“Rocky Top Sunrise” – A Better World with Matthew Park

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Hosts Isabella Killius and Cassie Jackson interview Matthew Park in a special episode! Matthew is a candidate for State House running in District 15 in Knoxville. Sunrise believes he is one of the most thoughtful and inspirational candidates running in Tennessee right now, and he’s the only candidate to be endorsed by Sunrise Tennessee’s statewide coalition because of his strong stances on climate and his progressive, moral vision for what Tennessee could be.

Sunrise Tennessee Interest Form

Follow Sunrise Tennessee on Twitter and Facebook.

FULL PODCAST available on Apple Podcasts and wherever else you like to listen.

STANDING TALL PODCAST – Behind the Ballot Box

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A new episode of  STANDING TALL with Tennessee State Representative Gloria Johnson on The Tennessee Holler Podcast Network is LIVE!

In this episode, Representative Johnson chats with Knoxville County Election Commissioner Tammy Kaousias about the ins and outs of the voting process and how to vote with confidence in the upcoming elections.

FULL PODCAST available on Apple Podcasts, and wherever else you like to listen.

INTRODUCING “Standing Tall” with State Representative Gloria Johnson

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The first episode of STANDING TALL with Tennessee State Representative Gloria Johnson on The Tennessee Holler Podcast Network is LIVE!

In this episode, Representative Johnson sits down to talk with Jack King about what’s on the minds of young voters. Jack is a politically active college student from Knoxville who used to work for Gloria on her campaign.

FULL PODCAST available on Apple Podcasts here, and wherever else you like to listen here.

REP. RAGAN DECLINES TO DENOUNCE THE KLAN

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This was originally a Facebook Post by Chad Riden. Re-posted with his permission.

REP. RAGAN DECLINES TO DENOUNCE THE KLAN

State Representative John Ragan (R-Oak Ridge), representing District 33 in Anderson County, made it clear in an exchange with Chad that he has no intention of distancing himself from the KKK, despite being given every opportunity.

Chad emailed each of the 11 legislators in the ‘Naming, Designating, & Private Acts Committee’ who voted NO on HJR0686 (General Assembly, Statement of Intent or Position – Suggests removing Nathan Bedford Forrest bust from State Capitol and replacing it with tribute to more deserving Tennessean.).

His email said the folowing:

“Did you realize you’re becoming internet famous? The attached image has been posted to Reddit Instagram Facebook Twitter and probably other places.

People are saying that by voting NO to remove the Nathan Bedford Forrest bust you are standing strong in support of the KKK. Are you a member of the Klan? Or are you merely in support of continuing to honor the murderous slaver who served as their first grand wizard? Is there a difference?

I would like to know why you think it’s a good idea to honor this murderer in our state capital.”

This is the image Chad included:

According to Chad, the offices of Rep. Jerry Sexton and Rep. Mike Sparks responded with a generic “thank you for your message” type email.

Rep. John Ragan, however, responded personally by sending him the text of this entire article defending Nathan Bedford Forrest, the KKK’s First Grand Wizard, as an “activist for black civil rights”.

According to Chad…

I responded:

“I have heard that NBF changed his mind near the end of his life but this is the story about him that haunts me:

‘The Battle of Fort Pillow on April 12, 1864 ended with a massacre of African-American Union troops and their white officers attempting to surrender, by soldiers under the command Nathan Bedford Forrest.

Union survivors claimed that even though all their troops surrendered, Forrest’s men massacred some in cold blood. Surviving members of the garrison said that most of their men surrendered and threw down their arms, only to be shot or bayoneted by the attackers, who repeatedly shouted, “No quarter! No quarter!”

A letter from one of Forrest’s own sergeants, Achilles V. Clark, writing to his sisters on April 14, reads in part:

“The slaughter was awful. Words cannot describe the scene. The poor deluded negros would run up to our men fall on their knees and with uplifted hands scream for mercy but they were ordered to their feet and then shot down. The whitte \[sic\] men fared but little better. The fort turned out to be a great slaughter pen. Blood, human blood stood about in pools and brains could have been gathered up in any quantity. I with several others tried to stop the butchery and at one time had partially succeeded but Gen. Forrest ordered them shot down like dogs and the carnage continued. Finally our men became sick of blood and the firing ceased.”‘
###

I’m uncomfortable celebrating a man who ever did that. The only people I hear defending Nathan Bedford Forrest are white supremacists. How do you feel about the Black lives matter movement? Will you go on the record denouncing the KKK?”

Rep. Ragan wrote back:

“Dear Mr. Riden,

Your description of Fort Pillow is questionable when considered objectively. It remains unclear whether Forrest ordered the massacre, encouraged it, ignored it, or — as he later claimed — was unaware of it. He was never charged or tried for the events at Fort Pillow.

Please consult any of the following sources and you will see that Forrest was never convicted of any of the accusations you posited:

These trials can be found via a link on the catalog records on the Library of Congress Online catalog. The military trials encompass several departments:

Military Trials: Middle Department, 1862 – 1866

General Court Martial Orders: Department of the South, 1862 – 1868

General Court Martial Orders: Department of the Cumberland, 1866 – 1870

General Court Martial Orders: Department of the Missouri, 1861 – 1863, 1866 – 1867, 1868, 1869 – 1870, 1871 – 1872

General Court Martial Orders: Department of the Gulf, 1862 -1867

General Court Martial Orders: Department of Texas 1861, 1865 – 1866, 1870 -1872

The military trials are viewable in PDF and Page turner versions. The name indexes have been included and tabbed in the PDF view, and in some of the volumes a subject index is available.

Relative to your other questions: you may consult my record and you will have your answers.

Good Day,

John D. Ragan

State Representative”

I wrote back:

“Thank you for responding I do appreciate it.
However you have not answered the questions I asked very directly:

How do you feel about the Black lives matter movement?

Will you go on the record denouncing the KKK?”

Ragan responded:

“Dear Mr. Riden,

Neither I, nor any of my direct forbearers, going all the way back to the one exiled by Oliver Cromwell to Jamestown in 1690, ever owned slaves. While I condemn that institution unequivocally, I owe no one an apology for it.

Moreover, my children have ancestors who fought for both the Union and the Confederacy. However, none of those ever owned slaves, either. Therefore, neither they, nor I, owe anyone apologies for slavery.

Furthermore, there were atrocities as well as heroes and villains on both sides of the Civil War. Additionally, there were black slave owners and blacks fought for both the Union and the Confederacy. There were slave owners in the North and the South including Union General U.S. Grant.

Your historical research relative to Confederate General Forrest is inadequate. If you refuse educate yourself, it appears future discussion on the topic is futile.

Finally, your juvenile attempts at insults to a veteran of two theaters of conflict though 24 year of military service, of which 8 were overseas, are ridiculous. I have served in deserts and jungles and picked up body parts of a comrade-in-arms from blood soaked ground. Moreover, while on active duty, I have had the very sad duty of escorting my squadron mate and best friend’s widow down a funeral isle to stand before his flag draped casket…an active duty fatality. Consequently, I do not need you to churlishly challenge my loyalty to the US Constitution, especially the 13th, 14th and 15th Amendments.

You may consult my record for answers to your other questions.”

I guess I struck a nerve. I replied:

“Sir,

I didn’t ask if your family owned slaves but thank you for that information. Sorry if you feel insulted, that was never my intention. I just want to know:

How do you feel about the Black lives matter movement?

Will you go on the record denouncing the KKK?”

His response? You guessed it:

“You may consult my record for answers to your other questions.

Good Day,

John D. Ragan

State Representative”

John D. Ragan, State Representative REFUSED to denounce the KKK multiple times and told me to consult his voting record for my answer.

His voting record shows he wishes to honor Nathan Bedford Forrest, the first grand wizard of the KKK.

As far as I’m concerned, that’s a confirmation that John Ragan from Oak Ridge, representing District 33 in Anderson County, fully supports the KKK.

UT-Knoxville Student On Video Saying Vile, Violent Racist Slurs Claims “Catfish”

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In a video circulating online, UT-Knoxville Student Garrison Pike is seen saying vile, violent, ugly racial slurs, using the “N” Word repeatedly and threatening to “rape” black people who he says are “nothing”.

UT Knoxville acknowledged the video yesterday in a tweet and said they are looking into it.

Many UT students are outraged and say they’re afraid to be at school with Pike around, calling for his expulsion.

Friends of Pike’s have contacted the Holler to give what they say is “context”, sharing text messages in which Pike attempts to explain that he was drunk and essentially catfished by an African-American person he was exchanging messages with on a dating site who “said they were into slavemaster shit”.

TEXT FROM GARRISON PIKE

PIKE’S TEXT TO A FRIEND READS:

“So when I broke up with my ex I was really depressed and I was talking to this person on a dating site who said they were African-American and we talked for about a week and a half and they said they were into slave master shit and sent me a text of what to say to them and I waited a few days before I said it because I was drunk and just wanted to make someone happy and it turns out they were a catfish but they told me they wouldn’t share the video with anyone and now it’s blown up and I’m getting death threats and was suspended Ik what I said was shitty but it’s not me. Now i have the cops driving by my house every hour and my address in on twitter.

To be clear, the video is EXTREMELY nasty and disturbing, and no amount of context excuses ever saying ANYTHING like this, let alone recording yourself doing it and sending it to a stranger.

We will let y’all decide what you believe here.

Some on twitter have posted what they claim to be an exchange with an ex of Pike’s who says HE is the one with the slavemaster fetish, but we have been unable to confirm.

We’re told Pike is receiving death threats, has been suspended, and it seems likely his enrollment at UT is in jeopardy.

We’ve communicated with students who went to Ravenwood High School in Williamson County with Pike, who was class of 2018. They seemed surprised but not altogether shocked.

One said this kind of racism was not the norm in their experience, but another told us that on cultural heritage day the student body president brought a confederate flag to school, which many minority students were upset by, and felt black students in Williamson County are appreciated only for their athletic ability.

Not long, ago Williamson County parents were up in arms about the school system trying to introduce some racial sensitivity and “white privilege” training for teachers into the program.

It’s also worth pointing out that Williamson County still has a confederate flag on their county seal, which many residents would like to see changed (including Holler founder Justin Kanew)

It stands to reason that as long as things like that are allowed to exist, we should expect more incidents of this nature.

We will update the story surrounding Pike as it develops.

TODAY’S HOLLER: Burchett’s Anti-Science Fearmongering, Lee’s Unemployment Nightmares

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LIKE WHAT WE’RE DOING?
FORWARD THIS TO YOUR FRIENDS & FAMILY AND TELL
THEM TO “FOLLER THE HOLLER” AND SUBSCRIBE!
(And chip in HERE to help us grow!)

We hope you’re all having a good Memorial Day Weekend.
Today we remember the brave Americans we’ve lost to our wars,
and pray for those we’ve lost and continue to lose to the war on science.

TODAY’S HOLLER:

REP. TIM BURCHETT’S ANTI-SCIENCE CONTACT TRACING FEARMONGERING:  This weekend actual sitting TN GOP Congressman Tim Burchett in Knoxville argued against contact tracing health experts say could save lives… because of empty fearmongering tinfoil hat nonsense??

TN Has just 25% of the recommended CONTACT TRACERS. ‬That’s 1500 jobs not filled. ‬
‪1500 people not saving lives. As Gov. Bill Lee sleeps at the wheel and Rep. Burchett fearmongers, more people are out of work… and more will get sick and die. ‬

PSA: If you think laws that force girls/women to carry a rapist’s baby to term are good, but programs that could help save lives during a deadly pandemic are “government overreach”, it might be time to re-think some things.

GOV. LEE’S TN UNEMPLOYMENT NIGHTMARES CONTINUE: “I have a premature baby at home and I can’t even afford preemies right now.” ‬– One of many emotional stories at the TN House Democratic Caucus UNEMPLOYMENT NIGHTMARES Town hall.‬ ‪Thousands of struggling Tennesseans have been waiting for benefits since MARCH. Non-Facebook Link

ALSO:

-‪Trump Education Secretary BETSY DEVOS is blatant about using the virus to advance her public school-harming private school agenda by steering money to them. ‬And Gov. Lee is doing it with her.
‬

–Even Lamar thinks it’s wrong.

-Thousands dead.‬ Millions unemployed. ‬Billions lost. ‬Still, Gov. Lee will NOT give up his “UNCONSTITUTIONAL” private school vouchers. ‬

-This is a woman flipping off Trump’s motorcade as he heads to play golf in Virginia… the last woman that did this quickly became an elected official.

-‪Speaking of which, here’s our CARTOON OF THE DAY ?‬

-‪100,000 dead & an economic depression because of a failure to act… but sure fly those banners buddy. ‬(They’re being MADE IN CHINA by the way)

-Meanwhile, this is what’s going on in the Ozarks. Unreal. Also, pretty grross even without a Pandemic. Non-Facebook Link

–STUDY: 24 states still have “uncontrolled virus spread” ‬ — Yes, Tennessee is 1 of them.

-One big difference between Biden and Trump: Biden apologizes.

-WATCH Fox’s Steve Doocy say “the government won’t let” Fox hosts be together in studio… then immediately walk it back and encourages people to work from home if they can.?‬–WATCH ? WHAT ? THEY ? DO, NOT ? WHAT ? THEY ? SAY‬. Non-Facebook Link

–A NIKE warehouse in MEMPHIS turned away health department inspectors after a worker died… now 20+ workers have tested positive. Nike has some explaining to do.

-‪Republicans are now LITERALLY SUING to stop people from voting safely ???‬ ?

-‪Colorado’s Secretary of State calling Trump on his vote-suppressing lies???????‬

Voter fraud is not a thing. Voter suppression is.
Trump votes by mail. Your elected officials vote by mail. The military. The elderly.
Vile Truth: Republicans are using the virus and putting you at risk as an excuse to cling to power.

–The Tennessean’s David Plazas: “VOTE BY MAIL IS SAFER AND MORE RELIABLE THAN EVER” and dispenses of the notion that voter fraud is real (10 cases in TN in FIFTEEN YEARS… mostly perpetrated by ELECTION OFFICIALS). ‬Again: GOP Voter suppression is very real though.‬

–FOX’S CHRIS WALLACE: “You told us 60,000 would die. We’re almost over 100,000. What happened?”
DR. BIRX: *Rambles for 2 minutes without saying anything* Non-Facebook Link

–TN GOP REP. BRUCE GRIFFEY doesn’t like loud chanting at the TN Capitol to have the STATUE OF THE FIRST KKK GRAND WIZARD REMOVED… and thinks protestors should be subject to arrest. ?‬ So much for “constitutionalists”.

-Trump retweeted horrific tweets calling a former first lady a “skank” and mocking Stacy Abrams’ weight. Some are angry we’re amplifying these, but we feel it’s important to remind any fence-sitters what a terrible human being this man is.

–A New Biden ad eviscerates Trump for being too “weak”, “scared”, “indecisive”, and concerned with his own re-election to lead during the pandemic. Non-Facebook link

-‪PANDEMIC LESSON: We’re only as healthy as the sickest among us. ‬There are no MORAL reasons to care for uninsured folks suffering only from this particular virus, only POLITICAL ones… ‬Health care should be a RIGHT, not a PRIVILEGE. #ExpandMedicaidTN #MedicareForAll ‬

Don’t forget to FOLLER the new MEMPHIS HOLLER  KNOXVILLE HOLLER & CHATTANOOGA HOLLER! 

And please consider CHIPPING IN MONTHLY to help us keep GROWING…  make it $10 and we’ll send you a holler hat! (note your address on PayPal and which color you want when you chip in)

GUEST COLUMN: “BIG DATA ON ELECTION NIGHT”

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Mark D. Harmon is a professor of journalism and electronic media at the University of Tennessee

—

“BIG DATA ON ELECTION NIGHT”

From the Not-So-Farfetched File…

RACHEL MADDOW: Good evening, and welcome to MSNBC’s Election Night 2020 coverage.

BRIAN WILLIAMS: We still have two hours to go before voting locations close on the East Coast, but we do have public opinion polling to give us some fascinating insights into the electorate.

MADDOW: For that we go to Steve Kornacki at the big board.

KORNACKI: That’s right, Rachel and Brian. We’ve been able to use what data experts call common reference points to link standard election polls to all sorts of other Big Data information. Let’s start with comparisons to 2016.

Donald Trump is down ten points among pick-up truck drivers, but up two points among drivers of vehicles with slogans or female images on mud flaps. Joe Biden’s commuting habits seem to be paying off for him. He is winning three-to-one among people who’ve ever traveled by train, two-to-one among those who as a child had model trains. He’s also winning big among those who ever watched Soul Train, or can sing at least some of the words to “Midnight Train to Georgia.”

MADDOW: You have other information about Georgia as well?

KORNACKI: Yes, we discovered that Georgia Governor Brian Kemp, known for his botched response to coronavirus, is now less popular than the virus itself.

WILLIAMS: But he’s not on the ballot this time around.

KORNACKI: That’s right, but our numbers indicate he would lose a recall effort by roughly twelve to one.

MADDOW: Any other big surprises?

KORNACKI: Yes, going back to 2016 comparisons, turnout overall could be up by as much as ten percentage points. Those who think it’s okay to cast a third-party protest vote is down 93 percent.

WILLIAMS: I understand you also have social media data.

KORNACKI: Oh, large amounts of social media data. Trump and Biden overall are dead even among Facebook and Twitter users-with Trump holding a strong lead among first-time users from foreign domains.

Looking at just Twitter users, Trump leads among those with spelling and grammatical errors in their posts, and with those who use multiple exclamation points, or who link to conspiracy sites. Biden leads only among those who link to established news and information sites. And to draw users into reading such content, these people may have used growth services like Upleap or buzzoid to ensure that they can boost the number of followers that they have to their account. Trump and Biden may also do this if they get given the chance.

We have even more on tweets. Song birds that tweet daily are breaking big for Biden. Parrots are tilting toward Trump. We’re pretty sure Big Bird, and most of Sesame Street-excepting Oscar the Grouch-will be going for Biden. Trump, by the way, scores well among vultures and all creatures who feed on dead flesh.

MADDOW: Wow, that’s a broad database.

KORNACKI: Yes, it is. We even have foreign data. Biden is doing much better than Trump with Americans living in France, those who ever have visited France, and among French people who wish they could vote in this election. Trump leads only among those who can’t find France on a map.

WILLIAMS: You also have some other data you’ve told us is hard to categorize.

KORNACKI: Correct. Trump is down ten points among those who use “summer” as a verb, but he’s up five points among residents of mobile homes who have thought about bleaching their lungs or admit to snorting Lysol.

We can’t give away too much, but I can say all indications are this election night will please a lot of people who shop on Thursdays, post photos of children, and drive automatic transmissions.

—

Mark D. Harmon, a professor of journalism and electronic media at the University of Tennessee, is an award-winning freelance columnist.

VIDEO: Rep. Andy Holt & The TN GOP’s ANTI-LGBT LIBRARY CENSORSHIP Bill

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Backed by hostile anti-LGBT witnesses, Rep. Andy Holt openly advocates library “CENSORSHIP” as he pushes a bill targeting LGBT events at libraries — a bill the Tennessee Library Association says would inevitably lead to lawsuits.

Here’s a little of what one of the witnesses tweeted recently… proudly anti-LGBT:

WATCH:

EXPOSED: KINGSPORT Anti-Protest Ordinance Came At Ex-Ballad Board Member’s Request

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After 220+ days of protests against Ballad Health the city of Kingsport recently passed a “no camping” ordinance to make the encampment of protestors a violation of city law. Newly obtained emails reveal the ordinance came at the request of local businessman Bob Feathers – who was previously a Ballad board member.

For those who haven’t been following the Kingsport Ballad saga closely, here’s the back story we posted a while back, but the bottom line is Ballad Health is a state-sanctioned hospital monopoly that resulted from a merger enabled by state legislature cronyism, and the merger resulted in a limiting of vital resources for the Kingsport area. Ballad has also now become known for overcharging for services, and suing thousands of low-income Tennesseans for outstanding hospital bills.

The New York Times just recently covered the obscenity of those lawsuits, and talked about it on their very popular podcast “The Daily”.

It’s also worth noting that Alan Levine, the CEO of Ballad, previously made headlines in a 60 Minutes interview where he came to the defense of HMA, a company that was committing MASSIVE amounts of Medicare Fraud.

Levine denied the allegations despite being presented with irrefutable evidence, and the company ultimately ended up paying out $260 MILLION in penalties – but nobody went to jail, and now Levine is in Tennessee quarterbacking Ballad Health’s doings in Kingsport.

The 220-day+ Ballad protest has been led by Dani Cook. Dani and other citizens recently spoke up at a city meeting about the proposed ordinance, but the “no camping” law passed anyway and just took effect this week, which has led to the police putting a notice on the encampment of the protesters letting them know they’re now in violation.

Emails shared with the Holler reveal the ordinance came at the behest of Bob Feathers, president of Workspace Interior, who was previously a Ballad board member and currently owns a furniture supply store  we’re told supplies Ballad with much of its furniture.

Bob Feathers, former Ballad Board Member

Below are the email exchanges between Feathers and local officials who passed the 0rdinance. The first is from Feathers, who complains condescendingly about the “pathetic mob instincts” of the protestors and requests a “no camping ordinance” from mayor Pat Shull:

Mayor Shull then responds to clarify that what Feathers wants is a “no camping ordinance”:

Feathers agrees: “A no camping ordinance designed to prevent harm against all of us”

At which point Miles Burdine of the Kingsport Chamber chimes in to express his support:

The ordinance passed.

That the city was doing Ballad’s bidding with this ordinance comes as no surprise, but it still always clarifying to see who’s pulling the strings and making the laws right there in black and white – which is probably why the city doesn’t want to talk about it:

Protestor Dani Cook took to Facebook last night to discuss the situation in a post about “The Kingsport Mayor’s email trail, Unconstitutional Ordinance”, and has made a post today showing the protestors are still out there for their 225th day.

Feel free to holler at Dani to express your support, and if you have anything to say to Feathers, Burdine, Mayor Shull, or any of those who voted for the ordinance, their emails are below:

Feathers: [email protected]

Burdine: [email protected]

Mayor Shull: [email protected]

Aldermen: https://www.kingsporttn.gov/government/bma/

VIDEO: “Y’all Means All!” — Sevierville Fights Back Against Homophobic Hate

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After a homophobic outburst from county commissioner Warren Hurst, Sevier County showed up this week to say he doesn’t speak for them.

Most of the protestors couldn’t get in, but they made their voices heard, chanting outside the window of the meeting. There were a few actual Nazis who showed up to support commissioner Hurst and do “Seig Heils” in the parking lot, but they were vastly outnumbered.

Love outshined hate yet again. Watch the VIDEO:

Meanwhile inside, witnesses were speaking FOR and AGAINST Hurst. Watch the highlights/lowlights, courtesy of WBIR: