Archive for the ‘Tennessee Related Topics’ Category

Good old Lamar who has been talking for months about fiscal responsibility has voted to give the Democrats another $85 Billion to stash away for their re-election campaigns. The Dems already have about 2/3rds of the original Stimulus bill left to spend but apparently Lamar Alexander thought the Dems need more cash.

Here’s all the Republicans who voted AYE on the Jobs Stimulus Bill:

Republicans Voting ‘Aye’
Sen. Lamar Alexander [R, TN]
Sen. Robert Bennett [R, UT]
Sen. Christopher Bond [R, MO]
Sen. Samuel Brownback [R, KS]
Sen. Thad Cochran [R, MS]
Sen. Susan Collins [R, ME]
Sen. Judd Gregg [R, NH]
Sen. Kay Hutchison [R, TX]
Sen. George LeMieux [R, FL]
Sen. Lisa Murkowski [R, AK]
Sen. Richard Shelby [R, AL]
Sen. Olympia Snowe [R, ME]
Sen. David Vitter [R, LA]
Sen. George Voinovich [R, OH]
Do these Republicans think we’ll be fooled by the faux name of Jobs? This bill is nothing more than government spending with borrowed taxpayer money. I should say with faux money since the taxpayers have been rung dry at this point. It’s all borrowed or printed faux money.

Lamar did one of those ‘voted against it’ before he ‘voted for it’. He voted against cloture but then turned around and voted for the spending. I guess this is how the Senate Republicans are trying to convince their conservative constituents they’ve learned their lesson and have become more fiscally responsible.

Look for businesses to be laying off employees and then turning around and rehiring them to get the payroll tax exemption. Duh! What else does this bill do?

1) Pay­roll tax ex­emp­tion for new hires —Ex­empts so­cial se­cu­ri­ty pay­roll taxes im­me­di­ate­ly for every work­er hired in 2010 that has been un­em­ployed for at least 60 days.

2) Tax write-offs — Al­lows small busi­ness­es to write off equip­ment pur­chas­es as tax-free busi­ness ex­pens­es rather than de­pre­ci­at­ing them over time.

3) “Build Amer­i­ca Bonds” — Ex­tends a pro­vi­sion from the stim­u­lus that lets state and local gov­ern­ments bor­row from the fed­er­al gov­ern­ment at lower costs to fi­nance in­fras­truc­ture pro­jects and, thus, cre­ate jobs.

4) High­way Trust Fund Ex­ten­sion — Re­plen­ish­es and reau­tho­rizes the high­way trust fund, which uses gas taxes to help state and local gov­ern­ments pay for road re­pair pro­jects.

H.R. 2847 has now gone to the Obama’s desk to be signed!

2010 Jobs Bill, Lamar Alexander votes aye, HR 2847, S.Amdt. 3310, Stimulus Bill

Why not have incumbents running for the House or Senate and candidates running for federal office sign on to Rep. John Shadegg’s H.R. 450 (2009) instead of The Mount Vernon Statement? Seems to me that Shadegg’s bill would fulfill each officeholder’s oath of office and accomplish what this statement attempts to do. Of course then our current crop of elected legislators would actually HAVE to read the US Constitution and abide by it!

Title: To require Congress to specify the source of authority under the United States Constitution for the enactment of laws, and for other purposes.

Sponsor: Rep Shadegg, John B. [AZ-3] (introduced 1/9/2009) Cosponsors (60)
Related Bills: S.1319
Latest Major Action: 2/9/2009 Referred to House subcommittee. Status: Referred to the Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights, and Civil Liberties.

Co-sponsors from 2009 Congress:
Rep Akin, W. Todd [MO-2] – 1/13/2010
Rep Alexander, Rodney [LA-5] – 1/12/2010
Rep Bachmann, Michele [MN-6] – 3/2/2009
Rep Bachus, Spencer [AL-6] – 1/21/2010
Rep Barrett, J. Gresham [SC-3] – 6/10/2009
Rep Bilbray, Brian P. [CA-50] – 3/2/2009
Rep Bilirakis, Gus M. [FL-9] – 6/2/2009
Rep Bishop, Rob [UT-1] – 3/6/2009
Rep Blackburn, Marsha [TN-7] – 3/26/2009
Rep Boozman, John [AR-3] – 2/3/2009
Rep Broun, Paul C. [GA-10] – 1/21/2009
Rep Cantor, Eric [VA-7] – 12/1/2009
Rep Carter, John R. [TX-31] – 10/23/2009
Rep Conaway, K. Michael [TX-11] – 3/3/2009
Rep Culberson, John Abney [TX-7] – 5/21/2009
Rep Davis, Geoff [KY-4] – 4/21/2009
Rep Deal, Nathan [GA-9] – 7/10/2009
Rep Flake, Jeff [AZ-6] – 5/7/2009
Rep Forbes, J. Randy [VA-4] – 5/21/2009
Rep Foxx, Virginia [NC-5] – 3/9/2009
Rep Franks, Trent [AZ-2] – 4/21/2009
Rep Garrett, Scott [NJ-5] – 2/25/2009
Rep Gingrey, Phil [GA-11] – 9/17/2009
Rep Gohmert, Louie [TX-1] – 2/2/2009
Rep Goodlatte, Bob [VA-6] – 3/2/2009
Rep Heller, Dean [NV-2] – 2/25/2009
Rep Herger, Wally [CA-2] – 4/27/2009
Rep Hoekstra, Peter [MI-2] – 2/25/2009
Rep Hunter, Duncan D. [CA-52] – 6/17/2009
Rep Johnson, Sam [TX-3] – 4/21/2009
Rep Kline, John [MN-2] – 5/5/2009
Rep Lamborn, Doug [CO-5] – 1/26/2009
Rep Mack, Connie [FL-14] – 2/26/2009
Rep Marchant, Kenny [TX-24] – 1/13/2010
Rep McCaul, Michael T. [TX-10] – 4/21/2009
Rep McClintock, Tom [CA-4] – 10/23/2009
Rep McCotter, Thaddeus G. [MI-11] – 4/22/2009
Rep McHenry, Patrick T. [NC-10] – 3/9/2009
Rep Miller, Jeff [FL-1] – 4/21/2009
Rep Moran, Jerry [KS-1] – 5/18/2009
Rep Myrick, Sue Wilkins [NC-9] – 5/11/2009
Rep Neugebauer, Randy [TX-19] – 6/2/2009
Rep Olson, Pete [TX-22] – 7/21/2009
Rep Paul, Ron [TX-14] – 2/2/2009
Rep Poe, Ted [TX-2] – 3/11/2009
Rep Posey, Bill [FL-15] – 6/17/2009
Rep Price, Tom [GA-6] – 7/10/2009
Rep Roe, David P. [TN-1] – 2/2/2009
Rep Ryan, Paul [WI-1] – 4/21/2009
Rep Sessions, Pete [TX-32] – 4/22/2009
Rep Smith, Lamar [TX-21] – 6/3/2009
Rep Souder, Mark E. [IN-3] – 9/9/2009
Rep Terry, Lee [NE-2] – 6/16/2009
Rep Thompson, Glenn [PA-5] – 6/17/2009
Rep Tiahrt, Todd [KS-4] – 9/9/2009
Rep Upton, Fred [MI-6] – 12/16/2009
Rep Wamp, Zach [TN-3] – 6/8/2009
Rep Westmoreland, Lynn A. [GA-3] – 4/29/2009
Rep Wilson, Joe [SC-2] – 9/9/2009
Rep Wittman, Robert J. [VA-1] – 6/2/2009

Senator Tom Coburn is the sponsor in the Senate.

Co-Sponsors in the Senate:
Sen Barrasso, John [WY] – 6/22/2009
Sen Brownback, Sam [KS] – 6/22/2009
Sen Bunning, Jim [KY] – 6/25/2009
Sen Burr, Richard [NC] – 6/22/2009
Sen Chambliss, Saxby [GA] – 6/22/2009
Sen Corker, Bob [TN] – 2/4/2010
Sen Crapo, Mike [ID] – 6/22/2009
Sen DeMint, Jim [SC] – 6/22/2009
Sen Ensign, John [NV] – 6/22/2009
Sen Enzi, Michael B. [WY] – 6/22/2009
Sen Graham, Lindsey [SC] – 6/22/2009
Sen Grassley, Chuck [IA] – 6/22/2009
Sen Hatch, Orrin G. [UT] – 9/17/2009
Sen Hutchison, Kay Bailey [TX] – 6/22/2009
Sen Inhofe, James M. [OK] – 6/22/2009
Sen Isakson, Johnny [GA] – 7/7/2009
Sen Kyl, Jon [AZ] – 6/22/2009
Sen McCain, John [AZ] – 6/22/2009
Sen McConnell, Mitch [KY] – 6/25/2009
Sen Risch, James E. [ID] – 6/25/2009
Sen Thune, John [SD] – 6/22/2009
Sen Vitter, David [LA] – 6/22/2009
Sen Wicker, Roger F. [MS] – 6/22/2009

Interesting that Senator Lamar Alexander hasn’t signed on as a co-sponsor! Not really a surprise though is it. But then Lamar wouldn’t want that US Constitution to get in the way of all of his RINO bills. It was also interesting to see Grover Nordquist sign on to The Mount Vernon Statement considering his push for comprehensive immigration reform (hint: hint: this is just codespeake for amnesty for illegal aliens).

The Mount Vernon Statement, Rep Shadegg’s HR 450, Sen Lamar Alexander, Grover Nordquist

Colonel Allen West answers the question that so many in western civilization refuse to wake up and smell the koran. Islam isn’t a religion, it’s an ideology.

“You need to get into the Koran…and understand their precepts. This is not a perversion. They are doing exactly what this book says.”

h/t Andrew Bostom. If you like what Col. West has to say then support him in his run fro Congress.

If western cultures don’t stop with the dhimmitude, they will not survive.

In Nashville a Vanderbilt Islamic Professor tells the truth about Islam and the local media doesn’t cover his statement that ‘Islam says that homosexuality is a capital crime under Islamic law’. Ever wonder why there are no homosexuals in Iran? It’s because they kill ‘teh gays’! Over 4,000 have been killed under shariah law. Yet, a cross is scrawled on a Nashville mosque and the media is all over it as if it’s a hate crime. But Robert Spencer tells us what is probably the truth of the message:

Blaming a local news report on a suspicious Muslim compound for the vandalism of a mosque, Nashville Somalis otherwise seem confused about stuff:

“Muslims Go Home” and a Crusade-style cross were scrawled across the front of Al-Farooq Islamic Center on Nolensville Road, says Salaad Nur, a spokesman. (…)

That right there is suggestive of fakery. The Crusades, as we know, are very much on the minds of Muslims, but it is highly doubtful that the racist Tennessee rednecks (so beloved of mainstream media myth) who are supposed to have done this would know or care what a “Crusade-style cross” looks like. The cross that was painted on the mosque doesn’t look like the crosses you see in the local churches in Nashville.

snip….That’s why CAIR and others have not hesitated to stoop even to fabricating “hate crimes.” They want and need hate crimes against Muslims, because they can use them to shift the focus away from Muslims as perpetrators of violence to Muslims as victims of violence, needing special concessions and privileges to protect them from that violence. “Hate crimes” are also useful to Islamic pressure groups as weapons to intimidate people into remaining silent about the jihad threat.

Was this one faked? I don’t know. But it certainly smells.

Islam, nashville mosque cross, Professor Awadh A Binhazim, Koran, homosexuals, Colonel Allen West

U.S. Marine, War Vet & Nashville Recording Artist Stephen Cochran, to become the “Face” of the V.A.’s Research & Development Department.

February 9, 2010 Nashville, TN – There is no question that Nashville recording artist Stephen Cochran is a U.S. Marine. You see it in his face, his walk, the way he holds himself and in his performances. Since 2005, he has been captivating the Nashville music industry with his slightly left of commercial music and getting it done without a Major deal. His first release, “Friday Night Fireside” was GAC’s 2007 fan favorite and charting Billboard music hit. Since then he’s has had 3 other singles that have made marks on the major charts including his 2009, “Walmart Flowers.” He’s played Times Square on New Year’s Eve, at different bases around the country and in Bahrain for his fellow service men and women, at some of the most significant outdoor festivals in the country, including the WYCD Hoedown, and became the first and only artist to win an Addy Award for his online video game idea for his song “Thinkin I’m Drinkin”. But his message has never swayed in all that he has accomplished. That message is to help his fellow Veterans.

Read more about Stephen Cochran….

Stephen is getting “gussied” up for his part in the DVD. Stephen, in case you ever see this posting, you’re the one who posted the twitpic on twitter……

Stephen Cochran, USMC, PTSD, VA, Country Music, Veteran’s Administration

The TN Republican controlled House approved a resolution honoring Michael Jackson yesterday. They should be so proud! Guess they all conveniently have forgotten Jackson’s notorious penchant for young boys and feeding them liquor in soda cans.

HJR773 – A Resolution to honor the memory of Michael Jackson, the undisputed “King of Pop”

Read through the resolution and you won’t see anything about his sexual predator activities with young boys. Nor any of his court cases where Jackson paid off the victims. History has been erased. How nice.

From Tom Humphrey’s blog:

The 51 votes gave the resolution just one vote more than the 50-vote minimum needed for House passage. The resolution now goes to the Senate.
Thirteen Republicans – including Casada and House Republican Leader Jason Mumpower – joined 38 Democrats in voting yes. Nineteen Republicans and three Democrats voted no.

Democrats voting yes:
Armstrong, Bone, Borchert, Brown, Camper, Coleman, Cooper, L. DeBerry, Favors, Ferguson, Fitzhugh, Gilmore, Hackworth, Hardaway, Harmon, S. Jones, U.Jones, Kernell, Litz, Maddox, Marsh, Miller, Moore, Naifeh, Odom, Pitts, Pruitt, Richardson, Shaw, Shepard, Sontany, Tidwell, Tindell, Towns, J. Turner, M. Turner, West, Yokley.

Republicans voting yes:
Casada, Eldridge, Harrison, P. Johnson, Lynn, Matheny, McCord, McCormick, McDaniel, Montgomery, Mumpower, Sargent, Swafford.

Republicans voting no:
Bell, Carr, J.Cobb, Dunn, Faulkner, Floyd, Ford, Haynes, Hensley, C. Johnson, Lollar, Lundberg, Matlock, McManus, Niceley, Roach, Rowland, Shipley, Weaver.

Democrats voting no:
Fincher, McDonald, Stewart

Democrats abstaining:
Barker, Bass, Fraley

Republicans abstaining
H. Brooks, Campfield, Coley, Dennis, Evans, Harwell, Maggart, Ramsey, Rich, Todd, Watson, White, Williams

Not voting (’E’ means excused absence)
Republicans: K.Brooks, Dean, Halford, Hawk (E), Hill
Democrats: T.Cobb, Curtiss, J.DeBerry, Windle (E), Winningham

Can’t tell you how proud I am of the House Republicans! Way to go in support of pedophiles House Republicans.

TN HJR773, Michael Jackson Resolution, Glen Casada, Susan Lynn, Jason Mumpower, Charles Sargent

A nice New Years gift to the members of the Blackwater team who were accused of killing civilians in Nisoor Square incident in Baghdad in 2007. Two of the members of this team, Dustin Heard and Nick Slatten, are from Tennessee so a big Happy New Year to both of you and your family. This has been a travesty of justice from the get go, when you’ve got DOJ prosecutors with a grudge going after the employees of a specific company, Blackwater.

Here are some previous posts regarding this story:

Justice “shoehorning the facts” to indict Blackwater Contractors

Justice Dept. Advising Iraqis to sue to Blackwater???

Website now set up for Indicted Blackwater Contractors

Blackwater Down

Judge Dismisses Blackwater Case

A federal judge cited repeated government missteps in dismissing all charges against five Blackwater Worldwide security guards accused of killing unarmed Iraqi civilians in a case that inflamed anti-American sentiment abroad.

U.S. District Judge Ricardo Urbina dismissed the case against the guards accused of the shooting in a crowded Baghdad intersection in 2007.

How these Blackwater guards ever get back their reputations or careers after this legal assault by these prosecutors is the question?

Raven 23, Nisoor Square Incident, Donald Ball, Dustin Heard, Evan Liberty, Nick Slatten, Paul Slough, DOJ, Iraq

If you live in the Nashville area you won’t want to miss this sale! Get out there and find some deals and raise money for homeless veterans at the same time. They are rebuilding lives one Veteran at a time.

The Big Warehouse Sale is back Dec. 2-12, benefits We Are Building Lives

The Gift Wrap Warehouse Sale, formerly CPS Gift Wrap Warehouse Sale, is back after four years and will benefit local charity, We Are Building Lives. The sale runs Dec. 2-12, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., at the old CPS Warehouse, 1725 Columbia Avenue, Franklin. Closed on Sunday. Discounts range from 70 percent to 80 percent on items including premium gift wrap, ribbons and bows, calendars, toys, kitchen items and more. Premium heavy weight gift wrap is only $1.

“This has always been a very popular event and we are glad to bring it back after four years of absence,” said Suzie Armstrong, event organizer. “This is perfect for the shopper who wants to save money on costly items like gift wrap and wants to pick up some greats gifts in the meantime. We anticipate a great turnout because every discount makes a big difference, especially in today’s economy.”

Supporters are excited that the event, which began in the early 1990s to offer financial donations to local charities, will offer additional support to the We Are Building Lives Foundation. At a time of year when others are typically spending the holidays with their families, many homeless veterans are alone and in more need of assistance due to the cold winter months.

“Returning veterans, who survived the war, find themselves facing an even graver battlefield,” said Tim Gregath, executive director of We Are Building Lives. “Our organization is committed to assisting Nashville’s veterans through a variety of programs to transition them to become productive members of the community. Events like the Gift Wrap Warehouse Sale provide the much needed funds to bring these programs to those who helped serve and protect us on the front line.”

The military’s veteran services are significantly understaffed and struggling to meet demand. More than 95 percent of the funds donated to We Are Building Lives directly benefits to the individuals they serve.

For information on the Big Warehouse Sale or We Are Building Lives organization, visit www.WeAreBuildingLives.org or call 615-646-3206.

We Are Building Lives, a 501 (c) 3 non-profit organization, was formed by a group of middle Tennessee business leaders, who recognized the severity of Nashville’s homeless veteran’s situation. Most regrettably, over twenty percent of Nashville’s homeless are honorably discharged veterans. We Are Building Lives is committed to assisting Nashville’s veterans by providing one on one mentoring, health and psychological care, employment, transportation, housing, and financial education. Our singular goal is to support the veterans in their permanent transition to productive members of the community.

We Are Building Lives, homeless veterans

Watch the video from the Times Free Press, think about how many times you’ve driven on roads like this in Tennessee. Doesn’t take but a couple seconds for all this to happen. I guess this has been happening because of all the rain in Tennessee this year.

CLEVELAND, Tenn. — U.S. Highway 64 through the Ocoee Gorge will be closed for a week, maybe more, after a series of rock slides crashed across the highway Tuesday.

Julie Oaks, Tennessee Department of Transportation spokeswoman, said geologists haven’t yet been able to assess conditions in the slide area, which is just across U.S. 64 from the westernmost rafting put-in and just east of TVA’s Ocoee No. 2 dam.

“The problem is it is still raining and there is concern about the stability of the slope,” she said. “We will have to wait until the rain subsides before we can get in there to make an assessment.”

They’d just about finished clearing another rock slide when this one occurred.

TN rock slide Hwy 64, rock slides

It’s Veteran’s Day, a day to honor, thank and remember our Veterans.

“Those Honored Dead”

“Why do you fly the flag today?”
My Grandson wants to know.
I fly it for the graveyards
Where the countless crosses grow.

I fly the flag for children
Whose fathers are a name.
A half-remembered memory
of a face within a frame.

I fly it for the families
of sons and daughters lost.
They know the price of liberty
How terrible the cost!

I fly the flag for veterans
who lost their youth in blood.
And saw their comrades slaughtered
in the carnage and the mud.

I fly it for the ones who marched
In cadence off to war
To close their eyes forever
Upon some foreign shore.

I fly the flag for grief poured out
Upon a granite wall.
The laying-on of hands that heals
The scars within us all.

I fly it for the sound of Taps—
That melancholy tune
That lays to rest those honored dead
Who always die too soon.

Copyright 1994 Marion G. Mahoney

Now is the time to order your Wreaths from Wreaths Across America. You could order wreaths for Arlington National Cemetery or you can order wreaths for your local national military cemetery. If you live in Middle Tennessee the Middle Tennessee Veteran’s Cemetery at McCrory Lane in Nashville could really use your help.

This year WAA has a mission of delivering a truck load of wreaths (5,000 wreaths) to each of the 50 states. If you can sponsor a wreath please go to http://wreathsacrossamerica.org/sponsor-a-wreath.htm. You can select the participating location that will receive your donated wreath from their list of over 350+ participating locations. Individual wreath – $15, Family (4) wreaths – $60, Small Bus (10) – $150 and Corporate (100) – $1,500. Wreath sponsorships must be received no later than November 25th, 2009.

Location ID TNMTVN Location Leader Annette Robeck

Please join us in honoring our Fallen Heroes on Saturday Dec. 12th at 11:00 am at the Middle Tennessee Veteran’s Cemetery

“Wreaths Across America is about the spirit of Appreciation for what we have, and a determination to give something back.”

The Wreaths Across America story began 15 yrs ago when Worcester Wreath Company began a tradition of placing wreaths on the headstones of our Nations fallen heroes at Arlington National Cemetery during the holidays.
In 2006 this ceremony of wreath laying was expanded to Veteran Cemeteries across the country to run concurrently with Arlington Cemetery at 12 noon EST. The ceremony runs around 30 minutes, we will be in the enclosed gazebo on the hill with the large windows to view the cemetery, seating is also provided. After the ceremony we will be laying the wreaths at the graves, you are welcome to join us.

Please bring your children, we will be having all the children stand up to say the Pledge of Allegiance. We have Janna and Keith Landry (back up singers for Lee Greenwood) to sing the National Anthem and bagpiper Todd Boswell to play TAPS and play while we lay the wreaths at the graves.

Middle Tennessee Veteran’s Cemetery
7931 McCrory Lane
Nashville, TN 37221
Tel: (615) 532-2238

Veteran’s Day 2009, Wreaths Across America

Here’s a parking lot encounter a constituent had with Lincoln Davis. Lincoln doesn’t like to answer any questions so he usually deflects and starts up with the ‘ah shucks’ golly gee kind of talk. He talks about his grandchildren. That’s a really popular topic for Lincoln instead of the question he’s being asked.

He calls the woman in the video asking a question ‘You People’. All the while she is addressing him as Sir and he has so much respect for his constituents he calls them ‘You People’.

Rep Lincoln Davis, Tn 4th District, Democrat, healthcare