Tales of a Citizen Activist, Part 2 [IS]

I transition from flushing my Mother’s cigarettes down the toilet at age 5, and walking out of a racist Country Club at age 8, to the toughest challenge of my life.  My sister, who was 33 years old at the time, was murdered by her husband.  He evaded justice and was able to keep their children for 10 years, in part because Tennessee law did not count abuse of a spouse as a strike against a parent’s right to custody of their children.  That led me to write the first law of my life.
Through that long and painful fight, I was able to get justice for my sister. Her husband is now serving a 56 year prison term for her murder.  Also, their children are now in the custody of my parents, and are both growing up in a safe and loving home. In addition to going over the details of this story, I take some terrific and interesting calls. I discuss with those callers what happened in their lives to encourage them to change the world and make it better.

My First Protest [IS]

My first act of civil disobedience took place when I was five years old…
And then again at age 8.
By 13, I was already up on a soapbox.
What’s your history of activism?

All Things Hillary [Fox News]

What Do You Want from your State Representative? [IS]

Do you know who your state representative is? It’s ok if you don’t, most people are the same way. As I currently run my campaign for state delegate, I ask callers and the audience to think about what state and local issues affect them most.

What about you?

Free the Children! [IS]

I think many of today’s parents are too overprotective. Yes there are child molesters out there, and we as a society have to do our best to protect children. (That’s why I’ve written legislation to protect children in foster care and boot camps. And I’ve also written laws to protect victims of domestic violence.)
But we also need to let children feel free enough to go outside and play, to explore the creek and try to catch that frog, even it means coming home crying with a skinned knee.  In my opinion, it builds character to give our kids a wee bit more freedom and let them learn the lessons of life. I rode my bicycle around my neighborhood when I was 10 years old.  And one time, I took a good tumble.  It hurt!  And the next time, I didn’t ride quite so fast down the hill.
And I really don’t think police should be scooping up our children and holding them for five hours without calling their parents.  How about walking the kids home instead? Not all parents are good parents, and molestations unfortunately are more likely to happen to children from people they know than complete strangers.  But I don’t think allowing your children to play in the park on a sunny day two blocks from home should be a case of criminal neglect.