Legislature takes discretion from district attorneys general

From Tennesee Lookout - The House and Senate both voted Friday for legislation enabling the state attorney general to request courts appoint district attorney pro tems for any district attorney general who makes a blanket statement against prosecuting certain classes of illegal activity. The apparent target? Nashville DA Glenn Funk, who has irked Republican legislators by saying he won't prosecute offenses including small amounts of marijuana possession or anti-LGBTQ bathroom laws. Read more.

Top Stories

Happy Holloween Comic Book 2021

Top Stories

1st Tuesday guest Jack Johnson and William Lamberth, Tuesday, November 9.

From Tim Skow:

1ST TUESDAY Members and Friends 

WOW !!!! The aftershocks from Tuesday's Elections are still reverberating! Expect to hear how the fallout will impact Tennessee at 1ST TUESDAY on Tuesday, November 9th with the return of BOTH of our Majority Leaders from the State Legislature, Jack Johnson & William Lamberth. 

Senator Jack Johnson

Rep. William Lamberth

HOT TOPICS will include, but NOT limited to: 

1] Results of the 3 Special Legislative Sessions this fall - FORD plant, Mandates and much Much MUCH more! 

2] What to expect in the upcoming 2022 Legislative Session 

3] REDISTRICTING - the FINAL version of 2020 Census numbers are in - how many area seats are in play? 

4] and then ... there are the Impacts of the HOT RACE for Virginia GOV and its political fallout and 2022 races 

Nobody can tell us more about TN, politics, and what's coming than Jack & William! What a riveting Q&A session it will be !!! 

Looking forward to seeing MANY of you on Tuesday, November 9th at Brentwood's Ludlow & Prime.

As usual - Doors open at 11am with lunch served at 11:25. 

Program at Noon with Q & A over at 1:00 sharp 

In spite of the "soaring BIDEN-flation" ... lunch is still $25 for Members and $30 for Guests [at least for 2021 ] 

Visit our updated 1ST TUESDAY website [www.firsttuesdaynashville.com] and secure seating for you and your guests! Mark and your calendars, securing seating and pass the word !! 

See you on TUESDAY, November 9th ! 

Tim Skow 

Host of 1ST TUESDAY 

615-479-1000 

PS -- this is our last meeting to contribute to the Nashville Republican Women TOY FUND DRIVE !! Those who contribute $50 & more to the TN National Guard Toy Fund Drive get their 2022 DUES WAIVED AND THE BEST NEWS .... our website is up and useful going forward !!! Visit our site for seats at https://www.firsttuesdaynashville.com 

SEE YOU ... on Tuesday November 9th !! When at website : The GOOD NEWS is the icons on the HOME PAGE work as expected. 

1] Simply CLICK on them that say "PAY LUNCHEON FEE" for lunch and 

2] Then SCROLL down [ past Jack's picture] to secure seating for You & your GUESTS 

SEE YOU ... on Tuesday November 9th

 

Top Stories

Presented Without Comment: Rep. John Lewis way S.

 

Top Stories

TN bill would require school board members to run based on political party affiliation.

by Rod Williams - One of the bills advancing in the State legislature that is likely to pass is a bill that would make school board elections partisan.  Currently, school boards are non-partisan. 

I understand the impetus for this.  Despite Tennessee being a conservative and Republican state, things like critical race theory and transexual propaganda work themselves into the curriculum. If candidates for the school board run on party labels, it is assumed, you will know what you are getting when you vote for a school board member and the schools will more closely represent the values of the electorate who funds them. Republicans are more likely to oppose those things we do not want to be taught in schools than are Democrats.  Also, Republicans are less indebted to the teachers union and can be more objective about things like fiscal responsibility and school choice than can Democrats beholding to unions. 

I have mixed feelings about this.  Voting as a Republican, already means I have no voice in choosing the county constitutional officers and judges.  Sometimes, if there is no Republican primary or the Republican primary is not really competitive, I do vote as a Democrat.  In Tennessee, we do not have party registration so this is legal. To have a voice, I would rather not have to vote as a Democrat.  Thankfully our Council and School Board and mayor's races are non-partisan and I can vote in those important elections without pretending to be a Democrat.

In recent years the voters of Nashville have become so progressive that we elect progressive school board members who routinely vote for liberal social policy in the schools, oppose school choice, and engage in wildly wasteful spending.  With partisan elections, it will only get worse. Sometimes at least one of the nine school board members may be someone who is mildly centrist and rational.  With partisan elections, we will not get even that. Current at-large Councilman Stever Glover was a member of the school board prior to being elected to the metro council.  He could win that seat in a non-partisan election.  It is doubtful he could have won that seat running as a Republican. 

Nashville's electorate is so far to the left, that perhaps it doesn't matter anyway.  We are going to elect progressives no matter what.  The occasional rational school board member can not impact the direction of our schools. I wish we elected good people with a business sense to serve on the board and political affiliation did not matter.   However in today's culture, unless one is a woke, politically correct, social justice warrior one can not get elected in Davidson County. Having the progressive view on race and transgender policy is more important than being able to read a balance sheet. 

While I have reservations about this bill, I tend to think it is a positive development and reluctantly support it. I just wish it wasn't necessary. 

To read the bill see HB 9072/SB 9009. For other reports on this issue from other sources see link, link, and link. 

Top Stories

Report: Metro Nashville Public Schools Paid Consultants $11 Million to ‘Help Students Return to School,’ But Insider Says They Did ‘Almost Nothing’

Report: Metro Nashville Public Schools Paid Consultants $11 Million to ‘Help Students Return to School,’ But Insider Says They Did ‘Almost Nothing’

Top Stories

Remember "Defund the Police?" As crime soars, only 15% of adults want spending for police to decrease

Forty-seven percent of adults believe police spending should be increased, according to a poll released Tuesday amid growing concern about violent crime in the United States. The share of the public who want increased spending is up from 31% in June 2020 and signals a significant shift in the national attitude toward policing, according to an analysis of the Pew Research poll. (read more)

Top Stories

NES to automatically take your pocket change unless you opt-out.

by Rod Williams - Starting in January of 2022, NES is going to automatically round up your bill to the nearest dollar amount, the extra money going to fund a program that provides energy-efficient upgrades for low-income people. You might agree with the goal of this program, but automatically enrolling everyone in the program unless they take the time and effort to opt-out is extremely offensive to me.  I am a charitable person and give money to various charities and causes.  However, I might prefer to give to the Nashville Rescue Mission or Alzheimer's research, or Habitat for Humanity, or any number of other charities rather than this one. There are thousands of worthy causes wanting my charitable dollars.

Making the program automatic, unless you opt-out is very close to theft, the way I view it.  State law allows this.  I think the law should be changed to prohibit it.

To opt-out log into your NES account online at NESPower.com and switch the Power of Change toggle button to “off.” Customers may also call Customer Relations at (615) 736-6900 and follow the prompts to opt-out through their account.

Top Stories

School Board Campaign Training

Get the skills to wage and win your campaign for school board. You will receive more than 11 hours of the best LI training on topics like how to create a compelling message, how to rally voters, how to handle the media, and much more for a winning campaign.  

When: On-Demand 

Where: Online 

Cost: $25 now at no cost to you for a limited time thanks to Leadership Institute’s generous donors!

sign up here

Top Stories

"Hubris" describes our response to the issue of climate change.

Steve Koonin, former Undersecretary for Science in the Obama Administration, challenges the confident assumptions of climate alarmists. The climate is the most complex system on Earth. Is it really possible to project with any precision what it will be like 20, 40, or even 100 years from now?

Click here to watch this video.

Top Stories

Sen. Kelsey indicted for allegedly violating federal campaign finance laws

BY: SAM STOCKARD, Tennessee Lookout - Sen. Brian Kelsey has been indicted by a federal grand juryfor allegedly funneling money from his state campaign account to his congressional campaign, a violation of federal law. 

A federal grand jury in Nashville returned a five-count indictment against Kelsey, 43, a Germantown Republican, on Friday charging him and Nashville social club owner Joshua Smith, 44, with violating multiple campaign finance laws as part of a conspiracy to bolster his 2016 congressional campaign, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. (read more)

The Tennessean - ... Smith owns The Standard, an elite Nashville club that also has operated its own state political action committee. There, the investigators allege, they illegally funneled money into Kelsey’s campaign on one occasion at a private dinner on July 11, 2016. (read more)

Top Stories