General Winstead assembles "A" team for 5th Congressional District race.

Kurt Winstead

Nashville, Tenn. – General Kurt Winstead (Ret.), a conservative Republican candidate for Tennessee’s 5th Congressional District, announced today major additions to his campaign leadership team.

“We have so much momentum. Our conservative message to the Republican voters in the 5th District is resonating, and I am so excited about our senior campaign team that will help us win this election,” said Winstead.

The new additions include:

•  Fred Davis, a veteran media consultant, who has advised on a number of successful state and federal campaigns including Governor Bill Lee, Governor Bill Haslam and Senator Lamar Alexander. Davis will produce the television and radio advertising.

• Tony Fabrizio and David Lee will act as pollsters for the campaign. Fabrizio and Lee are veteran consultants and pollsters. Combined, they have worked for decades on hundreds of Congressional and Senate campaigns across the country. Fabrizio also served as chief pollster for President Donald Trump in the 2016 and 2020 elections.

• The Stoneridge Group, a well-respected conservative political consulting firm based in Atlanta will lead the campaign’s direct mail and digital efforts.

The campaign previously announced its initial team, including:

• Chris Devaney is Winstead’s senior advisor. Devaney a former Tennessee Republican Party Chairman who served in senior roles on multiple winning campaigns in the Volunteer State, including managing Governor Bill Lee’s successful campaign in 2018.

•  Kim Kaegi serves as the campaign’s finance consultant. Kaegi has over thirty years of statewide fundraising experience across Tennessee. Kaegi has worked for dozens of campaigns including Governor Bill Lee, Governor Bill Haslam, Senator Bill Hagerty, and Congressional campaigns of Diane Black, Tim Burchett, Stephen Fincher, David Kustoff, and Phil Roe.

• Jimmy Granbery, a Nashville businessman, is the finance chairman for the campaign.

“This campaign team is one of the best in the country and has the experience to win,” said General Winstead.

Recently, the Winstead campaign announced $1 million cash on hand after a successful fundraising effort following his formal announcement in March.

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Ogles Camp Announces $453K for 5th District Bid In First 30 Days

May 13, 2022- Maury County Mayor Andy Ogles says his campaign for the Republican nomination for the open 5th Congressional District seat has netted $453,000 in the first month since joining the race. Ogles didn’t officially enter the contest until the end of the Federal Election Commission’s most recent reporting deadline, so he won’t have to make official disclosures until July 15 — 20 days before the primary.

The Ogles campaign says none of his fundraising total came in the form of loans and that all contributions were from within Tennessee. Here’s the full release:

COLUMBIA, TN – Maury County Mayor Andy Ogles raised $453,000 in the first thirty days of his bid for the 5th District Congressional seat. Ogles, who was a late entry into the race, officially became a candidate on April 6th.

Mayor Ogles stated, “I am humbled and overwhelmed by the support I’ve received since entering the race. Not only has the fundraising response been incredible, the results in recent straw polls in both Wilson and Marshall Counties, as well as the candidate auction in Williamson County demonstrate the strength of my grassroots campaign.”

Mayor Ogles attributes his success with the grassroots to his decades of activism where he has helped lead the charge against Obamacare expansion, government overreach and various tax increases. “Tennesseans want elected officials who will fight for them in the same way President Trump fought for us. During Covid I never wavered, I fought for freedom and liberty in the face of threats, and I will fight for Tennessee against a Federal government that has gone too far and grown too powerful,” said Ogles.

Recently Mayor Ogles made national headlines as he refused to close Maury County during Covid. Ogles actively campaigned against State and Federal mandates by holding the ‘Freedom Matters’ tour where he recruited other elected officials and TN citizens to standup against government overreach with the town hall meetings consistently drawing crowds between 500 and 800 individuals.

Lee Beaman, a well-known businessman and conservative fundraiser, who serves as Mayor Ogles Campaign Chairman added, “I recently attended an event with several very conservative Members of Congress who were asking about the 5th Congressional Race and I told them Andy Ogles is Tennessee’s Ron DeSantis and, like the Florida Governor, Andy is a true fighter for the people and he is exactly who we need serving us in Congress.”

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Hagerty: DHS disinformation board likely illegal

By Bethany Blankley | The Center Square, May 7, 2022 -  U.S. Sen. Bill Hagerty says the creation of a board within the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) tasked with combating "disinformation" is likely illegal.

Creating the board and hiring its new director without Congressional authorization violates several federal laws, Hagerty, R-Tenn., argues. Knowingly and willfully violating one of them carries a $5,000 fine and up to two years in prison, he adds.

Hagerty sent a letter to DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas saying his “actions merit review by Congress, both as a general matter, as well as under the Congressional Review Act (CRA) and because the actions may be in violation of provisions of the Antideficiency Act.”

He told Mayorkas that “you will comply with the requirements” of the CRA when it comes to the creation of DHS’ disinformation board because the law requires “any agency action that falls within the definition of a ‘rule’ must be submitted to Congress for review before it can take effect.”

Creating the board and hiring its new director, Nina Jankowicz, “may also be a direct violation of provisions of the Antideficiency Act,” Hagerty wrote. The law prohibits “making or authorizing an expenditure from, or creating or authorizing an obligation under, any appropriation or fund in excess of the amount available in the appropriation or fund unless authorized by law.”

Federal funding available for the board and for Jankowicz’s salary “is ‘none,’” he said, because “Congress explicitly defunded it, just weeks ago.”

Citing a section of the fiscal 2022 Omnibus Appropriations Act, Hagerty said the law “specifically prohibits the Secretary of Homeland Security from using any funds provided by Congress to carry out Section 872 of the Homeland Security Act of 2002, which means it defunded any action to ‘allocate or reallocate functions among the officers of the Department of Homeland Security or to establish, consolidate, or alter organizational units within the Department of Homeland Security.’”

Hagerty also put Mayorkas on notice, writing: “As you know, an officer or employee, including you, who violates the Antideficiency Act ‘shall be subject to appropriate administrative discipline,’ and, for willful violations, faces a criminal fine, imprisonment, or both.”

A federal employee who willfully violates the Antideficiency Act “shall be subject to appropriate administrative discipline including, when circumstances warrant, suspension from duty without pay or removal from office.” A federal employee who “knowingly and willfully” violates it “shall be fined not more than $5,000, imprisoned for not more than 2 years, or both.”

After receiving a wide range of criticism about the DHS’s disinformation board, Mayorkas hit the television circuit last weekend and testified before the Senate on Wednesday. DHS also published a fact sheet about its disinformation initiative, calling it an internal working group.

Initially, Mayorkas said DHS had been talking with secretaries of state and the new board’s focus would be on the upcoming midterm elections. But the fact sheet states its focus is on “disinformation spread by foreign states such as Russia, China, and Iran, or other adversaries such as transnational criminal organizations and human smuggling organizations. Such malicious actors often spread disinformation to exploit vulnerable individuals and the American public, including during national emergencies.”

Mayorkas defended the Jankowicz selection despite numerous claims she’s made that have been proven to be false, while she labeled many Americans exercising their free speech as “disinformation launderers,” even labeling Loudon County, Virginia, parents who opposed curriculum being taught to their children as “disinformers’ engaged in ‘disinformation for profit.’”

Twenty attorneys general demanded that Mayorkas immediately shut down DHS’ disinformation board, or working group, regardless of what it’s called, arguing it’s unconstitutional, illegal and un-American. If he doesn’t, they said they will take legal action.

Hagerty gave Mayorkas until May 16 to submit to Congress the rules and policies the DHS disinformation board would implement. He also instructed Mayorkas to submit a letter to the Director of the Office of Management and Budget, President Joe Biden, Congress, and Comptroller General of the United States that includes specific information about “the violation if it has indeed occurred.”

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Buy tickets now! 

Come join Davidson County Republican Party for a must-see debate with engaged Republican candidates for the Congressional 5th District.

All proceeds raised will go towards supporting the Republican candidates for Metro Nashville Public Schools and judges. Prize draw and drinks reception included.

 

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Judge declines to place ousted Republican hopeful back on ballot

 NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — A federal judge on Thursday denied a congressional hopeful's motion to reverse his removal from the GOP primary ballot.

In his 19-page decision, U.S. District Judge Waverly Crenshaw said that while the Tennessee Republican Party may have possibly violated its own bylaws in kicking video producer Robby Starbuck off the ballot, it did not violate the U.S. Constitution. ... Last month, state GOP officials confirmed that Starbuck, small business owner Baxter Lee and former State Department spokesperson Morgan Ortagus did not qualify to run in the upcoming Republican August primary. All three had received challenges over their voting records. Starbuck has been the only candidate who has fought to overturn the Republican Party's decision in court. (link)

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Facts should matter. Social Security and Federal welfare programs combined equal 41% of Federal spending; National defense is 11%.

by Rod Williams, May 14, 2022- Last night I was at a family function and the discussion ranged widely and was most enjoyable. At one point we were talking about the unbelievable rise in housing costs in Nashville and how homeownership was increasingly out of reach of young adults.  This led to more discussion along the lines of how things did not look good for the younger generation and how in the past the next generation could be expected to have it better than the previous generation but that was no longer the case. 

As an example of how things were looking grim for the younger generation, I mentioned that the Social Security Trust fund would be depleted in the mid-2030's and some difficult choices would have to be made which would further burden the younger generation. We also talked about the impact of inflation and the rising national debt.

At this time one of my family spoke up and said, something along these lines: "If we would quit wasting money on the military we wouldn't have a problem. I read some report that said China at 400 new warships so we needed 400 new warships. If we would just fucking learn to get along with other people we wouldn't need to spend all of this money on the military and we could solve our other problems. And, we are doing nothing to save the planet from global warming, which is the biggest problem we face." It continued until she took a breath.

Her voice was showing emotion and her rant was a stream of consciousness. This person has a heart of gold and is a good person, but she is super woke and a snowflake.  You cannot have a rational conversation with her. She is too emotional and so certain of the righteousness of her cause that she cannot consider that issues are complex and nuanced and someone with a different point of view may have something to offer. I knew it was time to let it drop. The subject was changed and we had a most pleasant rest of the evening sharing stories and discussing non-controversial topics.

Reflecting back on the exchange, what can you even say to someone who thinks we can live in a world without national defense. What do you say to someone who thinks we do not need to be concerned about the Chinese threat and that we need to learn to get along? I would like to ask, was Hitler someone we should have ignored and we should have learned to get along with? Do people who say these things really think we would not be living in a society that looks a lot like the former Soviet Union or East Germany of current North Korea, if not for our engagement in the cold war? How can one even think like that? How divorced from reality do you have to be to hold that opinion? 

There is no point in trying to talk with someone so irrational and so emotional,  Also, I know that people like this are not going to have their minds changed by facts but facts should matter. 

• We currently spend 3.7% of GDP on the military. 
• We spend 4.8% of GDP on Social Security.  
• Social Security spending is 17% of federal spending.
• Spending on the military is 11% of federal spending.
• Spending on other income security programs such as food stamps, unemployment and housing assistance is 24% of Federal spending.
• Social Security and Federal welfare programs combined equal 41% of Federal spending,

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Mark Green on the baby formula shortage, the new Ministry of Truth, discriminatory race-conscious college admissions and more.

From Congressman Mark Green:

An Update from Washington: 

To Tennessee's parents who are struggling to find formula for your baby: I hear you. Over 100 Republican lawmakers are calling on President Biden and FDA Commissioner Robert Califf to immediately address the formula shortage. Tennessee was tragically one of five states where formula was completely sold out during the week of April 24th. Just know I am working to get immediate solutions from this Administration. No parent should have to worry about finding formula for their baby. 

This week, I joined Senator Ted Cruz, Congresswoman Michelle Steel, and more than 80 Republican lawmakers in filing an amicus brief over discriminatory admissions practices at Harvard and University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Harvard and UNC's admissions policies intentionally divide applicants by race. These race-conscious admissions decisions inflict a heavy toll on Asian-American students. Read more here. 

 In other news, I'm demanding answers from Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas over his department's new "Disinformation" Governance Board. Make no mistake about it: This board is right out of the Chinese Communist Party's playbook. Read our letter with 174 lawmakers.

During this week's House Armed Services Committee hearing, we heard from Secretary of the Army Christine Wormuth and Army Chief of Staff General James McConville regarding FY2023's Army budget requests. I'm concerned that President Biden's proposed defense budget shrinks the Army by 12,000 soldiers. You can listen to my remarks and questions here.

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Senator Marsha Blackburn, A Woman With Principle

 Fox News Radio, May 4, 2022 - On this episode, Jason shares his thoughts on social media censorship and changes he’s noticed on Twitter since Elon Musk’s acquisition of the platform. .... Jason sits down with>Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-TN)reflects on her adolescence and how her work experience outside of politics molded her to be the trailblazing politician that she is today. Jason and Senator Blackburn discuss the importance of integrity and being a person of your word.

 To listen to this podcast follow this link. Go to timestamp 15:40 for the Marsha Blackburn interview. This is interesting. She talks about selling books for Southwest, the battle over the state income tax, and conflict with Taylor Swift. I learn that Marsha Blackburn as a teen gave Ukelali lessons and does not like pineapple on her pizza. 

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Note that this is an update. The date has been changed. Ignore any previous version of this announcement.
 

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Voters More Worried About Inflation Than Abortion Rights

Rasmussen Report, Thursday, May 12, 2022 - Despite news reports that the Supreme Court may be ready to overturn Roe v. Wade, abortion rights haven’t displaced inflation at the top of the list of issues most concerning to voters.

The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone and online survey finds that 87% of Likely U.S. voters are at least somewhat concerned about inflation, including 60% who are Very Concerned. That’s barely changed since January.

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New Update to The Liberal Speak Translation Guide: “Gender Affirmation Treatment”

by Rod Williams, May 13, 2022- The new addition to our Liberal Speak Translation Guide is "Gender Affirmation Treatment," or "Gender Affirmation Surgery."  I first saw this in a description of a movie on Netflix then I started seeing it in mainstream publications and in NPR news reports. This is such a loaded term.  It implies that the gender in a person's head is their real gender.  It implies that treatments such as hormone therapy, hormone blockers, breast implants, tracheal shave, vaginoplasty, or other actions to make one's body conform to the thought in one's mind is the correct course of action. It is fixing a mistake of nature. This term says that giving a male, female characteristics (or vise versa)  simply affirms reality. 

 Intended for use when listening to NPR, mainstream media, academics, and liberal politicians. These terms may also be encountered when talking to any liberal. If your child recently went away to college and returns home for a visit, you may encounter these terms. If you watch MSNBC you will need this guide; the liberal speak term is the term that is always used. Because sane people acquiesce and surrender their culture many of these terms become standard usage. Please do not surrender to the liberal attack on our culture by using the liberal speak terms. 

Liberal Speak

Translation

"Gender Affirmation Treatment," or "Gender Affirmation Surgery."

Sex change, sexual reassignment surgery or sexual reassignment treatment,  genital mutilation.

Minor-Attracted Persons or MAP

A pedophile.  A sicko who is sexually attracted to children.

victim-blaming

A recognition that bad outcomes may not have occurred if one had exercised prudence, caution, responsibility or wisdom.

Shaming	As in "slut-shaming." An expression of disapproval, verbal or by body language or facial expression that you disapprove of someone else's morals, values, grooming, or looks. It is a failure to hide your judgment of another.
Dead-naming	Referring to a male who decides he is a female by his real legal birth name he used before he adopted his new made-up feminine name.

immigrant

Illegal alien

tax expenditures

Any of your money you get to keep.  The mortgage interest deduction on your home is a "tax expenditure."

kinetic military operations	War

Arsenal of Weapons	Gun Collection
Disadvantaged	Poor
Economically challenged	Poor
Delicate Wetlands	Swamps
The Underclass	Poor
Cruelty-Free Materials	Synthetic Fiber
Heavily Armed	Well-protected
Narrow-minded	Righteous
Judgmental	Knows right and wrong
Your Fair Share	More Coerced Theft or your income
Commonsense Gun Control	Gun Confiscation Plot
Illegal Hazardous Explosives	Fireworks or Stump Removal explosives
Product of conception	Unborn Baby
Nonviable Tissue Mass	Unborn Baby
Equal Access to Opportunity	Socialism
Equal Access to Opportunity	Preferential treatment
Equal Access to Opportunity	Reverse Discrimination
Multicultural Community	High Crime Area
Fairness or Social Progress	Marxism
Upper Class or "The Rich"	Successful People
Progressive, Change	Big Government Scheme
Homeless or Disadvantaged	Bums or Welfare Leeches
Sniper Rifle	Scoped Deer Rifle
Investment For the Future	Higher Taxes
Healthcare Reform	Socialized Medicine
Extremist, Judgmental, or Hater	Conservative
Truants	Homeschoolers
Victim or Oppressed	Criminal or Lazy Good-For-Nothing
Religious Zealot	Church-going, God-fearing
Fair Trade Coffee	Overpriced Yuppie Coffee
Bible-thumpers	Christians
Exploiters or "The Rich"	Employers or Land Owners
The Gun Lobby	NRA Members
Assault Weapon	Semi-Auto (Grandpa's M1 Carbine)
Fiscal Stimulus	New Taxes and Higher Taxes
Revenue enhancement	New Taxes and Higher Taxes
Investment for the future	New Taxes and Higher Taxes
Same-Sex Marriage	Legalized Perversion
Mandated Eco-Friendly Lighting	Chinese Mercury-Laden Light Bulbs
Green Energy	Overpriced electricity produced from unreliable solar panels or windmills
Diverse or Lifestyle Choice	Sinful and Perverted

12- 3- 2021- I discovered a new politically correct term today and this is a doozy.  Someone once crudely said political correctness was an attempt to pick up a turd by the clean end.  That is a good description for many politically correct terms but is a real good fit for this one. The term is “Minor-Attracted Persons” or “MAPs” for short. The Daily Wire reports that it was coined by an Old Dominion University (ODU) professor of sociology and criminal justice named Allyn Walker.  We think of these people as pedophiles, filthy perverts, sick people, who are sexually attracted to children. Since the only behavior, the liberal culture finds abhorrent is judgmentalism, expect this term to gain traction. 

12-9-2018 - It is time for a liberal speak translation update. The culturally loony left keeps getting loonier.

Twitter has decided to ban “dead naming.” If a man decides he wants to change his sexual identity and adopts a new feminine name, even if it is not his legal name, it violates liberal standards to call him by his real name.  Take the example of Bradley Manning, the former United States Army soldier who was convicted by court-martial in July 2013 of violations of the Espionage Act and other crimes. He decided he was a she and said he was now "Chelsea Manning." To call him a "he" is politically incorrect and to refer to him as "Bradley Manning" is to commit the liberal sin of "dead naming."

Another word that needs explaining that has entered the vocabulary is "shaming," such as "slut-shaming," "fat-shaming," "mommy-shaming,"  "body-shaming,"  This is an expression of disapproval, verbal or by body language or facial expression that you disapprove of someone else's morals, values, grooming, character, behavior or looks. It is failure to hide your judgment of another.

A term that should have been on this list but I somehow overlooked it "victim-blaming." An example of "victim-blaming" may be to point out that if one had exercised better decision making maybe bad things would have not happened to them. For instance, if a female college student dresses provocatively, teases guys, gets crazy drunk, and then goes back to the dorm with a guy and he takes advantage of her, to say she did not exercise caution and prudence is "victim-blaming." To point out that to decrease the chances of being poor one should finish school and not have children before you get married is blaming the victim.

3-12-18 - This is the first time I have updated since April 2011. At that time if a news story said, "she filed a lawsuit," we knew what that meant. Now "she" might be a he who dresses like a woman or wants to think he is a woman or has embraced his femininity or sufferers from gender confusion. 

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Marjorie Taylor Greene won. Her name will stay on the ballot, and it should

Marjorie Taylor Green

by Rod Williams, May 6,2022 - Marjorie Taylor Greene is qualified for reelection a judge has ruled, and as he certainly was right in doing so. This is a victory for democracy, constitutional liberties, and common sense.

If anyone has followed this blog, you will know that I have a very low opinion of Marjorie Taylor Green. In my opinion, she is a certifiable dingbat nutjob. You can read some of my previous posts about MTG by following this link. Not only have I negatively opined about her, but have contributed to her primary opponent for the upcoming election.

Just to summarise why I have such a negative view of MTG, consider this: Marjorie Taylor Greene is a Q-anon supporter.  She was a regular contributor to a conspiracy website. She has supported almost every right-wing conspiracy theory circulating. She touts the Pizzagate theory, the Clinton Kill-list, mass shootings as a false flag theory, and 9-11 as an inside job theory.  She has advocated executing Democrat politicians.  She has equated the Democrat Party with Nazies. She continues to claim Trump won the election in a landslide and that the election was stolen.  Her Covid-19 theory is that Dr. Fauci is criminally liable for helping create the virus as a bio-weapon. She has suggested that space lasers caused fatal wildfires in California. And, she was only one of eight Congressmen to cast a pro-Putin vote to protect Russian oligarchs from having their assets frozen.

So, obviously, I am no fan of MTG. Nevertheless, it would have been a blow to liberty if she would have been denied the right to run for reelection. In Georgia, a group of voters had challenged her eligibility to run claiming she engaged in insurrection after taking office. The specific justification of the challenge was based on a section of the 14th Amendment that says no one can serve in Congress “who, having previously taken an oath, as a member of Congress ... to support the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same.” 

It was amazing to watch Ron Fein, the advocate for removing her argue his case. At one time MTG, in urging people to attend a protest march in Washington, had said this was our "1776 moment." The attorney advocating her removal from the ballot argued this was a code for encouraging a violent overthrow of the government.  If that is what it takes to make one guilty of insurrection if one reads my blog closely they may find I am guilty.  I have attended rallies and no doubt applauded such statements. Does applauding such rhetoric make me guilty of insurrection? 

He tried to make much out of her support for the Second Amendment. He asked her if she had said the Second Amendments' purpose was so an armed public could oppose tyranny. Of course, it is, but he tried to say that that view proved she supported insurrection. 

He asked her if prior to the January 6th riot she had given capitol tours or maps of the capitol to anyone. She said no she had not and added, "by January 6th I didn't even know where the bathrooms were." Even if she had given tours and maps, that is not a crime; that is something a congressman's office does.

On and on, they tried to make the case that she had some association with some of the rioters. She denied it. They had nothing.  It was almost comical at times how deep they were reaching to try to prove she was somehow involved in plotting the overthrow of the government. In one video shown at the trial one of the riot leaders referred to her as "my good friend." She said he was an acquaintance and the court spend time trying to determine if he was a "good friend" or someone she casually knew.  This is amazing. In politics or business or entertainment, the lesser-known person may refer to the better-known person "as my good friend."  The celebrity knows a lot of people. 

She gave no evidence against herself and her response to most things was, "well, I don't recall" or "I don't remember that." I believe her. They tried to raddle her; she kept her cool.  While I still think she is a nutjob, I found she is kind of a likable person and they badgered her on the stand.  She had my smypathy. 

I watched hours and hours of the trial and I found it fascinating. If you want to watch it, follow this Youtube link. It is in segments, but I think it is all there. Sample any of parts 1-3 to get a feel for the trail. The prosecutor had no case based on law or evidence. To see that watch the closing arguements in part 4.  Advocacy is not the same as inciting insurrection. Hyperbole is not insurrection and "to engage," is not the same thing as expressing an unpopular opinion. 

While justice was served and she was not removed from the ballot, I fear that this can have a chilling effect.  Even winning, can result in loss of time on the campaign trail and spending money to defend oneself instead of spending it on campaign expenses. I think the challengers should be forced to reimburse her expenses. 

This attempt to remove Marjorie Taylor Green is more of a pattern of attempting to silence voices with which the left disagrees. We see it on Facebook and other social media in which conservatives are banned or shadowbanned. We see it with forcing people to pretend that a man is a woman and mandating which pronoun to use or lose one's job. We see it when credence is given to the labeling of pro-life and advocates of secure borders groups as "hate groups" by the Southern Poverty Law Center. We see it on college campuses in which administrations will bow to protest and disinvite conservative speakers. Political correctness and cancel culture are having a chilling effect on free speech.  I fear the recent creation of a Ministry of Truth (The Department of Homeland Security's Disinformation Governance Board) will lead to further criminalizing of improper thoughts and speech. 

Watching the hours of the Marjorie Taylor Green hearings had me routing for Ms. Green. I still think she is a dingbat nutjob and hope she loses her election, but I like my liberties more than I dislike Marjorie Taylor Green and our liberties are under attack like never before. 

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What happened at the Metro Council meeting of Thursday May 5th Council meeting: Delays, Deferrals and Late Filings

by NICOLE WILLIAMS, Nashville Scene, MAY 9, 2022 - .... Council was forced to defer a zoning bill in CM Robert Swope’s district. .... 

The administration brought a late-filed resolution — as this particular administration is wont to do — to approve a five-year contract with Waste Management. Y’all may have heard we’ve had some trash problems lately. Anyway, I guess the administration thought the best way to handle the situation was to spring a five-year contract on the Council with a day or two to review it. What could possibly go wrong?

 ... Three years ago, the (then-Briley) mayoral administration attempted to purchase 88 Hermitage Ave., a state-owned property home to an old building that once housed the Tennessee School for the Blind. The plan was to use the property to build a new Nashville School of the Arts. The price? $11.3 million. After much debate, the Council rejected the proposal. ...  John Cooper himself — voted against the deal. ... Now Cooper wants us to buy it. ...Council deferred action on the resolution. (read it all)

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917 Society Founders Day Dinner, May 17

From Joni Bryan:

Our Founders Day Dinner is almost here! If you are a Founder and have not registered for your complimentary tickets please message me and I’ll send the link! If you are not a Founder but a 917 Society Member/donor and want to attend, message me and we will put you on the list after we complete Founders Registration. You can also text 256-668-5590

If you would like to be a Founder or 917 Society Member visit our website at www.917society.org

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Faithful Presence: A Conversation with Bill Haslam

 

Full Event Details

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The world has gone insane. Oregon is requiring tampon dispensers in elementary school boys' bathrooms.

by Rod Williams, May 9, 2022- I started to say, 'you can't make this stuff up", but people do make up weird stuff, like Tucker Carlson's story that the government or some malign force is purposely sabotaging our food infrastructure.  Or like that Agenda 21 is a plot to kill 90-something percent of the world's population by poisoning them with aspartame and fluoride and that everything from your local government's general plan to shady sidewalks to bike lanes to reintroducing wolves into the wild is part of it. Or, like school shootings are a false flag operation. Or like chemtrails.  Or like 9-11 was an inside job.  

So, I won't say you can't make this stuff up.  I have become so skeptical, and doubt a lot of what I read and hear. I certainly doubt the accuracy of many memes posted on Facebook. When this one to the right appeared, I thought this is probably false or a distortion. Surely, I reasoned, the state of Oregon is not requiring tampon dispensers in elementary school boys' bathrooms. Well, they are.

It is as nutty as the meme suggests. One can read about it here, here, and here and many other sources. To read about the policy from a Portland Public Schools statement see below.

This is the kind of nuttiness we can expect whenever Democrats are in the majority.  Democrats on the west coast are always a little more progressive than elsewhere, but they are on the cutting edge. The rest of the Democratic establishment will follow. I am so glad I live in a Republican state. I would not be that surprised should Metro Nashville Schools adopt such a policy. I suspect we are the only place in the state where such nuttiness could happen.  If Metro Nashville did attempt such, however, I am confident the State would move in and prohibit such a policy. 

Sometimes I despair about the right-wing fringe and the bombastic and inflamed rhetoric and the nutty things many Republicans will believe.  However, it is a fringe of conservatives who are nutty.  It has become mainstream among Democrats to believe elementary schoolboys need tampons.  

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