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Tennessee Passes Mind-Boggling Ban on Bus Rapid Transit
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  • Tennessee lawmakers have voted overwhelmingly to ban the construction of bus rapid transit anywhere in the state.Image: Amp Yes

    Tennessee lawmakers overwhelmingly voted in favor a bill that bans the construction of bus rapid transit(BRT) anywhere in the state.

    The impetus for the vote was a proposal to build a $174 million BRT system in Nashville called The Amp, which would’ve ran on a 7.1 mile route and served rapidly growing neighborhoods across the city. There’s a more detailed summary of the project over at The Tennessean.

    Although BRT has been shown to revitalize economies and reduce congestion, opponents of The Amp voiced concerns about the safety of unloading bus passengers along roadways and whether private land would be used to build dedicated bus lanes.

  • Tennessee Passes Mind-Boggling Ban on Bus Rapid Transit | Autopia | WIRED

    After the vote, Amp opponents revealed that the conservative group Americans for Prosperity, founded with the support of brothers Charles and David Koch, had lobbied in favor of the bus ban.

    The legislation is startlingly specific: Senate Bill 2243 forbids “constructing, maintaining or operating any bus rapid transit system.”

    The Senate version of the BRT ban also forbids buses from “loading or discharging passengers at any point within the boundary lines of a state highway or state highway right-of-way not adjacent to the right-hand, lateral curb line.” Though the House struck that provision and sent revised legislation back to the Senate, it would still require special approval from the Tennessee Department of Transportation and local government bodies.

    It’s a hard line, and an unusual one.

    Normally, the easiest way to kill a public transit project is to pull its funding. Alabama, Arizona, Hawaii and Utah all forbid state funding for public transit systems, for instance, but even that isn’t foolproof: Utah’s taken on some major commuter rail expansions lately, and Phoenix uses county tax revenues to pay for its transit system.

    Voters in Arlington, TX famously voted against public transit funding for decades, and an acrimonious debate in Cincinnati almost derailed a streetcar project, but both those cities now have service.

    A formal ban on BRT is about the only way that Tennessee could ensure that The Amp didn’t get built as intended. Already, the project seems to be watered down. Nashville’s mayor—a proponent of the project—has ordered a study that would redesign the system to avoid using dedicated lanes (PDF).

    Now, drivers in Nashville can look forward to increased traffic and longer commutes. But at least those pesky buses won’t be in the way.
 
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WATCH: Congressman Tells Black Constituent He’s Not Sure The Civil Rights Act Is Constitutional
BYSCOTT KEYES ONAPRIL 15, 2014 AT 9:22 AM

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"WATCH: Congressman Tells Black Constituent He’s Not Sure The Civil Rights Act Is Constitutional"

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Rep. Ted Yoho (R-FL) addresses a town hall meeting in Gainesville, Florida.

CREDIT: SCOTT KEYES

GAINESVILLE, Florida — Last week, former presidents and dignitaries celebrated the 50th anniversary of the Civil Rights Act, which bans many forms of employment discrimination and whites-only lunch counters, among other things. This week, a Republican congressman declared that he’s not sure if the Civil Rights Act is even constitutional.




Rep. Ted Yoho (R-FL), a freshman congressman aligned with the Tea Party, held a town hall Monday evening in Gainesville where he fielded a wide range of questions from constituents. One such voter was Melvin Flournoy, a 57-year-old African American from Gainesville, who asked Yoho whether he believes the Civil Rights Act is constitutional.

The easy answer in this case — “yes” — has the benefit of alsobeing correct. But Yoho found the question surprisingly difficult.

“Is it constitutional, the Civil Rights Act?” Yoho repeated before giving his reply: “I wish I could answer that 100 percent.” The Florida Republican then went on to strongly imply it may be unconstitutional: “I know a lot of things that were passed are not constitutional, but I know it’s the law of the land.”

FLOURNOY: Do you think that any part of the Civil Rights Act of 1965 [sic], do you think any part of that is constitutional? And then if you’d discuss why. [...]

YOHO: This country grew through a lot of growing pain. We’re going through it again. As we grow as a country and prosper, we’re going to go through it again in the future. That’s why I’m so thankful for the Constitution because it allows us to do that.Is it constitutional, the Civil Rights Act? I wish I could answer that 100 percent. I know a lot of things that were passed are not constitutional, but I know it’s the law of the land.

Watch it:

Yoho is not the only Republican on Capitol Hill still uncomfortable with the constitutionality of the country’s premier landmark civil rights law. During the 2010 campaign, Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) famouslydeclaredhis opposition to the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

Yet, while Yoho is unsure about the legality of the Civil Rights Act, he has no problem invoking the memory of civil rights leaders in his party’s zeal to repeal Obamacare. “It only takes one with passion — look at Rosa Parks, Lech Walesa, Martin Luther King,” Yohosaidwhile discussing the GOP’s attempt to defund Obamacare, which led to a government shutdown last year.

Flournoy was less than pleased with his congressman’s response. “I wasn’t surprised,” he told ThinkProgress after the town hall, “but I was disappointed that he doesn’t support the Civil Rights Act,” noting that it’s one of the most important pieces of legislation in American history.
 
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Governor Bans Minimum Wage Increases And Paid Sick Leave Laws
BYBRYCE COVERT ONAPRIL 15, 2014 AT 9:41 AM

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Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin (R)

CREDIT: AP/SUE OGROCKI

At a time whenmany states and citiesare working passing minimum wage increases, Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin (R) has gone in the opposite direction and signed a lawbanning cities from passing higher wages. The bill also bans them from enacting paid sick days or vacation requirements.

The law will stymie the efforts of activists in Oklahoma City, where a labor federation has led the push on a petition toraise the city’s minimum wage to $10.10per hour. The state’s current minimum has been set at the federal level of $7.25. In 2012,64,000 workersin the state earned $7.25 an hour or less, making up 7.2 percent of all hourly workers, a larger share than the 4.7 percent figure for the country as a whole.

Fallin said she signed the billout of the worrythat higher local minimum wages “would drive businesses to other communities and states, and would raise prices for consumers.” She also argued that “most minimum wage workers are young, single people working part-time or entry level jobs” and that “many are high school or college students living with their parents in middle-class families.” She warned that increasing the minimum wage “would require businesses to fire many of those part-time workers” and harm job creation.

But that’s not what the typical American minimum wage worker looks like.Nearly 90 percent of workerswho would be impacted by an increase in the wage are older than 20, while the average age is 35. More than a quarter have children to support. More than half work full time, and 44 percent have at least some college education, whilehalf a millionminimum wage workers are college graduates.

Meanwhile, experts have analyzed state minimum wage increases over two decades and found that even at times of high unemployment, there isno clear evidence that the hikes affected job creation. Five other studies have come to the same conclusion. The same has held true for the city of San Francisco, where employmentgrew by more than 5 percentafter it passed a higher minimum wage while nearby counties experienced declines.

Oklahoma is not the only state to pass a blanket ban on raising the wage. Wisconsin lawmakersrecently considereddoing the same, and Kansas Governor Sam Brownback (R)signed a lawthat prevents local governments from requiring contractors to pay higher wages last year. According to Paul Sonn, general counsel and program director at the National Employment Law Project, a handful of mostly Republican-leaning states passed these kinds of bans about a decade ago, including Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Oregon, and Texas. But the states that are the most likely to see campaigns to raise minimum wages are not the ones that are likely to pass similar bans, he told ThinkProgress.

The ban on paid sick days is also not new. Whileseven American cities and one statehave passed paid sick leave requirements,ten states— Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Wisconsin — have banned local efforts, with seven of those passing over the last year, and many other states have considered similar bills. Yet thereisnoevidencetosupportthe idea that these requirements hurt businesses or job growth.

Governor Bans Minimum Wage Increases And Paid Sick Leave Laws | ThinkProgress
 
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Wisconsin Republican Committee Votes To Uphold ‘Wisconsin’s Right… To Secede’
BYIAN MILLHISER ONAPRIL 14, 2014 AT 9:49 AM

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"Wisconsin Republican Committee Votes To Uphold ‘Wisconsin’s Right… To Secede’"

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CREDIT: SHUTTERSTOCK

Earlier this month, the Wisconsin Republican Party’s Resolutions Committee voted to endorse a proposal expressing the party’s support for “legislation thatupholds Wisconsin’s right, under extreme circumstances, to secede.” A stronger version of this resolution passed one of the state GOP’s eight regional caucuses in March. That version provided that “we strongly insist our state representatives work to uphold Wisconsin’s 10th Amendment rights,and our right to secede, passing legislation affirming this to the U.S. Federal Government.”

The full state party convention will consider the amended resolution in early May. To his credit, Gov. Scott Walker (R-WI) distanced himself from the resolution.

Though there is no shortage of irony to the Party of Lincoln now morphing into the Party of Secession, this Wisconsin resolution is part of a larger pattern of conservatives questioning the legitimacy of the United States as a nation. Last week, several major conservative media figures, including Fox News’ Sean Hannity, promoted the cause of Cliven Bundy, a Nevada rancher who says that “I don’t recognize [the] United States Government as even existing.” On Saturday, federal officials announced that they would stop trying to enforce a court order against Bundy, at least for now, because of the potential for violence that resulted after armed right-wing militia members rallied to Bundy’s cause.
Wisconsin Republican Committee Votes To Uphold 'Wisconsin's Right... To Secede' | ThinkProgress
 
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:ehh: what can I say...it's interesting to see what people can convince themselves and others of
 
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88m3 said:
WATCH: Congressman Tells Black Constituent He’s Not Sure The Civil Rights Act Is Constitutional
BYSCOTT KEYES ONAPRIL 15, 2014 AT 9:22 AM

5,946Share This 647Tweet This
"WATCH: Congressman Tells Black Constituent He’s Not Sure The Civil Rights Act Is Constitutional"

Share:

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20140414_185950-638x478.jpg

Rep. Ted Yoho (R-FL) addresses a town hall meeting in Gainesville, Florida.

CREDIT: SCOTT KEYES

GAINESVILLE, Florida — Last week, former presidents and dignitaries celebrated the 50th anniversary of the Civil Rights Act, which bans many forms of employment discrimination and whites-only lunch counters, among other things. This week, a Republican congressman declared that he’s not sure if the Civil Rights Act is even constitutional.




Rep. Ted Yoho (R-FL), a freshman congressman aligned with the Tea Party, held a town hall Monday evening in Gainesville where he fielded a wide range of questions from constituents. One such voter was Melvin Flournoy, a 57-year-old African American from Gainesville, who asked Yoho whether he believes the Civil Rights Act is constitutional.

The easy answer in this case — “yes” — has the benefit of alsobeing correct. But Yoho found the question surprisingly difficult.

“Is it constitutional, the Civil Rights Act?” Yoho repeated before giving his reply: “I wish I could answer that 100 percent.” The Florida Republican then went on to strongly imply it may be unconstitutional: “I know a lot of things that were passed are not constitutional, but I know it’s the law of the land.”

FLOURNOY: Do you think that any part of the Civil Rights Act of 1965 [sic], do you think any part of that is constitutional? And then if you’d discuss why. [...]

YOHO: This country grew through a lot of growing pain. We’re going through it again. As we grow as a country and prosper, we’re going to go through it again in the future. That’s why I’m so thankful for the Constitution because it allows us to do that.Is it constitutional, the Civil Rights Act? I wish I could answer that 100 percent. I know a lot of things that were passed are not constitutional, but I know it’s the law of the land.

Watch it:

Yoho is not the only Republican on Capitol Hill still uncomfortable with the constitutionality of the country’s premier landmark civil rights law. During the 2010 campaign, Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) famouslydeclaredhis opposition to the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

Yet, while Yoho is unsure about the legality of the Civil Rights Act, he has no problem invoking the memory of civil rights leaders in his party’s zeal to repeal Obamacare. “It only takes one with passion — look at Rosa Parks, Lech Walesa, Martin Luther King,” Yohosaidwhile discussing the GOP’s attempt to defund Obamacare, which led to a government shutdown last year.

Flournoy was less than pleased with his congressman’s response. “I wasn’t surprised,” he told ThinkProgress after the town hall, “but I was disappointed that he doesn’t support the Civil Rights Act,” noting that it’s one of the most important pieces of legislation in American history.
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Now does this apply to us NewBlacks too?
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