Whomever said “there’s nothing to do in Oak Ridge” sure missed out this weekend… the annual Irish celebration put on by Peggy and Tom Hanrahan, of the Realty Center, was surely the place to be.

Irish balladeer Pat Kane was once again on hand to perform, and put on a trememdous show (as always). Unable to consider waiting a year to hear it again, I ordered a CD this morning — Haymaker’s Jig #2 is the sort of music that reinvigorates my spirit after a hard week like this past one has been.

The beer was very green; an outsider’s observation of the happy folk might have led to the conclusion that we had been grazing…

On Tap for Saturday and Sunday:
Friday night certainly kicked off the weekend on the right foot, but there’s more — the Dogwood Regatta is taking place today and tomorrow at the Marina. With crews in town from as far off as Ontario (Canada, not California), the finish on Sunday will feature a cardboard regatta, testing the skills of amateur boat-builders using — you guessed it — cardboard boats.

This, I’ll have to see for myself.

For Nancy:
Yesterday, you noted that the recent emergence of corruption and bribery among public officials makes you want to move to Bermuda; I theorized that while we do have problems, it’s probably better here than elsewhere in the world. Although the Middle East is probably not the most effective example, Michael Totten’s most recent entry on his Iraq visit is worth a read. We’re lucky to be here. Had I been born in Afghanistan or Saudi Arabia, I’d have been executed long ago.

In this country, the right to peaceful protest is one of our core values. However, the definition of “peaceful” may need some scrutiny, as evidenced by last Wednesday’s immigration marches (hat tip: Instapundit).

Already in Tennessee, reaction to the wheelchair protest over TennCare policy has lawmakers ready to establish some rules of engagement: although protests are perfectly legal, blocking public streets and the entrances to/exits from public buildings is not.

Sen. Charlotte Burks’ comment got my attention:

“There was staff here that had children in day cares and couldn’t go get them, and I saw a couple of them crying, and this should help that,” Sen. Charlotte Burks, D-Monterey, a co-sponsor of the bill, said before casting her “yes” vote.

Regardless of how strongly you feel about an issue, keeping others from entering or leaving a place of public business is simply unacceptable. Protest, wave signs, grill steaks at the door (making the occupants hungry), whatever… but be polite.

The Tennessee Supreme Court ruling earlier this week has cast turmoil into the May elections for at least two counties — Shelby and Knox — with early voting set to begin on April 12. The short notice leaves election commissions unable to change the ballots in time, and just last night, State Elections Coordinator Brook Thompson opined that the incumbents cannot be removed from the ballot because the election is less than 40 days away (see the Commercial Appeal).

So, people could vote for the incumbents, but if elected, they could not serve. Instead, it would be up to the local political parties to select a candidate for the August general election (county commission seats are partisan in those two counties).

If there was no opponent from the other party, whomever was selected would be the de facto winner. I’m not comfortable with that at all; it would be better to re-open the filing and let the August election go to the highest vote-getter from any party. At least that way, it would be a representative of the voters, not the political machine.

While I’m not opposed to term limits, the situation in Knox Co., where two-thirds of the county commission have been deemed ineligible, leaves the probability of a very inexperienced commission… which shifts considerable power to other officeholders and local government staff.

It will be interesting, to say the least.

Afterthought:
Maybe the terrorists aren’t as scary as our own state’s political bloggers. To wit, VOLuntarily Conservative reported on the straw poll for the 2008 Presidential race:

1427 votes were cast. Out of his vote total, 81.7% of Frist’s votes came from Tennessee voters. Out of all voters from Tennessee, 42% chose a candidate besides Senator Frist.

The Tennessee Politics blog had a decidedly different tone, stating that Frist was “tepidly received.” Of course, that post was made before the results of the straw poll were in, so perhaps they should have been kinder… the whole hindsight thing, you know.

I’m not much better at predicting political races, but I’ve learned to stay away from making forecasts unless it’s qualified as a WAG.

Some days we surf for sunshine and find sharks.

The Middle East Media Research Institute (hat tip, Jihad Watch) has posted a threat purportedly found on Islamic websites:

Purported “Al-Qaeda Undercover Soldier, U.S.A”: Last Warning to American People – Two Operations Will Occur; Your Homeland Security Agency Must Surrender; States Far Away From Washington, D.C. Such as Arizona Will Be Hit; We Await Orders From Our Commander Osama Bin Laden; America Will Be Brought to its Knees

MEMRI has the full scope.

I really try not to dwell on the latest terror news; to do so functionally grants them victory. However, there are bits and pieces that tug at my mind — among them, people studying at our universities who may not be carefully screened, as well as converts to terror from among our own people.

The former is a relic from my college days, having encountered way back then someone who came to this country with the intent of taking home (to Palestine) knowledge of nuclear engineering “to fight the infidel.” The latter, I suppose, is the realization that some of those among us are as crazy as the Sept. 11th hijackers, and some of those convert to Islam (often in prison) and actually join the dark side.

I’ll still live each day as I otherwise would, but some days it’s worth the time for an extra hug from the kids, and extra kiss for the hubby, and a myriad of other things I ought to do anyway.