On June 4^th, 2008, Jim Cooper stood behind language in an upcoming education bill that would effectively tell School Administrators that Metro Nashville Schools need not apply.

The bill, H.R. 3021, “directs the Secretary of Education to make grants and low-interest loans to local educational agencies for the construction, modernization, or repair of public kindergarten, elementary, and secondary educational facilities, and for other purposes.”

This Act may be cited as the “21st Century Green High-Performing Public School Facilities Act”.

So, how does this directly impact Metro Nashville Schools? Consider that newer building codes require a greater level of energy efficiency. Newer Heating & Cooling systems reduce cost significantly. Growing suburban communities where the tax base is higher, spend millions to build new schools that are highly efficient. For example, the City of Mt. Juliet recently spent nearly $50 Million to construct a new high school.

However, older school buildings do not measure up to these new standards. Because they don’t meet the requirements, these schools will be limited in how they can use funds if they are actually awarded any grants. Specifically, older schools that don’t meet the requirements for LEED, CHPS, or Energy Star certification will not be permitted to use any funds allocated under this bill for maintenance. This bill does nothing to offset any existing costs associated with the operation of the school. Instead, it adds another layer of red tape to an already burdensome process for receiving Federal Grants.

More specifically, Metro Nashville  will feel the brunt of this bill, because many of the schools in the district were built decades ago; some are over 70 years old. Many have not been renovated, or updated in the past 30 years. These schools will not meet the energy efficiency standards that Cooper demands, and thus, not receive funds for maintenance. The bill, therefore, does nothing to help improve education.

Funds provided by this bill miss the point of education entirely. If the Federal Government wishes to spend money on education, shouldn’t it directly go toward educating our children. Instead, Jim Cooper wants to spend millions of tax-payer dollars to pander to the environmental extreme. The time that it would take to recover the cost of making Metro Nashville Schools “Green” will be measured in decades. By that time, even stricter, more punitive standards will be enforced preventing schools from receiving funds in the future. 

Jim Cooper will say that he is for education, referencing this bill. But, this bill has nothing to do with education. It has everything to do with increasing expenditures without affecting the performance levels of Metro Nashville Schools.

Further, should a grant not cover the entire cost of renovation, Metro Nashville will have to pick up the rest of the tab. The end result will be to further burden a struggling population by raising taxes within the districts to pay for the exorbitant cost to renovate these old buildings.

Jim Cooper apparently doesn’t care that his vote hurts the poorest folks struggling to make ends meet in Davidson County. He seems to be out of touch with parents, who want a better life for their children, while his own children are set for life. As the 13^th wealthiest member of Congress, he can afford to send his kids to the finest schools.

The students of Metro Nashville have been left behind by this bill, while privileged communities like the one Jim Cooper lives in, continue to receive more and more Federal Funds. Something is wrong, almost sinister here. Someone needs to stand up to career politicians like Jim Cooper and say enough is enough.

You need to know that Gerard Donovan will not vote for any Bill that disparately impacts our poorest citizens. Parents from every walk of life, and every race should be able to send their children to school with confidence that they will receive the best education available.

Jim Cooper has made it clear that he will continue to leave Metro Schools behind.

You have the power to make a difference on November 4^th;

VOTE FOR GERARD DONOVAN

AND

THROW JIM COOPER OUT!

You can also contribute to the Donovan campaign:

http://donovanforcongress.com/contribute.htm

Who to blame for the Nashville gas shortage?

Many are upset about the fuel shortages in Nashville. A friend of
mine met a truck driver who hauls gas tankers to deliver to gas stations. This
particular driver was concerned that since his truck operates on diesel, he
might not be able to travel to his next location because there is no diesel
available in the area. Imagine that! A truck full of gasoline not being able to
supply gas stations because the truck itself runs out of fuel… One must laugh at
the irony.

But the questions that will remain during and after this crisis
include what caused the shortage, who is to blame, and what can be done to
prevent a shortage in the future?

Many are foolishly calling for the government to intervene, increase
regulations, force price controls, etc. However if one were to contemplate the
gasoline market and follow it to the logical conclusion one would discover that
the source of the problem is actually the government itself.

Yep, that’s right! The government is at fault and the full blame of
the shortage can be laid at it’s doorstep. As any community college economics
professor can profess, price-gouging laws do more harm than good; this gas
shortage is a prime example.
It might be counter-intuitive however the laws of economics,
specifically of supply and demand still apply. If demand for a product is high,
and the product is scarce, then price will also climb.

At the pumps in Nashville recently there were people filling every
type of container with gasoline in order to increase personal reserves. Since
supply was low due to pipeline irregularities with Hurricane Ike, and there was
a rumor that Nashville might run out of gas, people began hoarding. Thus a
self-fulfilling prophecy occurred.

Where does the government come in, you might ask? Due to anti-price
gouging laws distributors of gasoline are not allowed to significantly raise
their price in a short amount of time unless the actual costs of the gasoline
also increases. These obtrusive and arbitrary price-gouging regulations cause
problems because gas in Nashville was recently undervalued.

In other words gas stations were selling gas too cheaply! Before you
spill your coffee and want to punch me in the face for suggesting that we should
have paid more for gas, please let me explain.

If the gas stations had raised the price of fuel then there would
not have been a run on gas. High prices would’ve prevented drivers from filling
up gas cans, milk jugs, coke bottles, and anything else they could get their
hands on. If gas were $5/gal or even $10/gal there probably would not be much
hoarding. In fact there would have been a lot of conserving.

Unfortunately the gas stations and their distributors did not react
quickly enough to market conditions by raising their prices to the point where
people were still able to purchase but not to hoard. They were selling gas too
cheap and it was most likely due to anti-price gouging laws. Woe to any business
these days, especially one that sells energy, to be even slightly hinted at the
possibility that maybe they might have been potentially engaged in
“price-gouging”.

However given a choice of paying $10/gal for gas or walking to work (which is
impossible for most in Middle Tennessee), it would be a safe assumption that we
would rather pay the higher prices than do without. A city with expensive gas is
a much better situation than a city having none at all.

To explain the principle another way, imagine a family of 6. Two parents, two
boys, and two girls who live on the Gulf Coast that are trying to escape the
path of a major hurricane. Most likely they will pack their vehicle and drive
inland to find a hotel. If the hotel rooms are $50/night the family might book 3
rooms – one for the parents, one for the boys, and one for the girls so that
they can all be comfortable. However if the rooms are $350/night, chances are
they will only book one or two rooms in order to save money. In other words they
won’t hoard the rooms because it’s too expensive to do so; they will only buy
what they absolutely need. Those extra vacant rooms can be used for other
families looking to seek shelter from the storm.

Free market pricing free from governmental intervention allows for efficient
use of scarce resources. If the gas stations were allowed to raise their prices
according to the demand, people would attempt to conserve by purchasing only
what was necessary instead of what they thought they might need.

Can you blame people for wanting to hoard gas if there are rumors of a
shortage? No. The rumors can’t be stopped in a society that prides free speech
as a fundamental right. However the situation could’ve been avoided if the gas
stations were allowed to raise their prices to prevent this run and follow the
basic and natural law of economics. But they were not allowed because the
government always tries to regulate the marketplace.

We would be aghast if the government tried to regulate the speech of others.
Why is it that we allow the government to regulate the market if we don’t allow
the government to regulate speech? It is hypocritical to regulate the market and
not free speech. Therefore in the interest of a free and open society neither
the marketplace of ideas or the marketplace of commerce should be regulated.
While the government’s unwanted hand that caused this crisis is an inconvenience
to most, it’s damaging to many. Most local citizens are not able to go shopping,
or visit bars, or go hear a band play, or have a pizza delivered, or catch a
taxi. This is destructive to our local economy and is just short of an atrocity.

It should be obvious by now what caused the shortage and abolishing
price-gouging laws can prevent this from happening again in the future. But who
is ultimately to blame? The actions of our irresponsible government which
apparently does not understand fundamental economics evidenced by the fact that
they created nonsensical price-gouging laws interfering in the marketplace.

Matt Collins
Antioch, TN
Member of Ron Paul’s ‘Campaign for Liberty’
www.CampaignForLiberty.org

Matt Collins is a libertarian leaning talk-radio producer at 99.7 WTN and was a key organizer in the Ron Paul for President campaign in Nashville during the 2008 primary election. He currently an adviser to the Donovan for Congress Campaign and is also member of Congressman Ron Paul’s newly formed Campaign for Liberty whose mission is “to promote and defend the great American principles of individual liberty, constitutional government, sound money, free markets, and a noninterventionist foreign policy, by means of educational and political activity.”

Congressman Jim Cooper’s (D-TN) energy policy has been a disaster for Tennessee and a disaster for the country. Re-electing Jim Cooper will only insure that the failed head-in-the-sand policies of Harry Reid (D-NV) and Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco) continue to block real steps to energy independence.

In October of 2005, and again in June ‘08, Congressman Cooper voted AGAINST bills which would have removed the federal roadblocks to the construction of new gasoline refineries. As the fuel shortage in Nashville this week illustrate, we are dangerously dependent on a very small number of refineries for our supply of gasoline. The environmental extremists have successfully used the federal bureaucracy to block the construction of new refineries. Congressman Cooper has voted with the extremists.

Congressman Cooper is part of the Reid - Pelosi team has not just opposed drilling for oil; they have used their positions to block drilling legislation from a floor vote in congress.

Congressman Cooper is out of step with Tennessee. He’s wrong on critical energy issues. He’s wrong on ending the drilling moratorium. He’s wrong on blocking the construction of new refineries. And he’s on the wrong team. Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi have set a disastrous energy policy that is having a terrible impact on the citizens of Tennessee. It’s time for a change.

If you believe we need to drill, add new refineries, and turn the power of the free market on the energy alternatives of wind, compressed natural gas, oil shale, hydrogen power cells and any other means of powering our economy and life - Then vote for Gerard Donovan, Republican candidate for Congress.

I believe we need to lift the moratorium on drilling and quit playing games with this issue. 

My energy policies are right for Tennessee and America. While status quo Cooper is supporting the failed policies of the past.

On November 4th, vote Donovan for Congress.

For documentation on Cooper’s votes, see:
http://www.ontheissues.org/House/Jim_Cooper_Energy_+_Oil.htm

Hey, folks,

Well, here we are.  Gerard Donovan has a blog, and in the next fifty-odd days, you’re going to see him, as well as his photographer Ric, myself, and other friends of the campaign weighing in on issues large and small.

Of course, we can’t all speak for the campaign, but I guess that’s what’s going to make this blog so cool.  Look at John McCain and Barack Obama.  When was the last time one of their advisors, or one of the advisors’ advisors actually posted position papers where you can read them?  At this blog, you’re not only going to get to hear from Gerard, but you’ll hear from the people who have his ear.

This is getting exciting.  In my quarter century on this planet, I can’t remember a time when the People have had such access to politicians.  In fact, it may not be since Andrew Jackson’s big block of cheese that regular ol’ folks have been able so easily to pick a politician’s brain.

-but enough droning on about the coolness; this post is to let you know about me.

I’m 25, originally from Massachusetts, a freelance professional geek (computer nerd), and a Libertarian.

Yep, you read that right.  I’m one of those far-out weirdos who actually believes in Liberty.  The thing is, that I got a chance to speak with Gerard at a political meeting where he made an appearance several weeks ago, and I found out that real people with jobs still run for national office for all the right reasons, so I decided to help him out.

I’d even vote for him if I lived in his district.

Go figure.

Anyway, you’ll be hearing from me about government abuses of power, the proper role of government, economic and foreign policy, and technology issues.

First up?  Whatever catches my eye.

Until then,

—Adam

John, Gerard, and Marti Donovan

Marti, John and I would like to thank the 5th District for your support in winning our primary. My family and I just want you to know how much we appreciated your vote. 

As we move forward toward the General Election we have an uphill battle.

First and foremost, I must persuade you that I’m not another partisan politician. In fact, I’m not a politician at all. Just like you, my family is hurt by the horrible job done in Washington. Honestly, I wouldn’t be running for office if Jim Cooper didn’t contribute to the lowest ever Congressional approval rating. I wouldn’t be running if Jim Cooper represented the 5th District and voted to end this energy crisis. I wouldn’t be running if Jim Cooper would do something about our worsening economy, the price of gas and out of control food prices.

While I’m running as a Republican, I am truly an alternative fighting for the things that the majority of us would already agree on… the issues Jim and other career politicians are ignoring. Issues like ending the dependency on foreign oil or fixing our borders so Americans and legal immigrants alike are safe from intruders.

In addition, bad decisions coming from Washington have led to the housing crisis which devalued our homes, sent the mortgage industry into shock, and as of August 19, 2008, has placed this country over 9 trillion dollars in debt ($9,613,131,267,531.12).  Click here for the current amount we owe to the likes of China, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Japan, and others. Career politicians like my opponent have mortgaged our kids for generations and expect to be reelected. We say, “Not now, not in 2008!” We want our country back and it starts right here.

My dear Republicans and Democrats, I know for years, often for generations, many of us pull the lever simply because of our party affiliation. Neither party is the party of our parents or grandparents. We have to stop doing the same things and expecting different results! Now more than ever we need to look at who’s running. A vote for me is like you yourself going to Washington and saying, “Enough!”  A vote for Gerard Donovan is a vote for an alternative.

Please take some time to browse my website. You will see where I stand on issues that affect our families. You will learn that the vast majority of us can agree on at least 70% of the issues plaguing our country and the 5th District. You will learn how I plan to fight, with your help, the waste, abuse and fraud laid upon our door by career politicians in Congress. You will see very clearly what has taken Congressional representatives to their lowest approval rating in recorded history and how my opponent has contributed to such low levels of satisfaction.

I’m Gerard Donovan and I’m running for Congress. Allow me to take your voice and lighten the darkest capital cloak room in Washington. Please vote for me, for the 5th District on November 4th.