Can Congressman Zach Wamp Keep Tennessee In the Game?
Written by Gary Poole
Tuesday, 11 November 2008 22:34
It wasn’t that long ago that Tennessee was considered a bellwether state. A state that fairly accurately reflected the mainstream political and social realities of the country. Over the past decade, though, the state has shifted out of national play into second-stringer status, viewed as a “safe” Republican state and thus, largely ignored. In last week’s election, not only did Republican candidate Sen. John McCain collect nearly four million more votes than President-elect Barack Obama, but for the first time since Reconstruction, the state legislature has switched parties and is now controlled by the Republicans.
“The Tennessee Republican Party is alive and well,” says Congressman Zach Wamp, fresh off a relatively easy re-election campaign to retain his seat representing the Third District. Wearing a pair of custom-made leather cowboy boots with the Tennessee state flag stamped on the front, Congressman Wamp shows no sign of distress over the national standing of the party, and is quite excited about his home state.
“This [the taking of the state legislature] was not coattails from John McCain,” he explains. “Sure, he got 57 percent of the vote, but Bush did that. This is not a race issue. Harold Ford, Jr. almost became a U.S. senator from our state. That was a very, very close election two years ago. I also think that if Colin Powell had been our nominee, he would have swept Tennessee. It’s not a race issue. It is about good candidates, a consistent message, a limited government, and a pro-education agenda.”
Last Updated ( Wednesday, 12 November 2008 19:48 )
Chattanooga Theatre Centre Moves Quickly Into the Future
Written by Janis Hashe
Wednesday, 05 November 2008 14:22
George Quick, who became producing director at the Chattanooga Theatre Centre after Jeffrey Brown’s departure in August, came in at a time of soul-searching for the city’s 85-year-old institution. But Quick, who started working professionally in theatre at the age of 17 at Southern California’s Knott’s Berry Farm’s Birdcage Theatre doing old-time melodrama, is used to the drama of change.
Quick’s resume reveals that he studied arts management at UC Irvine, was a freelance actor and director from the early 1980s through 2008, and was the founding executive director for the Musical Theatre Company in Orange County, Calif. in the early 1990s. From there, he served as managing director of The New Conservatory Theatre Center in San Francisco from 2000-2004, and was the business representative for Actors’ Equity Association in SF in 2005-2006. He became interim executive director for the Z Space Studio in SF from May through the fall of 2007, and remained on staff as the general manager until June of 2008. Then it was off to Chattanooga.
Just days away from decision time, many have yet to make up their mind
The most sought-after demographic of the electorate in every campaign is the elusive “undecided voter.” This small segment of the voting population, generally estimated to be no more than ten percent of all voters, has the true power in elections. Every candidate knows that the country is nearly evenly split between conservatives and progressives (formerly known as liberals until that label became a political attack word). Where elections are won and lost are is the very narrow middle ground where voters see good and bad about both candidates, and often have trouble deciding right up until they enter the polling booth.
From the Cherokee to the Civil War to Johnny Cash, the Chattanooga area is a mecca for metaphysical manifestations
Ghosts, ghouls, goblins and gentle spirits dwell in this valley, wafting in the nights, watching over the places they called home and waiting for their release. Ancient tribes called this valley the “dark and bloody ground”, revering it for the wild game that fed their families but fearing it for the spirits who lived in the shadows. The great flood of blood that was the war between brothers soaked the land, feeding changes in a nation and leaving spirits abounding in a valley that is hard to leave.
There may never be enough technology to measure what raw fear does to a land. Can you imagine the fear factor when little Rachel paddled furiously on the wild, sucking Tennessee River, desperate to escape the screams of her fellow travelers who were being burned at the stake by the warriors of Chief Dragging Canoe? She was known later as the wife of President Andrew Jackson, the man who signed the order that sent America’s oldest families on a trail that ended in tears, loss and thousands of displaced souls.
Chattanooga’s ghosts are as varied as are the characters who built the city and the amazing array of people, past and present, who inhabit it today. Some buildings are just flat-out known to be haunted, and some people just always wonder why things seem to behave strangely in their quaint old houses. The Read House, known in years past as the Crutchfield Hotel, is a popular place for a ghostly gathering, home to an angry woman and the spirits of a daunted duel, a busy morgue and throngs of men going to war. People in the South have a better relationship with the dead. We pull over when a funeral procession goes by, we refer to a house by the name of its previous occupants, including phrases like, “Turn where old man Brown’s barn was” in directions and breathe the past in the days we live.
Lookouts owner Frank Burke looks ahead to a new era of minor-league baseball
Is Chattanooga destined to become the Hollywood of the South? Frank Burke, owner of the Chattanooga Lookouts, made waves among sports fans last month by announcing he was ending a 20-year relationship with the Cincinnati Reds and becoming the Double-A affiliate of the Los Angeles Dodgers. The move has the majority of Lookouts fans excited, but at the same time presents some interesting challenges for the organization.
Walking into the main office of the Lookouts, tucked underneath the right-field bleachers at AT&T Field, one quickly realizes this is not a normal business. More often than not, you are first greeted by a friendly golden retriever, one of several canine co-workers. A coffee table made to look like a Lookouts player sliding into home plate sits underneath a humorous take on the corporate motivational posters implying that absolute power is actually pretty cool. Professional baseball has often been described a game played by adult children, and that childlike enthusiasm extends off the playing field into the front office.
It wasn’t that long ago that Tennessee was considered a bellwether state. A state that fairly accurately reflected the mainstream political and social realities of the country. Over the past decade, though, the state has shifted out of national play into second-stringer status, viewed as a “safe” Republican state and thus, largely ignored. In last week’s election, not only did Republican candidate Sen. John McCain collect nearly four million more votes than President-elect Barack Obama, but for the first time since Reconstruction, the state legislature has switched parties and is now controlled by the Republicans.
George Quick, who became producing director at the Chattanooga Theatre Centre after Jeffrey Brown’s departure in August, came in at a time of soul-searching for the city’s 85-year-old institution. But Quick, who started working professionally in theatre at the age of 17 at Southern California’s Knott’s Berry Farm’s Birdcage Theatre doing old-time melodrama, is used to the drama of change.
Ghosts, ghouls, goblins and gentle spirits dwell in this valley, wafting in the nights, watching over the places they called home and waiting for their release. Ancient tribes called this valley the “dark and bloody ground”, revering it for the wild game that fed their families but fearing it for the spirits who lived in the shadows. The great flood of blood that was the war between brothers soaked the land, feeding changes in a nation and leaving spirits abounding in a valley that is hard to leave.
Is Chattanooga destined to become the Hollywood of the South? Frank Burke, owner of the Chattanooga Lookouts, made waves among sports fans last month by announcing he was ending a 20-year relationship with the Cincinnati Reds and becoming the Double-A affiliate of the Los Angeles Dodgers. The move has the majority of Lookouts fans excited, but at the same time presents some interesting challenges for the organization.
