2014 TN Senate debate: on Technology

Gordon Ball: We send too little on infrastructure

Investing in our infrastructure creates jobs and ensures safer roads, railways, and bridges; and upgrades to water, sewer, and broadband systems. It means expanding commerce across Tennessee and creating new jobs in our communities. I will work to ensure Tennessee receives targeted federal investments that improve our state's infrastructure and strengthen Tennessee's economy.

Joe Carr: Cell phone ban should be addressed by airlines, not feds

Ever since the beginning of the Device Era, we've been forced to turn off our phones and tablets on airplanes. If you asked most people why this was necessary, they'd tell you smartly that the signal from your phone or device could interfere with the plane's instrument. They were wrong, said the FAA and now the FCC.

We asked Carr's campaign where the challenger stood on the issue. They sent over this statement from Carr: "I, like most everyone I know, do not want to sit on a flight next to someone talking on cell phone. But before we pass new regulations, I think we should wait and see if the airlines can solve this issue on their own. If they can't solve the problem, the government can step in."

Lamar Alexander: No cell phone conversations on planes; email and texting ok

"Keeping phone conversations private on commercial flights may not be enshrined in the Constitution, but it is certainly enshrined in common sense," Alexander says. "This legislation is about avoiding something nobody wants: nearly 2 million passengers a day, hurtling through space, trapped in 17-inch-wide seats, yapping their innermost thoughts. When you stop and think about what we hear now in airport lobbies, it's not hard to see why the FCC shouldn't allow cell phone conversations on airplanes," he says. "The solution is simple: text messages, yes; conversations, no.