Congratulations Josh Stites

Congratulations Josh Stites!

UPDATE 8:15 P.M.

Josh Stites has been declared the winner in District 13, with 617 votes to Marilyn Robinson’s 405 after all results came in, Davidson County election commission officials said

Top Stories

Vote September 15th

Election day is today!

PLEASE REMEMBER TO GET OUT TO VOTE IN THE RUNOFF ELECTIONS TODAY!

There are three very tight runoffs today in Metro Davidson County and these candidates need everyone to turn out. Check your neighbors who are unable to get to the polls in these precincts and ask to drive them.  Make sure your friends and family members in these districts get out to vote.  This is the most important election right now for Metro Nashville Davidson County!

Dave Patterson—4th Council District--http://www.electdavepatterson.com/Home.htm
http://www.nashville.gov/vote/docs/maps/council/Council_District_04.pdf

Josh Stites—13th Council District--http://joshstites.com/Josh_Stites/Welcome.html
http://www.nashville.gov/mpc/docs/redist/final/Coun13.pdf

Robert Duvall—33rd Council District--http://robertduvall.us/
http://www.nashville.gov/mpc/docs/redist/final/Coun33.pdf

METRO COUNCIL RUNOFF ELECTION DISTRICT 4 - DAVE PATTERSON DISTRICT 5 - SCOTT DAVIS DISTRICT 6 - DAVE RICH DISTRICT 13 - JOSH STITES DISTRICT 33 - ROBERT DUVALL -non partisan-

2011 ELECTION DAY: SEPTEMBER 15 at your District Precincts

Top Stories

WEST NASHVILLE EGGS AND BACON SUMMIT Saturday, September 17, 2011

DCRP-Davidson County Republican Party  Breakfast Summit, Saturday, September 17, 2011 RISE AND SHINE FOR THE WEST NASHVILLE EGGS AND BACON SUMMIT Meeting at  Shoney's 365 White Bridge Pike, Nashville Saturday, September 17, 2011 Fellowship, Dutch Treat Breakfast 8:30 AM, meeting 9:00 AM

-Special Guest-     Joe Kirkpatrick  former candidate for Governor of TN and now radio personality on 880 AM   and  Rod Williams former Councilman and blogger at A Disgruntled Republican speaking on  Why is United Way funding Left-wing Activism   Moderator - Matt Nemeth

Top Stories

A picture worth a thousand words. Food Stamps

Look at this picture. what do you think is the topic of the story that accompanies this photo? Smoking perhaps?  That is what I first thought when I saw the picture, but this is the picture on the front page of the Local section of The Tennessean yesterday accompanying a story titled, "Many older adults scramble to pay for food."

I know it is not politically correct to think such things but I immediately thought, that if she can afford to smoke, she doesn't need food stamps. The story says that 56 year old Therese Marrs was laid off from her factory job in February and has been unable to find work. Her household consist of she, her husband and their 16 year old daughter. The article does not say how much her husband earns. It does report however that she is receiving unemployment.  I think things like how much her husband earns and how much she receives in food stamps would be relevant to the story but apparently the author did not. The story's focus is that many baby boomers have been hit especially hard by the recession and many have had to turn to food stamps to survive.


To qualify for food stamps a family of three has to earn below $1984 a month or $23808 a year. If she is receiving $250 a week unemployment, that would mean her husband could not be earning over $10884 annually and they still qualify for food stamps. Something does not add up. The article does say her husband "recently" got a job. I wonder if they are still legally eligible for food stamps. If the household is now earning over $23808 they should not be getting those food stamps. Did he fail to report the change in income?

That aside however, what is it costing her to smoke? Assume a pack of cigarettes cost $4.84 a pack and assume she smokes two packs a day that comes to $290.40 a month. If she is making the maximum allowable to collect food stamps (1983.99) her two-pack a day habit is 15% of her family income. Assume her husband has a two-pack a day habit and cigarettes are eating up 29% of their income. Assume the 16-year old smokes a pack every other day and that adds another $72.60 and makes cigarettes eat up  $653.46 of their $1983.99 income or 33% of the family budget.

The reporter didn't tell us much about the finances of the Marrs household, but if we assume Mr Marrs is working but getting their food stamps legally, then he must be making right under the maximum limit so the household would get only about $112 in food stamps. If food stamps were awarded when he was not working, they could be receiving about $460 worth of food stamps.

Use of food stamps are at a historic high in this country with one in eight Americans on Food Stamps. This cannot continue. I believe those in the other party have a goal of making more and more Americans dependent on government hand outs.  If you are receiving food stamps or getting some other government hand out, then you are more likely to vote for the party that promises you more, not the party that promises government frugality. If the goal is to turn the whole country into a citizenry who are subjects, dependent on government largess, they are close to achieving that goal.

Do I think that food stamps should not go to people who smoke?  I am not sure I am there yet, but if we reach a point at which we must began curtailing food stamp outlays, I would give preference to those who do not smoke. If one has money to spend on cable TV, the lottery, beer, or cigarettes, I question if they really need food stamps.

One thing, I do think the government should do is vigorously investigate fraud and abuse. I would estimate that about 40% of all food stamp outlays result from fraud. I have little to base that on except my own observations. I admit it is just a guess. Working in a field which puts me in close contact with low-income people, I know that these abuses are very common.

• The "babydaddy" lives in the home and has income, but the Mom and child receive food stamps not reporting his income. 
• The babydaddy does not live in the home and does not pay child support but voluntarily gives the mom money each month. This is not reported in calculating food stamps.
• Food stamps are used as currency. Food stamps are not actually issued any more. The recipient gets a debit card and a pin number. The person getting the food stamps will sell to others the use of his card. The going rate in Nashville is $100 of food stamps for $50.
• Two or three generations of single moms will live in one house and get food stamps as if they were separate families although they are one household.
• People will qualify for food stamps legitimately but then not report their new income when they do get a job and will continue getting food stamps long after they are ineligible. 
• A lot of people, such as taxi cab drivers and beauticians, not only cheat on their income tax, by not reporting all of their income but they also draw food stamps because they under report their income.

Back to the picture: I also noticed that the women in the picture has a flat screen TV and is overweight. Not that that should disqualify her from food stamps, but this picture is almost a caricature of a food stamp recipient. What were they thinking?

Top Stories

United Way Hurting for Cash? Reallocate funding from NRC.

Dear Ms Young,

I read your article in The Tennessean this morning about how United Way is hurting for cash and how 32 area agencies are scrambling to meet the need for emergency food and shelter services after having received huge cuts in federal aid.

Ms. young, there are some of us who would like to help but cannot in good conscience give to United Way at this time. Let me tell you why.  United Way supports an organization that is primarily a liberal political organization rather than a charity.

That organization is the Neighborhood Resource Center.  I do not know how much funding they are receiving this year. I have asked United Way but I  have not received that information. In 2009 however, NRC received $237,000 in United Way funding.

The Neighborhood Resource Center says this about themselves: "We offer organizing assistance to help community groups build membership, identify common goals, and develop strategies to move their groups ahead. Most neighborhoods face common issues, so the lessons learned in one community can be quickly put to use in another."

They also say they are, "dedicated to assisting Nashville residents in the formation and development of neighborhood-related organizations. NRC assists residents by providing information, leadership training, consulting, and supportive services, as well as by forming collaborative relationships with, and providing support to, institutions that serve neighborhoods."

Those thing are not objectionable but those activities are political activities not charitable ones.  To provide those services we have a political arena. Those services can be provided by organizations like the League of Women Voters, and political parties or by an NRC that raises funds as political contributions, instead of charitable  contributions.

In practice, NRC trains citizens in understanding zoning and planning issue and the operation of Metro government and  how to put pressure on government agencies and elected officials to meet the needs of communities, as seen by NRC and the various community organization with which they work. They also provide training in how to run for Metro Council. Those are not bad things to do, but are clearly political activities, not charitable activities.

The worse offense of NRC is that they are promoting the Contract for the American Dream. The Contract for the American Dream is a major effort to energize the left. It calls for new massive government spending and wealth redistribution. This effort is headed by radical leftist and self-identified Communist, Van Jones and is supported by groups such as Code Pink, Daily Kos and MoveOn.org. For those of us who are of a conservative political persuasion, why should we support United Way, when United Way is supporting an organization that is promoting The Contract for the American Dream?

The Neighborhood Resources Center is funding the salaries of people who do much of their political work under different organizational names. If one looks at how they are connected, The Neighborhood Resource Center either directly or indirectly has strong ties to the Nashville Neighborhood Defense Fund, which endorses candidates for Metro Council, and Neighbors for Progress, an organization that led the fight to support the Mayors effort to destroy the fair grounds.

I hope you can see why as a conservative, I cannot at this time support United Way. In my view United Way should discontinue their funding category "Building Strong Neighborhoods" and should defund The Neighborhood Resource Center. That function and that organization should not be competing with dollars to meet the emergency food and shelter services needs of this community.  United Way should defund NRC and reallocate that money to these 32 organizations in need that are providing emergency food and shelter.

Ms Young, I and I am sure many others would like to help meet the need of those agencies who had a funding cut, but cannot do so through United Way. If you could publish a list of the 32 agencies in need of funding, people may want to make a contribution directly to one or more of those agencies.
Ms Young, this is an open letter.  I am sending it to my friends and am posting it on my blog and Facebook page. When I receive your reply I will also post it.

Sincerely,

Rod Williams

Below is my contact information.
home 292-8900, cell 509-3900,
Please visit my blog: http://adisgruntledrepublican.blogspot.com

Top Stories

Exempt Obama's Jobs bill from Davis-Bacon

Today, Americans for Limited Government President Bill Wilson responded to Barack Obama's call for an infrastructure bank:

Barack Obama's call for an infrastructure bank could be worth looking at, but only if all such spending is specifically exempt from Davis-Bacon union wage guarantees, and is accompanied by off-setting spending reductions elsewhere in the bloated budget. Otherwise, it will just be a payout to Obama's big labor political allies in the midst of the worst sovereign debt crisis in history.

This is a great idea! I hope Republicans do not reject President Obama's proposal outright. After he reveals how his proposal is to be funded, I hope Congress will use his proposal as a starting point to create something that will get American's back to work. Republicans in Congress, however, should not accept that spending now will be off set by spending cuts in future years. One Congress cannot bind the spending decisions of the next Congress. While I hope to see Obama defeated as much as anyone, I think President Obmaba is right and we cannot wait 18 months to try and address the unemployment crisis. Also, America's infrastructure is falling apart and their is road and bridge and sewer work that must be addressed and cannot be put off forever.

If Obama is serious about getting Americans back to work and his speech was nothing more than campaign posturing, then he should readily agree to remove Davis-Bacon from any jobs bill. In Nashville, Davis Bacon requires a wage of $12.94 for painters and sandblasters. I bet that in today's economy a contractor could get painters for considerably less than that. Why should the federal government, rather than the market, decide the wage rate paid for every position on a construction project? Exempt projects from Davis-Bacon, put more people to work and get more accomplished for the same amount of money.

Top Stories

MoveON.org wants to Ruin Bill Haslams's Day

FYI: I belong to MoveOn.org so you don't have to. 

I got this email today from the MoveOn faction of the Obamanistas and thought you may find it interested. The Obamanistas are opening up their wallets to take on the tea party and right wing extremist like Bill Haslam. What? Right-wing extremist? Bill Haslam? I guess anyone to the right of Karl Marx is a right wing extremist. 

Anyway, the Obamanistas are organized down to the neighborhood level. They are raising money and organizing and have tentacles that run deep. Labor unions and community organizers are busy advancing the "Contract for the American Dream", the radical agenda formulated by former White House Green Energy Czar and self-admitted Communist Van Jones. 

We who oppose the radical "Contract for the American Dream" agenda must unite, network, stay informed and be willing to open our wallets to match the effort of groups like MoveOn.  

Want to ruin Bill Haslam's day?

Thursday, September 8, 2011 2:01 PM

From:Steven Biel, MoveOn.org Civic Action"
To: "Rod "

Dear Tennessee MoveOn member,

In the last two weeks, MoveOn members have signed up to donate a whopping $25,000 each month to help take on Bill Haslam and other governors pursuing an extremist right-wing agenda.

If we can double that, we'll have enough resources to bring MoveOn's grassroots muscle and Internet organizing to state capitols across the country—and go to toe-to-toe with tea party governors across America, heading into a critical election year.

Bill Haslam really, really doesn't want that to happen. Can you chip in $20 a month and ruin Bill Haslam's day?

Yes, I can give $20 a month to fight Bill Haslam
Sorry, I can't

Tennessee Republicans have gone on a right-wing binge, with new restrictions on abortion, unprecedented attacks on teachers' rights, and deep budget cuts that are pushing us toward a double-dip recession. And Republicans are pushing the same far-right agenda in state capitols across the country.1

The scariest part is, these right-wing extremists are pushing for even more. In states across the country, Republicans are calling "special sessions" to ram through even deeper budget cuts and partisan redistricting maps that will lock in GOP dominance for years to come.2
This is one of the biggest expansions we've ever taken on. Can you help give us the ongoing resources we need by making a donation of $20 per month? It's easy, and you can cancel at any time.

Yes, I can give $20 a month to fight Bill Haslam

Sorry, I can't

Thanks for all you do.

–Steven, Michael, Adam Q., Elena, and the rest of the team

Sources:

Top Stories

Metro School Board Chair (Retired) and District 13 Resident June Lambert endorses Josh Stites

NASHVILLE – June Lambert, retired Metro School Board Chair has publicly endorsed Josh Stites in the District 13 race for Metro Council. The open seat has been occupied for 8 years by outgoing Councilman Carl Burch, who is term limited.

"Josh understands the challenges facing our schools and the leadership that is required to meet those challenges,” said Ms. Lambert. ‘I have found Josh to be a hard-working, dependable young man who will represent our district with distinction on the Metro Council. We would be fortunate to have him advocating on our behalf and behalf of our children."

“I appreciate Mrs. Lambert’s support,” said Stites. “Educating the children of Nashville at the highest level is of utmost importance for the future of our city. She has been a leader for our schools and I am honored to have her support.”

Early voting began in five runoff elections across Davidson County August 26th and runs through September 10th. Election Day is September 15th.

About Josh Stites
Josh Stites is a resident of council district 13 where he lives with his wife, Jenny. He holds a B.B.A and an MBA in finance from Abilene Christian and Baylor Universities. Josh is active in his church community and with organizations such as the Nashville Homeless Ministry. You can learn more about Josh and his vision for Nashville by visiting his website at www.joshstites.comhttp://www.joshstites.com/Josh_Stites/Welcome.html.

Top Stories

The Hoffa Clip calling for taking out the tea party.

If this is only rhetoric and not to be taken seriously, then it is extremely dangerous rhetoric. After the Gabrielle Giffords shooting, Obama urged a return to civility and tried to blame the shooting of Giffords on the rhetoric of the tea party despite the shooter having absolutely no ties to the tea party movement. The Obama media chimed in on the chorus. Now, where is Obama in calling for civility and where is the establishment media in calling for a moderation of the rhetoric?

Obama and main stream media are hypocrites. They want to silence the critics of Obama but are silent when the left calls for violence.

Top Stories

Hoffa: Time to "take out" members of the tea party.

While warming up the crowd for President Obama's in Detroit, Michigan on Monday, Teamster President Jimmy Hoffa said it was time to kill members of the tea party! Here is his remarks:

We got to keep an eye on the battle that we face: The war on workers. And you see it everywhere, it is the Tea Party. And you know, there is only one way to beat and win that war. The one thing about working people is we like a good fight. And you know what? They've got a war, they got a war with us and there's only going to be one winner. It's going to be the workers of Michigan, and America. We're going to win that war.

President Obama, this is your army. We are ready to march. Let's take these son of bitches out and give America back to an America where we belong.

That is not symbolic language; that is not subtle.  To "take out" means nothing less than to kill someone. Coming from a Teamster labor union leader, saying it is time to "take out" someone should not be taken lightly. Did President Obama chastise him?  Did President Obama say, "we do not endorse murder as a way to settle our differences in America. We defeat our enemies at the ballot box?" No, he did not!

Shame on President Obama for allowing this call to murder his opponents go unchallenged. His failure to denounce, indicates his agreement. 

When Hoffa said it is time to "take out" the Tea Party and the President does not lecture him on restraining himself, then we have reason to be concerned. This may cause members of the Tea Party to start arming themselves for self defense? This may result in the stockpiling weapons? If a tea party spokesman had said it was time to "take out" the President, what would be the response?

Since this declaration of war on members of the tea party has been made, I just hope no loose screw in the tea party decides to take out the President before the Obamanistas can take out the tea party. Before something terrible happens, Hoffa needs to apologize and the President needs to make clear that he does not endorse killing members of the political opposition.

Top Stories

Who Supports Brady Banks; Who Supports Dave Patterson.

I believe you can tell a lot about a person by knowing who their friends are. I was recently told by a friend about a fundraiser for Metro Council District 4 Candidate Brady Banks that I found interesting.

In Metro Council elections, many candidates make general statements about supporting fiscal responsibility and supporting good schools and favoring adequate police protection that you really don't know much about how the candidate will legislate if he is elected. In many cases, the campaigns are so short on specifics that you must have some other basis for making a decision. One good measure of a candidate is to look at who is supporting him.

It is common knowledge that Mr. Banks is a former community organizer for Mayor Dean and has no business experience. He has spend his career in politics including a stint as a paid campaign worker for Presidential candidate John Edwards in the New Hampshire primary and a period on the campaign of a Democrat seeking a state Senate seat in west Tennessee. His website is very generic with vague positions on the issues.

I don't know Mr. Banks personally but I've heard he's very liberal and he describes himself as a "progressive." I do know that in 2007 when he ran for an at-large position he had the enforcement of the left-wing, low-power radio station Liberadio (!).

On the issue of taxes, Banks told the Tennessean he'd consider raising taxes to maintain or expand government services, which in my view is reason enough not to vote for him. I think the Nashville's tax rate is high enough already and we should look at more efficient government rather than raising taxes. I do know that Dave Patterson has taken a stance adamantly opposing raising taxes.


After doing some investigating, I confirmed who the host committee members were for the Banks fundraiser and was not surprised to find they are a who's who of elected liberals:

• Councilmember At-Large Megan Barry
• Councilmember At-Large Jerry Maynard
• Councilmember Greg & Kim Adkins
• Councilmember Jason & Margaret Holleman
• Councilmember Mike Jameson
• Councilmember Sean McGuire
• |Councilmember Bo Mitchell
• Councilmember Anna Page
• Councilmember elect Fabian Bedne

I then looked at who supports Dave Patterson's campaign and found it to be leading conservatives. These are the people who were on the host committee of a recent Dave Patterson fund raiser:

• Lt. Governor Ron Ramsey
• Speaker Beth Harwell
• Senator Jack Johnson
• Senator Jim Tracy
• Rep Jim Gotto
• Councilman Karen Bennett
• Councilman Jim Hodge
• Councilman Eric Crafton

The conclusion I reach is that this election is about Liberalism vs. Conservatism, low taxes vs. high taxes, and fiscal responsibility vs. excessive spending. Nashville has crushing debt and out of control spending. The question to the voters of the 4th District is: do you want our city to become the next Detroit or do we elect Conservatives who have the real world experience to reverse course and put our city on firm financial ground?

My wife and I were also on the host committee for Dave's fundraiser. I know Dave personally and know he is a man of principle and integrity and conservative values. 

Vote for Dave Patterson on September 15!

Top Stories

Hear's a song for the Working Man.

Happy Labor Day!

Hey hey, the working man, the working man like me
I ain't never been on welfare, that's one place I won't be
Cause I'll be working long as my two hands are fit to use
I drink a little beer in a tavern
Sing a little bit of these working man blues
Yeah drink a little beer in a tavern,
Cry a little bit of these working man blues

Top Stories