how the papers there spin this, won’t it?

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Smoking Era Ends in Neyland Stadium

The KNS reports that smoking will no longer be allowed inside the gates of Neyland Stadium. For a long while, it has been allowed in the concourse only.

This is the most limiting, err progressive, step forward for the University of Tennessee since it became a dry campus back in 19whenever. Based on the success of limiting alcohol on campus and inside the stadium, I’m sure this new ban on smoking will be a success as well.

Is this just a ploy by the athletic department to raise the value of the luxury boxes? As a result of the ban, those who watch the game from luxury boxes will now be forced to tote their Marlboros and Macanudos into the stadium on Friday afternoons along with their SoCo and cold beer.

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This Week on The Dukes of Newport

Revenuers come to Hazzard, err, Newport to investige a mini-casino, cock fighting, and moonshine production that is all being orchestrated by Boss Hogg under the protection of the ultimate dirty cop–Roscoe P. Coaltrain.

Of course, Boss Hogg and Roscoe try to pin it all on Bo and Luke. Enos, a pawn in their game, is forced to arrest the Duke boys. Luckily, Uncle Jesse and Cooter are able to give Daisy a ride to the jail, where she is able to distract Enos. This gives Bo and Luke just enough time to get Flash to bring them the keys to the jail, climb into the General Lee, jump a creek where the bridge is out, beat up Boss’s cronies and turn them over to the revenuers and the state police from Capital City.

Of course, Boss Hogg denies all knowledge of the vice operations, and gives all of the money confiscated to the Cocke County orphanage. Then everyone gathers down at the Boar’s Nest, where Loretta Lynn sings one song in exchange for having a bogus speeding ticket ripped up.

Sometimes I scratch my head and wonder why everyone thinks we are all stupid rednecks.

***UPDATE***
They also shot some arrows with dynamite taped to them. The Duke boys aren’t allowed to have guns because of previous convictions for running shine, so they are forced to use dyanamite instead.

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This Freaks Me Out

I’ve been a little worried about this whole Ron Paul thing for a couple of days, and today it only got worse. It started with the realization that one of my biggest fears has started to come true lately–this is starting to look like a Ron Paul blog. I haven’t been posting much stuff recently about rasslin’, getting held up at gunpoint by the gov’ment, or local porn stars. I remember how annoyed I got earlier this year with the “Run Fred Run” hype that was going on in the Tennessee blogosphere, and I don’t want to be doing the same thing with regards to Ron Paul, even if it is relevant.

Then my world really came crashing down. I had a conversation today with a friend of mine that has made me question everything in life I know to be true. To give those of you who know him a frame of reference, it’s that guy you’d least like to face in the front row. So I’m sure you can actually hear him saying, “I been readin’ yer website. You like that Ron Paul fella don’t cha?”

For those of you who don’t know him, he’s among the most reliable, solid, stand up guys you could ever know. He’s also very set in his ways. I wouldn’t go so far as to call him close-minded, but that is mostly due to the fact that doing so may put me in danger of having him choke me with my own small intestine. Let’s just say that he defends his own views strongly and leave it at that. Imagine what Fred Thompson would be like if he ate nothing but raw meat laced with gunpowder for a few months, and you’ll be close to understanding this guy.

Anyway, I was extremely shocked when he said, “I like that guy the best out of all of ’em. It kinda scares me that you like him too, ’cause you got some fv(ked up politics.” Believe me, it is just as scary to me as it is to him that we actually agree on who we’d like to see as the Republican nominee.

This Ron Paul thing may just work out after all. Hopefully I was wrong!

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Ron Paul Support in Tennessee

For those of you who are local and support Ron Paul for President, there’s a new website and Meetup group.

Their next planned event will be this Saturday at Market Square, 9:30 am. This is a great chance to get out and get involved while meeting some other supporters of Dr. Paul.

See you there!