Metro Pulse/Ear to the Ground

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Abraham, Martin and Victor

There was a stupendous video tribute to Victor Ashe at City Council Tuesday in honor of his winning a super-prestigious, rarely awarded U.S. Conference of Mayors' public service award (the first recipient of which was Gen. George C. Marshall. With Ray Charles crooning "America" in the background, still photos of Ashe with various politicalebrities—Al Gore, Newt Gingrich, George W. Bush—flashed across the screen. There were Ashe testimonials from other mayors, one of whom, (who evidently didn't get the memo about the case Ashe lost in federal court for violating the civil rights of city firefighters) lauded him for his record on civil rights. The tribute was so elaborate that latecomers to the meeting might have feared that it was a eulogy.

The Man Inside the Suit

Guys dressed as Snoopy and Dilbert were part of the festivities at the Knoxville News-Sentinel's launch party/open house to show off its new building and printing press last week. The day before the party, KN-S publisher Bruce Hartmannn succumbed to an irresistible urge to don the Dilbert costume and cruise around the new facility. Apparently, a lot of folks succumbed to their own irresistible urges, and several of them horsed around with Dilbert, not knowing that it was the publisher inside the suit. He was patted on the butt and even pulled into someone's lap. Hartmann saw a frisky side of many of his employees, and his employees learned, much to their relief, that the boss can take a joke.

A Mile in His Shoes

By the time you read this, City Council guy Rob Frost may already be a dead man walking. Or, maybe barefoot.

Frost's wife, Erin, ratted him out to WBIR-TV's Closet Court, a local reality show that hauls in fashion felons for a dose of public humiliation. The Frosts were set to appear on the Wednesday afternoon show where defendant Rob stands accused of embarrassing prosecutor Erin by wearing a ratty old pair of Sebago Campsiders that are so worn out that one of them is held together with a safety pin. These old slip-ons are pictured on the WBIR web site, which asks whether they should be reprieved or sent on to death row. Word is that Erin was going to go for the death penalty, and it looks grim for Rob. An online poll showed public opinion running 75/25 against his clodhoppers. Rob said he intended to put up a vigorous defense, because he loves the 15-year-old camp mocs, which he wears to do painting and other work on his house, even though neighborhood kids make fun of them. "These shoes," he said. "Go to my sole."

The Whine Zone

Finally, we are happy to report that freedom of speech is still alive. In a recent campus-wide e-mail about the likelihood of budget cuts, UT president John Shumaker declared his university a "No Whine Zone." In a Wednesday morning editorial, Daily Beacon editor Cliff Hightower argued to the contrary, declaring his newspaper the school's "Whine Zone." An excerpt: "If there is a problem it needs to be examined and pinpointed. There may even be some whining that goes on while the problem is being pinpointed. But that is the value of living in a free and democratic society...where whining and progress go hand in hand."