First it was the Black Caucus calling for the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation to look into the racist texts and possible falsification of evidence coming out of Speaker Casada’s office.
Watch the VIDEO:
Now today, in response to reports of Speaker Casada spying on Democrats in the legislature through a surveillance system, Democrats have called for the U.S. Attorneys office to look into that.
Watch the VIDEO:
News Channel 5’s Phil Williams has a BOMBSHELL report airing TONIGHT AT 6PM that shows Speaker Casada’s office forged evidence to get civil rights activist Justin Jones thrown in jail.
Channel 5 also has text messages from Casada’s $200,000 chief of staff using the word “n**ger” and saying “black people are idiots”.
Jones has been a regular protestor at the capitol, where he and others have been mobilizing to try to get the bust of the KKK’s first Grand Wizard removed from the capitol, where it’s still featured prominently to this day.
Jones and others protested peacefully, but things reached a boiling point after Casada’s office lied about not getting emails from Jones asking for a meeting – saying he had been misspelling their email addresses (we have them, they were correctly spelled).
Jones eventually threw iced tea at Casada in frustration, and was charged with assault.
He was released on bond on the condition he have no contact with Casada, and followed the no-contact order, so he was surprised when D.A. Funk’s office filed a motion to revoke Jones’ bail.
Funk cited an email Jones had allegedly sent to Casada’s chief of staff that was copied to the House Speaker, thus violating his bond conditions.
Jones knew it wasn’t true.
“It was a shock because it was my freedom,” he said. “If this would have went through to revoke my bond, I would be in jail right now until my court date. So this is not something I take lightly.”
Turns out the motion was based on a photo of an email with the date of March 1st — just one day after the no-contact order. But Jones had the original email. The real date was February 25th, which was before his arrest.
Cothren had originally sent Funk an email with a different date, then blamed that on an IT problem and sent the forged date.
And he says black people are stupid? Yeesh.
It’s not just stupid, it’s criminal. Forging evidence is a crime, and doing it to get someone thrown in jail is itself a felony.
More from Channel 5:
The DA’s office now admits their evidence came from the Speaker’s chief of staff.
“You have some of the most powerful people in this state who are willing to file a false report and to file a false paperwork and to manipulate paperwork to take your freedom away,” Jones said.
The Speaker’s reaction?
“I know nothing of that — nothing,” Casada told NewsChannel 5 Investigates.
But anyone who knows Casada knows you don’t do anything without his permission if you work for him.
Not only did they try to Frame Jones, Casada’s office has also been found to be using horribly racist language concerning black people.
Text messages provided by a former acquaintance show an exchange with Casada in which Cothren appears to refer to a West Tennessee district with a “black people” meme.
In a text with other friends, Cothren said “black people are idiots.”
He also insisted that Tampa Bay quarterback Jameis Winston be called a “thug n***er.”
Horrific.
It goes without saying that Cothren should be fired immediately, but more importantly D.A. Glenn Funk MUST get to the bottom of Casada’s involvement in framing Jones, which is a crime.
Nobody is above the law. If Casada knew which we’d bet the house he did, time for the Speaker to Go.
Funk recently apologized for this yearbook photo where he’s posing with a confederate flag (Governor Lee apologized for a confederate yearbook photo of his own also). Hopefully he understands what the right thing is to do here.
He has brought in a special prosecutor to handle the investigation. Probably a good idea.
Holler at Speaker Casada HERE.
With Governor Bill Lee’s public school-harming vouchers on the verge of passing, teachers, moms and business leaders from across the state headed to the hill to plead with legislators to see the light and vote against them.
The conference committee is TOMORROW at 8AM. Holler at your reps… and show up if you can!
After squeaking through the house, Governor Lee’s public school-harming legislation that no legislators want near their own district passed the senate 20-13.
Watch the video, and holler at your legislators. The House & Senate versions still need to be reconciled, so keep calling, and show up at the capitol Monday!
Here’s more on vouchers, and what happened in the house this week – when Rep. Zachary sold public schools out at the last minute.
Reps Akbari, Robinson, Yarbro, and Dickerson all did their best to speak out, but to no avail.
Yesterday Governor Bill Lee’s controversial “Education Savings Accounts” aka School Vouchers legislation hit the house floor for a debate and a vote.
Watch the HIGHLIGHTS:
Proponents of vouchers say they will be a lifeline for some students in failing schools.
Opponents say they will leave the rest of the kids behind, and steer resources away from public schools towards private schools, and point to the absence of evidence that vouchers work as reason enough that they’re a bad idea, instead encouraging Tennessee to fully fund public education for a change.
We were 44th in ed funding in 2010 — and we are 45th now — our legislators have FAILED our schools. Year after year after year
— TN Education Report (@TNEdReport) April 23, 2019
It’s no secret that private school education lobbyists have been circling this legislation for a long time, and have spent lots of money in support of it. Even Secretary of Education Betsy Devos – who has said her agenda is to “Advance God’s Kingdom” through the privatization of education – came to Nashville last month to show her support for Governor Lee’s efforts.
On the other side is the Tennessee Education Association, many school boards throughout the state, and most teachers.
Governor Lee has made it clear this is his main priority this session, even going so far as to attempt to strong-arm legislators who have expressed opposition by threatening not to steer resources to their districts and making it clear a vote against would mean a difficult road to re-election while essentially bribing rural legislators with grants while reassuring them vouchers won’t come to their communities.
Speaker Glen Casada has been intimately involved with those efforts as well, as has Senator Jack Johnson, who made it clear he doesn’t want them in Williamson County either.
Debate on the floor lasted the better part of 2 hours, with Republicans rising in support, and both Democrats and Republicans rising in opposition.
Rep. Antonio Parkinson and others made it clear almost all Shelby County reps were against the legislation, and all Nashville Reps to speak made it clear they were against it also, yet the vouchers are mainly targeted at their counties, something all of them agreed was unfair.
Their refrain is that if other legislators don’t want them in their own counties, they shouldn’t want them for kids in their counties either. It stands to reason that if your reasoning for voting FOR something is that you’ve been reassured it won’t hurt your county, that isn’t a great reason to “do unto others” what you wouldn’t have done unto you.
Rep. Joe Towns Jr. expressed concern the legislation would create two “separate and unequal” school systems, “re-segregating” education in Tennessee, while Rep. Camper warned that vouchers would spread, and Rep. Johnny Shaw insisted they wouldn’t fix any of the problems in Tennessee education – problems which even Republican legislators who were in favor of vouchers agreed were not as bad as they had been in past years, with Tennessee now the most-improving state in the country.
Rep. Matthew Hill stood to tell his colleagues that even the Tennessee State Employees Association was in favor of the bill, but that turns out not to be the case, which is ironic considering Hill lamented the circulation of false information in the same breath.
TSEA @tsea does not have a position on the Education Savings Act currently being debated in the #TN House. Earlier today I did communicate to some legislators that those that have stood with state employees will have TSEA support regardless of how a legislator votes on ESA bill.
— Randy Stamps (@randystamps) April 23, 2019
When it came time to vote it was a deadlocked 49-49 tie, which appeared to take Speaker Casada by surprise. He held the vote open for 30 minutes while he did some arm-twisting out of the view of the public, something most seasoned reporters said they hadn’t seen in their entire time covering the legislature.
In the four years I’ve covered @TNHouseReps, I’ve never seen a vote held like this where there are votes on the board but it has not become official
— Joel Ebert (@joelebert29) April 23, 2019
Rep. John Deberry Jr. of Memphis was the only Democrat to join Republicans in favor of vouchers, and Republicans are now rewarding him by running ads for him in his district.
Tennessee Republicans are now running ads in support of Rep. Deberry, the one *Democrat* who voted for vouchers, supported the Heartbeat bill, and thinks racial discrimination is a myth.
Memphis, you know what to do. pic.twitter.com/lsDEktUBcy
— The Tennessee Holler (@TheTNHoller) April 24, 2019
Rep. Brandon Ogles (Williamson), Rep. Clay Doggett (Lawrence/Giles), and Rep. Chris Hurt (Lauderdale/Crockett/Haywood) were 3 Republicans who had campaigned as being anti-vouchers, but voted in favor of the legislation.
It was Rep. Jason Zachary however who cast the deciding vote, flipping from a “NO” to a “YES” to give Casada the 50-48 win he was looking for.
After the vote, Zachary said it was assurances Knox County wouldn’t be affected by the Vouchers, that they would be “held fiscally harmless”, and that they had been guaranteed resources for teacher raises and other such things – something he then appeared to walk back moments later. (The Holler has been told the promises to Zachary amounted to $5 Million to his local school district, something we’ll be looking into…also, the bill he voted for included Knox County).
Update on my ESA vote….
Knox County is out, held fiscally harmless and our teachers get their raises! pic.twitter.com/K583kzdE5u— Rep. Jason Zachary (@JasonZacharyTN) April 23, 2019
(It’s also worth noting his wife appears to work at a Christian school.)
The Senate version of the bill still has a vote pending, and since the house bill and the senate bill are different this battle is far from over. Here are the key differences.
If you think the way to fix public education in Tennessee is NOT to steer resources away from public schools, holler at your legislators and let them know to stand strong for public schools.
HOW THEY VOTED:
Ayes………………………………………..50
Noes………………………………………..48
Representatives voting aye were: Baum, Boyd, Carter, Cepicky, Crawford, Curcio, Daniel, DEBERRY, DOGGETT, Dunn, Eldridge, Faison, Farmer, Garrett, Hall, Helton, Hill M, Hill T, Holt, Howell, Hulsey, HURT, Johnson C, Kumar, Lafferty, Lamberth, Leatherwood, Littleton, Lynn, Marsh, Moon, OGLES, Powers, Ragan, Reedy, Rudd, Rudder, Sanderson, Sexton J, Sherrell, Smith, Sparks, Terry, Tillis, Todd, Van Huss, White, Williams, ZACHARY, Mr. Speaker Casada — 50.
Representatives voting no were: Beck, Bricken, Byrd, Calfee, Camper, Carr, Chism, Clemmons, Cochran, Coley, Cooper, Dixie, Freeman, Gant, Griffey, Hakeem, Halford, Hardaway, Haston, Hawk, Hazlewood, Hicks, Hodges, Holsclaw, Jernigan, Johnson G, Keisling, Lamar, Love, Miller, Mitchell, Parkinson, Potts, Powell, Ramsey, Russell, Sexton C, Shaw, Staples, Stewart, Thompson, Towns, Travis, Vaughan, Weaver, Whitson, Windle, Wright — 48.
REACTIONS:
You should see the massive property tax increases in his rural county as the voucher program expands…which it will every single year!
— Gloria Johnson (@VoteGloriaJ) April 24, 2019
I am a graduate of the @jcityTNschools. The fact that @hillrep and Rep. Van Huss cannot see the value public education adds for all Tennesseans shows how out of touch the @TNGOP is. #Vouchers are not the answer. #tnleg pic.twitter.com/ZLnIekRylt
— Kate Craig (@KateCraigTN) April 24, 2019
If you live in TN14 remember this betrayal in 2020. It is time to vote out the weak politicians who make backroom deals instead of someone who will stand up and fight for their constituents. #VoteThemAllOut #NoVouchers #GoodPublicEducation
— Lynda Weaver ? (@lbweaver) April 23, 2019
If he really believed that the intent of the bill was to help students then why would he want to exclude his own district from this help? They are tacitly admitting that this does not help students
— Mulatto (@quicksilver99) April 23, 2019
Sad day for Tennessee https://t.co/Gz2J3XP8WU
— Bo Mitchell (@VoteBo) April 23, 2019
A bill that would effectively outlaw abortions in Tennessee if the U.S. Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade is headed to Governor Lee’s desk. Lee has repeatedly promised to support any bill that limits abortion in Tennessee, so the expectation is he will sign it.
It passed the legislature yesterday.
Watch the VIDEO:
Rep. Clark Boyd told Rep. Lynn, the sponsor, that he’s “proud to see her stand in the gap for the unborn.”
The trigger ban would take effect within 30 days if the Supreme Court does overturn Roe v. Wade, which is what many warned about when Trump nominated Judge Kavanaugh.
Reps Gloria Johnson and Bo Mitchell expressed concern that the bill would force a woman to carry her rapist’s baby to term, since there is no exception for rape, or incest.
Rep. Johnson said:
“It doesn’t stop abortions, it stops safe abortions… If you don’t think a woman should be in control of her own health decisions, you don’t believe women are equal.”
Rep. John Ray Clemmons also spoke up, pointing out the “hypocrisy” of Rep. Holt & Co. talking about “science” when they don’t believe in global warming, and calling themselves “pro-life:”while they continue to block medicaid expansion in Tennessee, which has cost the state $7 Billion and counting.
On Monday the Senate rejected a push to revive The Heartbeat Bill, which would ban abortion once a fetal heartbeat is detected – as early as six weeks into pregnancy.
They will review the issue this summer and consider it next year. If you have an issue with any or all of this, holler at your reps.
This week there are vouchers votes in both the TN House and the TN Senate. Last week teachers showed up at the capitol to make their voices heard against public school-harming vouchers.
Watch and share this VIDEO, and holler at your reps and Governor Lee to let them know public money belongs in public schools.
Read one of our previous articles about vouchers HERE.
Rep. David Byrd has apologized on tape to 1 of 3 women who say he molested them as children.
Even after meeting with one of Byrd’s victims, Governor Lee has been silent about Byrd’s presence in the legislature- so Enough Is Enough-TN staged a sit-in at Lee’s office, and ended up spending the night, as state trooper’s threatened the press with arrests.
Watch the VIDEO:
And holler at Governor Lee HERE if you think #ByrdMustGo.
State Senate Candidate Vote Bill Powers – running in Houston, Stewart, and Montgomery counties in a special election to replace Mark Green – gave a vague, wandering, uninformed, non-answer answer when asked about school vouchers this week:
“I haven’t seen a copy of the bill, so I can’t speak to it.”
The bill has been available for 2 months.
He went on:
“Glen Casada… I know Jack Johnson the majority leader has come out in favor of it – this is the governor’s proposal. Is it a voucher program? It’s a hybrid as far as I can tell. But having not seen it, all I can say as it relates to education, is every child deserves an education.”
He’s either ignorant, uncurious, or deceptive. None of the 3 are good qualities to have in a state senator.
Powers then went on to talk about rural broadband as a dodge, then again said he hasn’t seen the bill before dropping that he’s a 2-term city councilman, and eventually coming back to this:
“All I can say is education is important to me, and I’ll be there for the people of Houston, Stewart, and Montgomery.”
This is the kind of answer you give when you know your constituents don’t want it, but the people who are funding your campaign do.
Watch the VIDEO:
Powers was last seen agreeing the LGBT movement is “Demonic” and the “Muslim Agenda” must be pushed back against on his Facebook page, then claiming not to have said it while also not expressing support for those Tennesseans.
Will Houston, Stewart, and Montgomery counties send another anti-LGBT pro-vouchers senator to Nashville?
He faces Democrat Juanita Charles April 23rd, as well as Doyle Clark and David Cutting.
In 2018, the Tennessee Black Voter Project set out to register 55,000 voters – and ended up registering close to 90,000.
Now Secretary of State Tre Hargett has a bill – HB 1079/SB 971 – which would criminalize voter registration efforts, with fines and penalties for mistakes on forms, and potential criminal punishment for turning forms in with deficiencies, or not getting the “proper” training.
It would be the first of its kind in the country.
The bill passed a senate committee this week, despite opposition from Senators Jeff Yarbro and Steve Dickerson.
Watch the HIGHLIGHTS:
Dickerson was concerned that the bill sought to punish people for mistakes, pointing out that it’s already illegal to submit fraudulent forms.
Yarbro made the point that most registration groups feel they’re required to turn in even incomplete forms, so to punish them for doing what they’re compelled to do by law would be unfair.
Yarbro was by far the most vocal in opposition.
He also pointed out that there’s a standard amount of deficiencies according to federal statistics, and this bill would end up punishing pretty much any large-scale voter registration drives as a result. He also reminded the committee that the proposed penalties are harsher than some violent crimes.
The Holler spoke with Tequila Johnson, one of the driving forces behind the Tennessee Black Voter project, who confirmed the group was in fact under the impression that they were required to turn in any forms voters had touched, and had been advised to do just that. She also said they took careful measures for quality control purposes, and adamantly insisted they did not pay per form, which is what Election Coordinator Mark Goins said the bill intended to put a stop to.
Johnson says the Black Voter Project attempted to reach out to Hargett’s office even before the project for guidance, but were turned down. Instead they met with local election commissions who told them to turn in any forms that voters even partially filled out.
Johnson:
“We were careful. We didn’t want anything to jeopardize the integrity of the project… mistakes happened, but not at the scale they’re talking about. They’re taking a few times it happened and highlighting it to mischaracterize the whole project.”
Johnson says she tried to go and testify, but nobody would return her calls.
“I reached out several times. Nobody would return my calls. People don’t respect black organizers… I’m from Tennessee, bred and buttered. I’m used to their attempts to limit access. It’s just another hoop to have to jump through. Bring it on. I’m sure this bill will discourage some people, but it won’t be me.”
Johnson insists nobody was paid per form but by the hour. This was a major sticking point for Goins, who was there on behalf of Secretary of State Tre Hargett. Goins offered no proof to the contrary, but instead used a statement from a worker who said they were told to “register everyone and not take no for an answer”, as well as another from a man whose wife had been deceased when she was registered.
As for the 55% deficiency number cited by Goins at the hearing, we have reached out to ask where that comes from. It appears to come from this article about Shelby county registrations, but the number in that article does not apply to all 30,000 new forms, and does not get specific about how many new registrations were seemingly fraudulent vs. just deficient.
Secretary Tre Hargett told us this week that it is “not true” the bill is retaliatory against black voters in nature, but Tequila Johnson remains unconvinced and says they knew this was coming:
“We knew there would be backlash even when we named it the Black Voter Project. But we have to not be afraid to stand in our truth. Our ancestors survived a lot worse. I’d be a damn coward to back out now.”
She also says this shouldn’t be a partisan issue:
“I have Republican Friends. I registered Republicans personally. People with confederate flags, Trump stickers… this isn’t just about black or brown, or Republican or Democrat – it’s about access. It’s about power and money. But I do feel like people don’t respect black organizations in this city. ‘Equity’ is just a buzz word to them.”
And went on to stress that The Tennessee Black Voter Project is not some behemoth organization:
“We’re 100% volunteer-led. We don’t have a full-time staff. Hargett’s yearly salary is more than we’ve ever raised. We figured out how to do what he should be doing.”
Tennessee regularly ranks near the bottom in voter turnout.
Rep. Jim Cooper (D-Nashville) says this about Hargett’s bill:
“This bill would have a chilling effect on voter registration in Tennessee. It punishes Good Samaritans… The idea of punishing this virtuous behavior is absurd.”
If you think Tennessee should be making it easier to register to vote, not harder, Holler at Secretary of State Tre Hargett HERE.
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