Day: February 28, 2018

Speaker Beth Harwell Casts Tie-Breaking Vote to Advance ‘Medical Cannabis Act’ Despite Law Enforcement Opposition

Laura Baigert

Speaker Beth Harwell (R-Nashville) cast the tie-breaking vote on Tuesday to move the controversial “Medical Cannabis Act” out of the  Criminal Justice Subcommittee. Harwell, who is one of four candidates seeking the Republican nomination for governor, was called in to the subcommittee already in progress to join two Democrats and one Republican who voted in favor of the bill, and cast the fourth and deciding vote against the three Republicans who voted against the bill. Harwell, who is not a member of the subcommittee, has the authority to participate in any subcommittee or committee vote, either in person or through a designee, to break a tie. In a controversial move last year, Harwell designated Speaker Pro Tem Curtis Johnson to break the tie on the IMPROVE Act in the House Transportation Subcommittee. Voting against the bill were Representatives Michael Curcio (R-Dickson), William Lamberth (R-Cottontown) and Micah Van Huss (R-Jonesborough). Voting in favor of the bill were Representatives Tilman Goins (R-Morristown), Raumesh Akbari (D-Memphis), and Sherry Jones (D-Nashville). Harwell’s vote was made in direct opposition to the unanimous opposition of the Tennessee law enforcement community, which was voiced during the subcommittee hearing by the Executive Director of the Tennessee Sheriff’s Association and the Chief…

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Defiant Mayor Megan Barry Refuses to Resign: ‘The Tennesseean Is Welcome to Their Opinion’

Tennessee Star Staff

Embattled Nashville Mayor Megan Barry responded defiantly late Wednesday to the call from the Editorial Board of The Tennessean earlier in the day for her to resign. That call comes in the aftermath of her admission to an extramarital affair with her former bodyguard, Metro Nashville Police Sgt. Rob Forrest. “I was elected to serve as mayor by the voters of Davidson County, and I will continue to do so. The Tennessean is welcome to their opinion,” she said in a statement released by Sean Braisted, director of communications for the Mayor’s Office. The Tennessean’s call for her resignation, written by the paper’s very liberal opinion page editor, David Plazas, pulled no punches: A leader must put the interests and the needs of the people she serves above her own. We thought Nashville Mayor Megan Barry was doing just that. However, it has become abundantly clear in recent weeks that this is not the case after the revelation of her affair with her subordinate and former head of security, retired Metro Nashville Police Department Sgt. Rob Forrest. This is a confounding and disappointing situation: – How he could rack up more than $170,000 in overtime pay over three years, which…

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The Tennessean Editorial Board: ‘It Is Time for Mayor Megan Barry to Resign’

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In a crushing blow from one of Nashville Mayor Megan Barry’s best allies, The Tennessean’s Editorial Board called for her resignation Wednesday. The detailed commentary was written by Opinion and Engagement Editor David Plazas on behalf of the entire Board, with collaboration by fellow editorial board members Vice President and Editor Michael A. Anastasi and Executive Editor Maria De Varenne. “A leader must put the interests and the needs of the people she serves above her own,” Plazas’ editorial begins, which lays out in painful detail the many reasons Barry’s continued service in office is untenable: We thought Nashville Mayor Megan Barry was doing just that. However, it has become abundantly clear in recent weeks that this is not the case after the revelation of her affair with her subordinate and former head of security, retired Metro Nashville Police Department Sgt. Rob Forrest. This is a confounding and disappointing situation: – How he could rack up more than $170,000 in overtime pay over three years, which included extended domestic and overseas trips with her alone and overtime charges in Nashville for hours after the mayor’s calendar showed official events of the day had ended. – How her Chief Operating Officer Rich Riebeling let the…

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Nashville Mayor Megan Barry Heckled During Public Transit Meeting: ‘You Need to Resign! You’re a Disgrace!’

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During a public meeting about the ambitious $9 billion transit plan at Watkins College in Bordeaux Monday, Nashville Mayor Megan Barry was heckled by a lone protester, who stood up and yelled, “You need to resign!” “You need to leave because we are trying to talk about transit,” Barry retorted. As the man was quickly led out of the sparsely attended meeting, he said, “You need to resign! You’re a disgrace. You’re an embarrassment…. I voted for you – you’re a disgrace.” WKRN cameras were rolling and caught the entire incident on video. Citizens in and around Nashville and across the state have been roiled by a series of tawdry revelations after Barry admitted to a years-long affair with her chief of security, former Sgt. Rob Forrest. Concerns over the possible misuse of public funds to carry on, and then cover up the Mayor’s dalliance has sparked several investigations by different state and city agencies including the Tennessee Bureau of Investigations, the Metro Board of Ethical Conduct, and a Metro Council Special Committee. As The Tennessee Star previously reported: It also highlights a growing concern about a lack of checks and balances and the failure to apply standard internal controls to financial…

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The Archbishop of Canterbury: Islamic Rules Are Incompatible with Britain’s Laws

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by CHQ Staff   Justin Welby, Archbishop of Canterbury, and leader of the Anglican Church in England, said yesterday that Islamic rules are incompatible with Britain’s laws, which have developed over 500 years on the principles of a different culture. He added that high levels of immigration from Muslim countries can “have an impact on the accepted pattern for choosing a partner, on assumed ages of maturity and sexual activity, and especially on issues of polygamy.” Archbishop Welby’s comments, reported by Steve Doughty Social Affairs Correspondent for The Daily Mail, follow the release earlier this month of a highly critical Home Office report that said all couples marrying in mosques should also have to go through a legally-binding civil marriage ceremony to shield wives from injustices under sharia. They also reverse the position taken by his predecessor Lord Williams, who, observed Doughty, backed incorporating sharia into the British legal system. Archbishop Welby set out his reasons why sharia should not win official status in a book, Reimagining Britain. Archbishop Welby said in advance of publication that British law has “underlying values and assumptions” that come from a clearly Christian tradition. “Sharia law is not just about punishments,” he added. “It is…

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Off the Record: Boyd’s Team in Shelby County Gives a Lesson in Political Arrogance

Chris Alto

Republican gubernatorial candidate Randy Boyd’s campaign team was fired up to be in West Tennessee last week! After opening a Shelby County HQ last Saturday, they capped the day by dressing down Shelby County’s GOP chairman and terrorizing diners at the GOP dinner that night. All because they weren’t treated the way they believed they deserved to be treated. As reported to The Tennessee Star tip line (and subsequently confirmed in other media reports): Chip Saltsman got so mad last night at Shelby County GOP Chair Lee Mills because Diane Black was on the agenda to introduce Senator Tim Scott he screamed at Lee and called him a p***y in front of everyone in the hotel lobby. In case you can’t figure out what p***y spells, think of those little pink hats that all those angry women wore while marching.  Chip has spent time in D.C. and maybe that’s how they talk to each other “up there” but in Tennessee we express our displeasure with at least a touch of C-I-V-I-L-I-T-Y. Campaign managers of self-described MODERATES like Randy Boyd should also realize that calling someone a cat can be offensive if that someone is really a dog person. As if Chip’s rant wasn’t…

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Kushner Ally Josh Raffel to Exit White House

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White House deputy communications director Josh Raffel is leaving the Trump administration, The Washington Times has confirmed. Mr. Raffel has been a key player behind the scenes and the point man for White House senior advisers Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner. He has been quietly telling friends and colleagues including Ms. Trump and Mr. Kushner over the past two months of his plans to leave, which were first reported by Axios. Mr. Kushner has family obligations back in New York and plans to return to the private sector, according to White House sources.

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Intimidation Tactics Used Against Conservative Republican First-Time Candidates Running For Sumner County Commission

Laura Baigert

As the February 15 deadline for candidate qualifying petitions for the May 1 primary drew near, intimidation tactics started being employed against conservative first-time Republican candidates running for County Commission in Sumner County. Three self-declared conservative Republican candidates were targeted, with two coming forward publicly and choosing to stay in the race. The current Sumner County Commission, comprised of two commissioners from each of 12 districts for a total of 24, were elected in 2014. As an outcome of the May 2014 primary, 11 new commissioners were elected to the body, the majority of whom were supported by Strong Schools of Sumner County. At a special-called meeting of the Sumner County Budget Committee, immediately followed by a special-called County Commission meeting the night prior to a national election, citizens were caught off guard when the property tax rate was taken from $2.02 to $2.50. Two months later, organized citizens turned out in the hundreds and brought forward a petition with approximately 4,000 signatures protesting the property tax increase. That heavily attended meeting lasted more than six hours, going until after 1 a.m. the following day, once dozens of citizens finally had their say. At the two previous monthly meetings, the…

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Fact Check: Did Broward Sheriff’s Department Get 23 Calls Beforehand About School Shooter?

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Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel said his department received only 23 calls involving shooter Nikolas Cruz or his family before the attack at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. Verdict: False Records show that the sheriff’s department received 39 calls requesting service from authorities at Cruz’s family home since 2011, though it is not…

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Commentary: President Trump Might Be the Most Conservative President in Our Lifetime

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By Robert Romano   On Feb. 23, President Donald Trump spoke at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) for the second year in a row as president, after not attending in 2016 during the campaign. At the time, he was still busy building his constituency in the Republican primary and for the general election, where he would ultimately prevail on a very conservative platform of putting America and the American people first in governing. Now, Trump is the leader of the conservative, center-right party in the U.S. and of the executive branch. After one year in office, he has a record he has delivered on: lower taxes, fewer regulations and an opening the doors for economic expansion. ANWR has been opened for drilling. The Keystone XL pipeline is being built. The Obamacare individual mandate has been repealed. Trump pulled the U.S. out of the Paris climate accord. He ended the so-called Clean Power Plan. He withdrew from the Trans-Pacific Partnership and is looking to revamp NAFTA or else pull out of that one, too. Trump ran on fair and reciprocal trade, and that’s what he’s delivering. At CPAC, Trump declared, “the era of economic surrender is over.” By enforcing trade agreements…

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Liberal Actress Jennifer Lawrence Backtracks: Democrats’ Chastising of Trump Supporters ‘Was Disgusting to Me’

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Oscar-winning actress and liberal activist Jennifer Lawrence said she was disgusted by the Democrats’ chastising of Trump supporters during the 2016 presidential election. The Kentucky native, a Hillary Clinton supporter and vocal critic of President Trump, told Vanity Fair in an interview published Tuesday that she understands why working-class people voted for Mr. Trump, and that she strongly disagreed with the way Mrs. Clinton and her supporters tried to belittle his base.

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San Diego College Teaches How to Boot Trump from Office

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San Diego State University is offering a one-credit course to college-goers on how they might boot President Donald Trump from office. And with that, the demise of America’s once-great places of higher learning, once-unrivaled training grounds for critical thinking, is nearly complete. The class, noted by Campus Reform, is called “Trump: Impeachment, Removal, or Conviction?”

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United Airlines Severs Ties with NRA, Continues to Contribute to Planned Parenthood: Watchdog

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United Airlines cut ties with the National Rifle Association after the Parkland, Florida, school shooting, but continues to donate to Planned Parenthood, the nation’s largest abortion provider. In a tweet on Saturday, the airline said it notified the NRA “that we will no longer be offering a discounted rate to their annual meeting” and asked to be removed from the gun-rights group’s website.

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Pressure Mounts for Broward Sheriff to Resign Following School Massacre

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With pressure mounting on Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel to resign in the wake of this month’s Valentine’s Day shooting at a school in Florida, a Republican state lawmaker Monday added his voice to the chorus. Rep. Randy Fine [far right in photo above], appearing on “The Ingraham Angle” on Fox News, said he signed on to a letter calling for Israel’s suspension and supports a subpoena requiring him to appear in the state capital of Tallahassee to explain an apparent breakdown in which a school resource officer remained outside Parkland’s Marjorie Stoneman Douglas High School while Nikolas Cruz allegedly was gunning down 17 people.

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Conservative Nonprofit PragerU Is Suing Google for Alleged Discrimination

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Prager University, a conservative nonprofit that creates educational videos, is suing Google for allegedly discriminating against the digital media organization for its fairly moderate ideological slant. Specifically, PragerU is accusing YouTube, which is owned by Google parent company Alphabet, of restricting or “demonetizing” videos even though they all appear to be innocuous and compliant with the platform’s rules.

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