MCMINNVILLE—Two minutes of your time can make a big difference in the lives of thousands of uninsured Tennesseans who are unable to afford medical care.

Non-profit Isha Care Free Clinic of McMinnville is ranked in the top 5 in an online
contest hosted by Pepsi to win $250,000. Currently operating out of temporary space at the Harrison Ferry CIC on Highway 8, if Isha Care wins this prize the Clinic will be able to construct a permanent medical facility.

Visit the Isha Care website to VOTE: www.ishacare.org or visit the contest page at www.refresheverything.com/ishacare. The top 2 finishers of the contest both win $250,000. Any U.S. resident can cast 1 vote every day, so supporters can bookmark the link and vote daily to help win the prize. Voting ends Sunday, Feb 28 at 11pm (CST).

“The Warren and Van Buren county community members have been extremely supportive of the free clinic,” said Dr. Kalpana Rajdev, Medical Director of Isha Care. “But more funding is needed in order to establish a permanent facility, which is a dire and growing need. It is a common misconception that the uninsured are those who are out of work, but the population needing free care is much larger than that. Many people coming into our clinic are employed, but they can no longer afford the skyrocketing costs of care or health insurance—It is an epidemic of its own.”

Families USA (March 2009) reported that an astounding 30% of Tennessee residents were without health insurance for all or part of 2009. Of those who were uninsured, nearly 75% were employed at the time.

Dr. Rajdev sees the new free clinic as one viable solution for our local community to fulfill the urgent and ever-increasing need for access to basic medical care for those who cannot afford it. Construction plans for the Isha Care free clinic outline a 1500 square foot facility with two exam rooms, a laboratory, a waiting room, and equipment for electronic patient records.

Isha Care Free Clinic is a non-profit primary care clinic established in September, 2008. The clinic provides free medical care to the uninsured of Warren, Van Buren, and Sequatchie counties. Isha Care is wholly operated by volunteer physicians and staff out of temporary space at the local Harrison Ferry CIC just off Highway 8 in McMinnville. The clinic offers free care on Saturdays from 8am until noon. For more information contact Isha Care at 931-815-8500, or www.ishacare.org.

The convention’s first day lacked the orchestrated staging of most modern political events. The convention host delivered a meandering welcome speech without notes, saying he misplaced them. Former congressman Tom Tancredo (R-Colo.) offered a fiery defense of Judeo-Christian faith and traditional American values, but there was no prayer or Pledge of Allegiance to open the convention — nor was there an American flag in the convention hall. (Skoda blamed the oversight on the hotel staff.)

Since the price of tickets to this convention were $550 per attendee, surely they could have afforded a large flag for everyone to pledge. Or maybe Sarah Palin’s $100,000 speaking fee was so great that they had to skimp on the patriotism.

“Money is tight right now, and holding a county primary with only one candidate for each office would have been wasteful of taxpayer dollars,” Fagan said.

With a total voter turnout of only 10,000, the last May County Primary in 2006 cost taxpayers $100,000, or $10 per vote.

“Saving $100,000 could mean retaining 3 or 4 county jobs for family breadwinners in tough economic times,” Fagan added.

The convention will be held at the Rutherford County Courthouse on March 13, 2010 at 10:00 am. All attendees will be required to produce their voter registration card or photo I.D. before entering the hall. Candidates who wish to be considered for nomination should contact the Rutherford County Democratic Party prior to March 1st, 2010 at (615) 796-1472 and must meet all state and local requirements to hold said office. Further details and a list of officers and contact information can be found at www.rutherfordcountydemocrats.org.

2010 is the first and maybe the last year in Rutherford County history that either Democrats or Republicans will nominate candidates for public office by convention. The decision to caucus is made by local party Chairmen each election year.

“This is truly historic,” Fagan said. “Andrew Jackson began Democratic politics in Rutherford County in 1822, so it is only fitting that we continue making a little history.”

The menu includes Jambalaya, Red Beans and Rice, and, of course, Kings Cake! Tickets are selling now, they are $12.00 for adults and $5.00 for kids. Please contact Will at 615.796.1472 or Pat at 615.336.7450 for tickets and info.

Over 400 folks braved heavy rain, hail, and tornado warnings to help kick off Lisa Harrell’s campaign for Rutherford County Clerk at the Blackman Community Center. The chili was wonderful, the deserts were delicious, and a good time was had by all. Thank you to all the volunteers for putting on a great event!

“The district’s voters deserve an elected official who is looking after their interests, not someone who is more worried about political posturing and feathering his own nest,” Forrester said. “Mr. Ketron has demonstrated time and again that his priorities align more with the powers that be than with the hard-working families in Middle Tennessee.

“At a time when families are struggling to make ends meet and the state’s budget is being trimmed to the bone, you have a legislator introducing bills that bleed the working man, delay fair and accurate elections, and shut the door to a more open government. Mr. Ketron is out of touch with ordinary people.”

For example, Ketron introduced poorly written workers compensation legislation that passed into law in 2008 but was delayed at the beginning of this year’s legislative session after concerns arose; a bill that delayed implementation of a law requiring the purchase of new voting equipment across the state; and a bill that would make some public records off limits to the general public.

“We need lawmakers in the General Assembly who understand the challenges we face and work tirelessly to make Tennessee a better place to live and raise a family,” Forrester said.

“Policies that create jobs for our communities, ensure our children are well educated and make our lives more comfortable should be at the top of the priority list, not how to take care of a special interest group contributing to your campaign or a colleague with ulterior motives.”

Ketron has even admitted he doesn’t always have time to thoroughly read and understand legislation he votes for or against. He represents Lincoln, Marshall, Maury and part of Rutherford counties in the Senate.

“The thing was on a fast track,” Ketron reportedly told the Murfreesboro Daily News Journal when explaining his vote to reform education through the state’s application for federal stimulus money. “We barely had time to read through it.”

Forrester called Ketron’s explanation for not reading legislation thoroughly before casting a vote a “lame excuse and a blatant disregard for your duty as a legislator.”

“It appears to me that Mr. Ketron is Ron Ramsey’s ‘yes’ man,” he added.

“Rowland has already gained a reputation as an incompetent and ineffectual Representative, and this petty partisanship adds immaturity to that reputation,” Fagan said. He added that Rowland has herself sponsored many resolutions in the past, even for her current boyfriend Ronnie Barrett, and questions why Rowland would not simply add her name to a resolution honoring a retiring Congressman of 26 years from our own county.

On Wednesday, January 27 2010, Representative Kent Coleman (D-Murfreesboro) sponsored a resolution honoring the retiring Congressman. It is customary for all Representatives to sign on and co-sponsor such resolutions of recognition for retiring Congressman and Senators. However, Republican Leader Glen Casada of Brentwood notified Coleman that House Republicans would not be doing so.

“Bart Gordon has worked for Rutherford County and the Sixth District for over a quarter century. Whether or not we all agree with his every decision, he deserves to be recognized for his service just as Republicans Bill Frist and Fred Thompson were recognized by all Democrats for their service.”

Rep. Rowland and 36 Republican colleagues, in an unprecedented partisan move, refused to sign the resolution. By contrast, when Republicans Bill Frist and Fred Thompson retired from the U.S. Senate all 99 House members, Republican and Democrat, co-sponsored a resolution of recognition. At that time, both the Tennessee Senate and the Tennessee House of Representatives were controlled by Democrats, but Republicans are unwilling to return the favor this time around.

Such a resolution is routinely “co-sponsored” by all the members of the House and Senate so that all their names appear on the framed document for the Congressman’s wall.

But this time most of the names on Gordon’s “thank you” will be Democrats. Coleman was asked by Republicans not to add them as co-sponsors.

“I think with the maybe increased partisanship that exists in government today. It was probably a better idea to allow people to sign on to the resolution and not make that type of motion and cause a political disturbance.”

Only thirteen of the 50 Republicans in the state House signed on to the resolution honoring Gordon’s services.

UPDATE: Donna Rowland (R-Murfreesboro) was among those refusing to recognize Gordon, even though she represents his home city and county of Rutherford.

The Daily News Journal’s weekly columnist Sam Stockard asked Bill Ketron why he voted for Race To The Federal Trough along with every other Republican legislator from Rutherford County. Here is what Ketron said:

Asked if he knows what the international benchmarks are, state Sen. Bill Ketron said, “I do not. We were told they would come from the U.S. Department of Education. The thing was on a fast track,” Ketron said. “We barely had time to read through it. It’s voluminous.”

Yet Ketron and fellow Republicans, Sen. Jim Tracy, of Shelbyville, Rep. Donna Rowland of Murfreesboro, Rep. Joe Carr of Lascassas and Rep. Pat Marsh of Shelbyville, members of the Rutherford County delegation, voted for it. Only state Rep. Kent Coleman, a Murfreesboro Democrat, voted against it.

So Republican Senator Bill Ketron admits that he voted for a massive overhaul of Tennessee’s education system without knowing much of what it actually accomplished. He also admits that as a “conservative” Republican, he thinks its just great to beg for half a billion dollars in stimulus cash with strings attached - strings that could bind our teachers to international standards. Sounds like something Tennessee’s Tea Party crowd would really oppose, but they are deathly silent on the matter because the legislation was backed by their republican overlords Ron Ramsey and Glen Casada. Just more evidence that the Tea Party crowd are willing to ignore their own stated beliefs if republicans tell them to, just like they did when they gave George W. Bush free reign to plunge our nation into huge war debts and pass unfunded federal mandates like No Child Left Behind.

Did Senator Ketron also sponsor workmans’ compensation legislation he didn’t understand, or did he know that he would be taking independent contractors’ hard earned profits while helping his insurance business’ bottom line by enacting Public Chapter 1041? What other legislation has Bill Ketron helped to pass without reading or knowing the consequences?

“Dear Lisa, Happy New Year! I know you will lead this county in the right direction with a strong ethical compass and look forward to the progress we need! Harrell 2010! “- Daniel Parfitt, Rutherford Co. Resident

“Lisa Harrell is an amazing lady. It’s been less than two years since I moved here, but it’s as if I’ve know Lisa a long time already! She is smart and friendly! I’m so happy I met her and now can call her my friend.” - Sandy Sanderson, Rutherford Co. Resident

“Best wishes for your campaign, Ms. Lisa! I am very enthusiastic about seeing you all the way to victory! Sincere thanks for offering your public service.” - Jill Woodworth-Collier, Rutherford Co. Resident

“I am so glad that J.B and I have gotten to know you in these last few months. Thank you so much for inviting us to join you at Jim and Nick’s Taco Tuesday in support of Rutherford County charities. We can’t wait to see you win next year and be the next Rutherford County Clerk! Harrell 2010!”
Much Love,
Amber Barrett, Rutherford Co. Resident

Meet Scott Brown, the new Family Values Republican Senator from Massachusetts, who posed nude for Cosmopolitan Magazine’s “America Sexiest Men” issue of 1982.

Conservatives decry deficit spending, but JFK was one of four presidents since World War II to have achieved a balanced budget, so that eliminates the budget deficit as a reason for leaving the party. By the way, three of the four presidents who had balanced budgets were Democrats (Truman, JFK, and Clinton). The lone Republican budget balancer was Eisenhower. (Hey conservatives, what happened to Reagan and the two Bushes?)

Last week’s Special Session called by Governor Bredesen to overhaul Tennessee’s education system was a locomotive speeding towards passage that even Superman could not have stopped. This massive legislation was debated in committees for a single day, and passed on the Senate and House floor the next.

Every Republican Representative voted to seek stimulus cash through federal Race To The Top grants, and our Democratic Governor and Democratic Caucuses backed the measure as well even though it meant adopting federal guidelines tying teachers’ performance to mere test scores . Only a handful of Democrats (8 to be exact) were willing to stand up for teachers and say ‘NO’ to a governor of their own Party and their own caucus leadership.

Our own Rep. Kent Coleman was the only Rutherford County legislator to stand on principle and stand up for teachers when it came time to vote, even though he knew he was also standing right in front of a speeding locomotive. It took the courage of Superman to rise and say this on the House floor last Friday night:

Clarksville, Tennessee – January 11, 2010 - Kim McMillan has received the endorsement of the National Women’s Political Caucus. It is the second national endorsement the gubernatorial candidate’s campaign has announced in the last week.

“This endorsement means a great deal to me,” McMillan said, “because the National Women’s Political Caucus is a multipartisan, multicultural grassroots organization dedicated to achieving equality for all women. Their support isn’t given just to candidates on the Democratic ticket and I’m very proud to receive their backing.”

“Women are historically underrepresented in policy formation and discriminated against when running for office. Women typically come to politics to solve a problem. They come as moms, nurses, and teachers. While Kim McMillan is a mom and an educator, she is also the first woman in Tennessee history elected Majority Leader of the State House of Representatives, experienced in policy and economic development, and a small business owner. She has the knowledge, experience and dedication to lead Tennessee into a better, stronger future” said Lulu Flores, President of the National Caucus.

For more information about Kim McMillan’s campaign, visit www.kimmcmillan.com.

A big win for small independent contractors occurred yesterday when republican Senator Bill Ketron, under pressure from independent contractors across the state, was forced to co-sponsor a Democratic bill he did not support last year to delay his own law, Public Chapter 1041, from taking effect. Ketron has finally agreed to support Democrat Tim Barnes’ bill (SB7001) that postpones until March 11, 2011 the deadline for contractors to purchase costly extra insurance. Interestingly, Ketron just last year did not support the delay sponsored by Senator Barnes of Clarksville, a Democrat.

Barnes sponsored SB2055 in 2009 in order to protect small independent contractors from the high costs of new insurance required by the Public Chapter 1041 Law which Ketron sponsored and passed in 2008. Ketron, a republican from Murfreesboro, abstained from voting for Barnes’ delay.

But now that he’s taken so much heat from Tennessee’s small business owners, he thinks delaying his own law is a great idea. He has demanded to be added to the list of co-sponsors of Barnes’ re-introduced bill (now SB7001), a bill he previously did not support.

Barnes’ bill to delay Ketron’s law will come up for a vote today at 1:00 in the Finance Ways & Means committee during Special Session. Unless Ketron abstains from voting again, he has officially flip-flopped on his own law. Maybe Ketron should have supported a delay led by Democrats last year, before he lost the support of Tennessee’s independent contractors.

Just 10 short minutes ago, the Tennessee Senate, along party lines, voted to repeal the Tennessee Voter Confidence Act which required paper verified voting machines in all 95 counties, paid for with $32 million of federal Help America Vote Act (HAVA) funds. Mr. Ketron sponsored SB0872, a bill to halt implementation of the Tennessee Voter Confidence Act in 2010.

Tennessee currently uses machines that have no paper record and cannot offer a recount. The new paper ballot machines are paid for by funds already alloted to Tennessee by the federal government. Paper ballots ensure there is an accurate record of votes if anything is questionable.

After raising costs for small business throughout Tennessee and becoming the liquor lobby’s go-to Senator, is Mr. Ketron scared of the election results in 2010? We report. You decide.

Rep. Joe Pitts (D-Clarksville)

The law in question, sponsored by Republican House Leader Jason Mumpower of Bristol and Republican state Sen. Bill Ketron of Murfreesboro, went into effect on Dec. 31. Some building and small-business groups have said the new workers’ compensation policies are too costly for their members, especially at a time when the construction industry is in a downturn.

“Mr. Ketron and Mr. Mumpower are more worried about helping their big business buddies than on helping the self-employed guy out here trying to make ends meet,” Tennessee Democratic Party Chairman Chip Forrester said. “The workers’ compensation bill they shepherded through the legislature may put some small-business owners in a real financial bind or even out of business.”

Sen. Tim Barnes (D-Clarksville)

State Rep. Pitts and state Sen. Barnes have introduced a bill delaying the new workers’ compensation law, which forces general contractors to carry the insurance on subcontractors and other workers who were not otherwise covered. As written, the new law also applies to sole proprietors and partnerships with six or fewer employees.

“They can’t pay when they are an industry that has been devastated by this recession and their income has shrunk dramatically,” said Jim Brown, Tennessee director of the National Federation of Independent Businesses, during a recent television interview with WSMV-TV in Nashville.

Efforts by Pitts and Barnes to delay implementation of the law were scuttled last year. The General Assembly, however, will convene tomorrow, Tuesday, Jan. 12, a special session dealing with education reforms and the workers’ compensation issue.

Many lawmakers agree the law is flawed and hope it can be delayed until all concerns can be addressed.

“I hope this next session will focus on real concerns for the state and not be a venue to score cheap political points for the November elections,” Forrester said. “We have too much riding on the future of this state to waste time on grandstanding and nonsense.”

Rep. Kent Coleman (D-Murfreesboro) answered hard questions put to him by the Daily News Journal in Sunday’s edition. While other lawmakers are tiptoeing around education issues being handled in an upcoming Special Session of the General Assembly, Coleman clearly and precisely expressed his opinions on the matter of federal Race To The Top funding and teacher tenure, even when they differed from those of our Democratic governor. He also did the best job in recent memory of calling out Republicans for voting against education funding and then claiming the credit when Democrats got it done, and stating precisely why the Democratic Party of Tennessee is the only party in the state that has proper education of our children as its top priority:

Coleman: I do believe the Democratic Party has the strongest commitment to public education between the two parties. And I’ll give you an example. A few years ago, Gov. Bredesen put forth a proposal to raise about $250 million for school systems through a tobacco tax, and it raised (about) $20 million recurring money for Rutherford County and (Murfreesboro) city school systems. I was the only person in that commission meeting last week that voted to raise that money. But I sat there and listened to the members of the opposing party. I know one of them said something to the effect of a BEP reduction would be the last thing they would vote to do to our county, and I’m having to sit there and think, ‘You didn’t vote to raise the $20 million for Rutherford County,’ and all these commissioners, I don’t any of them realized that. So, someone’s got to communicate to the public education system that the Democratic Party has always had a strong conviction to the belief of equal education, public education, desegregation, and a lot of those of those issues haven’t been popular in the past, but they remain the strongest basis or the reason the Democratic Party exists in Tennessee, because education is our main expenditure at the state level.

Public Chapter 1041, sponsored by Senator Bill Ketron (R-Murfreesboro) and Rep. Jason Mumpower (R-Bristol) was lobbied for heavily by the Tennessee Hombuilders Association (a special interest group that represents large development companies) and the Tennessee Insurors Association, who greased the wheels of government with copious amounts of campaign cash for Republican lawmakers in order to further the interests of big business over the little guy. It would require all contractors to purchase workers’ compensation insurance even if their only employee is themselves. The new law took effect January 1st, and small contractors are howling mad about it:

Gerry Fridlund, owner of Skybright Metal Roofing in Memphis, found out about the law the hard way when his insurance company sent him a bill for $4,300 last summer.

“I told them I wasn’t going to pay it,” Fridlund told NIT. “When I asked who was responsible for this I was told the Home Builders Association pushed this through. I think they wanted to stop the little guy from bidding up against the big boys. They want to squeeze the sole proprietors and make it difficult for people to start small businesses.”

The new law’s Senate sponsor, Sen. Bill Ketron (R-Murfreesboro), is himself an insurance salesman who benefits from raising premiums on small contractor businesses. During his current term, special interest PACs representing large home builders, developers and insurance industries gave more than $20,000 to Ketron’s campaign war chest.

The new law’s House sponsor, Rep. Jason Mumpower (R-Bristol), has received $18,000 from special interest PACs representing large home builders, developers and insurance industries during his current term.

Its all fine with Bill Ketron, who will be sending out grossly inflated insurance bills to his customers this year. He doesn’t really care that jobs may be killed to pay for it as long as he gets paid.

Thankfully, Rep. Joe Pitts (D - Clarksville) and Sen. Tim Barnes (D-Clarksville) have listened to the voices of Tennessee’s small business owners and are seeking to delay the enforcement of the new law in Special Session of the General Assembly next week. HB1899 and its companion bill SB2055 delay Ketron’s law until July 1st of 2010. As usual, its up to Democrats to finally stand up for small business owners when republicans and their big business cronies try to sneak in sweetheart deals for themselves.