ACLU sues Davidson County, state over ballot issues; parties seek a fix for voters
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Saturday, November 05, 2022
Is a Prison-labor ban a smart move? I am voting against Amendment 3.
By Chandra Bozelko, Wall Street Journal, Nov. 4, 2022 - I worked in York Correctional Institution’s kitchen for five years. I earned 75 cents a day for the first year, then got a raise to $1.75 a day. That job is the reason I’m alive. The work was menial, but it provided physical and mental escape from the Connecticut prison cell where I was serving a sentence for larceny, identity theft and improper use of a credit card.
A movement against prison labor seems to be gaining ground. The 13th Amendment outlawed slavery and involuntary servitude, “except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted.” The constitutions of 19 states have similar language. On Tuesday voters in five of them—Alabama, Louisiana, Oregon, Tennessee and Vermont—will decide whether to rewrite their charters to abolish that exception.
Colorado voters led the way by passing a similar ballot measure in 2018; Nebraska and Utah followed in 2020. So far these measures have had no effect on the state’s prison-labor programs, although litigation is pending against Colorado’s. If it succeeds, the state may have to pay prisoners minimum wage if they work at all.
Rod's Comment: It appears to me that the same concerns expressed in the above article could apply to Tennessee should the voters adopt Amendment 3 in the upcoming election. I have not read anything to allay my concerns. I am voting "no" on Amendment #3.
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Florida Bans Puberty Blockers and Transgender Surgery for Minors. Tennessee should do the same.
By BRITTANY BERNSTEIN, National Review, November 4, 2022 - The Florida Board of Medicine and state Board of Osteopathic Medicine voted Friday to ban puberty blockers and sex-reassignment surgery as treatments for transgender minors in the state. ... Florida is also one of at least nine states that prohibits Medicaid coverage of gender-transition services.
... More than 70 percent of children with gender dysphoria “typically outgrow” it, ... A clinic that offered gender-transition services for children in England was closed down after NHS England found it was “not a safe or viable long-term option.” (link)
Rod's Comment: We need to stop the mutilation of children and ban the chemical castration of children in Tennessee. If Tennessee is not one of the nine states that prohibits Medicaid coverage of gender transition services, it should be.
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Thursday, November 03, 2022
An unknown number of voters have cast ballots in the wrong congressional race in Nashville
by Rod Williams, Nov. 2 - According to the Associated Press, some Nashville voters have cast ballots in the wrong congressional districts. Some voters in the 7th Congressional District were grouped wrongly with the 6th or the 5th. This mistake involved only one prescient and 1,350 voters live in that precinct.
In the 7th Congressional District, Democrat Odessa Kelly is running against Republican U.S. Rep. Mark Green. Green will most likely win in a landslide, so this error will not change the outcome.
In the 6th, incumbent Republicans John Rose is being challenged by Democrat Randal Cooper but Rose is expected to handily win that race so this SNAFU should not impact the outcome of the election.
While the original AP story did not say the mix-up impacted the 5th Congressional Districts, other reports say this impacts both the 5th, 6th, and 7th. In the 5th, Republican Andy Ogles is running against Democrat Heidi Campbell. If the race is close, no matter which way it goes, the losing candidate could claim that had people who live in the 7th not voted in the 5th, he would have won the election.
Mistakes happen and there is no provision for an election do-over. It can be determined which voter voted in the wrong district, but no way to know how they voted. This is an unfortunate occurrence at a time when many Republicans do not trust election integrity and when Democrats think there was something inappropriate about the redrawing of district boundaries.
Despite Republicans controlling the redistricting process and all affected counties having Republican-majority election commissions, many Trumpinistas are ready to believe the most far-fetched conspiracy theory. Should Ogles lose by only a handful of votes, one can be certain that Trumpinista Republicans will blame the "deep state" and "insiders" for stealing the election.
Democrats are loudly blaming the mix-up on redistricting. “This is the result of a racist, bigoted, money-hungry Republican Legislature who is doing everything to hoard power to keep the system rigged against everyday working-class people,” said Nashville resident Odessa Kelly, the Democratic candidate for the 7th Congressional District seat. (*)
I hope Andy Ogles wins this election, but whichever candidate wins I hope it is by such a significant margin that the election results are not in question.
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Bellevue Breakfast Club - Nov. 5th. Featured speakers Congressman Mark Green (TN7) and former Mayor Andy Ogles (candidate TN5)
From Lonnie Spivak:
 |
| Congressman Dr. Mark Green (TN7) and Former Mayor Andy Ogles (TN5) |
Greeting Breakfast Club Members,
It is hard to believe we have made it through two years with Joe Biden and his cabal "in charge" of the country. FINALLY we get our chance to send a message with a RED WAVE in the 2022 mid-term elections.
It gives me great pleasure to introduce our VIP speakers for our November meeting. Because Bellevue straddles two congressional districts with the newly redrawn lines, I am honored to have both Congressman Dr. Mark Green (TN7) and Former Mayor Andy Ogles (TN5) with us the first Saturday in November.
Please join us Saturday, November 5th, 8:30am at Plantation Pub, 8321 Sawyer Brown Rd., Nashville, TN 37221 as we welcome two great Tennesseans. I am sure there will be a lot of inside baseball as we head to Election Day.
Our friend Michelle Forman needs volunteers to help her get across the finish line. Please let me know if you have time to either knock on doors or make phone calls for her as we enter the final stretch.
Thank you all and I will see you soon.
Lonnie
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Rep. Susan Lynn's views on the Proposed Constitutional Amendments
From Representative Susan Lynn:Representative Susan Lynn
Hi there,
I have been asked for my views on the Constitutional Amendments that are on the ballot.
Here is how I am personally voting on each,
Amendment 1 - YES
Amendment 2 - YES
Amendment 3 - NO
Amendment 4 - YES
Here is why I have decided to vote as I have,
Amendment 1 – Simply adds the right-to-work to our Constitution. It is current law and Tennessee is a better state because we are a right-to-work state.
Amendment 2 – Adds a process whereby the Speaker can step-in as acting-Governor should the Governor because incapacitated (such as with covid). The process includes a mechanism for him to resume his duties when he is again well.
Amendment 3 – This changes language in the Constitution regarding prisoners. Our current Constitution makes it clear that inmates lose certain constitutional rights. This provision states that “Nothing shall keep a prisoner from working…” Right now, having a job if you are an inmate is a merit-based system based on good behavior and other positive factors. They are paid less than minimum wage. Some of their pay is held back in savings for when they exit the institution and some, they are permitted to spend in the PX. We do not have enough jobs for all inmates, nor the money to pay all inmates. I am very concerned that we will be sued by inmates demanding a job and demanding at least minimum wage. We provide every inmate with free room, board, and medical care…imagine if we are literally paying them a wage to be in jail.
Amendment 4 – This simply takes obsolete language out of the state Constitution that was deemed unconstitutional many years ago by a court.
If you have any questions or concerns, please don't hesitate to reach out.
Sincerely,
Rep. Susan Lynn
Rep. Susan Lynn
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Wednesday, November 02, 2022
Tuesday, November 01, 2022
We should be better than Paul Pelosi conspiracy theories and better than blaming the attack on MAGA extremism.
by David Marcus, The Spectator, November 1, 2022 - ... Democrats pounced, as usual, on their claims of MAGA extremism; meanwhile, too many on the right have indulged in disgusting conspiracy theories about the assault.
... Meanwhile, Charlie Kirk — whose organization Turning Point USA has made him one of the most influential voices on the right, especially among young conservatives — took to social media to ask a “patriot” to bail out David DePape, the suspected attacker, in order to get at the truth. Aside from this sounding a lot like Kamala Harris pitching for people to bail out 2020 rioters, it would put someone who seems to be a dangerous lunatic back on the streets.
Across conservative Twitter, though thankfully not in responsible outlets, all kinds of weird conspiracies about what DePape was doing at the Pelosi residence have been bandied about. Most share in common a vilification of Paul Pelosi and an absolute dearth of anything approaching actual evidence. The general attitude seems to be that these voices don’t trust the authorities, and are just asking questions, even if the questions just happen to paint Pelosi as some kind of sex fiend. This is not good enough.
Let’s be clear: the Democrat chorus that this attack is the fault of Donald Trump and MAGA extremism is ridiculous, as are their appeals for Republicans to stop running attack ads a week before the election. By all accounts, DePape is a deranged man and there is little to suggest that anyone is responsible for his behavior but himself.
If conservatives adopt these despicable tactics, they will lose the war for our culture and society before a shot is even fired. You beat conspiracy theories with truth and facts, not by inventing more and more disgusting conspiracy theories of your own. (link)
Rod's Comment:
I watched the Sunday news shows and all condemned the attack and laid the blame at the feet of the supporters of Donald Trump who, they say, created an environment where this is encouraged. This is BS! Hard-hitting political ads and strong rhetoric are nothing new. I have been around a long time and I remember when Democrats ran ads against Barry Goldwater of a girl picking daisies and then a nuclear explosion occurred because that is what would happen if people elected Barry Goldwater the ad implied. You can't get much nastier than that and it has not stopped.
While I wish both sides would tone down the rhetoric, Dems have painted Republicans as warmongers and bigots and people who would push grandma over a cliff for as long as I can remember. Demonizing the other side is not a one-way street. Both sides do it.
Following the attack on Paul Pelosi's, mainstream newscasters almost all condemned political ads critical of Nancy Pelosi. Whichever party wins the House will pick the next Speaker, so certainly in every house race, Nancy Pelosi is on the ballot. She is fair game. The ads I saw attacking Nancy Pelosi were reasonable and none implied she should be subject to physical violence. I remember when Dems ran ads against Mitch McConnell.
While all people should condemn violence, Democrats have no room for self-righteous superiority. During the Antifa/BLM violence of 2020, police were attacked and injured and killed, millions upon millions of dollars of property damage occurred, and White people were at random beat simply because they were White. In Antifa-controlled autonomous zones, people were murdered and women were raped and good liberals stood by and understood the outrage and sent money to BLM. Don't tell me it is Republicans that created an atmosphere where political violence is acceptable. This didn't start with Donald Trump.
Don't forget the atmosphere liberal activist and the Democrat Party lap dog press created after the Supreme Court overturned Roe vs. Wade. An upset supporter of abortion rights tried to kill Judge Kavanaugh. I did not hear libs call for moderating the outrage.
I am dismayed at the nutty conspiracy theories circulating around this attack on Pelosi's husband and that some Republicans are implying there is more to it than what meets the eye. I used to think Democrats were the party of naive gullible fools and the Republicans Party was the party of sane rational people. Not anymore. I think there are more nut-jobs on the right than on the left these days. Unfortunately, Alex Jones and Marjorie Taylor Green are now mainstream Republicans.
(Rereading the above, I realized I used the term "fair game." I am not implying that Nancy Pelosi is fair game as in legal deer hunting season "fair game." One should not have to clarify that, and I am not going to make a habit of it. I am not going to be so aware of how someone else (some mentally deranged someone else) could misinterpret what I say, that I engage in self-sensorship of normal political discourse. Saying things like a candidate is "targetted" or is "fair game," are acceptable expressions and are not a call for killing the person.)
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Term sheet sheds light on details of new $2.1B Tennessee Titans stadium deal. Download it here.
By Jon Styf, The Center Square, Oct 20, 2022 -Members of the Metro Nashville City Council will be asked to approve a term sheet and legislation to enact a 1% hotel-motel tax starting Feb. 1 with its initial consideration of both to begin at the board’s Nov. 1 meeting.
The term sheet outlines plans for the projected $2.1 billion new stadium for the Titans, including the order of financing and how a fund that includes the hotel tax and sales tax at the stadium and outside the stadium can be used. The stadium is expected to be ready for the 2026 NFL preseason. The lease will be for the term of the bonds — about 30 years — with three five-year renewal options.
The term sheet was presented to the Metro Nashville Sports Authority by Deputy Mayor Sam Wilcox on Thursday.
The terms include the state of Tennessee contributing $500 million, Nashville contributing $760 million from its Sports Authority from the sales and hotel tax fund and the Titans, represented by an entity that will be called StadiumCo, will need to prove it can provide $840 million from the sale of personal seat licenses, an NFL loan and private financing.
The deal states, however, that the team would not be required to provide full operational financial information or audit rights. A letter from Titans owner Amy Adams Strunk, explaining that she cannot provide a guarantee she will not sell the team due to NFL rules, was included with the term sheet.
"I recently learned that your team has expressed a concern about a potential sale of the Titans and proposed a contract provision to address that concern," Strunk wrote in the letter to Nashville Mayor John Cooper.
"We fully expect to keep the Titans in Nashville," Strunk wrote. "Thankfully, NFL rules do allow us to make that commitment as part of the deal, and we were happy to include it in the term sheet. Perhaps more important, I should add that throughout this process we have never considered the possibility of relocating the team."
The $2.1 billion stadium cost will include the cost of demolishing the current Nissan Stadium. The Titans are responsible for paying off $30 million of bonds on the current stadium. The team has hired Manica Architecture, which build Las Vegas' Allegiant Stadium, to complete the project.
The sales and hotel tax fund will first pay for the sports authority bonds. The team will not backstop the bonds and the city will be responsible from its general fund for backstopping them if required. The team will pay $3 per ticket sold for non-football events into the fund as well as continuing to pay a $3 ticket tax for Titans games into the fund as rent.
The Sports Authority will sign a separate agreement with Tennessee State to use the stadium.
If the stadium project cost exceeds $2.1 billion, the team will have to prove why that additional cost is necessary and prove it has the additional funds to pay for it.
The new terms include a "first-class" condition requirement with comparison stadiums being Allegiant Stadium, Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium and U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis. A similar requirement has been used to say that Metro Nashville would have to pay between $1.75 billion and $1.95 billion to fulfill its obligations in the case the Titans were to take a team option to extend their current lease at Nissan Stadium. To this point, the Titans have not exercised that option.
If there is excess sales and hotel tax following the revenue bond payment, it can be used to fund capital projects and maintenance at the stadium. If those funds are not sufficient for a project, the Titans would be responsible for the cost.
If the Capital Repairs Fund cap is met, excess funds can be paid up to $25 million to Nashville’s general fund and then excess would be sent to a reserve fund. If the reserve fund meets 120% of its goal, and the revenue bonds are paid off, Metro Nashville would then have the option of ending the hotel tax.
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Nashville council members push back against mayor's closed-door $2.1B stadium deal
The deal includes a $500 million payment from the state of Tennessee, $760 million in bonds from the city's sports authority and an undetermined amount of future tax dollars that will go toward stadium maintenance, upkeep and East Bank infrastructure. The mayor's office hired private consultants, New York-based Inner Circle Sports, to help broker its deal.
"Backdoor deals are simply unacceptable these days," Council Member Emily Benedict wrote Friday while stating she is against the deal. "We must build public trust, and we can do so when we have all of the details available for everyone to see before we take action.
"Next week at Council, I will ask my colleagues to reject the Mayor's Term Sheet Resolution. We shouldn't be asked to approve hundreds of millions of tax dollars when we don't have all of the information. When we spend big money in my household, we gather all of the known unknowns before we decide what's in our best interest. Nashvillians deserve a government that does the same."
While analyzing details from the non-binding term sheet, East Bank Stadium Committee Chair Bob Mendes put together a chart highlighting the portions of the stadium deal that are actually tax dollars. The mayor's office has claimed that the new deal will relieve tax burden from Nashville taxpayers and claimed that the Titans will pay the largest portion of the stadium project.
But terms of the deal have shown that is not true as the Titans will put $840 million into the $2.1 billion initial deal.
"There's other options," Council Member Courtney Johnston said at last week's committee meeting. "I feel like we would be derelict in our duty as representatives of the taxpayers of this county to not vet the other options and how that would look, and how that would be financed. Because it hasn't happened.
"… they've just said it's going to cost $1.75 to $1.95 million to do it, so … Nope … and we're moving on to building the stadium and here's this beautiful shiny building and here's how it's going to be paid for. But we really haven't dug into the details of if we are going to renovate."
Mendes showed that a tax fund setup to pay for the sports authority bonds on a new stadium and future maintenance on the stadium includes tax money from an in-stadium tax, taxes from the 130-acre development planned outside the stadium, a new 1 percentage point hotel tax increase in Davidson County and a $3 fee on all tickets for events at the stadium.
"This is why legit deal professionals don't have the closing party or issue press releases for non-binding term sheets," Mendes said in a comment about long negotiations related to the Vanderbilt Medical Center.
"I want to emphasize that after two years of private negotiations behind closed doors, the team and the Mayor's Office have brought us a non-binding term sheet for the purpose of 'facilitating ongoing discussions,' " Mendes wrote in an overview of the deal. 'The public and the Council should engage meaningfully to understand where they are in the process…but we shouldn't be hurried.'
During last week's stadium committee, Mendes and Johnston objected to Nashville Finance Director Kelly Flannery's push for the council to consider an approval of the term sheet to be binding as the Titans would then continue costly stadium construction planning in hopes of the stadium opening in 2026 or 2027.
The committee has 11 more meetings scheduled with the next coming at 4:30 p.m. Wednesday on the team and city's community benefits plan.
"I find myself in complete agreement with my colleague (Benedict) on every point," Council Member Russ Bradford wrote. "I very much felt the tone from the administration and Titans are ramming this through without giving Council or the taxpayers a chance to speak up."
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Monday, October 31, 2022
Should everyone vote in this election? Should you vote? Do you have a duty to vote?
by Rod Williams, Oct. 31, 2022 - Soon almost every newspaper in America will recycle their election day editorial urging readers to vote. The Tennessean will likely publish a signed editorial from Michael A. Anastasi saying, "Nashville, it's time to vote; no excuses. Let's get out in force on election day." They have used that title before, so they may give it a new title. The editorial will likely say, "Citizens have a duty to uphold their institutions and participate in the democratic process." David Plaza as editor used that line. Since this is the first national election since the 2020 Trump coup attempt, the editorial may get more emotional than normal in trying to shame people into voting.
Should everyone vote? Should you vote? Do you have a duty to vote? Let us take a look at why you should or should not vote.
First of all, if you live in most places in Tennessee your vote is not going to make a difference. It just isn't. I am a political junkie and I do not know off the top of my head who is running against Bill Lee for Governor. His election is not in doubt. I will most likely vote and I will vote for Bill Lee, but will one additional vote for Lee matter? If you are a Democrat, why bother voting for Lee's Democrat challenger who is going to lose in a landslide? The outcome of that contest is not in doubt. So, why should that contest motivate you to vote?
There are a couple competitive races where I care about the outcome and the outcome is in doubt but I do not live in the district where these races are taking place. I do not live in the 5th Congressional District, but if I did I would certainly vote and I would vote for Andy Ogles. I do not live in Tennessee House of Representatives District 59, but if I did I would certainly vote and I would vote for Michelle Forman.
I live in Congressional District 7 where Mark Green is going to be elected in a landslide. I am in Tennessee House District 58 where there is no Republican candidate running for that office. There is little to excite me about this election but I live and breathe public policy and politics. It is my passion and my hobby. I will vote despite little motivation to vote. But should you? You could be fishing or watching football or going to the zoo with your grandkids, or washing your hair, or straightening your stereo wires. If politics is not your passion and there is little to excite you about the election, why vote?
You will be told you have an obligation to vote. You do not. Just ask Barack Obama. Before becoming president, as a U. S. Senator, he abstained from voting on very many occasions and on very important issues. He simply voted “Present” time and time again. So, if Barack Obama did not bother to vote while serving in the US Senate, why should you vote?
A lot of people - important people, never bother to vote. You know who Bill Frist, right? He is a former Tennessee U. S. Senator and was also the Senate majority leader. Before he was elected to public office he didn't vote for 18 years when he could have voted.
John Edwards? He was a former Senator from North Carolina who almost got the Democratic Party nomination for President a few years ago. He has since been disgraced in a sex scandal. Anyway, until he ran for office he hardly ever voted. My point is, that if famous politicians like Senator Bill Frist, and Senator John Edwards did not bother to vote until they decided to run for office, why don't you just wait until you decide to run for office and then start voting?
Remember some years ago when Obama ran for president and the people who wanted you to vote for him told you that if you did not, that any number of bad things might happen: homes would get foreclosed, unemployment would increase, a war would continue, and we would all die from global warming? Well, people did vote for Obama and all of those things happened anyway, except we did not all die from global warming, but his administration did nothing about global warming so we wouldn't have died from global warming anyway.
Often the dire things you are told will happen if you don't vote for a particular candidate happen anyway even if you do vote for that candidate and that candidate is elected. Sometimes dire things you are told will happen if the other candidate is elected, do not happen when that other candidate is elected. My point is that voting a particular way will probably not result in the outcome you are promised will follow that person's election.
Some people will tell you that not voting is a sign of a weak democracy and a sign that you just don’t care. Well, I am here to tell you that not voting is not a sign of a weak democracy or not caring. You could interpret not voting as a sign that things must be going so well, that people see no reason to vote. When the actions of government are so unimportant that people don’t feel compelled to vote, that is a sign that people must be pretty content and pretty certain that those who do vote will make the right decision. Not voting is a vote of confidence.
Do you have a patriotic duty to vote? I'm not buying it. In fact, I don't think one should vote unless one is really informed and confident in one's decision. Don't let anyone tell you it is your patriotic duty to vote. In fact, I think it is unpatriotic to cast an uninformed vote. What if you vote the wrong way and the person you vote for does something to really screw up the world? Do you want that responsibility?
Voting casually without being certain of your vote is wrong. Casting your vote should be a sober, thoughtful decision. Casting an unsure vote is sort of like driving drunk. So, if you don’t feel certain that you are qualified to vote or have adequately studied the issues; please don’t vote. If you haven't been paying attention, don't vote. If you get most of your news from Saturday Night Live and Facebook memes, please don't vote.
Some people will tell you that if you don’t vote you have no right to complain. I don't know who started that lie. It is just not true. By not voting, you are not giving up the right to complain.
Voting is difficult. It is very complicated to figure out how to do it right. The new electronic machines are real difficult to figure out and anyway, with the electronic machines, how do your even know your vote is counted? Also, the lines are often really long and it can take a lot of your time. And, it might rain.
If you are a big Trump supporter and believe the 2020 election was stolen, then why would you bother voting? If the 2020 election was stolen, then what has changed to make you have confidence in the 2022 election? The "insiders" and the "deep state" are only going to allow the people they want to be elected, to be elected. Right?
You do know that if you vote, you will probably get called to jury duty? Also, I understand that this year immigration officials will be at the voting places looking for illegal immigrants. There are always a lot of police at the voting places too. A lot of outstanding warrants are served on Election Day. Voter registration records are public records so the police know who will be voting so it is easy pickings to serve warrants. I have heard that officials also stake out the voting place to look for people who are behind on their child support.
So, if I were you, and I didn't feel well-informed on the issues and qualified to make a very important decision that will have an important impact on the lives of hundreds of thousands of people, I just wouldn’t vote.
I have never believed that a large voter turnout of uninformed people makes for a stronger democracy. I would prefer fewer people vote who are informed rather than masses of people who are not informed. I wish a lot of people would not vote.
I don’t want you to vote. You see, if you don’t vote, my vote carries more weight. If only 33% of the people vote, it is like I am voting for three people; if 50% of the people vote it is like I am voting for only two people. I don’t want you to dilute my vote. Let me vote for you. I have studied the issues. I am qualified to vote.
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