Happy birthday to us

March 24 marks one year of Grand Divisions. So happy birthday to us. It has been an amazing year of state and local politics in Tennessee. Even though the presidential election overshadowed much of it, still there were a lot of great stories that came out of our state. We have tried to present the political struggles of the GLBT community as a part of the overall story, and we hope to do the same in our second year.

From our first post explaining the blog's title:

Admittedly, the title is a little comical. The three stars on the Tennessee flag stand for the three "grand divisions" of our state's geography. But "grand divisions" also strikes me as a way of describing the debates currently confronting Tennessee. We've seen growing partisanship in the last few years and there's no sign of a reversal. Nevertheless, there is a strong tradition of community and an effort to establish consensus and cohesiveness in Tennessee's political culture. I suppose that's the "grand" part.

We think it still fits. Here's to another year!

New Middle Tennessee blog: Volunteer Vets

Chris Atkins has started Volunteer Vets, a new blog that focuses on issues important to veterans around the state as well as updates and commentary on politics.

As he puts it in his first post on Thursday:

I hope that in the coming days I will start a discussion with you about ways that Tennesseans can do more to honor our veterans and ensure that they receive better benefits in our state than in any other part of the country. The Volunteer State has always been about service above self, and I believe that we must do more to serve those who served us. I also believe that service is not limited to the military and that we should all do more to take an active part in our community. Part of that activity is being knowledgeable about local, state and national politics. This is the spirit of Volunteer Vets.

Tennessee's political blogosphere is growing, and a blog with a focus on issues of importance to our state's veterans is a welcome addition.

Round up on the Crafton Charter amendment

Coming in fast are the responses to Councilman Eric Crafton's effort to amend the Metro Nashville charter with a ballot initiative that would make English the official language of Nashville.

Jim Grinstead of Progressive Nashville had this full-blooded retort to the effort.

It's a multi-cultural world and Crafton has yet to realize it. He would rather see families do without necessary services if they cannot ask for them in English. Do people learn faster when they are denied water and sanitary services? Should they ignore the accident victim on the side of the road because they cannot speak English during a 911 call?

Mike Byrd asks why the City Paper isn't asking more questions, particularly about the claim that Crafton's amendment would help immigrants. As we said at Grand Divisions earlier this week, it's the media coverage that will matter in shaping the debate.

Truman Bean takes another view, focusing on the perspective that Crafton is a champion of democracy in jumping over the Council on the issue. He touches on the media issue, too:

Just wait, the Tennessean and their status quo cronies will opine heavily against it.

I wonder how long we'll have to wait. As of Saturday, the Tennessean still has not covered the story. WSMV has. And even though WSMV included a response to Crafton's initiative, it's clear that Crafton is setting the agenda for the coverage so far.

The Nashville Scene's Pith in the Wind quoted Mike Byrd and added their own touch by posting a picture of Godzilla. Let's hope they assign one of their writers an extended piece on Crafton's campaign.