New U.N. sanctions on North Korea has won rare praise for President Donald Trump from a leading Democrat not known for his kind words for the president. Maryland Senator Ben Cardin, the top Democrat on the Foreign Relations Committee, called the U.S. sponsored resolution toughening sanctions “a good move” and a “major accomplishment.” “I give our…
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A handful of prominent Massachusetts Democrats are looking to stop President Donald Trump from winning the White House again in 2020 and the list has more than a few notables. Trump’s approval rating has fallen steadily since April and has plateaued at roughly 39 percent since November. Despite a recent legislative victory with tax reform and…
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The FBI is declining to repudiate the Russia dossier on which it partially relied to start an investigation into the Trump campaign, but it concedes the document’s major core charges of election collusion remain unsubstantiated. Sources familiar with House and Senate investigations say this is the FBI’s dossier talking point 17 months after agents were first…
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Rep. Francis Rooney said Tuesday that some federal agencies need to be “purged” of those biased against President Trump in order to know they have “a good, clean government.” “I would like to see the directors of those agencies purge it and say, ‘look, we’ve got a lot of great agents, a lot of great lawyers…
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Evangelist Franklin Graham told Rosie O’Donnell to “clean up your mouth” and “put your faith and trust in Jesus Christ,” after the comedian told Speaker of the House Paul Ryan he’s going “straight to hell.” “Rosie, you don’t have the keys to hell, but I know the One who does,” Mr. Graham said in a Facebook post on Tuesday. “And I can tell you who will be there. Hell is going to be filled with people who reject God’s offer of salvation and turned their backs on His laws and standards, refusing to repent.”
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During last week’s radio interview with Ralph Bristol, Randy Boyd repeats the same arguments being used by legislators to grant in-state tuition to illegal aliens living in Tennessee. At first, Boyd makes it sound as if he is opposed to giving in-state tuition to illegal aliens when he says, “I don’t believe that the state should be providing additional benefits for people that are illegal in our state.” But Boyd makes a quick pivot relying on the same arguments used by legislators who voted in favor of the State Sen. Gardenhire/State Rep. White in-state tuition bill. Former State Sen. Jim Tracy (R-Shelbyville) said his focus was wanting to help UT Martin fill their open seats because “we need more students in college…we are not at full capacity now…I’m just trying to reach more students.” Boyd used a partially empty hotel example to illustrate why the state shouldn’t use its tuition policies to “charge a penalty of triple” the amount of in-state tuition: I think that’s true and I think this my be a longer conversation for another interview, but I think there is also a concern that I have about us being able to attract more talent around the country and around…
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Guatemala is to move its embassy in Israel to Jerusalem, President Jimmy Morales said Sunday, becoming the first leader to back US President Donald Trump’s controversial change of stance on the holy city. After speaking with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Morales wrote to Guatemalans on his Facebook page that “one of the most important topics…
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Eric Schmidt, chief executive of Google parent company Alphabet, was appointed chairman of a Department of Defense program in 2016 that was established by former President Barack Obama’s administration. A staunch supporter of the Democratic Party and critic of President Donald Trump, Schmidt still continues to lead the Defense Innovation Board (DIB), even well after the…
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Retiring Arizona Republican Sen. Jeff Flake — who is one of President Trump’s most strident Senate critics — refused Sunday to rule out a 2020 presidential bid. He made his remarks during an interview on ABC News’ “This Week” that aired Sunday. “I don’t rule anything out, but it’s not in my plans,” Flake told ABC…
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The economy roared to life this year under President Trump, who proudly claimed the success as his own and said the lack of credit given to him was one of the media’s biggest slights against him all year. There was no disputing the business revival. The stock market soared all year long, setting 70 record highs…
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The handgun that Shaneen Allen was carrying when she was pulled over on a New Jersey highway could have sent her to prison for years if not for a pardon from Republican Gov. Chris Christie. Now the legal saga that kept the Pennsylvania mother of two in jail for 48 days has helped inspire a measure…
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The White House on Sunday said President Trump wants to introduce an infrastructure package in January and reach for a deal with Democrats, a pivot toward bipartisanship after Republican-only efforts on health care and taxes produced mixed results this year. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, Kentucky Republican, also wants to focus on bipartisan bills next year,…
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FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe, the focus of criticism over the past year from President Donald Trump and Republicans in Congress, plans to retire in 2018, The Washington Post reported Saturday. McCabe, 49, is the No. 2 official in the FBI and had been acting director after Trump fired the former director, James Comey, in May.…
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Due out in early 2018 is “Chappaquiddick,” a film chronicling the infamous 1969 car crash by the late Sen. Ted Kennedy — which left a young woman dead. The first trailer for the flick debuted Wednesday afternoon, and it shines a surprisingly negative, though honest, light on the Kennedy family.
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Liberals have launched a new effort to recruit scientists to run for office. One of their favorite “scientists” is former Gov. Phil Bredesen, who is running unopposed for the Democratic nomination for the U.S. Senate in Tennessee. The new group, named ‘314 Action’ after the first three digits of the mathematical constant “pi,” TheHill.com welcomed them to the national political scene: A group focused on recruiting and training scientists to run for office is eyeing two more key House and Senate races as it plans to ramp up involvement in the 2018 midterms. 314 Action, named after the first three digits of pi, is closely watching the race for Rep. Dave Reichert’s (R-WA) open seat and the Tennessee Senate race, which has garnered some national attention. But the group has yet to make endorsements in either race. Former Gov. Phil Bredesen (D), who has a bachelor’s degree in physics, is running for the open seat in Tennessee. He’s seen as a top recruit for Democrats in a state that hasn’t elected a Democrat to the Senate in nearly 30 years. In the race to fill Reichert’s seat, the group is closely watching pediatrician Kim Schrier (D), who’s running in a crowded…
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When my niece, Alexandria, was very young, she was always eager to come and help arrange the figures. She carefully studied the placement of every angel and shepherd, frequently stepping back to evaluate her work. This ritual always seemed to prompt questions: “Did the Baby Jesus get cold in the manger?” she would ask. “Did Mary and Joseph have a blanket to cover Him, or were those swaddling clothes warm enough?” One December, as we put out the worn old manger and its well-loved pieces, my niece asked her most profound question yet: “Uncle Alex, why did Jesus come?”
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Thirty years ago Bassem Giacaman, whose large extended family has lived in this town for generations, immigrated to New Zealand with his parents and siblings in search of a life far away from the turmoil of the Middle East. They left behind a small shop and olive wood factory, one of a few dozen olive wood enterprises in and around Bethlehem, which Christians around the world revere as the birthplace of Jesus.
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That building met a fate similar to the mosque’s, when it collapsed in the 13th century, Fox News reported. The stone’s multiple uses through eras when different religions dominated Israel are part of what make the find so intriguing, as is its rare design.
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U.S. District Judge Leigh Martin May ruled Wednesday that Atlanta officials violated the Constitution in 2015 when they terminated then-Fire Chief Kelvin Cochran for not getting the city’s prior permission to write a religious book. The Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) represented Cochran, a evangelical Christian, in the case, Cochran v. City of Atlanta. The judge upheld…
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Australian Treasurer Scott Morrison sounded alarm bells about the impact of the recently-passed American tax cuts on Australia’s economy. If Australia doesn’t pass its own version of the Trump tax cuts, Morrison fears the country will take a hit to its GDP of up to 1 percent. Morrison initially proposed a $65 billion tax cut, saying it will add 1 percent to Australia’s GDP. After Trump’s cut, however, Morrison warned that the cuts are necessary for the country’s economy not to contract.
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A Wednesday in Politico headlined “House Republicans quietly investigate perceived corruption at DOJ, FBI” was wildly inaccurate in its suggestion of secrecy — and House Republicans are angry.
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The latest winner of TV’s “Survivor” is a person even non-fans will want to celebrate. Ben Driebergen, an ex-Marine, was crowned winner of the 35th Season of the show, which tests survival and mental skills, on Wednesday night. Driebergen, 34, was open about his experiences with the United States Marines and the struggles he faced during his time spent overseas in Iraq. “I was a company honor man out of boot camp and school, and loved what I did,” he told The Hollywood Reporter. “Certain things happen. You lose friends. The Marine Corps was a good experience, but it was also a bad experience.”
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Bitcoin burst out of the shadows in 2017, seducing Wall Street and individual investors alike even though many still struggle to understand precisely what it is. The cryptocurrency’s rise is also pushing regulators to consider taking action after years of simply urging caution.
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I will honor Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year. I will live in the Past, the Present, and the Future. The Spirits of all Three shall strive within me. I will not shut out the lessons that they teach!
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President Donald Trump will return to Nashville on January 8 to speak to the annual convention of the American Farm Bureau at Gaylord’s Opryland Hotel. “The American Farm Bureau Federation is honored to host our nation’s president,” AFBF President Zippy Duvall said in a statement released on the organization’s website last week. “President Trump has said all along that he would make sure agriculture has a seat at the table when it comes to the top issues facing America’s farmers and ranchers. Now, it is our privilege to reserve a spot for him at our podium,” Duvall said. “Duvall considers President Trump’s announced speech as a sign of the high regard in which the nation’s chief executive holds America’s farm and ranch families,” the statement continued: “Farmers and ranchers and our rural communities are the bedrock of our nation. President Trump knows that, and his willingness to devote his time to talk directly with Farm Bureau members will be a memorable occasion,” Duvall said. After three consecutive years of decline in farm sector profits, President Trump will speak to Farm Bureau members during a period of prolonged economic challenge across farm country. Profits have fallen and many farmers have seen…
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The company last week launched an advertising campaign in national newspapers, Washington publications, and local papers in its home state of Connecticut. In a statement, Purdue said the ads were part of a broader “long-term initiative,” but declined to provide details about what else would be included beyond the advertisements. “We manufacture prescription opioids,” reads one of the ads, a full-page spread in the Wall Street Journal on Monday. “How could we not help fight the prescription and illicit opioid abuse crisis?”
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A document described as Sen. Richard Durbin’s compromise offer to immigration hard-liners as part of an amnesty deal for illegal immigrants brought to America as children demonstrates one of two possibilities. Either the Illinois Democratic senator and his allies are lowballing Republicans as a negotiating tactic, or they think they can win legal status for beneficiaries…
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By Rick Manning The First Amendment to the Constitution protecting the right to engage in speech is fundamental to a free country. The past few years have seen multiple attempts by the Democratic Party and their far-left supporters to create a new definition of this right – the freedom from speech that one doesn’t like. While this trend toward the left trying to redefine rights as being freedom from activity they don’t like is not new, it has taken hold as the dominant philosophy of the Democratic Party in the past few years. It was just in September of 2014, that Senate Democrats voted to repeal the First Amendment and replace it with language that would end protections for political speech. Now, violent left-wing protesters shut down speeches of those they don’t agree with on college campuses and spent last year attacking Donald Trump supporters with the acquiescence of local officials and the police they direct in places like Chicago and San Jose, California. Facebook, Google, and Twitter have all come under fire for restricting speech from individuals and groups on the right with which their internal political culture disagrees. It is this new, intolerant attitude toward speech that is leading…
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Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin gave the federal personnel office an early Christmas gift on Friday – a subpoena demanding to know why it “exempted” members of Congress from Obamacare by letting them retain employer subsidies for coverage.
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The University of Minnesota has disavowed a set of guidelines issued by one of its academic departments labeling holiday symbols such as Christmas trees, doves and dreidels as “religious iconography” inappropriate for a school setting.
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As part of an annual holiday tradition, U.S. President Donald Trump and other senior administration officials visited American troops around the world on Thursday. Trump visited wounded soldiers at at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center just outside Washington.
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A steady drumbeat of liberal commentators for months has been predicting — hoping? — that President Donald Trump will fire independent counsel Robert Muller, but a man who knows a thing or two about the jobs said Thursday it won’t happen. Ken Starr, who served as special prosecutor during the Whitewater probe that eventually led to…
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Turns out President Donald Trump and his base are not the only ones who prefer “Merry Christmas” to the politically correct “Happy Holidays.” A new Knights of Columbus-Marist poll finds that nearly 60 percent of Americans overwhelmingly favor “Merry Christmas” to the more neutral “Happy Holidays,” a slight increase from last year’s 57 percent.
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A decidedly anti-Trump appeals court issued yet another ruling Friday blocking most of President Trump’s latest version of his travel ban, finding that the White House exceeded its powers. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said would-be visitors from six majority-Muslim countries can still travel to the U.S. despite the policy, as long as they…
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When globalist Starbucks announced its pledge to hire 10,000 refugees in response to President Trump’s executive order instituting a temporary travel ban, former Special Ops veteran Evan Hafer, now CEO and founder of Salt Lake City, Utah-based Black Rifle Coffee Company (BRCC) had a better idea. Hafer said his veteran owned and operated company is working to employ 10,000 veteran service members and others who have served their country. Hafer, who had been roasting coffee for ten years between multiple deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan and taste-testing his roasts on the gun range while teaching tactical skills, launched his “premium conservative coffee company” in 2014. During interviews Hafer’s passion for roasting coffee, serving his country and supporting those who have served, is evident. He says simply, BRCC is different from other coffee sellers because it was “built from the ground up for people serving their country.” And instead of Starbuck’s globalist approach to business Hafer says it’s important to shift the focus closer to home. In that context, he makes a compelling case for the potential veteran worker pool of 2.5 million unemployed or underemployed post 9-11 vets and a veteran unemployment rate of 6.3% as compared to a 5% non-vet unemployment rate. Hafer…
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VERSE OF THE DAY Be blessed and be a blessing December 24, Sunday John 3:16 “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life” James 1:17 Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.”
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Catholic Charities of Tennessee State Refugee Coordinator Holly Johnson has confirmed that the federal refugee resettlement contractor Bridge Refugee Services, may have to close its Chattanooga office due to new guidance from the U.S. State Department which reportedly informed voluntary agencies (VOLAGs) that any of their local offices expecting to resettle fewer than 100 refugees in 2018, “will no longer be authorized to resettle new arrivals.” Bridge’s resettlement numbers for Chattanooga were reported as likely to fall below the 100 mark for 2018. It is not known whether this will lead Bridge to concentrate all its efforts in Knoxville where their other office operates. Nine national voluntary agencies (VOLAGs) contract with the State Department to facilitate refugee resettlement through almost 300 local affiliated agencies across the U.S. which must first be authorized to receive new refugee arrivals. Refugee resettlement contractors have become dependent on federal funding to operate these local agencies even though the State Department contract states that the public money is only “intended to augment the private resources” the refugee contractor is supposed to contribute. The contractors are paid a fee for each individual refugee they resettle. Currently, the contractor keeps $1,000 of the $2125 refugee fee paid by the…
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by Anya Bidwell Phil Parhamovich is a musician from Madison, Wisconsin. Over the years, he saved up $91,800, only to have it seized by Wyoming Highway Patrol during a routine traffic stop near Cheyenne. Civil forfeiture allows law enforcement to take and keep cash, cars and other property without ever charging someone with a crime. Phil was never accused of, or charged with, a crime. Yet, he found himself in the fight of his life to recover the money that belonged to him. Luckily, Phil reached out to the Institute for Justice (IJ), and together we got back Phil’s life savings. But the fight is far from over; Phil’s story only highlights the urgent need to end civil forfeiture. An Unjust Practice Before that fateful March day, Phil had never heard of civil forfeiture. He was just a musician driving through Wyoming to a show in Salt Lake City. Phil had big plans for his life savings, which he brought with him for safekeeping. He wanted to put a down payment on a historic music studio in Madison where bands like Nirvana, Smashing Pumpkins and Garbage recorded albums. Phil had dreams of opening up the recording studio to other…
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By Printus LeBlanc Another day, another hearing and the America public learn more about the mountain of evidence pointing towards the entire Mueller special counsel team being filled with conflicts of interest. Rod Rosenstein said he would not fire Robert Mueller stating, “If there were good cause, I would act.” Well Mr. Deputy Attorney General, not counting the tens of thousands of dollars in political donations to Hillary Clinton, there is plenty of evidence to suggest a biased Special Counsel, if you would only open your eyes. The Department of Justice supposedly has strict rules regarding conflicts of interests. The DOJ regulation regarding personal conflicts of interest states, “In addition to the impartiality regulation, 28 C.F.R. § 45.2 prohibits a DOJ employee, without written authorization, from participating in a criminal investigation or prosecution if he has a personal or political relationship with any person or organization substantially involved in the conduct that is the subject of the investigation or prosecution, or any person or organization which he knows has a specific and substantial interest that would be directly affected by the outcome of the investigation or prosecution.” Why does it seem like Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein has never seen this regulation? Peter…
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They wanted him dead. For years, a clandestine U.S. intelligence team had tracked a man they knew was high in the leadership of al Qaeda – an operative some believed had a hand in plotting the gruesome 2009 suicide attack in Afghanistan that killed seven CIA officers.
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Advance Financial’s Chief Experience Officer Tina Hodges sent a welcome email on Friday to employees in all 84 of the company’s locations in Tennessee. The email announced that due to President Trump’s successful passage of tax reforms and cuts, the company will be sharing the considerable corporate tax savings with its employees in the form of increased 401(k) contributions, profit sharing, and for their local communities, increases in donations to their charity, the Advance Financial Foundation. The combined effect of the changes announced Friday morning will include an additional $500,000 to employees and more than $550,000 to community organizations, for a total of a little more than $1 million annually. Advance Financial is not alone in their decision to raise worker benefits in response to the tax cuts. Companies around the country have announced similar programs since the passage of President Trump’s signature economic program this week. Banking giant Wells Fargo announced earlier this week that they will use their tax savings to ratchet their employees’ starting wage to $15 an hour, and next year, they would increase their charitable giving by $400,000. Fifth Third Bank announced they will follow suit with a $15 an hour starting wage. AT&T, Comcast, Boeing, and other companies…
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A liberal and conservative group that usually find themselves on the opposite end of most issues of public policy have joined forces to address what they describe as needed reforms to the justice system. The Tennessee chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), one of the most liberal groups in the country on most issues, and The Beacon Center of Tennessee, the state’s well respected and leading conservative think tank, along with the Nashville Chamber of Commerce and Goodwill Industries, among others, have formed the non-partisan Tennessee Coalition for Sensible Justice, which last week released their “Blueprint for a Sensible Justice System” to each of the gubernatorial candidates in the running for the Volunteer State’s highest elected office. “The Tennessee Coalition for Sensible Justice sent its 2018 “Blueprint for a Sensible Justice System” to all Tennessee gubernatorial candidates this week. The blueprint outlines recommended reforms to the criminal justice system to enhance public safety and save taxpayers money,” the group’s statement began, adding: The blueprint calls on the next governor to adopt reforms in the areas of: Public safety, including reducing crime rates and recidivism through mental health and addiction training for law enforcement and incentive-based funding for corrections,…
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Democrats trained their heaviest fire in attacking the measure’s corporate tax cuts, as a massive giveaway to the rich. But even as prominent Democrats like Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), and Sens. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) and Richard Durbin (D-Ill.) trashed the idea, their extremely blue home states have been cutting corporate tax rates.
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Attorney General Jeff Sessions stepped into the Bundy prosecution after Wednesday’s mistrial, ordering a third-party examination of the case in light of the latest government snafu. “The attorney general takes this issue very seriously and has personally directed that an expert in the [Justice Department’s] discovery obligations be deployed to examine the case and advise as to the next steps,” said Ian D. Prior, the department’s principal deputy director of public affairs, in a late Wednesday statement.
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U.S. Ambassador Nikki Haley has warned other United Nations envoys that she will be ‘taking names’ when the U.N. General Assembly holds a rare emergency session on Thursday to consider a resolution rejecting U.S. recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. “The President will be watching this vote carefully and has requested I report back on those countries who voted against us,” the letter, seen by VOA, says. “We will take note of each and every vote on this issue.”
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“How do you increase your net worth by 69 million dollars while you’re working full-time as a Senator?” That’s the question Rolling Stone reporter Matt Taibbi asked about Senator Bob Corker (R-TN) on Friday. Neither Taibbi nor Rolling Stone are fans of Corker (or of President Trump, Republicans, or conservatism in general). And Rolling Stone has had problems of its own, recently, as has Taibbi. Nonetheless, Taibbi puts a fine point on what many political watchers across the Volunteer State have been asking for years. Federal campaign contributions and lobbying data tracker Open Secrets has perhaps the most jaw-dropping illustration of Corker’s rise to wealth. As Rolling Stone’s Taibbi writes, “Corker didn’t just enter the Senate without any money. He entered it carrying, according to his own disclosure forms, a mountain range of huge loans.” Setting the stage for his ‘promotion’ from Chattanooga Mayor to U.S. Senator, Taibbi writes of Tennessee’s junior senator: Corker took office in January, 2007, during the last gasp of the Bush/Rove political juggernaut. The Iraq war had gone south and the Republicans had just been routed in midterms. The financial crisis was just around the corner. And nobody paid attention to the smooth-talking freshman Senator from Tennessee, who turned…
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VERSE OF THE DAY Be blessed and be a blessing December 23, Saturday Luke 1:68 “Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel, because he has come to his people and redeemed them 2 Corinthians 9:15 “Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift.”
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President Donald Trump signed Republican’s tax reform bill into law Friday, solidifying the president’s first major legislative victory of 2017. The president said Friday he was originally waiting to sign the bill after New Years, but he decided to expedite the signing after media outlets questioned the timing.
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In a carefully parsed response to a question from WTN’s Ralph Bristol on Wednesday, GOP gubernatorial candidate Randy Boyd said he agreed with a recent opinion issued by Tennessee Attorney General Herbert Slatery that the matter of charging in-state tuition for illegal aliens is the responsibility of the Tennessee General Assembly. But, Boyd added, our “[state] universities are not at capacity,” and, just like a hotel, we should not keep paying students away by charging them “triple” out-of-state tuition, but instead should charge them “full” in-state tuition. This is the precise language used by in-state-tuition advocates State Sen. Todd Gardenhire (R-Chattanooga) and State Rep. Mark White (R-Memphis) in their recent attempts to push in-state-tuition for illegals through the Tennessee General Assembly. Gardenhire and White are expected to re-introduce that legislation to the Tennessee General Assembly when it convenes next month. The recent Tennessee Star poll shows the support of in-state tuition for the children of illegal immigrants is potentially toxic to a campaign aiming to earn a majority of Republican primary voters in 2018. A staggering 88 percent of Republican primary voters polled say they oppose providing taxpayer subsidized in-state college tuition to illegal immigrant students versus a mere 6 percent who…
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Vice President Mike Pence made a surprise visit Thursday to U.S. troops in Afghanistan, telling them that he brought Christmas greetings from President Trump. Mr. Pence said that before he left Washington he asked Mr. Trump what message to deliver and he said: “Tell them I love them,” the vice president told troops at Bagram Airfield…
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