Sen. Andy Berke, a Chattanooga Democrat, discusses the Green Jobs Bill (SB 3120 – HB 3654 by Rep. Mike Stewart) he is sponsoring in the Tennessee legislature.
Tennessee has a great opportunity to be first in the U.S. in providing good paying, long-lasting jobs that will help to create a better future for ALL Tennesseans.
Money quote: “We CAN do well by doing good.”
More from TAPTN and TN Conservation Voters on their magically delicious Green Jobs / St. Patrick’s Lobby Day.
The people who did this are not our friends.
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, just because you say something often and loudly doesn’t make it true.
Take the curious case of “environmentalist” Rep. Frank Niceley (R-Strawberry Plains) who, along with Rep. Joe McCord (R-Maryville) and several other GOP state reps, were graded by the Tennessee Conservation Voters and found to have not-so-good records on the legislation that would keep Tennessee beautiful and its drinking water safe.
Tom Humphrey at Knoxville News Sentinel has the quote:
“The people who give these ratings are paid environmentalists,” Niceley says. “I was an environmentalist before most of these boys were born.”
Oh yeah? Well put your actions where your words are, fella, and maybe we’ll believe you.
Woods at the Nashville Scene breaks it down:
These are the cave men who made it easier in this year’s session for road-builders and real-estate developers to pave over Tennessee’s streams. Under the fabulous new law they rammed through the legislature, here’s how we’ll deal with pesky burbling brooks interfering with development plans: The developer only has to hire a “consultant” to write a report concluding that the stream isn’t a stream at all. No, it’s merely a “wet-weather conveyance” and therefore unworthy of any protections under environmental law….
And that’s just one of the environmental degradations brought to Tennessee by these lawmakers. Once again, they also managed to kill legislation to prohibit coal companies from blowing the tops of our mountains. Thanks to them, they’ll soon have to sing “Rocky Top-less” at Neyland Stadium on Saturdays.
McCord fell only one vote short of a majority for his bill to weaken standards for the amount of selenium that coal mines may release into Tennessee streams. Critics warned it could cause massive fish and wildlife kills and jeopardize human health, too. But McCord assured everyone that selenium is perfectly safe. It’s so good for you they put it in vitamin pills! You need “your daily dose of selenium,” McCord said. Oh well, there’s always next year.
Next year. Ah, yes. Can’t wait to see – not hear – what these tree friends come up with in January.
Summary: Featuring guests Wayne White, a visual artist also known as the voice of Vance the pig from Pee Wee’s Big Adventure, Chris Ford, Executive Director of Tennessee Conservation Voters, Not Tre Hargett, the Not Tennessee Secretary of State, and Karl Frisch of Media Matters for America.
Part 1 A rundown of Walk Nashville Week, kissing up to Capitalism, a rundown of the lawsuit to compel the Secretary of State to give Tennesseans secure and verifiable elections, an update on climate change legislation straight from D.C. from Chris Ford of Tennessee Conservation Voters, and your phone calls about how the war on Christianity starts earlier and earlier every year. [24.21MB download mp3]
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Part 2 An interview with Not-Secretary of State Tre Hargett in which we ask him many of the questions about secure and verifiable elections we want to ask the real Secretary of State if he would ever agree to appear on the show; an interview with the real visual artist Wayne White, who brings his new book of his artwork “Maybe Now I’ll Get the Respect I So Richly Deserve,” to the Southern Festival of Books this weekend; and the Media Matters for American Smackdown with Karl Frisch. [18.2MB download mp3]
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Summary: Our guests include Paul Kuhn of NORML, Jeff Teague of Planned Parenthood of Middle and East Tennessee, Chris Ford of Tennessee Conservation Voters, and Elbert Ventura of Media Matters for America.
Part 1 – Om nom nom nom nom Intro, to do list (see below), and news items: the Fifth Summit of the Americas, the handshake heart ’round the right-wing echo chamber, and the torture memos.
[27.6MB 24:05 download MP3]
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Independence Day
– Martina McBride
– The Breeders (Last Splash)
Part 2 – Interview with Paul Kuhn It’s 4/20, yo, so we decided to interview our local “connection” to NORML, the National Organization to Reform Marijuana Laws (The Fightin’ Bogarts!). Paul Kuhn, partner with an investment management firm here in Nashville by day and NORML supporter, activist, and board member by night, discusses the mission of the organization, the state of legalization and decriminalization, and his deeply personal connection to the medical side of the argument. [25.1 MB 21:56 download MP3]
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Part 3- Media Matters for America Smackdown Media Matters research fellow, Elbert Ventura, has a list and the tea party organizers are on it. [9.4MB 08:12 download MP3]
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Part 4 – Interview with Jeff Teague Jeff Teague is the President and CEO of Planned Parenthood of Middle and East Tennessee. Planned Parenthood does such good work to educate men and women of all ages about their reproductive health through – outreach, support, and advocacy – that it simply boggles the mind that they have become a punching bag for the right wing. In this interview, Jeff tells us the real mission of the organization, dispels with quite a lot of misinformation, and shares with us the dangers inherent in SJR127 – the legislation that would amend the Tennessee constitution and get us one step closer to banning abortion. This Thursday, April 23, is the PPMET Spring Luncheon, a benefit to support all the good work they do. More information is at plannedparenthood.org or call 615-345-0952. [27.7MB 24:11 download MP3]
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Part 5 – Interview with Chris Ford An environment legislative update from Chris Ford, Executive Director of Tennessee Conservation Voters and a quick update on some more legislation passing through the state legislature – HB 0335 by Rep. Jeanne Richardson (D-Memphis) adds gender identity or expression as a sentencing enhancement factor to Tennessee’s hate crimes statute that currently includes sexual orientation. This bill will be heard on April 22 in the House Criminal Practice subcommittee. [11.1 MB 10:11 download MP3]
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Summary: Guests include Gray Sasser, John McFadden, Chris Ford, and Elbert Ventura.
Part 1 – You Have 60 Seconds to Celebrate…Good! Now Back to Work. – What’s an election day wrap-up without a call from Remo, Mary’s Independent Dad. Plus, confusion and disenfranchisement on Election Day for Vanderbilt Students, a healthy and appropriate response from the media to voter problems, and Nell Levin from the Tennessee Alliance for Progress calls in to ask, “What’s next?” (19:09 30.7MB)
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Part 2 – Interview with Gray Sasser – The Chairman of the Tennessee Democratic Party breaks Election Day down for us – the good, the bad, and the ugly. What does it mean for Tennesseans? For Nashvillians? Who’s to blame? Where do we go from here? And although Gray’s “blame me and let’s move on” attitude is honorable, a solid understanding of what happened is absolutely necessary – lest we be condemned to repeat history. (33:46 54.1MB)
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Part 3 – Media Matters for America Smackdown – Media Matters Research Fellow Elbert Ventura smacks down the advancing narrative that “America is a center-right nation” while explaining how certain media folk can label President-elect Barack Obama a Socialist one week and a Reagan Democrat the next. Was it something he won? (09:25 15MB)
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Part 4 – Tennessee Lives in Infamy – Tennesseans, get ready to spend the next two years fighting the last remaining gasps of the culture war on both a state and local level. First up, defeating Councilman Eric Crafton’s out of state funded “English Only” bill. (05:53 9.4MB)
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Part 5 – Interview with John McFadden and Chris Ford – John McFadden, Executive Director of the Tennessee Environmental Council, and Chris Ford, Executive Director of Tennessee Conservation Voters,, give us the scoop on the Second Annual Summit for a Sustainable Tennessee, happening this Thursday, Friday and Saturday. What is sustainability and what does it mean for all Tennesseans? Plus, what can we do to move a sustainable agenda forward. (19:42 31.6MB)
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