Lessons from Laish, a biblical city left defenseless by depraved ways

The Levite carries his slain concubine after she is sodomized to death in the lawless town Gibeah (Judges 19). Gibeah was a lawless domain of the sons of Benjamin. Laish (in chapter 18) is seized by the sons of Dan. (Image from Dore´s illustrated Bible book) By David Tulis I have been thinking about Laish, […]

Sheriff Hammond’s program catches flak, but tells of localist orientation

Sheriff Jim Hammond explains the origins and duties of his office in a video. By David Tulis As American policing continues its long road away from peace-keeping and toward a sort of paramilitary occupation, it is refreshing to consider a development that hints at a localist — versus a federal or national — perspective on […]

Decentralization lets national, state power devolve to locale

Weston Wamp, a Chattanooga candidate for federal office, would perhaps be more interested in a county commission seat if decentralization were to gain steam in the U.S. His wife’s name is Shelby. (Photo westonwamp.com) By David Tulis Events in Ukraine are generating a great deal of huffing and puffing in Washington, as if its government […]

Thrive 2055 survey pretends to weigh concerns, pushes centralizing agenda

This scene is from a YouTube video peddling the idea of regional planning. By David Tulis Survey results by the marketing company behind Thrive 2055 help us enter into the larger agenda of having a gaggle of 16 area counties join forces to create a new identity. The government-funded program is designed to induce the […]

That’s all Chattanooga needs — more ‘overarching leadership’

A helicopter refurbished by a veterans group is hauled toward its park pole in Soddy-Daisy on Feb. 28, 2014. The private sector pulls the public; it’s not the other way around. (Photo David Tulis) [O]ur biggest obstacle to achieving a larger civic vision is the sad lack of over-arching governmental leadership, vision and collaboration among […]

Homeowner cited to court should use defense of poetry

A city resident faces a court citation for litter in her yard. Does her sign say OH or HO? Ah, human mystery! (Photos Elizabeth Miller on Facebook) [In the note below I chat with Elizabeth Miller, cited to city court in Chattanooga for having a noncompliant yard in St. Elmo, nestled at the foot of […]

Local economy theory so sweet that Obama borrows it in chat

President Obama works on his state of the union address with speech draftsman Cody Keenan on Jan. 22. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza) By David Tulis My wife, Jeannette, looks at me and rolls her eyes when she considers I quit a part-time wage-earning job as a newspaper editor to take up the […]

Restaurant inspectors take up SWAT tactics in biggest Tennessee city

This report in Nashville indicates that even in a local economy, government inspectors are not averse to military tactics in routine visits to regulated businesses. Twelve armed-and-armored members of six agencies descend on a locally owned eatery. The raid stops the band; customers flee. The ganging up of government people is attributed to the need […]

If stealing country were a tort, getting it back might be ‘action in replevin’

Wendell O’Reilly, Chattanooga attorney The difficulty in strengthening local economy comes from the economic and political interests whose success is crowned by centralization. The government school. Federal welfare. Total surveillance. The usual suspects. By David Tuls Thanks to Uncle’s control of entire marketplaces it sometimes is inconceivable that Chattanoogans will ever be their own masters. […]

The next time you get ticket, ask questions a la Scarlet Pimpernel

(Photo Chattanooga Police Department annual report 2011) By Franklin Sanders A friend of mine, the Scarlet Pimpernel of Low-Key Anti-Tyranny, lives in another state. He has a very low tolerance for the petty blue light tyranny practised on us daily — police stopping you for a tail light out (when the law says you only […]