Archive for the ‘From the Chair’ Category

A Christmas Message from our Chairman…

Tuesday, December 22nd, 2009

blue-democratic-donkey-ornamentFolks have told me a great many things about Christmas lately - how and with whom to celebrate it, what to buy and where to buy it, and even how to talk about it. I have actually heard folks in the pulpit, at the lunch table, and even on my television speak fervently on the subject of the season’s greetings, whether “Merry Christmas” or “Happy Holidays” is more proper. Bless their hearts, they just get so excited about Christmas and they should. It is only recently that we have had the freedom to celebrate it!

Following the English Protestant Reformation, groups such as the Puritans, the forefathers of today’s evangelical Christians, strongly condemned the celebration of Christmas, considering it a Catholic invention and the “trappings of popery” or the “rags of the Beast.” Following Oliver Cromwell’s victory over Charles I during the English Civil War, England’s Puritan rulers banned Christmas in 1647. Protests followed as pro-Christmas rioting broke out in several cities and for weeks Canterbury was controlled by the rioters, who decorated doorways with holly and shouted royalist slogans. In Colonial America, the Puritans of New England shared radical Protestant disapproval of Christmas. Christmas celebration was outlawed in Boston from 1659 to 1681, but was revived by the Royal Governor. The celebration of Christmas fell out of favor after the Revolutionary War because it was seen as an English custom, but it was revived in the 1820s by several short stories by Washington Irving depicting harmonious warm-hearted holiday traditions he claimed to have observed in England.

I hope you can forgive me for not joining those important high-minded debates at Christmas time. I’m sure they’ll work it out. Meanwhile, I’ll be visiting family and trying to pick out some gifts while trying to keep perspective on what its all about. Dr. Suess has always been helpful in that regard:

“”And the Grinch, with his Grinch-feet ice cold in the snow, stood puzzling and puzzling, how could it be so? It came without ribbons. It came without tags. It came without packages, boxes or bags. And he puzzled and puzzled ’till his puzzler was sore. Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn’t before. What if Christmas, he thought, doesn’t come from a store. What if Christmas, perhaps, means a little bit more.

Welcome, Christmas, bring your cheer. Cheer to all Whos far and near. Christmas Day is in our grasp so long as we have hands to clasp. Christmas Day will always be just as long as we have we. Welcome Christmas while we stand, heart to heart and hand in hand.”

In Christmas Spirit,

Jonathon Fagan
Chairman, RCDP

Posted in Faith, Family Values, From the Chair | No Comments »

Friday, September 11th, 2009
Democrats, Republicans, Libertarians, Conservatives, Liberals, Christians, Jews, Muslims, and even Atheists perished at these two ghostly-lit empty spaces. They had at least one thing in common - they were Americans. Today is not a day for political posturing. It is a day for solemn reflection on those Americans who died by those Americans who still live.

Democrats, Republicans, Libertarians, Conservatives, Liberals, Christians, Jews, Muslims, and even Atheists perished at these two ghostly-lit empty spaces. They had at least one thing in common - they were Americans. Today is not a day for political posturing. It is a day for solemn reflection on those Americans who died by those Americans who still live.

Posted in Faith, From the Chair, Service, Terrorism, Volunteer | No Comments »

Our Chairman Calls for Immediate Resignation of Election Commissioners Tom Walker and Doris Jones.

Tuesday, June 23rd, 2009

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

June 23, 2009

Contact: Jonathan Fagan
Rutherford County Democratic Party Chairman
(615) 604-4211
han.d.man.2@gmail.com

(Murfressboro, TN) - The Chair of the Rutherford County Democratic Party (RCDP) today called on newly appointed Rutherford County Election Commission (RCEC) Chairman Tom Walker and Election Commissioner Doris Jones to resign their posts.

The call comes a day after both the Republican Chairman and Election Commissioner were quoted in the Murfreesboro Post as saying they don’t care what the state law says when it comes to serving the people of Rutherford County.

“Americans value free and fair elections. Rutherford County citizens deserve adults on the Election Commission who know and obey the rule of law. Otherwise, our trust in the democratic process is undermined. We don’t need people in control of our election process who blatantly express their disregard for state law,” said RCDP Chair Jonathon Fagan.

Both the newly appointed RCEC Chairman Walker and Election Commissioner Jones expressed their blatant disregard for state law when reporters from the Daily News Journal and the Murfreesboro Post attempted to cover a legal proceeding of the Election Commission. The reporters attempted to hand a copy of the law to the Chairman and Commissioner when both angrily dismissed the law calling it “crazy.” The election commission threatened police action to physically remove them from last night’s meeting.

“The people of Rutherford County and the state of Tennessee deserve Election Commissioners who they can trust to respect and uphold the law,” Fagan said. “Recent events serve to remind us of what happens when that faith is lost.”

Fagan said the attempt by RCEC Chairman Walker and Election Commissioner Jones to act illegally and then openly express their disdain for the laws of the state should be grounds for their immediate termination.

“The people of Tennessee deserve to know our elections are being handled professionally and not by partisan hacks who willfully thumb their nose at the law.”

Read the DNJ’s front page story here

Read the Murfreesboro Post’s story here

Posted in 2010, Elections, From the Chair, Watchdog Alert | 6 Comments »

Our Chairman’s 2009 TN Legislature Wrapup…

Monday, June 22nd, 2009

Hello fellow Democrats. I’m pleased to inform you that this year’s session of the Tennessee Legislature has finally come to an end. It was a long and arduous one for our own Curt Cobb and Kent Coleman, who had to wade through 142 gun bills and several booze bills sponsored by our republican Senator Bill Ketron and Rep. Joe Carr . At last, republicans proposed a budget that killed recruitment dollars for a private solar power plant that would bring 30,000 jobs to Tennessee , put Pre-K education on the chopping block , gutted the Ethics Commission , repealed the Tennessee Voter Confidence Act , stripped funding for MTSU’s Education Building , halted badly needed road and bridge projects, and even refused to erect statues for Tennessee’s Nobel Peace Prize recipients! Senate Minority Leader Jim Kyle (D - Memphis) likened it to cuttin’ and runnin’ and Governor Bredesen called it “stupid” . Our republican Senators Jim Tracy and Bill Ketron quickly voted for this “stupid” budget, and refused to help MTSU and its Education Building project. Luckily, Democrats in the House were able to fix most of this disastrous budget and forced Senate Speaker Ron Ramsey (R-Bristol) to surrender . We won this round.

But, we weren’t able to save the Ethics Commission, even though Rep. Kent Coleman tried his best to stand up for ethics in government. We also have to live with guns in bars, and paper-verified voting was postponed for another year even though we’re sitting on $34 million to implement it! Bottom line - we need more Democrats in the Tennessee Legislature. This website offers ways to get involved, contribute to the effort, stay updated on the issues, and stay connected. Your continued help and involvement is appreciated.

Sincerely,
Jonathon Fagan
Chairman, Rutherford County Democratic Party
(615) 604-4211
han.d.man.2@gmail.com
www.rutherfordcountydemocrats.org

Posted in Budget, Education, Elections, Energy, Ethics, From the Chair, Gov. Phil Bredesen, Guns, Jobs, Legislation, Lt. Gov. Ron Ramsey, MTSU, Rep. Curt Cobb (D-62), Rep. Kent Coleman (D-49), Republican leaders, Sen. Bill Ketron (R-13), Sen. Jim Tracy (R-16) | No Comments »

A Memorial Day Message From Our Chairman…

Monday, May 25th, 2009
Sergeant Alvin C. York, a Tennessee Hero

Sergeant Alvin C. York, a Tennessee Hero

My Great Great Great Great Great Grandfather, John S. Fagan, is buried near an enormous hickory tree on the Rutherford/Cannon County line. He was wounded storming the breastworks in the Battle of Kings Mountain during the Revolutionary War. He survived. Many did not. The freedom from tyranny they won afforded us a democracy that survives to this day, and is allowed to flourish because of the great sacrifice of our soldiers and their families.

Alvin C. York was one Tennessean who did not want to be a soldier. Raised on the Cumberland Plateau in Pall Mall, his Church of Christ faith discouraged war and violence, and he applied for Conscientious Objector status when drafted in 1917. Though he was declined and joined the 82nd Infantry Division, he came to realize that warfare could be justified through discussion of the Biblical stance on war with his company commander at Camp Gordon, Georgia.

Alvin single-handedly killed 30 German machine gunners and captured 132 enemy soldiers that were cutting his platoon to pieces. For that he received the Medal of Honor, a ticker tape parade in New York City, and a personal thank you from his Congressman Cordell Hull. But York’s greatest achievement came after the war was won. He wanted rural children to have the chance to get a high school education, so he worked to build a school in Jamestown, Fentress County, Tennessee. Alvin C. York Institute is now a nationally recognized school of excellence and boasts the highest high school graduation percentage in the state. It is home to almost 800 students, who honor and memorialize Alvin every day by living and learning in a free nation.

So it is with us all. We are living, breathing memorials to those who have come before and given us the liberty to live our lives and do our deeds. In the words of George S. Patton, “War is hell.” Whenever we help our fellow man or work to allow others the chance for a better life, we honor those who went through hell to defend our freedom.

Sincerely,
Jonathon Fagan
Chairman, Rutherford County Democratic Party

Posted in From the Chair, Service, Veterans | No Comments »

Come on out to the City Cafe

Sunday, May 3rd, 2009

A reminder from the Chairman:

Dear Fellow Democrats,
I just wanted to remind everyone of our monthly meeting this coming Monday, May 4 6:00-7:30pm at the City Cafe in the upstairs dining room. Nothing fancy, just a chance for us all to sit down and have a meal with one another, talk, and discuss ideas for the coming year. We hope to see you there!

The wisest men that e’er ye knew
Have never deemed it treason
To rest a bit — and jest a bit,
And balance up their reason:
To laugh a bit — and chaff a bit,
And joke a bit in season.

Sincerely,
Jonathon Fagan
Chairman, Rutherford County Democratic Party

Posted in From the Chair, Meeting, RCDP | No Comments »

Rutherford County is ground zero for 2010 elections

Thursday, April 30th, 2009

A lot is at stake for our state in the 2010 elections. Rutherford County is the birthplace of our nation’s Democratic Party. We are also ground zero in a battle to redraw district lines in 2011.

Below is part of an email message that went out last night to Rutherford County Democrats from newly elected RCDP Chairman Jonathon Fagan. If you did not receive an email, please sign up to receive updates.

RCDP Corresponding Secretary Will Fields reports that we’ve sold over 70 tickets to our May 12 fund raising dinner “Come Grow With us” and that we’re very close to meeting our first goal. Thank you for moving Tennessee forward in 2010!

Our party has a 187 year history in this county, and a long list of dedicated members have kept it alive through thick and thin, sometimes at great personal cost.  Now we are faced with a great challenge.  2010 will be a pivotal year for our party in Tennessee with 2 congressional seats, including Bart Gordon’s, hang in the balance  We must take back the House and Senate, or redistricting in 2011 will assure republican victories for years to come.  One thing is clear - Rutherford County is ground zero in the 2010 elections.  We owe it to those who have come before and labored so mightily to get involved and get this party going.  Below you will find a list of upcoming events.

Your attendance is vital and greatly appreciated. Our next fund raiser will be held on May 12th from 6:30 - 7:30pm. Please purchase tickets online today and visit our new website at www.rutherfordcountydemocrats.org where you can sign up for email updates, and let us know of any suggestions or questions you may have.

I also urge you to sign up for our 10-for-10 initiative for the pivotal 2010 elections. Feel free to check us out and join on Facebook and Twitter.

I would like to personally thank each and every one of you, my fellow Democrats, for your help and support for the year ahead!

Sincerely,
Jonathon Fagan
Chairman, Rutherford County Democratic Party

Posted in Democratic Party, From the Chair, Fundraising, RCDP | No Comments »