Shameful, Indeed!

By David W. Shelton | August 14, 2006 |

I was recently looking at the fast-growing list of candidates for the City Mayor of Clarksville for this year’s election. One of the names surprised me because of a letter to the editor that the same person wrote last year.

The letter in question was written in response to an advance article from The Leaf-Chronicle which told its readers of a Gay Pride festival which was celebrated on May 21st, 2005 (the first in Clarksville). This letter sparked a firestorm of more than two dozen letters that summer, most of which were overwhelmingly positive and in support of the event.

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Sections: Issues, Opinion, Spirituality | 1 Comment »

Former Felons Can Regain Their Right to Vote and Participate in November 2006 Election

By Terry McMoore | August 13, 2006 |

The ACLU-Right to Vote Campaign In partnership with the NAACP TN State Conference-Press & Publicity Committee will hold a Town Hall meeting to educate the general public about the new law that streamlines the voting restoration process for individuals who have completed the requirements of their sentancing and probation.

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Sections: Issues, Politics | No Comments

Big Bucks, Big Pharma and a clip from the extra feature, Drug Costs and PR

By Bill Larson | August 13, 2006 |

Medical care and high drug prices are a serious issues, and ones that the public needs to be aware of. No one should have to choose between life or death for a loved one, because they can not afford to pay for life saving medical treatment. We need to ask our selves as a society, how much profit is too much profit.

We have already limited the ability of businesses involved in money lending to charge whatever the market will bear for their services, we need to consider enacting similar legal measures in other vital areas. «Read the rest of this article»

Sections: Arts and Leisure, Issues | No Comments

Diet Drinks and Other Diet Goodies

August 12, 2006 |

Over the years I and many others trying to watch their weight have spent millions of dollars on diet drinks, diet ice cream, diet foods, diet candies, not to mention all of the over the counter pills, and lets not forget the gym.  What I want to talk a little bit about today is the diet drinks, ice creams and candies. «Read the rest of this article»

Sections: Arts and Leisure | No Comments

Obesity, Weight Loss, and Just Being Healthy

August 11, 2006 |

Every day, we can pick up a paper and see that the great American government has decided that yet another sector of our country is now “officially obese”. We have adults, teens and now infants. We are not talking just a little overweight, we are talking life threatening, seriously obese.

In 1997, I found myself needing to get rid of about 40 pounds. I was obese. At the time there was no support on the Internet. So, I put the first online journal up for the world to see and within 2 months had over 250 men and women with journals. We started an email list and we supported each other and learned from each other.

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Sections: Arts and Leisure | No Comments

The Bush Administration and the politics of fear.

By Bill Larson | August 11, 2006 |

While we want to believe that we can trust everything our government tells us, recent history has shown that in this Rovian age that we are likely to be mislead.

If you looked behind the grandiose press conferences of the cases against Abu Ali, Jose Padilla’s, and others like theirs, you find the flimsiest of facts - Counter punch

So, take these new claims of Terrorist plots with a grain of salt. «Read the rest of this article»

Sections: Politics | No Comments

Multi-Purpose Event Center, Boon or Boondoggle

By Charles Cook | August 10, 2006 |

As you may know the Economic Development Council (EDC) is trying to convince the County and City taxpayers to fund a Multi-Purpose Event Center.  Visit the website to view the presentation and maybe even take the time to participate in their survey.  Mr. James Chavez, president of the EDC, has been the front man on this project and has given numerous presentations throughout the City and County.  One such presentation was at a town hall meeting sponsored by Councilman Ken Takasaki.

A number of City Council members both past and present and a few County Commissioners were present at the meeting.  Mr. Chavez was asked some very specific questions concerning the profitability of an event center, who must pay the mortgage, how much annual revenue will the MPEC generate, what will be the debt service, who pays the debt service if the MPEC operates at a loss, how did the EDC calculate the debt service, etc.  Many of us left that meeting that night without answers.  Mr. Chavez promised Councilman Takasaki that he would supply those answers in a few days.  That meeting was over two months ago.  Mr. Chavez still has not provided the answers. «Read the rest of this article»

Sections: Opinion, Politics | 3 Comments

TN Title VI Compliance Commission Meeting Fails

By Charles Cook | August 10, 2006 |

The Tennessee Title VI Compliance Commission was scheduled to meet in Nashville at the Legislative Plaza on August 7, 2006.  No official business could be conducted because the Commission did not have a quorum of members in attendance.  The Commission was scheduled to meet in Clarksville in September of 2005.  That meeting failed also due to the lack of a quorum.

There were a number of individuals from Clarksville that attended the meeting with high hopes of being able to present issues related to Title VI and hear some possible solutions.  Sadly their hopes were dashed because the official meeting had to be canceled. «Read the rest of this article»

Sections: Politics | 1 Comment »