There are two issues I hear frequently from Republican voters in Tennessee as to why they vote for Republican candidates: guns and abortion. You see, I’m intimately familiar with the narrative: “Democrats only want to take away my guns and kill babies.” Propaganda works. First of all, plenty of Democrats own guns. They enjoy hunting, ... Read more
Opinion Piece by Chair Kate Craig Ballad Health is developing quite a reputation for bullying anyone who speaks out about their policies and practices as well as how the medical monopoly is negatively impacting the community’s access to healthcare. Last week, national news outlets ran stories on how Ballad Health was seeking federal charges against ... Read more
People come into our lives for a variety of reasons and seasons. In January of 2016 I returned home to Johnson City and over the next year I learned just how much Ralph Davis, President of the Washington County-Johnson City NAACP branch, had given to this community. The loss of his light will be deeply ... Read more
I like to fall asleep with the television on Nick at Nite. This morning I woke up to a commercial for Tennessee Connections Academy. Connections Academy runs online K-12 “public” schools in all 50 states. At least that’s how it was advertised. Here’s their website for Connections Academy. And here is the website for Tennessee ... Read more
American democracy is dependent on free and equally accessible quality public education. Without that, the bedrock of what we hold dear would deteriorate. The founding principle of everyone is equal with equal opportunities, a principle we currently aspire to achieve, is only possible by fully funding public education. The first American public school opened in ... Read more
It’s no surprise that it’s only February 20, 2019 and yet the 2020 election is upon us. The 2016 election ended with heartbreak and calls to action, action that is now coming to fruition. So it should come as no surprise that we have Democratic candidates filling the field and vying for our votes. This ... Read more
This morning, WCYB Reporter, John Engel, interviewed Tennessee’s First Congressional District Representative, Phil Roe, where Congressman Roe stated that “many” of the students taking English as a Second Language (ESL) classes in the Johnson City School System are here illegally. John Engel asked: “Congressman, if they’re hiring English learning language teachers, that doesn’t necessarily mean ... Read more
Many big ticket items are on the ballot this year. Almost every seat from the US Senate on down to City Commission have candidates running, vying for your vote. And with the nation focused in on Tennessee to see if Democrats can flip the seat, which would flip the US Senate. Lots of money from ... Read more
Registering to vote is a right of passage for young adults who turn 18. There are scores of voter registration drives on high school campuses to get these young people registered. Yet what they don’t tell students in Tennessee is that unless they stay local, voting in their first election will require many hoops to ... Read more
October 11 is a day I didn’t used to notice. I had no idea the significance of it or the significance it would one day hold for me. October 11 is National Coming Out Day. My story is much like others and yet also uniquely my own. I came out in 2007 at the age ... Read more
