My Comment:
See Nashville Voters A Step Closer To A December Referendum Election.
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Saturday, September 12, 2020
Mail-in ballots are an open invitation to cheat.
by Albert Tieche- Mail-in ballots are an open invitation to cheat. It is like announcing that there will be no police on the interstate to pull over speeders. In both scenarios, most people will obey the law but some will not. It is that simple. Some will cheat. 
Albert Tieche
Mail-in vs Absentee ballots
There is a big difference between the procedure for absentee ballots and mail-in ballots. While there is variation from state to state, in Tennessee absentee ballots must be requested by voters. Conversely, mail-in ballots are automatically sent to voters without a request. Here are some specifics about the absentee voting process in Tennessee:
To vote absentee:
1. A voter must be a properly registered voter on the county voter database.2. A voter must request an absentee ballot using a form designed for that purpose. Here is the Davidson County absentee request form. The request forms are filled out by the voter, signed, and returned by mail or fax, or emailed with a scanned signature.a. The absentee ballot request form requires the voters identifying information, including their SS number, the reason for requesting the absentee ballot, the address to which the ballot is to be mailed, and the requesting voter’s signature. That signature is matched to the signature on file with the election commission. The election commission then sends out the absentee ballot to the voter along with instructions and a specialized ballot envelope that has places for voter information on it. This return envelope must also be filled out.3. A voter must complete the ballot, seal it in the provided return envelope and return that in a larger outer envelope.a. When the absentee ballot is received at the county election commission, the information the voter provided on the specialized return envelope is used to verify that the ballot is being properly cast in that particular election BEFORE the envelope is opened. This procedure protects the secrecy of the ballot. A ballot itself can NEVER contain voter information, so verification must be done from the envelope before the ballot is revealed. A team made up of people of both parties examines the envelopes and declares absentee ballots to be accepted or rejected. A different team, again made up of people from both parties, looks at the accepted ballots and tallies the votes. The absentee process opens up an opportunity for voter fraud because the “chain of custody” of the ballot is broken from the time the absentee ballot is received in a voter’s mailbox, until the completed ballot is received back at the election commission. But, that risk of fraud is preferable to denying the vote to a voter who could not get to the polls in their home county on election day or during early voting. It is a cost-benefit analysis. Responsible people designed the absentee process to minimize the opportunities for fraud while also making allowances for those who would be absent. The absentee process works well.
Voting by Mail
In contrast, vote-by-mail massively expands the number of ballots that are open to fraud. Simply stated, if all voters are sent a mail-in ballot, then all ballots are outside the chain of custody and every single ballot presents an opportunity for fraud. But, it is even worse than that. The number of mail in ballots sent out would be larger than the largest turnout ever in the history of every county that does mail in ballots. Here is why.
Let’s assume for this discussion that ballots would be mailed to all registered voters. Makes sense, right? There would be no other way to do it. OK. Should ballots be mailed to “inactive” voters, too? What is an inactive voter you ask? “Inactive” is a designation noted on the voter rolls when a voter fails to vote, or contact their election commission, or respond to mailings from the election commission for a number of years. An inactive voter is still a registered voter. But, state law is written to address the fact that the election commission has good reason to believe the voter may have moved, died or otherwise ceased to be an active voter. The inactive voter designation and procedures are in place to prevent voter fraud when a voter’s status is in question. In a vote-by-mail situation, sending ballots to inactive voters, many of whom have moved out of the jurisdiction or died, would be an invitation to voter fraud. Would you mail ballots to inactive voters? Why or why not?
In large elections with high turnout, such as a presidential election, around 70% of registered voters actually vote. That means if ballots are mailed to all registered voters, 30% of the ballots will be mailed to people who would not normally vote. For other elections, the percentage turnout goes much lower, down in to the 25% range. No one likes to talk about it but, at a minimum, about 30% of registered voters, do not vote, even in the hotly contested presidential elections. There is no way to determine in advance, who is not interested in voting. It changes from election to election. With in-person voting, the uninterested voters, a minimum of 30%, simply do not show up to vote. That is how we know they were uninterested in voting. However, if we mail ballots to every registered voter, that huge additional percentage of “unwanted” ballots, (for lack of a better description) would exist outside the chain of custody, and are yet another expansion of the opportunities for voter fraud. If you are mailing to all registered voters, that 30% who were not going to vote, even in the upcoming “most important election of our lives,” as both major parties like to say, will receive ballots that they do not care about. Is that a good idea?
We know from history that there are several methods to commit voter fraud when there are significant percentages of ballots outside the chain of custody.
Here are some of the more common ways voter fraud can and will occur.
1. The day or days that mail out ballots arrive in peoples mailboxes cannot be kept secret. People willing to commit voter fraud can steal ballots from other people’s mailboxes when they are delivered, by the USPS. They can complete the stolen ballots, fraudulently sign them and return them. The fraudulent ballots may, or may not, be detected upon return to the election office. Are you OK with that?2. “Vote harvesters” can go to those who are not particularly interested in voting (30%) and persuade or intimidate them into casting a vote for the candidate for whom the “harvester” is working and being paid. We know from news reports that people are being trained to do this. Are you confident that no coercion will occur in this scenario? If you think it might happen sometimes, but not much, give me a % of time that coercing another person to vote the way you want is OK.3. If unwanted ballots are thrown away in the trash, “vote harvesters” can retrieve those ballots from the trash, fill them out for their preferred candidate and return them. Is that OK?4. People who are not particularly interested in voting (remember the 30 %?) can sell their votes. You don’t think people would do such a thing? In years past, people often sold their votes for a ½ pint of whiskey. I recommend the book The Secrets of the Hopewell Box by James D. Squires. It documents the breadth and depth of voter fraud in Davidson County, TN in the 1950s. The same things were going on all over the country. The system has been greatly improved since then. Do you want to go back to the old system and the fraud involved in it?5. Relatives can acquire the ballots of frail or disabled voters, either from the mailbox or from their homes, fill them out and coerce the frail or disabled voter into signing and returning the ballots. If you do not think that can happen, or that it could never change the outcome of an election, may I recommend the book “Injustice” by former Justice Department lawyer J. Christian Adams. He describes how that very thing happened in Noxubee County, Mississippi until the feds stepped in and people went to jail. It should be noted that state officials knew what was happening but failed to act.6. Corrupt postal workers can fail to deliver the blank ballots to voters in areas where the voters tend to be one party or the other. Of the 75,000 USPS mail carriers, let’s assume that 99% are perfectly honest and above reproach. That leaves 750 postal carriers who might be tempted to throw away the thousands of ballots they were assigned to deliver in order to assist a candidate for a cash reward. So are you OK if candidates corrupt only 1% of postal workers? How about ½ of 1%?7. Postal workers can fail to deliver completed ballots back to the election commissions. Same questions as above.
It comes down to this: What percentage of fraud are you comfortable with in a given election? 5%? 1%? ½ of 1 %. Many elections are won on much smaller margins than that. Over the years, we as a country have tightened up election laws and processes expressly for the purpose of eliminating opportunities for fraud. Why should we revert to a system that opens up massive opportunities for fraud? Another good look at human nature and voter fraud is the movie “The Battle of Athens” which shows how easily humans can justify committing voter fraud.
The Ostensible Reason for Mail-in Ballots
COVID 19 and the need for social distancing is cited as the reason states need to move to mail-in ballots. The claim being made is that there is no way to maintain social distancing while standing in a line on election-day. That may indeed be true. However, two weeks of early voting renders that concern irrelevant in Tennessee or any other state with early voting. Early voting locations in Tennessee currently produce around one-half of all votes cast in elections. The early voting sites are rarely crowded. “Steady all day” is typically as busy as early voting gets. The busiest times are morning rush hour, evening rush hour and lunch time. These early voting sites can handle significantly more volume they are currently handling while maintaining social distancing.
In other words, no one needs to wait in line at a crowded poll on election day when early voting is available. In addition, if early voting still seems too risky for older people, who we now know are by far and away the most vulnerable to COVID, it should be noted that in Tennessee, ANYONE over age 60 can request an absentee ballot based on their age alone. That means COVID does not present the obstacle that some are claiming. It is only an excuse to open more opportunities for voter fraud.
Conclusion
We as a society, have a set of voting laws that we have agreed on through several hundred years of experience. The election process has been improved over the years and the existing laws work well to minimize opportunities for fraud. It is extremely ill-advised for a society to allow voting laws to be ignored or, to change voting laws that were designed to prevent fraud. A secure election system insures fairness and maintains citizens’ confidence in a civil society.
Vote-by-mail opens new and large areas for voter fraud. People of both parties who have experience with election procedures and laws know that there are indeed people who will commit voter fraud if given the chance. An election system designed and operated in a manner that prevents opportunities for voter fraud will be trusted. An election system that allows multiple, large, opportunities for voter fraud will erode everyone’s confidence in our system of representative government. Vote-by-mail opens up an opportunity for fraud for every ballot that is mailed. Anyone who understands the voting process knows this. Anyone who does not understand the voting process is too uninformed to be involved in determining voting procedures.
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Friday, September 11, 2020
917 Society CONSTITUTION DAY CELEBRATION TICKETS
WE ARE ALMOST AT CAPACITY!! RESERVE YOUR TICKET TODAY!
Where: Elks Lodge #72 485 Oak Meadow Drive Franklin, TN 37064
Time: 6:00-7:00 Cocktail hour (cash bar available and heavy appetizers)
7:00-8:30 Presentation.
We have a fantastic line-up to honor our Constitution. Founders Club Members
will have special recognition in the presentation, seating and a photographer
will be there to take group and individual photos for the website social media
and newsletter. Parking is free and plentiful. Masks and Social
distancing will be observed.
JOIN THE 917 SOCIETY TODAY BY CLICKING THIS BUTTON!
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Thursday, September 10, 2020
Reflections on 9-11. Where Were You When the World Stopped Turning.
by Rod Williams - On September 11, 2001 I got up like most days and got ready for work. As I recall,
By the time I got to work, the second plane had hit and it was clear that the U. S. was under attack.
My long-time, long-distance girl friend, Louella Ballenger, who is now my wife, worked in Washington DC at the Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics, located right next to Union Station which is across the street from the back of the US Capitol. I do not recall the sequence of events exactly, but it must have been after the Pentagon was hit and I started wondering what was next. I feared we were under an all out attack. I tried several times to reach Louella. I wanted to see if she was all right and tell her I loved her. I feared the worse.
After several attempts, I reached her. Chaos was reigning at her place of work. People were free to leave work, but the subways were not running and the roadways were jammed. She was waiting out the crisis at her office. We told each other how much we loved each others.
After getting off the phone with Louella, I just had a sense that I needed to talk to people I love so I next called my daughter. Rachel was in no danger of course. She was in Chattanooga attending college but I just wanted to hear her voice and tell her I loved her. I then called my mother.
I remember how everyone at work and everyone I talked to was effected by the event.
I was working at the Woodbine Community Organization, which was a community-oriented social services agency, neighborhood organization, and a housing counseling agency. I went to my boss, Cathie Dodd, and said we ought to do something. She agreed. We busied ourselves the next day putting together a program and emailing and calling people to tell them about it. With little advance notice, we had a full house. Co-workers and people from other agencies we work with, friends, agency clients, and people from the community joined in a memorial service at work. We prayed and sang songs and were comforted. All rancor and petty conflicts were put aside as we held hands in prayer and hugged and comforted each other. People cried. It was a healing process.
After the immediate crisis was over, I asked Louella to quit her job and move to Nashville. We had, had a long-distance relationship for about ten years and were in love and we planned that when she retired she would then move down to Nashville and we would get married and be together. I think 9-11 made us realize that you don't know what tomorrow holds and that life is short. Louella took early retirement, we bought a house and on thanksgiving weekend Louella moved to Nashville.
This song by Alan Jackson captures that day perfectly for me. Alan Jackson said a day or two after the event he woke up and this song just poured out of him. He said it was the easiest song he ever wrote.
Where Were You When the World Stopped Turning
Were you when the world stopped turning
that September day
Out in the yard with your wife and children
Working on some stage in LA
Did you stand there in shock at the site of
That black smoke
rising against that blue sky
Did you shout out in anger, In fear for your neighbor
Or did you just sit down and cry
Did you weep for the children
Who lost their dear loved ones
And pray for the ones who don't know
Did you rejoice for the people who walked from the rubble
And sob for the ones left below
Did you burst out in pride
For the red white and blue
The heroes who died just doing what they do
Did you look up to heaven for some kind of answer
And look at yourself to what really matters
I
'm just a singer of simple songs
I'm not a real political man
I watch CNN but I'm not sure I can tell you
The difference in Iraq and Iran
But I know Jesus and I talk to God
And I remember this from when I was young
Faith hope and love are some good things he gave us
And the greatest is love
Where were you when the world stopped turning that September day?
Teaching a class full of innocent children
Driving down some cold interstate
Did you feel guilty cause you're a survivor
In a crowded room did you feel alone?
Did you call up your mother and tell her you love her
Did you dust off that bible at home?
Did you open your eyes and hope it never happened
Close your eyes and not go to sleep
Did you notice the sunset the first time in ages
Speak with some stranger on the street
Did you lay down at night and think of tomorrow
Go out and buy you a gun
Did you turn off that violent old movie you're watching
And turn on "I Love Lucy" reruns
Did you go to a church and hold hands with some stranger
Stand in line and give your own blood
Did you just stay home and cling tight to your family
Thank God you had somebody to love?
I'm just a singer of simple songs
I'm not a real political man
I watch CNN but I'm not sure I can tell you
The difference in Iraq and Iran
But I know Jesus and I talk to God
And I remember this from when I was young
Faith hope and love are some good things he gave us
And the greatest is love
I'm just a singer of simple songs
I'm not a real political man
I watch CNN but I'm not sure I can tell you
The difference in Iraq and Iran
But I know Jesus and I talk to God
And I remember this from when I was young
Faith hope and love are some good things he gave us
And the greatest is love
The greatest is love
The greatest is love
Where were you when the world stopped turning that September day
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Wednesday, September 09, 2020
Rally for Freedom, Friday September 11th
RallyforFreedom.Com
Rod's Comment: I have qualms about seeing the 9/11 commemoration day used for partisan political purposes. Maybe it is too much to hope for, but I would like to see kept alive the spirit I recall displayed on 9-11. It did not matter if one was a Republican or Democrat; we were all Americans. Sometimes I get the feeling that Republicans love America and Democrats do not. I don't want to believe that is true. I want to think of Democrats as our adversaries with a difference of opinion on some issues of governance, but not our enemies. I want to think of them as just wrong; not evil. After 9-11, it seems to me, that Democrats were as patriotic as Republicans and rallied around the flag. That was not that long ago. We need more opportunities where non-partisan patriotism can be displayed. We need opportunities where we can come together on those things that unite us and ignore those things that divide us. I don't want to see 9-11 become a Republican holiday. I am undecided if I will be attending this event.
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Defend the Police! Organize a Save the Country Rally.
by Rod Williams - I look forward to participating in a large, high-profile, Defend the Police Rally here in Nashville. There has been a local effort to show support for the police and I commend those who have organized it and hope they are continuing their effort and are participating in this national effort to have Defend the Police/Save Our Country rallies across America.
To get noticed and have our voices heard, those of us supporting a return to law and order have to be vocal and show that there are a lot of us. We have to make a showing that will not be ignored by the media. We have to get the attention of politicians.
If people do not demand a return to law and order and encourage local governments to put a stop to the violence and riots occurring across America, I fear we are headed for a worsening situation. We have already seen the appearance of private militias in some places across America. I do not know if these militia are admirable citizens trying to protect the lives and property of their neighbors or are violent right-wing thugs looking to do battle with Antifa. When we start seeing armed right-wing radicals engaged in pitched battles in our streets with armed left-wing radicals, the civil unrest becomes a civil war. So far, a few people have died in the riots. It this civil unrest escalates into opposing groups battling for control of the streets, many may die. So far we have seen left wing radicals run rampant and police retreat, "deescalate," and give the left-wing mobs free reign. This can not continue.
Unless, the police are permitted to restore law and order it is inevitable that people will take the task of defending their lives and property into their own hands. If the government won't restore order and protect citizens, then citizens will take the law into their own hands and some of those doing so, may be as ruthless and violent as the left-wing mobs.
It is time to voice our opinion and show that instead of wanting to defund the police, we want to defend the police. We want the police to restore order and we want a return to a civil society. We want to save the country.
I do not know anything about the Defend the Police organization beyond what is on their website so am not vouching for the organization, but I hope this is the real deal and the start of the silent majority regaining their voice.
Below is a message from Defend the Police.
To our supporters, We continue to be excited about our rally! We have also taken note of some heartfelt opinions we received regarding the proposed date of September 11th. We appreciate what it means to so many and to our country as a whole, and feel the day is best served to remain a day of personal reflection versus a public rally.We have received an incredible amount of interest that we did not expect, yet are grateful to have received such an outpouring of support! To be clear, we are not political activists. We are fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters, friends, and colleagues. And, we want to ensure we maximize the safety of our supporters and the effect of our event by doing it the right way! After thoughtful consideration, respect for September 11th, the overwhelming interest, ideas, and feedback received, we plan to move our Save the Country Rally in Massachusetts to Saturday, September 26th. We will provide a location for our local rally in Massachusetts as we get closer to the date of the event.For all those who are interested in hosting a rally in their neighborhood or community, please contact us so we can work with you and help make that happen. All updated details will be posted on our Facebook event page, and our website. Contact us at the following link if you continue to be interested in supporting us! Click below to RSVP to the event!https://www.facebook.com/events/1188302578211652
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Nashville To Return Teachers And Students To In-Person Classes
by DAMON MITCHELL, WPLN News, SEPTEMBER 8, 2020 - Metro Nashville Public Schools is making a greater commitment to protect the health of teachers during the COVID-19 pandemic, as the district prepares to transition back to in-person classes. ...
Starting Wednesday, the district is transitioning students attending Genesis Academy and High Roads School of Nashville, special day schools for students with disabilities, back to school buildings. All students with disabilities will be allowed to return to classrooms with face-to-face teacher support by Sept. 23.
Schools leaders are planning to bring more teachers back for in-person instructions in October, starting with educators who teach the district’s youngest learners.
Meanwhile, the district is asking parents to choose between online and in-person classes in a Metro Schools survey by Sept. 15. Families who do not complete the survey will be selected for in-person learning by default. Students who do return to school buildings will be required to wear face masks and follow health and safety protocols. (read more)
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Who are Tennessee's Taxpayer Heroes and Taxpayer Foes
Press release, NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Americans for Prosperity-Tennessee (AFP-TN), the Volunteer State’s leading grassroots advocate for economic freedom, announced the release of their taxpayer scorecard today. The grassroots group produces this comprehensive legislative digest to inform Tennesseans on how their elected state officials voted on some of the most impactful bills from the 2019-20 legislative session, covering issues such as cronyism, taxes, health care, and criminal justice reform.
AFP also announced a robust digital and mail effort that promotes the scorecard across the Volunteer State and lets citizens know which lawmakers earned the designation of being “Taxpayer Heroes”. Legislators are scored on an A-F scale based on their voting records and bills sponsored. In order to obtain the “Taxpayer Hero” designation, legislators must receive an A or higher on the group’s scorecard. This year, a record 79 legislators met the criteria for being a “Taxpayer Hero”.
AFP-TN State Director Tori Venable issued the following statement:
“AFP’s Taxpayer Scorecard is our good faith effort to inform citizens about the performance of their elected representatives. There is no better barometer by which to measure lawmakers’ allegiance to fiscal responsibility, economic freedom, and breaking down barriers so every Tennessean can live the American Dream than to evaluate their votes on important legislation. Simply put, their votes are their record.”
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Let Nashville Parents Choose!
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