Statement from Rep. Black on FBI Decision to Reopen Investigation into Clinton Emails

Gallatin, TN - Today Congressman Diane Black (R-TN-06) released the following statement on the FBI's decision to reopen its investigation into Hillary Clinton's use of a private email server:

“The FBI’s decision, while long overdue, is the right one and is needed to ensure that Hillary Clinton faces justice for her reckless, criminal mishandling of our nation’s top secrets. This is a candidate who should be indicted, not inaugurated. Today’s news is another reminder that, when you get the Clintons, you get the scandals that come with them. They are a package deal – one that American voters must reject this November,” said Congressman Diane Black.

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Shakedowns by Clinton Foundation Provide Bill Clinton Income

A memo published by WikiLeaks indicates Clinton Foundation's fundraisers put pressure on donors to steer business and paid speech opportunities to former President Bill Clinton. WSJ's Anupreeta Das has details on Lunch Break with Tanya Rivero. Of course, the ethically challenged supporters of Hillary Clinton don't care.


Major newspapers also carried the story today:

• New York Times: Donations to Foundation Vexed Hillary Clinton’s Aides, Emails Show
• Wall Street Journal: Clinton Foundation’s Fundraisers Pressed Donors to Steer Business to Former President
• Washington Post:Inside ‘Bill Clinton Inc.’: Hacked memo reveals intersection of charity and personal income

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FBI Director Says Investigation Into Hillary Clinton Emails Back On

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Donald Trump can't get the facts right about NAFA. It was not "Clinton's NAFTA," and it was not a "bad deal."

Time and time again, Donald Trump has called NAFTA, "Clinton's NAFTA" and has emphasized that it was bill Clinton who signed NAFTA. It is incorrect to call it "Clinton's NAFTA" and only partly correct to say it was signed by Bill Clinton. The NAFTA agreement was signed by George H. W. Bush. The bill that ratified it was signed by Bill Clinton. Below is the Wikipedia explanation of NAFTA: 

Following diplomatic negotiations dating back to 1990 among the three nations, U.S. President George H. W. Bush, Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney and Mexican President Carlos Salinas, each responsible for spearheading and promoting the agreement, ceremonially signed the agreement in their respective capitals on December 17, 1992. The signed agreement then needed to be ratified by each nation's legislative or parliamentary branch.

After much consideration and emotional discussion, the House of Representatives passed the North American Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act on November 17, 1993, 234-200. The agreement's supporters included 132 Republicans and 102 Democrats. The bill passed the Senate on November 20, 1993, 61-38. Senate supporters were 34 Republicans and 27 Democrats. Clinton signed it into law on December 8, 1993; the agreement went into effect on January 1, 1994.  

Back row, left to right: Mexican President Carlos Salinas de Gortari, U.S. President George H. W. Bush, and Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney, at the initialing of the draft North American Free Trade Agreement in October 1992. In front are Mexican Secretary of Commerce and Industrial Development Jaime Serra Puche, United States Trade Representative Carla Hills, and Canadian Minister of International Trade Michael Wilson

President Bill Clinton signed the bill that implemented NAFTA but NAFTA was negotiated under George H. W. Bush, pushed by Bush, ceremonially signed by George H. W. Bush and passed with majority Republican support in the House of Representatives and the Senate.  To his credit Clinton signed it into law, against the wishes of his party saying, "NAFTA means jobs. American jobs, and good-paying American jobs. If I didn't believe that, I wouldn't support this agreement."

To call NAFTA, "Clinton's NAFTA" distorts the facts. 

NAFTA has been good for America.http://www.cato.org/…/after-10-years-nafta-continues-pay-di…

NAFTA was the right thing to do then and is still good for America. Here is an analysis from the Council on Foreign Relations:

In the years since NAFTA, U.S. trade with its North American neighbors has more than tripled, growing more rapidly than U.S. trade with the rest of the world. Canada and Mexico are the two largest destinations for U.S. exports, accounting for more than a third of the total. Most estimates conclude that the deal had a modest but positive impact on U.S. GDP of less than 0.5 percent, or a total addition of up to $80 billion dollars to the U.S. economy upon full implementation, or several billion dollars of added growth per year.

Such upsides of trade often escape notice, because while the costs are highly concentrated in specific industries like auto manufacturing, the benefits of a deal like NAFTA are distributed widely across society. Supporters of NAFTA estimate that some fourteen million jobs rely on trade with Canada and Mexico, while the nearly two hundred thousand export-related jobs created annually by the pact pay 15 to 20 percent more on average than the jobs that were lost

I know some conservatives view the CFR with suspicion. Here is what CATO has said about NAFTA:

... the North American Free Trade Agreement has been a success by any measure. Trade among the United States, Canada, and Mexico has flourished since the passage of NAFTA, benefiting American consumers and exporters. Since 1993, two-way trade with our NAFTA partners has increased by 44 percent, to $421 billion in 1996. That compares with a 33 percent increase in American trade with all other countries.² Mexico has now become America’s second largest market for exports, just ahead of Japan and behind only Canada.
NAFTA has been modestly beneficial for the U.S. economy, even though Mexico’s economy is relatively small compared to the American economy. It is obvious today that the “giant sucking sound” predicted by Ross Perot has not been heard. Since the passage of NAFTA in 1993, the real gross domestic product of the United States has expanded by 12 percent and civilian employment has grown by more than 8 million, including a net increase of half a million jobs in manufacturing.³ Inflation has remained subdued at 2 to 3 percent, thanks partly to the price competition of imports.

The job “losses” that critics of free trade blame on NAFTA are mostly fictitious, based on the misuse of trade deficit numbers. About 150,000 Americans have filed for benefits under a program for workers allegedly displaced by increased imports from Mexico and Canada. As painful as the displacement may be for those workers, the U.S. economy during the last four years has created that many net new jobs approximately every three weeks.

National Review says, No, Mr. Trump, NAFTA Was Not a ‘Bad Deal.’

What gets totally lost in the populist focus on anecdotes such as the Carrier story are three much larger trends. First, the U.S. has added 31 million payroll jobs since 1994, or 29 million workers (depending on which methodology one uses). Second, average hourly earnings, adjusting for inflation, are 43 percent higher than in 1994. Third, U.S. manufacturing output has reached record highs, and part of the reason is that so much global trade consists of intermediate goods in fantastically efficient supply chains.

The Wall Street Journal writes: Memo to Trump: Nafta Helps Americans.

Without the North American Free Trade Agreement (Nafta), manufacturing would be in even worse shape. .... Mexico is not about to voluntarily foot the bill for any such wall. But Mr. Trump says that he can make our neighbor pay by imposing new tariffs on its exports to the U.S. In other words, Mr. Trump plans to launch a trade war with Mexico. ...preposterous an idea as it is dangerous. ... According to “NAFTA Triumphant,” a report last month by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, annual U.S. trade with Canada and Mexico is now $1.3 trillion, nearly four times greater than before the agreement. Agricultural exports to Canada and Mexico have gone up by 350%, and U.S. service exports have tripled. More than a third of U.S. merchandise exports are now bought by Nafta partners.

Mr. Trump’s trade agenda is absurd and would invite a depression. He’s either too uneducated in economics to know that or too cynical to care.

I am firmly convinced that Donald Trump is a dangerous man. The last sentence above in the WSJ article sums up my view of Donald Trump. 

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Joe Biden advocates violence toward Donald Trump. " I wish I could take Trump behind the gym."

During a campaign rally in Pennsylvania for Hillary Clinton, Vice President Joe Biden said that he wishes he and Donald Trump were in high school and he could take Trump behind the gym. This got very little notice.  If Trump had said the same thing about Biden, it would have been bold headline and it would have been the lead story on the 6 0'clock news. I am not a Trump fan and am not voting for him, but the media bias is blatant and undeniable. Trumps demeaning comments toward women makes news for weeks, and Hillary gets a free ride for protecting her rapist husband and demeaning his accusers.  The media alleges that Trumps rallies promote violence and yet ignore the paid thugs sent to commit violence at Trump rallies. The media showcases a few nut jobs supporting Trump but ignores the many radicals supporting Hillary.  I can guarantee you it Trump had said the same thing about Biden, the headline would be, "Trump advocates violence toward Joe Biden."

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Hillary Clinton Ally donates $500k to Campaign of FBI Official's wife

A longtime Hillary Clinton ally donated approximately $500,000 to the wife of an FBI official who later helped oversee the investigation into Clinton's email use.
The FBI probe which cleared Clinton of any wrongdoing was conducted by Deputy FBI Director Andrew McCabe. McCabe's wife ran for Congress and Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe, a long-time Clinton insider and former Hillary Clinton campaign chairman, helped facilitate donations – two separate campaign contributions to, one for $467,500 and another for $207,788 to McCabe's wife's campaign. McCabe should have recused himself from conducting the investigation. His objectivity is obviously compromised.

While I am concerned about the corruptions of Hillary Clinton, I am more concerned about the corruption of government institutions. When the FBI can no longer be trusted, when powerful people are above the law and can destroy subpoenaed information with impunity, when pay-to-play is the standard operating procedure, when the IRS is used to go after the enemies of the administration, then that may not change with a change of who is in office.  I do not necessarily think Republicans are more virtuous than Democrats.  Once rule of law is thrown out the window and once Americans stop being concerned about government corruption,  then the instruments of government will be used to protect those in office and go after the administration's enemies, regardless of which party is in power. 

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Elect Stacy Ries Snyder for Congress

The incumbent is a career politician who has spend 26 years in Congress. It is time for a change. For more information on Stacy Ries Snyder, visit her website at this link.

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1st Tuesday meets Tuesday Nov. 1. Guest John Ryder, Chief Legal Counsel for the National Republican Party

From Tim Skow:

GREETINGS from the TRUMP Rally featuring Donald Jr. !!!

1ST TUESDAY Members and friends.... 

What a week from the Trump BUS Tour... 

The crowds have been far better than expected. Every BUS stop has drawn 5 to 10 times as many that attended the event for DEM VP candidate Tim Kaine this week !  

[ granted the photos show only 30 to 40 for Kaine ! ]

You are seeing the polls are moving TRUMP's WAY this week. We expected the closer it gets to Election Day ... the closer to reality to pollsters would have to get with real numbers. Pollster have reputations to protect !      BUT... the guy who can REALLY tell us internal Republican polling numbers are is returning to 1ST TUESDAY on TUESDAY !!

JOHN RYDER... ... recognized as a ''Republican numbers Guru'' returns on Nov 1st our our special Guest Speaker. 

YOU are going to want to be there to hear from John about our side's latest internal polling numbers .... and learn what to watch for on Election Night. 

PASS the word !  INVITE ... your friends... As always, doors at Waller Law open at 11:00. Lunch is $20 for 2016 Members and $25 for Guests. Vsiit the 1ST TUESDAY website at

 1st Tuesday Nashville to secure you seats

Follow me, MaryAnn Parks on Connie Hunter on Facebook for the latest Trump BUS Tour updates.. including seeing our former 1ST TUESDAY ''SPEAKER'' tonight !

Remember... the ELECTION NIGHT PARTY Co-hosted our Davidson Co. Party and oraganized by our friends at the Williamson Co Party ! Just $10 for what will be a ''YUUGGGGE NIGHT''  !! 

See you on TUESDAY at 1ST TUESDAY

Tim Skow

Host of 1ST TUESDAY

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Actually, illegal immigrants bring down the crime rate.

Anti-immigration rhetoric has been a staple of the Donald Trump presidential campaign. He has pledged to build a wall across the southern border with Mexico, has said he would ban all Muslim immigration, and has called Mexican immigrants rapist and drug dealers.

When he declared his presidency he said, “When Mexico sends its people, they’re not sending their best. They’re not sending you." "They’re not sending you,” he said as he pointed toward members of the audience at his June 16th speech announcing his candidacy for the Republican nomination for president from Trump Tower. “They’re sending people that have lots of problems, and they’re bringing those problems with us. They’re bringing drugs. They’re bringing crime. They’re rapists. And some, I assume, are good people.”

First of all, of course, Mexico is not sending anyone.  Individual Mexicans are coming to America; not being sent. While there are Mexican immigrants who commit rape and murderer and various other crimes. the truth is that immigrants to the U.S., legal or illegal, are less likely than native born Americans  to commit violent crimes or be incarcerated. Actually illegal immigrants bring down the crime rate.

People have a perception that illegal immigrants create more crime because when an illegal immigrant does commit an especially grievous crime it is highly publicized.  What data is available simply does not support that perception. The data is often incomplete and open to interpretation but the impact on crime of illegal immigrants is minimal. Of course, low income people in general commit more violent crime than middle income and upper income people, and young adults commit more crime than older adults, and men commit more crime than women.  Illegal immigrants tend to be made up of low income people, more younger adults than older adults, and somewhat more men than women.  Despite illegal immigrants being comprised of the demographics that are more crime prone, still the evidence does not show that immigrants commit crime at a higher rate.

There is an old saying that "figures don't lie, but liars can figure," and if one wants to find articles that substantiate the claim that immigrants commit crime at a greater rate than native citizens one can find it.  There are conflicting studies. Many of the studies that do reach a conclusion that illegal immigrants commit crime at a higher rate, compare apples to oranges and the data is cherry picked and the studies are seriously flawed. Some studies include statutory violations such as violating immigration laws, or driving under the influences, or driving without a license, or simple possession of marijuana. If these misdemeanor offense are included, then there may be a higher rate of crime.  Most people when thinking of crime rates are not thinking of minor misdemeanor offenses.

Studies that examine serious crime, felonies such as rape or murder, show illegal immigrants are less crime prone than citizens. Looking into this, I read a lot of news articles and studies trying to determine the truth. You can find conflicting studies, but one of the best studies that explained the methodologies of the studies and explained the data was that by The Cato Institute. Cato found, "with few exceptions, immigrants are less crime prone than natives or have no effect on crime rates." 

For more on the issue, in addition to the Cato study highlighted above, I suggest the following:
The Mythical Connection Between Immigrants and Crime WSJ  
Illegal Immigration Might Actually Reduce Crime Rates  Pacific Standard  
Debunking the Myth of Immigrant Criminality: Imprisonment Among First- and Second-Generation Young Men   Migration Policy Institute
Does Crime Drop When Immigrants Move In?  NPR 
 Criminal Immigrants? Reason

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Vote for Davette Blalock in District 53

Davette Blalock was born on 9/11/1971 in Elizabethtown, KY.
The only child of David and Wanda Dennison. Her father was involved in the first Apollo Space Program in Cape Canaveral, Florida in the U.S. Navy with NASA in the sixties before returning home and settling down to raise a family.
Her father started a worldwide educational book distributorship in 1964. Education was a priority in Davette’s life as a result of her upbringing and paternal influence.
Davette and family moved to a Farm in Indiana in 3rd grade through the 9th grade which gave Davette first-hand experience in Agri-Business and the lifestyle and farmer’s strife in America. Davette and family moved to Nashville because of the job opportunity of the Lead Construction Manager position it brought her family when the Airport was being converted into an International Airport.
Davette begin her 10th grade the first year Hunters Lane High School opened.
Davette and family settled down in South Nashville the next year and graduated John Overton High School in 1989.
Davette was raised by a Mother that had worked in a Salon in Hopkinsville, KY earlier in her life where she went to work with her and played with all the clients just about every day. She learned early to love and respect all kinds of people. She became a natural people person. She also learned the Cosmetology trade so when she graduated High School she achieved her Cosmetology License.
She worked at JC Penny’s and Regis Beauty Salon in Hickory Hollow Mall while she studied Law and Political Science at Middle Tennessee State University.
She achieved her Real Estate license to begin her career in the professional world of investments as she continued at MTSU.
Davette has an entrepreneurial mind so in 1995 she started her own Real Estate Brokerage firm. She successfully managed other Real Estate agents and grew her referral base. Davette liked the way she made her clients feel as she earned each and everyone's trust. However, she felt as though she could offer still more to her clients. Therefore, Davette found her niche in full financial planning.
To expand her economic horizons she joined American Express Financial Advisors in 1999. Davette has achieved the Series 7 license (stock broker), the Series 24 License (Securities Management), Life & Health Insurance License, Property & Casualty Insurance License, and Surplus Insurance License, Real Estate Broker's License.
After breaking sales records at American Express she was recruited by Allstate Financial Services in 2000 to provide Financial Planning to Allstate’s clients in middle Tennessee. In this role she managed over 25 Allstate Offices and staff for their Financial Service's needs. In 2004 Davette took a leave of absence to get married to her husband Brian Blalock and give birth to her 1st child Victoria Blalock.
During the leave of absence Davette completed the (CFP) Certified Financial Planning school. Davette stayed home for two years to concentrate on early child development and nurturing as a new mother.
In 2006 Davette opened her own Farmers Insurance Agency enabling her to combine her efforts to offer her clients Real Estate, Financial Estate and Retirement Planning, and Insurance specialties. She has managed several assistants and agents over the years of her businesses.
In 2010 Davette gave birth to her 2nd child, Lance David Blalock. During her pregnancy, Davette was encouraged by many friends and family members to take her wisdom and experience to city government to give additional elements of excellence to the government that serves the greater Nashville community.
In 2010 Davette ran for the Metro City Council for District 27 and won a landslide victory of 61.6% of the vote against two opponents.
In 2015 she was re-elected, beating her opponent that spent three times more money by 64.3% of the vote. Although Davette’s accomplishments and contributions of expertise to the Metro City Council are unmatchable and has earned her worthy respect by council members and her district, as evidenced by her margin of approval in her election victories, she has been groomed by that experience and it has fine-tuned her parliamentary skills to easily qualify her for State Government where she will undoubtedly achieve positive results using acutely calibrated sagacity and persuasive ability to marshal a consensus from both parties of the House that will serve and empower the millions of people in Tennessee.
Davette is running for the Tennessee State House of Representatives for House district 53, for 2016 and graciously asks for your Vote.

Please vote for Davette Blalock in District 53. For more on Davette Blalock, visit her webpage at this link. 

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Reelect Steve Dickerson to the State Senate District 20

Steve is a 20 year resident of Nashville. Born in Newton, Iowa and raised in South Carolina, Steve first grew to love Tennessee when he attended college at the University of the South in Sewanee. Later, he received his medical degree at Wake Forest University where he met his wife, Katrina.
In 1996, Steve and Katrina moved to Nashville, returning to Tennessee to raise a family and put down roots.

Steve spends most of his time off being humbled by his sons in various video games and athletic endeavors. He has found his experience to be no match for their youthful athleticism and has found himself finishing fourth in most games.

Steve’s favorite hobby is playing guitar and one of his great joys is sharing that love of music with his three sons as they each now pursue they’re own musical interest. Though he resembles James Taylor, Steve tries to meld the musical style of Eddie Van Halen and the coolness of Keith Richards when onstage. Steve won’t be quitting his day job anytime soon.

Steve has been a practicing anesthesiologist and interventional pain management doctor for over twenty years. During that time, he has also served on the Board of Trustees of the Tennessee Medical Association, been chairman of the Board of the Middle Tennessee School of Medicine, been president of the Tennessee Society of Anesthesiologists, and been elected chief of staff of two local hospitals.
In 2010, Steve ran for state senate and was defeated by the unparalleled Douglas Henry. In 2012, Steve ran, won and has represented the 20th district in the State Senate since.

Please vote for Steve Dickerson in State Senate District 20. For more on Steve Dickerson, visit his website.

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Vote for Diane Black in District 6.

From her first days in public office leading the fight against a Republican governor’s proposed state income tax, Diane Black has proven herself as a fearless leader, unafraid to stand up to members of her own party when they stray from our conservative principles. A small business owner and a nurse for more than 40 years, Diane is leading the fight to balance the federal budget, overhaul our broken tax code, REPEAL Obamacare, and protect our Tennessee values, which is why the American Conservative Union honored her with the prestigious “Defender of Liberty” award for her 100% conservative voting record.


In Congress, Diane Black fought back against President Obama’s out-of-control spending by cosponsoring a Balanced Budget Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and working with Chairman Paul Ryan to author the Path to Prosperity Budget which cuts spending by $4.6 trillion, saves Medicare for future generations, and balances within ten years. Diane Black was the first member of Congress to pass legislation repealing a health care provision in Obamacare which saved taxpayers $13 billion. She is continuing to fight tooth and nail to fully repeal this law.

Building off of her work in the Tennessee state legislature as a leader in the fight to stop illegal immigration, Diane Black wrote and passed through the House of Representatives legislation to defund President Obama’s politically motivated lawsuits against states like Arizona that enforce commonsense immigration laws, earning Black an A+ rating during the 112th Congress from the conservative anti-amnesty group Numbers USA.

A tireless advocate for the rights of the unborn, Diane Black’s first piece of legislation in the 113th Congress, H.R. 217 would withhold federal funding for Planned Parenthood and other so-called “family planning” organizations that perform abortions. Black is also the author of H.R. 940, the Health Care Conscience Rights Act, legislation to protect the First Amendment rights of health care providers to refuse to perform abortions and offers full exemption from the Obama administration’s Health and Human Services (HHS) employee healthcare mandate that requires coverage for abortion inducing drugs.

As a member of the House Ways & Means Committee, Diane Black is a leading voice in the fight to stop the rampant abuses of power within President Obama’s Internal Revenue Service (IRS). Most recently, Black introduced H.R. 2022, Stopping Government Abuse of Taxpayer Information Act, legislation that calls for the immediate firing of all IRS agents who targeted Americans based on their beliefs and goes after all government agencies with access to Obamacare’s Federal Data Services Hub, the largest compilation of personal information the U.S. government has ever attempted, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Black and her husband of over 30 years, Dr. David Black have three grown children and six grandchildren. They live in Gallatin and attend Community Church in Hendersonville.

Please reelect Diane Black to Congress in the 6th District. For more on Diane Black, visit her website.

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The Objective Media comic book

ABC (All bout Clinton). CNN (Clinton News Network). NBC (Nothing but Clinton). CBS (Clinton BS) and the corrupt biassed mainstream print media.

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The Dead Baby award goes to Mayor Megan Barry for honoring Planned Parenthood

If you saw the Metro Courthouse or the Korean Korean Veterans Memorial Bridge washed in pink light on Monday night and wondered why, it was to honor the Planned Parenthood chain of abortion clinics.  Mayor Barry ordered the lighting in pink to honor the organization and she issued a proclamation in support of Planned Parenthood asking the public to support their local branch.
The proclamation was for the organization’s 100th anniversary. It states that Planned Parenthood is “key in the next century to assisting millions of people in accessing the healthcare they need and deserve.”  The proclamation was not posted on Metro's website and I asked for a copy but have received one as of yet.  Here is the news of the proclamation.

Planned Parenthood terminates about 320,000 pregnancies a year and has ended almost 7 million

unborn babies’ lives since its founding 100 years ago.  They and those who honor them are proud or that record.  Planned Parenthood’s human rights abuses go back to its roots. The group’s founder, Margaret Sanger, was a well-known eugenicist and racist who promoted sterilization and birth control as ways to “weed out” human beings who she deemed “unfit.”  That thinking was acceptable at that time and was considered a progressive enlightened idea. Those she considered unfit included Blacks, Jews, the feeble-minded, slavs, Latins and "the pauper class."  She spoke at Ku Klux Klan rallies and she advocated exterminating the Negro race.  Under her leadership, Planned Parenthood sterilized 60,000 "unfit" people. (link, link, link)

In addition to taking the lives of almost 7 million babies, several women also have died after having abortions at Planned Parenthood facilities. Two years Planned Parenthood paid a $ 2 million settlement to the family of an Illinois women who died from a botched abortion at one of its facilities. The Planned Parenthood facility reportedly waited five hours before sending the woman to the hospital and never called 911. Planned Parenthood has also engaged in selling baby parts, performing partial birth abortions in such away as to not damage the valuable baby parts (link).

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GOP Poll Watchers are needed for the Early Voting Period, which is already underway.

Email from a Republican friend:

GOP Poll Watchers are needed for the Early Voting Period, which is already underway.
Even a few hours of your time will be meaningful.
If you can help, please contact:
James B. Garrett:  jimgarr@bellsouth.net
--or--
Beth Campbell:  bethcampbell21@gmail.com

Donald Trump has raised the specter of a stolen election and encouraged his supporters to watch the polls. He has no training program for them, nor is he making a nationwide effort to have this done in an orderly fashion. One cannot just show up and observe the election.  One has to be an official poll worker, or an approved poll watcher to have access to the polling place. If you just show up you will be turned away.  You cannot hang around outside either, within a certain marked boundary.

I think it is healthy to have trained observers watching the election. I know some voter fraud does occur and suspect much more would occur if not for poll watchers.  I have worked as a Republican Poll watcher in the past but before doing so, I underwent several hours of training to know what I was permitted to do as a poll watcher and what I was not permitted to do and I learned the rules and regulations for conducting an election. I have also worked as a poll official, so that helped me being a poll watcher.

Even if the Trump organization, assigns poll watchers, if they don't know what they are watching for, they will unnecessarily create confusion and be counterproductive.  If poll watchers challenge people simply because they speak in broken English or have a heavy accent, that is intimidation.  That is not a legitimate challenge. If you want to watch the polls contact the people above or call the Republican Party headquarters and offer to be a poll watcher. Also, if you are a Democrat,I encourage you to contact your party headquarters to be a poll watcher.  Both parties need poll watchers and the watchers also need to be watched.

If you have never watched polls before, and there are no more training sessions available at this late date, then educate yourself and ask someone who is experienced to train you. Untrained observers serve no purpose.  I believe every person who is authorized to vote and wants to vote, should vote; and no one who is not authorized to vote should be allowed to vote.  Trained poll watchers, of both parties, can ensure honest elections.

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The Tennessean makes no endorsement in presidential race

 The Tennessean today announced they were making no endorsement for president. I am pleased. I find both candidate so despicable, I will not be voting for the lesser of two evils, if I could figure out which one that might be. It looks like The Tennessean also finds them both despicable. The paper criticized Trump for his charge the election was rigged and says, "Trump's escalation of his already ugly, misogynistic, dishonest, racist, bigoted and self-aggrandizing rhetoric threatens the very ideas this country was founded upon." They go on to say, "Trump will prove to be the least worthy major political party candidate ever to have run for the highest office in the land."

Of HIllary, The Tennessean says, "Democrat Hillary Clinton has a distinguished public service record as a First Lady, U.S. Senator and U.S. Secretary of State. However, the personal email server scandal, her penchant for secrecy and her trustworthiness should give Americans pause."

The Tennessean  has almost always endorsed Democrats for president but in 2012 they endorsed Mitt Romney over Barack Obama.  This is the first time the paper has made no endorsement. The paper had several opinion pieces from staff writers and community figures making endorsements. Here are the link:

• Tennessean Opinion Editor David Plazas: The Case for Hillary Clinton
• Tennessee Sen. Mae Beavers: The Case for Donald Trump
• Tennessean Metro Columnist Frank Daniels III: The Case for Gary Johnson
• Businessman and Political Fund-raiser Bill Freeman: The Case for Hillary Clinton
• Retired Dentist Dr. Stephen Morris: The Case for Donald Trump
• Political Activist Hannah Cox: The Case for Gary Johnson

Across the country several newspapers that normally endorse Republicans made of point of making no endorsement this year.  I have heard no news of other papers that normally endorse Democrats failing to make an endorsement.

The Tennessean's non endorsement will probably not impact election results.  Davidson County will still vote for Hillary Clinton and Tennessee will still vote for Donald Trump.  Newspapers simply do not have the same political clout they had once upon a time.  For myself, I am writing in Evan McMullin. I know it is a long shot but I am not going to vote for the lesser of two evils. I have a clear conscience with my choice.

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