September 27, 2006
Terry Roland, Senator for District 29
Terry Roland is running for the Tennessee Senate in District 29. You may remember Terry as being the winner of the special election before Ophelia Ford found some miracle votes and when I say "miracle" I mean miracle as some of the voters in that election were dead when they cast their vote.
Roland spoke to the Shelby County chapter of the Tennessee Firearms Association last Thursday.
According to Roland, district 29 is not only the poorest district in Tennessee, it also contains the largest concentration of senior citizens in the state. (This after three decades of Ford "leadership".)
What makes Terry Roland think that he can win this race? Because there are 60,000 registered Democrats in the district but 128,000 registered voters. And because a lot of those voters are tired of Ford leadership -- even a lot of the Democrats. He remarked that Keith Oberman has said that Shelby County has taken over from Cook County as the most corrupt county in the nation.
Roland talked about some of the main topics from his platform:
Healthcare: There are a half million people living in Tennessee that don't have any medical insurance. He gave the example of his mother, who at age 64 is spending $1,2OO every month to pay for health insurance -- and that's with a $3,000 deductible!
The Department of Transportation has 1.7 billion dollar surplus, the majority of which comes from an oppressive 32 cents per gallon gas tax (a lot of politicians claim that this surplus comes from federal money, but that's not true).
Roland proposes using part of the DOT budget surplus and putting it into TennCare, reversing the Governor's removal of thousands of people from the TennCare rolls.
Also, we must put an end to baseless and frivolous lawsuits that drive up the costs of medical care, which leads us to the next topic.
Tort Reform: Basically, the loser pays whenever fraud is discovered. That is, if you bring a false lawsuit in an attempt to use the judicial system to extort money you will pay your court costs as well as the person you are suing.
Education: Only ten percent of lottery money is used for the kids: 8% is used for scholarships and 2% for pre-K and after school child care. The rest is used for operating expenses like bonuses for Rebecca Paul and her staff.
And even though some kids are benefiting from the scholarships that come out of lottery money, the real tragedy is the millions of kids that never get a chance to learn enough to ever qualify for college -- much less a scholarship.
Roland proposes taking another IO per cent of the money generated by the lottery and using it to improve education for K through 12. He recognizes that we can't fix all our schools all at once so he says we should concentrate on first grade the first year. Next year we'll take on second grade, and so on. It will take 12 12 years but in the end the schools will be fixed.
Additionally, Roland said that what is wrong with education can be traced back to when they took the 3 Ps out of the schools: the Pledge, Prayer and the Paddle!
Seniors: Roland proposes an immediate rollback of property taxes for every senior to the rate that they paid when they were 63. It should be frozen at that point and then completely phased out over time.
Second Amendment: Although the right of self defense is not an official issue on his platform, Roland is a strong supporter of the right to carry. He is a carry permit holder, a lifetime member of the NRA and (as soon as the paperwork goes through in Nashville) a member of the Tennessee Firearms Association. He supports the restaurant carry bill that Naifeh has repeatedly killed in recent years.
Voting Reform: In conversation, Roland also said that he supports using picture IDs for voting. This is unsurprising given that he would be a Senator today had that rule been in place.
Comments: Overall, I found Terry Roland to be straight forward and reasonable. He's just a guy that has become concerned, saw an opportunity to improve things when John Ford was arrested in the FBI Tennessee Waltz sting and decided to do something.
I am continually stunned by the arrogance displayed by Ophelia Ford. Her campaign slogan says to "re-elect" her, even though her "win" was tossed out by the courts and nullified by the Tennessee Senate. She refuses to engage in any debates with Roland. In a recent community meeting set up by the NAACP in a church, I saw that Terry Roland, Mark White and Harold Ford Jr. attended while Ophelia was nowhere to be seen.
Hopefully, enough of the constituents of district 29 have had enough of that kind of behavior.
While Roland and I don't agree on all the issues, we at least agree on what the issues are and agree on how to handle enough of them that I can give him my support.
AlphaPatriot officially endorses Terry Roland for Senate District 29. My check went out in yesterday's mail.
As Roland said at the meeting:
It's not about sending Terry Roland to Nashville - it's about sending all of us.
Technorati tags: Terry Roland, Ophelia Ford, Tennessee Politics, Shelby County Tennessee Politics, Tennessee Political Issues, Tennessee Senate District 29.
September 26, 2006
Conservatives Defined
The CCR is putting together a new monthly newsletter, The Patriot. Check out the cover. I particularly love the quote in big, bold black letters:
Conservative Republicans do not just sit back and observe.
They Stampede into the fight.
Now there's a sentiment straight from the mind of Angelo Cobrasci — the force behind the CCR and the most fiercely-conservative person I've ever had the pleasure to meet.
Speaking of Angelo, I find that I have been remiss in not congratulating him. When a passionate conservative lands an interview with the most liberal rag in town, you know you're starting to really make a difference.
Technorati tags: Angelo Cobrasci, Passionate Conservatives.
September 25, 2006
Why I Love Marsha
While my Senators were giving yet another Middle East nation a free trade partner last week*, my Representative was busy protecting our borders.
From my Congress.org MegaVote email:
Recent House Votes
Federal Election Integrity Act of 2006 - Vote Passed (228-196, 8 Not Voting)
This House bill would require voters to show valid photo identification in order to vote in federal elections beginning in 2008.
Rep. Marsha Blackburn voted YES......send e-mail or see bio
Community Protection Act of 2006 - Vote Passed (328-95, 9 Not Voting)
This bill would allow the Department of Homeland Security to indefinitely detain dangerous illegal aliens that cannot be deported.
Rep. Marsha Blackburn voted YES......send e-mail or see bio
Immigration Law Enforcement Act of 2006 - Vote Passed (277-140, 15 Not Voting)
This bill reaffirms the authority of state and local law enforcement agencies to voluntarily participate in the enforcement of immigration laws.
Rep. Marsha Blackburn voted YES......send e-mail or see bio
Border Tunnel Prevention Act of 2006 - Vote Passed (422-0, 10 Not Voting)
This bill would make it a crime to construct an unauthorized tunnel across a U.S. international border.
Rep. Marsha Blackburn voted YES......send e-mail or see bio
* Not that entering into a trade agreement with Oman is something that I am against. It's just that the contrast is so stark, but then again it usually is.
Technorati tags: Marsha Blackburn, Immigration Reform, Illegal Aliens, Criminals Crossing Our Border, Border Security, Border Insecurity.
September 21, 2006
Stealing Elections
The indispensable John Harvey is continuing his quest to stop election fixing in Shelby County.
In a press release emailed yesterday morning (not available on the web), Harvey once again spanks the local election commission for issuing false statements.
Briefly, WMC news has discovered that there are videos on the internet that clearly demonstrates the vulnerability of Diebold voting machines to vote-stealing software. The video in question is one produced by a Princeton University professor that exposed the flaw.
Shelby County Election Commissioner Rich Holden responds to WMCTV by asserting:
"People are not going to have that unfettered access to these machines," says Shelby County Election Commissioner Rich Holden. "It's not going to occur. It's not going to occur in Shelby County because you're not going to have that kind of access."
The video claims that all a hacker needs is one minute in front of the machine.
It may be true - admits Holden - but it won't happen in Shelby County because - he says - there's too much oversight.
Yet John Harvey has posted pictures of unattended Diebold machines taken just three days before an election.
But even if the machines are kept locked down, even if security is heightened to Israeli airport levels, can we really trust every night guard, every cop that transports the machine, every precinct captain that takes the machine home the night before an election? I think not.
To see how vulnerable the Diebold machines are, you can watch the entire ten minute video produced by Princeton, a three-minute Fox News clip in which the Princeton professor demonstrates his findings, or view the Princeton report in PDF format. Or you can keep reading.
Basically, this is what the professor found:
- Malicious software can easily be installed on a Diebold machine, a process that takes less than one minute.
- During the election, a percentage of votes for one candidate are given to another. The exact amount is determined by the person who writes the virus.
- Infected Diebold machines can infect other machines via the memory card that voters use to cast their ballot. The infected machine alters the card and when it is reused by another voter on another machine, that machine is compromised.
- At the end of the election, the virus deletes itself, leaving no traces that it ever existed on the Diebold.
It has long been known that Diebold machines have more security holes than any random Microsoft patch Tuesday and frankly I am rather amazed that any election official would trust our votes to these machines.
In 2003, five years of Diebold company announcements, software bulletins and internal e-mails were released to the public by a hacker.
In one series of e-mails, a senior engineer dismissed concern from a lower-level programmer who questioned why Diebold lacked certification for the operating system in touch-screen voting machines. The Federal Election Commission requires such software to be certified by independent researchers.
In another e-mail, an executive scolded programmers for leaving software files on an Internet site without password protection.
In October 2005, the Diebold Accuvote 2000 Optical Scan was compromised with homemade devices, awarding 10,000 votes to a candidate without leaving any traces of the crime.
Last August, BlackBoxVoting.org demonstrated a way to compromise the Diebold ballot scanner and details how poll workers routinely store the machines and election materials at their homes the day before an election.
Also in August, the Open Voting Foundation showed how flipping a single switch can cause a Diebold machine to boot from an unverified external flash card rather than the EPROM.
Of course, even if they fix every security vulnerability on these electronic machines you could still hack the central tabulating computer or manipulate the GEM.
Can we please go back to paper ballots?
Technorati tags: Diebold Vulnerabilities, Stealing Elections, Electronic Voting.
September 18, 2006
Aldermen at Bartlett GOP
Bartlett is governed by a board made up of the mayor and six aldermen. This year, the mayor and three aldermen are up for reelection. Two of the aldermen will face competition.
Four of the five candidates for Bartlett alderman spoke at the Bartlett GOP meeting tonight.
Position 1
Mike Morris is the incumbent in Position 1, having served for four years.
He has 27 years project management experience, a position that has prepared him to help oversee the complexities and large budget associated with helping to run Bartlett.
He has served as the liason to the Bartlett Performing Arts and Conference Center Advisory Board, was a member of the Historic Preservation Commission in 2003 and has served as the liasison to the Animal Shelter Committee.
Morris said that he is a dedicated conservative and is proud of his work to keep the Bartlett Library in the Memphis and Shelby County library system, as well as being a strong proponent of Bartlett performing arts and the animal shelter.
William Clyde "Bubba" Pleasant retired from the Tennessee House of Representatives after ten years of service. Today he is running for Bartlett Alderman, Position 1.
Pleasant talked of his experience working in the state house, saying that he didn't do anything on his own. He learned that it takes working with people to make things happen.
Pleasant got started in politics when his brother got killed in an auto accident at a dangerous intersection. He worked to get red light installed and his political career grew from there.
He is retiring from the city of Memphis in October (he currently works for the Memphis Fire Department).
Pleasant said that basically he just wants to be a decent man. He admits that he has made mistakes in the past and hopefully has gotten wiser as he has gotten older.
Finally, Pleasant stated that he isn't running against anybody, he's just running for the position.
Position 2
Emily Elliot is the incumbent in Position 2, having served for eight years, and running unopposed.
She is currently the vice-mayor in addition to her full time position as the clinic supervisor and research coordinator for Mid-South Dermatology and Skin Cancer Center, a unit located in Bartlett.
In the past Elliot has served on the Planning Commission and liason to the Bartlett Arts Council. She currently serves on the Parks and Recreation Committee, the Family Assistance Committee and Bartlett City Beautiful Committee.
Elliot also chaired the Landscape Ordinance Committee and was insrumental in efforts to preserve trees during development.
She spoke about the fact that the crime in Bartlett has been in the papers lately and there is no doubt that it is a growing problem. Crime across the nation is up 3% in 2006. She voted to increase the number of Bartlett police officers.
Position 3
David Parsons is the incumbent in Position 3.
He spoke about growing up in Bartlett, and reminisced about how much it has grown and changed. He said when you vote for an alderman you are voting for the man, not the position.
Parsons spoke rather passionately about how moving to Bartlett should be the choice of businesses and families.
He is a businessman and understands making hard spending decisions and the choices forced by having to fire people. Bartlett has 500 employees and a $53 million budget, and he has the experience to manage that.
Parsons read a long list of committees that he has worked on and also mentioned keeping Bartlett Library fully even though the county had been forced to reduce their library budget. Parsons went through a litany of projects that has come through the board in the last four years, from purchasing Bartlett Station Municipal Center to building new fire stations in annexed communities.
Burton Bridges is running for Position 3 but did not attend tonight's meeting.
Bridges is a 19-year-old accounting student currently attending Christian Brothers University.
According to a recent Bartlett Express article, Bridges' political experience includes serving as an intern for the Shelby County Board of Commissioners and U.S. Congressman Harold Ford Jr.
September 8, 2006
Fall's Most Interesting Race: TN District 9
The most interesting race 'round these parts has got to be the one for the 9th Congressional District. With a voting population that is 70 per cent black, to say that the 9th has been a Democrat stronghold for quite some time would be a massive understatement. This is the seat left open by Harold Ford, Jr., who is leaving the small-time House behind in a bold grab for the Senate.
You'd think the Democrat primary would have decided this race, but the party was fragmented and had 15 candidates vying to take Harold's spot (one actually withdrew but his name was still on the ballot and he garnered almost 700 votes).
According to Thadeous Mathews, Ford's chosen successor was Nikki Tinker, a pretty Georgia lawyer -- but even with backing from Junior she only came in second with a mere 25% of the vote (even though she was the best fundraiser, putting together an incredible half million dollar warchest). Another Ford, Joe Ford Jr. (who didn't even live in the district), was a distant third -- proving once again that the Ford name will get votes for even the most unqualified of candidates.
When the votes where counted the black community was shocked and outraged when a white man, Steve Cohen, received over 23 thousand votes (31%) to coast to victory. And with Republican Mark White, a white businessman, easily winning the Republican primary, some 100 thousand blacks will have to choose between two white men in November.
Imagine that, a white man representing the voters of the district first taken by white-hating Harold Ford Sr. and which has been controlled by one Harold Ford or another for 36 years. [And here I am with egg on my face because I backed Derrick Bennet in the Republican primary, thinking that a white man couldn't win in that district. How wrong was I?]
But a Commercial Appeal analysis shows that while Cohen easily won in the few predominantly white districts, he didn't fair so well among the black population:
| Steve Cohen | Nikki Tinker | Joe Ford Jr. | Ed Stanton | Julian Bolton | |
| Predominantly white precincts | 81.58% | 5.53% | 1.26% | 5.29% | 2.07% |
| Predominantly black precincts | 17.56% | 28.11% | 18.81% | 8.72% | 12.87% |
Worse yet, Cohen is Jewish. And in spite of the fact that the Jewish community has been one of the strongest supporters of black civil rights from the very beginning, blacks just don't seem to like Jews -- much less vote for them.
But the real issue is even more fundamental: Cohen simply does not represent the beliefs of religious black community. He was one of the forces behind the lottery. He is fervently pro-choice. He has said that the civil rights movement of the 21st century is gay rights. He wrote a bill to legalize drugs in Tennessee.
And if the black ministers get together and oppose you in a district like the 9th, your campaign is in trouble. Believe it.
So the question becomes, if a single black alternative candidate steps up (instead of 14) and mounts an intensive campaign, can he (or she) be successful and keep the district in the hands of the black/Christian community?
That is a question that has attracted the interest of more than one wanna-be politician. Take Jake Ford, one of Harold Ford Sr.'s son. Even though the Fords have been in some highly-visible scandals recently (John Ford was one of the original arrestees caught up in Tennessee Waltz, and Ophelia Ford's last-minute miracle win was overturned by the Tennessee Senate because dead people voted), scandal is nothing new to the Ford family and the Ford name still carries a lot of clout in this town.
Jake shrewdly sat out of the crowded primary in order to mount a campaign for the November ballot as "a lifelong Democrat running as an Independent" -- and he is 
certain to be well financed. The rather large yard sign pictured at right was spotted on the 29th of August, one of the first to go up for the final fall campaign season. (The others were just signs that never came down after the primary, a crime with no punishment in Tennessee.)
Furthermore, the 9th contains the area that turned out for white Republican business man Terry Rolland in his upset victory (if you don't count the cemetery and penitentiary votes) over Ophelia Ford for the Tennessee Senate. Many of those that were willing to cross party lines once may very well be willing to do so again.
Suddenly, a win by a Republican in District 9 seems achievable. Will the two Democrats split enough of the vote to allow Republican Mark White to win? Just how much will White have to improve on his 17% of the black vote in order to win? The next few weeks promise to be interesting.
Then there's the possible return of Nikki Tinker, who is rumored to be considering a write-in campaign. If true, she will further splinter the black vote. There are many, many citizens of the 9th that are sick and tired of the Ford family, and Tinker will offer an alternative to the white Jewish Democrat and the white Republican businessman. If she has retained ties to the purse strings that financed her primary, she could be a real contender.
As I said, the race for District 9 will be interesting.
Technorati tags: Mark White, Steve Cohen, Jake Ford, Nikki Tinker, Tennessee Politics, Tennessee District 9, Congressional Races of 2006, The Politics of Race.
September 5, 2006
Tim Cook, District 93
The two candidates for House District 93 this November could not be more different.
Democrat incumbent Mike Kernell has occupied this seat since 1974, during which time he has come to be known as a typical tax-'em-'till-they-bleed Democrat. He voted for raising the pay of legislators. He voted for the income tax. And he has sponsored two interesting tax bills:
- HB 2120 lowers the state sales tax by 3% and removes sales tax from most groceries. But it introduces a graduated income tax. The hook is that 100% of the income tax stays in the county -- the first year. Each year after that an additional 10% of that tax goes to the state so that after ten years 100% of the income tax would be going to Nashville.
- HB 2027 is even worse: it levies a straight 1% payroll tax on every employer in the state with a payroll of more than $50K.
His opponent is Tim Cook, whom I heard speak tonight. Cook has been a public servant for a long, long time. Among other things:
- 6 years in the Air Force
- 27 years in the Memphis Police Department, where he is currently the Lieutenant in charge of the Economic Crimes Department (what they used to call Fraud)
- 20 years as a Special Agent for the Coast Guard Reserves
- Special Agent Homeland Security: Activated just before the liberation of Iraq and assigned to a Pentagon task force consisting of 31 other reservists. That team caught 47 terrorists in the first 4 months of work.
- Member of the FBI Gang Task Force
Tim is making taxation the centerpiece of his campaign and vows to vote against the income tax and to kill Kernell's tax bills.
Technorati tags: Tim Cook, Mike Kernell, Tennessee House District 93, Tennessee Politics, Stopping Tax and Spend Democrats.
September 1, 2006
Bowers is Her Own Worst Enemy
TN Senator Kathryn Bowers (Democrat), indicted for taking $11,500 in bribes as a result of the Tennessee Waltz sting, had a really bad day today.
First, she officially took her name off the November ballot (all the while denying that it is because she's going to plead guilty to the corruption charges). Then she got arrested for DUI.
Now that's class.
Technorati tags: Kathryn Bowers, Tennessee Waltz, Tennessee Politics.