Why Won’t Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland & Former Mayor Willie Herenton Debate?

No matter how you vote, we should all be able to agree debates are an essential part of democracy. Every candidate for every office should stand before the people and make their case for why they deserve your vote.

In 2018 we saw a number of Republican candidates across Tennessee refuse to debate their Democrat counterparts – Mark Green, Brandon Ogles, Scott Desjarlais, to name a few.

As it turns out, Republicans aren’t the only ones who play this game.

Nashville has just seen two its mayoral candidates – Mayor David Bailey, and John Cooper – debate each other. But a debate in the Memphis was just canceled, apparently because former mayor Willie Herenton declined to participate, which gave current mayor Jim Strickland all the excuse he needed to pull out.

Shelby County Commissioner Tami Sawyer and Lemichael Wilson were ready to go, but the mayors, it seems, were not. From WMC Action News 5:

Herenton would only say he “respectfully” declined to partipicate. In response, Strickland’s campaign opted out.

“without the top challenger in the race participating, in informed and balanced debate could not happen,” said a spokesperson for Strickland’s campaign.

News 5 goes on to relay Sawyer and Wilson’s comments.

Sawyer:

“By refusing debate — no matter the circumstances — Mayor Strickland and Herenton are denying taxpayers the right to hear where we all stand on the issues and make an informed choice on who will lead our city over the next (four) years.”

Wilson:

“It’s unfortunate that the citizens won’t have an opportunity to engage with mayoral candidates in order to share their concerns or to hear the candidates’ visions to address their concerns.”

Columnist Tonyaa Weathersbee of the Memphis Commercial Appeal agrees, saying:

“The two top contenders for city’s top job are choosing convenience over courage… If Strickland and Herenton can’t handle a debate, can they handle Memphis’ real issues?”

Sawyer has been running an inspired campaign with a lot of grassroots momentum, just recently drawing a mention in a tweet from Hillary Clinton. Could her footsteps be what is causing the mayors not to want to stand on a stage next to one another?

There’s no excuse for this type of behavior. These men are robbing the people of Memphis of the opportunity to hear from those who seek to govern them. It’s cowardice, and Strickland and Herenton both need to feel the pressure.

ACTION STEPS:

Email Willie Herenton HERE, Reach out on Facebook or Twitter, and call Dorchelle Spence for him: 901.628.7760

Email Strickland HERE Reach out on Facebook or Twitter, and call him: 901.636.6000

Post and tag them on social media asking them “WHY WON’T YOU DEBATE?” with the hashtag #MemphisMayorDebates and #DebateMeMane.

Let’s fix this together.

Founder of Tennessee Star Steve Gill charged with domestic abuse by wife

Steve Gill, founder of the far-right wing publication, The Tennessee Star, is an abusive husband who carries weapons at all times, his wife alleged in a request for a temporary restraining order in Williamson County.

Dana Hunsinger Gill, who has been married to  Gill since 2014, filed for the restraining order Aug. 22, the same day she filed for an annulment of the marriage.

In her request, Dana Gill states “the respondent is abusive, he threatens me, chases me, has a weapon always on him, long history of these issues, he is currently in jail.” A handwritten document attached details the abuse and begs the court for relief: “Please protect me from him returning home to attack me. I need protection, I am terrified . . . Steve at all times carries a gun (He owns many) he makes it known and says as long as he declares ‘I am in imminent danger’ he can use his gun.”

A page from Dana Gill’s application for a temporary restraining order lists the weapons Steve Gill owns.

Both legal documents were filed the day after Dana Gill testified on behalf of  Gill’s former wife, in a contempt of court case stemming from his failure to pay $170,000 in child support to Kathryn Gill.

As a result of the court’s finding Gill guilty of 27 counts, he has been incarcerated in Williamson County Jail since August 21 and will be back in court for another hearing Thursday at 1:30 p.m.

Gill, whose Twitter biography describes himself as, among other titles, a Christian conservative author, co-founded The Tennessee Star with two other Tea Party activists in 2017. In March, Snopes.com exposed the Star as a “little Breitbart” and says the publication disguises conservative activism as journalism. Dana Gill is listed as the Faith Editor of the Star.

The story was first reported by the Tennessean.

Senator Reeves, The #1 TN Opioid Pills Distributor, Admitted He Makes Laws to Benefit His Business (And Opposes Medical Marijuana)

With Senator Marsha Blackburn helping to keep the money-spigot turned on for Big Pharma by making it harder for the DEA to fight the opioid crisis, a federal database recently found a pharmacy in Murfreesboro owned by state Sen. Shane Reeves sold 46 million pills over six years, distributing the most opioid pills in Tennessee BY FAR, with no close second.

Reeves initially said he wasn’t surprised, but now his company TwelveStone is demanding a recount, so it’s worth remembering that during his campaign Reeves came out durinn a Pharmacy Podcast Network interview and openly said he told his company partners that he’s running for office because being a state senator would be good for his company in two areas: “Public Policy and Networking”

Yes, Reeves comes right out and says the quiet part out loud – that from his position at state senator he’ll be able to help his own company, Twelvestone. Here’s the quote, and you can hear it for yourself in the video below:

“One [way TwelveStone will benefit is] obviously public policy, trying to drive and make a difference in the issues that are impacting pharmacy and healthcare so much in business. The second thing is business development growth and networking. Clearly as a state senator I’m going to meet a lot of people which can help for the company – anytime someone looks up Shane Reeves, they’re going to see TwelveStone.”

Again- Reeves is literally reassuring his own partners that by running for state senate he can influence the regulations that govern his industry and promote the company through his position.

And he has been doing it.

The list of bills Reeves has sponsored includes a number of bills related to the pharmacy industry in which he works.

As TwelveStone shovels pills out by the millions, Tennessee is one of the few states in which opioid death tolls are still going up even as states around us see theirs going down. We’re also far behind the overall trend of dropping opioid addiction numbers, which studies show is very clearly tied to our unwillingness to expand Medicaid – which Reeves does not support.

It is worrying how much the opioid crisis is growing, and why. Perhaps the prevalence of an opioid as an illegal street drug, namely fentanyl, is to blame for the increase. Fentanyl, like most opioids, can be fatal very easily and is now being mixed with other more common street drugs. Fortunately, it is very easy to access a fentanyl drug test if someone suspects a loved one has been taking fentanyl or other opioids, but Reeves’ unwillingness to expand Medicaid restricts the amount of help that can be offered.

Importantly, he is also one of the voices against Tennessee passing a law legalizing medical marijuana, which would allow Tennesseans to deal with their pain by making use of products similar to those for sale on www.cheapbudcanada.com, or generally speaking in a manner other than with the pills his company makes a killing off of. Considering big pharma companies in the US hold so much money and power, it shouldn’t then be too hard to imagine that the likes of these companies could then slow down the progression of medical marijuana and its industry, even more so towards the marketing efforts of such cannabis businesses like many do, such as finding marijuana seo brands for marketing purposes.
Until these big pharma companies stop manipulating the monopoly of healthcare, patients might never be able to get the medicines they actually need to manage a certain illness or pain.

During his run for the senate against Gayle Jordan, who did support Medical Marijuana, Reeves had this to say on the topic:

“There absolutely are benefits to cannabis, medical marijuana, for people who’ve got cancer, glaucoma, nerve pain and headaches. There are also other ways you can take it other than smoking it. There’s oils, capsules, and I think over the next years we should look at some other options… But right now my answer to medical marijuana is not now.

Sorry Tennesseans suffering from cancer, glaucoma, nerve pain, headaches etc. (many of which are veterans) who overwhelmingly support medical marijuana – whilst people on the Gold Coast can get a florida marijuana card so that they can use medical marijuana as pain relief, your suffering must go on because TwelveStone has money to make.

As the Tennessee Democratic Party said during Reeves’ campaign:

“Shane Reeves loaned his campaign more than $255,000 and raised at least half a million dollars for a job that pays $22,000. Now we know why: In his own words, getting elected would help boost his name recognition and help his pharmaceutical company TwelveStone succeed.”

If you agree Reeves running for state senator to help his own company while helping to block things like Medicaid expansion and Medical Marijuana, which would actually help people, is not a good thing, holler at Senator Reeves HERE.

VIDEO: Johnson’s Resolution To Expel Rep. David Byrd Voted Down By TN GOP

The TN GOP just voted to send Gloria Johnson’s resolution to Judiciary Committee, keeping an admitted child sex abuser in the legislature longer, electing to send the matter to the judiciary committee where they say an investigation will take place.

This should’ve been done a long time ago. It’s time for Byrd to go. Tell Rep. Michael Curcio, Rep. William Lamberth, Speaker Sexton, and TN Attorney General Herb Slatery to START THE INVESTIGATION NOW and remove Byrd now.

Justin Jones FIERY NAACP Award Speech

“We need to get that monument to the KKK out of our state Capitol… I encourage you to challenge not only Trump, but his enablers in Congress… they’re bringing us back to a time we don’t want to go to.”

Watch Justin Jones receive an award at an NAACP dinner, and bring the thunder as he often does.

VIDEO: “YOU ARE NOT GOD” – Cherisse Scott’s TRUTH BOMB At the Abortion Ban Hearings

At the abortion ban hearings last week, Cherisse Scott of Sister Reach stepped up and said what needed to be said, excoriating TN Senate members for “weaponizing the word of God to forward their political agendas”.

Needless to say, they didn’t take Kindly to it. Although MANY of the witnesses were off topic and went over their time, Cherisse was the ONLY witness Bell cut off – and he did it after just 5 minutes.

He let Hal Rounds, a tea partier who said he “remembers being born”, go twice as long.

Here’s video of the moments leading up to her mic being cut, and after:

ABORTION BAN WITNESS HAS “MEMORY OF BEING BORN”

Hal Rounds, Tea Party member and witness for the TN GOP’s abortion ban, says abortion is killing a person because he remembers being born.

“In the womb there was a sensation of compression and advancement.”

Alrighty then.

 

INTERVIEW: Francie Hunt of TN Advocates Planned Parenthood and Anna Carella of Healthy And Free TN

Our LIVE INTERVIEW with Francie Hunt of Tennessee Advocates for Planned Parenthood & Anna Carella of Healthy and Free Tennessee!

Talking about women’s reproductive rights, abortion bans and more.

VIDEO: Nashville “GUN SENSE NOW” Rally

On the steps of the Capitol, Tennesseans came together to call for action in the face of one American massacre after another.

Watch & share, and holler at your reps to #DOSOMETHING.

Disgraced Former Speaker’s N Word-Using Chief: “Send KKK Bust To Museum”

On August 2nd, speaker Glen Casada became former Speaker Glen Casada. Cameron Sexton will be stepping in to fill his very small shoes during a special session August 23rd.

The disgraced now-former Tennessee speaker’s downfall can be traced back to his refusal to meet with activists who insisted the bust of Nathan Bedford Forrest – the KKK’s first Grand Wizard – be removed from the capitol. This week, Casada’s also disgraced former chief of staff Cade Cothren, who was outed for using the N Word and calling black people “idiots”, among other things, joined them in their call to move the bust, saying in a Twitter conversation it should be “sent to a museum”.

The list of Casada’s transgressions is long – we did our best to list them in video form HERE – but the beginning of his downfall can be traced back to one very specific issue: The bust of the KKK’s first Grand Wizard Nathan Bedford Forrest, which sits prominently in Tennessee’s state Capitol, and Casada’s refusal to meet with the activists who have long been calling for its removal.

Casada’s predecessor Speaker Beth Harwell Met with the activists, many of which are students. Casada would not. Instead, he gave them the runaround, dodging them in the halls of the Capitol and having his chief of staff Cothren lie directly to their faces about misspelled emails.

Eventually the frustration of activists Justin Jones and Jeneisha Harris boiled over and resulted in Jones throwing a paper cup of iced (not hot) tea (not coffee) at Casada as he fled into a private elevator.

The assault & disorderly conduct charges filed against Justin Jones and Jeneisha Harris respectively in the aftermath are still pending. (The next hearing is August 15th at 9AM in courtroom 4D)

Another issue still outstanding is that of Casada’s former Chief of staff Cade Cothren, who resigned amid numerous scandals of his own, and whether or not he falsified the date on an email date to make it look like Jones contacted Casada in violation of a court order, which would have landed Jones in jail.

Casada and Cothren claim the date discrepancy can be chalked up to an issue with the legislature’s SPAM filters delaying the email, and special prosecutor on the case Craig Northcott – the D.A. in Coffee County, who himself is under fire for open Islamophobia, homophobia, and a refusal to respect the authority of the Supreme Court – appears to be taking their word for it. Despite calls by Jones, and even Cothren himself, for Northcott to bring in the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation for an independent investigation about the possibly fraudulent emails, Northcott has refused.

The possible framing of a civil rights activist aside, Cothren resigned due to numerous other scandals – many of which Casada was complicit in – including lewd, sexist texts and behavior, an admission that he was doing cocaine at his desk during work hours, and racism. Lots of racism. 

Cothren used the “N Word” to describe quarterback Jameis Winston. He said “black people are idiots.” The list goes on.

A lot has happened since the beginning of Casada and Cothren’s downfall, and so many Phil Williams stories later it’s hard to remember how it all started… but it can all be traced back to one thing: That bust of the KKK’s first Grand Wizard in the legislature.

Casada has not expressed a willingness to move the bust, instead saying that adding “historical context” would be more appropriate (without specifying what that means).

Govenor Lee says a “conversation needs to be had” about the bust, again without providing specifics, and just recently agreed to take action to stop celebrating July 13th as “Nathan Bedford Forrest Day” after nationwide backlash – including from Republican Senator Ted Cruz – in the wake of his signing a proclamation to reaffirm it.

While Casada and Lee remain noncommittal, Casada’s “N Word”-using Former Chief of staff Cade Cothren has now changed his tune, conceding in a conversation on Twitter with Nashville native @AliceRolli1 that the bust should indeed be moved:

The comment comes as part of what appears to be an effort by Cothren to repair his image, an effort that has mainly consisted of joining Twitter and sending Taylor Swift memes to his critics while using Taylor Swift lyrics to challenge them to a fight in his Twitter bio.

“Sure, send it to the museum” is clearly a flippant, dismissive way to come around to a position on a serious topic concerning a statue much of Tennessee’s African-American population considers to be a painful reminder of a dark past. That being said, it’s also a clear departure from the official position his disgraced boss Casada’s office held when the then-speaker was dodging Jones & Harris in the halls, turning a deaf ear to protestors who were imploring Tennessee leadership to listen to Tennessee’s black citizens and move the symbol of hate.

Cothren is clearly trying to make himself employable in the state of Tennessee again so his motives can’t be viewed as entirely altruistic, but if a Republican speaker’s chief of staff who once said “black People are idiots” and called Jameis Winston the N Word is now willing to publicly call for the bust to be sent to a museum… well, these days in Tennessee, that certainly counts as progress.

Holler at Governor Lee and soon-to-be Speaker Sexton if you agree it’s time to “send the bust to the museum”.