Nashville Mayor Megan Barry Urges Recognition of Indigenous Peoples’ Day, Ignores Columbus

Today is Columbus Day, but not for Nashville Mayor Megan Barry. Barry issued a proclamation urging recognition of Indigenous Peoples’ Day. The proclamation is similar to the non-binding resolution passed by Metro Council last week. “Today we reflect upon the historic and ongoing struggles of Indigenous Peoples while celebrating their culture and value to our society,” she said in a tweet early Monday that included a copy of her proclamation, signed Oct. 1. Barry made no mention of Christopher Columbus. Columbus Day has become increasingly controversial in recent years, and today more than 50 cities and a few states have instead been celebrating Indigenous Peoples’ Day. The states are Minnesota, Vermont and Alaska. A progressive Democrat, Barry said in her proclamation that “Nashville has a responsibility to oppose the systematic racism towards Indigenous people in the United States, which perpetuates high rates of poverty and income inequality, exacerbating disproportionate health, education, and social crises.” The proclamation ends by saying, “The City encourages all individuals to observe this important day and reflect upon the ongoing struggles of Indigenous Peoples on this land, and to celebrate the thriving culture and value that Indigenous Peoples add to our City.” President Trump, by contrast, honored Columbus in his…

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Reason Magazine: Nashville Mayor Megan Barry Wants Taxpayers to Help Fund $225 Million Major League Soccer Stadium, Despite Team’s Two Billionaire Owners

Reason Magazine notes that Nashville Megan Barry’s vigorous support for the propose publicly subsidized $225 million soccer stadium represents a complete about face from the position she took when she was a member of the Nashville Metro Council. “Megan Barry used to oppose public subsidies for professional sports, but now she’s a cheerleader,” the libertarian publication notes: When the Nashville Metro Council extended tax breaks to the Nashville Predators, a financially struggling pro hockey team, a councilwoman named Megan Barry was skeptical that the deal was in the public’s best interest. “Is Nashville a better place with the Predators?” she said on the council floor before voting against the proposal. “Probably. But I’m not voting on that question. I’m voting on whether further public subsidies for this particular for-profit enterprise represents good public policy. And I’m going to vote no.” But that was in 2008. Now that Barry is the mayor of Nashville, she’s become the lead cheerleader for subsidizing a new Major League Soccer stadium. A more cost effective alternative, Reason argues, is the existing Nissan Stadium, home to the NFL’s Tennessee Titans. “If Nissan Stadium is good enough for world-class soccer teams, surely it’s good enough for Major…

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North Korea’s Kim Calls Nuclear Weapons Program a ‘Treasured Sword’

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is defiantly calling his country’s nuclear weapons program a “treasured sword” to protect it against aggression, even as U.S. President Donald Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe continue to pressure his regime. Pyongyang’s state media reported that Kim on Saturday told the powerful Central Committee of the ruling Workers’…

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Hillary Clinton ‘Gets An Award for Hypocrisy’ After Gun Control Comments, NRA Leader Says

After claiming that the gun lobby completely controls the Republican Party, Hillary Clinton ought to be given “an award for hypocrisy” because of her own decades-long reliance on armed security guards, said Chris Cox, executive director of the National Rifle Association’s legislative arm. Speaking on “Fox News Sunday,” Mr. Cox said his organization remains open to…

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Trial of Democratic Sen. Bob Menendez and the Medicare-Milking Doctor Shows Flaws of Single-Payer System

I don’t know how the federal corruption trial of U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez will turn out, but after following the case for almost four years I do know this: Medicare is guilty. Guilty of not having a “gate-keeper” that is. In health-care parlance, a gate-keeper is an administrator who decides whether a certain drug or treatment…

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Senator Bob Corker Lashes Out After President Trump Tweets Corker ‘Didn’t Have The Guts’ to Seek Re-election

President Trump on Sunday morning launched a Twitter attack against retiring Sen. Bob Corker, saying he “didn’t have the guts” to seek re-election. The Tennessee Republican quickly fired back, calling Mr. Trump’s White House “an adult day care center.” In his tweets, the president said Mr. Corker – who previously had questioned Mr. Trump’s competence -…

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