Some people think that the formerly purple state of Florida is the best state. It seems like every day, you hear about some new conservative thing coming out of Florida’s excellent governor. Tennessee’s governor isn’t as good, of course. But who has the better legislature? I think that Tennessee has the edge there. Let’s see some of the latest conservative mischief.

Let’s do Tennessee first, starting with this Daily Wire article:

The Tennessee state House passed a bill on Monday that would prohibit the flying of any flag other than the American flag and a few other official flags in public school classrooms, legislation that was sparked by the prevalence of pride flags in recent years.

The bill states in part that it is prohibited for to display “a flag other than the following on or in a public school: (i) the U.S. flag; (ii) the official Tennessee state flag; (iii) a flag that cannot be disturbed or altered pursuant to the law relevant to Tennessee heritage protection; (iv) the POW/MIA flag,” and several other flags that are acceptable to fly in schools.

The bill, introduced by Republican state Rep. Gino Bulso, passed with a 70 – 24 vote along party lines.

Bulso brought the bill forward as a result of constituent parents who were concerned about the flying of LGBTQ Pride flags in class, reports The Tennessean.

On the House floor, Bulso rhetorically asked if parents have the right to teach a particular set of values to their own children.

“If you have parents across the state who want to instill in their children values represented by the pride flag, they are certainly entitled to do that,” he said. “On the other hand, if you have parents who want to instill values in their children that are not consistent with the values represented by the pride flag, they have the ability to do that.”

[…]Democratic members of the state House offered two amendments to the bill, both of which were rejected by Republican members.

[…]A companion bill in the state’s Republican-controlled Senate is expected to be voted on this week. If it passes, it will head to the desk of Republican Governor Bill Lee.

And this part is the key part – the very shocking part:

The bill also gives parents or guardians the right to file a lawsuit if the flag prohibition is breached by the schools.

Honestly, I don’t know if Bill Lee has the gumption to sign a bill that is so awesome. But can you imagine a state that is so amazing that it not only gets a bill like that to the governor, but the bill is supported UNANIMOUSLY by the Republicans? Whatever mistakes the Republicans are making elsewhere, Tennessee Republicans are not part of that. They are not doing “socialism, but more slowly”. They are moving things in a conservative direction.

Here’s another thing that the Tennessee lawmakers are up to, reported by Daily Wire:

Tennessee lawmakers heard on Tuesday the accounts of religious groups that had lost access to their bank accounts for what they suspect to be ideological reasons.

One group, the National Committee for Religious Freedom, had only had a bank account open with JPMorgan Chase for several weeks before the organization’s head and former Kansas Governor Sam Brownback attempted to make a deposit only to be told the account no longer existed.

[…]The National Committee for Religious Freedom was one of the groups warning about de-banking during testimony on Tuesday in support of a proposed Tennessee bill that would prevent banks from discriminating against people based on their political or religious views. The group testified in front of the Tennessee House of Representatives’ Subcommittee on Banking and Consumer Affairs at the Cordell Hull Building in Nashville.

Do you live in a state that isn’t Tennessee? Then you might get de-banked by the secular left. If those Canadian truckers had done their rally against health care mandates in Tennessee, then they wouldn’t be de-banked. But then again, they wouldn’t have had to do the protest, either, if they lived in conservative counties like Maury county. You just have to be careful where you live.

Just to put some numbers on this, Tennessee is ranked as the #1 most conservative legislature in the United States for all-time. Florida is #2 for all-time. If you have a work from home job, these are the states where you need to live and pay your taxes.

Speaking of #2 state Florida, let’s see what young DeSantis and his friends in the Florida legislature are up to. Are you worried about getting banned online because you disagree with Big Tech? Well, DeSantis has you covered, in the free state of Florida.

Florida Voice reports:

The U.S. Supreme Court Monday is hearing oral arguments for and against Florida and Gov. Ron DeSantis’ restrictions on massive social media, or “Big Tech” corporations aimed at protecting individuals’ speech.

[…]In 2021, DeSantis signed a new law implementing the following:

• Giving Floridians the right to sue “Big Tech platforms” for monetary damages if users are not given proper notice of policy changes, and allowing them more rights to obtain their information if they are “deplatformed”
• Allows the Florida attorney general to bring legal action for companies that violate new restrictions, such as standards on shadow banning, deplatforming, censorship and transparency requirements
• Bars the platforms from deplatforming political candidates in Florida, and imposes $250,000 fines per day if a statewide candidate is deplatformed, and $25,000 per day for non-statewide offices

“Florida passed protections three years ago, for individuals who’ve been deep platformed or censored based on the content or viewpoint of their political speech,” DeSantis said Monday. “Texas passed a similar law. This has been making its way through the courts, we knew it was going to end up at the floor at the U.S. Supreme Court.”

“These tech companies, on the one hand, are private – and normally a private company can house whatever speech or viewpoints it wants. In this case, these companies get liability protection from the federal government, because they say that they’re not publishers, they’re not making editorial judgments about what speech is good and what speech is bad,” the governor said. “They’re just a platform.”

And that’s not all. According to a recent analysis, Tennessee has the highest score for election integrity in the United States. Florida was tied for second best. Florida isn’t giving up, though.

Take a look at this article from Florida Voice:

U.S. District Judge Mark Walker ruled in favor of an embattled 2021 Florida election integrity law that cracked down on ballot harvesting and strictly regulated how ballot drop boxes can be utilized.

The judge said Florida’s restrictions do not keep Floridians from voting, according to the Associated Press.

Walker ruled that the voting rights groups challenging state law did not adequately show that the drop box regulations burdened voters enough to unduly disenfranchise anyone.

The decision also upheld the law’s stricter provisions on third-party voter registration.

[…]“Floridians can rest assured that our state will remain a leader in ballot integrity. Elections should be free and fair, and these changes will ensure this continues to be the case in the Sunshine State,” Gov. Ron DeSantis said when he signed the bill in May 2021.

Tennessee better do something, or they are going to lose their #1 ranking to Florida in the next State Super Bowl. How about you? Do you live in one of these red states? Do you wake up every morning laughing at the U-Haul in front of the house with the Democrat “in this house” sign on it? You need to live in a state that takes out the trash. Make a plan, and then make your move.

I noticed that one of the top Ratio Christi leaders, Eric Chabot, has a plan to bring in one of the best scholars on the resurrection to speak at a major university campus – the Ohio State University. I thought I would bring it to your attention, in case you want to know what sorts of things are good to support. I learned a lot about Christian apologetics while at university, it’s the perfect time to learn.

Here’s the flyer for the event:

IMPORTANT: You can donate to Eric Chabot, who leads Ratio Christi Ohio State University to help pay for this event if you want to help.

Here’s the biography of the speaker, Dr. Michael Licona:

Born in Baltimore, Maryland in 1961, Mike became a Christian at the age of 10 and grew up in a Christian home. He attended Liberty University where he earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Music Performance (Saxophone). During his undergraduate studies, he had a strong desire to know God, devoting himself to studying the Bible daily. He decided to learn Koine Greek in order to read the New Testament in its original language and later completed a Master’s Degree in Religious Studies.

[…]Mike has a Ph.D. in New Testament (University of Pretoria). He completed all requirements “with distinction” and the highest marks. He is a frequent speaker on university campuses, churches, Christian groups, retreats, frequently debates, and has appeared as a guest on dozens of radio and television programs. He is a member of the Evangelical Theological and Philosophical Societies, the Institute for Biblical Research, the Society of Biblical Literature, and the prestigious Studitorum Novi Testamenti Societas. Mike is Professor of New Testament Studies at Houston Christian University and the president of Risen Jesus, Inc.

Mike is married to Debbie and they have two grown children, Alexandra and Zachary.

His wife is very clever at Christian living, I remember there was some famous Christian artist who was having doubts, and she took it on herself to create an event where he could ask his questions to Christian scholars who had debates all these issues with atheists. I mean, she married Mike, and that makes her very clever already.

If you check out Dr. Licona’s web site, Risen Jesus, then you can find a whole section of helpful FREE resources.

Dr. Licona has a mix of books – some for general audiences, and some for academic audiences. I’ve been snooping around in the Audible store this week, and I noticed that his older popular-level book, co-authored with the famous Gary Habermas, is “INCLUDED” if you have an Audible Plus membership.

His most famous book is probably the one that he published with Oxford University Press, which is entitled “Why Are There Differences in the Gospels?: What We Can Learn from Ancient Biography“. I bought it, but I have not yet read it.

But another of his academic books is also available on Audible:

Finally, I noticed that he has a NEW book coming out. It looks like it is a popular-level version of the one that I linked you to, above.

And here are the details about the new book:

The differences and discrepancies in the Gospels constitute the foremost objections to their reliability and the credibility of their message. Some have tried to resolve Gospels contradictions with strained harmonization efforts. Many others conclude that the Gospels are hopelessly contradictory and, therefore, historically unreliable accounts of Jesus.

In Jesus, Contradicted, New Testament scholar Michael Licona shows how the genre of ancient biography, to which the Gospels belong, actually allows biographers to be flexible in how they report events, construct a narrative, and make an argument. Licona demonstrates that the intentional changes to the Jesus tradition by the Evangelists reveal that the differences in how the Gospels report events are not grounds for their rejection. Instead, they are a result of the Gospel writers employing standard literary conventions common in their time for writing ancient biography.

Licona introduces listeners to the genre of ancient biography through Plutarch, who wrote 48 of the 90 extent biographies written within 150 years of Jesus, giving numerous examples of compositional devices employed by Plutarch, and comparing them with instances in the Gospels where the Evangelists appear to use similar techniques. Licona also examines Theon’s Progymnasmata, a first-century textbook that provides six techniques for paraphrasing one’s sources when writing a narrative. In doing so, he helps listeners understand why the Gospels report many events differently. Finally, Licona concludes by addressing the thorny question of whether the editorial moves commonplace in ancient biography are compatible with the doctrines of the divine inspiration and the inerrancy of Scripture.

Rather than trying to resolve discrepancies by bending the Gospel narrative, which risks making them say things they aren’t saying, Jesus, Contradicted situates the Gospels within their proper context and helps listeners account for differences in the Gospels in a cohesive and historically cogent way.

I saw him debate on this exact topic at a recent National Apologetics Conference. They have those every year at Southern Evangelical Seminary. Have you ever been to one? They are really good.

If you don’t yet feel comfortable answering questions about whether the resurrection of Jesus was a historical event, then definitely pick up Mike’s books. And if you are in the Columbus, OH area on April 11th, then go see Dr. Licona speak. Tell Eric that Wintery Knight sent you.

I live in a very, very red state. I love my state so much that I can’t even conceive of why I would ever want to move. But sometimes, when I’m driving around, gloating about our latest awesome law, I see a license plate that worries me. A license plate that says “Illinois” or “California” or “Oregon” or “Washington” or “New York”. It seems to be happening more and more. Should I be worried?

According to the Wall Street Journal (archived), I should not be worried.

The article begins by talking about South Carolina:

A Wall Street Journal analysis of census data found that a third of the state’s new residents between 2017 and 2021 hailed from blue states and a quarter from red ones, according to census data. The remainder came from closely divided states, including nearby Georgia and North Carolina, or are immigrants.

Yet the new arrivals are disproportionately Republican. Estimates from the nonpartisan voter file vendor L2 suggest about 57% of voters who moved to South Carolina during that time are Republicans, while about 36% are Democrats and 7% are independents. That places them roughly in line with recent statewide votes in South Carolina.

[…]The Palmetto State is a prime example of why a yearslong wave of migration to the South has largely failed to change its partisan tint. Many people who leave blue states are Republicans gravitating toward a more politically favorable new home.

And they also cover Florida:

In Florida, for instance, 48% of people who moved there between 2017 and 2021 came from blue states while 29% came from red states, Census figures show. Among those who registered to vote, 44% are Republicans, 25% are Democrats and 28% are nonpartisan, according to L2 data.

And Texas:

Texas also has a heavier flow of newcomers from blue states but a greater share who L2 data estimates are Republican.

I guess we will find out what happens when we see the election numbers in November. I am hoping that the number of people who vote Democrat goes down in every county of my state. That would mean that the right kind of people were moving here.

What I would really like my state, and other red states, to do is pass laws that chase the secular left riff raff out of the state. For example, strict laws against abortion and against LGBT indoctrination of children. Strict laws reining in labor unions, especially teacher unions. Strict laws against criminals and violent protestors. All of these laws that promote hard work and frugality will cause the wrong kind of people to leave our red states. And that will make those of us who are already here much happier.