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As expected, the FCC ordered Comcast to stop controlling Internet usage of broadband subscribers. Again, as expected, lawmakers are already speaking out against the FCC's action.

Chinese President Hu Jintao made a rare public appearance on Friday to announce that Internet censorships will be lifted for Olympic reporters. The Chinese government will now be in line with one of the promises made when the IOC awarded China the Olympic games. It is sad the IOC allowed this in the first place.

Sadly, the rest of the nation is still in the dark.

More here.

Tax Free Weekend This Weekend -- Don't forget you can get clothing items and computers under $100 without having to pay the state's sales tax this weekend. Economists are debating the impact of the sales tax holiday this year, which they say will be less of a homerun than in year's past. Tradtionally, shoppers who come to take advantage of the tax free savings typically spend that extra money on other taxed items. But this year, because of a slow economy and fuel costs, consumers could be less willing to spend money on non-necessary items. In recent weeks, Gov. Bredesen has changed his stance in favoring a sales tax holiday to opposing it in the future. Opposition to the tax holiday could have consequences if other surrounding states decide to keep their sales tax holidays, TN could lose out on even more revenue opportunities than it gives up in the holiday.

TN to Get Tougher Edu Standards -- Tougher standards for graduation, including more difficult math and science courses, are coming to TN. The class of 2013 and every class thereafter will be required to take four years of math, instead of three, including the higher level Algebra II, which currently is not required for a high school diploma. Additionally, all students still must take three years of science, but now they'll be required to pass chemistry or physics in addition to biology. The effort is a push on the part of a 33 state coalition to standardize state school standards across the country.

Hammond Leads Donations in Hamilton -- GOP Sheriff candidate Jim Hammond leads contributions in the Sheriff's race in Hamilton Co. According to financial disclosure forms filed with the election office, Mr. Hammond received a total of $120,675 in contributions between March 28 and July 28. Contributions to Democrat Greg Beck totaled $20,785, while Independent candidate Jim Winters reported $1,950 in contributions.

Obviously, this is the new campaign spokeswoman. Who couldn't vote for Phil Roe after hearing from this woman?

The Chinese continue to display their inability to fulfill promises made to the
Olympic Committee. When Beijing was selected to host the '08 Olympics, the Chinese agreed to made information fully available to reporters so they could have "complete freedom to report." Flash forward to 2008, the IOC and Chinese officials are admitting that certain websites that don't pertain to the Games will be blocked from reporters. It is sad that the IOC continues to turn a blind eye to Chinese government as Olympic sponsors cash in on China's booming economy.

UPDATE:
A BusinessWeek article covers the string of broken promises from the Chinese.

Continuation of abuse of human rights:

On July 29, for instance, Amnesty International published a report critical of the Chinese government's human-rights policy. According to an Amnesty statement, "there has been little progress towards fulfilling the Chinese authorities' promise to improve human rights, but rather continued deterioration in key areas."

Continued censorship:

Paris-based Reporters Without Borders in a statement on its Web site has condemned the Chinese government's censorship policy and the International Olympic Committee's willingness to go along with it. "The organization also condemns the cynicism of the Chinese authorities, who have yet again lied," the Reporters Without Borders statement said, "and the IOC's inability to prevent this situation because of its refusal to speak out for several years."

Displacement of citizens:

On July 29, the group issued a report on the government's treatment of people opposed to the demolition of housing and the eviction of residents in Beijing to make room for Games venues. Human Rights Watch focused on Ni Yulan, an activist whom it said the government will put on trial Aug. 4. "To try her on the eve of the Games is an extraordinary insult to those who lost their homes to the Beijing Olympics and shows contempt for human-rights concerns raised by the international community," said Sophie Richardson, the NGO's Asia advocacy director, in a Human Rights Watch statement.

Greenpeace is somewhat happy, though:

Greenpeace in a recent report praised some of the government's work to improve the environment before the Games. "A number of Beijing's achievements represent best environmental practice," a Greenpeace report published on July 28 said. "In our analysis from the information available, Greenpeace found that Beijing achieved and in some cases surpassed original environmental goals," the group added, although the NGO's report said leaders "also missed some opportunities that could have ensured a better short- and long-term environmental Olympic legacy for the city."

Gov. Opposes Early Retirement Incentive -- The reason that Gov. Bredesen has received tepid response for the state's buyout proposals is to offer voluntary retirement options to those at or near retirement age who did not guy a buy-out offer, according to State Employee Association Executive Director Jim Tucker. Gov. Bredesen has signaled more than once that the target number of buyouts accepted will probably not reach the state's target by Tuesday's deadline. Gov. Bredesen says he may be willing to extend the number of buyouts to other employees, but he opposes offering early retirement on the grounds that it will cost more and the state will likely have to hire back some of the employees it lets go. Tucker said the administration’s targeted buyout plan doesn’t appear to be working despite the administration having paid a private firm $500,000 to develop it.

Jones At It Again -- State Rep. Ulysses Jones is at his pet project again - an attempt to turn back the reforms of TN Waltz and weaken the state's new requirements against accepting meals from lobbyists. The current law prohibits lobbyists from funding meals for lawmakers and limits groups or individuals who employ lobbyists from spending more than $50 per legislator per meal. The law doesn't apply to individual constituents or groups that don't employ lobbyists. But those reasonable limits seem unreasonable to Jones, who wants to end the limits and simply offer public disclosure of all meals instead. He said he also might support spending limits of $88.20 per meal or $1,000 per group per year limit on meals.

Kurita v. Barnes Endorsement Fight -- In the State Senate primary going on in Clarksville, State Sen. Rosalind Kurita just picked up some mega endorsements to quiet the endorsements primary opponent Tim Barnes released this week. Barnes announced earlier the endorsement Clarksville’s Labor Organizations United Together, which is a union of all the major unions in Clarksville, including the Montgomery Co. Teacher's union. In addition to major union endorsements, Barnes also picked up the endorsement of the APSU College Democrats. Kurita, however, announced a string of endorsements first from NRA - an unusual endorsement for a Democrat, the TN Nurses Association and the Conservation Action PAC, an environmentalist group.

Residency Requirements on Election Day or Filing Deadline? -- That's the issue being discussed in Chattanooga, where former Rob Healy, a former city parks and recreation director, is asking state officials whether he would qualify for the election in March of next year after just having moved to the city. State Election Coordinator Brook Thompson and City Attorney Randy Nelson have both said the deadline for residency is measured from the filing deadline - and thus Healy would not be eligible to run, however the issue will ultimately be settled by a lawsuit.

The FCC has voted to punish Comcast for blocking Internet traffic to certain subscribers. Comcast has been limiting the Internet traffic to users of file-sharing networks; they did this in order to prevent those users from hogging all the bandwidth. The punishment, according to FCC Chairman Kevin Martin, will not include fines but will require Comcast to "stop its practice of blocking; provide details to the commission on the extent and manner in which the practice has been used; and to disclose to consumers details on future plans for managing its network going forward."

This disciplinary action is resulting from a FCC policy instituted in 2005 that requires all broadband networks to be "widely deployed, open, affordable and accessible to all consumers." This makes US broadband providers be more in line with the principles of net neutrality (support the Save the Internet campaign here).

I certainly applaud the FCC for their actions; Congress, however, has a duty to the American public. If we are to have a truly open and accessible Internet, Congress needs to step up and providing funding that will greatly improve our national broadband infrastructure. Nations around the world continue to surpass us in availability to the Internet. I really doubt that Internet providers can continue to meet the increase in demand of broadband networks with current pricing schemes. This is why they are seeking to limit users. If the government would step in and help build a national broadband network, this problem would be greatly alleviated. Please, Congress, give us a national strategy for deploying broadband Internet.

Cohen Slavery Apology Passes House -- Congressman Steve Cohen's bill apologizing for slavery and Jim Crow legislation has passed the US House. After a lengthy plea by Cohen in the well, the bill passed on a voice vote. Cohen: "Only a great nation can recognize and admit its mistakes and then go forth to create, indeed, 'a more perfect union' that works to bring people of all races, religions and creeds together in unity as Americans." Sen. Tom Harkin is considering introducing a companion measure in the Senate. A total of 120 lawmakers, including two Republicans, co-sponsored the resolution, which is also supported by Senate candidate Bob Tuke, according to a recent press release. Critics of the bill say it is an election year ploy on the part of Cohen, who faces an uphill reelection bid in a majority black district. More here.

Judges On the Ballot Too -- Voters on Aug. 7 have an opportunity to reject Gov. Phil Bredesen's appointments of two Tennessee Supreme Court justices and five other appeals court judges, but it's a pretty safe bet they will not. Of the 146 judicial retention elections held since the state's system for selecting top judges was established, 145 resulted in a win for the incumbent judge. That system is to change if Republicans in the State Senate have anything to do about it. They want to scrap the so-called "Tennessee-system" for electing judges whereby a group of lawyers select nominees who are then chosen by the Governor and then confirmed in a "retention question" on the ballot. The state constitution specifies that judges should be elected and the TN system is a way to satisfy this requirement, albeit in an fairly undemocratic way. Judges, however, seem to favor the system, which they say allow them to rise above political campaigns.

Corker Criticizes Budget Accounting -- Sen. Bob Corker said the administration's budget estimate, "is not an honest view of our country's budget deficit." Corker says the budgets are inaccuarate because they include not additional funding for Iraq and Afghanistan in 2009 or beyond and the alternative minimum tax will be patched only for tax year 2008. Corker: "This is not an honest view of our country's budget deficit and the administration knows it. Their failure to include a realistic assessment for war spending and refusal to make accurate assumptions about the alternative minimum tax is disappointing and does not set the right tone for having a serious discussion about our country's dire fiscal situation."

So Long Long -- Saying he had made a number of statements that reveal a "blood-thirsty" disposition, federal prosecutors urged a jury not to give any leniency to former Hamilton Co. Sheriff Billy Long. The defense for their part have argued that Long qualifies for a federal sentencing provision called the "safety valve." Judges can use the safety valve to disregard mandatory minimum sentences for certain drug crimes when defendants meet a set of criteria including having no prior criminal history. Mr. Long pleaded guilty May 5 to 19 counts of extortion, six counts of money laundering, one count of providing a firearm to a convicted felon and one count of possession with intent to sell cocaine.

David Davis continues his deceptive campaign. According to the Hawkins County GOP blog, Davis is indicating on his campaign website that he has received the endorsement of State Representative Dale Ford. Ford, however, has not endorsed any Congressional candidate; Ford has even requested many times that his name be removed from the list of endorsements. As of 12:30pm on July 29, his name has yet to be removed. This makes me question the other names listed; did they really endorse Davis? Do the people of TN's 1st really want such a deceptive person representing them in the House? I know that I don't.

Clarksville Could Get Next ED Deal -- The next major economic development project could land at the TVA megasite in Clarksville. EDC officials are apparently hoping to entice Hemlock Semiconductor Corp., a unit of Dow Corning, to come to Clarksville's megasite immediately after landing VW at Chattanooga's site. HSC is the world's largest maker of polycrystalline silicon, an ultra-pure rock-like material used in solar panels and semiconductor chips, and thus could qualify for a major tax incentive for producing environmentally friendly energy products. The project could mean 4,000 jobs. Michigan, where the company is located currently, is planning on giving up without a fight. That state has planned a major package of incentives for the company to stay.

Laura Bush Pushes Reading First -- In case you missed it, First Lady Laura Bush was in Nashville yesterday to speak at the national Reading First conference. Reading First is one of the cornerstones of the Bush No Child Left Behind law, which provides federal dollars for a science-based teaching method that emphasizes basic skills like phonics. Last year, Congress slashed the Reading First budget by 60%. This year, neither the House nor the Senate has budgeted any funds at all for Reading First.

Cooper Pushes Private Healthcare -- Rep. Jim Cooper is pushing for a bill that would allow Americans to buy their own health insurance, rather than getting it through their employer. Congress will not be taking any action on the proposal until at least next year under a new president, but while in Nashville on Monday, Cooper said it’s important to begin talking about the issue now. Under the bill, employers would give employees the money spent on health care premiums. Employees would then be required to buy health insurance with after-tax dollars. Cooper said a $15,000 tax-credit for a family of four would also allow those whose employers don’t offer health insurance to buy it.

Gay Group Asks Haslam for Recognition in Light of Knoxville Shooting -- The shooting at the Uniterian Universalist Church in Knoxville has made national news in the past few days. Now one group wants to use the shooter's apparent motive - hatred of gays - to leverage formal recognition by Knoxville Mayor Bill Haslam. In an e-mail to the mayor Monday, local activist Gary Elgin, former director of the Rainbow Community Awareness Project asks the Mayor, "This is the time for you, when called upon, to answer and step up and be counted as our mayor as well." Haslam responded in part by saying, "Knoxville is a caring, compassionate city where diverse viewpoints are shared and respected. Every person, regardless of race, religion, age, sex, or sexual orientation, is a person of human dignity and a valued member of our community."

Love Out -- One of the first TN Waltzers to go down, Charles Love, is out of prison. Love, a former Hamilton Co. School Board official, was convicted in the Waltz investigation of being a bagman. Love served less than a year in prison following a plea deal.