Posts Tagged ‘phil bredesen’
Gaile Owens doesn’t deserve to die
If it’s OK for Mary Winkler to live as a free citizen and have custody of her kids, it isn’t OK for Gaile Owens to be executed by the state.
Owens is the only inmate in Tennessee prison history to face execution after accepting a prosecutor’s offer to plead guilty with a life sentence.
Though there is little doubt that Owens was severely abused by her husband, the jurors who decided her fate never knew about it. Owens never testified and hasn’t sought publicity for her plight, out of respect for her children. She even declined to appear on Oprah when approached by the program. Owens is remorseful for her crime and from the outset pled guilty. She signed a plea agreement to serve a life sentence, which the prosecution refused to accept when her co-defendant rejected the same offer.
In my opinion, this isn’t someone who deserves to die for her crimes, but my point of view isn’t the one that matters at this point. Governor Bredesen, please do the just and equitable thing and let Owens live.
Tags: capital punishment, gaile owens, john seigenthaler, mary winkler, nashville, phil bredesen, politics, tennessee
Arrogance is in the eye of the gunholder
Which is more arrogant: A governor exercising a right that is granted to him by the state constitution, or someone insulting him for doing so? I accept that Tennessee Firearms Association executive director John Harris isn’t pleased that Governor Phil Bredesen vetoed the guns-in-restaurants bill yesterday, but I think describing the governor’s veto as “futile” and “arrogant” is silly.
The General Assembly has every right to override the governor, but I’ll be curious to see whether it actually does. Though the bills were far less controversial, the legislature declined to override Bredesen’s five previous vetoes.
In my opinion, this is a bad bill that makes Tennessee less safe and creates opportunities for more loss of life, not less. Now that the governor has said the same, I hope members of the General Assembly will agree.
Tags: governor, gun rights, nashville, phil bredesen, second amendment, tennessee, tennessee firearms association, the tennessean
I agree with Bredesen: Change is good
I definitely agree with this statement from Governor Phil Bredesen, who shares some of the lessons he’s learned along the way in the latest issue of Esquire magazine:
I would never vote for somebody who had never changed their mind on anything, because I know I was not crafted perfectly at age 18.
That’s at least one thing that Bredesen, Barack Obama and I agree on: Change is good (even if it can be difficult and painful). While I like to believe that the qualities that make me uniquely who I am have not changed substantially since I graduated from high school, some of my most earnest convictions about faith, politics and humanity surely have. (In most cases, I hope, they’ve changed for the better.) A good friend of mine once passed along advice from his father: “Be a Democrat while you’re young, and a Republican when you’re older.”
Although I reserve the right to vote for whomever I think is most fit for office, regardless of political affiliation, I’ve taken that advice, only in reverse. I’m much more liberal, progressive or whatever you choose to call it today than I was in 1991, but I think my eighteen-year-old self and I would still be able to be friends. Even in my more conservative days, what mattered to me most were compassion and character. That much hasn’t changed, and I hope it never does.
Tags: barack obama, change, esquire, maturity, nashville, phil bredesen, philosophy, politics, tennessee
Zeppos lives among us
I thought this news about new Vanderbilt University Chancellor Nick Zeppos was refreshing:
A university spokesperson confirms to Rex that Zeppos has opted to stay at the home in Cherokee Park where he and his family have lived since 1989, when he came to Vanderbilt as a law professor. He will use Braeburn, the Belle Meade mansion that VU renovated at a cost of $6 million during the tenure of Chancellor Gordon Gee, for ceremonial and entertainment purposes only.
There is one small difference in how Zeppos and Bredesen have each chosen to live. The Zeppos’ property is appraised for taxes at a $527,000 — a modest sum for the home of a man occupying such an august position. Bredesen’s Chickering Drive home and surrounding land holdings, on the other hand, have a total tax-appraised value of nearly $12.3 million.
I think it’s admirable that Zeppos has lived in the same house for nearly 20 years. Since it’s in Cherokee Park,his home likely isn’t a McMansion. I find it encouraging that someone working in such a visible capacity is choosing to live in a modest home (albeit one that has appreciated considerably while Zeppos has owned it). It also means that we’re neighbors, since I live on the side of Sylvan Park closest to his neighborhood.
I don’t fault Governor Bredesen for choosing to live in his more expensive home, either, though: Keep in mind that Bredesen is voluntarily accepting only $1 as salary during his time as governor (not that he would need the money). I’m sure Zeppos is still taking full paychecks from Vanderbilt, though they may pale in comparison to the $1.1 million that former Chancellor Gordon Gee reportedly received.
Tags: cherokee park, nashville, nick zeppos, phil bredesen, vanderbilt, vanderbilt university
Airport doesn’t need a “legendary” name
I really hope no one decides to name Nashville International Airport after a country music legend:
Would we have bumpy landings at Dolly Parton International Airport? Would you like the all-black décor of the Johnny Cash International Airport? Would the terminal in Al Gore International be unusually warm? Would a few flights be no-shows at George Jones International?
I’ve struggled to reconcile the negative elements of Nashville’s identity as Music City with the emerging reality that we are a growing and progressive city, and I don’t think naming the airport after a country star is a good idea. I have come to respect the incredible amount of talent here in town and to acknowledge that there is a great deal of great music, plenty of it country, written and recorded here.
That said, we are extremely well known for our musical pedigree, and unfortunately that sometimes means that the pejorative pieces of that legacy are what people elsewhere choose to focus on. Naming one of the front doors of our community, the airport, after someone who will only reinforce that image doesn’t help the city in the long run. Let’s name it after Dick Fulton, Phil Bredesen, Bill Purcell or Ross Alderman instead.
[Full disclosure: My employer works on behalf of the Metropolitan Nashville Airport Authority. I have no involvement with that work; I just think the suggestions referenced above are poor choices for an airport name.]
Tags: bill purcell, country music, dick fulton, dolly parton, george jones, johnny cash, music city, nashville, nashville international airport, phil bredesen, ross alderman, the city paper, the tennessean
