Johnson vs. Blackburn?
Word is trickling out that state Representative Gloria Johnson will seek the Democratic nomination for the United States Senate seat currently held by Marsha Blackburn. While Johnson hasn’t officially announced her candidacy, it seems to be a certainty she will be a candidate. Johnson already has more than $1 million in the bank. Marquita Bradshaw, a supposed “environmental activist” who was the Democratic nominee for the U. S. Senate against Bill Hagerty in 2020, has also announced she is running again. Bradshaw won the nomination after spending very little and upset James Mackler, who had accumulated a respectable campaign war chest. Johnson can count on heavy support from the party base, but she may be hampered by the fact that she comes from East Tennessee, which is normally Republican. Gloria should be popular inside Tennessee’s larger cities. Bradshaw also comes from Shelby County, the most populous in the state. Johnson did get millions of dollars in free publicity for the attempt by state Republicans to expel her, along with the two Justins. Gloria will also be able to tap significant fundraising across the country following her protest on the floor of the Tennessee House of Representatives.
It is interesting the race for the U. S. Senate next year is shaping up to be a contest between women. Marsha Blackburn is the first woman to be elected to the United States Senate by the people of Tennessee.
Tennessee Teachers Union Sues To Control Curriculum
Evidently teachers in Tennessee want to control and decide what curriculum is taught in our state. The Tennessee Education Association, the teachers’ union, is filing suit to challenge the ban on teaching Critical Race Theory in Volunteer State classrooms as passed by the General Assembly. The teachers’ union is suing the State of Tennessee and the state Board of Education.
CRT is a doctrine that holds that American institutions and “power structures” affect racial minorities. Advocates of CRT believe the world must necessarily be viewed through the lens of societal structures rather than individuals. Opponents say CRT further divides the country through race and furthers racial stereotypes and race-based segregation in the guise of “social justice.”
The law passed by the Tennessee General Assembly and signed into law by Governor Bill Lee bans K-12 teachers from that one race or gender is inherently superior to the other; that a person is endowed with privilege or oppressed simply by virtue of his or her race. It also prevents teachers from teaching that the United States of America is a fundamentally and inherently racist country. That theoretical point of view holds that racism in America is a systemic and all-pervasive problem in society, rooted into our laws and cultural practices. Critics of CRT put it simply and bluntly: the theory CRT promotes is that all white people are oppressors while all nonwhites are victims of oppression.
The TEA and five individual teachers’ suit challenges the law on the basis it is “constitutionally vague” as well as interferes with educators teaching a “fact-based, well-rounded education” to students.
It appears the TEA, as well as their friends on the Left, remain pitifully fact challenged. Among the facts overlooked by the Left and the TEA is that Great Britain spent almost 2% of its national GDP every year in an effort to abolish slavery. Also overlooked is the fact that there was constant selling of others into slavery by various African tribes. In fact, the Mahdist uprising in the Sudan was, in large measure, a war to bring back slavery.
Unfortunately, the woke folks peddling Critical Race Theory aren’t interested in history or the past, much less “facts.” What they are interested in is trashing America and Western civilization. They would have us believe America derived its wealth not from free trade with other nations, limited government and property rights, but instead profited from piracy and plunder.
City Election Begins August 9
Folks need to remember Early Voting starts Wednesday, August 9 for the City of Knoxville elections. Knoxvillians will be electing a mayor, three at-large city council members, as well as a district member, and the municipal judge. Election Day is August 29. There are several hotly contested races and be sure and get out and VOTE! Let your voice be heard!
