Well I am packing as fast as I can but I can't get out of here soon enough. Another day of bizarro world when the Director of Schools compares the recent arguments about salary and favoritism in the Nashville Public Schools is akin to Trayvon Martin. HUH? He is been murdered for wearing a hoodie? What the fuck is this man talking about?
From the Report: With his administration facing a sexual harassment scandal and questions about no-bid contracts, Joseph has suggested those questions are motivated by the same fears that led to the killing of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin.
I have given up trying to understand how I am somehow akin to George Zimmerman or any of the other fragile white people that call Police or shoot Black individuals for wearing a hoodie, walking their dog, knocking on their door, eating an ice cream or wearing shower shoes to the pool. When you generalize everyone you are as guilty of the same. Again: He who accuses, excuses.
But once again I am relieved to find the white people who live here as idiotic if not more so with their insanity.
'If I was raped, I would move': Speaker Glen Casada doubles down on support of Rep. David Byrd
Natalie Allison, Nashville Tennessean Published Feb. 19, 2019 |
House Speaker Glen Casada says he will continue to defend a Republican lawmaker accused of sexual assault against multiple former students, recently questioning the credibility of the women who came forward and implying that victims of rape should move.
In a video published by The Tennessee Holler, a newly created liberal media website, former Democratic candidate for Congress Justin Kanew questioned Casada about his support of Rep. David Byrd, R-Waynesboro.
Three women last year accused Byrd of sexually assaulting them in the 1980s when they were teenagers playing on the Wayne County High School girls basketball team, which Byrd coached.
In a story last spring, WSMV included audio from a phone call recorded by one of the women as she talked to Byrd about what happened when she was 15. Byrd said he was sorry, though he does not say specifically for what he is apologizing.
The recent video of the conversation with Casada was taken at a town hall event last month in Franklin, Kanew said.
On the topic of the women's credibility, Kanew told Casada that the women had been ostracized in their community as a result of coming forward with allegations against Byrd.
"If it's important, and it is — it’d be important to me if I was raped, I would move," Casada said. "And hell would have no fury."
Kanew replied that he believed Casada couldn't answer what he would do if he were "raped as a woman in rural Tennessee."
"Or as a man, I could," Casada said. "There are just certain codes of conduct."
Casada defends decision to appoint Byrd to chair education subcommittee
In response to a request for comment about his remarks in the video, Casada released a statement echoing what he has said before about his support of Byrd, who was reelected by more than 55 points in November.
"One of the most sacred rights we have as Americans is the concept of being innocent until proven guilty," Casada said. "Rep. Byrd is doing a fantastic job as Chairman of our Education Administration Subcommittee and I am proud he has agreed to serve."
Christi Rice (center) discusses explains why she is helping a new political action committee dubbed Enough is Enough Tennessee on Sept. 27, 2018. Rice says Rep. David Byrd inappropriately touched her when she was 15-years-old and he was her 28-year-old coach. (Photo11: Joel Ebert)
Casada has appointed Byrd to chair the House's newly created education administration subcommittee.
Byrd, who graduated from Wayne County High School in 1975, coached there for 24 years and was the school’s principal for eight years.
Both former House Speaker Beth Harwell, R-Nashville, and Lt. Gov. Randy McNally, R-Oak Ridge, called for Byrd's resignation last spring.
When asked about the video on Tuesday, Gov. Bill Lee would not comment directly on Casada's remarks or on whether he believed Byrd should step down but called for the situation to be taken seriously.
"I think we have to take very seriously allegations of sexual misconduct, and sexual misconduct should never be tolerated either in state government or the private sector, as well," Lee said.
Kanew, who said he had been in contact with Enough is Enough Tennessee, a political action committee seeking Byrd's ouster, told Casada he and others are opposed to Byrd being in a position of leadership.
"We're not asking for a conviction," Kanew said. "You have the authority not to empower men like that and make it OK. Because what happens is the next guy sees that nothing happened, and he's going to do it."
A video published last fall by a PAC run by Casada likened Byrd to President Donald Trump and U.S. Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, saying the men had been attacked by "unhinged liberals."
In the encounter last month, Kanew asked Casada if he believed the women who came forward.
"I don't think they're lying," Casada said. "I think they're believing something that’s not true."
Kanew said he had planned to ask Casada publicly during the town hall, which included others from the Williamson County legislative delegation, but was not called on.
He said he had not attempted to schedule a meeting with Casada over his concerns because he didn't want to get "canned answers" about the issue.
"This is our state's biggest shame right now, is the fact that this man is still in the legislature in a position of power," Kanew said. "It shouldn’t be a partisan issue."
The Tennessee Holler website does not disclose who is running the the site or list any staff members.
Meanwhile Tennessee's Senator Blackburn is avoiding committing to Trump's wall but she believes it will stop Sex Traffcking. Well she should look right in her backyard to see what the Baptists have been up to with regards to that. They hate to think all the Catholics are having all the fun here.
Southern Baptist sex abuse crisis: What you need to know
Duane W. Gang and Holly Meyer, Nashville Tennessean Published Feb. 19, 2019
Southern Baptists across the country are grappling with a sex abuse crisis in the wake of a startling investigative report detailing more than 380 cases where church leaders and volunteers have been accused of sexual misconduct.
In total, the Houston Chronicle and San Antonio Express-News found more than 700 victims.
Here's what you need to know about the story and how Southern Baptist Convention leaders are responding.
Why did the news organizations investigate the church?
Victims of sexual abuse had long criticized church leaders for not doing enough to combat the problem, including tracking how many church leaders are accused of sexual misconduct. So the news organizations set out build their own database.
What was the reaction to the news?
Calls for reform and change came quickly. Southern Baptist leaders vowed to address the problem.
Southern Baptist Convention President J.D. Greear, a pastor in North Carolina, called sexual abuse by church leaders and volunteers "pure evil," and apologized to victims.
"We are profoundly sorry," Greear, along with fellow Pastor Brad Hambrick, wrote in a article posted on Greear's website the day after the news broke. "It is an unjust tragedy that you experienced abuse in the past. And it is unjust and tragic that you feel fear in the present.
"We, the church, have failed you."
What is the church doing about the problem?
Greear on Monday night unveiled the initial recommendations from a study group on sexual abuse that got started last year when he took over as president.
Those proposed changes including providing free training for ministry leaders and encouraging churches to review their policies on abuse.
The recommendations also call for a re-examination of the ordination process and ensuring that Southern Baptist churches cannot have a "wanton disregard for prevention of sexual abuse" and still be in good fellowship with the denomination, Greear said.
Why can't the change happen right away?
The Nashville-based Southern Baptist Convention is a network of more than 46,000 churches that make up the nation's largest Protestant denomination.
Unlike other Christian denominations, individual Southern Baptist churches are autonomous, which has been cited as a hurdle for reform in the past.
That means the implementation of all 10 recommendations is not a done deal.
Greear has said that level of local church control is a factor.
"The Baptist doctrine of church autonomy should never be a religious cover for passivity towards abuse," he wrote in a series of Twitter posts earlier this month. "Church autonomy is about freeing the church to do the right thing — to obey Christ — in every situation. It is a heinous error to apply autonomy in a way that enables abuse."
What can Southern Baptist leaders do if individual churches don't prevent abuse?
A particular area to watch is whether the Southern Baptist Convention expels churches that do not do more to prevent future abuse.
Greear on Monday night singled out 10 churches that deserve particular focus and could face removal from the network of churches.
"I am not calling for disfellowshipping any of these churches at this point, but these churches must be called upon to give assurances to the Southern Baptist Convention that they have taken the necessary steps to correct their policies and procedures with regards to abuse and survivors," Greear said.
The convention has taken action against churches before. Last year, at the convention's annual meeting in Dallas, a Georgia church got the boot over accusations of racism.
Who is J.D. Greear and why does he matter?
Greear, who leads The Summit Church in North Carolina, took over as the president of the Southern Baptist Convention last year.
He is in his 40s and his leadership marks what is widely seen as a generational shift in for the denomination. He succeeded Pastor Steve Gaines, who leads Bellevue Baptist Church in Memphis.
In September, the convention's Executive Committee allocated $250,000 for the sexual abuse advisory group Greear created soon after he was elected in June.
The advisory group's purpose is to figure out how Southern Baptists can better respond to incidents and prevent abuse from happening.
Greear said he formed the group because church leaders have "known that there is a problem."
The advisory group came in the midst of Southern Baptist's own #MeToo moment. In the run-up to the denomination's annual meeting last year where Greear was elected, Southern Baptists were embroiled in months of controversy over a prominent church leader's treatment of women and how he handled years-old allegations of sexual misconduct.
Are church leaders from Tennessee accused of abuse?
The Houston Chronicle database includes 16 people from Tennessee.
Here are the convictions found in Tennessee:
- Larry Michael Berkley, a pastor convicted in Lauderdale County in 2014, was convicted of 16 crimes, including four counts of aggravated statutory rape and four counts of sexual battery by an authority figure. He is serving a 33 year sentence.
- Mark W. Mangrum, a pastor convicted in 2007 in federal court, was sentenced to 70 months in federal prison and 20 years of supervised release for distributing child porn to “induce a minor to engage in sexual conduct.” He is a registered sex offender.
- Steven Carl Haney, a pastor convicted in Shelby County, was convicted of a 2003 sexual battery by an authority figure and in state court of a 2001 rape. He was the pastor of Walnut Grove Baptist Church in Cordova for 20 years before resigning in 2006, according to an article from Baptist News Global.
- Charles Alan Denton, an associate pastor convicted in Montgomery County, is now a registered sex offender for a 2014 sexual battery.
- Christopher Douglas Ross, a youth pastor convicted in Wilson County in 2016, is serving a four year sentence in state prison.
- Donald Brent Page, a youth pastor convicted in federal court, was convicted of crossing state lines with intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct with a minor in Tennessee in 2008. He was sentenced to 36 months for coercion or enticement of a minor in Memphis.
- Gregory Stanley Dempsey, a music minister convicted in Hamilton County, was convicted of a 2003 sexual battery by an authority figure.
- Heath Tyler Ransom, a youth minister convicted in Madison County, is listed as a sex offender for a 2017 conviction of criminal attempt to commit solicitation of a minor.
- Jason Evan Kennedy, a youth minister convicted in Knox County, is a registered sex offender for soliciting a minor for sex.
- Joseph Todd Neill, a youth pastor convicted in federal court, is listed as a sex offender for two statutory rapes and a related pornography charge. He was convicted of the federal possession of pornography charge in 2014 and released in 2017.
- Luke A. Cooke, a youth minister convicted in Shelby County and federal court in 2015, was convicted for “coercion or enticement of a minor” and transporting a juvenile with the intent of engaging in illegal sexual activity.
- Timothy Neal Byars, a youth minister charged in Knox County in 2008, is a registered sex offender for rape and an attempt to commit sexual battery.
- Timothy Ronald Felts, a youth pastor convicted in Cheatham County in 2009 and 2016, was convicted of sexual battery and later of three counts of aggravated statutory rape and attempted aggravated sexual exploitation of a minor.
- Chad Eugene Luttrell, a church volunteer convicted in 2010 in Madison County, pled guilty to a charge of sexual battery and is a registered sex offender.
- Cristopher Ryan Crossno, a Sunday school teacher convicted in 2015 in Montgomery County, is a registered sex offender with a conviction of sexual battery.
- Mark Curtis Adams, a youth teacher convicted in federal court in 2018, pled guilty to a charge that he used a social media application to induce a minor to engage in illegal sexual activity.
I have been trying to understand why everyone marries so young here and I know that fucking is most of the guilt associated with that but the reality is as we are learning about the Catholics that perhaps abstinence and all is not a good idea and surpressing one's sexuality also not a good plan. Those two, however, are not explanations or reasons behind molesting children. Abuse and molestation are not connected to those who chose to refrain from sex or who are Gay. That said when one is forced to not be true to oneself there is a great deal of confusion, secrecy and frustration that often leads to bad or misguided decisions.
Rape is I am afraid no longer just about power it is about sex and about the ability to exploit power to simply think that rules are not applicable when you are in power. And that means about everything from sex to money to laws. We are learning that fame and power are too high of an intoxicant to think that what you are doing is forcing consent you are simply manipulating what would have happened anyway, right? No but the mind of a moronic horned up man who is drunk on his power feels no empathy for his victims. The recent Ryan Adams saga is another story about someone who used drugs and women equally with no concept of what damage either was doing. R. Kelly was famous and made money and that regardless if it was true then why had no one called the Police. Well maybe this is what they mean when they refer to Black Women as disposable but again I seriously doubt that if they were white it would be any different. Or gay right? Ask that about Bryan Singer or Kevin Spacey's victims.
So what State should all victims of rape move to? Utah? That Mormon thing would enable a large family type situation and they are sort of like a cult that would work? I like Wyoming it gave us Dick Cheney and that is one special type of sociopath. At least he is not a Rapist.
