Amendment 4 on the ballot this November would remove from Tennessee’s Constitution the prohibition on any “minister of the Gospel or priest of any denomination . . .  serving in either House of the Legislature.” It may seem like voting “Yes” is a no-brainer, but it deserves more consideration than it will likely be given. It is another example of what we don’t know will, at some point, hurt us.  Now is a great time to learn how the issues underneath this provision relate to socialism and transgenderism.

The provocative heading about Amendment 1 to the Tennessee Constitution, the so-called “right to work” amendment, is not intended to indict anyone, but to provoke deeper reflection among those willing to consider perspective not advanced by Democrats or Republicans. There is more here than meets the eye. Let me know if you see what I see.

When you add the news this week that you and I have taken a 6.2% pay cut due to inflation to the ongoing news that supply chains problems are making normal consumer purchases more difficult, labor shortages abound, people are being fired for not getting a COVID jab, COVID variants are developing for which we have no cure, our borders are non-existent, and government seems incapable of doing anything about any of it, what more proof could you want that God is faithful to His promises?

The results of the Virginia gubernatorial election should be a wake-up call for Republican elected officials in Tennessee. They ought not kid themselves that Youngkin’s victory was a ringing endorsement of the Republican Party. Just as certain issues stirred voters in Virginia, the just-completed special session over COVID-related mandates may bring about a revolution among Tennessee voters.

This week, enough Republican members of the state Senate joined the Republican members of the state House to call for a special legislative session on issues surrounding COVID. For reasons I will explain, I think we need the kind of special session that will earn for it a moniker like that given one of the Senate Committees on which I served, “The Committee from Hell.”

The COVID special session is put up or shut up time for our state politicians. I know from experience that they are in a tough spot. As a state Senator, I sponsored and passed legislation demanded by the federal government under the expressed threat of having several hundred million dollars in federal funding withheld. The average person has no idea what it is like to have people demanding action that, if taken, will bring the federal government down on the state’s head. There is a way through this, but it will require cool heads and out-of-the box thinking.

For all its deleterious effects on individuals’ lives, COVID-19 has had one potential salutary effect: It has prompted citizens to put a much-needed focus on the abuse of powers by our state and federal governments. As a result, a special session related to COVID-19 will convene by the end of the month. But of all the issues that could be considered, I think one is particularly important to the preservation of our civil, religious, and political liberties.

This is my last commentary on COVID-related issues, at least for a while, and parents who are frustrated with public K-12 schools and mask mandates do not really know how bad things are regarding parental rights. For the following reasons you have no such rights or, at least in the very near future, you will have none. So read this carefully and be appropriately terrified.

When in a state of crisis, one must be able to retreat to and reflect on fundamental principles to develop workable solutions. I believe Governor Lee’s Executive Order 83 and his more recent one about mask mandates in schools have given us an excellent opportunity to recall and apply our fundamental governing principles. People on every side know something is wrong, but without fundamental principles to guide us, anger and frustration, resulting in the disintegration of personal and familial relationships and civil social intercourse, are becoming the norm. Here is my open letter to and request of the Governor and General Assembly.

With a flap last week over vaccine mandates being imposed on employees of certain state and local government agencies here in Tennessee and perhaps a nationwide mandate on all persons, I couldn’t help but think of what President Obama’s Chief of Staff Rahm Emmanuel said, “Never let a crisis go to waste.” I agree. What if Christian political leaders and pastors used this potential crisis to teach people about real religious liberty and the First Amendment’s free exercise clause? I thought I would start the ball rolling.