Trump’s vision has no place for “mutual good” or “mutual advantage.” To him, every trade has a winner and a loser. One side’s success is the other side’s defeat. “We don’t beat China in trade,” he complained in the first Republican presidential-primary debate of 2015. “We don’t beat Japan … We can’t beat Mexico.” His deepest policy grievance is against those foreigners who sell desirable goods and services at an attractive price to willing American buyers.

- David Frum, Marauding Nation, The Atlantic 

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TUESDAY NIGHT: MAKE YOUR VOICE HEARD (but it won't make a difference)

From The Davidson County Republican Party, June 17,2025-  

Metro Council is planning another property tax hike and time is running out to stop it.

If you live in Davidson County, this matters. Rising costs are already squeezing families, renters, and homeowners. Now they want even more.

� Nashville Metro Courthouse

� Tuesday, June 17

� Arrive by 6PM – Meeting starts at 6:30PM

We need every concerned citizen in that room. To show up. To speak up. To remind council members that they work for the people and NOT special interests.

� NO NEW TAXES

� SHOW UP. SPEAK OUT.

� FIGHT FOR YOUR FUTURE

Rod's Comment: I would like to see an outpouring of opposition to the proposed tax increase, but it would have to be massive to make a difference. It would have to be so big, that members of the Council would work around the clock to create a new budget.  

It is not simply a matter of persuading councilmembers to vote "no." The Council would have to develop and pass an alternative budget. If the Council does not pass a budget by June 30th, the mayor's budget becomes the city budget by default. Persuading a member of the Council to vote "no" on the budget is actually persuading them to cast a vote the effect of which is a vote for the mayor's budget. The only budget before the Council is the mayor's budget and the substitute budget developed by the Budget and Finance Committee. There is no chance one of those budgets will not be the budget of the city. The substitute budget could be tweaked and even have the price tag reduced, but it is highly unlikely to happen. 

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The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) 30-year Price Tag is Really Alarming

Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, June 16, 2025- The House-passed One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) would add $3 trillion to the debt through Fiscal Year (FY) 2034 as written and $5 trillion if made permanent. Over the long run, it would add far more to the debt.

We estimate that by FY 2054 the bill would:

• Increase debt by $15 trillion as written, or $31 trillion if made permanent.
• Increase debt to 172 percent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) as written, or 190 percent of GDP if made permanent.
• Increase deficits to 8.4 percent of GDP as written, or 9.6 percent of GDP if made permanent.
• Increase interest costs to 6.0 percent of GDP as written, or 6.6 percent of GDP if made permanent.

These estimates likely understate the fiscal impact of OBBBA, as they assume interest rates that are significantly lower than today’s levels and don’t account for OBBBA’s effects on growth and interest rates. Most modelers have found that after boosting near-term output, OBBBA would reduce long-term output and increase interest rates as a result of additional borrowing.

OBBBA Will Increase Long-Term Borrowing

According to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), the House-passed OBBBA would add roughly $3 trillion to the debt through 2034, including interest, boosting total deficits by 0.8 percent of GDP. Over 30 years, we estimate OBBBA would increase debt by over $15 trillion, boosting deficits by 1.0 percent of GDP.

Although new spending and tax cuts are smaller over the long run than in the early years, a number of offsets expire after 2034, while interest costs continue to accrue as a result of rising debt. We find the primary deficit impact of OBBBA would decline from a peak of 1.6 percent of GDP in 2027 to a low of 0.2 percent of GDP by 2031 before rising to 0.5 to 0.6 percent of GDP between 2035 and 2054. Interest costs will rise gradually to 0.6 percent of GDP by 2054. As a result, OBBBA as written would add about 1.2 percent of GDP to the deficit in 2054.

If temporary provisions in OBBBA are made permanent, we estimate the deficit impact would total $31 trillion through 2054, or 1.9 percent of GDP.

Most significantly, OBBBA sets numerous tax provisions to expire arbitrarily in 2028 or 2029, including temporary enhancements to the standard deduction and Child Tax Credit, tax exemption for tips and overtime, and various business tax breaks. OBBBA also includes significant one-time appropriations for defense, border security, and immigration enforcement, and it includes a number of offsets – mainly related to the delay of Biden Administration rules – that end after the budget window.

With all these provisions made permanent, the primary deficit impact of the bill would remain relatively stable at 1.2 to 1.3 percent of GDP per year over the long run. Meanwhile, interest costs will rise gradually to 1.2 percent of GDP by 2054. As a result, OBBBA with extensions would increase the deficit by 2.4 percent of GDP in 2054.

These estimates, if anything, likely understate the deficit impact of OBBBA. Long-term dynamic estimates from Penn Wharton Budget Model, Yale Budget Lab, and the Joint Committee on Taxation find that OBBBA would slow long-term economic growth and boost interest rates as a result of the higher debt. Assuming interest rates remain around their recent levels – either due to OBBBA or for other reasons – debt would be $55 trillion higher in 2054 under a permanent OBBBA, with more than $34 trillion of that increase due to OBBBA itself.

Deficits and Debt Will Surge under OBBBA

As a result of the additional $15 to $31 trillion of 30-year borrowing under OBBBA, debt levels will surge. CBO already projects debt to rise from 100 percent of GDP today to 154 percent by 2054 under current law. We estimate debt would further rise to 172 percent of GDP under OBBBA as written and 190 percent of GDP if OBBBA were made permanent.

Debt could rise even higher with heightened interest rates. If interest rates remain around their current levels while output grows as projected, debt would reach 218 percent of GDP assuming permanent OBBBA.

Deficits would also rise under these scenarios. Even under current law, annual deficits are projected to rise from 6.2 percent of GDP in 2025 to 7.2 percent by 2054. Under OBBBA deficits would rise to 8.4 percent of GDP, under a permanent OBBBA they would rise to 9.6 percent, and under a permanent OBBBA with current interest rates they would reach 12.0 percent of GDP.

Interest costs alone are projected to grow from 3.2 percent of GDP in 2025 to 5.4 percent by 2054 under current law. Interest costs would climb further to 6.0 percent of GDP by 2054 under OBBBA as written, 6.6 percent under a permanent OBBBA, and 8.9 percent under a permanent OBBBA and current interest rates. Assuming permanent OBBBA and today’s interest rates, interest would consume half of all revenue by 2054.

Rod's Comment: For those of you not familiar with The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, it is a is a nonpartisan, non-profit organization committed to educating the public on issues with significant fiscal policy impact. The leadership of the organization includes some of the nation's leading budget experts, including many past heads of the House and Senate Budget Committees, the Congressional Budget Office, the Office of Management and Budget, and the Government Accountability Office. 

CRFB was founded in 1980. It is one of the organizations that has been on my giving list for many years. They have always been non-partisan but were sometimes referred to as a conservative organization, I assume because it used to be that conservatives were more concerned, or at least more outspoken in their concern, about fiscal responsibility than liberals and anyone questioning rising debt and deficit spending was considered a conservative.  Critics of CRFB used to primarily be liberals, and champions of CRFB used to be conservatives. In this Trump era that is reversed.

The Trump critics of CRFB contend that the organizations predictions are inaccurate because they say Trump's policies are going to unleash rapid economic growth which will produce much more revenue that is forecast in CRFB models. 

I think the Trump critics are wildly mistaken and see Trump tariff policies and uncertainties surrounding tariff policy and also Trump's immigration policies which will rob America of both low-end workers we need to keep the economy humming as well as high-end tech expertise and innovators necessary for innovation and growth. I think the Trump critics are living in a dream world and have faith and are deluding themselves. 

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What I Saw at The Big Beautiful "No Kings" Protest in Nashville Yesterday.

me

 by Rod Williams, June 15, 2025- I attended the anti-Trump protest yesterday at the bicentennial mall state park. It was a big crowd. It is hard to estimate the size, but the mall lawn was full, and people spread out along Rosa Parks and Jefferson streets. I would not be surprised if there were not 5,000 people in attendance.

I had reservations about joining anti-Trump protests because I know I fundamentally disagree with the political position of most of those in attendance. I am sure the vast majority of those in attendance are Democrats and liberal and I am a traditional pre-Trump conservative Reaganite Republican.  I feel however that Trump is such a threat to our democracy that it is necessary to swallow hard and join anyone who wants to stop Trump and stand up to his authoritarianism and his cruelty and insane policies. 

It is kind of strange watching how conservatives have embraced Trump, but also how liberals are supporting some policies they would never have supported in more normal times, such as a strong foreign policy that supports a strong NATO and America's leadership role in the world, things like a balanced budget, resistance to an overreaching federal government, federalism, state's rights, constitutionalism, and free trade. The views I have always had, seem to be more prevalent on the left than the Trumpian right these days. Of course, I know that on many fundamentals I will always disagree with liberals.  The shifting policy positions, however, can make your head spin.  I think if we get past Trump and still have a democracy, both liberals and conservatives will revert to form. Who knows, however? There may be new alliances, and old political identities may fade, and there may be a reshuffled of the components that define the current political classifications. 

As I said, I was apprehensive about attending this rally. However, after attending the April 5th "Hands Off Democracy" rally in Centennial Park, I felt more comfortable attending this one.  While at yesterday's rally, there were a few class warfare signs, a few advocating a greater welfare state, and a few random signs advocating this or that particular cause with which I disagree, most were not things that were offensive. Most of the signs were on theme. There were a lot of anti-ICE signs, and, I would say, more pro-due process signs than anything else.  I only saw maybe four or five people draped with or waving Mexican flags. I saw one pro-Palestinian sign. 

There was a big drum circle in the center of the carillon. There were chants of, "No Justice; No Peace," and "The People United can Never be Defeated," and "This is What Democracy Looks Like."  Couldn't do it. I may march with the libs but can't join their choir.

It was a fun event. I can see how some shallow people get caught up in activism. A big protest like this is simply fun. It is sort of like Mardi Gras without the alcohol, or a rock concert, or a sporting event. People dance and chant, dress in attention getting costumes, make clever signs, and enjoy comradery. Also, it makes people feel like they are part of something bigger than themselves and makes them feel like they are doing something meaningful. I don't think it makes much difference whether it is a pro-Trump rally or an anti-Trump rally, I think the components that make people drawn to movements are the same.

The above being said, in times like these I think we do need to protest. I fear for the future of our democracy and think Trump desires to be a dictator. He has told us that he may find it necessary to suspend the constitution at some point. We need to take him seriously. It appears to me, he is following the dictator's playbook and laying the groundwork to assume dictatorial powers. While we still can, we need to fight back.

If anyone wants a flavor of the event, there are numerous YouTube video of the event. Here are several: link, link, and link.  Here are a few pictures that I found interesting. 

My Family and friend at the event

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Reflections on the Pro Kilmar Abrego Garcia Protest in Nashville Today

by Rod Williams, July 13, 2025- I drove by the protest at the Federal Courthouse this morning about 10:30. If the library garage at not been closed due to the recent fire that closed the garage, I would have stopped and got a closer look. I was stopped at the redlight at Church and 7th and with windows down observed the crowd. It was loud, but orderly. I did not see a police presence. 

I had no intention of taking part in this protest. If I would have parked and got a closer look, I would have lingered across the street and observed. While I will protest Donald Trump's denial of due process and his authoritarian policies and tendencies, I am not interested protesting on behalf of Kilmar Abrego Garcia. My concern about this case has never been a defense of Garcia, but a defense of due process. While the charges against Garcia may be trumped up, I am willing to let justice run its course. The charges are serious. Also, the organizers of this protest are leftist. I don't want to march with a group led of radical leftist who I often find as offensive as I do Donald Trump. 

To stand up to Donald Trump's destruction of American democracy, we may have to rub shoulders with some unsavory characters. I plan on participating in the No Kings protest tomorrow. If I arrive and there are a lot of leftist sloganeering, and the preponderance of the signs and banners represent a leftist agenda, I will leave. 

Often, when a lot is at stake, one has to ally themselves with people who are only slightly better than the primary opponent. In World War II, America allied itself with Communist movements and Communist Russia, although Communism is every bit as evil as Nazism. That uncomfortable alliance was necessary as Nazi Germany was the more immediate threat, During the Cold War, the US had to ally with some authoritarian regimes in order to prevent a Communism world-wide victory. I don't fault us for doing so. Politics can make strange bedfellows.  Each of us must decide our comfort level in allying ourselves with people who under other circumstances we would oppose. 

Below are other reports on the protest. The Pamphleteer is a publication I respect and trust and a source I read regularly. 

Dispatch from a Protest

by Davis Hunt, The Pamphleteer, July 13, 2025- This morning, a group of journalists and activists gathered at the Fred Thompson Federal Courthouse to protest the detention of illegal alien Kilmar Abrego Garcia. Garcia is scheduled to be arraigned today on human trafficking charges.

The particulars of what the protests are about aren’t really important because all the same people who show up to protest, say, the state government thinking about forgoing federal education funds, show up. The Democratic Socialists of America were there. The Party for Socialism and Liberation was there. Etc. One big blob of protestors just vaguely venting anger.

I went to observe this morning for a minute. Aside from hearing chants like “Jesus would’ve been on our side” and witnessing an old lady with wild eyes bouncing around with an American flag, pausing in front of a passerby, and yelling, “Don’t be satisfied with the status quo because it’s broken,” the main thing that stuck was how journalists waddle around the periphery like cattle feeding at a fetid pond. Yes, I was there. I was among the journalists. I was the cow drinking from the fetid pond.

But let me tell you about the others. All the big names were there, including Footman Phil in all his glory. I couldn’t really tell what these journalists were doing. Kind of just hanging out, talking to each other, slowly wandering over to “areas of interest” to observe and jot notes, maybe hoping for some confrontation they could use to give the protest a narrative.

One incident that drew a host of journalists was when an old man approached a speaker and interrupted the proceedings. I couldn’t really tell what he was talking about, but his presence immediately drew a swarm of reporters who lolled their heads up from the pond, swatted the flies off their ass, and slowly gathered around the man with their cameras as he exited shouting.

Another peculiar thing was the UVOTN people wearing yellow vests and ear pieces patrolling the perimeter. As our disruptor left the scene, one of them paused in front of me. “He’s moving South on Seventh, South on Seventh,” he reported. 

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Tennessee Should Have a Cap on Property Taxes

Local residents across Tennessee are criticizing a proposed property tax increase. Unfortunately, Tennessee is one of four states without any sort of cap on property taxes, so local governments can implement unlimited property tax increases at any time.

Are you tired of local property tax increases making it harder and harder to live—and live well—in Tennessee? If so, join Beacon in the fight for a statewide cap on property tax increases.  Together, we can ensure that Tennessee remains a state where families, retirees, and individuals can thrive without being burdened by unaffordable property taxes. Now is the time to act.

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Nashville, Beacon Center agree to $1.4M settlement

by Kim Jarrett, The Center Square, Jun 5, 2025 - The Beacon Center and the city of Nashville have settled a class action lawsuit over stormwater capacity fees.

Peyton Pratt sued the city after he was charged more than $6,000 in fees when he expanded his residence, according to a release from the Beacon Center, which represented Pratt.

Nashville enacted the new fee structure for residents obtaining building permits in February 2024. The money from the fees was allocated to fund capital improvements in the city's stormwater system.

"Perhaps worse, Metro's stormwater capacity fee charges individuals on a per square-foot fee not just for impervious area that they're adding, but also for impervious area that has existed all along," the lawsuit said. "Thus, even though Mr. Pratt sought to add less than 2,500 square feet in impervious area, Metro charged him a stormwater capacity fee for over 8,000 square feet."

Impervious areas include roofs, streets, sidewalks and parking areas that are covered.

Nashville agreed to settle and pay back $1.4 million to residents who were charged the fees in order to obtain a permit. Pratt will also recoup his money and the Beacon Center will receive $5,000 in attorneys fees, according to the settlement.

A federal judge has to sign off on the agreement before it is final.

“This is a landmark agreement, not just for our client, but for all Tennesseans,” said Wen Fa, Beacon's vice president of legal affairs. “Tennesseans have long identified the lack of housing as a significant issue, so we're pleased that this proposed settlement clears the path for builders to make housing affordable by building more homes for Tennesseans."

The stormwater capacity fee ordinance did not generate the revenues expected prior to adoption, said Julie Oaks Smith, senior director of communications for Nashville Mayor Freddie O'Connell. 

"Metro Water Services stopped collecting the charge and is in favor of repealing the ordinance,' Smith said. "As a result, it made sense to settle the case by refunding the fees that had been collected plus attorney fees."

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Eight months later, FBI investigation of GOP Congressman Andy Ogles still awaits federal judge's ruling

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — It’s been said that the wheels of justice grind slowly, and there may be no better example than the FBI’s investigation of Tennessee Congressman Andy Ogles. For more than eight months, FBI agents have been blocked from looking at evidence seized from the Maury County Republican while a federal magistrate decides what agents can see. Attorneys for both sides gave Magistrate Judge Alistair E. Newbern everything she needed to make a decision in the case on Oct. 7, 2024, court records show. Since then, Newbern has been silent on the matter. (read more)

Rod's Comment: Can anyone say, "slow-walking"?

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TN lawmakers introduce bill targeting Mayor Freddie O'Connell

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Regarding the Mostly Peaceful Riots in L. A.

 

by Rod Williams, June 10, 2025- I set up late last night watching the L. A. demonstrations on TV. There are all of these amateur citizen journalists who go out and livestream events as they happen. I know I could wait until the next day and get the highlights, but there is something about being there in real time waiting to see what happens that I enjoy. It is a lot more exciting than watching golf or, in my opinion, most sporting events.

Last night I watched a store being looting. It was some kind of clothing store. This was about 1:30 in the morning L.A. time. The store had one of those roll down metal doors that cover the front of the store. Vandals had pried it up, broke the front door down, and looters were entering the store and carrying away armfuls of clothes. This went on for several minutes before the police arrived. The looters fled and police only caught one of them. I don't know how looting this store helps poor innocent immigrants being persecuted by Donald Trump's ICE. 

I suspect there are a lot of people who could care less about the cause and just enjoy thieving and vandalizing. During the BLM riots of 2020 we saw people topple statues of abolitionist and poets. I guess it is empowering to topple a statue, and one doesn't care who it is a statue of.

I think there are a certain segment of the population who find a riot a festive event. Looting, toppling, spray painting, setting police cars on fire and even beating up helpless people must be an adrenaline rush for some people. I am also not buying the excuse that it is poor oppressed people venting their rage. No! It is low lives, thieves, and thugs taking advantage of a situation to get free stuff and experience the enjoyment of violence and destruction.  

Defender of protest do not like it when the violence is reported or featured. Sympathetic newscasters and pundits can stand in front of a burning police car and speak of the "mostly peaceful" demonstration.  I am not buying it.

What does it mean that a demonstration was "mostly peaceful? 

On January 6th, 2021, 53,000 people attended the "Stop the Steal" rally where President Trump spoke and is accused of inciting the violence. The FBI estimated that between 2,000 and 2,500 people entered the Capitol Building during the January 6th attack. Assuming the above numbers are correct and using the 2500 number as the number who trespassed into the capitol that is 4.7% trespassed. We know that many of those who trespassed entered after the door had already been opened and they just entered and loitered a while and left. 1,500 people were charged with federal crimes in connection with the January 6th United States Capitol attack. The number of charges includes a range of offenses from misdemeanor violations to felony offenses like assaulting police officers. So about 2.8% of those in attendance at the protest were charged with some sort of offence. I know some people who were at the Stop the Steal rally, and they said they were not close to the action and if not for watching the news on their cell phone they would have not known about the breach of the Capitol. 

January 6th was a mostly peaceful demonstration.

If you have 10,000 people taking part in a demonstration and 97% are peaceful, you could still have 300 people who are setting police cars on fire, toppling statues, looting stores, and throwing chucks of concreate off of interstate overpasses and pulling people from cars and beating them. That is a "mostly peaceful" demonstrations. 

If 5,001 of the 10,000 are not burning down a city, that is a "mostly peaceful" demonstration. After all, one more than half is most of the people.  I don't find "mostly peaceful" a very compelling excuse for rioters. I don't think it is the most accurate and descriptive of terms for describing what is happening. 

Having said what I have said above, this is not a commentary on the January 6th insurrection, Trump's immigration policy, or Trump's authority to use the military for domestic policing or crowd control. I am simply pointing out that when someone tells me an event is "mostly peaceful" that doesn't tell me a lot and sound like an excuse for the violence. 

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The White House Marching Orders That Sparked the L.A. Migrant Crackdown

WH Bernstein

From WH Bernstein, Facebook, June 10, 2025 - Important reporting in today's WSJ.

In case you wondered what prompted the very aggressive enforcement actions by ICE, that's in this article.

Seems Trump was frustrated that his rate of deportations was lower than Biden's.  Right, the same Biden Republicans claim had an open border policy and was flooding the country with illegals.

Turns out he had deported more people than Trump ever did.

So Steven Miller, cosplaying the role of Himmler in this administration, gave a speech basically saying "fuck the rules, get out there and grab Hispanic butt."

Instead of identifying illegals and targeting them the strategy now became to hone in on Home Depot parking lots (I'm not making this up, I swear) and other places illegals tended to gather and simply arrest people.

Incompetent people in administration make bad choices and this regime demonstrates it daily.

The White House Marching Orders That Sparked the
L.A. Migrant Crackdown

by Elizabeth Findell, Ruth Simon, Michelle Hackman, and Tarini Parti, Wall Street Journal, June 10, 2025 - Even with the high-profile arrests of suspects by masked immigration agents and the plane loads of migrants swiftly ferried out of the U.S., President Trump was falling short of the number of daily deportations carried out by the Biden administration in its final year.

So in late May, Stephen Miller, a top White House aide and the architect of the president’s immigration agenda, addressed a meeting at the headquarters of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, known as ICE. The message was clear: The president, who promised to deport millions of immigrants living in the country illegally, wasn’t pleased. The agency had better step it up.

Gang members and violent criminals, what Trump called the “worst of the worst,” weren’t the sole target of deportations. Federal agents needed to “just go out there and arrest illegal aliens,” Miller told top ICE officials, ... Agents didn’t need to develop target lists of immigrants suspected of being in the U.S. illegally, a longstanding practice, Miller said. Instead, he directed them to target Home Depot, where day laborers typically gather for hire, or 7-Eleven convenience stores. Miller bet that he and a handful of agents could go out on the streets of Washington, D.C., and arrest 30 people right away.  “Who here thinks they can do it?” Miller said, asking for a show of hands. 

ICE agents appeared to follow Miller’s tip and conducted an immigration sweep Friday at the Home Depot in the predominantly Latino neighborhood of Westlake in Los Angeles,...

... “To do this in militaristic gear in L.A. is intended to notch up the image of deportations being in high gear,” said Muzaffar Chishti, senior fellow at the Migration Policy Institute. “But the actual deportations are paltry compared with the imagery.” 

...There are no written directives, but officers have been told to “do what you need to do” to make more arrests, according to current and former ICE officials familiar with the directives.

The administration’s immigration enforcement is a sharp break with past government practices, according to attorneys, immigration advocates and officials from previous administrations. 

Federal agents make warrantless arrests. Masked agents take people into custody without identifying themselves. Plainclothes agents in at least a dozen cities have arrested migrants who showed up to their court hearings. And across the U.S., people suspected of being in the country illegally are disappearing into the federal detention system without notice to families or lawyers, according to attorneys, witnesses and officials.

.... They were seeking a resident’s son who had allegedly posted fliers alerting neighbors to the presence of ICE agents. The raid alarmed the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, an organization that defends free speech, which requested a copy of the warrant. “Criticism of government officials is core protected speech, and to criticize them you have every right to identify them,” said Aaron Terr, the group’s director of public advocacy.

.... The Border Patrol’s El Centro sector in Southern California posted photos of a broken car window on Facebook: The caption said, “This illegal alien is listing his accomplishments for the past week: Refused to open window during an immigration inspection; Got his window shattered for an extraction.”

... ICE has stopped regularly publishing arrest data, and has been accused of overstating the numbers. The Trump administration arrested roughly 66,500 migrants living in the U.S. illegally and deported nearly 66,000 in its first 100 days, a higher pace of arrests compared with 2024, and a slightly slower pace for deportations.

Earlier this year, ICE officials set daily arrest quotas and deputized agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation and other law-enforcement agencies. ICE officials eliminated a Biden-era policy that blocked officers from arresting people without proof of legal residency who happened to be in the vicinity of targeted suspects. Raids at schools, churches and hospitals are now allowed.

... Officials from the White House and the Department of Homeland Security have made clear there will be consequences for not hitting arrest targets. Top officials at DHS have pushed out one acting ICE director and are threatening a second. 

... Elsewhere, Americans detained by ICE have said they were held for hours or longer before being allowed to prove their citizenship. ... Courthouse arrests have become a nationwide strategy, according to DHS officials and lawyers. They allow ICE to boost arrest numbers with fewer resources. It also puts migrants in a corner: Should they risk arrest by following the legal process and appearing in court? ... Other lawyers say clients have been denied access to legal counsel. Luis Campos, a Tucson-based attorney, said a Border Patrol agent physically blocked him from seeing a woman on the maternity ward who had just given birth. The woman and her family had requested that she have counsel, Campos said. ICE said all laws and procedures were followed. (read it all)

Bill Bernstein, formerly of Nashville where he was owner of Eastside Gun Shop, now lives in Sumter, South Carolina. He is a scholar with a BA degree from Vanderbilt University and degrees in Classics from Corpus Christi College, Oxford, UNC-Chapel Hill, and University of Pennsylvania.

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Rep. Mark Green Retires from the U.S. House of Representatives

Rep. Mark Green

Press release from Rep. Mark Green, June 9, 2025—Today, Rep. Mark Green (TN-07), Chairman of the House Committee on Homeland Security, released the following statement:

“It is with a heavy heart that I announce my retirement from Congress. Recently, I was offered an opportunity in the private sector that was too exciting to pass up. As a result, today I notified the Speaker and the House of Representatives that I will resign from Congress as soon as the House votes once again on the reconciliation package. 

It was the honor of a lifetime to represent the people of Tennessee in Congress. They asked me to deliver on the conservative values and principles we all hold dear, and I did my level best to do so. Along the way, we passed historic tax cuts, worked with President Trump to secure the border, and defended innocent life. I am extremely proud of my work as Chairman of the Homeland Security Committee, and want to thank my staff, both in my seventh district office, as well as the professional staff on that committee.

I have now served the public for nearly four decades. The Army took me to Iraq and Afghanistan. The people sent me to the Tennessee legislature and the halls of Congress. Along the way, I have often remarked on the strength of the men and women I have served with. I know that the integrity, decency, and faith of the American people are what powered us for the first 250 years, and will power us for another 250 and beyond. 

I can proudly look back at my time in Congress and the success that we have accomplished on behalf of Tennesseans and the American people. I am grateful to Speaker Johnson and House Leadership for placing their trust in me to chair the Committee on Homeland Security, lead the effort to impeach former Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, and to pass H.R. 2, the Secure the Border Act, the strongest border security legislation in history to ever pass the House. However, my time in Congress has come to an end.

Though I planned to retire at the end of the previous Congress, I stayed to ensure that President Trump’s border security measures and priorities make it through Congress. By overseeing the border security portion of the reconciliation package, I have done that. After that, I will retire, and there will be a special election to replace me. 

I have no doubt that my colleagues in this Congress will continue to strengthen the cause of freedom. May God bless them, and the United States of America.”

Rep. Green served as the Freshman Class President in the 116th Congress following his election in 2018. At the beginning of the 118th Congress, Rep. Green was selected as Chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, becoming the only member of Congress to be selected at the start of their third term to chair a major legislative committee in the 21st century. In 2024, Rep. Green led the effort to impeach former Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security Alejandro Nicolas Mayorkas for high crimes and misdemeanors. On February 13, 2024, the House of Representatives successfully impeached Secretary Mayorkas. 

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