With her latest tasteless stunt, actress and comedienne Bette Midler may be entertaining a knock at the door from the Secret Service. In response to the attempt by Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) to derail passage of the federal budget yesterday — which could have led to another government shutdown — Midler crassly suggested the solution to Paul’s hour-long delay was a physical attack on him from behind.
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Any time you hear Washington talk about bipartisan agreement, America, grab your wallet and run! Once again, lawmakers in Washington have finally cut through all the thorny brambles of partisanship and discovered (yet again! yippie!) something they can all agree upon: spending scads and scads more of other people’s money that we don’t even have!
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Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) could be the next speaker of the House of Representatives — if she can manage her gaffes, that is, which doesn’t seem likely. The Democratic leader set a House record Wednesday for continuous speech. She talked from 10:04 a.m. to 6:11 p.m. to propound her view of why America must grant amnesty to millions of illegal immigrants, known as dreamers — for the Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Act — who were brought here as children.
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News Corp’s chief executive on Thursday took a swipe at Google and Facebook for fostering a “dysfunctional” and “debased” online environment which harms the news media and responsible journalism. Robert Thompson, CEO of the publishing arm of Rupert Murdoch’s media empire, stepped up his criticism of the online giants as the company released its quarterly earnings.
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“Mayor Mitch Landrieu is on a crusade … to hide history,” said Fox News host Laura Ingraham on Thursday night. On “The Ingraham Angle,” which was broadcast from New Orleans, Ingraham and her panel engaged in a fierce debate about the ongoing removal of certain statues memorializing America’s military and Confederate history.
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The state of California sued the Department of Justice Wednesday to force the release of records relating to Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ order to withhold funding from so-called sanctuary states. California is one of several sanctuary jurisdictions—but the first state—to file a lawsuit relating to Sessions’ order to tie federal grants to immigration compliance.
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Democrats who howled about the debt during last year’s debate over tax cuts have stood silent over a comparably large increase in red ink projected from a budget-busting spending plan that cleared Congress and was signed by President Donald Trump early Friday.
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Since first admitting to a two year long extramarital affair with the head of her security detail, Sgt. Rob Forrest, Nashville Mayor Megan Barry has maintained that Metro Police Chief Steve Anderson insisted that a security detail travel with her at all times, and that all of Forrest’s travel with her was approved by the Metro Nashville Police Department. But in a blockbuster report that aired on Friday, NewsChannel5’s Phil Williams revealed that documents obtained from the Mayor’s office which purport to show Chief Anderson approved Forrest’s travel with her are factually incorrect. As The Tennessee Star has reported, Mayor Barry and Sgt. Forrest traveled alone together at taxpayer expense on nine occasions in 2017 on trips to Athens, Greece, San Francisco, California, and Washington, D.C., among other places. They also traveled together when accompanied by other Metro Nashville employees to other cities, including one memorable trip from October 20 to 25 of 2017 to Paris, France. “As the city hall scandal unfolded, Police Chief Anderson insisted he never approved Sgt. Rob Forrest’s travel with Nashville Mayor Megan Barry,” NewsChannel 5 anchor Rhori Johnston began the report. “But documents released today by the Mayor’s office say he did. So what’s…
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Amazon is preparing a limited launch of a delivery service that would compete directly with services like Fedex and UPS, the Wall Street Journal reported Friday. Citing unnamed sources, the newspaper said the US online and retail giant expects to begin a delivery service in Los Angeles in coming weeks with third-party merchants that sell goods on its website.
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The Ottawa Senators will get a reminder of a trade that hasn’t panned out as planned when they host the Nashville Predators at Canadian Tire Centre on Thursday night. The two major components, however, have almost produced at an even rate.
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By Robert Romano Senate leaders have reached a bipartisan agreement on the 2018 budget that provides another six weeks of funding for the federal government. It gets there by ending the remainder of budget sequestration, a remnant of the 2011 debt ceiling deal, increasing defense spending by $160 billion and non-defense spending by $131 billion the next two years. As a result, one outcome for certain is there is going to be another major increase in the national debt, now nearly $20.5 trillion, without any major reforms to rein in future spending. And now there is talk of adding an increase to the debt ceiling to the legislation as well, which Sen. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) suggested would be extended until March 2019. Article I is only as good as the Congress we elect. The reality the nation’s fiscal house faces is the only way to get 60 votes to increase defense spending, a top Trump administration priority, is to get 60 votes to increase non-defense spending, and Republicans still lack the votes to go nuclear and eliminate the filibuster on appropriations bills. Lacking leverage or a means of resolution, these are the types of deals that will be produced, and have been…
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Shortly after traveling alone with Sgt. Robert Forrest, head of her security detail during the period of time Mayor Megan Barry admitted to their on-going adulterous relationship, she lectured students at Belmont University about the role of ethics in government. Less than two weeks after her trip to D.C. with Sgt. Forest, on March 22, 2017, Mayor Barry spoke to Belmont University’s Student Center for the Public Trust (Student CPT) telling students that “people have to have faith that their government is ethical.” The Student CPT is “a national network of college students who demonstrate a commitment to ethical leadership.” There are a total of 6 Student CPT chapters at Tennessee schools, all supported by the national Center for the Public Trust whose stated mission is “to champion the public trust by advancing ethical leadership in business, institutions and organizations.” According to a news release from Belmont’s Office of Communications, the Mayor talked about the role and importance of ethical leadership even while admitting that it’s not always a simple matter to capture “what an ethical situation looks like.” She also told the students that, “people have to have faith that their government is ethical.Without this faith rooted in the community, everything…
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The House of Representatives passed a massive $400 billion budget agreement early Friday intended to end a partial federal government shutdown. The lawmakers voted 240-186 to approve the accord that now goes to President Donald Trump for his signature. However, it only funds the government through March 23.
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Mark Gwyn announced in a department-wide memo Thursday that after 30 years in law enforcement – the last 14 of which were as the Director of the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI), he will step down, effective June 1st. A copy of the letter was posted at the TBI website and reads: M E M O R A N D U M TO: All TBI Employees FROM: Mark Gwyn, Director DATE: February 8, 2018 SUBJECT: Retirement Announcement I’ve been in law enforcement for over 30 years and have lovingly served as your Director for 14 years, however, the time has come for me to retire. I have prayed and thought about this decision for some time now and I believe this is the right time for me and for the Bureau. During my tenure, I believe I have done all that I can do to improve our resources, training and equipment for the Bureau family and along with your hard work, TBI has become the best state law enforcement agency in this state and this country. We have come a very long way and I am honored to have served in this capacity for so long. I hope I have left…
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Tennessee Star Editor-in-chief Michael Patrick Leahy will be guest hosting for Michael DelGiorno on Nashville’s dominant talk radio station, WTN 99.7 FM, from 9 a.m. to noon today. The 9 a.m. hour will focus on the candidates in the race for the Republican nomination in the 6th Congressional District. State Rep. Judd Matheny (R-Tullahoma) is the scheduled guest in the first half hour (see image left), and former Tennessee Chancery Court Judge Bob Corlew (see image below) is the scheduled guest for the second half hour. Former Tennessee Commissioner of Agriculture John Rose was also invited for a separate interview, but was unable to make it due to scheduling issues. In the 10 a.m. hour, a new and surprising twist in the ongoing story about Mayor Megan Barry’s extramarital affair with bodyguard Sgt. Rob Forrest will be the topic of discussion in the first half hour. “You can’t make this stuff up,” Leahy said of the surprising new twist. The Star’s own Laura Baigert will provide an update on the 2018 session of the Tennessee General Assembly in the second half hour. In the 11 a.m. the pros and cons of Mayor Barry’s $9.2 billion transit plan, which faces a May 1 public…
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Former judge-turned-Sixth Congressional District Republican candidate Bob Corlew has launched his first television advertisement. The 30-second spot is divided in roughly in half with the first part telling viewers who Corlew is. The advertisement begins with a misty shot of Bob Corlew walking hand-in-hand with his wife, Dianne. The voiceover is by a woman who says, “Bob Corlew, a Christian conservative who believes Tennessee’s values are worth fighting for.” The video cuts to images of Corlew and his family throughout his life, and in his own voice he states, “I’m an Army veteran, former judge, father, and grandfather.” Switching to Corlew himself, viewers see his say, “I’ve dedicated my life in service to others.” Pivoting to his policy agenda, Corlew says, “I’ll stand with President Trump to finish The Wall; no amnesty; restore the rule of law; end chain migration; defund all sanctuary cities; and put more officers and resources on the border.” In the final seconds, he delivers his closing, incorporating the required campaign finance disclosure, “I’m Bob Corlew, the conservative Republican and I approve this message.” Watch the new ad: Voters first learned of Bob Corlew in 1984, when he was elected General Sessions Judge at the age of thirty-one.…
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U.S. President Donald Trump says the rights of people are bestowed upon them by God and that “faith is central to American life and to liberty.” Speaking Thursday at the annual National Prayer Breakfast in Washington, Trump said, “Our rights are not given to us by man, our rights come to us by our creator.
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Apparel targeted for the Muslim women’s market will soon be available at Macy’s department stores. The chain describes the hand-dyed hijabs, maxi dresses, and extra-long cardigans among their new Islamic offerings as both modest and fashionable, The Washington Post reports. An online launch is slated for the “Verona Collection” on February 15.
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George Rasley, CHQ Editor As a veteran of over 300 political campaigns I’ve compiled dozens of opposition research memos. Almost every time I did one someone would come forward with salacious charges. Running down these allegations never revealed proof; no affidavits from spurned lovers, no credit card receipts from the Chicken Ranch, etc., so I refused to include those allegations in my work product. From what I’ve read from the Steele dossier very little of it passes those most basic tests of sourcing. No candidate I’ve ever worked with would have paid me for such a document, unless of course they didn’t care if it was true or not. This experience begs the question: Given the problematic sourcing, did anyone involved on the FBI or Hillary Clinton side really believe the allegations in the Steele dossier? Or was it always known to be a cynical lie? Certainly, Fusion GPS founder Glenn Simpson went to great lengths in his testimony before the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence (HPSCI) to avoid saying he believed the Steele dossier was true – credible was as close as he would go. On Page 9 of the transcript of Simpson’s testimony before HPSCI he responded to…
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High-level FBI officials who violated procedures in the investigations of 2016 Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton and President Donald Trump will not escape accountability, a former supervisor at the agency said Thursday. Ron Hosko, who served as assistant director of the FBI and now is president of the Law Enforcement Legal Defense Fund, said on “The Laura Ingraham Show” that the Department of Justice (DOJ) inspector general, Michael Horowitz, will shoot straight in scrutinizing the conduct of the FBI and the DOJ.
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Donald Trump on Thursday nominated Charles Rettig — a lawyer who backed the president’s decision to keep his tax returns private — to be head of the top US tax collection agency. The White House said Trump would nominate the Beverly Hills tax attorney to be “Commissioner of Internal Revenue for a term of seven years beginning 11/12/17,” a statement read.
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The Criminal Court of Appeals in Knoxville ruled Tuesday that Tennessee’s state law requiring every person convicted of a DUI via blood or breath tests pay a $250 fee to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation is unconstitutional. According to the 28-page decision, the fee violates due process and puts into question the integrity of the TBI forensic department’s test results, which receives the monies into its ‘Intoxicant Testing Fund.’ The fee system, the ruling says, creates a monetary incentive for forensic scientists through continued employment, salaries, equipment and training. In addition to the named defendant, Rosemary L. Decosimo, some 20 individuals joined the case, all of whom were charged with DUIs after they provided blood or breath samples, and each would have been subject to paying the $250 fee if convicted. “While we acknowledge that TBI forensic scientists could lose their jobs if they falsify test results and these falsifications are discovered, we also recognize that forensic scientists would most certainly lose their jobs if funding for their positions disappears, a result of which these forensic scientists are no doubt well aware,” the opinion states. Initially, in 2005, the “DUI fee” was set at $100, but in 2010, the fee was raised to…
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Nashville Mayor Megan Barry, who ten days ago admitted to carrying on a two year long extramarital affair with her Metro Nashville police officer bodyguard, Sgt. Rob Forrest, showed on Thursday that she wants every voter in Nashville/Davidson County to know that she continues to support her much maligned $9 billion transit plan. With no apparent sense of irony, Mayor Barry promoted her appearance at a Donelson-Hermitage Chamber of Commerce event Thursday in a tweet later in the day in which she said, in part, that her transit plan “is about connecting people.” “Today I spoke at the Donelson-Hermitage Chamber of Commerce about your transit plan, which will be on the ballot May 1 (early voting starts April 11), and all the benefits it will create,” she wrote, adding, “Transit is about connecting people to what they need jobs, schools, health care and much more.” Today I spoke to the Donelson-Hermitage Chamber of Commerce about our transit plan, which will be on the ballot May 1 (early voting starts April 11), and all the benefits it will create. Transit is about connecting people to what they need jobs, schools, health care and much more pic.twitter.com/Wcn93KYxmx — Megan Barry for Congress (TN-7) (@MeganCBarry)…
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Georgia stole the headlines on National Signing Day, and one of its biggest division rivals limped to the finish line. CBS Sports analyst Barton Simmons ranked the biggest winners and losers of signing day, and while Georgia was the No. 1 biggest winner, Tennessee was the No. 1 biggest loser.
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Travel documents released to WSMV News4 by the Mayor’s Office show that out-of-town travel by Megan Barry with only the head of her security detail, former MNPD Sargent Rob Forrest, spiked after their affair began in 2016. During the first nine months in office spanning September 2015 through June 2016, the Mayor and her bodyguard traveled together only two times, and included additional city staff. However, from June 2016 through October 2017, Barry and Forrest took 26 trips, 10 of which were without any other staff. In her first statements about it, Mayor Barry – a Democrat – said her illicit affair with Forrest began “in the Spring of 2016” and that currently “it’s over,” refusing to state exactly when their relationship ended. Mayor Barry’s Communications Director Sean Braisted told WSMV News4 the addition of a security detail and frequency of trips with Sgt. Forrest came at the recommendation of the Metro Nashville Police Department and Chief Steve Anderson. Braisted said in a statement: You will see a security detail traveled sporadically with Mayor Barry until mid-to-late 2016. This was based on the recommendations of the Police Department that Mayor Barry have police detail on all official business trips, increases in terrorist attacks and…
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President Trump signed a National Security Presidential Memorandum Tuesday, establishing a National Vetting Center (NVC) to, according to a White House statement, “coordinate the efforts of departments and agencies to better identify individuals seeking to enter the country who present a threat to national security, border security, homeland security, or public safety.” Led by the Department of Homeland Security, the NVC, will fulfill President Trump’s campaign promise for “extreme vetting,” and help meet the requirement that all departments and agencies improve their coordination and use of intelligence and other information in the vetting process. “The Federal Government’s current vetting efforts are ad hoc, which impedes our ability to keep up with today’s threats,” Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said, adding: The NVC will better coordinate these activities in a central location, enabling officials to further leverage critical intelligence and law enforcement information to identify terrorists, criminals, and other nefarious actors trying to enter and remain within our country. The NVC’s operations will adhere to America’s strong protections for individuals’ privacy, civil rights, and civil liberties. The Administration’s top priority is the safety and security of the public, and the NVC will empower our frontline defenders to better fulfill that obligation.” Read…
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The top Senate leaders have announced an agreement on a two year budget deal that would provide defense and domestic programs with large spending increases. Majority leader Mitch McConnell and the top Senate Democrat Chuck Schumer spoke to fellow senators about the deal on Tuesday as members of Congress sought to avert another government shutdown.
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By Robert Romano Besides the DNC and Clinton campaign-funded Christopher Steele dossier that alleged Trump campaign-Russia collusion that was used as evidence by the Obama era Justice Department to obtain a Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) court warrant against Trump campaign advisor Carter Page, another piece of evidence was a Sept. 2016 Yahoo! News piece by Michael Isikoff that alleged the same. A news story, which turns out, was sourced to Steele himself, anonymous at the time, and was presented as evidence to the FISA court to “corroborate” the Steele dossier. It was circular confirmation, Steele confirming himself in essence, according to the now-released House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence memorandum by Chairman Devin Nunes (R-Calif.): “This article does not corroborate the Steele dossier because it is derived from information leaked by Steele himself to Yahoo News.” But what stands out about the Isikoff piece, besides the fact it became one of the bases on which to spy on a presidential campaign smackdab in the middle of the election, is the fact that Isikoff quotes Justice Department officials confirming that Page was already under investigation. Isikoff referred to a Congressional source who alleged that, in Isikoff’s words, “U.S. officials in the briefings indicated…
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Former Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. said the Trump administration was wrong to have apologized to tea party groups snared in the IRS’s targeting scandal, saying it was another example of the new team undercutting career people at the Justice Department who’d initially cleared the IRS of wrongdoing. “That apology was unnecessary, unfounded and inconsistent, it seems to me, with the responsibilities that somebody who would seek to lead the Justice Department should have done,” Mr. Holder said.
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The assertion of an FBI agent in 2016 that President Barack Obama “wants to know everything” about the investigation into Hillary Clinton’s emails was contrary, not surprisingly, to the Obama White House’s insistence that Mr. Obama scrupulously avoided political interference in the probe.
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Former Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. said Wednesday he’s considering making a run for president. “I think I’ll make a decision by the end of the year about whether or not there’s another chapter,” Mr. Holder said at a breakfast sponsored by the Christian Science Monitor.
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A new batch of text messages between FBI officials Peter Strzok and Lisa Page revealed President Barack Obama wanted updates on the bureau’s investigation into Hillary Clinton’s use of a private email serve, according to a Fox News report. On Sept. 2, 2016 – just weeks away from election day – Ms. Page texted Mr. Strzok, her lover, about preparing a report for then-FBI Director James B. Comey because “potus wants to know everything we’re doing,” Fox News said.
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A recent ruling by an immigration court will make it harder for some immigrants to beat deportation orders. The issue decided last week by the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) revolved around whether the phrase “admitted in any status” includes people who entered the country illegally. The court ruled that it does not.
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During an extended interview, Metro Nashville Police Chief Steve Anderson indicated that he’s “not seeing anything that we would change” as far as rules, regulations or policies under which the police department operates despite Mayor Megan Barry’s public admission of committing two years of adultery with the head of her security detail, Sgt. Robert Forrest, while he was an employee of Metro’s police department. Police Chief Anderson appointed by then Mayor Karl Dean in 2010, accepts Mayor Barry’s characterization that her affair with Sgt. Forrest was strictly a personal matter. But Anderson makes it clear that he does not endorse people who work together having sexual relationships. He points out, however, that even if Sgt. Forrest had not “retired” and was still providing security for the Mayor, no specific rule or policy of the police department would have been violated. Current police department policy only prohibits personal relationships between supervisors and subordinates and would not extend to the sexual relationship between the Mayor and the security detail assigned to her office by the police department. According to Police Chief Anderson, Sgt. Forrest’s chain of command and direct supervisor is the Specialized Investigations Division (SID) but that Forrest’s day to day…
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COLUMBIA, S.C. — One of two Amtrak staffers killed in Sunday’s crash had told his brother he worried about dying in a wreck on the rails. Michael Kempf, 54, was killed Sunday when an Amtrak train ran off the main track, smashing into a parked train car.
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Israel is taking steps to deport thousands of African migrants. Israeli immigration authorities have begun issuing deportation orders to asylum seekers from war-torn Eritrea and Sudan. It is the latest step in Israel’s plan to expel about 40,000 African migrants, after they entered the country illegally during the past decade.
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Amid a growing uncertainty about the fate of DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) students and others without legal status, universities across the country are not only championing the plight of these individuals — they’re stepping in with a relief plan for those with “at risk” status.
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The first modern Briton had dark skin and blue eyes, London scientists said on Wednesday, following groundbreaking DNA analysis of the remains of a man who lived 10,000 years ago. Known as “Cheddar Man” after the area in southwest England where his skeleton was discovered in a cave in 1903, the ancient man has been brought to life through the first ever full DNA analysis of his remains.
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Patience was in short supply during the leg-jiggling, finger-tapping, tension-filled hours before the launch of the Falcon Heavy, which would, if successful, become the most powerful operational rocket on the planet. From thousands of miles away viewers obsessively checked Twitter for live updates from the hundreds of reporters and thousands of visitors who showed up to witness history.
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Pope emeritus Benedict XVI hinted Wednesday that is is nearing death and ready for his final “pilgrimage” at the age of 90. “In the slow decline of my physical strength, internally, I am on a pilgrimage to the House (of the Lord)”, Joseph Ratzinger wrote in a letter published in the Corriere della Sera daily, which had told him many readers were concerned about his health.
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Former Tennessee linebacker Kevin Simon has reportedly accepted a position on the Vols’ coaching staff, according to former teammate and current Knoxville area radio host Jayson Swain. I’m loving this staff! Former Vol Kevin Simon is expected to join staff. Simon worked in NFL as a scout previously. Simon’s addition is Program changing for the #Vols.
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One year ago Tuesday, February 6, The Tennessee Star launched into the news media scene. Since then, the news organization has filed more than 4,500 stories and received over five million visits from people all over Middle Tennessee, across the Volunteer State and around the world. “I remember that first moment when we went live,” Managing Editor Christina Botteri said. “It was like being all ready for a party, but before anyone shows up…. Will anyone come? Will they see what we are doing and appreciate the fresh take on the news of the day?” Botteri didn’t have to wait long for an answer. Within the first 24 hours, the brand-new website had over 3,000 unique visitors, and over 9,000 visits. “We out performed our projections by a factor of three,” Botteri said. “By the end of our first month – a mere 22 days – we were visited over 175,000 times,” Botteri recalled, adding, “We realized almost immediately we would have to upgrade our servers in order to handle all the the traffic.” Through March, The Star began reporting on Governor Haslam’s gas tax hike proposal and readership soared to over 285,000 visits within that 31-day period alone, followed by…
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Nashville Metro Council voted Tuesday to create a committee to investigate Mayor Megan Barry’s affair with her bodyguard Sgt. Rob Forrest, WSMV reported. Councilwoman Tanaka Vercher proposed the resolution. The council has not taken such action since 1974 during a land rezoning bribery scandal involving former council members Morris Haddox and Jack Clariday, The Tennessean reported. The 30-7 vote will create a committee of three to seven council members to oversee the probe, focusing on travel and overtime expenses of Barry and Forrest, the newspaper said. Barry does not have the power to veto the action. The council is turning to an authority under the Metro Charter to hold investigations and hearings, The Tennessean said. The power includes the ability to compel the attendance of witnesses and the production of books, papers and records pertinent to the investigation. Testimony will be under oath. Barry admitted to the affair on Jan. 31. District Attorney Glenn Funk asked the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation to look into the matter to determine if there was any criminal wrongdoing in the form of overseas trips and overtime payments to Forrest.
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Nashville Metro Council voted Tuesday to place both the $5.35 billion and $9 billion transit plan price tags on the May 1 referendum. An amendment showing the price range was approved on a 34-2-2 vote. The vote was part of the third and final reading of the referendum language. Debate during the council meeting likened the transportation plan to buying a car. When buying a car, one looks at the dealer’s price as the purchase price; expenses like tires and fuel are operating costs, council member Jeremy Elrod said. Council member Bob Mendes said “We’re not buying a car.” To buy an operating system, one pays not only the upfront costs but also debt and has to consider the debt terms and payback period. One must consider the bond debt payment. He said the $8.95 billion figure was good enough for the state comptroller. Jeff Eller, campaign spokesman for NoTax4Tracks, which has expressed concerns about the transit plan, said, “We believe the Council did the right thing by letting voters decide on the full cost of the $9-billion light rail plan. They will now have the opportunity to understand this plan will result in the highest sales tax in the country…
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Shortly after taking office in 2015, Mayor Megan Barry recommended Macy Amos – the adult daughter of her security detail Rob Forrest, with whom she would later admit to having an extensive affair – for a lucrative job withing the Nashville’s legal department. The City’s legal department had not added any positions for a period of two years nor did they budget for such and expansion, The Tennessean reports. But after a new, entry-level job was created, Barry swiftly approved the move and recommended Amos. No other applicant was considered, and she was hired in January 2016. The Tennessean reports that Metro Law Department Director Jon Cooper insists the the decision to hire Amos was his and no one else’s, and notes that Amos was a highly qualified candidate with a law degree from Belmont University and previous interning experience with Mayors Bill Purcell and Karl Dean. “The mayor did recommend Macy during a meeting I had with her at some point, as did a number of people in the legal community,” Cooper said in an email to The Tennessean, adding that she was the “logical choice” for the job. To date, Mayor Barry has given answers that are vague and sometimes…
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by Jeffery Rendall Every company, organization and family has one – a so-called “Devil’s advocate.” Wikipedia defines “Devil’s advocate” as “someone who, given a certain point of view, takes a position he or she does not necessarily agree with (or simply an alternative position from the accepted norm), for the sake of debate or to explore the thought further.” Needless to say American politics is full of loathsome “Devil’s advocate” troublemakers. These naysayers take cover behind self-styled “principled” objections to deserving actions when they’re really just seeking sympathetic media attention for themselves – or even worse, they have an axe to grind against rivals in the party. Sometimes they’re known as “independents” or “mavericks” but they’re not individualistic at all – they’re agitators. Senator John McCain played “Devil’s advocate” last week after the newly released House Intelligence Committee memo detailed multiple abuses by FBI officials in pursuit of a vendetta against then candidate and now President Donald Trump. While conservatives and Republicans reacted with stunned horror to the notion of government officers deliberately employing surveillance powers to play politics, “D.A. McCain” took the opposite approach. Elena Schor of Politico reported, “The statement from McCain, who is away from Washington undergoing treatment for…
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In another devastating blow from her left-leaning base, long time pastor and community activist Reverend Enoch Fuzz called on embattled Mayor Megan Barry to resign from office after a series of revelations involving a years-long extramarital affair came to light. “If the mayor stays in office, those important issues are put at risk. Even the big thing about the possibility that the great Amazon company would come here, those kinds of things are put at risk,” Rev. Enoch Fuzz told WKRN News: The billions of dollars in investments that are being lost right now because we are distracted by this kind of thing. R-e-s-i-g-n. Not to insult, not to hurt, not to condemn, but for the good of all the people who are citizens of the city, including Megan. Let’s move aside so that the world can see that our city is moving ahead. WKRN notes that so far – despite public outcry – the Metro Nashville Council members have not asked Mayor Barry to step down, and indeed, have largely “kept mum on the subject of her affair.”
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President Trump remained confident about the health of the economy Tuesday despite the wild ride on Wall Street, the White House said. “This president and this White House are focused on long-term economic fundamentals which are strong,” White House Deputy press secretary Raj Shah said on Fox Business Network.
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A referendum to increase county sales taxes in Williamson County from 2.25 percent to 2.77 percent passed by a 2-to-1 margin in a low turnout election held in the dead of winter on Tuesday. “Out of the 12,365 ballots cast, 66.1 percent (or just over 8,000 voters) voted for the increase, while 33.9 percent (just over 4,000) voted against the referendum,” WSMV reported after the polls closed Tuesday and all the votes were counted. “This is an extremely low turnout so far,” Williamson County Administrator of Elections Chad Gray told WSMV before the polls closed on Tuesday. After all the votes were count, Gray’s initial comments were confirmed–only about 9 percent of the county’s registered voters ended up casting their ballots. About 6,000 participated in early voting between January 17 and February 1, and a little over 6,000 voted on the actual election day, Tuesday. Supporters of the county sales tax increase said the additional funds were needed to pay for new public schools in the Williamson County School system. Opponents decried the increase as insufficient for the claimed purpose, and the wrong mechanism for financing new school construction. But the supporters were well funded and politically clever to schedule…
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Community Oversight Nashville (CON), a coalition of leftist and left-leaning groups came together to issue an open letter Monday raising serious questions as to Mayor Megan Barry fitness to hold office, in light of the bombshell revelations into possible legal and ethical wrongdoing stemming from her elicit extra-marital affair with the head of her security detail, Rob Forrest. The letter begins: We, undersigned members of the Community Oversight Now Coalition, are writing this letter to ensure that our concerns regarding the ramifications and repercussions of Mayor Barry’s admission of an improper relationship with MNPD Sergeant Robert Forrest, Jr. are adequately considered and fully addressed. We have also filed an ethics complaint with the Metro Board of Ethical Conduct as we are convinced that Mayor Barry has acted unethically. We feel that Mayor Barry may have been improperly influenced against the community oversight board due to her relationship with Sgt. Forrest. Community Oversight Nashville’s members come from a broad spectrum of left-of-center groups, including Black Lives Matter, Justice for Jocques, Democracy Nashville, Gideon’s Army, The Harriet Tubman House, and No Exceptions Prison Collective. The coalition’s aim is to form community oversight committees to which law enforcement would answer in cases of…
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