It’s old news already. CNN has long been the extended publicity arm of the Democrat Party. Repeated questioning by Obama, Edwards and Clinton supporters at last night’s GOP debate now has the network completely disgraced.

This is not a small thing. A cub reporter with a dial-up Internet connection could have done the due diligence. Instead, the number two cable network in the world demonstrates a peculiar penchant for committing journalistic suicide

I first noticed something was amiss when one of the undecided “panel voters” was certain she would vote for John Edwards, mangled Rudy’s name, then said Edwards’ name again - puzzling, an undecided Republican voter leaning towards one of the most liberal Democrat options. When Bill Bennett disclosed who the general was live in the after-debate panel I nearly fell of the couch, and Anderson Cooper nearly fell of the stage.

Now, Michelle Malkin has aggregated the chicanery behind a slew of the questioners, all politically active and none active in anything Republican.

Either CNN is more unbiased then Fox News, or they are professional clowns. Take your pick - either way, I hope that Al Gore’s Current gets the next debate before CNN does.

The Shelby County Commission has decided to go paperless. It is a move that simply makes sense, and has the capacity to ease citizen access to government goings-ons

Last year, copying and paper fees in the commission office cost the county more than $30,000.

Which is part of the reason the commission has decided to go almost completely paperless.

One of many technology upgrades to hit the commission office next year, the document management system will route documents electronically starting in February. It was purchased by commissioners from SIRE Technologies for $247,400.

Commissioners also approved a $97,465 electronic voting system by Granicus Inc, to be rolled out next spring. And a $26,700 system called Granicus Streaming Solution will allow commission meetings to broadcast live on the Internet.

Cameras still need to be purchased for the streaming video, also pushing the target date to spring.

Commission Chairman David Lillard said the upgrades, which will allow more people to access government proceedings, are worth the money.

Of course, additional savings could be had in reducing the staff necessary to maintain paper records, but being that the Shelby County Commission is still a government entity, it is unlikely that will happen anytime soon.

The citizen access and the government accountability that comes with it are the exciting parts of going paperless. Every document pertaining to county government ought to be available via the county website, or at the very least, easily emailed to concerned citizens.

So, kudos to Shelby County’s commission. There’s no reason every county, municipality and state agency in Tennessee should not follow suit.

This “noose” paranoia thing has gotten out of hand.

Today, The New York Times published a “noose map”, which dissected the nation as to noose sightings (it appears the American Northeast, not the South, is the noose capital of the country). Now, eagle scouts are suspended from school for verbally acknowledging they know how to make a noose, but who also in the same breath refuse to make one, slapping  another point in the column for the stupidity of zero tolerance and those who practice it.

Look, the bigger the deal is made out of the noose, the more morons around the country are going to start planting them for sick kicks. There is no swelling of nationwide racism - though media outlets like The Times have a stake in wanting to make it seem as though there is. Unfortunately for them, the numbers they cite don’t bear out.

If you haven’t read this diary-like excerpt regarding the dire situation of the district attorney’s office in Orleans Parish, you ought to. It’s downright frightening, both from a public safety and an individual liberty perspective.

UPDATE More damning details here. Let’s keep diversity goals confined to the more unimportant areas of society, such as university staffing.

“Mr. Reagan will raise taxes, and so will I. He won’t tell you. I just did.”

Walter Mondale, 1984

“I think the best way to approach this is to adjust the cap on the payroll tax so that people like myself are paying a little bit more and people who are in need are protected”

Barack Obama, 2007

Well, perhaps it’s better said than Mondale - not clearer, but more technically senatorial. Whether there is enough nuance there to avoid a 49 state electoral disaster if Obama becomes the Democrats’ nominee is an uncertainty left for a future date.

I haven’t any time to write recently, as I am now working from home part-time and I have a 21-month-old daughter who apparently has decided that she is too old for naps.  (I still put her in the crib in the afteroon, but the repetitive banging of her doll against the wall is a bit distracting.)  I have had a lot on my mind about which I want to write, so I thought I would throw out at least one quick entry this morning.

I have heard the following statement said dozens of times recently:

“The liberal media wants us to buy into this global warming nonsense when thirty years ago they were warning us about the next Ice Age!  They obviously have no idea what they are talking about.  They weren’t right then, so why should we believe them now?”

If I am not mistaken, science has come a long way in many areas over the past three decades.  Just dealing with the human body, think of the developments concerning heart disease, infertility, AIDS and many other problems.  Who doesn’t feel more comfortable heading in for surgery than someone who faced the knife in 1977?

I use human maladies as an example, but it’s indicative of the progress that is constantly being made in all areas of science.  We know a lot more about our planet and its composition than we did a generation ago.  Does this mean that the dominant theories concerning climate change are absolutely correct?  Of course not.  But, as technologies and research evolve, I believe there is more merit to the discoveries.

The comparison to the incorrect Ice Age prediction holds no water (or ice) if you believe at all that man is capable of scientific progress.

I am in the process of reviewing a transcript for an appeal. This line of questioning made me laugh (my apologies if I referred to this before - it would have been a year or two ago if I did). The defense is cross examining a state witness in front of the jury

Q. Okay. What kind of relationship did you have with his wife?

A. We were close friends and we experimented.

Q. I’m sorry?

A. We experimented.

Q. Okay, I’m sorry. I don’t understand.

A. She was bi-sexual, and I didn’t know what that meant at the time. And then I found out.

Sometimes I do love my job.