Month: February 2017

Openthebooks.com Includes Nashville As a Sanctuary City

Chris Alto

“Federal Funding of America’s Sanctuary Cities” a report released this month by Openthebooks.com, includes Nashville as a sanctuary city that has received a total of $231,115,291.00 in direct payments and pass through federal grants that was part of the $26.741 billion federal dollars directed to 106 sanctuary cities. The report includes an interactive map that includes the details of federal funding for each identified sanctuary city. On January 25, 2017, President Trump issued an executive order “Enhancing Public Safety in the Interior of the United States” which included a directive to withhold non-mandatory federal funding to jurisdictions that elect not to comply with federal immigration laws regarding deportation of illegal aliens.  Authors of the report suggest that the executive order was the impetus to collate the data and quantify how much federal funding could be in jeopardy. Ironically, the report’s first page states: OUR REPORT MADE POSSIBLE BY: The “Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act of 2006” Sponsors: Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK) & Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) (Public Law 109-282, 109th Congress) USAspending.gov, was the resulting mandate of this bipartisan legislation. The publicly accessible searchable website enables taxpayers to see how their money is being spent. Former senator Tom Coburn is…

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Commentary: 100 Days of Trump: Nothing the Liberal Establishment Throws at Him Sticks to Trump

Tennessee Star Staff

Reprinted with permission from ConservativeHQ.com by Jeffrey A. Rendall February 17, 2017 It’s been an entire workweek since the resignation of National Security Adviser Michael Flynn was made public and the media still can’t stop talking about the subject and how it may impact the now four week-old presidency of Donald Trump. Details regarding what Flynn might have said to whom are still coming in and there’s no doubt more to learn in the days and weeks ahead. But that’s not stopping some people from worrying about where all of this could be Trump Abeheaded. Byron York of the Washington Examiner reports, “I spent much of Wednesday talking and corresponding with Republicans in various states of anxiety about the latest revelations concerning the Trump campaign and Russia. Some put more credence in the allegations than others. All thought the leaks of national security intercepts behind the news stories were outrageous, and that the leakers should be punished. But even for those most inclined to support President Trump, there was still a nagging fear that the stories might be true.” By “true” York is referencing the news media’s fantastic tales of Trump and his campaign staff colluding with the Russians to…

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Nashville ‘Indivisible’ Organizer Leads Soros-Funded National Council of La Raza

Chris Alto

Renata Soto, a native of Costa Rica and resident of Nashville, was elected to chair the board of the National Council of La Raza (NCLR) in 2015 after serving as vice-chair since 2012. In December 2016, she also became a Nashville “Indivisible” organizer. La Raza lobbies for Hispanic racial preferences, bilingual education, mass immigration, and amnesty for illegal aliens. La Raza’s commentary and position statements characterize the U.S. as a nation with widespread white racism and discrimination. The organization has opposed most of the post 9/11 U.S. counterterrorism efforts. George Soros has generously funded Soto’s NCLR organization over the years in amounts typically exceeding $2 million. Soto became an Indivisible organizer almost immediately after the election. In her December 2016 opinion piece, Soto invited others to join Indivisible, a campaign intended and designed to obstruct President Trump’s agenda for the nation including enforcing U.S. immigration laws. Soto’s December Indivisible event was held at Casa Azafran, the community space built and owned by Conexion Americas, the Nashville Latino advocacy organization founded and led by Soto. Casa Azafran has been developed to serve multiple purposes including as an Election Commission polling site and housing a Metro Nashville Public Schools pre-K program. It also…

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Norma “Jane Roe” McMorvey Dies at 69

Christina Botteri

Norma McCorvey, the plaintiff at the center of the controversial “Roe v Wade” decision in 1973 has died. She was 69. McCorvey was only 21, divorced, and homeless in Dallas, Texas when she became pregnant with her third child in 1969. After trying and failing to obtain an illegal abortion, she was referred to two freshly-minted attorneys Linda Coffee and Sarah Weddington who were looking for a case to challenge the Texas statue barring the termination of pregnancies. McCorvey agreed, but never attended a single trial in the three years the case wound its way through the Courts. Her child, born healthy in 1970, was adopted. Later in life, McCorvey called her role in the landmark case “the biggest mistake of her life,” and spent the rest of her life as an outspoken, pro-life activist. BREAKING: Norma McCorvey, known as 'Jane Roe' has died at the age of 76. We honor her by remembering what she really stood for.#ProLife pic.twitter.com/Jg289Ht1Me — Tennessee (@TEN_GOP) February 18, 2017      

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Nolensville Business Fires 18 People Who Skipped Work on ‘A Day Without Immigrants’

Tennessee Star Staff

A small business in Nolensville, Tennessee facing production deadlines fired 18 employees who failed to show up for work on Thursday’s ‘A Day Without Immigrants.’ “Bradley Coatings, Incorporated (BCI) is a family-owned, Nashville-based business that provides commercial painting services to its clients on a very demanding schedule,” Robert Peal, the company’s attorney, said in a statement released on Friday. “This past Wednesday night, certain employees of BCI informed their leadership that they would not be at work the following day. Because of the time-sensitive nature of the jobs these employees were assigned to, all employees were told that they would need to show up for work or they would be terminated,” Peal said. “On Thursday, the majority of BCI’s employees fulfilled their obligations to our clients, but eighteen employees did not,” Peal noted, adding: Regretfully, and consistent with its prior communication to all its employees, BCI had no choice but to terminate these individuals. The reason these employees missed work—to engage in peaceful demonstrations—had nothing to do with BCI’s decision to terminate them. BCI regrets this situation, but it has contracted with its clients to complete work on a schedule set by the client’s general contractor. The company has been…

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WWTN Callers Blast State Senate Majority Leader Norris for Weak Response to Protesters

Tennessee Star Staff

State Senate Majority Leader Mark Norris (R-Collierville) was interviewed by Ralph Bristol on 99.7 FM WWTN’s  Nashville’s Morning News on Friday about the shouting down of State Sen. Mae Beavers and State Rep. Mark Pody by protesters at the Capitol earlier this week. Norris’s response to those protesters was panned by irate listeners who called in to Bristol’s program in the ensuing two hour on-air town hall that broke out over the airwaves. Appearing on Bristol’s program a day earlier, Beavers said she wanted to see action taken against the protesters. “What if anything needs to be done about it?” Bristol asked of the aggressiveness of the protesters towards Beavers and Pody. “I think we need to be sensitive to… whether its her concerns or a constituents concerns . . .we need to be sensitive to her concerns and whether when having a press conference of that nature folks should follow people into their office,” Norris responded. “But we all, including Sen. Beavers are, for the right to assemblage and open government, and a lot of the best stuff that gets done happens when we have that kind of open consideration,” he continued. “There’s sometimes a fine line between free…

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Commentary: President Trump’s Epic Beatdown of the Media Elite

Tennessee Star Staff

Reprinted with permission from ConservativeHQ.com. By CHQ Staff February 17, 2017 According to post-election poll conducted by Suffolk University and USA Today the top four things voters wanted President Donald Trump to do after he was sworn-in were; create and preserve jobs, fight terrorism and ISIS, build a wall and deport illegal immigrants, and change Washington. When the pundits and talking heads assess President Trump’s first 100 days they are likely to concentrate on how he did on the first three and completely ignore #4, which actually ranked above “build the wall” in the poll Trump Press Conference(17% vs 15%). However, in ways large and small President Trump is slowly inch-by-inch changing Washington, and one of the most profound changes is the relationship between the establishment media and the American people. That change was on full display yesterday at the President’s press conference, and it was epic. Said the President: Unfortunately, much of the media in Washington, D.C., along with New York, Los Angeles in particular, speaks not for the people, but for the special interests and for those profiting off a very, very obviously broken system. The press has become so dishonest that if we don’t talk about, we…

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BREAKING: Gov. Haslam Claims ‘There Have Not Been Any Other Alternatives Proposed’ To His Gas Tax Increase

Tennessee Star Staff

“Gov. Bill Haslam did not acknowledge the multiple alternatives to his proposed gas tax increase that legislators have introduced in the statehouse during an interview with Knoxville media Friday,” WBIR TV reports. “There have not been any other alternatives proposed. No one else has laid out a plan and said ‘This is how we’re going to pay for it,’” WBIR reports Haslam stated when asked about alternative plans to fund road construction, such as The Hawk Plan, which would provide that funding by reallocating 0.25 percent of the current sales tax. “He’s very aware of other plans,” State Rep. David Hawk (R-Greeneville), author of The Hawk Plan, told WBIR: Hawk said he has discussed his plan with Haslam of taking one-quarter of one percent of sales tax revenue to create a recurring dedicated fund to address transportation needs long-term. Rep. Jason Zachary of Knoxville said his constituents are pushing him to find an alternative to a tax increase by pointing out the state is sitting on a $1 billion dollar budget surplus and another $1 billion surplus is projected for this year. He has proposed allocating a quarter of any state surplus money over $5 million each month to TDOT.…

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Reagan Economist Art Laffer to Subcommittee Hearing on Gas Tax: ‘We Don’t Need More Taxes In Tennessee’

Laura Baigert

“We don’t need more taxes in Tennessee,” well-known economist Arthur Laffer told the House Transportation Subcommittee on Wednesday at a hearing about Gov. Haslam’s proposed gas tax increase. Laffer, who gained international prominence during the Reagan Era as the author of “the Laffer Curve” –which showed government revenues increase as high taxes are cut– testified before the subcommittee at the invitation of House Transportation Subcommittee Chair State Rep. Terri Lynn Weaver (R-Lancaster). He is probably most well-known for his role on the Economic Advisory Board under President Reagan. He has a B.A. in Economics from Yale University and his Ph.D. from Stanford University. The renowned economist “made a calculation” and came to Tennessee 10 years ago, leaving the heavily taxed state of California. He hasn’t looked back. “Economics is all about incentives. People like doing things they find attractive and dislike doing things they find unattractive. Taxes change the attractiveness of activities,” Laffer told the subcommittee: If you look at taxes, all taxes are bad, but some are worse than others. What you want to do is you want to collect your tax revenues in the least damaging fashion possible and you want to spend the proceeds in the most beneficial fashion…

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‘Day Without Immigrants’ Not For Everybody in Nashville

Wendy Wilson

Stay open or close? The managers at Fresh and Fresh International Market went back and forth before deciding they’d stay open on the “Day Without Immigrants.” It was business as usual Thursday at the Nolensville Road market, despite nationwide protests that saw many ethnic stores and restaurants close to protest President Trump’s immigration plans. Many immigrant workers and students stayed home or took to the streets for rallies and marches. By their absence, immigrants hoped to make Americans aware of how much they contribute. But there also were many, including in Nashville, who chose not to participate. Rosa Bernal, an assistant manager at Fresh and Fresh, said the store stayed open to serve its diverse customer base, which includes both immigrants and non-immigrants. The store sells Hispanic and Asian groceries and recently has started adding Middle Eastern fare. Some employees, however, did not come to work. “We respect their decision,” Bernal said. Bernal said some customers Thursday were happy the store stayed open so they could buy things they needed. Others questioned the decision, asking employees if they supported President Trump. Bernal said employees didn’t respond to those inquiries because they didn’t feel they had to justify their decision to…

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Former Lt. Gov. Ron Ramsey: ‘I Have Never Felt the Need to Have Anything in Writing’ From Legal Counsel on Consultant Role to Pro-Gas Tax Group

Tennessee Star Staff

Former Lt. Governor Ron Ramsey tells The Tennessee Star that his legal counsel, James Weaver, a partner with the prestigious Nashville law firm Waller Lansden Dorch & Davis, who has advised him that his appearance at a WWTN Gas Tax Town Hall to advocate in favor of Gov. Haslam’s gas tax increase, a position held by his client, the Transportation Coalition of Tennessee, is “perfectly acceptable under all Tennessee laws” has done so verbally, but not in writing. “James and I have had lots of discussions about what I can and cannot do in this first year,” Ramsey tells The Star in an emailed statement. “James is an expert in this area. As my council, I have never felt the need to have anything in writing from him. I simply wanted his advice and council,” Ramsey adds in the statement. At former Lt. Gov. Ramsey’s invitation, The Star has reached out to Mr. Weaver and anticipates providing more details on the Tennessee statutes as they relate to guidelines for consulting and lobbying as they apply to former members of the Tennessee General Assembly during their first 12 months out of office. At issue is whether Ramsey, as a paid consultant…

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Commentary: Knoxville News Sentinel Provides Former Editor Platform To Promote Left Wing Anti-Gun Propaganda

Richard Archie

The Knoxville News Sentinel recently provided former editor Frank Cagle a huge platform to influence and educate the public on the views of the left in regards to both the Tennessee State Constitution and the rights of the citizens that live and work in this state. The issue this time for the left is their pet peeve of firearms ownership. What I find worrisome is how they exaggerate information even when the facts are laid before them in black and white. Cagle is no exception to that rule and that is not surprising. Cagle, in order to make a plausible argument, must first create the villain and in doing so he must attach as many negative adjectives as he possibly can to bring the passion of the Tennessee reader to a boil. Words like scoundrels, rogues, blackguards, miscreants or lobbyists in the political world usually do the trick. Of course we are smarter than that. A lobbyist can be anything from a group of 10,000 to a group of one attempting to sway legislatures. But of course he wanted you to think the Tennessee Firearms Association (TFA) was out running around tossing money left and right. He wants you to believe…

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World Relief Refugee Agency Closes Down Nashville Office

Chris Alto

Refugee resettlement contractors are blaming President Trump’s temporary suspension of the program for forcing them to reduce staff, close local offices or put local offices in jeopardy of closing. World Relief explained the five local resettlement offices closures including Nashville: “As a direct result of the recent decision by the Trump Administration to dramatically reduce the number of refugees resettled in the U.S. throughout fiscal year 2017, World Relief has been forced to make the difficult decision to layoff 140+ staff members across its U.S. Ministry and close local offices in Boise, Idaho; Columbus, Ohio; Miami, Florida; Nashville, Tennessee; and Glen Burnie, Maryland. Collectively, these five offices have resettled more than 25,000 refugees over the past four decades.” WR’s Nashville website says it has a staff of 30 and the Memphis office has 13 employees. The last available data from fiscal year 2012 shows the Nashville office proposing to resettle 708 refugees. World Relief (WR), based in Baltimore, is one of nine national refugee resettlement organizations that sign a “Cooperative Agreement” with the U.S. State Department for the “Reception & Placement”(R&P) grant.  This is taxpayer money allocated for each refugee. Some of the money is used to provide basic necessities…

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Letter to the Editor: Protesters Crossed the Line

Admin

Dear Tennessee Star, February 15, two lawmakers, Sen. Mae Beavers and Rep. Pody, attempted to conduct a press conference about two bills they are sponsoring, the Traditional Marriage Bill and the Bathroom Bill. Protesters disrupted the conference. It was abruptly halted. Protesters crossed the line for peaceful protesting. Not only did they shout the legislators down from speaking, protesters followed them out shouting even more. Protesters were belligerent , crude, and rude. Denying the legislators to speak and the public’s right to be heard showed bullying at its best. When you peel back the layers of this incident it boils down to good versus evil. Fidelity in relationships of marriage, parenthood, and friendship; commitment to right principles in business, sanctity of one’s word…all of these are ancient landmarks placed by God in His holy word. Spiritual landmarks are there for all time and are changed at the changer’s peril. Spiritual landmarks do not need updating and changing because human needs and nature remain the same as they were from the beginning. Removing those ancient landmarks endangers human happiness. Those who honor those ancient landmarks have it all – inner peace, satisfaction, and most of all, assurance that they will spend…

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Commentary: Another Federal Judge Seizes Presidential Power

Christina Botteri

by George Rasley, CHQ Editor February 15, 2017 Reprinted with permission from ConservativeHQ.com Emboldened by Judge James L. Robart’s anti-constitutional power grab and the refusal of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals to vacate his order temporarily restraining President Trump’s Executive Order 13,769 temporarily pausing immigration from seven terrorist hotspots Judge Leonie Brinkema, of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia has also chosen to seize the president’s Article II constitutional prerogatives. (To oppose this power grab please sign our Impeach Power Grabbing Judges Petition). In a 22-page ruling Monday night, Judge Brinkema, said lawyers for President Trump had provided no evidence supporting the restriction of travel from seven majority-Muslim countries. According to WTOP’s Neal Augenstein, Judge Brinkema said, “…they [the Trump administration] have not offered any evidence to identify the national security concerns that allegedly prompted this EO (executive order), or even described the process by which the president concluded that this action was necessary.” The claim that the government has “not offered any evidence to identify the national security concerns that allegedly prompted this EO” is either incredibly bad pleading by the government’s lawyers, willful blindness on the part of Judge Brinkema – or an anti-constitutional power grab. Last summer, Muna Osman Jama and Hinda Osman Dhirane, two Somali immigrants, were found guilty of conspiracy to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization, and providing material support to…

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Tennessee Legislators First in Nation to Help Home Health Care Providers Get Paid

Chris Alto

A bill filed by Rep. Judd Matheny (R-Tullahoma) and Sen. Janice Bowling (R-Tullahoma), “The HMO Transparency in Claims Processing Act of 2017,” makes Tennessee the first state to address problems home health care companies encounter in getting paid for their services. HB51/SB133 will establish processes to facilitate prompt payment of claims and improved management in addressing the denial of claims for services delivered by home health care providers. Home-based health services can provide an alternative to the nursing home model by offering care that enables seniors to “age in place,” often in their own residence and communities. According to AARP, seniors who have depleted their assets or never had resources sufficient to pay for needed care, typically resort to Medicaid as their safety net: “Nearly a third of older people are projected to deplete their life savings and turn to Medicaid for assistance as their ability to care for themselves declines.” However, data collated by AARP in 2013 showed nursing home use by seniors enrolled in Medicaid programs had decreased by about one-third since 1995, “despite the enormous growth among the oldest age groups most at risk of using nursing home services.” AARP credits the use of private and less…

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Gov. Haslam to Hold ‘Town Hall’ on Gas Tax Increase Monday in Winchester

Tennessee Star Staff

Gov. Haslam will “hold a town hall meeting on proposed gas tax increase” on Monday, February 20, at 6:00 pm in Winchester, the Franklin County seat, the Winchester Herald Chronicle reports: Gov. Bill Haslam will be in Franklin County Monday to discuss his plan for a 7 cent tax increase per gallon on gasoline and 12 cents on diesel to go toward roadway improvements. The meeting will be held at 6 p.m. at the Franklin County Annex Building [located at 855 Dinah Shore Blvd. in Winchester, 90 miles southeast of Nashville]. The purpose of the event, which is open to the public, is to provide a forum on a plan focusing exclusively on increasing much-needed funding to repair and maintain safe highways and bridges throughout Tennessee. Haslam has also proposed that sales tax be reduced on food products. Curiously, the governor’s website makes no mention of the event, which the Herald Chronicle calls “a town hall” in its headline, but which sounds more like another stop in the governor’s promotional tour for his proposed 7 cents a gallon gas tax. Typically, a town hall on a particular public policy topic is an open discussion of all possible solutions on that…

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Diane Black (TN-06) Set to Replace Tom Price as Budget Chairman

Christina Botteri
Diane Black (TN-06)

The Republican Steering Committee recommended interim Budget Chairman Diane Black of Tennessee to officially head the panel in the wake of former House Budget Chairman Tom Price being confirmed as the secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services. The House Republican Conference is slated to confirm the vote Thursday morning, which will officially make…

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BREAKING: Protesters Shout Down State Rep. Mark Pody and Sen. Mae Beavers Press Conference

Christina Botteri

An outbreak of protesters first disrupted, and then caused the cancellation of Mark Pody’s (R-Lebanon) and Sen. Mae Beavers’ (R-Mount Julie) joint press conference address Tennessee’s “Bathroom Bill” and Defense of Natural Marriage Act. Local NewChannel5 reporter Brandon Marshall recorded a portion of the disruption: Seconds after Rep. Pody started speaking about the proposed marriage bill, people in the audience repeated "pull the bill" @NC5 pic.twitter.com/58IdJ8OlGU — Brandon Marshall (@NC5_BMarshall) February 15, 2017   Via Humphrey of the Hill: A press conference State Rep. Mark Pody, R-Lebanon, and Sen. Mae Beavers, R-Mount Juliet, was first disrupted by protesters, then cancelled on Wednesday afternoon. Some of the protesters then followed the legislators into a Legislative Plaza hallway, confronting them with slogans and critical commentary, until Beavers and Pody were escorted from the Plaza by state troopers. The Wilson County lawmakers had announced in an email to media they would “discuss HB888/SB771 (Bathroom Bill) and HB892/SB752 (Defense of Natural Marriage Act)” at the news conference. The “bathroom bill” would requires transgender persons to use the rest room designated for their birth gender. The “Defense of Natural Marriage Act, according to the summary on the legislative website, “states the policy of Tennessee to defend natural marriage…

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State Senator Jim Tracy Introduces Bill to Voluntarily Put Photo IDs on EBT Cards

Tennessee Star Staff

State Sen. Jim Tracy (R-Shelbyville) has proposed legislation to put photo IDs on Electronic Benefit Transfer cards. The bill, SB 0411, “authorizes a voluntary photo identification electronic benefit card (EBT) program for the food stamp program” and makes “trafficking in EBT cards” an offense, according to the summary provided at the Tennessee General Assembly website.   “EBT cards enable eligible people to receive cash assistance, which is stored online in a computer database and accessed electronically at stores by reusable plastic cards. Legislation would require the state to set up the program,” the Murfreesboro Post reports:   Not only will the use of photo IDs improve “integrity” for the assistance program, Tracy says, “It protects benefits for those who are legally and legitimately receiving them. At the same time, it helps detect criminal activity in EBT trafficking cases where cards are sold for cash or drugs, or when multiple cards are in the possession of an individual illegally. Tennessee has more than a million SNAP recipients, costing about $2 billion in federal funds each year. The legislation, which is modeled after laws passed in Maine and Massachusetts, would inform benefit recipients of the program when benefits are recertified. “[H]aving the…

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Tennessee Watchdog: Eleven Tennessee Utilities Squander Taxpayer Money on Broadband

Tennessee Star Staff

This article is reprinted with permission from the Tennessee Watchdog. By Chris Butler February 13, 2017 More than 200 municipal broadband networks in the U.S. have placed taxpayer money in jeopardy, and 11 of those networks are in Tennessee, a new report from the Taxpayers Protection Alliance says. The Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit unveiled a graphic this week pinpointing the locations of those networks. “Government-owned (i.e. taxpayer-funded) network projects have needlessly reduced resources available to help more pressing needs such as improving education, infrastructure and public safety,” according to a TPA press release. “These networks also unfairly compete against private businesses. Worst of all, these projects have proven to put taxpayer dollars at risk, leaving hardworking constituents to foot the bill, often at a steep cost.” Among the networks listed in Tennessee: • Memphis Networx, which, the TPA said, Memphis Light, Gas and Water created in 1999 and “was a financial drain on taxpayers.” “In 2007, with the Internet experiment on the verge of bankruptcy, Memphis Networx was sold off for $11.5 million,” the TPA said. That, the TPA added, was a loss of $20.5 million on the city’s $32 million total investment in the project. • E Plus Broadband, created…

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Former Lt. Gov. Ron Ramsey: Appearance on WWTN Gas Tax Town Hall ‘Perfectly Acceptable Under All Tennessee Laws’

Tennessee Star Staff

“My appearance on the WWTN Gas Tax Town Hall program, and my statements and comments during the program, were perfectly acceptable under all Tennessee laws and in complete conformance with the rules and regulations of the Tennessee Ethics Commission,” former Lt. Gov. Ron Ramsey tells The Tennessee Star in an emailed statement on Tuesday. Last week The Star broke the news that Ramsey is a paid consultant to the Tennessee Coalition on Transportation, a group that supports Gov. Haslam’s proposed gas tax. Here’s the full statement from former Lt. Gov. Ramsey:   I am more than completely confident that I have followed all the rules regarding a retired elected official in Tennessee. I have consulted with legal counsel, who advised me in great detail regarding the limitations in Tennessee’s ethics laws on my activities and my right to speak my mind as protected by the free speech protections in the Tennessee and U.S. Constitutions – the same rights enjoyed by every other person in this great state and wonderful nation. I have followed the laws and rules to the letter. I have said publicly many times that repairing our outdated transportation infrastructure funding formula was about the only important piece…

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Bradley County Commissioner Proposes Resolution of Disapproval for Gov. Haslam’s Gas Tax Increase

Tennessee Star Staff

“Bradley County Commissioner Dan Rawls is proposing a resolution that would express the Commission’s disapproval of Gov. Bill Haslam’s proposed gas tax hike,” the Cleveland Banner reports:   Rawls’ resolution says the increase would be “a further tax burden on Bradley County residents that can least afford the additional tax.” “I always think it’s a better idea to cut spending than to raise taxes,” Rawls said. “The state hasn’t done that great a job. Gov. Haslam has overseen the largest increase in the size of government of any Tennessee governor.” He said although the state is portraying “a big problem with roads,” the state “thought it was a good idea” to spend $123 million on a new state library. “I don’t see how that’s good fiscal policy,” Rawls said. Not all Bradley County Commissioners think passing a resolution opposing the gas tax increase is the right action for the County Commission to undertake. “Commissioner Milan Blake said he had been talking to state legislators who are telling him ‘to wait on something like this [passing a resolution opposing the gas tax increase] right now,’ ” the Banner reported. “Vice Chairman Jeff Yarber said he agreed with opposing the increase, but…

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Freshman State Rep. Mark Lovell Resigns

Tennessee Star Staff

NewsChannel 5 is reporting that State Rep. Mark Lovell (R-Shelby County) has resigned, just weeks into his first session as a member of the Tennessee House of Representatives:   Rep. Mark Lovell, a fair and carnival operator from suburban Shelby County submitted his resignation letter on Tuesday. Lovell says in the letter that the elected position ended up being more demanding than he expected and that he needs more time to devote to his business interests and family. Lovell defeated longtime incumbent Curry Todd in the Republican primary in August. Todd had been arrested in the days before the vote on charges of stealing Lovell’s yard signs. Todd, who was bailed out on the eve of the election by Lovell, is still awaiting trial. Republican Rep. Leigh Wilburn of Somerville was the last lawmaker to resign in 2015. Lovell was elected in November after easily defeating Todd in a contentious primary. His service in this session in The General Assembly, which began its current session the second week of January, may be the shortest in the history of the state. The reason for his departure is the subject of much speculation. Democrats have already called for an investigation. The Tennessee…

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State Rep. Mark Pody: ‘I Don’t Believe the 7 Cents Gas Tax is Going to Go Anywhere’

Tennessee Star Staff

State Rep. Mark Pody (R-Lebanon) told Ralph Bristol on 99.7 FM WWTN’s Nashville Morning News on Tuesday that Gov. Haslam’s proposal to increase the gas tax by 7 cents per gallon to fund road construction is dead-on-arrival in the State House of Representatives. “I don’t believe the 7 cents gas tax is going to go anywhere,” Pody told Bristol. “To be clear, you don’t think the governor’s full proposal, as is, will make it out of the House?” Bristol asked. “If it’s going to say gas tax on cars, I don’t think it’s going to go anywhere,” Pody responded. “Is that a survey or a hunch?” Bristol pressed the question further with Pody, who has his own alternative to the governor’s proposal. “If I have to run my proposal [through the Transportation Subcommittee], I have to know where the votes are,” Pody told Bristol. “I don’t think the votes are there for the governor’s proposal,” Pody said. “Right now I don’t think the governor’s plan would have the votes to get out of the House,” Pody said. Pody praised Gov. Haslam for bringing the issue of road tax funding up for consideration by the General Assembly. “I’m glad that the…

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Similar To Haslam, Democrats Want to Increase Gas Tax 5 Cents Per Gallon But Also Want Sales Tax Revenue for Mass Transit

Tennessee Star Staff

Two leading Democrats in the Tennessee General Assembly support the main element of Gov. Haslam’s plan to fund road construction by increasing the state tax on gasoline. For State Rep. John Ray Clemmons (D-Nashville) and State Sen. Sara Kyle (D-Memphis), however, it’s a matter of degree.   While Gov. Haslam wants to increase the tax on gas by 7 cents per gallon, these Democrats want to increase it by 5 cents per gallon. As for the diesel tax, Democrats would increase it 9 cents per gallon, 3 fewer than the 12 cents per gallon increase Gov. Haslam has proposed. The Democrat gas tax proposal has a great deal in common with Gov. Haslam’s proposal, and very little in common with the Republican alternative to Haslam’s plan. That alternative, known as the Hawk Plan, would fund road construction by reallocation 0.25 percent of the sales tax, while not raising gas taxes. Like Gov. Haslam’s proposal, the Democrats want gas taxes to increase automatically every year. While Haslam simply proposes indexing the annual increase to the rate of inflation, Clemmons and Kyle want a more complex indexing formula, based on: (1) The state’s population growth rate, multiplied by seventy-five percent (75%); and…

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Commentary: Tennessee’s Civil Asset Forfeiture Laws Must Be Reformed Now

David Nance

The United States Constitution, specifically the 5th Amendment, states that we shall not be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law. Tennessee’s current laws regarding civil asset forfeiture include allowing money to be confiscated from people based solely on suspicion, with no evidence of wrong doing at all. So if you’re pulled over in Tennessee, do your best to look innocent and broke; emphasis on broke. Tennessee legislators need a refresher on the U.S. Constitution, or they may just need to read the constitution for their first time. Should a suspicious policeman really meet the threshold of due process of law? Only in the Twilight Zone or some third world dictatorship. When a police officer’s job depends on how much he is able to confiscate, which is the case in some police organizations in Tennessee, officers tend to become the suspicious type. Innocent until proven guilty might occasionally still work for us, but not for our cash. Many times money is confiscated from people by police with the person having his property seized never being charged with a crime at all. People having only a few thousand dollars seized might well find it more expensive to…

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Trump Administration Files Brief Advocating Hearing on Executive Order Before Full Panel of 9th Circuit

Tennessee Star Staff

Editor’s Note: Attorney General Jeff Sessions now runs the Department of Justice, which filed this brief on Monday. In a filing to a Seattle federal court on Monday, the Department of Justice suggested it would not immediately turn to the U.S. Supreme Court to ask for the Trump administration’s travel moratorium to be reinstated after an appeals court dealt a blow to it last week. In the filing, Acting Assistant Attorney General Chad Readler…

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New Survey: Majority of Tennessee Small Business Owners Oppose Haslam’s Gas Tax Increase

Tennessee Star Staff

Fifty-five percent of “Tennessee members of the National Federation of Independent Business [NFIB], the nation’s leading small-business association,” oppose Gov. Haslam’s gas tax increase proposal to fund road construction, the NFIB said in a statement released on Monday. “NFIB’s policy positions are based on the direct input of our members,” Jim Brown, state director of NFIB, said in the statement: When asked if they support or oppose a proposed seven-cent increase in the gas tax and 12-cent increase in the diesel tax, 55 percent of NFIB members responding to the survey oppose, 40 percent support, and 5 percent are undecided. Respondents were more definitive about the proposal to “index” future gas tax increases to changes in the Consumer Price Index, Brown said. Seventy-five percent of respondents oppose, while 19 percent support and 5 percent are undecided. “Small business owners . . . are clearly opposed to indexing because they believe it would bypass future legislatures and increase revenues automatically without making the case for specific infrastructure needs,” Brown said. Brown said a few parts of the proposal registered modest or mixed support. Sixty-two percent support the proposed $100 annual fee on electric vehicles and increasing charges on vehicles using alternative…

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Local Group With Alleged Ties to George Soros Protests MTSU College Republican Event

Chris Alto

“Rutherford Indivisible” staged its first protest outside of a town hall meeting organized by the MTSU College Republicans on Thursday. The Capital Research Center, a conservative think tank that investigates nonprofits has alleged that at least three of Indivisible’s principals “have ties to organizations funded by George Soros.” U.S. Rep. Diane Black, and state legislators Sen. Jim Tracy, Rep. Bryan Terry and Rep. Mike Sparks were the invited panel.  Joining in the protest was the Green Party, Planned Parenthood and MTSU’s College Democrats. Members of the audience got a little heated at times with questions and comments about the planned repeal and/or replacement of Obamacare. “Indivisible” makes no pretense about its goal as posted on its website: A PRACTICAL GUIDE FOR RESISTING THE TRUMP AGENDA Former congressional staffers reveal best practices for making Congress listen. The Guide, authored by self-described progressives intending to stop President Trump, provides what is claimed as insider information about everything from “How to Have a Successful Town Hall” to how to start organizing for action, to scripted messages on everything from “Oppose Steve Bannon’s Role on the National Security Council” and “Combat Donald Trump’s Arch-Conservative SCOTUS Pick.” Seventy-three Indivisible affiliated groups are listed within 100…

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BREAKING REPORT: Michael Flynn Has Resigned as National Security Adviser to President Trump

Tennessee Star Staff

NBC News is reporting that Michael Flynn has resigned as President Trump’s National Security Adviser: Michael Flynn abruptly resigned as President Donald Trump’s national security adviser Monday night, hours after it was learned that the Justice Department informed the White House that it believed he could be subject to blackmail. Retired Army Gen. Keith Kellogg, a top policy adviser for Trump’s presidential campaign, was appointed acting national security adviser, the White House said in a statement announcing Flynn’s replacement. Kellogg, 72, a former commander of the fabled 82nd Airborne Division, was chief operating officer of the Western coalition in Baghdad, Iraq, after the U.S.-led invasion in 2003. A senior administration official told NBC News that Kellogg was under consideration for the permanent job, along with retired Navy Vice Adm. Robert Harward, former deputy commander of U.S. Joint Forces Command, and former CIA Director David Petraeus.  

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State Senator Mark Green Would Take All State Funding from ‘Sanctuary Cities’

Tennessee Star Staff

State Senator Mark Green (R-Clarskville) appeared on 99.7 FM WWTN’s Nashville Morning News with Ralph Bristol on Monday. Ralph Bristol provided this report on his interview with Green to The Tennessee Star, which we reprint here with permission. By Ralph Bristol A state senator, running for governor, is demanding Tennessee cities toe the line on federal immigration laws, or risk all their state funding. Sen. Mark Green, a Republican who represents Clarksville, has introduced a bill he says would “put teeth” in Tennessee’s existing law that bans cities from adopting so-called “sanctuary city” policies – which means, generally, they refuse to cooperate with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) authorities in ICE’s efforts to deportation illegal immigrants in their cities, including their jails. Appearing on Nashville’s Morning News, Green insisted his bill does not go beyond existing state and federal cooperation orders, but rather only enacts a punishment for disobeying existing law. Green said he was inspired by comments made after the election by Nashville Mayor Megan Barry, who joined other Democrat sanctuary or sanctuary-oriented Mayors who have vowed to defy Trump’s threat to remove federal funding from true sanctuary cities. Green stopped short of accusing Barry of violating the law,…

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Articles of Impeachment for Federal District Judge James Robart Proposed in Petition

Tennessee Star Staff

  Conservative HQ launched a petititon to impeach Federal District Judge James L. Robart of the Western District of Washington on Monday. Robart granted the temporary restraining order halting President Trump’s executive order that temporary blocked the issuance of visas to seven Middle Eastern countries and also temporarily banned the arrival of refugees from any country. Conservative HQ’s editor George Rasley lays out the case:   The articles of impeachment lay out four charges against Judge Robart: 1. Judge James Robart ignored the Constitution, statute and case law and substituted his personal whim to justify his arbitrary and capricious ruling restraining the President’s Executive Order 13,769. Article I, Section 8, Clause 4 of the Constitution and unanimous case law since our Founding gives Congress plenary power over immigration and the authority to delegate power to the executive specifically to reduce immigration. The president also has war powers to shut off immigration from states whose citizens present a clear and present danger to the national security of the United States. 2. By finding that President Trump’s Executive Order 13,769 imposed an unconstitutional religious test on potential refugees Judge James Robart ignored the plain language of Section 8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(42)(A) and substituted…

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State Rep. Andy Holt Supports the Hawk Plan, Opposes Haslam Gas Tax Increase

Tennessee Star Staff
Tennessee Star - Rep. Andy Holt

State Rep. Andy Holt “told a group of local citizens Saturday that Gov. Bill Haslam’s proposed gasoline tax increase is unnecessary and ill-timed and that there are better ways to fund road improvements,” the Post-Intelligencer reports. “Holt argued against the Improving Manufacturing, Public Roads and Opportunities for a Vibrant Economy or IMPROVE Act, introduced last month by Haslam,” according to the Post-Intelligencer. “I’m going to get a higher fuel tax and higher increase in goods and services, and a very small decrease in my groceries,” Holt, a Dresden resident, told the crowd, adding: If you extrapolate all the projects that have been approved by the legislature, and you factor in a highly increased amount of construction costs, and you put that out over a thirty-year period, and you then extrapolate what all those cost increases will be over time, then you can get to eleven billion dollars,” he said. We’re rated consistently as having the second-, third- or fourth-best road system in the United States of America . . . I think that’s a far cry from a crippling catastrophe that is looming within the next couple of weeks.” We’re in a surplus environment this year. That doesn’t mean we…

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Trump-Hating Teacher Fired in Rutherford County

Wendy Wilson

A substitute teacher in Rutherford County is no longer allowed to work in the district because of inflammatory comments he made on social media about President Trump. He joins a growing list of educators across the country in trouble for engaging in or allowing inappropriate commentary about the recent election. The local teacher is accused of writing on Facebook that “the only good Trump supporter is a dead Trump supporter,” according to WZTV Fox 17. David Colin is said to have made the comments in a post at 9:29 a.m. on Nov. 9. Rutherford County Schools took action after receiving messages about Colin on Wednesday. The district contracts with Professional Educational Services Group (PESG) to provide substitute teachers. The district informed PESG that Colin is no longer permitted to be substitute in Rutherford County. PESG is conducting an internal investigation. An art teacher in Dallas, Texas was placed on administrative leave in January for posting a video on social media depicting her in a classroom shooting a water gun at an image of President Trump and yelling “Die!” There is laughter in the background but it is unknown whether students were in the classroom at the time, according to The Dallas Morning News.…

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Gov. Haslam Stumbles in Smith County: ‘The Only Reason Government Exists At All Is to Buy Things for the People That They Can’t Buy for Themselves’

Tennessee Star Staff

“The only reason government exists at all is to buy things for the people that they can’t buy for themselves,” Gov. Haslam told the Smith County Rotary Club on Friday as he continued to promote his proposal to increase the gas tax by 7 cents per gallon. You can hear the governor say this at the 16:50 mark of this video, made available courtesy of The Smith County Insider. Social media across Tennessee lit up Friday and Saturday criticizing Haslam’s articulation of the classic Democrat view of the role of government. It was a statement of the sort Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Lyndon Johnson, and Hubert Humphrey would have been delighted to claim as their own. Former State Rep. Joe Carr captured the reaction of many opponents to this surprising Haslam statement on his Facebook page. “Wrong! The reason government exists is to ‘secure our unalienable Rights granted to us by God’”, the former State Rep. posted. “I am sure Governor Haslam actually believes this statement along with 90% of the Tennessee General Assembly,” Carr added. Gov. Haslam may not be aware of just how tone-deaf this statement sounds. It is a lightning rod to those who see his proposed gas…

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Stephen Miller, Trump Adviser: ‘No Such Thing as Judicial Supremacy’

Tennessee Star Staff

President Trump is “pursuing all options” in the wake of an appeals court decision against his extreme vetting order, White House policy adviser Stephen Miller said Sunday, arguing the three-judge panel got it all wrong. “The president’s powers here are beyond question,” Mr. Miller told Fox News Sunday. California’s 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals last…

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Christie Defends Trump Immigration Raids Deporting Illegal Aliens

Tennessee Star Staff

TRENTON — Gov. Chris Christie on Sunday defended President Donald Trump’s order for weekend immigration raids in six states in which unauthorized immigrants without any violent criminal past were deported along with gang members being targeted. The president on Sunday tweeted that the immigration and customs enforcement raids cracking down on the estimated 11 million immigrants…

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Two Legislators Push for In-State Tuition for Illegal Immigrant Students

Chris Alto

Florida and Texas are moving to repeal in-state college tuition for illegal immigrant students, including grantees of Obama’s Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. In Tennessee, two legislators will try a third time to give illegal immigrant students the in-state tuition benefit. In 2014, Sen. Todd Gardenhire (R-Chattanooga) and Rep. Richard Floyd (R-Chattanooga) introduced the first bill, SB1951/HB1992 that tried to give in-state college tuition to illegal immigrant students living in Tennessee. The bill was shelved and Rep. Floyd retired at the end of that legislative session. In 2015, Sen. Gardenhire and Rep. Mark White (R-Memphis) introduced SB612/HB675. During the bill’s debate they identified DACA grantees as the intended beneficiaries. The “Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals” was a unilateral directive issued by President Obama that granted a renewable two-year deferred deportation, work permit and social security number to individuals meeting the program’s criteria.  DACA did not grant legal immigration status. In committee Rep. White described DACA applicants as children brought to our state “when they were 2,3,4,5,6,7 years of age and they have grown up here due to no fault of their own.” According to the Department of Homeland Security and the U.S. Customs & Immigration (USCIS), DACA applicants must have…

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Judge in the Ninth Circuit Asks for Full Panel Vote to Reconsider Trump Executive Order Decision

Tennessee Star Staff

The unconstitutional decision by a three judge panel of the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals to uphold Judge James Robart’s temporary restraining order halting the implementation of President Trump’s executive order on refugees and immigration may not stand. “A judge on this Court made a sua sponte request that a vote be taken as to whether the order issued by the three judge motions panel on February 9, 2017 should be reconsidered en banc,” Chief Judge Sidney Thomas wrote in a document filed with the court late Friday. “A sua sponte en banc call having been made, the parties are instructed to file simultaneous briefs setting forth their respective positions on whether this matter should be reconsidered en banc,’ Judge Thomas added. Now that Jeff Sessions has been confirmed as Attorney General, it’s a good bet the briefs and arguments presented by the Department of Justice will be of a higher quality of those made before Judge Robarts and the three judge panel of the 9th District. As for the plaintiffs, the state of Washington and the state of Minnesota, they may find a full panel of the Ninth Circuit not quite as politicized as the three judge panel…

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The Judicial Coup Against President Trump Proceeding As Planned

Christina Botteri

by CHQ Staff February 10, 2017 Reprinted with permission from ConservativeHQ.com As we predicted in our column “The Judicial Coup Against President Trump [29]” the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has left in place Federal Judge James’ Robart’s anti-constitutional order suspending President Donald Trump’s Executive Order No. 13,769 pausing immigration from seven terrorist hotspots. The Executive Order is now headed to the Supreme Court where a 4 – 4 tie is expected to leave the order in place, much as a tie left in place Judge Andrew S. Hanen’s preliminary injunction shutting down President Obama’s Deferred Action for Parents of Americans and Lawful Permanent Residents program while the legal case filed by Texas and other states proceeded. The Obama administration appealed, and a divided three-judge panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit in New Orleans affirmed the injunction. When the Supreme Court split, Judge Hanen’s order remained in place while the case went forward. The Left was very strategic in filing the challenge to President Trump’s Executive Order and its strategy is unfolding precisely as planned as Far-Left progressive judges in the Ninth Circuit substitute their liberal policies for the plain language of the Constitution and the laws passed by Congress. Legal scholars, including some liberals, have suggested an alternative, however. Harvard Law School professor emeritus…

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Fifteen Federal Judges Have Been Impeached by the House of Representatives

Tennessee Star Staff

Fifteen federal judges have been impeached since the Constitution was ratified in 1789, according to the Federal Judicial Center. Eight have been convicted, three have resigned prior to trial in the Senate, and four have been acquitted. The list includes one associate justice of the Supreme Court, thirteen federal district judges, and one commerce court judge. Here’s the full list, courtesy of the Federal Justice Center: Impeachments of Federal Judges John Pickering, U.S. District Court for the District of New Hampshire. Impeached by the U.S. House of Representatives on March 2, 1803, on charges of mental instability and intoxication on the bench; Convicted by the U.S. Senate and removed from office on March 12, 1804. Samuel Chase, Associate Justice, Supreme Court of the United States. Impeached by the U.S. House of Representatives on March 12, 1804, on charges of arbitrary and oppressive conduct of trials; Acquitted by the U.S. Senate on March 1, 1805. James H. Peck, U.S. District Court for the District of Missouri. Impeached by the U.S. House of Representatives on April 24, 1830, on charges of abuse of the contempt power; Acquitted by the U.S. Senate on January 31, 1831. West H. Humphreys, U.S. District Court for…

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EXCLUSIVE Grassroots Pundit Interview With Sponsor of Hawk Plan to Fund Roads by Reallocating Sales Tax

Tennessee Star Staff

In an exclusive interview with The Tennessee Star’s Grassroots Pundit, Laura and Kevin Baigert, on Capitol Hill Wednesday, State Rep. David Hawk (R-Greeneville) explained the details of his increasingly popular Hawk Plan to fund additional road construction by reallocating 0.25 percent of the state’s 7 percent sales tax. “We’ve had substantial over collections over the last two and a half years and looking at a third year in a row where we’re over collecting franchise and excise tax, over collecting sales tax collections. Saying that, there’s more money coming in than we had budgeted. Substantially more,” Hawk noted. Several estimates place the current annual surplus at about $950 million. Hawk explained that the 0.25 percent he wants to allocate comes from the 1 percent of the current 7 percent sales tax that is not specifically dedicated to particular state programs. “I found that the last time the legislature increased the sales tax in Tennessee it went from 6 percent to 7 percent in 2002,” Hawk told the Baigerts. ‘Those dollars [collected with that extra 1 percent added to the sales tax that year] were largely unaffiliated,” Hawk explained. “The 6 percent below had strings attached to them,” he continued. “There…

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