In another promise fulfilled, President Trump signed the Veterans Affairs Accountability and Whistleblower Protection Act of 2017 Friday.
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The Senate Judiciary Committee has opened a probe into former Attorney General Loretta Lynch’s efforts to shape the FBI’s investigation into 2016 Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton, the committee’s chairman announced Friday. In a letter to Ms. Lynch, the committee asks her to detail the depths of her involvement in the FBI’s investigation, including whether she…
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Councilman Robert Swope told WTN 99.7 FM talk show host Dan Mandis this week that the proposed “sanctuary city” ordinance would create a new class of citizens that would conflict with existing laws. The measure, which would restrict local cooperation with federal immigration officials, was passed on a second reading Tuesday and is up for a final vote next month. Swope has been against the measure from the start, being the only Metro Council member to vote against it on the first reading June 6. Seven other council members joined him this week in voting against it, but 25 voted for it. “If you are breaking the law, then you need to be punished, not be put into a separate class of citizens that says, OK, well, you can break the law but nobody else can,” Swope said in his interview Wednesday with Mandis. Swope spoke of the dangers involved in obstructing the sheriff’s ability to detain criminal illegal immigrants for deportation. Opposition to the ordinance is not about “rounding up” Davidson County’s estimated 33,000 illegal immigrants and “throwing them back across any single single border,” Swope said. In a recent week, 19 illegal immigrants were detained for deportation by the Metro Nashville…
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In the aftermath of the targeted shooting of Republican congressmen in Alexandria, Virginia by a left-wing activist last week, many wondered if the shocking event would herald a new period of political civility and the rejection of sensationalist rhetoric. It hasn’t. On Thursday, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) posted a video to her Facebook page in which…
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Jane Sanders, the wife of Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, is facing charges for the time she allegedly used her political influence to obtain bank loans for Burlington College, an institution that is now defunct, so that the college could purchase its former North Avenue campus. It was revealed Thursday that Jane has hired lawyers now that…
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President Trump said Friday it would be “a very, very sad day for Republicans” if House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi stepped down. “First of all, I hope she doesn’t step down. I think that it would be a very, very sad day for Republicans if she steps down. I’d be very disappointed if she did. I’d…
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House Speaker Beth Harwell (R-Nashville) and Senate Speaker Pro Tempore Jim Tracy (R-Shelbyville) issued a press release Friday morning that included a letter over their names to the State Attorney General (AG) requesting an opinion on Metro Nashville Council’s recently proposed sanctuary city ordinance, which passed a second of three required readings on Tuesday in a 25 to 8 vote. Accompanying the letter to the AG was a statement from Speaker Harwell: Our local, state, and federal enforcement officials must be able to work together to keep our families and communities safe. The Tennessee General Assembly overwhelmingly passed a ban on sanctuary cities in 2009, and this ordinance demonstrates a reckless disregard for state and federal law. Speaker Pro Tempore Tracy and I are seeking clarity from the Attorney General so we can determine how best to proceed. This is not only public safety issue for Nashville, but for our whole state. – Speaker Beth Harwell Harwell’s statement included a link to the 2009 legislation. The letter, on official 110th General Assembly letter head, dated June 23, 2017, and addressed to The Honorable Herbert H. Slatery, III, Attorney General and Reported, signed by Senator Jim Tracy, Speaker Pro Tempore and…
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Brentwood Baptist Church will hold a training this weekend on fighting human trafficking that is open to the public. The church has been working with other local churches to build awareness about human trafficking in local communities and around the world. Saturday’s training will feature leaders from Alliance for Freedom, Restoration and Juctice, Inc., Nashville Baptist Association and Brentwood Baptist’s Missions Ministry. The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation has said that human trafficking is the second-fasting growing criminal industry after drug trafficking, according to a press release issued by Brentwood Baptist. “While Tennessee has been ranked as the toughest state in the nation regarding state statues that protect children from commercial sex exploitation crimes, TBI acknowledges that there is a need to develop more resources to aid victims and their families,” the press release said. President Trump has called human trafficking an epidemic that is not getting enough attention. In February, he signed an executive order to combat transnational criminal organizations and international trafficking. “These groups are drivers of crime, corruption, violence, and misery,” the executive order says. “In particular, the trafficking by cartels of controlled substances has triggered a resurgence in deadly drug abuse and a corresponding rise in violent crime related to…
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Scottie Nell Hughes, who told The Tennessee Star last week “there’s a strong possibility” she will run for the Tennessee 6th Congressional District seat if Rep. Diane Black (R-TN-06) runs for governor, spoke to the 6th District Patriots in Cookeville Thursday night. “As a fierce Conservative Republican, I one hundred percent endorse the strategy of the Democrats which keeps pouring millions of progressive Hollywood dollars into races which result in another loss,” Hughes told the crowd. “Don’t change a thing in 2018!” was the message Hughes said she had for the Democrats, advice that caused more than one in the audience to laugh out loud. Hughes also addressed the current situation within the Republican Party. “President Trump needs strong fighters in Congress who are going to help him fulfill the campaign promises which got him elected,” she said. “Could you imagine if the time and energy spent on the Russian investigation (which has still not produced any evidence of collision between the campaign and the Kremlin) was spent on fixing our shattered health insurance program, we might actually have a program based on free market competition instead of Government subsidies?” the former Trump campaign surrogate asked. “Bravo to those who…
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State Rep. Judd Matheny (R-Tullahoma), who told The Tennessee Star last week he was “100 percent in the race for Tennessee’s 6th Congressional District” provided Rep. Diane Black chooses to run for governor, spoke at the Jackson County GOP Reagan Day Dinner Thursday night at the Center Grove Community Center in Gainesboro. The event featured Tennessee Republican State Party Chairman Scott Golden as the main speaker. Matheny made news again this week on Tuesday when he appeared on 99.7 FM WTN with Dan Mandis and tore into the Metro Nashville Council’s proposed ordinance that would, in effect, turn Nashville into a sanctuary city: “It’s the most egregious move against public safety that the city of Nashville could possibly expose its citizens, and emergency services and social work to,” Matheny said. “It’s completely antithetical to the United States Constitution, and America. And the city of Nashville – with all due respect – they need to remember that the City operates at the pleasure of the State,” Matheny added. “Plus, I’m telling you, the General Assembly in Tennessee will cut off funding to Davidson County if they pursue this,” Matheny stated. Matheny spoke briefly before Golden, and told the audience about his law enforcement career,…
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The Partnership for a New American Economy (PNAE) whose named members include gubernatorial candidates Randy Boyd and Karl Dean, awarded twenty cities “Gateways for Growth” (G4G) grants designed to “integrate immigrants as part of an economic growth strategy.” Openthebooks.com’s report Federal Funding of America’s Sanctuary Cities identifies half of the G4G grant recipients as sanctuary cities, including Nashville. The Tennessee Star asked the Randy Boyd campaign specifically for a comment on the Metro Nashville ordinance that would make Nashville a sanctuary city but has received no response. PNAE’s “15 key economic issues of immigration reform in America” include: Supporting legal status for the 11.4 million undocumented immigrants. In a 2014 Wall Street Journal oped, PNAE co-founder Rupert Murdoch said that illegal immigrants who are already here should be provided a path to citizenship. Supporting resettlement of refugees who PNAE says that after living in the U.S. between 16-25 years are earning well above the income of refugees who have been here for five years or less. Moreover, PNAE believes refugees are the answer to reviving aging and declining communities. Pushing state and local policymakers to support in-state college tuition for illegal immigrant students. The PNAE, now shortened to “New American Economy,” is a powerful and well-funded…
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ATLANTA | After losing another special election that party leaders had hoped would signal a rebuke of the Trump presidency, Democrats on Wednesday cast about for someone or something to blame: from Nancy Pelosi, the leader of the House Democrats, to ill-managed campaigns to candidates who were too liberal – or not liberal enough. Voters in…
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Health insurance provider Anthem announced Wednesday that it will drop out of the state exchanges in Wisconsin and Indiana, marking the latest sign that insurance companies are finding it difficult to continue offering Obamacare plans. The company said it will keep offering plans outside the exchanges in those states, but will stop offering Obamacare plans in…
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DETROIT — The man accused of stabbing a police officer at the Flint airport Wednesday is a married father of three children, who worked on and off as a truck driver and indicated he had no mental health problems, according to newly released audio of his federal court hearing. Amor Ftouhi, 50, was born in Tunisia…
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Police are investigating a prank among Somalis at a mosque near the University of Memphis, reports WREG News Channel 3. Overnight Sunday, someone pointed a gun at the head of a religious leader in an incident that was captured on Facebook Live. The man with the gun seems to be joking, but the imam, who appears to be the one recording the video, is dismayed and takes it seriously, admonishing the man. But then he continues with the broadcast. No one was injured, but the Islamic Association of Greater Memphis said they’re “deeply disturbed” by what took place and are calling it a prank involving an “internet famed pseudo-scholar.” The association said the imam did not have permission to speak at the mosque and that the incident happened after hours when the mosque was closed. “We are ashamed that he would abuse our place of worship for his quest for fame and by the gun incident that happened by a member of the group that was with him,” the association said, according to WREG. “Gun violence is a serious issue in our country and brandishing a weapon even in jest is a serious matter.” The imam was Abdurahman Haji, 52, who is leader of a…
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by Jeffrey A. Rendall It’s always a curious thing when observing (at the beach) a gaggle of surfers paddling steadily on their boards far from shore on what looks to be a perfectly calm, wave-less day out on the water. It only makes sense the surf fanatics must be waiting for something – anything – to come along and rescue them from their smooth ocean dilemma. After the recent congressional special elections (in Kansas, Montana, Georgia and South Carolina) Democrats probably now appreciate exactly how those bored surfers must feel; they’re trolling for an electoral wave that just doesn’t seem to be materializing. Unlike the surfers, however, liberals across the country aren’t even able to enjoy a nice relaxing float among the gentle breakers as a consolation prize. Instead, all they’re getting is loss after loss in supposedly (at least to them) winnable contests and the frustration of realizing all their pontificating about President Donald Trump’s negative drag on the future prospects of the GOP isn’t coming true – not by a longshot. David M. Drucker of the Washington Examiner reported on how the Republicans pulled it off on Tuesday in Georgia’s Sixth District. “Voters in the traditionally conservative…
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Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton escaped criminal charges last year but her legal troubles may not be over – the Arkansas state bar has promised a decision by next month on disciplinary action. And the State Department continues to probe Mrs. Clinton’s mishandling of classified information, with an eye toward deciding whether she and several…
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A top Republican took to the Senate floor Thursday to blame fired FBI Director James B. Comey for fanning “conspiracy theories” about the U.S. election that “played right into Russia’s hands.” Sen. Charles E. Grassley, an Iowa Republican who as chairman of the Judiciary Committee has oversight of the FBI, also accused Mr. Comey of working…
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An illegal immigrant beat a teen-age girl with a metal baseball bat before dawn on Father’s Day and dumped her body in a pond in a suburb of Washington, police say. Authorities said a man they identified as Darwin Martinez Torres, 22, attacked Nabra Hassanen, 17, after getting into an argument with a group of about…
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The Metro Nashville school board is supporting Metro government’s proposed “sanctuary city” policy despite a growing chorus of opposition. The board sent a letter to the Metro Council this week encouraging passage of the ordinance, which was approved on a second reading Tuesday and will be up for a final vote next month. The ordinance would restrict local cooperation with federal immigration officials. “We celebrate the diversity in our schools and want them to be safe places for our students and families,” school board chair Anna Shepherd told The Tennessee Star Thursday. “Most of them are fleeing drug wars and/or civil wars and want better for their families just as our ancestors did.” Nashville Mayor Megan Barry, whose left-wing, open borders, pro-illegal immigrant political philosophy is in line with the ordinance, has worked closely with the Metro Nashville school board since she was elected in 2015. When the search for a new director of schools stalled in 2016, Barry asserted a leadership role in the search process that ended in the appointment of Shawn Joseph to that position in May 2016. In the letter to Metro Council sent on behalf of the board, Shepherd voiced concerns about illegal immigrant…
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VERSE OF THE DAY Be blessed and be a blessing June 23, Friday Joshua 1:9 “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.” Romans 8:9 You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. Hebrews 11:6 And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.
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