Olen Bryant: A Retrospective showcased at Custom House Museum

By Debbie Boen | September 12, 2007 |

“…He has a magic touch that wakes up the wood he’s carving or pours life into the ceramics that he’s molding…”

Olen Bryant: A Retrospective opens at the Customs House Museum and Cultural Center on North Second Street on Saturday, September 15, featuring the best of Bryant’s work. The exhibit will run through December 31, with an opening reception scheduled for Saturday at 6 p.m.

Bryant received the Distinguished Artist Award from Governor Phil Bredesen during a special ceremony celebrating the Governor’s Awards in the Arts at the Schermerhorn Symphony Center in Nashville in March, 2007. He is a well-known sculptor and educator and has received national recognition for his work. «Read the rest of this article»

Sections: Arts and Leisure | No Comments

Congress grills Petraeus on Iraq status; demands ‘no-nonsense’ answers

By Christine Anne Piesyk | September 11, 2007 |

Inch the price up, a dollar here, a dollar there. Customers rarely notice. On the day of the big sale, “slash” prices and people will come, buy, plunk down dollars and pay what you would have gotten in the first place — and they’ll be happy that they think they got a deal.

That’s what unfolded this afternoon on the Senate floor before the powerful Senate Foreign Relations Committee, as General David Petraeus made a case for keeping the war in Iraq alive even as he concedes the next nine months of war will cost America “60 soldiers a day” and “nine billion dollars a month.”

Petraus tried to sell the prospect of drawdown in US troop levels that were in fact a pulling of troops who are part of the President’s highly touted 2007 “surge,” and would not likely affect the base number of troops — 130,000 — for another 9-12 months. «Read the rest of this article»

Sections: Opinion, Politics | No Comments

9-11 ‘victim’ calls Bush’s war on terror “War on America”

September 11, 2007 |

I’m a victim of 9/11. I was in the building when the plane hit.

Compared to some people, I was lucky: I wasn’t injured. I kept my job. I got home easily. But compared to the vast majority of Americans, I am a victim. I had glass in my hair. I lost a year’s work, and some irreplaceable items. My family went crazy for a while. My kid had nightmares. You explain to a five-year-old why (in his words) “They crashed into the building on purpose?” or reply to “I thought pilots were good people”.

But I am a victim another way.

I share part of this other victimhood with all Americans. I am a victim, not of terror, but of the so-called ‘war on terror’. I am a victim of a government that is out-of-control. I am a victim of crushing national debt. I am a victim because I live in a country that went from having the sympathy of the world to one that is a pariah, an outcast among nations, a rogue state. I am a victim because I now have to ‘watch what I say’. I am a victim because my rights are violated, not by some nebulous and inimical group of terrorists, but by my own government. «Read the rest of this article»

Sections: Opinion, Politics | No Comments

On September 11, six years later: Mourn, honor, and move on …

By Christine Anne Piesyk | September 11, 2007 |

“Mourn as you must, but honor me most by continuing to live and be the best that you can be.”

In December, 2001, I reluctantly went to Ground Zero, to the pile of debris, the hole in the ground, the shattered remnants of buildings that had been the World Trade Center complex in downtown Manhattan. As so many others had already done, I inhaled the dusty air, some of which may have been human once.

I stood on the gallery of a church, leaning against one of its columns, staring aghast at the immensity of the devastation. Rubble. Piles of rubble. Behind makeshift fences and barriers. Designed to keep out a steady stream of the curious and the mournful.

I looked skyward, from ground level up to the top of a faceless building, exterior walls gone, the world privy to the angle of every desk and chair and file cabinet in the now wall-less, fully ventilated window offices. Huge loosely hung sheets of black tarp fell a hundred stories from roofline to sidewalk, and running high across the that roofline, touching the clear blue sky above, was a multi-story American flag.

I remembered so many times before,walking across the plaza, riding the elevator to Windows on the World, dining with my mother as the panorama of the Big Apple glittered around us. Seemed like yesterday. «Read the rest of this article»

Sections: Opinion, Politics | 1 Comment »

Insecure God wants love or he’ll kill us

By Debbie Boen | September 10, 2007 |

“I hope that we don’t forget spirituality just to spite the religious fanaticism that resides in our country. “

The world has been pummeled by natural disasters and many regions have been devastated by terrorism and war in the past few years, a pattern that only seems to escalate with each passing week. It is frightening, this power of the earth, the horror of war and the inhumanity.

A recent letter to the editor published locally attributed everything from the regional drought in Tennessee to hurricanes Katrina and Rita, and the earthquakes and tsunamis in the region of Sumatra to the wrath of a God seeking our attention.

«Read the rest of this article»

Sections: Spirituality | 5 Comments

Metro Clarksville: Maybe it’s time

By David W. Shelton | September 9, 2007 |

The 21st century has seen some wonderful changes in the way business is conducted in Clarksville, including some refreshing progress in settling some old baggage. Specifically, the City Council approved settlements for the lawsuits filed by Kenny Austion and Tony Blakely.

The Clarksville Police Department has long been struggling with the multiple lawsuits that have been filed against them. No one could say “there’s not a problem,” after the City started losing these suits, one by one. Action was needed. Thankfully, action has been taken.

Further, this isn’t the only area where we’ve seen progress in Clarksville. No matter what one’s opinion is regarding the current or previous mayoral administration might be, it’s clear that things are beginning to change. Clarksville is growing up, and we’re starting to see some much-needed progress in several areas in town. To be fair, I don’t think any one mayoral administration can lay claim to most of these projects, since they’re often the result of years of planning: «Read the rest of this article»

Sections: Opinion, Politics | No Comments

‘Soul Maintenance’ key to quality living

By Rev. Charles Moreland | September 9, 2007 |

I’ll always remember my 16th birthday, and events that happened some 55 years ago. On this auspicious occasion I received my driver’s license and soon after, my first car. I paid cash for the car and the expensive (even then) insurance. I held a job after school and on weekends, so I could afford the car and upkeep. But I digress…

I named this ‘46 Plymouth Coupe ‘The Blue Goose’. And yes, it was blue. My father offered his mechanical skills in the ongoing maintenance, which kept the Blue Goose running in the cold of winter and heat of summer. The Blue Goose faithfully got myself and four friends to school every day; it was a reliable car. And as my father gently reminded me, “a dollar’s worth of maintenance may save you ten dollars (remember, this is 1946) in repairs later.” «Read the rest of this article»

Sections: Spirituality | No Comments

2007 Democratic Party honors labor with sights on 2008 election

By David W. Shelton | September 9, 2007 |

When Democrats from five Tennessee counties gather at the Charles Hand farm, Ben Johnson is sure to be there with his campaign buttons, lapel pins, and bumper stickers. Johnson, who lives in Lebanon, Tennessee, was quick to point out that he makes his wares “for democrats only,” and will use only Union vendors to print his products.

In fact, the theme of the day was a strong support of Unions throughout the area. The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM), which represents Trane workers locally, was a major sponsor of today’s event.  The strong Union presence was in honor of the Labor Day event.

According to the Department of Labor, Labor Day was first celebrated in New York City on Tuesday, September 5, 1882. By 1894, the US Congress had passed its recognition of Labor Day as a national holiday to be celebrated on the first Monday of September of every year. «Read the rest of this article»

Sections: Politics | No Comments