In this morning’s News Sentinel, Sen. Randy McNally likens his replacement as caucus chair to the replacement of Tom Hagen as the Corleone family’s consigliere. “We need a wartime consigliere,” he said.

Terry Frank‘s closing comments on the matter exemplify precisely what’s wrong in politics today:

He refused to endorse several GOP house candidates here in his own district over the years, including the most recent GOP candidate, David Massengill.

If McNally says this was truly a smack-down like he seems to intimating, then here’s a real lesson from the Godfather. If you turn on the family, expect to being taken for a little car ride.

I fully understand the utility of political parties, but I draw the line at mafia-like tactics to force representatives of the people to toe the party line. We elect individuals based upon their individual qualities; I vote for individuals based upon their integrity, understanding of issues, willingness to listen, and ability to work with others. I’ve voted for Randy McNally every time he’s been on the ballot, and will continue to do so.

Massengill is a caricature, and one who would have done precisely as Terry Frank and the other neo-cons dictated without ever thinking about the people of his district. He looked me in the eye over coffee one afternoon and told me that “we’ve got to focus on social issues like abortion and gay marriage to grow the party,” which is precisely the opposite of my priorities in government.

Government should do only what people cannot do, or do well, for themselves.

The mafia operating mode is how Terry Frank destroyed the Anderson County Republican Party — no room for views other than her own, no room for candidates except those equipped with the strings of a marionette.

Thanks, but no thanks.

This morning’s Nashville City Paper features a story entitled “Ramsey to Williams: Don’t be a Patsy.”

The gist is that Ramsey wants Williams’ vote for Majority Leader.  Has to have it, as there aren’t any Democrats willing to jump ship for Ramsey.  On the other hand, Williams has voted in the past for Lt. Governor Wilder — a Democrat, but one who ran the Senate more fairly than any other.  Odd as Wilder may be, one does have to appreciate that he organized that body with committee control shared by members of both parties.

Sen. Ron Ramsey probably knows Sen. Mike Williams better than I do, having worked with him in the upper house of the State Legislature for several years now.  But I do know Mike well enough to know that saying stupid things — calling childish names, even — is absolutely not the right way to persuade him to your point of view.

I fully understand the Senate Republicans’ desire for a Republican speaker; I understand the desire of many (of both parties, or no particular party at all for that matter) to have a Lt. Governor in whom there is a higher level of confidence in his, shall we say, mental faculties.  That said, I also think that a better tactic for electing a Republican speaker might be to back one who is seen as less sharply partisan than Ramsey.  Not necessarily any different in their views on issues, but one whose tactics are more gentle.

Mike Williams is not a “liberal” Republican, but he’s definitely his own man, representing his own constituents.  Threatening him or calling him silly names is very likely to drive him straight to the decision that Ramsey doesn’t want.

An alternate choice would be nice.

Three ORHS students have taken the grand prize in the Siemens Math, Science and Technology competition in New York today.

Breaking news at the Oak Ridger says:

The three ORHS students are Scott Molony, Steven Arcangeli and Scott Horton.

In their winning team project, “Linking Supercomputing and Systems Biology for Efficient Bioethanol Production,” the students contribute to a growing body of research on creating microrganisms that can produce alternative fuels, according to a Siemens news release.

“This team used supercomputers to analyze biological networks, looking at tens of thousands of genes and their biological pathways to discover clues for engineering direct biofuel production by microorganisms,” said competition judge Gary Benson, an associate professor in the departments of computer science, biology and director of graduate studies program in bioinformatics at Boston University. “Through a real team effort and a sophisticated, interdisciplinary approach, they developed a promising method that takes us a step closer to engineering biofuel.”

Based partly on the team’s work, the Oak Ridge National Laboratory received a major grant to continue this research. The team’s mentors were Nagiza Samatova, Chris Symons, Byung-Hoony Park, and Tatiana Karpinets, all with ORNL.

There may be an appearance on Good Morning America tomorrow. Congratulations to Scott, Steven, and Scott, along with Benita Albert, who continues to hone some of the most brilliant young minds in America — if not the world.

Update: WATE has a better picture.