Ambushed by Shelby County Republicans

Update:  It appears that Commissioner Heidi Shafer is also supporting this plan.  Both she and Terry Roland spoke at the Shelby County Republican Women's Club this week.  A report from an attendee said that both Roland and Shafer were speaking in support of this scheme.  At the Commission meeting, Shafer played the role of good cop with us by talking with us and giving us the impression that she agreed with us.  She had recused herself from voting on the resolution because she works in the healthcare industry. 

What has the state party promised or threatened our elected leaders here in Shelby County?  Why is this so important to Haslam? 

There were four of us who witnessed the ambush on Monday by Republican Shelby County Commissioners.  Just two weeks ago, those of us who understand economics and the disaster that ObamaCare is, prevailed over the ruling class Republicans who wanted to pass a resolution supporting Governor Haslam's scheme to expand Medicaid in TN.  We called and emailed and instructed our representatives ~did you know that the Tennessee Constitution codifies our right to instruct our representatives?~ that we do not want to expand Medicaid in TN.  We know what ObamaCare is doing and will do to healthcare in our great country if not stopped.  As my youngest daughter used to say, "We don't want it!"  The people spoke and the resolution was pulled.  Well, low and behold, it reared it's ugly head once again on Monday.  It was not on the agenda.  It was an add-on sponsored by Terry Roland ~Republican~ and Van Jones ~Democrat.~ 

This is the email that I sent to Commissioners Roland, Reaves, Billingsley and Chism.  Commissioner Shafer recused herself because of her working in the healthcare industry and I didn't bother sending it to Steve Basar because he has already shown that he is not a conservative. 

Commissioner Roland,

I am disappointed with what I witnessed during the county commission meeting Monday. 

 

First, let me address the shenanigans that took place in the meeting.  It was a very cowardly act to ambush the citizens of Shelby County ~Republicans specifically~ in this manner.  You were not happy with the input you received by phone, email and from Republicans and other citizens who attended and spoke before the last Commission meeting where you tried to get support for the governor's scheme, so you decided to ambush us Monday by doing a last minute add-on to the agenda.  This is what we have come to expect from the Democrats and a tactic you have claimed in the past to despise.  Do you have such a short memory that you don't remember the last couple of months?  What was the recent lawsuit by the Democrats plus Steve Basar about?  Wasn't it about who could add-on an item to the commission agenda and whether a simple majority or super-majority was needed to overrule the chairman to add an item to the agenda?  What was the dire emergency that made it imperative that this resolution needed to be passed yesterday?

 

You spoke that you didn't like the ACA, but your back was against the wall because if we don't expand Medicaid in TN under this scheme, then you would be forced to raise property taxes in Shelby County.  We can't let the Med go under, after all.  We have heard this threat for years/decades.  We know what will happen if we expand Medicaid here in TN.  Do you not remember the TennCare debacle? It almost bankrupted the state.  It took a Democrat to come in and fix that fiasco.  Is that what you want?  Pave the way for a Democrat governor?

Two citizens, who happened to be present at Monday's meeting, spoke against this referendum.  They brought up some important points:

• What are we going to do when the federal monies dry up and the citizens of TN are stuck with having to pay the shortfall?
• Many of the states that went ahead and expanded Medicaid have still had hospital closings.
• Several states have handled this problem in ways that was beneficial to the medical providers and the patients and their solutions need to be examined to see if they would work in TN.
• You said that the smaller hospitals serving the surrounding counties are struggling because of the ACA and that the Memphis Regional Hospital (the MED) would have to take those patients.  However, the stated reason that the hospital in Fayette County is closing was because the people in the area were not using it. (only one new patient a day) and it was not cost effective to keep it open.

You did not show them the courtesy to slow down long enough to address those concerns but went directly to the vote.

By expanding Medicaid ~like Haslam wants to~ we are just kicking the can down the road.

I agree with Thomas Payne.

 

"I prefer peace.  But if trouble must come, let it come in my time, so that my children can live in peace

It is time for courage from you, our elected officials.  It is time for leaders to articulate conservatism and limited government.  You purport to espouse limited government.  Your actions speak louder than your words.

For more details on the Commission meeting, click here. 

To instruct our representatives ~as the TN State Constitution says we have the right to~ here is the link to their email addresses or call them at 222-1000.

Outside Independence Hall when the Constitutional Convention of 1787 ended, Mrs. Powel of Philadelphia asked Benjamin Franklin,
"Well, Doctor, what have we got, a republic or a monarchy?"
With no hesitation whatsoever, Franklin responded,
"A republic, if you can keep it." 

It is up to us to keep our republic.  Voting is just the beginning of our civic responsibility.  Help save our republic.  It starts at the local level because power is in the district. 

Commissioner Terry Roland will be the speaker at the Dutch Treat Luncheon on Saturday, January 17th at noon at Jason's Deli.  Jason's Deli is located at 3473 Poplar ~corner of Highland and Poplar~.  Come early if you want to order a meal.  This will be a great time to ask him why he pulled this stunt. 

I Feel So Much Safer Now . . .

Yesterday I attended the Shelby County Commission Committee Meetings.  One of the highlights was a discussion with the head of the Shelby County Health Dept and representatives from the local hospitals on the subject of Ebola.  You never know what you will find out when you begin to take self-governance serious and go to these meetings.  I felt like I was in an infomercial for the flu shot.  Think I'm jesting?  Here is the report from Mike Mathews of ABC 24.  Note to Mike Mathews and ABC 24, the flu isn't 100% preventable even with the flu shot.  See this study.  It estimates that the flu vaccine is only about 59% effective.  Full disclosure:  My daughter who has a compromised immune system due to her transplant did get a flu shot.  I do not want my child in an emergency room or hospital this season.  While the flu vaccine is not 100% effective, I do want to give my daughter the best chance at not getting the flu.

Now back to Ebola and Shelby County.  Ms. Madlock reiterated that it is not airborne nor spread by casual contact; although the virus was in all bodily fluids of a person including sweat and that the virus can live on surfaces for 2 hours.  I wish I could have asked her for clarification on that info.  According to the CDC ~hat/tip MidSouth Sentinel~ the Ebola virus can travel through air, but they made that admission in a very sneaky and hard to find manner. The following statement is under Low Risk Exposures:

Close contact is defined as
a)  being within approximately 3 feet (1 meter) of an EVD patient or within the patient’s room or care area for a prolonged period of time (e.g., health care personnel, household members) while not wearing recommended personal protective equipment (i.e., standard, droplet, and contact precautions; see Infection Prevention and Control Recommendations)
b)  having direct brief contact (e.g., shaking hands) with an EVD patient while not wearing recommended personal protective equipment.
The footnote explains that For purposes of monitoring and movement restrictions of persons with Ebola virus exposure, low risk is interpreted as some risk.

"The implication of this statement is very, very clear: Ebola DOES in fact travel through the air."  Also, if it can last for a couple of hours on a hard surface, there doesn't seem to have to be direct contact, just touching a hard surface after an infected person does.  We've also been told that unless an Ebola patient is showing signs of the disease, that they are not infectious.  Since the symptoms of Ebola are similar to the flu, how many of us stay home when feeling a bit under the weather?  Just living in reality here.  Why do you think there is such a market for over-the-counter flu medications?

The panel of "experts" was also asked if they were prepared for isolation since we are being told that only a few hospitals in the nation have specially built isolation units with negative airflow.  Again, the answer was not reassuring. Apparently, isolation consists of a private room with a private bathroom. The patient's room would have limited individuals with access to the room who would be “protected”.  She said that that many hospitals do have the special isolation units which they use for case of tuberculosis, but that Ebola wouldn't warrant the use of these units.   Here is the link from the CDC that provides this information.  Not sure why the CDC made such a big deal about these units when bringing the first Ebola patients to the US happened.  My guess, is it's all about optics.  As it happens, my family has experience with isolation.  My dd was put in isolation when she was in ICU at Le Bonheur as couple of years ago.  We had to gown and mask up when we entered her room.

CDC Guidelines for Isolation for Ebola

Someone did text Commissioner Roland about the disposal of a dead body. He passed along the question. Ms. Madlock said that they were going to send out information on the CDC guidelines to all the mortuaries and funeral homes. Commissioner Justin Ford, whose family is in the funeral home business, asked about autopsy to determine the cause of death with Ebola and was told that there would be no autopsy. The CDC guidelines were to double bag the body and then either cremate or put body in a hermetically sealed coffin.  Mr. Ford then asked about whether there could be a service and was told that he would receive the guidelines from the CDC.  My impression was that Ms. Madlock was irritated at this line of questioning.  I don't think she was ready for such a specific question.

Bottom line:  I was not reassured.  Many contradictions and unanswered questions.  Ms. Madlock said that the SC Health Dept was sending out guidelines to all the licensed doctors, healthcare facilities, school nurses etc.  I'm sure they'll be as excited to get and read them as Ms. Madlock was in coming and answering questions from the Shelby County Commissioners.  While I am not panicking ~and I am not advocating panicking~ I am not reassured about how ready Shelby County is for Ebola.  I am praying that there isn't an outbreak and that Ms. Madlock is correct.  In the meantime, I am taking my own precautions for my family.  We cannot depend upon the government to do it.

Update:  I received these from a friend.  Apparently this is what the Shelby County Health Dept. sent out to all of our healthcare facilities etc.

With the nurse who cared for Duncan contracting the disease, it appears that Ebola might be a bigger deal than Ms. Madlock and her staff are letting on.  

Spending TPM ~TaxPayer's Money~

Every citizen needs to go down to their local governing body and sit in on a session of hearing your elected officials spend TPM ~TaxPayer Money.~ I did just that yesterday. I went down, with a group of other concerned citizens to observe the Shelby County Commission meeting yesterday, June 17, 2013. Believe me, the sound bites that you get from the local news are not what really happens. Did you know that three of your elected employees ~County Commissioners~ routinely leave early from their own board meeting? Walter Bailey, James Harvey and Sidney Chism left before the end of the meeting ~as did the media with their cameras~. There were just a few of us that stayed to the end.

These are the highlights that I found interesting from yesterday’s meeting:
1) The cavalier attitude that many commissioners spend, as Commissioner Shafer refers to it, TPM ~TaxPayer Money~

2) The spoiled childlike behavior of several commissioners. If they get their feelings hurt, they will use their vote to “punish” the perceived offender. Really? This is TPM ~TaxPayer Money~ you are voting with, my money and you are going act like a spoiled child? On Resolutions 29 and 30; the County Commission ordinance concerning “living wage” for County contractors is in violation of TN state law and they didn’t pass the amendment to fix it because Commissioners Brooks, Mulroy and Ford abstained from voting because they were pouting ~and electioneering~ that their resolution was violation of state law and Commissioners Bailey, Harvey and Chism had already left. The bottom line ~as I understand it~ is that we are in violation of a state law that if implemented will invite a lawsuit by the state of TN. IS that being fiscally responsible? More TaxPayer Money for lawyers?

3) The bloviating of many commissioners. They love to hear the sound of their own voices. It doesn’t matter that they make no sense or listen to their fellow commissioners; they just want to make the news. Commissioner Bailey is bad about this.

4) The idea of “us vs them” is prevalent among the Commissioners. Many use the rhetoric of “unity” but their idea of unity is everyone agreeing with them. It’s good for their reelection and sound bites if they can sell their constituents on that they are “fighting” against the injustices of the white suburbanites who don’t want to fund their slush funds and require fiscal accountability for TPM ~TaxPayer Money~. Commissioner Bunker talked frequently about the failed policies and mindset that those in Memphis bring to the table, yet those are the policies that they want to continue to adopt. Seriously?

5) The media doesn’t do their job. They only stayed for the property tax vote. I didn’t see one reference to the debate and votes on delaying the effective date for the new building codes. Not mentioned was the fact that the new Residential code that they passed previously was impossible to build and Commissioner Bailey voted against delaying an impossible building code. 6) When discussing the school’s budget, no one from the school administration was there. They were asking for an additional $20 Million from the County Taxpayers and they can’t even show up to answer questions?

7) The prevailing attitude of the Shelby County Commission is, “Just write a check; it doesn’t matter whether there is money in the bank or not.” Don’t worry; we’ll just raise the taxes on the working people of Shelby County.

Here are some of the reports from local media on the meeting. Note that I couldn’t even find a report from WREG; maybe they covered it during their newscast, but nothing online. I guess this wasn’t important enough for them to cover.

MyFoxMemphis

Commissioner Bunker said something that I really like ~and am going to steal~ “I represent the people to the government, not the government to the people.” to which Commissioner Bailey couldn't understand what he meant. and when Commissioner Bailey said that the best financial minds said that we had to have a tax increase, Commissioner Wyatt says that the best financial bureaucrats saying that we need a tax increase.

Memphis Daily News
WMCTV
Local News 24



Also note that I didn't link to the CA because they require a subscription  and as the CFO of TNWAHM,  I didn't authorize myself to approve that expense.

Bottom line, Memphis and Shelby County, until we educate the public on why we need fiscal responsibility and how lower taxes increases the tax base and businesses coming into the Memphis area, we aren't going to grow and flourish into the great city that we have the potential for, we will be traveling down the pathway of Detroit.  The best thing for Desoto County has been Memphis tax policy.    

Update:  I contacted "News" Channel 3 about their lack of coverage of the meeting.  They directed me to this story about the new payroll plan that was adopted by the school administration and By the way, the Shelby Co. Commission passed the Schools budget," and didn't bother to mention that no one from the school administration was there to answer questions about the budget.

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