Williamson County DA Secretly Indicts Connie Reguli for Aggravated Perjury

by Peter White, The Tennessee Tribune, August 17, 2022, FRANKLIN, TN – Williamson County

District Attorney Kim Helper has escalated the prosecution of family law attorney Connie Reguli. Helper issued an arrest warrant against Reguli last Thursday for aggravated perjury. Reguli surrendered herself at the Williamson County Sheriff’s office Friday morning. She was booked and released on her own recognizance. She did not get a copy of the indictment when she was booked.

Williamson County District Attorney Kim Helper issued an arrest warrant for Connie Reguli on Thursday, August 11, but did not file the charges with the Criminal Court Clerk until Monday, August 15.  The Tribune has had trouble getting a copy of the charges. ... Secret communications between judges and prosecutors, called ex parte, are illegal. Reguli has accused DCS of wrongfully taking children from their families via ex parte removal orders when parents and their attorneys are not properly notified. Reguli said that is what happened in her case.  ... Family advocates like Reguli say that common practice violates due process guarantees of the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. (read more)

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Brentwood attorney Connie Reguli indicted on aggravated perjury charge following legal battles

By Matt Masters,  Williamson Home Page, Aug 18, 2022 -Embattled Brentwood attorney Connie Reguli has been indicted on a new criminal charge stemming from a lawsuit she filed against Williamson County Mayor Rogers Anderson earlier this year. 

A Williamson County grand jury indicted 70-year-old Reguli on the charge of aggravated perjury, a Class D felony.

According to the indictment, Reguli allegedly intentionally made a false statement or submitted false information under oath, specifically a claim that Reguli "reimbursed CASA [Court Appointed Special Advocates] for $3,145.50." (read more)

Rod's Comment: August 19, 2022- If you are active in conservative circles in the Middle Tennessee area, you are probably aware of Connie Reguli.  She is active in several conservative groups and most recently ran for Juvenile Court judge as a Republican in Williamson County. While readers of this blog may know her primarily as a political activist, Connie Reguli is known by many others, as a champion of parental rights. 

I have long had an interest in this issue, stemming from my own experience as a divorced father who had to fight for his right to have regular visitation with his young daughter. While I never got entangled with DHS or had my parental rights or visitation rights revoked, I had to fight to have regular visitation enforced. During this time, I got involved with a couple of parents' rights groups, one called DAD (Dads Against Discrimination) and another called PARENT (I can't recall the acronym). While in these groups, which were as much self-support groups as political activist groups, I heard many stories of the system abusing parental rights and acting in what certainly did not seem to be the best interest of the child. Many of these stores were heartbreaking.  Thankfully, since that time, there has been meaningful reform that levels the playing field for fathers who want to remain active in their child's life. 

Unfortunately, there is still much that needs to be done to protect the rights of parents who simply want to have a loving relationship with their children. I have a close friend who has been cut out of her child's life.  I have learned the details of her case and am convinced that justice has not been served. My view is that the legal system often abuses parents and children.  Often a vindictive parent can win by simply having the means to outspend the other parent on legal fees. 

I have a favorable view of Connie Reguli. I am glad that there is someone focused on the rights of parents and someone willing to fight the abuses of DHS.  That is not to say, that I have not heard some criticisms of Connie Reguliand. I don't know all of the ins and outs of some of the controversies in which she has been involved.  I know that sometimes, maybe often, in issues involving visitation, custody, and parental rights, justice is not served. Connie Reguli is in my view a fighter for justice. I wish her well.

Below are a couple links to other posts of mine concerning Connie Reguli.

Friday, July 16, 202, Connie Reguli, Middle Tennessee attorney, DCS critic, active Republican, goes on trial July 12.

Friday, July 16, 2021, Wendy Hancock found guilty of custodial interference. Attorney Connie Reguli will now go on trial.

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Metro Council Forbids License Plate Reader Data To Be Used For Immigration Enforcement

By Paula Gomes, The Tennessee Conservative, August 18, 2022– Metro City Council in Nashville voted Tuesday night to prevent License Plate Reader data from being used to enforce immigration laws. The measure passed in a vote of 32-1 with only council member Robert Swope opposing. ... When it is operational, local law enforcement will not be allowed to share data from the cameras with federal authorities in order to identify, apprehend, detain or remove illegal aliens. 

However, state law requires local police departments to cooperate with the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to verify or report a person’s immigration status.

State leaders including Republican House Speaker Cameron Sexton have criticized the council’s decision saying that Metro “doesn’t get to decide which state or federal laws they enforce.”(link)

Rod's Comment: If not for the State, Metro Nashville would be the San Fransico of the South. The State needs to keep Nashville on a short leash and tug on it every once in a while. 

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A clarification: The "super-rich" probably won't be the ones benefiting from the EV tax credit in the IRA.

by Rod Williams, August 17, 2022- Recently I posted a piece titled, The Democrats’ Unserious Climate-Change Deal. I excerpted portions of an article by Kevin Williamson that appeared in National Review. This article addressed the environmental policy portion of the so-called Inflation Reduction Act. One of the article excerpts I posted was this:

Its environmental program is mainly one of subsidies for politically connected business interests engaged in the so-called green-energy trade and handouts to upper-middle-class urban progressives who enjoy getting a $7,500 tax benefit when they buy a new Mercedes.

In my own comment in that post, I called the $7,500 tax credit for purchasing an electric vehicle "a subsidy for the rich." Calling it a subsidy for the "upper-middle-class" may be correct but a subsidy for the "super-rich' probably is not. 

On the one hand, the bills takes away some tax credits that only benefited the super-rich. The bill does away with today’s tax credits for super pricy electric vehicles such as the Hummer EV, Lucid Air, and Tesla Model S and Model X. There are also new caps on how much vehicles can cost. For SUVs, pickup trucks, and vans, the cap is $80,000. For most other vehicles, the vehicle can not cost more than $55,000. So, while the "upper-middle class" may benefit more, the "super-rich" will probably benefit less.

The IRA also provides a credit of up to $4,000 on used electric cars so some middle-income people may benefit also, not just the "upper-middle-income." 

Another provision of the environmental portion of the IRA eliminates the tax credits for vehicles not assembled in North America, including the BMW i4, Hyundai Ioniq 5, Kia EV6, and Toyota bZ4X. (1). These tend to be the more affordable EV's, so this provision makes the subsidy unavailable for people who can only afford a lower-priced electric vehicle. 

This provision above sounds like a policy Donald Trump would love.  It sounds very "America First." or at least "North America First."  While I do not want us to be dependent on our adversaries for critical goods and while I recognize there have been some supply line issues, I still believe in free trade and do not want to see the dismantling of the established world order of commerce, and the role of international agencies such as the World Trade Organization.  I accept the law of comparative advantage and think trade makes a better quality of life for most people of the world, for a more interconnected peaceful world, and is the means to lift people in undeveloped countries out of poverty.  

I do not support policies that give an unfair advantage to consumer goods being made in America, including cars. That reduces consumer choice and increases costs to consumers and contributes to inflation. While designed to protect American jobs, it can actually cost American jobs.  The provision requring that only North-American-made cars are eligible for the tax credit has the effect of subsidizing North-American production of cars. A subsidy for American-made products is equivalent to a tariff on imports. Other countries will be less inclined to lower their tariff on American imports if we subside the American production of the same things they export to America.  I am becoming more and more of a minority in my view of trade, however, and it seems both parties have embraced protectionism and advocate some sort of industrial policy.

The bill's provision on the source of battery material however is wise in my view.  China's Belt and Road initiative is getting a stranglehold on critical materials around the world. "Starting in 2024, if any minerals or components are sourced from “foreign entities of concern,” including China or Russia, the vehicle will not qualify for any tax credit. An analysis this year of the EV supply chain from the International Energy Agency shows that the vast majority of minerals, components, and battery cells are currently sourced from China.(2)" 

Limiting the tax credit to a fewer number of cars, which will be more expensive because they are produced in America may make the tax credit less of a boon to car purchasers. A credit on a more expensive car may not be that much of a bargain. The bill also only includes enough funding for about 11,000 EV's in the first year. That is fairly insignificant.  

There are some elements of the climate policy included in the IRA of which I approve, such as restrictions on methane gas emissions and subsidies for cleaning up methane leeks. I am very pleased to see that nuclear energy is finally being treated as a carbon-free energy source as worthy of subsidy as wind and solar.  There seems to be a slow realization that environmental policy to address climate change must be more than feel-good measures. There seems to be an element of rationality seeping into climate change policy. 

So, while the Inflation Reduction Act probably won't do much to reduce inflation, and while I don't like the hiring of an additional 87,000 IRA agents, the IRA is not all bad. I am not sure it will live up to the hype of being a game-changer in America's response to climate change but some elements of the climate change policy make sense. My view is that the IRA will not do much good or much harm and there is both good and harm in the bill. Also, the beneficiary of the tax credit to purchase an electric vehicle will most likely benefit the upper middle class, not the super wealthy. 

For those who are going to take a principled position that the government should not use tax policy as a vehicle for social engineering, that train has already left the station.  We use tax policy to encourage different desired outcomes at different times and promote every sort of desired outcome from marriage to having children to homeownership to education to job training to good health. I think we should do less social engineering via tax policy than we do, but this use of tax policy as a vehicle for social change is nothing new. 

For more on the issue of the environmental component of the IRA, I  suggest reading, The climate bill will make cleaner energy cheaper for everyone, from The New York Times. For specific information on the vehicle tax credit see a piece that appeared in Consumer Reports and reposted in Yahoo News, Which EVs Qualify for the New Electric Vehicle Tax Credit? It’s Complicated.

In this post and in many articles and in everyday conversation people speak of the "middle-class," the "rich," and the "super-rich."  The U.S. government doesn't have an official definition of middle-class income. The Pew Research Center considers a household to have "middle-income" if it's between 67% and 200% of the median household income. The below chart is the closest thing to an official classification of income groups. However, "middle-income" in Lower Alabama is different than middle-income in Los Angeles. There are sources that list a middle-income for each state if you look for it. 

It should also be pointed out that some people may be rich but also low-income. Not many for sure, but wealth and income are not the same thing. People may have lots of accumulated wealth and live off of that wealth. The accumulated wealth may also be growing in value as the asset appreciates but produces little current income. The income it does produce may be tax sheltered so it is not reported as income. 

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Victory In Tennessee! Court Strikes Down Law Allowing Warrantless Spying on Private Land

by Joshua Windham, Institute for Justice - One of Tennessee’s most intrusive surveillance practices has finally been hunted down. For decades, a state law empowered Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency (TWRA) officers to enter private land and spy on its owners without a warrant. But in March, IJ clients Terry Rainwaters and Hunter Hollingsworth persuaded a state court to declare that law “unconstitutional, unlawful, and unenforceable.” 

The decision comes as a huge relief for Terry and Hunter, who own farms in rural Benton County. They sued TWRA after finding hidden cameras its officers had installed on their land. And that was just the tip of the iceberg. Discovery revealed that TWRA officers have long treated Terry’s and Hunter’s farms like public property—entering repeatedly without permission, sneaking around for hours dressed in camouflage, and taking hundreds of secret photos and videos, all without a warrant.  

TWRA had no shame about it. The agency invoked a statute that allows TWRA officers to “go upon any property, outside of buildings, posted or otherwise,” to look for evidence of hunting violations. And TWRA defended the statute under a longstanding U.S. Supreme Court rule—the “open fields doctrine”—that says private land gets no Fourth Amendment protection.  

Watch the case video here!

But IJ knew better. The Tennessee Constitution protects “possessions” from warrantless searches and forbids “general warrants.” When the Tennessee Constitution was adopted, it was widely held that a person could possess land. And general warrants—broad orders to search property without limiting the scope of the search—were among the causes of the American Revolution. 

Armed with Tennessee’s distinct constitutional text, IJ argued that TWRA’s warrantless searches, and the statute authorizing them, were unconstitutional. 

The Benton County Circuit Court agreed. The court, relying on the Tennessee Constitution, held that Terry’s and Hunter’s farms are the sort of properties that “quintessential[ly]” get protection from warrantless searches. The court found “compelling [the] comparison of the statute to a general warrant, which of course is also constitutionally prohibited.” And based on these holdings, the court struck down TWRA’s authorizing statute and declared it “unenforceable” statewide. 

The decision will have an immediate impact, both in Tennessee and beyond. The vast majority of land in Tennessee is privately owned. Now landowners across the state can confidently tell the government, “Come back with a warrant.” Not only that, but 16 other states have constitutions that similarly protect “possessions” from warrantless searches. (That includes Pennsylvania, where IJ is currently litigating this same issue.) Courts in these states can, and should, look to Tennessee as a model for how to interpret their constitutions in a way that honors landowners’ right to be free from warrantless searches. 

Like all IJ victories, this is the start of something far bigger. For one thing, TWRA may choose to appeal, which would provide an opportunity to enshrine these important constitutional protections in Tennessee’s appellate courts. But our victory in Tennessee also serves as a key building block in IJ’s broader national effort under our recently launched Project on the Fourth Amendment to ensure that landowners everywhere get the constitutional protections they deserve.

 Josh Windham is an IJ attorney. 

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Monday night Constitution Class.

From DCRP:

On Monday, August 15th 6:00 pm we will continue our Constitution Alive series (doors open at 5:30).

We have just two more sessions left of our Constitution Live class and then we will break from Monday Night History until January, 2023. This Monday we examine how Locke and Montesquieu influenced the US Constitution and the Bill of Rights.

Click this link below or the image below for a preview of our Constitution Alive series:

►► Constitution Alive ◄◄

John Quincy Adams once famously said, "The Declaration of Independence was the platform upon which the Constitution of the United States had been erected. The principles proclaimed in the Declaration of Independence were embodied in the Constitution of the United States."

The Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States must be studied together and on August 15th we continue that journey.

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A comprehensive look at Trump's 2022 endorsement record

by Ryan King, Washington Examiner | August 11, 2022 - Former President Donald Trump has loomed large over Republican primary races across the country, embracing a kingmaker role to steer the GOP's trajectory with his coveted endorsement. ...

In total, Trump has eked out 185 wins and 18 losses so far, per the Washington Examiner's tally of his endorsement record as of Aug. 5.

The tally is largely based on endorsements announced from his Save America PAC. His endorsements have ranged from safe bets on incumbents and uncontested contenders such as Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC) to riskier picks, such as Katie Arrington, who was unsuccessful in her primary challenge to Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC). At least 53 of his endorsement triumphs came from races that were not contested.

Here is a look at who Trump has endorsed and how those candidates fared in their primary contests. (click here to see the complete list)

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Standing Against Pronoun Interrogation at School

by Linda Harvey, Reposted from Tennessee Eagle Forum newsletter, Aug 15, 2022- The first few weeks of school are hectic but also exciting. New backpacks, new outfits, new friends, new pronouns....

Wait, no. Hopefully not. Hopefully, your child's teacher won't demand affirmation of "woke" ideology from your son or daughter and will show respect for settled science and biology.

But the unthinkable may occur. Will your child's teacher be one of the insulting ones who insist every student declare his/her pronouns during class introductions? It's already happening and we've written an article if you want to know how likely this scenario is during the coming school year.

If your child's classroom transforms into a propaganda session, your daughter or son needs to be ready, equipped for this line-in-the-sand moment.

Because that's what it is. If you have your kids in the public schools (or even certain private schools), now is the time to train and equip them to be ready to take a stand for sanity and for God's binary design of male and female which still (unsurprisingly) works just fine.

And forget the "neutrality" con job wokesters will recommend. "Just have them say 'he/his' or 'she/her' and don't make a scene!"

But no. That is not neutrality. Any student at school who cooperates with this exercise is saying, "Yes, children posing as the opposite sex is a perfectly fine option." It's not fine, it's not normal and it's not healthy. Gender deviance is an insult to common sense, decency and long-term well-being. It violates the design of Almighty God and the distinction Jesus clearly explained in the Gospels (Matthew 19, Mark 10 and elsewhere).

Are we advocating being impolite or cruel to those students who, sadly, display gender confusion? Of course not. 

But when asked directly, it's time to make a scene, hopefully only a small one. Yet enough to get the point across.

I asked readers of my e-newsletter and other trusted friends to send me their thoughts about how children might respond during a pronoun exercise. So here are some of the responses along with ideas of my own.

For grade schoolers:

• "I was born a boy (or girl) and I'm happy to announce that I will remain that way."
• "My parents filled out a form when I started school. Please use that information."
• "I am a girl (boy) and that's something that will never change."
• "My mom and dad (or mom, or dad, etc.) said they don't want me discussing this and if you have any questions to please call them."
• "I just want to learn school lessons, not this pronoun stuff." 
• "My dad (mom) says there are only boys and girls and that's how God made us."

For middle and high school:

• "I believe there are only two genders, and only two sets of pronouns for people."
• "I'd really like to enjoy my childhood/youth/last year of high school (etc.) and not delve into such matters."
• "Is this a legal requirement?"
• "Is this in the school handbook?"
• "My birth certificate (make a copy for the child to take to school - for 'show and tell') says that I am a 'male' (or 'female' ) and any medical intervention will not change that fact."  

One grandmother suggested students make their faith known: "I am to be known as a servant of the Lord." 

Here's another bold faith statement: "Do you know what Jesus would say if you asked Him about pronouns? He would remind you that in the beginning God created people as male and female. Two types of humans. That's it."

And then there were the humorous ideas:

• “I don't participate in this pronoun stuff for the same reason I don't follow the Zodiac signs.”
• "You don't know I am a girl and yet you are supposed to be my teacher this year?"
• "My I have the family attorney get back to you?"
• "My preferred pronoun is antidisestablishmentarianisticaimeraineraimer, and I will be very upset and squawk and scream and report you to the principal and the ACLU if you refer to me by any other word."at random?”

Rod's Comment: I agree. Every student not the child of a woke progressive should be prepared to refuse to answer. Parents should be prepared to make an issue out of this. 

• “I have a box here with slips of paper. Should we all just pick our pronouns 

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World Health Organization responds to Monkeypox by renaming it. WHO wants to avoid derogatory or racist connotations.

LONDON (AP) — The World Health Organization is holding an open forum to rename the disease monkeypox, after some critics raised concerns the name could be derogatory or have racist connotations.

In a statement Friday, the U.N. health agency said it has also renamed two families, or clades of the virus, using Roman numerals instead of geographic areas, to avoid stigmatization.

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Tennessee Republican Leaders React to Attorney General Garland’s Statement Approving Raid on Trump’s Home

Tennessee Republican Leaders React to Attorney General Garland’s Statement Approving Raid on Trump’s Home

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