Catholics Unite!
Stacey Campfield should claim religious discrimination after he was thrown out of a Knoxville restaurant
because of his political and religious views:
Of course, since this writer believes that a business owner ought to
have the right to do business or not do business in the way they might
choose, we uphold Ms. Boggs' right to throw Campfield out of her
establishment, thereby also losing the business of the compatriots who
were with him. We are compelled to ask, however, what the reaction from
our friends on the Left would be were the tables turned. What if
Campfield were a prominent homosexual rights activist? Perhaps he might
an open advocate for so-called "gay marriage," while, in our reverse
scenario, Ms. Boggs were a Christian business owner who did not wish to
be seen associating with someone engaging in activity she viewed as
openly sinful and promoting political and social ideas related to the
open sin that were repulsive and contrary to everything she stood for.
As a result of this then, she asked Campfield to leave? The so-called
"gay community" would be in outrage, they would be filing complaints to
the State and federal government, shouting discrimination, and using the
made-up word "homophobe" on Ms. Boggs.
The reality is that the Left are the purveyors of the dictatorship of
relativism. You must believe as they do and embrace the moral relativism
which they have spent the past half-century or more watering down our
society with, or otherwise you are unworthy to be treated as a citizen.
Dignity then, to the Left, applies only to those who embrace the twisted
moral and social universe which the Left has created.
Labels: Conservatism, Democrats, Duh, Local politics, Miscellany, Political correctness, Republican Party, Tennessee politics
Just Make Sure You Do the Business
Talk of early adjournment of the Tennessee General Assembly
is a very good thing:
The Tennessee General Assembly convenes its second session today and gets underway in a matter of minutes as this column is being written. Indeed, by the time we go to press, session will almost certainly be underway in both Houses. Just as the General Assembly gets underway today, there is already talk of when the session will end, with the leadership of both Houses eager to get on with business and get out of Nashville as quickly as possible. Lieutenant Governor Ron Ramsey hinted during today's Senate session in an exchange with Senate Democratic Leader Jim Kyle (D-Memphis) as this column is being written that he was hoping for adjournment as soon as late April.
Labels: Conservatism, Democrats, Elections, Local politics, Political correctness, Republican Party, Tennessee politics
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
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
Open Meetings Act
Revisions to the Tennessee Open Meetings Act should be done sparingly and
handled with great care:
It is true that the chief proposal, which comes out of Williamson County
and is being sponsored in the Tennessee House in the next session by
former House Republican Caucus Chairman Glen Casada (R-Franklin). The
legislation was apparently brought to Casada by the Williamson County
Commission. The proposed change would allow closed-door discussions
among commissioners and other local officials so long as a quorum is not
present. The problem with this approach is that it could too easily be
used to circumvent public input simply by setting up two separate
non-quorum meetings, quietly coming to agreement behind closed doors,
and taking a vote at the public meeting without recourse to free, open,
or public debate. Such a maneuver-however well-intentioned-is a serious
danger to free government wherever it exists and should be discouraged
at all costs.
Labels: Blogging, Conservatism, Democrats, Elections, Local politics, Political correctness, 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
A Litany of Thanks
We shoould take the time to be
thankful for our many blessings:
We should all be thankful to live in a nation where we are free to pass along our thanks to God, and to acknowledge His Holy Name in a manner fitting to Him, and in a fashion such that we are as yet unmolested for doing so.
Labels: Faith, Miscellany, Political correctness
Occupy the Courtroom
A New York State Supreme Court Judge yesterday proved me wrong, but there may have been
reasons other than the obvious:
Secondly-and far more importantly-as several people have pointed out to me in the last 24 hours, Zuccotti Park is actually private property. It is owned by a private company, Brookfield Properties, which has an agreement with the city that allows the land to be used as a park. Since Brookfield owns the turf, you can be certain that they weren't pleased that their lovely green space was being turned into a festering, desease-ridden, crime infested public health hazard. We may never know whether it happened or not, but it might be a fair bet that the Brookfield folks went to New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg and told him to clean up the mess or the long-standing agreement to allow Zuccoti to be used as a park by the city would be brought to an end based on the city failing to keep the place in good order.
Labels: Duh, Federal politics, Local politics, Miscellany, Political correctness
Occupy Some Sense
So the Occupy Nashville people get to stay at the Plaza-
what is their plan?:
What is the continuing purpose of the sit-in at the Capitol? What demands do the protesters have of the Tennessee General Assembly? Since the Occupy movement seems to enjoy comparing itself to the Civil Rights movement of the 1950's and 1960's, then the leaders of Occupy should know that at some point, that movement established clear goals, and moved from sit-ins and boycotts to tangible political action.
Labels: Duh, Local politics, Political correctness, Tennessee politics
What Now for Occupy Crew?
"Occupy Nashville" appears to have won their fight to stay at Legislative Plaza...so
what do they do next?:
"I do not think they should be banned from protesting at the capitol,"
Senator Stacey Campfield (R-Knoxville) said, "they should have the right
to assemble as long as it is it is peaceful and they are not hurting
anyone. If you cant protest at the State Capitol where can you protest?"
Former State GOP Communications Director Bill Hobbs, who served under
former State Chairman Robin Smith in one of the most conservative State
party organizations in modern Tennessee history, called the situation
"embarrassing" in several tweets over the weekend.
The big question for Occupy Nashville is this: The Governor's
political miscalculation has backfired and garnered you some goodwill
you did not previously have. Will you use that wisely and make your
protest more legitimate, or will you just continue to sit there without a
clear, resonating message and squander the biggest opportunity you have
to build your political brand in Tennessee?
Labels: Conservatism, Local politics, Political correctness, Tennessee politics
Did Someone Figure Out That Arresting Reporters Leads to Bad Press?
Maybe someone over in Nashville finally came to their senses about what to do with the Occupy crowd, as no arrests were apparently made Saturday night,
but they sure were on Friday:
Protesting, in however misguided a fashion, is what these people were on
the Plaza doing, for the most part. The new so-called rule which says
that no one can be on the Legislative Plaza from 10pm to 6am may now apply to all of us, but it is not aimed
at those of us who don't agree with these protestors, but at the
protestors who are there, and it was not in place before Thursday
night/Friday morning. All that Governor Haslam and Safety Commissioner
Bill Gibbons have managed to do through these actions is to garner
support for the protestors and increase sympathy for them from people
who otherwise do not embrace their various (usually) Leftist causes. The
quasi-police state activity of the Tennessee Highway Patrol included
the arrest of a Nashville Scene reporter Friday Night/Saturday morning who was doing his job.
The Nashville Scene may be a Leftist rag, but if the Highway Patrol can arrest a reporter from the Scene,
they can arrest anyone trying to cover the event. When the Highway
Patrol starts threatening to arrest other members of the press for being
doing their jobs, our freedoms are no longer safe and we live at the
mercy of the Charlotte Avenue Gestapo, regardless of the party in power
in the Capitol.
Labels: Local politics, Miscellany, Political correctness, Tennessee politics
Who Are They Trying to Influence?
The Occupy Nashville crowd has been given until 8pm tonight to
clear out of the Capitol:
Since the Constitution guarantees the right of protesters to peacefully
assemble and "petition the government for a redress of grievances," it
is fair to ask: If the Occupy Nashville protesters continue to be camped
out at Legislative Plaza, what are they asking the Tennessee General
Assembly specifically to do? Have they presented a list of their
collective demands to Governor Bill Haslam, Lieutenant Governor Ron
Ramsey, or House Speaker Beth Harwell? Are the demands of the protesters
things that a State legislative body has the constitutional authority
or ability to act upon? Perhaps most importantly, are many of these
protesters even aware of the fact that the Tennessee General Assembly is
a part-time legislature, that most of its members have a life outside
of the Capitol and that, by the way, they aren't in session in October?
It would appear that the answer to all of these questions is no.
"Occupy Nashville" might see an occasional legislator duck in and out of
a committee meeting from time to time, but if they are looking to wield
influence, camping out at the Capitol in the middle of October isn't
the way you do that in Tennessee-the General Assembly isn't there.
Labels: Duh, Federal politics, Local politics, Political correctness, Tennessee politics
They Don't Know Jack
Did some folks over in Moore County
forget their medication?:
The County Commission of Moore County has passed a resolution which asks the General Assembly to authorize a county referendum which, if passed, would allow for a $10 per barrel tax on every barrel of whiskey distilled in Moore County Since Moore County has only one legal whiskey distillery-which is, by the way, the most famous in the world-there is no doubt at who the tax is aimed. Since the Jack Daniel distillery would be responsible for some $5 million a year in new taxes under this proposal, in addition to the $1.5 million in local property taxes that they are already paying, one has to suppose that rather than pay a tax that is essentially targeted only at their business, since it is the only one of its kind in Moore County, the good people who distill Tennessee's most famous export will simply pass on this new tax burden to the American consumer of their whiskey-most of whom have never set foot in Moore County, Tennessee.
Standing in the way by both State law and longstanding custom is the Tennessee General Assembly. Now Republican-dominated (it wasn't in recent years' past), neither House nor Senate seems to have an appetite for taxation that is specifically targeted to one particular business. Further, the precedent that this kind of tax would create might bring about economic chaos, as counties look for ways to milk their principle industries without losing them. Those businesses which can leave such an environment would not hesitate to do so. Jack Daniel's Distillery is the largest employer in Moore County, and the "spin-off" jobs created from the still's successful operation provide many local people there with work who wouldn't otherwise have it in the worst economic climate since the 1930's. Do the people of Moore County really want to put that in jeopardy by milking the money from the cash cow that already feeds them?
Labels: Conservatism, Duh, Local politics, Political correctness, Tennessee politics
The Curry Todd Case
Standards of conduct that
apply to one should apply to all:
Whatever that decision might be, it should be remembered that we ought not to hold a double standard. Many of us demanded former Rep. Rob Briley's (D-Nashville) removal from his Chairmanship and position of influence when he was caught driving drunk, complete with Maker's Mark bottle in his car. Yes, there are differences in the two cases-Representative Todd did not resist arrest or kick the windows out of a Sheriff's vehicle, and thus far he has not blamed bloggers or public access to the Legislature thus far for his personal fall, as Briley did. However, we cannot make excuses for the one while nailing the other to the wall.
Labels: Conservatism, Local politics, Political correctness, Tennessee politics
The Other Side of the Story
Finally, one of the nurses that Representatives Tony Shipley and Dale Ford helped get a fair hearing
is telling their side of the story:
For all of the negative media attention (especially in the Nashville area) heaped on Representative Tony Shipley after the nurses were exonerated for the supposed "improper use of his office," the story has all but died in the press in the over two months since it broke. This may be because any investigative journalism would discover that neither Shipley nor Ford seems to have acted inappropriately.
Among the parties that members of the press never spoke to before now were any of the nurse-practitioners involved. In an exclusive to The Examiner, Nurse-Practitioner Bob Reynolds II has bravely agreed to share his side of the story, explaining how his life, and the lives of the other professionals involved were ruined by overzealous State officials Hell-bent on making heads roll-no matter what the real human cost happened to be.
Labels: Conservatism, Local politics, Political correctness, Tennessee politics
Making the Carter Administration Look Appealing
So much for
hope and change:
News Sentinel columnist Greg Johnson, who can rightly be termed that paper's resident conservative, points out in his column today (which mysteriously has yet to appear online as of this writing) has yet to that the poverty rate in Jefferson County-where this writer makes his home-is an astounding 20.2%. Literally one in five of our neighbors-the people all around us, just aren't getting by and are living by the skin of their teeth, and that is the "official" number. When the cost of getting by on the very margins of financial survival are factored in, the "real" number is probably closer to one in four, or 25%. Few of us who live in these parts do not know someone-a friend or family member-who is having some financial or economic trouble of their own.
Labels: Conservatism, Elections, Federal politics, Local politics, Political correctness, Presidential Election, Tennessee politics
The Prison Vote
Prisoners may have decided an important
Nashville Metro Council Election:
Current law states that someone who is incarcerated and who hasn't formally lost their voting rights must vote by absentee ballot, but that two election judges have to be witnesses to the act, and that at least seven days before Election Day, these judges go to the prison, observe the incarcerated person vote, and then must personally take the ballot to the Post Office. There is, of course, no potential for voter fraud there (sarcasm mine).
Labels: Democrats, Elections, Local politics, Political correctness, Tennessee politics
Wean the Sow Off the Teet
If we are going to get serious about dealing with the national debt, we have to get
less dependent on the federal government:
We as a nation have come to expect that it is the place of the federal government to be all things to all people, and to do all things for all people. Such a mentality has landed us with $14 trillion in debt and essentially subservient economically to a number of foreign debt-holding sovereign powers, the leading one of which is Communist China.
Labels: Congress, Conservatism, Federal politics, Local politics, Political correctness, Tennessee politics
Costs Mysteriously Increase With Federal Funds
Does the University of Tennessee
really need to increase tuition?:
We often hear people talk about the rising cost of education and say that there is no choice to to engage in these kinds of tuition hikes since the cost of delivery of the educational product has increased so dramatically over the years. However, it has always been more than a bit curious that both tuition and salaries at public universities (and indeed, at most private ones who accept public money) have skyrocketed as the infusion of massive amounts of federal monies in the form Pell Grants, federally-backed student loans, and other federal cash has made its way into the higher education system. Rather than use the funds as they were intended-to keep the cost of education down and make it affordable for the average family-most public universities, including the University of Tennessee, have raised tuition steadily at the same time the federal dollars that were pumped into higher education have increased over the years, according to Dr. Richard K. Vedder of the Independent Institute.
Labels: Conservatism, Economy, Local politics, Political correctness, Tennessee politics
