Former East TN Congressional Candidate Turns Terrorist

The ever-watchful and wily Southern Beale today points to reports (and the lack of them) of a 2014 4th Congressional District candidate, Robert Doggett who was busted by the FBI for plotting a mass murder.

"And if it gets down to the machete, we will cut them to shreds" he told the FBI.

Like Beale, I have to wonder - why didn't this hit the news? 

From one of the links in her post:

"Doggart, 62, has more than 40 years in the electric generation business, working as an engineer, manager, superintendent and other titles, including 17 years at TVA.

He is an ordained minister in the Christian National Church (Congregational). He is a past president, chairman, and director at large of the American Society for Nondestructive Testing. He is a 17-plus gallon blood donor with Blood Assurance and has received two presidential awards for lifetime public service."

The False Political Rants of East TN

Talking politics, this is what I hear it constantly here in East Tennessee - "throw all the bums out!" and "replace everyone in Congress!"

That's such a load, especially here in District 1 where only one party has held the seat in Congress since 1881 ... 133 years of single party rule. So those rants against Congress are deeply false, meaningless chatter instead of actual debate and thought. In fact, current Rep. Phil Roe, on his way to his fourth term, says he only wants to control the District for 12 years (6 terms). Looks like he will surely get his wish.

Fakery is key to politics, it seems. One of Rep. Roe's biggest PAC contributors is the "Healthcare Freedom Fund", which says it isn't authorized by any candidate, even though Rep. Roe's signature on the fund's website indicates heaps of approval and authorization.

As noted by R. Neal at Knoxviews, the current election is a strange creature indeed:

"Obama must be the most powerful president ever and is apparently a formidable opponent. Every Republican candidate in the U.S. is running against him and he isn't even on the ballot.

"Because of Obama's superpowers, this is the most expensive mid-term election in U.S. history. Spending is approaching $4 billion so far, including nearly $900 million in outside (PAC, 527) spending."

All this points not only to the hollow rhetoric of residents but also that the rock-solid gridlock in Congress is gaining strength.

.... next time, though, yeah, we're gonna throw them bums out!!

TN House Leader Says No Debate for Legislation

Business owners in TN are facing new orders via the State - employees with handgun conceal permits are allowed to use their vehicles to store weapons on business property.

Any merits aside, TN House Speaker, Republican Beth Harwell banned comments on the bill from any who might be opposed.

"Republican leaders called a caucus meeting before this morning’s session to make sure lawmakers were with the program. Their basic message? Let’s do this fast before voters wake up and realize just how contemptible we are. Reporters, including Pith informant Andrea Zelinski, were allowed into the meeting and happily tweeted away as Speaker Beth Harwell made her case for minimizing media coverage and political fallout.

"The less you say the better. … Just stay quiet ..." Harwell told Republicans."

Rep. Harwell also limited this session the number of bills each member can introduced - though certainly keeping that number low seems laudable, it also limits business from state debate.

"Harwell's new 15-bill limit has reduced the number of bills filed this year, as compared to last, by about one-third. The speakers have set a goal of adjourning by April 19. Under the normal schedule of legislators working four days per week, there will be 28 more days to deal with almost 1,400 bills."

TN Legislature on the Border of Insanity?

The tragic shooting in Newtown, CT provides at the least an opportunity for discussion and debate about common sense gun laws, mental health issues, and more. Sadly, the talk has drifted into arenas of pop culture, blaming video games and/or movies as some Universal Cause. Or worse, we give serious thought to transforming all that teaching and education have historically meant into a twisted-up worldview of weaponized teaching.

Others in the state are writing and talking about the upcoming legislative "ideas" as several East Tennessee lawmakers are promoting weaponized teachers - a discussion one security expert calls "borderline insanity". More informed education leaders  point out the grave errors in such debate:

"Bowman and Summerford are calling for federal and state dollars to better fund security measures and also for funds for more school counselors, who might help prevent school shootings by recognizing emotional problems in students before they bubble over into violence.

“National Education Association President Dennis Van Roekel supports the idea of trained officers in schools, but not arming teachers.

"In a statement from his office, Van Roekel said “haphazardly putting more guns into our schools is the last thing we should be doing to ensure the safety of our students.”

Here's a few other terrible ideas to ponder since terrible ideas are gaining steam:

- Encourage more students to drop out of school. If fewer kids are in school, fewer could be hurt. Or, just eradicate all public education and instead require each child be home-schooled by a heavily armed parent/guardian.

- Require all schools to provide Ninja training for students from Head Start thru college, establishing dojos in every school.

-  Convert all public buildings into underground bunkers, accessible only through a single entrance, which is guarded by robotic machine guns and bio-metric locks.

Bad ideas arrive too easily for some legislators, drown out reasonable discussion and serve no useful function. However, unless we halt the promotion of bad thinking, bad outcomes will flourish.

Gov. Haslam's FAIL in Leadership

Gov. Haslam has a strategy to dodge his lack of leadership - "blame the media".

R. Neal at KnoxViews calls him out:

"Gov. Haslam is not happy with all the media attention on what he calls "crazy" legislation, and wishes they would focus on more important and positive things such as education reform.

If he thinks the legislation is "crazy" why does he keep signing it? He can veto it and make them get on board the crazy train twice. And it would send them a message. As it is, he only encourages them to continue embarrassing our state.

The media is just doing its job, part of which is reporting on state government. If the governor doesn't like the coverage, he should be a leader and encourage better legislation. 

In fact, he should probably be happy that his education "reforms," which are actually the first step in dismantling public education, aren't getting more press. People might wise up. Instead, the media is helping Haslam advance his radical GOP agenda by distracting the public from the more serious damage being done.

Fact check: "We're redefining accountability, and you'd be hard-pressed to find 100 lines of print in any paper of the state," Haslam said. "Now, today in the Legislature there's a conversation about saggy pants and what they should do there." Seriously? In just the last month the KNS alone had approx. 15 articles about teacher evaluations, and only five about "saggy pants." 

A google search for articles about Tennessee teacher evaluations yields hundreds of articles across the state and nationally (including the NYT). Not all of them are supportive, so maybe that's his real problem."

Newscoma calls him out too:

"Now we know that this is what we are dealing with during his time in the governor’s mansion and that we will be the laughing stock of national media. Instead of leading with some common sense, we are told “Blame the Media.”

It doesn’t have to be this way.

I honestly don’t think Haslam is a bad man but he also appears not to have a set of keys to the asylum where there is more talk of sex and perceived debauchery than I’ve ever heard. He is the governor. Leaders just lead.

I would love to see our legislators go out and meet the millions of kind Tennesseans who are just trying to do a hard day’s work and get home to their families. This legislative body appears to think the worst of us at all times. That we are all just a bad lot of people.

We aren’t.

Legacies are important and what I’m seeing is that the legacy of this particular session of the General Assembly will be about treating average Tennesseans with a lack of respect.

Haslam, you do have choices. Quit blaming and start leading because that’s what the people in this state deserve. It’s not hard."

I've called on him to muster some even small amount of courage and lead, rather than use the Blamethrower as his Policy of Non-Leadership.

It's all on you, sir. What will you do?

Schools Reforms: No Science, No Baggy Pants

via The Chattanooga Times Free Press

Gov. Haslam says he'll sign into law a bill about how science is taught in Tennessee ... even though it "changes nothing" about how science is taught in Tennessee.

What??

As reported by Andy Sher:

"Haslam said he has had discussions with State Board of Education officials on “does this affect our curriculum and what we teach regarding evolution in the schools and the answer is no. Does it change the scientific standards that are the ruling criteria for what we teach in schools and the answer is no.”

So what in the heck is this law anyway?

Only one thing is certain - supporters of this law deny it has anything to do with allowing religious and political views to be presented in science classes, even though that is exactly what this law allows:

"These bills misdescribe evolution as scientifically controversial,” the statement says. “ As scientists whose research involves and is based upon evolution, we affirm — along with the nation’s leading scientific organizations ... that evolution is a central, unifying, and accepted area of science. 

“The evidence for evolution is overwhelming,” the statement continues. “There is no scientific evidence for its supposed rivals (‘creation science’ and ‘intelligent design’) and there is no scientific evidence against it.”

Yes, the legislature is deeply concerned with education - at least when it comes to devaluing science and with whether or not students wear baggy pants. That's because a new law about school dress codes apparently was needed even though every school already has dress codes and policies on what is acceptable and what is not. The aim though, is for a State Dress Code:

"The only bit of discussion before the vote last night came from another Memphis Democrat, Rep. Antonio Parkinson, who applauded Towns for bringing the bill, but lamented its narrow scope. He said the prohibition should be statewide and vowed to join Towns in working toward that end next year."

East TN Legislators Harassing Women?

East Tennessee state legislator David Hawk has been charged with domestic violence against his wife, who is also the head of Greene County's Republican Women organization.

Tom Humphrey has the details:

"Rep. David Hawk returned to the state Legislature on Monday afternoon, just hours after his first court appearance on a misdemeanor charge of domestic violence resulted in an order for the Greeneville Republican to have no contact with his wife.

Hawk accepted handshakes and well wishes from fellow lawmakers at his desk before stepping out of the chamber to meet with reporters.

"Yesterday morning my wife had a gun and told me that she was going to put a bullet in my head while I was holding my baby," Hawk said.

Hawk's account of the incident stands in contrast to the criminal complaint obtained by The Greeneville Sun (http://bit.ly/ws76T2), which describes Cristal Hawk saying her husband grabbed her by the arm, struck her in the face and knocked her to ground in an altercation at their home.

Crystal Hawk said she was holding their 11-month-old daughter at the time. She said her husband then took the child and went to a neighbor's house.

The criminal complaint states that the victim "had bruising and swelling on and around her right eye, an abrasion (to) the upper and lower right side of her lip, and a large bruise on her left upper arm."

Hawk, 43, denied striking his wife and said he didn't know how she had received the bruises"

Meanwhile, since Jonesborough's state legislator Matthew Hill wants massive publication of information about doctors who perform legal abortions, Southern Beale wonders if "harassment of women" is a part of the Republican agenda:

"Really, what is the deal with these white, middle-aged men in the legislature? You guys just got vaginas on the brain or something? Is that all you people can do is sit around and dream up ways to harass women?"

 

Occupy Nashville Not Really Protesting, Say State Leaders

The state legislature is swiftly acting to pass a new law aimed at removing, fining and jailing the Occupy Nashville protesters. Legislators actually have to see this group, hear complaints about them being there, and as Lt. Gov. Ron Ramsey says - these folks aren't really protesting, so there are no "free speech" concerns to worry with. 

"Average protesters, usually on some defined day centered around a specific issue, march or congregate en mass to demand redress of a specific grievance. Normal protests can get loud and they can get rowdy. Frequently, they can last long into the night. On rare occasions, they can last a few days.

Occupy Nashville is quite a different animal. This protest is not really a protest at all. It is, as the name implies, an occupation. I value our constitutional rights -- the freedom of speech most of all. Without the freedom to directly confront our leaders, our constitution isn't worth the parchment on which it's printed.

However, to continue to ignore the reality of Occupy Nashville would be to shirk my duties as a public servant. I have to tell the truth and the truth is this: your War Memorial Plaza - a place dedicated to Tennesseans who paid the ultimate price in service to their nation and fellow citizens - is no longer a place for visitors. It is unsightly, it is unclean and, depending on the time of day, it is downright dangerous."

There are anecdotal stories about the protesters acting badly - and don't we have laws already which could be brought to bear to arrest folks behaving badly? This new proposed law would make a crime of long-term protests.

Occupy Nashville does have does have specific grievances.

And they do actively express their views in ways which must truly annoy the legislature - removing, arresting and fining those who take part seems more to be for the comfort level of elected officials than anything else

Bistro Boots Campfield, Internet Lights Up

"

pic via the Knox News Sentinel report

The owner of the Bistro By The Bijou Theatre told TN Senator Stacey Campfield to leave the restaurant Sunday in response to some wildly distorted and dangerously wrong information he was preaching about AIDS and gay people, which I wrote about here. (UPDATE: Campfield sued for libel, headed to court)

I find it really odd that a state senator who claims "Homosexuals represent about 2 to 3 percent of the population yet you look at television and plays and theaters, it's 50 percent of the theaters, probably more than that, 50 percent of the theaters based on something about homosexuality." would patronize a place which is itself part of a "theatre" - they even spell it like one of those places where "plays" are. Gasp!

Bistro owner Martha Boggs says:

""I didn't want his hate in my restaurant," Boggs said in a interview this morning. "I told him he wasn't welcome here. ... I feel like he's gone from being stupid to being dangerous, and I wanted to stand up to him."

Reactions are lighting up the internet:

Sean Braisted: "There is nothing inconsistent or incoherent about discriminating against those with power who actively discriminate against those without power.  There is no difference between refusing to serve David Duke than there is Stacey Campfield.  While Campfield's views may currently have more resonance among the American populace, it doesn't change the fact that he wishes discrimination against people based on who they are.

Mike Donila
Southern Beale
Betsy Phillips
Trace Sharp
Towle Road
Daily Kos
Think Progress 
No Silence Here has a roundup of comments
And, Free Republic: Gays have their own street in Knoxville?

Sen. Campfield isn't backing away from his uneducated commentary - he's adding to it, urging folks to think that someone who has hemophilia or anyone who might be ill must be avoided because they are not "normal":

"Most "Normal" people I imagine would also stay away from the IV drug users, hemophiliacs, known disease carriers, prostitutes and other high risk people. Also conceding a man less likely to receive the disease then (sic) a women because of the nature of sex, the odds of a man getting AIDS from a female are pretty low."

Classy. At least he says "I imagine" as his imagination is completely running wild. And the real question is - will voters forget all this when his re-election efforts begin?

Get Tenessee Political News via Out of The Blue

I've been looking for a good opportunity to feature the daily newsletter from editor Trace Sharp (aka Newscoma), Out of The Blue, which started a few weeks back and today's edition is a prime example of why you should sign up to receive this must-read. Out of the Blue is the brainchild of Mike McWherter and you can sign up for their Daily Buzz and get a wide range of political news and views right here.

Selections from today:

• Robert Houk of the Johnson City Press writes that the gutting of collective bargaining does nothing to improve education. "The attack on collective bargaining has nothing to do with bettering education in Tennessee. It's simply a display of raw, naked power on the part of GOP leaders who are ticked off at the TEA. Now that Republicans are firmly in control of both the legislative and executive branches of Tennessee government, it's time for political payback." LINK

• A letter to the editor in the Tennessean asks state government "what is next for us little people." LINK

• The caps on the Hope Scholarship will come with a price for some students. Jennifer Brooks writes: "The move will offset the cost of the new summer scholarships, but it's bad news for any juniors who double-majored or switched their majors and suddenly find that the rules have changed on them without warning." LINK

• Tennessee is ranked 49th in female political participation. LINK

• Andy Sherr has a list of budget cuts that will go into effect next month. "There will be fewer people protecting Tennessee's groundwater, patrolling its roads or taking care of its most vulnerable people in the budget year that starts July 1." LINK

Sex Slavery In Nearly Every County In Tennessee, Says TBI

Sex Slavery By County in Tennessee, Minors and Adults

The above image is from last week's special report from the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation on Human Sex Trafficking in the state and how it impacts children and adults, and how widespread this brutal practice has become.

The TBI Director Mark Gwyn says in his opening comments on this report (full online PDF here):

"The results of the study are shocking. Human trafficking and sex slavery in Tennessee is more common than previously believed possible. Focused specifically on victims between the ages of nine and seventeen, the study pulled together details that found children are moved from city to city in the state and sold as prostitutes. Tennessee, simply because of its geographical position to Atlanta and the large number of interstates that cross the state, is conducive to a traveling business.

Many times those promoting prostitution transport the child victims to large entertainment events or sporting venues where people are traveling through or visiting the state. These visitors, often referred to as ‘sex tourists’, quite often become the clients.

The National Incidence Studies of Missing, Abducted, Runaway and Throwaway Children reports that one in four children who run away from home are approached for commercial sexual exploitation within 48 hours of running away. The average age of a sex trafficking victim is 13.

Trafficking victims rarely come forward to ask for help on their own because they are drugged, brainwashed, threatened and beaten into believing authorities will abuse them worse than their captors. Many times victims are arrested for crimes they are forced to commit. Inherently, cases against the traffickers are difficult for law enforcement to investigate and a challenge to prosecute."


85 percent of the counties in this state have had reports on this cruel sexual slavery. Just a few weeks ago, a large multi-state slavery ring, operating two brothels in Hamblen County, was busted by the TBI and local law enforcement.

WBIR has a report here, including information from Christi Wigel, president of the Community Coalition against Human Trafficking in Knoxville.

Last week, the state legislature attempted to toughen the penalties and consequences for those who promote or participate and are forced to participate in this slavery. Sadly, the Senate added some changes that simply fall short of what's needed:

"This amendment also replaces the provisions of this bill that would make a minor who is charged with prostitution subject to the protective custody of the department of children's services as a possible victim of child sexual abuse. This amendment instead requires that a law enforcement officer who takes a person under 18 years of age into custody on suspicion of having committed prostitution, upon determination that the person is a minor, provide the minor with the telephone number for the national human trafficking resource center hotline and release the minor to the custody of a parent or legal guardian."


Hopefully, in the weeks ahead, local and state law enforcement will convince the state and the rest of us living in Tennessee to give them the tools they need to stop and prosecute these vermin and to provide real help to the minors trapped in Hell.

Hamblen County Man's Actions Not Protected "Free Speech" Says TN Supreme Court

A June 24, 2006 anti-immigrant and very emotional rally held in Hamblen County on the lawn of the courthouse drew a massive police presence and one would-be attendee, then 61-year-old Teddy Ray Mitchell, was arrested for disorderly conduct. The case against Mitchell has been moving through the courts for five years and the Tennessee Supreme Court has now issued a ruling in the case, a 4-1 decision that found Mitchell was guilty of disorderly conduct. (The opinion written by Justice Gary Wade is here.)

The photos above, showing a tank-like vehicle and heavily armed police, are from that hot day in June (mentioned previously on this blog here and here). There were snipers on the roof above the crowd as well. Obviously there was a great deal of fear and concern from police, who seemed to be expecting a very dangerous atmosphere at the rally.

Mitchell was first convicted, but an appeals court overturned that verdict and the case went to the State Supreme Court in a break from their usual business. Reporter Jamie Satterfield of the Knoxville News Sentinel has a story on the decision here.

The case centered over whether or not Mitchell's conduct was threatening and crossed a line protecting free speech. The court majority says yes. Mitchell was certainly using abusive racial insults towards the police, and police also wanted to bar Mitchell from carrying an American flag into the rally since it was on a large pole which they feared could be "used as a weapon".

A dissenting opinion from the Supreme Court by Justice Sharon Lee says Mitchell's conduct was not disorderly and that he was protected by the right of free speech. Some excerpts from her opinion:


"Anticipating a possible confrontation between pro-immigration and anti-immigration participants at the rally, the Hamblen County Sheriff’s Department assembled between eighty and ninety police officers from various police agencies in and around the rally site. The police presence included officers from the Hamblen County Sheriff’s Department, the Morristown Police Department, the Sevierville Emergency Rescue Squad, and the Tennessee Highway Patrol. Most of the officers were in uniform; some were in riot gear, many were in full body armor and carried loaded M-16 weapons; and others carried AK-47 weapons. Police officers were on the ground, snipers on rooftops, and a half-track tank was hidden in the bushes of the courthouse lawn."

---

"The videos depict a scene where Mr. Mitchell is agitated, but the police officers and bystanders appear undisturbed by Mr. Mitchell’s conduct. Indeed, not a single person testified that he or she felt threatened by Mr. Mitchell.
At this point, an order came across the radio from Officer Weisgarber, who was stationed next to the courthouse, to remove Mr. Mitchell. Officer Weisgarber never saw Mr. Mitchell until after his arrest."

---

"Although Mr. Mitchell’s conduct was rude and belligerent, the fatal flaw in the State’s case was its failure to establish that Mr. Mitchell’s conduct was violent or threatening."

---

"After considering the principles in these cases and the evidence in the record before us, I am convinced that the proof was not sufficient to sustain the conviction for disorderly conduct. In vociferously challenging the officers’ authority to deny him permission to enter the rally with his American flag, there is no doubt Mr. Mitchell was rude, loud, and belligerent. However, the entire verbal exchange between the numerous officers and Mr. Mitchell appears to have lasted less than 15 seconds. There was no proof that Mr. Mitchell made any threats of violence. There was no proof that any of the seven police officers at the entrance felt threatened at any time by Mr. Mitchell. There was no proof that Mr. Mitchell committed any act of violence toward any of the police officers or counseled others to do so. Although the State argues that Mr. Mitchell “shook the flag pole and poked Officer Wallen two or three times with the eagle attached to the end of the flag pole,” this argument is simply not supported by the videotapes that captured the entire encounter. Obviously, the jury’s role is to resolve conflicts in the proof; however, the State’s argument that Mr. Mitchell used his flag to poke Officer Wallen in a threatening or violent manner and that this conduct somehow took place outside of the video cameras’ view is sheer conjecture."

---

"Officers’ mere speculation as to what may have happened was not a basis to arrest Mr. Mitchell for boisterously expressing his views on a matter of public concern. Therefore, I would hold that Mr. Mitchell’s conduct was protected free speech under the First Amendment."

Tennessee Teachers Battle Bargaining Ban

The Tennessee Teachers Association may lose their right to collective bargaining under legislation just introduced in the state legislature, legislation drafted by those who normally are on the other side of the bargaining table from the teachers union - the state's school board association.

Union reps warn that the proposal is a step backward -

"We had more than 100 years in Tennessee without collective bargaining to see how that works," said Al Mance, executive director for the Tennessee Education Association, which represents some 52,000 teachers and administrators in the state.

"Ninety percent of teachers in Tennessee are covered by collective bargaining," Mance added. "Without it, we'll go back to the previous way of doing business, when male teachers were paid more than female teachers; when African-Americans were paid less than Caucasians; when there was no voice for the teachers in the process."

Today, Governor Haslam met with the Tennessee Higher Education Commission today, and said he does not think the new Republican-led legislature is "anti-teacher", but the does think the state is ripe for education reforms, adding:

"The newly elected governor did say he opposed collective bargaining for police and firefighters during his tenure as mayor of Knoxville.

---

“You realize, Tennessee is hot right now,” he said. “You realize, Tennessee is the place people are talking about when it comes to innovations in higher education.”

If you also consider proposed legislation to make it a crime for any union group in the state to contribute to a political campaign, it could be said the state is looking for ways to decrease employee-organized groups from having a voice in the state. Or, as No Silence Here puts it - "Some Lawmakers Stomping On Free Speech".

Massive Strike Underway By Georgia Prison Inmates

UPDATE: The most recent info (Dec. 17) says the protest appears to have ended.
---

Details are few and far between, but apparently since Thursday, Dec. 9th, inmates in 6 to 11 Georgia state prisons have refused to leave their cells or do any work in a protest against a variety of conditions, the protest coordinated via cell phones and other social networking methods.

In the last 24 to 48 hours, the media has begun to pay attention and report on the situation, such as the Chattanooga Times Free Press to the Atlanta Journal Constitution.

The state of Georgia does not pay anything to inmates for work - unlike Tennessee, which pays from 17 to 54 cents per hour to inmates for work they perform.

But inmates claim much more is at stake - including no educational opportunities beyond getting a GED, no skills-training or rehabilitation programs, little exercise, very low nutritional meals, and little, if any, health care.

This is a pretty big story getting very little attention as it affects thousands of inmates and numerous state prisons. Chances are if negotiations don't work soon, the situation could easily become tremendously volatile.

Tennessee Most Depressed State In America

So says a report in the Tennessean newspaper:


"Depression is a nationwide problem, but Tennesseans may be at even greater risk. The latest report from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration showed that Tennessee had the country's highest rate of adults who have had a major depressive episode within the last year.

The report, based on 2006 and 2007 surveys, does not determine the reasons behind the statistics. However, Dr. Karen Rhea, chief medical officer of Centerstone of Tennessee, said she suspects the state's overall poor health could play a role.

Tennessee consistently has high rates of obesity, diabetes, heart disease and prescription drug abuse, among others. People who suffer from depression are more likely to have other health problems as well, she said.

Sita Diehl, the director of state policy and advocacy for the National Alliance on Mental Illness, said it's difficult to determine if depression triggers other health issues or vice versa."

It's the chicken-or-the-egg scenario," Diehl said. "If you are depressed, you eat. If you are obese, you're depressed."

Indentured Servitude via TDOT Part 2

The Vanderbilt Landscaping company, awarded contracts by the Tennessee Dept of Transportation using money from the federal Stimulus programs and other programs, accused of making legal migrant workers live and work in vile conditions akin to indentured servitude has offered a response to the claims (original post here and on KnoxViews).

Channel 5 News reports:

"Joffery and Larry Vanderbilt said they could not believe the accusations when Hilario Jimenez and a group of protesters from the New Orleans Workers' Center for Racial Justice started protesting outside the company Thursday.

"All the allegations that they were stirring up were just -- it was crazy," said Larry Vanderbilt

They believe Jimenez was trying to retaliate for discipline he received at the end of June.

Vanderbilt Landscaping employs 60 people. The company has several contracts with the Tennessee Department of Transportation to cut grass along highways and interstates.

The H-2B program lets American companies bring people into the country as guest workers if they can't find Americans to fill the jobs.

Jimenez was one of them. Among his accusations -- Vanderbilt Landscaping doesn't pay overtime.

"Hilario made $12.33 an hour. We always pay our guys time and a half, and time and a half equals $18 and something cents an hour," Joffery Vanderbilt said.

The Vanderbilt's showed us Jimenez's last paycheck showing three hours of overtime. They also showed us a payroll journal showing how much he made.

The Vanderbilt's said workers get half hour lunches and two 15 minute breaks in addition to other breaks when they get too hot. As far as the accusation of working at gunpoint, the Vanderbilt's said that too is totally false.

"That is all false. None of us carry guns. That is false," Joffery said.

A Nashville Union leader also brought up the issue of taking jobs from American workers. The Vanderbilt's said they ran ads in newspapers in Nashville and Memphis for three weeks. They said they did 70 interviews, and said most of the applicants decided the work was too hard."

So not one, not one of the applicants accepted the job offered? That seems a real stretch of the imagination, and the firm got numerous contracts from TDOT and more money by claiming no one save migrant workers would take the jobs.

"What you have to understand is that the U.S. guest worker program binds workers to one employer. That means that no matter how badly a company mistreats a guest worker, he or she can't leave to work for anyone else. If they do, they can be arrested and deported back home, where they face crushing debt.

The other thing you have to understand is that Vanderbilt Landscaping got the guest worker visas by claiming to the U.S. Department of Labor that it could not find a single American worker to fill these landscaping jobs. I know a few that would have been interested, but neither Vanderbilt nor the Department of Labor ever gave me a call.

Hiring exploitable guest workers and locking U.S. workers out of jobs let Vanderbilt undercut the competition, and they won $2.48 million in state landscaping contracts paid for with our tax dollars. On top of that, Vanderbilt got $900,000 in guaranteed loans through the federal stimulus program. And instead of putting all that money toward good jobs for struggling Tennesseans, they locked American workers out and locked legal guest workers in.

Why has TDOT not responded to these allegations, or the State of TN? Though complaints have been filed, how long until an actual investigation occurs?

Southern Beale is on the story.

So is Coyote Chronicles.

Indentured Servants via TDOT Contractor

I added the following post at KnoxViews yesterday and am reprinting it here today.

Workers for a Smyrna company TDOT contracted for landscaping say they are being treated to horrible conditions, according to this report from the Daily News Journal. One worker, here on a work visa, was "rescued" this week by a group based in New Orleans. It's a truly grim tale - TDOT is trying to distance itself from the company's actions.

From the report:

A Mexican guest worker says a landscaping company with Tennessee state contracts and a federal stimulus loan guarantee held him and fellow workers like indentured servants, confiscating their passports and subjecting them to constant surveillance by managers who were often armed.
---
At the company housing in Smyrna, 13 or 14 people are lodged in a small house with one bathroom and no beds, Jimenez said. Workers built their own beds, he said. They each pay $100 a month rent, which is deducted from their pay.

They routinely were driven to the office at 6 a.m. and sometimes did not return until 8 p.m., but were not paid for any of the time spent waiting for assignments, going between the office and worksites or cleaning and maintaining the equipment, Jimenez said. Paychecks were often for only about 25 hours of work a week.

TDOT spokeswoman Julie Oaks said in an e-mail that most of the claims made about Vanderbilt Landscaping were outside the purview of the Transportation Department, but it was preparing to review the company’s payroll records

Full story here.

Tennessee Ranked 'Most Corrupt State'

The Daily Beast has just released their rankings for Most Corrupt States here in the good ol' US of A.

The bad news -- Tennessee ranks Number One.

The criteria they cite include:

•Public corruption, 1998—2008: Convictions of elected and other public officials investigated by federal agents over an 11-year period, from the Department of Justice.

•Racketeering and Extortion, 1998—2008: Code for organized crime convictions, also investigated by federal agents over an 11-year period, from the Bureau of Justice Statistics.

•Forgery and Counterfeiting, 1999—2008: Arrest numbers for producing or distributing fake money and goods over a 10-year period, from the FBI.

•Fraud, 1999—2008: Arrests for false statements or documents produced for personal gain over a 10-year period, from the FBI.

•Embezzlement, 1999—2008: Arrests for surreptitious theft of money over a 10-year period, from the FBI.

By using a decade’s worth of federal data, we were able to minimize changes in local law enforcement efficacy, though some flaws remain: local cases go undocumented, and the FBI data is self-reported by local law enforcement. When combined, however, the data provides a fairly deep look into which jurisdictions are uncovering the most corruption. We leveled the playing field by calculating the numbers on a per-100,000 people basis.

Tennessee's score:

Public Corruption: 18
Racketeering & Extortion: 11
Fraud Rank: 7
Forgery & Counterfeiting: 5
Embezzlement: 9

The community they selected to highlight the dire conditions - Newport, TN:

"Recent Scandal: Here's a foolproof recipe for corruption: a former policeman commingling with gang members. Milburn Williams, a retired police captain from Newport, ringleaders Raymond Hawk and Grant Williams, and 20 others were indicted on racketeering, drug trafficking and a slew of other charges last year in Greeneville. The sting operation was headed by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and centered around a chop shop called "H-1 Auto", later renamed "A Automotive." For six years the chop shop was the command post for an operation that allegedly moved stolen property and goods across state lines and sold cocaine and marijuana. The most serious of the charges carry up to $2 million in fines and 40 years in prison.

The others in the Top Ten:

2 - Virginia
3 - Mississippi
4 - Delaware
5 - North Carolina
6 - Florida
7 - Nevada
8 - Pennsylvania
9 - South Carolina
10 - Oklahoma

Flood Damage In Middle TN Offers Grim Picture, Music Stars Rally To Help

A map visualizing the widespread and deadly damage from the flooding in Middle Tennessee was presented via Speak To Power:



Steve Ross notes the damage both physically and economically is mind-boggling:

"The economic impact of this disaster is going to be felt throughout the state for some time. The losses in more rural counties, will likely go unnoticed by the majority of the state for even longer. It’s hard for people, particularly city folk (I know I’m one too) to understand the challenges faced by rural Tennesseans. Most have neither the population density, nor the economic diversity to bounce back quickly. Crops don’t grow faster just because you want them to…neither does livestock. That loss of income is going to take a huge toll on these areas."

Tonight, a host of country music stars and many others will aid in fundraising efforts and in offering support which viewers can take part in and many other music events are planned as well - for a complete rundown of the events, click here. Knoxville's WBIR-TV will also simulcast the event tonite.

Disaster In Middle TN Continues

image via The Tennessean

Floods in Middle TN have been a grim force and the devastation has claimed many lives, and there are fears the death toll will climb as flood waters threaten Nashville and surrounding counties - 52 counties are likely to be labeled disaster areas.

I'm sure many readers in Tennessee and beyond would like to help and there's some info on how to do that just below ...

Friends and family in the area are safe as of now, but the cost has been so high for so many.

The Tennessean has a wide range of reports and images here

KnoxViews has more information,

Southern Beale recounts a loss very close to home

No Silence Here has info on how you can help

More on how you can help from Nashvillest.

image via Nashvillest