In Philadelphia 235 years ago today, 39 delegates to the Constitutional Convention signed the U.S. Constitution. Eleven years had passed since the Declaration of Independence was adopted, and this historic event marked an important milestone for our remarkable experiment in self-government.
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Monday morning on The Tennessee Star Report, host Leahy welcomed Stephen Skelton of The American Bible Project to the newsmaker line to give a brief history of the American Bible and how they are distributing them across the United States into students’ hands.
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Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s recent explosive comments about Western elites and their notions about climate policy are not surprising to anyone who has been closely observing the opposition of India and China to western pressure for policies contrary to the two countries’ economic objectives.
“The colonial mindset hasn’t gone,” Modi said at a Constitution Day event. “We are seeing from developed nations that the path that made them developed is being closed for developing nations . . . If we talk about absolute cumulative [carbon] emissions, rich nations have emitted 15 times more from 1850 till now . . . The per capita emission is also 11 times more in the U.S. and the EU.”
Senior ministers in the past have called out the colonial nature of climate politics. This is the first time, however, that Modi has publicly recalled in this context the colonialism of the 18th and 19th centuries, when Western countries denied basic rights and autonomy to India and other colonies.
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Ohio Governor Mike DeWine said during a press conference on September 17 he would not support a bill drafted by Ohio state Representative Diane Grendell (R-Chesterland). The legislation, “Restore Ohio Now”, seeks to cancel the state of emergency declared on March 9 – consequently making impotent COVID orders made enforceable because of the emergency.
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As Portsmouth is divided among its city leadership, Senator Louise Lucas, and the police chief who announced felony charges against Lucas, the Portsmouth Tea Party is supporting Police Chief Angela Greene with a series of meetings and protests. In their latest rally Sunday, over 100 people met in front of the Portsmouth City Hall, using constitution-based arguments to call for Greene to be re-instated and for Lucas to be removed.
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A few hundred supporters of the 917 Society gathered at the Nashville City Club Tuesday, Sept. 17, to observe Constitution Day.
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In a detailed discussion, Monday morning on The Tennessee Star Report with Michael Patrick Leahy – broadcast on Nashville’s Talk Radio 98.3 and 1510 WLAC weekdays from 5:00 am to 8:00 am – Leahy spoke to in-studio guest Joni Bryan who is the executive director of 917 Society. Bryan talked about the event which will take place today – September 17 – at the Nashville City Club in celebration of the Constitution’s 232nd anniversary.
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U.S. Sens. Gary Peters (D-MI) and John Kennedy (R-LA) applauded Senate passage of their bipartisan resolution designating Sept. 11-17 as Patriot Week.
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NASHVILLE, Tennessee — The Republic still stands exactly 231 years to the day after the Founding Fathers signed the U.S. Constitution. But, as Michael Patrick Leahy, editor in chief of The Tennessee Star said Monday at an event emceed by State Senator Kerry Roberts (R-Springfield), “Constitutional literacy is pretty low right now.” That’s one of the reasons the 917 Society exists – to help improve constitutional literacy among Tennessee eighth graders. More than 200 supporters of the 917 Society gathered at the home of prominent Nashville physician Ming Wang on Monday, Sept. 17, to observe Constitution Day. And because of the 917 Society, every eighth-grader in Tennessee gets a copy of the U.S. Constitution. Joni Bryan launched the 917 Society just a few years ago. Eighth-grade is the year students are supposed to have civics in the U.S. curriculum. Due to the lack of funding and resources, teachers find it difficult to add one more thing to their classroom agenda. That’s where the 917 Society comes in. Their goal is to provide every eighth grader in Tennessee with a copy of the Constitution, in which founder Joni Bryan calls “a rite of passage.” Tennessee is the first state to offer…
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Religious liberty is a fundamental human right, one that even Americans who aren’t religious should value, Ryan Anderson of The Heritage Foundation said at Union University earlier this month. Anderson spoke at the Southern Baptist school in Jackson, Tennessee, Sept. 12 as part of an annual Constitution Day lecture series, according to a school news release. Constitution Day is celebrated Sept. 17 and honors the signing of the U.S. Constitution on Sept. 17, 1787. Religious freedom is guaranteed in the First Amendment. “All of us have a human right to be able to seek out the truth about God on our own, come to conclusions about the truth about God on our own, and then live our lives in conforming with that truth as we understand it,” said Anderson, a senior research fellow at The Heritage Foundation. Anderson said there are limits to the right of religious freedom if it is used to harm others or infringes on their rights. It gets complicated in issues such as same-sex marriage and gender identity. What’s important is to remember that people can disagree without being bigots and that government coercion isn’t the answer, Anderson said. “There is anti-gay bigotry in the United…
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Constitution Week will soon be over and Tennesseans who want to see the annual tradition promoted are worried it has gone by unnoticed by too many public schools. While some educators and outside groups have thrown themselves into promoting the week, there has been a lack of coordination at a higher level for school programs. However, The Tennessee Star is committed to promoting the U.S. Constitution and is holding a Constitution Bee on Saturday. Several Middle Tennessee school districts contacted by The Star reported they do not have district-led initiatives to celebrate Constitution Week, but rather leave it up to individual schools and teachers. Rutherford County Schools spokesman James Evans said, “Those types of events are typically handled by social studies teachers at the school level as it relates to the curriculum and academic standards.” A spokeswoman for Wilson County Schools said she was not aware of any activities. At the district level, Williamson County Schools seems to be doing more than some. “We’ve provided a number of resources and information to teachers to support their own ideas of how to incorporate Constitution Day into their lessons,” said spokeswoman Carol Birdsong. “At the elementary level, the Daughters of the American Revolution…
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Tennessee students will get more lessons on the history of American’s founding, thanks to a bill passed by the state legislature and signed into law by Gov. Haslam last week. The week of Sept. 17 will be designated as Celebrate Freedom Week in K-12 public schools. The law goes into effect in 2018. Sept. 17 is already known nationally as Constitution Day, and Sept. 17-23 is Constitution Week, in recognition of the signing of the U.S. Constitution on Sept. 17, 1787. State Rep. David Byrd (R-Waynesboro), who sponsored the legislation in the House, told The Tennessee Star he’s not sure schools statewide are uniformly emphasizing Constitution Week and that’s one reason he wanted to introduce Celebrate Freedom Week, which already is recognized in several other states. It also will give educators already familiar with Constitution Week some extra resources, Byrd said. The bill was sponsored in the Senate by Joey Hensley (R-Hohenwald). Celebrate Freedom Week is primarily designed to give attention to the purpose and meaning of the original texts of our founding documents, including the Declaration of Independence. But other events in American history that relate to founding principles may also be discussed. It gives Byrd the chills to…
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