In 1998, the several states which comprise our grand experiment in representative democracy found themselves on the receiving end of a windfall!! After years of abuse and under threat of continued litigation financed from the state's deep pockets, the tobacco industry made peace with its enemies.

It was an easy choice considering the alternative was to be destroyed by government. Consider that in 1964 Big Tobacco was required by government to put warning labels on its product telling people cigarettes would be bad for them if they chose to smoke. Next, it was forbidden by government from advertising its legal product on TV. The last TV ad for cigarettes appeared on The Tonight Show on 1/1/71 Later still, it was forbidden to even market tobacco in and to certain segments of the population. Joe Camel and Winston's 31 year history with NASCAR both withered and died. Government is still gunning for the tobacco Industry. Just in the last year, government has outlawed smoking in public places such as restaurants and stores here in Tennessee and elsewhere.

However, the unquestionable high point of government's offensive against Big Tobacco arrived November 23, 1998. The end results of Big Tobacco's...

I'm sitting in the Atlanta airport waiting for colleagues to fly in from Chicago. We'll meet up and head to the hotel for a conference. Nothing I haven't done before and so have many of you.

But this flight and wait are different. I dropped my son off at the airport a few hours before I took off. We both made the flight from Nashville to Atlanta. But while I'm staying in Atlanta, my son has finished up his US Army basic training in South Carolina and his AIT in Virginia and is reporting to Ft. Stewart and Hunter Army Air Field in Savannah, GA to his first duty station.

As I write these words, just 4 feet away, is a long line of Army soldiers and the occasional Navy, Marine or Air Force guy passing through Atlanta. That's the difference in this trip. From the time I dropped off my son, through my own flight and now my wait here, I'm surrounded by soldiers. It's an indescribable feeling. There was even some comic relief. On my flight, the flight attendant announced that no one should attempt to open the door to the flight deck for any reason. I turned...

Those who remember almost any recent election will likely stop to read that headline again. After all, isn't it the Democrats who have been making the claim every other year that their voters have been disenfranchised? Isn't it the other guys that do that sort of thing? The answers are yes and no. 'Yes', it's the Democrats that claim it but, 'No', it's not the other guys that do it. Hypocritically, it is Democrats that claim it and the Democrats that do it. One need look no further than Tennessee SJR 127 for proof.

In 2000, the Tennessee Supreme Court ruled that common sense legislation pertaining to abortion in Tennessee be struck down. Things like a 48 hour waiting period and full disclosure of the impact of having an abortion to any woman seeking one were thrown out. It is vital to note that none of this legislation prevented, in any way, a woman's access to abortion. Just the opposite. How is it possible that more information and consideration of such a decision would be bad for a woman considering such a medical procedure? The Court, as courts often do, ruled otherwise. Once again, a small...

Some stories are just cool. From the GOP Convention blog: (hat tip to Mr. Burns!)

An American Issue

A powerful story from the local ABC affiliate in Minneapolis-Saint Paul, KSTP (5 EYEWITNESS NEWS), on a Robbinsdale, Minn., soldier who will receive a new home. Sgt. Marcus Kuboy was injured in Fallujah while on patrol.

When the Republican National Convention comes to St. Paul in September, they will not only be picking a presidential nominee - they'll be leaving behind a specially-adapted house for a hometown hero.

The new home is courtesy of Home for Our Troops, which has teamed with the Republican and Democratic conventions, credit unions, and the National Journal to build two new homes for injured servicemembers - one in Denver and one in Minneapolis-Saint Paul, sites of this year's conventions. Sgt. Kuboy should be in his new home by September. From our perspective, it's pretty simple: "Taking care of our veterans is not a Republican issue, it's not a Democratic issue, it's an American issue."

We can't wait to begin swinging hammers.

I'm so proud.

---Media Lizzy

Talk about innovation... the Republican National Convention will be cutting edge and very interactive this year. Google & the GOP Convention folks are partnering up - and will make a fundamental leap in technology, enhancing the experience for delegates and journalists - but also for interested Americans following the presidential nominating process.

(SAINT PAUL, Minn.) - Embracing technology that will propel the 2008 Republican National Convention to the forefront of the digital age, the GOP today announced that Google Inc. will serve as the Republican National Convention's Official Innovation Provider. Convention President and Chief Executive Officer Maria Cino made the announcement in a unique video posted to the convention's new YouTube™ channel (www.youtube.com/gopconvention2008). The video, also showcased on the convention's website (www.GOPconvention2008.com), highlights Google's cutting-edge, computer-generated SketchUp™ graphics of the Xcel Energy Center, where the convention will be held.

As Official Innovation Provider, Google Inc. will enhance the GOP's online presence with new applications, search tools, and interactive video. In addition, Google will help generate buzz and excitement in advance of the convention through its proven online marketing techniques.

"Google and YouTube are synonymous with innovation, and our groundbreaking collaboration...

So, Hillary Clinton is skipping Wisconsin.... and everyone is asking WHY. Here's why - she does not have the resources (money OR organization) to compete in Texas, Ohio & Wisconsin. Texas and Ohio have the potential for a bigger payoff. Every cent matters - and pouring money into Wisconsin might make for an easier win - but the payout on that bet is not enough.  The Clinton team is trying to hold Latino & White women. If she doesn't hold her own - she won't be holding anyone else.

Looking at the delegate count, Clinton needs to win 60% of the outstanding delegates. Which is funny, since she's lost every one of the last eight states.

Electoral roulette. Not the game she should be playing, but it's the game she's got. Thanks to Bill, Mark Penn, and their affinity for the wrong decade.

---Media Lizzy

The organization has officially moved on. They don't want the Clintons back in the White House either.

From the MoveOn.org Press Release:

In a resounding vote today, MoveOn.org Political Action's members nationwide voted to endorse Senator Barack Obama for the Democratic nomination for President. The group, with 3.2 million members nationwide and over 1.7 million members in Super Tuesday states, will immediately begin to mobilize on behalf of Senator Obama. The vote favored Senator Obama to Senator Clinton by 70.4% to 29.6%.

Senator Obama warmly accepted the nod, also from their press release:

"In just a few years, the members of MoveOn have once again demonstrated that real change comes not from the top-down, but from the bottom-up. From their principled opposition to the Iraq war - a war I also opposed from the start - to their strong support for a number of progressive causes, MoveOn shows what Americans can achieve when we come together in a grassroots movement for change. I thank them for their support and look forward to working with their members in the weeks and...

Moments ago, former Senator John Edwards suspended his presidential campaign.  "Suspended" is a technical term which allows him to continue paying staff for a time... presumably until they get picked up by Obama or Clinton.  Senior advisers though, generally don't need the paycheck - and have achieved enough success that they can just offer their personal opinions without fear.

Earlier this morning, Edwards adviser Dave 'Mudcat' Saunders did just that that.  Saunders told MSNBC's Norah O'Donnell that he'll do everything in his power "to keep him (Edwards) from endorsing the Clintons."  Citing trade policies & his belief in the 22nd Amendment...

OUCH! But it felt good to hear him say it.... I guess that leaves the door open for Obama.  We'll see what Edwards does next.

--Media Lizzy

My grandmother taught me that if you don't have anything nice to say, say nothing at all...

US House Rep. Tom Davis (R-VA 11) is retiring.  Read more here. 

--- Media Lizzy

Generation X. Born from approximately 1961 - 1980. The children of Baby Boomers and Beatniks. We saw the Berlin wall come down, the Marine barracks in Beirut blown up, glasnost and perestroika crest and fall, the first shuttle launch - the Challenger disaster - and now, we are watching the end of the Shuttle program. Our men were young, fresh from high school and college when they went to liberate Kuwait in late 1990 and early 1991. Now - they are commanding forces in Iraq and Afghanistan. We remember the hostage release in Iran and we were children when Black September was the violent islamist group everyone feared. We remember the Achille Lauro and when hijacked airplanes landed on the tarmac instead of crashing into buildings. We remember the famine in Ethiopia. The genocide in Rwanda. We remember the Mog because it was our men who died there, and at Khobar Towers.

The soundtrack for our generation features Bob Geldof, Bono and U2. Sure, a lot of other artists are socially conscious. But ask a Gen Xer whose voice they hear when they see the news in Darfur, you'll get U2 as an answer. More than a few of us...

That's the opinion that Tennessee Right To Life holds. The entire sentiment is expressed by Tennessee Right to Life this way:

SJR 127 would allow Tennesseans and our elected officials to once again determine abortion policy in our state.

On a matter of life and death, shouldn't every Tennessean have a say? Let the People Vote: Yes on SJR 127!

SJR 127 is a bill currently before the state Senate. It's goal is to amend Tennessee's Constitution as follows:

... it is proposed that Article I, of the Constitution of Tennessee be amended by adding the following language as a new, appropriately designated section:

Nothing in this Constitution secures or protects a right to abortion or requires the funding of an abortion.

Nothing particularly earth shattering here. I hope it gets passed in Tennessee. It's about finding out what the people of Tennessee want for their state. A recent 'Tennessean' Letter to the Editor notes

The object of SJR 127 is to make the Constitution neutral by simply stating, "that nothing in the Constitution secures or protects a right to an abortion or requires the funding of an abortion."

Should the people adopt this...