Recent editorials from Tennessee newspapers:
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June 18
The Commercial Appeal of Memphis on the Trump administration separating migrant families at the Mexican border:
The United States of America is currently holding 2,000 children hostage at the Mexican border. How else to describe it?
In recent weeks, federal officials have taken 2,000 children forcibly or deceptively from their mothers and fathers who were arrested for trying to enter the U.S. unlawfully.
U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions said the federal government is separating children from their parents to discourage other parents from traveling to the United States illegally.
“If you don’t want your child separated, then don’t bring them across the border illegally. It’s not our fault that somebody does that,” Sessions explained last month.
Last week he used New Testament Scripture to justify it.
“I would cite you to the Apostle Paul and his clear and wise command in Romans 13 to obey the laws of the government because God has ordained the government for his purposes,” President Donald Trump’s chief scribe said.
There are so many things wrong with that sentence we don’t know where to begin.
First, this is the United States of America, not the United Fundamentalists of America.
The government is not in charge of the church, and the church is not in charge of the government - no matter how badly either misappropriates law or Scripture.
Second, this is the United States of America, not the Confederate States of America.
We pledge liberty and justice for all, not just for white male citizens in positions of power and privilege.
Third, if the head of the U.S. Justice Department wants to use a New Testament verse to justify an unjust policy, Romans 13 is a good place to start.
“Romans 13 has not only been used in the past to encourage compliance with the fugitive slave law, requiring the return of runaway slaves to their bondage, but Romans 13 was also used to obtain the compliance of the Christian Church in Europe during World War II,” Ricardo B. Graham, a Seventh-Day Adventist leader, pointed out Sunday. “The abuse of Scripture to justify inflicting harm on children is truly a heinous sin.”
Fourth, if you’re going to use the Apostle Paul’s words to justify a policy even Trump apologist Franklin Graham calls “disgraceful,” you might want to read the entire chapter.
Sessions referred to Romans 13:1: “Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God.”
But, as countless others have pointed out, Paul goes on to write in Romans 13:8: “Whoever loves others has fulfilled the law.” And in Romans 13:9: “Love does no harm to a neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.”
There is nothing good or loving or moral about separating children from their mothers and fathers who are merely seeking to protect their children and themselves from harm.
Trump, who runs all of the federal agencies that separate and detain migrant families, blamed someone else, of course. “I hate the children being taken away,” Trump said Friday. “The Democrats have to change their law - that’s their law.”
There is no law that requires children to be taken from their parents if they cross the border unlawfully.
Previous administrations “established by God,” including the Obama administration, made exceptions for those traveling with minor children when prosecuting immigrants for illegal entry.
The “zero-tolerance” policy was established and is being enforced by the Trump administration.
Deliberately hurting children to punish their parents is immoral and unjust. Americans should have zero tolerance for it.
Online: https://www.commercialappeal.com/
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June 20
Kingsport Times-News on several state laws that take effect July 1:
A variety of new laws will take effect in Tennessee on July 1. Some are useful, some confusing, and some wanting for further action by the state legislature.
Among new laws long overdue is one that states if you’re trying to get a Tennessee driver’s license by presenting a license from another state that issues licenses to undocumented immigrants, you are now required to either establish proof of citizenship, lawful permanent resident status or gain a specific period of authorized stay. The last qualifier should be eliminated, but Tennessee should ensure that anyone issued a state driver’s license is a citizen.
There’s also a new law that if you’re the parent or legal guardian of a student, local education agencies must provide written notice to you before the student participates in any mental health screening. It’s hard to believe this law wasn’t already on the books.
And local education agencies are now prohibited from entering into non-disclosure agreements during, or as a prerequisite to, settlement for any act of sexual misconduct. It also prohibits employees from assisting others in obtaining employment if the employee knows the person has engaged in sexual misconduct involving minors or students.
The state shouldn’t allow those so convicted to hide that conviction.
Laws should be clear and explicit, but some of our new laws seem somewhat arbitrary. For instance, doctors may now accept barter of goods or services from an uninsured patient as payment for providing health care services in certain circumstances. Sounds on the surface like a good idea, but does it open the door to legal issues?
Another new law is downright puzzling. When you’re in public, you have almost no right to privacy. But this law seeks to establish one “for purposes of the offense of unlawful photographing in violation of privacy.”
It states that anyone has a reasonable expectation of privacy, regardless of the location where a photograph is taken, if the photo is “taken in a manner that a reasonable person would find offensive or embarrassing and depicts areas of the individual’s body, clothed or unclothed, that would not be visible to ordinary observation but for the offensive or embarrassing manner of photography.”
Say what? That one leaves us shaking our heads.
And then we have some new laws that clearly need more work. One states that if you’re a student with a disability and an individualized education plan, you can no longer be paddled, with certain exceptions. Why single out the disabled?
And then there’s a law that states that if you’re a veteran, you must be given hiring preference for a state employment position if you’re on the list of eligible hiring candidates and meet all qualifications.
We owe our veterans much. They put their lives on the line for our freedoms. But neither military service, sex, skin color or any other factor should put someone ahead of others for public employment. That decision should be based entirely on merit.
Online: http://www.timesnews.net/
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June 16
The Memphis Daily News on Memphis’ sports heritage:
How many Memphis sports franchises can you name? How many tickets to NFL exhibition games did you buy up to the city’s last push for an NFL team more than 20 years ago?
To some, the answers to those questions are a roadmap to a single pro franchise in an enduring league.
But the Memphis sports landscape, like the city itself, isn’t that simple.
We are a basketball town - Tigers to Grizzlies - with a stadium-filling, red-hot college football team. And don’t forget our two beloved college football classics: the 30-year-old Southern Heritage Classic and the 60-year-old AutoZone Liberty Bowl.
From the Memphis Turtles to the Chicks to the Blues, then back to the Chicks and up to the Redbirds, baseball may be the longest-running storyline in the city’s sports history. And it includes the Negro League Memphis Red Sox as well as semi-pro teams, like the one Hall of Famer Bill Terry played for when he left the minor leagues in 1915 to work for Standard Oil in Memphis and play for the plant’s team. Terry turned down New York Giants manager John McGraw’s first offer of a return to the big leagues.
There is no question the Memphis Grizzlies have taken the city’s sports scene to a new level.
It’s the equivalent of a cannonball into a pool that was already pretty deep and built on the foundations of places like Martin Stadium, Hodges Field, Colonial Country Club as well as Galloway and Pine Hill, Crump Stadium, Russwood Park, The Mid-South Coliseum and Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium.
The story of Memphis sports continues to be told like the story of the city - in its diversity. So in less than a year, AutoZone Park will be home not only to the Redbirds but a United Soccer League franchise, a sport that has its own long list of teams and leagues.
After 60 years, the FedEx St. Jude Classic is at the end of one era and the dawn of another as it becomes part of the World Golf Championships.
Meanwhile, Rachel Heck, who played in the U.S. Women’s Open last year while a sophomore at St. Agnes Academy, is among a rising crop of amateur golfers with remarkable stories. She’s also part of a generation of athletes participating in an expanding sphere of amateur sports that includes lacrosse, water polo, rugby and Gaelic football.
For every pro athlete with a retired jersey and endorsement deal, a dozen more find their place just outside the spotlight. No-name teams. Golden Gloves champions who never went pro. Olympians with medals that friends and neighbors still want to see. Players with a brief time in the spotlight - from game night in The Haven to a packed gym in Orange Mound.
Some have a personal best they’ve kept personal, a letter jacket neatly folded and put in a box on an upper shelf, while others share their knowledge as coaches.
All come together in a sports constellation that has no season, just plenty of bright lights from different distances.
Online: https://www.memphisdailynews.com/
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