Today was a day for family time — breakfast at the historic Portage Point Inn, followed by an afternoon of horseback riding.

From left are myself, he who tames flying monkeys, Delta, Gamma, Annie, Mike, and Teddy.  I’m riding Mustang Sally, so named because she was adopted from the wild.  She’s a spirited little sweetie who kept the stable owner busy because she could either untie the halter from the post, or slip her head out of the halter altogether, and wander freely about.

I love horses; they’re a lot like big dogs.  If you’re firm but kind and offer positive reinforcements, they’re loyal and playful.

Afterward, we visited with Grandma and Mark, drank hot chocolate, and let the kids run around the farm with the ATV.  Their two feet of snow melted earlier in the week so there isn’t any sledding or snowmen (yet), but it’s relaxing and we’re having a wonderful time.

Word on the streets of Clinton has it that City Council has just approved the County’s “deal” of allowing annexation of the Bethel property in exchange for the Clinton giving the County an additional 12% of the new taxes collected — I’m assuming this is the City’s share of the new sales tax collections.

I’m surprised that Clinton caved in on the giveaway; with the annexation referendum approved, it seems that it would have gone through regardless of the County’s opinion… the only thing I can figure is that Clinton has a developer in the wings that might walk away from the deal if delayed by any further legal delays on the County’s part.

Watch Rex Lynch claim credit for the growth, in spite of his mightiest efforts to stop it.

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.

Santa’s Butt has been censored.

In Maine, of all places (the cold, liberal northeast, that is), the Bureau of Liquor Enforcement denied approval for the import of the Oxfordshire, England-brewed Santa’s Butt Winter Porter, deeming it “undignified or improper.”

There are alternatives, of course.  The Brew Site lists Bison Gingerbread Ale as their pick for Day 2 of the Advent Beer Calendar.  And before anyone jumps all over me about even mentioning a religious tradition in the same sentence as an adult beverage, go back to your bible and look up Jesus’ first recorded miracle.  [Hint: John 2: 1-11]

There was once a new president of the Chamber of Commerce who, upon arrival, suggested that the Chamber of Commerce stop putting on a Christmas parade — it IS a lot of work.  Fortunately, one of his staff, a longtime Oak Ridger, told him, “this is the thing that makes Oak Ridge feel like a normal town.”Now he understands.  And for a day, we can feel like a normal town — one where the Mayor, the Boy Scouts, the 4H Club, the churches, and anyone else can participate and feel festive just because it’s the first Saturday in December.

The parade marshals (not the folks at the head of the parade, but the people who help line it up, and who help keep spectators from being run over) are all volunteers.  Some are Chamber members, some are recruited from the Breakfast Rotary Club, but all are there just to lend a helping hand.  I was one of them this morning, as I have been off and on in years past.

Virtually all of the children are on their best behavior, along with most of the adults.  There are always a few who display their worst behavior on that day: the parent who thinks theirs is the only child in the parade, and that they alone have the right to disregard instructions from the polite volunteer in the parking lot and drive careening down the aisles of parked floats (and horses, llamas, marching bands, etc.) to drop off their little precious right at the float.

This year appeared to go rather smoothly, and almost everyone maintained smiles and cooperation throughout.  Fortunately, there was only one incident calling for my “zero to b**ch in 2.6 seconds” reaction…  I really think that people are beginning to understand that when one of the 40 or so volunteers tells people where they need to go (whether a parade entry, dropping off one of the hundreds of kids participating, or simply a lost soul who didn’t realize there was no flea market today or that the basketball game is on the other side of the high school) are there to help ensure the safety and logistics of the parade.

Three hours in the cold was enough for me today though, and rather than walk the parade route as I have before, I hitched a ride in the Razzleberry Ice Cream float.  It was the white truck dressed up as a pigmobile (the shop’s theme), driven by my godson who works there.

I saw Bosphorus bringing one of his little ones to be in the parade, and Mrs. Eaves with the others along the parade route.  Also saw Daco and Mrs. Daco, along with their absolutely adorable grandchildren.  Actually, I think I saw most of Oak Ridge… it was a beautiful sunny morning (even if a little cold), and a great way to start the weekend.

Merry Christmas, Oak Ridge!