Confronting Common Core event

I am posting as an FYI, unfortunately this event is already sold out. I waited too late to register. Keven Kookogey is the former chairman of the Williamson County Republican Party.

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Bill to prohibit welfare debit card use at strip clubs and liquor stores passes

Senator Jim Tracy and Rep. Terri Lynn Weaver worked with the Beacon Center to develop legislation to prohibit the use of welfare debit cards at strip clubs, casinos  and liquor stores. The bill has passed and is now on its way to the Governor. To read about the EBT card abuse issue follow this link and to learn more about the abuse discovered by the Beacon Center follow this link.

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Picking and Choosing which rules apply at Farmers Market

by Ken Jakes

I attended a special called meeting of the Nashville Farmers Market for vendors and merchants last Thursday April 11th. When it came to the point in the agenda for comments from merchants, one of the merchants was very upset and told Nancy Wittemore, the Acting Director of the Market, that the Market was unfair in their enforcement of the rules and regulations of the market.

After the merchants comments, I spoke and I told the director and staff that I could relate to what was just told them by the previous speaker. At times, there is no enforcement of the rules and yet at other times there is strict enforcement, I said. I reminded the Director that I had just emailed her the night before about how the market was violating Section G(2) of the Rules and Regulation which prohibits the sell of alcoholic beverages at the market. Below is the section of the Rules and Regulation that address this issue:

Rules and Regulations Governing the operation of Metropolitan Nashville-Davidson County Farmers Market,  Approved by Farmers Market Commission as amended on February 23, 2012.

Section G (2) Prohibited Items or Acts. No Alcoholic beverages or any controlled substance in any form shall be consumed, kept, bought, or sold in any kind of containers at any stall, or location on the Farmers Market Premises.

I have been informed that this rule is fully understood by the Farmers Market Board and Director, since the Rules of Operation were amended and approved by the Board and filed with the Metro Clerk. The Board fully intended for that rule to be policy and for their rules to be obeyed.  It is furthermore understood that the choice of language of the board was that Alcoholic beverages are "PROHIBITED."  It is to mean just that.

It is also understood in the Rules under section "(1) AUTHORITY," the Board is to administer practices with fairness. On a recent visit to the farmers market with my wife, we noticed wine being sold.  People were setting around everywhere at tables drinking wine by the glass. Furthermore, I have obtained numerous public records documenting that wine is being sold by the farmers market on the nights of the Night Time Market.

I don't care about the wine; heck, I wouldn't mind having a good glass myself. It is about picking and choosing when the Rules and Regulations apply.

I have sent numerous emails informing Mayor Karl Dean, Metro Legal, all Board Members of the Farmers Market, and the Acting Director Nancy Whittemore of the specific rule they are violating and that they willfully and intentionally continue to violate.  I went to the Farmers Market today and saw that vendors  were not only selling wine but beer as well. I called the Metro Police Department and Officer C.Connelly responded. I showed the regulations to him and he said it was not a criminal matter but a civil matter. I told him that already knew that. He told me he couldn't do anything about it. I informed him he could do just what I called him to do and that was to accept from me a citizen's complaint.

The complaint is what I wanted. I wanted it documented by the Police Department that the Farmers Market was still selling wine and beer even after they have been informed many times of the violation of the Farmers Market Board Rules and Regulations. I told him not to worry about what he will do, I told him to document for me and I will proceed to file the complaint. He filed a case complaint number 13-345544.

Now, I have it documented by the police that Farmers Market continues to violate this rule. The Farmers Market regulations and their actions of ignoring this rule are as clear as it gets. Farmers Market Board Member Joycelyn Stephenson is an attorney. She has been well informed, and it is HER rule as a Board member as well as all the other Board members that they are violating.

It is my opinion that this may be an issue to take up with the State of Tennessee Supreme Court Board of Professional Responsibility for ethical violations. If the Nashville Farmers Market wants to sell wine and beer, then have them change their rules and regulations to permit it, but don't pass regulations prohibiting wine and beer and then allow it to go on blatantly in front of everyone.

One would think that with Mayor Karl Dean being the former Director of Metro Legal that he would want all his appointments to boards and commissions to obey, and enforce equally and fairly all of their rules and regulations. Rules of Operation are supposed to apply to all.

I have filed a complaint and requesting as a taxpayer of Metropolitan Nashville-Davidson County, that the Market stop the violation of alcohol being sold immediately.  If the Market wants to sell alcohol, then the Board should give proper public notice, hear from the public, discuss the matter, and approve changes to the Rules of Operation, and file those changes with the Metro Clerk.

Picking and choosing which rules to enforce is, unfortunately, business as usual for the Farmers Market. This is another management issue for the City needs to look at and resolve for the people.

Ken Jakes is a frequent critic of Metro Government and a citizen activist discovering and exposing government corruption and waste.

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CANCELLED MEETING Southeast Conservatives' Breakfast

The Conservatives' Breakfast scheduled for tomorrow, April 20th, has been cancelled due to the death of Al Bodie, former Commissioner under Governor Sundquist.  Al was a great supporter and volunteer for many of Davidson County's Candidates.

We felt this is right thing to do since visitation and funeral are tomorrow and many of our members plan to attend.

See you on May 18th for next Breakfast.

Pat Carl

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Does the Williamson County School System promote antisemitism?

Does the Williamson County School System promote antisemitism? According to Laurie Cardoza-Moore it does. Ms Cardoza-Moore is the President of a group called Proclaiming Justice to the Nations. The website of PJTN says, "PJTN was established to educate Christians about their Biblical responsibility to stand with their Jewish brethren and Israel, utilizing the powerful medium of documentary films to facilitate dialogue between the Christian and Jewish communities." Ms Cardoza-Moore may be best know for her leadership roll in opposing the building of a Mosque in Murfressboro.

Ms Cardoza-Moore is calling on people to turn out tonight to protest at the Williamson County School Board and take a stand against antisemitism. Specifically what is being protested is a textbook that, according to Ms Cardoza-Moore, "confuses 'terrorist attacks' with 'political violence.'"  The specific example she sites is this:

If a Palestinian suicide bomber kills several dozen Israeli teenagers in a Jerusalem restaurant, is that an act of terrorism or wartime retaliation against Israeli government policies and army actions?

I am myself not convinced that that is an example of antisemitism and I really doubt the Williamson County School Board is guilty of promoting antisemitism. If the book is age-appropriate for the students, the quoted excerpt very well may be an appropriate means of getting students to think about current events and take an interest in the subject matter. I would bet that most students would answer the question by saying that killing teenagers in a restaurant is terrorism.

If I lived in Williamson County, I would not join the protestors. Maybe those who fear that antisemitism is being taught in the Williamson County Schools should read the textbook and share their concern with school administrators and school board members before joining others in demanding a textbook that they have not read be removed based on one out-of-context excerpt. Maybe it is a pro-terrorism and anti-Semitic textbook but I don't think one can make that judgement based on this one excerpt.

This notice of tonight's call for protest was sent to me from the Tennessee Freedom Coalition. Below is the text of the notice they forwarded:

This past Monday (April 8th, 2013) Jews, Christians, and people of conscience united around the globe to remember the six million men, women, and children who were violently murdered by the Nazi's because of their faith. That day of remembrance is called Yom HaShoah.

The Holocaust did not happen in a vacuum. This horrific event in history occurred systematically because Christians, Germans and world leaders turned a blind eye to the growing anti-Semitism in communities across Germany while Adolf Hitler, incrementally executed his evil agenda.

This coming Monday, at 6pm, you have an opportunity to stand against the growing threat of the "new" anti-Semitism in our community by attending a Williamson County School Board meeting to demand that our elected officials remove curriculum that confuses "terrorist attacks" with "political violence."

The text in question is taken from The Cultural Landscape Curriculum - An Introduction to Human Geography; under the title, "Why Has Terrorism Increased?" The author states, "If a Palestinian suicide bomber kills several dozen Israeli teenagers in a Jerusalem restaurant, is that an act of terrorism or wartime retaliation against Israeli government policies and army actions?"

This type of blatant anti-Semitic propaganda and disinformation, has no place in our community and it should not be taught to our future leaders. PJTN is uniting with other organizations in middle Tennessee to launch a community-wide effort to remove any curriculum from our County/City schools that support Arab/Palestinian terrorist attacks against our Jewish brethren and we need you to be there! So please, make every effort to attend!

During a meeting last December with Franklin High School faculty, our requests to provide an alternative textbook that would provide factually accurate and balanced information was denied.

So, please plan to arrive early. Not only do we need every tax-paying citizen and their students in the County to attend, but if you live in the surrounding counties, you should attend too. This curriculum is being peddled to our children across the State and in private schools as well. A statewide effort must be launched to remove this type of biased curriculum from our elementary, junior and senior high schools, as well as our schools of higher learning.

As I stated earlier, the Holocaust did not happen in a vacuum, and in the words of Holocaust survivor, Elie Wiesel, "Indifference to evil is evil."

The Williamson County School Board meeting convenes at 6pm tomorrow, Monday, April 15th at 1320 Main Street, Suite 202, Franklin, TN.

Remember to forward this information to your family and friends. The press will be covering this story and we need to pack the house to show that we are committed to this effort.

For more information, please contact our office at: 615-778-0202, or email me at: lauriecm@pjtn.org. Please forward this email to everyone you know and ask them to take the time to attend, the future of our community, this great state and the future of the United States demands it.

God bless you!

Laurie Cardoza-Moore President & Producer

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School Board member Will Pinkston to hold public meeting

From Will Pinkston

After eight months on the Nashville School Board, it’s clear to me that our community is spending too much time talking about charter schools and not enough time focused on improving our existing neighborhood schools. To help reset priorities, I’m hosting a community meeting in School Board District 7 on Saturday, April 20, at 2 p.m. Officials from Metro Nashville Public Schools will be on hand to discuss large-scale school improvement strategies, receive public comment, and answer any questions you might have. This meeting will be held at Conexión Américas’ new Casa Azafrán Community Center, 2195 Nolensville Road. Please join us Saturday afternoon for coffee — and a conversation about the future of Nashville’s public schools.

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Tennessee NORML Marijuana Education Day & Celebration April 20

For more information, follow this link.

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Visitation for Al Bodie

Visitation for Al Bodie will be this Saturday, April 20, at:

First Baptist Capitol Hill

625 Rosa Parks Blvd.

The visitation will be at 10 and the service at 11a.m.

NASHVILLE, Tenn.—Chairman of the Tennessee Republican Party, Chris Devaney, made the following statement regarding the passing of former Tennessee Commissioner of Labor and Nashville Republican activist Al Bodie:

"It is a sad day for the Republican Party. We have lost a true friend and trailblazer in Al Bodie. Our prayers are with his family and his contribution in growing our Party will not be forgotten."

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Mt. Juliet Republican Women present Understanding Common Core Standards.

An Overview of our Current Education System: UNDERSTANDING COMMON CORE STANDARDS. LAURI DAY speaker, hosted by: MT JULIET REPUBLICAN WOMEN April 15, 2013 6:30pm, Courtney's Restaurant, 4066 N Mt Juliet Rd, Mt Juliet, TN 37122.

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What is on the Council Agenda for Tuesday April 16th?

You can get your own copy of the Metro council meeting agenda at this link: Metro Council Agenda. You can find the analysis at this link: Metro Council Agenda Analysis. Council meetings can be really, really boring if you don't know what the Council is voting on. With an agenda and analysis, they are just boring.

There is only one resolution on public hearing. It concerns the minimum distance requirements for obtaining a beer permit for a particular piece of property and should interest no one but immediate neighbors.

There are fifteen resolutions all of which are on the consent agenda. A resolution is put on the consent agenda if it is likely to be non-controversial and it stays on the consent agenda if it passes the committees to which it was assigned unanimously. Bills on the consent agenda are usually not controversial and tend to be routine matters, such as accepting grants from the Federal or State Government or authorizing the Department of Law to settle claims against the city or appropriating money from the 4% fund. Resolutions on the consent agenda are passed by a single vote of the Council rather than being considered individually. However, any member of the body may have a bill pulled off of the consent agenda. I do not expect any to be pulled off of the consent agenda. I don't see any controversial resolution and would not expect any opposition. However, there are a couple resolutions to watch.

Last council meeting, RESOLUTION NO. RS2013-640 which allows Metro to accept certain incomplete infrastructure located within the River Landing subdivision left incomplete by the developer was initially on the consent agenda but taken off by the night of the council meeting and was considered separately and was deferred one meeting. It is back on the consent agenda this meeting. The cost to complete this infrastructure is estimated to be $489,560. Metro has sued the developer and collected $54,000, yet Metro will be stuck with the balance. Council has been reassured that changes have been put in place so that Metro will not be left holding the bag in future developments.

RESOLUTION NO. RS2013 approves the new four year plan for reappraisal and equalization of assessment for Davidson County. The property reevaluation will be completed in the year 2017, which will be the next reevaluation year. There is no reason to oppose this. If anyone does they are grandstanding, but reappraisals are never popular and grandstanding might be tempting. 

Bills on First reading almost always pass. There are ten bills on first reading. They are considered as a group and are seldom discussed. First reading is a formality that allows the bill to be considered. Bills are not assigned to committee or analyzed by council staff until after they have passed first reading. I have not carefully reviewed the bills on first reading, but will before second reading.

Bills on Second Reading: It is on Second reading, after bills have been to committee, that discussion usually takes place. There are only six bills on second reading. None of them seem terribly important but below is one worth noting:

ORDINANCE NO. BL2013-405 approves a sublease agreement between the Metropolitan Government and STEM Preparatory Academy for the use of a portion of the Tennessee Preparatory School campus located at 1250 Foster Avenue.

Bills on Third Reading: Third Reading is the final reading. If a bill passes third reading it becomes law unless it is vetoed by the Mayor, which has only rarely happened.

BILL NO. BL2012-292 would liberalize the policy on home recording studios. It adds a new land use specific to home recording studios and would permit studios to have up to ten clients, customers, musicians, or other visitors come to the property per day. Sufficient off street parking would have to be provided and home recording studios would be subject to the residential noise restrictions in the Metro code. The ordinance would retain the existing prohibition on signage. This issue was before the council on public hearing on December 4th, 2012 when it generated a lot of comment. I support this bill. I think we should support the music industry and our songwriter and musician neighbors. This bill passed on a voice vote on second reading but some council member have concerns about it and it could be close on third reading.

ORDINANCE NO. BL2013-394 amends the Metro zoning code to add community education as a permitted use in additional commercial zoning districts. Allowing schools in the districts will encourage infill development and the adaptive reuse of existing vacant buildings.This ordinance has been approved by the planning commission. I see no reason why anyone would oppose this.

ORDINANCE NO. BL2013-395 was on public hearing last meeting and passed by voice vote which means no one asked to be recorded as voting "no." It approved a settlement agreement with Comcast and approves a new cable franchise agreement with Comcast. Bill 396 is closely related and is also on third reading. This new agreement covers a lot of ground. If you want to know more see the council analysis. Last meeting, Councilman Charlie Tygard raised some issues about the bill and proposed amendments. This is one to watch. Below is how the Tennessean reported the issue after second reading:

Metro Council advances deal with Comcast that includes 5-cent fee increase 
After three years of negotiations, Metro and Comcast are nearing approval of a new franchise agreement that would let the cable giant run lines all over the city for the next 10 years. The agreement allows Comcast to increase its fee to subscribers from 5 cents to 10 cents a month for running public access television channels. The Metro Council voted unanimously Tuesday to advance a deal on a second of three votes ahead of a May 5 expiration date on the parties’ existing contract. (read more)

This should be a relatively short meeting. 

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Tax Day Event

From the Nashville Libertarian Meetup Group: 

Monday, April 15, 2013 11:00 AM Legislative Plaza 6th Ave and Union. 

We will be on the plaza.  Join us as we pass out million dollar bills to the downtown Nashville lunch crowd as part of a Tax day educational event. Feel free to bring signs. Call us at [masked] if you have questions or cannot find us. We will stay downtown for several hours. (link)

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Jim Tracy raises $450K, Joe Carr $200K in primary campaign against DesJarlais

Tennessee: DesJarlais Primary Opponent Raises $450000 in First Quarter 

Jim Tracy, a Tennessee state senator challenging scandal-plagued GOP Rep. Scott DesJarlais in the primary, will announce Monday that he raised almost $450,000 in the first quarter of the year, according to fundraising figures provided exclusively to CQ (Read More)

Joe Carr raises over $200K in bid for 4th District race.

The Chattanoogan.com, April 09, 2013- State Rep. Joe Carr announced Tuesday that his Exploratory Committee for Congress raised over $200,000 in his effort to become Tennessee’s next Congressman from the 4th District.(read more)

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