Sullivan County School Board Votes 4-2 to Allow Text Equating God and Allah

The Sullivan County Board of Education voted 4-2 Tuesday to adopt a controversial social studies textbook that critics say promotes God and Allah as the same, WJHL said. The adoption for the seventh-grade book doesn’t mandate its use, WJHL said. It only makes it eligible for the district’s purchase. The station quoted one parent, Richard Penkoski, who said, “It’s denigrating Christianity and favoring Islam and anybody who reads that book will get that themselves. That’s why I am against this.” The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) called on Muslims to attend the Sullivan County Board of Education meeting to oppose “Islamophobic opposition from at least one board member,” The Tennessee Star reported Tuesday. CAIR provided the email addresses for school board members and instructions for signing up for the public comment portion of the meeting. Board Chairman Michael Hughes, Vice Chairman Randall Jones, Matthew Spivey, and Randall Gilmore (pictured above, left-to-right) voted for adoption, the Kingsport Times-News said. Jane Thomas and Paul Robinson voted no. Board member Mark Ireson was absent. The book by McGraw-Hill, called “World,” was the overwhelming choice of teachers on the textbook committee, the Times-News said. It could be formally chosen following a public comment session on April 15…

Read the full story

Commentary: Too Few Homes, Too Many Homeless

by Edward Ring   Apart from the fine weather unique to California, there is little stopping the homeless crisis that grips that state from infecting the rest of America. The Golden State’s other, even bigger problem—unaffordable housing—is also coming to America. All the elements are in place. The problem of increasing homelessness boils down to three fundamental policy failures: Massive immigration, overpriced housing, and an inability of state and local governments properly to deal with homeless people. Volumes could be written about each of these problems, because each one of them is symptomatic of deeper challenges. Immigration is fundamentally transforming our culture. Overpriced housing is only one element of the economic asset bubble that offers an illusory, unsustainable substitute for genuine economic growth. And our inability to deal with the homeless is just one example of a stultified society, mired in legal disputes, bureaucratic inertia, and corruption. Before exploring how these three problems exacerbate homelessness, it’s important to declare their larger significance. The way each of these problems affects homelessness and how each of them might be solved in order to resolve the problem of homelessness points the way to larger, more general solutions. Mass Immigration Raises Demand for Housing…

Read the full story

Ohio House Democrats Introduce ‘Equal Pay Act’ to End ‘Pay Discrimination’

Ohio House Democrats unveiled their plans to close the gender wage gap with an “Ohio Equal Pay Act” Tuesday, which marked the annual “Equal Pay Day” in America. Reps. Stephanie Howse (D-Cleveland) and Randi Clites (D-Ravenna) discussed their bill at a press conference alongside several of their Democratic colleagues. “Ohio’s gender wage gap continues to hold back women, families, and our economy. We can’t get ahead as a state if half of our workforce is undervalued and underpaid,” Howse said. “We need real, commonsense reforms to restore our promise as an opportunity state where everyone who works hard, regardless of gender, has a shot at the American dream.” The bill, which has yet to receive an official number, would require companies who contract with the state government to obtain an “Equal Pay Certificate,” which would certify that female employees have the same opportunities for career advancement. It would also require government agencies to conduct evaluations of their employees’ pay scales to “ensure compensation is based on responsibilities and working conditions across job categories,” a press release from the House Democrats explains. “It’s long past time to empower women in the workplace to be what they are—equal,” Clites said during Tuesday’s…

Read the full story

Proposed New School in Rutherford County Near Potentially Hazardous Waste Site

Members of the Rutherford County School Board are interested in building a school on farmland in the Walter Hill residential community, even though it’s near a landfill with a history of potential hazards. Multiple neighborhoods, businesses and churches surround the property, near the existing Walter Hill Elementary School, said Rutherford County School spokesman James Evans. “The land for the schools has undergone environmental and geotechnical testing and has been deemed suitable for school construction,” Evans said in an emailed statement. According to a 2011 Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation document, the landfill had aluminum waste deposited there between the 1990s and 2007. The landfill is on the north side of the East Stones River, one half mile east of Walter Hill and six miles north of Murfreesboro, according to the Consent Order between TDEC and BFI Waste Systems of Tennessee. In 2011, the document went on to say, this location had an apparent exothermic reaction, and that caused elevated temperatures. A series of piping was installed to draw off heat and pressure from the area. A hot void was discovered in the landfill. “The respondent has identified that aluminum waste within the Middle Point Landfill is undergoing an exothermic…

Read the full story

Theresa May Is Reaching Out to the Socialists to Try to Save Her Brexit Deal

by Evie Fordham   British Prime Minister Theresa May is reaching across the aisle for help from the United Kingdom’s socialist Labour Party to close out Brexit ahead of a looming deadline that has been previously delayed. May announced she was seeking yet another short-term extension on Brexit beyond an April 12 deadline Tuesday, reported Reuters. She also said she will broker the deal to leave the European Union (EU) in tandem with Jeremy Corbyn, the leader of the opposition Labour Party. “I am offering to sit down with the leader of the opposition and to try to agree to a plan — that we would both stick to — to ensure that we leave the European Union and that we do so with a deal,” she said according to Reuters. Both May and Corbyn opposed Brexit and supported the “Remain” campaign during the 2016 referendum. The move has outraged conservative Brexiteers, but could enable May to finally pass a divorce deal through Parliament after a historic defeat in January. Parliament has thrice voted-down her withdrawal agreement. “I’m very happy to meet the prime minister,” Corbyn said after May’s announcement according to The NYT. “We recognize that she has made…

Read the full story

Proposed Ohio Constitutional Amendment to Award Electoral Votes to Winner of National Popular Vote Clears Initial Hurdle

A state constitutional amendment to award Ohio’s electoral votes to the winner of the national popular vote cleared of one of its earliest hurdles this week. Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost called it a “fair and truthful statement of the proposed law” in an April 1 letter to Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose. The amendment was submitted to Yost’s office by election lawyer Don McTigue, who sent a petition to the Attorney General’s Office with 1,000 signatures. The petition states: This amendment would add Article XX, Section 1 of the Ohio Constitution to: Express the will of the people that every vote for president be valued equally and that the candidate who wins the most votes nationally becomes President. Require the General Assembly, within sixty days of the Amendment’s adoption, take all necessary legislative action so that the winner of the national popular vote is elected President. In his response, Yost said it is his “statutory duty to determine” whether the petition contained a “fair and truthful statement of the proposed law or constitutional amendment.” With Yost ’s certification, the proposal heads to the Ohio Ballot Board, which has 10 days to determine if “the submitted ballot language only contains one…

Read the full story

Ocasio-Cortez Hit with Another FEC Complaint Over Affiliation with Justice Democrats

by Andrew Kerr   A conservative group filed a 21-count Federal Election Commission (FEC) complaint against Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Wednesday alleging that her unreported affiliation with Justice Democrats PAC during her 2018 primary campaign violated campaign finance laws. The New York Democrat and her chief of staff, Saikat Chakrabarti, held legal control over Justice Democrats at the same time the political action committee was playing a key role in supporting her campaign, The Daily Caller News Foundation revealed in March. Ocasio-Cortez and Chakrabarti “engaged in a brazen scheme involving multiple political and commercial entities under their control to violate federal election law, circumvent federal contribution limits and reporting requirements, and execute an unlawful subsidy scheme,” the Coolidge Reagan Foundation’s complaint states. The FEC complaint, first reported by Fox News, also alleges that Ocasio-Cortez’s campaign benefited from a “subsidy scheme” carried out by Justice Democrats. The complaint is the third filed against Ocasio-Cortez in the past five weeks. Coolidge Reagan Foundation President Dan Backer said he will sue the FEC for delay if the commission fails to act on his complaint within 120 days. Backer added that such an action could give him the opportunity to take the complaint to court,…

Read the full story

Illegals Caught Dragging Children Through Razor Wire as They Cross the Border

by Jason Hopkins   Dramatic footage taken by U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents reveals the extreme danger smugglers put families and young children through when illegally crossing the border. The recently released footage was taken on Dec. 18 and Dec. 22 within the Custom and Border Patrol’s (CBP) Yuma Sector in Arizona. On both days, agents filmed smugglers pulling families, including children, through razor wire laid across the U.S.-Mexico border. Speaking in Spanish, an agent can be heard yelling “Don’t do that! Look at the child!” in the Dec. 18 clip. The smuggler can be seen pushing a young boy through a hole in the metal bollard wall and past a coil of razor wire. “Hey, careful! Careful with the boy!” the agent continues as sirens go off in the background. “Migrants continue to ignore the hazards and risk their lives attempting to cross the Rio Grande River,” Del Rio Sector Acting Chief Patrol Agent Louie W. Collins said in a statement. “Had our Border Patrol agents not been in the area to respond quickly, the woman and her children would have more than likely drowned.” A CBP spokesman said rescues like the one on the Rio Grande are…

Read the full story

Rep. Green Files Bill to Require Defense Department to Resume Sending Congress Report on Defense Spending by U.S. Allies

U.S. Rep. Dr. Mark Green (R-TN-07) said he is working to strengthen the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and America’s other treaty alliances by trying to make clear how much allies spend on the common defense. Green, a former Army special operations flight surgeon and West Point graduate, introduced the Allied Burden Sharing Report Act of 2019 in the U.S. House on Wednesday, according to a press release. Green introduced this bill the same day NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg addressed a joint session of Congress ahead of NATO’s 70th anniversary, which is today. “NATO is indispensable to America’s past, present, and future,” said Rep. Mark Green. “This bill would encourage our allies to fully fund our alliance, so that together we can preserve, strengthen and potentially expand NATO.” The congressman tweeted, “I am looking forward to #NATO Sec Gen Stoltenberg’s address to Congress at 11. NATO is indispensable to America’s past, present, and future. That’s why I’m intro’ing a bill today that’d encourage our allies to fully fund our alliance and strengthen NATO.” I am looking forward to #NATO Sec Gen Stoltenberg's address to Congress at 11. NATO is indispensable to America’s past, present, and future. That's why I'm…

Read the full story

Joe Biden in 2018: ‘Nothing Justifies’ Touching a Woman ‘Without Her Consent’

by Peter Hasson   Former Vice President Joe Biden, who is currently under fire for his reported habit of touching women without their consent, said in 2018 that there is no justification for touching women without their consent. Four women have come forward to say Biden made them uncomfortable by invading their personal space, including grabbing their shoulders and smelling their hair. “Nothing justifies a man laying a hand on a woman without her consent. Look, you need consent,” Biden said in an April 2018 video interview with feminist media outlet Makers. He offered several examples of out-of-bounds behavior, ranging from rape to unwanted touching. “If the woman is totally drunk and inebriated, she can’t give consent, it’s rape. It’s rape if you cannot give consent. It is assault. A woman could get up and walk down the street here stark naked, no man has a right to lay a hand on her,” Biden said. “There is no justification. She can be arrested for indecent exposure, but no man has a right to lay their hand on [her],” he added. Biden pledged Wednesday to be more careful about respecting “personal space” in a video he posted to Twitter. “Social norms…

Read the full story

Kamala Harris Spearheads Bill to Let ‘Dreamers’ Work in Congress

by Molly Prince   Presidential hopeful and Democratic California Sen. Kamala Harris is set to introduce legislation later in the week that would allow individuals who were brought into the country illegally as children the ability to work in the United States Congress. The proposal, co-sponsored by Democratic Sens. Dick Durbin of Illinois and Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada, would amend the current law so that illegal immigrants who benefit from the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program would be included as an eligible category for paid employment in Congress. “The giant sign outside my office says ‘DREAMers Welcome Here’ because we know and value the contributions that these young people have made to their communities,” Harris said in a statement. “But right now, those same young people are banned from giving back to their country by working for Congress. That has to change.” “Government works best when it reflects the people it represents,” the statement continued. “Our nation’s DREAMers are some of our best and brightest, and it’s time they had the opportunity to get a job or paid internship on Capitol Hill.” Under the current law, the majority of non-U.S. citizens, which includes Dreamers and DACA recipients,…

Read the full story

In First Quarter, Sanders Takes Early Lead in 2020 Fundraising

A handful of Democratic presidential candidates are touting the amount of money they’ve raised in the first fundraising period of a 2020 primary fight that will last into next spring. The totals for the first quarter, which ran through March 31, are the first measure of how candidates are faring. Details for the entire field won’t be known until candidates file their required disclosures with the Federal Election Commission by April 15, but here are some takeaways from what the campaigns have released so far: Bernie Really Is A Front Runner Bernie Sanders joins former Vice President Joe Biden atop many polls of prospective Democratic primary voters. But Sanders has something Biden doesn’t have (yet): a campaign operation raking in cash. The senator from Vermont, who showed surprising fundraising heft in his upstart challenge to Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton four years ago, raised more than $18 million in the 41 days between his official campaign launch and March 31, giving him $28 million cash on hand. Those totals are expected to lead the Democratic field, putting pressure on other heavyweights, including Biden, who is still deciding whether to run and who is navigating accusations that he’s acted inappropriately toward…

Read the full story

Commentary: The Dangers of the New Democratic Socialism

by Richard M. Ebeling   In the ancient world, there was often a philosophy of life that the events surrounding man and the world he lived in went in circles and cycles. It certainly seems that way with the recent revival of the case for democratic socialism. After seeming to have been relegated to the dustbin of history following the collapse of Soviet-style socialism in the early 1990s, the idea of “socialism” is once again declared to be both relevant and alive as an alternative to the existing institutions of a still-market-based and still-liberal society. For most of the last century, socialism was identified with political totalitarianism, comprehensive government central planning, and a terror state that tortured and murdered tens of millions of people in the name and promise of a wonderful and beautiful collectivist utopia to come that, it was said, would justify all the tragedy and torment that was needed to bring it about. Socialist Disaster and Destruction For those of us who had an opportunity to travel in the Soviet Union before its disappearance from the political map of the world in December 1991, the promised heaven on earth had turned out to be a graveyard of broken…

Read the full story

Stacey Abrams: You Can’t ‘Trick Me’ Into Conceding the Race I Lost

by Molly Prince   Defeated Georgia Democratic gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams acknowledged Wednesday that she lost her 2018 gubernatorial race, but contended that she would not concede because a concession implies the race was “proper.” “We had this little election back in 2018 and despite the finally tally and the inauguration and the situation we find ourselves in, I do have one very affirmative statement to make: we won,” Abrams told a crowd during Rev. Al Sharpton’s National Action Network Convention. “I am not the governor of Georgia — remember I told you about my opponent? You see not only was he the Secretary of state he was also the architect of voter suppression,” she continued. “We can work as hard as we want, we can fight rights, but if you’re fighting against the system that is designed to oppress you, sometimes you got to fight a little bit longer than you think.” Abrams is well-known for her consistent accusations of widespread voter suppression during the 2018 election cycle, which she further claims is racially motivated. Following her loss, she appeared regularly on cable news shows and at private events repeating those assertions. There has been no evidence to corroborate…

Read the full story

Sen. Cotton Seeks IRS Inquiry Into Southern Poverty Law Center’s Tax Status

by Fred Lucas   Sen. Tom Cotton has asked the Internal Revenue Service to investigate the Southern Poverty Law Center, a liberal activist organization that regularly brands organizations it opposes as “hate groups.” Cotton, R-Ark., said the probe is needed for “protecting taxpayer dollars from a racist and sexist slush fund devoted to defamation.” The Arkansas lawmaker wrote a letter Tuesday to IRS Commissioner Charles Rettig, calling for the tax agency to probe whether the SPLC should retain its 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status. “Recent news reports have confirmed the long-established fact that the SPLC regularly engaged in defamation of its political opponents,” he wrote. “In fact, the SPLC’s defining characteristic is to fundraise off of defamation.” Sen. Tom Cotton has asked the Internal Revenue Service to investigate the Southern Poverty Law Center, a liberal activist organization that regularly brands organizations it opposes as “hate groups.” Cotton, R-Ark., said the probe is needed for “protecting taxpayer dollars from a racist and sexist slush fund devoted to defamation.” The Arkansas lawmaker wrote a letter Tuesday to IRS Commissioner Charles Rettig, calling for the tax agency to probe whether the SPLC should retain its 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status. “Recent news reports have confirmed the long-established…

Read the full story

Truckers Face Gridlock at US-Mexico Frontier as Border Agents Moved

Trucks delivering goods from Mexico to the United States are facing up to eight hours of gridlock, after a transfer of U.S. border agents to immigration duties slowed the flow of commercial traffic at several border crossings. President Donald Trump took a step back on Tuesday from his threat to close the U.S. southern border to fight illegal immigration, amid pressure from companies worried that a shutdown would inflict chaos on supply chains. He had threatened on Friday to close the border this week unless Mexico acted to curb a surge of asylum seekers from countries in Central America. But the reshuffling of border agents, announced last week to process the record number of migrant families entering the United States from Mexico, prompted delays of up to eight hours for trucks crossing from Mexico’s Ciudad Juarez to El Paso, Texas, truckers told Reuters. “Industry is most affected by this situation, due to the millions in fines they have to pay when deliveries arrive late to clients,” said Manuel Sotelo, head of the truckers union in Ciudad Juarez. He said the delays could even lead to the cancellation of contracts and layoffs. Senior U.S. Department of Homeland Security officials said on…

Read the full story

Democratic Probes of Trump Could Trigger Protracted Subpoena Battle

With House Democrats ramping up their wide-ranging investigations of President Donald Trump, Congress and the administration are bracing for what is shaping up to be a long, hard fight over access to documents and witnesses that could go on for the remainder of Trump’s first term in office. On Wednesday the Democratic-controlled House Judiciary Committee voted along party lines to authorize subpoenas to obtain the full report on Russian meddling in the 2016 U.S. presidential election from special counsel Robert Mueller, as well as the testimonies of five former White House officials interviewed by the special counsel While Trump has left it to Attorney General William Barr to decide whether to release the complete report, the president is expected to assert what is known as executive privilege over some portions of records other congressional committees are seeking as part of their investigation of the administration. That has set the stage for a showdown between Democrats in Congress and the White House, raising the specter that the issue may ultimately end up before the U.S. Supreme Court. But if the past is any indication, the coming battle is likely to be fought — and eventually settled — through political give and…

Read the full story

Walz Calls for Writing a ‘New Story’ of Bipartisanship in First State of the State

Gov. Tim Walz (D-MN) delivered his first State of the State Address Wednesday night and called on members of the Minnesota House and Senate to “write a new story” of bipartisanship. Walz stuck to his typical off-the-cuff speaking style, and began his address by taking an implicit shot at President Donald Trump. “We’re not here to send out mean tweets,” he said, though most of his speech focused on a theme of “writing a different story.” To drive his point home, Walz invited several guests who have been impacted by the debates taking place at the State Capitol, such as a former neighbor from Mankato who lost her husband in a car accident. According to Walz, he was “hit head-on on Highway 14 and killed.” “That same highway has killed 145 people in the last three decades. It is the most dangerous in Minnesota,” he said. “My passion is not to pick a fight with you about transportation.” “I will gladly have the debate with you and a compromise to find how we do that. But here’s what I’m telling you: in the 23 years since Charlie has died, that is still a two-lane, dangerous road, and the time has…

Read the full story

Dash-Cam Footage Shows Ohio Legislator Sedrick Denson Repeatedly Telling Officers He’s a ‘State Representative’ During OVI Arrest

The Ohio Highway Patrol has released dash-cam footage of Rep. Sedrick Denson’s (D-Bond Hill) arrest. The first-term Democratic lawmaker was charged early Friday morning for driving under the influence, driving with a suspended license, and felony drug possession. In the video, Denson repeatedly tells the trooper that he’s a state representative. “Where you heading in a hurry?” the trooper asked Denson towards the beginning of the incident. “Not in a hurry. I’m a state representative here,” Denson replied. In another exchange, after Denson was asked to step out of his vehicle, the officer inquired about whether or not Denson had a “pocket knife or a gun” on him. “I’m an Ohio state representative,” Denson can be heard responding, though his full response is inaudible with the noise of traffic passing by. “OK. What does that have to do with you having a weapon?” the trooper responds. The Ohio Highway Patrol discovered a single prescription Adderall pill inside a plastic bag in Denson’s vehicle, which he said he’s “not prescribed” and does “not use.” In a statement released Monday, Denson apologized to his constituents, but denied that he was actually impaired. “I was pulled over by a State Highway Patrolman for…

Read the full story

Communities Brace for Diesel Tax Increases After Ohio Gov. DeWine Signs Gas Tax Into Law

Gas up the car

In one of his first major acts in office, Gov. Mike DeWine (R-OH) signed into law the state’s first gas tax increase since 2005. The issue has been the focal point of his first few months in office, and negotiations with House and Senate Republicans have not been easy. But on Tuesday, all parties finally agreed to a compromise: 10.5 cents on regular fuel, and 19 cents on diesel. That will bring the total gas tax to 38.5 cents, and the total diesel tax to 47 cents, both of which are currently taxed at an equal rate of 28 cents. The increase, set to go into effect July 1, doesn’t seem to have the support of most Ohioans, especially those who rely on diesel fuel. “Diesel fuel powers our economy, because it’s what the trucks that deliver Ohio-made products to market run on. A 19 cent increase on diesel will move Ohio well past the state average of 30.2 cents of tax per gallon and leave us with the sixth highest tax rate on diesel fuel in the country. This does not make Ohio more competitive and will be damaging to Ohio’s economy and to our businesses,” the Ohio Chamber…

Read the full story

Nashville’s Community Oversight Board to Offer Executive Director Job to Chicago Civil Rights Lawyer William Weeden

Nashville’s community oversight board has turned to someone outside of the community – Chicago, to be exact – to lead the organization’s oversight of police. The oversight board voted Tuesday to offer the executive director job to Chicago attorney William Weeden, Nashville Public Radio said. The board selected Weeden over four other finalists. Weeden is a civil rights attorney and a former prosecutor and professor of law. He served eight years as a leader of the Independent Police Review Authority in Chicago, Nashville Public Radio said. Metro Nashville’s website says the board has the power to investigate allegations that MNPD officers have committed misconduct against members of the public. That’s not all of its powers: The Board has the option to forward resolution reports that produce factual findings of criminal misconduct and civil rights violations to the District Attorney, Grand Jury, or U.S. Attorney. The Board shall have all powers, including the power to compel, identified in Section 18.10 of the Metropolitan Charter. A biography on Weeden’s law practice website says his previous stints included working for the Cook County (Illinois) State’s Attorney Office and serving as Assistant Attorney General in St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands, where he prosecuted felony…

Read the full story