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In this episode Amy & Nathan break down a few Tennessee bills coming up in Committees on March 21 & 22 that directly impact children: HB1029/SB1159, HB0127/SB0141, and HB0330/SB0282- Gov. Lee's Amendment, which would decimate the TCCY (Tennessee Commission on Children & Youth), is at this link. We also touch on burn-out and how to stay motivated when change for the better feels like a hopeless endeavor. And we also learn Amy can't keep her numbers straight.

So much for a "limited" series. With this year's "Slate of Hate," Tennessee's anti-LGBTQIA+ legislation is coming on fast & furious. In this episode, we (mostly Nathan) break down the worst of these bills and how a bill becomes law in Tennessee. We also spell out what actions are needed to help stop these bills from becoming law. The links to bills and resources mentioned in this episode are below. https://www.capitol.tn.gov/legislation/  -search for bills https://wapp.capitol.tn.gov/Apps/fml2022/search.aspx - look up your TN legislator https://wapp.capitol.tn.gov/apps/mybills/Login.aspx - If you are a resident of TN, you can create an account and save bills that you want to track. https://wapp.capitol.tn.gov/apps/BillInfo/Default.aspx?BillNumber=HB0001 - SB0001/HB0001 bans gender affirming care for persons under the age of 18, also punishes doctor who delivered gender affirming care within 20 years of that treatment, and allows for civil lawsuits for up to 30 years after the care was received. https://wapp.capitol.tn.gov/apps/BillInfo/Default.aspx?BillNumber=SB0003 - SB0003/HB0009 adds “male and female impersonators” to the definition of “adult cabaret performers.” And makes it a class A misdemeanor for first offense and a class F felony (losing the right to vote) for a second offense. Basically allows the people who have used already existing nuisance laws to shut down Drag shows, to take their actions one step further and criminalize Drag performers. https://wapp.capitol.tn.gov/apps/BillInfo/Default.aspx?BillNumber=SB0005  (SB0005/HB1378) Bill that blocks hormone therapy, mastectomies (top surgery), and gender reassignment (bottom surgery) for minors. Fact: in the last 5 years in Tennessee only 5 top surgeries have been performed on persons under 18, and ZERO bottom surgeries have been performed. https://www.tnep.org/campaigns_for_the_week_of_february_13?fbclid=IwAR204QtH2AUvLXpu6FFKxdExtb2fQSCoQGBuoTpyrQaWV7_A0i4Mabda6uw Tennessee Equality’s Project weekly actions for week of Feb 13. https://www.tnep.org - The Tennessee Equality Project’s website https://www.knoxpride.com - Knox Pride’s website. View their monthly event schedule, make a donation, volunteer, view their community resources page.

In this episode Amy & Nathan go over info on the Blount County General Election for August 4- early voting dates & locations, where to find who's on the ballot, and why you should give a darn and vote (and donate, put up a yard sign, phone bank, and/or canvass). For info on Democratic candidates: https://www.blountdems.org/candidates To check your voter registration, voting precinct, and view a sample ballot: https://web.go-vote-tn.elections.tn.gov/ The Go Vote TN Phone App is also available in the Google Play & Apple stores. Direct link to Act Blue: https://secure.actblue.com/ (There's a search box right at the top of the landing page where you can search by candidate name).

In this episode Amy & Nathan discuss all the various roles on a campaign, what each role is responsible for, and have a lengthy discussion (a Rant that isn't ranty) about what's needed to engage voters who either can't seem to break away from their Political Party addiction or have every outward appearance that they believe Democrats are everything that the wackiest conspiracy theorists would have you believe.

In this episode, Amy & Nathan give more information about the day to day running of a campaign for different levels of public office. They cover funding amounts, different campaign tools, how many volunteers are needed, etc. This episode also features their longest rant to date. Starting with gerrymandering, they end up discussing why it's important to not give in to the myriad of voter suppression tactics of the GOP. Key dates for August 4, 2022** Tennessee State and Federal Primary: February 7, 2022* - First day to pick up Qualifying Candidate Petitions * May be delayed for some offices until redistricting is completed. April 7, 2022, 12:00 Noon- Qualifying Deadline, turn your petitions in. July 5, 2022- Last day to register to vote. July 15 – Saturday, July 30, 2022- Early Voting period. July 28, 2022- Last day to request Absentee Ballot. Above info available at: https://sos-prod.tnsosgovfiles.com/s3fs-public/document/Key%20Dates%20-%202022.pdf?VersionId=yUECL6LcwLUIJ8GdJN0d_8K5GUThgDiP ** The Blount County Commission General election is on this August 4 date, NOT November.

Amy and Nathan discuss the early steps to running for office like getting clear on why you should run for office, which office to run for, the forms, deadlines, and support that's available to help you launch your campaign for local offices. Below is a list of deadlines & websites mentioned in this episode: February 2, 2022- first day to request absentee by mail ballot in Tennessee February 17, 2022 NOON- last day to turn in Qualifying Candidate petitions to your county Election Commission. April 4, 2022- last day to register to vote in the Primary in Tennessee April 13- 28 2022- Early Voting April 26, 2022- Last day to request absentee ballot May 3, 2022- State (judicial positions) and County Primary elections Complete dates for State Reps/State Senate and Federal elections will be in the next episode. First date to pull a qualifying candidate petition for State Rep & State Senate is February 7, 2022. State of Tennessee's Key Dates for the 2022 Election Cycle: https://sos-prod.tnsosgovfiles.com/s3fs-public/document/Key%20Dates%20-%202022.pdf?VersionId=yUECL6LcwLUIJ8GdJN0d_8K5GUThgDiP Blount County Election Commission: https://www.blounttn.org/447/Election-Commission Click on “Candidates” on the menu on the left side of the page for official information about running for office. State of Tennessee candidates’ campaign finance filings: https://www.tn.gov/tref/tref-campaign-finance-disclosure-reports.html Blount County Democratic Party's website: https://blount.tndp.org/ Our email: [email protected]

With School Board meetings in Tennessee making national news, Amy and Nathan walk listeners through what local government meetings are supposed to look like and how you can participate. In the Rant, they explain why paying attention to local politics and showing up at a local level helps your immediate daily life, and hopefully keeps the unqualified from getting to D.C. Link to archived story from Knoxville Metro Pulse on current U.S. District 2 Rep. Burchett's business & its environmental violations that was mentioned in the rant: https://monkeyfire.com/mpol/dir_zine/dir_2000/1014/t_ear.html

In this episode Amy & Nathan discuss why donating directly to local and state campaigns is more effective than donating to the national parties, and what it's like to volunteer for local/state campaigns. Then they rant about the misconceptions about people's unwillingness to go back to their old jobs after/during this pandemic. Hint: it's not about the extra unemployment benefits Tennessee pulled out of at the beginning of July.

Amy and Nathan break down the many ways you can research political candidates & elected officials, from their Social Media accounts to Federal Election Commission & State Campaign Finance reports to voting records. Plus rant (and cuss) about people who don't do their research before hitting the voting booth. We are not endorsed or sponsored by any of the organizations listed below. The websites mentioned in this episode are ones we have used ourselves to stay informed about local/state politics. For non-partisan ballot & voting record research: Ballotpedia: https://ballotpedia.org VoteSmart: https://justfacts.votesmart.org Info on candidates, voting records, legislative issues: League of Women Voters (2 sites): https://www.lwv.org and https://www.vote411.org Indivisible Tennessee (partisan, Democratic leaning): http://indivisibletn.org Campaign Fiance: Federal election campaign finance reports (U.S. Senate & U.S. Representative): https://www.fec.gov State of Tennessee campaign finance reports: https://apps.tn.gov/tncamp News outlets covering East TN local & state politics: The TN Holler: https://tnholler.com (progressive leaning) Knoxville News Sentinel: https://www.knoxnews.com * a subscription is required to view some content Compass Knox: https://compassknox.com  *Subscription is required to access all content, that includes daily emails about local/state government and events. Be sure to follow the Social Media accounts of the news outlets & voting/candidate/issue info orgs as well. Links will be on their websites. You can email questions to us at [email protected], if there's a topic you'd like more info on in future episodes. We might even do an AMA at some point.

We'll walk listeners through the many ways they can contact their elected officials, why they should, when they should, and how they should. It's not as nerve wracking as some would have you believe. We'll also have a mini-rant about the Tennessee GOP Supermajority legislature's annual anti- LGBTQ+ "Slate of Hate" laws and the TN GOP's complete lack of support & compassion for Tennessee's unemployed. Link for finding Tennessee State Rep & State Senator: https://wapp.capitol.tn.gov/Apps/fmlv3/districts.aspx