Day: March 28, 2019

Rep. Green Calls for House Intel Committee Chairman Schiff to Step Down Since He Is a ‘Conspiracy Theorist’

Jason M. Reynolds

U.S. Rep. Dr. Mark Green (R-TN-07) called out a leading Democrat as a “conspiracy theorist” over Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s report. Green called for the resignation U.S. Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA-28) as chairman of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence. Green made his remarks on “America’s Newsroom: on Fox News on Tuesday. The video is available here. (Green addresses the question around the 2:15 minute mark.) “We have no evidence of collusion [between Trump and Moscow to throw the 2016 election]. In fact, the only collusion has been between the liberal media and the DNC to throw the 2020 election.” … “We don’t need a conspiracy theorist running our House Intel Committee.” Green’s statement was made in light of Schiff questioning implying the Russians offered intel on Hillary Clinton and President Donald Trump’s son showing interest, according to Fox News. Schiff last week said his committee might subpoena Mueller to get a fuller understanding about the details of his report. “If necessary, we will call Bob Mueller or others before our committee,” Schiff told CNN’s Wolf Blitzer, noting also that the Judiciary Committee might summon Attorney General Bill Barr to answer questions as well. The California Democrat’s comments came…

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Commentary: It’s Not Collateral Damage to the Victims of the Mueller Witch Hunt

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by George Rasley   Now that the Mueller investigation has cleared President Trump and demonstrated beyond any doubt that the entire affair was a hoax founded upon lies perpetrated by the Hillary Clinton campaign, the Obama administration, Democrat political operatives and the Deep State political class embedded in the government, conservatives and other fair-minded Americans ought to demand that those whose lives and reputations have been shattered by this hoax be made whole. We’re talking about those whom the establishment media and the vile instigators of the Trump – Russia collusion narrative have dismissed as “collateral damage” in the investigation. Honest, hardworking patriotic men like Michael Caputo, who served in the Army, worked for conservative luminaries such as Ronald Reagan and Jack Kemp, and advised numerous Republican political candidates before signing-on to the Trump campaign. Caputo was dragged through hell by the Mueller investigation and the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence merely because he had lived in Ukraine and Russia and had done public relations and campaign work in those countries… and worked for Donald Trump. Caputo was forced to liquidate his children’s college fund to pay his legal expenses for the “crime” of being associated with Donald Trump.…

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Williamson County Schools Cultural Competency Council Pushes to Hire More Teachers Based on Race, Emails Show

Chris Butler

The Williamson County School System’s Special Projects Manager Erin Caceres indicated in emails she wants administrators to hire more teachers based on race, according to documents obtained this week. Caceres made these statements to Cultural Competency Committee members and to Superintendent Mike Looney in January and February of this year. Caceres stressed yet again that members of the public could not attend Cultural Competency Council meetings. The Tennessee Star obtained these emails through an open records request. Caceres said the following in a Jan. 19 email to Looney: “As we work to firm up our relationship with MTSU, I am reflecting tonight on how there was not a single teacher of color among the honorees at the employee of the year celebration and thinking of ways that we can diversify our workforce,” Caceres wrote. “I am in the process of establishing affiliation agreements with the HBCs in Nashville (Fisk and TSU) so they will begin to send us some student teachers. I also want to send you all a report from a study conducted by the Tennessee Educators of Color Alliance. The report was shared at our last Trailblazer’s meeting and gives recommendations for retention of teachers of color. As…

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Ocasio-Cortez Takes Credit for Not Getting Any Votes in Favor of Her Green New Deal

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by Molly Prince   Democratic New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez claimed on Tuesday not a single Senate Democrat voted in favor of the Green New Deal because she asked them to vote “present.” “Because I encouraged them to vote present, along w/ others,” Ocasio-Cortez responded when Republican Wyoming Sen. John Barrasso asked her why Democrats ducked going on the Senate record in support of her radical anti-climate change resolution. Because I encouraged them to vote present, along w/ others. McConnell tried to rush the #GreenNewDeal straight to the floor without a hearing. Because I encouraged them to vote present, along w/ others. McConnell tried to rush the #GreenNewDeal straight to the floor without a hearing. The real question we should be asking: Why does the Senate GOP refuse to hold any major hearings on climate change? https://t.co/de8oKOXeJf — Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) March 26, 2019 The New York Congresswoman’s response came only hours after the Senate voted 57 to 0 to kill the Green New Deal, which was introduced by Ocasio-Cortez and Democratic Massachusetts Sen. Ed Markey. Three Democrats voted against the resolution: Democratic Arizona Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, Democratic West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin and Democratic Alabama Sen. Doug Jones. The…

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Biden Plays the White Misogynistic Man Apology Card

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by Whitney Tipton   Former Vice President Joe Biden said Tuesday he regretted the way he treated Anita Hill during the confirmation hearings for Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas in 1991. Biden acknowledged his role in the hearings, as his behavior has come under scrutiny while he positions himself to enter the presidential race, according to the New York Times. The remarks were made during the “Biden Courage Awards Ceremony” in New York. In his emotional appeal, Biden said that Hill’s testimony was courageous. “She was abused through the hearing. She was taken advantage of. Her reputation was attacked,” he said. “We knew a lot less about the extent of harassment back then. It was over 30 years ago.” As Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman, Biden believed he helped foster a tone that was “hostile and insulting.” “I wish I could have done something … But I also realized there was a real and perceived problem the committee faced. We were a bunch of white guys hearing this testimony to the Senate Judiciary Committee.” “To this day, I regret I couldn’t come up with a way to get her the kind of hearing she deserved given the courage she showed by…

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Bias Training for Teachers Could Go Statewide in Tennessee If Democrat Bill Passes

Chris Butler

Before too long, teachers throughout all of Tennessee might have to start taking bias training, either the same as or possibly like what Williamson County teachers already go through. That depends on whether a bill in the Tennessee General Assembly gets any traction and is signed into law. State Rep. Harold Love, D-Nashville, sponsors the proposed legislation in the state house while State Sen. Raumesh Akbari, D-Memphis, sponsors a companion bill in the state senate. “Beginning with the 2019-2020 school year, this bill requires that all school personnel receive implicit bias in-service training that encourages school personnel to explore and discover their own implicit biases in order to deliver more equitable education to all students,” according to a summary of the bill, as described on the Tennessee General Assembly’s website. “This bill requires the department of education to develop a model evidence-based, bias-reducing in-service training program for school personnel that may be used by LEAs to provide the required training. An LEA may use the program developed by the department or the LEA may develop its own program. If an LEA develops its own program, the commissioner of education must approve the program before its implementation.” The bill also requires…

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Tennessee Star Report: Williamson County Schools Counsel Dares Education Commissioner Penny Schwinn to Enforce State Law on ‘White Privilege’ Training

Julie Carr

On Tuesday’s Tennessee Star Report with Steve Gill and Michael Patrick Leahy, broadcast weekdays from 5 am to 8 am on 98.3 FM and 1510 WLAC in Nashville, Gill and Leahy discussed Williamson County Schools’ challenge to the Tennessee Department of Education to enforce state law as it applies to the Williamson County Schools Cultural Competency video series that features the controversial and divisive “white privilege” theory. (Audio clip of WCS Board Member Candy Emerson) We can’t just sit on the sidelines. We all need to make our feelings and our thoughts known. I think one of the things that I wanted to say is as a board member that I was very blindsided by module 3. I first of all that I had no knowledge at all of the modules, the videos, being produced. We were not, or I was not, privy to them being done and put in the schools. So when I started getting phone calls from my folks in district eight my parents, and teachers, and citizens, I was totally caught off guard. Gill: Now keep in mind, while Williamson County is struggling with this whole white privilege we’re all racists video that the superintendent of schools Mike Looney and…

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Commentary: The Siren of Universal Basic Income

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by Spencer P. Morrison   Word on the street is that Andrew Yang—a Democratic presidential hopeful—has a fat bag of cash that he’s willing to give out to all American citizens if he becomes president. Traveling with my staff, I told someone to secure the bag. — Andrew Yang (@AndrewYang) March 15, 2019 Although I have yet to see the bag, I trust Andrew Yang without reservation. The bag is secure and stuffed with paper. We can all look forward to getting a universal basic income (UBI) of $1,000 per month if he wins. Scratch that—when he wins. Who doesn’t want $1,000 a month? I do, and I know that you do, too. The question is: do we need UBI? Andrew Yang certainly thinks so, as do many economists. Yang’s case for UBI is simple: robots have taken millions of jobs from Americans, and they will take tens of millions more. Estimates suggest that the introduction of autonomous vehicles could eliminate up to 5 million driving jobs virtually overnight. Furthermore, no job is safe. Artificial intelligence is now threatening the employment of highly-educated professions like doctors and lawyers. Yeesh. Journalists keep telling ordinary Americans to “learn to code”—but what happens…

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Top House Republican Breaks From Trump Administration on Latest Obamacare Move: Report

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by Evie Fordham   House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy is not behind the Trump administration’s latest move to overturn the Affordable Care Act (ACA), according to a report from Axios. President Donald Trump’s Justice Department concurred Monday with a federal judge’s determination that the framework of the ACA, also known as Obamacare, is unconstitutional. McCarthy told Trump during a phone call that the decision to focus on health care and fighting the ACA did not make sense, according to two sources familiar with the conversation cited by Axios. The top House Republican brought up the 2018 midterm elections, during which many Democratic candidates appealed to voters more than Republicans with their stances on how to provide health coverage to people with pre-existing conditions. Trump upped the ante Wednesday when he told reporters in the Oval Office that “we’ll have a plan that is far better than Obamacare” if the ACA is overturned. McCarthy had declined to comment on the Trump administration’s latest ACA move, which could be the first step in a journey to the Supreme Court that would help Trump fulfill his campaign promise to get rid of the ACA. “Just call the office and we’ll follow back to…

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Federal Court Strikes Down North Carolina 20 Week Abortion Ban

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by Grace Carr   A federal judge ruled Monday that a North Carolina abortion law is unconstitutional, determining that the state cannot enforce a law that restricts abortion access pre-fetal viability. U.S. District Judge William Osteen ruled Monday that a “week-or event-specific” ban barring abortions after 20 weeks is not constitutional, Reuters reported. “[A] state is never allowed to prohibit any swath of pre-viability abortions outright, no matter how strenuously it may believe that such a ban is in the best interests of its citizens or how minimal it may find the burden to women seeking an abortion,” Osteen wrote in his decision. Legal abortions may occur to the point of viability as determined by a presiding physician under Osteen’s ruling. Monday’s decision follows a 2016 lawsuit filed by Planned Parenthood, the Center for Reproductive Rights and the American Civil Liberties Union over the North Carolina law. The office of the attorney general is reviewing the ruling, according to spokeswoman Laura Brewer, Reuters reported. The Center for Reproductive Rights applauded Osteen’s decision in a Tuesday tweet. This ban "ignores the unique circumstances, challenges, & potential complications pregnant women face. Politicians taking medical options off the table for women at any…

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Audit: Fentress County Commissioner Profited Illegally from County Deal

Chris Butler

A former Fentress County Commissioner made more than $13,000 by overseeing a court-ordered sale of property, and he did so while serving in office, according to an audit Tennessee Comptrollers released this week. Doing so violated state law, specifically the County Financial Management System of 1981 conflict of interest statute, auditors wrote. The law says county officials may not have a financial or personal interest in the purchase of supplies, materials, equipment, or contractual services for the county. County officials contracted former commissioner Jeff Green to do the work, according to the audit. Green’s proceeds included an 8 percent commission ($8,960) on the sale of the real property, a 10 percent commission ($197) on the sale of the personal property, and a reimbursement for auction expenses ($3,887). An unnamed county official concurred with the finding in a written response to Comptrollers. “Mr. Jeff Green of Green Acres Real Estate and Auction Company had previously been court-ordered to assist me in selling property. Due to this fact, and in trying to be fair to the local auction companies which I am ordered to select auction companies to assist me, I chose Green Acres Real Estate and Auction Company,” the county official…

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Trump: Russian Military Must ‘Get Out’ of Venezuela

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U.S. President Donald Trump says Russia “has to get out” of Venezuela, following the recent arrival of Russian military personnel in that country. “All options are open,” Trump repeated several times in response to a reporter’s question Wednesday about whether the United States is willing to put “boots on the ground” to remove the Russians. Trump added that Moscow is well aware of the U.S. stance. Trump spoke to reporters at the White House alongside Fabiana Rosales, the wife of Venezuelan opposition leader and self-declared interim President Juan Guaido. She went into the Oval Office following a meeting with U.S. Vice President Mike Pence. “The United States views Russia’s arrival of military planes this weekend as an unwelcome provocation,” Pence said alongside Rosales in the Roosevelt Room. “We call on Russia today to cease all support of the Maduro regime and stand with Juan Guaido, stand with nations across this hemisphere and across the world until freedom is restored.” “Today, in Venezuela, it is freedom or dictatorship. It is life or it is death,” Rosales said. “And those who are paying the price of this hate are the children.” She added that children are dying in hospitals which are without…

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Lt. Gov. McNally Discusses New North American Trade Agreement With His Peers at White House Meeting

Jason M. Reynolds

Lt. Gov. and Sen. Randy McNally (R-TN-05) on Wednesday participated in a panel discussion at the White House with lieutenant governors from across the country. The discussion featured National Economic Council Director Larry Kudlow and White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney and centered on the new United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), according to a statement from McNally’s office. McNally tweeted, “President @realDonaldTrump has committed to putting America first in all things, especially trade. I was grateful for the opportunity to learn about the new agreement and how it will affect our economy.” President @realDonaldTrump has committed to putting America first in all things, especially trade. I was grateful for the opportunity to learn about the new agreement and how it will affect our economy. pic.twitter.com/zUlHnCqhlc — Randy McNally (@ltgovmcnally) March 27, 2019 He also tweeted, “I was honored to join my fellow lieutenant governors from across the nation at the @WhiteHouse to discuss the state of our economy and how #USMCA will impact our states. Free trade is beneficial for our economy, but only if it is fair trade.” McNally said in his statement, “I was honored to join my fellow lieutenant governors from across the nation to discuss the…

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Meet the Republican Who Wants to Beat Ocasio-Cortez’s Record as Youngest Member of Congress

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by Evie Fordham   Armani Salado’s 25th birthday will come just in time: five months before the 2020 general election, when he hopes to be on the ballot as the Republican nominee for Florida’s 7th Congressional District. Salado is jumping on his earliest possible chance to run for the House of Representatives, which has an age minimum of 25. A University of Central Florida student and former actor, he filed to run March 3 and wants to give the incumbent, Democratic Rep. Stephanie Murphy, a run for her money. Murphy flipped the district in 2016. Investing himself in politics hadn’t been on Salado’s mind until fall 2018, when then-Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh was facing allegations of sexual abuse. Seeing Democrats “using Washington as a playground for their personal vendettas” was a turning point for him, Salado told The Daily Caller News Foundation in an interview. “I saw the rule of law go out of the window. I saw our fundamental idea of innocent until proven guilty go out the window,” Salado said. “I guess I put myself in his situation … I put myself and every single other American in his situation.” “[Acting was] over for me as soon…

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Republicans, Democrats Back to Battle Over US Health Care Law

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Health care has re-emerged as a major focus of U.S. political parties with the Trump administration advocating striking down the entire Affordable Care Act and Democrats introducing legislation to strengthen the law that has been in place since 2010. The Justice Department on Monday backed a federal court ruling declaring the entire ACA unconstitutional on the basis that without the fines for not having health insurance, which a Republican-led Congress passed last year, the mandate for having coverage should not be allowed. That went against the administration’s earlier position that while some parts of the ACA should be struck down, not all of it should be thrown out. Trump told reporters Tuesday he wanted alternatives to the law, which was one of the chief policies enacted under his predecessor Barack Obama. “The Republican Party will become ‘The Party of Healthcare!’” he wrote on Twitter. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer signaled his party is happy to take on the issue, especially following the end of the special counsel investigation into Russia’s interference in the 2016 election and possible collusion with Trump’s campaign. Schumer said issues such as healthcare and climate change are much more important to voters. The issue was a…

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Top Ranking Democrat Slams Ilhan Omar’s Comments During AIPAC Speech: ‘I Stand With Israel, Proudly and Unapologetically’

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by Molly Prince   House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer defended the American-Israeli alliance on Sunday, taking aim at Democratic Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar for her repeated anti-Semitic and anti-Israel statements. “I am an American who believes passionately in the idea of Israel, in the State of Israel, and in the essential right of Jews to have a place of sanctuary in their homeland after millennia of hatred, prejudice, exclusion, dehumanization, and attempted annihilation,” Hoyer said during a speech at American Israel Public Affairs Committee’s (AIPAC) 2019 conference. “The State of Israel, founded upon that profound and transcendent premise, must never be allowed to fail.” Hoyer, the second-ranking Democrat in the House, explained that he is not Jewish and neither are the majority of his constituents, but that he has traveled to Israel multiple times and witnessed firsthand “the courage of its people and their enduring spirit to make their country flourish.” “I stand with Israel, proudly and unapologetically. So, when someone accuses American supporters of Israel of dual loyalty, I say: accuse me,” the Maryland representative continued. “I am part of a large, bipartisan coalition in Congress supporting Israel. I tell Israel’s detractors: accuse us. And millions of Americans, regardless…

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Pence Calls for Landing US Astronauts on Moon in Five Years

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Vice President Mike Pence on Tuesday called for landing astronauts on the moon within five years, an accelerated pace that would aim to put Americans on the lunar south pole. Pence said NASA needs to achieve that goal “by any means necessary.” Speaking at a meeting of the National Space Council in Huntsville, Alabama, he said NASA rockets and lunar landers will be replaced by private craft, if required. “It’s time to redouble our effort,” he said. “It can happen, but it will not happen unless we increase the pace.” Now, the earliest possible landing on the moon by NASA isn’t until 2028, Pence said. He acknowledged talent — and money — will be necessary to pull it off earlier. Announcement comes with warning Pence warned that if NASA can’t put astronauts on the moon by 2024, “we need to change the organization, not the mission.” The space agency must transform into a leaner, more accountable and more agile organization, and must adopt an “all-hands-on-deck approach,” he said. NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine assured Pence that NASA will do everything possible to meet the deadline. Some outside experts were skeptical of the new timeline. “I will be astonished if this happens,”…

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Maker of OxyContin Agrees to $270M Settlement in Oklahoma

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The maker of OxyContin and the company’s controlling family agreed Tuesday to pay a groundbreaking $270 million to Oklahoma to settle allegations they helped create the nation’s deadly opioid crisis with their aggressive marketing of the powerful painkiller. It is the first settlement to come out of the recent coast-to-coast wave of nearly 2,000 lawsuits against Purdue Pharma that threaten to push the company into bankruptcy and have stained the name of the Sackler family, whose members rank among the world’s foremost philanthropists. “The addiction crisis facing our state and nation is a clear and present danger, but we’re doing something about it today,” Oklahoma Attorney General Mike Hunter said. Nearly $200 million will go toward establishing a National Center for Addiction Studies and Treatment at Oklahoma State University in Tulsa, while local governments will get $12.5 million. The Sacklers are responsible for $75 million of the settlement. In settling, the Stamford, Connecticut-based company denied any wrongdoing in connection with what Hunter called “this nightmarish epidemic” and “the worst public health crisis in our state and nation we’ve ever seen.” The deal comes two months before Oklahoma’s 2017 lawsuit against Purdue Pharma and other drug companies was set to become…

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Walz’s Revised Budget Proposal Still Includes 20-Cent Gas-Tax Increase

Anthony Gockowski

Gov. Tim Walz (D-MN) was forced to reexamine his budget proposal “line by line” after the state’s budget forecast came up $492 million short of November’s estimated $1.5 billion surplus. But his recently released revised budget recommendations still include a 20-cent gas-tax hike. “The governor recommends the state commit to a major transportation investment plan to fund the estimated $6 billion gap that exists between funding needs and available revenues over the next 10 years. The governor proposes filling the $6 billion gap in road and bridge funding by initiating a 20 cent gas tax increase, including fuel in distributor storage at the start time of each increase,” the budget recommendations state. Walz is also calling for increasing the registration tax from 1.25 percent to 1.5 percent and increasing the motor vehicle sales tax from 6.5 percent to 6.875 percent. “This is not a choice between whether we want the gas tax or not. It’s a choice between living in a state with the best transportation system in the country or one with crumbling roads and bridges,” Walz said in February when unveiling his initial budget proposal. Overall, Walz’s budget proposal would raise spending by more than $3 billion, increasing…

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A DeWine Campaign Promise Turned Into $176K Salary for Lt. Gov. Husted

Anthony Gockowski

“InnovateOhio” was a central campaign promise of the Mike DeWine/Jon Husted gubernatorial ticket that ended up securing Husted a $176,426 salary. DeWine and Husted, now governor and lieutenant governor, announced the initiative in September 2018 and said it would “bring the best and brightest technology minds” to Ohio to help “improve state and local government.” “The private sector uses innovative ideas and technology to improve their customer service and save money, and there is no reason we can’t bring that approach to the way our government operates,” Husted said at the time. According to a press release from the campaign, InnovateOhio is “about how we make state government a more effective and efficient leader in using technology to improve customer service and save tax dollars.” “In doing so, we make Ohio a state that attracts talent, business, and new investment,” the press release added. Specific proposals under the InnovateOhio initiative included the funding of “at least 10,000 in-demand industry certificates,” which was included in DeWine’s first budget proposal, and the establishment of “opportunity zones for economically-distressed communities.” Republicans, who said they wanted to create a good relationship with the incoming administration, then addressed InnovateOhio in a December 2018 bill. Senate…

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Buckeye Institute Blasts Tax Hike, Warns Legislators: ‘Don’t Increase the Tax Burden on Ohioans!’

Andrew Shirley

A joint committee of the Ohio House of Representatives and Senate was convened Wednesday in the hopes of reconciling the major divides in their respective transportation budgets. As they work towards a solution, one state think tank is reminding them not to forget the consequences Ohio citizens will face as a result of their decisions. House Bill 62 (HB 62), the 2020-21 Ohio Transportation Budget, the first major bill proposed of newly-elected Ohio Republican Governor Mike DeWine’s tenure, called for an 18 cent gas tax increase. It would go into effect immediately and carry no tax offsets. The Ohio House of Representatives revised the proposal to 10.7 cents and ordered it to be phased in over three years. Most recently, the Ohio Senate dropped the tax rate even lower to six cents. None of the proposals carry a complete tax offset. In this joint session, the legislators hope to reconcile differences, yet DeWine has maintained from day one that his 18 cent proposal is “a minimalist, conservative approach, with this being the absolute bare minimum we need to protect our families and our economy.” The Buckeye Institute, an independent think tank whose focus is “to advance free-market public policy” has acknowledged that a gas tax increase is…

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Social Justice Warriors at The Tennessean Publish Op-Ed Claiming ‘Tennessee Is a Racist State and So Is Its Legislature’

Jason M. Reynolds

A progressive social justice warrior-community organizer has labeled the entire State of Tennessee as racist with the aid of The Tennessean, which ran her ranting op-ed Wednesday. Aftyn Behn describes herself as the statewide organizer of Indivisible for Tennessee and Kentucky. Her op-ed blaming the state – especially the General Assembly – for a host of social ills is available here. She says, Let me be clear: Tennessee is a racist state. Racism is in the air we breathe, permeating the State Capitol, codified in the legislation being passed at the detriment of women, communities of color, and the working poor. Our problem with racism in this state is wild and untamed, and Justin Jones has turned a mirror to the legislature and the gubernatorial administration, inviting them to look inward and prompt introspection towards their ideologically destructive agendas. Lawmakers are responsible for rising black maternity rates, not allowing ex-felons to vote and is “the motivation behind undermining years of tireless organizing efforts from women of color to pass Nashville’s Community Oversight Board,” among other social ills, she said. Not expanding Medicaid is also a part of her complaint. The Tennessee Star has reported on Justin Jones, who allegedly threw…

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