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February 09, 2006
Wherein TennesseeTicket Is Attacked
Well, now. It seems that I have inadvertently gone and upset a Van Hilleary supporter. That's fine — as has been repeated often in these days of cartoons and protests, in America we have the right to be offended.
Let's be clear: I'm not offended. The more links to my pages, the better; and I welcome diverse and adverse opinions to boot.
I think it only fair, though, to offer an explanation of some data that was recently viewed, and from which some perceptions were apparently generated. I'll do so in a general explanation of the entire suite of supplemental pages to this blog.
You see, there are these "Ballot Preview" pages I made. My aim with them is to provide information on what names might appear in front of voters when they elect Tennessee's Governor, Congressional delegation, and General Assembly — and, for my local community, officials and judges in Hamilton County and Chattanooga. Obviously, a goal in providing information is to make sure that information is not misleading, and is as accurate as possible. I aim for that goal.
Over time, blog posts and newspaper articles/columns have been published that suggest one politician or another is thinking about a race, could have a chance in a race, or has actually made overtures toward a race. I have collected such information and have published it as desired on my website. As more comes to light, sometimes I don't make it back to delete, strike through, or move the original content as soon as the change occurs.
Therefore, the sections on the Ballot Preview pages that hold potential candidates (each is indicated by question mark list bullets) are really a time-lapse compilation, of sorts, of all the candidates who were at one time even dreamed of, in terms of running for that office. If I see something published that unequivocally declares someone out of a race, and if I have time, I move the candidate in question to the inactive list (indicated by circle list bullets, italic type, grey background). Case in point: I read today that a candidate I have listed as declared has dropped out of the race he had entered. I didn't have a chance to update the page at the time; so I have to go find the article again and make sure I capture the information correctly. But I haven't done it yet. Why don't you go ahead and call me to the carpet on that one, too, Mr. Badger? Is that "pathetic" enough for you?
The paranoia revealed in the attack is much more telling about its author than it is about its target. I have never purported this site to be a "respectable journalistic organization." I'm not even sure what that phrase means. (Ergo I don't have much hope for getting "papably upsurd.") I am an avid observer, a joe six-pack citizen who posts and writes what he chooses and when he has time. I am dedicated to quality, and I believe that's what I offer. I do sense that I may need to re-think some "packaging" elements of the site, so that people come away with information they had sought and not with any accompanying misperceptions. Apologies all around for any of that.
So, to all Van Hilleary supporters (and, for that matter, detractors and the completely uninterested too), my displaying citations, references, or allusions to various published data about your favorite candidate is in no way meant to misconstrue, nor is it meant to damage the campaign. I want it well known that I root for all candidates, but I cheer especially loudly for the ones I happen to think will do the best job. I want to personally thank Ed Bryant, Bob Corker, U.S. Rep. Harold Ford, Jr., Bo Heyward, Van Hilleary, John Jay Hooker, Senator Rosalind Kurita, and Jeff Moder for stepping up and running for this United States Senate seat. I also want to thank anyone who thought about it for just thinking about it. It's awesome.
I'll make my best effort at going back through the scores of positions for which I'm attempting to maintain data and clearing up any misleading content. I have taxes to do, though, so don't hold your breath.
And in the meantime, pay attention to the declared candidate listings. That's the ballot preview. The other is really historical information, and yes, some of that is suspect. Someday Van will be showing as an inactive candidate (meaning: either dropped out or never was interested in the first place) in those two races that he's not in. I hope that day is soon. And I hope my distinguished critic is able to regain his good humor.
About Blogs | By joe lance | 10:27 PM