The Re-Revolution of the Internet and Its Political Future

By Michael Covington | April 16, 2007 |

In the years since Al Gore invented the internet, it has since become much more than anyone ever expected. Those of us who remember AOL 2.0 (and still have floppy disks lying around somewhere) will fondly recall when the internet was simple. There weren’t too many fancy graphics, internet smut took hours to download, and chat rooms were the place to be.

Now we have information at the push of a button in mere seconds. It seem strange the type of culture that the internet has produced. Patients are becoming the doctors with the help of self diagnostic tools and information readily available online, people who can’t leave their homes are finally earning their college degrees via internet classes, and everyone can become an expert on anything they like with a few keywords typed into Google. «Read the rest of this article»

Sections: Technology | No Comments

We need to look beyond Don Imus

By Terry McMoore | April 15, 2007 |

Bigotry and hate speech targeting race, gender, sexual orientation, religion, and ethnicity continues to permeate the airwaves

On April 11, NBC News announced that it was dropping MSNBC’s simulcast of Imus in the Morning in the wake of the controversy that erupted over host Don Imus’ reference to the Rutgers University women’s basketball team as “nappy-headed hos.” The following day, CBS president and CEO Leslie Moonves announced that CBS has fired Imus and would cease broadcasting his radio show.

But as Media Matters for America has extensively documented, bigotry and hate speech targeting, among other characteristics, race, gender, sexual orientation, religion, and ethnicity continue to permeate the airwaves through personalities such as Glenn Beck, Neal Boortz, Rush Limbaugh, Bill O’Reilly, Michael Savage, Michael Smerconish, and John Gibson.

«Read the rest of this article»

Sections: Opinion | 1 Comment »

Father and Daughter: A film about longing

By Bill Larson | April 14, 2007 |

A father says goodbye to his young daughter and leaves. As the wide Dutch landscapes live through their seasons so the girl lives through hers. She becomes a young woman, has a family and in time she becomes old, yet within her there is always a deep longing for her father.

Father and Daughter is a film about longing, the kind of longing which quietly, yet totally, affects our lives. — Michael Dudok de Wit

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=8073865125170809223

«Read the rest of this article»

Sections: Arts and Leisure | 1 Comment »

Missiles and Mortgages: How the Government Spends Your Tax Dollars

By Bill Larson | April 14, 2007 |

Good magazine put together a short video documentary showing how the Federal government allocates our tax dollars. It helps to highlight just how badly our national priorities are screwed up. We need to work together as a nation to refocus our government on its people, rather than the military industrial complex and the beneficiary corporations. If we can do that, this world will be a much better place.

The video is by Max Joseph, Erin Bosworth, and Ariel Shulman, with music by Tom Van Buskirk. «Read the rest of this article»

Sections: Business, Issues, Politics | No Comments

Senator Kurita wants to make a change

By Blayne Clements | April 13, 2007 |

Around the end of March/begining of April, our representative in the state senate, Rosalind Kurita, placed a survey in the Leaf Chronicle and said she wanted to hear from her constituents. One of the items in the survey was changing the state’s constitution to allow the constitutional officers to be elected in a public general election. Tennessee state constitutional officers are Secretary of State Riley Darnell, State Treasurer Dale Sims, and Comptroller John Morgan. I have not meet many people who know who they are, much less if they desrve to continue in their constitutional capacity. The constitution states that it is the legislature’s job to determine if these people are doing there job adequately; I mean they are in the best posistion to know right?

She correctly states that Tennessee is one of the few states that still has the state legislature elect these officers. Kurita has sponosored a bill every year for as far back as I can remember wanting us to decide who the best person for these jobs should be, and the bill has never gotten out of committeee. This year Kurita got the bill out of committee. «Read the rest of this article»

Sections: Politics | 1 Comment »

Local Pastor Presents New Book at Austin Peay State University

By James Butler | April 12, 2007 |

This evening, Thursday April 12 at 8pm, local pastor David Shelton of the CCC will present his new book, The Rainbow Kingdom: Christianity and the Homosexual Reconciled in the Kinbrough building’s Genty Auditorium. The event is being hosted by Austin Peay’s Gay Straight Alliance. This is the GSA’s first attempt this semester to bring in an outside guest speaker.

In his book, Shelton tackles the question “Can a person be both gay and a christian?” According to Shelton the answer is a resounding “yes!” However, unlike other books that have been devoted to this topic, Shelton’s work attempts to take a conversational tone with the reader. According to Shelton the research dissertation tone of other works on this topic detracts from its usability as a resource for gay christians. The book is already gathering positive reviews.

Shelton and the Gay Straight Alliance would like to invite everyone out to the Gentry Auditorium (Kimbrough Building, Room 119) tonight to hear his presentation on the book. There will be light refreshments served and the evening is expected to have a moderate turnout and proceed without incident. Check back later for more detailed coverage of the event after it is done.

Sections: Events | No Comments

G’s Pancake House the Best in Homegrown Dining.

By Terry McMoore | April 11, 2007 |

It’s true, sometimes you just want to go where everybody knows your name. That place for me, and for over 35 years many Clarksvillians and travelers, is none other than G’s Pancake House Restaurants, Inc.  This restaurant chain is named after the late Eugene Sueiro and has two Clarksville locations and one in Oak Grove, Kentucky.

Many a newcomer to this military town has made G’s Pancake House there first dining experience because of its location and proximity to the Fort Campbell, KY military base. But, once inside and settled, the staff and great food does the rest in making sure that you and your family become a mainstay and frequent return customer. «Read the rest of this article»

Sections: Business | 1 Comment »

Verizon, AT&T and the manipulation of public opinion

April 10, 2007 |

Needed: Blacks, Hispanics, disabled, deaf, low-income and the elderly to support the telecoms’ positions on anti-consumer FCC rulings and legislation.

DEFINITIONS:

• Astroturf—An organization set up by a large corporation or corporations to put forward the corporate agenda but to look like an authentic ‘grass-roots’ group.
• Co-opted—An authentic group that is given funding by a large corporation or corporations, where the group lobbies for corporate initiatives even if they are contrary to the needs of its members.
• Skunkworks—A well coordinated campaign funded by large corporations (or industries) that incorporates Astroturf and co-opted groups, research think tanks, PR firms, lobbying firms, state and federal politicians to put forward the corporate agenda on a specific topic.

Over the last few weeks numerous groups have been lobbying and hyping the corporate position of AT&T and Verizon for relaxed cable franchise requirements or to stop any net neutrality legislation. «Read the rest of this article»

Sections: Business, Issues, Politics | 1 Comment »