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Friday, September 15, 2023
Thursday, September 14, 2023
Today is the day. If you haven't voted, please vote and please vote for Alice Rolli for mayor.
by Rod Williams, Sept. 14, 2023- Today is the day. If you haven't voted yet, please vote. 
Alice Rolli
It is possible to win this, if conservatives will get out and vote. Nashville has a liberal electorate; however, it is not overwhelmingly liberal. While Donald Trump lost to Joe Biden by a large margin, more normal Republicans have done reasonably well in Davidson County. Also, many Democrats, more Democrats than Republicans, vote in national elections but fail to vote in other elections. Nashvillians have in the past voted for conservatives and identified Republican in countywide races, as in 2016 when the county voted for a strong conservative for one of the council-at-large seats. Also, on several referendums, the conservative position has carried the day. This race is winnable, if Republicans will go to the polls.
These are the issues that motivate me to support Alice Rolli:
- Taxes: Year before last we raised property taxes 32%. We should not keep raising taxes. We have adequate revenue from increased property values, growth, and tourism. We do not need more tax increases and Alice Rolli has pledged not to raise taxes.
- Crime: Crime is out of control. Little crime is not even investigated such as Amazon package porch theft and car break-ins. Police response time is way up. Our police are short 200 officers from being fully staffed. Alice is the candidate endorsed by the Fraternal Order of Police. I have a district impression that Freddie O'Connell is soft on crime.
- Education: Our schools are failing. We score among the lowest in the State on students reading at a third-grade level and we have low graduation rates. While there a are few good schools, overall, Nashville's schools are terrible. The school board gets the largest chuck of metro's revenue. Alice Rolli with hold the school board accountable for results.
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Tuesday, September 12, 2023
Monday, September 11, 2023
Arguments in Tenn., Ky. bans on minors' "trans care" hinge on key appeals court judge
key. Also: Georgia's similar ban is back in effect for now.
by CHRIS GEIDNER, Law Dork, SEP 5, 2023- As September gets underway, bans on hormone therapy for transgender minors remain enforceable in Tennessee and Kentucky, the result of a July order from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit — an order that Chief Judge Jeff Sutton acknowledged “may be wrong.”
On Sept. 1, heading into the holiday weekend, the same three-judge panel that issued that 2-1 split decision order in July held oral arguments over the constitutionality of the two states’ bans on gender-affirming medical care for minors. The puberty blocker and hormone ban provisions of both laws had been preliminarily enjoined in June by district court judges hearing independent cases challenging each ban. The Sept. 1 arguments were over those preliminary injunctions.
... The primary question before the court is the same as it has been throughout these challenges over the past two years: Do these bans violate the Fourteenth Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause, either by discriminating on the basis of sex or transgender status, or its Due Process Clause, by restricting parental rights?
Every federal district court judge to consider the question has held that the bans are unconstitutional or likely unconstitutional, depending on the procedural posture of the case, on at least one of those grounds. One federal appeals court — the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit — has agreed, and another — the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit — ruled in late August against the challengers to Alabama’s ban. (read more)
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California leads 20 state coalition to block Tennessee's ban on gender transition medical treatment of minors.
By Kenneth Schrupp, The Center Square, Aug 14, 2023 - California attorney general Rob Bonta is leading a coalition of 20 states opposing what they describe as "anti-transgender" laws in Tennessee and Kentucky blocking children from undergoing medical procedures that are given to enable minors to live with a gender identity different than that noted on their birth certificate, such as puberty blocking hormones and gender change surgeries.
In their amicus brief supporting the plaintiffs in L.W. v Skrmetti, a case combining lawsuits against Tennessee's SB 1 and Kentucky’s SB 150, the coalition wrote, the laws preventing hormone access to minors “single out transgender minors for discriminatory treatment.”
“Gender-affirming care is safe, medically accepted, and empowers transgender people to lead healthier, happier lives,” said Attorney General Bonta. "Blocking access to gender-affirming care only serves to marginalize already vulnerable people and put their lives at risk. Kentucky and Tennessee's laws are part of a growing assault on LGBTQ+ rights nationwide, driven by ignorance, bigotry, and partisan politics."
While a federal district judge issued a preliminary injunction against SB 1 due to potential violation of the Constitution’s Equal Protection and Due Process Clauses, the injunction maintained SB 1’s ban on gender surgeries for minors. Just a week later, a panel of the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals lifted the preliminary injunction, noting the exceptions for continuing care of pre-existing minor patients and those with congenital defects, precocious puberty, disease, or physical injury. The case, combined with a similar case challenging a similar law in Kentucky, now faces the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals.
The Bonta-led coalition, which includes Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Washington argues restricting transgender people's access to gender-changing medical procedures significantly harms transgender teenagers. In support of this, they cite a 2020 study finding teenagers seeking “gender-affirming treatment at later stages of puberty are five times more likely to be diagnosed with depression and four times more likely to have anxiety disorders than adolescents who seek treatment in early puberty.
Meanwhile, lawyers supporting the ban echo the Tennessee Senate’s official findings that some treatments for gender dysphoria “can lead to the minor becoming irreversibly sterile, having increased risk of disease and illness, or suffering adverse and sometimes fatal psychological consequences,” continue to cite lack of scientific evidence supporting the efficacy and safety of gender-changing medical procedures, and growing evidence of potential harm for children in their defense.
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To read Tennessee's law passed as Senate Bill 1 follow the link.
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Recalling September 11. Where were you when the world stopped turning.
by Rod Williams, Sept. 11, 2023- I am ashamed to admit it but, I almost forgot today was 9-11. I was in my car driving toward Brentwood for a function with the radio on when a talk show host mentioned it. It is a day that I hope we would never forget.
Reflecting on that day, I wish we were as united now as a country as we were in the days following that fateful day. Unfortunately, it appears to me that we as a people are more divided than any time since the Civil War. There was unity in a grief and people openly expressed love of their country following that savage assault on our country. I wish unity and love of county was still in fashion.
Another observation is that we have learned little since then. We are just as vulnerable now as then. We still have enhanced security when boarding a plane, but otherwise we are as exposed as ever. Afghanistan is again ruled by the Taliban and Al Qaeda again has a safe have to plan their next attract and their ideology pledged to the destruction of America has not changed. Also, we have as many as 1.6 million people in this country who just walked across our southern border, and we have not a clue who they are. We know that it is not only Mexicans and other Latin Americans illegally entering our country by entering through our porous southern border. That is a serious security concern.
I pray we never again experience another nine-eleven and pray that God keeps us safe. Below are my reflections of how nine-eleven affected me and what I experienced, written in 2013.
Reflections on 9-11. Where Were You When the World Stopped Turning.
by Rod Williams - Sept. 11, 2013- On September 11, 2001 I got up like most days and got ready for work. As I recall, I had the TV on when a program was interrupted saying a plane had crashed into the World Trade Center. I did not think a lot about it at first. No details were available, and I assumed some private small plane had flown off course and accidentally crashed into the building.
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 affected 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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Sunday, September 10, 2023
Don't you think this equity stuff has done got out of hand?
Some confuse equity with equality simply because they have other interest other than current events and ideas and they are just unaware of the distinction so when someone says they will strive for equity in license plate reader investigations, or homeownership rates, that sounds like a good thing.
For people who don't know, as the terms are normally used, equality means equal application of the law or other objective standards. As an example, it is equal treatment when approval of a home loan application is based on one's credit score, debt-to-income ratio, down payment, and work history regardless of race or sex or other factors. When one is denied a loan because you are female or Black, that is not equal treatment. I think everyone can understand that.
Equity as it relates to a home loan application would look at the outcome of loan applications. If in a given community 80% of the people are White and 20% are Black, equity would dictate that 80% of all loan approvals should be of loan applicants who are White people and 20% of all loan approvals must be of people who are Black. Instead of applying equal criteria, in equity one must have equal outcomes.
Two things I read this week illustrated how far some are willing to go in the name of "equity." Kaleo Manuel is the first deputy of the Commission on Water Resource Management for the island of Maui which, as you know, has been devastated by the worst wide fire to every hit Hawaii. As the wildfire raged, Manuel stalled for hours on a request to release water to fill reservoirs until the fire was well underway and it was too late for the water to get to Maui firefighters in time to help (link). He has been reassigned to a different position and an investigation is under way as to why he delayed his decision.
It appears the reason for the delay is tied to his concern for equity. He previously has said access to water should be predicated on “conversations about equity.” As the fire raged and he was asked to release the needed water, Manuel asked the water company to consult with local farmers about the impact of water diversion before approving their request. All of the details are not in, and we should probably wait for more information before drawing firm conclusions, but it appears concern about equity was the cause of the delay. In a livestream debate hosted by the University of Hawaii last year, Manuel described water as a sacred god. “Let water connect us and not divide us,” he said. “We can share it, but it requires true conversations about equity." (link)
While in most cases the concern about equity does not result in an immediate deadly result, the application of equity can have bad results and be detrimental to society. The other case illustrates how equity is being applied in California to lower education standards and quality. This is examined in a WSJ article by Faith Bottum titled "California's Weapons of Math Destruction." I am paraphrasing, summarizing and quoting form the piece below.
The California State Board of Education has issued a new framework for teaching math. While the framework is voluntary, most school districts and teachers will probably follow it. The framework addresses “Teaching for Equity and Engagement,” “Structuring School Experiences for Equity and Engagement” and “Supporting Educators in Offering Equitable and Engaging Mathematics Instruction.” The guidelines demand that math teachers be “committed to social justice work” to “equip students with a toolkit and mindset to identify and combat inequities with mathematics.” Teaching students math takes a backseat to teaching students that “mathematics plays a role in the power structures and privileges that exist within our society.”
To achieve equal outcomes, the framework favors the elimination of “tracking,” by which it means the practice of identifying students with the potential to do well. This supposedly damages the mental health of low-achieving students. The problem is that some students simply are better at math than others. To close the gap, the authors of the new framework have decided essentially to eliminate calculus—and to hold talented students back.
The framework recommends that Algebra I not be taught in middle school, which would force the course to be taught in high school. But if the students all take algebra as freshmen, there won’t be time to fit calculus into a four-year high-school program. And that’s the point: The gap between the best and worst math students will become less visible.
The framework did not even have input from mathematic educators. There has been pushback from some college professors who say that students need advanced math in high school in order to tackle college level STEM education. The pushback effort is being led by a Dr. Brian Conrad, a mathematics professor at Stanford University. He says, "Those who claim to be champions of equity should put more effort and resources into helping all students to achieve real success in learning mathematics, rather than using illegal artificial barriers, misrepresented data and citations, or fake validations to create false optics of success.”
I certainly agree but the way of California is the way we are all going. Thankfully, education is still primarily a state affair and not all states will abandon or downgrade quality standards in the name of equity, but we are seeing more and more pressure in all fields to do so. When Nashville considered the use of License Plate Readers the local police oversight board passed a resolution that said, "LPRs should be distributed equitably across Nashville." Crime does not occur equally across Nashville and criminals do not live equally across Nashville, but the Community Oversight Board wants no more license plate readers to be used in north Nashville than are used in Forrest Hills. This is insane. Logic would inform that they should be used where they are most likely to catch criminals.
Application of principals of equity would dictate that the proportion of White people in prison should not exceed the proportion of Black people in prison, regardless of who commits the crimes. According to the United States Bureau of Justice, in 2014 6% of all Black males ages 30 to 39 were in prison, while 2% of Hispanic and 1% of White males in the same age group were in prison (1). I could spend more time looking for more recent data, but I am sure the data has not changed much. Should no more Black men be sentenced to prison until the number of White men sentenced to prison equals 6% of the White population? If we want equity between men and women, we will have to wait a very long time to put more men in prison.
One problem with equity is that it creates a more discriminatory mindset. Already with affirmative action, when one encounters a successful Black person, there may be a tendency to question if the person's success was earned or awarded. With equity that is magnified. There are a lot more White neurosurgeons in America than Black. I may look for the data and update this but for now accept that there are a lot more White neurosurgeons than Black. If we had strict application of equity and I was going to have brain surgery I would prefer a White neurosurgeon.
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METRO BUDGETING PROCESS: OPEN TO NON-CITIZENS?
Back in January, Metro voted to let residents decide how to spend a chunk of leftover
ARPA funding. Since then,13 steering committee meetings have been held, with voting integrity taking center stage as a top concern. After initial discussions, a timeline was issued to create a 35-item ballot for the public to vote on some time in December.Though some eyebrows were raised when Metro decided Nashvillians aged 14 through 17 could decide how taxpayer dollars were spent, a review of May 4th’s meeting notes reveals a more questionable practice.
“We've had a lot of discussions about the integrity of the ballots,” said Jason Sparks, chair of the Participatory Budget Steering Committee. “We've really thought a lot about this… because we also want to make this available to people that aren't citizens that just, you know, live in our community.”
WHERE WE’RE AT
Over 1,300 suggestions were submitted after Metro’s call. At last month’s board meeting, approximately 300 of the ideas were determined ineligible, bringing the number down to about 1,000 (unfortunately, a community center with an indoor swimming pool would cost more than the $10 million set aside for this initiative).
So far, the process seems complicated. There is no voting verification, just a simple cross-check to address whether there are duplicate names and addresses attached to the votes cast. The ability for nonprofits to be awarded funding based on the suggested submissions has also been called into question. What we do know: the voting will take place over multiple days and votes can be cast at polling locations, libraries, and during voting expos.
Rod's Comment: Thanks to The Pamphleteer for this excellent reporting.
What is reported is a shame. This money is public funds. We should not allow those not registered to vote or ineligible to vote to decide how to spend public funds. Those who are in our country illegally should certainly not have a vote.
In addition to concern that illegal aliens and children are getting to decide how to spend public dollars, I do not like the whole concept of participatory budgeting. We have elected representatives and a process in place to determine what gets funded. We have a Capitol Improvements budget that rates projects based on a variety of factors not just what the loudest and most engaged want. It may be that redesigning a dangerous intersection would save lives, but the participating public may want a new playground. We probably wasted a lot of money that could have funded a backlog of needed projects in the Capitol Improvement budget.
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