Though it is a bill that is presented every other year in the GA congress, the current form of the Sunday alcoholic sales bill is expected to gain the most ground ever, but still fail. This bill, along with some other previous renditions basically allows a county and/or city to let the citizens decide on afternoon Sunday sales with a vote. The most recent action is that the bill got recommitted in to the Senate 2 weeks ago, but this was after almost a full year of nothingness.

There are some big name supporters behind this bill, including a laundry list of senators and reps. Two of the biggest names are Kroger and Publix. All state breweries and wineries support the bill, of course. The convenient store chains support it, though some smaller package stores are iffy about having to produce a Sunday payroll.

There are plenty of groups highly against the freedom to allow citizens to put the issue to a vote. Already infuriated by the law changes in the last few years allowing home delivery and higher alcohol content in fermented beverages, various religious and socially conservative groups are being vocal.

The bill has a chance of reaching the governor's office. But it is expected that the governors morals and values will prevent him from allowing counties and cities to chose for themselves in a democratic fashion. In an election year dominated by national economic, war, and presidential issues, and with local water and housing issues, this bill and it's subsequent repression of democracy will be overlooked.

[ Of course, I think banning alcohol sales on sunday is an absurd load of shite, but my second biggest gripe about the ban as it stands is that it's so hypocritical. I can drink a glass of wine with my dinner out, but not go buy a bottle for my dinner in. That's fucking retarded. It's a compromise that people who genuinely believe in this ban shouldn't have tolerated. 100% stupid. -k]

Sunday Alcoholic Beverages in Georgia

The Master of Liberal Arts and Science program, Vanderbilt University’s prime educational outreach program to the Nashville community, is attracting record numbers of students and expanding course offerings.

This summer a MLAS class in religious architecture has been visiting sanctuaries across Middle Tennessee. Upcoming courses include Music, Gender and Sexuality, James Bond and Popular Culture and Southern Literature. Three certificate curriculums have been initiated, in ethics, creative arts and history.

“Last spring we had about 80 students among six courses,” said Martin Rapisarda, associate dean in the College of Arts and Science. “That’s a record number of courses offered in any one semester, and a record number of students in any one semester for the program.”

The growth indicates expanding interest in Nashville in the benefits of lifelong learning.

The MLAS program puts top Vanderbilt faculty in the classroom with adults who wish to continue their education at the graduate level but are constrained by the demands of career and family. Typically, students in the program take one course per semester which meets one evening a week.

The program costs $2,151 for each three-hour course, or half the regular Vanderbilt rate for graduate courses. Vanderbilt employees get a discount that cuts tuition to $645 per class.

The courses are rigorous, with term papers and research expected of the students.

“If this were merely a coffee klatch, it would certainly not be a Vanderbilt University graduate degree program, and I wouldn’t be able to interest our faculty in taking part,” Rapisarda said. “I tell students to expect to work hard and to spend at least 10-12 hours a week preparing for class.”

Rapisarda has added two required core seminars to the now 30-hour program, one to help ease students back into the rigors of the classroom and designed to be taken as the first class in the program. The Capstone Seminar, the last class in the program, encourages students to apply skills learned in the other classes to an extended study of a particular interest culminating in a thesis, work of art or other final project.

“We’ve seen incredible growth,” Rapisarda said. “Right now, we’ve got faculty lined up until Spring 2009 to teach in the program. This audience of motivated adult learners has proved to be a popular experience for our faculty.”

rad. go vandy.

Vanderbilt : Master of Liberal Arts and Science program

Isn't the road to hell paved with good intentions?

Parents may have to get involved in their children's schools — or else.

A proposal making its way through the General Assembly would require parents with children in kindergarten through grade 4 to ''volunteer'' at least 12 hours a year. And they couldn't just show up — they'd be expected to get involved in the teaching process by tutoring, chaperoning lesson-related field trips or helping students play educational games.

[ Haven't I read that this is sort of standard in Japan. I think that I have. Only, I don't know that it's a legal requirement. Fundamentally, I don't think that mandates are the right way to do this. Parents should *want* to help educate their children and their children's peers because doing so assists in socializing them, by exposing them to many different kinds of people. It has the upshot of letting the parents get to know the kids their child is surrounded by. I guess the "It takes a village" philosophy isn't too big here in the US though. -k]

Bill would make parents 'volunteer' in schools (Tenn)

House Bill 179 Concerning Evolution

Is it possible to comply with this law? Is there factual scientific evidence inconsistent with or no supporting the theory of evolution? I'm not aware of any. If there is some I'd like to see it. Someone please meme it.

[ I did some searching and couldn't find anything compelling, which is to say, I found a lot of sites spouting the same sciency-sounding "proofs" against evolution. we've all probably heard a lot of them (no transitional fossil forms, gaps in the fossil record, nickel accumulation in the ocean and geomagnetic field strength measurements indicate a young earth, it's impossible for something to give rise to something more complex than itself, evolution violates the 2nd law of thermodynamics). None of what i found appeared to present and defend any of these points consistently, and most devolved into using quotations from theologians or the bible before the halfway mark.

The primary argument the anti-evolutionists seem to use is that because evolution hasn't been proved, and can't be applied in every case, because there are animals whose evolutionary history isn't clear, that the whole thing is bunk. Essentially, they misunderstand the concept of a theory. Any scientist should happily admit that of course evolution is a theory, and those who don't only hedge because they know they're about to get railroaded with "So it could be completely false!" attacks. That stuff is a deliberate attempt to misinform people about what a scientific theory truly is, what supporting evidence truly is, and how those things relate to evolution.

Additionally, it's always seemed a little strange for the extremely religious anti-evolution folks to use the "prove it! show me!" line of attack. The misunderstanding i mention above is obvious in this context, because otherwise the cognitive dissonance between believing in God and requiring categorical proof of everything else would surely cause problems. It is only by completely misrepresenting the concept of "evidence" that those two attitudes can square. -k

p.s. i did find one site that may be able to offer both sides, though it clearly tends to debunk the anti's. anyway, http://www.talkorigins.org/ ]

Here's the bill on evolution

] The president of Harvard University prompted criticism
] for suggesting that innate differences between the sexes
] could help explain why fewer women succeed in science and
] math careers.
]
] Lawrence H. Summers, speaking Friday at an economic
] conference, also questioned how great a role
] discrimination plays in keeping female scientists and
] engineers from advancing at elite universities.

[ It's nice of Summers to provide such glaring evidence of the work that still needs to be done in this area. Jackass. -k]

Women Lack 'Natural Ability' In Some Fields, Harvard President Says

] The purpose of this website is to advocate that the State
] of Georgia compile and distribute a Voter Information
] Guide to voters in the State prior to each election and
] primary. This website will explain the concept, why its
] important, and what individuals can do to help make it a
] reality. This website will also act as a clearing house
] for information about efforts to improve voter education
] in the State of Georgia.

I said I'd do something about this, and I am. This website is the first step. Let me know if you have any comments or criticisms. Tell your friends.

[ Good job, Tom! A great first step... -k]

Advocating a Voter Information Guide for Georgia

biochik007 wrote:
] w1ld wrote:
] ] mp3 of Kerry support both sides of many issues.
]
] That rox! sad but true, sad but funny...

Actually, its not true. Its standard issue political dishonesty, and the people who buy into it are the problem with this country. I mean it.

Political issues are complex. The way that politicians manipulate you is by pretending that they are not.

...

This is how politicians fuck you. Bend over. You are being fucked.

[ Hear hear! What Decius enumerates is one of the most asinine and insidious threats to public discourse in this country, and the republicans fucking love it. And no, i'm not saying it's never been done by a dem, but it seems to be a part of the standard playbook on the red side of the aisle.

It's patently dishonest and it's only the fact that the public gets turned off by the word "lies" that we don't hear it called what it is. As Bill Clinton said of the Democratic Party : "When people think, we win." In other words, when you cut through all the bullshit, dem policies get support. The other side has a vested interest in confusing you. -k]

RE: Audio mp3 of Kerry doing the Flip Flop

An off-duty MTSU Police officer says he was injured Wednesday trying to stop a shoplifter.
Sergeant Matt Foster knows he is lucky to be alive after he was dragged several feet by a car. 
The MTSU Police officer left work Wednesday afternoon and went shopping at the Wal-Mart Supercenter on South Rutherford Boulevard in Murfreesboro.  He was still wearing his uniform. 
...
Since Foster was off duty, his employer cannot pick up his medical costs.  And Wal-Mart told him it will not pay those costs either.  So, for now, Foster is paying for anything not covered by his insurance.   
He hopes to return to work in a couple weeks but it could take much longer.

Nice appreciative company that Wal Mart.... Just one more reason I am glad I don't give them ANY patronage. Big impersonal retailers that price cut to push out any small business competition are a part of many problems with this company. In this case, you get what you pay for... Nothing.

[ Hear hear. Fuck Wal Mart. -k]

MTSU Police Officer Dragged By Shoplifting Suspect's Car

"Letters To The Editor:
Sometime next year, the Supreme Court of the United States will make a decision on whether the words “One nation under God” should be taken out of the Pledge of Allegiance. What's next, removing “In God we trust” from our money?"

I just -love- the headline.

Godless Nation Will Travel The Road To Hell