Showing posts with label bill haslam. Show all posts
Showing posts with label bill haslam. Show all posts

Friday, November 20, 2015

GOP Attacks Syrian Refugees After Paris Attacks

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Previous Related Posts:
Paris Attacks Friday Nov. 13, 2015
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Leave it to the Republicans - they can always go lower. And like all bullies, they enjoy finding new victims for their aggression, especially those already suffering, those without a voice, those without a proper home. After the ISIS attack on Paris, the GOP is focused on blaming all Syrian refugees, even mothers and babies, and are hell-bent on keeping them out of red Republican states, even if they have been settled there previous to Paris. Never mind that the guys who blew up Paris were Europeans born and raised, with only one coming into the country with a group of Syrian refugees. No, blame them all, punish them all - who needs facts?

If it smells like Facism and Nazi-ism, then it probably is.





















Haslam rolls back rhetoric after Casada debacle







































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Sunday, June 28, 2015

Republicans React to Gay Marriage Ruling ~ UPDATED

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Previous Related Posts:
#LoveWins ~ Gay Marriage Upheld by Supreme Court

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Republicans had mixed reactions when the Supreme Court made Gay Marriage the law of the land on Friday.

Some tried to be the voice of reason, which is rare for the GOP.

We will comply with the decision and will ensure that our departments are able to do so as quickly as possible.
~ Republican Governor Bill Haslam of Tennessee

. . . I’ve long been supportive of gay rights — it’s hard not to see these people as just wanting the human dignity that the rest of us have. I’m trying to tell my party: You’re going to be a relic. You’re going to be left behind if you don’t come to terms with the fact that this is our future.
~ CNN Conservative Pundit S.E. Cupp

When it comes to the Supreme Court, I'm very happy that they made the right decision on that, because we, in California, we're always a step ahead. We made the decision already a long time ago.
~ Arnold Schwarzenegger via People

Guided by my faith, I believe in traditional marriage. I believe the Supreme Court should have allowed the states to make this decision. I also believe that we should love our neighbor and respect others, including those making lifetime commitments. In a country as diverse as ours, good people who have opposing views should be able to live side by side. It is now crucial that as a country we protect religious freedom and the right of conscience and also not discriminate.
~ GOP presidential candidate, Jeb Bush

 While I strongly disagree with the Supreme Court’s decision, their ruling is now the law of the land. I call on Congress to make sure deeply held religious views are respected and protected.
~ GOP hopeful, Ben Carson

This decision short-circuits the political process that has been underway on the state level for years. While I disagree with this decision, we live in a republic and must abide by the law.
~ Senator Marco Rubio, R-Florida

Given the quickly changing tide of public opinion on this issue, I do not believe that an attempt to amend the U.S. Constitution could possibly gain the support of three-fourths of the states or a supermajority in the U.S. Congress. Rather than pursing a divisive effort that would be doomed to fail, I am committing myself to ensuring the protection of religious liberties of all Americans.
~ Senator Lindsey Graham, R-South Carolina, running for GOP Nomination

To me, it is not freedom from religion, it is freedom of religion, which ultimately means we have the right to practice our religious beliefs and not have others interfere.
We should respect the opinions of others in America, but that in return means that they not only respect our opinions, they respect what is written in the Constitution.
~ Scott Walker, Governor of Wisconsin and 2016 Presidential hopeful

GOP Candidate Donald Trump to his credit, admitted that his own marriages were not spectacular:

From The Hill
“I’m for traditional marriage,” Trump told (CNN's Jake) Tapper, adding that the opinions surround the issue are “changing rapidly.”
Although Trump’s interview aired two days after the Supreme Court declared that same-sex marriage is legal in every state, it was recorded before that decision.
Trump later declared that he disagreed with the court, adding that states should be allowed to decide whether same-sex marriage is legal.
Tapper pressed Trump on his own marital history, asking how he would respond if a gay or lesbian person asked “what’s traditional about being married three times?”
“They have a very good point,” Trump responded.
He went on to defend his behavior in his previous marriages with Ivana Trump and Marla Maples. “I blame myself because my business was so powerful to me,” he said.

Others took predictably extreme views to pander to the Right or stonewall the inevitable change.

There is no such thing as same-sex marriage in the constitution. The words are not there, we've never had it in our history. Five judges on the Supreme Court, or justices, have presumed to find a fundamental right which has no basis in the history or logic or tradition of our country.
I think the law of the land is plain. It's the United States Constitution. Not an opinion of the Supreme Court which contradicts that law.
~ Roy Moore, Chief Justice of the Alabama Supreme Court

UPDATE: At a Sunday church service in Alabama, Justice Roy Moore doubled down, preaching that Christians were going to be persecuted over the Gay Marriage Law.

From Al.com
"Just who do they think they are when one person can reverse 200-and-something years of precedent in our country and thousands of years of precedent in western civilization," Moore said during remarks Sunday at Kimberly Church of God.
The Republican chief justice, often a lightning rod for controversy, was careful at times to quote or paraphrase the words of dissenting justices in describing his opposition including Justice Samuel Alito's prediction that opponents of gay marriage would be vilified and Chief Justice John Robert's phrase of, "Just who do we think we are?"
"Welcome to the new world. It's just changed for you Christians. You are going to be persecuted according to the U.S Supreme Court dissents," Moore said.
. . . "Is there such a thing as morality anymore? Sodomy for centuries was declared to be against the laws of nature and nature's God. And now if you say that in public, and I guess I am, am I violating somebody's civil rights? Have we elevated morality to immorality? Do we call good, bad? What are we Christians to do?" Moore spoke at the church's "God and Country Day" on an altar decorated with American flags and beneath a projected image of Jesus on a cross.

This is something that should be decided by the people, not by, as (Roberts) called it, five lawyers. That said, those five lawyers get to impose it under our system.
~ New Jersey Governor, Chris Christie

The Supreme Court is completely out of control, making laws on their own, and has become a public opinion poll instead of a judicial body. If we want to save some money, let’s just get rid of the court.
Marriage between a man and a woman was established by God, and no earthly court can alter that.
~ Louisiana Governor and GOP Candidate, Bobby Jindal

UPDATE: By Sunday, Gov. Jindal had flip-flopped. I guess someone smart (i.e. not GOP) had law-splained to him that Louisiana couldn't afford all the lawsuits they would get if they didn't comply with the Supreme Court.

From NBC News
Presidential candidate Gov. Bobby Jindal, R-La., said on NBC's "Meet the Press" that while he disagrees with the Supreme Court's ruling legalizing same-sex marriage in all 50 states, his state will abide by the Court's decision.
"We don't have a choice," Jindal said Sunday. "Our agencies will comply with the court order."
. . . As of Sunday afternoon, Louisiana was the only state in the nation that had not issued any marriage licenses to same-sex couples.
"As soon as [the courts] issue their ruling, I suspect it will be a matter of days. I don't know how quickly they will move," Jindal said when asked how soon he will comply with the law.


One size will not fit all. That's not how this country was set up. This week the Supreme Court made decisions that, I'll be real honest with you, I didn't agree with at all. I have said from the get-go that these decisions, particularly that decision about traditional marriage, needed to be made in the states. I believe that with all my heart. That is where that needs to be decided.
~ Texas Ex-Governor and GOP Candidate, Rick Perry

This is not a typical moment in American history. The last 24 hours at the United States Supreme Court were among the darkest hours of our nation.
~ Senator Ted Cruz R-Texas at a presidential campaign stop in Iowa

"The Supreme Court has spoken with a very divided voice on something only the Supreme Being can do-redefine marriage. I will not acquiesce to an imperial court any more than our Founders acquiesced to an imperial British monarch. We must resist and reject judicial tyranny, not retreat.
. . . This ruling is not about marriage equality, it's about marriage redefinition.
The Supreme Court can no more repeal the laws of nature and nature's God on marriage than it can the law of gravity. Under our Constitution, the court cannot write a law, even though some cowardly politicians will wave the white flag and accept it without realizing that they are failing their sworn duty to reject abuses from the court. If accepted by Congress and this President, this decision will be a serious blow to religious liberty, which is the heart of the First Amendment.
~ GOP Presidential Candidate Mike Huckabee, in a prepared statement

. . . the only reason you could possibly oppose changing marriage laws in America is because you hate people of the same sex who want to marry. But that’s not true.
. . . It’s a decision based on a lie. It’s a decision based on fundamental untruths. And yet it is the law of the land.
. . . We are now faced not just with a society that’s going to say and is saying that marriage has nothing to do with children. That’s the impact of this decision. Marriage has nothing to do with children.
~ GOP Presidential Candidate Rick Santorum at the Western Conservative Summit in Denver, Colorado



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Friday, April 17, 2015

Hallelujah ~ Tennessee Tries (And Fails) To Make the Bible the State Book

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At least once a year, someone in the Tennessee Legislature writes a bill to make the Holy Bible (King James Version Only) the State Book, and they will literally swear on a Bible that this is Constitutional because they are protecting their own religious freedom.

I mean, why not? It's not like Tennessee has anything else on the agenda, like passing Medicaid for the poor, or solving school funding problems. Oh, wait ...

There are people in the TN Legislature who have apparently never read the Bill of Rights, the first ten amendments to the Constitution. Amendment I states unequivocally:

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.

From Nashville Public Radio
. . . the state's attorney general, Herbert Slatery, released an opinion Tuesday that stated the proposal violates both the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and the Tennessee Constitution. In fact, Slatery said, the state prohibition on government involvement in religion is actually stronger than at the federal level, barring not only the establishment of a church, but also preference for any "mode of worship."
Several lawmakers warned of legal challenges if the proposal passes.

But support for the proposal has come from across the political aisle. The most passionate on Tuesday was a Democrat, Rep. John DeBerry of Memphis. He said Christians have become "too accommodating" toward people of other faiths, and the bill represents a chance for them to stick up for their beliefs.
"Won't you stand for something? Stand for something, and stop falling for everything."
DeBerry's speech drew a standing ovation. But even some religiously conservative lawmakers are opposing the proposal.

Rep. Jeremy Faison (R-Cosby) says it demeans the Bible and goes against the principles laid out by the nation and state's founders.
"They knew better than to enter in the personal relationship with God with the portion of the laws that govern us."

Tennessee has another sacred book anyway - the Tennessee Blue Book, which is handed out to visitors to the Capitol and school children across the state. It lists the current members of State Government, but also fun stuff like pictures of the state flag, the state flower (iris), the state wildflower (passiong flower), the state animal (salamander), and the state bird (mockingbird). Luckily for our state, even some Republicans think it is silly or even disrespectful to list the Holy Bible alongside the state salamander.

We could just make the Tennessee Blue Book the State Book.

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My own feeling is that the Bible wasn't written in Tennessee, so why should it be the state book? Obviously our red-state Legislature isn't going to choose Al Gore's book on global warming, but how about the famous All the President's Men by Robert Penn Warren? Nope - too cerebral for Tennessee, where most wouldn't know the author's name. But there's the blockbuster Roots by Alex Haley - everyone's heard of Roots, right? Never mind - that's a black experience book, and any bill that puts forth a black writer is going to be tabled anyway. The beloved Christie by Catherine Marshall might work because it's so religious, but then, the author was Presbyterian and not Evengelical enough. How 'bout something by Cormac McCarthy, James Agee, or Wilma Dykeman? Oh wait - some of those books have ideas that might not jive with the Holy Word of God. Cormac McCarthy has some bad words and sex, and Wilma Dykeman wrote an early book about family planning - can't have that. And James Agee went to Hollywood and wrote "The African Queen" - no Africans, please - they might be related to that Kenyan in the White House. Don't remind us.

Anyway, Governor Haslam was probably going to veto the Bible Bill anyway, but luckily for him the state Senate killed it yesterday. A blessing for everyone. Amen. At least until next year when they bring it up again, because they always do.



































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Saturday, April 11, 2015

The #NRA Comes to Nashville

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The gun-loving horde called the National Rifle Association descended on Nashville, Tennessee, this week. Ironically, loaded guns were not allowed within the venue - can you say hypocrites? They could have gone to Texas or some state where everyone could open carry everywhere, but they are concerned for their own safety. Thus, the NRA Convention was held in a "Gun Free Zone" which they say they are against.

It's probably a good thing - these gun nuts always end up shooting themselves in the foot, and they know it.

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My state of Tennessee has a love-hate relationship with guns. Clearly they are part of our heritage, from Davy Crockett to Sergeant York. But now that the true crazies have taken over the Tennessee Legislature, and hunting has become more popular than Bible-thumping, the NRA has more political pull than the Southern Baptist Convention.

However, not everyone is thrilled with the NRA - like me, for instance! I don't own any guns, and never will. And my father was a veteran who won badges for marksmanship, but amazingly he came home from WWII and never saw a need to shoot anybody. My Tennessee ancestors probably shot squirrels to make gravy, but that was for survival. I think they liked ham and fried chicken better...

But anyway, let's talk about our Governor, Bill Haslam, who is more of a bird-watcher than a hunter. While it's true that he just signed an ill-thought-out bill allowing "Guns in Parking Lots" (because people have guns in their cars anyway - so just give up on that), he sometimes ignores politics and vetoes crazy bills sent to him by the TN Legislature.

The latest is a "Guns in Parks" bill that was pushed through just in time for the NRA goons to arrive in town. The bill would also allow guns within the public buildings of the state capital. That's getting too close to home for Haslam, and he probably has too many enemies in the Tea Party to feel comfortable if they are packing heat - there could be one of those "accidental shootings" that responsible gun owners cause. And I truly believe he knows that parks are supposed to be peaceful places for families and not gun-fights between rednecks. We are a tourist state, and Nashville is a tourist city, end of story.











I'm thrilled that the NRA doesn't like Bill Haslam, and I think he will listen to cooler heads and veto the "Guns in Parks" bill.

But the convention gave many of the GOP 2016 hopefuls a forum, sort of a mini-GOP convention, where they were assured of a warm welcome. Yes, unlike the real world. The only two not invited were Rand Paul and Chris Christie.




























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Wednesday, February 11, 2015

Haslam Medicaid Plan Halted in Tennessee by Koch Brothers

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Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam stalled and waffled for two years while trying to come up with a way to expand Medicaid in Tennessee without starting a Tea Party frenzy. Last year it was obvious that the ill-fated TennCare wasn't working, but he waited until after the November elections to bring up his new plan "Insure Tenn." There was even a hint of optimism in the air last week, as hospital officials, doctors, nurses, the the disabled came to Nashville to testify before the Legislature that insuring the poorest of the poor would be good for everyone.

Coalition for a Healthy Tennessee has a great webpage on Who Falls Into the Tennessee Medicaid Gap

But they were outnumbered by loonies, including a crazy lay-preacher from Dayton, Tennessee - of Scopes Monkey Trial fame - to pray against Medicaid because it's just big government trying to oppress sick people. Just embarrassing and sad.










And another group showed up - Americans For Prosperity - goons backed by the Koch Brothers, sent to remind the Tennessee GOP where it's money comes from. Thus the Insure TN plan was doomed, and never got out of committee for a vote.

From NBC News
NASHVILLE-In December, Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam, a Republican, got the deal he wanted from the Obama administration: Tennessee would accept more than $1 billion in federal funding to expand Medicaid, as allowed for in the Affordable Care Act, but Obama aides would allow Haslam to essentially write staunchly conservative ideas into the program's rules for the state. He dubbed the reformed Medicaid program "Insure Tennessee."

But the state's chapter of Americans for Prosperity, the national conservative group whose foundation is chaired by controversial billionaire David Koch, argued Haslam was just trying to trick conservatives into implementing Obamacare in their state by giving it a new name. AFP campaigned aggressively Haslam's plans for the next six weeks, even running radio ads blasting GOP state legislators who said they might vote for it.

. . . When the legislators walked into a hearing Tuesday morning to debate the measure, they looked out from the dais to a room packed with more than 100 people wearing red "Americans for Prosperity" t-shirts. Some of the activists had traveled on an AFP-chartered bus from Knoxville, more than two hours away, to pack the hearing well in advance of its 9:00 AM start time. . . . The sea of red crowded out representatives of the Tennessee Hospital Association, one of the big advocates of the Medicaid expansion, who were left to stand in the back or unable to get into the room at all.



From MSNBC
And what did the AFP activists have to say for themselves?
“I’m skeptical of government-run programs,” said Louis Stans, a retired engineer who was part of the AFP group. Medicare, Stans said, was “better” and he had “paid into it my whole life.”
Those two sentences tell us a great deal about the state of the debate. Here’s a retiree who doesn’t like government-run programs, instead preferring a government-run program. In other words, an AFP activist traveled to the state capitol to condemn a conservative version of Medicaid expansion, because what he really wants is a socialized system like Medicare.
Levi Russell, a national spokesperson for Americans for Prosperity, told NBC News, “I would hope other governors look at Tennessee as an example.”

And just like the government-paid goons in our national Congress who keep trying to "Repeal Obamacare," the Republicans in Tennessee have no other plan for the poor except to bill the hospitals. They got nothing.

However, Gov. Haslam, to his credit, isn't dropping the subject. He mentioned coverage for the poorest citizens in his State of the State Address. This may seem like lip service, but I actually think he means it. Whether he can persuade the Tea Party to actually vote for something that will help the state is debatable. They'd rather talk about Guns and the Bible.

From the Nashville Banner
“Last week, the decision was made not to move forward with Insure Tennessee. However, that does not mean the issues around health care go away. Too many Tennesseans are still not getting health coverage they need in the right way, in the right place, at the right time,” Haslam said in his address to top lawmakers.
“Last week, I talked about coming here not just to make a point but to make a difference. It’s about looking for answers, not just having an agenda. With great power comes great responsibility. So, though the special session has ended, I hope we can find a way to work together to address those problems,” he said.
















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