Last May, I attended the Tennessee Green Party’s state nominating convention in Nashville.  At that time, the primary race between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama was still in full swing and there was much talk about the “woman’s vote,” the “Black vote,” and the historic nature of these two Democratic candidates.    The Green Party, however, was on the verge of nominating an African-American and a woman all in the same person.  Former U.S. Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney was the presumptive nominee at the time and has since gone on to win the nomination outright. Tennessee Greens seemed exaspe...

In the second part of this story, two Iraq veterans from Tennessee discuss their frustration with the lack of coverage the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are getting. They are both members of Iraq Veterans Against the War, but show strong support for their colleagues still fighting overseas (as well as the innocent civilians caught in the struggle).

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I recently spoke with two young veterans from the Iraq war. In this piece, they discuss their disillusionment with the war and their reasons for becoming involved with Iraq Veterans Against the War. This is the first of a two part series.

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Here we are just past Independence Day, a time to celebrate the founding of our country as a sovereign democratic nation.  In the spirit of celebrating patriotism and service to our country, MTV has spent the past several days featuring stories of young Iraq and Afghanistan veterans on television and the web.  Many readers here probably have friends or family members who have served.  It probably comes as no surprise that the veterans’ stories and points of view have been as diverse and varied as one would expect from any other group of citizens.  Some discussed their pride and support for these military actions, others have been critical of certain aspects of the war, and some simply allowed us a glimpse of their training and methods.  It has been humbling to hear their stories of service, sacrifice, pride, and discontent.  ...

Here's  a  vlog   asking   veterans   about  their  thoughts   and  opinions.

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Note: unless otherwise indicated, the source for the following campaign funding and spending figures is the Center for Responsive Politics, a non-profit, non-partisan organization.

Intro

Just how grateful would you be if someone gave you a half million dollars?  Would you pick up the phone when they called?  If they had a problem or a special need would you hook them up?  What if they “only” gave you about a quarter million?  Would you still take care of them when needed?  Another question…   What would you do with all that money?  Buy a house or two, a car, pay off your student loans, travel the world, or just blow it partying with all of the new friends you never knew you had?   I’d be willing to bet that almost none of us would spend the bulk of it buying thirty-second TV commercials broadcasting h...

Now that Barack Obama is the presumptive nominee for the Democratic Party, I thought I'd talk to some local supporters about his campaign.  Steve Turner, age 25, is a community organizer and Obama supporter.  Turner was one of the major players in establishing Obama's campaign headquarters here in Nashville, and I talked with him about the campaign's