The Pulse Blog's February 2006 Archives

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February 28, 2006

Fripp Onstage on The Pulse on Fripp

I have seen Robert Fripp numerous times at this point, but never before in the solo soundcapes/Q&A format on display at an almost sold-out Rhythm and Brews on Monday night..

Though often powerful, beautiful and moving to the faithful like myself, Fripp's soundscapes -- ambient loops constructed via an electric guitar, a Powerbook and a rather impressive effects rack -- are clearly not for everybody. 10 minutes into the performance, my longtime guitarist friend (who loves all kinds of guitarists, including Fripp disciples, the California Guitar Trio) leaned over to me and asked, "So, is this the whole show?" Feeling like a man delivering news of cancer or something equally awful, I replied with a quick "Yep." Fripp continued for 20 minutes more, after which my friend remarked that all the effects were drowning him out. I guess I can see that. Fripp is a guitarist competent in many different styles, and I have to admit that I wouldn't have minded in the least if he had busted into a few lines of "Fracture" or "Discipline" or that solo from "Sailor's Tale." But that's not what he was there for. At this stage in his life, Fripp's focus is simply the music, and this is the music -- as least as a solo artist -- that he wants to and has to play.

At roughly 30 minutes into the show, Fripp broke for the aforementioned Q&A session, kicking it off by thanking the audience for their patience in sitting through the typically trying, unorthodox and mostly melody bereft performance. This drew laughs. He continued by relaying some of the harsher reviews his performances have received over the years before opening up the floor for questions.

But not before treating me, personally, to one of the oddest nights of my life...

Continue reading "Fripp Onstage on The Pulse on Fripp"

Posted by colrus at 11:16 PM | TrackBack

Roberts Rules

Gene Roberts has unparalleled credentials as a fiscal conservative and tremendous background in managing a large public corporation -- the city of Chattanooga.

That's Mayor Ron Littlefield on the man he has named to the Erlanger Hospital Authority Board. This is far from Roberts' first appearance in the spotlight this year; I haven't kept close tabs, but the former mayor has been a pretty constant media presence for about three months now -- at least since Littlefield resumed Roberts' old battle to nab the Tennessee American Water Company. And Roberts isn't the only former mayor to start showing up in the news: a recent TFP story on the Tivoli theater featured a quote from Robert Kirk Walker.

None of this proves a thing, but it does suggest a question: is the revival of these personas in city government part of a campaign by Littlefield to craft a new image? He hasn't done much in recent months to emphasize his election-era image of underdog and outsider, and the chirping crickets at Enterprise South haven't left him much opportunity to play job-crusading knight. But associating himself with Roberts and Walker would be a sharp move, allowing Littlefield to contrast himself against the developer mayors (Kinsey and Corker) and their possible excesses, all while asserting a deeper link with the tradition of public servants who used smaller government to aid individual citizens.

So is this the plan? Or am I making false links?

Posted by mesh at 05:46 PM | TrackBack

February 27, 2006

Bob and the Taxman

Pith in the Wind, the Nashville Scene's fine alt-weekly blog, is hosting a jolly discussion of whether Bob Corker should have paid some taxes in the 1980s. Join in.

Posted by mesh at 08:59 PM | TrackBack

Another St. Elmo Slaying

Chattanooga police charged a 19-year-old man with murder Saturday night, hours after an owner of the Okie-Dokie Market #5 was found behind the counter of her store, dead from a gunshot to the chest. Police said Charles Nash confessed to shooting Ok-Hui Brown, 64, in a robbery – as well as admitting to another robbery several blocks north. Brown was found by two neighborhood children and pronounced dead at the corner market, located at 5601 St. Elmo Avenue. A Chattanoogan.com report quotes police as saying Nash "shot the clerk with a silver and black semi-automatic gun and robbed the store of a cash register and video recorder machine."

Neighborhood reaction to the killing of the woman nicknamed “Mrs. Okie” was severe. “We are very angry and upset, if that store on 55th [Street] and all of the drug dealers on that street were gone, chances are very good that Okie would still be alive,” wrote Theresa Wood on the st-elmo.org mailing list. “It is of little consolation that the murderer has been caught. I can certainly assure you that Mr. Brown has no sympathy for the 19-year-old killer and all I have to say is that this is felony murder which is a death penalty offense and I will be watching the prosecutor’s office on this one.”

Posted by mesh at 08:53 PM | TrackBack

February 23, 2006

No More in District 4

It's a small gesture, but a telling one: the Hamilton County Commission's Web site no longer contains any evidence of William Cotton. The District 4 page, which once contained Cotton's smiling visage, now only lists a general government E-mail address. What's more, the site was updated at 3:28 p.m. on Monday -- just hours after Cotton delivered his resignation. They weren't sitting on their heels for this one.

Posted by mesh at 04:51 PM | TrackBack

Zach Wamp on Bush, U.A.E. Port Deal

Selected quotes from Zach Wamp talking this morning about the proposed port deal with the United Arab Emirates on WGOW's "F.R.E.D. the Show" with Jeff Styles:

"Anyone that didn't brief the President should be fired immediately."

"This runs against everything we've done since 9/11."

"Nonsensical..."

"It calls the leadership of Homeland Security into question."

"I hate to see my President dig his heels in when he's wrong."

"The American people are saying, 'Heck, no.'"

Posted by colrus at 10:50 AM | TrackBack

February 22, 2006

Newton to the Joint

Chris Newton has been sentenced to one year in prison, two years supervised release and a $10,000 fine.

Developing...

Posted by colrus at 11:29 AM | TrackBack

Bush Didn't Know

What? Huh?

"WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Bush was unaware of the pending sale of shipping operations at six major U.S. seaports to a state-owned business in the United Arab Emirates until the deal already had been approved by his administration, the White House said Wednesday."

No matter how you run down the different scenarios in your head, they're all scary. Well, ignorance is bliss, I suppose. I suppose we could sell operations of the White House to the UAE, too.

Oh, wait...

America. I'm begging you. Ethics and transparency. Vote for them. PLEASE.

Posted by colrus at 11:25 AM | TrackBack

Gravity Discovers Newton

Former state Representative Chris Newton, who pleaded guilty to extortion last summer after the initial round of Tennessee Waltz indictments, faces a sentencing hearing in Memphis at, oh, right about now. Newton has petitioned the court for leniency, citing his mother's illness and his own impoverishment. (Think about that last bit for a moment.)

For the record, this is not the same Chris Newton as the stunt bloke.

Posted by mesh at 10:52 AM | TrackBack

February 21, 2006

Pay to Play on the Riverfront

From Chattanoogan.com:

User fees are going into effect for groups planning to use the facilities along the Waterfront.

"There has been a free ride for a long time," said Michelle Michaud of the mayor's office.

She said city parks and recreation has had some charges, but they have been "low."

The city is joining in a contract with Friends of the Festival - the group that puts on the annual Riverbend Festival - to manage the Waterfront.

Mayor Ron Littlefield said Friends of the Festival is well-equipped to function as the Waterfront booking agency. He said the group knows the Waterfront layout well and has ties with those involved in renting tents and portable stages.

Thoughts, anyone?

Posted by colrus at 09:02 PM | TrackBack

Clinton to Appear at AAN Conference

Former President Bill Clinton will appear at the upcoming Association of Alternative Newsweeklies annual conference in Little Rock, Arkansas in June. The three-day convention will also feature an opening night reception at the Clinton Presidential Library.

Posted by colrus at 09:31 AM | TrackBack

February 20, 2006

Chattanooga Now Has Craigslist

See it here.

I'd love to hear your thoughts on this.

Posted by colrus at 10:33 AM | TrackBack

February 18, 2006

Cotton Guilty: Juror Speaks

Only one Cotton juror stayed in the Federal Building to talk with reporters: Dustin Donahue, the foreman. He said he knew from the start of deliberations that the verdict would take time.

"There was just so much to sift through," he said. "We had a lot of jurors who were very evidence-minded. Some were more evidence-minded than others; that's true in any jury. But I'd say this jury was mostly evidence minded."

Donahue said the deliberations were painstaking. "This is not my first time serving on a jury," he said. "But it is the first time that I've seen a jury go back and listen to the same tape four or five times. To the same bit."

Donahue finished his comments outside the courthouse, where his jacket was little match for the night's wind. He had finished three days of argument, and he was ready to have it complete. "I'm going home," he said, "to drink something warm."

Look for more about the Cotton verdict, and what it took to get there, in this week's edition of The Pulse.

Posted by mesh at 07:22 PM | TrackBack

Cotton Guilty: The Lawyers React

Being found guilty on Federal bribery charges did not make William Cotton any more eager to speak with the media. His usually ebulent attorney, Hank Hill, was also quiet tonight, although not without his trusty smirk.

"Obviously, we're disappointed," Hill said as he walked down the stairwell of the Solomon Federal Building. He would not say whether he was contemplating an appeal: "I'm contemplating going home."

Assistant U. S. District Attorney John MacCoon nearly avoided the press altogether, darting ahead of the pack of cameras surrounding Cotton. But he was in a far better humor.

"We certainly admired the perseverence and the dilligence of the jury," he said. "They were a representative cross-section of the community. They spoke for the community."

Would this case impact upcoming corruption trials?

"Every case is different," MacCoon said. "But I'd sure rather win the first Tennessee Waltz case than lose it."

Posted by mesh at 07:14 PM | TrackBack

Cotton Guilty: Verdict Reached at 6:15

The first trial in the Tennessee Waltz scandal ended tonight, but only barely. Judge Allan Edgar sent the jury a note at 6 p.m. calling a recess for the weekend and asking them to reconvine on Monday. The jury responded with a request: "They need five more minutes," Edgar read.

The verdicts were read at 6:15 -- after nearly 18 hours of deliberations. William Cotton was found guilty on one count of conspiring to commit extortion and one count of attempting to commit extortion. The jury found the County Commissioner not guilty of a second count of attempted extortion.

As a first time offender, Cotton likely faces three years in prison, according to reports. His sentencing hearing is scheduled for May 2; he remains free on bond until then.

In the course of deliberations, jurors listened four different times to an FBI wiretap of a January 29, 2005 conversation between Cotton and "bagman" Charles Love. "We need to hear it again," a 4 p.m. note from the jury read. "Please keep it cued up: We made need to hear it again after that."

The tape was evidence in the count of attempted bribery for which the jury found Cotton not guilty. Prosecutors said it featured Cotton rebuking Love for handling bribe money in public. "Don't take it that-a-way, Charles," Cotton said in the recording. "Go to the bathroom, come back. Go for a ride in the car, or whatever. That was too open."

Posted by mesh at 06:52 PM | TrackBack

Cotton Guilty on Two of Three Counts

Developing...

Posted by mesh at 06:40 PM | TrackBack

Deliberating for the Weekend

There is something encouraging, it must be said, about any jury willing to tenaciously examine evidence. In that sense, every additional hour that passes in the William Cotton deliberations is a tiny validation of American criminal justice.

But try telling that to a roomful of people stuck in court on a Saturday. The mood in the Solomon Federal Building has shifted away from tension, sailed past frustration, and landed in the arms of torpor. Reporters are no longer reading in the courtroom; we're either pacing or sleeping. Some of us have taken to standing in one place and staring at the wall.

Cotton himself appears calmer than he has at any point in his trial. He even laughed with family members this morning. The jury seems distinctly merry as well; they had a good chuckle when Judge Allan Edgar condescended to give them five extra minutes at lunch. Deliberations resume at 2:45.

N.B.: As you may have heard, District 27 Rep. Chris Clem showed up in the courtroom yesterday afternoon to protest the mention of several GOP colleagues' names in Federal wiretap transcripts. Democratic Party Chairman Stuart James didn't take kindly to the gesture. You'll hear no comment from me, other than to observe that James has been a far more faithful attandant of the trial than has Clem.

Posted by mesh at 02:14 PM | TrackBack

February 17, 2006

Indecision 02.17.06

William Cotton's jury has reached two of its three verdicts. We just don't know what they've decided.

The jury sent a memo to District Judge Allan Edgar at 6 p.m.: "We are hung on count two, but have reached verdicts on counts one and three." They asked if the counts could be separated. "That is to say, is it an all-or-nothing situation?"

It was not, Edgar replied; the three counts were to be considered distinct from each other, and deadlock on a single count would not nullify other verdicts. But he encouraged the jury to continue deliberations.

Jurors then requested a recess until morning. There were no objections; court will reconvine at 10 a.m. tomorrow.

For the fourth stright day, William Cotton walked down the front steps of the Solomon Federal Building with his fate still uncertain. Again, he was followed by a phalanx of television cameras and declined comment. (He added a new touch by carrying a small child in the crook of his arm.) But this time the trial had dragged well into the evening, and it was getting dark outside.

Posted by mesh at 07:01 PM | TrackBack

Waiting for a Verdict: Day Two

Deliberations continue for a second day in the Cotton trial, although not without pause. At 11 a.m., the jury requested a second viewing of video evidence. At noon, the jury took a lunch break. At 3 p.m., the jury took a cigarette break. No word yet on snack break or naptime.

Meanwhile, both legal camps have contented themselves with reading. The prosecution has shown a preference for legal paperbacks, Time Magazine and The Pulse's crossword, while the defense has perused the Times Free Press, watched music videos and discussed classic cars. Me? I've stuck with a book of Chris Hitchens essays.

With the weather slowly warming, both sides have moved outdoors. Little more than an hour remains until the unhurried jury will decide whether to stay late or send the trial to a second week.

Posted by mesh at 03:38 PM | TrackBack

February 16, 2006

Jury Rests Hands Until Morning

Two afternoon hours of deliberation weren't enough for the Federal jury in William Cotton's extortion case: they asked to go home a few minutes after 5 o'clock, and Judge Edgar Allan approved a recess until 9 a.m. tomorrow.

Cotton spent the deliberations across the street from the courthouse in Miller Park. Clad in a black suit, he sat on a park bench smoking cigarettes. Early in the afternoon, he gathered with family members at the north edge of the park for a prayer circle.

Assistant U. S. District Attorney John MacCoon sat across the street in front of the Solomon Federal Building. Defense head Hank Hill -- who has proved the highlight of this trial, alternating between dogged questioning and wisecracks -- milled with the press corps, trading jokes.

Why didn't Cotton testify? I asked him. "Why should he?" Hill replied. "The government has to prove their case, and it's not the burden of my client to prove it for them."

Was he confident about Cotton's chances?

"I'm not usually confident until I got to bed at night, and then it's just that I'll get up in the morning."

Posted by mesh at 06:00 PM | TrackBack

Cotton Case Now in Hands of Jury

A couple of choice quotes from today's closing arguments:

"Mr. Cotton has betrayed the public trust of the people that elected him. He has chosen greed and his own interests. Do your duty."
-- Assistant U.S. Attorney John MacCoon

"There's no proof that Mr. Cotton ever got money or was willing to take money. As opposed to being Mr. Cotton's bagman, Mr. Love is a bagman -- but he's his own bagman."
-- Cotton defense attorney Hank Hill

Posted by colrus at 02:43 PM | TrackBack