Day: September 21, 2017

Lynn Ahrens, the Artist Behind Schoolhouse Rock’s ‘The Preamble’

Christina Botteri

  Thanks to the wildly popular Schoolhouse Rock! cartoon series, if you were a child of the 1970s or 1980s, chances are you hum a certain song whenever anyone mentions The Preamble. In fact, you’re probably humming it right now. In three minutes, the folksy tune with the catchy chorus provides viewers a foundational understanding of the what the U.S. Constitution – and especially The Preamble – are, exactly and why they’re important. https://youtu.be/yHp7sMqPL0g Schoolhouse Rock! was the brainchild of David McCall, of the advertising agency McCaffrey & McCall. The idea came to him as he watched his young son struggle to learn his multiplication tables, but could rattle off all the lyrics of the latest Rolling Stones hit without a second thought. McCall realized he if he could place good educational material inside of catchy music with kid-friendly animations,  he would be able to help children just like his son.  In true free market fashion, he pitched his idea to ABC television – his biggest client at the time. The network behemoth bought the idea, and the 3min shorts were headed for air a few months later. The first-ever installment of Schoolhouse Rock – “Three is the Magic Number” – was broadcast January 3, 1973.…

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Princeton University Celebrated Constitution Day with a Lecture Titled ‘F%*# Free Speech’

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Students of the fine, 271-year-old ivy league institution of Princeton University – which was originally founded as a college to train ministers, and whose early presidents include Johnathon Whitherspoon, a key figure in America’s founding from whose pulpit came some of the most persuasive sermons lauding the virtues of freedom, and who would sign the Declaration of Independence – were treated to a presentation Monday to celebrate Constitution Day. Provocatively titled, “F%*# Free Speech,” the lecture was delivered by Professor Carolyn Rouse, who Chairs the Anthropolgy Department and is also the Director of the Program in African Studies. Campus Reform has reported on this professor in the past for her work on a project called ‘Trumplandia,’ were Rouse asserts she will not consume any news programming whatsoever – except for the Sunday New York Times – and rely solely on what other people tell her is news. As a part of her remarks Monday, Rouse contended that “the academy has never promoted free speech as a central value.” Campus Reform reports: Language is partial. It relies on context for comprehensibility, and can have implications that go far beyond simply hurting somebody’s feelings. Put simply, speech is costly. So, contrary to…

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Tennessee to Reinstate Work Requirement for Food Stamps

Wendy Wilson

Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam announced this week that the state will bring back the federal work requirement for able-bodied adults receiving food stamps that was waived in 2008 because of the recession. The requirement, to be reinstated across most of the state starting Feb. 1, will affect adults without dependents in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), according to a news release issued Monday. The waiver will remain in place in 16 counties considered economically distressed and that have a labor surplus. More than one million Tennesseans currently receive food stamps. The reinstated work requirement will likely impact 58,000 adults currently not meeting the requirement. The state has a total population of 6.65 million. As the economy has recovered nationwide, many other states have fully or partially restored their work requirements. “This waiver was necessary at a time when people were hurting from the recession,” said Haslam, a Republican. “But nearly a decade later, Tennessee is one of the top locations in the Southeast for high quality jobs, and it’s now difficult to justify waiving the work requirement for adults without dependents who are able to work. We have experienced record low unemployment rates and substantial job growth in Tennessee, and if…

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Tricia Stickel Commentary: Conservatives Must Rally Around One Candidate to Defeat Bob Corker in GOP Senate Primary

Tennessee Star Staff

by Tricia Stickel We are thrilled with the announcement of Andy Ogles that he is a candidate for the Republican nomination to the U.S. Senate. Tennessee has a history of fellow conservatives entering the race against a very good candidate and thus splitting the conservative vote. With rumors floating around since the announcement from Andy Ogles of his entering the campaign, we have history repeating itself. Being so tired of aspirational political greed, if our fellow conservatives insist on entering the race there would be only one conclusion, they have been convinced to support Corker by splitting the vote! This may sound harsh, but it may be the reality. We must find the “stakeholders,” mitigate the folly and bring reason, along with our mission to supporting one candidate, Andy Ogles. Many of us gave our everything to these contenders in past endeavors. It is time to ask other contenders what their opposition is to Andy Ogles as our next U.S. Senator? What would be their objection? Will it again be a “calling”? Will blind ambition or an insatiable craving to climb the political ladder that ultimately create the situation which will help Bob Corker retain his seat, merely by splitting…

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Media Ignore Leading Democrat’s Salacious Corruption Trial

Tennessee Star Staff

Sen. Bob Menendez’s (D-N.J.) ongoing public corruption and bribery trial commenced two weeks ago today, and yet the mainstream media has barely bothered to afford the Democratic scandal any substantial amount of coverage. Menendez is the first sitting senator in 36 years to undergo a federal corruption trial. The New Jersey Democrat was indicted in 2015…

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O’Reilly Warns Ingraham: The Left Is ‘Going to Come After You’

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Former Fox News host Bill O’Reilly warned LifeZette editor-in-chief Laura Ingraham that the far-left is “going to come after you” because the talk show landscape is a “hateful arena where the truth doesn’t matter,” during an interview Wednesday on “The Laura Ingraham Show.” O’Reilly, who left the network in April amid sexual harassment claims, said Ingraham…

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California Sues to Stop The Wall on Environmental Grounds

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Tennessee Star

California Attorney General Xavier Becerra filed a lawsuit Wednesday alleging that President Donald Trump’s proposal to expedite construction of a wall at the U.S.-Mexico border violates laws aimed at protecting the environment. Becerra announced the legal challenge standing in front of the existing border fencing at Border Field State Park near San Diego, saying the federal…

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Nearly Half of Tennesseans Affected by Equifax Data Breach, Attorney General Says

Wendy Wilson
Tennessee Star

Nearly half of Tennessee residents were affected by the Equifax data breach, according to state Attorney General Herbert Slatery. Slatery has written a letter to the Atlanta-based credit reporting firm to express concern about personal information being stolen, making consumers vulnerable to identity theft and financial loss. His said in his letter Tuesday he was adding his voice to that of 44 other attorneys general. A news release from Slatery’s office said the personal information of more than 3 million Tennesseans has been stolen. The state has a population of 6.65 million. “It is distressing that this massive breach leaves consumers exposed to financial and other harm,” Slatery said. “Consumers need to be vigilant about regularly monitoring their financial accounts and credit reports, and Equifax must actively assist consumers in those efforts.” In his letter, Slatery advised the company of the frustration that many consumers are experiencing when they contact Equifax and face long wait times and interactions with uninformed employees. He also advised Equifax not to create confusion for consumers who might think they have to pay for credit monitoring when it is now being offered for free. He said the cutoff date for people to sign up for the free…

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Faith: Verse of the Day for Thursday, September 21

Dana Hunsinger Gill
Tennessee Star - Verse of the Day

  VERSE OF THE DAY Be blessed and be a blessing September 21, Thursday Ezekiel 18:32 For I take no pleasure in the death of anyone, declares the Sovereign LORD. Repent and live Romans 10:9-11 If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.10 For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved. 11 As Scripture says, “Anyone who believes in him will never be put to shame.”

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