Tennessee Taylor for TN 6th District - 2010

"Dissent is Patriotic"

2009-05-27T20:26:00.000-07:00

So we were told for much of the previous eight years. Dissent for the sake of dissent is not "patriotic." Dissent based on reasons and rationale is a responsibility. Our Government is out of control, but we have elected it.

No, the people of the 6th District did not vote for Obama, nor Pelosi, nor Murtha, nor Reid, but we did vote for Bart Gordon who is supporting their every whim, like a whipped dog. When I first considered running for his seat, I expected there would be little to differentiate my positions, our positions from his.

I had hope that the Blue Dog Democrats would provide the rational resistance to many of the things promised on the campaign trail last year. Instead, I have found nothing but disappointment in his voting record. I'm sure if I searched thoroughly enough, I could find something, and I should. I'm told he's a nice guy and he certainly seems to be.

I've been quiet lately, mainly because there is little positive to say. I'm truly concerned for the direction this government is headed. Our Congress, at the behest of the President has quadrupled the deficit, with the full support of Our Elected Congressman.

They are cutting the Defense Budget at the same time that we're paying $328,000 for an Air Force photo op that struck fear in the people of New York. And the President laughed about it.

While more is being asked of Our Troops, their numbers and pay raises and bonuses are being cut with the backing of Our Elected Politician, at the behest of Obama, Pelosi, Frank, and Murtha. In the upcoming year, more of our Troops will be deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan than at any time in the last 8 years. Troops are being deployed straight to Afghanistan from Baghdad.

Within hours of North Korean Missile tests, Weapon Systems were cut from the Army, Air Force and Navy, including the Marines. North Korea even now threatens war if even the weak measures suggested are taken against them. 28,500 US Troops in South Korea are now potentially in harm's way against a Million Man Nuclear armed Army of North Korea.

General McKiernan's career has been ended with an excuse of "we needed a new face." It appears to be a purely political decision.

Partisan slogans are resulting in stubbornly shutting down a piece of ground that has done nothing wrong. The Terrorists detained at Guantanamo are the worst of the worst. No torture ever occurred there. It is and has been run in accordance with the Geneva Conventions. The terrorists are not Americans. They have no Constitutional Rights.

The terrorists at Gitmo are combatants, not just common criminals. They are war criminals, but the Geneva Conventions allows them to be held until the end of hostilities, without trial. They may be tried for war crimes and if found guilty held beyond the end of hostilities. But if found "not guilty," they can be returned to Gitmo, as per the Geneva Conventions.

Moreover, in this time of economic hardship, in these times of record deficits, it is fiscally irresponsible to close Gitmo and build a new one somewhere else, costing billions of dollars more, when it done for nothing more than political sloganeering.

Tennessee Taylor©2009, TNT, all rights reserved

Racist Shame

2009-05-27T19:07:00.000-07:00

We were told we were "racist" for opposing Obama. Now we are being told we are "racist" for opposing his nominee for the Supreme Court. NO, we are NOT. No person should be hired or fired or promoted or elected or selected based on their skin color or sex.

Justice Sotomayor is the wrong person for the job, period. She is on the record as saying the Judicial Branch "Makes policy" in complete contradiction to the US Constitution. In the same video, she recognizes that she should not admit that publically.

In the same week, that the Supreme Court of California decided that the Constitution of California is Constitutional (Proposition 8), the President of the United States has nominated for Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States a person that believes that feelings rather than law should be the basis of rulings and evidently has no concept of the very Constitution she is supposed to be basing her rulings on.

Every candidate should be judged based on their merits. Every candidate should be selected based on their merits and record. Every candidate should be elected based on their positions.

There should be no special rules based on skin color nor sex. It should not be easier or harder because one has darker or lighter skin. An applicant should not be denied for someone less qualified because of such standards. And yet, that was precisely how she decided the case of St.Louis Firefighter promotions.

I would urge the Senate to be colorblind in voting against this nominee. I would urge them to have the intestinal fortitude to clearly state that they will not be shamed into blindly accepting every candidate based on the argument that it's "racist" to oppose a minority.

It is a disservice and racist to continually tell whole segments of our population that they can't learn, that they can't compete, that they need special rules and laws to attain the same standings as their neighbors.

The Way Forward

2009-04-15T15:33:00.000-07:00

Some have asked what they can do to help. Some have expressed a wish that I was running in their district. Some have pointed out that a successful campaign needs a campaign warchest, a large one considering the opponent.

Until an expert on Campaign Finance steps up, I will not be asking for, nor accepting donations to the campaign. That is why there is no method of donating to the campaign. But dollars are only a means to presenting the message. The biggest political campaign warchest does not ensure Victory at the ballot box.

But as Bart Gordon so aptly demonstrates, that money comes with strings. His loyalty is to those that have contributed to his continued presence in Washington, not to the people of the 6th District, not to the people of Tennessee, and not to the Nation.

What can you do? Spread the word. Send this page to your neighbor. Follow me on Twitter: TnNTaylor. RT my tweets when you find them interesting. Email the articles of this page to your fellow Tennesseans, with the link. Comment on what you find interesting. Ask questions about concepts if my words are unclear.

Elections are won by who receives the most votes, not who has the most money. If it were about money, I'd not stand a chance. Money is simply the tool to get the message out. The internet allows you to have more power than do the Corporations that have bought Gordon.

It doesn't matter if the people you know agree with your positions, with my positions, with our positions or not, send them a link. Allow them a voice and a place to make their case. There is no harm in hearing the words of those that oppose me. On the contrary, I have actively fought to preserve them that right.

Hypothetically, a campaign could be victorious without any money spent. I'm not sure I'd wish to try that, but I do know I will not be able to outspend Bart Gordon. As we move forward, we'll identify more ways to help put a Common Sense Citizen in Congress, but first and foremost, spread the word.

Tennessee Taylor©2009, TNT, all rights reserved

US Navy And Taxed Out of Shipping

2009-04-11T14:53:00.000-07:00

Sometimes, it's the unnoted things in a news story that provide the most insight. Sometimes timing of an event provides the greatest irony. Four solitary pirates have tested the world's superpower and the new leader. Twenty great Americans demonstrated resolve and valor. One ship's captain has gone above and beyond.

And Vice President Biden's prophecy is on the verge of being proven, again. When tested, President Obama has consistently fallen short. But he cannot continue on a course of economic and military destruction without the willing approval of Congress.

And Congress cannot rubber stamp the wrong headed policies of the executive without the Whipped Blue Dogs, including our very own Representative Gordon, who only seems to represent earmarks and Washington insiders.

The US Navy has already been cut in half, primarily in the 90's. The New Administration aims to cut it even more. Reprehensible Barney Frank called for the cuts in October. Reprehensible Murtha called for the cuts this year. The 2010 DoD budget proposal from the Administration hides the cuts by adding the costs of Our Current Conflicts to the regular budget without increasing the actual budget. It is an $87+ Billion cut in defense spending from its own 2009 proposal.

Instead of spending money Constitutionally on the Common Defense of the States, the Administration is funding ACORN, Planned Parenthood, and buying US Corporations. The Whipped Blue Dogs are following the whims of Pelosi, Reid, Frank, and Obama.

But this is only part of the story. They are calling for higher taxes on investors, smokers, corporations, and employers. And this too has a tie to the piracy of the Maersk Alabama. With the first case of piracy against a US Flagged vessel in two centuries, we also see the results of increased tax and regulations on one of our traditionally strongest industries:

"There are fewer than 200 U.S.-flagged vessels in international waters, said Larry Howard, chair of the Global Business and Transportation Department at UNY Maritime College in New York. " AP, APR 08, 2009 US Aid Ship Fights off Pirates

The only US Flagged vessels on the high seas today are US Navy Vessels and those required by US Government contract to be US Flagged. Taxes and Regulations have made it simply too expensive for shipping companies to hoist our Flag. Instead, shipping companies flag their ships in places like Kuwait and Liberia, which collect the fees and regulate more sensibly or not at all while providing no protection of their own.

When the US Government continues to increase taxes on our employers, they will continue to move overseas, continue to lay off Our Workers, and more of our great industries will be lost to foreign nations. We must send a Common Sense Citizen to represent Tennesseans in 2010.

While David Evans has correctly called on Representative Gordon to return the money the US Government paid for Gordon's personal European Vacation (or demonstrate it was official business), I am focused on the Billions and Trillions of dollars the Whipped Blue Dogs are wasting of Our money.

While General Evans is concerned with the personal largesse of our opponent, I am concerned with Representative Gordons willingness to undercut Our National Defense in a time of Two Wars and even greater threat than we have seen since 1990.

Behavior Control Through Taxation

2009-03-27T19:00:00.000-07:00

I've spoken out against the immorality, illegality, and unconstitutional retroactive taxation blackmail of the AIG (now AIU) executives. I've clarified that it is not illegal but immoral that they accept those bonuses. Senator Dodd and Timothy Geitner were directly responsible for the legislation that allowed the bonuses, in the CEO Bailout Bill sold to us by then Senator Obama and rammed down our throats by Representative Gordon, Frank, & Pelosi.

But the 90% tax Representative Gordon voted to exact on the political embarrassment is only one such attempt to legislate behavior through taxation. It's perhaps the most obvious, but its far from the oldest.

It has long been the practice of Congress and State Legislators to put special taxes on cigarettes. Regardless of how you feel about smoking, it is legal and it is a personal decision. In the early days of this special tax, it was designed to alter behavior. When politicians realized that smokers are addicts, they began to see it as a cash cow. Recently, they increased the cigarette tax by, not to, $8.00 a carton. The government now makes more money off the tobacco industry than do the manufacturers.

Adding to this, the State of Tennessee is imposing "minimum" prices on cigarettes as of April 1st.

The 111th Congress is considering the implementation of the Chicago Politician's special tax on energy. What is the result of such programs, including the desired result of decreased energy usage? Increased energy costs and higher energy bills.

Not convinced? Pull out your most recent water bill and electric bill and compare both the price per unit and the base service charge to a 2007 bill. Compare your usage of these services as well. Many of you will find that you pay more for less service now. Utilities must achieve a certain amount of gross profit to cover the costs and they are monopolies, necessary monopolies, but monopolies nonetheless.

Many Representatives were even calling for a tax hike of 50 cents/gallon on gasoline during the $4/gallon days of last summer. With our gas tax dollars already being swindled from the upkeep of our roads, this tax was not designed to provide better roads, but make it economically unfeasible for you to drive as much as you currently do.

And despite all of this taxation, the government continues to be in centuries old debt and racking up record deficits. The 111th Congress, including our Representative Gordon plans to increase the federal debt in their short two years than did the previous 5 Congresses.

The Whipped Blue Dogs are voting exactly as Speaker Pelosi of California Idealism tells them to vote. It appears as if they are trying to bankrupt Our Nation.

The entire tax code is designed to alter behaviors, with credits for what politicians deem good behavior and penalties for what they deem bad behavior. And yet in the midst of this, Congress is considering increasing the taxes paid on charitable donations. This is mind-boggling and the conclusions that can be drawn from it are not very flattering.

It is indeed time for a new tea party. Taxes, penalty by taxation, and behavior control by taxation are out of control. We pay more now in taxes, in real dollars, in inflation adjusted dollars, in percentage of income, than did our Founding Fathers when they threw off the chains of Britain.

It may be time for Nationwide Recall Petitions of Congress. This Congress is out of control, under the whip of Pelosi. The Blue Dogs, our last hope for rational legislation, have been whipped into submission by fringe elements of a once great party that abandoned the people.

Tennessee Taylor©2009, TNT, all rights reserved

"Toxic Assets"

2009-03-24T07:58:00.000-07:00

The media, markets, and Congress are abuzz with "Toxic Assets." They're also attempting to rename this "legacy loans." It simply sounds better when you're talking about using taxpayer money to "buy it."

But what exactly are we talking about with "toxic assets?" Those are the predatory loans made by the greedy to the greedy based on unrealistic rises in real estate values. These are the loans that should never have been made. These are the risks that corporations took in a belief that they would make astounding profits, that failed.

Simply, they are bad loans, foreclosed loans on real estate not worth the borrowed amount.

Your "representatives" think that you, the taxpayer, should pay 2005 inflated prices in order to get the banks out of the trouble they got themselves in. It will have the marketed effect, the banks will be better off. Their stock prices will go up. It will benefit the corporate constituencies of our elected officials.

This comes at a cost to you, the taxpayer. It is wrong. Capitalism is a system of personal and professional responsibility. It allows individual choice and freedom. It rewards good decisions and holds each responsible for bad decisions.

An underlying but unstated right of the Constitution, Bill of Rights, and Capitalism is the right to be wrong and to let the world know that you are wrong. If you decide to pay $100,000 for a 2010 Ford Mustang believing you can sell it to your neighbor for $150,000, your friends may tell you you're out of your mind. But that is your money and your decision to make.

If the neighbor pays the $150,000 for it, we'll shake our heads in disbelief, but if you end up selling it to him for $50,000, it is not our responsibility to make up the difference. And that is what Congress is doing. They're making us pay the difference in the losses of banks.

To be a bit more accurate, it would be like a single person bidding and purchasing an entire estate at auction regardless of bid price, selling everything that could make a profit and then coming to their neighbor and expecting them to pay the price bid for the items not worth the price he paid at bid. Now imagine that it was the richest man in town that did that and exacted the losses on every worker in town.

It is not right. It is not Constitutional. It is not moral. It is not capitalism. It is not the American way.

These corporations took the risks. They got greedy. And they got burned. It is NOT the responsibility of the taxpayer, i.e waiters, factory workers, and Soldiers to pay for the bad risks that the corporations made.

Tennessee Taylor©2009, TNT, all rights reserved

The Blackmail Worked

2009-03-24T06:20:00.000-07:00

The government, led by the US House of Representatives, has learned the tactics of the Mafia: Blackmail. Even as activists and capitalists are setting up tours of the homes of AIG executives for angry mobs, Government Lawyers are offering to keep the names quiet of those that return the money, with a clear implication that those that retain the money will be made public.

The Government has made the executives "a deal they can't refuse." When Chris Dodd (Senator-CT) & Timothy Geitner (Treasury Secretary) finally admitted that they had personally had a hand in the language of the CEO Bailout Bill allowing the bonuses, the House of Representatives had their back. The House, believing themselves to be riding a tide of populism, voted for a 90% tax on Specific Individuals.

While such a targeted tax on money earned prior to the legislation would not likely pass the Constitutionality test in the court system, the cost of legal representation (lawyers) would have cost more than the new government employees had earned.

It is now being reported (CNBC) that most if not all of the US executives that received a bonus have "voluntarily" returned it. Most of the remaining executives keeping the bonuses are foreign residents, i.e. not subject to the targeted tax of the US House of Representatives.

Was all of this hoopla, was this blackmail by the government worth the $50 Million returned or even the $165 Million paid in bonuses? Or was this simply something to divert our attention from the fact that Congress paid out $700 Billion to their CEO Constituencies from the pockets of the common worker? Even if all of it is returned, that's still $699.8 Billion paid out of OUR pockets.

At what cost did these executives return the money? The check came with their resignation. In the midst of turmoil at the now Government owned AIG, now AIU (they changed the name), the top managers have decided to walk out. For some, we might say "good riddance." For others, their knowledge, expertise, and experience with the problem itself may mean, we need them. We simply don't know anything about who was there, who was paid a bonus for what, and hence who left.

Those that left were targeted because of their earnings, not their performance, which may or may not be tied to their performance (should be). If the bonuses worked the way they should have, they would have been paid to those that did the most to keep the corporation in the black. But we don't know, do we?

There is a bit of good news in this: Corporations have learned that Government is not a good business partner. The entire affair has been more akin to an Organized Crime operation than what I expect of government. Several Corporations were forced into the "deal they could not refuse." Once in, they found themselves bullied by politicians that have a record of losing money.

But there is a winner in all of this: Warren Buffett, a major contributor to the Obama campaign. Buffett, through his corporation, Berkshire-Hathaway, is known for his market prowess. Even as Congress first began considering the CEO Bailout Bill, Buffett expressed a wish that he could get in on just 10% of it. Meanwhile, he had $50,000,000,000 sitting on the sidelines, waiting for just the right moment to jump in.

And as the financials market plummetted with the acts and talk of Congress, he found his mark. It wasn't the "toxic assets" and failing banks that Representative Frank and Representative Gordon were forcing the American taxpayer to buy. It was the best of breed, Goldman-Sachs, that had to be co-erced into the bailout that he bought into.

We don't know when exactly he bought in, but on November 3, 2008, GS was selling at $89.09/share and on November 20th at $52.00/share. As of March 23, 2009, it is selling at $111.93/share. That's a gain of 25% to 115% gain in less than 6 months on a stock still considered undervalued by the very system that Obama supporter, Warren Buffett uses.

Warren Buffett is an astute investor and one of the richest men in the world. Many people shook their heads when he so forcefully backed both Hillary and Obama last year in the campaign. Who would have thought then that the tens of thousands he personally donated would earn him literally billions of dollars? Should there be a targeted tax on his earnings? Will there be politicians riding a tide of populism to call for it? NO.

As immoral as it is to back a political candidate for personal profit, it is not illegal. Though it may be satisfying to "tax the rich," to "stick it to the man," to forcefully recover those profits through targeted taxation, it is not Constitutional. It is not legal, nor should it be.

But there is more to this story. Goldman-Sachs, which was bullied into accepting taxpayer money it didn't want, has realized that Tony Soprano would be a better business partner than the US Congress. They didn't want the money. They didn't need the money. And they are working on ways to get rid of the dirty money as quickly as they can.

Goldman-Sachs is looking around at the strings and demands being made on others. Perhaps, they will also pick up the best and brightest from AIG executives, even as they rid themselves of the strings tied to government money.

And a final note on AIG, which is now 80% owned by the US Taxpayer. It is no longer named AIG. It is paying large amounts of (taxpayer) money to change its name to AIU, though many are preferring a more appropriate name IOU, for the failing US Government owned company.

Meanwhile, the US Department of Treasury, parent of the IRS, has grown to a prominence and to power, previously unknown in this Nation.

And I cannot help but find poetic justice in Code Pink having turned on Barney Frank and other of their allies that used them in the anti-Iraq campaign.

Tennessee Taylor©2009, TNT, all rights reserved

The 8th Amendment -

2009-03-23T17:15:00.000-07:00

As with other rights, it is fashionable to only quote part of it. We often hear activists quote the "no cruel and unusual punishment" clause.

Amendment VIII
"Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted."

But how often do we hear of multi-million dollar bail being imposed? And Congress has recently voted to impose a 90% tax on certain members of certain corporations, which amounts to excessive fines.

There is little outcry over excessive bail because we usually hear about it when a serial killer is being tried. We don't want him running the streets during his trial, so we aren't all that sympathetic. The answer? No Bail in such a case.

Meanwhile, fringe elements of the world try to argue that all kinds of things are "cruel and unusual punishment." Those things allowed by law in 1790 were clearly not "cruel and unusual" according to the writers of the Bill of Rights, including capital punishment, including the holding of prisoners of war.

"Cruel & Unusual" would be being "drawn and quartered" as was the practice in England. It would include being "racked." It does not mean that prisoners have a right to cable and the internet. They don't.
Tennessee Taylor©2009, TNT, all rights reserved

Common Goals

2009-03-21T20:42:00.000-07:00

It is early in the 2010 campaign, but already at least one challenger has joined the fight. Should we end up on the ballot together, opposed to each other, it may come down to names and parties, of which I have only the former and none of the latter. I stand steadfast, independent of all parties, sworn only to the values and ethics taught me by my Tennessee Father and reinforced by decades of military service.

When two Veterans meet, stories will follow, and yesterday, two Veterans met. The stories we shared did not stop with Desert Storm, and they barely touched on the terrain of Afghanistan. They stepped back to the Civil War, when our ancestors and relatives likely stood face to face in battle and shoulder to shoulder against brothers, fighting the bloodiest war in Our Nation’s History. Our lives have paralleled as have the lives of our ancestors.

And General Dave Evans is an astute gentleman, and clearly a worthy adversary. He’s an observant man who recognizes not only the symbols but knows the meanings behind them.

We share not only similar backgrounds, but similar positions. He holds the Constitution and Bill of Rights dear. And why wouldn’t he? We’ve spent much of our adult lives defending them.

He understands the Pelosi-Reid-Obama alliance cannot withstand opposition of the real Democratic party of Jackson. He understands that our current whipped “Blue Dogs” are supporting Pelosi and Murtha and Barney Frank and that without that support, the elitists would fail.

Our parents were Democrats. Our fore-fathers were Democrats. But today’s DNC is not the party of our forefathers. It is not the party of our fathers.

We both stand on principle. It comes not only from our ancestral roots of Middle Tennessee but from Army Values. He is as concerned with Congressional largesse of Congress as am I, even if he has focused more pointedly at different aspects of it.

But there are also differences. Minor differences, really, but they are there. He was a Voluntarily Enlisted Private in the Marine Corps in 1968, during the hot period of the Viet Nam War. I was a Voluntarily Enlisted Private in the Army in the Cold War. I arrived in Germany at a time when we were still considered the “trip-wire,” there only to slow the Soviet hordes long enough for reinforcements to arrive and push them back over our bodies.

He chose the path of a Commissioned Officer (and a Gentleman, by an act of Congress), and I maintained the path of a Non-Commissioned Officer. (“I work for a living!”). He has more respect for General Shinseki than do I. (I have none, nor must I demonstrate any, anymore.) After Desert Storm, he went to Bosnia. I trained until I was sent to Afghanistan, grateful not to be sent to Bosnia.

He has a good 20 years on me, which still makes me more experienced than when Gore gave the district to Gordon. Both General Evans and I have more in common with Andrew Jackson than does Gore or Gordon, but Jackson and Evans were both Generals and I avoided the Officer rolls.

I’m thinking he was appalled to realize that Tennessee Tax Dollars are being used by Planned Parenthood to fund abortion. I doubt he knew that Bart Gordon had voted for it. Then again, I didn’t know that our Representative had taken a trip to Europe on our dime.

I’d venture to say I’m more internet savvy than is he. I have little doubt he is more politically astute than am I. It is amazing we haven’t crossed paths before. We’re certain to cross paths many times in the future. I know I’ll need to be well prepared for the debates, particularly if his attention is not diverted by Gordon’s presence. I’ll be sure to invite lots of cameras. Bart always seems to be where the cameras are.

In the meantime, the choice between General Evans and myself is likely to rest on personality, on style, rather than substance. When I face Bart Gordon, it will be all substance. It is a choice for the good citizens of Middle Tennessee to make. It is time for YOU to weigh in. And you can tell us now, that you know, or you can tell us that you need to see more of us.

But one thing is certain, neither Dave Evans nor myself are career politicians. Neither Evans or myself will continue the 6th District vote for Obama. Neither Evans nor myself will give Pelosi the free rubberstamp that does Gordon.

This is not an endorsement of Evans, but it is recognition of our Common Goals. It is recognition that he is a worthy opponent, a gentleman with Tennessee Values, rather than the panderer to Washington Insiders that we have now.

I’m a bit more rough around the edges. I did take off the John Deere hat before I met him and his wonderful wife and I dressed up in a polo shirt while he dressed down in suit jacket.

He has a party behind him, and I do not.You can contact me TNTaylorFor-TN6th2010 @ yahoo.comLet me know your thoughts. Are we ready to send Common Sense to Washington? Are we ready to ask Rep Gordon to enjoy retirement? What are the issues you want addressed?TNTaylor©2008, TNT, all rights reserved.

Tea Parties & Challengers

2009-03-19T10:19:00.000-07:00

There is a movement afoot: Tea Parties of "The Patriotic Resistance" of Grassfire.org.

It is calling for "Idea based resistance" to the drastic changes occuring in the new federal government. On April 15th, they will hold events in Nashville, Knoxville, and Cookeville as well as many other locations across the Nation.

A challenger to Bart Gordon for the Representative of the 6th District seat has joined the Tennessee chapter of the organization, as of last night. David L. Evans is a Citizen-Soldier from Wartrace, TN and has declared his 2010 campaign for Congress.

We welcome Mr Evans to the debate and look forward to exploring the positions with him.

We hope that the organization will not be mischaracterized but recognize the name alone is sufficient for the media to do so. The following statement is important and is found below the profiles of the leadership of the organization:

"I affirm that ResistNet is for principled, patriotic resistance to Barack
Obama's ideology and agenda and is not a forum for personal attacks, lewd or
profane language, or militancy against Barack Obama or others. " TN Resistnet Phil Dedrick

Welcome to the debate Mr. Evans.

The 7th Amendment - Trial By Jury

2009-03-17T14:27:00.000-07:00

Because Our Forefathers recognized that absolute power bred elitism and elitism bred arrogance, and arrogance bred contempt for the common man:

Amendment VII
"In suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall exceed twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved, and no fact tried by a jury, shall be otherwise reexamined in any court of the United States, than according to the rules of the common law. "

But not only does this provide for the right of the accused to be tried by a jury, it also sets "common law" as the precedence. And that is the reason why lawyers argue about cases of old, where a ruling was made in the favor of their argument.

"Common Law" simply means that if a court has previously found that owning a firearm is your right, then your judge must find the same in your case.

Stealing Veteran Benefits

2009-03-17T14:14:00.000-07:00

The Obama Administration is stubbornly pressing forward with a call to force Veterans to pay for their earned and promised VA Health benefits. General Shinseki is backing him in this theft. This was announced at the same time that the Secretary of State traveled to the Middle East to give $900 Million to Hamas, a terrorist surrogate of Iran.

Will the Blue Dog Democrats finally bite the hand that whips them? Will Representative Gordon finally demonstrate some backbone against the Chicago Political Machine?

Outright Lies

2009-03-17T14:03:00.000-07:00

Larry Summers:

"There are no tax increases this year." Obama Adminstration, Larry Summers, CNBC 3/17/2009

I guess he thinks people won't notice that the Government increased the Cigarette Tax by $8.00 a carton.

I guess he wasn't listening when Charles Schumer threatened to take by force the Bonuses of AIG, if they didn't give it back willingly, due to threat of force. Frankly, it sounds the same as a common thug, mugging someone downtown Washington DC. "Give it to me, or I'll take it."

Clarity again: It's morally wrong for those executives to take the bonuses. It's contractually obligated they be given those bonuses. It's not in the least bit illegal for them to keep them.

It's not constitutional for Congress to have forced the Taxpayer to buy AIG. It is reprehensible that they did not read their own legalese before they forced us into that $700 Billion in debt (+interest).

Schumer, Obama, Gordon, Cooper, Cohen all voted for the $700 Billion CEO Bailout bill, the same one they're now complaining about.

Tennessee Taylor©2009, TNT, all rights reserved

Is It Malfeasance or Ignorance?

2009-03-16T21:45:00.000-07:00

Our Congressmen seem outraged that the Executives of AIG and others are receiving bonuses while presiding over losses. Our Congress has resided over 200 years of losses, 200 years of debt. Why do they continue to get pay raises?

Our Congressman, along with every other member of his party from this state, short of Lincoln Davis, plus the Representative from Chattanooga voted for the CEO Bailout Bill. Marsha Blackburn led the minority party of our state, minus Zach Wamp in opposition to the CEO Bailout Bill, championed by then Senator Obama and supported by his opposition to the Presidency.

They tried to sell it to us as an "emergency" requiring "immediate action." They didn't have time to read the 700+/- pages of legalese and we have to wonder who had time to write it. But why now are they surprised that so much is being spent in Executive Bonuses? Perhaps because they didn't read what they voted for? Or perhaps because they knew it benefitted their campaign paying constiuencies?

We had little choice in the election of 2008. The press didn't cover the positions of Chris Baker. There is unlikely to be much coverage of the 2010 nominees for a while.

It didn't take long for the Common Sense Citizens of Tennessee to voice opposition to the CEO Bailout Bill. I withheld opinion until I could see the bill, but it didn't take but a few sections to realize we were being sold down the river. So why, did OUR Representative vote for it? Why was it that he bucked the views of the people of our district and why did he not realize it did not stop the largesse of CEO's and Executives?

Does he believe we have such short memories? Does he believe he can gloss over his support of the CEO Bailout Bill, the UAW Bailout Bill, and the Debt Stimulus Bill? Does he think that we will forget that he has voted FOR quadrupling the deficit in less than 12 months?

But let's be clear: It's not illegal for the executives to take the bonuses promised them. It is immoral for them to take the bonuses. It is not illegal for them to enjoy lavish retreats while contributing to the political campaigns of those voting for their bailouts. It is immoral.

It is not illegal to vote for earmarks, all 9,000 of them but it is irresponsible to do so. It is time to send a Common Sense Citizen to Congress. It is time to send a nice guy to pasture. It is time for Our Representative to Endorse a true representative of the People of Middle Tennessee. It is time for the follower of Gore to be replaced with a follower of Andrew Jackson. It is time for us to realize that the whipped Blue Dogs are not the Democrats of our forefathers.

Tennessee Taylor©2009, TNT, all rights reserved

Who Should We Trust With OUR Money & OUR Future?

2009-03-01T08:06:00.000-08:00

Politicians continue to tell us that those "evil CEO's" have bankrupted their companies and sent the economy off the cliff. To a certain extent, they have a point. Simple greed has led to poor decision making by people as diverse as individuals to corporations. But the economic downturn is global, not local.

Some things are within the scope of an individual's responsibility and other things are not. A person who takes out a 105% loan (as Obama proposes to offer through the US Government) should be astute enough to know that they can't sell that house for the amount they owe on it.

A person with an income of $36,000/year should know that they cannot pay back a loan with a monthly payment of $3,000/month.

A CEO has the job of ensuring a corporation does what it can to make money. Sometimes, conditions outside his control, like an economic downturn or Congressional interference in those policies, will negatively impact his ability to do so. Other times, it is purely on his head that the corporation does not make money for its investors.

But, when one has failed to live up to their financial obligations and responsibilities, the last place that they should go to for advice is someone with a worse record on financial responsibility. When Citibank (and others) lost money in the short term, Congress's record of 200 years of financial irresponsibility at the very time they are accelerating gross irresponsibility is the wrong place to look for advice.

Sure, it sounds nice to hear that we will soon get "free health care" but nothing is free. The Government is one of the least efficient organizations in the Nation. Congress mismanages nearly everything they touch.

CEO's should not be getting multi-million dollar bonuses for loosing money, but Congress should not be the one to change that: Shareholders should be. When Congress becomes the board of Corporations, we will see greater mismanagement, not less.

And we already see the first nationalization of a bank, in earnest: Citibank is now up to 36% government owned. In fact, just two years ago, it would have taken half of the CEO Bailout bill to buy Citibank alone, but now, the $700 Billion CEO Bailout Bill could purchase more than 75 CitiBanks, outright.

We must send a Common Sense Citizen to Congress.

2010 Obama Budget

2009-03-01T05:58:00.000-08:00

The 2010 Budget Request is out and we'll again have a chance to see if our Representative is a Blue Dog or Whipped Dog. Over the last few months, even before the election, our politicians have been throwing around the term "trillion" more than most Americans drop dimes. More rational members of the debate have attempted to provide an idea of what a trillion is.

The accumulated National Debt through 2008 was $10.2 Trillion, reflecting more than 200 years of deficit spending. The original 2009 budget called for a record deficit of $407 Billion deficit. Obama is pushing it another $1.75 Trillion higher in 2009 and that's based on tax revenues expected from pre-recession 2008. Before he begins passing supplemental spending bills and with the expectation of 2008 tax revenues (which are shrinking with our paychecks), he has asked for another $1.25 Trillion of deficit in 2010.

In just his first 3 months, Obama will have increased our national debt by 30% of what it took us 200+ years to accumulate.

The Whipped Blue Dogs continue to rubberstamp every whim of Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid, and Obama. The Whipped Blue Dogs continue to obey their masters from California, Washington, and New York. The Whipped Blue Dogs continue to ignore their electorate in favor of their CEO Constituents.

The Budget Request must be voted down. We simply cannot afford it. We must set priorities. And the priorities of this budget are simply backwards.

As Secretary of State Hillary Clinton goes to the Middle East to announce a $900 Million giveaway to Gaza, i.e. Hamas, Obama was announcing that Our Troops will not get the pay raise they are scheduled to get. Why are we giving money to terrorists while cutting the pay raises of our Troops? Why is our Representative on board with that?

But the Budget Obama has proposed does not simply increase the deficit in 2010, it adds more deficit to this years. Obama has complained that he inherited the deficit, but the fact is he voted for it. He threw his weight behind the $700 Billion CEO Bailout, which was 100% deficit spending. He threw his weight behind the $17 Billion UAW Bailout which resulted in the Big 3 not purchasing parts from Tennessee suppliers. He forced down our throats the $800+ Billion Debt Stimulus Package. He did this with the full support of our Congressman.

As a result, he is now asking for more deficit spending. He has asked for a deficit of $1.75 Trillion in 2009. He didn't inherit it. He voted for it. He forced it on us. And Representative Gordon has voted for every thing he was told to vote for by Corrupt Chicago Politicians and the Far Left California Speaker of the House. My "hope" that Rep Gordon would lead against the radical left wing of his party has been dashed.

The "change" is that the Blue Dogs have been whipped into line.

We are at War, whether Americans feel it or not, whether Obama and Congress acknowledge it or not. This is not the time to be cutting the defense budget. This is not the time to be giving money to Hamas while cutting the raises of Our Troops.

We are in an economic downturn and every American feels it. This is not the time to be frivolously spending money we don't have. This is not the time to be increasing taxes on employers and decreasing the incentive for the rich to give to charities. This is not the time to be cutting Medicare benefits, earned by our retirees to fund Nationalized Health Insurance. And these are the things that Obama has proposed and Congressman Gordon is on board with.

Obama has claimed he will cut the deficit in half. The 2008 budget deficit was the previous record of $455 Billion. Obama predicts (based on 3.2% growth next year and 4% growth thereafter which we have no indication will come) a $581 Billion dollar deficit in 2012. That would be a record deficit, if it weren't for the fact that he and Congressman Gordon were implementing quarterly deficits in 2009 and 2010 that supercede the record annual deficits of all years prior.

In fact, if Obama's rosy outlook of growth occurs, despite no indications it will, he will have increased the National Debt by more than 50% in just his first term, with the Blue Dog's Support.

Meanwhile, he has also laid out his plan for Iraq, a 36 month withdrawal. See War On Terror News for the details. Troop Levels in Iraq will remain pretty steady into 2010 with 35,000 to 50,000 Troops, falsely labeled "non-combat" into 2011, but his budget calls for only $50 Billion to support those Troops in 2011 compared to $130 Billion in 2010. And that money is for both Iraq and Afghanistan Operations. Surely, Our Congressman, with his two years of Reserve Service understands that Our Troops deserve more support while they defend Our Nation against Terrorists.

Tennessee Taylor©2009, TNT, all rights reserved

CEO Bailout: Congress Extracts Their Pound of Flesh

2009-02-11T11:08:00.000-08:00

Today, 11 FEB 2009, Congress is interrogating the Banking Industry. It is being broadcast live on CNBC and is quite telling of the lack of quality of politicians we have sent to Washington.

The CEO Bailout (TARP) should never have happened in the manner it did. It was a key point in assessing the Campaign to send a Common Sense Citizen to represent the 6th District. Representative Gordon voted for the bill and there was little choice in who to replace him with. The only other person on the ballot in 2008 had received virtually no press in the media.

Things to consider in this are that Banks did not have opportunity to "opt out" of the hostile takeover by Government. I opposed the CEO Bailout privately from the beginning, from the point we discovered the details the House of Representatives first voted on. The Senate only made it worse.

The US Congress decided to force banks to hand over Preferred Shares of their Corporations and take money in return. Preferrred Shares pay dividends but afford no voting rights, no decision making capacity.

Today, one Congressman (I didn't recognize him) demanded that the Common Shareholders of the banks be paid NO dividends until TARP money is returned. Common Shareholders are Americans that have invested their money in the the Corporations. They are the ones taking the risks, the ones that have paid for voting rights, and who have been hurt most in the banking industry downturn.

When Congress demands shareholders be short changed by a lack of dividends, they are removing the money that Retirees count on for their month to month income.

For Congress to chastise any organization for operating in the red, for spending more than they make is pure hypocrisy. The US Government has operated on Debt since Andrew Jackson was President. And while not all debt is bad debt, this Congress and its predecessor have implemented and continue to implement the greatest increase in the history of Our Nation.

The same Congressmen chastising the Banking Industry for a few bad quarters have voted for two quarters of deficits larger than any year EVER in our history. The same Congressmen that demanded banks loan money to unqualified individuals in the 90's and early days of this Century are now demanding to know why more money has not been lent and why those earlier loans went bust.

In the interests of full disclosure, I own common stock in a bank, Regions Financial and previously owned stock in Bank of America. My opinions as a shareholder differ from my opinions as a taxpayer. As a taxpayer, I'm appalled that I was forced into debt by Congress so they could create an Investment firm. As a shareholder, I expect the CEO's salary to reflect his success or failure. I believe in the Lee Iacocca model: if you lose money, you don't get paid as the CEO.

I sold my BoA stock because they were going down the wrong road in my opinion. I neither had as much as did the Clintons, nor did I time the market as perfectly as did they.

As a shareholder, I want banks to act appropriately, to make decisions that will make money and to do so morally. If a corporation is a good corporate citizen, it will make more money. If it treats its employees, its customers, and its suppliers right, it will be successful. Greedy companies will lose in the long run.

I don't want the US Congress running corporations. Their job is to set the rules by which companies run, not to run them. The US Congress has an abysmal record of running things, particularly when it comes to money.

But today, Congress is teaching their Corporate Constituents a lesson: all things come with a price. The banks may not have had opportunity to reject Federal money, but that money came with strings and a bear hug while politicians put that long dagger in the backs of the Banking System.

And Congress has really broke one off in the Banking Industry. They first forced the money (borrowed in your name) on the banks. Then they set penalties if it is returned before three years is up. Now they are demanding billions in dividends be given the Government while at the same time demanding that Roths, IRA's, and Investors be shortchanged of their dividends. Like any other bully, major shareholder, the US Congress is demanding their way.

Unfortunately, Congress is full of lawyers, not businessmen. This is not the time to be selling jets. It's a time to be buying jets from those hurting for cash. Just as the best deals are from those in dire straights by those that have planned for them, so too is now a good time to be getting good deals on jets, construction equipment, and cars.

Meanwhile, the Senate has announced the finalization of the Debt Stimulus bill. I'm proud to say our two Senators voted against it. The Debt Stimulus bill adds another record amount of debt to our Nation. More debt than either of the two quarters of debt, each of which would have been an annual record on its own. I doubt Our Representative, a whipped "Blue Dog Democrat" will vote against it this time, given his record of voting for it previously.

How Would You Spend YOUR Money?

2009-02-06T11:30:00.000-08:00

Let's consider for a second the sheer size of the Debt Stimulus Bill, which purports to "stimulate the economy." At current, it is $939 Billion as compared with expected tax revenue of $2.7 Trillion which has already been appropriated for spending, and it doubles the amount we have already added to the deficit in 2009, in two quarters, each of which would have been a record deficit.

When one considers that the Debt Stimulus Bill would spend 1/3rd of all tax revenues and that only 1/2 of tax revenues are actually apparent on our pay stubs, we can more accurately identify what this means to your finances by looking at your 2008 W2.

This bill is nearly equal with ALL Social Security tax revenue, 1/2 of which is seen on your paystub. If you look at your paystub, double the amount withheld, that is your portion of the Debt Stimulus Bill.

It is also equivalent to more than 75% of all Federal Income Withholding taxes. Look at your paystub and imagine what you could do with that amount of money in your wallet. That is how much debt, Representative Gordon is voting to add to your bill.

Now, if you are going to go into debt by that much, do you want that money spent on dogparks, condoms, AmTrak, and a new power plant for Consolidated Edison in Illinois, or would you spend it on something that would be more beneficial to you.

And if 145 Million Americans had that much more money in their wallets to spend on what mattered most to them. That would certainly stimulate the economy and ease their financial woes. The US Congress has the power to put that money in your wallet by the end of the month. The US Congress could simply reduce all Federal payroll taxes by 75%, costing less money to the Federal Government while more positively effecting your bottom line and not paying all the bureacratic middlemen in the process.

If, on the other hand, they wished to collect the money and then redistribute it to you after paying those middlemen, look back at the W2, and imagine a check for 1/3rd of what you paid in last year, rather than 75% of it. Regardless of whether Congress spends your money on Condoms, Dog Parks, Bureaucrats, or simply doesn't collect if from you, it will cost you the same amount in debt, but it costs more for the monolithic monopoly to process that money than to "allow" you to keep it in the first place.

TNTaylor©2009, TennesseeTaylor, all rights reserved.

Success of the Government Monopoly

2009-02-06T10:19:00.000-08:00

The United States is a Corporation. The US Constitution are the Articles of Incorporation. The US Congress is Our Board of Directors and the President is the Chief Executive Officer. We, the People, are the shareholders, the owners, and the customers.

But the US Government is also a monopoly. When we don't like the product, we don't have the option of shopping elsewhere. When we don't like the price, we don't have an option of not paying. We do have the option of changing the Board Members and the CEO.

Our Founding Fathers understood these principles and hence designed the Federal Government to have limited power, preferring the State Governments to hold the reins, as each state competed for citizens and responded to the expectations and desires of its citizens, its customers and owners.

Government is a necessary evil. But what is the scope of its purpose? To provide those services which necessarily cannot be provided through any but the combined efforts of the Nations Citizens. To provide for the National Defense and for Foreign Relations.

The Federal Government has no Constitutional Authority to set up dog parks in municipalities nor to open the Treasury to ACORN for "neighborhood stabilization." The Government is not being benevolent when it returns taxpayer money to taxpayers. It is far more efficient to simply not take the taxes than to take the taxes, pay a multitude of money counters, bureacrats, administrators, and politicians, then return what's left over to the victim removed from the fruits of his labors.

There are things which do fall within the scope of responsibility of the Federal Government but buying digital converter boxes from China for a few Americans is not one of them. Buying F22 Raptor Fighters for the US Navy and US Air Force from American Manufacturers to deter a war with China or North Korea is within that scope of responsibility. Buying new Re-Fueling Tankers for the US Air Force and hence employing tens of thousands in Mobile, Alabama is within that scope of responsibility.

TNTaylor©2009, TennesseeTaylor, all rights reserved.

Taxes For Condoms Or Fighters?

2009-02-05T12:04:00.000-08:00

From War On Terror News:

But we are in a time of economic crisis and the far left of the DNC: Frank and
Murtha are calling for cuts in Military Spending to the tune of 25% while the
President himself looks more moderate in his calls for the Joint Chiefs to plan
for cuts of 10%. This sets the stage for current programs to be cut
substantially and has politicians scrambling to ensure the programs in their
states are not cut.

It seems that President Obama and Congress are actually considering throwing 10,000 to 100,000 workers into the unemployment lines by not continuing the funding and acquistion of our National Defense in the form of the F-22 Raptor program. At the same time the Senate is adding Hundreds of Billions in more pork to the Debt Stimulus Bill, in addition to Pelosi's Condom Stimulus stake, they're possibly going to undermine the future defense of our Nation and the economy by ending this program that Aviators and Admirals need. "Ask the Jet-Jockies"

We need the Blue Dog Democrats to join the bi-partisan group which includes even Ted Kennedy in calling for this and all Defense to be funded.

To get the numbers straight from those most committed to saving this program and
send a message to YOUR politicians to get on board with preserving this program, you can visit this site, which has letters ready to send out to all that need to hear from you.

It is near criminal that Our Politicians continue to ignore the will of the people as well as their Constitutional duties to defend this Nation while adding 10-20% to the National Debt in 12 short months, for CEO Bailouts, UAW Bailouts, and Condom Stimulation programs. The Debt Stimulus Bill has become the greatest pork project of the Congressional Record.

But be sure to look around the internet, at what other Veterans are saying and noticing about the new Congress and The Party in Power.

Stimulating the National Debt

2009-02-02T14:03:00.000-08:00

It has been proven many times over that when one party controls both the Congress and the Executive that spending increases. Never in our history have we seen spending go so completely out of control so quickly as to prove this so quickly. The 111th Congress has moved quickly to establish its partisanship and Speaker Pelosi continues to whip the Beaten Blue Dogs into line.

The media has picked up on my analogy of Congress as College Kids spending on their parents credit cards. Without factoring in the Stimulus Plan, the deficit is already expected to break records in 2009. We're seeing the effects of the CEO Bailout, the UAW Bailout, combined with "run of the mill" out of control spending already:

WASHINGTON – The Treasury Department said Monday it will need to borrow $493 billion in the first three months of this year, a record amount for the January-March period.
The Treasury Department figure comes on top of $569 billion the government borrowed from October through December, the all-time high for any quarter. AP 2009 Feb 02

To give you some perspective, we had to borrow money to force taxpayers to buy into banks we didn't want to pay those Billions in bonuses to the CEO's already. The $1.062 Trillion we will have borrowed in the first six months is already more than any other deficit in our Nation's History. And this does not include the stimulus package.

The Debt Stimulus package is approximately $5,600 PER taxpayer, all debt, all the time. Or about $2,730 PER American, including each of those new octuplets recently born, all debt, before interest.

Both the Stimulus Package and the CEO Bailout Bill are more than we spent in 5+ years of War in Iraq, by hundreds of billions EACH. Both are greater than the largest single budget item: Social Security which sits at $644 Billion. The Debt Stimulus package is 3.15 times what we pay in interest on the debt already accrued.

The Government estimates it will collect only $2.7 Trillion this year and has already approved spending $3.1 Trillion before the Stimulus and before the UAW Bailout and before the CEO Bailout. In fact, the 3 supplemental spending bills will be more than 3x what the deficit already was budgeted for in 2009. And we borrowed more in the first quarter of the fiscal year as was budgeted to borrow for the entire year. We will borrow more in the second quarter of the fiscal year than was budgeted for the entire year, before the Debt Stimulus package.

One is forced to wonder if The Party (DNC) is purposely attempting to bankrupt the Federal Government.

On the other hand, an economic stimulus package is needed, not an $819 Billion pork spending package. Increased spending on condoms should be left to individuals, not the Federal Government. We need to prioritize our spending but cutting the Military during a time of War is not the answer. Whether Murtha and Frank get their 25% or Obama cuts the DoD by 10%, this will cost jobs, not increase them. It will put more people on the unemployment rolls.

Obama promised to fully support the Troops in his first visit to the Pentagon and again in his Superbowl message to Troops:

“All of you who are serving in the U.S. armed forces are going to have my full
support, and one of my duties as president is going to be to make sure that you
have what you need to accomplish your missions,” he said.

That is not accomplished by cutting the DoD budget as he told the Joint Chiefs to plan for during the same visit. Politicians are paid to decide the ratio of spending on bullets to beans, but instead Our Congressmen are choosing to buy condoms. Somehow, I don't think Trojan is in trouble.

So long as Speaker Pelosi can keep the "moderates" in line, she has no need to cross the aisle. Sadly, Our Representative is toeing her line. The Party (DNC) has absolute power and she is expressing the CA Idealists ways.

Mike Huckabee noted on his new Fox Show that $1 Trillion dollars would buy Microsoft, Google, Apple, Coca-Cola, and Pepsi all and completely. Glen Beck showed us a chart that demonstrated the new Treasury Secretary's plan to print more money. I haven't found a source for his numbers, but if they are accurate, it would appear that soon everything will be worth half of what it currently is.

I fully expect that the Debt Stimulus Bill will pass and be signed by President Obama. It will have made it to his desk with Representative Gordon's vote, at least in the first round. There will likely be a second round after the Senate gets done with it but it's unlikely to have the fat trimmed off of it. The last time, the Senate merely increased the fat (CEO Bailout Bill).

And the UAW Bailout Bill saved no jobs either. The Auto Companies still cut back on parts orders and production, despite the $17 Billion. They did so, because Americans aren't buying their cars and padding the wages of the 70k/year UAW members only increases their ability to buy a new car on the backs of their customers who still can't afford their product.

Their pleas to save the jobs of waitresses paid in tips by auto parts supplier's workers were nothing more than marketing and advertising for their own overpaid salaries.

So, if the Debt Stimulus package passes, who will first see the recovery? Other than Trojan, construction companies. Not the homebuilders, the commercial and industrial companies. A portion of the bill is dedicated to infrastructure improvements and school construction. It will have an effect, but not the effect that should be expected by $819 Billion, because too much is dedicated to programs that have no business being included in "economic stimulus."

Perhaps it's time for our Congressmen to cut their own salaries back to the $1/year they have demanded of CEO's, until they can get their spending under control.

United Nations

2009-02-02T05:54:00.000-08:00

My feelings on the United Nations are almost exclusively negative. It was a good concept hi-jacked by less than pure motivations. It pays the Professors of Corruption. It is an International Welfare system transferring finances from the richest Nations to the most corrupt poor Nations. It is a bed of spies inside our borders.

Having seen the UN in inaction, my views of it are solidified. But, there's an old saying:

"Keep your friends close and your enemies closer."

There can be no doubt that the United Nations is no friend of its host, the United States. In contrast, it is a leech, a parasite feeding on our Nation. It hides its contempt for us poorly. But the damage of that anti-American sentiment is held in check by our role on the Permanent Security Council.

There are many that say we should pull out of the UN and kick them out of the Nation. While I would like to see the UN move to Switzerland, pulling out of the UN and hence the Security Council would have a long term negative effect. The UN would not cease to exist and would be left unchecked to pass resolutions against us.

But the relationship between us and it needs revision in both perception and finance. Though I congratulate President Bush for reducing the UN Tax on the US (our annual dues), this needs to be reduced further. Simultaneously, since we continue to be the largest financial contributor, we need to exert greater influence over its programs, including the end of anti-American propaganda by it.

The body politic needs to embrace the reality that within our borders, the US Constitution, not the UN Charter is the highest law. Citizens, Politicians, and Nations need to realize that we are a sovereign nation, not a subordinate state to the UN. Unfortunately, many of our own politicians, principally those California Idealists and New York Elitists seem to think otherwise.

The UN is a voluntary membership body designed to avert wars by creating a global dialogue of Nations. In that role, it has had some successes and at least as many failures. But in its attempted growth into a supreme government over Nations, it has overstepped its bounds and we must reject its measures to inflict its will on US Sovereignity. That is best done from our current position on the Permanent Security Council.

But just as the USSR learned in the 1950's when they walked out, leaving the UN can have long term negative consequences. We can't afford to allow our opponents the bully pulpit of the UN unchecked, but we need to exert the power our financial role in it has paid for and we've not generally used.

The Record is Written. Party Loyalty Trumps TN Common Sense

2009-01-29T13:09:00.000-08:00

First, let me Congratulate Jim Cooper for having the spine to buck The Party. He was one of only 11 Democrats to vote against the "Stimulus" package which adds approximately 10% to the National Debt acquired over the last 200 years. The Porker Bill passed the House yesterday along strict party lines. Every Republican voted against Pelosi's Plan to save Condom Manufacturers.

As I said before, this spending bill started out in the right place, or at least close to it. But when The Party in Power got ahold of it, knowing there is insufficient opposition in Congress to vote it down, they porked it up. It will take days to get through the Special Interest pork payouts, but that is what we are paying our Representative to do. In this case, I must express disappointment that ours did not oppose it.

The Record:

Tennessee
Nay TN-1 Roe, David [R]
Nay TN-2 Duncan, John [R]
Nay TN-3 Wamp, Zach [R]
Yea TN-4 Davis, Lincoln [D]
Nay TN-5 Cooper, Jim [D]
Yea TN-6 Gordon, Barton [D]
Nay TN-7 Blackburn, Marsha [R]
Yea TN-8 Tanner, John [D]
Yea TN-9 Cohen, Steve [D]

While I congratulate Rep Cooper (and the Republicans) for his vote for Tennesseans rather than being whipped into line by Nancy Pelosi, I am not running against Rep. Cooper. He is not my Representative.

The 111th Congress is shaping up to be one of the biggest spenders ever, the most partisan ever, and this is likely to only get worse. There is literally nothing to stop Reid, Pelosi, Frank, Murtha, and Obama from doing anything they want. The Blue Dog Democrats are mostly falling in line with the New York Elitists, the California Dreamers, and Chicago Machine.

The only hope of rational thought and opposition to the far left was the Blue Dog Democrats and they are acting like dogs beaten by their Master, Speaker Pelosi. We may have voted against the "change" Obama promised, but we voted to send him a rubber stamp in the form of our Representative. And if the Blue Dog Democrats don't start opposing the whims and whips of the far left, we are in for some seriously rough times.

Representative Gordon, you're a good man from all I can tell, but if you can't withstand the orders of Speaker Pelosi, Representatives Frank and Murtha, you have the option of endorsing me as your replacement. For the good of the Nation, the good of Tennessee, and the good of the district, we need a Representative that will tell the far left of your party, "NO!"

The Never Ending CEO Bailout Debacle

2009-01-24T15:16:00.000-08:00

Well, the people of Tennessee and the people of the United States told Washington that we were against TARP, the CEO Bailout Bill. They passed it anyway and we've been paying for it on a daily basis. The Representative of the 6th District voted for it twice, in both its long and longer versions.

In short, Congress made a mockery of the people and the people were confused, purposely by The Party. I'm not running against President Bush, nor against President Obama, but they were both part of the debacle. I'm not running for Senate nor did I think we had much of a choice in that race. In fact, there is only one member of our current delegation that I could fully endorse. There are others that I would fully oppose and still some that I would half-heartedly support.

But that's a different subject for a different day. Today, it's the TARP and the myriad of Economic Stimuli Packages we've witnessed. These are only getting worse by the day. The absolute power of the The Party (DNC) is producing horrible results of partisan hubris. The next package is snowballing into the greatest piece of pork ever witnessed.

Meanwhile, we are still learning of new excesses afforded by the DNC sponsored TARP/CEO Bailout Bill uniformly supported by the Democrats (minus one) and opposed by the Republican Representatives (minus one) of the State of Tennessee. None were voted out of office for their hubris. This video expresses the sentiment of many of our citizens:

Still, we must shake things up in 2010. We cannot afford the absolute power of The Party given them in 2008, and the "Blue Dog Democrats" have not presented the opposition needed to the out of control spending of the Far Left Leaders Pelosi, Frank, Murtha, Reid and Others we had hoped. Hope is all we have and it is being dashed on the rocks of voting records.

Corrections & Acknowledgements

2009-01-20T17:11:00.000-08:00

Chris Baker dropped in to make a few corrections to my perceptions of his campaign:

"I laud your efforts and courage to step up to the plate. However, I would like
to take a moment to clear the record. I did have a website for my campaign, I
did have a nominal amount of money (hence the website), and I did do some
campaigning. Your article paints me to be total ghost candidate. Admittedly, I
did not have the exposure which I wished to have, but money speaks louder than
words. Not having name recognition or the backing of a major party did not help
matters much. People are reluctant to donate to unknown candidates. In
hindsight, many things could have been done differently. Being the first time I
have ever ran for public office, I say I did well for myself. I'm sorry that my
message did not find you during this past election season. I have the letters
and emails of those persons who were able to find my information. Therefore I
can say with certainty that my message did reach voters from across the
district. Unfortunately, it was not enough. Good luck to you in your future
political aspirations. God bless and thank you for your service to our country. "

I would return his email personally but that does not seem to be an option. The comment was left on my introduction here at this website.

Let me apologize to Mr. Baker for any misperceptions that I or any of my contacts may have. I in no way wish to disparage him in his campaign. If there is anyone that understands the difficulty in running a campaign as an independent, I'm sure he does.

The fact that I was unable to find ANY real information on his positions highlights the realities of poor media coverage. I found more information on a write in candidate than did I on Chris Baker who was actually on the ballot.

It is my position that when a correction to the record is made that it be made with a minimum of the same level of exposure as was that which was incorrectly stated. And my apology to Mr. Baker for misperceptions of his exposure deserves a full article. Perhaps, if his positions had been more widely disseminated by the press, we would now be discussing Representative Baker rather than Candidate Baker or Representative Gordon.

Mr. Baker, I can tell you that I influenced at least 3 votes in your favor, if that is any consolation. Good Luck in all of your endeavors. Please accept my apologies for any misperceptions on my part.

Legislated Political Correctness

2009-01-09T18:21:00.000-08:00

Well, The Party is largely continuing their record of voting the whims of Pelosi and Rep. Gordon is no exception. This time, the subject was political correctness. Many things sound good on the surface but aren't so practical when put into legalese by Congress:

(B) The bona fide factor defense described in subparagraph (A)(iv) shall apply only
if the employer demonstrates that such factor (i) is not based upon or derived
from a sex-based differential in compensation; (ii) is job-related with respect
to the position in question; and (iii) is consistent with business necessity.
Such defense shall not apply where the employee demonstrates that an alternative
employment practice exists that would serve the same business purpose without
producing such differential and that the employer has refused to adopt such
alternative practice.

What are the repercussions? We've all seen people who used their "victimhood" to avoid repercussions of their poor work ethics. The Unions in particular protect this behavior.

According to current legislation, an employee had to prove there existed discrimination before the employer could be prosecuted and punished for it. The above clause changes proof of guilt to proof of innocence.

If the H.R. 12 is passed, an employer is considered guilty of sexual discrimination unless he proves himself innocent. The burden of proof is now on the defendent, the employer, given this legislation supported by Rep. Gordon, in accordance with Speaker Pelosi's dictates.

It is sad that The Party, including our Representative, has been whipped into line by the politically correct Idealists from California.

TNTaylor©2009, TennesseeTaylor, all rights reserved.

The Next Stimulus Package?

2009-01-07T17:29:00.000-08:00

The President-Elect is talking up another Trillion Dollar stimulus package. Unlike the UAW Bailout Bill and the CEO Bailout bill supported by Rep. Gordon, the next bill, even if huge and 1/3rd of annual tax collections may actually have some positive parts to it.

It will add 10% to the National debt, a debt that has taken us 200 years to accumulate, but it may actually have spending that positively effects the economy, the citizens, and is in the purview of the government, even if it is mostly in the state or local realm of government.

The President-Elect is talking about tax cuts (which he campaigned against) and spending on infrastructure. In the former, it appears that it was simply rhetoric, campaign promises he knew he would break, or was too naive to know that it wouldn't work. At any rate, tax cuts are generally a positive thing. The more of your money you get to keep the better.

Unfortunately, I expect more out-of-control spending, rather than the correct and necessary spending cuts to go along with the tax cuts that are needed.

As to the 2nd part, infrastructure spending; this may be beneficial, though the amount he's talking about is worrisome. Already California and New York are lining up their pork projects and bailout bids. Though the TVA flooded my ancestral lands, burying them under lakes, the fact remains that it put Americans to work.

If, and that's a big if, this package is done right, it can have a significant effect on the economy and employment, beginning with the construction trades. It may just be the package needed. I'll withhold judgement until we see it.

The problem remains that in a 12 month period over two calender years, Congress, including our Representative have added 20% to the National Debt, not including the Annual Budget and first 10% was squandered on nationalizing banks and bailing out the very organization that strangled the American Car companies.

The problem is we have the same credit cards in the same college kids hands in this Congress as we did the last. They are following the dictates of Speaker Pelosi en masse. Corrupt Chicago Politicians, NY Elitists, and California Idealists continue to attain the rubber stamp of The Party, including our Blue Dog Democrat. Representative Gordon, you must break from the dictates of the far left. Please demonstrate that you are a free thinker and a true Representative of the Common Sense Citizens of Tennessee, not a lackey of Pelosi, Reid, and Obama, not a lackey of New York CEO's and Washington lobbyists.

Tennessee Taylor©2009, TNT, all rights reserved

The 111th Congress Saga Begins

2009-01-07T16:43:00.000-08:00

Well, Congress is back in Session and it looks like Pelosi is setting up a dictatorship. It's little surprise that the Speakership was a straight party line but not one member of The Party stepped out of line. She has them firmly under her control and the most any of them would do is not vote at all and not many of them even dared that means of resisting her whip.

Not really much has happened. They passed the new rules for the House, defeating the minority party's instructions, again, along straight party lines. While the record of what The Party prevented from being admitted to the record is not yet in the record, the revision to the rules are on the record.

Our "Representative" was there and voted The Party line and the revision to the rules not only give "The Speaker" greater powers, and make expanding the National Debt easier but also made the rules "politically correct" right down to the statement saying that one gender means both genders. No more the "use of the masculine pronoun also means feminine."

Why does that matter? Who cares if it says his, hers, or "of the Sergeant-at-Arms?" Sure, it lengthens the rules document and hence means using more paper, but does it really change anything legally? In the manner that they did it, yes. There exists a significant difference, legally, between "a designee" and "his designee."

Possessive pronouns (his, her, their, its) have a distinctive definition that is cumbersome to replace in a politically correct "gender neutral" form such as "of the Representative" or "of the Chairman," make that "of the Chair." But the authors of the new rules were lazy and didn't always use that cumbersome language.

This is not simply nit-picking. It is the kind of thing that lawyers, (most of which our "Representatives" are) are paid to notice and exploit. I don't know for sure why the minority party voted against the new rules in unison, but I do know that the laziness of the authors of The Speaker's new found political correctness rules and power has significantly changed in a negative way.

Nor are the bills associated with House Vote 5 & 6 out yet, though again we find The Party voting lock step while the minority party seems to have voted on their opinions of the merit of the bills. The Republicans voted both for and against the later bills.

Tennessee Taylor©2009, TNT, all rights reserved

Defense Cuts? In a Time of War?

2008-12-12T08:52:00.000-08:00

The Party is showing its true colors. The far left is demanding their pound of flesh for hiding those colors long enough to get The Party elected.

The left leaning Center for American Progress released a blueprint for defense policy and force plans for the incoming Obama administration. The report calls defense spending "out of control" and calls for big cuts in weapons programs. http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/dodbuzz/~3/482001456/

And Reprehensible Murtha is leading the way:

Powerful Pennsylvania congressman Jack Murtha, chairman of the House Appropriations defense subcommittee, said the Pentagon must prepare for smaller budgets and that potential spending cuts will likely come from the personnel side.

http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/dodbuzz/~3/480996310/

We need a strong Representative to stand up to these far left members of The Party. The DNC has been taken over by the extreme; the Idealists of California, the Elitists of New York, and the Corrupt of Chicago. Murtha has demonstrated his disdain for small town America and for the Military, while clinging to his veteran status. He has forgotten whatever values the Marines managed to teach him.

But he is not the first of The Party to call for cuts to the Military in a Time of War. Reprehensible Frank led the charge before him, before the elections, before we sent him the support he needs to push it through, back to Congress.

" NEW BEDFORD — After the November election, Democrats will push for a second economic stimulus package that includes money for the states' stalled
infrastructure projects, along with help paying for healthcare expenses, food stamps and extended unemployment benefits, U.S. Rep. Barney Frank said Thursday.

In a meeting with the editorial board of The Standard-Times, Rep. Frank, D-Mass., also called for a 25 percent cut in military spending, saying the Pentagon has to start choosing from its many weapons programs, and that upper-income taxpayers are going to see an increase in what they are asked to pay."
http://www.southcoasttoday.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20081024/NEWS/810240332/-1/NEWS10

But these members of the extreme left wing cannot push through these measures without the support of The Party members, such as the Blue Dog Democrats, like Rep. Gordon.

I served in the Military during the Clinton years and I entered while there were still significant Veterans serving from the Carter years. I know how bad things were during those times. I, at times, spent my paycheck to buy equipment needed but not available because of budget cuts. Rucksacks and, even camouflage face paint, were simply unavailable. Training was cut back significantly. I fear the next four years will be worse, if we don't have a Representative willing to stand up to the extremes of The Party.

Clinton and Carter presided over a different time though. It was the perception of the Nation that we were not at war. It was perceived that the world was a safer place and we could make cuts in Defense. They cut it too far and they forced the Military to spend the money they did give on the wrong things. So, when Clinton called on the Military, they didn't have the tools they needed.

And when 9/11 was thrust upon us, when we finally no longer had the option of ignoring terrorism, Our Military did not have body armor, did not have armored HumVees, and faced an uphill battle. It took years to recover to the level of readiness required to win.

But we are at war now. We are spending less of our GDP on the Military now than we did when we won the Cold War. We have a smaller military, doing everything that is asked of them, no matter how stretched they are, no matter how great the sacrifice asked of them. This is not the time to cut personnel and equipment for the Military to do that job.

If there is one thing that the Federal Government is tasked to do, it is to provide for the United Defense of the States.

Representative Gordon: as a Veteran, as an American, as a Citizen, you must oppose this movement from within The Party. Our Congress can not return to pre-9/11 head in the sand mentalities. We are watching. The Common Sense Citizens of Middle Tennessee will not stand for putting Our Troops in the Unemployment lines while you try to salvage UAW salaries. We can not allow Our Military to be cut at the very time they are stretched thin, while they defend our freedoms in the deserts of Afghanistan and Iraq, while Murtha and Frank attack the good people of the small towns and the Marines that defend them.

Tennessee Taylor©2008, TNT, all rights reserved.

UAW Bailout - Technological Glitch

2008-12-11T11:33:00.001-08:00

Rep. Gordon has a stellar record of being present for and active in votes. Hence it was a surprise that he was recorded absent for last night's vote (see the entry below this one). He has clarified the issue:

Rep. Bart Gordon, D-Murfreesboro, intended to vote for the bill but said his
vote was not recorded because of a technical glitch. http://www.tennessean.com/article/20081211/NEWS02/812110342/1009/NEWS02

He seems to be confused about who Our Citizens work for. The Common Sense Citizens of Middle Tennessee have regularly rejected the UAW. We do not work for that Employment Corporation, because we understand that it strangles the industries that pay us.

He seems to believe that the Taxpayers of Tennessee should contribute to the $70k/year wages of the UAW in Michigan.

Here's an idea: If the UAW wants to salvage jobs, accept a pay and benefits package that allows the Big Three to compete. Before the UAW begs for money from the Good People of Gainsboro making on average, less than $40k/year, how about they share that $30k more a year they make with their fellow workers that would otherwise be laid off.

And what of the last bailout bill? We are now hearing the news: Banks that were forced to take Our Taxdollars (by the vote of Rep Gordon) are buying banks in China.

The UAW and Big 3 have already told us this is only their first round of begging for the Tax Dollars of Smyrna to prop up their wages and 95% Unemployment Benefits. They've already told us they'll be back to beg for more of Our Money.

State Governments are already getting in line to beg for loans from the loans of Congress that we must pay back with interest to China. Congress is implying that the Federal Government is better able to manage money than Corporations at the very time they are setting record deficits and record debts.

It is time to end this madness. It is time for Our Representatives to say NO to out of control spending, but it isn't their money. They don't mind borrowing more and spending more to keep their campaign dollars rolling in.

TNTaylor©2008, TNT, all rights reserved.

Recent Votes

2008-12-10T22:11:00.000-08:00

I can't blame him for being absent on this vote. The Chicago and Detroit Politicians demand a vote for the UAW from their membership. The People of Petersburg want more of their taxdollars spent in better ways. The UAW is threatening trickle down economics if their $70k/year paychecks are cut. Even the waitresses of Tennessee are targeted by the UAW ads.

Below are Barton Gordon’s most recent votes.

Go to the votes page for a complete list and vote feed/tracker.
Date
Vote
Vote Description

Dec 10, 2008 8:46 PM
Gordon: Absent
On Passage - House - H.R. 7321 Auto Industry Financing and Restructuring Act
Passed 237-170, 27 not voting

Dec 10, 2008 8:27 PM
Gordon: Absent
Amendment 1 to H.R. 7321
Agreed to 403-0, 30 not voting

Dec 10, 2008 6:12 PM
Gordon: Aye
On Passage - H.Res. 1534 Providing for consideration of H.R. 7321, to authorize financial assistance to eligible automobile manufacturers, and for other purposes
Passed 225-179, 29 not voting

Dec 10, 2008 5:53 PM
Gordon: Aye
On Ordering the Previous Question: H.Res. 1534 Providing for consideration of H.R. 7321, to authorize financial assistance to eligible automobile manufacturers, and for other purposes
Passed 225-180, 28 not voting

Dec 10, 2008 4:11 PM
Gordon: Aye
On Approving the Journal
Passed 215-170, 48 not voting

Nevertheless, the UAW Bailout Bill, aka Big 3 Bridge Loan, passed the House, in part because he didn't vote against it. Neither did he work with The Party to oppose it.

The Unrepentant UAW

2008-12-04T18:15:00.000-08:00

The UAW was back on Capital Hill today, again telling of their terrible woes, how they can barely live on $70,000+/year and how they needed money from the Good people of Gainesboro to survive the economic hard times.

They attempted to be repentant. They promised to give up their $65,000+ unemployment checks if the Members of Murfreesboro will give up their tax dollars to support their lavish incomes.

They even said they'd let their employers pay their benefits checks late to their bloated Employment Corporation, the UAW, if the Taxpayers of Tennessee would simply donate more of our paychecks. They complained it was unfair for us to look at their bloated paychecks and benefits packages as a source of the problem, that their wages alone only caused 10% of the prices we pay on trucks we love.

Sorry, Detroit, I don't buy your new found sacrifices. I don't buy into your impoverished 70k/year pity party. No, I will not let you bend the taxpayers over the barrel as you have the American Consumer for decades. I know it's a bad economy up there. The UAW and your politicians have strangled it.

Your example is what we need to avoid, Detroit. We need a Common Sense Citizen, not a party loyalist as Our Representative. We need someone that represents Our People, not their Corporate Constituencies. Our Representative must say no to this nonsense. Our Citizens should not prop up the paychecks of overpaid workers in Detroit, even if their executives are smart enough to drive hybrids the second time round of their begging.

TNTaylor©2008, Tennessee Taylor, all rights reserved.

Whose Money is it Anyway?

2008-12-03T10:19:00.000-08:00

The fact is that the eyes of the Citizens of Cannon County glaze over when Congress talks about Billions and Trillions of dollars. It's hard for us to conceptualize that amount of money and numbers can be boring to all but IRS agents and Accountants.

It's boring talk but necessary. I apologize that I delve into the numbers as often as I do. We're not talking about Monopoly Money, no matter how casually our Politicians through it around, no matter how easily they choose to spend another few billion dollars.

But whose money is it? It is Ours! It is collected from us by the IRS. It does not belong to politicians. It is not taken solely from the people of Belle Meade. It is paid for with your purchases at the Gas Station, the Home Furnishings Store, and the Corner Store, even when you don't see it.

It is not just what you see taken out of your paycheck, but also the part your employer pays the Government rather than you before you see your paycheck. It is what you pay for your groceries so Kroger can pay their corporate taxes. It is what you pay for milk that is paid to the IRS rather than the dairy farmer.

Of course the government requires money to operate. We elect Representatives to responsibly decide how to spend our money. Instead, the California Idealists and the New York Elitists have chosen to earmark our money to reward their supporters. They do so with the backscratching support of Tennessee Politicians.

They've created a perception that this money belongs to someone else. They've marketed federal spending as free money, but the real goal is to create dependency and buy votes and finances for their campaigns.

Our government needs to get out of the business of non-profits, real estate ventures, and bad investments. The role of the government is not to act as United Way but to provide for a united defense. There is not an unlimited supply of money, not in our paychecks and not from our paychecks. The authorized debt of the taxpayer, i.e. the Federal Debt, cannot continue to be raised with the vote of our politician in support of his Chicago taskmasters.

Big 3 Bailout?

2008-12-01T06:52:00.000-08:00

International Automakers continue to flock to the South even as the Big 3 sit before Congress asking for Southern Lawmakers to prop up their unprofitable practices. Having seen how successful the banking CEO's were in their "urgent" demands for cash, GM, Ford, & Chrysler figured they could sell their lemon with tales of doom and gloom as well.

They are asking that the Workers of White Co give their tax dollars to maintain the exorbitant benefits and wages attained by the UAW. Consider this from the UAW:

The tentative agreement, reached at 3:05 a.m. Sept. 26[2007], delivers solid economic gains for active and retired members, despite repeated attempts by
GM to impose harsh takeaways
The agreement will deliver more than $13,000 in economic gains for a typical UAW member, including a $3,000 signing bonus, two 3 percent lump sums and a 4 percent lump sum.
http://www.uaw.org/contracts/07/gm/index.php

GM has 252,000 Employees and the top 5 executives earn $7.68 Million alone. The 3 Automakers combine for 564,409 of the highest paid factory workers in the Nation. Two of them were recently on the news downplaying their salary, noting that they barely made more than $70,000 in their best year, before their additional benefits. There are college graduates and engineers making less money.

In the end, it is the American Consumer paying those salaries. Now they are asking the People of Petersburg to prop up those making twice as much as they are.

I am very much opposed to Politicians, Bureacrats, and Government dictating internal business practices unnecesarily, but before Lee Iacocca came begging for a Loan, he reduced his own salary to $1/year. When business asks for a loan, they must open the books, explain their plan for success, and demonstrate they know how to pay back that money. In a case like this, they must demonstrate that they've identified the means to cut back on costs.

The Big 3 still have not figured out the primary cause of their declining sales: products which cost twice as much without delivering greater quality. Before they can pay back the loans they're asking for, they have to return to profitability. Before they can make money, they must sell their cars for more than it costs to make them. They have continously asked us to pay more for their products, believing our loyalty to American business superceded our good financial sense.

The Big 3 are a story of personal greed at every level. They are like a rich uncle asking for a loan from a College Student working at McDonalds's to pay his own way through school.

If Congress wishes to create the Taxpayer Savings & Loan Corporation, Bad Debt Inc., then they need to be as discriminating as the Loan Officers of the Banks they bailed out. It was bad debt and rampant greed that got us into this mess. Changing the lien holder from private business to the US Taxpayer does not improve the situation.

General Motors Employees donated more than $232,000 to Political Campaigns in the 2008 election cycle. http://www.campaignmoney.com/finance.asp?type=io&cycle=08&criteria=General+Motors The GM Political Action Committee paid out more than $712,000 in political campaigns/donations, including to Representative Bart Gordan.

And the UAW PAC collected more than $8 Million and developed a war chest of $10 Million to influence our politicians: http://www.campaignmoney.com/political/committees/uaw-v-cap-uaw-voluntary-community-action-program.asp?cycle=08 Again we find Representative Bart Gordon on their list.

Will the investment made by the CEO's and Unions of Detroit in our Congressman pay off in a vote to prop up the exorbinant wages that strangle our ability to buy the cars we want with the hard work of our autoworkers in Smyrna? Or will our Representative resist the urge to serve his Corporate Constituency in Detroit in favor of the Taxpayers of Tennessee?

I want the Big 3 to survive and thrive as much as anyone, but I realize that in order for that to happen, they must cut their wasteful spending and tighten their own belt before they ask us to take on more debt to cover theirs. I don't want Congress mandating the wages paid and the means of transportation of private business, but the market, i.e. the consumers, have told them they're charging too much.

But that credit card we gave Congress is burning a hole in their pocket and they have more in common with the Big 3, Bankers, and Jet Set CEO's and their spending beyond their means than they do with the average worker of Woodbury.

TNTaylor©2008, Tennessee Taylor, all rights reserved.

The Next Stimulus Package?

2008-11-30T09:21:00.000-08:00

We cannot afford another "Emergency" Economic Stimulus Bill. Our Congress is acting like College Kids with a credit card we have to pay. Their "emergency" spending is out of control and approaching the amount that the government expects to collect in total tax revenue, before we even pay for the day to day operations of the government.

Drunken Sailors are more thrifty than Our "Representatives." At least Drunken Sailors stop spending when their pockets are empty or they pass out.

And at the same time Multi-Millionaire Executives of the Big Three are asking the hard workers of Tennessee that get paid on average less than $40,000/year to bailout the Employees of Detroit making twice as much. This is nothing short of greed. Before they ask the taxpayers of Tennessee to bail them out, they need to cut back on their own part of the stranglehold that may very well kill the Companies making the cars we love.

Before they reach into the pockets of our workers, they need to spend their own money. Their factory workers are making twice as much and more than the people they are asking to save them from their own excesses. And until, they cut back on their own wages from the top to the bottom, they have no business asking us to pad their wallets.

In less than 12 months, we are seeing the runaway spending of Congress add more than 20% to the Taxpayer Debt. We are seeing them hide it away in "Emergency" spending that adds more in debt than our Nation accumulated in its first 200+ years.

Supporting Evidence:
The Federal Government expects to collect $2.7 Trillion dollars in taxes in 2009 (which started for the government on October 1st, 2008).

Before any "Emergency" Spending bills, such as the CEO Bailout Bill and Economic Stimulus Bills, the 2009 Federal Budget calls for spending $3.1 Trillion.

We all know the Economy is struggling. We feel it. And I've already demonstrated that the average taxpayer paid $1232 plus interest to get that first stimulus check of $0 to $1200.

In October, Barney Frank, Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid, Barack Obama and Bart Gordon decided to add another $700 Billion to the Spending of the United States in order to bail out their CEO Constituency. They ignored us when we told them "No" and we were given no real option on the ballot of November 4th, 2008 to send Representative Gordon to retirement.

President-Elect Obama has proposed another $800 Billion in "Emergency" Economic Stimulus Bill and we don't know yet whether the Congressman from the 6th District will rubber stamp this move or not.

Those two bills would saddle us with $1.5 Trillion in un budgeted debt at the same time that Congress considers bailing out the Big 3 Automakers and is added to the debt incurred by the first Economic Stimulus Bill that cost us more than it gave us.

When combined with the request from the Big Three and the previous "Stimulus" bill, that's $1.8 Trillion in "Emergency" Spending against Revenues of $2.7 Trillion. And we add that to the $3.1 Trillion for day to day expenses in the 2009 Federal Budget. That's $4.6 Trillion in spending meaning an additional $2.1 Trillion in debt, this year alone.

Our Nation cannot afford to continue these "Emergency" spending bills. The Budget before the "Emergency" was already adding more in debt than it was paying in interest. There must be cuts in spending. Any Common Sense Citizen would understand that we can't spend twice as much as we make.

TNTaylor©2008, Tennessee Taylor, all rights reserved.

The 6th Amendment

2008-11-30T07:39:00.000-08:00

They wrote in plain English:

Amendment VI
In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the state and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the assistance of counsel for his defense.

Rarely do we see any attempts to undermine this right, though I would also relate this to the manners in which our 1st Amendment Rights are responsibly engaged.

As I mentioned in the article on the 1st Amendment, the Press tries our citizens in the Court of Public Opinion. We are the jury in that trial. The journalists play the role of prosecutors and defense and the editors act as the judges, determining what evidence, hearsay, or gossip is provided us.

There exist today objective news media and those that are little more than propaganda of a party, even to the extent of being propaganda of the enemy. See this article: http://waronterrornews.typepad.com/home/2008/11/the-power-of-the-propaganda-of-peace.html

We are fortunate in that smaller newspapers seem to be more likely to be responsible in their reporting. The larger the newspaper, the less likely it seems to be, to report without bias. But the 1st Amendment does not allow the media to break the law to achieve their financial success. The news media needs to reel in its members. They need to return to responsible reporting.

Unnamed sources should be avoided.
But, there exist two primary means by which this can be implemented: The first is the media returning to ethical standards. The second is the public abandoning those news media that engage in unethical standards. The NY Times and others are already feeling the financial crunch of the realization of the public of their lack of objectivity.

If it ever becomes necessary for legislation to police the press, due to a lack of self-policing, then Our Congressmen must tread very carefully, rationally, not emotionally, ensuring that their laws enhance rather than undermine Our Right to a Free Press. But, if we the people (and the jury) tell our Newsmedia that we expect responsible use of the powerful right to a Free Press, with our words and with our dollars, they will likely respond in a positive manner.

Hopefully, it never becomes necessary for legislation to become involved.

TnTaylor©2008, Tennessee Taylor, all rights reserved.

Happy Thanksgiving

2008-11-27T07:05:00.000-08:00

Among many things, I am grateful to be a Citizen of this Great Nation and to live here in Tennessee amongst some of Our Nations best Citizens.

A Simple Man

2008-11-25T06:46:00.000-08:00

"I've come to two decisions in life that I've carved in stone. One is that
the lowest form on animal on this planet is a child molester. The
other is that the only good terrorist is a dead terrorist."
-Charlie Daniels

I have to work like a dog to make ends meet.
And there's crooked politicians and crime in the street.
And I'm madder in hell and I ain't gonna take no more.
-I'm a Simple Man, Charlie Daniels

There seems to be something in the Middle Tennessee that allows us to see things more clearly than those of New York and Chicago. Perhaps it is that we're closer to nature. Perhaps it is that we live in harmony with trees and wildlife and they've taken up a life surrounded by concrete.

Perhaps, it is that we know our neighbors and help each other in times of adversity.

I've lived in the big city and I've lived in small towns, but it doesn't take much analysis to know that the politics of the big city are much different than the common sense of the small town.

It's not simply a difference between manufacturing and farming. It's a difference between self-reliance and dependence and a difference between responsibility and lack thereof. It's a difference between government interference and government dependency.

The Chicago Politicians have promised to close Guantanamo Bay, as if that piece of Caribbean beach could have committed crimes. The California Idealists have called for the move for years though they know that the allegations were proven false. The New York Elitists realize that the only cases of "waterboarding" occurred elsewhere against three of the most dangerous terrorists we captured, three terrorists directly involved with the 9/11 attacks.

I wonder if Guantanamo will be Obama's Panama Canal. Will he give away more of what we earned with the blood and sweat of our Troops? Will he give away what was given us for helping to give freedom to the Cubans in 1898?

Did you know that following the Spanish-American War, the Spanish asked us to annex Cuba? That the Cubans stipulated in their Constitution and in their treaty with us that we would rescue them from poor leaders?

In the last few weeks, the efforts of The Party of the last few years, has come to fruition. They have secured the release of Osama Bin Ladin's bodyguard and driver. They gave an enemy combatant the rights of American citizen even while they attempt to erode our own rights. They forced the courts to try a terrorist as they would a criminal. And though war criminals may be tried and held longer, combatants may be held until the cessation of hostilities, as per the Geneva Conventions.

Our Troops have risked life and limb to take terrorists off the streets. Our Troops have upheld the Laws of Land Warfare and the Geneva Conventions, despite fighting an enemy that tortures and beheads civilians. When the enemy has surrendered, their lives were spared. And now Congress and Chicago Politicians, using the Courts, have released these terrorists to kill again.

The Party of New York, Chicago and California is not the party of our fathers. It is not the party of Andrew Jackson. The man our forefathers volunteered to fight under, against the British, would not recognize the DNC of today. Old Hickory would not allow the likes of Pelosi, Reid, and Frank to claim his party.

But there is little chance that the rational members of The Party can reclaim it anytime soon. And until they do, we need to remove the rubber stamp members of our own State Delegation from Congress. For too long, our politicians have realistically believed that the letter behind their name guaranteed them their seat of power. They've taken our vote for granted.

Our politician has become a follower of Pelosi, not a leader reclaiming the honor of his party. If he won't stand up and tell the far left of New York, Chicago, and California "Enough" then we need to stand up and tell him "Enough!" We're sending a Common Sense Citizen to Washington.

Economic Development of Middle Tennessee

2008-11-24T09:48:00.000-08:00

As Tennessee struggles with 7.2% unemployment, politicians promise job growth plans. In Tennessee, the growth industry has become government jobs as highlighted in an earlier post.

There is certainly an impact on businesses and hence employment from government policies and the work of our elected officials. It can be positive or negative. It can strangle business development or help it to flourish.

The current crop of Congressional leaders has made promises to stick it to the man, to force Employers to spend more on each employee, while the President-elect promises 2.5 Million new jobs across the Nation. Though I'm sure we've all experienced an Employer we could not respect, an overbearing boss we didn't like, we must consider the realities.

That which effects our Employers effects how many employees they can and will hire or lay off. When we "stick it to the man," we are sticking it to our businesses and hence the employees of those businesses. We are shooting our selves in the foot when we support the slogans of politicians that undermine our businesses.

But, let's look at what we can do: Buy local whenever possible. When you make your purchases in the town square, it supports local business. It builds business in your town. As business grows, they add employees. And those business owners are your neighbors. As their business expands, they too increase their purchases, building other local business and employment.

But buying locally also increases the finances of our local government. A portion of the sales tax goes to our local governments. The more it brings in from the sales tax, the less it will have to pay for services with increased property taxes.

Buying local is a cycle that will improve your life by increasing employment near your home while decreasing your cost in gasoline to both shop and to work. It keeps our money close to home and increases the opportunity for you to take that step into business ownership.

But what can I do to help improve our economies and employment? I too can buy local and I do.

Though I am a common citizen as are you, I have to look forward to how I can positively effect employment and business, if elected. There are a lot of ifs in between me and that but it is prudent to begin the process. As such, I have sent an invitation to open a dialogue with our Chambers of Commerce. Not only do they have their finger on the pulse of the issues effecting our local businesses, but they are a key part of attracting new employers to our area.

The growth of industry and employment in Alabama is a demonstration of how elected officials can have a positive effect on economic development.

In Middle Tennessee, we have all of the right components to attract top notch employers and businesses. Our Chambers of Commerce continue to work towards the economic success of our citizens and businesses. We have hard-workers with good ethics. We have a strategic location.

Neither I, nor any politician, can realistically promise job growth of a specific number in a certain number of years. Economists may be able to predict job growth but politicians cannot guarantee it. Elected Officials can do much to encourage economic development, or to implement policies that stifle it.

It will be my policy to consult with those effected and experienced in their specialities when developing positions and legislation rather than ignoring those that have been performing in that arena for their entire life. That means consulting with the leaders of local business on things that effect the ability of our small businesses to grow. It means working with our local Chambers of Commerce when they are working to bring jobs to our area.

Government must be responsive to the governed. Representatives should be responsible to their constituents, not their Washington contributors.

An example of a time when our elected officials should be lending a hand to our Chambers of Commerce: http://www.t-g.com/story/1480400.html

The 5th Amendment

2008-11-23T12:25:00.000-08:00

It is important that we know the bounds placed on our Federal Government and local governments to ensure the freedoms and liberty of Our Citizens.

Amendment V
No person shall be held to answer for a
capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a grand jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the militia, when in actual service in time of war or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offense to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of
law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.

It is the 5th Amendment that seems to be misused today by the ACLU and far left to free those that would harm Our Citizens, those that make no distinction between attacks on Our Troops and the murder of Our Citizens. It protects us from Government Land Grabs.

The 5th Amendment protects Our Citizens from baseless accusations. It protects us from "double jeopardy," from prosecutors that might otherwise try us over and over for an allegation we've been proven innocent of. It does not afford protection to enemy combatants sworn to the murder of Our Citizens. It does not afford protection to enemy combatants captured on the field of battle.

Enemy Prisoners of War are afforded protections under the Geneva Conventions. They may be held until the cessation of hostilities, longer if they are convicted of War Crimes. Our Troops zealously uphold the Geneva Convention.

But our current class of politicians and the media which support them have led us to believe that a place can take on the character of a criminal, that somehow Guantanamo Bay is in itself denying the "Constitutional Rights" of an enemy unprotected by the Constitution and sworn to destroy it.

Our Enemies know they cannot defeat our Military on the battlefield but realize they can use our freedoms and rights against us. The enemy we fight on the battlefield is not our only enemy. They have found allies with other enemies. They have found allies in tyrants abroad and idealists in America.

The politicians of NY, CA, & Chicago have risen to power on an endorsement of defeatism, on the embracement of the idealism that war can be banished despite the realities of evil in this world. They have capitalized on the hope of the youth that violence can be banished.

And here in Tennessee, we must brace ourselves for the absolute power provided The Party led astray by Hillary, Pelosi, Reid, & Obama. We recognize that politicians of our own state empower and follow the far left leadership of New York elitists and California Radicals that hi-jacked a party which once represented the people.

We have only hope that our entire delegation to Congress will join the minority in opposing the wave of imposition of government into our lives. But hope alone is not enough. We will have to be vigilant not only to what Congress attempts to impose at the behest of a Chicago politician, but also if our own politicians rubber stamp those impositions on us.

Our Constitution guarantees the Rights and Freedoms of Our Citizens, not the enemies of Our Freedoms. Our Representatives need to display the Common Sense to realize they represent the American People, not the enemy.

Our Forefathers wrote in plain English. Our Congressmen should return to it.

Ground Zero of the Taylor Explosion

2008-11-23T09:14:00.000-08:00

Shortly after this exploratory campaign was born, I was asked for more information on me, the person. I explained it would come out in time, that the issues are more important than the people running, more important than either Bart Gordon or myself. This is about the people of Middle Tennessee, not the person sent to Washington. It is about whether we send a Representative or a Politician to Congress.

To know who oneself, one must also know their history and the history of their family. And that history is the history of Middle Tennessee.

I spent much of the weekend reviewing the latest work, A Few More Taylors, 2003,
of Ms. Ardis Taylor of North Dakota. She devoted decades of her life to objectively ferreting out the family history of her husband Harve and some of her favorite stories come from Middle Tennessee.

Ms. Ardis has published 4 books over the decades, including Taylor Legends, William Taylor Sr., & On the Taylor Trail at least two of which are over 400 pages. Whether a history buff or a family member, these are great books that tell the history of the family and the area.

There are comedies and tragedies in our trails. She noted the Southern Grace in her travels here, whether that of Thomas Webb, civil servant who opened his home during the Jamboree, or my relatives inviting her in to sit a spell for some tall tales of Taylors long gone. She was able to dispel myths and learn legends.

It is the story of America and DeKalb County is "Ground Zero of the Taylor Explosion." About 1806, my ancestors arrived at Indian Creek and Sink Creek, down in the hollers where few would bother them. It wasn't long until David Taylor was asked to be the constable, and accepted. It had only been a few decades since many of the same Taylors had likely fought with Colonel Francis Marion, made famous a few years ago in the movie, The Patriot, with Mel Gibson.

It appears that this was the 5th, 6th & 7th Generation of Taylors seeking out a new frontier that arrived in today's DeKalb County.

When Andrew Jackson called for Troops, so many Taylors answered the call that it is still difficult to discern which John Taylor fell prey to disease on the way home from the Battle of New Orleans and which one survived another 5 years.

And Tennessee proved to be at the center of the Civil War. Taylors volunteered or were drafted to both sides of the Conflict to the tune of 1,028 from Tennessee alone, 200 to the Union and 828 to the Confederacy. http://www.itd.nps.gov/cwss/soldiers.cfm That's quite significant when we realize there were only 1,003,000 residents of Tennessee at the time. Many members of the family had moved to Illinois and 848 Taylors were added to the rolls of the Union there.

The decision as to which side had little to do with slavery. The Tennessee Taylor ancestors had turned against the practice before the Nation fought for independence.

Tennessee continues to be at the center of Common Sense and the center of Our Nation and Taylors continue to be a reflection of Tennessee. We generally prefer to provide the hard labor, food, and protection of the Nation, rather than to stand in the spotlight of political life.

We prefer to lead progress rather than stand in its way. Though it seems most of our ancestral land now lies below the lakes of the TVA, I have yet to find protests of Taylors in that loss of land. The land of Indian Creek is under the Western parts of Center Hill Lake and it appears that Sink Creek is under the same waters in Southeastern DeKalb County.

Meanwhile the land granted our Ancestors along Cold Water Creek in Elbert County, Georgia following the War for Independence seems to be under another lake created by the TVA.

But a family cannot grow this big and contribute for so long without some notables attaining their claim to fame. Long dispelled as myth, there may now be some credibility to the stories of a distant relationship to not only President Zachary Taylor but also President James Madison. And it seems that Johnny Cash is a very distant cousin.

And these relations go back to the earliest of Taylors here in the New World, back to when George Taylor arrived around 1635, from Cumberland County, England to Virginia, the frontier of the day. We are not a perfect family, but we are an American family. It seems a distant Uncle of the Tennessee Taylors inspired the first divorce in the Colonies.

We are a Tennessee family. We include as cousins Meltons, Jennings, Smiths, Brewers, Hights, Morgans, Womacks, Johnsons, Lumpkins, and Selfs, though I haven't found any Gores or Gordons. Chances are that if you turn over enough rocks in your family tree, you'll find a Taylor.

Reverend Rowland Taylor may or may not be related to us, but he certainly demonstrated the independent streak of standing up for his beliefs when he took on the Catholic Church in 1555 and preached from the Bible given him by his wife's Uncle William Tyndale. And though William Taylor, Sr of Virginia and Tennessee, may have been one of the early Baptists, Rev. Brookings Taylor spread the word in the Christ Church.

When the Nation calls, we continue to volunteer. When Our Neighbors or Family are in need, we lend a hand. We believe in Life, Liberty, and Pursuit of Happiness. We believe in Self-Determination in Faith as well as Life. We may not agree with the choices of others, but we believe they should be free to choose their own path and reap the rewards or risk the failures of their endeavors.

We are Independent in nature, though our names are listed on the rolls of the Democrats and the Republicans. We prefer Common Sense to book smarts. We prefer Farmers to Lawyers. We prefer Representatives to Politicians. We prefer Charities to Government Handouts. We'd rather be the one giving a hand up than the one receiving a handout, because next time it may be us that needs a helping hand.

We'd rather get less money for an honest day's work than more money for sitting around. But we need a Representative, instead of a Politician, to lead Our Congress back to the Common Sense our forefathers founded this Nation on.

TNTaylor©2008, Tennessee Taylor, all rights reserved.

An Open Dialogue

2008-11-23T08:07:00.000-08:00

From Shelbyville:

TNTaylor nice website, good information to see from someone. I like to see open dialogue and it shows you being proactive. Very nicely worded. Wish you had a better design though; the content is good though.

Thank you for the input. We are at the beginning stages of this effort and I do put great emphasis on hearing from the Citizens of Our District. Our next representative should be reflective of us, in character, on the issues, and in his thinking. This website should likewise be reflective of us.

As this transforms from an exploratory nature into a viable campaign, the website itself will evolve. I welcome all to weigh in on the features that will make it most useful to you.

Viability: There is little potential for outspending the incumbent. He is the best financed member of the House from Tennessee. His campaign war chest begins at $1 Million as he had little need to campaign at all in 2008.

For this bid to be viable, the People of Petersburg, the Taxpayers of Trousdale, the Citizens of Cannon and Cookeville must speak out. For this to move forward, the issues and ideas published here need to be embraced by my fellow citizens.

I am asking not for your hard earned dollars to finance a campaign. I am asking for something more important. I am asking for your input into the issues. I am asking that if you like the content, you pass it on to others.

If our citizens are to take back Congress, as is their Constitutional right, it will be at the grass roots level. We have entered a new age of technology, which allows for greater responsiveness to, greater input from, and greater discussion with the Represented and the Representatives.

It is time to put a Common Sense Citizen in Congress. It is time for a Responsive Representative that reflects our people.

TNTaylor©2007-2008, Tennessee Taylor, all rights reserved.

The 3rd Amendment

2008-11-19T14:11:00.000-08:00

The dialogue is beginning to open and I'm happy to answer your desires and questions.

A reader emails:

"First off, what happened to the 3rd amendment....I can't for the life of me
remember what it concerns. I only noticed you hit 1, 2 and then 4."

This is a reasonable question. The 3rd Amendment is also important but does not in any way seem to be in jeopardy:

Amendment III
No soldier shall, in time of peace be
quartered in any house, without the consent of the owner, nor in time of war,
but in a manner to be prescribed by law.

The last time the 3rd Amendment really came into play was during the Civil War, when the homes of our Ancestors were used by both sides of the Conflict. And that is the reason why it is addressed so seldom that we don't immediately recall its subject.

The reader goes on:

"Earmarks.....I am confused on these. More to the point, I am confused on
how the examples you gave directly impact TN.... I sure as heck don't want money
from my state being diverted to and used by NYC!!!"

I don't want my money being sent to NYC lobbyists either!

Earmarks are designed to be confusing. Some are straightforward and beneficial but others only appear to be either. The primary purpose of earmarks is to "bring the money back home" and they are only viewed as pork when the money is going elsewhere.

The problem arises in that for Middle Tennessee to get back 87 cents of our taxpayers money, Our "Representatives" also have to support the earmarks of their colleagues. It impacts Tennessee in that of the $119.62 of the average taxpayers money spent in earmarks, we only get 87 cents back. No matter how noble the cause we spend that 87 cents, it costs us $119.62 to get it.

The solution is to end ALL earmarks. If a spending bill cannot be passed on its own, it should not be attached to bills that have little to do with it.

The solution is to return governance to the lowest effective levels possible. Our Federal Government has overstepped its Constitutional bounds in several areas. The reason is the addiction to power. The more things controlled at the Federal Level, the more taxes it must collect, and the more power the Government has. But the more taxes collected by the Federal Government, the less there is available from the taxpayer to fund our local and state governments and to fund our charities of choice.

But our local governments are more efficient and more responsive to us. We have greater power at the local level because our vote is one of thousands rather than one of hundreds of millions. We can meet and know our mayors and council members.

But before we can return the Constitutional powers to our state and local governments, we must vote in members of Congress that will reduce rather than increase the power grabbing ways of the Federal Government.

How do Earmarks to New York, California, & Chicago effect the Taxpayers of Tennessee? Those earmarks are the price paid to get the earmarks for Tennessee. Those earmarks are paid for with YOUR tax dollars because our "Representatives" voted for them in return for their support of our 87 cents.

They effect us because we are paying less in Interest on the Debt than we are adding to the National Debt. And each of these earmarks are adding to the National Debt and hence to the interest we must pay on the debt every year. We have to cut spending and a moratorium on earmarks is a good place to start.

The People of Tennessee would be benefited by reducing Federal spending by their portion of the $119.62 in all earmarks even though we would still lose our 87 cents in earmarks. We would be better served by $119.62 less in Federal taxes and $8.70 more in State taxes. We would have ten times the funding for the same programs for 7.3% of the cost. We would have greater control over the money taxed from our hard work.

And hopefully this Common Sense Citizen can better communicate this but any time there is confusion, please feel free to ask. I know the numbers can be boring and I do wonder how many of those numbers our Congressmen actually look at before they commit you to pay them. They are simply nickel and diming us into bankruptcy but their generosity with our money knows few bounds when their Corporate Sponsors hold out their hands.

Spending Your Money!

2008-11-18T15:22:00.000-08:00

Earmarks come at a cost. To get those earmarks that make one popular for bringing the money home, you have to give to others that wish to build their popularity at home. "You scratch my back or I won't scratch your back."

Never let it be said Our Tennessee Representatives are not generous.

We are sending money to the Abyssinian Development Corporation in Harlem. http://earmarks.omb.gov/2008-earmarks/earmark_347446.html Congress sent $143,000 to the Corporation. Nickels and Dimes in comparison to what we pay in interest alone on the National Debt, but is it really the best use of our money when we borrow more money than we pay in interest?

True, that amount won't cover the organizations lobbyist expenses http://www.nyc.gov/lobbyistsearch/search?client=Abyssinian+Development+Corporation but when rich Senators like Hillary Clinton and Chuck Schumer have the power to make the Taxpayers of Tennessee pay, why would they dip into their own pockets to fund the millions it costs to run an organization that has tens of millions of dollars in NY real estate? http://www.adcorp.org/fh2005.pdf

A Non-Profit Organization like that needs money to help offset the $180,000 they paid to lobby for a Speedway on Staten Island, New York and to lobby HUD to return their status. Or was it to help fund the $30,000 lobbyist bill to get the Medicaid rates changed by the Office of Management & Budget? Or the money they needed to pay lobbyists to the Fire Marshall's office?

No, none of these were listed as justification by the Senators, but the Lobbyist bills for ADC are 12 pages long and in the Millions and we are footing the bill, because for MTSU to get 87 cents of your taxdollars back, our delegation is spending $119.62 for their NY taskmasters and others that demand a toll for projects like this one.

With $7.76+ Million dollars in rental income classified as Section 8, they need money to lobby the HUD to keep their government money rolling in.

And that is why we need to send a Common Sense Congressman from Tennessee to say "NO!" The Citizens of Celina should not be forced to pay for Multi-Million dollar projects in New York nor for the lobbyists that get them approved by NY City Commissioners.

TNTaylor©2008, Tennessee Taylor, all rights reserved

Tax & Spend

2008-11-17T11:12:00.000-08:00

Did we send Representatives to Congress or did we give a Credit Card to a College Kid?

There are 303,824,640 American Citizens as of July 2008 according to the CIA Factbook. An estimated 45.4% of Americans are taxpayers. An estimated 20.1% are under 15 and another 12.7% are over 64. Though 153,100,000 Americans are capable of entering the workforce, only about 137,936,400 Citizens are paying for the operation of our government.

So, when we start dividing up the cost of Congress' Spending Sprees, it's not the cost per citizen but the cost per taxpayer. The Federal Government collects $9,000 per citizen but of that only $5,749.00 is noticeable (Federal Withholding, 1/2 of Social Security and 1/2 of Medicare Taxes). The rest comes in hidden taxes, in higher costs of goods (Corporate taxes, Excise Taxes, Tariffs, Gasoline Taxes, Death Taxes, and Tobacco Taxes are all passed on to consumers.)

But it's much worse than that.
The Federal Government collects $19,911.50 per Taxpayer. The Federal Legislature spends $22,475.95 per Taxpayer. In other words, each taxpayer adds $2,564.45 in debt in 2009. Where does your money go?

$19,911.50 taxes per taxpayer to the Government
$22,475.95 spent per taxpayer by Congress.
$ 1,885.08 paid on Debt Interest.
$ 4,668.82 Social Security
$ 3,698.23 DoD: The Defense of the Nation
$ 2,957.89 Medicare
$ 1,623.93 Medicaid (partially matched by state funds)
$ 2,609.90 Unemployment & Welfare payments
$ 1,232.55 paid out for Economic Stimulus Bill (the check for $300 to $1,200 you received.)
$ 1,052.66 GWOT
$ 510.38 Dept of Health & Human Services
$ 429.18 Dept of Education
$ 324.79 Veterans' Administration
$ 279.11 HUD
$ 277.66 State Department/Diplomacy
$ 272.59 Homeland Security
$ 181.24 Dept of Energy
$ 150.79 Dept of Agriculture
$ 147.17 Justice Department (FBI/Attorney General)
$ 127.60 NASA
$ 90.62 Dept of Treasury (Money Counters)
$ 34.07 Legislative Branch
(and other Departments such as the EPA, Department of Labor, etc.)

Hidden in the figures above are "earmarks." Earmarks are specific spending that may or may not have anything to do with the Department to which it is budgeted. A classic example is the money in the Emergency Defense spending bill earmarked for New Orleans and other domestic spending. While it may or may not have been warranted spending, it was not Defense and should not be labeled as part of the DoD budget.

There were 2,275 earmarks on the DoD budget for $7.8 Billion. While these are added to the official costs of defending our Citizens, our Economy, and our way of life, they don't necessarily have anything to do with Defense.

There were 11,524 earmarks costing $16.5+ Billion in 2008 and much of the popularity of Representative Gordon came from his earmarks for Middle Tennessee, but our entire delegation was only able to garner $120.6 Million in Tennessee earmarks.

To get these goodies, Our Congressmen must support the earmarks of others. For the $119.62 per taxpayer in Earmarks, Tennessee received back $0.87 per taxpayer.

Meanwhile, the People of Petersburg have been forced to help pay the $192,000 to the Academy for Urban School Leadership in Chicago, IL as earmarked by Rep Rahm Emanuel, proposed Chief of Staff to Barack Obama. http://earmarks.omb.gov/2008-earmarks/earmark_253022.html

And though Auburntown residents will be forced to Beg for Cannon County to get back funds they paid in, another $192,000 was earmarked for an afterschool program at the ABC Unified School District in Cerritos, CA. http://earmarks.omb.gov/2008-earmarks/earmark_253021.html

Congress has become like a teenager with their first credit card, a card they don't have to pay. While everyone would like to have such a card, the taxpayers of Tennessee have to pay the bill. We have to reel in the spending habits of the children we have sent off to Washington.

Was that Stimulus Check you received really worth $1232.55? And you'll be paying the interest for decades to get that check. It costs the taxpayer a lot of money to send our money to Washington, a lot more than we get back after the bureacrats are paid to collect it, to count it, to process it and then to hear our local civil servants beg for some of it to come back.

And that $2609.90 in Unemployment & Welfare you're paying would equal $38,547.61/year for 9,339,100 Americans that were not working. I don't know anyone getting a $741.30 week Unemployment check so that money is going elsewhere. About 2/3rds of that is going elsewhere.

Now, I'm not an accountant. I'm just a Tennessee Veteran that knows a little math, but I do know that we can't afford to keep adding to our debt and hence our interest payments. I do know that it isn't financially responsible to keep adding to what the taxpayer is forced to pay. I know we have to cut spending.

Any Common Sense Congressman would understand this. A Common Sense Congressman would stand against the Waste of Washington. A Common Sense Congressman would recognize that it is a poor return on investment to pay $119.62 for an 87 cent paycheck.

TNTaylor©2008, Tennessee Taylor, all rights reserved.

The 4th Amendment & FISA

2008-11-15T12:00:00.000-08:00

There are often very emotional arguments made about this Right.

Amendment IV
The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

The question arises as to how to protect Our Citizens from criminals, terrorists, and from "big brother." Our Military and Law Enforcement are professionals that respect the Rights of Our Citizens. When one of their own do not uphold their values, the damage to their reputations is paralleled by the damage done that citizen.

But abuses do occur on occasion and in those instances, they deserve the same rights of presumption of innocence until proven guilty and a fair trial. The reaction from their former colleagues is likely to be greater than that from outside the community.

The events of the Murrah Building bombing and of 9/11 brought terrorism to our shores. While these are the most known and largest incidents of attacks against the American People by enemies previously little known to our people, they are not the first nor the last attacks against the citizenry.

Many of our leaders had ignored a threat that refused to be ignored. Osama had declared war on us twice including in 1998 but his threat was ignored.

A colleague was called to a Counter-Terrorism conference following 9/11. Top members of many agencies were there and asked: "Why are they suddenly attacking us?" My colleague responded that there was nothing sudden about it, but that they had ignored the attacks on our diplomats and Troops for decades. He reminded them of the USS Cole, the Iranian Hostage Crisis, the Beirut Bombings & Kidnappings, the attacks on our Embassies in Kenya & Tanzania and more.

Congress formed The 9/11 Commission which identified many holes in our security & intelligence fields. And even as one of the best example of bi-partisanship in Congress was assembling their findings, the Intelligence and Law Enforcement communities were already taking actions to overcome the shortfalls.

One important thing that came out of this was FISA. Much has been said about it but when it came time to review it in Congress, they instead interrogated Roger Clemens about whether or not he was at a party ten years ago and why there was blood on his pants in an elevator one day a decade ago.

The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act is of great importance to our security but has the potential for abuse of the 4th Amendment. Logic and Common Sense in accordance with the Bill of Rights should dictate the debate, not emotional partisanship and slogans. Our Representatives have a sworn duty to uphold the Constitution while also providing the ability of Our Military, Law Enforcement, & Intelligence communities to protect us from those that desire to harm our people.

Rather than waste taxpayer dollars with investigations that should be conducted by Law Enforcement, Congress should have been ensuring that FISA protected Americans' 4th Amendment rights without alerting terrorists to surveillance. FISA legislation was necessary because the Administration of the 90's had made it near impossible to prevent an attack that the FBI knew was being planned. FISA provided for judicial review of cases for surveillance of terrorists.

FISA in part says:

‘SEC. 702. PROCEDURES FOR TARGETING CERTAIN PERSONS OUTSIDE THE UNITED STATES OTHER THAN UNITED STATES PERSONS.
‘(a) Authorization- Notwithstanding any other provision of law, upon the issuance of an order in accordance with subsection (i)(3) or a determination under subsection (c)(2), the Attorney General and the Director of National Intelligence may authorize jointly, for a period of up to 1 year from the effective date of the authorization, the targeting of persons reasonably believed to be located outside the United States to acquire foreign intelligence information.
‘(b) Limitations- An acquisition authorized under subsection (a)--
‘(1) may not intentionally target any person known at the time of acquisition to be located in the United States;
‘(2) may not intentionally target a person reasonably believed to be located outside the United States if the purpose of such acquisition is to target a particular, known person reasonably believed to be in the United States;
‘(3) may not intentionally target a United States person reasonably
believed to be located outside the United States;
‘(4) may not intentionally acquire any communication as to which the sender and all intended recipients are known at the time of the acquisition to be located in the United States; and
‘(5) shall be conducted in a manner consistent with the fourth amendment to the Constitution of the United States.

And makes provisions for surveillance if warranted, while requiring a Court Order:

‘SEC. 703. CERTAIN ACQUISITIONS INSIDE THE UNITED STATES TARGETING UNITED STATES PERSONS OUTSIDE THE UNITED STATES.
‘(a) Jurisdiction of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court-
‘(1) IN GENERAL- The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court shall have jurisdiction to review an application and to enter an order approving the targeting of a United States person reasonably believed to be located outside the United States to acquire foreign intelligence information, if the acquisition constitutes electronic surveillance or the acquisition of stored electronic communications or stored electronic data that requires an order under this Act, and such acquisition is conducted within the United States.

I will not tell you that FISA is perfect, but if you wish to read the entire bill, you can find it here: http://www.govtrack.us/congress/billtext.xpd?bill=h110-6304

It is of great importance that Our Rights be protected while we walk that fine line between protecting our Nation and our Citizens from threats and protecting our Citizens from abuses of power. This is one of the many reasons we pay Our Representatives; to closely examine laws proposed by politicians. This is the reason we must be carefully examine the character and trustworthiness of those to whom we give our votes.

This is the reason Members of Congress swear to uphold the Constitution. It is disparaging that so many that sit in their seats are more interested in their Party, retention of Power, and blatant Partisanship, rather than the business of Our Nation.

But if Americans are going to regain their rightful place in governance, it will be one seat of Congress at a time. It will be through voting in those that take their oaths to heart. We, in Middle Tennessee do not have the opportunity to vote out Senator Reid, Representative Frank or Speaker Pelosi, but we do have the opportunity to put a Common Sense Citizen in Congress, a Veteran that will work against further erosion of the Constitution, that will oppose the radical leadership of California and Chicago.

Job Creation & Government

2008-11-14T14:06:00.000-08:00

When the economy turns south, the people look for someone to blame. When a worker is laid off, they want to know what caused them to take back from the Unemployment Insurance (tax) they paid into through their employers. In such times as these we often blame the government but what is the government's role in job creation?

Congress does have the ability to influence the economy and governments do have a role in creating an environment that will create jobs. And in times like these, we see examples of not only the natural cycle of economies, but also how governments effect those cycles.

There are basically two things a government can do to spur an economy, as taught me by my Economics Professor: Spend More or Tax Less.

In September, the Nation saw unemployment rates hold steady at 6.1% while Tennessee saw rates jump to 7.2% and Alabama rates declined to 4.9% in August. Meanwhile Michigan is very different and experiencing harder times with an 8.7% unemployment rate. http://www.milmi.org/

http://news.tennesseeanytime.org/node/422:

“The downturn in the national economy is affecting all states,” said Commissioner Neeley. “Tennessee, like the rest of the nation, is experiencing job losses across all industries. There were some small gains in education and health services and local government education jobs.”

The business survey shows August-to-September gains in government employment, increasing by 10,700.

http://governorpress.alabama.gov/pr/pr-2008-09-23-01-navistar_engine-photo.asp:

The Governor (Riley) also noted in his remarks that Alabama was one of only five states in the nation that saw its unemployment rate drop last month. The state’s August unemployment rate stood at 4.9 percent, while the national rate increased to 6.1 percent.

Tennessee and Alabama are not significantly different regionally nor in our workers, but there is a profound difference in the number of workers employed. The difference between our states is the manner in which our governments approach job creation. Governor Bob Riley has aggressively sought to attract business to his state and created an environment friendly to new businesses. Governor Bredesen has added more government workers.

Economies are driven by workers and consumers, and their perceptions and emotions. Investors attempt to predict the emotions of consumers on the Stock Market and create perceptions and emotions that drive the market.

But financial hardships are very real. We feel them as we pay our monthly bills. Investors feel them when they are on the wrong side of the mad herd called Wall Street. Politicians capitalize on those emotions and/or realities at the ballot box.

In Tennessee, we have great workers and thrifty consumers. Our people are not the problem. The problem is that our politicians have played on our emotions to legislate financial irresponsibility.

The Party told us we were "racists" for expecting banks to make good loans that could be repaid. The Party told us we were "uncaring" for expecting our neighbors to manage their finances and pay their own bills and only buy things they could afford. The Party told us we were "unpatriotic" to not want to pay more taxes. The Party told us that they would make our tax invisible to us by making the Corporations pay it before they passed on those costs to us.

The Party is wrong about us. Tennesseans are Generous, Responsible, and Hard-Working. We are Patriotic and Self-Reliant. When adversity hits our neighbors, we help, but when financially irresponsible politicians demand more money from our sweat, we tell them "No."

Why are Foreign Automakers moving their plants to Alabama and are Automakers successful in Tennessee while General Motors, Chrysler, and Ford seem to withering on the vine in Michigan? The Michigan government has created an environment hostile to business while the Alabama government has created one conducive to business. As a result, taxes are lower in the South, employment is higher and businesses continue to seek out places with good workers to employ.

I do hope that General Motors, Ford and Chrysler survive their hard times. I own or have owned products from each of them. But the outlook is dismal. They are being strangled by their inability to reduce costs. And I can not justify spending twice as much on a truck than my father paid for the house I grew up in.

Taxes effect us whether Congress hides them or not. We pay them either in higher costs at the cash register or decreased income from our employers. The answer in these trying economic times is not more taxes. The answer is not more government spending. We know best what to spend our hard earned money on.

And while it may seem fitting to stick "the corporations" with more taxes, it not only gets paid by workers and consumers, but reduces incentives for employers to open new factories and offices, reducing employment and hence paychecks. The Job Creation role of government must take into account the competition of other governments to attract employers.

And when our politicians tell us to add a Trillion dollars to our debt to bailout the economy, we must ask them whether we are bailing out CEO's and their multi-million dollar golden parachutes, or the workers. And when a politician votes for a CEO bailout as did the Representative of the 6th district, against Our Will, we have a right to an explanation as to why our hard earned money should be given to fat executives to spend on resorts. And when we find that explanation lacking, we have a right to change Our Representative to Congress.

If we continue along the path we are on, government will continue to grow. It is already the largest growth sector in our State economy. We do not wish to have a choice between a government job or a government handout, but that is the direction our politicians are taking us.

TNTaylor©2008, Tennessee Taylor, all rights reserved.

Immigration

2008-11-13T07:36:00.000-08:00

This Nation was built on Immigrants. The hardiest men and women of the world crossed the oceans to achieve great success in a Nation that limited their achievements only by their own imagination, hard work, and ambition. They proudly shed their former loyalties and embraced Our Nation, Our Language, & Our Ideals.

And it was Teddy Roosevelt who noted a rising issue: "There are no hyphenated Americans. You are either an American or you're not."

Our ancestors came to the Tennessee Valley to achieve even greater opportunity with less government interference and more self-determination.

The world of today is different than the day of Davy Crockett. We have, because of our great freedoms, become a highly successful Nation. Much of the world still desires to come to our shores. Today, we have an estimated 18-21 Million Illegal Immigrants in our Nation and The Party in Power is doing nothing to stem the flow, nothing to send them home. On the contrary, they seem to be doing everything to encourage more.

This is not a question of racism. These illegals may be primarily Hispanic, but also included are Europeans, Arabs, Asians & Africans and even Canadians. Many are hard working members of our workforce, but they are illegal.

Our immigration policy can not be enforced while we have no means to control who comes here. We should still welcome the best and brightest to our Nation. We should still welcome the ambitious that wish to pledge their allegiance to our freedoms and Our Nation, but we must be selective. We need not accept those that would do us harm nor those that wish to turn our Nation into their failed state.

Our immigration policy must be responsive to Our Needs. It should not allow for entire industries to be overtaken and put Americans on the unemployment rolls. When we have more workers than jobs, Immigration must be curtailed. When we have more jobs than Americans, we should be selective.

Illegal Immigration must be stopped before we can even have an immigration policy. We must build the Southern Fence because that is from where the flood is coming. And with ambitious, hard working Latinos also come drug runners and criminals. Our Law Enforcement Officers should be encouraged to send back those they find, not restricted from reporting their presence during the commission of crimes.

At a time of economic downturn, The Party in Power has chosen to give CEO's a Trillion Dollars but has steadfastly refused to pay for controlling our Borders. Congress believes they can fool the American People. They commit the Nation but withhold the funds. We have seen this as they sent Our Military to Iraq and then attempted to blackmail Our Nation by withholding the budget for tools and people the General needed. We have seen this in their approval of the Fence but not the funds to build it.

The fringes of the extremes control The Party in Power. Harry Reid, Nancy Pelosi & Barack Obama have not only the reins of Government but the Whip to keep their membership in line. The Party of Kennedy is not the Party of Obama. When Our Forefathers embraced the DNC, it was very different than it is today.

The New York Elitists, California Idealists, and Chicago Politicians are firmly in control of The Party in Power and continue to roadblock prevention and enable illegals. Given their resistance to Voter Registration and Identification while they enable Illegal Immigration, I question their motives particularly in the aftermath of ACORN allegations. As one Middle Tennessee Resident observed, some in the lines could not even understand the questions of a reporter about the election, because they didn't speak English.

The Party in Power roadblocks Border Security and Election Integrity while promoting CEO bailouts and Illegal Immigrant use of our taxpayer money. They investigate Baseball Parties while ignoring National Security.

Our Congress is out of control and it is time we sent a Common Sense Veteran, a true Representative of the People of Middle Tennessee to remind them of what this Nation was built on, a Common Sense Citizen that understands why so many wish to come here.

It is time that Our Federal Government got back to National Business rather than Baseball Parties, propping up the golden parachutes of failed CEO's, and enabling Illegals. It is time that the American People again attained their rightful place in governance.

The Power of Your Vote

2008-11-12T15:50:00.000-08:00

Many Registered Voters did not vote in 2008. In Macon County, more than 6400 (46%) people chose to stay home rather than cast a vote for anyone this year. In Putnam county 4,704 people that took the time to vote, refused to vote for Congressman. Another 14,653 registered voters decided they had better things to do, meaning 45.7% of those that could vote chose not to vote for Congressman.

I'm not sure I completely blame them. The results seemed obvious before we went to the ballot box. There was no real opposition to Gordon, the polls showed Obama would win despite our desires, and Lamar Alexander had all the support he needed to return.

Turnout across the district was higher than ever, with 193,854 citizens turning out to vote for at least one candidate, but we have more than 450,000 adults in the district. Does your vote really count? Yes, it does.

It counts less when compared to the millions voting for President than it does in choosing Our Senators and more when choosing Our Representative to the House than the Senator of Tennessee. And though we had little choice in 2008, we will have a real choice in 2010. Though there will likely be fewer voters when the highest office chosen is between Rep Gordon and myself, it counts more.

But even more important are the lower levels of government. You are much more likely to know your Mayor than your President. Your vote has more power when choosing your Councilman than your Congressman. Your opinion has more weight and hence more influence the lower the level of government.

While I wish to hear your opinions, issues, and concerns, I urge you to get to know the positions of all that ask you to trust them to govern. It is not enough to know the letter behind their name. I urge you to vote for the best person for the job, the one you trust most to represent your concerns, particularly in your local elections.

And we must also consider the most effective level of government for all roles of government. Clearly, some things can only be done at the Federal Level, such as Our National Defense, but do we want California and New York involved in Our Schools? Do we want our hard-earned tax dollars paying for ACORN and the politicization of Chicago Schools?

If I must choose between tax money sent to Washington or sent to Nashville, I'll choose Nashville. If I must choose between tax money sent to Nashville or Gainsboro, I'll choose Gainsboro. Why? You have more control over the Gainsboro Government and how it spends its money than you do over Washington. Local Elections are important, more important than many realize. There are fewer middlemen between you and your city budget than you and the national budget.

Government must be returned to the lowest level that can govern. The governed have the most power at the lowest level. Our federal government is out of control and that is why we must send a Common Sense Congressman to Washington. But we must also vote in the best members of our communities to every level of government.

No longer should we allow our politicians to believe that their party membership means an automatic return to power. We do have a choice in the next election and I hope that every eligible voter goes to the ballot box and casts ONE vote for the person they trust most. I hope to earn your trust in the upcoming two years and that having earned your trust, that you will find it worth your time to go to the ballot box and cast your vote.

I can not tell you to or expect you to trust me. It must be earned. I will not claim to be an honest politician. I am reluctantly running for political office and I trust neither a person who has to tell me they are honest nor a politician that tells me to trust them. Honesty is proven daily in awkward situations and trust is proven daily in things that might not otherwise be known.

But, investigate your choices in representatives to all levels of government. Register to vote and do so.

Education & Experience

2008-11-12T14:03:00.000-08:00

There is no substitute for Experience. No amount of education can substitute for the knowledge gained from doing.

A truly enlightening time in my life was my experience in Africa. It taught me lessons on many subjects, including politics. I was able to see the ineffectiveness of the UN and the corruption of politicians in its raw state.

The complexities necessary to fool the educated people of the United States were not necessary and not used there. The people there placed trust in the educated elites and the elites used that trust to betray the people. Many well-meaning people of Europe and America were there to "help" these "poor, uneducated" people but their methods often made things worse, not better.

While they gave out food, they robbed the farmers of their income and while robbing the farmers of income, they robbed the land of its farms. The well-meaning Westerners stole the self-respect by creating an environment of begging, with "free."

When people do not earn but are given, they become dependent on the giver. When they lose their ability to earn, they lose their self-respect. "It is better to give than to receive." Giving empowers those that do and has the power to enslave those that receive.

Those well-meaning Westerners pitied the people of Africa but they did not respect them. They feared the people of Africa but did not listen to them. They threw cash out of the windows of their cars but would not shake the hands of Africans. They thought they were better than the people they were "helping."

A person is not better than another because of their education, their bank account, or their job. We each have a part in the Success of Our Nation. Our Farmers are important. Our Plumbers are important. Our Carpenters are important. And when it comes time to decide on Agriculture, it's a good idea to bring in Farmers for advice, not just a Harvard Law Graduate.

Our politicians continue to tell us that they want to help us. They tell us they will help us by spending the money we earn better than we can. They tell us they will help us by giving us "free" stuff paid for with our sweat. They tell us they know best the morals our children should learn. They tell us we need to be ruled by Chicago Politicians chosen by NY elitists paid for by California Celebrities. And they warn their members to get their shots before they come see us at NASCAR races.

So, the next time a politician offers you something for "free," ask them how expensive that really is. Ask them how many of your tax dollars it will take to pay the bureaucrats they'll pay before they give you back your "free" stuff. And when they claim it will only cost $4 per American for a $5 trinket, ask them how many Americans are paying how much and who gets the trinket. You'll often find that you are being asked to pay $4 for you and each member of your family while also adding interest to the debt and seeing an able but lazy man get a trinket for his vote.

We are supposed to have a Government of the People for the People, but we instead have entrenched Washington Insiders who think they can fool us. It is time to send some good old Tennessee Common Sense to Washington. It is time to send a Veteran to Congress that will call a plumber, not a lawyer, when the pipes are leaking.

Supporting Our Troops Decisively

2008-11-12T13:02:00.000-08:00

Education prepares one to capitalize on Experience, but there is no substitute for Experience.

In the Military, We constantly trained for a job we as a Nation and as Soldiers hoped would never be needed. We have the best trained and best equipped Military in the world. Having worked with troops of other Nations, I can tell you that we have the best Military in the World, with only our allies able to challenge that ranking. There is only one force in the World that can defeat Our Military: The US Congress.

Our Volunteer force is a key part of that. Our Military is Professional and upholds the Law of Land Warfare. We have taken Honor in Uniform to the highest of levels.

When I joined the Army, there were few Viet Nam Veterans left in it and they garnered great respect. We hoped that we could learn from their experience. A few years later, we gained some of that experience in Desert Storm. And by the time we went to Afghanistan, there were few Desert Storm Veterans still in. Today, most of Our Military has experience in warfare.

Our Generals have trained for decades and are experienced in leading men on the battlefield. No amount of intelligence nor learning can substitute for that experience and training. It doesn't matter if one is a genius and graduated the top of his Harvard Law Class if he is not the General on The Ground, he has no business dictating the tactics of the mountains of Afghanistan.

The mean streets of Washington are distant from those of Baghdad and Bagram. The air-conditioned offices of DC do not substitute for the realities of Kandahar, Kabul, and the Hindu Kush.

Politicians are NOT Generals and nothing in Washington can substitute for the knowledge of the battlefield Our Generals experience. Our Politicians have committed us to war. They owe Our Generals and Our Troops the full support to Succeed in what they have asked of Our Military.

When a Veteran becomes a Politician, he brings many experiences to Washington, but the most important is the knowledge that he is not a General. The Battlefield Commander must be afforded the tools, the people, and the equipment to get the job done.

A Combat Veteran understands what he is asking of Our Brothers, Sisters, Mothers, Fathers, Sons, & Daughters. A Combat Veteran has risked all and sacrificed much in keeping this Nation Free. When he weighs the question of asking the same of the next generation, he does so with the knowledge of how much is being asked and against the threat that is posed. But once committed, he understands the Nation and Our Politicians must be behind Our Troops and provide them the tools to succeed.

When you ask our troops their thoughts on the War, one of the loudest complaints is that the News is not telling the whole story. The News does not tell of Our Successes. The News does not tell of Our Generosity. The News does not tell of Our Honor.

This has led to a false perception that things are worse than they are. It has allowed for our politicians to use Our Troops for political gain. They have used the sympathies of the American People to undermine the very thing they claim to be supporting. The politicians of California and New York have held hostage the Defense Budget for political gain. And lock step with them, have been the party adherents who have become their followers, not our leaders.

What we see in Washington today is akin to a Freshman Art student telling our seasoned Farmers to plant their seeds in January because we need to send vegetables to the stores in March, while at the same time dictating the type of equipment to be used, because they read an article in Outdoor Living.

Veterans' Day

2008-11-11T17:38:00.000-08:00

We have 58,010 Veterans in the 6th District. Hopefully every member of the District had an opportunity to demonstrate their gratitude to one or more of Our Veterans. I'm proud of the patriotism of Our District. I'm proud to know that when our Nation calls, Tennessee and Our District come through. I'm proud that we honor Our Veterans.

The Cannon Wire has done a great job of covering the celebrations: http://www.cannonwire.com/link.asp?smenu=68&twindow=&sdetail=723&mad=&wpage=1&skeyword=&sidate=

I remember walking into the Cannon County Courthouse for the first time and seeing the walls covered with pictures and lists of medals and accomplishments of Our Veterans. They've somehow managed to find more wallspace despite pictures so abundant that the frames are like wallpaper. The town square in Woodbury will always be special to me. They don't know me though they've seen me at my best and at my worst. They are to be commended for their friendly and helpful attitude.

Woodbury is the center of our State and the center of Our District. It is representative of Middle Tennessee: friendly, responsive, and caring. Our Civil Servants in the Cannon County Courthouse demonstrate the Southern Grace we are known for. Our Federal Bureacrats could learn a lot from them. If the VA were as gracious as are our civil servants in Cannon County are, there would be no complaints in our newspapers.

But today was a day to honor Our Veterans and many across the district did so. It was not just Woodbury. Shelbyville invites Veterans to their schools as well as do so many other schools, cities, and counties. My nieces and nephews have asked me to come many times.

The 1st Amendment

2008-11-10T07:13:00.000-08:00

When a man swears on his life to protect a document, it is a good idea to have an idea of what that piece of paper is and what makes it worth his life. Whereas the Constitution itself defines the roles and responsibilities of the branches of government, it is the Bill of Rights which makes it important enough to protect with the lives of the Troops.

Bill of Rights
Amendment I
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or
the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government
for a redress of grievances.

Each Amendment in the Bill of Rights is important. Amongst other things, this one protects the right of the people to be wrong. It protects free speech, no matter its offensiveness. And it protects free speech in various environments, in protests, in news media, and in religion specifically.

Across our District we have many denominations of Christianity and we have a few of other religions. Each of us is guaranteed protection to practice our religion, our faith, & our beliefs without persecution, prosecution, or interference. This is limited only in that we do not have the right to harm others in those rights. We do not have the right to interfere in the rights of others to do the same.

With rights come responsibilities. We have the right to a free press and the press has the responsibility to wield their tremendous power justly. Journalists are the lawyers in the Court of Public Opinion and Editors are the Judges. They should conduct themselves with the same level of ethics in rules of evidence as is required of our court system.

Journalists put forth a case for or against our fellow citizens, for or against our employers, for or against our politicians. Editors have the responsibility to filter the words of their journalists of unprovable accusations. We, the people, are the jury that decides the public backlash for or against those that fail to live up to morals and values we expect of civilized society in America.

We are blessed in Middle Tennessee that we have journalists of greater ethics than do the larger papers. It seems the smaller the newspaper, the more ethical its staff. As readership has dwindled for the largest of papers, sensationalism and political activism has increased. Some well-known and previously respected newspapers have lost the public trust because they have become little more than gossip columns preaching a party.

With rights come responsibilities. We do not have the right to use our rights to trample the rights of others. The best example of this is the Westboro Gang. I do not call them by the name they claim because they do not act as Christians. They abuse the 1st Amendment to attack the rights of others in their time of grief.

This very week, the Westboro Gang has planned to disrupt the fair city of Huntsville in their time of mourning.

They do have a right to be wrong. They have a right to believe in their misguided hatred. They have a right to speak about their hatred. They have a right to their religion. They have a right to protest.

They do NOT have a right to interfere in the rights of others to practice religion. They do NOT have a right to spread their hatred without response from good citizens of our Nation. They do NOT have the right to disrupt church services of other and of funerals.

The question then is how do we respect the rights afforded All Americans without allowing some to trample the rights of others. The first line of defense must come from Our Citizens. Every form of hatred, including this one, can be combated with Free Speech. When good men and women stand up and demonstrate with their own speech that hate is not tolerated in their own names it has a positive effect.

But the Westboro Gang desire public attention more than anything else. Our media have to weigh the reward they give to the Westboro Gang for their negative actions versus the public's need and right to know. It is a difficult decision, or should be, for our editors, producers, and publishers.

Our Baptist churches have a right to seek legal counsel over the damage done to their good names by a group that does not reflect their values, but claims their name. That is a matter for the church leadership, their lawyers and the courts.

But how does this fall into role of government and our representatives? We must protect the rights of the 1st Amendment as well as demand the responsibilities. We must protect the rights of the victims of the Westboro Gang without squashing the rights of Americans to the 1st Amendment.

Most cities have specific requirements for permits to public gatherings. I would urge our municipal politicians and governments to apply these judiciously and fairly. We have laws that govern trespass and interference with funerals. When these laws are broken, our prosecutors should give the criminals a fair trial.

The 1st Amendment does not afford us the right to break laws in its name. A religious adherent does not have a 1st Amendment right to behead someone. A journalist does not have a right to break into a person's house. The leader of a protest does not have a right to incite a riot.

So, after reviewing the laws already on the books, we may need to implement legislation that protects the rights of Americans from the infringement of others. But this is a slippery path which can only be taken with great care. It must be based on protecting the rights of Americans, not only from the government, but also from abuse of other citizens.

It can not be such as has been proposed in the past. Free Speech cannot be stifled under "hate speech" laws. Non-offensive speech needs no protection. But our rights do not afford us the right to practice them on the property of others. Prudence and character mean that some words are voluntarily stricken from my usage, but that does not mean that I have the right to make it illegal for you to use.

Faith and belief mean that we each hold certain values and morals and that should not be infringed by those of other denominations or religions or lack thereof.

In the first amendment, we can also find a very Christian belief in the right to self-determination, the fundamental belief that every American should determine their own path to the after-life, that none can be forced to believe as do we, that none can be forced to the path we believe to lead to eternity.

In the first amendment, we find the right to be wrong and to let the world know that we are but we also find the right of others to tell us we are wrong.

Our Representatives in Government pledge to uphold the US Constitution, including the Bill of Rights. Our Troops pledge to protect the US Constitution with their lives, from all enemies, foreign & domestic. There is no time frame placed on these pledges. It does not expire.

Our Constitution provides most importantly for our ability to change our government, peaceably, every two years. It is time that we put people in office those who have protected it with their lives and will uphold it with their responsibilities.

Personal Information & An Open Dialogue

2008-11-09T11:44:00.000-08:00

After reading what I've put out so far, I was asked: "Is your name really Tennessee Taylor?"

Yes, my name is really Taylor. And over the next two years, much more information will be presented as to which Taylor I am. We will get to know each other and you'll receive more of my history and experiences, but right now, it's more important to me to listen to you and to address the issues and my thought processes on how to deal with them.

I've fought uphill battles in the past. I've been part of success when we were told "that can never happen." And have no doubt, I realize this is an uphill battle. Representative Gordon is a popular candidate that has done many good things and received a lot of positive press.

On the other hand, we have good people in Middle Tennessee and we deserve a choice between two good candidates. The winner of the 2010 election should earn your vote, your trust, and your respect. As we move forward, I hope that I can earn that as well as that of Representative Gordon. I hope we can open up an honest debate on the issues and an open dialogue with you.

For now, I prefer to avoid the distraction of my personal experiences. This is not about me. It is not about Representative Gordon. It is about the people of the 6th District, their concerns and their issues. It is about what is best for the 6th District, for Tennessee, and for the Nation.

I would hope that we'll open a dialogue between the people of the district, in comments and in email, and one that is willing to represent you in Washington. Your name will be published only if you authorize it.

No, I'm not a fan of Washington. The biggest deterrent to a bid to run is the amount of time I'd have to spend there. I don't like the cold. I don't like the hot air inside the Capitol Building. I don't like the two-faced personalities of those that work there. But it's important to Tennessee and the Nation that we have good Representatives there, willing and able to stand up to the New York Elitists, the Chicago Machine, and the Hollywood Idealists as well as the Washington Insiders.

It's time for some good old fashioned Tennessee Common Sense in Congress.

Living In The Big Time

2008-11-08T11:12:00.000-08:00

After watching the Big & Rich video "Big Time," I reflect on just how pertinent those words are to Middle Tennessee, Our Citizens, and this potential campaign.

Keep in mind that Big & Rich have not yet in any way endorsed this campaign. John Rich has demonstrated his love for this Nation and his gratitude to Our Veterans & Troops. Perhaps, in the future, he'll allow us the use of his material, but until he authorizes it, I have to respect his property:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=svGhuzI4_2U

When you meet me, I may be driving my beat up old work truck. I wanted a workhorse that I wouldn't be worried about dinging up. It has a strong drivetrain that takes no issue with pulling a trailer full of rock, lumber, or trees. It ain't pretty but it gets the job.

Or I may be on the Harley, enjoying the backroads of our District. It's the only new vehicle I've owned. My reward to myself for my time in Afghanistan. At 40+ miles per gallon, it's great during times of high gas prices and it's therapeutic. I find few things more relaxing than taking in the sights and smells of our farms and forests.

When I saddle up, I'm not in a hurry, so if you are, I'll try to find a place to let you pass.

I'm a simple man but that does not mean I'm a stupid man. I look at the convulutated difficult language that Congress passes as legislation and know that it's unnecessary. There is little valid reason for the lawyeresque language they write into law. I can only imagine that its designed to keep us in the dark as to what they're up to.

My decades in the Military helps me interpret the stuff but I ask you, how did a few Senators write 450+ pages of legalese in 2 days? How many of our Senators and Representatives actually had time to read the measures they voted into law? Why did these Used Car Salesmen push it through with such urgency when Our Citizens had seen the "crisis" coming for months and years? Why should banks in NYC be forced to accept the money loaned from China and collected with interest from Smithville?

The same elitist politicians that tell us that we aren't smart enough to choose our own retirement investments have created a US Taxpayer Investment Fund, buying up banks with tax money. We have a Chicago Politician telling us we need to be able to sell our investments more readily at the very time that stocks are cheap. At the very time that Warren Buffett is buying the best companies on the market at rock bottom prices, our "representatives" are using OUR money and charging us interest on it to buy the worst investments on Wall Street.

We are now the shareholders in banks, whether we like it or not. But unlike most shareholders, we have no vote in how things are ran or even if we wanted to be owners of the company. We have no say in how they use our money or if they use it for their high paid executives to hobnob at British or Californian resorts. We cannot fire the executives that caused the mess nor stop them from collecting millions in "golden parachutes" while they did. We were unable in 2008 to fire the politicians that forced this down our throats.

And they are telling us that we have not only the duty to pay our own mortgages but also the mortgages of those that don't pay their own!? Why should our responsible citizens who pay their bills on time be taxed more so that those that don't pay their bills on time are rewarded?

If I told you that your neighbors were in need and that we asked each to throw what we can into the kitty to help them out, the Citizens of Our District would do so. But if I told you we collected $3.2 Million and after paying the bureacrats and shysters that got our neighbors into the mess, we'd have $320,000 to help, you'd tell me to get lost. We are a caring and generous people but we're a bit smarter with our money than that. But that is what Our Government is forcing us to do.

These economic policies of Washington would be like a farmer going out to his field and finding the weakest bull and the weakest cows and using them as his breeding program while taking the best and strongest to the slaughterhouse. It would be like a forest owner cutting down his oak for firewood he didn't need and replanting it with Sumac.

Yes, it costs money to run a government. There is a need to collect taxes. But the goal of government should not be to become our Nation's primary provider of employment. Our citizens should not have to work 2-4 days a week to pay the salaries of bureacrats, politicians and government.

We need to look at the roles and responsibilities of governments. We need to identify what should be provided at what level of government most efficiently. We need to bring government spending under control and that means cutting the waste of a bloated government overstepping its bounds and interfering in our lives unnecessarily. But the citizens of Sparta should not be paying for Chicago Students to be indoctrinated in a particular political ideology.

The Cookeville High School should not be forced to use the textbooks legislated by California. And yes, when the State of California bans words from the authorized textbooks of its school system, it effects the textbooks available for schools the Cookeville Schoolboard can purchase.

Would you prefer to send your tax dollars to Washington to divide up between Los Angeles, New York and Chicago, paying the bureacrats that collect it, audit it, count it, and choose where to send it or would you prefer to send your tax dollars directly to the SchoolBoard that you have chosen to administer Our Children's Schools?

Party Affiliation

2008-11-07T15:03:00.000-08:00

The 6th District has a strong affiliation with the Democratic Party. While I could declare membership therein and would have the strongest potential for success or I could declare membership in the Republican Party and be nearly assured a place on the ballot in November 2010, neither would be fair to the Citizens of the 6th District.

For too long, our politicians have been beholden to their parties. Our Next Representative must place the people of this district ahead of the likes of Senator Harry Reid, Representive Nancy Pelosi, Representative Barney Frank as well as their sponsors such as Hollywood's Sean Penn and New York's George Soros.

Our Representatives should not feel that the letter behind their name assures them of their retention of power. Representative Bart Gordon ran an ad in the 2008 campaign season claiming his support from Republicans, Democrats, & Independents. I would hope that he will demonstrate his support for Common Sense and a true Representative of the District through an endorsement of this Independent.

I run as an Independent, because both parties have some positive and some negative positions on their platform. Neither party can fully represent my positions nor the Citizens of Our District.

The Representative of Woodbury should not feel compelled to vote for CEO bailouts of big NYC banks. The Representative of McMinnville should not be forced to support Barney Frank's call to cut the Military. The Representative of Murfreesboro should not sell us the partisanship of legislation because the party presented one while the opposition presented another. The Representative of Cookeville should be afforded the opportunity to truthfully tell us that each bill has positive and negative points and find a compromise between the parties that best serves Our Veterans and Our Troops.

When the Representative of Auburntown addresses the issues, he should be free from partisanship, explaining the reasons he opposed or supported legislation.

Does that make the campaign for office more difficult? Yes, many of our citizens have come to trust a particular party. It is easy to vote simply along the lines of a party rather than research the positions and the character of the candidates.

In the purest form of Democracy, every citizen would vote on every piece of legislation. In Our Democracy, a Republic, we choose Representatives to know, to research, to read and to understand the legislation which they are making into laws. Whether we realize it or not, we are placing a tremendous amount of trust in the man (or woman) we send to Washington.

That trust has been betrayed. Our Politicians have become more interested in retention of power and hence the attainment of campaign war chests and therefore the pandering to special interests, corporations, and Washington lobbyists.

As one family member told me, we haven't had true Representatives in Washington of our Citizens in Decades. Let's change that.

Voter Registration & ACORN

2008-11-06T14:11:00.001-08:00

There is NO excuse for election fraud in this Nation. We can track the exact location of millions of packages sent by UPS & FEDEX around the world, getting text message and email alerts seconds after the deliveries. We have provided free and fair elections to 3rd World Nations on the far side of the globe, using the technologies of those lands.

It is long past time that we eliminate the possibility of voter fraud here. It is time we brought voter registration into the 21st Century. And in the process, we can make it more user friendly.

The Military ID card contains a microchip which when read and in conjunction with a password can access their full records online. Credit & Debit Cards have a magnetic strip which can access financial accounts from anywhere on earth with an ATM or store with a card reader. We can schedule bill payments online from any internet connection months in advance.

Why are we still carrying a paper voter registration with only a signature to verify our identity? Why is it still possible for a criminal to register to vote multiple times in multiple districts? Why is it possible for ACORN to defraud the American People? Why is ACORN getting government funding? Why are people voting from the grave and children and pets registering to vote?

Is it possibly Corruption? Could it be that members of both parties turn their eyes away from the voter fraud because they know it will also expose their side? Powerful Political Machines have been built in places like Chicago that benefit the elitists.

I propose a new nationally recognized voter identification with a microchip and a magnetic strip. This card in coordination with a PIN (similiar to that on a Debit Card) would be usable at ANY voting booth, whether a Texan visiting family in Nashville or a Soldier serving in Afghanistan. It would have the voter's picture, their signature, and Voter ID # on it. It could be coordinated with their State Identification or Driver's License.

When a voter inserted the card into a voting machine, whether a chip reader or swipe style, it would ask for their PIN. Upon verification, the selections from their district would appear on the screen. The system would cross-reference with Social Security for deaths and State Records for residence. And it would be a simple process to change your registration when you moved. There would be no need to replace the card unless it became unreadable.

How to pay for it? Simple: with the money currently given to ACORN from your tax dollars.

What about those overseas? The Military would be issued voting machines. It is long past time that those that Serve Our Nation be assured of their rights to vote. Our Embassies would be issued voting machines. Citizens living and working abroad could vote there. And each person would be afforded ONE vote, not 70 by ACORN.

TNTaylor©2008, all rights reserved.

The 2nd Amendment & The Heroes of Middle Tennessee

2008-11-06T13:37:00.000-08:00

I am a strong defender of the 2nd Amendment. My primary career field has long exposed me to firearms. I believe that we each have a right to defend ourselves.

"When life and death is measured in seconds, the Police are only minutes away."

Amendment II
A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.

Though I honor the Law Enforcement community, they can not be everywhere. They risk their lives every day to keep us safe. Most of their members are respectable heroes that deal on a regular basis with the dredges of our society. Yes, I've been written tickets and paid the fines. They were doing their job and I, like so many others, was going a little too fast.

As one friend of mine in that community said: "I don't like writing tickets. People have to talk their way into one. It's the young ones that write a bunch of tickets."

And across Our District, we have more Volunteer FireFighters than career FireFighters. Who could deny the honor of a person who works for his paycheck by day and rushes into a burning house to save lives at night, for free? This is not to diminish in the least those that devote their lives and are paid for FireFighting, but rather to acknowledge Our Volunteers for their special achievements.

We are hunters & fishermen. We live on the land. We work the land. We depend on the land. Middle Tennessee has been "green" when green living was not popular. We conserve energy and recycle our waste, not because some Hollywood Hype tells us to save the planet, but because it's good financial sense to turn the light off and re-use that angle iron. We know that biological waste makes good fertilizer.

We feed America from our farms and feed our families from the woods and streams.

We shade America from the Nurseries of McMinnville & Smithville. We protect America with Our Volunteers. We help America with Our National Guard. We teach America with Our Universities including Middle Tennessee State University and Tennessee Tech State University.

New York and California have been too powerful for too long. They have forced their (lack of) values down our throats for too long. It is time that Our Representatives answered to the people, not the powerful lobbyists of Washington, not the self-centered elitists of New York and not the disconnected members of Hollywood. It is time to send a member of the people, a common sense citizen of Middle Tennessee, a true representative of the people to Washington.

TNTaylor©2008, all rights reserved.

I Volunteer, Sir

2008-11-06T09:17:00.000-08:00

As we closed into the final weeks of the campaign season 2008, an economic "crisis" was suddenly thrust upon us. Our politicians told us that "something must be done" and that that was the reason they drafted and enacted the CEO/corporate bailout bill, though they gave it a different name and marketed it as 'our salvation.'

Bart Gordon voted twice for the bill that was used to force the US Taxpayer to buy into our banks, whether or not they wanted it. Eighty percent of the electorate was against this measure. It was a wakeup call for me. I began searching for alternatives in the 6th District and found two opponents to the entrenched and powerful Washington Insider.

Chris Baker was on the ballot but that was about it. He had no money, no website and a websearch of him produced footnotes that he was running in a few scattered articles. His positions could not even be identified.

Steve Edmonson was waging a write-in campaign. He had come to the same realization as had I, a few months earlier. He has ran twice before against Bart, once on the Republican ticket and once as an Independent. Write-in campaigns are difficult to win and this one demonstrated less success than some others.

With this in mind, I rode through much of the District, from Cookeville to Woodbury. I noted the patriotism demonstrated by multiple flagpoles. I remembered conversations with so many citizens of our districts, conversations that demonstrated we have a bit more common sense here in Middle Tennessee and the Upper Cumberland, conversations that demonstrated our desire to self-determination and against government interference.

On November 5th, I looked at the results for the 6th and noted that Baker, who had not campaigned, who had no money, no website, and no publicity had garnered 25% of the vote. I asked a few people what they thought about it.

"Bart's been good to Murfreesboro." "Bart's been good to Cookeville." "Bart's been good to Woodbury." "Some people will always vote the party line." But when I asked if they had ever heard of Chris Baker, the answer was "no."

Do we know Bart? He gets a lot of positive press in Middle Tennessee. I'd like to hire his publicist. But who does he represent?

When I was researching the choices for the 6th in 2008, I found he had the 3rd largest campaign war chest of any Tennessee politician of the election year. Lamar Alexander and Fred Thompson had more. Rep. Gordon had gathered:
$1,264,951 in campaign dollars. http://www.campaignmoney.com/political/campaigns/barton_jennings_gordon.asp?cycle=08 But where did this money come from?
$791,551 From Political Action Committees! That's 62.6% of his donations.
$ 65,761 From 131 Tennessee Individuals. That's 5.4% from his "constituents!" But, that is not the whole story. Many of those individuals are from Nashville, Knoxville, Memphis or otherwise outside the district.
In fact of the few individuals contributing to his campaign, the second largest majority were from the District of Columbia.

With that in mind, I ask you: Who is his real constituency? How is it that Chris Baker who did nothing more (that I can determine) than put his name on the ballot, get 25% of the voted from the best financed Representative of Tennessee?

I am exploring the possibility of running against Representative Bart Gordon FOR the 6th District in 2010. I am not asking for your hard earned money. I will not pledge to avoid the money of the rich, the corporations, nor the PACs. I will pledge that I will represent OUR district, regardless of who pays for the campaign.

I have jokingly stated that I can win this district if only my distant relatives, most of whom have never met me and some of whom cannot remember my face will vote for me. I am unknown to them, because we are a prolific family who settled Middle Tennesse in the 1800's and much of my life I've served in the Military in distant lands, hunting down the enemies that would do us harm. We live in hollers, cities, and some of our ancestral land lies at the bottom of lakes created by the TVA. We believe in personal responsibility and self-determination. Our Family has served in every conflict this Nation has fought.

Representative Gordon, Candidates Edmonson & Baker: I ask for your endorsement.

I am a Veteran of Afghanistan and of Desert Storm. I will bring (Un)Common Sense from Middle Tennessee to Washington. I have devoted most of my adult life to serving this Nation. My campaign would be grass roots and internet based. I will gladly speak to the good citizens of Middle Tennessee, explain why my positions are what they are and who I am. I will gladly sit down with the local journalists of Our District.

And you can contact me TNTaylorFor-TN6th2010 @ yahoo.com

Let me know your thoughts. Are we ready to send Common Sense to Washington? Are we ready to ask Rep Gordon to enjoy retirement? What are the issues you want addressed?

TNTaylor©2008, all rights reserved.