Day: January 10, 2018

Mae Beavers and Diane Black Praise 6th Circuit Court Decision Upholding Right to Life ‘Amendment One’: Abortion is Not a ‘Right’ in Tennessee

Jason M. Reynolds

The 6th Circuit Court of Appeals issued a ruling on Tuesday upholding the choice of Tennessee voters on Amendment 1 in 2014.  Amendment 1, which was placed on the statewide ballot that year by the Tennessee General Assembly as a legislatively referred constitutional amendment, passed with 53 percent of the vote, and amended the Tennessee Constitution to read, in part: Nothing in this Constitution secures or protects a right to abortion. “The Tennessee Legislative Powers Regarding Abortion, Amendment 1 was on the November 4, 2014 ballot in the state of Tennessee as a legislatively referred constitutional amendment, where it was approved,” Ballotpedia reported: The measure added language to the Tennessee Constitution empowering the legislature to enact, amend or repeal state statutes regarding abortion, including for pregnancies resulting from rape or incest or when necessary to protect the mother’s life. Amendment 1 was placed on the ballot by the Tennessee General Assembly in two separate votes. It was sponsored by U.S. Rep. Diane Black (R-6), who was a state senator at the time of introduction, and State Sen. Mae Beavers (R-17) as Senate Joint Resolution 127. . . The Tennessee General Assembly was required to approve the amendment in two successive sessions. In the first…

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Trevecca University Caves to Radical Muslims at CAIR, Cancels Mae Beavers Event

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Trevecca Nazarene University has abruptly withdrawn access as the venue for a Homeland Security Summit scheduled for January 25 by Republican gubernatorial candidate and former State Senator Mae Beavers (R-Mt. Juliet) amid a complaint from “alumni,” Trevecca president Dan Boone told The Tennessean. The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) praised the decision, characterizing the event and its participants as bigots. “It’s kind of a who’s who of Islamophobes,” CAIR spokesman Ibrahim Hooper told The Tennessean. “The themes are always the same – Muslims are about to take over the country and install sharia in place of the Constitution, and mosques are hotbeds of extremism,” Hooper said. As the Washington Post reported in 2014, the United Arab Emirates has declared CAIR to be a terrorist organization for its role in financing the Holy Land Foundation in Texas, which in turn diverted funds to Hamas. “Today Trevecca has abandoned the Biblical principles that they preach in order to embrace political correctness and promote the interests of those who deny Christ and stand opposed to everything the University has represented in the past,” Beavers told The Tennessee Star on Wednesday afternoon moments after Trevecca University announced it had caved to CAIR. “The best indication that the…

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State Senate Candidates Joe Carr and Shane Reeves Battle Over ‘Per Diem’ Reimbursements

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Former State Rep. Joe Carr (R-Lascassas) and Murfreesboro businessman Shane Reeves have intensified their battle to win the Republican nomination in the 14th State Senate District special primary election to be held on January 25th, two weeks and two days from now in a spirited back and forth over the issue of legislative “per diem” reimbursements. On Monday, Carr called on Reeves to disavow former State Senator Jim Tracy’s (R-Shelbyville) endorsement, in light of Reeves’ ‘Conservative Per Diem Pledge’ and Tracy’s acceptance of some $29,887.46 in total per diem reimbursements in 2017. Carr asserts that Tracy collected over $200,000 in taxpayer reimbursements for travel to and from his  home over the course of his career as a Tennessee state legislator. “While he is at it,” Carr added, “I would expect that Reeves will be sharply criticizing State Representatives Pat Marsh and Rick Tillis, who received total per diem reimbursements of $21,017.52 and $26,880.16, respectively, in 2017. Will he reject their support for his campaign because they accepted the exact same per diem reimbursements that I did? If not, then he should explain his double-standard and hypocrisy in expressing outrage only when it fits his mudslinging political, “win at all costs” campaign.”…

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Google’s New Fact-Check Feature Targets Conservative Sites Almost Exclusively

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Google, the most powerful search engine in the world, is now displaying fact checks for conservative publications in its results. No prominent liberal site receives the same treatment. And not only is Google’s fact-checking highly partisan – perhaps reflecting the sentiments of its leaders – it is also blatantly wrong, asserting sites made “claims” they demonstrably never made.

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Rebecca Anne Burke Pulls Petitions To Start Bid to Replace Retiring State Rep. Charles Sargent

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Well-known conservative activist Rebecca Anne Burke’s campaign to replace retiring State Representative Charles Sargent (R-Franklin) hit the ground running this week when  the conservative firebrand picked up her qualifying petitions, the first step in the process to get on the ballot for the August Republican primary. Burke surprised political watchers last September when she declared her intention to challenge Rep. Sargent, a 20-year incumbent, to represent the people of State House District 61, which includes North Franklin, Cool Springs, West and Central Brentwood. “Many think that we should be worried about the ‘Swamp’ in Washington D.C., but my sights are focused on the ‘Swamp’ in Tennessee,” she said at the time. Less than a month later, Sargent announced he would not seek re-election. Currently Burke serves as Williamson County’s State Executive Committeewoman to the Republican Party’s Board of Directors, an office she won in a four-way contest in 2014. In addition to her duties as a Republican Party official, she is a tireless presence in many key wins across the South. In 2016, she served the Trump presidential campaign as voter outreach phone center coordinator in the Orlando, Florida. Most recently, Burke traveled to Georgia to help Karen Handel defeat the heavily favored Democrat en jeune Jon Ossoff in…

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State Representative Jay Reedy Commentary: Time to Address Child Sexual Abuse and Educator Sexual Misconduct

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by State Representative Jay Reedy (R-Erin)   Child sexual abuse is a difficult subject to discuss, however, it is time.  One teacher organization, Professional Educators of Tennessee, spoke out on child sexual abuse after the disappearance of a 15-year-old student and her 50-year-old teacher.   This issue is something that should concern all of us in the Tennessee General Assembly, in our communities and in our schools. The Comptroller’s Office of Research and Education Accountability has recently completed a review and analysis on this important topic with recommendations for the Tennessee State Board of Education and the Department of Education. Most research indicates that child sexual abuse is almost always a continuing process, and not limited to a single event.  Child abuse is best described when someone deliberately harms a minor physically, psychologically, sexually, or by acts of neglect.  Child sexual abuse is a type of child abuse that involves sexual activity with a minor.  It is important to note that a child cannot consent to any manner of sexual activity at all.  The frequency of child sexual abuse is problematic to determine because it is often not reported.  It is understood by most experts who agree that the prevalence is…

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House Democrats Pitch Medicaid Expansion on First Day of Tennessee General Assembly’s 2018 Legislative Session

Laura Baigert

  NASHVILLE, Tennessee – Tuesday marked the first day of the second half of the 110th General Assembly, and House Democrats followed Minority Leader and Democratic gubernatorial candidate State Rep. Craig Fitzhugh (D-Ripley)  in setting the tone for health care through Medicaid expansion. The first day of session is largely “feel good” and procedural in nature, as legislators come back together and move through standard agenda items in accordance with the House Permanent Rules of Order (page 3 – 4), as there is very little substantive business yet underway. A major portion of the session is what is known as “personal orders,” where members are recognized by the speaker to give a short personal message. Those messages are most often related to acknowledging a constituent, family member or other visitor. Fitzhugh, the first House member to be called on, said he wanted to set the tone for this session to health care.  The minority leader also spoke for the “fighting 25″ Democrats who, he said, support the expansion of Medicaid with the changes Governor Haslam will be making. Whether he was making a connection between himself and the governor’s office or pointing out that Medicaid expansion was the program of…

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