Occupy the Rose Parade?
Is nothing
sacred to these people?:
Another group of Occupy protesters are set to make utter fools of themselves
before a national and worldwide audience. The annual Tournament of
Roses Parade is scheduled to get underway this morning in Pasadena,
California. The annual spectacle features floats made of roses, a
beautiful Rose Queen, and ends the day with the oldest college football
bowl game in existence, the Rose Bowl. It isn't remotely a political
place or a political event, indeed many of the floats and attractions in
the parade are geared toward children. That doesn't seem to matter to
the publicity hounds of Occupy. Rather than organize their own event,
they are going to sponge off of the hard work of the Tournament of Roses
organizers in what they are calling "Occupy the Rose Parade," where the
intend to display a giant octopus at the end of the parade route.
Labels: Democrats, Duh, Federal politics, News Media, Political correctness, Tennessee politics
Occupy Somewhere Else
Occupy Nashville may ruin it for the rest of us:
As readers recall, we have defended without reservation the constitutional right of those sitting in at the Tennessee Capitol to be there, and we were critical of the Governor and Public Safety Commissioner Bill Gibbons for attempting to evict them. Rights come with responsibilities, however, chief of which is that those exercising a right should conduct themselves with good sense so as not to ruin that same exercise for others who may wish to engage in similar activities in future for other reasons. Governor Bill Haslam's apparent move to modify the use policy of the Capitol grounds, which have traditionally always been open to the public at all times and all hours of the day and night, has its roots not with the Governor's office, but with the frustration of the legislative staff who work at the Capitol every day.
Labels: Blogging, Democrats, Federal politics, Local politics, News Media, Political correctness, Tennessee politics
Get A Purpose of Go Home
Occupy Nashville had better come up with a
good reason for being at the Plaza:
Protestors reacted by using power supplied by a battery powered
generator for the day, and Occupy Nashville says they are going to pay
to have the outlet in question rewired so that the wiring is not exposed
any longer. That is well and fine, of course, but at this point it is
fair to ask: What purpose is Occupy Nashville serving by remaining on
the Plaza? Readers will recall that we have consistently supported the
right of the protesters to be on the Plaza, but we have also said that
they need to develop a purpose and a strategy or end their sit-in. The sit-in is now posing a risk to the health and safety of the very people who came to participate in it, and whose rights we have consistently defended in this space (despite the reality that this writer does not agree with the apparent politics of the Occupiers).
Labels: Local politics, News Media, Tennessee politics
We Don't Deliver For You
In order to survive, the Post Office must have a
business model that is relevant:
Everyone knows that the real problem for the Post Office is the reality
that the institution-one of the few government offices whose creation
was authorized in the Constitution (Article I, Section 8, Paragraph 7)
has failed to adapt to the realities of the 21st Century. From colonial
times right up to the late 1990's, the majority of long-distance
communication in America was done by means of letters sent in the post.
Not only has the widespread availability of internet access allowed
people to send letters via e-mail, but long distance communication has
become cheaper and easier in general. Most wireless telephone providers
offer free long distance, and to compete, many land-line phone carriers
offer unlimited long distance plans. You don't even have to have
internet access at home to send an e-mail-You can do that from your
local library for nothing.
Labels: Conservatism, Federal politics, Local politics, News Media, Political correctness, Tennessee politics
Silence Here
The
Knoxville News Sentinel has apparently decided that there is
really no Silence here:
This is yet another example of the declining quality of the News Sentinel and of Scripps newspapers generally. One has to wonder if the News Sentinel will suffer the same fate eventually as the Rocky Mountain News and The Cincinnati Post-which had been the very flagship of the Scripps chain. The Rocky and the Post were good papers, but if the KNS wants
to join them in their fate, cutting your best people from the staff is
not the way to insure viability. In what is likely the last post on his
blog No Silence Here, Michael Silence confirmed via the paper's online staff that the rumors of his departure were true this morning.
Labels: Blogging, Conservatism, News Media, Tennessee politics
Saturday Mail
Do we really
need Saturday postal delivery?:
Yes, most restaurants and merchants are open on Saturday, but most government entities aren't and many banks are only open for half-days on Saturdays, and bank managers and financial service managers take the weekend off. Some companies-especially utilities-remit bills by mail-although that isn't necessary with most credit card prividers, since the option exists with nearly all of them to go paperless and receive bills and make payments via the internet alone. If you do receive your utility bill by mail, most utilities' billing offices are closed on Saturdays, so if you get your electric, water, or gas bill on Saturday, you can't pay it until Monday anyway.
Labels: Economy, Federal politics, Humor, Local politics, News Media, Political correctness, Tennessee politics
Now They Show Up
Alas, the mainstream media is finally catching on to a
story we've followed for months:
Your
Examiner has been covering this story for months when it seemed no one else would listen. We were
among the first to report the other side of the story while the Nashville-area media rushed to judgment and all but pronounced Shipley and Ford as guilty of wrongdoing for doing nothing more than their jobs as legislators. Indeed, it was pointed out in this space that what was happening to Ford and Shipley appeared to be a case of the Governor and his executive minions
attempting to throw Shipley and Ford under the bus. As far as this writer has been able to find, he was among the first media in the State to report that the nurses' licenses were initially suspended after a hearing in which only one member of the Board of Nursing was physically present in the room, and the nurses
weren't allowed to present evidence in their own defense. Meanwhile,
The Tennessean all but declared Ford and Shipley to be guilty in the historically Democratic paper's rush to hang leaders of the new Republican majority out to dry. The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, an agency crawling with Democratic cronyism within Davidson County from the old days of Democrat control, has
conducted a faux-investigation in a cheap attempt to set both legislators, but especially Tony Shipley, up for the political kill.
Labels: Conservatism, Democrats, Local politics, News Media, Tennessee politics
"Waaaaaaaaaah...I Want My Naifeh"
Cue the crying Democrats
over redistricting in 3...2...1..:
When Democrats controlled the General Assembly, they allowed Democratic
Congressmen to decide their district lines and threw Republicans the
scraps. When determining legislative districts, former House Speaker
Jimmy Naifeh (D-Covington) had a goal not only of protecting Democratic
incumbents, but especially those that were personally loyal to him.
After the Naifeh crew got through carving up the House to protect
themselves, Republicans would get the leftovers, and if you happened to
get drawn out of your district, oh well...it meant you probably gave
Boss Jimmy trouble in the first place.
Labels: Conservatism, Democrats, Duh, Elections, Federal politics, Local politics, News Media, Presidential Election, Republican Party, Tennessee politics
The New Connection
Governor Bill Haslam is right to promote greater use of the internet among Tennessee's local elected officials
as a way to connect with constituents:
There was a time-and it was not very long ago at all-when many of our government leaders were skeptical of bloggers and social media, and many doubtless believed that those on both sides of the political aisle who participate in internet-based social media by using it as a tool for political activism as a strange lot, not indicative of the political mainstream. Both the 2008 and 2010 election cycles showed leaders within both political parties and at all levels of government that social media can, will, and does impact the outcome of elections.
Labels: Local politics, News Media, Tennessee politics
Inter-modal Attention
The controversial railroad inter-modal project in Jefferson County is finally getting
more serious and sustained media attention:
The Knoxville News-Sentinel has to be given credit for finally covering with some greater detail the controversy surrounding Norfolk Southern Railroad in Jefferson County, and the Railroad's plans to construct a truck-rail inter-modal transfer facility in New Market. For a very long time, Norfolk Southern has held this project over the heads of many in the local community, and the company has said that it would bring hundreds of jobs to Jefferson County-but has never been able to guarantee those jobs or explain its figures with any detail. Confidentiality agreements have been signed by public officials in the recent past not to reveal all that they know of the railroad's plans, something that can be construed as a violation of the Tennessee Open Records Act, and perhaps the Open Meetings Act as well.
Labels: Conservatism, Elections, Local politics, News Media, Tennessee politics
The DeFreeser!
Former Knox County Commissioner Victoria DeFreese has announced that she will run to succeed former State Senator Jamie Woodson in the 6th Senate District:Teacher and former Knox County Commissioner Victoria DeFreese has officially announced that she will run for the Republican nomination in the 6th Senate District in the special election to succeed former Senator Jamie Woodson, who resigned to join the State Collaborative on Reforming Education (SCORE). DeFreese has long been a darling of the conservative movement in Knox County for her strong pro-life and pro-second amendment stands, but she said Saturday that she believed that her background as a teacher made her the most suitable replacement for Woodson-a Senator who made education her signature issue.
Labels: Conservatism, Elections, Local politics, News Media, Tennessee politics
No More Money for Panned Barrenhood
Within 60 days Planned Parenthood won't be receiving anymore State funding in Tennessee:Tennessee Lieutenant Governor Ron Ramsey announced late this afternoon that Davidson and Shelby Counties would end their contract to allow Planned Parenthood, the nation's largest abortion provider, to provide "family planning services" on behalf of those two counties. Ramsey congratulated Governor Bill Haslam for asking the State Health Department to pressure the State's two largest counties to end their contracts with Planned Parenthood.
Labels: Conservatism, Federal politics, Local politics, News Media, Political correctness, Republican Party, Tennessee politics
Check On the Majority
The effort by a certain group to do away with the Electoral College by a stealth "National Popular Vote" system would do away with a critical check on majority power:There is obviously a clear attempt-and one that is being paid for-to get the populous to accept what is, in reality, a major constitutional change by stealth. It sounds good to most people, doesn't it? After all, shouldn't the candidate who gets the most votes for Presidnet win? Isn't that how it is supposed to work in a democracy? Perhaps it might be, except that the United States of America is not, and was never intended to be, a democracy. We do not pledge allegiance to the "democracy for which it stands," nor do we have any patriotic song called the "Battle Hymn of the Democracy." Oh, Oatney, aren't you just playing with semantics, you may say, aren't a republic and a democracy the same thing." They are not the same thing-at least not according to our founders-and they placed certain checks within our constitution to try and insure that we would not descend into a democracy.
The winner in the Electoral College does win the popular vote most of the time, but it is presently possible for certain States to align together to insure that their candidate is chosen-there is presently a way to put a check on the "tyranny of the majority" if need be, so that rural America has a united voice if they vote as a block. If the National Popular Vote scheme is adopted, that check-and-balance within our system as it presently exists would disappear.
Giving way to popular sentiment is usually a good thing, but in a "complex republic" of the kind that the Founding Fathers created, there must be a way to check the will of the majority within the machinations of government-the Electoral College is that way as we have it today. National Popular Vote would permantly undermind this key protection of minority power and rural America.
Labels: Conservatism, Federal politics, Local politics, News Media, Political correctness, Tennessee politics
Indiana Example
If there was some concern about conflict with the federal government if Tennessee defunds Planned Parenthood, why can't we follow Indiana?:
Are we afraid of federal threats? The State of Indiana is clearly not, as it is prepared to fight the federal government in court in order to de-fund the world's largest abortion provider. Indianapolis has said that it will openly act in defiance of the Obama Administration and enforce the law that it has passed and that Indiana's Republican Governor Mitch Daniels has signed. If conflict with the federal government is the prime concern over the Campfield amendment, that issue won't go away either this year or next, and Indiana is showing the nation that they are ready to take on the challenge. If Governor Haslam uses the line-item veto to negate the altering language and thereby enforce the Campfield amendment, Tennessee will enter the fray immediately. If Republican leaders do not push for a line-item veto now, but then do as promised and pass the de-funding law in full as part of next year's session, the spat with Washington will only be delayed, but will almost certainly come-and in a Presidential election year. We should not be afraid to fight the federal power when Tennessee is fighting for what we know to be right. If the General Assembly intends to defund Planned Parenthood, why delay the inevitable?
.
Labels: Aborticide, Conservatism, Elections, News Media, Political correctness, Republican Party, Tennessee politics
A Death Blow to States' Rights?
The group "National Popular Vote" wants to undermine States' rights and federalism in our country:The electoral college is not designed to reflect the national popular vote, but the will of the people within each respective State. The institution is to be found in the federal Constitution, and it does predate the period in which a popular vote was held for the presidency. Since the 1820's, the votes in the electoral college have largely reflected the composition of the popular vote within a particular State, and most States now have laws requiring that their electors cast their votes for the plurality popular winner within their State, or in Nebraska and Maine, within each congressional district, and in most cases when voters cast a vote for President, they are voting for that candidate's slate of electoral college electors.
The electoral college is one of our country's last real vestiges of active and functioning constitutional federalism, the kind of federalism that respects States' rights and local control over national power and Washington influence. Because of this, no respectable conservative who truly believes in federalism would likely consider its effective abolition.
Labels: Conservatism, Elections, Federal politics, Local politics, Miscellany, News Media, Political correctness, Presidential Election, Tennessee politics
The Live Horse
According to one source in the Legislature, we aren't just beating a dead horse:According to a legislator who contacted The Examiner yesterday on the condition of anonymity, many members of the Tennessee General Assembly have expressed extreme concern over allegations that the wording of amendments to the forthcoming Tennessee budget were altered without their knowledge. "Many members have let leadership know of their anger over this situation," our source said "and some were threatening to demand answers in a more public way, and nearly all who were angry demanded to know who was responsible for making the changes after the wording which would have negated Campfield's amendment was initially removed and then mysteriously re-inserted." Tennessee State Senator Stacey Campfield (R-Knoxville) sponsored an amendment to the State budget which passed both Houses that was intended to deny Planned Parenthood, the world's largest practitioner of abortion, State funding in the coming fiscal year.
Labels: Aborticide, Conservatism, Local politics, News Media, Political correctness, Republican Party, Tennessee politics
The Rule of Law
The affair over the Campfield Amendment is now no longer about State funding to Planned Parenthood, but about the rule of law and whether we hold to that rule in Tennessee:The reader may say "now Oatney, why are you beating a dead horse, aren't you happy that Speaker Harwell and Lieutenant Governor Ramsey are going to help push permanent legislation to de-fund Planned Parenthood next year." While that is truly wonderful news from a conservative perspective, what is at stake now is no longer the issue Planned Parenthood's State funding. If legislation can be changed after it is passed to alter it's legislative intent on any issue, the very rule of law itself is in jeopardy. The system of trust that our legislators rely on, through their colleagues and legislative staff, wherein the intent of our legislative bodies will be trusted to be reflected in the final drafts of amended bills of any kind might be said to have broken down in a very public way. The entire affair surrounding the Campfield amendment raises questions about whether the actions of our General Assembly can be invalidated by a select few based on their own legal opinions, not based on the intent of the Legislature in which they serve.
Labels: Conservatism, Local politics, News Media, Political correctness, Republican Party, Tennessee politics
The other reason
There may be another explanation otherwise mentioned for why the budget amendment regarding the de-funding of Planned Parenthood was tampered with:Are we so dependent upon the federal sow, as though we are piglets sucking at a teet in a dirty hog pen, that a letter from Democratic Senators (who don't represent us) to a Health and Human Services Secretary appointed by a President we didn't vote for, about butting into the business of States where none of these people live, would frighten our leaders into submission, and the will of the General Assembly be damned? Are our leaders so frightened of federal power that the wording of legislation can be changed after it is passed, apparently without the knowledge of those who voted to pass it?
Labels: Aborticide, Conservatism, Local politics, News Media, Political correctness, Tennessee politics
Constitutional Questions
Tennessee House Bill 600, the legislation which essentially overturns a local Nashville/Davidson County non-discrimination ordinance, raises some interesting State constitutional questions:Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam showed on Tuesday that, contrary to what some people inside his own party believed when he ran for the State's executive position, that he isn't necessarily afraid to wade into controversial social questions as a consequence of his office. Haslam signed into law a bill that forbids localities from passing anti-discrimination ordinances which are stricter than the laws in place at the State level designed to combat discrimination. In practical terms, this legislation overturns a Nashville Metro ordinance which says that workplaces, and especially those businesses which have a contract with the Nashville/Davidson County Metro Government, cannot "discriminate based on sexual orientation." The State of Tennessee, of course, has no such provision in its anti-discrimination laws, which is the genesis of the new law.
"It is important that our anti-discrimination laws should be uniform throughout the State, and that is why I support this legislation," Senator Mike Faulk (R-Kingsport) said on the floor of the Tennessee Senate during debate over the legislation before the General Assembly adjourned. Faulk has previously served on the Tennessee Human Rights Commission as its Vice Chairman. Proponents of the legislation fear that without it, some business owners and even churches may be forced to act in a manner which contradicts their deeply-held religious beliefs in the name of combating discrimination. Many of those opposed to the law say that it is undue State interference in local affairs, and that argument alone has turned our State's traditional political spectrum on its head, because many of the people who are making it are the same people who are normally all too willing to interfere in local affairs when its suits them to do so. Arguments can be made that in the case of House Bill 600, there has been little in the way of ideological consistency on either side of the debate.
Labels: Conservatism, Democrats, Federal Courts, Federal politics, Local politics, News Media, Political correctness, Republican Party, Tennessee politics
Trying To Save Themselves
The Tennessee Education Association is trying one last attempt to save their political power:In Tennessee, it only takes a simple majority (51 votes in the House, 17 votes in the Senate) to override a Governor's veto. The House and Senate could make the override the first major order of business when the General Assembly reconvenes in January, and the supporters of the measure would have the votes to make it stick. A veto on Haslam's part would only delay the enactment of the Collective Bargaining Repeal Law, not prevent it from coming into being.
Labels: Conservatism, Democrats, Duh, Elections, Local politics, News Media, Political correctness, Republican Party, Tennessee politics
