Mayor Cooper made the right decision in not purchasing the Morris Memorial Building.

by Rod Williams - Mayor Cooper decided the city would not move forward with plans to purchase the historically significant Morris Memorial building. The previous administration had planned to purchase the property for $12 million. The Morris Memorial Building is a 65,200-square-foot, five-story building designed in the mid-1920’s by one of the nation's first African American architectural firms. It housed the National Baptist Convention, which published religious materials for African-American Baptist churches.  It is located at 330 Martin Luther King Blvd.

I am in favor of saving of old significant buildings. I am certainly pleased that the Ryman Auditorium and Union Station were not demolished as was once planned. There are lots of beautiful old buildings that were lost that were historically significant that I wish had been saved. While I support incentivizing the saving of old significant buildings, I don't think it is the roll of local government to buy them. Even if there were occasions when a building was so significant that the city government should step in and purchase it, now is not the time. The city is broke and we must prioritize. With a shortage of 911 dispatcher, policemen and firemen, purchasing an old building is a luxury we cannot afford.

Thank you Mayor Cooper for exercising financial discipline and good judgement.

(For more see link,.link.)

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The Refugee resetllement issue: Does the Governor have the authority to speak for the State?

Governor Bill Lee has chosen for Tennessee to accept refugees for resettlement in Tennessee. He has come under severe criticism from many Republican for this decision. I tend to support his decision simply because I think it the right thing to do. I know there is an issue of cost and I know that some refugees have been radicalized and become American terrorist. There is a security issue.  Nevertheless, with over 66 million people in the world displaced due to persecution, war and violence, the US should do its part to help resettle refugees.

Separate from  the merits of the decision itself  however, is the question of process. Does a governor have the authority to make this decision for the State?  David Fowler, chairman of FACT, in an article, "What to Make of Congressman Green’s Prescription for Saving America," argues that  the governor should not have that authority and that it is a violation of State sovereignty for the Federal government to assign such authority to the governor.  "The state’s constitution, not the federal government, decides who is to exercise certain powers belonging to the state", says Fowler. He goes on:

When the federal government creates a program and then designates who in state government can decide whether to participate in that program, who on behalf of state government can opt-out of a program already begun, or who or what agency in state government must carry out the federal program, an important aspect of state sovereignty is trampled on. Therein lies the problem with the federal refugee resettlement program, quite apart from the complained of fiscal issues.

…..The federal regulation allowing a governor to decide whether to opt in or out of a federal program is not within the federal government’s power. It is a violation of the state’s power to decide what branch of state government, state agency, or state official is authorized, under the state’s constitution, to make certain types of decisions for the state. The same can be said about the process that allows a governor to “consent” to the federal government’s use of private contractors as de facto resettlement agencies.

After the program was created and states opted in, the federal government adopted regulations that effectively allowed a governor or the governor’s designee to opt a state out of the federal refugee resettlement program. That regulation violates the sovereignty of the people of Tennessee, who alone get to decide who in state government should make policy decisions of this nature. 

While I support Governor Lee's decision, I agree with David Fowler that Lee he had no legitimate authority to make that decision. For a more detailed explanation of the issue of federalism and the principle of dual sovereign and background information on the refugee resetlement progarm follow this link and read the full article.

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Latinos for Tennessee Welcome back reception

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Mayor’s Night Out on Thursday, January 9, 2020

Press release, 1/2/2020- Mayor John Cooper is thrilled to host another Mayor’s Night Out. These events are held on the second Thursday of each month and Nashville residents are invited to have one-on-one conversations with the Mayor and his department personnel.

Event Location: IT Creswell Middle School of the Arts, 3500 John Mallette Drive' Nashville, TN 37218.
Event Date: Thursday, January 9, 2020, 6 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
Attendees

• Mayor John Cooper 
• Councilmember Jonathan Hall (District 1) 
• Councilmember Kyonzte Toombs (District 2) 
• Councilmember Jennifer Gamble (District 3) 
• Councilmember Freddie O’Connell (District 19) 
• Councilmember Mary Carolyn Roberts (District 20) 
• Councilmember Brandon Taylor (District 21) 

Note: There will be no availability for interviews or Q&A at this event.

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Mayor John Cooper Appoints long-time Republican operative Bill R. Phillips as Deputy Mayor, Chief of Staff

Press release, 1/2/2020 -  Mayor John Cooper today

Bill R. Phillips - Deputy Mayor, 

Chief of Staff

announced the appointment of Bill R. Phillips as Deputy Mayor, Chief of Staff effective Thursday, January 2, 2020. As a seasoned political operative with more than 40 years of public service and executive leadership experience, Phillips will manage the Mayor’s Office staff and serve as a senior adviser to Mayor Cooper.

“I look forward to once again serving the city I love so dearly,” said Phillips. “While I’m fond of the many experiences I’ve had in state and federal government, it’s the time I spent at City Hall that has been the most meaningful. Nashville is fortunate to have experienced such tremendous growth since my previous tenure as Deputy Mayor. We’re going to make sure that everyone in our city shares in its continued growth through hard work and the efficient use of our talent and resources.”

As founder of Bill Phillips Company, Phillips was a principal in Windrow Phillips Group before retiring in June 2019. He served for more than seven years as Deputy Mayor of Nashville and Davidson County under Mayor Bill Purcell. In 1994, Phillips became Associate Vice Chancellor for University Relations at Vanderbilt University after concluding a yearlong fellowship at Vanderbilt’s First Amendment Center.

Previously, Phillips served as a Presidential appointee in various capacities during the executive administrations of President Ronald Reagan and President George H.W. Bush, and as Deputy Governor to Nevada Governor Robert List. He served as Chief of Staff of the Republican National Committee and Manager of the 1988 Republican Convention, as well as Chief of Staff of the U.S. Department of Education. Phillips has worked in three Presidential campaigns for Republican candidates, and in 1992, he was Assistant Campaign Manager for Operations of the Bush-Quayle Committee.

Phillips also worked as a newspaper journalist and editor for Gannett in California and Nevada. He is a Vietnam combat veteran

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Kwanzaa, the made up holiday created by a drug addled radical thug that promotes values detrimental to the Black Community, starts today.

 by Rod Williams - Today was the start of the citywide celebration of Kwanzaa, now in its 37th year here in Nashville. Through January 1st there will a large number of Kwanzaa events. In the past, the city has even participated by lighting the Korean Veterans Bridge in Kwanzaa colors. While our current mayor has not done so yet, and I hope he won't, previous mayors have issued a Happy Kawanzaa press release. To the uninformed, especially impressionable young people, they may think that Kwanzaa is a traditional African holiday and that it promotes something of value. It is not and it does not.

Kwanzaa is a made up holiday created by Maulana Ndabezitha Karenga, a radical American Black Nationalists. Maulana Ndabezitha Karenga was born 1941 with the name Ronald McKinley Everett but adopted the African sounding name in the 1960's. He was active in the radical Black Power movement of the 1960's and was for a while a member of the Black Panthers. When the Black Power movement splintered into violent conflict between different factions he was engaged in that struggle. He started a group called "United Slaves" which positioned themselves as more radical than the Black Panthers. Member of United Slaves and Black Panthers killed each other during the violent struggles for control of the revolution. We know that in the sixties, the FBI was engaged in promoting divisions within the Black Power movement. Some allege that Karenga was funded by the FBI to further that division but the truth is unknown.

In 1971, Karenga was sentenced to one to ten years in prison on counts of felonious assault and false imprisonment. He thought two female followers of his were conspiring to betray him and he took revenge. This is how the Los Angeles Times described the case:

Deborah Jones, who once was given the Swahili title of an African queen, said she and Gail Davis were whipped with an electrical cord and beaten with a karate baton after being ordered to remove their clothes. She testified that a hot soldering iron was placed in Miss Davis' mouth and placed against Miss Davis' face and that one of her own big toes was tightened in a vise. Karenga, head of US, also put detergent and running hoses in their mouths, she said. They also were hit on the heads with toasters. 

Even if Karnega was not a made-up holiday created by a drug addled radical thug, it would not be something worth celebrating. The principles of Kawanzaa are not admirable. The first principle is Umoja (Unity). That is not unity among all people however but unity in the family, community, and race. The second principle is Kujichagulia (Self-Determination). It calls for the right to define ourselves, name ourselves, create for ourselves, and speak for ourselves. Keep in mind this is for Black people to do. It is not a call for cooperation with others or to be accepting or cooperative with others; this is a call for radical Black power. This is a call for separating themselves from the greater culture.

It doesn't get better. The fourth principle of Kwanzaa is Ujamaa which is "cooperative economics," perhaps the last thing the Black community needs. Ujamaa was the 20-year experiment with African- style socialism in Tanzania. It failed miserably. "Cooperative Economics" never works. Voluntary collectives always fall apart. To urge collective or cooperative economics for the Black community is to urge them to remain poor. The Black community needs a good dose of capitalism, not socialism.

I know Christmas is made up also. All holidays are made-up or declared by a proclamation as a day to honor an event or a person. Christmas evolved over time and customs and traditions and elements were added one on the other. The message of Christmas is a positive message however and embraces all mankind. The message matters and any thing that evolves over time, to my way of thinking, has more legitimacy than something someone just set down one day and made up.

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According to the Freedom Works Scorecard, Just How Conservative are your Congressmen and Senators?

Freedom Works is a conservative activist organization with over 6 million members who are passionate about promoting free markets and individual liberty. Members share three common traits: a desire for less government, lower taxes, and more economic freedom. Freedom Works was founded in 1986. Every year, Freedom Works produces a "scorecard" rating each member of the House and Senate. The higher the score the more often the legislature voted in agreement with positions taken my Freedom Works.  Below are the scores of Tennessee's delegation.

The Senate score is based on ten key votes and the House score is based on 30 key votes. To view the issues that comprise the score, follow these links: House, Senate. The highest possible score is "100."  The higher the score the more often the legislator agreed with the positions favored by Freedom Works.

You will notice that Senate Lamar Alexander has a low score of 24. Ten other Republican Senators had a lower scores including Mitch McConnell and Roy Blunt and Lindsay Graham.  There was not a single Senate Democrat who was more conservative than the most liberal Republican.

In the House you will notice that Jim Cooper scored a "9."  Cooper sometimes likes to pretend he is a conservative, but his votes does not support that contention.  There were 75 Democrats who scored as high or higher than Jim Cooper. Among the Democrat Representatives more conservative than Jim Cooper was Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. Except for one Republican who was more liberal than a Democrat and one Democrat who was more conservative than a Republican, all of the others divided as conservative Republicans and liberal Democrats.

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According to the Heritage Action Scorecard, Just How Conservative are your Congressmen and Senators?

Heritage Action is the activist wing of  The Heritage Foundation. The Heritage Foundation is a conservative think-tank, that has been around since 1973, and if it is not the most influential conservative organizations, it is certainly one of the most influential. Their mission statement is "to formulate and promote conservative public policies based on the principles of free enterprise, limited government, individual freedom, traditional American values, and a strong national defense."

While the Foundation does policy, Heritage Action does politics.  Heritage Action has chapters all across America, including one here in Nashville. If interested in affiliating with the Nashville Chapter, follow this link. Heritage Foundation is one of those organizations I support financially.

Every year, Heritage Action produces a "scorecard" rating each member of the House and Senate.  The higher the score the more often the legislature voted in agreement with positions taken my Heritage. Below is the results for Tennessee's delegation:

Scores are a good way to quickly label a person's politics. One should note however that it is a shortcut and may not tell you all you need to know about a person to determine if they are worthy of your support. Keep in mind that a score is for the most recent session of Congress.  Sometimes a member may score higher one year than another year.  Also scores are often based on just a few votes. You may not agree with every position taken by the scoring organization. To see the issues that went into the Heritage Action Score, follow this link.

Sometimes a legislator must vote smart or strategically and well as vote for the correct policy.  As an example, while I agree we need to address massive spending, in the short run this may not be the right time to vote against a spending bill and shut down the governments.  Also, if the choice is between a liberal Republican and a conservative Democrat (which it hardly ever is) I would rather have the Republican because who controls the legislature may be more important that how that particular legislator votes. Scores are a good reference but they don't tell you everything. Skill, intellect, statecraft, integrity, work ethic,  and seniority are important factors in evaluating a politician also.

You will notice above that Senator Alexander scored 56%. That is one of the lower Republican scores and is the same score as Senator Roy Blunt and Senator Lindsey Graham.  There were ten other Republican senators who scored the same or lower than Senator Alexander.

Representative Jim Cooper who scored only 6%, sometimes likes to posture as a conservative Democrat and while his score is higher than most Democrats, it is still low.  Most Democrats scored a zero. Some member of Congress, who one may think of as very liberal, actually got a score higher than Jim cooper.  Rep. Rashida Tlaib scored a 7%,  Rep. Ilhan Omar scored a 13% and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez scored a 13%.

There actually was a time when there were some conservative Democrats and some liberal Republican. Now it is very rare.  In the House the more conservative Democrat is more liberal than the most liberal Republican according to the scores. In the Senate, there is only one Republican who is less conservative than several Democrats and that is Susan Collins.  And, there is only one Democrat who is more conservative than several Republicans and that is Joe Manchin.

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A Shameful Day in the House of Representatives

Phil Roe

by US Rep. Phil Roe, M.D- Last Wednesday, was a sad day in American history. House Democrats gave in to their party radicals and voted to impeach a duly-elected president because of a partisan, political agenda. Speaker Pelosi made clear in March that impeachment divides our country if it is not bipartisan. This process wasn’t bipartisan; this vote wasn’t bipartisan; and there was no evidence supporting impeachment. This was a rigged process with impeachment as the end goal and I proudly voted against the articles of impeachment.

The impeachment inquiry didn’t begin in September. It started the moment Donald Trump was elected president. For two years, many leading Democrats claimed they have evidence President Trump colluded with Russia to win the 2016 election. It took a two-and-a-half year, $25 million investigation to prove there was no collusion. Rather than accepting these results and getting to work on the issues Americans care about, they continued on with impeachment. In July – before the call with Ukrainian President Zelensky ever occurred – 95 House Democrats voted to impeach the president. It wasn’t based on serious evidence then, and it’s not based on serious evidence now. Even as House Democrats claim this was a last resort, the truth is once they took the House majority, their goal was to impeach Donald Trump.

The American people are fundamentally fair. Rich or poor, president or factory worker – we believe all deserve fairness. This process has been anything but fair. The Democrats conducted over a month’s worth of hearings behind closed doors; blocked Republicans from calling their own witnesses; and prevented the president’s counsel from cross-examining witnesses. Imagine you were accused of a crime and were prevented from calling witnesses who could exonerate you. Worse still, you were prevented from questioning those accusing you. That is what happened these last few months in committee hearings. House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff – whose staff advised the whistleblower prior to the complaint that started this charade – even read a fictional version of President Trump’s phone call transcript in the first public hearing. You can’t make it up.

When Democrats finally wrapped up their sham inquiry, they filed two articles of impeachment, neither of which constitute “high crimes” or misdemeanors, and neither of which have they proved the president is guilty. The Constitution states the president “shall be removed from Office on Impeachment for, and Conviction of, Treason, Bribery or other high Crimes and misdemeanors.” The first article of impeachment claims “Abuse of Power.” They arrived at “abuse of power” only after polling showed the public didn’t believe their claims that the president engaged in “quid pro quo” or “bribery.” The only abuse of power that has occurred is by House Democrats.

The second article of impeachment claims “Obstruction of Congress.” If House Democrats were serious about this being an impeachable offense, they should have supported the impeachment of then-Attorney General Eric Holder, who refused to comply with congressional subpoenas. This is a standard they’re only willing to apply to President Trump. Further, there is no basis in law for an “obstruction of Congress” claim, and the Supreme Court is reviewing whether the Democrats’ claim is even constitutional. The White House has complied and released two unredacted call transcripts for the public to review. Furthermore, President Trump told Ambassador Gordon Sondland to testify before Congress and tell the truth. That is not an obstruction of anything, let alone Congress.

Even with Democrats using all their authority to push their presidential impeachment, no witness they called had firsthand knowledge or witnessed the alleged quid pro quo. No witness contradicted the key facts that have remained true since President Trump released his call transcript: the transcript showed no pressure on Ukraine to open an investigation; both presidents confirmed multiple times there was no pressure; the Ukrainian government was unaware U.S. security assistance was held at the time of the call; and aid was released on September 11 without any investigation occurring. How can there be a quid pro quo without a quid or a quo?

Impeaching a president with no evidence of a crime is a dangerous precedent to set and will create a new norm for what Congress considers impeachable conduct. Rep. Al Green (D-Texas) stated in May that he is “concerned that if we don’t impeach this president, he will get re-elected.” That says it all. Democrats made this impeachment process as partisan as possible, turning a solemn process into a political sham. This was an embarrassment and I am ashamed by what occurred in the House.

Phil Roe represents the First Congressional District of Tennessee in the U.S. House of Representatives. He is physician and co-chair of the House GOP Doctors Caucus and a member of the Health Caucus. Prior to serving in Congress, he served as the Mayor of Johnson City, Tennessee.

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America and Refugees

By Jay Nordlinger, National Review, September 27, 2019 - A few weeks back, we had an issue devoted to “What We Love about America.” One of the things I love is our traditional openness to refugees (with some shameful lapses, of course, as in the case of the St. Louis). We have provided a haven to the desperate and persecuted.

We have helped them, yes — but they have helped us, too. Some of the best Americans — the most admirable and American of Americans — have been refugees. From Germany, Vietnam, and all over. Many of them have served, and are serving, in our military — sometimes in the countries that hounded them out.

Imagine that: returning in an American uniform. (Henry Kissinger is an example of a person who did this.)
….
Obviously, we can’t take everyone. No nation can be responsible for the fall of every sparrow. But we can do more. And obviously, we have to be careful — our security is paramount. But we don’t have to slam the door shut. Refugees enrich our land. As a rule, they out-American Americans. Plus, have you ever thought about what you would do, if you needed refuge? (Read the article)

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Gov. Bill Lee Announces Decision on Refugee Resettlement

Office of the Governor press release, Dec. 18th, 2019, NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Today, Gov. Bill Lee announced his consent to initial refugee resettlement in Tennessee in response to Executive Order 13888 issued by President Donald J. Trump on September 26, 2019.

“The United States and Tennessee have always been, since the very founding of our nation, a shining beacon of freedom and opportunity for the persecuted and oppressed, particularly those suffering religious persecution,” said Governor Bill Lee. “My administration has worked extensively to determine the best outcome for Tennessee, and I will consent to working with President Trump and his administration to responsibly resettle refugees.”

Rod's comment: I support Gov. Lee's decision. It is the moral thing to do.

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18 Reasons Why No Country Should Ever Accept Refugees

18 Reasons Why No Country Should Ever Accept Refugees

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