Legislative Leadership, Media Mishandle Accusations of Legislator Jeremy Durham’s Misconduct

GOP Leaders Glen Casada, Beth Harwell & Ryan Anderson address Durham misconduct issue. The Tennessean/2016. Most of what I initially heard about Rep. Durham’s alleged sexual harassment and texting saga has been gained through media reports such as the one that surfaced in The Tennessean, and others that quickly followed. To be honest I haven’t followed the inner workings of Tennessee’s Capitol Hill since I left office in 2009. Over the last couple of weeks I’ve spoken to a number of former colleagues on both sides of the aisle, who for the most part, agree with my perspective. They just can’t state it without the fear of negative political repercussions. For those who may not remember, I resigned my state senate seat in 2009 after a failed extortion attempt that I reported to the Tennessee Bureau Investigation. This incident became public and exposed a five-week affair I had with an intern. Ultimately, the facts revealed that she also had a boyfriend (the extortionist) who eventually pled guilty and was convicted for committing a felony. Having been in the middle of a media onslaught I understand the intense political pressure to resign. The scandal was inconvenient for some of [...]

By |2016-02-03T02:07:39-06:00February 3rd, 2016|My Blog Post|1 Comment

Falwell, Trump, Christianity & Nationalism

Donald Trump and Jerry Faldwell, Jr. at Liberty University. WSJ Blogs/2015 Note: This is a column by my friend Mark Tooley at the Institute on Religion and Democracy. Mark has been a leader in attempting to bring the United Methodist Church back to its roots and that's been a chore indeed. Yet Mark is on of the brightest minds in the evangelical movement and I believe he makes some interesting points with this column. Liberty University President Jerry Falwell Jr’s endorsement of Donald Trump has provoked important questions about Evangelicals in retail politics. The senior Falwell, of course, was a founder of the Religious Right who helped rally many Evangelicals to Ronald Reagan and to conservative politics in the 1980s. It’s now common among many younger Evangelicals to bemoan the perceived failures and overreach of the old Religious Right. The younger Falwell has been widely critiqued by many conservative Evangelicals for endorsing a casino magnate not renowned for deep commitment to Christian ethical aspirations. Some lament the Evangelical brand has been further tarnished. Falwell is just one of tens of millions of American Evangelicals. He speaks for a segment of that highly decentralized demographic. Nobody speaks for all, [...]

By |2016-01-27T22:55:08-06:00January 27th, 2016|My Blog Post|Comments Off on Falwell, Trump, Christianity & Nationalism

As a Matriarch Passes

Shelby Gallien was a family matriarch; the wife to a successful dentist and businessman and the mother to three beautiful daughters who God saw fit to pass to each the stellar qualities that she so admirably exhibited during her seven decades on earth. Yet “Miss Shelby” was much more than a wife and mother. In truth, she and a dozen or so other neighborhood moms in our hometown of Savannah, Tennessee, raised at least 100 kids whose lives were touched in over a 20-year period from the late 1960’s through the 1980’s. It was a golden era for those of us lucky to have lived in and around Yeiser subdivision. The Gallien family is well-known and plays an instrumental role in Savannah to this day. Dr. John Gallien, when he was fresh out of dental school, moved his young bride to this small, sleepy river town in the early 1960’s to establish a practice and began raising his family. Mary Susan - who was born the same year as me - was soon followed by Jean Anne and Jane Ellen. Although they may not know it, these southern belles are why I insisted that my daughter, Mary Morgan, be called [...]

By |2016-01-20T21:33:39-06:00January 17th, 2016|My Blog Post|10 Comments

A Few Reminders for a Productive 2016

1. Your shoes are the first thing people subconsciously notice about you. Wear nice shoes.  2. If you sit for more than 11 hours a day, there's a 50% chance you'll die within the next 3 years.  3. There are at least 6 people in the world who look exactly like you. There's a 9% chance that you'll meet one of them in your lifetime.  4. Sleeping without a pillow reduces back pain and keeps your spine stronger.  5. A person's height is determined by their father, and their weight is determined by their mother.  6. If a part of your body "falls asleep", You can almost always "wake it up" by shaking your head.  7. There are three things the human brain cannot resist noticing - food, attractive people and danger.  8. Right-handed people tend to chew food on their right side.  9. Putting dry tea bags in gym bags or smelly shoes will absorb the unpleasant odor.  10. According to Albert Einstein, if honey bees were to disappear from earth, humans would be dead within 4 years.  11. There are so many kinds of apples, that if you ate a new one every day, it would take over [...]

By |2016-01-02T01:52:10-06:00January 2nd, 2016|My Blog Post|Comments Off on A Few Reminders for a Productive 2016

Where Is Israel on Evangelical Christian Voters’ List of Priorities?

Note: I wrote this article for Jewish News Service with the help of my friend and fellow writer, Bethany Blankley, who I am indebted to for her knowledge and fearless research skills. Seventeen Republican presidential candidates are vying for the support of evangelical Christian voters from the swing states of Ohio and Florida, to the cornfields of Iowa, to the small towns of the Deep South. Within the varied spectrum of 2016 election issues such as the economy, immigration, and health care, do evangelicals highly prioritize candidates’ positions on Israel and the Middle East? Major evangelical leaders in America are saying, “Yes.” “Studies show us there are approximately 90 million Christians in America who consider their beliefs to be evangelical,” Tony Perkins—president of the Family Research Council (FRC), a Christian education and lobbying group—told JNS.org. “Of that number around 9-10 percent have what we call a ‘biblical worldview,’ in that they believe what the scriptures say pertaining to Israel. That’s a large number of voters who can definitely make a difference in a primary or general election.” Perkins said, “Among core evangelical voters, Israel is easily one of the top 10, maybe even the top five issues when considering who [...]

By |2015-08-28T03:34:16-05:00August 28th, 2015|My Blog Post|Comments Off on Where Is Israel on Evangelical Christian Voters’ List of Priorities?
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