Welfare For Fincher But No Food For Poor

Representative Steven Fincher, a Republican (naturally) who is oh, so embarrassingly from Tennessee, has lived off the government to the tune of $3.2 million (as of 2010) from the Federal crop subsidy program. His father and brother also cashed in, getting $6.7 million between them.

Of course, Fincher is a member of the Tea Party Caucus, and ran on eliminating wasteful government spending. Of course, he didn't have in mind his own cash cow - he only wants to starve people who can't tap into programs as successfully as he himself does by slashing the SNAP program by $20 billion over the next decade. It seems all those old people (8%), small children (47%) and people who work (41%) but don't make enough money to live on, should be made to suffer for the crime of being poor and hungry.

Of course, he hides behind a Bible while doing this, citing Thessalonians "The one who is unwilling to work shall not eat."

I've got a couple of verses for you, Fincher. How about Matthew 25:35   
"For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in,"

And then there's this one -Matthew 19:24- "Again I say to you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God."

Are You Being "Sewer-Serviced"?

Have a credit card? Pay your bills on time? Think you don't have to worry about a judgment against you for credit card debt because you pay on time and are never in default? Think again!
The big banks, and specifically JP Morgan Chase, are pulling off a new scam.

According to Alternet, between 2008 and 2011, over 100,000 lawsuits against consumers over uncollected credit card debt were filed (that includes 469 in a single day!) in the state of California alone. Since processing all this would take an incredible amount of time for the bank, they have fallen back on a time-tested method to do all this - robo-signing, without bothering to check on the merit of the collections procedure!

Of course, robo-signing tends to collect in its vast net consumers who are not in default, and some who don't owe the bank any money, but Chase hasn't let a silly little thing like that stand in its way. Their over-zealous knee-capping gangsters are engaging in a new ploy called "sewer-servicing", in which Chase failed to properly serve notice of debt collection proceedings (meaning they dumped the notices in the sewer) and then lied and said they didn't. Then the consumer, who is totally unaware that the bank is suing them, doesn't show up in court to fight the suit, and is automatically considered in default. Then the bank gets to garnish wages or freeze and take over your bank account.

And Republicans think the banks should be "unchained". How much more do they think the banks could steal from us? Do they want our children to sell off, too?

“Your money or your life” is the fabled threat of highwaymen who used to lay in wait for travelers on dark nights. The outlaw is no longer hiding behind a tree, but the man in the bank boardroom is just as determined to extract his pound of flesh. And he’s getting away with it.

More About Public School Destruction

House Democratic Caucus Chairman Mike Turner released the following statement in response to the failure of HB702/SB830, the “state charter authorizer”:

“Earlier today the Tennessee State Senate refused to hear a bill that would have stripped away local control of charter school authorization for five counties in Tennessee.

“The Tennessee Charter Schools Association claimed in a release that 'the concept of broadening educational options for Tennessee students has once again become the victim of politics, despite thoughtful consideration over the bill through ten committees and passage in the House yesterday with a vote of 62 to 30.'

“This is absolutely false.

“While hostage taking of legislation is not good governance, the result could not have been better for the people of Tennessee.

“HB702/SB830 was one of the most haphazard and poorly executed legislative packages in recent memory. The bill was significantly altered on at least five different occasions — not to make the bill ‘better’- but simply to gain the support of whatever particular committee was hearing it at the time.

“The House bill was passed on the floor after Republicans called the question and cut-off debate without a single person being allowed to speak on the bill. The legislation itself was brought in a last minute amendment that was not heard in a single House committee.

“House Democrats are grateful to Lt. Governor Ron Ramsey for killing this bill this year.

“The highest performing charter schools in this state have been authorized and supported by their local boards of education. This legislation was brought out of spite because one charter school operator was not given a blank check to operate in Nashville.

“We hope that legislators on both sides of the aisle will come back next year with clear heads and realize that this was an unnecessary and damaging proposal for our education system in Tennessee.”

Workers Suffer VIA TN Legislation

This article was originally posted at http://tndp.org/blog/2013/04/13/weakening-the-middle-class-workers-suffer-worst-week-at-legislature/

Weakening the Middle Class: Workers Suffer Worst Week at Legislature

by TNDP on APRIL 13, 2013 · LEAVE A COMMENT

The Republicans who control the Tennessee State House passed on Thursday a series of bills that will weaken the middle class by eliminating rights and lowering wages for Tennessee workers.

During the nearly four-hour session, House Republicans voted to destroy the state workers’ compensation system and do away with the prevailing wage, a rule that protects the wages of construction workers from being driven lower than the regional standard.

“This year has been one major victory after another in the Republican Party’s war on working people in the state of Tennessee,” said House Democratic Caucus Chairman Mike Turner. “The wealthy special interests have certainly gotten their money’s worth this year, and it will be working families that have to pay the price for their indifference and greed.”

Governor Bill Haslam’s changes to workers’ compensation will reduce payouts to injured workers by 33 percent, give companies a greater incentive to fire injured workers, and make it harder for workers to collect legitimate claims.

In addition, the new law removes the appeals process from local courts and places authority over workers’ compensation decision into a new politically appointed bureaucracy underneath the beleaguered Department of Labor.

Democrats had requested that Gov. Haslam delay this legislation in response to the Comptroller audit which showed the Department of Labor’s “internal controls…were ineffective or non-existent” with regard to the state’s unemployment insurance system.

“These are short-sighted changes that will result in more workplace injuries and higher rates of bankruptcy for injured workers,” said Chairman Turner. “All the while, these new changes do nothing to address the higher medical costs in Tennessee which are the reason our workers’ comp rates were higher in the first place.”

Also passing on Thursday was HB850 by Rep. Pat Marsh (R-Shelbyville), a measure that eliminates prevailing wage protections for construction workers on state contracts. The prevailing wage law was designed to prevent contractors from undercutting competition by driving down wages on workers.

If the Governor signs this legislation into law; lower-paid and lower-skilled workers will inevitably be used to complete projects, causing delays and infrastructure problems down the road.

“Working people in this state are being driven down further and further as Republicans try to win a race to the bottom in wages, benefits, and job protections for Tennesseans,” said Chairman Turner. “Unfortunately, many working families in this state won’t realize the damage that has been done until it’s too late.”

Suicide At The NRA Race

My husband pointed out a small two-inch column that was in Sunday's paper. Apparently, during the Saturday Nascar race at Fort Worth, Texas, a man named Kirk Franklin got into an argument with some of the other race spectators. It must have been a very bad argument, or maybe just the tipping point, ultimately sending his soul into the abyss, because at 10:30 PM, sitting in the back seat of his truck which was parked in the infield, he shot and killed himself.
The 500 mile Sprint Cup race was sponsored by the NRA. 

Just Sick At Heart

I'm so sick of this. Sick at heart and sick to my stomach over the hatred (that's what is - hate) directed at the poor in Tennessee. The article linked here  says it all. These self-proclaimed pro-lifers sure don't care much about the life and health and hunger of the poor in Tennessee. This is what happens when Republicans get elected!

"If you're worried about where America is heading, look no further than Tennessee. Its lush mountains and verdant rolling countryside belie a mean-spirited public policy that only makes sense if you believe deeply in the anti-collectivist, anti-altruist philosophy of Ayn Rand. It's what you get when you combine hatred for government with disgust for poor people.

Tennessee starves what little government it has, ranking dead last in per capita tax revenue. To fund its minimalist public sector, it makes sure that low-income residents pay as much as possible through heavily regressive sales taxes, which rank 10th highest among all states as a percent of total tax revenues. (For more detailed data see  here.)

As you would expect, this translates into hard times for its public school systems, which rank 48th in school revenues per student and 45th in teacher salaries. The failure to invest in education also corresponds with poverty: the state has the 40th worst poverty rate (15%) and the 13th highest state  percentage of poor children (26%). 

Employment opportunities also are extremely poor for the poor. Only 25% have full-time jobs, 45% are employed part-time, and a whopping 30% have no jobs at all. 

So what do you do with all those low-income folks who don't have decent jobs? You put a good number of them in jail. In fact, only Louisiana, Georgia and New Mexico have  higher jail incarceration rates...."

From the perspective of Tennessee legislators, it’s all about providing the proper incentives to motivate the poor. For starters, you make sure that no one could possible live on welfare payments (TANF: Temporary Assistance to Needy Families). Although President Clinton’s welfare reform program curtailed how long a family can receive welfare (60 months) and dramatically increased the work requirements, Tennessee set the maximum family welfare payment at only $185 per month. (That’s how much a top hedge fund manager makes in under one second.) As a result, the Volunteer State ranks 49th in TANF, just above Mississippi ($170).

Kick ‘em when they’re down or tough love?

In the Randian universe, it’s not enough to starve public education and the poor. You also must blame the poor both for their poverty and for the crumbling educational system. If a poor child is failing it must be the fault of low-income parents. So how do you drive the point home? You take away their welfare checks if their kids don’t do well in school, which is precisely what the Tennessee House and Senate are about to do. The KnoxvilleNews.com reports:

The bill is sponsored by Sen. Stacey Campfield, R-Knoxville, and Rep. Vance  Dennis, R-Savannah. It calls for a 30 percent reduction in Temporary Assistance for Needy Families benefits to parents whose children are not making satisfactory progress in school.

More amazing still, the bill originally applied to all children of TANF parents, even if they were severely disabled. Realizing that they had gone too far, the bill was amended so that, “it would not apply when a child has a handicap or learning disability or when the parent takes steps to try improving the youngster’s school performance — such as signing up for a parenting class, arranging a tutoring program or attending a parent-teacher conference.”  (Imagine the uproar if those provision were applied to upper-income parents, assuming any still use the public school system.)

Dennis told the House Health Subcommittee the measure now only applies to “parents who do nothing.” He described the measure as “a carrot and stick approach.”

Obviously, this is insane, right? Not if you’ve already started down the road of whipping the poor into shape. The proposed draconian cuts are just an extension of previous policies that already made welfare contingent on school attendance. As Travis Waldron reports in ThinkProgress:

When Campfield introduced the legislation in January, he said parents have “gotten away with doing absolutely nothing to help their children” in school. “That’s child abuse to me,” he added. Tennessee already ties welfare to education  by mandating a 20 percent cut in benefits if students do not meet attendance standards, but this change would place the burden of maintaining benefits squarely on children, who would face costing their family much-needed assistance if they don’t keep up in school.

By the way, the Tennessee legislature is lily-white: One percent is Latino, 6% AfricanAmerican and 91% Caucasian. But the complexion of poverty is darker. Nearly 80 percent of Tennessee’s poor children are black and brown.

Attacking the poor as the answer to the Wall Street crash?

These attacks on the poor, rather than on poverty, are not peculiar to Tennessee. In fact, similar concepts circulate among political and policy elites in Washington. For Ayn Rand acolytes, Wall Street’s reckless, greedy casinos couldn’t possibly be the real reason the economy crashed. After all, the rich get rich because they are terrific at what they do. We should reward these creators, not blame them for their foresight, their ingenuity and their obvious success. The blame instead should fall on the poor — the takers — and on the collectivist government liberals who cater to them. Didn’t the government force banks to put unqualified poor people in homes they couldn’t afford? (It doesn’t matter that the data shows that low-income buyers who gained loans through the Community Readjustment Act didn’t default in higher numbers than anyone else. The idea of blaming the poor has power.)

Blaming low-income people for chronic unemployment is the next move. As the rate stays stubbornly high (precisely because all Republicans and even a few Democrats don’t want the government in the business of job creation) we hear talk of “structural” unemployment. That’s code for the jobs would be there if only the workers were qualified. But you know, those lower-income workers just don’t have the skills and work habits to compete in our globalized economy. Even older middle-class workers are hopelessly out of date. So there’s really nothing government can do about it.

The final twist is to claim that the richest country in human history doesn’t have the means to eradicate poverty. Instead, we are told, rising debt is forcing us to tighten our belts — rather, we need to tighten the belts of the poor by taking away a few more dollars from Medicaid and Social Security.

How to justify meanness?

It’s not easy to be cruel to someone who is down and out. After all, most of us feel ashamed when walking by a homeless person or watching kids crammed into over-crowded classrooms. It requires several psychological twists and turns to make life even harder for low-income Americans.

• You have to blame low-income parents for their own economic problems. Even if the unemployment rate is sky-high it must be the poor person’s fault.
• You need to feel superior — that somehow you got to where you are today not by an accident of birth but rather by your own hard labors. Anyone not as successful as you, by definition, is inferior.
• You have to believe that meanness really is tough love — that by taking benefits away from the poor you are actually helping them on the road to self sufficiency.
• It’s helpful to have access to the broader Randian/libertarian philosophy that argues all forms of collective government action are an attack on freedom. In this view, altruism is seen as a curse that justifies collective government programs which essentially steal money from the makers and to waste on the takers. All collective caring by the state, therefore, is evil, so that all support for the poor via government is evil as well.
• It’s psychologically crucial to have your prejudices confirmed by charismatic alchemists like Ayn Rand, Rand Paul and Paul Ryan who peddle selfishness as the highest form of morality (although only Ayn Rand had the guts to say it so bluntly).

Read the rest at http://www.alternet.org/southern-state-fast-becoming-ayn-rands-vision-paradise?akid=10314.250061.6XO9n6&rd=1&src=newsletter822988&t=3

The Real Welfare

In the cult-film Barbarella, there was a line in the script that always stood out in my mind. The Great Tyrant made all the slaves live in a dark maze, and fed them orchids, which were totally devoid of nutrients - but expensive. The line was "It amuses the Great Tyrant to resent the expense of feeding orchids to slaves". This scenario has a startling parallel to today's situation concerning "welfare", food stamps, and government assistance.

Welfare queens. Food Stamp cheats. Lazy, cheating, why don't they get a job?
The fact is, the most of those on public assistance already have jobs, while the corporations who employ them are the biggest recipients of welfare.

Yes. Think about it. Most Wal-Marts and similar businesses have been the recipients of special tax breaks that ordinary citizens don't have, such as Tax Incremental Financing. "Tennessee’s statutes initially allowed new property taxes created within TIF districts by new development to be used to support blighted and deteriorated areas. These statutes were then expanded to allow the use of TIF districts for industrial development, recreation, convention centers and tourism. With this expansion the State authorized the use of sales tax revenues for TIF projects for convention centers and tourism, establishing a base sales tax level and dedicating the increment or increase in sales tax revenues to retire debt issued to finance the facilities. A sports authority may also use ticket sales, concessions, and other income for debt retirement, even though these revenue streams are not technically referred to as TIF revenues." 

So, while OUR tax dollars help build Wal-Marts, Sam's, and attract businesses like Bass Pro Shops, or funding for future shopping centers, what do we actually get for all this money? This is always promoted as bringing jobs and tax dollars to the area, but is that really true? Do the jobs pay a livable wage? Probably not. In fact, companies like Wal-Mart have  become the number one driver behind the growing use of food stamps in the United States with "as many as 80 percent of workers in Wal-Mart stores using food stamps."

In fact, most retail businesses that are propped up with tax dollars pay most of their employees minimum wage or little more. And those employees rarely get what we consider full time at 40 hrs per week. (This is not a new phenomenon related to Obamacare, it's been that way for a very long time) Those low-paid workers have to turn to government assistance to survive. They really don't want to do this, but if they want to feed their kids, it's an absolute necessity. Then, after the low-wage families get their food stamps, where do they spend them? At Wal-Mart of course, where prices are lower because taxpayers are footing the bill for all the necessities like food, healthcare, and housing!

So, these businesses that get tax breaks and TIF paid for by taxpayers, also get the insurance and food costs of their employees paid for by taxpayers. Ain't that a sweet deal? Recent findings show that Wal-Mart's poverty wages force employees to rely on $2.66 billion in government help every year, or about $420,000 per store. In state after state, Wal-Mart employees are the top recipients of Medicaid. As many as 80 percent of workers in Wal-Mart stores use food stamps. Wal-Mart workers’ reliance on public assistance due to substandard wages and benefits has become a form of indirect public subsidy to the company. In effect, Wal-Mart is shifting part of its labor costs onto the public.  Source - http://www.goodjobsfirst.org/corporate-subsidy-watch/hidden-taxpayer-costs

It's time we recognize who the real Welfare Queens are. It amuses our "Great Tyrants" to complain about those on assistance, all the while the owners and CEOs make millions on the workers' labor.

We're No 1! Most Unhealthy And Unhappy

Gallup and Healthways have just released their polls on the annual Well-Being Index, and guess who has the unhealthiest and unhappiest people in the nation? We do, right here in the Appalachian region of the south. In fact, ALL the lowest ranking states are in Central and Southern Appalachia, and the neighboring states. The criteria includes   Life evaluation of how a person's expectations compare with their current life, Emotional health, Physical health, Health behavior, Work environment pertaining to how workers are treated by superiors and job satisfaction, and Basic access to food, clothing, and healthcare. Ironically, Virginia comes in at #14, probably because of the more progressive views in the northern and coastal regions.
Tennessee ranks #47 in this survey, while West Virginia ranked #50, and Kentucky #49, and Mississippi #48. 
Would this be because the overwhelming "conservative" majorities in the legislatures are anti-worker, anti-woman, and anti-healthcare, while blaming everything on that's wrong on the people who are trying to make their lives better? I mean, when will they figure out who is beating them over the head, and take away the stick? 

Tennessee's Version Of The Hunger Games

Tennessee has a lottery that pays out millions to lucky winners who just happen to pick the right numbers. But there is another, uglier, lottery that is a black spot on our state. (Note - There's more about this at the New York Times - another reason for everyone to think Tennesseeans are little more than backwards hillbillies.)
Those who have high medical bills but can't qualify for Medicaid, can call a state phone line and ask for an application. But there's a catch - a really big one. Those unfortunates can call at very limited times twice a year. But the line shuts down after the first 2,500 calls, which makes the whole process kind of like a radio show where people dial - and dial - and dial - getting the eternally busy signal while hoping to get that little prize. Unlike the show where the prize may be tickets to the movies, the stakes here are very big and can mean life. In other words, these so-called pro-lifers made it a sort of game to force huge numbers of desperately ill people to dial till their fingers go numb in hopes of getting medical care. If you don't win, go ahead and die you sick person. It shouldn't be a crime to be poor, but you'd think from the attitude of Tennessee legislators that it's only about money or ideology, and life and death are nothing that matters, and poor people should just be ashamed of being poor and crawl off into a ditch or somewhere that their wealthier fellow Tennesseans don't have to see. 
Now that Haslam has come up with this Medicaid "twist", sending applicants to private insurers with a voucher (don't these guys love their vouchers!), that really means thousands of Tennesseans will go without health care because they can't afford the extra premiums, deductibles, and co-pays. What part of POOR don't these guys get? This plan won't save any money, it just costs more as it sends all the money to private insurance to make profit! Private insurance has so many little hidden roadblocks that it's like a rat maze, and that's how these cruel bastards like it. That way they get to look down on the "other" who aren't as wealthy, and therefore as "good" or deserving as themselves. Point in case, I have BC/BS of Tennessee through Tennessee Rural Health (Farm Bureau) and I have to fight them to get the benefits that are outlined in the contract. This year I finally got fed up and turned them in to the insurance commission because they refused to pay for the exam for the annual "well woman" or OB/GYN exam that is the first item listed as fully paid other than the $15.00 co-pay. They paid for the pap smear, but said "they don't pay for exams". For four consecutive years I pointed out that (1) this exam was in the contract, and (2) How in the hell am I supposed to get the pap smear without an exam??!!!!! Then they tried to claim it wasn't filed properly, though I initially went to one of the prominent OB/GYN groups for this, and my doctor now is not only the head of a prominent teaching program, but is also the head of the American Academy of Family Physicians for the entire country. His office has filed thousands of these claims, but BC/BS TN is the ONLY one that says it's filed wrong! So just imagine what it would be like for someone who doesn't have the tenacity that I have to keep after the problem when they have all these hurdles to face. Many would just give up.
I guess the next step for these people-hating Republicans is to start a "Hunger Games" style lottery, where a few are picked to represent their poor district, and then forced to kill each other for the entertainment of their "betters" so that one district gets a little extra food for the year. Only this time it would be health care.
I am so ashamed of not only the elected representatives of the state of Tennessee, but the people who elected them should also take the blame. While often claiming to be "God-fearing Christians", they did this to their fellow Tennesseeans. Maybe they should read Matthew 25 and know that it is THEM that Jesus says will go into everlasting punishment.

 40 And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have ^adone it unto one of the ^bleast of these my ^cbrethren, ye have done it unto me.

 41 Then shall he say also unto them on the ^aleft hand, ^bDepartfrom me, ye ^ccursed, into everlasting ^dfire, ^eprepared for the devil and his angels:

 42 For I was an ^ahungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink:

 43 I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not.

 44 Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee?

 45 Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the ^aleast of these, ye did it not to me.

 46 And these shall go away into ^aeverlasting ^bpunishment: but the^crighteous into ^dlife ^eeternal.

Paul Ryan Unveils His Real Plan

"We're not going to give up on destroying the health care system for the American people"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=LT3Px11xN-0

A big Freudian slip from House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan as he unveils his plan to repeal Obamacare and replace Medicare with a voucher system: Watch the video above.

Why Leaving Guns Laying Around Is A Bad Idea

On Saturday night, a Manchester, TN 3-year old picked up a gun, his aunt's .380 handpiece, and shot himself in the head. He's being called the "luckiest kid on earth" because he survived the shot.
His aunt had laid the gun down in the bathroom, and "forgot" about it when she left the bathroom. Later, the 3-yr old's sister went into the bathroom to draw a bath for the toddler, and the toddler picked up the gun. The sister thought the gun was a toy, and therefore didn't try to take it away. The bullet went through the toddler's head and exited.

Though the parents won't be charged, the aunt may be.Good. Her stupidity and paranoia caused a near-death that would never have happened if she weren't a total idiot.  And all this begs the question - why was this woman so paranoid that she was carrying around a loaded gun? What the hell is wrong with these people?

When did America stop being the "land of the brave" and become the "coop of the chicken"?

Not Just "Other People"

Not many folks know that Tennessee's governor is working on a plan to drastically change Workman's Compensation in Tennessee. Unfortunately, in addition, far too many think that if a Republican legislature proposes or passes it, that it must be a good idea, right? After all, those greedy cheaters are sitting around sucking up taxpayers' money while drinking beer and watching TV while the rest of the hardworking, taxpaying citizens support their laziness.

Often, when lawsuits concerning damages due to injury are discussed, the injured are presented as greedy or stupid. You know. Like the woman who sued McDonald's because she was stupid that she was driving with a cup of coffee between her legs and it spilled on her. Boo hoo, she was wet and uncomfortable. That surely wouldn't warrant a huge $2 million plus award would it? Only it turns out, she wasn't driving. She was a passenger in a parked car and when she opened the lid to add cream and sugar, the coffee spilled, causing third degree burns on her inner thighs and private parts which were so severe that she was hospitalized for eight days and required skin grafting. She offered to settle for the paltry amount of $20,000.00, but McDonald's refused. In the lawsuit, it was discovered that McDonald's had complaints of over 700 people being burned by their coffee, but did nothing. The jury's initial award was $200,000. for Ms Liebeck's compensation, and the $2.7 million was punitive damage for McDonald's reckless behavior in not lowering the temperature of the coffee, even after complaints. (The image below is an actual picture of her burns)

McDonald's immediately set out on a PR campaign to smear Ms Liebeck as a stupid, greedy old woman who was too dumb to have enough sense to not drive with coffee held between her legs. And for the most part it worked, as that lie is what most people believe.

Just like most people believe that when people get injured on the job, they're just "faking it", or that it's only greedy trial lawyers (who happen to contribute to the Democratic Party) who are causing Tennessee to run business away because the business can't absorb the financial losses due to the runaway number and dollars awarded of all those frivolous lawsuits. After all, it's only "them" who have silly lawsuits - only "my" pain and suffering has enough merit to get adequate compensation or need a jury to intervene!?!!

Which brings me to Gov Haslam's recent pet project which would drastically change the way Workman's Compensation works in Tennessee. First, the legislation would take workman's comp from under the umbrella of the Labor Department, the legislature, and the courts, and place it under a new agency, which would operate "independently" under an administrator appointed by the governor. No opportunity for problems there! The proposed division would have power to set, change and enforce rules, as well as handle claims, benefits, and disputes That means no appeal to courts or a jury of the injured's peers - just a politically appointed set of bureaucrats whose only loyalty is to the person who appoints them and possibly the business interests who got that person elected- without regard to the pain and suffering of the injured - or their loss of income, which could be devastating to workers Lost your arm due to faulty equipment? Too bad. Some other changes include
.

• Making the employer less likely to be at fault for an on the job injury
• Eliminating the right to a trial before an impartial court system and instead having all claims be adjudicated by the Tennessee Department of Labor
• Shifting the role of the Tennessee Legislature to an agency of the executive branch (Tennessee Department of Labor)
• Burdening taxpayers with the cost of an injured worker instead of responsible insurers/employers
• Limiting the right for an employee with a vocational disability to recover any amount of benefits
• Limiting an employee’s ability to receive medical benefits
• Complicating the determination of an impairment rating, increasing medical costs, and extending the length of a claim experience

Check back on this. I'm presently working with a group that is examining this legislation and its adverse effects on the worker who will have no real recourse if injured on the job. It's time to pound local media via letters to the editor of your local paper, and calls, letters, and e-mails to the local television stations to let  people know that THEY can be injured by the Tennessee legislature.  

Tennessee Needs You!

I know. It's all too easy to listen to the national news shows and get on the bandwagon for passing national issues, while not paying really close attention to what is happening in our own backyard.

One of the reasons for this is local news media. I admit right away that I hardly ever watch local news. Besides just being a short recap of highly selected items like which local meth dealer was caught cooking up a batch in the back of the car, most Tennessee legislative news - which affects us DIRECTLY - is slanted to the right, often without any rebuttal. Even if the local television does cover Democrats' events, they give half of the segment to a Republican to repeat ad nauseum their pre-packaged, often untrue talking points, which were created by Frank Luntz and dispersed by the vast right wing media (yes, they do exist). In addition to frequent letters to the editor, I have often contacted the local paper to ask why certain issues, such as the 11,000 voters purged across Tennessee for example, were absent from local media.

Many who read this are actively involved in writing letters to the editor, and through the Daily Buzz I have some outstanding blogs written by citizens who, just like me, are absolutely sick at heart and outraged by what our Tennessee legislators are doing. They have no one to stop them, and few Democrats in the legislature will be given a voice at this point.

So what do we do? It's time to go beyond our letter-writing efforts. We are all well aware that calls to the Republican legislators' offices are ignored, denigrated, and even at times the legislator pretends that no one is opposing his/her actions, because we as citizens don't have access to their call or letter count.

It's time to start pushing back on the television and radio media. When you see a local TV story that is aired which is plainly biased toward the right wing point of view, it's time to call the station manager and DEMAND that the truth/other side of the story be aired. Write a letter to the station manager when they air, without rebuttal or real reporting on facts, and inform them that they have erred. Get a group together and start pounding them, as there are millions of Tennesseeans who not only disagree with the current legislative agenda, but are mortified and totally embarrassed by such bills as "guns in parking lots" (let's call that one a parking-lot or road-rage accesssibility bill) or cutting food stamps because a child has a bad grade.

It's time for local TV stations and radio stations to hear OUR voice, and air the truth instead of being handed right wing talking points which have no basis in reality. It's time for Tennessee to stop being the laughingstock of the nation, and that won't happen until we shine a spotlight on what is happening at home.

Will you step up?

Assailant Takes 86-yr Old Woman's Gun

Here we go again.

Today's headline screamed "Woman, 86, gets off shot at intruder". Wow. Way to go. Or not.
Go ahead, read the whole story before you assume that super-granny (I can say this because I am one) fended off the vicious intruder by shooting at her. In fact, there's something a little weird about this, in my opinion.

The story tells about an 86-year old Bulls Gap woman who was on the phone with police, making a suspicious vehicle complaint, when the caller told dispatch that she heard a noise, and then the deputy heard her screaming and talking to someone. An unknown woman had broken out a window of Louise Howard's front door, reached in and unlocked the door, and then entered her house at around 4:30 PM Friday. The intruder met Howard at her bedroom door, told her she wasn't going to hurt her and wanted her money, and pulled her through the hallway toward the kitchen. Mrs. Howard pulled out a pistol and attempted to shoot the intruder, but the intruder tried to take the gun away, and the gun discharged. Then the suspect took the pistol and a pocketbook, which contained a bankcard, checkbook and rings.

Maybe I'm just nitpicking here, and I'm NOT making light of Mrs. Howard's brave response to a really bad situation where her life might have been in danger, but it sounds like the assailant knew something about her victim. A daylight robbery attempt occurs while the victim is on the phone with police, where the female robber pulls the victim toward the kitchen (how did she know where the pocketbook would be?) is a risky venture from all angles. Of course, she must have gotten the gun before she called police, and the article must have omitted why she was calling about a strange car. I suppose the car had pulled onto her property, and that was the reason she was making the call, as Howard would always be packing if she stuck a gun in her pocket every time a strange car was in the area, as she lives on a highway, which is highly prone to having strange, suspicious cars traveling on it at all times.

Of course, all this is a LOT of supposition. Just like the supposition that owning a gun will make you safe. Just like supposing that a victim would always be able to not only actually pull the trigger, but shoot with accuracy, and that the robber would never be able to take away the gun and possibly turn said gun against its owner. Mrs. Howard was extremely lucky in this aspect. If you ever pull out a gun, you should be prepared for that gun to be turned against you. A robber is running on adrenaline (or meth), aggressive, and more than likely, very scared, and all that makes them very prone to do something they might not otherwise do. The intruding woman could have easily turned that gun on Mrs Howard, who can now identify the intruder.

I'm Just Wondrin' why all these suppositions are so often assumed as givens. They're not. What we have now is another gun in the hands of a criminal, gratis of the law-abiding citizen who assumed the gun would protect her. The headline should have been - "Assailant Takes 86-yr Old Woman's Gun".

UPDATE - The woman's assailant has been arrested. She was a former neighbor of Mrs. Howard, and was caught after she pawned some belongings. Well, DUH! The story today stated that most of her belongings were recovered. Good for quick police work, and thank goodness Mrs. Howard wasn't injured.

A Little Wine Story

I'll admit it up front.  I have a dear friend who owns and runs Countryside Vineyards & Winery in Blountville, TN. I first visited the winery on a recommendation from a cousin, when my husband was learning how to make wine. My husband is Italian, and always wanted to replicate the "Dago Red" that was the staple wine on the family dinner table when he was growing up, and he was delighted to find out that the owners are also Italian, and a friendship grew as my husband's yeast, sugar, and fruits fermented into delightful (and some not so) wines. I was also lucky enough to have been taught by Annette Thomas (now deceased), the lady of the winery, in the incredibly simple art of making homemade Italian bread. MMMMM!

That said, I'm weighing in on wine sales in grocery stores. Glory be, I actually agree with Jon Lundbergh on something! It's way past time to allow grocery store sales, and progress to the advantage that not only the rest of the country has over Tennessee grocery stores, but also similar stores that are mere minutes from my house here in Kingsport. I remember that as a minor, when even liquor was illegal here, that there was a certain bootlegger who sat in a little white block building just across the state line, and though his supply of spirits was limited, everybody knew he was there, and even a reasonably "mature" looking teenager could easily buy a bottle of liquor. Though the grocery stores and even gas stations that sell wine don't sell to underage drinkers, it's quite a convenience to gas up in Virginia and get a bottle of wine instead of going to a liquor store as a separate trip.

One of the most ridiculous parts of our monopoly-enforcing rule is the fact that there are only four spirits distributors in the State of Tennessee. According to TennesseeWineLovers.net,

 No retailer shall offer or make any discount in the sale or delivery of liquors in case quantities. No reduction in the standard price per case shall be made for sales in excess of one (1) case. (i.e., a retailer can give you a discount for one case of wine but if you wanted to buy 5 cases for a wedding, you cannot get a further discount). [57-3-406 (b)]
No wholesaler contract for a given brand of alcohol (e.g. Kendall-Jackson, Louis Martini) shall include the entire state of Tennessee as the specified area in which such wholesaler will sell any brand. [57-3-301 (3)] The state is divided into 4 regions, West TN, Middle TN, Southeast TN and Northeast TN. The wholesale distributor who holds the rights to a given brand in his area has a monopoly on that brand in an contract that has no time limitation. There is no price competition to sell a brand you have a monopoly on at a discount.

In effect, what this means is that the wholesale distributor can pretty much decide what wineries will or will not be viable. I've been told that the vineyard must request that the distributor offer his wine to the liquor stores, and that whether or not said winery's product is included is totally up to the distributor. Not only can the distributor pick and choose winners in this situation, but the winery must transport the wine to the distributor - there are no pickups. The winery can't sell directly to a restaurant-even if it's next door-or a grocery store or a convenience market, which is really stupid and a stumbling block to "buying local". I'll leave it to the reader to imagine what sort of "incentives" the distributor could demand (on the side and really quiet of course).

All that whining about "it would put the liquor stores out of business" is just nonsense. How come it doesn't put liquor stores out of business in other states? The straw man argument of "more access equals more illegal underage drinkers" is nonsense. Grocery stores already card for beer, so what's the difference? If a teenager is drinking alcohol, it's a good bet that they swiped it out of their parents' cabinet, or got someone else to buy for them, instead of duping a clerk with a fake ID, which by the way, could happen at a liquor store as easily as a grocery store.

Tennessee-it's time to enter the 21st century and stop pretending that we're all Puritans. This system is set up to enrich a few who happen to be politically well-connected at the expense of the local vintner and food stores. And BTW, it's really stupid that a liquor store can't sell mixer or a swizzle stick.