Tennessee does NOT sound good to me.

While I can understand trying to keep people healthy, in private property there should be NO involvement on the government for what the property owner does and doesn’t allow within the walls. People can choose to go in. I’m a non-smoker, and I’ve accepted that when I want to go to karaoke, it’s going to be in a bar that’s likely filled with smokers. I just shower and throw my clothes in the wash when I get home, and get over it. If I end up with lung cancer (god forbid), I’ll probably be pissed, but it was my choice to go into those places, so I can’t blame anyone else.

Would if everyone else could have that kind of common sense and sense of personal responsibility. But noooo…we can’t have that! That would require thinking!

Nice work boys.

So does this mean the Orange Route and the bridge will be toll roads?

In the Senate, the votes were as follows (5/31/07):

SB1325 by Tracy
FLOOR VOTE: CONCUR IN HOUSE AMEND# 2
5/31/2007
Ayes………………………………………..29
Noes…………………………………………2
Present and not voting…………………..1
Senators voting aye were: Black, Burchett, Burks, Cooper, Crowe, Crutchfield, Finney L, Ford, Harper, Haynes, Henry, Herron, Jackson, Johnson, Ketron, Kilby, Kurita, Kyle, Marrero, McNally, Norris, Stanley, Tate, Tracy, Watson, Wilder, Williams, Woodson, Mr. Speaker Ramsey — 29.
Senators voting no were: Beavers, Southerland — 2.
Senators present and not voting were: Bunch — 1.

In the House for final passage on the bill were as follows (5/31/07):

SB1325 by Tracy
FLOOR VOTE: AS AMENDED PASSAGE ON THIRD CONSIDERATION
5/31/2007
Ayes………………………………………..84
Noes………………………………………..10
Present and not voting…………………..2
Representatives voting aye were: Armstrong, Baird, Bass, Bibb, Bone, Borchert, Briley, Brooks H, Brown, Buck, Casada, Cobb C, Cobb J, Coleman, Coley, Cooper, Crider, Curtiss, Dean, DeBerry J, DeBerry L, DuBois, Dunn, Eldridge, Favors, Ferguson, Fincher, Fitzhugh, Floyd, Ford, Fraley, Gilmore, Gresham, Hackworth, Hardaway, Harrison, Harwell, Hawk, Hensley, Hood, Johnson C, Johnson P, Jones S, Jones U, Kernell, Lollar, Lundberg, Maddox, Maggart, Matheny, Matlock, McCormick, McDaniel, McDonald, McManus, Miller, Montgomery, Moore, Mumpower, Odom, Overbey, Pitts, Pruitt, Rinks, Roach, Sargent, Shaw, Shepard, Sontany, Swafford, Tidwell, Tindell, Todd, Towns, Turner L, Turner M, Vaughn, Watson, West, Wilder, Williams, Windle, Yokley, Mr. Speaker Naifeh — 84.
Representatives voting no were: Bell, Harmon, Hill, Kelsey, Litz, Lynn, McCord, Niceley, Rowland, Winningham — 10.
Representatives present and not voting were: Campfield, Pinion — 2.

If you want to review it yourself, go to and search in the left column labeled “Legislation” and you can search by terms or by bill number.

Anyway, there ya go.

*runs for cover*

Unfortunately when you are given only two choices, you only have “two nanny-state bastards” for whom to vote.

As soon as the Democrats took over here, they almost immediately started pushing a smoking ban(passed) and a seat belt law(barely defeated). I may not be the biggest fan of the Republicans, but it seems that Democrats can’t help themselves in raising taxes and passing nanny laws. It’s what they do.

Income tax, anyone?

Word on the hill is video streaming of committee and the floor sessions of the house is going to disappear next year. I hear leadership does not like the effect it is having. From Knoxville state Rep. Stacey Campfield.

They are saying “Just trust us”.

Yeah right. Trust is earned dipshits. Hiding from the public doesn’t inspire much trust. Call your local congress-critter on the phone and express yourself.

Also, high cigarette taxes fuel terrorism. How? ’cause terrorist funders use the discrepancy between states to smuggle and re-sell cig’s – funneling the profits to Hezbollah and Hamas. The states may be generating more money for themselves, but they are also creating an opportunity for the black market…

These “representatives” are too short sighted and stupid to be called “leaders”.

All the while, he continues to deliberate over the panel of 3 judges/attorneys that the Judicial Selection Committee has given him for the open Supreme Court seat.

He has already maligned the 3 candidates as not being the best qualified slate from which to choose, because it has only one black candidate.

He needs to start focusing on the quality of the candidates and not the color of their skin.

As for the smoking legislation, I think that it is nanny statism, even though I am a nonsmoker.

The free market economy will do a considerably better job discerning where people should smoke than the government.