April 26, 1986

Twenty years ago. Chernobyl.

Two years ago I linked to a web site created by a young woman from Russian who visits the exclusion areas affected by the Chernobyl accident in the nearby town of. She has since created another series of photos and commentary showing abandoned villages and towns in Belorussia affected by the fallout.

It's worth your time to visit both sites.

The first series: Ghost Town

The second series: Land of the Wolves

Just click on "Next Page" on each page to continue through each series.

"And the third angel sounded, and there fell a great star from heaven, burning as it were a lamp, and it fell upon the third part of the rivers, and upon the fountains of waters; And the name of the star is called Wormwood: and the third part of the waters became wormwood; and many men died of the waters, because they were made bitter."
-Revelation 8:10-11

Antique Radio Blogging

Right here...

Officer Speaks Out on Traffic Enforcement Policies

There are some police officers who are stepping out and openly criticizing Police Chief Ronal Serpas over his traffic enforcement policy. Some are saying that it simply isn't working. Too much focus is being placed on traffic stops while crime rates continue to rise around the city.

One officer in particular is coming out publicly against Serpas' policies...Officer Dylan Kinney. I posed a series of questions to Officer Kinney regarding Serpas' policies and effectiveness from the viewpoint of someone who is out on the streets. Below are his answers...

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-Is it about money (the traffic stops)? If not, then why is Serpas using this method?

His theory is that if we're proactive enough, we'll stop the criminals before they can commit crimes. Of course, it won't stop a wide range of crimes, such as domestic assault, murder, robbery, etc. Robberies have skyrocketed in the past year or so here in Davidson County.

-What about Serpas' statistics saying that 13% or so of traffic stops have resulted in arrests? Is that taking criminals off the street before they can commit larger/bigger crimes as Serpas has asserted?

That 13% includes arrests for things like driving without a license, suspended/revoked license, etc. It doesn't mean we catch a hardened violent criminal 13% of the time. Even when someone has an outstanding warrant, it's often for a minor crime.

-Do you think that this method has resulted in higher crime around the city? If so, why?

Yes. Our focus has been taken away from other methods of fighting crime, such as serving outstanding warrants. Instead of trying to actively lock up criminals that we know are wanted, we're scouring the city at night for cars with a headlight out. And we're punished by our supervisors if we do anything else in our downtime.

-Is there a quota system? If not, how do they measure performance via traffic stops? If you get punished for not making as many stops, then how do they measure that?

Yes. We're expected to average two stops per night worked, usually calculated at the end of the month. No quota on tickets (yet), just stops. This is based on the daily activity log sheets and statistics we turn in at the start of the next day's shift.

-How are officers pressured to keep the traffic stop numbers up? Or, how have you personally been pressured?

In the past year, I've had my take-home squad car taken away for two weeks, been denied appointment to Field Training Officer (along with the 6% raise that accompanies the appointment), been threatened with the loss of my assigned zone, and had my regular days off changed from Sunday/Monday to Monday/Tuesday. None of these things are appealable or grievable.

-Is this a general feeling of the entire department or a minority? Why are you speaking out, and how do you think this will affect your job?

This is definitely the feeling of the majority of the department. Most officers will not speak out publicly on this topic out of fear of retribution from the administration. However, since I've already had everything taken from me, I have nothing else to lose.

-How do you think the department should be going about enforcing the laws and lowering crime in Nashville?

Every officer has his or her own individual gifts and talents for fighting crime. Some are good at serving outstanding warrants. Others write tickets. Some translate Spanish for the officers who cannot. What the department needs to realize is that officers work better as a team, with each officer helping each other out instead of competing for higher stats. Traffic stops are a valuable tool for fighting crime, but they are not the only tool. An officer's value should not be based on that one category alone.
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It has been discussed here in the past that there might be a quota system in traffic enforcement. According to Officer Kinney, there isn't a "ticket quota" per se, but there is a "traffic stop quota." Two stops a night might not sound like much, but I have ridden along with police officers before, and even in a larger city, many nights finding just one car to pull over (for a valid/real reason) may be a stretch.

Many people point out that Serpas' traffic enforcement tactics are aimed at stopping crime before it hits the streets, but that doesn't seem to be working. This type of policy is leading to higher crime rates around the city.

As with a business, you have a group of people with each person having different talents. As Kinney pointed out, it's the same with the police force. If you deploy your talent appropriately, you'll be more effective. However, Serpas is forcing officers to make traffic enforcement their main focus. This just doesn't work, and we are seeing the effects.

So, what would be the answer to fighting higher crime rates in the city? I think Officer Kinney's answer to the last question above is a good starting point.

Update: Roger Abramson provides his perspective.

Update II: Story coming in the Tennessean in the next couple of days. I'll link it up when it's published.

Ophelia Ford's Election Overturned

Ophelia Ford's election has been voided with a vote of 26-6. Just now at 4:14pm, Ford has dismissed herself from the Senate Chamber... graciously I might add.

In her closing remarks, she thanked God for the opportunity to serve in the State Senate. She also added that this will be back in court tomorrow. Again, she did so graciously and without anger.

Update: The Tennessean has a story up now with further details.

Update II: Rep. Stacey Campfield has some thoughts to add.

Naifeh's Anti-Gun Subcommittee Doing its Job

SayUncle pointed out a piece of legislation that would allow citizens who have a valid handgun carry permit to be able to carry into any state refuge, public hunting areas or wildlife management areas (SB3239/HB2860). This is timely based on the recent bear attack that caused the death of a child in the Cherokee National Forest.

Unfortunately for the citizens of Tennessee, the House Constitutional Protections subcommittee killed this bill last month (on 3/29). I am assuming that because of the bear attack that there is a renewed interest to try to revive this bill in some form or another. I'm not sure if there is any way that will happen though.

I've pretty much resigned myself to the fact that there will not be any good firearms bills to come out of the state legislature this year. After last year's embarrassing fiasco where a restaurant carry bill "accidentally" got out of committee and had to be forced back by Speaker Naifeh (with plenty of rules being broken), Naifeh stacked the House Constitutional Protections subcommittee with people he knew would not let any pro-firearm bill pass. I've also heard that Naifeh has it out for one of the NRA lobbyists for Tennessee, and he has made it his agenda to kill any and all pro-firearm bills. It seems to be working.

No real amount of letter writing or protest can change the minds of the people on this committee. They have no logic when it comes to safety, self-defense and freedom. After all, it was Constitutional Protections subcommittee chairwoman Janis Sontany (D-Nashville) who asked the question, "Why would you go somewhere dangerous where you would need a gun?" This was in response to a citizen who was asking her for support for a restaurant carry bill last year.

The only thing that's going to help firearm owners in this state is a change of leadership in the House. This can only happen at the voting booth. While there are many Democrats in the House that are conservative, they are tied down by party affiliation. They will continue to elect Jimmy Naifeh as their leader if they have a "D" behind their name. This issue isn't about party affiliation though...it's about principle.

Jimmy Naifeh is no friend to the citizens of Tennessee, but if the citizens keep electing Democrats to the House, Naifeh will remain in power. Remember that in November.

The Truth Shall be Deleted

Mike Kopp is deleting comments. Apparently he can't handle dissenting views.

Sharon Cobb commented the following after having all of her's deleted:

Kopp deleted my post for a 3rd time. Here it is...again. NO legit blogger deletes comments just for a different view. Mike, what are you so afraid of?

By the way...Kopp's "it's for the children" cliche is sickening. Kopp is a Democrat political operative who knows plenty of cliche, political hack hat tricks. If you believe his "it's for the children" reasoning for attacking Hobbs (ultimately causing Hobbs to loose lose his job), then I have a bridge to sell you up in Alaska. Of course, it's useless and leads to nowhere. Heh...kind of ironic, isn't it?

Update: Moore has more. So does Katherine Coble. And a big "Heh!" to Mark Rogers.

Easter Photoblogging

I just uploaded a few pictures from my Easter weekend trip to Alabama. You can check them out here.

Update: As someone requested, I just provided links in the picture descriptions to a larger version of each. Enjoy.

Hollihan's Analysis

I suggest that you head over and read Mike Hollihan's posts regarding the Bill Hobbs political hit-job scenario: A Detailed Case Study of Press Abuse

He's done an excellent job of analyzing the situation...from Kopp's political affiliations to the motives behind the attacks.

More from Hollihan here and here.

Saturday Car Blogging

Noted in the comments section over at Oleg's regarding British vehicles...

I was a parts manager for a BMC dealership in Orange County, California back in the dark ages.

Then there is the tale of the gentleman who purchased an Jag XK-120 convertible (circa 1957)from the newly opened Jaguar dealership in Hollywood. He drove off the lot into one of the famous Southern California downpours and the ragtop leaked! He returned to the dealer. They attempted to fix the problem to no avail and finally wrote to the factory.

The response was so very typically British:

"A gentleman does not drive his Jaguar in the rain."

I'll have to say though...a gentlemen doesn't drive any British sports car in the rain. I can attest to that personally.

Bill Hobbs

Bill asked me to post this. I will add no commentary with it at this time.

I am resigning from Belmont University in an amicable and mutual parting of the ways, effective Monday. I wish Belmont University, a truly fine university and a Nashville treasure, only the best in all things. Well, except basketball as I, a Lipscomb alum, will now resume rooting for my alma mater when the two schools meet on the basketball courts.

Eminent Domain Bill Pushed Back

FYI...The eminent domain bill (HB 3450) I wrote about last week has been pushed back on the House calendar to April 27th.

Be sure to go back and read that post. It would be worthwhile to contact your representatives on this matter.

Political Hit Jobs and Willing Reporters

Don't you love it when a political writer for a newspaper becomes the pawn (willing or unwilling) of a particular political party to smear the reputation of someone?

Enter John Spragens of the Nashville Scene.

Someone feeds Spragens a story about Bill Hobbs drawing a Mohammed cartoon that said, "Mohammed Blows." Spragens offers no context and paints Hobbs as a bigot against all Muslims. Could Spragens offer no context? I believe that when Hobbs did this cartoon that an Iranian newspaper (an Iranian government approved paper, of course) was sponsoring a cartoon contest of their own seeking cartoons that would glorify the holocaust. It was also at the same time that Muslims in the middle east were rioting and killing people over a few cartoons in a Danish newspaper.

So...in context, is what Bill Hobbs did that bad? Or, is Spragens just the willing pawn in a political hit job?

I'll take what's behind door number two, Bob.

What Spragens did was willingly fall in line to the will of the Tennessee Democrat party and set out to pull a political hit-job on Hobbs. However, if you think this was just about Bill Hobbs, then you are wrong. It's about hurting gubernatorial candidate Jim Bryson by smearing his leading supporter in the blogosphere. It's that simple. I'm just surprised that Spragens was such a willing pawn. It's as if someone like Bob Tuke handed him what to write and he just printed it as is.

Was it a slow news week? If Spragens doesn't have anything to write about, I can offer a few stories he can research that might actually be beneficial to his readership. Or maybe Trent Seibert would let Spragens follow him around on capital hill for a day or so. There's a lot of good stories up there.

I'm just sayin.

More: A minor update here. I forgot to mention Spragens' new, upcoming job...so did he.

Also, in the comments, Allan Tooley noted:

I'd like to say upon reading Spragens' article that I see him as more of a player than a pawn. The tone comes off as pretty sneering and gotcha-like to me. But it's all subjective.

Perhaps so. Did anyone also realize that Kopp has been a paid operative of Governor Bredesen at one time?

More II: Roger Abramson provides some unique insight into this situation.

More III: Bill Hobbs is no longer working at Belmont University. Statement here.

More IV: A Chill in the Air

More V: A Detailed Case Study of Press Abuse More here and here.

Yeah...

Yeah...what he said.

The Trouble out East

Knox County apparently has a few troubles.

I tell you what....their football team's season goes to hell and the entire town falls apart.

An Eminent Domain Bill in Typical TN General Assembly Fashion

When the Kelo decision was handed down by the Supreme Court last year allowing governments to take private property for private development, public outrage ensued. As a result, people demanded that something be done. State and local governments across the country went into action to strengthen their eminent domain laws so that Kelo wouldn't affect their citizens. Enter Tennessee.

Despite calls to take quick action to weaken government's power to seize private property, the Tennessee General Assembly took a slower approach. Between sessions, a committee was supposed to meet to put together some ideas for a bill. This approach, on the outside, looked like it would yield some good, well thought legislation. But, you have to remember that we're talking about the Tennessee General Assembly.

The committee only met once between sessions, and what has resulted is HB 3450 by Rep. Joe Fowlkes (D - Cornersville). It actually looks like a decent piece of legislation....at least it starts out good...and the summary sounds nice. It's being promoted as Tennessee's response to Kelo, but what does it really do? Does it really do anything to strengthen eminent domain laws?

You won't be surprised at the answer. It's simply, no. It's nothing more than a feel-good piece of legislation that the Democratic leadership can prop up before the voters to say that they have done something. If this legislation passes, there will be nothing different. Much like a lot of things the Democratically controlled General Assembly does, it only codifies their "business as usual" policies, and Speaker Naifeh is spear-heading this effort.

Naifeh's response to the bill was simple...if anyone from the Republican side attempts to amend the bill, it will be squashed. Why would the Speaker want to keep things as is? Why would the General Assembly not want to take this opportunity to give more latitude to private citizens when it comes to eminent domain? Apparently those in power have more to gain when things stay the same.

In response to this lackluster bill, several Republican legislators got together to put together a set of ideas and points that could be put into the form of amendments which would strengthen the bill. These are ideas that effectively "strike while the iron is hot" in order to tip eminent domain laws in favor of the people and protect their Fifth Amendment rights.

The following points were put forth by the Republicans:
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1. Extend time -- Currently, landowners are given five days notice regarding the "taking" of property. The amendment on the floor in March would extend that time to 30 days so that property owners would have a more reasonable time period to exert their rights. (Amendment 3 - DuBois)

2. Input by governing body -- Currently, there is no requirement that approval must be given by the local governing body for the exercise of eminent domain, even though several non-governmental entities have this power. Another amendment put forth says that approval must be given by a simple majority by the local governing body. It assures oversight by the elected representatives of the people to give a check and balance to "takings." Utah just passed this in SB 117 recently. Many other states are considering this provision. (Amendment 4 - Pleasant)

3. Right of first refusal -- Currently, there is no right for property owners or their heirs to buy back property that was "taken" and later put up for sale. Amendment five would give the right of first refusal to the owner or their heirs. (Amendment 5 - Nicely)

4. Highest and best use -- Currently, property "taken" is appraised at market value. Amendment six would value such property at its "highest and best use" so that property owners would get the true value of the property. (Amendment 6 - P. Johnson)

5. Procedural Protections -- Currently, judges MAY require that escrow money be deposited in a fund so that property owners who have their land "taken" can have some funds available to move, find property etc. Amendment seven assures that this takes place by saying the money SHALL be deposited. Amendment 7 - DuBois).

Similarly, another amendment adds attorney' s fees, cost of appraisal and engineering fees to the damages that can be awarded if a property owner wins their case in court. (Amendment 8 - DuBois) The amendment assures that these property owners do not go backwards economically as a result of their case.

Finally, amendment ten adds business interruption to the list of recoverable damages that can be awarded in cases of eminent domain. (Amendment 10 - DuBois)

6. Private to Private transfers -- Amendment fourteen describes "public use" as meaning it "is limited to the possession, occupation, and enjoyment of the land by the general public or public agencies, use of the land for the creation of functioning of public utilities, or the acquisition of abandoned property. Public use shall not include the public benefits of economic development, including an increase in the tax base, tax revenues, employment or general economic health. (Amendment 14 - Campfield). It replaces the language in the current version of the bill that provides exceptions for private to private transfers.
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Most of these are great ideas, and if they are going to be put into effect, then it must be done now. However, if Jimmy Naifeh has his way, this won't happen. A bill on eminent domain may end up passing, but it really won't change a thing.

This bill will start seeing more action next week. If you want the General Assembly move to strengthen protections of the citizens of Tennessee, I suggest that you contact your representatives and encourage them to support the above amendments. If you'd just rather things remain the same then do nothing. The special interests (and Jimmy Naifeh) will be glad you did.

Railroad to Nowhere?

Mississippi lawmakers have slipped $700 million into an emergency Iraq/Katrina appropriations bill for a railroad that has already been repaired at a cost of $300 million. In fact, the rail line, owned by CSX, has been fully operational since January.

Why would they want to spend the $700 million then? State officials want to buy out the rail line for the purpose of tearing it up and relocating it elsewhere to make room for waterfront development. This has been something that local developers have been pushing for years, but it only recently regained steam following Katrina.

The plan to tear up the track isn't real popular with CSX either. They're negotiating with state and federal officials, and the $700 million price tag was largely determined by the railroad.

"We rebuilt that line across the Gulf Coast as quickly as possible because it's a critical artery for us," said CSX spokesman Gary Sease. "It serves our purposes. It meets our customers' needs. There's absolutely nothing wrong with it."

The big backer of this plan is Senator Trent Lott. When confronted about this wasteful project, he attacked the "pork busters." (emphasis mine)

"I'll just say this about the so-called porkbusters. I'm getting damn tired of hearing from them. They have been nothing but trouble ever since Katrina," he said. "We in Mississippi have not asked for more than we deserve. We've been very reasonable."

Does Senator Lott think that spending $700 million to buy and tear up a railroad that they just spent $300 million on to get into working order is "reasonable?" I think he's just mad that there are people (such as Senator Coburn) who are asking questions about how taxpayer money is being spent.

Bill Proposes Online Listing of Federal Grants

Speaking of creating more open government, legislation moving through the U.S. House of Representatives would put all grant info on the web...

House Majority Whip Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) and Government Reform Committee Chairman Tom Davis (R-Va.) on Thursday introduced H.R. 5060, a bill that would increase accountability and transparency in federal grant awards.

According to the General Services Administration, each year the federal government awards approximately $300 billion in grants to roughly 30,000 different organizations across the U.S., Blunt said.

H.R. 5060 would require the Office of Management and Budget's director to work with the GSA and other agencies to ensure that within 30 days of a grant being awarded the following information is available to the public via a single site on the Internet in an easily searchable form...

As the article states, this bill is being pushed because it could help "curb questionable practices surrounding the grant process."

Sounds like a good idea for earmarks as well.

I'm sure with several thousand bloggers using a searchable database on grants, we can definitely find some pork to use as cannon fodder.

(via: Depth Reporting)

More: Just the other day, Senator Trent Lott actually killed an amendment that would have done something similar put forward in the Senate by Sen. Coburn. Mark Tapscott has the details from last week.

Sen. Lott is wearing thin...fast.

Streaming Video Comes to the Senate

Be the first to lay thine eyes upon the state senate with the modern spectacle of streaming video:

-Live, streaming video of senate committee meetings.

-Live, streaming video of the senate sessions which includes archives of both senate and committee sessions.

This is brand new. In fact, it hasn't even been linked from the main site yet. So...behold.

I have also heard that there will be a nice searchable index of votes coming soon.

Update: Regrettably, viewing the videos won't work with FireFox (at least for now, I assume). So...when you view it, use Internet Explorer.

Also, it looks like the only video in the archive of the sessions is from 4/03. Prior to that, it's just audio.

Coming to a Speaker of the Senate Near You - An Indictment?

The potential troubles for Sen. Cooper I mentioned yesterday may be coming to a speaker of the senate near you...a one John Wilder.

From the Knoxville News Sentinel:

"Cooper calls up his friend, Lieutenant Governor John Wilder on the Bank of Tennessee board of directors," Humble told the panel of eight women and five men jurors. "He calls up Mr. Wilder and says 'I need your help.' Wilder calls in Wayne Rodgers, a loan officer, and says, 'Help him."'

When the bank board refused to approve the loan, "Wilder gets
personally involved" and the Auyers in November 1999 got a bank loan
guaranteed by the government, Humble said.

This is big news. Not only may Cooper get caught up in this, but Wilder might get nailed as well.

Be sure to read the entire story.

Senate Passes Bill to Train THP on Immigration Laws

The state Senate passed a bill yesterday (SB 2426 by Norris) that would allow for the training of Tennessee Highway Patrol officers on immigration and customs laws and the enforcement thereof.

It would allow the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to send instructors to Tennessee to train selected officers. The federal government would pay for the training.

"This is designed to supplement our troopers' skills, not to supplant," Norris said. "It's meant to provide the information they need in the field when they encounter these sorts of situations."

This type of program was implemented by the state of Alabama, and has seen some good results...mostly in the arrests of illegal immigrants that are involved with other types of illegal activity.

Kleinheider likes the bill, and it is a step in the right direction. I'm not sure it will have a huge impact, but something is definitely better than nothing (what's the Federal government been doing?...yeah...nothing).

The bill's House counterpart, HB3229, has been deferred to April, 11 by the State and Local Government Committee.

As a humorous aside, there were several senators who fought against this bill. Included in that group was Senator Haynes (D-Nashville). Senator Haynes forgot one thing though...as Norris pointed out to him, Haynes has filed a bill that does exactly the same thing (SB 2869). Ops.

Bryson Makes Official Announcement

Details here.

I'll upload a few pictures from the event later this evening.

Update: A few pictures on Flickr.

Outcry Over Protest Bill

Today's Tennessean has an article by Trent Seibert which covers the outcry caused by the protest bill I discussed yesterday.

The following line jumped out at me...

Sen. Mark Norris, R-Collierville, another key figure behind the measure, said he did not believe the General Assembly's leaders would abuse the power given to them under the law.

Oh yeah...government would never abuse power given to them under vague laws (note heavy sarcasm). Never trust the government to avoid the abuse a power that it has been given.

How about you just create laws that aren't vague and we won't have to worry about that ever happening.

DeLay Out

Breaking news tonight.

Former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (Texas) will not be seeking re-election.

Good.

He had me when he said there was no fat to be cut out of the Federal budget.

Bad News for Cooper

Bad news for state Senator Jerry Cooper...

An Alabama couple pleaded guilty on the eve of a federal trial on charges of fraud, money laundering and conspiracy, with attorneys saying privately the government's real target in the case is an unindicted coconspirator: state Sen. Jerry Cooper.

Read the rest of The AP's breaking story here.

Audio: Senators Yuck it Up Over Bill's Passage

So, how much discussion took place when the draconian bill that would allow protestors to be removed from the streets and sidewalks was passed? The only discussion that takes place are a couple of jokes by Senators Norris and Burchett. Norris said there was concern that they might have to purchase uniforms for Naifeh and Wilder, and Burchett wanted to know of both speakers were allowed "one bullet" (an obvious Barney Fife reference). Senator Burks also added that she saw a few people crying when they were blocked in by the ADAPT protestors and she thought the bill was a good idea.

There were no concerns voiced over the bill's vagueness and creation of a potential open door for abuse.

Listen to the audio here. (MP3 format - 2.52 MB)

Legislators Scramble to Fix Legislation

I just received word that, this evening, state senator Bill Ketron is going to try to recall the bill I wrote about earlier today which would allow the General Assembly leadership to clear the streets and sidewalks of protestors if they felt the need to.

Ketron, a cosponsor of the original bill, wants to fix the language so that it would not include "sidewalks."

This is what happens when legislators don't read the bills they are voting on. Unfortunately for the citizens that are being represented, it happens all the time. This is also what happens when legislators pass knee-jerk legislation.

Update: The Tennessean has a story up about Ketron's move to ammend/fix the bill.

Update II: Text of Ketron's amendment can be found here. (PDF format)

It deletes any references to "and sidewalks" in SB 2704 and HB 3778. It also expounds upon citizens' rights to assemble and petition their lawmakers.

Too bad they didn't remember that the first go-round.

Update III: The Senate has pushed any action on Ketron's amendment back to Thursday. The original sponsor of the bill, Sen. Cooper, was out today (he's also mentioned here today). They are also going to have to formally request the bill back from the House since it already passed the Senate.

Personally, I think they should just gut the entire bill and drop the matter. As I said, knee-jerk legislation is never a good thing.

Mule Day

I went down to Columbia, TN on Saturday to Mule Day. For those not in the know, Mule Day is a celebration of...well...mules. It's a very large event. I carried along a camera, of course, and got a few shots here and there. Surprisingly, not many of the shots have actual mules in them. You can check them out on my Flickr site.

News 2 was definitely representing.

Draconian Measure Being Pushed through General Assembly

The State General Assembly is in the process of passing legislation that would limit freedom of speech around the capital building by clearing "streets, roadways, intersections and sidewalks within or adjacent to the capitol hill complex" of citizens if the speaker of the house (Jimmy Naifeh) and the speaker of the senate (Wilder) feel it is necessary.

Bob Krumm touched on this subject on Friday. I wouldn't think that such a bill would have a chance to pass, but it seems to be on a fast track to becoming law.

The bill (SB2704 / HB3778) passed the Senate and now it's awaiting a seemingly easy House passage.

The main text of the bill is as follows:

The speaker of the senate and the speaker of the house of representatives, acting jointly, in order to prevent stoppage or loss of public business or serious inconvenience to the public, or to allow the general assembly to conduct its business in an orderly fashion, shall have the authority to direct the highway patrol to take necessary measures upon all streets, roadways, intersections and sidewalks within or adjacent to the capitol hill complex in Nashville.

This bill was brought about in direct response to the ADAPT protests two weeks ago. The state general assembly and its workers were inconvenienced for a couple of days (although they tend to inconvenience citizens 365 days a year, but I digress) and instead of just going on with normal business, they decide to enact some type of draconian law to prevent it from happening again.

Due to the language of the bill, it's goes way too far. If the speakers in the house and senate (Naifeh and Wilder) feel that they can't "conduct business in an orderly fashion," they can order the state troopers to clear every citizen from the capitol area....not only streets, but sidewalks and any other common areas as well. This law is legally unconstitutional, but it would take a lawsuit to stop it which would only come about AFTER a group of citizen's rights has been trampled on. Of course, this is perfect for the powers that be (Naifeh, Wilder and company) who prefer tax protestors stay as far away from the capitol as possible.

In a way, I also feel betrayed. Looking through the list of sponsors, I see several names that I wouldn't think would support such a measure....candidate for Governor Jim Bryson...Mae Beavers....etc.

For students of history, you can see this as an example of how fascism can come about...just on a smaller scale... 1) An event happens that causes trouble and inconveniences many people. 2) A group of legislators or other government powers (sometimes well meaning) pass a vague law in direct response to said event. 3) Other citizens suffer from said vague law along with losing a set of rights.

You can thank your state legislators for this lesson.

More: Updates to this story are here and here (including audio of the bill's passage).