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| Phil Tagami |
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Saturday, November 05, 2011
Hero of the Day: Phil Tagami, Oakland Developer who Defended his Property
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Friday, November 04, 2011
The truth about our counter-protest (and what the Tennessean got wrong!)
From: Stephen Siao
Friends,
By now, I'm sure most of you have heard of our counter-protest of Occupy Nashville last night. However, if you read the Tennessean today, you definitely did not get the true story (which is, I suppose, expected). It was definitely not a kum-ba-ya moment like the Tennessean spinned it as. In fact, several of our members were called racists by Occupiers with the Tennessean reporter standing right next to them (she proceeded to interviewing them but made no mention of them being called racists!)
Here is our video response to the Tennessean's misleading article: http://www.youtube.com
I encourage you to check out WSMV, News Channel 5, WKRN, or TN Report's coverage of it, which were all accurate and fair (is that really too much to ask for nowadays??).
We went for two reasons. First, we wanted to show them that not all college students supported the movement, in fact many are actually against it. Their demands will do nothing but add to the burgeoning debt already on each of my generation's shoulders. Second, we believe their protest is fraudulent and misguided. They should be at the White House--not the State Capitol or Wall Street.
Though the some of the media (and bloggers) chew us up, at the end of the day, I am so proud of each of the 22 students who courageously took the stand against this movement. We thought when it started raining, surely we'd lose half the group--but no, everyone came!
Also, the media's take about how they graciously invited us to speak to them is misleading as well - they invited us, then pressured us, into speaking to their group. We declined their first few offers, and then two reporters came up with voice recorders asking why we were refusing to speak to them and whether we were just there to cause trouble. At that moment, maybe against better judgment, we decided we didn't want them to spin that, so we took the floor and gave them a piece of our mind!
All the best,
stephen
Stephen Siao
State Chairman, Tennessee College Republican Committee
President, Vanderbilt College Republicans
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Occupy Nashville's "We Love You."
“We Love You” yelled the Occupy Nashville protestors as the Vandy College Republican counter protestors approached the Legislative Plaza.
“From the first moment Occupy Nashville protesters heard about the Vanderbilt students’ counterprotest, they had planned a warm welcome. Promises of cookies were made early on and actually carried out,” reports The Tennessean.
Isn’t that sweet? I mean, it really is nice that people who disagree with each other can express their points of view and it not resort to angry shouting or violence.
However, I would still urge caution. When the Occupiers scream “We Love You,” they may be talking about Che Guevara’s Revolutionary Love. Last week we saw a picture of an Occupy protestor whose tent featured a posted sign that quoted Che Guevara saying, "The True Revolutionary is guided by feelings of Love."
That revolutionary love involves lining up suspected enemies of the revolution and putting a bullet through their head. It was Che who said, "If any person has a good word for the previous government that is good enough for me to have him shot." And, "What we affirm is that we must proceed along the path of liberation even if this costs millions of atomic victims."
If an Occupier says, "I love You," you may want to ask, "what do you mean by that?"
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And a Cluck-Cluck here and Cluck-Cluck there....
FYI for anyone who really cares about this issue. I am all for having chickens in the city but have no plans to keep keep them myself. I saw Karen Bennett recently and told her I support her bill allowing chickens in the city buy told her I opposed the $25 annual fee for having chickens. She said, the only way to control how many chickens one had and to make sure they had all hens and no roosters and were abiding by the restrictions was to have a permit and registration process. She said the bill could not pass without it. I understand, but wish an expansion of the bureaucracy was not necessary.
TO: Vice Mayor Diane Neighbors & Members of Metro Council
FROM: Councilwoman Karen Bennett
RE: Discussion of Domesticated Hen Bill - Ordinance No. BL2011-47
The purpose of this memorandum is to invite each of you to attend a meeting to discuss the proposed domesticated hen bill that will be considered by the Metro Council on public hearing in January 2012.
This meeting is open to residents county-wide and will allow an opportunity for attendees to ask questions and receive information about the permitted uses of this bill and how it will affect our community. I have asked representatives from the Metro Health and Codes Administration Departments to attend to provide input. The meeting is scheduled as follows:
Date: Monday, November 14, 2011
Time: 6:30 p.m.
Place: Skyline Medical Center - Downstairs Auditorium
3441 Dickerson Pike, Nashville, TN 37207
Thank you for your attention and cooperation in this regard. I look forward to meeting with you.
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Thursday, November 03, 2011
Highlights of the Nov. 1 Council meeting
Meet the candidates for Judge, LED signs in the neighborhood
I watch the council meetings so you don't have to. Below is the video of the November 1 meeting.All ten candidates seeking to be the Council's choice for judge to fill a General Sessions Court vacancy appeared before the Council's Rules, Confirmations and Public Elections Committee on Tuesday prior to the Council meeting. The Council's selection of a judge is to fill the seat of the late Leon Ruben who died Friday October the 7th after a long illness. Leon Ruben who was himself appointed by the council, took the bench in 1981. I was serving in the council at that time and voting to fill this vacancy was the first really hard vote I had to take. I voted for Leon Ruben. Leon Ruben was really a nice guy and I never heard anyone have a bad thing to say about him. He was well respected by his peers and the public. Judge Ruben, who was Jewish, always volunteered to work Christmas eve and Christmas day so the other judges could have those days off. Judge Ruben also had a big Micky Mouse collection and always wore a Micky Mouse necktie.
I do not recall who the other candidates were, these many years later, but I recall how heavily I was lobbied. I was lobbied by forces for all the candidates. Different supporters of my candidacy for the Council and friends I had made put pressure on me to for vote this or that candidate. I had to end up disappointing some powerful people.
I know the new council members will be under a lot a pressure and will be lobbied hard to support this or that candidate. Watching who votes for which candidate may tell you something about the various factions in the council, although a lot a alliances are temporary and factions tend to be fluid.
The Tennessean's coverage of the candidates appearance before the Council is in a link below. The article list all of the candidates and a little about each. I really don't know who all of the candidates are, but would guess John P Brown III would be a favorite due the fact that his father was a Judge and I would suspect that former Councilman Mike Jameson, since he served with some of the current council members, would be a strong contender. I am surprised that no sitting council member is running for the position. The Nashville Bar Association will conduct a poll among its members and report the results to the Council. To be eligible to serve, a person must be at least 30 years old and have practiced law for at least five years. The Council will fill the vacancy at the next council meeting on November 15th. Link
The big issue of the night was a proposal for an LED sign in front of Temple Baptist Church in Bordeaux. (see video starting at 39:28) Temple is a large, influential, predominantly Black, church. Two members of the Council, Councilman Walter Hunt and Councilman Lonnell Mathews, attend the church. Two people spoke in favor, one a church member and the other a nearby neighbor. Several neighborhood activist from across the county argued against it, arguing the proposal sets a bad precedent. The bill was recommended for disapproval by the Planning Commission. It passed Council on second reading but will require a two-thirds majority on third reading and may have a difficult time passing. Here is the Tennessean's report on the issue.
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Wednesday, November 02, 2011
Bellevue Breakfast with Ralph Bistol
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Tuesday, November 01, 2011
Occupy: Have we created a generation of self-entitled cry babies?
This is a excellent analysis of the Occupy movement from Bill Whittle! I think he hits the nail on the head.
The Occupy Wall Street protesters are complaining about everything from corporations to having to repay student loans. Is America the victim of its own success? Have we created a generation of self-entitled cry babies? Has everything been so easy for so long that people expect to always have everything handed to them on a silver platter? Is Occupy the result of ingratitude, an entitlement mentality and utter lack of perspective? What the protestors need is to grow up!
Bill Whittle is a screenwriter, editor and director. He has written for National Review Online and is a regular commentator at PJTV.com.
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Who Supports Occupy Wall Street?
For a list of other supporters, click here.
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Monday, October 31, 2011
The Food Stamp Challenge: Jason, you are doing it wrong.
I saw on TV this weekend a segment on the Food Stamp Challenge where Councilman Jason Holleman was trying to feed his family of four on $122 a week. He discovered it is hard to do. I can believe it.
Jason, you are doing it all wrong. Here are some true observations; this is the way it really works:
Example one: A couple is not married but they jointly own a home and have cohabitated a long time. The male of the couple makes $49,000 a year. The female quit her job, she says because of health issues. She applies for and gets food stamps. She then starts working as a self employed beautician and earns about $500 a week. This couple earns $75000 a year and gets food stamps.
Example two: A single mother has one minor child living with her. She also has an adult daughter living with her who has a child and is also single mothers. This household of four people has two different people receiving food stamps. They are feeding four on $244 a week.
Example three: A family receives food stamps but also earns money that they do not pay taxes on. The unreported money is either from providing child care, beautician services, construction, lawn care, unreported waitress tips, or driving a taxi. They supplement the food stamps with untaxed income.
Example four: A low income couple or a single mom with children and with no earned income claims earned income as self employment income in order to get the earned income tax credit and get a “refund.” The EIC credit for a mom with two kids is $5,036. The EIC can be greater than the total income tax bill so once taxes are paid on this non-existent income, this still puts some money in the person’s pocket with which they can help buy food or whatever else they want to spend it on.
Example Five: A low income mother has three children by three different men. She receives no child support. The father of the youngest child still comes around ever so often and "helps out" with a little money to supplement the food stamps and the other assistance she receives.
I don't know how many people who are drawing food stamps are gaming the system and how many are not, but their is an informal welfare information network where people share tips on how to rip-off the system. People who have been on welfare for any length of time know all kinds of tricks for getting free stuff and increasing their take. I imagine that many people who are finding themselves poor for the first time are playing it by the book and are having a hard time stretching their food stamp dollar, but food stamp fraud is so common people aren't even shy about admitting it. I would bet there are a lot more people gaming the system than their are people playing by the book.
We do not need to make poverty so attractive that it is too expensive to stop being poor. If one is drawing Families First, SSI, Tncare, foodstamps, free cell phone, and living in public housing, it is too easy to keep living that way. If you are the second generation and that is all you have ever known, it is very difficult to give up the security of poverty. Most welfare should be short-term assistance to help people in crisis, not a way of life. We do not need to expand welfare programs, we need to ween people off of welfare programs.
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Sunday, October 30, 2011
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