Month: August 2017

Gubernatorial Candidate Bill Lee: ‘I Would Be a Strong Advocate for School Choice’

Tennessee Star Staff

Republican gubernatorial candidate Bill Lee announced his support for school choice and charter schools during a Facebook Live interview with the Beacon Center in Nashville on Thursday. The Williamson County businessman has made education one of the key themes of his campaign. Justin Owen, President of the Beacon Center, interviewed Bill Lee one-on-one at the Beacon Center’s studios in Nashville on Thursday for about 13 minutes. It was the first of a series of Facebook Live interviews the Beacon Center plans to conduct with every major candidate for governor in Tennessee. Lee responded to a question posed by Jacob from Nolensville, relayed to him by Owen. “What will you do, if anything, to expand K-12 school choice to get at those education reforms?” Owen asked of Lee. “I had children that were home schooled, and were educated in private school, and were educated in public school. The reason that we had different kids educated different ways in my family is that I really do believe fundamentally that how my children are educated and where they are educated those decisions are best made at home, so parents need choices and they need options,” Lee said. “So I would be a strong…

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Justice Dept. Opens Civil Rights Investigation of Charlottesville Death

Tennessee Star Staff

The Justice Department has opened a civil rights investigation into the circumstances under which a vehicle plowed into a crowd of people protesting a white nationalist rally held Saturday in Charlottesville, Virginia. A 32-year-old woman was killed and at least nine others injured when a car barreled down a street crowded with pedestrians. Charlottesville police identified…

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Mike Pompeo, CIA Director, Says Nuclear War with North Korea Is Not ‘Imminent’

Tennessee Star Staff

Despite escalating tensions with North Korea, CIA Director Mike Pompeo said Sunday that nuclear war is not “imminent.” Appearing on “Fox News Sunday,” Mr. Pompeo said it’s clear North Korea’s nuclear capabilities are progressing rapidly, but he downplayed any immediate risk to the United States. “Each time they test another missile, or if they should conduct…

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Mark West Commentary: Chattanooga: A Polluted City

Tennessee Star Staff

  by Mark West   I remember first moving to Chattanooga when I was 18. Excited to move south, I was eager to complete my college education and then launch out into the real world. Having grown up in Madrid, Spain, I was accustomed to pollution, given Madrid’s awful track record in the 1960’s and ’70’s. But despite this, one of the first things I noticed as I settled into my new home city in Tennessee was its own pollution. It was just a decade earlier when Chattanooga had been declared to have the worst air pollution in America, and there was no avoiding the dirt, filth and smog. But nearly forty years later, one of Chattanooga’s claim to fame is the way in which it acknowledged its worst standing in America. As the #1 polluted city, Chattanooga put a plan in place to tackle the scourge for which it had become known. Government officials, agencies, businesses, and civic leaders all came together to lead in confronting the literal cloud that hung over them. Today Chattanooga is known for its vibrant and rejuvenated downtown and is now regularly acknowledged for the beautiful city it has become. But in spite of…

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After Charlottesville Clashes Trump Says Violence ‘Must Stop Right Now’

Tennessee Star Staff

President Trump called for unity Saturday in the wake of clashes between white supremacists and counter-protestors in Charlottesville, Virginia, demanding “the division must stop, and must stop right now.” “Ideally we have to love each other,” Mr. Trump said from his golf club in New Jersey, where he’s taking a working vacation, and was signing into…

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White House: U.S. ‘Stands with the People of Venezuela’

Tennessee Star Staff

President Donald Trump refused to grant Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro’s request for a phone call Friday and urged citizens to continue to resist the “continued oppression by the Maduro regime.” Venezuela has been the scene of many anti-government protests since February 2014 — less than a year after Maduro became president and began to undermine the…

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Constitution Series: The Ninth Amendment

Claudia Henneberry
Tennessee Star - Constitution Series

    This is the sixteenth of twenty-five weekly articles in The Tennessee Star’s Constitution Series. Students in grades 8 through 12 can sign up here to participate in The Tennessee Star’s Constitution Bee, which will be held on September 23.   The Constitution was written for one particular purpose–to limit the powers of the general, or, national, government, therein securing the blessings of liberty by protecting the individual’s natural rights.  It is simply outlined in the Preamble, drafted brilliantly by Gouverneur Morris, a native New Yorker who represented Pennsylvania at the Constitutional Convention, and made clear the primary purpose for the Constitution and that the people are the ones for whom and by whom it was created beginning with the revolutionary words, We the People. During the consideration of the Bill of Rights, the concern by the founders was that if they specified certain rights of the people to be guarded by the national government, what if they neglected others?  How could they be sure that all the people’s God-given rights would be protected? Among others, this was a major concern for James Wilson, a Pennsylvania Congressman who would later serve on the first Supreme Court. Supporters of the Constitution, or Federalists, such as James Wilson and…

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Congressional Candidate John Rose: ‘I Fully Support’ Governor Haslam’s Gas Tax Increase

Tennessee Star Staff

  At a February event in Smith County that featured Governor Haslam promoting his proposed gas tax increase, recently announced Sixth Congressional District candidate John Rose told the governor, “I just want to say I applaud you for making this proposal. I fully support it.” You can hear Rose make these comments to the governor beginning at the 54:16 mark (42:05 from the end) of this video tape of the event, provided courtesy of the Smith County Insider:   Here is a partial transcript of Rose’s comments from that day: Governor, I’m John Rose and I’m a businessman and farmer here in the community and have lived here for the last 42 years on the edge of Smith County line , De Kalb County, my farm is actually in De Kalb County. . . As I mentioned, I’m a businessman, and my business is in Nashville so I commute back and forth from Smith County to Nashville . . I want to just say that I applaud you for this proposal. I fully support it. I think that having users of our roads pay for our roads makes tremendous sense. You’ve laid out a very strong case for for why…

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Faith: Verse of the Day for Monday, August 14

Dana Hunsinger Gill
Tennessee Star - Verse of the Day

  VERSE OF THE DAY Be blessed and be a blessing August 14, Monday John 7:24 Do not judge according to appearance, but judge the righteous judgment. Romans 10:12-13 For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” James 2:1 My brothers and sisters, do not show prejudice if you possess faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ.    

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Exclusive: TCU Chairman Says 2nd Congressional District Candidate Matlock Among Most Conservative Legislators, Also Praises Burchett

Laura Baigert

In an exclusive statement to The Tennessee Star regarding the announcement by Rep. Jimmy Matlock (R-Lenoir City) that he will be running for the 2nd Congressional District, Tennessee Conservative Union (TCU) Chairman Gary Loe said “Rep. Matlock’s voting record on taxation scores consistently among the most conservative legislators in Nashville.” Loe’s statement praised Matlock’s service in the Tennessee House, saying he has “championed the TCU’s efforts to help taxpayers keep more of their hard earned income,” and pointed out that Matlock “voted against the governor’s gas tax increase this legislative session.” In the statement Loe also praised “[t]he other announced candidate in the race, Knox County mayor Tim Burchett,” whom he called “a terrific friend to TCU.” “In fact, TCU awarded our vaunted ‘Tax Ax’ award to then state Sen. Burchett in June 1999,” Loe said. The TCU, founded in 1977 by Lloyd Daugherty who passed away two years ago, is one of the oldest and largest non-partisan conservative organizations in the state with an estimated 15,000 members. Loe was appointed chairman on February 6, which is Ronald Reagan’s birthday, by the board of directors, and has been actively reintroducing the TCU through numerous speeches he has been delivering around…

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Democratic Party Leader: Trump Worse Than North Korea’s Kim Jong-un

Tennessee Star Staff
Keith Ellison

Rep. Keith Ellison (D-Minn.) said Friday that President Donald Trump acts far worse than North Korean leader Kim Jong-un as the tensions continue to rise between the two countries. Ellison, a progressive liberal and the deputy chair of the Democratic National Committee (DNC), made the remark during a question-and-answer session at the NetrootsNation conference. Speaking of…

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A Judge Has Dismissed a Radio DJ’s Claim That Taylor Swift Ruined His Career in Her Groping Trial

Tennessee Star Staff

DENVER (AP) — A judge on Friday threw out a Denver radio host’s case against Taylor Swift in a trial that delved into their dueling lawsuits over whether he groped her during a backstage meet-and-greet and whether she and her team ruined his career. U.S. District Judge William Martinez determined that the pop star could not…

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Commentary: Does Anyone Really Think Mark Zuckerberg Could Challenge Trump in 2020?

Tennessee Star Staff

  by Jeffrey A. Rendall   Mark Zuckerberg for president? If you’re like me, you consider the notion preposterous. Despite a barrage of worshipful media coverage in the past decade the Facebook co-founder still isn’t exactly a household name and there are no doubt tens of millions of Americans who either haven’t heard of the now 33 year-old gozillionaire Californian or don’t give a Mark Zuckerberghoot that he’s one of the richest human beings on the face of the earth. While it’s true Zuckerberg has at times weighed-in on certain political issues it’s not clear where he stands ideologically or what his real economic philosophies might be. For sure he’s a smart tech-savvy guy with a genius for marketing, but would he Make America Great Again? Zuckerberg’s no Donald Trump, in other words. Trump broke the mold in American politics being the first one to come in from outside the political system to seize control of the Republican Party’s presidential nomination and then beat the Democrat nominee in the Electoral College. Because Trump was able to pull-off the formerly unthinkable some are suggesting the two-party system could be in danger of extinction – or at least ripe for a major…

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Donald Trump Refuses to Take Call from Venezuela’s Socialist Dictator Nicolas Maduro

Tennessee Star Staff

President Trump rebuffed the offer of a phone call from the president of Venezuela late Friday night, after Mr. Trump warned that he is considering military options to address civil and political unrest in the South American country. “President Trump will gladly speak with the leader of Venezuela as soon as democracy is restored in that…

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State Department Ordered by Federal Judge to Search Clinton Aides’ Emails for Benghazi Messages

Tennessee Star Staff
Tennessee Star

A federal judge has ordered the State Department to search its email systems for any messages sent to and from Hillary Clinton’s top aides during her stint as secretary for any correspondence concerning the September 2012 terrorist attack in Benghazi, Libya. U.S. District Court Judge Amit Mehta compelled the agency to search the state.gov accounts of…

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Far Left ‘Nation’ Magazine Finds Russia Hack Nonsensical

Tennessee Star Staff

You know it’s time to pack it up and move on from a Democratic-driven political hit when even the left-of-left liberal-leaning magazine, The Nation, starts to say, hey, guys, there are no facts here. In other words: This whole Russia-hacked-the-election-with-President-Donald-Trump’s-help mantra may finally be crumbling. Nation writer Patrick Lawrence took a look at all of the…

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Hillary Clinton Pastor’s Post-Election Email: ‘Our World Is Experiencing a Black Friday’

Tennessee Star Staff
Tennessee Star

Hillary Clinton’s pastor, the Rev. Bill Shillady, compared the Democrat’s election loss to the death of Jesus Christ in a Nov. 9 email. In a post-election email obtained by CNN titled, “Sunday is Coming,” Mr. Shillady assured Mrs. Clinton that better days were ahead. “For the disciples and Christ’s followers in the first century, Good Friday…

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Nashville Public Schools’ Social Studies In-Service Event for Teachers Featured Speaker From Islamic Center

Chris Alto

  The president of the Islamic Center of Nashville (ICN) spoke about his religion during a Metro Nashville Public Schools’ (MNPS) social studies in-service event held on August 2nd for middle and high school teachers preparing for the start of the 2017-2018 academic school year. According to the ICN’s website, its president, Rashed Fakhruddin, “has been coordinating and providing presentations on Islam to universities, schools, leadership groups and churches” over the past fifteen years in an effort to influence how his religion is received in the wider community. In a Facebook post dated August 2 captured in a screen shot, the owner of an account identified as Rashed Fakhruddin said, “Today, I got to present during MNPS’s social studies in service on Islam in context to the social studies curriculum, ending the presentation with the question, ‘Is Islam compatible with the West?’. There were parallel sessions going on, but there was a great turnout!”   That post apparently is no longer available on Mr. Fakhruddin’s Facebook page. The Tennessee Star asked MNPS about this in-service presentation. “On August 2 and 3, MNPS facilitated district-wide Professional Development for teachers in all tiers (elementary, middle and high school) and in all grade…

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Faith: Verse of the Day for Sunday, August 13

Dana Hunsinger Gill

  VERSE OF THE DAY Be blessed and be a blessing August 13, Sunday Isaiah 40:31 But those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint. Jeremiah 31:25 I will refresh the weary and satisfy the faint. Matthew 11:28 Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.”

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Nashville Hillsboro High School Student Arrested On Gun Charges

Wendy Wilson

A Hillsboro High School senior was arrested Friday morning on gun charges after allegedly pointing a pistol at two other students from his car as school dismissed Wednesday. Monday was the first day of the new school year for students in Metro Nashville Public Schools. Hillsboro High is located in Green Hills. The two victims told school resource officers about the incident Thursday afternoon, according to a news release from the Metro Nashville Police Department. Friday morning, an officer waited in the school parking lot for the 17-year-old to arrive. As the student got out of his car, the officer took him into custody. A loaded .40 caliber semi-automatic pistol was found during a search of the student’s car concealed under the dashboard. The 17-year-old was taken to juvenile detention. He was charged with aggravated assault and unlawful gun possession.

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Mike Huckabee Says That Trump Should Send Maxine Waters to North Korea So Kim Jong-un Will Kill Himself

Tennessee Star Staff

Former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee has mostly moved out of the spotlight these days, but he often manages to draw attention on Twitter when he blasts out jokes to his 688,000 followers. Huckabee is a firm Trump supporter and makes a habit of criticizing Democrats and the ‘swamp’ of Washington, D.C. RELATED: Mike Huckabee blasts “Saturday…

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Conrad Black: North Korean Crisis a Product of Failed Pre-Trump Leadership

Tennessee Star Staff

The incompetence, gullibility and lassitude of three successive administrations have dumped the horrible problem of North Korea into the lap of President Donald Trump. The shilly-shallying and pretend-resolutions that marked the old way of dealing with Pyongyang have come to a dead-end. The crisis exposes the infirmity of the Clinton, George W. Bush, and Obama administrations…

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Latinos For Tennessee Holds Health Fair At Memphis Middle School

Wendy Wilson

Latinos For Tennessee recently held a health fair at a middle school in Memphis to help kick off the new school year. “The fair had a great turnout,” said group spokeswoman Josie Ortega. The Aug. 5 event at Kingsbury Middle featured health screenings for families and free food and school supplies. The pro-family conservative political action group partnered with the school and the Memphis Health Center in hosting the event. Raul Lopez, executive director of Latinos For Tennessee, wrote an opinion piece for the Commercial Appeal Aug. 2 in which he noted that 38 percent of Latino children are overweight or obese, compared with 28 percent of white children, and that being Hispanic increases the risk factor for developing pre-diabetes and type 2 diabetes. Memphis, along with Nashville and Chattanooga, has a fast-growing Hispanic population. Lopez wrote: For some, the answer is bigger government. A few years ago, then-New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg grabbed headlines by going after the sugary drink industry — a move panned by many and eventually ruled unconstitutional by an appeals court. But what if there was a better way than relying on government to regulate what and how much we can eat? As it turns out, there is…

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Commentary: The Deep State’s Kangaroo Court

Tennessee Star Staff

  by ConservativeHQ.com Staff   Just when you think the corruption in Washington, DC couldn’t get any deeper or slimier, more news comes out about the connections between Special Counsel Robert Mueller and the Democratic Deep State’s legal operatives. It turns out that Judge Beryl Howell, the jurist who signed off on Robert Mueller’s request to convene a Washington, D.C. grand jury for the Russia investigation is a former staffer for Vermont’s hyper-partisan Leftist Democratic Senator Patrick Leahy and the Senate Committee on the Judiciary that is now investigating some of the same allegations that are now before the Grand Jury. According to the Daily Beast, Howell “will be the umpire-in-chief: deciding whether or not Trump allies’ lawyers can quash subpoenas, and whether or not people like Jared Kushner can invoke what’s known as executive privilege to get out of testifying under oath before Mueller’s grand jury.” Our friend Paul Mirengoff of PowerLine identified another potential problem with Howell; her close association with a member of Mueller’s team — Andrew Weissmann. Mirengoff reports the two worked together as assistant U.S. attorneys in the Eastern District of New York. That by itself wouldn’t be problematic. However, according to the Daily Beast,…

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Franklin’s GracePointe Church Now Sharing Space With Unity of Nashville After Membership Plummets Because of LGBT Inclusion

Wendy Wilson

  An evangelical church in Franklin that broke with biblical teachings and embraced LGBT ideology has had to find a new home because of declining membership. GracePointe Church has left its building on Franklin Road in the heart of Williamson County and headed straight north to share space with Unity of Nashville in its building in Nashville, also on Franklin Road. On its Facebook page, Unity of Nashville describes its mission as “a positive, practical, progressive approach to Christianity based on the teachings of Jesus and the power of prayer. Unity honors the universal truths in all religions and respects each individual’s right to choose a spiritual path.” GracePointe has changed so utterly over the years that its identity today sounds not that different than Unity’s. Traditional Christians would consider the teachings at both churches to be heretical. In his sermon July 30 during the congregation’s last service at its Franklin building, Pastor Stan Mitchell discussed how GracePointe has found a “clearer vision” and a “new and refined construction of our faith.” Mitchell’s comments reflected that while he has retained some conservative-sounding phraseology, he has completely cast aside orthodox doctrine. “We have achieved a degree, a measure of new construction, ongoing for…

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Tennessee Taxpayers Fund Conexion Americas’ ‘Education Equity’ for Students Here Legally and Illegally

Chris Alto

  Last year Conexion Americas, a multi-million dollar funded Latino advocacy organization headquartered in Nashville, convened the Tennessee Educational Equity Coalition (TEEC), which it now leads. Partnering with the George Soros funded Migration Policy Institute, TEEC launched the “TN English Learner Network.” TEEC does not appear to be a separate corporate entity, but rather merely a “project” of Conexion Americas, according to the most recent Conexion Americas annual report. Renata Soto, founder and director of Conexion Americas, was elected in 2015 to lead the National Council of La Raza’s (La Raza) board. George Soros has generously funded La Raza over the years in amounts typically exceeding $2 million. Gubernatorial candidate Randy Boyd is a mega donor to Conexion Americas, which received $250,000 from Randy and Jenny Boyd in 2016, and his education non-profit Complete Tennessee, which works in a reciprocal relationship with Soto and the TEEC. Soto serves on his board and his organization serves as a State Partner to TEEC. Both Complete Tennessee and the TEEC say they want to address “equity gaps” in the education provided to Tennessee students. Both Soto and Boyd are tied to organizations that support “tuition equity,” which is the legislative reference to a bill that would…

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Former Agriculture Commissioner John Rose Announces Candidacy for GOP Nomination in 6th Congressional District

Tennessee Star Staff

  On Thursday, former Tennessee Agriculture Commissioner John Rose announced his candidacy for the Republican nomination in the Sixth Congressional District to succeed incumbent Rep. Diane Black (R-TN-06), who recently announced that she is a candidate for governor. Rose was appointed as Agriculture Commissioner by former Governor Don Sundquist in 2002, and served in that job until 2003. Rose joins State Rep. Judd Matheny (R-Tullahoma) as the second candidate who will be competing in the August 2018 Republican primary for the party’s nomination to succeed Black in the November 2018 general election. “I’m John Rose and I’m doing something I’ve never done before – run for public office. I’m a farmer and small business owner who is ready to take bold action for the betterment of Tennessee’s 6th District. I’m going to work to earn your vote and keep it as your next Congressman,” Rose posted on his Facebook page on Thursday. “I am a farmer and small business owner who is ready to be actively involved in pushing the conservative movement that inspired so many as President Trump sought office for the first time,” Rose elaborated on his  campaign website. “Chelsea and I were two of the voters who elected…

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State Rep. Judd Matheny Travels 8,000 Miles During First 40 Days of Campaign for 6th Congressional District GOP Nomination

Tennessee Star Staff

State Rep. Judd Matheny (R-Tullahoma) has traveled more than 8,000 miles across the 6th Congressional District in the first 40 days since he announced his candidacy for the GOP nomination to succeed Rep. Diane Black (R-TN-06) as the district’s representative in the United States House of Representatives, according to his campaign. “Since his announcement on June 30th, Matheny and his Campaign Team have covered an astounding 8,259 miles in the first 40 days! Judd and his team are just getting started!” the Matheny campaign team said in a statement emailed to The Tennessee Star: Judd’s campaign team had a successful, first 40 days in fundraising efforts, and have several fundraising events scheduled between September 1 and October 30, 2017, including one with Country Music Group “Trick Pony” as the entertainment, on September 18th at Tims Ford Lake, Holiday Landing Marina – Blue Gill Restaurant! Contact Jennifer Hamblin at 615.504.0244 for ticket information. You have got to love Judd’s theme – “For Our Tomorrow, Judd Takes Action Today.” So far, he is living up to this anthem. “No one will out work me or be more dedicated to the citizens of the sixth district,” Matheny said.   In June, Matheny spearheaded…

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Trump: ‘Fire and Fury’ Comments May Not Have Been ‘Tough Enough’ Warning to North Korea

Tennessee Star Staff

President Donald Trump on Thursday doubled down on his fiery rhetoric against North Korea, telling reporters at an impromptu news conference during his working vacation in Bedminster, New Jersey, that his “fire and fury” comment might have been too tame. Standing beside Vice President Mike Pence, Trump said North Korea’s rapid development of missiles that can…

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Tennessee Officials Find Building Violations At Home For the Aged In Memphis

Wendy Wilson

Tennessee state officials have suspended new admissions of residents to a small neighborhood group home for the aged in Memphis because of violations of building standards. Tennessee Health Commissioner John Dreyzehner announced the decision in a news release Wednesday. A special monitor has been appointed to review operations at the 11-bed Cummings Foster Group Home. The violations were found during a life safety survey on July 12 and the investigation was completed Aug. 4, when the suspension went into effect. The news release noted that the health commissioner “may suspend admissions to a home for the aged when conditions are determined to be, or are likely to be, detrimental to the health, safety or welfare of the residents.” An order is in effect until conditions “have been and continue to remain corrected.” The home must post the order at a public entrance. The home has the right to a hearing before the Board for Licensing Health Care Facilities or an administrative judge.

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Commentary: How to Annihilate U.S. Socialism and Force Washington to Listen

Tennessee Star Staff

by John Anthony, founder, Sustainable Freedom Lab Socialism’s barbs have sunk deep into the heart of America’s soul. We see the Titanic struggle as Democrats and Republicans jointly hamper Trump’s attempts to return choices to the people. Washington will never willingly stop its progressive control, but we can make them. As one who has studied the progressive/socialist movement from the Congressional halls to small communities across the country, I believe we have a rich opportunity to adapt an explosive method to defeat the anti-Constitutional forces in America. For years, Constitutionalists have joined marches, attended meetings, written articles, and built networks. Through speeches, seminars and videos we have exposed regionalists for grabbing local authority, sustainable development for driving up housing costs, and federal regulations for usurping local land use and zoning laws. Experts in education, climate science, and Constitutional law have bared how our federal agencies and court system are turning the land of the free into regions of the fettered. Despite successes, every week reveals the incessant ‘tick-tock’ of the socialist advance. In September 2016, the Minneapolis Public Housing Authority used taxpayers’ money to reduce the monthly rents to $75 for HUD residents who visited relatives overseas for up to…

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Family Action Council of Tennessee To Hold Biblical Worldview Seminar

Wendy Wilson

Family Action Council of Tennessee (FACT) will hold a half-day seminar this fall on cultivating a biblical worldview. The “Restoring the Vision” seminar on Saturday morning, November 11 at the Nashville School of Law will address such questions as, “What is the point of being a Christian? What are we are ‘saved’ for? Is Christianity about more than piety in this life and heaven later?” David Fowler, president of FACT, said on the group’s website that he wrestled with these questions when he reached a crisis point in his life in his 30s. At the time, he was going through the everyday motions of practicing law, thinking about Christianity in mostly an insular way as something that compels us simply to live a moral life and hope for God’s blessings while waiting to go to heaven. The answers he discovered to his questions changed the direction of his life. During the seminar, Fowler will share passages from throughout the Bible that will drive home his points in a comprehensive way. “But these foundational biblical truths aren’t ‘new’ or ‘newly discovered.’ They provided a vision for Christendom that transformed cultures and birthed Western Civilization, a vision that has largely faded within…

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Nashville Metro Council Candidate Jack Byrd To Stand Trial For Extortion

Wendy Wilson

  A candidate for Nashville’s Metro Council will go on trial for extortion in October. Jack Byrd III is one of five candidates running for the District 33 seat left vacant when Councilman Sam Coleman was sworn in as a Nashville judge to replace former Judge Casey Moreland, who resigned amid a corruption scandal. District 33 covers part of Antioch. Early voting for the special election was set for July 26-Aug. 10, with election day being Aug. 15. Byrd, 28, is a former reserve officer for the Lynnville Police Department in Giles County and the Davidson County Sheriff’s Office. In May, he was indicted in Giles County on two felony extortion charges for allegedly threatening a Lynnville alderman and the mayor because he was upset that city officials had disbanded the reserve program. In a motion to dismiss, Byrd’s attorney said that then-Alderman Wil Sands launched a “personal vendetta” against Byrd after Byrd provided security in police uniform at the June 2016 gay pride festival in Nashville. Sands was unhappy when he came across photos on Facebook of Byrd working at the festival and made “insulting comments” and began harassing Byrd, the motion says. The motion also alleges that Sands was known…

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Fans in Nashville Say Goodbye To Country Music Legend Glen Campbell

Wendy Wilson

  NASHVILLE, Tennessee — Fans stopped by a memorial Wednesday at the Country Music Hall of Fame to say goodbye to country artist Glen Campbell, who died Tuesday at age 81. A table with flowers and a condolence book for people to sign was set up in the rotunda near Campbell’s Hall of Fame plaque. “We used to listen to him in the 70s,” said Ellis Sharadin, who was there with his wife, Rosemarie. The couple is on vacation from Yorktown, Virginia. Sharadin named the 1975 smash hit “Rhinestone Cowboy” as one of his favorite Campbell songs. Paige Lashlee of Tullahoma, Tennessee, said she grew up listening to Campbell’s music and watching his variety show. Campbell was a gifted guitarist, which many took for granted because he was known mostly known for his voice, she said. Her husband, Frank, said Campbell “had a style, and of course girls loved him.” Joni Bertram, visiting Nashville from Vermont, also said she grew up listening to Campbell. “Mostly because we had to,” chimed in her younger brother, Mark Green, who lives in Massachusetts. Their mom was a huge country music fan and exposed her children to her favorite tunes. Even though they had little…

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State Senator Mark Green Not Running In 2018, Announces New Organization to Recruit People of Faith For Elected Office

Laura Baigert

  In a remarkable year for State Senator Mark Green (R-Clarksville), who was the first to announce a run for governor and then selected as President Trump’s choice for Army secretary, later withdrawing his name from consideration as his nomination process became “a distraction,” followed by a grassroots effort to recruit him back into the gubernatorial race, and presented the Outstanding Achievement in State Tax Reform award from the Tax Foundation, Green has taken on a decidedly different cause that some might view as “a calling.” Green announced Wednesday on WWTN 99.7 Nashville Morning News that he, along with 12-year Georgia State Senator Judson Hill who resigned in 2017 to run for Congress, are forming a 501(c)4 not-for-profit and a corresponding super PAC, with the purpose of recruiting “people of faith to run for elected office.” Putting his own political advancement on hold until 2020, Green said he would continue to serve in his current State Senate seat while he runs the new nationwide effort.  Some of the reasons Green cited for that are that there are already “great people” in some of the races and that, with the turnover in 2018, there is a need for some continuity in…

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Neighbors File Lawsuit To Stop Homeless Village On Church Property in South Nashville

Wendy Wilson

Neighbors have filed a lawsuit to stop plans for a village for the homeless on the property of Glencliff United Methodist Church in South Nashville, reports NewsChannel 5. The “micro home village” would include 22 tiny homes about 220 square feet each. The Metro Board of Zoning Appeals approved a building permit in May, saying places of worship are protected by federal and state laws from zoning rules. But neighbors insist that because the project will be run by Open Table Nashville, a separate nonprofit group, zoning rules should apply. “Neighbors didn’t really have any notice this was happening,” Jessica Van Dyke, who lives near the church, told NewsChannel 5. “It was forced on us and we were told after the fact.” The lawsuit was filed against the Metro Board of Zoning Appeals, Glencliff United Methodist Church, the Tennessee Conference of the United Methodist Church and Bishop Bill McAlilly. Attorney Andrew Preston issued a statement on behalf of the church, conference and bishop stating that the “lack of housing is a very serious issue in Nashville and the church has decided to answer the biblical call to love our neighbor by providing safe and supportive shelter to some of our city’s most…

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Commentary: Are Conservatives and the GOP Better Off Today Than We Were Before Trump?

Tennessee Star Staff

by Jeffrey A. Rendall   At the end of his lone presidential debate opposite President Jimmy Carter in 1980, Ronald Reagan looked straight into the television camera and famously asked the American People, “Are you better off than you were four years ago?” Republicans and conservatives need to similarly ask today, “Are we better off than we were two years ago?” For it was two years ago on August 6, 2015 that Donald Trump took the stage in Cleveland, Ohio with nine other Republican presidential candidates to debate publicly for the first time as a member of the GOP presidential field. That particular forum is perhaps best remembered for Trump’s initial testy exchange with moderator Megyn Kelly (of Fox News back then), but from the very start of the program it was clear the “outsider” New York businessman’s presence would change the dynamic in the party. The day after the debate I wrote at ConservativeHQ.com, “Trump delivered perhaps the most unconventional ‘performance’ in a debate that we’ve ever witnessed – and his presence literally forced all the other candidates to get serious about staking out and defending their positions. “In one way or another, Trump dominated the debate from the…

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How the GOP Could Yank Party Endorsement from NeverTrump Senator Jeff Flake in Arizona

Tennessee Star Staff

The Republican Party could dispense harsh discipline against GOP senators who deride or undermine President Donald Trump, using an little-known rule to pull official endorsements. One of those senators who could lose the nod of his own party could be Arizona Sen. Jeff Flake, up for re-election in 2018. Rule 11 of the Republican National Committee…

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Report Calls On Attorney General Sessions To End EPA’s $1.5 Billion Slush Fund

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The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has established a practice in recent years that allows the agency to “create its own de facto power of the purse,” according to a report from the Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI) released Tuesday. The EPA and Department of Justice (DOJ) force private companies and individuals to fund policies and initiatives that…

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New York Times Admits Its Front Page Climate Change Article Was Wrong

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Tennessee Star

The New York Times issued a correction to its Tuesday front page article, now admitting that the government climate report it “obtained” had actually been publicly available online for months. “An article on Tuesday about a sweeping federal climate change report referred incorrectly to the availability of the report,” TheNYT wrote in its correction issued Wednesday…

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