Rep. Matthew Hill, R-Pleistocene Epoch, is an Obama birther and far-right Christian zealot par excellence. But don't make the mistake of thinking this lawmaker is completely out to lunch. No, this is one crazy ideologue who knows how to play political hardball.
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Economists say it'll take two more years for Tennessee's economy to recover. ... Hospitals agree to tax themselves to avert TennCare cuts. ... Truckers vote I-40 through Tennessee the best road in the U.S. Who knew? ... Lawmakers want to know why a report ranks a state home for youth among the top in the nation for sexual abuse. ... The House joins the Senate in overriding the governor on the calorie counting bill. ... Advocacy group announces slate of fair-tax bills. ... A new program offers free master's degrees to Nashville's teachers. ... Dueling guest editorials from Jim Cooper and Marsha Blackburn. 
Well, that's a relief. After teasing viewers for days about its big exclusive report "Inside Islamville: Is a Local Muslim Community Tied to Terrorism?" Channel 5 finally gave us the answer last night: No.
It's a new low in broadcast journalism in this city. Based on the unfounded accusations in a crackpot video titled Homegrown Jihad, Channel 5 devoted two nights' segments to this so-called investigation. On the first night, we heard all about the video. Channel 5 knew then that none of it was true, but didn't tell viewers. For that, we had to wait until last night. With camera crew in tow, Nick Beres appeared unannounced at the Muslim "compound," just like Mike Wallace on a 60 Minutes' ambush, and here's what happened:
We were met at the entrance by two men who agreed to allow us onto the property asking only that we not show any faces or conduct any interviews. There was not much to see. "It's kind of like going into any trailer park out in the country," says Sheriff Vinson.
We hope Channel 5 managed to goose its ratings a little bit with this garbage. Otherwise, Beres succeeded only in inflaming anti-Muslim sentiments.
Here's Rep. Marsha Blackburn talking about the radical new GOP plan to privatize both Medicare and Social Security. Congressman Paul Ryan, the ranking Republican on the House Budget Committee, put forth these ideas in his budget-slashing proposal last week, and Blackburn is one of the co-sponsors of his bill.
Under the plan, seniors on Medicare get vouchers to buy private insurance. But there's a catch--the value of the vouchers won't increase at the rate health care costs are projected to go up. Here's Ezra Klein's analysis:
It's hard, given the constraints of our current debate, to call something "rationing" without being accused of slurring it. But this is rationing, and that's not a slur. This is the government capping its payments and moderating their growth in such a way that many seniors will not get the care they need.
Only a few days ago, Sen. Lamar Alexander was complaining because the White House "completely cut out" the GOP on health care, and he urged President Obama to work with all the many willing Republicans in Washington on that issue. But now that Obama has called a bipartisan health care meeting for Feb. 25, Alexander's not so sure it's a good idea.
"It is hard for me to see how you can take a bill that is fundamentally flawed and improve it without starting over. ... While I'm not going to question the president's motives, I question whether summits work. We had one on health care and one on entitlements last year, and they didn't do much."
The last Nashville is Talking post went up with a dateline of "11:34 am - February 8th, 2010." I don't have it in me to write another obituary today, so I'll just say it's a shame.
Nashville is Talking was an enormously important factor in the success and energy of the Nashville blogosphere -- indeed, of all Tennessee's. In its heyday under Brittney Gilbert, it was an important place for bloggers and blog readers to come together to argue, fuss, fight, flirt, make up, make friends, and keep up on what was going on in the lives of our fellow Tennesseans.
Under Christian Grantham, the scope of Nashville is Talking changed, and a reader might have found anything from instructions on how to enact change in one's own neighborhood to court documents embarrassing to local internet celebrities.
Anyway, it was a good time while it lasted. So I asked Brittney Gilbert if she wanted to wax nostalgic with me. She said yes. And then we made out. Okay, not really. Just checking to see if you were still reading.
Catch the interview after the jump.
Pith is sad to pass along that scholar and Vanderbilt professor of sociology emeritus Richard "Pete" Peterson has died. Peterson was one of the earliest academics to treat country music as a subject worthy of consideration. His book Creating Country Music: Fabricating Authenticity is one of the most important scholarly works ever written about the genre.
Peterson wrote that the tension between "keeping it real" and "appealing to the widest audience with the deepest pockets possible" is not something that just came to light with the likes of Taylor Swift or Billy Ray Cyrus or whomever; it's built right into the music's foundation. Maybe that's one reason his book seems as fresh and insightful today as it did when released. (I've long thought rap aficionados and scholars would find it illuminating as well.)
Peterson was a well respected professor at Vanderbilt and a genial friend to many folks around town. He will be missed.
Jeff Woods
Bruce Barry
