Month: May 2017

Sumner County Industrial Park Fight Between Developers and Residents Rages On

Tennessee Star Staff

  by Chris Butler The scuttlebutt in Sumner County says developers are bucking the will of the people to build a taxpayer-funded industrial park. As reported, County Executive Anthony Holt tried to use taxpayer money to buy land north of Gallatin near Dobbins Pike. Landowners aren’t happy. People who own land adjacent to those properties say an industrial park would disrupt their lives. As a result, Holt’s efforts to fund this park — with county money, at least — were unsuccessful, and county officials turned down at least $20 million in state grants. But, according to rumors, developers with influence want to take advantage of state taxpayers and revive the project. Developers are talking sweet to the property owners, away from the spotlight. County Commissioner Moe Taylor says he’s heard the tittle-tattle. “Something must be going on, or else this stuff wouldn’t keep coming up,” Taylor said. Holt, in a conversation with Tennessee Watchdog, dismissed the chatter. “People want to look for conspiracies,” he said. But evidence suggests this is more than gossip. According to a February story in the Tennessean, members of the county’s Industrial Development Board, including a developer named Danny Hale, want this park built. Board members…

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Elizabeth Thomas Did Not Go Willingly With Tad Cummins, Family Attorney Says

Tennessee Star Staff

Following reports that Elizabeth Thomas may have fled Tennessee willingly with Tad Cummins, her family’s lawyer said she absolutely did not go voluntarily. Cummins and Thomas were missing from Culleoka, Tennessee for 38 days before finally being located in a remote part of Northern California. The idea that Thomas may have left willingly was “amazingly absurd,”…

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Commentary: Jason Chaffetz’s Right: Where’s the Memo, James Comey?

Tennessee Star Staff
Tennessee Star

House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Jason Chaffetz, in a Thursday “Good Morning America” interview, wondered aloud where the now-famous James Comey memos were – and whether the fired FBI director really was going to release them for public viewing. These are good questions – ones that cut right through the labyrinth of speculation and…

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Trump Campaign Reports Fundraising Surge, Says Americans Still Stand With President

Tennessee Star Staff

President Trump’s campaign announced Thursday a record-breaking fundraising haul this week, saying it shows the American people stand with the president despite unrelenting attacks from the news media and political foes. The campaign website, DonaldJTrump.com, and the joint fundraising operation with the Republican National Committee took in more than $314,000 in contribution Wednesday, which is a…

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Immigration Arrests Jump Nearly 40 Percent Under Trump

Tennessee Star Staff

Immigration arrests climbed yet again in April as federal agents continued to track down both criminal and non-criminal aliens in far greater numbers over the first 100 days of the Trump administration than they did under former President Barack Obama a year ago. ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) deportation officers administratively arrested 41,318 illegal immigrants…

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Commentary: The FBI Must Investigate The Sophisticated Intelligence Operation To Destroy President Trump

Tennessee Star Staff

  by George Rasley, ConservativeHQ.com Editor Outside the Beltway and the Acela Corridor between Washington, DC and Boston, normal people who want their country and their President to succeed have been stunned by the recent attacks on President Trump for sharing with the Russians intelligence information on the Islamic State. While the establishment media and their Capitol Hill enablers have gone to great lengths to cover-up the fact that the Russians have borne a heavy toll of casualties in their battle against Islamist terrorists, that is not the most shocking element of this latest attack on President Trump and his constitutional authority to conduct American foreign and national security policy. The real story is that this is a sophisticated information campaign against the Trump government that is being conducted by Obama operatives inside and outside of the American national security and intelligence apparatus. Consider this from The Washington Post article on President Trump’s decision to share the laptop bomb intelligence with the Russians; “according to current and former U.S. officials… The information the president relayed had been provided by a U.S. partner through an intelligence-sharing arrangement considered so sensitive that details have been withheld from allies and tightly restricted even within…

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James Comey in Senate Hearings Earlier This Month: Higher-Ups Never Asked for Halt to FBI Investigations

Tennessee Star Staff
James Comey

James Comey, just-fired FBI director, said in a Senate hearing earlier this month that he’s never been asked by higher-ups to back off an investigation for political reasons – and that doing so would’ve been an eyebrow-raising “big deal.” The Q&A with Democrat Sen. Mazie Hirono didn’t name President Donald Trump’s name. But given the recent…

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Franklin Graham Draws Large Crowd in Clarksville

Wendy Wilson

  CLARKSVILLE, Tennessee–Thousands of people turned out in Clarksville Thursday evening to hear Franklin Graham say that America’s only hope is to turn back to God. The Christian evangelist spoke at the Liberty Park amphitheatre as part of his Decision America Tennessee Tour. He was in Chattanooga on Monday and will be in Jackson on Friday and Memphis on Sunday. Some people arrived more than two hours ahead of time to find good seats and more poured in later. “Wow, this is impressive,” Graham said as he surveyed the crowd while answering questions from the media before the start of the event. Graham told reporters that many Christians are being led astray today and that one of the reasons for that is they don’t know the Bible. Pastors need to get back to preaching straight from the Bible, from Genesis through Revelation, he said. “Read the Bible,” he said. “Know the word of God.” Graham said there is no special strategy for reaching people of different age groups. Everyone needs the same thing, and that’s the gospel message, he said. Neither political party in Washington, D.C., is capable of fixing the deep problems that afflict America, Graham said, emphasizing that…

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Nashville Chapter Of Achilles International Helps Disabled Athletes Meet Personal Goals

Wendy Wilson

Two years ago, Austin Crymes reached a milestone. A young man with cerebral palsy, he completed a 5-mile race, even though it took him four hours and 10 minutes using a cane in each hand to help him walk. As he neared the finish line, more than 20 others ran out cheering to cross the line with him. “I was crying happy tears,” recalled his mother Shawna Crymes. “That was a really big deal.” Crymes, now 25, is a member of the Nashville chapter of Achilles International, a nonprofit that pairs able-bodied runners with athletes with disabilities. The volunteers help the athletes participate in races in Nashville and around the country – races for people with disabilities and also those open to all. The Nashville chapter started five years ago. The athletes, who range in age from middle school years to more than 70 years old, have disabilities ranging from vision impairments and blindness to spina bifida and multiple sclerosis, among others. The volunteers guide them in ways to meet their needs during training exercises and races. Some athletes use prosthetic legs, hand cycles, walkers, braces or tethers. When Crymes participated in the 5-mile race two years ago, two guides met…

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Evangelist Franklin Graham Addresses Crowd of 2,000 in Chattanooga

David Tulis

By David Tulis / Noogaradio 1240 AM 92.7 FM CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. — Evangelist Franklin Graham spoke Monday in Chattanooga to a crowd of 2,000  that rallied in a park along the river as part of his Decision America tour through Tennessee. The son of famed evangelist Billy Graham presented the enthusiastic audience with a biblical analysis of the U.S. cultural decline, the fruits, he argued of de-Christianization of the country. Graham proposed Godly remedies for the country. Graham will be in Clarksville May 18, Jackson May 19 and Memphis May 21.  A rock band, the Afters, gave a popular flavor to the gathering with its thundering technical effects and appeals to emotion. The raising  of hand in the air, palms open to the sky, during the musical prelude indicated nearly everyone present was a practicing Christian. “Father, I pray that you would forgive the sins of our country, that you would heal our country, that you would bring us together spiritually, morally, politically at every level. But Father, it’s not going to happen unless we repent of our sins as a nation and turn to you and to your son, Jesus Christ,” Graham said. He prayed for “this community, the political…

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Duke Divinity School Professor To Resign After Facing Backlash For Criticizing Diversity Training

Wendy Wilson

A Duke Divinity School professor is resigning after facing backlash for his complaints about a training program featuring progressive teachings on race. Paul Griffiths, a professor of Catholic theology, will resign after the 2017-18 academic year because of disciplinary measures he’s up against, reports The Washington Times. After receiving an email sent to faculty encouraging attendance at the two-day anti-racism training in March, Griffiths responded by sending a mass email advising his colleagues not to attend. “I exhort you not to attend this training,” Griffiths wrote in a Feb. 6 email. “Don’t lay waste your time by doing so. It’ll be, I predict with confidence, intellectually flaccid: there’ll be bromides, cliches, and amen-corner rah-rahs in plenty. When (if) it gets beyond that, its illiberal roots and totalitarian tendencies will show.” He was swiftly condemned by administrators and colleagues on the Durham, North Carolina, campus who were in favor of the training. Valerie Cooper, associate professor of religion and society and black church studies, said the school’s treatment of Griffiths does not go against academic freedom because the progressive view of diversity is not open to debate. “Duke University has a clear statement in favor of diversity, equity, and inclusion,” Cooper wrote on…

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BREAKING: Roger Ailes Has Died

Tennessee Star Staff

  CNN is reporting that former Fox News CEO Roger Ailes has died: Roger Ailes, who transformed cable news and then American politics by building Fox News into a ratings powerhouse, died Thursday. He was 77. The death was announced by his family and reported on Fox News Channel. There was no immediate information on a cause of death. “I am profoundly sad and heartbroken to report that my husband, Roger Ailes, passed away this morning,” his wife, Elizabeth, said in a statement. “Roger was a loving husband to me, to his son Zachary, and a loyal friend to many. He was also a patriot, profoundly grateful to live in a country that gave him so much opportunity to work hard, to rise — and to give back.” Sean Hannity, a prime time host and longtime face of the network, said on Twitter: “Today America lost one of its great patriotic warriors.” Ailes started Fox News almost from scratch in 1996. With its slogan “Fair & Balanced,” the network grew into not just the cable news ratings leader but a profound influence on the right wing of American politics. Ailes was removed as head of Fox News in 2016, as…

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Wilson County Commissioner Announces Primary Run For Rep. Susan Lynn’s House District 57

Laura Baigert

  “It’s time to go against the status quo, and I hope to be the next Representative for the 57th District,” says Wilson County Commissioner, Dan Walker, as he announced his intention to run in the Republican primary for the 2018 election. Walker is the second to announce a run in the 2018 Republican primary for the 57th House District, a seat currently held by Rep. Susan Lynn (R-Mt. Juliet), joining Jeremy Hayes, who announced his intention to run on February 28 in an exclusive interview with The Tennessee Star. At the time of his announcement, Hayes cited Lynn’s support for Governor Haslam’s gas tax.  Lynn later denied support for the gas tax when Hayes challenged her to a debate, saying “I am not for the gas tax so there is nothing to debate.” On April 19, Rep. Lynn was one of 37 Republicans and 23 Democrats who voted for the gas-tax increase containing IMPROVE Act. Walker’s announcement states, “Dan is running on a small government approach, bringing with him a strong business acumen and military leadership to work for the great people of the 57th State District of Tennessee.”  A quote from Walker in the announcement states, I am…

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Donald Trump’s Intelligence Sharing with Russians Overhyped in Media, Officials Say

Tennessee Star Staff

Some of America’s top intelligence officials are expressing frustration at the wave of media hysteria that has greeted reports that President Trump may have shared sensitive intelligence with top Russian diplomats last week, with some saying a handful of news organizations are guilty of hyping what amounts to a nonstory. Critics of the story, which has…

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Senate Democrats Want to Make It Harder for Congress to Remove Regulations

Tennessee Star Staff

Democratic New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker wants to make it more difficult to remove government regulations through congressional review, Reuters reported Tuesday. President Donald Trump and the Republican-controlled Congress have repealed 14 regulations through the Congressional Review Act (CRA) since Jan. 20, but that is too fast for Booker. The untitled bill introduced Tuesday, temporarily called…

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Former FBI Director Robert Mueller Now Running Point On The Russia Investigation

Tennessee Star Staff

The Department of Justice (DOJ) announced Wednesday that former FBI Director Robert Mueller would oversee the ongoing investigation into possible collusion between Trump associates and Russian officials during last year’s general election. Mueller is a widely respected figure in Washington D.C. who has served in the administrations of Republican and Democratic presidents. He joined the Justice…

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Sumner County Residents Say Taxpayer-Funded Industrial Park Might Displace Them From Their Homes

Tennessee Star Staff

  by Chris Butler Sumner County Executive Anthony Holt hoped last year to use taxpayer money to buy land for a new industrial park. But the county already has such a park, in Gallatin, with lots of acreage left for future needs. A public outcry ensued, and Holt’s idea didn’t get far. But that doesn’t mean this story is over, and it doesn’t mean a fight isn’t brewing. Sumner County is about 40 miles northeast of Nashville. A group of landowners in Sumner’s rural farming areas say they had the most to lose because that park would have been built adjacent to their properties. Their property values, they went on, would have suffered. A nearby industrial park might have displaced them from their homes. The properties they own are small compared to those of their neighbors, who own large tracts of land awarded their ancestors by the U.S. government after the Revolutionary War. The smaller property owners said they believe Holt and other people of influence, especially developers, are working discretely to make the industrial park a reality. These property owners said the already existing Gallatin Industrial Park can fill whatever industrial needs the county has — and then some.…

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Commentary: Obama Holdovers Successfully Sabotaging Trump’s War Against ISIS

Tennessee Star Staff

  by George Rasley, ConservativeHQ.com Editor This week the Obama holdovers that have been foolishly allowed to remain in the White House and our national security and foreign policy departments scored a double victory in their ongoing coup against President Trump. And in the process of undermining the President they gravely undermined his strategy to defeat the Islamic State and its campaign of terrorism against the West. The first victory was to advance their effort to poison the relationship between the United States and Russia by revealing that the President, using his clear constitutional authority, had shared intelligence with the Russians about Islamic State plans to use laptop computer bombs against airliners. During the recent presidential campaign, then-candidate Donald Trump said on a number of occasions that one of the goals of his strategy against the Islamic State would be to engage the Russians more actively in the fight. And, in their faux outrage at the President’s decision to share intelligence with the Russians the Leftwing media and their enablers on Capitol Hill seem to have forgotten that it is the Russians who have suffered one of the most devastating Islamic State airliner bombings. Metrojet flight 9268 was just 23 minutes…

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Fmr. Asst. FBI Director: ‘Professional Team of Subversives’ Out to Get Trump

Tennessee Star Staff

Former FBI Assistant Director James Kallstrom said President Donald Trump’s administration is “fighting a very professional team of subversives” who “are not going to quit” and are out to bring down the president, during an interview Wednesday on “The Laura Ingraham Show.” Kallstrom said the administration is combatting a highly coordinated “resistance” that is “probably operating…

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Seven Republican Candidates For Governor To Speak At Rutherford County Event

Wendy Wilson

  Republican candidates for Tennessee governor will speak at this year’s Reagan Day Dinner sponsored by the Rutherford County GOP. The lineup for the May 25 event will include seven “announced and expected Republican gubernatorial candidates,” according to promotional material. They include businessmen Randy Boyd and Bill Lee, Congresswoman Diane Black, State Senators Mark Green (R-Clarksville), Mark Norris (R-Collierville) and Mae Beavers (R-Mt. Juliet), and Speaker of the State House of Representatives Beth Harwell (R-Nashville). Only Boyd and Lee have announced to date. Part of the mission of local chapters of the Republican Party is to inform voters about candidates running for office, said Donna Barrett, chair of the Rutherford County GOP. “What better way than to have the candidates present at functions where we can personally hear where they stand on issues?” Barrett told The Tennessee Star. On the most important state issues in 2017, the gas tax increase included in the IMPROVE Act passed by the Tennessee General Assembly and signed by Gov. Haslam, the seven announced and expected Republican gubernatorial candidates hold positions that range from support to opposition to no comment so far. State Senator Mark Norris and Speaker of the House Beth Harwell voted yes…

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Faith: Verse of the Day for Thursday, May 18

Dana Hunsinger Gill
Tennessee Star - Verse of the Day

  VERSE OF THE DAY Be blessed and be a blessing May 18, Thursday Ephesians 6:10-18 10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on the full armor of God,so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13 Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. 18 And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.

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Police Chief Steve Anderson Rebukes District Attorney’s Office For ‘Misstatements’ About Handling Of Officer Shooting

Wendy Wilson

Police Chief Steve Anderson has slammed the Nashville district attorney’s office for criticizing the police department’s handling of the Feb. 10 fatal shooting of an armed black man by a white officer acting in self-defense. In a report and at a press conference last week, officials with the district attorney’s office criticized the language the Metro Nashville Police Department used in a report and for supposedly concluding only several hours after the incident that the shooting was justifiable and saying the investigation was complete. While District Attorney Glenn Funk concluded that Officer Josh Lippert did act in self-defense in shooting Jocques Scott Clemmons, the report released by his office said the police department contributed to an appearance of bias in the case, which provoked a strong reaction in the community and raised questions of fairness. WKRN News 2 reported that in a letter Monday to Deputy District Attorney Amy Hunter, who spoke at the May 11 press conference, Anderson said his department had provided the district attorney’s office in advance with an explanation of the language used in the police report, adding that police follow guidelines from the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation. Anderson said Hunter’s statement at the press conference, taken…

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Tennessee Human Rights Commission Compliance Director Charged With Child Sex Crimes

Wendy Wilson

A compliance director for the Tennessee Human Rights Commission has been charged with sexual exploitation of minors. Christopher Matthew Stephenson, 42, is accused of accessing child pornography on the social networking website Tumblr using an IP address registered to his Antioch address, according to a Metro Nashville Police Department news release. Police obtained a search warrant and seized his electronic devices. Sexual images of minors were found on the equipment, the news release said. Police were acting on a tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. Stephenson surrendered for booking Tuesday on a sealed grand jury indictment charging him with two counts of sexual exploitation of minors and one count of aggravated sexual exploitation of minors. The two sexual exploitation counts allege that Stephenson possessed sexual images of children.  The aggravated sexual exploitation count alleges that he electronically distributed the material.  He is not accused of producing child pornography. Stephenson is being held on a $500,000 bond.  He will be soon be arraigned in criminal court. The Tennessee Human Rights Commission is an independent state agency created in 1963 to encourage, promote and advise the public of their human rights, according to its website. The commission became an enforcement…

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DiGenova: What Comey Memo Claims Trump Said in Meeting ‘Is Not an Obstruction’

Tennessee Star Staff

Former U.S. Attorney Joseph diGenova said President Donald Trump’s conversation with former FBI Director James Comey about the investigation into former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn doesn’t “rise to the level” of the “obstruction of justice,” during an interview Wednesday on “The Laura Ingraham Show.” DiGenova, a former U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia in…

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Jeff Hartline Commentary: Constitutional Carry Seems To Be On NRA Priority List Everywhere But Tennessee

Tennessee Star Staff

  For the past 146 years, the National Rifle Association has touted itself as the defender of the 2nd Amendment in America. Their efforts in education, mentoring and lobbying have produced good results nationwide. Their celebrity supporters have given credence to the mission to advance firearms ownership and to peel back laws that restrict the ability of law-abiding citizens to “keep and bear arms”. For their efforts and successes, we commend them. But we are curious about their efforts in the area of pushing states to adopt “permitless” legislation, also known as Constitutional Carry (CC). Constitutional Carry, also known in the past as “Vermont Carry” after the state that has allowed its citizens to keep and bear arms without a State “permit” since 1796, is a policy that essentially claims the 2nd Amendment to the U.S. Constitution is a law-abiding citizen’s “permit”. This significant statement incorporated into our Constitution recognizes the God-given right of citizens to defend themselves against potential citizen threats but, most specifically, against a tyrannical government. In the past three decades, many states have acted on their own to reclaim this right for their citizens through the adoption of laws that allowed law-abiding citizens to arm themselves…

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Trump Tax Plan Eyes Cut to Deduction for High-Tax States That Subsidizes California and New York, Penalizes Tennessee

Tennessee Star Staff
Tennessee Star

President Donald Trump’s tax plan, a broad and general plan that would make supply-siders such as Ronald Reagan and Jack Kemp very happy, could be held up by a number of details that are making some Republicans nervous. One is the elimination of an income-tax deduction for high-tax states such as New York and California. “We’re…

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Commentary: Turkey’s Erdogan Is No Ally Of America

Tennessee Star Staff

  by George Rasley, ConservativeHQ.com Editor Yesterday, President Trump met with Turkey’s Islamist President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. You will hear a lot in the establishment media, and maybe even some from the White House, talk about what an important “ally” Turkey is to the United States. Don’t believe it. It is true that Turkey is part of NATO and was once part of our bulwark against the old communist Soviet Union, but those days are long past. Today, Turkey’s government is part of the Islamist assault on the West and President Erdogan is one of the Muslim world’s leading advocates of cultural jihad and hijra – Muslim invasion by immigration. On April 2, 2016, a gigantic Ottoman style of mosque was opened in Lanham, Maryland by President Erdogan. The mosque, according to Turkish officials, is “one of the largest Turkish mosques built outside Turkey.” Funds to build it, as reported by the Turkish pro-government newspaper, Sabah, came from Turkey’s state-run Presidency of Religious Affairs, known as the Diyanet, as well as Turkish-American non-profit organizations. The mosque is actually part of a larger complex, commonly referred to as “Maryland kulliye.” A kulliye, as such Islamic compounds were called in Ottoman times,…

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Pentecostal Church in North Carolina Town Converted to a Mosque

Wendy Wilson

  A former Pentecostal church in the small North Carolina town of Smithfield became a mosque on Saturday. Mosque organizer Ali Mohammad told the Raleigh News & Observer that there are plans for a worship and community center and a school. Smithfield is located in a rural county in the center of the state that is predominantly Christian. 1950s American film star Ava Gardner was born near Smithfield, which is now the location of the Ava Gardner Museum. Local Christian leaders were invited to a ceremony at the new Islamic Center of Smithfield on Saturday, where mosque organizers planned to give them crosses removed from the building’s steeple and facade. “We want to be friendly with all our neighbors and let them know we’re there,” said Mohammad, describing Islam as a “peaceful” religion that “teaches us to love our neighbor and be friendly with everyone.” As in most mainstream news stories featuring similar claims about the nature of Islam, Mohammad’s description was left unchallenged by the News & Observer despite continuing acts of violence around the world committed in the name of Islam and the persecution of Christian communities in the Middle East to the point of near extinction. Pastor Jim Melnyk…

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Arkansas Approves Final Plans For Ten Commandments Monument At Capitol

Wendy Wilson

An Arkansas commission has approved a privately-funded display of the Ten Commandments on the grounds of the state Capitol. The Capitol Arts and Grounds Commission voted Thursday to approve the monument, which weighs more than 6,000 pounds and is more than 6 feet tall, according to the Associated Press. Last week’s approval was largely a formality. In 2015, the Arkansas General Assembly passed legislation allowing a display of the Ten Commandments to mark their influence in American law, but at no expense to the state. The Arkansas-based American History and Heritage Foundation raised more than $26,000 for the monument, which is set to be installed next month. “This is part of who we are, it’s history,” Republican state Sen. Jason Rapert told reporters at the Capitol. Rapert sponsored the 2015 legislation in the General Assembly. The monument is a replica of one at the Texas Capitol that was upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court in 2005. Even so, the American Civil Liberties Union of Arkansas has threatened to sue.

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Consensus Grows Trump Acted Appropriately, Leakers Broke Law

Tennessee Star Staff

National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster on Tuesday reiterated that President Donald Trump did nothing wrong in sharing sensitive information about the Islamic State terrorist organization with a pair of Russian diplomats. McMaster fielded questions from reporters for the first time since The Washington Post reported Monday that Trump shared classified information in a White House meeting…

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Franklin Graham To Host Event In Clarksville On Thursday

Wendy Wilson

Christian evangelist Franklin Graham will be in Clarksville on Thursday as part of his Decision America Tennessee Tour. He kicked off the tour Monday in Chattanooga and after stopping in Clarksville, will be in Jackson on Friday and Memphis on Sunday. “Thousands of churches and tens of thousands of people are excited to come together this May to pray for their communities in the Volunteer State,” said Lawrence Swicegood, director of Decision America Tennessee, in a story on the website for the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association. Franklin Graham is the son of Billy Graham. Each event will feature a time of praise and worship as well as special musical performances. Dove Award-winning singer-songwriter Jeremy Camp will join the tour in Clarksville, Jackson and Memphis. Each stop will also include worship music from guitarist and singer Dennis Agajanian, who has traveled the world alongside Billy Graham and Franklin Graham. This fall, Franklin Graham plans to tour Texas, stopping in seven cities. Last year, he traveled to all 50 state capitals as part of his Decision America Tour that encouraged people to pray, vote and engage in the political process. His new efforts are aimed at reaching people in smaller and mid-sized cities.…

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Kentucky Appeals Court Upholds Printer’s Right To Refuse To Make Pro-Gay T-Shirts

Wendy Wilson

A Kentucky appeals court last week upheld the free speech rights of a Lexington print shop owner who refused to make gay pride t-shirts because the message conflicted with his Christian beliefs. The ruling “is a victory for printers and other creative professionals who serve all people but cannot promote all messages,” said senior counsel Jim Campbell in a news release issued by Alliance Defending Freedom, which has represented print shop owner Blaine Adamson in court. “It is also a victory for all Americans because it reassures us all that, no matter what you believe, the law can’t force you to express a message in conflict with your deepest convictions.” In 2012, the Gay and Lesbian Services Organization (GLSO) asked Adamson’s business, Hands On Originals, to print t-shirts promoting a local gay pride festival hosted by the group. Adamson declined to make the shirts but offered to refer the GLSO to another printer. The group eventually was able to get the shirts made for free but still filed a complaint with the Lexington-Fayette Urban County Human Rights Commission, which said Adamson had violated a fairness ordinance and ordered him to make the shirts and attend diversity training. Alliance Defending Freedom appealed…

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Before Lois Lerner Targeted the Tea Party, She Helped the Clinton Foundation

Tennessee Star Staff

Six years before she became the central figure in the IRS’s illegal targeting of Tea Party tax-exemption applicants, Lois Lerner cleared the way for the Clinton Foundation’s transformation from building a presidential library to being a $2 billion global political influence peddling machine, according to documents obtained by The Daily Caller News Foundation’s Investigative Group. She…

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Former Lt. Gov. Ron Ramsey Says ‘There Was Some Punishment Levied Against Some House Members’ for Voting No on Gas Tax

Chris Alto

During a press conference in Blountville, former Lt. Governor Ron Ramsey said that, “[w]hen I was in the legislature, let me assure you, actions had consequences,” as the reason why none of the new transportation funding is headed to Washington County. Ramsey summed it up this way: “There was no doubt, in the end, that there was some punishment levied against some House members on funding. Not against the Senate members, but against the House members.” For example, Ramsey said the Senate included funding for the Sullivan County Agriculture Center and East Tennessee State University, after which the House stripped away some of the funding. Rep. Timothy Hill, whose district covers Johnson County and parts of Carter and Sullivan Counties, voted against the gas tax. “Well, Timothy Hill’s district is the Ag Center. That’s one. I even made a phone call to say, ‘That this is kind of my pet project.’ It’s not up to the House members on that, but still they felt like it was time to ‘exact a pound of flesh’ was exactly the words that I heard” No TDOT projects were included for Johnson County which Hill also represents. Similarly, there were no TDOT projects listed for…

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Senator Bob Corker Repeats FAKE NEWS Narrative from Democrats and MSM, Calls for White House to ‘Bring Itself Under Control’

Tina LaFleur
Tennessee Star

  Tennessee’s Senator Bob Corker is once again singing from the Democrats’ hymnal. The chorus Corker joined on Monday is delivering the perennial favorite line for 2017, “the White House is in chaos,” with a dash of the debunked FAKE NEWS from the Washington Post, “White House/Russia classified intel disclosure.” “Obviously they’re in a downward spiral right now and they’ve got to figure out a way to come to grips with all that’s happening,” Corker told Bloomberg News on Monday. Bloomberg’s Sahil Kapur tweeted Corker’s additional statement that “The White House has got to do something soon to bring itself under control and in order.”   BOB CORKER: "The White House has got to do something soon to bring itself under control and in order. It's got to happen." — Sahil Kapur (@sahilkapur) May 15, 2017 But, as radio talk show host Laura Ingraham noted, the Washington Post “source” for the allegation “didn’t talk to ANY U.S. official” in attendance at the meeting in question: WH source with direct knowledge just told me @washingtonpost didn't talk to ANY U.S. official at mtg w/ Lavrov. "It's Fake News" — Laura Ingraham (@IngrahamAngle) May 15, 2017 and followed it up with Meaning of…

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AFP Sponsors ‘Day at the Capitol’ for Key Vote in Louisiana Gas Tax Hike Battle

Tina LaFleur
Tennessee Star

  If it seems like every other State in the Union has either raised their fuel tax – or is working on it – it’s because they are. A full 21 states’ legislatures have proposed raising the gas tax, and more of those proposals have been successful than not. California and Tennessee consumers will see a sharp increase in prices at the pump thanks to increased taxes; while South Carolina’s governor just spared his constituency by vetoing a gas tax hike. Louisiana is up next, with a vote Tuesday in the powerful Ways and Means Committee which will determine the fate of a years-long battle to raise the gas tax there. Americans for Prosperity (AFP), whose Tennessee state group opposed the gas tax in Tennessee, is sponsoring a “Day at the Capitol” through its Louisiana state group. Activists are called to gather Tuesday, May 16 in Baton  Rouge from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. at the Ways and Means Committee room. The hearing begins at 9:30 a.m. The Hayride reports: There are 19 members of the House Ways And Means Committee – 12 Republicans and seven Democrats. HB 632 by Rep. Steve Carter, which is the gas tax bill, has eight…

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Faith: Verse of the Day for Tuesday, May 16

Dana Hunsinger Gill
Tennessee Star - Verse of the Day

  VERSE OF THE DAY Be blessed and be a blessing May 16, Tuesday Isaiah 40:26 Lift up your eyes on high And see who has created these stars, The One who leads forth their host by number, He calls them all by name; Because of the greatness of His might and the strength of His power, Not one of them is missing. Psalm 139:2-3 You know when I sit down and when I rise up; You understand my thought from afar. You scrutinize my path and my lying down, And are intimately acquainted with all my ways.    

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Bowling Green Schools Among Those Cheering Efforts To Make School Lunches Great Again

Wendy Wilson

  Gone are the rigid regulations for school lunches championed by former first lady Michelle Obama. U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue has other ideas in his quest to “Make School Meals Great Again,” as touted in a May 1 news release. “This announcement is the result of years of feedback from students, schools, and food service experts about the challenges they are facing in meeting the final regulations for school meals,” Perdue said in the news release. “If kids aren’t eating the food, and it’s ending up in the trash, they aren’t getting any nutrition – thus undermining the intent of the program.” There will still be a focus on nutrition, including serving fruits and veggies, but pressure will ease up on using only whole grains and a push to lower sodium levels is on hold. There also will be more options for milk. Schools in Bowling Green, Kentucky, are celebrating the changes. Gina Howard, who oversees Warren County Public Schools’ food service, told the Bowling Green Daily News that her district has met the stringent requirements but has had problems making the food appealing to children. Kim Simpson, food service director for the Bowling Green Independent School District, sees improvements ahead…

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Nashville DA Calls Police ‘Insensitive’ For Using Word ‘Suspect’ To Describe Armed Black Man Shot By Officer

Wendy Wilson

  The Nashville district attorney’s office says police were “insensitive” when in their reports they referred to an armed black man shot by an officer in self-defense as a suspect. The criticism is found in a report issued last week by District Attorney Glenn Funk on the Feb. 10 shooting of Jocques Scott Clemmons by Josh Lippert, a white officer with the Metro Nashville Police Department. “Identifying the officer as the victim and Mr. Clemmons as the suspect sends a message that could be perceived as biased, and seems insensitive because no charges could be brought against Mr. Clemmons,” the report says. “To label the parties in this manner, particularly in the beginning stages of the investigation, could create an appearance to the public that the investigation was biased.” While the district attorney’s office determined Lippert acted in self-defense and will not pursue criminal charges against him, its report was critical of the police department’s handling of the case and recommended steps to eliminate any appearance of bias in the future and ensure minorities are treated fairly. In future cases, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation will alone conduct a thorough criminal investigation when an MNPD officer’s use of force results…

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Nashville’s Citizen Police Academy Offers Inside Look At Law Enforcement

Wendy Wilson
Tennessee Star

  The Metro Nashville Police Department is accepting applications for its next Citizen Police Academy, which offers Nashville area residents an inside look at local law enforcement. The summer session, to be held at the Hermitage precinct, begins Monday, June 12. The free course runs 12 weeks. The program will feature various guest speakers, including members of the police department’s specialized units. Topics will include gangs, narcotics enforcement, domestic violence, traffic/DUI enforcement, internet crimes, emergency preparedness, crime prevention and the judicial process. There will also be tours of the Emergency Communications Center and demonstrations by the aviation, canine and mounted units. “The Citizen Police Academy provides a unique view of this department and Nashville’s law enforcement professionals,” said Chief Steve Anderson in a news release.  “We invite folks from all neighborhoods to consider applying.  Class members will come away each week with knowledge about police work that they didn’t have before.”  It will be the 37th session of the Citizen Police Academy since the popular program began in 1995. Classes will be held on Monday nights from 6 p.m.-9 p.m. through August 28th in the community room of the Hermitage precinct, located at 3701 James Kay Lane.  Class size is…

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