No WhiteWash!

This blog was started in February 2007 with the title of “Kingsport, TN Government”.  The name was later changed to “No WhiteWash!”, a name less focused on one local government.  We are still focused on Kingsport, TN Government and have expanded into issues that affect Sullivan County, North East Tennessee area, and the State as they are in a lot of case interrelated.

The direction of this blog for the future will be for the average citizen and not the elites who choose to run things for their own self-interest.  There will be no favoritism toward a political party in this blog.  WARNING:  If you are a elected official or running for office and make statements that you can’t back up or not exactly telling the full story, then this blog will expose them.  If you are running for office or an elected official who wants to use this blog for political advantage, then I would suggest you go elsewhere to peddle your story.  This blog is for the people!!

This little blog now has readership that is around 1,000 visits per day and that number could be much higher because other blogs re-publish this blog posts to their blogs.  There have been over 1,700 posts written in this blog since inception and the posts are not forgotten as they slide down the page as newer post take their place on the first page.  The search traffic coming to this blog is very large because this blog posts are indexed on all of the major search engines (Google, Yahoo, Microsoft, etc).  All of the posts go into a RSS news feed where readers can read the posts without having to visit the blog.  The folks using the RSS feed amounts to many hundred per day.

Over the last few years I have seen more local people become more vocal about expressing their views concerning how the local governments operate.  They express their views in the comments areas in the local newspapers, blogs, social media sites (Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, etc)  There have been many local blogs that have been started in the North East Tennessee area in the last few years and I think we will see more of it.

Blogs do get a lot of readership.  The Tea Party protests got their start from blogs and with very little help from local media.

The Show blog is another local blog that has come online and also has it own local talk radio show on Monday and Thursday from 6-8pm on WMCH AM1260.  Local issues are discussed in this radio talk show and in many cases the posts from this blog are discussed and the radio talk show does allow callers to phone in and express their views. 

I have learned much about the City of Kingsport government on how they operate.  The research that I have done has me very concerned about how the “elites” control the city and do things that are in their self-interests.  I do have a concern about their lack to fully understand the problems the area has such as low median wages, declining population, high unemployment, lack of good paying jobs, and young adults leaving the area to find work, etc.

I also have a concern how the mayor selects political appointees to serve on different committees so he can be assured that he get what he wants.  The reporting in the Kingsport Times-News is almost always, in my view, protecting the city officials.  One has to understand that if they reported anything negative about the city, then it would reflect on the upper management at the Kingsport Times-News.  This is because there are many of the top management at the Times-News that are Mayor Dennis Phillips’ political appointees.

We could go on about how certain people decide who should run for political office and then campaign for them and put up the money for them to get elected.

We could talk about the Ridgefield County Club elites or look at the details of the spending of city money by the Kingsport Chamber of Commerce, but these could be posts for another day.

There have been many that have sent this blog information concerning the operation of our local governments and I want to say thank you.  Please continue reporting as you have in the past.

If you have anything to report concerning the below areas, feel free to use the email icon below to report it. The source of the information will be kept confidential.

• City of Kingsport, TN
• City of Bristol, TN
• Sullivan County, TN
• North East, TN
• Tennessee Government

Issues such as wasteful spending, local elections, annexation, ethics, crime, conflicts of interest, backroom deals, open government, abuse of taxpayer money, etc., are examples to report, but not limited to those listed.

Microsoft captured 8.4 percent of U.S. Internet searches in June, up from 8 percent the month before, largely at the expense of rival Yahoo Inc, whose market share fell to 19.6 percent in June from 20.1 percent in May.

Read more via Microsoft’s Bing gains on Yahoo, Google | Reuters.

Microsoft Corp will release a free version of its dominant Office software that users can access over the Web, catching up with products that arch rival Google Inc launched three years ago.

Read more via Microsoft takes on Google with free Office programs | Reuters.

Google attacks Microsoft with new browser-based operating system for low-cost computers

Google Inc. is working on a new operating system for inexpensive computers in a daring attempt to diminish Microsoft Corp.’s longstanding control over people’s computer experience.

Read more via Google’s New Operating System Chrome to Take on Microsoft – ABC News.

Microsoft Corp’s new Bing search engine gained U.S. market share in its first month in operation but still trails dominant rival Google Inc, according to data released on Wednesday.

Read more via Microsoft’s Bing search wins share from Google | Reuters.

Microsoft Corp (MSFT.O) will sell the standard home-user version of its new Windows 7 operating system for 8 percent less than the comparable version of its Vista system, as the global downturn hits spending on technology.

The world’s largest software company, whose recent ads champion low-priced PCs against more expensive Apple Inc (AAPL.O) computers, said the new system will be available at even lower prices for a short time, as it looks to tempt buyers ahead of the holiday shopping season.

Read more via Microsoft to cut prices on Windows 7 system | Reuters.

Microsoft (MSFT) may price Windows 7 as low as $100 to offset the effects of the recession on PC operating system sales and the public’s rejection of Vista, the current version of Windows.

The price cut would be unprecedented. It could drive up sales of Microsoft’s software and PCs in general. It could also put intense pressure on Redmond’s margins and sales.

Read more via Microsoft (MSFT) May Offer Huge Price Cut For Windows 7 Pressuring Margins – 24/7 Wall Street.

Microsoft Corp (MSFT.O) is on track to release its new Windows 7 operating system in time for the holiday shopping season, an executive said on Monday, confirming talk that it is ahead of its own conservative schedule for replacing the unpopular Vista system.

The world’s largest software company has so far been vague on specifying the timing of its new operating system, wary of disappointing customers. But it has broadly targeted the end of this year or the beginning of next year.

Read more via Microsoft says Windows 7 on track for holidays | Reuters.

Microsoft Corp. said Tuesday it is pulling the trigger on thousands of the 5,000 job cuts it announced earlier this year.

And in an e-mail to employees, Microsoft Chief Executive Steve Ballmer left the door open to even more cuts.

Read more via FOXNews.com – Microsoft Lays Off Thousands, Hints at More to Come – Science News | Science & Technology | Technology News.

Microsoft Corp said on Friday a version of its long awaited Windows 7 operating system will be made available from next week.

The version, known as a ‘release candidate’, or RC, essentially means the world’s largest software company is in the final stages of completing the operating system, the successor to the unpopular Windows Vista.

Read more via Microsoft to release version of Windows 7 next week | Reuters.