The Nashville Scene's attack on Ken Jakes

In case you missed it, here is the Nashville Scene's attack on Ken Jakes.

A government watchdog's records-request bombardment of Metro agencies raises eyebrows at Nashville Farmers Market

by Steven Hale, The Nashville Scene, April 25, 2013- .....They've been inundated by public records requests, filed just about daily by a man named Ken Jakes. .......Every Metro source the Scene reached repeatedly affirmed Jakes' right to request and obtain public records. However, just about all of them used the word "harassment" to describe his actions over the years. (link)

My Comment
I wish there were a dozen Ken Jakes. No wonder Metro officials don't like him. He makes them play by the rules. They don't want anyone poking around and exposing the crony capitalism, corruption, and arbitrary behavior of city bureaucrats.  If not for Ken Jakes, NES brace would still be swapping NES services for Gaylord lodging, golf games, meals, and show tickets; there would still be specifications written in such as way that only one well-connected bidder could bid on them; and, over two hundred NES employees would still have company credit cards and using them to purchase private stuff on Amazon and Ebay. The taxpayers, the ratepayers, and consumers of government services owe Ken Jakes a debt of gratitude.

Ken Jakes is a citizen activist who should be applauded.

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Blackburn on Mismanagement of Obamaphone Program

From Marsha Blackburn

Friends-

The Lifeline program – commonly referred to as Obamaphones – is paid for by American telecommunications consumers.

The overall cost of this program has exploded in recent years to $2.2 billion dollars a year. Even Lifeline program’s beneficiaries admit it is plagued by waste, fraud, and abuse.

You can see my statement before the Energy and Commerce Committee HERE. And here is a story aired by Fox 25 Baltimore on the abuse in the free cell phone program.

Here’s what you need to know: Lifeline is really symbolic of the Universal Service Fund and Federal Communication Commission’s (FCC) mismanagement as a whole. To add fuel to the fire, there are proposals to grow the Lifeline program from wireline and wireless to broadband. The FCC can’t even contain the growth and the waste in the wireless side because they hasn’t yet stood up the eligibility database to root out ineligible participants. In our hearing this week we learned from an expert witness that the number of recipients of free phones in Maryland was nearly twice the number that should be eligible.

If Congress had to reauthorize this program instead of allowing it grow on auto-pilot, Lifeline wouldn’t be able to survive. The Lifeline program shows the government has misplaced its priorities. It’s an example of how the culture of dependency is weakening America. It’s Exhibit A of what you see when big government and crony capitalism collude to transfer wealth from the average consumer to “spread the wealth around.”

That’s why I recently signed onto Representative Tim Griffin’s legislation which would repeal the program (H.R. 176). This effort is really about serving you, making government more efficient, and doing what we can to lower the cost of consumers’ cell phone bills.

For more information on the work I am doing to fight waste, fraud, and abuse in the federal government, you can visit my website. You can also e-mail me at Marsha.Blackburn@mail.house.gov. And don't forget to follow me on Facebook and Twitter.

My Best,

Marsha

The following was not part of the Blackburn email. In case you didn't see it at the time, here is the "Obamaphone lady" explaining about Obamaphones. 

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Changed date for The Quest for Community, by Robert Nisbet.

Gene Wisdom changed the date for The Quest for Community, by Robert Nisbet. New date and time: Wednesday, May 22, 2013 7:00 PM.

Click here to see the latest changes: http://www.meetup.com/ConservativeFusion/events/110153732/

I love this book!  It is one of the most thought provoking books I have read in a very long time.  At the recent Conservative Political Action Conference in DC, this was the only book made the subject of a panel discussion in the Intercollegiate Studies Institute series of meetings there. A conservative classic, it will be thought provoking to both the libertarian and the traditionalist.

With the changed date there is time to order and read the book. Here is an Amazon link for ordering and a review of the book. 

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Pro-Life event happening April 27, 2013

THE TENNESSEE FREEDOM COALITION
*** Update from the TFC ***

Rod -

We want to let you know about a Pro-Life event happening April 27, 2013 at 6:00pm at the New Hope Community Church in Brentwood, TN.

This is a free educational seminar sponsored by the Tennessee Action Council on a discussion of "Amendment #1."  Come learn about this important ballot measure coming in 2014, an amendment that will allow the state to impose stricter limits on abortion. This event will feature speakers like Dr. George Grant, Dr. Neil Anderson, and Mr. David Fowler of Family Action Council of Tennessee. This evening will also feature musical guests and songs centered around the subject of Life by local talent.

We hope you will try to make it and hear what these speakers have to say about this ballot initiative and how we can help make sure it succeeds!

The address for the event is:
New Hope Community Church
605 Wilson Pike, Brentwood, TN 37027

The Board of Directors
Tennessee Freedom Coalition

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Let’s Talk School: Common Core

Tennessee Commissioner of Education Kevin Huffman, SCORE President and CEO Jamie Woodson and Williamson County Schools Superintendent Dr. Mike Looney 

will speak on

 Let’s Talk School: Common Core 

The meeting will be held Monday, April 29, 2013, from 6 p.m. until 7:30 p.m. in the auditorium of The People’s Church, 828 Murfreesboro Rd, Franklin, TN 37064.

There will be a presentation, panel discussion and Q and A with audience members regarding Common Core in the State of Tennessee. Please plan to attend this informative session to learn the facts about Common Core and what it means for Tennessee students.

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Mayor Dean responds to Ken Jakes civil service complaint against Nancy Whittemore of the Farmers Market.

Mayor Karl Dean has responded to Ken Jakes' civil service complaint against the acting director of Farmers Market, Nancy Whittemore.  The complaint asked the Mayor, as supervisor of  Ms Whittemore, to dicipline her for voioating civl servie rules and Jakes listed each rule violated.

The rules violated related to the selling and allowing to be sold alcoholic beverages at Farmers Market in violation of the established policy. 

Below is the response of Mayor Dean: "Upon review of this matter, the Mayor has determined that no disciplinary action is warranted."

For more on this issue, follow this link and this link. 

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"The High Cost of America's Inefficient Development Patterns" is now available online

William Fulton's April 22 presentation on "The High Cost of America's Inefficient Development Patterns" is now available online, along with brief comments from audience members and key slides from his PowerPoint. This was very informative. I attended this meeting and have attended most of them. I encourage anyone who is concerned about the future of Nashville to get involved in the NashvilleNext planning process. The presentations of all previous speakers are online.

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The Tennessean reports on the State review of Davidson County Election Commission

In case you missed it:

'Pattern of serious errors' undermined elections 

by Michael Cass, The Tennessean, Apr. 25, 2013 -  The outcomes of two 2012 primary elections in Davidson County might have been influenced by the bungling of new voting technology, a blistering state review of the county’s election process has found.
....
“While minor mistakes are understandable, our review uncovered an unacceptable pattern of serious errors,” says the 26-page report by Mark Goins, the state coordinator of elections.  (link)


Nashville election chief bashes state report

by Michael Cass, The Tennessean, Apr. 27, 2013 - Davidson County Election Administrator Albert Tieche survived to work another day after enduring sometimes testy questioning by his bosses, who took a scathing state review to heart but decided not to discipline him after a nearly five-hour meeting Friday.
...Tieche contested virtually every charge made by Goins. He wrote that the review “focuses on fault and blame rather than fostering improvement.”
“A casual review of the draft report would cause one to conclude that it is written to be personal in nature.”.(link)

For background on this issue follow these links:
 A move afoot to fire Albert Tieche. Election Commision in turmoil. 
 The Tennessean reposts "Election commission gets good marks in audit"

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Your Metro Tax Dollars funded a Youth Pavillion at the Nashville Gay Pride Festival

Did you know your tax dollars went to fund the Metro Human Relations Youth Area at Nashville's Gay Pride Festival?

Why should the city support the Youth Pavilion at the Nashville Gay Pride event? Many Christian Nashvillians may feel that homosexuality is a perversion and a sin. Should the City be supporting our young people at an event that celebrates and normalizes homosexuality.

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The budget hearing of the Department of Politically Correct Propaganda and Indoctrination (Human Relations Commission)

Above is the Mayor's budget hearing of the Human Relations Commission. This is a small Department with only 3.3 full-time-equivalent positions, however, this organization does nothing that is necessary.

Not that all they do is bad, but much of what they do is a duplication of what is already being done by non-profit advocacy groups. Some of what they do is being done by offices such as Tennessee Fair Housing Council or the Attorney General's office. In her testimony, the Director says she only gets two or three calls a month regarding compliance issues.

This organization should more aptly be named the Department of Politically Correct Propaganda and Indoctrination. Why should the city support the Youth Pavilion at the Nashville Gay Pride event? Many Christian Nashvillians may feel that homosexuality is a perversion and that the city should not be in the position of supporting our young people in an event that celebrates and normalizes homosexuality. I would like to know what they taught the 160 students who attended their Human Relations Summit. I would like to be assured that this organization is not undermining the values children are being taught at home.

Metro's 50th anniversary celebration would have happened without a Metro Human Relations Commission and the NashvilleNext program, which I support and which is an on-going planning exercise, would happen without an office of Human Relations.

I actually enjoy the event "Celebrate Nashville" which use to be more apply named the "Celebration of Cultures." If the Human Relations Commission went away, I have no doubt that this celebration would continue.

I don't expect it to happen, but I would hope the Council would defund this office and abolish it. When I served in the Council in the mid-eighties we did defund this office for several years and we survived just fine without it.  I am proud of my role in, at least for a short time, abolishing this agency. If we abolished the Metro Human Relations Commission we would never miss it. Let liberal advocacy groups do their own fundraising instead of getting Metro dollars to advocate for their causes.

I would hope one of our conservative council members would present an alternative budget that eliminates this unnecessary department.  If there is a citizen activist looking to get involved in monitoring agencies of Metro Government, this is one that needs close monitoring. I would like to know who they are collaborating with and what else they are teaching.

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Decosta Jenkins, CEO of the corrupt, scandal-ridden NES, is highest paid Metro employee.

Decosta Jenkins once again ranks number one on the list of highest paid Metro employees at $367, 078.40 a year, a $21,881.60 increase from his 2012 income. NES employees are seven of the top ten highest paid Metro employees. NES employee's hold 44 of the top 100 highest paid positions in Nashville. Think of that the next time you pay a high utility bill. The next time you hear of some little old lady on a fixed income who can't pay her electric bill, remember this.

One would think that being some of the highest paid civil servants in Davidson County that upper brace would not be tempted to trade NES services for free golf games, dinner show tickets, dinners and nights of lodging at Gaylord's Opryland hotel. One would think that they would not be tempted to use NES credit cards to purchase items for personal use on Amazon and eBay.

Instead of getting an increase in pay for serving as CEO and President of NES, Decosta Jenkins should be fired and unemployed. For more on the top 100 Metro Salaries, see Nashville Today, April 18, 2013 For more on the mismanagement and corruption at NES see here, here and here.

For more on the top 100 Metro Salaries, see Nashville Today, April 18, 2013

For more on the mismanagement and corruption at NES see here, here and here.

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Megan Barry appoints treasurer for 2015 Nashville mayoral race

Megan Barry appoints treasurer for 2015 Nashville mayoral race

The Tennessean, Apr. 23, 2013-....Barry filed paperwork at the Davidson County Election Commission late Monday that names attorney Leigh Walton her treasurer, tapping someone connected..

........known foremost as a progressive. She sponsored Metro’s “living wage” ordinance for government employees as well as its nondiscrimination bill for gay, lesbian and transgender workers

. ..... supported Dean’s botched proposal to turn the Tennessee State Fairgrounds into a mixed-use development anchored by a corporate campus.

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