Wednesday, June 20, 2007

The Urban Plunge is Done!!!!

The mayoral candidates took the urban plunge we reported about a few days ago. I myself wanted to come down to interview Buck Dozier but wasn't able to. According to the Tennessean he stated he didn't even get the chance to sleep. I am not sure what it means to not get the chance, I just know that I wouldn't have been able to sleep period!!!! If you're not really homeless you really can even fathom what it feels like.

They did get first hand knowledge of where they sleep on a regular basis, where they go to the bathroom, meeting them, seeing who they are, they're people just like me and you-not some aliens or lower life form ect. This experience I am sure did open some eyes though and probably very humbling. Also know that you can't save everyone and not everyone wants to be saved.

It has been reported by several sources that there are 1000-1500 homeless people in the city of Nashville. However not everyone is there because of circumstances. Some are there by choice. They don't want responsibilities. I myself have thought because of certain stresses that it might just be easier. When you can't keep up with the Jones people look down on you but when you sit on a city park bench they feel sorry for you. I wonder which one would be the better.

Folks I know were just waiting to see if these men would really do it. Did you really expect them not to? The Urban Plunge was broadcast everywhere. They were obligated to do it. I think when looking for a candidate to vote for you should look at the things they've done when no one was looking. This is their true character.

Tuesday, June 19, 2007

Truman Bean's Take on Scene's Hostility towards religion

The Nashville's Scene "Church of Christ" Hostilities

Never a big fan of the Nashville's Scene writings on all things conservatively religious (aka spirituality that actually requires sacrifice, submission and service to the Lord), it is always telling to read their hostility in tone and content on costly Christianity.

Candidates for public office, need not run or shy away from their religious groundings and foundations, it is the salt that flavors their judgments and emotions. A good thing to share with their electorate, not out of piety or proud, but an important part of their decision matrix in which they will base their votes and agendas.

The Nashville Scene should be as critically cynical in their columns on the advocates the of gay lifestyle acceptance, the producers of pornography, or name your permissive "me centered" religiosity.Oh that's right... it is only a pedestrian / simple mindset, when one bases their foundations on the inspired scriptures of Yahweh, not he deep teachings of self that the Scene serves up weekly.However, I do recommend this read.

Forewarned in how other's think and speak about ones beliefs, helps one know how to best defend, explain, and stand-up to their criticisms.Not our of arrogance and hostility, but in a positively persuasive manner in order to best illustrate your convicted love for both man and God.We are commanded to be the "salt in a world" that ignorantly subsist in a state without the seasoning needed to preserve it for eternity.

Below is an article that appeared in The Scene.


Christers at the Gate

Church of Christ members aim for electoral top
With JFK, it was the Catholic question. With Mitt Romney, it’s about Mormons. Now Nashville is facing a different twist on the political/religious conundrum.

Buck Dozier, who is running for mayor, and Carolyn Baldwin Tucker, who wants to be vice mayor, both belong to the Church of Christ—that quirky collection of rigid fundamentalists that’s a little squirrelly even for much of the rest of the Christian right.

It is a loose network of independent churches with no creed, so it’s hard to generalize about its beliefs. But in addition to the standard conservative Christian articles of faith, the typical Christer thinks a church piano is the devil’s instrument, it’s wrong to celebrate Christmas as Jesus’ birth—and, oh yes, everyone but members of the Church of Christ is going to spend eternity in hell. Some church members dispute that last tenet as a mite judgmental, so we asked Dozier to explain.
“That isn’t true” that the Church of Christ thinks everyone except its own members is going to hell, Dozier says. “Probably years ago there were some who may have said that, unfortunately. They’re all dead, I think.
We don’t believe that now.”

That’s good, because heaven would be a sparsely populated place if only Church of Christ members went. There aren’t many in the world—something less than 2 million. Nashville, though, has been blessed or cursed with a lot, depending on your point of view.

About 30,000 of voting age attend 110 congregations in the city, according to church statisticians. So they could easily make a difference in the Aug. 2 elections if they went for one candidate. That’s especially true in the mayoral contest, where five candidates are splitting up votes. They might not mean as much in the vice mayor’s race, which has only two candidates—Tucker and another at-large council member, Diane Neighbors. Only 100,000 people altogether are expected to cast ballots.

Nashville has had at least one Church of Christ mayor in its history, Ben West, who held the office from 1951-63. But the issue of his religious affiliation “never came up,” says his son, former Vice Mayor Jay West, who is Methodist himself.

Dozier and Tucker, both at-large council members, are different. They often talk about their faith in public. Dozier is an elder in his congregation, sort of like a chief in an Indian tribe, and Tucker teaches Sunday school class in hers. (Women aren’t allowed to hold leadership positions in the Church of Christ.)

They are viable as political candidates at least partly because of their affiliation with the Church of Christ. Despite that, they insist their church membership shouldn’t matter in the election. As Dozier puts it, “A pothole is neither liberal nor conservative, Democrat nor Republican, Baptist nor Church of Christ.”

The problem with that argument is that the mayor and vice mayor do more than fill potholes. What their faith might say about their judgment is a legitimate concern for voters.

With other Christian conservatives, they have been most prominent in opposition to gay rights. Tucker, a former public school teacher and principal, passionately opposed a 2003 ordinance outlawing employment discrimination based on sexual orientation within city government, including schools. When it was defeated, she called it “a victory for Nashville, a victory for the children, a victory for the Lord.... I am sure it will raise its ugly head again, and I’m sure we will have to deal with this again. But if it’s the Lord’s will, we will prevail.”

Dozier, a former church youth minister, ran for council in part on opposing gay rights. Once elected, he participated in the public humiliation of a lead sponsor of that anti-discrimination measure, former Metro Council member Eileen Beehan. Dozier joined 16 colleagues in abstaining from voting on her nomination to the Metro Traffic and Parking Commission, leaving her without enough support.

Dozier told reporters at the time, “...we don’t want [the anti-discrimination proposal] to come back up this term, and she was the symbol of that.” Interestingly, Dozier now denies he was sending an anti-gay message. “That had to do with the gay issue?” he asks, feigning ignorance. Instead, the former Metro fire chief says Beehan had offended him in some way because of “something dealing with the Fire Department,” though he won’t talk about what it was.

Tucker, who joined the council in 1999, has also been instrumental in opposing funding for the arts in Nashville. Apparently it stems from her outrage that the statue at the Music Row Roundabout features nudes.

The dancing figures were privately funded, but the Metro Arts Commission is guilty in Tucker’s mind for technically approving the design.

Although Dozier acknowledges he wouldn’t support any gay rights proposal, he insists he wouldn’t push a conservative Christian agenda as mayor. “All religions have their strengths and weaknesses and blind spots,” he says. “It’s true that the Church of Christ has been narrow-minded probably in the past. But it’s changed a lot. My faith-based heritage helps me. I do believe that the quality of an individual is enhanced by faith, and I will always support that. But my faith has never gotten in the way of my judgment in elected office and it shouldn’t.”

Tucker, who is known for singing in a quavery falsetto to voters at the polls, is less reassuring. Asked a series of questions about her faith and her politics, she replies with Bible verses. “The Bible says when the righteous rule, the people rejoice,” she says, her voice rising with passion.Then she pauses and adds matter-of-factly, “Be sure to put in your story that I want everybody’s vote.”So saith the council member. Let us all pray for deliverance.

Monday, June 18, 2007

Meet the Candidates

Nashville are Chamber of Commerce is hosting a meet the candidates and debate.

For more info...........

Saturday, June 16, 2007

Humbled

I am sure these candidates will find this to be a very humbling experience. Is Buck Dozier up to the challenge? I think so.

A 1/2 a Paycheck Away-My Story

I can't exactly say I have been homeless, but close to it. I have had to sleep in hotels because I couldn't find a place to live. Looking for affordable places is even harder. I always looked for two bedroom places. Myself, husband and three children. Two bedrooms is all we could afford and most landlords won't rent two bedrooms for a family of five. So what were we to do. Finally we just had to break down and lie and say we just had 2 and then we could get in.

These days it's even harder to get into a place. Landlords will now do a credit check before they will rent to you. If you have had a hard time paying your bills then your credit will be blemished. For some, its no fault of there own and some its not. But for those that it's no fault of their own it's truly not fair.

For the working poor we are just a 1/2 a paycheck away from being in the streets.

One Man's Story

I'll See Your One Night, and Raise You

As David Briley, Buck Dozier, and Howard Gentry get ready to take the "urban plunge" (a night where people of privledge experience a little of what its like to be homeless), one candidate for At Large says he's been there, done that.

I have gone through this before already and remember it well. I was 18 years old in 1982 right out of high school and put out on the street. I would travel up and down the streets in downtown Knoxville during the 1982 World's Fair. I slept @ a Krystals, Continental Trailways bus station and even would sneak into the back of the carnival games at the fair and sleep on the stuffed animals. My food consisted of a spoon and jar a peanut butter. When I came back to Nashville, I was working at Steak & Ale in Rivergate. To save money for a place to live, I slept on the front sidewalk of the restaurant nights and get up early, enter with morning crew and bathe in the sink. So, you can see, even though I am not homeless now, I was and understand the meaning of wanting a home. If you think this would suffice for the night on the streets, I would be glad to talk to anyone about my ordeals. This would also include being beaten up by 2 men in Knoxville and robbed of my shoes, wallet and $0.01 I had to my name.

Who is the lucky (or unlucky) candidate? J. Gower Mills. Now a prison guard with a roof over his head, Mills experienced the "loneliness and hopelessness of being homeless and hungry" in ways no person can in one night.

Source: http://seanbraisted.blogspot.com/2007/06/ill-see-your-one-night-and-raise-you.html

The Urban Plunge

Briley, Dozier & Gentry to Take the “Urban Plunge”
Breaking news from the Nashville Homeless Power Project


David Briley, Buck Dozier, and Howard Gentry will be the first to do the “Urban Plunge” a.k.a. “A Night on the Streets.

An “Urban Plunge” is when economically‑privileged people dress down, empty their wallets, and spend time on the streets as “poor” people. The Mayoral Urban Plunge in Nashville is the first of it’s kinds according to the National Coalition for the Homeless.

The 6 Candidates for Nashville Mayor have committed to spending 10 hours (10pm – 8am) out on the streets of Nashville.

There will be a post plunge press conference at 7:30am on Wednesday, June 20th, 2007, location tba, where all candidates will converge at a location to be determined and respond to questions from the homeless community and the media.

The purpose of the plunge is to provide the candidates with first hand and direct experience of being homeless so they can fully understand the impact of public policy decision will have on those who are on the streets. The Power Project has set forth goals for the candidate during their time including:

To find a legal place to sleep outdoors

Sleep on a bench for 20 minutes or so.

Enter a restaurant and ask if you can sweep the sidewalk or do other work for a sandwich.

Find a place to eat breakfast

Ask for Money/panhandle in a place where you are least likely to be recognized.

According to the Michael Stoops, Executive Director of the National Coalition for the Homeless, “Economically-privileged people across the country have done urban plunges as a way to better understand homelessness.

It is the most effective way we have learned for people to understand this reality. 10 hours is not nearly enough and the suggested minimum PLUNGE is 48 hours but we are thankful that they are willing to do this night on the street. Having said that, as far as I know, the National Coalition for the Homeless has never heard of any other city in this country in which political candidates have agreed to do the Urban Plunge. While this should be part of every candidates campaign unfortunately this is a rarity and is truly historic.”

For more information contact Matthew Leber, Organizer, Nashville Homeless Power Project, 42 The Arcade, Nashville, Tennessee 37219, (615) 733-0633, (615) 977-5098 or 414-3788, or email matt@homelesspower.org.

Source: http://www.liberadio.com/2007/06/14/briley-dozier-gentry-to-take-the-urban-plunge/

Tuesday, June 12, 2007

BUCK DOZIER WINS!!!!!!

Congratulations for the small victory at the Republican mayoral straw poll. He got a whooping 53.6 % over second place Bob Clement. It's a small victory over a big race but a victory none the less.

Wednesday, June 6, 2007

The issues and plans

Our blog is going to compile some of the issues that Buck Dozier has commented on.


Calls On The August 2007 Local Elections To Be A Referendum On Education

Nashville Mayoral candidate Buck Dozier today announced a comprehensive education agenda focused on making Nashville “The Athens Of Education In America.” Dozier called on other candidates running for office to join him in an open, public dialogue to
make education “a central issue” in the August 2007 elections.

“More than any other local issue we face, the education of our children has the broadest impact on families, on neighborhoods, on public safety, on our economy and on our future,” said Dozier. “That’s why I intend to use my political capital and campaign bully pulpit over the next nine months to turn this local election into what should be a referendum on education. I would encourage all candidates on the ballot to commit to
engaging in a public dialogue on ways to improve our system.”

Dozier said all candidates running next year will declare that they are “pro-education.”

He added that “what will distinguish one from the other will be what each candidate really means when they say they are pro-education.”

“I want this campaign cycle to be remembered not for clever slogans or slick TV ads, but as the moment when we as a community – and we as candidates for public office –

agreed to begin a real dialogue on education, with no sacred cows and no ideas too smallor too big to consider,” Dozier said.

Dozier said that Nashville in the 1800s was dubbed the Athens of the South because “we were home to progressive thinkers, home to numerous institutions of higher learning, and because, like ancient Greece, thinking and learning were held in high regard.”

“I advocate bringing the Athens theme back and focusing it on education,” Dozier said.

“We have the resources and we have the great thinkers. It’s time.”
Dozier said his education agenda for Nashville – designed to help Metro reach the goal of being “The Athens Of Education In America” – includes:

• More of an education activist’s role for the Mayor and the Mayor’s Office;

• Incorporating best practices throughout our education system;

• Creating more learning environment options for children;

• Ensuring safer learning environments for students and children;

• Forging stronger, more defined partnerships among resources in our community to support public education;

• Encouraging more outside-the-box thinking when it comes to instructional activities in learning environments;

• Working to secure a fairer share of federal and state funds to support public education locally; and

• Issuing an unprecedented challenge to all citizens.

http://buckdozier.blogspot.com

“The unprecedented challenge to all citizens,” Dozier explained, “is for all of us to work toward raising a $1 billion endowment over the next 10 years to support the introduction of innovative instructional activities in our public schools.” Dozier said a $1 billion endowment will generate an estimated $75 million each year in perpetuity for education, without ever touching the principal balance of the endowment.

“If we all agree that Nashville should be ‘The Athens Of Education In America,’ then each of us will have to think big and think outside the box on multiple fronts,” Dozier said.

Dozier said his proposed agenda “is an effort to take bold steps to bring other resources to the table, to seek out best practices wherever they are, and to look beyond our own inner circle for new ideas and a new way of teaching our children.”

To read Dozier’s full address on education, go to his campaign Web site at

www.dozierformayor.com.