illegal to buy light bulbs...

[rebelcowboysnb]

That lawnmower safety handle is zip tied on mine. Being as I only have one good hand I can use it the way it came. The government mandated a safety that makes the disabled unable to use the product. Whats next, banning elevators so people loose weight. Ta heck with people in wheelchairs, they dont matter.

 

[cmjust0]

Quote:
I know most of the land was either condemned or claimed through imminent domain, and I'm no more a fan of imminent domain than you are...however...fact is, East Tennessee was like a 3rd world country during the early days of TVA. Lots of people living as subsistance farmers were displaced, yes -- as well as some who were probably living at a much higher standard, I'm sure -- and I wouldn't doubt that there were probably more than a few old coots who were "escorted" off their property by armed peace officers..

People were paid, though.. The TVA *did buy* the property, the majority of which was failing farmland and hillside.

With imminent domain, people *always* get paid. They may not have wanted to sell, and they may not get what *they* think their property is worth, but they do get paid. The 5th Amendment of the Constitution of the United States of America *gaurantees* that they get paid.

And for everyone to hate the TVA so much, they suuuuuuure did -- and still do -- employ an awful lot of East Tennesseans. And those who didn't necessarily work for the TVA, per se, can stil thank TVA for bringing in so much other industry and employment on account of all that electricity they were producing.

The word "ALCOA" comes to mind right off the bat.

My grandmother remembers it. Our family was lucky to live on high ground so they were left alone but hundreds of towns were not. The also only helped power the bigger citys that were growing. Took years before they even thought about sharing with the small communitys. An much of that had to be done mostly by the private sector.

Weird, because the Rural Elecrtification Administration was created in 1935 with the express purpose of bringing electricity to rural areas like East Tennessee.. Within 4 years, the REA had established more than 400 rural electric cooperatives that served nearly 300,000 homes.

Not sure where you're getting your info here..

That song is badmouthing Roosevelt by the way. The talk about papa being a southern Democrat. Then say that wish that rich men would vote like him. Then say that But Roosevelt was going to save us all... Its a sarcastic remark. Roosevelt was a republican an they saw the republicans an him as a joke.
Then after that "county got the farm and they moved to town" They were imminent domained out.

But he was lucky enough to get one of the few TVA jobs.

So he lost everything so he could get a job that he didnt need at the start.

I really hate to break this to ya, but FDR was a Democrat. Heck, I'd go so far as to say that FDR was the Democrat.

In other news, that song's not badmouthing Roosevelt at all -- it's expressing the sentiment of the time. He was, afterall, elected to four consecutive terms in office. FOUR.

It's been said that they'd have elected him King if they could.

Yes, the song says that daddy was a veteran and southern Democrat, and when they say "they oughta get a rich man to vote like that," what they mean to point out is that rich people voted for Republicans because the Republicans represented big business and corporations and rich people's interests so forth, while regular people -- working people...farmers, veterans, etc -- voted for Democrats, because Democrats represented the interests of labor.

The family in the song lost the farm to the county through imminent domain, yes, but you missed the "mama got sick and daddy got down" part... Typhoid fever was around then, as well as smallpox and malaria. Malaria was rampant, actually -- about 1 in 3 people in the Tennessee valley had it when the TVA came in, if memory serves. The TVA actually played a huge role in reducing malaria cases in East Tn...look it up.

So, ya...mama got sick, daddy got down, county got the farm, and they moved to town...probably with what money they were paid by the TVA for a farm they'd otherwise have lost to the bank.

. That sorta thing happened a lot back then (hence the all-encompassing name of the song).. Heck, to this day, people are still losing all their worldy possessions on account of health-related problems -- some things never change, I guess.

And, yes, he got a job with the TVA and they bought a washing machine and chevrolet...which is to say, dispite being displaced, their standard of living actually went up. Did he need that job before?...no...but "let the market decide" economists and gold-standard adherents created a credit boom in the 1920s, which led to a depression in the 1930s, which led to decreased prices on farm commodities, etc..

Roosevelt didn't create that problem, though -- he implemented solutions to it.

So, no, the song's not badmouthing FDR, and it's not a sarcastic song. It's the song of the Tennessee Valley.

I'm actually quite surprised that the band hasn't made efforts to have it pulled from the airwaves and committed to the giant dustbin of history like it never happened -- because some things apparently DO change, if the band's current political leanings are taken into consideration!

Incidentally...that's the only Alabama song I can stomach.

 

[rebelcowboysnb]

Sorry your right about him being a democrat. Theodore Roosevelt was a Republican.
But TVA was not saw as a good thing in this part of the country an the song is not pro TVA or FDR.

Living where I do I get to hear how thing actually went an not how the history books tell it. But really the only people that would know what they meant when they sang it was Randy Owen, Cook, Gentry an Herndon. Next time I see one of them all ask. As for the writer of the song, Bob McDill, hes a texan so who know how he saw the whole thing. I know most of the people I know see it as an anti government song. But thats becouse we have to deal with what TVA has did every day.

 

[nonseq]

Quote:
I have all those same products, but have never had a problem with them.

Did you rip your seat belts out back in the 70s?

 

[rebelcowboysnb]

Seat belts never never stopped the disabled from driving.

 

[Dunkopf]

I always liked the excuses for not wearing seat belts. "If i get knocked out I won't be able to get my seat belt off if my car catches on fire" I look at wrecked cars for fun and to earn my living. I always laugh when I see head imprints in the windshield with some hair stuck in the glass. Then the person wearing the head comes driving up without a seatbelt on. Serious Darwin Awards type person.

Seriously though. I hate hearing about teens getting killed in car accidents because they didn't have their seat belts on. It's almost always the case too. Seat belts would have saved them. We had a girl at our high school go off the county road while she was texting. Hit the ditch and flew out the window. Took them 15 minutes to find her when they got there. They thought she had left already. Fact is she had. She just left her body and her grieving parents behind. The volunteer firefighter who found her was also the driving instructor at the school and had taught her how to drive. He retired at the end of the year.

Another one of those nanny state things. People really should be allowed to fly out of their car if they want to. Now car seats are a different story. People who have children get killed because they don't secure them should be prosecuted.

 

[rebelcowboysnb]

Worst crash I ever worked was two trucks hit head on. One was coming back from swimming. Cab was full an the rest of the kids were in lawn chairs in the bed of the truck..

http://www.carsonphotos.net/webpage931.htm

 

[Q9]

Quote:
I think, for once, that the car seat requirements are justified, as young children really can't determine what's safe, although, again, it would need to be ruled by the state, not Congress. Now, if older folks want to be goofwads and ride without seat belts, be my guest. Congress and the legislature has no right to force you, but it's your funeral.

 

[Organics North]

Ohhh rufus

I feel for ya............
IMO the problem is sue happy folks and their lawyers..

They will have us living in rubber rooms before you know it...

ON

 

[Dunkopf]

Quote:
Some people get in an accident, no matter how minor they think they hit the lottery. They don't really deserve squat and half the time they are at least partly at fault. On the other hand some people get really messed up and deserve some just compensation. It's difficult to put a fair cap on it. Getting millions of dollars is a bit out of line though unless you spend a lot of time in the hospital and suffer permanent damage. How much is fair for being made into a quadraplegic?

Rebel, I'm glad i don't get to see stuff like that.