Tennessee Insurrection
- Thread starter Pilgrim
- Start date
Accusing someone of racism, as you and I have both done in this thread, requires one to know the motives of the accused, or as one Tennessee legislator said, to know what's in the hearts and minds of those who cast the vote. We cannot know that so we make a determination and rely on that. In this case, I deem the vote in question to be a racist vote, cast by a super-majority of racist representatives.
You say the Democrats are displaying racism. Since we're talking about motives, no amount of discussion is likely to change our points or reasoning.
Fun facts:
1. The “Horns Fellow” otherwise known as the Shaman, who happens to be white, received a 41 month sentence( many months in solitary confinement too) after yelling in a bullhorn to an angry crowd to be “peaceful”.
2. The “con artists formerly known as The Expelled Two”, who happen to be black, received National acclaim and no arrest or jail time after yelling to an angry crowd “No Justice, No Peace”.
danthewolf00
Veteran Expediter
They just rationalize theirs as being “good trouble”.
TN is a microcosm of the entire country: the political, cultural, and racial divides have gotten worse over the past 10 years, and it's been happening by design. There was a rare instance of bipartisanship a week ago when the TN House passed an excellent school safety bill (HB 322) 95-4. The four "nay" votes were the Tennessee 3 and one more representative from - of course - Memphis. They wanted gun control included, which would have prevented the bill from passing. These three agitators spoiled what would've been a newsworthy example of both parties working together for common sense reforms put in place after the Covenant Church shooting. Instead they had to make the issue about them and gun control. Thus, by following the radical liberal mantra, they didn't let a good crisis go to waste.
By design? Can you tell us more? Serious question respectfully asked. I have been thinking for a long time about the political, cultural and racial divide you and I both see; and I have yet to come up with a theory that satisfactorily explains this shift, which has taken place over the last several years. I'm genuinely interested to hear why you think the divide is by design. And I'd love to hear any other explanations you also have.
Quite a few books have been written about this complicated subject, so I'm not going to put up a novella-length post that nobody would read. It could be said that this trend actually started in the mid-sixties with LBJ's Great Society program. But I personally believe that the more recent divisions started with Barack Hussein Obama's promise in 2008 to "fundamentally transform America". Since then the Democrat party has drifted so far left that is borders on outright Socialism, and they've received near unanimous support from the mainstream media. This has filtered down to the Govt funded public education system which indoctrinates our children, and Universities that perpetuate the process. Government programs were put in place to further the cause, and we now know that Reagan was right when he said they have "everlasting life". Republicans have contributed to this process by compromising and encouraging "moderation" rather than standing firm for basic constitutional rights, religion, patriotism and traditional family values.
The article quoted and linked below was written in 2012, and describes the "design" far better than I can. The author turned out to be far more prescient than even he might have imagined.
"Unfortunately, his October 30, 2008 promise to set about "fundamentally transforming the United States of America" is one he has kept. If he is reelected on November 6, 2012, I believe that the transformation from the free republic we have cherished will be irreversible and permanent. And that the country will then be hopelessly on the road to fiscal, social, and political collapse...
He will fundamentally transform America from a society that strives, however imperfectly, for a color-blind equality to one where race matters in everything from enforcement of voter protection laws, to college admissions, to hiring, to school grades and discipline."
Barack Obama and the Fundamental Transformation of America
As president, Barack Obama has cynically broken promise after promise, often enough that it's hard to believe that his cognitive functioning is so impaired that he ever thought he could keep most of them. He wouldn't, of course, be the o...
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danthewolf00
Veteran Expediter
The fact that we went from Obama to trump to Biden just proves how stupid America is.....our wallets were not squeeze like Obama and now Biden has done.
danthewolf00
Veteran Expediter
As long as The Left can use racial politics for political gain and be rewarded with more power, it will continually be used.
You are a reasonable and rational poster in this forum. I would read any long post you put up.
I put the start date around Nixon and the Watergate episode. That was the point, I think, where the Greatest Generation and subsequent generations registered an increased distrust of government. When it became widely known that the president was a crook, concepts like duty, honor and country began to decline.
Is Fox News, Wall Street Journal and other conservative outlets not mainstream media too? It's not like the Democrats have their media and the conservatives have none.
Publicly funded education has been a feature of America for a very long time. And it has always indoctrinated America's children. That's part of what it is designed to do. When I was a child, I was indoctrinated to pledge allegiance to the flag, vote, have a basic grasp on how government works, obey the law, obey the rules, respect my elders, respect authority, etc. I came out of school a shining, church-going patriot, eager to join the Army and serve in Viet Nam. (I volunteered 5 times to go to Viet Nam but the war was winding down at that time and my applications were denied). I was as indoctrinated as they come.
My enthusiasm died twice. Once when I saw our president breaking the law. And a second time when I heard from my combat veteran friends what really went on in Viet Nam and I watched their patriotism fade too. No longer were we willing to take the government at its word.
Government programs like the GI Bill which paid for my college education and housing programs that would have helped me buy a house had I bought one. And yes, they do indeed have everlasting life. It is nearly impossible to kill a program once it's started. That's because every program grows its citizen constituency and government employees (often union) who are highly skilled at keeping such programs alive, not for the benefit of the country but for their own self interests.
Patriotism is not automatic. The government must be worthy of it. But another reason respect for the constitution and the government has declined is because basic civics and the empowering message that your citizen voice and vote matters. Kennedy said "Ask not what your country can do for you. Ask what you can do for your country." We don't hear that message from political leaders any more. Now we hear, "Elect me because I know how to use the system to funnel benefits to you that are paid for by others." And the citizens do just that.
About family values, that too is a complex topic but don't omit technology as a major factor in that change. The birth control pill and the automobile, which women were only later allowed to drive, fundamentally altered much of what society believes, because so much more is possible thanks to technology.
Today, a woman can earn a living on her own, if that's what she chooses to do and there is no social stigma around an unmarried woman like there used to be. Much of that is possible because of technology.
Technology has changed the way we communicate and receive news also. I fondly remember Walter Conkite and Huntly-Brinkly. As the newsboy, I brought people their newspaper once a day. The local paper was an item of great interest. Now, with the internet and social media, people think more about being on the right side with their Facebook tribe than they think about what actually happened, and what might have actually happened at the city council meeting, had that person attended.
Off now to read the article you shared.
But first, let me say, I don't like how America is today. I don't like everyone always blaming the other side. I miss the days where people wondered first if you were a good person before they wondered if you were part of the left or right.
The article quoted and linked below was written in 2012, and describes the "design" far better than I can. The author turned out to be far more prescient than even he might have imagined.
"Unfortunately, his October 30, 2008 promise to set about "fundamentally transforming the United States of America" is one he has kept. If he is reelected on November 6, 2012, I believe that the transformation from the free republic we have cherished will be irreversible and permanent. And that the country will then be hopelessly on the road to fiscal, social, and political collapse...
He will fundamentally transform America from a society that strives, however imperfectly, for a color-blind equality to one where race matters in everything from enforcement of voter protection laws, to college admissions, to hiring, to school grades and discipline."
Barack Obama and the Fundamental Transformation of America
As president, Barack Obama has cynically broken promise after promise, often enough that it's hard to believe that his cognitive functioning is so impaired that he ever thought he could keep most of them. He wouldn't, of course, be the o...www.americanthinker.com
The article quoted and linked below was ... a disappointment.
It reads like a campaign stump speech loaded with applause lines. But it includes no detail and no analysis, and not a single idea about how to improve our country and quality of life.
When Quiet is not Quiet
The news was quiet today about Tennessee. And their legislative session ends in a week or so. Someone here suggested that the whole Tennessee Three episode will be forgotten in a week (or words to that effect). He may be right. But that does not mean the people won't remember. When election campaigns begin, I think there will be a fair amount of talking and voting around what happened this week.
The news was quiet today about Tennessee. And their legislative session ends in a week or so. Someone here suggested that the whole Tennessee Three episode will be forgotten in a week (or words to that effect). He may be right. But that does not mean the people won't remember. When election campaigns begin, I think there will be a fair amount of talking and voting around what happened this week.
Actually, there was news that helped us get to know Justin Jones a little better. It seems he was an active participant in the BLM riots of 2020, and was caught on video standing on police cars, assaulting drivers, etc, and managed to rack up over a dozen charges and two indictments. Apparently all this was simply resume enhancement for the voters in his district.
"The charges include multiple assaults, assaulting a police officer, trespassing, and aggravated littering...
Jones claims his protesting was always peaceful, but a grand jury indicted Jones on two counts of reckless endangerment.
"The charges include multiple assaults, assaulting a police officer, trespassing, and aggravated littering...
Jones claims his protesting was always peaceful, but a grand jury indicted Jones on two counts of reckless endangerment.
Actually, there was news that helped us get to know Justin Jones a little better. It seems he was an active participant in the BLM riots of 2020, and was caught on video standing on police cars, assaulting drivers, etc, and managed to rack up over a dozen charges and two indictments. Apparently all this was simply resume enhancement for the voters in his district.
"The charges include multiple assaults, assaulting a police officer, trespassing, and aggravated littering...
Jones claims his protesting was always peaceful, but a grand jury indicted Jones on two counts of reckless endangerment.
That reckless endangerment involved having him shove a large traffic cone through the vehicle window against the person’s head as they were driving. That’s not a safe thing to do.
Check out the book “Paved with good intentions- The failure of race relations”
I was not aware of that information until you posted it. Looking into it, I found the rest of the story (link below).Actually, there was news that helped us get to know Justin Jones a little better. It seems he was an active participant in the BLM riots of 2020, and was caught on video standing on police cars, assaulting drivers, etc, and managed to rack up over a dozen charges and two indictments. Apparently all this was simply resume enhancement for the voters in his district.
"The charges include multiple assaults, assaulting a police officer, trespassing, and aggravated littering...
Jones claims his protesting was always peaceful, but a grand jury indicted Jones on two counts of reckless endangerment.
I'll add that any crime committed by any person, be they a state representative or ordinary citizen, should be charged and heard in a court of law. That's exactly what happened in this case. One charge was dismissed in court because the burden of proof was not met. Other charges were not prosecuted by prosecutors for reasons unknown (but I suspect it was because there was insufficient evidence, other evidence was not known at the time, or the alleged crimes were not committed at all).
That does not let Jones off the hook. If evidence is now available that was not previously available, Jones should be charged for that crime(s). Better still, if crimes were actually committed Jones would do well to confess, plead guilty, apologize, express remorse, and accept the consequences.
While it is certain Jones' critics will use this information to make it about the person, that shifts the topic off what I think is the more important issue.
Even if Jones is a dirtbag of the worst kind, he remains eligible to run for and be elected to public office. The people's election choices matter. As long as Jones is not convicted of any disqualifying crimes, it would be an abuse of power for a party to expel the voters' properly elected representative from his state house seat.
To me, it is troubling to see the reports and videos you point to. I do not condone that behavior by Jones, and any crimes he committed should be charged and brought to trial. Once there, I'm willing to abide by the decision of the court and/or jury. They are there. They are privy to all the information. They are considering it in a forum that is fair to both sides.
While Jones's 2020 behavior is troubling, if he was found guilty of disqualifying crimes, it would not trouble me in the least to see him expelled from his seat for that reason.
Regardless, this information will taint Jone's reputation. It's not a good look, just like it's not a good look to be a presidential candidate whose company has been convicted of tax fraud. It will be interesting to see if this weakens Jones' standing with the voters and if an opposition candidate surfaces in the upcoming special election.
Believing the Justin Jones expulsion to be an unjust act (the punishment was out of proportion to the offense) and an abuse of power by the Republican supermajority, I consider it a victory for democracy that he was reappointed. But I don't care if he is reelected or someone else. in the upcoming special election. For me, it's not about the person who fills that seat. It's about the integrity of the process by which that seat is filled and allowed to remain filled.
Another item of interest will be to see if the Jones invitation to visit the White House still stands now that this information has come to light. Biden may decide it is not a good look to host someone at the White House who is on video using a traffic cone as a weapon. That video will get nationwide air time if Jones shows up in Washington. The media will love the drama, which will overshadow every other thing Biden hoped to accomplish by inviting Jones for a visit. And it will put Biden in a difficult spot trying to explain away the traffic cone incident.
Assault charge dismissed against Nashville activist Justin Jones
Jones was charged with assaulting a Tennessee Highway Patrol trooper on July 11, 2020.
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The “cone incident’.I was not aware of that information until you posted it. Looking into it, I found the rest of the story:
Assault charge dismissed against Nashville activist Justin Jones
Jones was charged with assaulting a Tennessee Highway Patrol trooper on July 11, 2020.www.wsmv.com