Brynn Marie was inspired to write and record her new single, Phoenix, which is an anthem to everyone who is fighting for something.
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Day: August 3, 2017
EXCLUSIVE Interview With State Rep. Jimmy Matlock On Announcement He Is Running For 2nd Congressional District Seat
State Representative Jimmy Matlock (R-Lenoir City), citing Rep. John J. “Jimmy” Duncan’s (R-TN-02) announcement Monday that he will not seek re-election to Congress, announced his organization of a campaign to run for the 2nd District Congressional seat. In an exclusive interview with The Tennessee Star, Rep. Matlock shared that his official announcement “Is really my heart, and I tried to share why I felt like I have the abilities through my business, through my 11 years of public service. The really the body of work, the opportunities that come across my day in this business and in my public service are so varied and so much unique, that I think I can transition that into the Congressional seat.” Matlock relayed parallel scenarios in his business and political life, saying “I can take a phone call in this business from a multi-million dollar banker and the next phone call would be from a single mom who needs to hold a check for $35 until Friday. With constituent work, you can talk with the Governor of the state and hang up from there and have a veteran on the phone who can’t get his benefits right.” “You’ve got to be able to…
Read the full storyAttorney General Jeff Sessions Selects Eastern District of Tennessee to Participate In New Opioid Fraud And Abuse Detection Unit Pilot Program
Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced Wednesday during a speech at the Columbus Police Academy a new Department of Justice (DOJ) pilot program, Opioid Fraud and Abuse Detection Unit, and named eastern Tennessee as one of the 12 districts selected to participate in the program. According to the DOJ website, the program will “utilize data to help combat the devastating opioid crisis that is ravaging families and communities across America.” As part of the program, the DOJ will fund twelve Assistant U.S. Attorneys whose focus will be to investigate and prosecute health care fraud related to prescription opioids. The opioid epidemic has received much attention in the state, following a Tennessee Department of Health report that 1,451 people lost their lives to drug overdose in 2015 alone. Since then, House Speaker Beth Harwell (R-Nashville) created an opioid task force to address the state’s epidemic. While well received, the formation of the task force was not without controversy, because none of the Representatives named to it are from Northeast Tennessee – the area hardest hit by the crisis with more than double the number of admissions for opioid treatment as compared to any other region in the state. More recently, the Tennessee…
Read the full storyTennessee’s Republican U.S. Senators Lamar Alexander and Bob Corker Help Elevate Victim Status of Muslims Living in America
On April 5, 2017, Senators Alexander and Corker joined in the unanimous consent of the Senate and “agreed to” S.Res. 118: A resolution condemning hate crime and any other form of racism, religious or ethnic bias, discrimination, incitement to violence, or animus targeting a minority in the United States. Because S.Res.118 was introduced as a “simple resolution,” considered a non-binding statement of the Senate, no roll call vote is required, the House does not vote on it, and it has no force of law although it remains to be seen whether a bill will follow later. According to the Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC), “[t]he drafting, introduction, and passage of this resolution [was] the result of a joint advocacy effort between MPAC and Emerge USA [a Muslim organization now renamed eMgage]. We ensured that the resolution went beyond rhetoric and resolves that the government take concrete steps to address hate crimes.” S.Res. 118 references acts of anti-Semitism, threats against Jewish institutions, anti-Black or anti-African American bias crimes, and “harassment and hate-based violence against individuals who are perceived to be Arab or Muslim, including members of South Asian communities in the United States, and Hindu and Sikh Americans” but reserves the opening and misleading statistic…
Read the full storyWest Tennessee Company Busy Making Solar Eclipse Glasses
A West Tennessee company is busily producing special glasses to view the solar eclipse Aug. 21. American Paper Optics, located in Bartlett, a Memphis suburb, will be shipping out orders until Aug. 18, reports WSMV Channel 4. The company, whose products include 3-D glasses for DVD releases, has never seen such demand. “We’re going to hit over 40 million glasses,” company president John Jerit told WSMV. One challenge is “knock-offs from Asia that are exact copies of mine,” he said. “We noticed some of our designs showing up on Amazon sites that were not legitimate,” Jerit said. “The counterfeiters are copying our designs as well as putting our name and information on the back side.” To avoid fakes, Jerit recommends buying from the company’s site and Amazon resellers. He said his company’s glasses have silver lenses on the outside that are black on the inside. The glasses produced by American Paper Optics are on NASA’s approved list. NASA recommends using special glasses while viewing the solar eclipse. NASA-approved glasses are available from various retailers. “Looking directly at the sun is unsafe except during the brief total phase of a solar eclipse (“totality”), when the moon entirely blocks the sun’s bright face,…
Read the full storyPromise Kept: President Trump Introduces Immigration Overhaul with Backers Senator Tom Cotton and Senator David Perdue
President Trump introduced what supporters say is the most significant overhaul in the American immigration system in 50 years Wednesday. “This legislation will not only restore our competitive edge in the 21st century, but it will restore the sacred bonds of trust between America and its citizens,” President Trump said. “This legislation demonstrates our compassion for struggling American families who deserve an immigration system that puts their needs first and that puts America first.” Dubbed the RAISE Act, the Reforming American Immigration for a Strong Economy Act promises to spur economic growth and raise working Americans’ wages by giving priority to the best-skilled immigrants from around the world and reducing overall immigration by half. For decades, the United States’ immigration system has favored no- and low-skill labor with very little standards on new arrivals’ ability or desire to assimilate and succeed, which has effectively depressed entry-level wages and stretched the American social safety net to its breaking point. Shockingly, of the 1.1 million immigrants legally entering the country each year – the entire populations of Nashville, TN and Oakland, CA combined – more than 50 percent of receive welfare benefits, compared to only 30 percent of native households in the United States…
Read the full storyOFF THE RECORD: The Ghost of Campaigns Past Could Return to Haunt Diane Black’s Gubernatorial Bid
“Double, double toil and trouble” – Macbeth, Act 4, Scene 1. The continuing litigation saga of Diane Black and Lou Ann Zelenik, arising from their epic 2010 6th Congressional District campaign is bubbling up again… just in time for Black’s launch of a race for Governor. To recap, Aegis Sciences Corp. (Diane and David Black’s company) sued Zelenik and some of her campaign team in the final days of the 2010 GOP Primary claiming that a Zelenik ad, focused on millions of dollars of no-bid contracts from the State of Tennessee that were awarded to Aegis while Diane served in the legislature, constituted slander entitling Aegis to recover damages. The attack ad relied on news reports that had aired previously, and which had even been used against Diane in an earlier campaign for State Senate in 2008, without Aegis taking any legal action. Zelenik claimed the lawsuit was a coordinated effort to damage her campaign and that it had no basis as a legitimate case. Ultimately, the Court agreed with Zelenik and dismissed the case after determining that the ad that Aegis complained about was “true or at least substantially true.” The Tennessee Appellate Court upheld the lower court’s…
Read the full storySenator Jeff Flake: A Book By A Fake Conservative With No Conscience
by George Rasley, ConservativeHQ.com Editor The first political book I read was Barry Goldwater’s “Conscience of a Conservative.” It was my Mother’s copy that she received while she was active in the Young Republicans and the Goldwater for President movement in the early 1960s and I still have it. You can read Goldwater’s Conscience of a Conservative free through this link and I highly recommend it. This slim paperback, ghostwritten by L. Brent Bozell, Jr., was a defining work for the modern conservative movement and along with the Sharron Statement stands as one of the best statements of the foundational principles of the conservative movement. To understand how importance Goldwater’s book was it is important to understand the milieu in which it was written. The year was 1960 and in contrast to Nixon’s “me-too-ism” during the 1960 presidential campaign, Goldwater was traveling around the country as chairman of the Republican Senatorial Campaign Committee, selling his new brand of conservatism. The book was intended, Senator Goldwater said, “to awaken the American people to a realization of how far we had moved from the old constitutional concepts toward the new welfare state.” The book quickly went through twenty printings and…
Read the full storyPresident Trump Donates Second Paycheck to Department of Education
President Trump announced his second paycheck will be donated to the Department of Education. In a statement, the Trump Administration earmarked the funds specifically to host a Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) camp for students. It’s not the first time President Trump has sought to focus attention on the teaching of the hard sciences, the statement points out. Earlier in the year, President Trump signed the INSPIRE Act which encourages NASA to have women and girls participate in science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and to pursue careers in aerospace. He also signed the Promoting Women in Entrepreneurship Act which aims to enable the National Science Foundation to support women in the sciences. In the last pay period, President Trump kept his promise to not take his $400,000 a year salary by donating his first quarter check to the Department of Interior.
Read the full storyKnoxville Man Creates Bracelets With Bible Verse Featured On Police Department Plaque
A Knoxville man has created bracelets featuring the Bible verse written on a plaque at the Knoxville Police Department that was moved last week because of complaints from the Freedom From Religion Foundation. The plaque, which was hanging above an employee entrance, was moved to the other side of the doorway where inspirational quotes from other traditions will also be displayed. City officials decided to relocate the plaque to show that Christian faith will not be promoted over other religions, which the Freedom From Religion Foundation said was unconstitutional. The Bible verse, Romans 8:31, says, “What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, then who can be against us?” Ryan Hudson designed and ordered the rubber bracelets with the help of family and friends. He has been selling them for $1. The proceeds will go to a charity that supports the police department. “They can take down a sign, but they can’t destroy our beliefs,” Hudson said on Facebook. His original idea was to provide police officers with the bracelets, but then demand grew from others in the community. Demand was so great that ordering has now closed. But Hudson said he will post on…
Read the full storyMt. Zion, Brentwood Baptist To Host Back-To-School Event Saturday
Mt. Zion Baptist and Brentwood Baptist are teaming up to host a back-to-school event Saturday at Hadley Park in Nashville. Called “We’re Better Together,” the event is open to the public and will offer free backpacks and health screenings. Mt. Zion is a predominantly African-American church, while Brentwood Baptist is mostly white. Both are among the largest megachurches in the area. Church leaders believe that by working together, they are setting an example for how to bridge the racial divide, and say it will be one of many partnerships. “Our congregations are growing by leaps and bounds,” said Bishop Joseph Walker III, pastor of Mt. Zion, in a news release. “So is this wonderful city. It is our responsibility to grow together and support one another. ” Walker began the annual event more than 10 years ago and has seen it grow in popularity. Pastor Mike Glenn of Brentwood Baptist said he’s excited about the chance to serve alongside Walker and demonstrate their common commitment to the Christian faith. “The diversity of the church reveals the nature and character of God in a way that no one person or church can by themselves,” Glenn said. The event aims to help…
Read the full storyFormer Tennessee GOP Chair Chris Devaney Named Bill Lee Campaign Manager
Gubernatorial candidate Bill Lee announced Wednesday former Tennessee GOP Chairman Chris Devaney will be the new Campaign Manager and Senior Advisor. “It’s humbling to have so many talented people join our efforts to help share my vision for Tennessee,” said Lee. “I’m grateful for the team we’re assembling. This is one more indicator of the excitement and enthusiasm we are seeing all across this state for our campaign.” Tennessee Republicans know Chris Devaney well, thanks to his years of service as Chairman of the Tennessee Republican Party from 2009 – 2015. During his tenure, Republicans gained a working majority in the Tennessee State House in 2010, as well as turning Tennessee’s Congressional delegation to a 7-2 Republican majority, and elected a Republican governor that year. In 2012, both the State Senate and State House attained supermajority status. Devaney also spearheaded the ‘Red to the Roots’ campaign, a program aimed at electing county and judicial candidates across the state. “Bill Lee is someone I have had so much respect for over the years. His conservative values and principles, and the fact he is not a career politician, are the reasons why I joined his team,” Devaney said. “I’m excited to be a part…
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