Rep. Curtis Halfords account of an encounter with protestors. They are not peaceful protestors but thugs, vandals and criminals and the D.A. refuses to prosecute.

Curtis Halford is a state representative representing District 79 which is Carroll and Gibson counties. He was elected the House of Representatives in 2008. This is his first person account of his encounter with protestors outside the capitol building.  This was posted on Facebook.

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The four important accomplishments of the Special Session

Susan Lynn

By Susan Lynn, State Representative, District 57 - This week, the General Assembly reconvened in Nashville for the 61st Extraordinary Session in Tennessee history. As part of this historic special session, four new committees were created so that every House member had the opportunity to work on the three issues that comprised Governor Lee’s call for the session. These panels focused on setting new standards to address the possibility of frivolous lawsuits related to the Covid-19 pandemic,  increasing access to telehealth services for Tennessee patients during these unprecedented times, and holding those who promote lawlessness or who attack law enforcement and first responders accountable. 

 The special session began at 4 p.m. on Monday, Aug. 10 in the House chamber, and it concluded shortly after 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 12 with the sine die adjournment resolution. 

Republican leaders increase access to telehealth services for Tennesseans 

 

During the special session, House Republicans led efforts to increase access to telehealth services for Tennesseans through passage of House Bill 8002. This legislation has been a priority of House Republican leadership throughout the 111th General Assembly, and it was carefully vetted to prioritize Tennessee patients having access to their very own doctors and health care providers. House Bill 8002 increases access to electronic health care services and provides payment parity for clinically appropriate, medically necessary services so insurance companies reimburse providers at the same rates they would for in-person visits. Under this legislation, patients must have been seen in person by a physician or health service provider’s practice group within 16 months of a telemedicine visit. The bill also enables Tennesseans to utilize telemedicine as an alternative to in-person visits with their physicians or providers during the pandemic. As part of the Republican CARE Plan that was first introduced in 2019, this innovative solution puts Tennessee patients first, by increasing access, promoting affordability, and improving overall health outcomes.

The measure now awaits the governor’s signature.

House Republicans support business sustainability in Tennessee

House Republicans this week also set new standards to address the potential for frivolous lawsuits against a person or entity resulting from the ongoing pandemic in Tennessee through House Bill 8001.

The Tennessee Covid-19 Recovery Act was approved in the House chamber by an 80-10 vote Wednesday. This legislation increases liability protections for businesses, schools, institutions of higher learning, churches, as well as civic organizations that operate in good faith from frivolous claims by raising standards for action from the current standard of simple negligence to a new standard of gross negligence or willful misconduct.

Under this proposal, any individual alleging injury must file a verified complaint, citing specific facts, as well as clear and convincing evidence that the injury was caused by an act or omission constituting gross negligence or that an entity demonstrated willful misconduct, resulting in a loss, damage, injury, or death from Covid-19.

All lawsuits already filed or in process on or before the date of the governor’s call for a special session on Aug. 3 would not be affected by the Tennessee Covid-19 Recovery Act and may still proceed.

These are extraordinary times, and our businesses have suffered considerable hardships because of unexpected closures in recent months. Additionally, schools have worked tirelessly to implement protocols and procedures so they can safely reopen and educate our children.

The Tennessee Covid-19 Recovery Act protects these and other entities by establishing predictable standards moving forward for future pandemic-related lawsuits so individuals or groups seeking a payday do not abuse our legal system to file a baseless claim against an individual or organization in our state.

 

Republican lawmakers push for law and order, support Tennessee’s first responders

House Republicans on Wednesday evening approved legislation that holds those who promote lawlessness or who attack law enforcement and first responders in Tennessee accountable.

Known as the Law & Order bill, House Bill 8005 protects the rights of citizens enshrined in our Constitution to peaceful assemble. However, those few individuals who escalate peaceful demonstrations into acts of aggression, intimidation, rioting, vandalism or who seek violence towards law enforcement, firefighters and first responders will be held totally accountable for their actions.

The legislation has statewide application, and it is necessary because of recent incidents across Tennessee and our nation where a few bad actors have escalated peaceful demonstrations and have turned them into acts of total lawlessness.

                                  

House Bill 8005 creates mandatory minimum prison sentences for assault and aggravated assault of law enforcement, firefighters, and first responders, as well as rioting and aggravated rioting.

These mandatory minimums include:

• A 30 day mandatory minimum sentence for assault of a first responder. 
• A 90 day mandatory minimum sentence for aggravated assault of a first responder. 
• A 30 day mandatory minimum sentence for participation in a riot and an order of restitution for property damage or loss associated with the offense. 
• A 45 day mandatory minimum sentence for aggravated rioting and an order of restitution for property damage.

The legislation also clarifies and strengthens our existing laws related to illegal camping on state property, and it addresses those who deface our state and public buildings, while keeping peaceful protestors, law enforcement, first responders, and our citizens safe.

                                          

When the Covid-19 pandemic first began, Tennessee’s first responders were our heroes, and this is an opportunity to once again join together to support all who protect and serve us and who risk their lives each and every day for the citizens of Tennessee.

                                            

We want our citizens to exercise their constitutional rights and participate in peaceful demonstrations, but at the same time, House Republicans will not stand for anarchy or lawlessness here in our state.

                                              

Government accountability measure passes House chamber

Legislation that holds local governments accountable for prohibiting emergency response during public demonstrations was also approved this week. House Bill 8006 removes immunity for mayors, chief executives, governing boards or government entities if they choose to prohibit law enforcement or fire and rescue services from accessing specific areas within their jurisdiction which they have left unprotected during a public demonstration.

                                                  

The measure — which is the first of its kind — does not apply to any decisions made by local law enforcement, fire or rescue services personnel based on safety risks to those responding or to the general public. Under this legislation, anyone who violates this law will be held financially liable if damages, injury or death occurs to our citizens and their property.

House Bill 8006 now heads to the governor’s desk for his signature.

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Push for Black Lives Matter street mural underway in Nashville

by Rod Williams - I have been very disappointed in Mayor Cooper up until this point. I have disapproved of the way he tolerated rioters almost burning down the courthouse and how he was slow to protect downtown businesses from vandals and arsonist.  I have been disappointed that he called for a massive tax increase rather than austerity to deal with the financial crisis facing the city.  However, I have tried to retain some respect for him and rationalize that our differences were simply policy differences.  For example, I think it was a mistake to close down lower Broadway, but he has the burden of deciding what is the best approach.  None of us know enough to be sure we are making the right decision in how to deal with this virus. I can question if he made the right decision and still respect his decision. Maybe, if I had the awesome responsibility of making that decision and had gone through the same process of evaluation and felt the same burden of making a wrong decision, I would have decided the same way.  I don't know. 

There is a push to paint a Black Lives Matter street mural downtown. Advocates want it painted on Dr. M.L.K. Jr. Boulevard in front of the Tennessee Capitol. I hope Mayor Cooper does not allow this to happen.  After a 34% tax increase, if he can allow city funds to be spend to paint a divisive propaganda mural downtown, also in a location intended to  give the State the middle flinger, then all respect I had for Mayor Cooper is gone.  I will no longer  believe that he is a good man with whom I simply have policy differences.  If he panders by allowing the mural to be painted and uses city funds to do it, then he is more than just a disappointment; he is deplorable. 

In many other cities where similar street murals have been painted, they have quickly been vandalized. Tossing paint-filled balloons out of their car as they cruise down the street is one method of vandalizing this government-sponsored propaganda.  If painted in Nashville, I wonder if Nashville's BLM mural will also be vandalized? 

 Link, link,

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Tennessee to get tough on violent protestors

by Rod Williams. 8/12/2020- The state legislature passed a bill today that would increase the penalty for protesters illegally camping out on legislative plaza or other state property, require arrested protesters to spend a 12-hour minimum before making bail, create a misdemeanor offense of assault for spitting or throwing bodily fluids on a first responder, create a felony offense for using a weapon or causing serious injury to a first responder, make it a felony to trespass on the property of an elected official, law enforcement officer or judge with the intent to harass, charge with theft and pay restoration for  vandalizing state buildings or entrances, make it a felony to block an emergency vehicle from accessing a street or highway while responding to an emergency call or from blocking an emergency exit door in a building if there is a threat to the health or safety of someone inside. 

I approve. It is time to get tough. Enough is enough. 

For more follow this link. 

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Six Police Reforms for Nashville

by Seeker of Liberty - “Defund the police” has become the clarion call of some but not among the vast majority of Americans, especially, African Americans. Two polls taken in late June and early July, 2020 found strong support for law enforcement with 73% opposing abolition of police in one poll[i]. Meanwhile, Gallup found that 81 percent of African Americans support either the same amount or an increased police presence in their communities.[ii] Defunding the police is clearly not a solution to problems faced by law enforcement, many of which are the result of poor government policy which is then thrust on law enforcement to handle. Better ideas and better solutions need to be discussed and vetted for implementation rather than just imposing an unpopular solution which clearly lacks public support despite what a loud minority would have us believe. 

There are solutions which can begin to correct the problems facing law enforcement. Some of the solutions may in fact incorporate a few of the ideas proposed by advocates which change responsibility for certain activities away from a law enforcement responsibility to that of non-law enforcement agencies.

Reform #1 The Drug War

The War on Drugs might be the worst public policy implemented since 1970 for several reasons. Confining those to current events and specifically to racial discord is difficult because of the pervasiveness the drug war has on every aspect of criminal justice. For that reason, I will attempt to confine this discussion to the impact of policing the drug war and its disparate impact on minorities by quoting an aide to President Nixon, John Ehrlichman.

“The Nixon campaign in 1968, and the Nixon White House after that, had two enemies: the antiwar left and black people. You understand what I'm saying? We knew we couldn't make it illegal to be either against the war or black, but by getting the public to associate the hippies with marijuana and blacks with heroin, and then criminalizing both heavily, we could disrupt those communities. We could arrest their leaders, raid their homes, break up their meetings, and vilify them night after night on the evening news. Did we know we were lying about the drugs? Of course we did.”[iii]

As Abolitionist Lysander Spooner wrote, “It is a maxim of the law that there can be no crime without a criminal intent; that is, without the intent to invade the person or property of another.”[iv] To make vices crimes and with the racial intent of the law, the result has been devastating on the African American community. For example, In 2014, African Americans constituted 2.3 million, or 34%, of the total 6.8 million correctional population.[v] Worse, Black males ages 18 to 19 were 12.7 times as likely to be imprisoned as white males of the same ages, the highest black-to-white racial disparity of any age group in 2018.[vi] When African Americans see these type of disparities, is it any wonder why they demand reform?

Unless police are willing to stop prosecuting the war on drug, effectively creating a de facto treatment of drugs like that of Portugal’s de jure decriminalization of drugs, perhaps the next best approach is something called Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion (LEAD) a program which enables officers to divert individuals who commit crimes due to drug addiction to specially trained case managers. These case managers coordinate addiction and mental health treatment, shelter, housing, health care, counseling, bureaucracy, and employment. Evaluations have shown that LEAD reduces recidivism, felony crime, homelessness, and unemployment, while improving citizen perceptions of the police.[vii]

Mental health diversion programs like Miami-Dade’s Criminal Mental Health Project (CMHP) dispatch specially trained officers to emergency calls that may involve mental illness. These officers bring in offenders for mental health evaluation, safely diverting many from jail to support services that include medication, counseling, housing, and help navigating government bureaucracy. CMHP has been shown to significantly reduce recidivism, incarceration, and criminal justice spending.[viii]

Reform # 2 Sever the relationship between crime labs and law enforcement

Within the current legal system, it is often difficult to challenge the analysis of a police crime lab, even for the defense. Although the word “forensic” derives from the Latin word for the forum, where citizens congregated to dispute public questions, modern forensic science is anything but public or adequately open to dispute. The forensics lab holds an effective monopoly on the analysis of the evidence presented to it. The lab’s scientist is free to infer from the evidence without being second-guessed. The forensic worker, therefore, has power.

While the vast majority of forensic scientists wield this power fairly and competently, a few do not. The proper function of forensic science is to extract the truth. According, however, to a study in 2001:

As it is practiced today, forensic science does not extract the truth reliably. Forensic science expert evidence that is erroneous (that is, honest mistakes) and fraudulent (deliberate misrepresentation) has been one of the major causes, and perhaps the leading cause, of erroneous convictions of innocent persons.[ix]

In the wake of DNA exonerations, an extensive literature has developed on the limited reliability of forensic testimony. The institutional structure of forensic work is an important source of error, insufficiency, and occasionally, malfeasance. Our adversarial criminal courts organize disputes between the prosecution and the defense. But the current institutional structure of forensic science places the results of forensic scientists largely beyond dispute.

In its report to Congress the National Academy of Sciences explains: “Forensic scientists who sit administratively in law enforcement agencies or prosecutors’ offices, or who are hired by those units, are subject to a general risk of bias.” That is why it is time to change the relationship between crime labs and law enforcement.

Forensic labs are often organized within police departments and are thus dependent on the departments for their budgets. This institutional relationship creates a pro-prosecution bias, as the managers of forensics units answer to law enforcement agencies. For example, David Williams, an investigator in the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI) Explosives Unit, was found to have “tailored” his testimony “to the most incriminating result” in two trials, namely, the prosecutions for the World Trade Center bombing of 1993 and the Oklahoma City bombing of 1995. In the Oklahoma case, “Williams repeatedly reached conclusions that incriminated the defendants without a scientific basis and that were not explained in the body of the report.”[x]

“Scientific…assessment conducted in forensic investigations should be independent of law enforcement efforts either to prosecute criminal suspects or even to determine whether a criminal act has indeed been committed. Administratively, this means that forensic scientists should function independently of law enforcement administrators. The best science is conducted in a scientific setting as opposed to a law enforcement setting. Because forensic scientists often are driven in their work by a need to answer a particular question related to the issues of a particular case, they sometimes face pressure to sacrifice appropriate methodology for the sake of expediency.”[xi]

Removing forensic service providers from administrative oversight by law enforcement (to include prosecutor’s offices) addresses the “fox guarding the hen house” issue. Those responsible for acting on the jurisdiction’s or defendant’s behalf in court are not in charge of the neutral arbiter of facts that support or refute criminal allegations. The implication is not that all law enforcement oversight of laboratory functions is biased but that—purely based on mandated responsibilities—the potential for that particular brand of bias is greater than if the laboratories were independent. Other types of bias may occur but, as an independent agency, the laboratory can at least act on them without collateral repercussions and resistance due to professional cultural differences.

Reform # 3 Demilitarize the Police

This subject matter is discussed in greater depth in an essay about the MNPD, here: https://libertyseekingrebel.blogspot.com/2020/06/police-militarization-from-nashville.html

Reform # 4 Warrant service

Forced entry and no-knock warrants are almost exclusively executed in furtherance of the War on Drugs and represent one more reason why the War on Drugs is such a dangerously bad policy. The killing of Breonna Taylor in Louisville, KY was a result of a no-knock warrant.[xii] A truly meaningful reform would bar any forced entry into a private residence unless the police have reason to suspect someone inside presents an imminent threat to others, such as an active shooter, a kidnapping or a robbery in progress.

Reform # 5 Public Sector Employee Unions

In the current climate, it is easy to attack police unions for their protection of bad officers. But the truth is, as a city government, Metro cannot treat one collective bargaining unit different from others. In other words, if the FOP is to be excluded from certain aspects of negotiations, then the MNEA and SEIU must be treated in the same manner. Any Council member who fails to recognize the necessity for equal treatment of all these groups is setting the city up for civil liability.

With that in mind, research on the subject is helpful. A 2019 study from the researchers at the University of Chicago analyzed violent police incidents following a 2003 Florida Supreme Court decision that granted sheriffs' deputies the right to organize. This sophisticated analysis compares agencies with newly granted collective-bargaining rights with other police agencies that already had such rights. "(T)he right to bargain collectively led to about a 40-percent increase in violent incidents," the report concludes.[xiii]

This type of data cannot be ignored and must be addressed by limiting the areas in which the police collective bargaining unit can negotiate with the city. Police unions have made it impossible for police chiefs to reform their departments, get rid of the small number of thugs within their midst, root out police corruption and privatize services.

Reform # 6 OPA vs COB

If anyone has not done so, I strongly urge all to read the packet released by Silent No More TN and its founder, former MNPD sex abuse detective and Master Patrol Officer Greta McClain. It describes many issues within the department, chief of which appears to be a lack of internal control. Having read the rather long letter attached to the report by some anonymous source with detailed knowledge of the internal problems within the department, it is time to consider some major changes to the way complaints are handled.[xiv]

For many years, the Office of Professional Accountability handled all major complaints against officers. Since its creation, it operated under the leadership of a civilian but its investigators were sworn officers. It was believed this would create a perception that those who investigated officers were somewhat separated from the officers they investigated. However, as years passed, the citizens of Nashville believed this to be an insufficient means of police oversight and in a county-wide referendum chose to create a Community Oversight Board. The result has been conflict between the MNPD and the COB, a lack of direction for the COB which led it down a path of decades old cases and COB being left out of active situations. The time is ripe for Metro government to take some action beyond that which the referendum calls for and move to a different approach of the investigation of complaints.

It may be helpful to first understand how the process works now. A complaint which goes to OPA for investigation is assigned to investigators who then compile testimony and evidence to complete a report which is then reviewed by their supervisors and ultimately by the director of OPA. The report will detail the findings of the investigation and then present a recommendation to the Chief of Police. The findings of the report may exonerate the officer, sustain the complaint, find a problem with departmental policy and fail to sustain the complaint. In a case where the officer faces any type of disciplinary action, the officer may request a hearing before the Chief’s Review Board. The final determination of the case is for the Chief of Police.

With that in mind, and with the report included in the Silent No More packet, it appears to be time to transfer all major complaints to the COB and to abolish the OPA and the Chief’s Review Board. If this is done, additional investigative resources will be needed equal to the number of investigators working in OPA. The result of this would be to have civilian, non-police investigators conducting investigations of allegations of violations of department policy and those investigations would then be presented to the Chief of Police for final disposition. The COB would act as the hearing board in the same manner the Chief’s Review Board currently acts but any final determination would still rest with the Chief of Police based on the recommendation of the COB. Minor complaints ought to still be handled by immediate supervisors or the investigators of the COB will be overwhelmed with minor complaints. The findings of the immediate supervisors can also be taken to the COB for a hearing on the supervisor’s recommendation at the discretion of the officer against whom the complaint was made.

These six recommendations are not comprehensive but would go a long way toward reconciling the legitimate goals of law enforcement with the citizens it must protect. Other changes which might also be considered, if legal, would be to forbid civil asset forfeiture without a criminal charge related specifically to the property being seized and abolishing bonds for non-violent misdemeanors or at the very least, require the use of a misdemeanor citations for all non-violent misdemeanors. Taken as whole, these reforms are in keeping with the wishes of the voters of Davidson County and reflect polling indicating the desire for police to do as much if not more to protect their lives and property. 

[i] https://docs.cdn.yougov.com/vgqowgynze/econTabReport.pdf
[ii] https://news.gallup.com/poll/316571/black-americans-police-retain-local-presence.aspx
[iii] "Dan Baum – Harper's Magazine". harpers.org. Archived from the original on July 30, 2017. Retrieved July 30, 2017
[iv] from, Spooner, Lysander “Vices Are Not Crimes: A Vindication of Moral Liberty (1875)
[v] https://www.naacp.org/criminal-justice-fact-sheet/
[vi] https://drugwarfacts.org/chapter/race_prison#
[vii] http://leadkingcounty.org/lead-evaluation/
[viii] http://www.miamiherald.com/news/health-care/article79004057.html
[ix] Michael J. Saks, et al., “Model Prevention and Remedy of Erroneous Convictions Act,” Arizona State Law Journal, vol. 33, 2001
[x] United States Department of Justice, Office of the Inspector General, The FBI Laboratory: An Investigation into Laboratory Practices and Alleged Misconduct in Explosives-Related and Other Cases (http://www.usdoj.gov/oig/special/97-04a/index.htm, 1997)
[xi] National Research Council. 2009. Strengthening Forensic Science in the United States: A Path Forward. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press at 23-24.[xi]
[xii] https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/factcheck/2020/06/30/fact-check-police-had-no-knock-warrant-breonna-taylor-apartment/3235029001/
[xiii] Dharmapala, Dhammika and McAdams, Richard H. and Rappaport, John, Collective Bargaining Rights and Police Misconduct: Evidence from Florida (August 2019). University of Chicago Coase-Sandor Institute for Law & Economics Research Paper No. 831, U of Chicago, Public Law Working Paper No. 655, Available at SSRN:
https://ssrn.com/abstract=3095217 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3095217 

[xiv] https://drive.google.com/file/d/1D1IH-eTMWkPDetZCNhT5szWlwKQRirQS/view?

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Let Us Work rally, August 12th 3PM

 

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Metro Council member Sharon Hurt wants those not wearing a mask to be charged with attempted murder.

During a a special joint meeting of the Public Safety and Health committee recently Council member Sharon Hurt suggested those not wearing a face mask should be charged with  murder or attempted murder.

Below is the video of the meeting where she advocated this position.  

For more news coverage of this issue see this link and this link. This has been picked up and covered by sources across the county. 

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Thanks to Senator Lamar Alexander, most important conservation law in half a century is now law.

After the president signed the legislation,
to thank him, I presented him with a
“mountain man” walking stick that a Smoky Mountain
craftsman gave me during my walk across the state
when I campaigned for governor in 1978.
I reminded him that Teddy Roosevelt,
the great conservation President, used to say,
“Speak softly and carry a big stick.” 

From Senator Lamar Alexander - It is no exaggeration to say that something historic and remarkable happened this week. President Trump signed into law the most important conservation legislation in a half century, the Great American Outdoors Act. 

From the National Mall to the Great Smokies to the Grand Canyon to Pearl Harbor, too many of the 419 national park properties are in bad shape, and visitors often are shocked to find so many roads, picnic areas, trails, campgrounds and visitor centers in bad condition or even closed. The reason for the all the excitement is that the new “Great American Outdoors Act” over the next five years will provide $9.5 billion to cut in half the deferred maintenance backlog in our national parks and forests and other public lands so Americans can enjoy them. 

The law also permanently provides $900 million each year for the Land and Water conservation Fund (LWCF). Since the 1960’s, the LWCF has provided $221 million for Tennessee, which included the purchase of the 10,000 acre Rocky Fork property in Upper-East Tennessee and the purchase of over 2,000 acres to create the John Tully State Forest in West Tennessee. 

There were many marchers in this parade – Democrats, Republicans, hundreds of conservation groups – but this would not have happened without President Trump’s support. He is the first President to allow funds from energy exploration on federal property to be used to reduce the maintenance backlog in national parks. And when he visited Tennessee in March I asked him and he agreed to expand to include other public lands in the legislation that I had introduced three years ago covering only national park properties. 

Here is what this new law means for Tennessee – places like Look Rock Campground in the Smokies, which has been closed for several years because the sewage system doesn’t work, will have the resources to reopen so 5,000 families who once camped there each year can enjoy it. The Cherokee National Forest in East Tennessee, which has a $27 million deferred maintenance backlog and welcomes three million visitors each year – more than most national parks – will have its roads and trails restored. The Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park has a $30 million maintenance backlog. And the Tennessee National Wildlife Refuge in West Tennessee has a $8 million of maintenance work that needs to be done on boat ramps and boat docks.

Italy has its art, England has its history, Egypt has its pyramids, but the United States has The Great American Outdoors. That is what we celebrated this week at the White House, and I was proud to be one marcher in the parade.

Rod's Comment: Congratulations to Senator Alexander. He is being modest. Without his years of hard work, patience, and statecraft this would not have happened.  As one who loves the outdoors, I am thankful that Senator Alexander has made it his mission to protect and expand our national parks. In a time of extreme partisanship, he has been able to get people to work together on an issue, when it would be so easy to just kick the can down the road.  When he retires from the Senate, he will leave behind a proud legacy.  

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Please, complete the Census. It is important for our representative democracy.

 by Rod Williams, Aug. 9, 2020 - The 2020 Census will come to an end September 30th this year, which is two month later than the normal ending date of July 31.  The time period was extended due to the Coronavirus. 

Up until now, the census responses have all been self reporting.  Starting in August the door-to-door portion of the census data collection will start. The period devoted to door-to-door data collection is only going to be two months this year instead of the normal three months. It is unsure what to expect.  The Census Bureau is finding it harder to find census workers than in the past and may not be able to deploy all the workers they need. Census workers may find more people at home than normal due to the quarantine, however, a lot of people observing a strict quarantine may not open their door. 

Unfortunately, even with more time for self reporting, self reporting has not increased much.  In Davidson County, the self response rate is actually 7 points behind the 2010 self response rate.  This is at a time when due to technology, self response is easier and when more people have fewer distractions and more time on their hands due to the lock down.  

If you have not completed the census, please to so.  For one thing, it is the law.  You are required to do it.  For another thing if you self report, no one will knock on your door.  More importantly, it is an important civic duty and in your best interest. 

I know a lot of people with anti-government views or a strong independent streak think the census is an invasion of privacy and resist participating. It is important for two reason: (1) A lot of Federal funds are distributed to states based on population. To get our share of money, we need to be counted. (2) That is the way representation in the U. S. House of Representatives is determined. If a lot of people in Tennessee don't answer the census and people in others states do, we could lose representation at the benefit of some super liberal state like California. Also, that then translates into fewer electors in the Electoral College. Don't let some liberal have more influence and you have less. 

Everyone needs to be counted: illegal aliens, students, prisoners, the barely alive in nursing homes, new born babies, the insane, criminals and perverts. It is not just for voters or just for citizens. That is the way our founding fathers set up our representative democracy. Children can't vote but they are represented.  Before women had the right to vote, they were nevertheless counted in the census. During the era of slavery, even slaves were counted, howbeit at 3/5th the rate of free people. 

I just completed my census a couple weeks ago. It was fast and easy. There was only about 10 questions. Here are a few observations. The census does not ask citizenship. President Trump wanted that question asked but it is not. 

The only choice for gender is "male" or "female."  I like that. Facebook offers 71 choices and Tumbler offers 115 choices. I guess if in 2030 Democrats are controlling the government and we have continued down this road of  accepting the fantasy that there or dozens of genders and one gets to chose their gender, then there will be more choices.  If I am alive then, I will still be "male."

The census does not ask a question about sexual orientation. I am pleased with that.  If we continue along a woke liberal path I expect that to change by 2030.  The census ask no question about religious affiliation or faith identity. The census ask no question about gun ownership. Good. 

There is no more long form census. There used to be the short form for most people but some people would get the "long form," and it asked all kinds of nosy questions.  Thankfully that has been done away with.  

There is a question that to be seems useless and likely to produce unreliable information and I am not sure why it is asked. It asks you your race. I answered 'white." Then there is a box to enter which kind of white (English, German, Irish, etc.). I entered "American" and it accepted that answer.  I suspect many will enter a heritage. I could have entered "Irish," or "Welch," or "English" but my family on both sides have been American so long, we have no affinity for any original country of origin and aren't really sure which it would be since there are several strain of ancestors. I suspect a lot of people did put in a country where their ancestors came from even though they have no ethnic identity. I suspect the census gathered some useless and inconsistent information.

To complete the census on line, go to Census 2020. Please do it. It is important to our representative democracy. 

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