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Do you think we are there (here) now?

I'm fine with it on a personal level, but from a sociological standpoint it worries me. The paradigm shift from those who use the power of the internet and other technologies to those who don't is a vast difference from even 25+ years ago when the difference was a matter of touch-tone vs rotary, tape vs cd, oven vs microwave, etc.?

With those examples, it was still a matter of device - the content was the same. A few decades ago, a conversation at the water cooler was one you could almost always share in. For the most part, everyone read/watched the same news, same shows (1 in 3 chance before cable), and read at least one of the same book. With the billions of different avenues the internet and technology can take us - that's not so anymore.

With all my heart and with no ill intention, I really do believe ignorance is bliss. I'm just not sure I would want to be that happy.

Do you see technology shifting society?

On January 8, 2008, the Blount County Humane Society (BCHS) issued an email (shown below) to numerous individuals, media and animal welfare organizations in the area and across the state. The email was issued by Humane Society President Steve Phipps in an attempt to attack and degrade Smoky Mountain Animal Care Foundation (SMACF) and their efforts to raise money and assist in the construction of a new Blount County Animal Center.

In addition to the negative comments directed at SMACF, the BCHS also attacked numerous animal welfare organizations in the area that support the efforts being made in Blount County towards this new facility. Animal Rescue and Fostering Networks (ARFNets) was one of these organizations. In this email, the BCHS accuses ARFNets of abandoning their Core Beliefs by supporting the efforts that SMACF is making in Blount County.

The "things are heating up and it's not just Global Warming" edition of the TennViews weekly liberal blog roundup.

If you're reading this, you probably got State Sen. Raymond Finney's annual constituent preference survey in the mail. If not, it's also in today's Maryville Daily Times. If you don't have that, it's online at Senator Finney Listens.

Sen. Finney (R) represents the 8th Senate District which includes Blount County and Sevier County. I don't agree with most of Sen. Finney's politics, but I have always given him an A+ for constituent outreach. I can't really blame him for the fact that his views represent the majority view in his district. Instead, it is a challenge for the more progressive types in Blount County to educate voters on a better way forward.

The survey has an introduction with some background on several issues that will be before the Tennessee General Assembly, which just resumed session this week. He asks for your opinion on them, and shares his views on most.

A couple of things I found interesting:

• Last year, Sen. Finney said he would vote against the AT&T statewide cable franchise bill, but AT&T withdrew it for lack of support so it never made it to the floor for a vote. In this latest survey, Sen. Finney seems to have reversed his previous position and now appears to support it. There were some minor changes regarding local control of right of way, but it's essentially the same bill. It's a bad bill that will eliminate local control of cable franchises, regulate local franchise fees, restrict or eliminate customer service and quality standards, restrict or eliminate local build-out requirements, and threaten local public, educational, and government (PEG) cable access. (Note: his survey question on this is biased, because it implies that without statewide contracts local governments will only have one provider. There is nothing stopping AT&T or anyone else from submitting proposals, and in fact they have been invited to do so.)

• Sen. Finney appears to be for the Pellissippi Parkway extension as a way to address Alcoa Highway traffic problems. The survey question on this offers only three options: Build the PPE or build the bypass or do nothing. There should be a fourth option (which I believe TDOT already proposed as the least expensive) to "fix Alcoa Highway."

Anyway, be sure to complete Sen. Finney's survey if you haven't already. Make sure the Blount County progressive voice is heard!

P.S. Here are the results from Sen. Finney's 2007 survey and his 2006 survey.

Seeing Immigration as Migration may help those of us who really want to understand the world (as opposed to those who do not care why immigrants live here but are against it anyway). Here is a long but very interesting analysis that makes it clear that the basic economic forces of capitalism and especially neoliberal capitalism are the drivers of migration/immigration. Link...