Knoxville Tennessee Blog

“With 11 members instead of 19, the control of Chairman Scott Moore has been diminished somewhat, and commissioners’ focus is expected to shift toward putting the county’s house in order, promising Mayor Mike Ragsdale at least a brief reprieve from the attacks of the full Moore-led body.”

Wow. Attacks? That is more than just a little subjective isn’t it? The fact that DA Randy Nichols will not investigate anything with the County Mayor, County Commission, or Sheriff’s Department does not mean that investigations are “attacks”. Only in the bizarro world of the News Sentinel could such logic permeate.

This column was a look into the “inside baseball” politics in Knox County. But what really needs to be done is a look into the “inside baseball” of the Knoxville News Sentinel.

Had Editor Jack McElroy not filed the infamous Sunshine Law lawsuit the needed investigations of Knox County would have already taken place. Some might wonder if one of the many purposes of the Sunshine Law lawsuit was to buy time and put off the inevitable investigations of county government.

Without a full Commission can there be investigations of Knox County government? Yet most curiously Editor Jack McElroy, our own local version of William Randolph Hearst, opines through various editorials we should wait until August 2008 and let the voters fill the County Commission. So what is Mr. McElroy really saying?

http://knoxnews.com/news/2007/nov/08/election-for-county-seats-worth-the-wait/

So translated into English, the investigations must wait for almost an entire year. Is one of the reasons that eight members of County Commission were removed because a few people wanted to stall investigations of Knox County government?

How Clintoneque.