David Keene, former NRA Chair & ACU founder says Lamar has never wavered in upholding fundamental conservative beliefs

From David Keene:

February 4, 2014

Dear Rod,

As the former Chairman of the American Conservative Union and the past President of the National Rifle Association I have had the great fortune to work with leaders across our nation committed to defending our conservative values.

Each year it seems like everyone in Washington creates a scorecard picking a few votes to illustrate and judge the records of our elected officials. If I were making a scorecard for Lamar Alexander, I would start with his 'A' rating from the NRA, his 100 percent rating with National Right to Life, and his 100 percent rating with the United States Chamber of Commerce.

Review his record here - you'll see that Lamar has never wavered in upholding the fundamental conservative belief that a limited government closest to the people is the most effective form of government.

Many so-called conservatives come to Washington D.C. and forget that. They start to think that decisions are best made from the seat where they are sitting. Lamar's time as Governor gives him a conservative and results-oriented perspective most lack in Washington. He applies his conservative principles to not just make a speech - but to actually get a result. This is what makes him one of the most effective legislators in the U.S. Senate.

I hope you'll take a minute to read more about his record here and decide for yourself the real scorecard for Lamar Alexander.

Sincerely,

David Keene
American Conservative Union, Founder &  Former Chairman
National Rifle Association, Chairman Emeritus

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Haslam Unveils Visionary 'Tennessee Promise'

NASHVILLE, Press Release  – During his fourth annual State of the State address before the General Assembly, Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam tonight introduced the “Tennessee Promise.”

The historic proposal commits to providing on a continuing basis two years of community college or a college of applied technology (TCAT) absolutely free of tuition and fees to graduating high school seniors.

“Through the Tennessee Promise, we are fighting the rising cost of higher education, and we are raising our expectations as a state,” Haslam said.  “We are committed to making a clear statement to families that education beyond high school is a priority in the state of Tennessee.”

After graduating from a community college, if students choose to attend a four-year school, the state’s transfer pathways program makes it possible for those students to start as a junior.  By getting their first two years free, the cost of a four-year degree would be cut in half.

“This is a bold promise,” Haslam continued. “It is a promise that will speak volumes to current and prospective employers.  It is a promise that will make a real difference for generations of Tennesseans, and it is a promise that we have the ability to make.  Net cost to the state, zero.  Net impact on our future, priceless.”

To make the Tennessee Promise sustainable over time, the governor proposed transferring lottery reserve funds to create an endowment, with the goal of strategically redirecting existing resources.  He recommended leaving $110 million in the lottery reserve fund to ensure there is a healthy balance moving forward.

The Tennessee Promise is part of Haslam’s “Drive to 55” initiative aimed at increasing the number of Tennesseans with a certificate or degree beyond high school.  In 11 years, 55 percent of Tennesseans will need a certificate or degree to get a job, but today, only 32 percent of Tennesseans qualify.

Other Drive to 55 efforts this year include:

• Statewide expansion of the Seamless Alignment of Integrated Learning (SAILS) program to eliminate the need for remedial math courses for students entering college with $2.6 million in the proposed budget.  Currently, 70 percent of high school graduates need remedial classes before they are able to take a college level course.
• Offering one dual enrollment course to high school students at no cost with discounted courses available after that.  Dual enrollment allows high school students to take college credit courses, and there is a 94 percent probability that those students will go on to college.
• Expansion of the Degree Compass program that predicts the subjects and majors in which students will be most successful with $300,000 in the proposed budget.  The program was pioneered at Austin Peay University and is modeled after companies like Netflix, Amazon and Pandora that tailor their recommendations to what their customers are looking for.
• Creation of an Adult Student Data System to help state colleges and universities – both public and private – do a better job of identifying and recruiting adults that are most likely to return to college and complete their degree with $300,000 in the proposed budget.  There are nearly one million Tennesseans that have some college credit but haven’t earned a certificate or degree.
• Appointment of a new Director of Workforce Alignment that will work with state departments and local officials.
• Workforce alignment grants to local communities that have strategic plans in place to connect education institutions with employers with a focus on closing the skills gaps in their area with $10 million in the proposed budget.
• Changing the Tennessee Education Lottery Scholarship allotment to incentivize completion by raising the scholarship for two-year schools from $2,000 to $3,000 and shifting the scholarship for four-year schools from $4,000 to $3,000 the first two years and $5,000 the last two years.

As part of the address, the governor also discussed his budget proposal for FY 2014-2015.  “This year’s budget is a conservative one,” Haslam said.  “Revenue collections over the past several months have not met projections, and our budget reflects that reality…In Tennessee, education is a top priority, and this budget reflects that.”

Highlights of capital investments to support higher education include:

• $13 million to fund the Complete College Outcomes Formula;
• $63 million to fund capital maintenance projects at institutions across the state;
• $36.7 million to fund a new Williamson County campus for Columbia State Community College;
• $28.7 million to fund a new classroom building at Volunteer State Community College.

Notable K-12 investments include:

• $63 million to increase teacher salaries as part of the governor’s ongoing effort to make Tennessee the fastest improving state in terms of paying teachers more;
• $48.6 million dollars to fully fund the BEP formula.

Other budget highlights include:

• $1.7 million to fund a new statewide residential drug court in Middle Tennessee;
• $6.4 million to fund new child protective services and case manager positions as well as other critical children’s services including foster care and adoption assistance;
• $7 million increase for the Department of Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities to care for some of the state’s most vulnerable citizens;
• A one percent pay raise for state employees;
• $40.3 million to the Rainy Day Fund bringing it to $496 million on June 30, 2015;
• $61 million in Fast Track Infrastructure and Job Training assistance;
• $6 million for a statewide tourism fund to support the work of the tourism commission.
The complete text of the governor’s speech and an archived video of his speech will be available at www.tn.gov/stateofthestate.

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Tracy out raises DesJarlais by more than 8 to 1

Tennessee GOP Rep. Scott DesJarlais only brought in $18,000, a small fraction of the $146,000 his primary challenger Jim Tracy raised. (link)

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State SenatorJim Tracy and State Rep. Mike Sparks awarded ACU 'Defender of Liberty' award

Rep. Mike Sparks & Sen. Jim Tracy

February 3, 2014, WGNS Radio - The American Conservative Union (ACU), the nation’s oldest and largest grassroots conservative organization, this week announced State Representative Mike Sparks (R–Smyrna) and State Senator Jim Tracy (R–Shelbyville) have been awarded the A-C-U ‘Defender of Liberty’ award. Both legislators represent a portion of Rutherford County in the Tennessee General Assembly. (link)

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Beacon Center Calls for End to Hall Income Tax in Tennessee

NASHVILLE – The Beacon Center of Tennessee today released "Our State, Our Future," a publication in the Faces of Freedom series that focuses on the harmful impact Tennessee's investment income tax has on the lives of Tennesseans. The Hall Income Tax empowers the Tennessee General Assembly to "levy a tax on incomes derived from stocks and bonds." For Tennessee residents, this is a punitive tax that penalizes sound financial planning, subjects individuals to double taxation, hamstrings retirees, and is a blight upon a state that's built a reputation as an income tax-free haven.

"We made sure to save throughout our careers...we were never so 'well-to-do' that we didn't have to be concerned about our future, or our children's futures," explains Jon and Linda Freeman—a retiree couple from Coldwater featured in "Our State, Our Future." Jon and Linda made responsible choices with their finances in the hopes of securing a sustainable retirement, but were unaware of the Hall Income Tax when they made the decision to relocate to Tennessee from Alabama. Now, the couple struggles with the six percent tax on their total fixed yearly income since the Hall Income Tax is not marginal—meaning that earning just one dollar above the $59,000 exemption level means their entire income is subjected to the hefty tax.

Nicholas Holland, also featured in "Our State, Our Future", is a young entrepreneur from Nashville who also faces the harsh reality of Tennessee's income tax secret. Nicholas is now reluctant to draw income from his investments that would allow him to grow and expand his business. "The Hall Income Tax is...an income tax of the worst kind: it punitively punishes a segment of our population, namely the elderly, who have taken risks...and hope to see their risks pay off," Holland asserts.

The Beacon Center believes that the time has come to end this antiquated tax law and invite more people like Nicholas and the Freemans to make Tennessee their home. "Eliminating the Hall Income Tax would mean a sacrifice of less than two percent of Tennessee's total annual revenue, but would have a significant impact on the lives of Tennesseans who depend upon their frugal investments to sustain them in the years ahead," suggests Lindsay Boyd, Policy Director at the Beacon Center and author of the new report. "By taking this simple step, our legislators can encourage entrepreneurial and economic growth by attracting more small businessmen and families to the state, effectively cementing Tennessee's claim as one of the tax-friendliest states in the nation."

See the full Faces of Freedom publication, "Our State, Our Future" here.

The Beacon Center of Tennessee's mission is to change lives through public policy by advancing the principles of free markets, individual liberty, and limited government. The Center is an independent, nonprofit, and nonpartisan research and public policy organization dedicated to providing timely solutions to public policy issues in Tennessee.

Faces of Freedom is a Beacon Center series to educate Tennesseans about the barriers to prosperity brought about by poor public policy. By providing real-life stories of real-life citizens, Tennesseans can better understand the impact public policy has on their lives.

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Gov. Haslam's State of the State Address. Free Tuition for any graduating Senior

NASHVILLE, TENN. — Republican Gov. Bill Haslam has vowed to make education a priority in Tennessee and he backed that up with a pledge Monday to allow any graduating high school senior to attend a two-year higher learning institution for free. (link)

He lays out details of his $32.6 billion proposal budget and lays out his top legislative priorities for the year.  He proposes to  add $47 million into the state’s Basic Education Program formula funding.

Excerpts from the speech:

Working with the General Assembly, we have kept taxes low. We have the lowest debt in the country. We’ve done that while at the same time nearly doubling the state’s savings account.

Since we took office, we are one of only six states in the country that has consistently increased state spending on K-12 education as a percentage of our total budget. Since 2011, we’ve had the fourth largest increase in education spending compared to the rest of the country. 

Tennessee is ranked the third best managed state in the nation.

We’re the first state in the nation to make support services available to 100 percent of our former foster youth as they transition to adulthood.

We lead the Southeast in manufacturing.

To read the full text of the Governor's address, follow this link.
To view the video, follow this link. 

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Sumner United for Responsible Government to screen "Agenda."

Sumner United for Responsible Government will feature a screening of "AGENDA: Grinding America Down" a their Thursday, Feb.6th meeting. For 2014 Sumner United will meet the First Thursday of each month, 6:30pm, at the Hendersonville VFW on Old Shackle Island Rd. For more information, follow this link.

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Women do not make 77 cents to every dollar a man earns

It’s the bogus statistic that won’t die—and president deployed it during the State of the Union—but women do not make 77 cents to every dollar a man earns.

 

President Obama repeated the spurious gender wage gap statistic in his State of the Union address. “Today,” he said, “women make up about half our workforce. But they still make 77 cents for every dollar a man earns. That is wrong, and in 2014, it’s an embarrassment.”

What is wrong and embarrassing is the President of the United States reciting a massively discredited factoid. The 23-cent gender pay gap is simply the difference between the average earnings of all men and women working full-time. It does not account for differences in occupations, positions, education, job tenure, or hours worked per week. When all these relevant factors are taken into consideration, the wage gap narrows to about five cents. (link)

My Comment: Please read the above article. This claim that women make 77 cents to every dollar a man makes is repeated so often that most people probably believe it, yet as this article documents, if all other factors that are readily measurable are held constant the difference is only 5 cents. The other 5 cents is probably not due to discrimination but to factors that are not readily measurable.

Certainly there are women who are as devoted to their careers as men and work just as hard as men and are just as aggressive and competitive as men, but many women live a more balanced life than men and do not make their career the most important thing in their life.  When it comes to volunteering to work late, I would bet men do it more than women.  Men are more aggressive in seeking opportunities to advance their career. Men are generally greater risk takers and more competitive than women.

Women remain the primary care-giver of children, women generally care more about planning family holidays than men and women generally care more that the laundry is done and the house is clean.   When a child is sick, it is most often the mother who will take a day off from work to stay home with a sick child. If it was left up to men, we probably would have dirtier homes and lose contract with extended family. Some women will say, "well it shouldn't be that way. Men should pitch in and share the home and family responsibilities as much as women do."  Maybe they should, but I believe that women are by nature more nurturing and more relationship oriented. Mothers worry more about their sick children than men and are more sensitive to the needs of their children.  Certainly there are exceptions but I think it is undeniable that the maternal instinct is different than the paternal instinct.  Child birth and child rearing take a greater toll on the careers of women than men. If a person stays home to raise with child for the first two or three years of the child's life then they have lost those years advancing in their career.

Many women make less than men because they had different priorities and desires than men.  If they could afford it, I suspect many women would want to work even less and mother even more. Women should not feel less successful because they made different choices than their male counterparts. Raising good children is more important than making more money. Society should not feel shamed because the aggregate income of men and women are not the same. In 2014 it is not wrong and it is not an embarrassment.

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Just one Republican has filed for Davidson County judicial elections in May

Seventy qualifying petitions for judgeships and other positions have been picked up, and all but 19 have formally qualified to appear on the ballot. All but one of the candidates are Democrats. (link)

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Stop Amp. Attend the Public Meeting Monday, February 3rd .

From Stop Amp:

Attend the Public Meeting Monday,

 February 3rd — 5:30 p.m.

 Cohn Adult Learning Center (The Old Cohn High School) 

4805 Park Ave., Nashville, TN 37209

Councilwomen Emily Evans, Sheri Weiner and Burkley Allen asked the AMP Coalition for this extra meeting because of the overflow crowd at the last public meeting held at West End Middle School. This is another opportunity for you to speak your mind and oppose this project, make comments on the maps and on any paper work they provide. Tell them you will not ride it, a huge waste of taxpayer money and will make driving down West End a nightmare.

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Gibson Guitar creates new guitar line with confiscated wood called "The Government Series."

Gibson got their wood back and created a new line of guitars out of the confiscated wood, called "The Government Series." I like that. Read all about it: Gibson Guitar’s new line is a middle finger to Holder’s unjust Justice Department.

If you recall, in 2011 Federal armed swat teams descended on Gibson. That is astounding to send in armed swat teams when unarmed men in business suites could have done the same job. Many felt the raid was politically motivated due to Gibson's owner supporting conservative candidates. Martin Guitar used the same kind of wood from the same sources and was not raided. The Nashville conservative activist community rallied to the Gibson cause. To read more about it and recall the events, see my blog post on the issue at the time.

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William Guthoerl announces run to fill the 11th district council seat vacancy

William Guthoerl

Press release, OLD HICKORY, TN - William Guthoerl, a private security contractor and 2011 Metro Council candidate, has announced that he will run to fill the remaining term of resigning 11th district Councilman Darren Jernigan.

Guthoerl states that it's his intent to bring fiscally conservative representation to the council. "I want to ensure that we’re moving in the right direction financially and that taxpayer’s interests are protected long term. We have to look towards the future and how we’re going to fulfill debt service, pension obligations and operating costs and still keep Nashville an affordable place to live for future generations." He takes issue with the current administrations capital spending practices pointing out that more than $1 billion dollars has been spent on projects in Nashville’s core over the past six years.

He believes that this comes at the expense of infrastructure needs and improvements in the counties suburban areas, such as Old Hickory. "It's important economically that this district and the taxpayers are getting a return on their investment into the county. I think it's time to put the brakes on downtown capital spending and bring our suburban communities up to speed. Those investments are an essential part in making our community economically viable and encouraging business growth and job creation. I believe with the right vision, investments and proactive leadership we can continue to move this community forward."

Guthoerl also voices his disapproval of the AMP, Nashville's current $175 million mass transit project. "We have people in our community with real transportation needs such as getting to and from work, medical appointments and other daily tasks because of the very limited options of public transportation available to Old Hickory. It's disappointing that the administration feels that funding a project like this supersedes addressing the needs of our community. I’m also concerned with the amount spent this far on design and public relations. The federal and state funds proposed have yet to be awarded and I’m afraid that if this project continues to move forward Davidson County taxpayers might be stuck with the entire bill.”

Guthoerl says that he’s planning a grassroots effort so that he can get to know people in the district one on one and hear what their concerns and vision for the community are. 


My Comment: I am endorsing William Guthoerl.  We need people of this caliber in the Metro Council.

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