U.S. national debt soars in 2023; per-taxpayer burden reaches $100,000

By Casey Harper, The Center Square, Dec.26, 2023- The U.S. national debt continued to soar in 2023, surpassing $33 trillion.

It's still rising rapidly.

The U.S. Treasury Department estimates the national debt at $33.87 trillion, but the deficit figures for December could put the figure over $34 trillion.

For fiscal year 2023, which began on Oct. 1, 2022, and ended Sept. 30, 2023, the deficit rose about $1.7 trillion. The federal government spent $6.13 trillion while total revenue was only $4.44 trillion, according to the Treasury Department.

While the Treasury normally tracks the deficit by the fiscal year, a look at the monthly Treasury Department reports shows the federal government borrowed about $1.65 trillion this calendar year, not counting the unreleased data from December.

Deficits have spiked in recent years, topping a trillion dollars per year during the COVID-19 pandemic. While deficits have decreased from that peak, they still remain higher than before the pandemic began.

As The Center Square previously reported, the rough debt estimate and rough U.S. population estimate means every American would owe about $100,000 just to pay off the debt in full and not including ongoing operations of the federal government.

Interest payments on the national debt alone will soon be the biggest expense for the federal government. Several federal programs face insolvency in the coming decade, such as the trust funds for Medicare, Social Security and highway maintenance.

Federal projections show the national debt will be twice as large as the U.S. economy within 30 years.

“By the end of 2023, federal debt held by the public equals 98 percent of GDP,” the U.S. Congressional Budget Office said in July. “Debt then rises in relation to GDP: It surpasses its historical high in 2029, when it reaches 107 percent of GDP, and climbs to 181 percent of GDP by 2053.”

Experts did celebrate the passage of the Fiscal Responsibility Act, a bipartisan bill the president signed in June that cut spending over the next 10 years.

“In 2023, Congress and the President approved $1.3 trillion of ten-year deficit reduction – consisting of more than $1.6 trillion of savings and roughly $350 billion of costs,” the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget said in a statement. “This has been a monumental year for fiscal policy with the enactment of the bipartisan Fiscal Responsibility Act – the largest deficit reduction measure implemented in a dozen years.”

Despite the growing burden on taxpayers, the federal debt has not been a primary topic of debate among 2024 presidential candidates.

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Which School earned an "A" and which school earned and "F." Here is the grade earned by each school in Davidson County.

by Rod Williams, Dec. 23, 2023- This week the Tennessee Department of Education delivered its long awaited first letter score report on every public school in the state, except for a handful with insufficient data to be graded. 

I am pleased to see this information made available in this simple to understand format. Similar to how a classroom letter grades provide a snapshot of student learning, school letter grades allow one to see how well schools are serving students. One can hear from other parents or friends that a school is "excellent" or "pretty good," or "terrible:" this letter grade is not based on impressions but hard data. Thankfully, this score does not include factors like diversity or sports programs or nebulous social factors. This letter grade score rates the school's academics. It measures if students are learning.

To look behind the curtain and see the factors that go into the letter grade or to see the grades of all schools across the state, follow this link. 

There are 160 public schools in Nashville. Of that number there are 14 with an F grade and 13 with an A grade. Most fall in between. Our Nashville schools are worse than the state average but, if it is any consolation, we are not as bad as Memphis-Shelby County. Below is the list of all the schools in Davidson County and the grade given each school. For more news and analysis of the data see link, link, and link.

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Tennessee A-F letter grades are out: 1-in-4 schools could face action, audits

by Rachel Wegner, The Tennessean, Dec. 21, 2023- More than a quarter of Tennessee's public K-12 schools could face corrective action and audits from the state after receiving Ds or Fs under a new grading system.

Tennessee released letter grades for every public K-12 school in the state on Thursday, putting a law first passed in 2016 into effect. ... The grading system has stirred controversy since its inception. Advocates say letter grades are a simpler, more transparent way for parents to understand school performance. 

Opponents say the new system unfairly favors proficiency on standardized tests, instead of overall academic growth from year to year, making it harder for schools to earn As or Bs. Some have raised concerns that the grades will further stigmatize public schools, and others have pointed to the underfunding of those schools. (Read more)

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Metro Settles Claim, pays Nashville Rescue Mission and others $214K reimbursement for forcing public sidewalk construction.

by Rod Williams, Dec. 21, 2023- At this past Tuesday's Council meeting, the Metro Council passed aresolution settling the claims of the Nashville Rescue Mission and several others in an amount totaling of $213,966.13. The claim arose out of Nashville's sidewalk ordinance which forced property owners to build public sidewalks in front of their property when they substantially remodeled or developed their property. That policy, thanks to a lawsuit brought by The Beacon Center of Nashville, was ruled unconstitutional.  Nashville Rescue Mission got the largest reimbursement in the amount of $80,134.06. Metro Legal recommended the city settle the claims. 

Nashville Rescue Mission is the local agency doing more to serve the homeless than any other agency in town. It describes itself like this: Nashville Rescue Mission is a Christ-centered community committed to helping those who are hungry, hurting, and experiencing homelessness by providing programs and services that focus on a person’s entire life—physical, mental, spiritual, emotional, and social. Our goal is to restore the whole person through a Christian approach that helps someone experiencing homelessness or struggling with addiction learn how God loves them and gain the biblical insight they need to lead a productive life.

Nashville Rescue Mission is good stewards of the money they receive, and they get no government funding. Nashville Rescue Mission serves close to 1,600 meals a day to those who are hungry, hurting, and experiencing homelessness in the community. This includes three hot meals a day, 365 days a year. They house an average of 800 men, women, and children each night.  

$80,134.06 will buy a lot of hot meals. 

If you are someone you know were forced to build a sidewalk, you may be eligible for reimbursement. To file for reimbursement, follow this link. 

If you are feeling charitable this holiday season, I can think of no organization more deserving of support than the Nashville Rescue Mission. 

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Nashville’s Real GDP Growth Ranks 2nd Highest in the US

From the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce, Dec. 21, 2023- Recently, the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce released data on GDP growth in the Middle Tennessee Economy. This blog post explores these findings in greater detail.

The bureau of economic analysis (BEA) released figures for GDP at the metro and county level December 7th for 2022. GDP or gross domestic product is the value of the output of the goods and services produced by an economy. It’s an important indicator into how the economy is performing and is especially relevant given the rise in interest rates in recent months.

The chart above shows how the economy has performed in the last few years. GDP shrunk in 2020 due the economic shutdown brought by the pandemic and has quickly recovered.

Nashville’s economy was not as impacted by the pandemic-induced recession as much as the nation. A major strength of Nashville’s economy is its diversity which means that the impacts of national recessions are softened in the Nashville region. Recessions are shallower in Nashville and the local economy recovers relatively quickly. The evidence for this ability to absorb recessions is in the next chart.

Real GDP Growth 2021 - 2022
GDP Change from 2021 to 2022 adjusted for inflation
Top 50 Metros with at least 1M in population

How does Nashville’s GDP growth rank?

Looking at gross GDP, Nashville ranks 6th highest growth rate from 2021 – 2022. However, when we adjust for inflation, Nashville ranks 2nd highest in the country with metros with at least 1M in population. (Read more)

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What's on the Council agenda for Dec. 19th.

by Rod Williams, Dec. 19, 2023-  Below is the email newsletter report on the Council agenda provided by Rae Keohane. Rae is a local active Republican.  She reads and studies each Metro Council agenda and shares her opinion on items of interest and shares her email to those on an email distribution list. Having done this myself in the past, I know how time consuming this can be. If you would like to be included on Rae's email distribution list, contact her at raekeo@aol.com. In addition to her reporting on the Council, Rae is a facilitator of the Nashville Conservatives breakfast group. 

Hello BRANDON AND ALL COUNCIL MEMBERS

 MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A HAPPY AND HEALTHY NEW YEAR TO ALL !

  

Since you will be voting on several matters of concern below is my opinion and questions about some matters before you tonight. 

I would appreciate some responses to my questions.

I spend a few hours on this each meeting I would appreciate a response to my questions.

I and many others will be WATCHING you all on TV! 

 

RS2023-131 I SUPPORT With one question do we have data on how many people have been gainfully employed by participating in this program?   A resolution authorizing the Metropolitan Mayor to execute an Interlocal Agreement for the Northern Middle Tennessee Local Workforce Development Area in accordance with the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act.

RS2023-132 I SUPPORT A resolution authorizing the Metropolitan Department of Water and Sewerage Services to transfer control of two parcels of property to the Metropolitan Government.

RS2023-133 I SUPPORT A resolution amending Ordinance No. BL2023-1690, as amended, to provide a stormwater capacity fee appeal process and to amend the applicability of the new section 15.64.035 of the Metropolitan Code.

RS2023-141 If I am reading this correctly, we are paying $6 million for a 5 year contract to service copier, printers and other office machines. Has anyone done an analysis of how many times each machine has to be serviced? Has anyone provided and analyzed how many machines this covers? This data could then be compared to whether or not this is a good deal for the TAXPAYERS! This is the kind of analysis my department had to do as part of operations in my former company.  A resolution approving a contract between the Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County and RJ Young Company LLC, to provide multifunction devices, copiers, printers, related devices and services for Metro General Services Department.

RS2023-142 I missed the cost of this agreement it is not in the analysis? A resolution accepting the terms of a cooperative purchasing master agreement for mailing equipment, supplies and maintenance services for the General Services Department.

RS2023-143 I SUPPORT A resolution accepting a grant from the Friends of Metro Animal Care and Control to the Metropolitan Government, acting by and through the Metropolitan Board of Health, to provide funding for emergency medical care for shelter animals and the Pet Pantry, a component of the Safety Net Program.

RS2023-144-145-146-147-148-155 I SUPPORT A resolution approving amendments three and four to a grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to the Metropolitan Government, acting by and through the Metropolitan Board of Health, to provide for the prevention, surveillance, diagnosis, and treatment of HIV/AIDS and to administer a Minority AIDS Initiative program.

RS2023-xxx( Evans) I ABSOLUTELY SUPPORT!  A resolution authorizing the waiver of certain permit fees for the repair or rebuilding of property damaged as a result of the December 9, 2023 tornado.

BL2023-81 ANOTHER SOLE SOURCE CONTRACT?? $25 MILLION for 5 years are you serious?  I see commercials for security/hosting systems for commercial and personal all the time.  PC MATIC IS AN AMERICAN COMPANY WHICH provides these services has anyone investigated this option?  I mean it is not like the company that does this needs to be in Nashville or even Tennessee!  An ordinance approving a sole source contract between the Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County and Carahsoft Technology Corporation, to provide hosting and security services for Nashville.gov, and licensing and support services for departmental systems.

BL2023-1 ANOTHER $10 MILLION FOR 5 YEARS I am STILL not sure why this is a sole source contract there are many companies who provide these services and I am sure some of those companies are in TENNESSEE. Maybe you can ask these folks to make it easier to search for past legislation on the website. An ordinance approving the contract between the Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County (“Metro”) and Net Tango, Inc., to provide website maintenance and development support for Metro’s website, Nashville.gov, and for other Metro governmental agency or department websites, as needed, and which will replace the expiring contract between the parties (contract number 432814). 

BL2023-60 I SUPPORT.  An ordinance to amend Title 17 of the Metropolitan Code of Laws, the Zoning Ordinance of The Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County, by changing from RS5 to R6 zoning for property located at 2400 Buchanan Street, at the northwest corner of 24th Avenue North and Buchanan Street and located within a Contextual Overlay District (0.26 acres), all of which is described herein (Proposal No. 2023Z-077PR-001).

BL2023-70 I SUPPORT!  An ordinance to amend Section 13.08.040 of the Metropolitan Code of Laws related to the offering of merchandise for sale on or near public property.

Just in this agenda you are spending $41 MILLION TAXPAYER DOLLARS in SOLE SOURCE CONTRACTS FOR the next 5 YEARS.  And that is without counting the $47 million for NES TO CHANGE LIGHTBULBS!   You know a million here a million there and it adds up to real money!

 

I renew my objection to the NES I am absolutely furious over this $47 million contract how many years will it take to recoup so-called SAVINGS by changing to LED bulbs?????????????????

 This should not have been approved and I think I brought that up when the matter was before you all earlier this year and what did I get CRICKETS not one of you responded.

 Nashville has a SPENDING problem and a management problem not a too little tax problem.

 

As always thanks for your time and attention.

Rae

Below is the report on the Council agenda as published in the Pamphleteer. 

❍ LAST METRO COUNCIL MEETING OF THE YEAR

Tonight’s meeting will kick off with a few appointments and reappointments: William H. Freeman is set to remain a board member of the Airport Authority amidst ongoing legal battles. Meanwhile, John P. Nefflen, a litigation attorney and former musician, is up for appointment to the Arts Commission, where he’ll hopefully do something about the missing grants. Another notable appointee on the list is a former council member and current associate director at BMI, Jeff Syracuse: if approved, he’ll be a part of the new Music, Film, and Entertainment Commission.

THUMBING THROUGH THE  DOCKET 

Another payout just shy of a quarter million dollars to cover a few more claims regarding the unconstitutional sidewalk bill, will be on the agenda tonight, as well as the usual affordable housing-related legislation alongside lengthy discussions regarding HIV/AIDS funding and Metro water/sewer use fees.

Other notable items include a bill concerning the Central East Bank Redevelopment Area’s sewage infrastructure, a resolution to integrate an Adaptive Signal System downtown to address traffic congestion, and a late-filed resolution waiving permit fees for those rebuilding damaged property in light of last week’s tornadoes.

LED NO-BID AGREEMENT CONTROVERSY 

Lastly, the Nashville Electric Service may make an appearance tonight; yesterday, representatives from the utility provider dropped into multiple committee meetings to address the Tennessee Lookout’s recent article about their no-bid contract with Memphis-based Path for the installation of 55,000 LED streetlights.

During yesterday’s Transportation & Infrastructure Committee meeting, Vice President of T&D operations at NES, Vaughan Charles, defended their decision. Charles explained that had NES introduced a bidding process, it may have delayed the city’s transition to LEDs by up to two and a half years.

“NES had done our very best job at trying to figure out what we think this cost was going to be if NES were to perform this work ourselves,” said Charles. “So between having this vendor who had demonstrated their capabilities, and their ability to complete this project, their estimates were 10 percent less than what NES had had.”

Not only did representatives defend their no-bid decision with Path, they explained how converting sooner will result in safer streets because smart LED lamps are brighter and alert NES when they go out—something the current fixtures don’t do.

NDOT Director Diana Alarcon also clarified that the sooner LEDs replace the current high sodium lighting used, the sooner the energy prices to illuminate Music City will go down. “There's probably roughly 60 percent savings once you convert from an HPS light fixture,” added Joey Streisal, Sr. Associate Engineer with NES.

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Republicans, Rape, Moms for Liberty, and Threesomes

by Rod Williams, Dec. 17, 2023- What a mess is going on in Florida. The Florida Republican Party State Chairman, Christian Ziegler, has been accused of raping a woman who claims to have been involved in a long-term threesome relationship with Christian Ziegler and his wife Bridget Ziegler.  That is bad. It gets worse.

Bridget Ziegler is co-founder of Moms for Liberty. Moms for Liberty, if you are not familiar with the organization, is a group that focuses on removing books they consider inappropriate from school curriculum and school libraries and resisting the teaching of Critical Race Theory inspired ideology and promotion of what they see as the gay agenda.

I am unsure of how I feel about the organization. I have mixed views. I don't think school classrooms should fly the Pride rainbow flag and teach that Heather Has Two Mommies. Some of the books Moms have exposed and opposed are age inappropriate, in my view. On the other hand, some of what Moms would eliminate from school libraries should not be removed. Where the Crawdads Sing should be available. Kids with the interest and reading skills to read it can handle the material. Also, some of the Moms supporters have been rowdy and disruptive at school board meetings. In any event, the organization is viewed as supporters of morality and family values pushing back against an immoral education system. 

Bridget Ziegler also serves on the Sarasota’s school board, a position she won with Gov. DeSantis's endorsement. She is also serves on the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District that governs Walt Disney World. This is a position she was appointed to by DeSantis after he went after Disney World for opposing his so-called "Don't say gay" bill which prevented schools from teaching about homosexuality in the lower grades. 

This is messy. It could impact DeSantis's faltering run for the Republican presidential nomination, ruin the reputation and the influence of Mons for Liberty, and hurt the conservative cause nationally.

This is all titillation and interesting but sad. I am pretty tolerant of people's private sexual practices. I don't much care what one does in private, I just prefer they not try to force others to approve. What I don't like is hypocrisy.  I feel much the way I felt when I learned Jimmy Swagart frequented prostitutes. People with their own perversions should not be preaching morality. 

This just drives another nail in the coffin of the Republican Party and the conservative movement. The Republican Party has become the party of America First isolationist and making nice with dictators, the party of conspiracy theories, the party that supports subverting the constitution, the rule of law and the peaceful transfer of power, the party of con men, charlatans, opportunist, crooks, liars, and carnival barker showmen. Maybe it is good this is happening. Maybe all of the ugly needs to come out now, so the party will have a hard landing and can then be revived as the traditional pre-Trump Party Republican Party or maybe a new Party will emerge to replace the Republican. 

For more on the mess in Florida see link, link, link.

 

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The Transgender Day of Remembrance was pure Culture War Propaganda

by Rod Williams, Dec. 16, 2023- Last month the Metro Council passed a resolution recognizing November 20th as Transgender Day of Remembrance. The resolution not only passed with all in favor except for one member not voting, 39 of the 40 members co-sponsored the resolution. 

Among the "whereas's" justifying the resolution are these:

 WHEREAS, the Metropolitan Council recognizes that transgender members of our society are disproportionately affected by hate crimes and violence, and experience myriad challenges in their daily lives, including discrimination, disproportionately high levels of unemployment, and limited access to health care; and

WHEREAS, in 2019 the American Medical Association declared violence against the transgender community to be an epidemic; and

WHEREAS, the Human Rights Campaign reports that in 2023, there have been at least 25 transgender or gender nonconforming people fatally shot or killed by other violent means in the United States; and

WHEREAS, at least 74% of known victims of anti-transgender violence in 2017-2018 were misgendered in initial police or media reports surrounding their deaths; and

National Review, Jan. 2024, p6

What about that violence against transgender people being "an epidemic" and trans people being "disproportionately affected by hate crimes and violence?"  National Review reports that 1.6 million people identify as trans. With 26 trans people killed last year, that is a rate of .9 per 100,000. That is unfortunate but hardly an epidemic.  I don't know how many homeless people met a violent death last year, but the rate was probably greater than .9 per 100,000.  The rate of left-handed people who met a violent death last year may have been greater than .9 per 100,000.

Also, not all of those trans people who met a violent death, were necessarily innocent victims. As an example, don't forget the Covenant School shooter was a trans person who met a violent death. Several may have been the aggressor not the victim in violent encounters. 

As to trans people being "misgendered," that is non-sense. Gender is determined by biological sex. Gender is what you are, not what you think you are. If gender and sex or not the same and if gender is all in your head and you are the gender you choose to be, after you are deceased you have no thought in your head. After you are dead the police cannot ask you your gender.  Police may have a hard time determining if someone is a cross-dressing male or a male-to-female trans. And what about the "gender fluid," the police may not know what gender the person was feeling like on that particular day. Transgender may be descriptive but is not a sex. Maybe the police report has a box for "sex," not a box for "gender."  To misgender would be to call a person with a penis a female. 

RS2023-99, was pure propaganda. Here is how the Council voted: 

The resolution was approved by the Rules, Confirmations, and Public Elections Committee. Council Member Hill moved to adopt the resolution and that all members voting in the affirmative be listed as a cosponsor, which motion was seconded and approved by the following vote: Yes (39): Suara, Porterfield, Evans-Segall, Allen, Hill, Kimbrough, Toombs, Gamble, Cortese, Parker, Capp, Benedict, Harrell, Hancock, Webb, Evans, Bradford, Huffman, Gregg, Welsch, Vo, Cash, Kupin, Horton, Taylor, Weiner, Druffel, Gadd, Preptit, Johnston, Nash, Benton, Ellis, Sepulveda, Rutherford, Styles, Lee, Ewing, and Spain; No (0); Abstain (0).

You will note that the only member not to be recorded as voting for and sponsoring the resolution is Jeff Eslick. I commend him.   It should be noted, however, that not voting is not the same as abstaining. Abstaining is a conscious decision not to vote on an item and being recorded as doing so.  Simply not voting may mean the council member was distracted, not present for the meeting or that part of the meeting, had gone to the bathroom, or was sitting on his hands.

I am disappointed in people that I think of as conservatives for voting for this piece of propaganda, people like Cortney Johnson and Thom Druffel, and I am not too surprised but disappointed in Sherri Weiner and a couple of others. It is time the few conservatives on the Council started voting like conservatives. 

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Tennessee should pass a property tax cap

 From The Beacon Center Pork Report, Dec. 16, 2023- Tennessee gets a lot of things right, but when it comes to property taxes, the state has few friends to bond with. Tennessee is one of only four states that does not have some form of property tax cap to protect taxpayers, along with Hawaii, New Hampshire, and Vermont. We have all felt the pressures of inflation, but residents across Tennessee face the burden of huge increases in their property tax bill because there is no limit on how high local governments can go when it comes to raising property taxes. Just this year Rutherford County saw property tax rates go up 16 percent, Greene County saw a 30 percent increase, and Lincoln County a 37 percent increase. In Red Bank, just outside of Chattanooga, residents were dealt a whopping 52 percent tax hike.

These are just a few examples of property tax increases taking place this year. All across the state, local governments, both rural and urban, are passing massive property tax hikes instead of getting their financial health in order. Even small increases tied with sky-high assessments leave residents with less of their hard-earned dollars. Since Tennesseans are not afforded the same protections offered in 46 other states, these tax hikes are likely to continue, year after year. No one likes the tax man, but in almost every other state, residents know what to reasonably expect when the bill comes. But in Tennessee, this bill knows no limit.

SOLUTION: Despite fiscal conservatism and low taxes at the state level, Tennessee residents have felt few of these benefits when local governments pass massive tax increases. Policymakers should afford Tennesseans the same protections offered to residents in 46 other states by passing some form of property tax cap.

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Beacon Center releases 2023 Pork Report

by Rod Williams, Dec. 13, 2023- Today, the Beacon Center released its annual Pork Report, showcasing the most offensive examples of wasteful spending across the state of Tennessee. Examples in this year’s report range from the city of Knoxville’s expensive attempt to skirt open records laws to the state’s $200 million handout to the Tennessee Performing Arts Center.

Other 2023 Pork Report entries included:

• The nearly $5 million taxpayer subsidy given by the state of Tennessee, the city of Franklin, and Williamson County to benefit the California burger chain In-N-Out’s move to Tennessee.
• The large property tax increases in counties such as Rutherford, Greene, and Lincoln instead of getting their fiscal house in order.
• Memphis giving out over $1 million to yet another failing TV show on the verge of cancelation.

From Jackson buying an abandoned strip mall to the city of Bristol (Tennessee) paying $5 million to move a summer league baseball team’s stadium a few miles away, there is plenty of waste featured in this report. 

To view the report, follow this link. 

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Megan Barry's Announcement of her Candidacy Challenging Mark Green is not being Greeted with Enthusiasm.

by Rod Williams, Dec. 13, 2023- I would have thought the Nashville Scene would have had a fawning, upbeat piece about Megan Barry's announcement that she was challenging Mark Green for his seventh congressional district seat. I expected The Scene to be a cheerleader. Instead, its reporting is kind of down in the mouth and less than exciting. In fact, it is very critical of Barry. Betsy Smith who wrote the Scene article about Barry's announcement (Is a Megan Barry Candidacy Really a Good Idea?)  is realistic about Barry's chances and not shy about reviving the story of her criminal and embarrassing conduct that caused her to resign as mayor of Nashville. I am not going to speculate about the reason for the tone, maybe it is just an honest expression of how the people at the Scene feel.  Maybe they feel Barry betrayed them by putting her affair ahead of the city and the progressive cause. Here are some excerpts from the story: 

As far as I can tell, Nashville Democrats are excited. Former Democratic Party chair Mary Mancini tweeted that she’s “thrilled.” Other people I love and respect seem to share this opinion.

Am I on drugs? Did I slip into an alternate universe? Megan Barry pleaded guilty to a felony — stealing taxpayer money. Yes, she completed the terms of her deal and the felony has been expunged. That’s great for her, but we still know it.

You will notice that she says Mary Mancini, the former Tennessee Democratic Party chair is "thrilled."  The Scene piece does not report it, but the current Davidson County Democrat Party chair seems less than thrilled. Not by what he has said, but he sent out a fundraiser letter that did not even mention Barry's announcement and instead linked to a Axios Nashville article that had a less than glowing article about Barry's announcement. Here are excerpts from the Axios piece with the downer tone elements of the article highlighted. 

Former Nashville Mayor Megan Barry launched an underdog bid for Congress on Wednesday against incumbent Republican U.S. Rep. Mark Green in Tennessee's 7th district.

Why it matters: In Barry, Democrats have a skilled politician with excellent name recognition to rally behind, although she also has baggage related to her shocking 2018 resignation.

In addition to a large portion of Davidson County, the district stretches from the Kentucky border down to Alabama.

Between the lines: Barry will look to revive her political career, which was knocked off course when she resigned from office following the revelation of an affair with the head of her security detail.

 Back to the Scene piece, Betsy Phillips says Barry betrayed women:

 Megan Barry, Girl Boss, is a great unofficial slogan until you stop to think of the ways she screwed women over in order to carry on the activities that led to her stealing taxpayer money. The women on her security detail who couldn’t get overtime or the opportunity to travel with her because she was giving all that time and resources to her lover? The wife of her lover? To hell with them, I guess?

That is strong criticism. I found this interesting:

A couple of folks have asked me how I think Mark Green will respond to this. I hope for Barry's sake he just ignores her. Because if he gives an intern 20 minutes and asks them to report back on everything they find after Googling “Megan Barry gossip,” he’s going to have a treasure trove of negatives and no reason to be polite or discreet about them. 

A couple of folks have asked me how I think Mark Green will respond to this. I hope for Barry's sake he just ignores her. Because if he gives an intern 20 minutes and asks them to report back on everything they find after Googling “Megan Barry gossip,” he’s going to have a treasure trove of negatives and no reason to be polite or discreet about them. 

I have not googled "Megan Barry gossip," but what we know is bad enough but apparently there is a lot more that is "gossip" and worse than what we know.

With friends like The Scene and the Nashville Democrat Party and Axios Nashville, Megan Barry is going nowhere.  

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What Would a Second Trump Term Look Like?

by Rod Williams, Dec. 11, 2024- If you have not drank the Trump Kool-Aid and are not concerned about the dangers of a Trump second term, you are not paying attention.  A Trump second term will be much different than Trump's first term. I was relatively pleased with the Trump policies of his first term and certainly pleased with his Supreme Court picks.  I did not vote for Trump in 2016 but did in 2020. While I disliked the chaos, and mean tweets, and hateful rhetoric, Trump governed pretty much like a Republican. It was not until his attempted coup that I really soured on Trump.

In Trump's first term, there was no deep field of experienced Trump supporters from which to choose for key positions in the admirations. He had to rely on traditional Republicans for White House staff and cabinet level positions.  These were people who believed in the rule of law.  He was surrounded by people like Jeff Sessions and William Barr, who would tell the president, "We can't do that." "It's not legal."  Also, there were advisors who would explain to the president that it would actually be dangerous to pull troops out of South Korea and Germany. Trump had people around him who would provide wise counsel and people who would moderate his worst impulses.

In his second term, Trump will surround himself with nothing but loyalist and yes men. Trump respects nothing but loyalty.  He has even turned against his picks for the Supreme Court because they ruled against him in one of his challenges to the 2020 election. He has also turned against The Federalist Society. 

We cannot expect a Mike Pense who will stand up to the president and refuse to help him overturn the results of an election, in a second Trump term.  We can expect people like Roger Stone and Steve Bannon to fill critical positions.  When running for president in 2016, Trump told people he would be their voice; now he says he will be their retribution.  

I urge you to watch the above video. Bill Krystal interviews Jonathan Karl, the author of Tired of Winning. Krystal was the founder and of the political conservative magazine The Weekly Standard and is now editor-at-large of the conservative on-line publication The Bulwark. Over the years he has worked for several conservative think tanks. 

Jonathan Karl has known Donald Trump since his days as a New York Post reporter in the 1990s, and he covered every day of Trump’s administration as ABC News’s chief White House correspondent. Karl makes the case that from his exile in Mar-a-Lago, Donald Trump has become more extreme, vengeful, and divorced from reality than he was on January 6, 2021.

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