Tagged: larry burriss

MURFREESBORO, Tenn.  --  At the moment former speaker of the house Newt Gingrich appears to be leading other republican presidential contenders in the polls. I say “for the moment,” because by the time I finish writing these comments someone else may very well be the front runner.

A couple of my friends have noticed, with some chagrin, that everyone, including the media, seems to delight in attacking the front runners. The Japanese have a phrase for this sort of behavior: the nail that sticks up is the one that gets hammered down.

MURFREESBORO, Tenn.  --  Ever since the early days of broadcasting, nearly 100 years ago, the law has had an almost impossible time trying to keep up with technology. Every time legislators think they have the technology figured out, a new wrinkle comes along that changes all of the rules.

Now Congress is trying to figure out how to prevent cyber-theft of movies, songs and consumer goods, which is a good thing, but in the process may end up shutting down innumerable legitimate web sites, particularly social media and user-generated content.

Murfreesboro, Tenn It’s been said that all politics is local, meaning the most important political decisions are really made at the local level, not the state and national. And if that’s true, then it follows that the most important examples of political and public information are also local.

So, let’s take a quick look at who can look at local public records, and what records are available to the local public.

     I made a silly mistake in class last year, and asked my students how many of them remember the riots that helped end the Vietnam War.  Of the 40-some students, only one was old enough to remember those days of demonstrations, tear gas and arrests.