Tag: Morons

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Fly On The Wall Blog Opinion

Meet the Tennessee Lawmakers Who Think Running Over Protesters Should Be Protected

CREDIT: Matthew Hill

Sen. Bill Ketron and Rep. Matthew Hill introduced legislation to make drivers who hit protesters immune from civil liability.

On Saturday, August 12, 2017, a nazi sympathizer killed one person and injured many more when he drove his car into a group protesting the White Supremacist rally in Charlottesville, VA. With that in mind, now seems like as good a time as any to take a look a pair of Tennessee politicians who were farsighted enough to imagine just such a scenario and introduced legislation to make drivers immune from civil liability for doing something similar.
Matthew Hill

Tennessee Rep. Matthew Hill (R-Chumpsville) is a “firebrand Southern conservative.” Swipes right for tort reform, the Ten Commandments and good old-fashioned nullification; left for abortion and taxes. Hill’s the owner of Right-Way marketing and the host of Bible Buddies Radio. He’s super against child rape but favors fear-mongering legislation and thinks sometimes rolling over protesters in your SUV is totally justifiable. Hill has been a vocal proponent of birtherism, the racist conspiracy aimed at delegitimizing Barack Obama’s presidency. (For fun, here’s a recording of our Bible Buddy interviewing birther gadfly Orly Taitz.) In 2010 Hill introduced HB2685,[24] requiring employees to only speak English in Tennessee workplaces. Hill was called out by media for taking a “dangers of Islam”  fact-finding trip courtesy of the Tennessee Freedom Coalition, a designated hate group according to the Southern Poverty Law Center.

HB0668 failed in Civil Justice committee.

Bill ‘Muslim Mop Sink’ Ketron

Bill Ketron (R-Suckertown) has sponsored many bills but, apart from making it okay to run over protesters if you’re using due caution, the Senator from Murfreesboro is probably most famous as the national laughingstock who mistook a mop sink for Muslim prayer basin. And had a spell about it.

When he’s not hard at work pushing legislation crafted by white supremacist David Yerushalmi to criminalize Sharia Law, Ketron has also made time to see the world courtesy of the Tennessee Freedom Coalition, a hate group that dines well, apparently.

Ketron wasn’t the only Tennessee Senator who thought this idea had merit. SB0944 Passed on first and second consideration and was assigned to General Subcommittee of Senate Judiciary Committee.

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Editorial Opinion

Waiting for a Cure

Taking stock of his governmental realm in a luncheon address to members of the Memphis Rotary Club on Tuesday, Shelby County Mayor Mark Luttrell listed several areas of public life that he was especially concerned with — most of them expected: education, public safety, and economic development prominent among them.

Mark Luttrell

An additional one that he laid special emphasis on was public health — an issue which, as he acknowledged, he had little familiarity with in his previous roles as a prisons administrator and as Shelby County Sheriff. It had come to loom large in this thinking, though — notably the problem of the county’s soaring rates of infant mortality, which have attained crisis proportions.

What, he was asked, would be the impact of a decision by the state — even at this late stage — to accept funds for Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act? What has been the impact of the Haslam administration’s inclination so far not to accept the funds? And what was his attitude toward it all?

As diplomatically as possible (given that Luttrell is a member in good standing of the state’s reigning Republican Party), the mayor explained that the impact of not having the expansion funds has been serious, even critical, since a major portion of federal funding to The Med had been discontinued on the expectation that substitute funding to it and other hospitals administering indigent care would be administered through Medicaid expansion.

Luttrell took note of Haslam’s frequent reiterations of his hopes that he will be able to obtain a waiver from the Obama administration that would allow the state to secure the add-on Medicaid funding to be administered through private insurance sources. The mayor said he had hopes that Tennessee might obtain such a waiver at some point.

The reality is not so hopeful. Arkansas is the major (and perhaps the only) other state to get such a waiver, and our neighboring state began floating a more or less complete version of its plan well over a year ago. As anyone knows who has paid close attention to the workings of Tennessee state government — and especially to the actions of the last two legislative sessions — Governor Haslam has owned up to not having a developed waiver plan and is in the position of asking that one be presented to him by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Moreover, while Haslam is thought to be sincere in his wish to find some contrivance that would allow the state to make use of Medicaid funding, the fact is that the GOP majority in the General Assembly is ill-disposed toward the idea and has basically tied the governor’s hands with legislation in the session just ended. Any plan that the governor might come up with, or that he and HHS might agree on, must be approved by both chambers of the legislature.

So, like Luttrell, we Tennesseans can still hope for a cure; we just shouldn’t count on one. 

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Opinion Viewpoint

Remedial Ed

Our Tennessee General Assembly scores pretty low on basic civics, if recent legislative statements are any indication. Law-making in the state legislature should be predicated upon passing a civics test; those who are elected (and pass the test) are seated in the legislature. Those who fail should not be given the daunting responsibility of writing the laws that govern the people of our great state.

Stacey Campfield

Maybe it’s elitist to assume our legislators have attended school and … learned things. Senator Stacey Campfield’s (R-Knoxville) recent statements certainly call into question his understanding of constitutional amendments, concepts covered in elementary school. The Tennessee legislature recently passed a bill that allows U.S.-born children of undocumented people to pay in-state tuition. It’s actually a nonsense bill because U.S.-born children are U.S. citizens; they’re granted the privilege of paying in-state college tuition in the state of their residency. But Campfield publicly questioned whether U.S.-born children of the undocumented are citizens. He doesn’t think so. Of course, the authors of this op-ed believe the moon is made of Swiss cheese — but we don’t discuss this in public.

The 14th Amendment to the Constitution, ratified in 1868, establishes citizenship for anyone born on United States soil. It’s a simple, practical proclamation designed, at the time, to grant citizenship to African Americans and other American-born slaves who were freed in 1865 via the 13th Amendment. Some people in the 1860s did not consider former slaves full citizens: The 14th Amendment cleared that up. In 1868. End of story.

Next, we would administer our civics test to Senator Brian Kelsey (R-Germantown). We know Kelsey graduated from a pretty good law school (Georgetown!), so we’re surprised at some of his recent political decisions and observations. For example, Kelsey’s sponsorship of SB 2566 (which would allow individuals or organizations to refuse goods and services that further same sex unions) resulted in much negative press that went viral and national. Kelsey, a smart man with outsized political ambition and panache for political pandering, pulled his sponsorship from the bill to dampen the political firestorm he ignited. Evidently, he never learned about the Equal Protection clause in the 14th Amendment while attending law school.

The Equal Protection clause guarantees the equal application of laws against all persons within a state, and certainly singling out gay people for discrimination would be contrary to this clause. We’re confident that they teach the 14th Amendment and Equal Protection at Georgetown Law School. We suspect the institution frowns upon discrimination. Of course, if we were good investigative journalists, we’d head up to Washington to study the Georgetown curriculum, but we’re busy. And we’re not journalists.

Finally, just last week, state Senator Mae Beavers (R-Mount Juliet) sought an expansion of the 2009 Tennessee Firearms Act to include a provision protecting Tennessee-manufactured guns from the reach of federal firearms laws. The bill never made it out of the legislature because the “Supremacy Clause” of the U.S. Constitution means that federal statutes trump state law. Why would an elected Senator from our state challenge Article VI of the United States Constitution? Maybe she never read the Constitution. Senator Beavers also advocates for the direct election of our Appellate Court judges because the influence of money in politics has worked out so well for our democrac process. Why not extend this practice to the judiciary?

Ultimately, it’s important that those who make laws in Nashville understand the fundamental core of our Constitution — lessons taught in elementary school, middle school, high school, college, and in law school.

Just because these lessons are taught doesn’t mean they’re grasped. We think state legislators should have a firm and realistic understanding of constitutional procedures, rather than one based in politics and, apparently, magical thinking. Our civics test, we hope, will force law makers to study some of the basics of law and legislation. In the end, a civics test might not stop all of the nonsense, but we’d like to see some state legislators — as the grades roll in — roll on out of Nashville.

(Bryce Ashby is a Memphis-based attorney and board chair at Latino Memphis, Inc.; Michael J. LaRosa is an associate professor of history at Rhodes College.)

Categories
Letters To The Editor Opinion

What They Said

CREDIT: Greg Cravens

About “Action,” Greg Akers’ cover story on independent local filmmakers …

In the film industry, being able to get funding is pretty much the measure of all things. People either get themselves into debt, or talk someone into funding their movie. When writing a book, all you need is a good idea, about a dollars worth of paper, and a pen. You can leverage commitment and time, and end up with a fantastic result that rivals any other book.

In contrast to that, a good film requires money. Lots of money. It is the unavoidable nature of the medium. To base an entire article on the opposite of that truth is silly, and presents to the rest of the world that the Memphis film community is not serious or just doesn’t get it.

bill.automata

Bill, I suppose if it was renamed “Pro Bono” instead of “Free” then it’d sound more admirable, because lawyers and doctors do that often for causes they believe in, to keep their name out there, and to keep their skills sharp. You can read it as “exploit some hobbyists for free labor,” or you can read it as “people passionate in a creative art who strive to be in it as much as possible.” We know which is the accurate one.

Valibus

Greg Cravens

About Bruce VanWyngarden’s Letter from the Editor …

I’m outraged, stunned, appalled, aghast, and furious about our state legislature enacting a new law taking away the rights of cities and counties regarding guns in parks and playgrounds. The NRA lobby is so powerful they’re able to run our state and nation’s legislatures. Why would any adult with a gun permit go to a park with a gun?

The NRA’s statement that if the “good guys” have guns they can stop the “bad guys” with guns is one of the stupidest remarks ever made. When everyone is shooting at each other, how do you know who is who? Our legislature, with all its pro-gun and anti-homosexual laws is rapidly becoming perceived as the most backward state in the country.

Carol Williams

I agree with a lot of what Bruce VanWyngarden had to say in his editorial in the February 20th issue. Education is the foundation of our problem. Better educated people could make better educated choices. Certainly the state of Tennessee is controlled by the Republicans, and they wield a heavy hand when it comes to local city and county issues. But can you really blame them? Look at the Memphis/Shelby County municipal school system mess, the renaming of local parks, etc. Some of the people who serve in these local positions make the Republicans at the state level look rather intelligent.  

If you take the proposition that the state Republicans are running roughshod over the city and county, then you should be willing to admit that we have virtually the same problem in reverse at the national level, where the Democrats control the administrative and legislative (at least the Senate) and a majority of the Judicial branches of our government. Obviously, it is not all Obama’s fault, but he is and has been the commander-in-chief for about six years now. At some point you have to accept ownership for what is going on around you.  

Woody Savage

About Les Smith’s column, “The Line is Busy” …

I would like to propose a bill that if a bill that is passed by a legislature and signed into law by a governor is later found to be unconstitutional by a judge, even after appeals, then all those who voted for it and signed it get one “strike” against them. If they get three strikes, then they are automatically disqualified from holding public office again. If the third strike comes while they are still in office, then they are automatically removed from office that day.

If you can’t make laws that are constitutional, then you obviously have no idea what you are doing.

Charlie Eppes

Categories
Letter From The Editor Opinion

Letter from the Editor: Guns in Parking Lots

AP — The state Senate on Monday passed a bill to give people with handgun carry permits the right to store their loaded firearms in their vehicles wherever they are parked, brushing aside concerns raised by businesses and higher education administrators in Tennessee.

Whew. I don’t know about you, but I was mighty relieved when the Tennessee General Assembly made its first order of business for the 2013 session the quick passage of what liberals call the “guns in parking lots” bill. Its rightful name, of course, is the “Safe Commute Act.” I guess the incredible public demand for this long-overdue legislation finally motivated those folks in Nashville to take patriotic action.

Now, at last, the 5 percent of us Tennesseans who have concealed-carry permits will finally be allowed to protect ourselves — and the other 95 percent of Tennesseans (mostly ungrateful and unarmed liberals, socialists, and Muslims) — the way the Founding Fathers intended.

I’ve had to brave my commute to work without my trusty semi-automatic Sig Sauer MK25 for far too long. You see, my lily-livered, unpatriotic employer forbids me from leaving my loaded pistol in my car in the company parking lot. Did they care that they were putting my life in danger by making me drive to work unarmed? Noooo. Sure, I guess I could have parked on the street, but then I would have had to walk unarmed across the street and the parking lot! Holy crap. How uncaring and insensitive could they be?

Like FedEx, Volkswagen, other major companies, and the state’s colleges and universities, my employer thought its “property rights” superceded my Second Amendment right to pack heat wherever I want to. But what have they done for us, lately, anyway? Sure, they may pay their employees a nice salary and help out the economy a little, but that doesn’t give them the right to put my life in danger. Have you driven down Peabody lately? Scary, I tell ya.

But we’re not done yet. Even with this new law, I still have to walk across the parking lot to the building unarmed. What’s up with that? I’m pretty sure by next year at this time, our legislators will have taken care of us and we’ll finally be allowed to carry guns in the office, which is only right. Have you seen that tattooed young sales-punk we just hired? Property rights, my ass.

Plus, once I’m walking around this place with Siggy on my hip, I’m prettty sure I wont be getting any more greif about typos from those uppitey copy editers.

Bruce VanWyngarden

brucev@memphisflyer.com