T. ROBERT'S BLOG
THE NEW VISION
The election of President Barack Obama introduced the political world to a new vision for America, a vision of hope and inclusion, bottom to top politics, and ”a government for and by the people”, as originally intended. This election marks a new direction for the country, with governmental transparency for its citizens and activist opportunities like no other time in history. Over the past 8 years, Americans have realized that complacency is expensive. As a result, many have become more politically active than we could have imagined. Moreover, it is happening locally, too.Democrats won previously Republican-dominated states with the leadership of Howard Dean for the Democratic National Committee and the electrifying charisma of President Obama. With the Democrats’ national victory, a new day was thrust upon the ‘body politics’ and we are taking notice and considering the impact even at the local level. Read more Reprinted from City News June 2009.
HODGE-PODGE:
the decline of the great state of Tennessee to ‘backwater’ status Webster’s New Collegiate Dictionary says that a ‘hodge-podge’ is a ‘mixture’ or ‘jumble.’ As I sat at my computer starting to write the July column, my mind was a hodge-podge of emotions, including anger and sadness, all related to decline of the great state of Tennessee to ‘backwater’ status on the national level, the result of the divisive, racially polarizing plan by the Tennessee GOP.Has Tennessee, the great Volunteer state, replaced Mississippi as the most insensitive, racially divided state in the Union? Can the Republican leadership in Tennessee not grasp the enormous damage that they have done to our State’s national reputation? Can we ever expect another national or international industrial prospect to consider seriously Tennessee as a site for a major expansion? Is it too late to salvage our lost honor and respect? These are all questions people were asking after the last election. It now appears that the answer to all of these questions is a frightening “no” because, Tennessee has again become the butt of late night talk show jokes and biting newspaper and magazine editorials condemning the racist attitudes of the current
F O R U M
YOUR OPINIONS
Vote for us or Die!
This is the message of the Republican Party epitomized by the non-stop media onslaught of one Richard Bruce Cheney. With the equivalency of granting equal time to holocaust and evolution deniers, we saw Cheney on a split screen with President Obama. Dick, who left office with a 13% approval rating, has brought fear mongering to levels not seen since the McCarthyite hysteria of the Fifties. Cheney’s relentless rewriting of history is a pathetic effort to divert attention to the reality that over seven thousand Americans died on the Bush Administration’s watch and the very real possibility that several members of the Administration may be charged with war crimes. For eight long years, they used the basest slander, libel and outright lies to defame mercilessly any opponent of their actions. However, Americans showed they could see through the GOP’s fear mongering tactics by electing President Obama. With the GOP currently wandering in the wilderness, they have gone back to the well, yet again with fear, hysteria and outrageous lies. President Obama is not letting terrorists loose on American soil with welfare dollars in their pockets; water boarding is torture and has been considered so for over 100 years of American jurisprudence; Iraq had nothing to do with the 9-11 attack; the Abu Ghraib Prison abuse was the result of Bush Administration policy and the Bush Administration did not do everything in their power to root out the 9-11 terrorists otherwise Osama bin Laden would not still be at large. These are Cheney’s lies and we need to demonstrate the same clear thinking and use of rational argument to counter the lies that we used during the Election.
Susan Banks
Letter to the Editor
Jackson Sun
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T. ROBERT'S BLOG
Republicans Are In Charge
We reflect on the 2009 Tennessee Legislative Session with very mixed emotions. We won’t miss the daily briefings during the session outlining ‘whose ox would be gored next’ or what precious legal rights would be trampled in the name of ‘the right wing leadership’ or some other wedge issue group, like the nursing home industry or the gun lobby. But we will miss the hilarious ‘circus’ that began with the election of a second term (two years of experience) representative (Rep. Keith Williams) to “Speaker of the House of Representatives”, arguably the top leadership position in the Legislature. We will miss the summary ‘beheading’ of Representative Mumpower, who thought he had the Speakership sewn up until the votes were cast. We reckon they don’t teach one ‘how to cipher’ in upper east Tennessee. We will miss the daily ‘whine’ of Rep. Brian Kelsey of Memphis moaning and groaning over the election of the allegedly incompetent Republican Williams adding to the amusement during the first few weeks of the Session. READ MORE
Partisan School Board Elections Part OneThe following forum article expresses the opinion of the writer only and is not necessarily the opinion or position of the Executive Committee for the Madison County Democratic Party or the Tennessee Democratic Party. I write this month as T. Robert Hill, Madison County citizen and tax payer for over 35 years.
The education of our children, kindergarten through 12th grade, is the most important job of the citizens and tax payers of Madison County and that job should not be the subject of partisan political bickering, infighting and patronage. We have seen enough of what happens when a governmental body like our Madison County Commission is transformed by a few wealthy, self-interested individuals from a non-partisan, generally independent citizen body into a partisan political body that seems to be lost in a non-ending quagmire of petty arguments and personal infighting. We should keep the election of the Jackson Madison County School Board nonpartisan. Any effort by the partisan, Republican controlled County Commission to change the School Board election from nonpartisan to partisan should be opposed by those in the community who believe that education is, in fact, too important to embroil in local politics.
This position may seem strange coming from the Chairman of the Madison County Democratic Party. To many of my Democratic friends, my opinion on this subject may seem a bit out of character. Even though I believe that the political parties play an important role in shaping and directing government , I also believe that there are certain services that government has historically provided that are better off left in the hands of professionals than in the hands of politicians who are beholden to one party or another. I will attempt to outline a few of the problems I see that are inherent in the partisan election of our School Board. Read MoreHealthcare Insurance Reform NowHealthcare insurance reform is on just about everybody’s mind. Some people worry that Grandmother be will euthanized to make room for the next generation. Some worry that the healthcare they do not have is better than the healthcare they could have. Some worry that the health insurance industry will not make enough money or their CEOs may have to scrounge around to find a Four Seasons at the beach instead of staying at their modest thirteen million dollar bungalows. But most worry about their family. They worry about losing their jobs where they have healthcare but cannot afford to keep it in effect because of the exorbitant costs. They worry about deductibles that grow bigger and bigger, swallowing their pay check. They worry about an illness putting the family in destitution and bankruptcy. Many worry that once again the federal government will do nothing to stop the money-sucking madness that is the health insurance industry. Frankly, as a small business owner with 35 full time employees, I worry that this may be the last year, after 35 consecutive years, that I will be able to offer healthcare insurance to my ‘family’ of employees. Read MoreDecision Time by Robert Hill,
MCDP Chair
Our President has an enormous decision to make. Do we continue to increase the number of soldiers and support personnel in Afghanistan with no end in sight? Or do we recognize the dangerously deep waters we are in and opt for an effective exit plan? Even if he chooses the first option and adds more new troops, can the second option be avoided much longer? continued
Majority Chose Obama to Reform Health Care
April 18, 2010
Jackson Sun Op-Ed by T. Robert Hill
Republican Dr. Jack Cassell, a urologist in the Orlando area, single-handedly pushed the health care reform debate to an all-time low when he posted his office door with the following sign: IF YOU VOTED FOR OBAMA ... SEEK UROLOGIC CARE ELSEWHERE. CHANGES TO YOUR HEALTH CARE BEGIN RIGHT NOW, NOT IN FOUR YEARS.
What Do Conservatives Really Want?
June 27, 2010
Jackson Sun Op-Ed by T. Robert Hill
For decades the Republican mantra has been “smaller government” and “tax cuts” for the wealthy but is this what they really want or just a “sound bite” to maintain the status quo?
If we examine our history, we find that smaller government meant child labor, no compensation for on-the-job injuries, no overtime pay, no health insurance and no pensions. It also meant no public transportation, no public roads, no public schools, no government supported police or fire departments and no government supported hospitals. Giant private utilities controlled power and water resources. Most industries were monopolized by single individuals and families like the Rockefellers, Carnegies and Fords. This was the picture in the early 1900’s leading up to The Great Depression.
Today we have child labor laws, worker’s compensation, a 40-hour work week with overtime pay, access to health care through public health departments, Medicare and Social Security. We also have city buses, public roads, police and fire protection provided by taxpayer funds and hospitals like ourJackson Madison County General Hospital. We also have the National Guard, Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, and Coast Guard. Which government service would the American people be willing to give up?
Today, the Republicans’ “small government” means a lack of industry regulation on oil companies, coal mining, banks and big business. Recent Republican administrations have been successful in keeping these area of government extremely small and inefficient over the last thirty (30) years.
Oil industry regulations were wiped out during the Bush-Cheney years. One need simply recall the Bush-Cheney closed-door White House meetings with oil executives to “set” our national oil agenda to see the cause and effect. Now we have oil companies who cut corners and ignore safety issues to increase profits. No doubt it seemed like a great plan at the time. Then an offshore rig essentially exploded, killing 11 Americans and causing unimaginable damage to the Gulf Coast region. Suddenly, instead of “drill, baby, drill” Republican governors from Alabama, Florida, Mississippi and Louisiana are all crying for federal government intervention and resources. Where will those resources come from? Why taxpayer dollars, of course. In addition, all those Republicans who scream for caps on liability in cases of malpractice are now screaming to take the liability caps off BP. Of course, there are a few, like Sen. David Vitter (R-La.) who feel “sorry” for BP, that’s British Petroleum, and believe the federal government alone should protect and clean up the Gulf Coast.
Mining regulations were also rolled back during the Bush-Cheney years. As a result, mining companies appeal time after time, regardless of the number of safety violations found. Meanwhile, the companies are never required to fix the problem during the appeal process. Then we have a horrific explosion resulting in 24 deaths of American fathers, sons and brothers.
Banking and investment regulations were trashed during the Republican reign. As a result, millions of homes went into foreclosure as risky loans were approved, bundled and sold by the giant Wall Street investment firms.
Big businesses became increasingly deregulated during past Republican administrations, including eight (8) years of Bush-Cheney. As a result, American companies have moved more and more business to third world countries, utilizing what is essentially slave labor to increase their bottom line while devastating small-town America in the process. But Republicans want more and more for the corporate profiteers and less and less for everyday Americans.
Here’s the rub.
The Republican Party, and its’ recently spawned Tea baggers, want government to stay out of corporate life, but they want more and more government regulation for certain individuals’ personal lives. They want freedom and liberty for corporate America, but want the government to prohibit things they don’t believe in, like abortion and gay marriage. So do they really want small government, or do they just want government that supports their “right wing” issues and pads their corporate buddies pocketbooks? Truly, a giant conservative hypocrisy is the best way to describe these present Republican “sound bites.”
The American people, particularly those here in Jackson, have a choice to make in upcoming elections. Do you really want smaller government with fewer regulations and less oversight, or do you want a balanced, responsive and responsible government that provides essential services with reasonable taxes?
T. ROBERT'S BLOG
