Like it or not, The Rasmussen Reports says that VP GOP nominee Gov. Sarah Palin is now more popular than either Sens. John McCain or Barack Obama.
McCain is coming up roses after the RNC. AP reports enthusiastic crowds of mothers with their daughters in Michigan at campaign stops -- even though Oprah says she won't have Palin on her show. The Drudge Reports says the RNC in St. Paul drew more TV viewers than the DNC, and that accomplishment was in competition with the NFL and NCAA on Thursday.
McCain is on a roll. When that stops, nobody knows. Dems be afraid, be very afraid.
http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/election_20082/2008_presidential_election/palin_power_fresh_face_now_more_popular_than_obama_mccain
Saturday, September 6, 2008
MSNBC's Olbermann makes an ass of out himself
You are not going to believe the following clip on YouTube's most viewed video spots today.
MSNBC's zealot anchor Keith Olbermann makes an incredible ass out of himself in response to an RNC video about 9/11. If you remember, 9/11 wasn't mentioned at the DNC in Denver. Olbermann makes FOXNEWS' Bill O'Reilly seem rationale and respectable -- which he's not.
With friends like Olbermann, Democrats have a lot of baggage to carry into the fall campaign.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rw1vEzqld0I
MSNBC's zealot anchor Keith Olbermann makes an incredible ass out of himself in response to an RNC video about 9/11. If you remember, 9/11 wasn't mentioned at the DNC in Denver. Olbermann makes FOXNEWS' Bill O'Reilly seem rationale and respectable -- which he's not.
With friends like Olbermann, Democrats have a lot of baggage to carry into the fall campaign.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rw1vEzqld0I
You decide after viewing this video; please let me know your thoughts, my cat certainly has
A good friend and colleague of mine from way back sent me the following gem from the Internet that really speaks for itself. Draw your own conclusions, which I would love to see for others to read.
Click on: http://videos.komando.com/2008/09/05/chimp-vs-human/
Troubling to say the least? I really don't know. But my cat after seeing the video started treating me with less respect. Ugh, I hate hairballs.
Click on: http://videos.komando.com/2008/09/05/chimp-vs-human/
Troubling to say the least? I really don't know. But my cat after seeing the video started treating me with less respect. Ugh, I hate hairballs.
Friday, September 5, 2008
A good question about my blog post on the EnglishFirst referendum and too long of an answer
John Lamb, a very good man who publishes HispanicNashville.com, asks the following question in regards to my earlier post on the probable denial of a place on the November ballot for the EnglishFirst referendum:
Your post suggests the importance of the Charter by championing citizens' right to change it.
You must also then believe in the importance of the Charter's timeliness provision, which determines when and how often a petition-driven proposal can appear on the ballot.
You do not, however, address the Charter's timeliness provision in your post about whether the measure should be put on the ballot this November. Have you considered that provision as a factor in your opinion?
If you have considered the timeliness provision, it is unclear whether you believe that the measure should be on the ballot this November because (a) the Charter's timeliness provision should always be interpreted in such a way that would put a measure on the ballot if there were ever any wiggle room in whether it was the right time for such a measure, no matter what standard rules of legal interpretation would have us conclude or (b) the Charter's provisions on timeliness should be waived in favor of giving people a voice in their government.
Just curious where you are on the timeliness provision.
Good question, John, as always.
After reading Ken Whitehouse's solid piece in the NashvillePost.com, I came to understand the matter more clearly.
http://www.nashvillepost.com/news/2007/2/21/no_mas_on_english_first_bill_for_at_least_a_year
It clearly was the intent of the Charter authors that it be very difficult to alter the document. And that is not based on any two year rule, but preventing more than one change to the Charter during one council's sitting.
So EnglishFirst will be on the ballot next year, during council races which makes its passage even more certain -- probably with even more heinous provisions than in the one that was proposed for the November ballot.
The timeliness provision of the Metro Charter was used by opponents of the EnglishFirst referendum to block the initiative, not to accentuate the need to follow the law. If opponents could have found any records on Councilman Eric Crafton and bedwetting, they would have taken that tact, too, in derailing a vote of the people.
More than 10,000 Metro citizens signed a petition to vote on changing the law. That remains impressive.
By the letter of the law, proponents still failed. The timeliness provision prevailed. I don't like it. I don't think it should be tied to a council but to election cycles of two years or almost two years.
Ultimately, all that the opponents are doing is delaying the inevitable. They could not win the argument in the marketplace of ideas, so they hijacked the matter before a commission that led to a court. I never heard opponents cite the timeliness provision when they got a resolution passed in the council. And Whitehouse said he was being told by Metro officials last week that the referendum would be on the ballot.
A lot of integrity was missing on the opponents' side. While much media attention was focused on whose money was backing the referendum, little was written or telecast about who was funding the other side. The Metro Chamber of Commerce, which has done its best to ruin public education here, is against the referendum -- not because it is the right thing to do, but it could cost members big profits in their businesses.
If morality was really its aim, then the chamber would now be speaking out against the heinous 287g deportation program targeted at immigrants. But I haven't heard any chamber officers publicly speak against this inhumanity, or read media columnists and editorial boards coming out in opposition.
Meanwhile, too many -- but not all -- referendum opponents have shown themselves to be in the backpockets of the local Democratic Party. They won't dare criticize Mayor Karl Dean or Congressman Jim Cooper in public even though both have made 287g possible in Nashville by their acquiesence to wrong. I find no Profile in Courage in that.
By the timeliness provision of the Metro Charter, referendum opponents have won ... for the time being. By they have sown the seeds of even more of a backlash against Nashville's immigrant community.
The voiceless there will have to suffer more, as 287g continues to pick up political steam, tortures more pregnant mothers about to deliver American citizens and let's Democratic lawmakers in Nashville off the hook lest they feel the least bit uncomfortable.
John, you've won the battle but have ensured that immigrants here may well lose the war.
Your post suggests the importance of the Charter by championing citizens' right to change it.
You must also then believe in the importance of the Charter's timeliness provision, which determines when and how often a petition-driven proposal can appear on the ballot.
You do not, however, address the Charter's timeliness provision in your post about whether the measure should be put on the ballot this November. Have you considered that provision as a factor in your opinion?
If you have considered the timeliness provision, it is unclear whether you believe that the measure should be on the ballot this November because (a) the Charter's timeliness provision should always be interpreted in such a way that would put a measure on the ballot if there were ever any wiggle room in whether it was the right time for such a measure, no matter what standard rules of legal interpretation would have us conclude or (b) the Charter's provisions on timeliness should be waived in favor of giving people a voice in their government.
Just curious where you are on the timeliness provision.
Good question, John, as always.
After reading Ken Whitehouse's solid piece in the NashvillePost.com, I came to understand the matter more clearly.
http://www.nashvillepost.com/news/2007/2/21/no_mas_on_english_first_bill_for_at_least_a_year
It clearly was the intent of the Charter authors that it be very difficult to alter the document. And that is not based on any two year rule, but preventing more than one change to the Charter during one council's sitting.
So EnglishFirst will be on the ballot next year, during council races which makes its passage even more certain -- probably with even more heinous provisions than in the one that was proposed for the November ballot.
The timeliness provision of the Metro Charter was used by opponents of the EnglishFirst referendum to block the initiative, not to accentuate the need to follow the law. If opponents could have found any records on Councilman Eric Crafton and bedwetting, they would have taken that tact, too, in derailing a vote of the people.
More than 10,000 Metro citizens signed a petition to vote on changing the law. That remains impressive.
By the letter of the law, proponents still failed. The timeliness provision prevailed. I don't like it. I don't think it should be tied to a council but to election cycles of two years or almost two years.
Ultimately, all that the opponents are doing is delaying the inevitable. They could not win the argument in the marketplace of ideas, so they hijacked the matter before a commission that led to a court. I never heard opponents cite the timeliness provision when they got a resolution passed in the council. And Whitehouse said he was being told by Metro officials last week that the referendum would be on the ballot.
A lot of integrity was missing on the opponents' side. While much media attention was focused on whose money was backing the referendum, little was written or telecast about who was funding the other side. The Metro Chamber of Commerce, which has done its best to ruin public education here, is against the referendum -- not because it is the right thing to do, but it could cost members big profits in their businesses.
If morality was really its aim, then the chamber would now be speaking out against the heinous 287g deportation program targeted at immigrants. But I haven't heard any chamber officers publicly speak against this inhumanity, or read media columnists and editorial boards coming out in opposition.
Meanwhile, too many -- but not all -- referendum opponents have shown themselves to be in the backpockets of the local Democratic Party. They won't dare criticize Mayor Karl Dean or Congressman Jim Cooper in public even though both have made 287g possible in Nashville by their acquiesence to wrong. I find no Profile in Courage in that.
By the timeliness provision of the Metro Charter, referendum opponents have won ... for the time being. By they have sown the seeds of even more of a backlash against Nashville's immigrant community.
The voiceless there will have to suffer more, as 287g continues to pick up political steam, tortures more pregnant mothers about to deliver American citizens and let's Democratic lawmakers in Nashville off the hook lest they feel the least bit uncomfortable.
John, you've won the battle but have ensured that immigrants here may well lose the war.
Alabama taxpayers may well gain the most from Tennessee's shocking VW plant shenanigans
The NashvillePost and City Paper report that Volkswagen now is looking closely at possibly building a supply facility for its new Chattanooga plant in Huntsville, Ala. -- not Tennessee.
Gov. Phil Bredesen made his winning bid of $577 million in corporate freebies for the automaker based on Volkswagen locating its supply plants in Tennessee. The administration claimed its figures justifying this giveaway had been crunched by a supposed state think tank. The state of Tennessee is giving "thinking" a bad name.
This morning, the media outlets reported the shocking news on the VW supply plant from a German publication that closely follows the auto industry.
One would think that supposed saavy business people such as Bredesen would have required VW to locate its supply plants in Tennessee in exchange for freebies that oustripped Alabama's bid for the plant by more than $200 million.
One would think that supposed saavy business people such as Bredesen would at least have required that VW only hire Tennesseans for its jobs at the Chattanooga plant. But that is not the case either. You as a Tennessee taxpayer will be paying $68,000 a year in tax breaks for each job at the Chatanooga plant for workers who may be from Georgia and Alabama. Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus.
It certainly appears that "thinking" was not going on in the Bredesen administration when $577 million in corporate freebies were given to VW. And now Alabama may well be the big winners from all these shenanigans, by ensuring their taxpayers pay less for jobs.
Gov. Phil Bredesen made his winning bid of $577 million in corporate freebies for the automaker based on Volkswagen locating its supply plants in Tennessee. The administration claimed its figures justifying this giveaway had been crunched by a supposed state think tank. The state of Tennessee is giving "thinking" a bad name.
This morning, the media outlets reported the shocking news on the VW supply plant from a German publication that closely follows the auto industry.
One would think that supposed saavy business people such as Bredesen would have required VW to locate its supply plants in Tennessee in exchange for freebies that oustripped Alabama's bid for the plant by more than $200 million.
One would think that supposed saavy business people such as Bredesen would at least have required that VW only hire Tennesseans for its jobs at the Chattanooga plant. But that is not the case either. You as a Tennessee taxpayer will be paying $68,000 a year in tax breaks for each job at the Chatanooga plant for workers who may be from Georgia and Alabama. Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus.
It certainly appears that "thinking" was not going on in the Bredesen administration when $577 million in corporate freebies were given to VW. And now Alabama may well be the big winners from all these shenanigans, by ensuring their taxpayers pay less for jobs.
Thursday, September 4, 2008
Probable blocking of EnglishFirst referendum is a very sad day for our way of governance
Nashville's three major TV stations reported tonight that a Metro judge ruled against the EnglishFirst referendum being on the November ballot. But supporters of the referendum promised to file an appeal.
Councilman Eric Crafton said he will appeal the decision. But it does not look like there wil be enough time to get the issue adjudicated by the deadline for printing the ballot and sent to absentee voters.
Opponents of the amendment feel great. But for our republic form of government and our democracy, this setback is a sad day. The right of the people to redress their government with grievances should never be blocked.
If the arguments of opponents cannot win the day at the ballot box, then it should be up to them to pursue relief from the courts in how the state and U.S. constitutions are interpreted in regards to EnglishFirst laws. The people filing petitions should not have to do that. And a judge should not be put into the position as tonight.
This issue is not going away. Another petition drive will bring it again for ballot approval. So deal with it now, or deal with it later.
The people of Nashville deserve now.
Councilman Eric Crafton said he will appeal the decision. But it does not look like there wil be enough time to get the issue adjudicated by the deadline for printing the ballot and sent to absentee voters.
Opponents of the amendment feel great. But for our republic form of government and our democracy, this setback is a sad day. The right of the people to redress their government with grievances should never be blocked.
If the arguments of opponents cannot win the day at the ballot box, then it should be up to them to pursue relief from the courts in how the state and U.S. constitutions are interpreted in regards to EnglishFirst laws. The people filing petitions should not have to do that. And a judge should not be put into the position as tonight.
This issue is not going away. Another petition drive will bring it again for ballot approval. So deal with it now, or deal with it later.
The people of Nashville deserve now.
Pundit class shows its hypocrisy in Peggy Noonan's slip up on Palin and Limbaugh's praise of McCain
The most popular clip on YouTube today says everything about what is classified as political punditry or expert analysis.
The dispensers of both are hypocrites, used car salesmen, carnival pitchmen, Marsha Blackburns without elective office. And the unmasking of Ronald Reagan's heart and soul speechwriter Peggy Noonan confirms these contentions.
Noonan was on MSNBC before Gov. Sarah Palin's speech last night with Mike Murphy, the man behind the machine that is Gov. Arnold of California. On the air, the two pundits made nice about Palin and what to expect from her speech that night.
But then the truth intervened when the microphones for the pair were left on after MSNBC broke from the spot. Noonan was caught calling the choice of Palin as VP "bullshit and the McCain campaign as being over.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CrG8w4bb3kg
She lied to the American people like Reagan did as president when it came to selling arms for hostages in the Iran-Contra scandal.
Today, Noonan tried to rationalize away her hypocrisy with the following addition to her column for The Wall Street Journal. Be sure you haven't just eaten before reading it.
http://online.wsj.com/article/declarations.html
As far as a credible source for political analysis, Noonan's days should be over. The Wall Street Journal should drop her column. And no TV network should use her anymore.
Political pundits invited to comment on matters involving their own political party should be removed from TV networks. They are not there to provide fair analysis; they're on hand to convince the people to drink the Kool-Aid they wouldn't dare try.
On FoxNews tonight, radio talk show entertainer Rush Limbaugh had nothing but praise for Sen. John McCain, a man who he earlier this year damned for not being conservative enough or at all. Rush predicted the downfall of the Republican Party.
Tonight, however, Limbaugh lauded McCain's story of his captivity and putting America first -- even though that same story and cause were known when the entertainer was roasting the senator several months ago.
Democratic pundits can be just as bad, but not shockingly caught on tape like Noonan. I had the opportunity to interview James Carville the day before the 1996 presidential vote. He was in Nashville and had taken over the seat of the party chairman in his office on West End.
Carville was sarcastic and swarmy. He avoided questions. And I felt like taking a shower after I left the state Democratic Party office.
The people of this nation deserve better than this "bullshit" -- thank you, Peggy Noonan -- being constantly fed them on television. The news media should free itself of these hypocrites and try and deliver something closer to fair and unbiased analysis.
The dispensers of both are hypocrites, used car salesmen, carnival pitchmen, Marsha Blackburns without elective office. And the unmasking of Ronald Reagan's heart and soul speechwriter Peggy Noonan confirms these contentions.
Noonan was on MSNBC before Gov. Sarah Palin's speech last night with Mike Murphy, the man behind the machine that is Gov. Arnold of California. On the air, the two pundits made nice about Palin and what to expect from her speech that night.
But then the truth intervened when the microphones for the pair were left on after MSNBC broke from the spot. Noonan was caught calling the choice of Palin as VP "bullshit and the McCain campaign as being over.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CrG8w4bb3kg
She lied to the American people like Reagan did as president when it came to selling arms for hostages in the Iran-Contra scandal.
Today, Noonan tried to rationalize away her hypocrisy with the following addition to her column for The Wall Street Journal. Be sure you haven't just eaten before reading it.
http://online.wsj.com/article/declarations.html
As far as a credible source for political analysis, Noonan's days should be over. The Wall Street Journal should drop her column. And no TV network should use her anymore.
Political pundits invited to comment on matters involving their own political party should be removed from TV networks. They are not there to provide fair analysis; they're on hand to convince the people to drink the Kool-Aid they wouldn't dare try.
On FoxNews tonight, radio talk show entertainer Rush Limbaugh had nothing but praise for Sen. John McCain, a man who he earlier this year damned for not being conservative enough or at all. Rush predicted the downfall of the Republican Party.
Tonight, however, Limbaugh lauded McCain's story of his captivity and putting America first -- even though that same story and cause were known when the entertainer was roasting the senator several months ago.
Democratic pundits can be just as bad, but not shockingly caught on tape like Noonan. I had the opportunity to interview James Carville the day before the 1996 presidential vote. He was in Nashville and had taken over the seat of the party chairman in his office on West End.
Carville was sarcastic and swarmy. He avoided questions. And I felt like taking a shower after I left the state Democratic Party office.
The people of this nation deserve better than this "bullshit" -- thank you, Peggy Noonan -- being constantly fed them on television. The news media should free itself of these hypocrites and try and deliver something closer to fair and unbiased analysis.
Judge now has matter of EnglishFirst referendum in her hands for ruling tonight but ...
WSMV Channel 4 reports that a Metro Nashville judge now has the matter of whether the EnglishFirst referendum should be on this November's ballot in her hands and expects to issue a decision tonight.
But the judge says she cannot force the referendum on the ballot. That still will be up to the Metro Election Commission, which rejected its inclusion by a 3-2 vote last month.
If absentee ballots are to make it out by printing and mailing time, the election commission would have to meet tomorrow by the latest, WSMV reported.
Don't count on that.
Ultimately, it looks like the referendum will be derailed for this November, which would be a shame. If opponents cannot win at the ballot box by the rightness of their arguments in a republic, then there is no honor in stopping it with a wrong decision by a commission.
But the judge says she cannot force the referendum on the ballot. That still will be up to the Metro Election Commission, which rejected its inclusion by a 3-2 vote last month.
If absentee ballots are to make it out by printing and mailing time, the election commission would have to meet tomorrow by the latest, WSMV reported.
Don't count on that.
Ultimately, it looks like the referendum will be derailed for this November, which would be a shame. If opponents cannot win at the ballot box by the rightness of their arguments in a republic, then there is no honor in stopping it with a wrong decision by a commission.
Go North young man and woman if you want a good, long-term job; Iowa is the best model
CNBC, my network of choice during the week, just had a great interview with Iowa Gov. Chet Culver about 48,000 job vacancies in his state.
And these jobs are full-time and in growing industries. Iowa has always been a center for financial and insurance institutions. But Google has announced its intention to move there and help create another 1,000 jobs.
There is a big difference in what is being done in Iowa versus Tennessee when it comes to economic development. The Chattanooga VW plant is in an industry that faces a great uncertainty as this nation moves toward more alternative fuels. In addition, Tennessee officials are giving away the whole hog just to get a few ribs. Tennessee's governor -- supposedly a Democrat -- just gave away $577 million in taxpayer freebies to VW. That was a third more than the state of Alabama was offering in this silly bidding war.
Iowa's investment in white collar jobs offers a brighter and more secure economic future there. These industries will always be around.
Iowa has created economic magic by increasing its already high literacy rate and the number of college-educated citizens. Meanwhile, Tennessee's governor has a record after almost six years in office of only 18% of its children being ready for college, according to ACT test results.
While Tennessee's governor employs excuses and rationalization, Iowa's governor is worried about the 48,000 available, decent-paying jobs with benefits there. And he is taking aggressive actions as a result.
Nationwide, CNBC said that a shortage of 14 million skilled workers will bear down on the national economy by 2020. Locally, Vanderbilt University has already reported that there will be a nursing shortage of 500,000 skilled health care professional by the same year.
What's the solution? It's obvious. The youngest workforce is Hispanic. The numbers of these human beings continues to grow in this nation. Children of undocumented workers, however, have been denied affordable education in college to become those skilled employees. These young people -- who have been educated in American public schools -- cannot get in-state tuition rates. And Republicans have blocked passage of the federal Dream Act to address this insanity.
Instead, immigration authorities under the Bush administration and even Democrats locally here in Nashville are just deporting people like crazy. In some states, children who have been the valedictorians of their schools are being deported. What a loss of brain power for this nation.
Wouldn't it be great and more beneficial to all if the opposite was done with this avaialable workforce and new brain power? In Nashville, I'd like to establish a mentoring and employment relationship between Vanderbilt University Medical Center and the Hispanic communuty through Our Lady of Guadalupe Catholic Church.
Both institutions are near each other. The opening of Vanderbilt's operations at 100 Oaks Mall will bring the communities side by side. What if a mentoring program was started to take Hispanic 8th graders and older at OLG -- which has weekend mass attendance of 5,000 people -- and start mentoring them toward nursing careers. Provide summer internships or parttime jobs to show Hispanic parents the opportunity for economic advancement in this profession. Then, let's make sure these kids get into college and nursing school. Meanwhile, they can start working up the career ladder at VUMC with initial, basic caregiving while still going to school.
That's my dream.
For the time being, people looking for better jobs should should beat a path to Iowa. But for the longer term, state and federal governments must finally set aside America's historical bigotry and allow all American-educated children access to higher education at affordable rates to become the skilled workers of tomorrow.
The alternative will be a nation by 2020 struggling to care for its old and sick and watching companies leaving for China and India where an adequate skilled workforce is available.
And these jobs are full-time and in growing industries. Iowa has always been a center for financial and insurance institutions. But Google has announced its intention to move there and help create another 1,000 jobs.
There is a big difference in what is being done in Iowa versus Tennessee when it comes to economic development. The Chattanooga VW plant is in an industry that faces a great uncertainty as this nation moves toward more alternative fuels. In addition, Tennessee officials are giving away the whole hog just to get a few ribs. Tennessee's governor -- supposedly a Democrat -- just gave away $577 million in taxpayer freebies to VW. That was a third more than the state of Alabama was offering in this silly bidding war.
Iowa's investment in white collar jobs offers a brighter and more secure economic future there. These industries will always be around.
Iowa has created economic magic by increasing its already high literacy rate and the number of college-educated citizens. Meanwhile, Tennessee's governor has a record after almost six years in office of only 18% of its children being ready for college, according to ACT test results.
While Tennessee's governor employs excuses and rationalization, Iowa's governor is worried about the 48,000 available, decent-paying jobs with benefits there. And he is taking aggressive actions as a result.
Nationwide, CNBC said that a shortage of 14 million skilled workers will bear down on the national economy by 2020. Locally, Vanderbilt University has already reported that there will be a nursing shortage of 500,000 skilled health care professional by the same year.
What's the solution? It's obvious. The youngest workforce is Hispanic. The numbers of these human beings continues to grow in this nation. Children of undocumented workers, however, have been denied affordable education in college to become those skilled employees. These young people -- who have been educated in American public schools -- cannot get in-state tuition rates. And Republicans have blocked passage of the federal Dream Act to address this insanity.
Instead, immigration authorities under the Bush administration and even Democrats locally here in Nashville are just deporting people like crazy. In some states, children who have been the valedictorians of their schools are being deported. What a loss of brain power for this nation.
Wouldn't it be great and more beneficial to all if the opposite was done with this avaialable workforce and new brain power? In Nashville, I'd like to establish a mentoring and employment relationship between Vanderbilt University Medical Center and the Hispanic communuty through Our Lady of Guadalupe Catholic Church.
Both institutions are near each other. The opening of Vanderbilt's operations at 100 Oaks Mall will bring the communities side by side. What if a mentoring program was started to take Hispanic 8th graders and older at OLG -- which has weekend mass attendance of 5,000 people -- and start mentoring them toward nursing careers. Provide summer internships or parttime jobs to show Hispanic parents the opportunity for economic advancement in this profession. Then, let's make sure these kids get into college and nursing school. Meanwhile, they can start working up the career ladder at VUMC with initial, basic caregiving while still going to school.
That's my dream.
For the time being, people looking for better jobs should should beat a path to Iowa. But for the longer term, state and federal governments must finally set aside America's historical bigotry and allow all American-educated children access to higher education at affordable rates to become the skilled workers of tomorrow.
The alternative will be a nation by 2020 struggling to care for its old and sick and watching companies leaving for China and India where an adequate skilled workforce is available.
Act now to stop inhumane TennCare cuts to people forced to stay home because of disability
Away from the conventions, real life and political cowardice come become more of a burden in Tennessee.
Across the state this month, more than 1,000 people medically debilitated and forced to stay inside their homes willl be left to fend for themselves because Gov. Phil Bredesen's promises are no better than Confederate currency.
The problem is that officials with TennCare, the state's Medicaid program, say that home health care with 24-hour nursing for human beings among us has become too expensive. That's despite Bredesen -- who supposedly is over TennCare as an icon of a successful businessman -- getting legislation into law that he said would make home health care more affordable to taxpayers.
It was reasoned, and rightly so, that home health care is preferable to nursing home care for these good people now on edge morally and economically. Nursing homes, no matter how well they are run, are places people go to die. That truth cannot be overcome or rationalized away.
TennCare says, however, that nursing home care is preferable if family members of debilitated human beings cannot spend more time caring for them. Well, those family members are out working one or two jobs so food can be kept on the table, utilities kept on, clothes purchased and rent or mortgage payments made.
Meanwhile, Bredesen stays silent over his latest failure to govern. The legislation he touted, the Long Term Care Community Choices Act, does not take effect until July 1, 2009. There is no reason that TennCare cannot wait until that act takes law so that families can have the time to make the tough decisions on putting loved ones into nursing homes, or loved ones can file appeals not to lose their nursing care.
Health care is a very personal decision. So is how to care for your loved one. But TennCare is trying to cram down a one-size-fits-all atrocity containing only two options. God forgive us.
The same thing happened before I came down with leukemia in Dec. 2005. The governor had enacted shocking cuts that threw many human beings off TennCare, going against his campaign promise to fix the program not gut it. For six months until January 2005 when Medicare drug prescription benefits would be enabled, Bredesen left Tennessee senior citizens without any help to pay for their life-sustaining meds.
I wrote about a Memphis woman who died in September 2005 from congestive heart failure because she could not afford to buy her medicine. And this great lady, the day before she died, had just cooked meals for Hurriance Katrina victims who had landed in Memphis. And Bredesen promised each of those evacuees that they would be covered by TennCare.
Outrageous. Shameful. Immoral. The dictionary does not contain enough words for this kind of indency by the governor.
Fast forward to the latest indecency over home health care. The only good thing to come out of this mess is that enough Tennesseans of conscience have been moved to act, including those in the General Assembly. The Tennessee Health Care Campaign, an advocacy group, has organized a most beneficial gathering for these victims of political cowardice and their family members to get their voices heard by lawmakers and officials who will rule on appeals.
Here is what you can do to make a difference:
Circle Tuesday, Sept. 30 on your calendar. Gas up the car and set your bearings for Legislative Plaza in Nashville. It's just east of the state Capitol building. You'll have to find a parking garage for your vehicle.
At 10:30 a.m. in the cafeteria, you'll get hands-on training on how to file an appeal to a TennCare decision to remove your home health care. Lunch will follow, with a press conference at 12:30. Afterward, a meeting of the TennCare Legislative Oversight Committee will begin at 1:30.
Your attendance in great numbers at that meeting will send an important message to the lawmakers present. THCC encourages you to contact your state lawmakers and ask them to attend the training, press conference and meeting to hear the stories of their constituents who are suffering so greatly for what I call political cowardice and very poor planning by the governor's office and TennCare.
Of if you cannot make the meeting, ask your state senator and representative to come to your home to see the consequences of misdirected public policy. If they won't come, contact me at the e-mail address at the bottom of my profile and I'll run their name for everyone to see.
To find out who represents you, go to http://www.legislature.state.tn.us.
Here is another important thing you can do to make a difference. Contact members of the TennCare Legislative Oversight Commission now. Let's build some momentum. I know several of the members -- Sen. Black, Sen. Jackson, Rep. Hensley and Rep. Odom. Black is a former nurse. Hensley still is a practicing doctor. Jackson is just a good and decent man. And I know they will listen. Odom in particular has been standing out as a voice of reason and compassion on TennCare.
This met method works. I know from personal experience in successfully helping lawmakers to push charter school legislation earlier this decade. Use the following list:
* Sen. Diane Black, Robertson and part of Sumner counties, 819 Plantation Boulevard, Gallatin, TN 37066. Phone:(615) 230-8586Or email at sen.black@legislature.state.tn.us
* Senator Charlotte Burks, Cumberland, Jackson, Overton, Pickett, Putnam and White counties; 18131 Crossville Highway, Monterey, TN 38574. Phone (931) 839-3392, sen.charlotte.burks@legislature.state.tn.us
* Senator Rusty Crowe, Washington and Carter counties, 808 East 8th Avenue, Johnson City, TN 37601. Phone (423) 926-8288, sen.rusty.crowe@legislature.state.tn.us
* Senator Raymond Finney, Blount and Sevier counties, 2119 Middlewood Drive, Maryville, TN 37803. Phone: 865-984-1424, sen.raymond.finney@legislature.state.tn.us
* Senator Roy Herron, Benton, Decatur, Henry, Henderson, Lake, Obion, Perry, Stewart and Weakley counties; Court Square, P.O. Box 5, Dresden, TN 38225. Phone (731) 364-5415, sen.roy.herron@legislature.state.tn.us
* Senator Doug Jackson, Dickson, Giles, Hickman, Humphreys, Lawrence, and Lewis counties; 119 Tanglewood Drive, Dickson, TN 37055; (615) 446-5631, sen.doug.jackson@legislature.state.tn.us
* Senator Steve Southerland, Cocke, Greene, Hamblen, and Unicoi counties; 322 West Hillcrest Drive, Morristown, TN 37813;(615) 741-3851, sen.steve.southerland@legislature.state.tn.us
* Representative Joe Armstrong, Part of Knox County, 4708 Hilldale Drive, Knoxville, TN 37914; (865) 532-6374, rep.joe.armstrong@legislature.state.tn.us
* Representative Dennis Ferguson, Roane and part of Loudon Counties; 2851 Roane State Highway, Harriman, TN 37748; (865) 882-5930, rep.dennis.ferguson@legislature.state.tn.us
* Representative Bill Harmon, Sequatchie, Van Buren, Grundy, and Marion counties; 107 Harmon Road North, Dunlap, TN 37327; (423) 949-5100; rep.bill.harmon@legislature.state.tn.us
* Representative Mike Harrison, Hancock and part of Hawkins counties; 115 Green Acres Drive, Rogersville, TN 37857; (615) 741-7480, rep.mike.harrison@legislature.state.tn.us
* Representative Joey Hensley, Lawrence, Lewis and part of Wayne counties; 855 Summertown Highway, Hohenwald, TN 38462
Phone (615) 741-7476, rep.joey.hensley@legislature.state.tn.us
* Representative Steve McDaniel, Henderson, Chester and parts of Decatur and Wayne counties; 97 Battleground Drive, Parkers Crossroads, TN 38388
Phone (731) 968-7883, rep.steve.mcdaniel@legislature.state.tn.us
* Representative Gary Odom, Part of Davidson county;
119 Dunham Springs Lane, Nashville, TN 37205;
Phone (615) 356-5096, rep.gary.odom@legislature.state.tn.us
* Rep. David Shepard, Dickson and part of Hickman Counties
204 McCreary Heights, Dickson, TN 37055;
Phone (615) 446-9782, rep.david.shepard@legislature.state.tn.us
Across the state this month, more than 1,000 people medically debilitated and forced to stay inside their homes willl be left to fend for themselves because Gov. Phil Bredesen's promises are no better than Confederate currency.
The problem is that officials with TennCare, the state's Medicaid program, say that home health care with 24-hour nursing for human beings among us has become too expensive. That's despite Bredesen -- who supposedly is over TennCare as an icon of a successful businessman -- getting legislation into law that he said would make home health care more affordable to taxpayers.
It was reasoned, and rightly so, that home health care is preferable to nursing home care for these good people now on edge morally and economically. Nursing homes, no matter how well they are run, are places people go to die. That truth cannot be overcome or rationalized away.
TennCare says, however, that nursing home care is preferable if family members of debilitated human beings cannot spend more time caring for them. Well, those family members are out working one or two jobs so food can be kept on the table, utilities kept on, clothes purchased and rent or mortgage payments made.
Meanwhile, Bredesen stays silent over his latest failure to govern. The legislation he touted, the Long Term Care Community Choices Act, does not take effect until July 1, 2009. There is no reason that TennCare cannot wait until that act takes law so that families can have the time to make the tough decisions on putting loved ones into nursing homes, or loved ones can file appeals not to lose their nursing care.
Health care is a very personal decision. So is how to care for your loved one. But TennCare is trying to cram down a one-size-fits-all atrocity containing only two options. God forgive us.
The same thing happened before I came down with leukemia in Dec. 2005. The governor had enacted shocking cuts that threw many human beings off TennCare, going against his campaign promise to fix the program not gut it. For six months until January 2005 when Medicare drug prescription benefits would be enabled, Bredesen left Tennessee senior citizens without any help to pay for their life-sustaining meds.
I wrote about a Memphis woman who died in September 2005 from congestive heart failure because she could not afford to buy her medicine. And this great lady, the day before she died, had just cooked meals for Hurriance Katrina victims who had landed in Memphis. And Bredesen promised each of those evacuees that they would be covered by TennCare.
Outrageous. Shameful. Immoral. The dictionary does not contain enough words for this kind of indency by the governor.
Fast forward to the latest indecency over home health care. The only good thing to come out of this mess is that enough Tennesseans of conscience have been moved to act, including those in the General Assembly. The Tennessee Health Care Campaign, an advocacy group, has organized a most beneficial gathering for these victims of political cowardice and their family members to get their voices heard by lawmakers and officials who will rule on appeals.
Here is what you can do to make a difference:
Circle Tuesday, Sept. 30 on your calendar. Gas up the car and set your bearings for Legislative Plaza in Nashville. It's just east of the state Capitol building. You'll have to find a parking garage for your vehicle.
At 10:30 a.m. in the cafeteria, you'll get hands-on training on how to file an appeal to a TennCare decision to remove your home health care. Lunch will follow, with a press conference at 12:30. Afterward, a meeting of the TennCare Legislative Oversight Committee will begin at 1:30.
Your attendance in great numbers at that meeting will send an important message to the lawmakers present. THCC encourages you to contact your state lawmakers and ask them to attend the training, press conference and meeting to hear the stories of their constituents who are suffering so greatly for what I call political cowardice and very poor planning by the governor's office and TennCare.
Of if you cannot make the meeting, ask your state senator and representative to come to your home to see the consequences of misdirected public policy. If they won't come, contact me at the e-mail address at the bottom of my profile and I'll run their name for everyone to see.
To find out who represents you, go to http://www.legislature.state.tn.us.
Here is another important thing you can do to make a difference. Contact members of the TennCare Legislative Oversight Commission now. Let's build some momentum. I know several of the members -- Sen. Black, Sen. Jackson, Rep. Hensley and Rep. Odom. Black is a former nurse. Hensley still is a practicing doctor. Jackson is just a good and decent man. And I know they will listen. Odom in particular has been standing out as a voice of reason and compassion on TennCare.
This met method works. I know from personal experience in successfully helping lawmakers to push charter school legislation earlier this decade. Use the following list:
* Sen. Diane Black, Robertson and part of Sumner counties, 819 Plantation Boulevard, Gallatin, TN 37066. Phone:(615) 230-8586Or email at sen.black@legislature.state.tn.us
* Senator Charlotte Burks, Cumberland, Jackson, Overton, Pickett, Putnam and White counties; 18131 Crossville Highway, Monterey, TN 38574. Phone (931) 839-3392, sen.charlotte.burks@legislature.state.tn.us
* Senator Rusty Crowe, Washington and Carter counties, 808 East 8th Avenue, Johnson City, TN 37601. Phone (423) 926-8288, sen.rusty.crowe@legislature.state.tn.us
* Senator Raymond Finney, Blount and Sevier counties, 2119 Middlewood Drive, Maryville, TN 37803. Phone: 865-984-1424, sen.raymond.finney@legislature.state.tn.us
* Senator Roy Herron, Benton, Decatur, Henry, Henderson, Lake, Obion, Perry, Stewart and Weakley counties; Court Square, P.O. Box 5, Dresden, TN 38225. Phone (731) 364-5415, sen.roy.herron@legislature.state.tn.us
* Senator Doug Jackson, Dickson, Giles, Hickman, Humphreys, Lawrence, and Lewis counties; 119 Tanglewood Drive, Dickson, TN 37055; (615) 446-5631, sen.doug.jackson@legislature.state.tn.us
* Senator Steve Southerland, Cocke, Greene, Hamblen, and Unicoi counties; 322 West Hillcrest Drive, Morristown, TN 37813;(615) 741-3851, sen.steve.southerland@legislature.state.tn.us
* Representative Joe Armstrong, Part of Knox County, 4708 Hilldale Drive, Knoxville, TN 37914; (865) 532-6374, rep.joe.armstrong@legislature.state.tn.us
* Representative Dennis Ferguson, Roane and part of Loudon Counties; 2851 Roane State Highway, Harriman, TN 37748; (865) 882-5930, rep.dennis.ferguson@legislature.state.tn.us
* Representative Bill Harmon, Sequatchie, Van Buren, Grundy, and Marion counties; 107 Harmon Road North, Dunlap, TN 37327; (423) 949-5100; rep.bill.harmon@legislature.state.tn.us
* Representative Mike Harrison, Hancock and part of Hawkins counties; 115 Green Acres Drive, Rogersville, TN 37857; (615) 741-7480, rep.mike.harrison@legislature.state.tn.us
* Representative Joey Hensley, Lawrence, Lewis and part of Wayne counties; 855 Summertown Highway, Hohenwald, TN 38462
Phone (615) 741-7476, rep.joey.hensley@legislature.state.tn.us
* Representative Steve McDaniel, Henderson, Chester and parts of Decatur and Wayne counties; 97 Battleground Drive, Parkers Crossroads, TN 38388
Phone (731) 968-7883, rep.steve.mcdaniel@legislature.state.tn.us
* Representative Gary Odom, Part of Davidson county;
119 Dunham Springs Lane, Nashville, TN 37205;
Phone (615) 356-5096, rep.gary.odom@legislature.state.tn.us
* Rep. David Shepard, Dickson and part of Hickman Counties
204 McCreary Heights, Dickson, TN 37055;
Phone (615) 446-9782, rep.david.shepard@legislature.state.tn.us
Day 3 from the RNC: What a difference one speech makes in the media and John McCain's fortunes
Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin delivered in big-time fashion last night in silencing media critics, reviving John McCain's campaign and in pushing all the GOP's traditional haters and hypocrites to the party sidelines.
It almost was enough for the viewing public to actually like Republicans and what they stood for. Yet for some of us, that point of connection still remains far away.
Yet on the political front lines, Palin destroyed her critics among the staff of the major network media. And The New York Times this morning featured a big, front page piece on how difficult it is govern a diverse place such as Alaska. Prominent mention of Palin's pregnant daughter disappeared. Repeated questioning of McCain's vetting process for his VP choice was stopped in mid-sentence.
The only, minor criticism of Palin's remarks was the blind contention that last night's speech was written for her. That's an assumption that is not too smart to make on TV. Palin showed last night that she is plenty smart and saavy enough to come up with her own ideas to express publicly. And she knows energy policy inside and out.
CNN's Campbell Brown became Palin's biggest advocate and defender last night, beating back questions from her colleagues about the candidate's performance and qualifications. Brown will be wanting to ride that horse into prominence and a better prime time slot for her show.
Yet one of the most moving moments of the night was away from the podium. C-Span featured regular shots of Palin's infant son in the arms of her youngest daughter. The gentleness she showed with her brother -- in licking her fingers and then applying them to her brother's hair to make it look more presentable and touching his eyes to remove any surrounding residue -- was most telling of the love in that family.
No, I don't agree with Palin with all the issues, but I am a big backer of reforming bureaucracies that only serve the few. Tennessee sure could use someone such as her in the governor's office, particularly after Phil Bredesen -- a Democrat who touted himself as a qualified VP pick for the Democratic ticket -- gave $577 million in taxpayer freebies to Volkswagen for a manufacturing plant in Chattanooga.
Tennessee could also use her Palin as a representative in Congress. What a breath of fresh air she would be in replacing Rep. Jim Cooper of Nashville who only tackles matters of conscience and consequence outside of his district. Or consider Palin as a replacement for Rep. Marsha Blackburn of Brentwood. The Alaska governor does not have to explain why she broke Federal Election Commission rules in failing to accurately report campaign contributions. She does not have to explain using campaign funds to profit her daughter's business.
Most of all, Palin does not appear to be a hater of human beings like Blackburn in pushing a strident and heinous reaction to undocumented workers in the United States. Hopefully, Blackburn will be denied a speaking role at the convention podium.
Her political career is descending, thank goodness. Former Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist seems destined to run for governor in 2010 and revive his presidential aspirations. Bob Corker and Lamar Alexander are in no way close to wanting to retire their Senate seats. So Blackburn will have an even smaller voice in a more Democratic dominated House.
Perhaps she can join Bredesen after 2010 in the political-has-beens club and make tours of the state talking about when their careers in office really mattered.
The pressure is off McCain tonight in his acceptance speech. His choice of Palin has vindicated him. And Palin's savaging of Sen. Barack Obama last night showed McCain does not even have to mention his opponent's name.
Palin's community organizer barbs were very effective. I myself have been a community organizer on the response of Catholics in Nashville area to the abuse of children by priests, ressurrecting the Sam Levy Homes area in east Nashville and in pushing for a fair and legal education of immigrant children in Metro public schools.
And she's right. There is no legal responsibility placed on a community organizer. That person can come and go as they please. And one of the plagues of inner cities -- from my reporting experience -- has been organizers and their groups that come in for a few years and get everyone hopeful, then leave after the grant money gets used up.
CNN's guest-pert Roland Martin sounded very silly last night in protesting Palin's characterization of community organizer experience. Such experience is nice. It makes for a better community, particularly for those who get overlooked and underserved. But it is nothing compared to holding elective office if you are running for a higher elective office.
In turn, Obama looks weak for his VP choice, another one of Beltway Boys who has kept things from changing in Washington, D.C.
So after tonight, we have one historic campaign against another. McCain, however, has the advantage of a new face who the media and the her opponents will not have time to adequately vet and challenge over the next 55 days.
McCain will be grinning a lot during his acceptance speech. And he has a lot of reason to do so. He actually does have a chance to be the next president of the United States.
It almost was enough for the viewing public to actually like Republicans and what they stood for. Yet for some of us, that point of connection still remains far away.
Yet on the political front lines, Palin destroyed her critics among the staff of the major network media. And The New York Times this morning featured a big, front page piece on how difficult it is govern a diverse place such as Alaska. Prominent mention of Palin's pregnant daughter disappeared. Repeated questioning of McCain's vetting process for his VP choice was stopped in mid-sentence.
The only, minor criticism of Palin's remarks was the blind contention that last night's speech was written for her. That's an assumption that is not too smart to make on TV. Palin showed last night that she is plenty smart and saavy enough to come up with her own ideas to express publicly. And she knows energy policy inside and out.
CNN's Campbell Brown became Palin's biggest advocate and defender last night, beating back questions from her colleagues about the candidate's performance and qualifications. Brown will be wanting to ride that horse into prominence and a better prime time slot for her show.
Yet one of the most moving moments of the night was away from the podium. C-Span featured regular shots of Palin's infant son in the arms of her youngest daughter. The gentleness she showed with her brother -- in licking her fingers and then applying them to her brother's hair to make it look more presentable and touching his eyes to remove any surrounding residue -- was most telling of the love in that family.
No, I don't agree with Palin with all the issues, but I am a big backer of reforming bureaucracies that only serve the few. Tennessee sure could use someone such as her in the governor's office, particularly after Phil Bredesen -- a Democrat who touted himself as a qualified VP pick for the Democratic ticket -- gave $577 million in taxpayer freebies to Volkswagen for a manufacturing plant in Chattanooga.
Tennessee could also use her Palin as a representative in Congress. What a breath of fresh air she would be in replacing Rep. Jim Cooper of Nashville who only tackles matters of conscience and consequence outside of his district. Or consider Palin as a replacement for Rep. Marsha Blackburn of Brentwood. The Alaska governor does not have to explain why she broke Federal Election Commission rules in failing to accurately report campaign contributions. She does not have to explain using campaign funds to profit her daughter's business.
Most of all, Palin does not appear to be a hater of human beings like Blackburn in pushing a strident and heinous reaction to undocumented workers in the United States. Hopefully, Blackburn will be denied a speaking role at the convention podium.
Her political career is descending, thank goodness. Former Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist seems destined to run for governor in 2010 and revive his presidential aspirations. Bob Corker and Lamar Alexander are in no way close to wanting to retire their Senate seats. So Blackburn will have an even smaller voice in a more Democratic dominated House.
Perhaps she can join Bredesen after 2010 in the political-has-beens club and make tours of the state talking about when their careers in office really mattered.
The pressure is off McCain tonight in his acceptance speech. His choice of Palin has vindicated him. And Palin's savaging of Sen. Barack Obama last night showed McCain does not even have to mention his opponent's name.
Palin's community organizer barbs were very effective. I myself have been a community organizer on the response of Catholics in Nashville area to the abuse of children by priests, ressurrecting the Sam Levy Homes area in east Nashville and in pushing for a fair and legal education of immigrant children in Metro public schools.
And she's right. There is no legal responsibility placed on a community organizer. That person can come and go as they please. And one of the plagues of inner cities -- from my reporting experience -- has been organizers and their groups that come in for a few years and get everyone hopeful, then leave after the grant money gets used up.
CNN's guest-pert Roland Martin sounded very silly last night in protesting Palin's characterization of community organizer experience. Such experience is nice. It makes for a better community, particularly for those who get overlooked and underserved. But it is nothing compared to holding elective office if you are running for a higher elective office.
In turn, Obama looks weak for his VP choice, another one of Beltway Boys who has kept things from changing in Washington, D.C.
So after tonight, we have one historic campaign against another. McCain, however, has the advantage of a new face who the media and the her opponents will not have time to adequately vet and challenge over the next 55 days.
McCain will be grinning a lot during his acceptance speech. And he has a lot of reason to do so. He actually does have a chance to be the next president of the United States.
Wednesday, September 3, 2008
Metro Nashville Sheriff Daron Hall shows again that he cannot tell the truth; Boycott Nashville!
The ouster of Nashville immigration attorney Elliott Ozment from a community advisory board on the heinous 287g deportation program is indicative of one truth: Metro Nashville Sheriff Daron Hall is willfully ignoring it.
Ozment was really not ousted for uttering an untruth about the grossly ignored sheriff's panel. It was assembled two years for a program Hall sold as only going after undocumented workers with a criminal record and posing a violent threat to the community.
Now Hall denies the obvious heard by many people. And the torture of a very pregnant Nashville mother over the Fourth of July weekend and beyond by the sheriff's department has left this politician in a corner. Ozment's real offense is being the attorney for the tortured woman, Mrs. Juana Villegas (DeLaPaz). And he is readying a civil rights lawsuit against Hall, Nashville Mayor Karl Dean and hopefully congressmen Jim Cooper and Marsha Blackburn. They brought 287g to Metro Nashville.
The gross dysfunction of the sheriff's advisory board was well known before Ozment's public comment on a TV program. Gregg Ramos, a Nashville attorney and chairman of Catholic Charities for the Dioicese of Nashville, has said that the sheriff does not even listen to board members. And Hall did not invite members of the board to his political dog and pony show earlier this year touting the success of the program in mistreating undocumented human beings.
The following comment from a reader purporting to be a board member ran after one of my political blog posts: "Abuse exists, and hiding behind jurisdictional restrictions appears to interested outsiders as wink wink, nudge nudge(we know we are on shaky ground here, but, you know, nobody will care).
"How much better would it have been for a high-level Sheriff's dept official to say 'we agree that the actions by the jailers in this case went well beyond the intent of the Departmental S.O.P., and we intend to review and ultimately change how we treat women in our care, regardless of their citizenship status?'
"This sends two messages: first that we acknowledge that Mrs. Villegas came to us in a vulnerable position, and we failed to treat her with at least the minimum level of care any human being deserves, and, second, that while we have no control over who ends up in our care, we are committed to the highest level of professionalism when dealing with them.
"I've been shouted down for raising valid concerns by Sheriff Hall after being invited to be a member of his 287(g) Advisory Council, so I think I am allowed in this forum to make a few observations that I could not make during our meetings."
Hall has become a citywide embarrassment to competent law enforcement officials at the Metro Nashville Police Department and chamber of commerce officials fearing a loss of Nashville's supposed reputation as a friendly city.
The ouster of Ozment just widens the shame and is another reason people of conscience outside this city and state should boycott Nashville as a place to visit, hold conventions and buy country music products.
Hall and other Nashville officials continue to show they are without conscience and any feeling for the truth about this heinous wrong brought to Music City.
Ozment was really not ousted for uttering an untruth about the grossly ignored sheriff's panel. It was assembled two years for a program Hall sold as only going after undocumented workers with a criminal record and posing a violent threat to the community.
Now Hall denies the obvious heard by many people. And the torture of a very pregnant Nashville mother over the Fourth of July weekend and beyond by the sheriff's department has left this politician in a corner. Ozment's real offense is being the attorney for the tortured woman, Mrs. Juana Villegas (DeLaPaz). And he is readying a civil rights lawsuit against Hall, Nashville Mayor Karl Dean and hopefully congressmen Jim Cooper and Marsha Blackburn. They brought 287g to Metro Nashville.
The gross dysfunction of the sheriff's advisory board was well known before Ozment's public comment on a TV program. Gregg Ramos, a Nashville attorney and chairman of Catholic Charities for the Dioicese of Nashville, has said that the sheriff does not even listen to board members. And Hall did not invite members of the board to his political dog and pony show earlier this year touting the success of the program in mistreating undocumented human beings.
The following comment from a reader purporting to be a board member ran after one of my political blog posts: "Abuse exists, and hiding behind jurisdictional restrictions appears to interested outsiders as wink wink, nudge nudge(we know we are on shaky ground here, but, you know, nobody will care).
"How much better would it have been for a high-level Sheriff's dept official to say 'we agree that the actions by the jailers in this case went well beyond the intent of the Departmental S.O.P., and we intend to review and ultimately change how we treat women in our care, regardless of their citizenship status?'
"This sends two messages: first that we acknowledge that Mrs. Villegas came to us in a vulnerable position, and we failed to treat her with at least the minimum level of care any human being deserves, and, second, that while we have no control over who ends up in our care, we are committed to the highest level of professionalism when dealing with them.
"I've been shouted down for raising valid concerns by Sheriff Hall after being invited to be a member of his 287(g) Advisory Council, so I think I am allowed in this forum to make a few observations that I could not make during our meetings."
Hall has become a citywide embarrassment to competent law enforcement officials at the Metro Nashville Police Department and chamber of commerce officials fearing a loss of Nashville's supposed reputation as a friendly city.
The ouster of Ozment just widens the shame and is another reason people of conscience outside this city and state should boycott Nashville as a place to visit, hold conventions and buy country music products.
Hall and other Nashville officials continue to show they are without conscience and any feeling for the truth about this heinous wrong brought to Music City.
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