The Day After

The battle is lost, yet the war continues. The lull between the action is in two parts: the quiet that occurs until January, when the Republicans unleash their organized attack on everything the administration has done lo these six years, intent to dismantle as much as they can; and, the lull between now and the 2016 campaigns, which varies. Some have already ramped up. For them there is no lull. For them, life is chess, and they are many moves ahead.

We fought a good battle but, in the end, we lost. So, we have to ask ‘Why?’. What did we say that did not resonate? What did we not say that we should have? What did they say that we did not hear?

Was it simply an identity issue, where Republicans vote Republican because they are, at their core, Republicans, however they define it? Can it be that they are so superficial that the banner alone is enough to stir a conditioned response, much like Pavlov’s dogs? Or, can it be that they are serious minded, reflective individuals who, after due consideration of the messages, make conscious choices to vote as they did? Were they duped, misled, or did we misread them and fail to communicate properly, to meet them where they are?

Were people more concerned with meat and potato issues, like jobs, and we were amiss focusing on social issues of fairness and equity and human rights? Did we not connect the dots to create enough AHA! moments? Did they want jobs, any jobs, while we wanted increased minimum wages?

These are rhetorical questions but the answers may give us some insights into the chasm that separated us from them.

What did our opponents say that resonated more, enough so that we lost 2:1? If they misled the masses, why was that and how did they do it? What did the masses ‘get’ that we did not? What did they not get, that we were not able to expose?

Imagine someone saying, “Congress is a mess!”, then voting to keep it so. That’s not exactly true. Some states did make changes. They did create a new Congress. The Reds in Red states stayed their course while the Reds in Blue states overran their opposition. They are now poised overrun the White House, their eyes set upon the presidency in 2016.

Is it something we said, or something we didn’t say?

It is time to reflect. It is time to vacation, to put things aside for a bit, concentrate on our breathing. The battle will resume in due course, Let us repair, each to his or her own lair, then regroup, refreshed. You are no longer privates and first lieutenants, You are sergeants and majors. Your experience has made you wiser and stronger, When next we meet, we’ll do better.

Mary's Army

“It is dangerous to be right when the government is wrong.”

                                                                                    Voltaire

I awoke this morning thinking of you, Mary’s Army, In four days, you will know the outcome of your efforts. There’s anxiety in the air and so much yet to do. The weather has changed. Icy winds of winter have arrived, a metaphor for difficulties in a time of war. Just four more days. Surely, you won’t let the inconveniences of inclement weather stay you from your course, obstruct your mission. You will persevere.

In the grey of this morning, I am reflecting upon you as a force. Only months ago, you were ‘civilians’ caught up in your own lives. What brought you together were ideas and ideals. You rallied around and behind one person, your representative, through whom your united voice would be channeled and, hopefully heard among contrary voices clamoring for the attention of the same tribes.  You fought diligently to give her an audience, among citizens where they live and play, through an oftentimes uncaring media. You marched, held signs, handed out literature and did whatever was necessary to advance the cause. You became a force.

You were a force of one standing on corners or working a crowd. You were a force of many at key events when rallying was the best tactic and many were needed. The next few days will call for your greatest efforts. No time to waste. So much to do.

I found myself asking, “What then?”

You came together behind Mary and for Mary, but there is more. You came together with Mary as a symbol, a meaningful icon, But what brought you together and kept you together were ideas, beliefs. What brought you together were ideals you believe in that are being challenged and, in many cases, threatened.

We are a nation of laws but there are those eager to craft legislation that denies basic human rights. There are those who will codify the ceding of our state’s and our nation’s sovereignty in the guise of ‘job producing’ trade agreements. There are others who will steal away our rights to water that they can then sell back to us; those who will pollute our waters to extract oil and natural gas and sell the products abroad, who will privatize the profits and socialize the costs of reclamation if, indeed, reclamation is still possible; those who will play the ‘jobs’ card to mask the threats to our environment.There are those who will run roughshod over women’s rights to choose and the rights of children for free, high quality education, food for the hungry, shelters for the homeless and access to healthcare for all. There are those who will deny people's rights to vote and, soon, to rally and march for what they believe. You know all this. You rallied behind Mary for the ideals she represents. 

Come Wednesday morning, what then? Will the fate of these ideas have been decided? Will your work be done? Will you soldiers separate and return home, your quest over? Will the memories and war stories comfort you before the open fire?

Nothing will be settled on Tuesday. Not really. The clarion call of these ideas will still sound throughout the district, indeed the nation. The issues will not have been put to rest. If anything, the cries will become louder, more shrill. As opposing forces gather to execute their plans, to carry on their work, where will you be? Will you say you gave it your best and move on with other facets of your lives. Will you say you did your best, that it’s time for others, a new generation perhaps to carry on?

Or, will you agree that the force you have become must remain in tact? Will you regroup to reshape your efforts, craft new strategies and tactics to carry on the fight for the state and the nation you purport to love?

The fight is not over. It hasn’t even reached a peak, What needed doing still needs doing, with even greater urgency.

I leave you with these thoughts. Will you go home, cede the ground you won, and listen to people over the coming years as they ask, fearfully, “What will become of us?”  Or, will you increase your forces and flex your powers and rally people to ask, “What can we become?

You have done so much, with relatively so little. You have sounded the alarms, carried the banners proudly, taken the battle to the streets and stood tall for your fellow citizens. This is no time to stop. The battles have just begun, and you are needed more than ever.

http://themellowjihadi.com/2014/02/15/carry-on-carry-on/  

WOULD YOU DRINK THIS WATER?

As you prepare to vote next week, consider the following two issues: Fracking, which you’ve heard of; and the Trans Pacific Partnership, of which you may not be aware. Both issues are represented in that glass.

Fracking:

In states throughout the nation, people are finding discolored, contaminated water coming from their water supplies. In every case, it’s happened shortly after companies in their areas began fracking operations nearby, to extract oil and natural gas.

Fracking requires the use of hazardous chemicals mixed with copious quantities of water to drive the oil and gases out of the ground. Over a very short period of time, the residual pollutants make their way into the groundwaters that supply drinking water.

Tennessee is just now moving ahead in earnest to ‘tap our natural resources and supply jobs to the surrounding communities’. It sounds a lot better than it is. Let’s put it another way. Companies will ravage the ground on your land or on land nearby, and leave you with the ‘externalities’, the (unintended) consequences of their profit-making schemes. They profit at your, and your neighbors’ expense. Is this what you want?

The TransPacific Partnership (TPP)

The TPP has been called NAFTA on steroids. The truth is that it might be even worse. Here’s what it does that you should be aware of:

It takes away local, state and even national sovereignty, the rights of communities to pass regulations for the benefit and protection of the citizens and their environment. 

Here’s how it works. Nations sign on to the TPP. The agreements allow companies to do whatever they want, in our nation, in your state, and in your community -- even if it harmful to the citizens. 

So, a company that sets up a fracking operation in your back yard can despoil the land, take its profits and leave communities with the bills for clean up, though sometimes clean up will be out of the question. Communities will be disrupted much like they were when the Three Mile Island nuclear disaster occurred a generation ago.

What’s just as insane is that if the community passes ordinances to stop their activities, the companies can sue for the profits they ’might have made’, if the community acquiesced and let them have their way.

Now, fracking is only one component of the agreement. The TPP will impact your: 

Access to prescription drugs, and what you’ll pay for them. If they extend patent protection for fifty (50) years instead of seventeen (17), you’ll lose access to generic drugs forever!)

Access to the internet and what it will cost you

Access to food, free of GMOs and other harmful ingredients

See more in the links below.

Chapter after chapter, the agreement slices off citizens’ rights with virtually no recourse in the courts. None at all.

Would you drink that water? Or swallow what these agreements are trying to foist upon you?

If your answer is ‘NO!, then realize that if you vote for Chuck Fleischmann, he will vote FOR this, and other agreements (there’s a European agreement in the works, too.)

If you believe your community has Rights, that your state has Rights, and that YOU HAVE RIGHTS, then you must 

VOTE for Dr.Mary Headrick to protect your rights. 

The other guy won’t.

VOTE for GORDON BALL to protect your rights. 

The other guy won’t.

http://www.citizen.org/Page.aspx?pid=3306&q=TPP 

http://www.citizen.org/documents/TPP-corporate-factsheets.pdf 

http://news.rapgenius.com/Transpacific-partnership-tpp-negotiating-parties-tpp-ip-chapter-leaked-draft-section-i-internet-service-providers-appx-lyrics 

I urge you, neighbors, 

VOTE MARY HEADRICK! 

In Less Than a Week

Lets start a groundswell campaign to recreate our nation:
In less than a week, We can 

Rid ourselves of bad legislators. We can start here in the TN 3rd by casting out Chuck Fleischmann:

He has the best health insurance while he denies his own constituents that very same right. In less than a month we can vote him out of office.

He has kept his job and his pay while shutting down the government, putting the nation at risk and furloughing millions of his fellow Americans. In less than a month we can put him out of office and get our country back.

He has freedom to benefit from insider trading while arresting his fellow Americans if they try to do it. In less than a month we can be rid of him.

He voted over 50 times to repeal the Affordable Care Act to deprive his own constituents of quality healthcare. Now YOU can vote to repeal HIM.

He voted to shut down the US Government. In less than a month we can vote to shut him out of it.

He voted to starve Women, Infants and Children. In less than a month, we can vote to remove him from office.

Tick, tick, tick…….

Need more?
We can regain our status on the world stage
We can regain control over our financial systems to be sure they never fail again
We can rewrite laws that harm the majority of Americans and replace them with laws that build a better nation.
We can protect our environment against fracking
We can pass laws supporting environment-improving technologies
We can have our Democracy back
We can have safety nets for our children
We can have sensible government
We can build on our strengths, rebuild our lives
We can have low-interest loans for college
We can allow medical professionals cross state borders to serve our most needy
 We can have single-payer health insurance
 We can have lawmakers who work for us
 We can take back our schools
 We can take back our infrastructure
 We can eliminate predatory lending
 We can control prescription drug costs
We can pass laws to protect all Americans from unlawful intrusions

The Price of Ignorance & Apathy

Come voting time, you have three choices. Vote for candidate A; vote for candidate B; Vote for No One, opt out of voting and accept whatever comes.

Vote for A because you share values:  poor people are lesser people, undeserving of my tax dollars; teachers are over paid, with far too many benefits; health care for everyone goes against my nature. I have insurance, they should, too. Military spending is too high but I would never second guess our generals. 

Vote for A because it’s my party, right or wrong. If the other guy really wanted my vote, he or she would have joined my party first.

Vote for candidate B because you share values: society by and large is made up of us, all of us. While some of us are better off than others, we owe it to our society to help the needy, care and nurture our children, and support our teachers. Health care is not only good for everyone, it’s less expensive than emergency care.

Vote for B because it’s my party, right or wrong. If the other guy really wanted my vote, he or she would have joined my party first.

I marvel at those who vote against their own best interests, who toe a particular party line in spite of the personal costs. They vote with as much thought as lemmings en route to the cliff. It’s their identity. They vote for military budgets that include aircraft and tanks when even the generals say they don’t need them. They vote for the congressman who voted to authorize $12Billion for a thirteenth aircraft carrier, when China only has one and most nations have none. They vote against rebuilding our national infrastructure when thousands of bridges are on the verge of collapse, schools are crumbling and highways are in disrepair -- some in their own district.

They vote as if they are part of the 1% when, in truth, they’re living far closer to the edge than they know. They imagine how they’d feel if they someday made it into the big leagues themselves, and were somehow going to be taxed accordingly.

The cost of such foolish thinking is found in decreasing support for schools, increasing collapse of infrastructures and social networks. Let’s pay less now to develop our children and more to incarcerate them later. Let’s ignore the failing water, electric and sewer system failures. leaving it to others to deal with later.

Even worse are the people who benefit from services, then fail to vote. Thousands of Chattanooga residents who are now covered by healthcare insurance for the first time will not vote. Nor will families in desperate straits who find relief in supplemental nutrition programs or other subsidies. They leave themselves exposed to the voters eager to eliminate safety nets of any kind.

In Chattanooga and the rest of District 3, voters have a choice -- between a person who has made over $680,000 in four years while doing nothing for his constituents -- or Dr. Mary Headrick, who served her Tennessee patients for some thirty years as a primary care doctor, a woman with brains,breadth and backbone; a woman who stood up for her district, from Chattanooga to Oak Ridge and beyond.

This time, Tennesseans, vote for what’s good for you. Vote Mary Headrick for US Congress.

Walt -- Withering

I met a man yesterday at the local gas station/convenience store who is in his seventh year of challenges. He lost his tech job in 2007, at 58 years of age. Shortly after that, the family lost their house. He lives now in subsidized housing with his wife of thirty-one years, who herself is suffering with severe medical complications. His rent: $25/month.

There are times when he has to beg for bus money, or to cover his rent. He has tried to get jobs ever since he lost his, to no avail. He realized how much damage he’d suffered when he couldn’t keep up with the pressure of working at Food City. “I realize now that I had had a nervous breakdown. I couldn’t see it when I was in it. I didn’t know it and I didn’t know where to turn for help.”

The man I met was well-groomed. His speech was what a body expects to hear from a well-educated person. In spite of everything, he maintains a proper facade -- until our conversations get deeper. Then, his fear is palpable.

We talked about his children, both out of the house. His son is elsewhere, married with a child. His daughter lives nearby, on her own, dealing with her own demons. As a certified nursing assistant, she cares for the elderly and barely makes enough to sustain herself. If her father’s future is bleak, hers is more so.

It was painful to see one’s life shattered, especially when his daughter was seven years younger and still living with her folks. His memories of those days, when they were evicted and set out on the street, is still too raw to ponder. It was worse for his daughter, he told me. Her future dreams were shattered, too. He tries to deny responsibility for their plight, preferring to blame it on the collapse but he doesn’t believe that, not really. Inside, he still feels everything is his fault, and that’s debilitating.

Living in a studio apartment barely big enough for one, there is no escape for him, or his wife. They’re afraid living there, especially at night when occasional gun fire rings out from neighbor’s apartments. After two years, he still can’t get used to it, or accept fully the pain it causes. When he steps out for a cigarette, he keeps his eyes peeled for the drug dealer who offers him free samples whenever they meet. He’s turn him in if he thought it would do any good. he knows better.

“I paid for my son’s education,” he says softly. “That was before the collapse, but just barely.

“I couldn’t do that for my daughter. She got her CNA on her own and was able to move on but we shared a car for almost two years. It was our home.”

He looks forward to next month, when he can go on Social Security, finally. Unlike millions of homeless and dispossessed, he had paid in maximum contributions, so his check will be close to $1800/month. It’s still below poverty level for a family of two. His rent will go up according to scale but he’ll be unable to leave. Still, compared to the past, he senses he’ll have some of his dignity back.

Research Money and Donors TN Senate TN House District 3

Ever wonder whose money influences which candidates? I do. So, I looked at two races in Tennessee: US Senate against incumbent Lamar Alexander, and US House, District 3, with Chuck Fleischmann against Westin Wamp. I thought you might like to see who's backing whom, and what's in it for them if their candidate wins. I include links to my source in case you want to check on other races.

Enjoy!

Joe

Chuck Fleischmann (R) *

Raised:$1,229,136

Spent: $   887,360

Cash on Hand:  $348,260

Last Report: July 18, 2014

 

Individual contributions

Small Contributions                                                                                 $  13,073         (1%)  

Large Contributions                                                                                 $686,880        (56%)

     

PAC contributions                                                                                   $529,183        (43%)

Candidate self-financing                                                                          $           0         

Other                                                                                                    $           0         

Top Contributors

2014 Race: Tennessee District 03

Select a cycle:

Chuck Fleischmann (R) *

Contributor                                                                                                      Total

Deroyal Industries                                                                                $27,000

Wright Brothers Construction                                                                $15,400

Pointer Management                                                                             $14,300

Gibco Construction                                                                               $13,000

Unum Group                                                                                        $12,600

Automotive Free International Trade PAC                                              $12,500

Jones Management Services                                                                   $12,000

Haury & Smith Contractors                                                                   $11,200

Federation of American Hospitals                                                          $10,500

McKee Foods                                                                                      $10,300

Bechtel Group                                                                                     $10,000

Every Republican is Crucial PAC                                                          $10,000

Freedom Project                                                                                  $10,000

Ingram Industries                                                                                 $10,000

Northrop Grumman                                                                             $10,000

American Bankers Assn                                                                       $  9,000

Babcock & Wilcox                                                                              $  9,000

Raytheon Co                                                                                       $  9,000

USEC Inc                                                                                           $  8,800

Decosimo                                                                                           $  8,100

Weston Wamp (R)

Raised: $584,861

Spent:   $501,699

Cash on Hand:$83,161

Last Report: July 18, 2014

 

 Individual contributions                                                                                    

     - Small Contributions                                                                      $  12,029       (  2%)

     - Large Contributions                                                                      $561,320        (96%)

     

PAC contributions                                                                                $    4,000       (  1%)

Candidate self-financing                                                                        $    7,512       ( 1%)

Other                                                                                                  $           0         

Weston Wamp (R)

Contributor                                                                                                   Total

Southern Champion Tray                                                               $13,000

Lamp Post Group                                                                          $10,112

Ambition                                                                                      $  7,800

Card-Monroe Corp                                                                         $  7,800

Energy Earth LLC                                                                         $  7,800

Coker Tire Co                                                                               $  7,200

Chattem Inc                                                                                  $  6,200

Acme Industrial Piping                                                                  $  5,200

Chattanooga Allergy Clinic                                                            $  5,200

Dixie Roofing                                                                               $  5,200

Double Cola                                                                                  $  5,200

Ermc                                                                                            $  5,200 

Experts Exchange                                                                          $  5,200

Hutton Co                                                                                     $  5,200

Industrial Boiler & Mechanical Co                                                   $  5,200

Industrial Welding Supply                                                               $  5,200

Reliance Partners                                                                            $  5,200

Thinking Media                                                                             $  5,200

Woople                                                                                         $  5,200

Miller Industries                                                                            $  5,100

Total Raised and Spent

2014 Race: Tennessee Senate

Select a cycle:

Lamar Alexander (R) *

Raised: $6,938,486

Spent:  $6,204,267

Cash on Hand: $2,194,021

Last Report:            July 18, 2014

Small Contributions                                                                         $   123,070           ( 2%)

Large Contributions                                                                          $4,242,772          (61%) 

     

PAC contributions                                                                           $2,266,365           (33%)

Candidate self-financing                                                                   $      5,200           (  0%)

Other                                                                                             $   301,079           (  4%)

     

Top Contributors

2014 Race: Tennessee Senate

Lamar Alexander (R) *

Contributor                                                                                                      Total

Hercules Holding                                                                                   $34,600

McKee Foods                                                                                        $24,800

Regions Financial                                                                                  $24,200

Exelon Corp                                                                                         $21,500

Blue Cross/Blue Shield                                                                          $20,500

Gaylord Entertainment                                                                          $20,000

International Paper                                                                                $20,000

Comcast Corp                                                                                       $18,100

Boyle Investment Co                                                                             $17,100

General Atomics                                                                                   $16,600

Corrections Corp of America                                                                 $16,000

Sembler Co                                                                                         $15,600

Bechtel Group                                                                                     $15,200

Ingram Industries                                                                                $14,750

Apollo Education Group                                                                      $14,000

Cigna Corp                                                                                          $13,700

Amgen Inc                                                                                           $13,400

Crestview Partners                                                                                $12,900

Haury & Smith Contractors                                                                  $12,900

Home Depot                                                                                        $12,600

Joe Carr (R)

Raised:             $1,353,452

Spent:              $   986,224

Cash on Hand:  $   169,219

Last Report:            July 18, 2014

 

Small Contributions                                                                         $   312,408            (23%)

Large Contributions                                                                          $   802,804            (59%)

        

PAC contributions                                                                           $     28,675             (  2%)

Candidate self-financing                                                                   $             0         

Other                                                                                              $   209,565            (15%)

Joe Carr (R)

Contributor                                                                                                      Total

Sweeping Corp of America                                                                   $13,000

Southeast Financial Group                                                                    $12,150

Beaman Automotive Group                                                                  $10,400

Copart Inc                                                                                          $10,400

Grand Avenue Transportation                                                               $10,400

Tennessee Industrial Electronics                                                            $10,400

Waller Law                                                                                        $10,400

Murfreesboro Dental Excellence                                                           $10,000

Verture Express                                                                                  $10,000

Middle Tennessee State University                                                        $  8,550

DT McCall & Sons                                                                             $  8,000

Chattanooga Whiskey                                                                          $  7,800

Healthmark Ventures                                                                           $  7,800

Next Generation Underwriters                                                              $  7,000

All Out Lawn Services                                                                        $  6,900

State of Tennessee                                                                              $  6,700

M2g Med Management                                                                        $  6,200

Regions Financial                                                                                $  5,700

Acadia Healthcare                                                                               $  5,200

Bolling Stone                                                                                     $  5,200

Cox Oil                                                                                              $  5,200

Dermatix Laser Center                                                                         $  5,200

Frank Neal & Co                                                                                 $  5,200

Homecare Solutions                                                                             $  5,200

Peck Enterprises                                                                                  $  5,200

Physciatric Solutions                                                                            $  5,200

Right Through Pen                                                                              $  5,200

Sani-Tech Jetvac Services                                                                    $  5,200

Gordon Ball (D)

Raised: $   454,161

Spent:  $   444,695

Cash on Hand: $9,464

Last Report:            July 18, 2014

Individual contributions

Small Contributions                                                                          $       2,007            (  0%)

Large Contributions                                                                          $     44,163            (10%)

PAC contributions                                                                            $              0         

Candidate self-financing                                                                    $   407,990            (90%)

Other                                                                                              $              1            ( 0%)

Gordon Ball (D)

Contributor                                                                                                      Total

Barrett Law Office PA                                                                    $       2,000

Lenson Realty                                                                                $       1,000

           

Terry Glen Adams, Jr (D)

Raised: $99,877

Spent:  $86,391

Cash on Hand: $13,588

Last Report: July 18, 2014

 Individual contributions                                                               $14,297          (14%)

     - Small Contributions                                                              $81,080          (81%) 

     - Large Contributions 

     

PAC contributions                                                                           $0       

Candidate self-financing                                                                   $4,500                    (5%)

Other                                                                                            $        0       

Terry Glen Adams, Jr (D)

Contributor                                                                                                      Total

Mortgage Investors Group                                                              $5,850

Garza Law Firm                                                                            $2,600

Freeman Webb Co                                                                         $2,250

Central Distributors                                                                       $2,000

Trauger & Tuke                                                                            $2,000

Waller, Lansden et al                                                                     $2,000

Gilreath & Assoc                                                                          $1,000

Grayson Bmw                                                                              $1,000

Horne Enterprises                                                                         $1,000

Jones Motor Group                                                                       $1,000

Law Office of J Houston Gordon                                                   $1,000

Law Offices of David H Dunaway & Assoc                                    $1,000

Leibowitz Law Firm, Pllc                                                            $1,000

Mason Professional Services                                                         $1,000

Think Link Learning                                                                 $1,000

Winchester, Sellers et al                                                               $1,000

http://www.opensecrets.org/races/summary.php?cycle=2014&id=TN03

http://www.opensecrets.org/races/contrib.php?cycle=2014&id=TN03&spec=N

http://www.opensecrets.org/races/contrib.php?cycle=2014&id=TNS2&spec=N 

http://www.opensecrets.org/races/summary.php?cycle=2014&id=TNS2