Bragg takes Womick to task over Agenda 21 smear

I commented back in mid March how Republican legislator Representative Womick had offered as proof of the dangers of Agenda 21, the case of  Papa’s Butts and BBQ Hot Sauce Store. This business had started out as an office of a fence construction company and the owners hobby of making hot sauce had turned the business into a different kind of business.  From selling some hot sauce in the office of the fence company and then to smoking some shoulders, the location evolved into a restaurant. When the owner went to get a permit for a restaurant, he was told that due to the changing use of the property that now he would have to have a paved parking lot and a certain minimum number of parking spaces. Representative  Womick said that type of regulation was an example of Agenda 21 policies.

It was upon reading this, that my skepticism of the danger of Agenda 21 took a big leap. Requiring a minimum number of parking spaces and paved parking lots for certain kinds of businesses has been standard procedures used across the nation for many, many years and predates Agenda 21. Subsequent to that story, I learned that the Board of Zoning appeal of Murfressboro granted the owner a variance. I don't know the nature of the variance or for how long, but that is the type of things BZA's do.

Now, there is more to the story. The mayor of Murfressboro has written two letters to Womick criticizing him for “misstatements” he made in the General Assembly in order to garner support for a resolution against United Nations Agenda 21. In the first letter he criticizes "misstatement" about about city codes enforcement and in the second letter he criticizes him for “misstatements” in a House Judiciary subcommittee meeting March 14 about Murfreesboro’s flag regulations.

Here is an excerpt from the local news paper that explains more. This excerpt starts quoting the Mayor:

  “At the meeting, you began describing the event when you presented a Tennessee flag to the president of the Murfreesboro Medical Clinic (Joey Peay). You commented that after I presented it to him publicly, (he) comes to me and says, ‘Well, Rep. Womick, thank you very much for the Tennessee flag. I appreciate it, but you’re going to have to talk to the City of Murfreesboro because they won’t let me fly the Tennessee flag on my property. We’re not allowed to fly any flags. No U.S., no Tennessee, nothing.’”

“Your comments at the committee meeting did not accurately state the city’s regulations,” Bragg wrote to Womick. “They created the impression that the city banned the display of the flag and damaged our reputation statewide as a patriotic community.”

The story goes on to say that  the city requires a flagpole permit, at no charge, to verify proper footings and wind-load design. Read more of this story at this link: Bragg calls out Rep. Womick for remarks on House floor.

I don't know what to say. This smearing of good people and misrepresenting of facts to make a point is reminiscent of McCarthyism, not that communist influence and infiltration of government was not a real problem at the time, but in the process of exposing and rooting out communist, hysteria was let loose and many good people were black listed and wrongly accused and communism was seen where it did not exist.

Requiring a permit to erect a flag pole may be government overreach. If a flagpole falls on someone and kills them or damages property, the judicial system and insurance claims may be sufficient to deal with it. If government was not involved in permitting flag pole construction, the private sector may be sufficient to cause people to be prudent and government may not be needed. If that is the argument, then make that argument. Don't make the Agenda 21 argument about something as simple as a requirement that one get a permit to erect a flag pole. Shame on you Representative Womick.  

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