Author: Dave Vance

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Our Perverted State Senate

 

 

This past Monday, LT Governor Randy McNally survived an unofficial “no confidence” vote of his fellow Republican senators, 19-7. I say unofficial because there was not a gathering of all the senators in one location and the ballot was secret. As I understand, it was more of a straw poll initiated by McNally and was not an official action that could have removed him. It was a way for McNally to see where he stood with the other Republican members.

This all came about a couple of weeks after it was discovered that, for the last three years, McNally, a 79year-old married man, had been posting regularly on the Instagram page of a young homosexual man. In one post, McNally enthusiastically compliments a photo of the nearly nude young man. When initially confronted over the issue, McNally responded that he was just “encouraging” the young man.

So, our Republican LT Governor thinks “encouraging” a young man in a blatant homosexual lifestyle is OK? And apparently, he also thinks it’s OK to use a state government-issued computer to do so while using his official title. Saturday Night Live even did a skit on the situation. LT Governor McNally disgraced the decent people of our state.

You would think after embarrassing himself, his family, and the state – especially fellow Republicans -that McNally would step down in shame. You would be wrong. He has no shame, and he is not stepping down.

He is a perverted old man and probably has been for years. Odds are at least some of his colleagues in the Senate knew this about him. Who knows with what else he may have been involved or who else he has, in his words, “encouraged”. It is also widely reported that he has declined mentally over the last few years – not surprising given his age, but not an asset for our state given his position.

Yet even more disgraceful is the fact that only seven of our state senators had the decency to indicate that they have lost confidence in his ability to carry out the responsibilities of LT Governor. Nineteen of our state senators thought he should remain as our LT Governor! That means in a state that is considered the buckle of the Bible Belt, nineteen of our state senators are fine with having a LT. Governor that encourages homosexuality.

Translation: Those nineteen senators just gave the finger to the majority of our citizens that have traditional moral and religious values. And while the ballot was secret, some have come forward and publicly stated their support for McNally. For the most part you could say it’s the usual suspects like Haile, Johnson, Gardenhire, and Reeves. It was disappointing to see Senator Nicely supported McNally as well, making the statement that, “We can’t let a little vocal minority run us off.”

I won’t cover the ridiculous comments of Gardenhire and Haile, but I encourage you to read them from an article in the Tennessee Lookout (Lieutenant governor captures vote of confidence amid Instagram scandal), which is by no means a conservative publication, however, that is where the quotes were reported.

After confirming that the majority of the caucus was as perverse as he was or just too cowardly to act, the very next day LT Governor McNally is reported to have instructed the members of the State and Local Government Committee to kill SB 0841 – a bill designed to prohibit public, private and commercial establishments from allowing persons under the age of 18 to attend a performance featuring adult cabaret entertainment (Bill To Ban Drag Shows For Tennessee Kids Dies In Senate Committee). This bill, sponsored by Senator Joey Hensley, would have included drag shows in the definition of adult cabaret entertainment and was designed to protect our children. Senator Pody made a motion for the bill to be heard, but no other member of the Republican-dominated committee gave a 2nd so the bill has failed for this year.  In addition to Sen. Pody, Republican members of that committee include Sen. Briggs, Sen. Jackson, Sen. Stevens, Sen. Lowe, Sen. Yeager and Sen. Walley.

 

The same committee also killed SB1092 by Senator Bowling – known as the Sovereignty and Nullification Act – by the same method (Senate Committee Kills Bill To Protect Tennessee’s Sovereignty). Once again, Senator Pody made the motion for the bill to be heard, yet none of the others gave a 2nd to the motion.

The bill failed.

Governor Lee was also on record as opposed to this legislation. At a time when federal overreach needs to be addressed more than ever, this bill needed to at least be discussed. Ironically, in October of 2021, McNally sponsored SJR9005 which dealt with federal overreach, state sovereignty and nullification. Sen. Walley and Sen. Stevens were cosponsors of that legislation. The other Republicans on this committee that were serving at that time supported SJR9005. SB1092 just created processes for nullification, a right and responsibility identified in SJR9005.

This tactic of McNally killing bills by telling committee members not make a motion or second a motion is nothing new and has happened in the House, as well. Members are threatened with loss of committee positions or with having their legislation flagged and killed in a like manner if they don’t go along. It is often used if the Governor doesn’t want something to pass.

This is wrong, and it doesn’t matter how long it has gone on. It’s another type of perversion in our legislature, a perversion of our Constitution and a perversion of the citizens’ right to actually be represented by the people they elect. This coercion takes away the power of individual elected officials to represent the concerns of their constituents in order to satisfy the preferences of the LT Governor and/or the Governor.

Nothing in the state constitution gives the LT Governor, the Speaker of the House, or the Governor the right to diminish the ability of individual senators or representatives to represent the interests and concerns of their constituents. Unfortunately, that is exactly what is occurring and the cowardly members of this committee and others are facilitating it when they go along.

 

Our senators need to hear from us on these issues. We also need to look now for replacements to this current sorry lot in upcoming elections.

We have to clean out the swamp that is the Tennessee Senate. It’s time to send the perverts packing.

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Did They Mean It?

As most people probably know, our state legislators and the governor take an oath to uphold both the Tennessee and US Constitution. Per Article X, Section 1 of the Tennessee Constitution:

Every person who shall be chosen or appointed to any office of trust or profit under this Constitution, or any law made in pursuance thereof , shall, before entering on the duties thereof, take an oath to support the Constitution of this State, and of the United States, and an oath of office.

I ______________do solemnly swear that, as a member of this, the One Hundred Thirteenth General Assembly of the State of Tennessee, I will faithfully support the Constitution of this State and of the United States, and I do solemnly affirm that as a member of this General Assembly, I will, in all appointments, vote without favor, affection, partiality, or prejudice; and that I will not propose or assent to any bill, vote or resolution, which shall appear to me injurious to the people, or consent to any act or thing, whatever, that shall have a tendency to lessen or abridge their rights and privileges, as declared by the Constitution of this State. So help me God.

The Governor takes the following oath:

I,________________, do solemnly swear that as Governor of the State of Tennessee, I will support the Constitution of the State of Tennessee and the Constitution of the United States, and that I will perform with fidelity and faithfully execute the duties of the office of Governor to which I have been elected and which I am about to assume, to the best of my skill and ability. So help me God.

So they are to defend the rights of their constituents in accordance with both state and federal constitutions. And while people can and do have different understandings on what the constitutions mean, recent history tells us that the vast majority of  Republicans in the Tennessee General Assembly claim to  believe in the  10th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and the clearly implied idea of nullification of unconstitutional federal actions.

The proof that they claim to believe in that is found in the vote of HJR9005/SJR9005 as amended in late October of 2021 (www.capitol.tn.gov/Bills/112/Bill/SJR9005.pdf.) Note: The Senate adopted House Amendment 9023 and that is the language passed.). Most of the current members were in the legislature then.

This resolution was sponsored by House Speaker Cameron Sexton and LT Governor Randy McNally. Looking at the record posted on the state site, almost all Republican senators and representatives present that day voted for the resolution. Both resolutions had numerous co-sponsors. The only recorded “no” votes came from liberal Democrats. However, Governor Lee refused to sign the resolution.

This resolution was in response to federal overreach during the government-created COVID crisis.

Some of the issues cited were presidential executive orders mandating COVID-19 vaccinations of federal contractors and subcontractors, forcing healthcare workers to get vaccinated if the their facility treated MEDICARE or MEDICAID patients, and attempting to force OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) to require routine testing for employers with more than 100 people, to name a few.

The response in the resolution is clearly based on the Federalism upon which our nation was founded.

Here are just a few examples:

WHEREAS, federalism is described and analyzed in Bond v. United States, 564 U.S. 211 (2011), in which the United States Supreme Court declared that the federal system rests on the insight that “freedom is enhanced by the creation of two governments, not one”; and

 

WHEREAS, the Court further stated that this freedom is enhanced “first by protecting the integrity of the [two] governments themselves, and second by protecting the people, from whom all governmental powers are derived”; and

 

WHEREAS, federalism serves “to grant and delimit the prerogatives and responsibilities of the States and the National Government vis-a-vis one another . . . [and] preserves the integrity, dignity, and residual sovereignty of the States”; and

 

WHEREAS, this federal balance “ensure[s] that States function as political entities in their own right”; and

 

WHEREAS, “[b]y denying any one government complete jurisdiction over all the concerns of public life, federalism protects the liberty of the individual from arbitrary power. When government acts in excess of its lawful powers, that liberty is at stake”; and

 

WHEREAS, the United States Supreme Court in National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) v. Sebelius, 567 U.S. 519 (2012), further analyzed federalism and the Tenth Amendment to the United States Constitution; and

 

WHEREAS, the Court acknowledged that a government’s “police power” is the general power of governing, possessed by the states but not by the federal government as the federal government only possesses enumerated powers listed in the United States Constitution; and

 

WHEREAS, the Constitution’s express conferral of some powers for the federal government makes clear that it does not grant others, and the federal government can exercise only the powers granted to it; and

 

WHEREAS, the independent power of the states serves as a check on the power of the federal government; by denying any one government complete jurisdiction over all the concerns of public life, federalism protects the liberty of the individual from arbitrary power; and

 

WHEREAS, the announced executive orders and COVID-19 Action Plan are attempts by the federal government to coerce the State of Tennessee and its citizens in violation of both the United States Constitution and the Tennessee Constitution; and

 

WHEREAS, each member of the General Assembly has taken an oath to uphold the Constitution of Tennessee and the Constitution of the United States; and

 

WHEREAS, if the federal government intends to overreach its authority to the point that it assumes the traditional constitutional role of a state legislative body, it is only fitting and proper that the very existence, as well as the depth and breadth, of this federal power be condemned and challenged not just in a court of law, but also through actions of the General Assembly to nullify such federal overreach; now, therefore

Before we cover what the legislature resolved to do, it’s important to note some key points the established up to this point in the resolution.

 

The authority of the federal government is limited to the enumerated powers listed in the US Constitution. (That is true even though the federal government regularly exceed their legitimate powers.)

 

The independent power of the states was designed to serve as a check on the power of the federal government.

 

That check on power is not limited to public condemnation and court challenges where one branch of the federal government gets to decide the limits of power of another branch of the federal government over the state(s) “but also through actions of the General Assembly to nullify such federal overreach”.

 

Yes, they used the “N” word, nullify – a word of which we should all cheer the use, and even more so, real action by our state against federal overreach.

 

They identified the actions that were a violation of the U.S. and Tennessee Constitutions – in this case, executive orders and the COVID Action Plan.

 

Last but not least, they stated “each member of the General Assembly has taken an oath to uphold the Constitution of Tennessee and the Constitution of the United States”.

BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE HUNDRED TWELFTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF TENNESSEE, THE SENATE CONCURRING, that the State of Tennessee condemns any attempt by the federal government to penalize citizens of this State in an effort to enforce an unconstitutional mandate regarding COVID-19 vaccinations or other COVID-related restrictions and requirements.

 

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that it is the right of the Tennessee General Assembly to enact such legislation as it deems necessary to nullify actions taken by the federal government regarding COVID-19 when those actions violate the United States Constitution.

 

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Tennessee General Assembly urges the Attorney General and Reporter of the State of Tennessee to initiate or intervene in one or more civil actions on behalf of the State of Tennessee or, in the alternative, seek appropriate relief in a federal court of competent jurisdiction regarding COVID-19 mandates issued by the federal government, and any actions taken by the federal government, including the President of the United States, the head of any department or agency, or any other employee of the executive branch of the federal government, in violation of federal law or as prohibited by the Tenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, or any other statutory or constitutional provisions of the United States or the State of Tennessee, with respect to the implementation or enforcement in this State of any provision of the federal government’s mandate that requires citizens of this State to either receive a COVID-19 vaccination or submit to routine testing.

 

The key point made in the resolution is that it is the right of the Tennessee General Assembly to enact such legislation as it deems necessary to nullify actions taken by the federal government when those actions violate the United States Constitution. In this case, the violations were due to policies and actions related to COVID-19.

The resolution also urges the attorney general to take legal action on behalf of the state.It references the 10th Amendment, which states, “The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states are reserved to the states respectfully, or to the people.”

While this resolution deals with COVID-19, the violation of rights and abuse of power could be any policy or practice by the federal government that violates the Constitution according to our state legislature.

Now, nearly 18 months later, the legislature has the opportunity – and many, including this writer, would say the duty – to enact legislation that establishes processes to nullify federal action when needed.

HB0726/SB1092 (https://wapp.capitol.tn.gov/apps/BillInfo/Default.aspx?BillNumber=HB0726 ) by Rep. Hulsey and Sen. Bowling does just that. The legislation creates more than one method of nullifying federal actions that violate the Constitution. It can be used to nullify federal overreach in the future and or to deal with ongoing actions that are unconstitutional. It, however, does not identify any specific federal action to nullify. It is a tool, a mechanism that every sovereign state should have ready to utilize when needed.

Furthermore, the intent of the legislation aligns perfectly with the resolution previously passed by both houses of our General Assembly. Unfortunately, Governor Lee not only refused to sign the resolution, he is on record as opposing HB0726/SB1092.

Apparently Lee cares more about federal funding than upholding his oath to the Constitution. Lee’s actions are contrary to his claim to support the 10th Amendment when he was running for office.

I encourage everyone to listen to Rep. Hulsey’s outstanding presentation of the bill:

https://tnga.granicus.com/player/clip/27847?view_id=703&meta_id=706387&redirect=true&h=3c323134229cac50d9f77b88e54976de

Though resolutions have no teeth in and of themselves, they are intended to declare the belief, desire and intent of the legislature.

Our legislators have sworn an oath to uphold both the U.S. and Tennessee Constitutions. Many willingly signed the resolution clearly and accurately stating the limits of federal power, and the duty of the state legislature to intervene when the federal government exceeds that power. They have declared, and rightfully so, nullification as a legitimate and required remedy.

The importance of this legislation cannot be overstated. If it fails, our state is likely condemned to even more federal overreach and coercion. If it succeeds, then it is more likely that other states will be inspired by the Volunteer State and pass similar legislation.

Restoring our country requires returning to the limited government designed and intended by the Founders. DC will never fix DC. It is too far gone and corrupt. Only the states can restore our Republic and protect our rights.

Those who supported the resolution in October of 2021 sent the right message. We will soon know if they meant it.

What you can do!

The senate version of this legislation SB1092 is scheduled for the Senate State and Local Government Committee on Tuesday, March 14th. It has to get through this committee.

Please call the following committee members on Monday and ask them to support this legislation. Be polite. If there is no answer, leave a message. The committee hearing begins at 10:30 in Senate Hearing RM1.

Chairman  Sen. Richard Briggs     615-741-1766

Vice Chair Sen. Page Walley         615-741-2368

2nd Vice Chair Sen. Mark Pody   615-741-2421

Sen. Ed Jackson 615-741-1810

Sen. Adam Lowe               615-741-1946

Sen. John Stevens            615-741-4576

Sen. Ken Yeager 615-741-1449

HB0726 will be in the State Government Committee on Wednesday, March 15th . The committee hearing begins at 10:30 in House Hearing RM 1.

Please call on Tuesday or early that morning.

Chairman Rep. Kelly Keisling        615-741-6852

Vice Chair Rep. Rick Eldridge       615-741-6877

Rep. Rebecca Alexander 615-741-2251

Rep. Rush Bricken            615-741-7448

Rep. Ed Butler    615-741-1260

Rep. Michelle Carringer 615-741-172

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1945-2020: From The Greatest Generation to a Chicken Little Nation.

An opinion by author Dave Vance

I haven’t been as ashamed of my country as I am now since Obama was reelected in 2012.

The reaction to COVID-19 from the President on down has been nothing but irrational panic on different levels, often resulting in good old fashioned tyranny of the kind we haven’t seen in our country since its founding. In some cases, the policies may be well-intended, but they are nevertheless tyrannical.

Instead of being the “home of the free and land of the brave”, we have become the land of the naïve and afraid!

No disrespect intended to the elderly and others with compromised immune systems who do have more to fear from COVID 19 than does the average person, my beef is with the rest of the folks – whether they be elected officials or average Joe’s – that not only freaked out for their own health and safety, but wanted everybody else to be just as scared and compliant as they are.

I hold in special contempt those officials that established snitch lines to report any citizen not fully terrified and compliant with whatever stupid policy they had established and those that snitched on their neighbor or others they observed daring to be free.

Yes, I know that fear of the unknown is a great motivator, but fear is also a terrible emotion around which to make policy, especially irrational fear.

I understand that the President couldn’t just ignore it; and, in fact, he rightfully took swift action to stop travel from China early on when he found out about the virus – for which the Left and the so-called experts initially criticized him for doing.

I understand that the original models warned of over 2 million casualties from the virus and President Trump felt pressure to act. While we know now that those projections were wildly inaccurate, it’s hard to believe whatever number with which we finally end up due to numerous accounts of doctors being encouraged to list the cause of death as COVID-19 without testing or even when other factors are involved. Hospitals also now have financial incentives through Medicare to list COVID-19 as the culprit.

So, while it is great news that the projected number of infections, hospitalizations and deaths will be much lower than anticipated, the damage done by all the lockdowns is only getting worse. Our economy is being destroyed, along with the prosperity of many of our citizens. Many small business owners will be ruined permanently. All for an overblown threat!

But the bigger issue that every American should be concerned about is what government at the different levels has done in the name of health/safety, and worse yet what most of the citizens of our country and state have accepted as necessary. Things such as closing down businesses deemed “nonessential”.

How can it be constitutional for the government at any level to tell citizens that the legal business or job that they do to support themselves and their family can’t be done? If that is not tyrannical, what is?

How can it be constitutional to shut down churches, or limit attendees to 10 people and mandate 6 feet of separation between members?

When was the 1st Amendment and corresponding state-recognized rights of citizens repealed? I must have missed that Amendment process all together.

How can it be constitutional to dictate how many people can attend a public meeting, or even a private gathering?

How can it be constitutional to stop elective medical procedures? How many are suffering now because of that decision? How many in the medical profession have been laid off now because of this policy?

We are committing national suicide of our economy and our rights over an overblown “invisible enemy” that we now know is not any deadlier than the seasonal flu!

We have closed our schools and universities. The bright side of that particular closure is less leftwing indoctrination for our kids, but the panic that caused it is still wrong.

Apparently, most Americans have never heard the saying “those that would give up liberty for security deserve neither”. Maybe most Americans are just American-In-Name-Only today ?

We have never shut down our economy before and infringed on the basic rights and freedoms of this many Americans in any past pandemic or the numerous wars in which we have engaged with visible and real enemies. And you can’t defeat any enemy – visible or not – with a decimated economy.

At this rate, many Americans will be hypocrites when they celebrate the 4th of July. And certainly many will be hypocrites when they pretend to honor the sacrifices of our Veterans that died upholding their oath to the Constitution which recognizes our GOD-given rights that so many have readily given up!

While Tennessee hasn’t been as draconian in policy or enforcement as other states, it is still tyrannical and unconstitutional.

What makes Tennessee’s situation so egregious is that the broad emergency powers being exercised by Gov Lee, though statute (TCA Code 58-2-107) are in direct contradiction with the state constitution and the Declaration of Rights found in Article I of the Tennessee Constitution. In some cases, the violations are obvious and direct. In others – such as closing small businesses while allowing other big box stores to remain open – the spirit of the law, if not the letter, have been violated.

Below are just a few of those rights that stand out given the stated intent of the document:

“ARTICLE I. Declaration of Rights.

“Section 1. That all power is inherent in the people, and all free governments are founded on their authority, and instituted for their peace, safety, and happiness; for the advancement of those ends they have at all times, an unalienable and indefeasible right to alter, reform, or abolish the government in such manner as they may think proper.

“Section 2. That government being instituted for the common benefit, the doctrine of nonresistance against arbitrary power and oppression is absurd, slavish, and destructive of the good and happiness of mankind.

“Section 3. That all men have a natural and indefeasible right to worship Almighty God according to the dictates of their own conscience; that no man can of right be compelled to attend, erect, or support any place of worship, or to maintain any minister against his consent; that no human authority can, in any case whatever, control or interfere with the rights of conscience; and that no preference shall ever be given, by law, to any religious establishment or mode of worship.”

“Section 8. That no man shall be taken or imprisoned, or disseized of his freehold, liberties or privileges, or outlawed, or exiled, or in any manner destroyed or deprived of his life, liberty or property, but by the judgment of his peers, or the law of the land.”

“Section 17. That all courts shall be open; and every man, for an injury done him in his lands, goods, person or reputation, shall have remedy by due course of law, and right and justice administered without sale, denial, or delay. Suits may be brought against the state in such manner and in such courts as the Legislature may by law direct.”

“Section 20. That no retrospective law, or law impairing the obligations of contracts, shall be made.”

“Section 22. That perpetuities and monopolies are contrary to the genius of a free state, and shall not be allowed.

“Section 23. That the citizens have a right, in a peaceable manner, to assemble together for their common good, to instruct their representatives, and to apply to those invested with the powers of government for redress of grievances, or other proper purposes, by address of remonstrance.”

Furthermore, Article XI, Section 16 of the Tennessee Constitution states, “The declaration of rights hereto prefixed is declared to be a part of the Constitution of this State, and shall never be violated on any pretense whatever. And to guard against transgression of the high powers we have delegated, we declare that everything in the bill of rights contained, is excepted out of the General powers of government, and shall forever remain inviolate.”

What this means is that the legislature in the past gave the Governor powers that they didn’t even possess and that are clearly unconstitutional at the state level alone. There is no constitutional basis for much of what the Governor has done even in the name of an “emergency”.

That means that the disastrous decisions made by Governor Lee – albeit with political cover provided by the President and others – can and should be remedied by the legislature. It means there is a check on King Lee’s powers.

The bottom line is that we should demand the legislature redo the statute in accordance with the state constitution even if that means calling a special session to do so. Any legislator not willing to address this fundamental constitutional issue doesn’t deserve the support of voters that care about their own livelihood and liberty!

Dave Vance

dvmaf23@aol.com

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More Than Just a Bad Appointment By Bill Hagerty!

In Senate candidate Bill Hagerty’s recent article in the Times of Israel he speaks out against anti-Semitism, specifically citing the Boycott, Divestment & Sanctions campaign (BDS) against Israel. Hagerty wants the U.S. to be a reliable ally for Israel. No doubt Israelis appreciate that sentiment and most in Tennessee likely share it as well. But Hagerty’s talk is campaign convenient, especially when his past walk seemed oblivious to any such concerns.

 

Hagerty wants conservative voters to forget that in 2012, he hired Shariah compliant finance (SCF) expert Samar Ali to serve as Asst. Commissioner for International Affairs in the Department of Economic & Community Development. Samar’s appointment set off a firestorm in conservative Republican circles. At a First Tuesday event in Nashville, Hagerty offered his personal and strongly worded defense for hiring Samar which was reported by Rod Williams (who was in attendance) in his blog A Disgruntled Republican –  which is excerpted below.
Williams noted that Hagerty “spoke with passion.” 

“The lady’s name is Samar Ali. She is a Tennessee native and yes, she is a Muslim. Her father was past President of the Tennessee Medical Association and a Colonel in the Tennessee National Guard. Ms Ali grew up in Waverly Tennessee and attended public schools and is all American girl. She has tremendous credentials, and we are fortunate to have her in our office. She is a former White House fellow and she was an associate with the prestigious law firm Hogan Lovells where she worked on counseling clients on mergers and acquisitions, project finance, and international business matters. During her time with Hogan Lovells, she was a founding member of the firm’s Abu Dhabi office. While in Abu Dhabi, she put together Sharia compliant finance projects. Hagerty continued:

“Big law firms and accounting firms, do that sort of thing all the time. Any firms that do a lot of international transactions has someone who can do Sharia compliant finance (SCF). There is nothing sinister about that. If I was going to do business in Louisiana, I would have to do business according to the Napoleonic code. When I came back to Tennessee, I would not follow that code to do business.When it was known we were looking to fill a position in our office, I got a call from her father* asking me if I would look at her resume. Like any father, he would like for his daughter to move closer to home. I interviewed her for the job, and she was the best qualified.”

“When all of this uproar, started, she came to me in tears and offered to resign. I told her I would not let her resign. We cannot give in to bigotry. (Maybe Mr. Hagerty did not use the word “bigotry” but that was the essence of his comment. He may have said “ignorance” or something else.)Ms Ali was not hired due to her expertise in Sharia compliant finance and I do not anticipate there would be occasions where she would use those skills.”

Amr El Husseini & wife Samar Ali

So Hagerty admitted he was well aware of her background in Sharia finance. Her bio from her position at Hogan Lovells before Hagerty’s hiring her noted that she had interned for the Islamic International Arab Bank (Arab Bank)in Amman Jordan in 2007. This was during the time that a lawsuit had been filed against the bank alleging that the bank was managing the funding of payments to the families of Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) martyrs and also providing services to Hamas and others.

From 1995 to 2005 thousands in Israel, including American citizens, were killed by these terrorists! Beginning in 2004 approximately 500 US citizens sued the bank under the US Anti-Terrorism Act. The lawsuit filed by the family of Texan John Linde who was murdered in a 2003 Gaza car bombing, was the first terror financing case to go to trial.

In September 2014, a federal jury found Arab Bank liable for knowingly supporting terrorism efforts connected to two dozen attacks in the Middle East. This was the first time a bank has ever been held liable in a civil suit under a broad anti-terrorism statute.
One year later, the Arab Bank settled the claims of the 500 plaintiffs. 

What kind of All American girl interns in a bank with a reputation like that? Anybody believe she was unaware of the bank’s history?

Yet Hagerty defended her and said we were fortunate to have her! He wouldn’t take her resignation and said “we can’t give in!”
If Hagerty wants voters to trust his judgment as a U.S. Senator, how does he explain either his poor vetting of Samar’s connections or his defense of them? How does Hagerty explain ignorance about the abundance of publicly available information about Samar’s connections?
In June of 2010 PJ Media reported  extensively about Samar Ali. He had advised a Middle Eastern university about “the potential of establishment of a Foreign Aid Conventional and Shari’ah Compliant Student Loan Program.” An Obama’s White House press release stated that she “is a founding member of the first U.S. Delegation to the World Islamic Economic Forum.”

At the time, the foundation that runs this Forum included Saleh Abdullah Kamel on their International Advisory Panel. This is the same Kamel mentioned on the “Golden Chain” roster as an un-indicted co-conspirator in helping Osama bin Laden funnel money for the 9/11 attacks.

After defending Samar, Hagerty went on to defend Shariah finance, going so far as to trivialize it by comparing it to the Napoleonic code! “Any firms that do a lot of international transactions has someone who can do Sharia compliant finance (SCF). There is nothing sinister about that.”

But exactly what is this sharia compliant finance (SCF) that Bill Hagerty has endorsed as a legitimate business practice?
The following overview of SCF is from a 2011 Breitbart article which includes additional references.

In the 1940’s prominent Islamic figure, Maulana Abul Ala Mawdudi, saw the cultural and political Westernizations of Islam as a loss of religious and national identity to the Muslim World. To offset this perceived threat Mawdudi, along with others, pushed for a separate ideology, separate politics, and separate economics for Muslims. The result was to create a financial investment transactional status referred as being “authorized” or “pure” (halal) and in accordance to Islamic or Sharia Law. “Impure” transactions were ones which involved money from investments in the pork and alcohol-beverage industries, pornography, gambling, interest-based financing and Western defense.
This concept is explained further in a 2008 McCormick Foundation& the Center for Security Policy report called, “Shariah, Law and ‘Financial Jihad’: How Should America Respond?“

The bottom line is that Shariah authorities decide where the money goes and shariah law requires donations to jihadists!

The well-known suicide-bombing advocate, Sheikh Yusuf al-Qaradawi, considered the spiritual leader of the Muslim Brotherhood, said sharia finance was nothing less than “Jihad with money.” As al-Qaradawi explains, “God has ordered us to fight enemies with our lives and with our money.” Qaradawi is banned from entering the US and the UK because of his ties to terrorist organizations.

It is interesting that al-Qaradawi worked at the Qatar Islamic Bank (QIB) as the chairman of the Sharia supervisory board while Samar Ali’s husband Amr El-Husseini worked there as well including in senior positions! El-Husseini is also an expert in SCF! For more on El-Husseini, Qaradawi and the shady history of the QIB go here

And here is a new claim against QIB by an American journalist about a terrorist act involving QIB during Amr El-Husseini’s tenure. 

So here’s what all this information tells us about U.S. Senate candidate Bill Hagerty:
• He knowingly hired an expert in SCF who worked at an Islamic Bank in the Middle East
• the bank had a reputation for funding Islamic terrorism and was in fact involved in a lawsuit involving the killing of Americans and Israeli’s even before her internship began
• he defended SCF and said there is nothing sinister about it
• Hagerty makes his money in private equity investing

A legitimate question for a financier is whether he thinks it’s okay for the international business community to participate in a practice designed in part to fund Islamic terrorism worldwide?

Bill Hagerty likes to remind everybody that he is the only candidate in this race that is endorsed by President Trump. True, but Hagerty is also the only candidate in this race that has supported sharia compliant finance. That is an endorsement that should be a deal breaker for every Tennessean!

This is more than a bad hire – it shows questionable judgment and forewarns us of questionable actions should Hagerty be elected to the U.S. Senate.

* For more on Samar’s dear old dad and BDS read  here

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It’s Easy as ABC Why Hagerty is Bad for Tennessee

A is for Ali as in Samar and Subhi Ali. 

Samar is the sharia compliant finance (SCF) expert Bill Hagerty hired after Haslam appointed him Commissioner of Economic & Community Development. Did she study SCF while serving as an intern at the Islamic Arab Bank in Jordan while it was under investigation for terrorist financing? Maybe it was her support for Democrats like Obama and Hillary that really sealed the deal for Hagerty? Or maybe it’s her oh so very close relationship with Israel-hating Jimmy Carter?

Samar says she got the job because she knew Hagerty from when she was an Obama White House fellow. But Hagerty said it was Samar’s daddy, Subhi, who called him and asked him to consider Samar for the job. Either way, it looks like the Samar and Subhi have Hagerty on speed dial.

B is for BDS! That’s the “Boycott, Divestment & Sanctions” campaign against Israel. Subhi Ali has been the Chairman of the D.C.-based Jerusalem Fund since 2005, an organization steeped in anti-Israel hatred and support for the BDS campaign against our ally Israel!  The Jerusalem Fund used to post the HAMAS charter on their website. HAMAS has been designated as a terrorist organization by our government!  What does Hagerty think about this? Did he know about Subhi’s anti-Israel organization when Subhi called him? Mayabe Hagerty agrees with the Jerusalem Fund’s agenda? Will Hagerty keep taking Subhi’s phone calls and maybe even a visit in the Senate office? 

C is for campaigns like Hagerty’s support for Bush in 2016 and his part in Romney’s 2008 campaign. Bush and Romney were both supporters of comprehensive Immigration reform otherwise known by true Conservatives as “amnesty”!

  Say no to Hagerty! It’s easy as ABC! 

 

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TN Gov’s Education Initiative: Education or Indoctrination Part 3

Governor Bill Lee’s investment in STEM-focused early college and career experiences supports the Tennessee Department of Education’s “Tennessee Pathways” Certification process, as well as the STEM School Designation partnership with groups like Tennessee STEM Innovation Network and Code.org.

If the previous information in part one and two are not enough focus on diversity for you.. consider Code.org and their emphasis on women and minorities! 

Code.org is a nonprofit dedicated to expanding access to computer science in schools and increasing participation by women and underrepresented minorities.

And while their company’s leadership is certainly competent on the topic of coding and computer science. are they people we should trust considering the firms that some of them represent?

These are just some of the companies involved with Code.org as well as their donors.

                                                                                         10 million dollar donors

                                                                                                   3 million dollar donors

 

Code.org has received $12 million in new funding from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the Chan Zuckerburg Initiative  and Pricewaterhouse Coopers.   The majority of these donors espouse liberal views supporting open borders, and a global agenda.

Surely in Tennessee we can develop a STEM program including computer science without indoctrinating our kids and pushing a politically correct agenda! This is not what we need to be spending $4million on!

 

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TN Gov’s Education Initiative: Education or Indoctrination Part 2

The following are just some examples from the introduction and the Executive Summary that show the federal governments intent to be heavily involved in STEM and how they intend to use grants to
further their objectives.

 Although  pre K-12 education in the United States is primarily a State, local, and Tribal responsibility, the Federal Government plays an important role in fostering educational excellence, including supporting and disseminating the latest discoveries on what works in teaching and learning and facilitating equal access.

  Foster STEM Ecosystems that Unite Communities STEM ecosystems engage educators and individuals within and outside a formal educational setting, and include, among others, families; school districts; State, local, and Tribal governments; the Federal Government and Federal facilities; libraries; museums and science centers; community colleges, technical schools, and universities; community groups and clubs; foundations
and nonprofits; faith based organizations; and businesses.

 STEM ecosystems focus on long-term, shared, sustainable, and flexible STEM missions that bridge, integrate, and strengthen the learning opportunities offered by organizations across sectors compared with isolated, independent entities. Ecosystem partners are not bound by geographic boundaries and can broadly involve individuals and organizations in both physical and virtual engagement to create STEM communities that expand from local to global.

Every stakeholder addressed in this document would be a natural contributor to a STEM ecosystem. Elected officials, school and college administrators, nonprofit directors, faith leaders, and business executives are often ideally situated to organize and foster ecosystems where none yet exist. In and out of-school educators communicating with
employers and families through ecosystems can build wraparound support systems beneficial to learners.

Increase the number of Federal funding opportunities that include STEM ecosystem engagement or development as an award selection criterion.

Of course no federal program would be complete without a focus on diversity and claims of inherent discrimination or bias that have to be addressed!

The national benefits of a strong STEM foundation cannot be fully realized until all members of society have equitable access to STEM education and there is much broader participation by those historically under-served and underrepresented in STEM fields and employment. A wide body of research has established that organizations that are diverse in terms of gender, race, socioeconomic status, ethnicity, ability, geography, religion, etc., and provide an inclusive environment that values diversity better retain talent, are
more engaged and productive, are more innovative, and generally are higher performing organizations.

Presently, high-quality STEM opportunities are not available to all learners. Implicit bias is one factor that inhibits the realization of this goal. Disparity in the distribution of human, material, and financial resources across rural, urban, and suburban America also inhibits this goal. An effect is that Blacks or African Americans, Hispanics or Latinos, and American Indians or Alaska Natives are underrepresented in STEM fields as compared with their overall participation in the workforce.

Women in occupations such as computing and engineering are dramatically
underrepresented given their participation in the U.S. workforce as a whole.

One analysis found that many additional inventions and patents, business start-ups,educational innovations, and other stunning achievements could be realized if the under-served had more equitable exposure to innovation.

Even in cases where they are not underrepresented in a community, women and minorities face barriers to success in STEM.

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Tennessee Gov’s Education Initiative: Education or Indoctrination? Part 1.

    On February 13th, new Tennessee Gov Bill Lee, announced several initiatives regarding education, which immediately begs the following questions.  Should our state be funding initiatives that treat man made climate change as fact? Do we want high school students in Tennessee to be focused on how to reduce their carbon footprint?
Do we really need to start pushing STEM and computer literacy in kindergarten?
Should our state voluntarily follow federal guidelines and partner with private organizations that work from the assumption that females and minorities deserve special attention rather than treating all of our students equally?
Is there any facet of education that has not been affected by political correctness?
Apparently not and this includes STEM education in Tennessee. STEM is an acronym for Science,Technology, Engineering & Math.
And the answers to the questions above appear to be “yes” based on a recent proposal by the Lee administration.

                                                                                       Tennessee Gov Bill Lee

 

Also on February 13, Gov Lee declared the Future Workforce Initiative that will increase STEM, (Science,Technology,Engineering& Math), training in K-12 schools as part of his first year legislative agenda. He will be requesting $4 million from the legislature for implementation.
A big part of that focus will be on computer science. On that topic Governor Lee stated “By exposing Tennessee students to computer science in their K-12 careers we are ensuring our kids have every chance to land a high-quality job.”

To better understand this, the following link provides great insight.  https://www.tn.gov/governor/news/2019/2/13/gov-bill-lee-announces-the-future-workforce-initiative.html

This initiative, or in politician language “investment”, supports the Tennessee Department of Education’s “Tennessee Pathways” Certification process, as well as the STEM School Designation partnership with groups like Tennessee STEM Innovation Network and Code.org

In 2010, the Tennessee Department of Education partnered with Battelle to launch the Tennessee STEM Innovation Network. The Network utilizes Regional STEM Innovation Hubs and STEM Designated Schools across Tennessee in an attempt to attract student interest. Battelle recently completed a carbon storage project.https://www.battelle.org/case-studies/case-study-detail/battelle-successfully-completes-carbon-storage-project

Tennessee Pathways was launched last year by then Governor Haslam and Commissioner McQueen as part of the Drive to 55. According to the state web site The Tennessee Pathways Certification recognizes high schools
that have developed clear and guided pathways for their students that are built upon partnerships among K-12, post-secondary education, and employers. https://www.tn.gov/education/pathwaystn/pathways-certification.html

Wonder if that has anything to do with the Network’s emphasis on climate change and encouraging students in Tennessee to reduce their carbon footprint? Or maybe the are they just following the Tennessee Academic Standards for Science Connection. ( Humans Impact Climate by Way of the Carbon Cycle) which can be found on this link: http://www.tvastem.com/pbl/human-impact/)

These ready-made STEM project-based learning modules were created in partnership with the TVA (Tennessee Valley Authority) and TSIN all about electricity and energy. These PBLs (Problem Based Learning) were created by teachers, for teachers, in line and with the latest state standards. More information can be found by
clicking this link https://www.tsin.org/energy-pbl-module

While there is certainly nothing wrong per se with teaching our kids computer science or STEM, that can and should be done without perpetuating the man made climate change mantra that is the basis for AOC, ( Alexandria Ocasio Cortez) level insanity such as the Green New Deal!   

Another issue of concern is the “kindergarten to jobs” theme found on the Tennessee Stem Innovation Network site, ( https://www.tsin.org/mision-and-vision ) especially since the new federal STEM 5 year strategic plan, released December 4, 2018 also references K-12 responsibilities and similar language. https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/STEM-Education-Strategic-Plan-2018.pdf

This author personally contacted the Tennessee Stem Innovation Network interim director last week and asked if our state STEM program was federally funded and was told that it was state funded but there were some federal grants available. I asked if Tennessee intended to follow the federal Stem Education Strategic Plan and was told yes and that the intention was to merge the state plan with the federal as well as with another from the US State Department. I have yet to find a strategic plan on the State Dept site but what I found in the federal plan is bad enough! The number of federal agencies involved in this plan should be of concern to everyone!

Coming up in part two, some examples from the introduction and the Executive Summary that show the federal governments intent to be heavily involved in STEM and how they intend to use grants to
further their objectives.