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EXPLANATION OF CODES:
BLUE FONT: Original post.
RED FONT: Response to post.
GREEN FONT: Editorial comment.
POST HC-(**number**): Post identification number in this topic. Posts listed in reverse chronological order. Please refer to this post number, when replying to a post.
| The following entries, submitted by area constituents, are distributed by me in this blog as a public service to increase dialog about issues of importance to Blount and Sevier County residents. I do not necessarily agree with or endorse any statement made herein. Our form of government works best, when many, differing viewpoints are heard and considered. The process is often "messy." Read, think, and offer your opinions. Most importantly, though, make up your own mind.
State Senator Raymond Finney |
POST CH-5: A CHILD'S BEST INTEREST.
Received: October 13, 2007. Added: October 13, 2007.
Who really looks out for the well-being of our children? Our court system is completely flawed when it comes to the
"best interest of the minor child". A mother refuses to bring her child back from visitation-- this is only the second unsupervised visit she has had with the child in over two years. There is no recourse except "mediation". Why is it not criminal for a parent not to bring a child back from visitation? Also, why is the system so intent on parent's rights in
the process and pay no attention to really what is in the best interest of the minor children. Our court system needs a complete overall on child custody issues.
Karen, Maryville
EDITOR'S COMMENT: I agree. There is a local group, composed primarily of grandparents and relative caregivers-- Tennessee Grands, a chapter of National Committee of Grandparents for Children's Rights-- which is working tirelessly for reform to place the child in the home best able to love and care for the child. I am working with this group to try to pass a de facto child custody bill in the 2008 session of the General Assembly. This reform bill would empower a judge to place a child in the home best able to care for the child and would eliminate "ping pong" removal of the child from one home to another.
Karen, I recommend you become involved with this group. If you will send me another email authorizing me to release your name and email address to the president of Tennessee Grands, Brenda LeQuire, I will happily do so. Brenda, then, can contact you to tell you more about the efforts of Tennessee Grands and how you can become involved.
Thank you for speaking about this most important issue. I hope we can improve the situation in the 2008 session of the General Assembly.
State Senator Raymond Finney, October 13, 2007
POST CH-4: NETWORK TELEVISION OFFENSIVE TO CHRISTIANS ONLY.
Received: October 5, 2006. Added: December 24, 2006 (editor's error in not posting in a timely manner).
I think that the only way to get the filth off of television is to hold the networks responsible for what they air. I'm already boycotting NBC over the Madonna/Cross issue, and over them cutting Scriptures out of the Veggie Tale cartoons, because it "offends" people. Obviously, they only care about offending non-Christians! As long as we sit silent, and don't speak up in protest, nothing will get changed. It may not anyway, but we can at least have a clear conscience when we stand before God!
Sharon, Sevierville
POST CH-3: IN DANGER OF LOSING A GENERATION?
Received: November 17, 2006. Added: November 18, 2006.
I am so very concerned about our youth and children. We have removed God from the classroom. Many parents provide no participation in matters of faith. Many pastors are weak and do not preach the truths of the Bible. Many families are weak and are breaking apart. Children are passing into adulthood without any moral compass... without belief in One greater than themselves. Our public educational system is focused only on secular humanistic indoctrination. The present generation is bombarded with pressures that previous generations did not face (or at least not in the quantity and type now available)-- drugs, sex, violence, and so forth. How can our children cope with these pressures, if they have no role models, weak parental influence, no teaching of faith, only a secular education, and too much time with too little to do? America's future is invested in our youth and children. If we lose this generation, America is finished as a nation. Wake up, America! Wake up, pastors! Wake up, parents!
Mary, Seymour
POST CH-2: DOES TENNESSEE HAVE JESSICA'S LAW?
Received: September 25, 2006. Added: September 26, 2006.
I am horrified at the amount of sexual (and physical) violence against young children I hear on television news and read in newspapers. Jessica's Law is usually mentioned as the law every state should have. Does Tennessee have Jessica's Law? If not, why-- and can we get it passed soon?
Judith, Maryville
EDITOR'S COMMENT: To freshen the memory of any reader who has forgotten this unfortunate little victim: Nine year-old Jessica Lunsford was abducted from her home in 2005, raped, and brutally murdered. Florida had rather weak laws at that time, but strengthened them after Jessica's death by enacting "The Jessica Lunsford Act." Some states have used this act as model legislation. Tennessee already had strong laws against crimes such as this. One of the General Assembly's attorneys, Tom Tigue, has analyzed Jessica's Law, comparing it to Tennessee laws. I have reproduced his work on one of my Websites. GO TO this Web page to read Mr. Tigue's analysis. Even so, other legislatures and I will continue in future General Assembly sessions to make laws against abuse of children even stronger. Two limitations are the costs involved and the dwindling number of beds in prisons and jails. We must not give up trying, though. We must provide as much protection as possible for our children.
State Senator Raymond Finney, September 26, 2006
POST CH-1: WHAT IS A SAFE WEIGHT FOR BACKPACKS?
Received: September 13, 2006. Added: September 13, 2006.
Also saved as ED-5 in the EDUCATION section.
Suzanne, Maryville
EDITOR'S NOTE: You should have some concerns, and I share your concerns. I will give you what I remember "off the top of my head." I believe the weight of a backpack should not exceed ten to fifteen per cent of a child's body weight. Sometimes the "top of my head" gets a little rusty. Therefore, I will need to research this question in more detail. I will get back to you in this blog, when I have more definitive answers. Then, we can start trying to think of solutions.
State Senator Raymond Finney, September 13, 2006