Buzz Trexler

According to Middle Tennessee State University’s presentation of “Public Opinion in Tennessee: 2009-2010″:

• The economy is the nation’s No. 1 problem.
• Majority report being personally hurt by the recession.
• Most believe health care reform is an important issue.
• Ambivalent about proposals in Congress. (Poll conducted prior to proposals being fully unveiled.)
• Less approval of President Obama in fall 2009 than in spring 2009.
• Confidence rating concerning Obama’s performance on economy, foreign policy, health reform, ethics mixed between spring and fall.
• More Tennesseans say Obama is doing enough to work with Republicans (although not a majority in fall 2009).
• More believe Obama is doing well with bipartisanship than say the same about Republicans.
• Most approve of Gov. Phil Bredesen’s job performance.
• Tennesseans are ambivalent about this year’s election.
• Tennesseans’ opinion on state legislature are mixed, as well as who should control (Republicans or Democrats) the General Assembly.
• Spending priorities: Education tops the list.
• Wine in groceries: 62 percent support.
• State income tax ban: Ambivalent, depending upon the framing of the question.
• Handgun carry in parks, restaurants, bars: For all three venues, most disapprove.
• Bottle deposit bill: 83 percent support
• Illegal immigration: Ambivalent on how to state should deal with this,  depending upon framing of the question.

Jason B. Reineke, associate director of MTSU Poll, reviewed the results today during Tennessee Press Association’s Winter Convention and Press Institute. You can find the details at mtsusurveygroup.org.

Reineke noted that MTSU has correctly predicted every major election since 2002, except Corker-Ford in 2006.

I just read a story by The Associated Press concerning the Supreme Court of the United States hearing arguments in a case involving “Hillary: The Movie.”

Citizens United, a conservative group, wanted to air ads for the anti-Clinton movie and distribute it through video-on-demand services on local cable outlets during the 2008 Democratic primary campaign. However, the story explains that federal courts said the movie sounded like a long campaign ad and needed to be regulated as such.

According to The AP, the movie is filled with criticism about Hillary, including a statement from former Bill Clinton advisor Dick Morris saying she is “the closest thing we have in America to a European socialist.”

My first thought was this: What’s the difference between the anti-Clinton “Hillary: The Movie” and “Fahrenheit 9/11,” Michael Moore’s anti-Bush rant that was released in the middle of the 2004 presidential campaign? Well, the apparent difference is that campaign finance regulations do not apply to DVDs, theaters or the Internet. In those battlefields, the Red and Blue teams can spend away in the war for the minds of the voting public.

The conservative group was not allowed to broadcast TV ads for the movie, but it did get its message out by advertising on the Web, selling the DVD and showing the movie in a few theaters. Michael Moore gets his message out the same way.

I’ve never watched any of Moore’s movies and his garish Web site turns me off as soon as the page paints. The titles and related synopses leave me pleading, “Give me a break, Mikey.”

Sadly, the poor conservatives can’t get their own break. Truth is, they haven’t got a fighting chance when it comes to rolling out digital dollars and cash-cow celluloid pushers.

The Supreme Court of the United States could wipe away limits on spending by corporations and labor unions, but it’s way too late for a high court opinion to make any difference for the original intent of “Hillary: The Movie.”

Of course, Mrs. Clinton’s not the president, but she is the Secretary of State.

America’s fighting wars on the other side of the world, but there’s a continuing war here in Blount County that is sometimes ignored: The war on the home front that we call domestic violence.

Joani Shaver, executive director at Haven House, which serves victims of domestic violence, recently told Alcoa Kiwanis Club, “We’re seeing a horrendous rise because of the economy, but that’s no excuse.”

She explained that domestic abuse comes in many ways, not just physical. It includes emotional, psychological, economic and even spiritual. Each form leaves a devastating impact.

“Abuse is a very private crime, and most people don’t realize it’s going on,” Shaver said.

Haven House suffered a fire earlier this summer and is still in need of financial help to make repairs. According to its Web site, the shelter has raised only a fraction of the money needed to repair its gutted kitchen.

The 30-day shelter currently has 32 beds. “Our capacity is really limited,” she said, explaining that staffing is also an issue. “The problem is each one of those people … has a care plan, each has a safety plan.” With a staff of three, that can be a tough task.

But sheltering abuse victims and their children is not the only service Haven House provides. There are volunteer court advocates, transportation, and prevention programs as well.

Haven House is funded through federal grants, the ALCOA Foundation, Blount County government and United Way of Blount County, the latter of which she calls “our life blood.” Needless to say, the organization can use more help.

This is a topic very close to my heart, because my family has been caught in the web of domestic violence.

In the late 1960s, my mother, sister and I were victims in Florida during a time when law enforcement officers did not answer domestic violence calls. There was no place to turn. It was a remembrance of that battle which led me to become involved with Blount County’s Domestic Violence Task force in the 1990s, which also led to the establishment of a domestic violence unit. In March 2000, my 20-year-old niece was killed in a domestic violence incident in Richmond, Va., leaving a young child behind. It just goes to show that this war has no boundaries and has multiple levels of victimization.

A common epitaph on war memorials is along the lines of “lest we forget.” This need to remember that we have an ongoing war in Blount County is one of the reasons that we, as the newspaper of record in Blount County, publish domestic violence reports in Blount Records. Another reason: It’s common knowledge that one of the most dangerous calls to answer as a public safety officer is one involving domestic violence.

There’s no question that this is a war worth funding. As one lyricist wrote, “War is hell on the home front, too …”